Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Powerful

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

As a kid I usually watched this with my dad and uncle and when I grew I up I always wondered what this show was. Well reluctantly the seasons were on Youtube and I watched them all; the conclusion was is I liked it! Aside from watching Band of Brothers, Hogan's Heroes gave you something to laugh at about the Nazi's rather than watch them in seriousness.That is all this show is about: making fun of Nazism, that's it. I know there are a lot of people saying that Werner Klemperer(Klink), John Banner(Shultz), Robert Clary(LeBeau), and Leon Askin(Gen. Burkhalter) are hypocrites because they all either escaped or fell victim of Nazi persecution in real life; then why did they play as Nazis, or for LeBeaa play in a Nazi camp? Firstly it is a Prisoner of War camp, not a Concentration Camp. Secondly, Werner Klemperer, John Banner, and Leon Askin played as Nazis who would be either stupid or always look like a fool in the end; this is why the I said this show is about making fun of Nazis. Also, a lot of people say that this show makes World War II seem like a joke, or that life in a Nazi camp is nice. Yes, sometimes during the show one of the Allied characters cracks a joke about why the are fighting the war, or something along those lines. Yes, I do agree that is wrong to do that, but you must look at what this show is: Military Sitcom (situation COMEDY) meant to make the Nazis look bad.Basically Hogan, Kinchloe, LeBeau, Newkirk, and Carter all are the main characters trapped inside a POW outside Hammelburg called Stalag-13. Hogan being the smart and cunning, Kinch being a good technician and radio operator, LeBeau being a good cook and small, Newkirk being a joker, and Carter being a Chemist but very clumsy; they all play a part in fooling Klink, Shultz, and sometimes Burkhalter and the Gestapo to sabotage vital military places in around Stalag-13 through an underground network with connection to England. With all this they disrupt the German war effort in a comedic way.This is an amazing series. Sadly a Youtuber who had all the episodes on his channel was deleted, so the only way I see people could watch this is by buying it in store or online.This is a great show, and I recommend it to all liker's of military stuff.

I won't waste time going over the premise of the show; that has already been done more than adequately by nearly every reviewer here.I will agree that the argument the show being "offensive" is weak. As others said, it was a POW stalag, not a concentration camp. And I'll add that "Hogan's Heroes" played during a period of multiple service comedies, yet it was the best of them, not the worst. Sgt. Bilko was a film-flam man. Cmdr. Quinton McHale occasionally did battle with the Japanese, but you never got the feeling that he or his crew were in danger from anyone but their immediate superior, Capt. Binghamton.The POWs of Stalag 13, however, were another story. Yes, 95% of the time the focus was on Hogan and his men pulling scams on the Nazis and having fun sabotaging their work, but the remaining 5% of the time things could get uncomfortable. A decent number of stories contain scenes in which Hogan's life (or those of his men) are in peril. And as the show went on, characters like Maj. Hochstetter did not fail to notice that many of the Nazis' worst defeats were centered around Stalag 13. Of course, this being a '60s sitcom, you know and I know that nothing really bad is going to happen to Hogan or his crew. Yet these moments always had a genuine tinge of tension to them.But overwhelmingly the focus of the show was around conning the Nazis, disrupting their war plans and in general making fun of them. Bob Crane played Col. Hogan as a born con artist, able to come up with bold, brash scams at the drop of a hat. However, as many actors can tell you, playing the villain is infinitely more fun than playing the hero, and that seems to go doubly well for comedies.How Werner Klemperer must have loved playing the pompous, cowardly Col. Klink! And John Banner as the pacifist, food-loving teddy bear, Sgt. Schultz...watching the two of them together (or separately with Crane), you begin to realize that it was they, not Bob Crane, that had the best roles in the show. Watch Schultz say something lovably idiotic, and Klink snap from a smile to a frown in an instant barking, "Dummkopf!"It is these two, and to a lesser degree the various actors who played the heroes, that made the show so good, I am convinced. Each week Klemperer and Banner virtually put on a comedy acting clinic -- they were that good. And when you added the piggish Gen. Burkhalter and that ultimate Angry White Man, Maj. Hochstetter, things only got funnier. All of these characters were played so well that they remain hysterically memorable more than 40 years later.Try not to concentrate on the inherent absurdity of pulling this stuff off on the Nazis week after week, year after year, and getting away with it, and concentrate more on the exquisite comedic performances, and you will have yourself one hell of a good time.

