Combat - Season 3, Operation 1

Once again Image Entertainment has not seen fit to place the episodes in the order that they were chronologically shown. This is only a minor point if you buy both season 3 sets before viewing. Season three has a little more diversity in the episodes & is, at worst, the second best season of Combat!; some might even consider it to be the best. This set contains 16 episodes & features some major guest stars: Mickey Rooney, Frankie Avalon, Robert Duvall, Dan Duryea & Telly Savalas. This set opens with "Silver Service" which has Mickey Rooney in it. Season three of Combat! is the only season that has episodes that have 'winter' scenes; "Silver Service" is one of these. "Mountain Man" is a 'winter' episode also & is the actual premiere episode of season three. It's a suspenseful episode in which a Frenchman doesn't want to be involved in the war, has isolated himself, but now is being asked by Saunders to be their guide. Also in this episode we see Caje doing a lot of downhill skiing; this is tough to believe because he's a Cajun from south Louisiana; not saying it's impossible but there's not much snow or any mountains in that part of the country. "The Duel" is one of the best episodes of Combat! This one involves only Saunders & a truck driver as they have to play cat & mouse with a German Tiger tank. This is also the only episode that has the Germans speaking German & gives the viewer translated subtitles. "Vendetta" features Telly Savalas as a Greek soldier leading a jeep squad very similar to the Rat Patrol. In this one Savalas has his own agenda that doesn't match up with the plans of Hanley. "Dateline" has Dan Duryea as a war correspondent. "The Imposter" has Hanley as the lead character. In this one he must use his wits to figure out who in his outfit isn't really an American. "Brother, Brother" has Frankie Avalon as guest star. He's a friend of Kirby's brother & is very obnoxious, constantly wanting favors & cover-ups from Kirby. "Fly Away Home" is the episode that has carrier pigeons. "The Enemy" has Robert Duvall as a German Lieutenant who, once captured, offers in assisting in defusing the mines around town. But all is not as it appears to be in a very good episode of Combat! There are bonus features included on each disc. These include three audio commentaries of "Mountain Man" (Pierre Jalbert [Caje]), "The Duel" (George Fenady - sometimes his first name doesn't have the final 'e') & "Losers Cry Deal" (Shirl Hendryx). There's a photo gallery & notes from Jo Davidsmeyer.

Just finished Season 1 & 2, and so far Season 3 Operation I is just as good. A lot of good episodes in this set. To those that see trees instead of forests, "The Duel" episode might seem stupid, as the German tank commander is an idiot to waste all that ammo in his attempt to get one soldier armed only w/ a Thompson. However, it was one of may favorite episodes in this set, as the story is just about the competition that occurs between the 2 men. Yeah, the tank commander has an EGO the size of Texas, but I really enjoyed the story of competition. Every since I was a kid, whether we were racing on bikes, homemade skateboards, playing football, or even later, partcipating in occassional steet competitions w/ the musclecars of the day, I just enjoyed the competition to see who the winner would be. That's what the German tank commander was wrapped up in, the competion of it all. Again, he was an idiot, but I understood why he might do that. Unlike most modern TV shows, it's nice to see good triumph also. Thankfully this occurs in many COMBAT episodes, but I thought "The Hard Way Back" was one of the better illustrations. Fear initially overtakes Sal's character, but in the end he does the right thing, but he struggles w/ achieving that goal. I suppose a lot of people nowadays might see it as corny, but then I think that's part of what's wrong w/ our modern world; too many people think its corny to see good triumph. That's my 2 cents worth, so I'll step off of my soapbox..........

Combat is a show that influenced Television story telling tremendously in its day. The third season features one of the finest episodes in Combat's history and a piece of television that stands up today as a relevent insight into what mechanisms people use to justify actions they would not personify if not for the stressful situations war puts them in. 'Losers Cry Deal' is directed by Vic Morrow and is good enough to stand up against any of televisions best productions. This is not to reduce the other episodes in the collection. Combat's recreation of war torn Europe is impressive. Special effects are exemplary and the handheld camera work is very good, giving the show a documentary feel at times. The squad supporting Sgt. Saunders and Lt. Hanley are all individuals and well acted in their own 1960's way. All in all, Combat stands out as a fine example of a TV series that sometimes climbs to excellence, as in the case of the previously mentioned 'Losers Cry Deal'. If you like war stories, if you like real character's in dire situations (conflict is the basis of storytelling), good special effects and battle scenes, you will really enjoy these shows. AND sometimes be amazed at how well the story of the human condition is represented.

I enjoyed watching Combat as a kid which I just realized is probably why I went into the army out of high school. Enjoyed it as a kid and enjoyed it again as an adult.

It's always such a treat to watch this classic war drama: the acting is top-notch, and virtually every episode either has an excellent guest star - many of whom were bound for glory on the big screen - or features one of the principal cast members [or several members of the company] in dire straits; I would recommend this DVD on that basis alone! Robert Duvall, Telly Savalas, Sal Mineo, Rip Torn, Mike Kellin - the list goes on - and you're in for hours of great entertainment.

Love all the Combat series. Stands up surprisingly well for an old 1960s program. Interesting guest stars, many of whom went on to their own series or to movie fame..

Combate, Es una serie clásica de guerra de los años sesenta, la vi de niño y las actuación de Vic morrow es excelente. Es un bonito recuerdo, cuando la veo, ahora que ya soy una persona mayor.