Hogan's Heroes

Today I'm writing about one of my favorite TV shows, called Hogan's Heroes. Basically, it's a World War 2 comedy. "But how do you take the deadliest and most expensive war in history and turn it into a comedy?" you might ask. Well...it's in a German prisoner of war camp, where the allied prisoners are running an escape business right under the Germans' noses. The show was made in the mid-60's, but doesn't feel the least bit aged. While the show was controversial when it first aired in the 60s, it's not the least bit offensive. It denies nothing about the war, it just makes fun of it (mostly of the Germans). Many Jews complained about the show...ironically the four biggest German characters in the show were portrayed by Jews, one of which survived the holocaust.

The lead character is Colonel Hogan, the commanding officer of the allied prisoners. You also have the camp's commanding officer, Komandant Klink, and Sargent Schultz. These two German characters are idiots, and that's what makes this show what it is. It's easier to show you rather than talk about him - click here. Yup, such a classic character. Some re-occurring characters include a German General, a Gestapo major, and several characters from the french underground.

The show has many hilarious episodes behind it, including one where one of the prisoners impersonates Hitler. Another awesome episode is when they convinced the Germans that the war was over in order to rescue four top leaders of the french underground. As the show goes on (at least in the first three seasons), Hogan's plans get more and more bizarre, especially with the D-Day episode. Still, the bizarre episodes are usually the best ones.

Apart from the hilarious episodes, the show actually does have it's serious elements. For one thing, there are many episodes where Hogan's group is nearly caught. In fact, there are several cases where a German official reveals to them that they know everything about their operation and want something for their silence. There are also episodes which take a serious look into various issues during the war, even if the end is funny anyway. For the most part though, you don't watch this show for a serious look at the war, or even a history lesson. It's a comedy that just happens to be based on one of the worst wars this planet has ever seen.

For those of you who aren't tired of World War 2 yet and/or like some timeless comedy, give Hogan's Heroes a try. I love this show!