THE great World War II play of the immediate Post War period, STALAG 17, opened on Broadway in May of 1951; running all the way to June 21, 1952 for a healthy 472 performances, previews excluded. Being overwhelmingly successful, it quickly matriculated to Hollywood and the movie version of STALAG 17 (Paramount Pictures, 1954), Directed by Billy Wilder (Himself), quickly hit the nation's big screens and immediately set itself up as an instant "Classic".WHILE remembering the old adage that "Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery!", we are also cognoscente of the Hollywood custom of copying the living Hell out of a successful Film or TV Program, to the point just short of out and out Plagiarism; but do come up with your own Company's answer to the original. This practice abounds in Tinsel Town; both then and now.SO, about a Dozen or so years after the Play's Broadway debut and a good ten years after the Wilder Film, future Producer of THE GODFATHER (Paramount, 1972), Albert S. Ruddy and Bernard Fein created a WWII P.O.W Camp Sitcom and sold the folks over at Bing Crosby Productions on the idea of doing it. The resulting HOGAN'S HEROES (Bing Crosby Productions/CBS Television Network. 1965-71) hit the ground running and lasted 6 years, or for about 2 years longer than did involvement by the U.S. A. in the hostilities.BUT the use of "Stalag" (prison camp in the tongue of those of Germanic persuasion) would be a little too much; even in Copycat La-La Land/Tinsel Town/Dream Maker Hollywood; so, they settled on a title emphasizing the main character's as yet undetermined name.ALLITERATION was always a good route to take; but what surname and word or slang term for a Prisoner of War would fit together properly and be catchy in order to provide a rational yet melodious sound? How about RYAN'S REJECTS, CONRAD'S CONSTRAINED COMBATANTS, BROWN'S BIVOUACED BOMBADIERS, WILLIAMS' WAYLAYED WONDERS; or what? AFTER careful, scientific and demographically sound deliberation, the very upbeat and positive title of HOGAN'S HEROES was decided on as the moniker that the series would carry. The surname "Hogan" is decidedly Irish, but that wouldn't matter now; as the NINA Signs* were long gone from the Boston scene and the Sons of Erin were now considered to be much more mainstream. Twenty years or so earlier, it would not have been considered so; as one would have to be Anglo-Saxon (the Cabots, the Lodges) or perhaps Dutch Bluebloods (the Roosevelts, the Vanderbilts) to be real, mainstream American. (Hell, we had just had an Irish-Catholic President in Mr. Kennedy and he was certainly no W.A.S.P.!) THE main and title character of U.S. Army Air Corps Colonel Robert Hogan set the overall mood and direction an episode would take. As a Colonel, Mr. Crane's character was the ranking enemy combatant interned at "Stalag 13" (unlucky number, perhaps?) and would be the one to deal with the compound's commandant, Colonel Klink (Werner Klemperer) of the Luftwaffe (No, Schultz, not Luftansa!).AS for the personality of the wisecracking, energetic and definitely not West Point man Col. Hogan; his is a sort of stereotypical characterization of an American; as seen through the eyes of the 'Old Country' Europeans. Hogan's relaxed, upbeat demeanor is indicative of a true G.I.; who never really took the military business too seriously. Hogan's appearance indicates this Yankee nonchalance. The Colonel's flight jacket is always open or half open; but never zipped or buttoned up military style. Hogan's military hat sits casually back on his head, which also emulates a relaxed, laid-back overall attitude.WE have recently noticed a similarity of the Crane/Hogan character to that of Yank in the Royal Air Force,Ronald Reagan's Flying Officer Johnny Hammond in the Errol Flynn starring vehicle, Desperate JOURNEY (Warner Brothers, 1942).* CONCERNING the rest of the Cast, we had the Allied POW's: the caustic Frenchman, Corporal LeBeau (Robert Clary), comic relief American Sergeant Andy Carter (Larry Hovis), Englishman & Cockney slight of hand hustler RAF Corporal Newkirk (Pre-FAMILY FEUD Richard Dawson), straight man American Sergeant James Kinchloe (Ivan Dixon).THE German delegation to the cast were: the high strung and underachieving Colonel Klink (Werner Klemperer), the nervous Sergeant Schultz (John Banner), directly from BARE-LEAN (Berlin) General Burkhalter (Leon Askin), Gestapo Major Hochstetter (Howard Caine) and Klink's sometimes secretary & receptionist Helga (Cynthia Lynn, Woo, woo, woo, woo!) INTERESTINGLY enough we recently saw the HOGAN'S HEROES Pilot on Chicago's WMET TV, Channel 23 in Chicago; which specializes in old, vintage series. It is in glorious Black & White and it featured veteran character actor Leonid Kinskey (Sacha in CASABLANCA (Warners, 1942)) as a Russian POW. He quit after this first installment; believing that a series about World War II POW Camp would never go over with the public. Brother Leonid was obviously wrong! OTHER than the subject material, itself, a most unusual aspect of the show was how easily they would shift gears. Typically, several scenes would proceed in comically setting up the premise. Suddenly, everyone in the POW Barracks would get stone serious and pull off some commando-type raid. Dark clad with faces darkened Hogan & Company would escape confinement, blow up the bridge or rescue the hostages or whatever; then return to the good old, home sweet home of Stalag 13. All of this was usually done after getting info on their short wave either from London or the German Underground.NOTE: * Take a look-see and find out what we mean. If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'!" POODLE SCHNITZ!!

