Shark Bytes

Saunders' helmet camo still irritates me a little when I watch the re-runs, but who cares about the authenticity of the German tanks, etc? The show was made on a TV budget.

The show was great from 1962 to 1965. There has not been a better show about war on TV since combat. Vic and Kirby were the best actors on the show. The displayed true heroes, and it is too bad that Vic did not get a chance to display his true greatness later on in life before he died.

I remember always looking forward to the Sgt. Saunders episodes, and being indifferent to the Lt. Hanley ones. I never quite bought into the rotating lead actor of this and Maverick. As a kid, you just don't worry about it if the buttons aren't right or the vehicles aren't proper German ones. I watched it loyally until it was cancelled. I was greatly saddened by the manner of Morrow's passing and could never bring myself to watch the Twilight Zone movie. Never jumped, though I imagine if I sat down and watched them all today I wouldn't say the same thing - I caught an all-day marathon on some obscure cable channel and fire-fights breaking out hour after hour does start to become repetitious.

In regards to the comments about US troops and camouflage in NW Europe, in the initial stages of the Normandy campaign there were indeed troops issued with a FULL two piece camouflage uniform. It was apparently withdrawn from service very quickly when U.S. troops were mistaken for Waffen S.S. and shot by their own side. I haven't watched a colour episode of Combat for a long time, and I don't know if there was a colour difference between the Pacific and European camouflages. Nor do I know the show's producer's explanations. However, this might give them an out.
Ref: Army Uniforms of World war Two, Blandford Colour Series, Andrew Mollo & Malcolm McGregor, 1973, ISBN 0 7137 0611 2.

Sammy Davis, Jr. played Pvt.Jacob Johnson in a 1960 episode of General Electric Theater, called "The Patsy", in which his unit continually questions his courage.
They pull a prank on him where a they take a dummy grenade and drop it among a group of them, and Sammy Davis Jr. dives on the grenade, in order to save his buddies.

The comment by Steve Moss ... WHAT?! are you in the 1st grade?! I hope maybe one day you get dandruff too!!

I have enjoyed Combat for many years. There was usually a great story in each episode, not just a lot of shooting. Vic Morrow's character Saunders, Cage and Kirby were my favorite characters. The series frequently depicted German soldiers jumping out from their defenses or just standing in the open without any cover was annoying because it is so unrealistic of what soldiers actually did. Also annoying were the German artillery explosion sound effects were great, but the actual explosions did not appear to be even the equivalent of a hand grenade. It would be great if someone came out with a new, revised version of Combat, with different characters of course. About the only actors still living are: Pierre Jalbert as Paul LeMay in the series known as Caje, Jack Hogan as William Kirby and Conlan Carter as Doc.
Triva question: In the show, what was Saunders first name? Ans--Chip.

My father was in "Combat" for real.

He was a World War II infantryman in France.

Once, he saw a man next to him get a bullet right through the head!

He said it happened to fast he didn't even have time to think about it!

Later on, he himself was shot in the shoulder.

He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Saunders' helmet cover was not a Marine PTO helmet cover, it was made from a parachute. This was done by some soldiers in Europe, I have photos if you need to see them. The thing was no matter how many times he lost it it would always be back in the next episode. I loved this series and still do, it has something that kept it alive for 5 seasons when a 1/4 of the nation was protesting Vietnam. Oh, who else has recognized the area they are always in as the same one that Andy took Opie to fish?

Yes, the helmut camo was wrong but - it was a good show and I'd love to see it in reruns or on a disk set.

Jumped the shark the very first episode, when Saunders was wearing the Pacific Theatre helmet which no one wore in the European Theatre.

Maybe that's why he was decapitated.

P.S.

You know how they found out that Vic Morrow had dandruff?

They found his Head and Shoulders in the bushes.

I remember my brother watching Combat when we were kids,but I was just too young to understand it then. When the series was rerun I got curious and started watching. Saunders/Morrow really fascinates me. He has a brick wall facade that lets in only what or who he needs to or who he can trust. How many combat veterans understand the difficulty and reluctance to trust new people/situations after living in such stressful circumstances for any period of time. Morrow was an anomaly. Can you think of anyone else like him from the 50s or 60s? I would love to read a biography of Vic Morrow,but there aren't any. I think that Vic made some bad decisions in not challenging John Landis's dangerous decisions during the Twilight Zone movie. So many people on that set did the same thing too. I think he was so hungry to get back in the business that he thought he could control whatever happened. I do think that he tried to save those kids though-hopeless as it was. He was one of a kind and I hope that his 2-daughters can understand him better after time puts things in perspective.

This show never jumped.

It is a tribute to those heroic soldiers who fought and died liberating Europe from the Nazis.

My father served in the army during World War II in France as an infantryman and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Combat was about all my friends and I played growing up. I just ordered season 5 (the worst of the bunch, though I don't think that color directly affected this), having the other 4 seasons already. I'm amazed how many episodes that I remember from 40 years ago. My 2 favorites are "The Little Carousel" and "The Duel." That is odd, since Lt. Hanley was my favorite. The show had great scripts, directing, camera work, and guest stars, though none of the regular cast were well-known actors. I think that this was the best dramatic TV series ever. The only way that the show could have been better is if Jimmy Stewart had guest starred.

Combat is indeed a great series. Remember it well as a kid and now bought the DVDs. Outstanding guest appearances, and incredible how they kept the stories fresh. France never took so long to conquer.

It is good that they didnt demonize the Germans. Though all those Germanized Allied vehicles are a distraction.

Vic Morrow, says it all in his eyes, "now I've seen everything". He was a great actor and the glue that kept the series going longer than WWII. We miss him.