"Why would anybody make a comedy about a WWII prison camp?"Because the best way to fight evil, especially a snobby evil like Nazism, is to make fun of it.Suppose some high-ranking Nazi--let's say Heinrich Himmler, head of the Gestapo--could be magically brought forward in time and shown one film about World War II... If he saw a serious documentary or drama about the war, one that played up how fierce and cruel and efficiently nasty the Gestapo were, he'd be very proud of his organization. But if he saw an episode of "Hogan's Heroes"--especially one that features Major Hochstetter being fierce/cruel/Gestapo-nasty, with the studio audience laughing their heads off--he'd probably burst a blood vessel!"Hogan's Heroes" is a situation comedy about a group of POWs whose insanely complicated undercover ops always involve fooling their stuffed-shirt kommandant. It doesn't make fun of real POWs or what they went through; if anything, it glamorizes them quite a bit. What it does do is make fun of people who think they're superior. Sure, it overplays how ridiculously silly the Germans were and how much damage the POWs could do (without getting shot), but exaggeration is the essence of comedy. Would "I Love Lucy" or "Gilligan's Island" be funny if only realistic things happened?Granted, the basic plots can get pretty predictable--the heroes have to smuggle something or someone out of camp/out of Germany, or their operation is in danger of being discovered, or they have to sabotage something or save Klink/Schultz from the Russian front. Many episodes do have clever plot twists, but on the whole I give the plot quality a 7 out of 10.The scripting, on the other hand, gets 10 out of 10. It's consistently stellar over the 168 episodes, with unforgettable lines like "I see nothink!", "Why is it, Kleenk, that you are always happier to see me than I am to see you?", "Love your barbed wire", and Major Hochstetter's two favorite remarks: "What is this man doing here?!?" and "BAAAH!"The acting was fairly good, 9/10 overall; the regulars and recurring characters tended to be better than a lot of the one-shots. A few of the actors deserve special mention: John Banner (Sergeant Schultz) gets 10 out of 10. He was one of the world's great comic actors, and "Hogan's Heroes" couldn't have existed without him. Larry Hovis (Carter) also gets 10 of 10. Not only is Carter one of the world's cutest dumb guys, in my opinion, but his Hitler impersonation is the best in TV history! Howard Caine (Major Hochstetter) provided something sorely needed on this slightly overoptimistic show--a dangerous Nazi. If it weren't for the intercom in the coffeepot, Hochstetter would have uncovered the heroes' operation several times over. And let's not forget Ivan Dixon (Kinchloe)! One year before Lt. Uhura, he became TV's first black communications officer.Hogan's Heroes is a very funny, family-friendly situation comedy about outwitting "superior" bureaucrats, keeping your sense of humor in tough situations, and never giving up--especially when a job is impossible.