Star Trek TNG: Season 4 Begins

We begin with the conclusion of the big cliffhanger...

• "The Best of Both Worlds" begins with Riker's desperate gambit. Unfortunately, it's useless--now that the Borg have Picard (now called Locutus), they know everything Picard knows, so they are ready. The Borg continue toward Earth, Riker is made Captain, Shelby is made First Officer, and the Federation braces for the attack. The last item doesn't go well--the fleet is taken out easily. Riker comes up with a complicated plan that retrieves Locutus (it involves losing a shuttle--they seem to have an unlimited budget for those). Data and Dr. Crusher figure out they can interface with Locutus, and send a signal back to the Collective. Data puts them to sleep just as Riker is about to ram the Borg cube. Picard is extricated from the Borg implants, and all is well--or is it?
• The big crossover is followed by "Family"--a character driven episode (I'm sure they needed an inexpensive episode to counter the SFX budget of the last two). While the ship is repaired, Picard returns to France, Worf is visited by his parents (played by Theodore Bikel and Georgia Brown), and Beverly deals with a recorded message from Jack Crusher to Wesley. Picard is considering leaving Starfleet, and the relationship between Picard and his brother (played by Jeremy Kemp) is strained until they have it out--literally. Picard breaks down about how he couldn't stop the Borg from controlling him. This episode is also significant because a) Brent Spiner does not appear; b) no scene is shot on the bridge; and c) Miles O'Brien is fully named for the first time.
• Now we know why Data wasn't in the last episode, since he gets triple billing in "Brothers". Data suddenly goes nuts, taking over the bridge and sending the ship to a strange planet. It's fascinating how Data outwits Picard and the others. It turns out he was under control of his creator, Dr. Soong, also played by Spiner--it reminded Mindy of The Princess Bride (Good luck storming the castle!). Soong has also accidentally called in Data's brother Lore. Soong has an "emotion chip" to add to Data, which of course Lore gets, and then Soong dies. There's a subplot about two kids on the ship, one of whom needs emergency medical attention. I'm surprised the Federation hasn't rethought the "kids on the ship" policy, especially after the Borg attack.
• We get a so-so episode in "Suddenly Human". A small ship is rescued with some alien boys--and a human (played by Chad Allen). He was "rescued" after a raid by an alien race, and has been assimilated into their society. Of course, he's the grandson of a Federation admiral, so they particularly want him back. The alien captain (played by Sherman Howard) considers the boy to be his son. There's a subplot about child abuse, Picard trying to act as a surrogate parent, and silly flashbacks. There's also some strange blocking at the start of the episode--Troi is hanging onto the bridge railing, and then is in front of the railing facing away from the camera a few seconds later.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Klink Meets Batman

I mentioned earlier that Werner Klemperer appeared--in character--on the Adam West Batman series. They often had cameos when the Caped Crusaders climbed up a wall. There were so many celebrities clamoring to be on the show, and there's only so many guest super villain spots to go around Here's the clip--enjoy!

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Concludes

Season 3 concludes with a cliffhanger that changes the series (and Trek as a whole) forever.

• "Tin Man" is another character study. Guest star Harry Groener plays a Betazed who can communicate with an ancient creature that lives in space. His advanced telepathy makes him a pariah to the galaxy. Groener spends most of time in the theater, but had guest roles on three Trek series, a recurring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was a regular on Dear John.
• "Hollow Pursuits" introduces Reginald Barclay to TNG. He was a needed spot of comedy on the series once Data became a more important character. Barclay is played by Dwight Schultz, who played a very different role as "Howling Mad" Murdock on The A-Team. He spends most of his time doing voice work in cartoons today. Barclay spends less time on his duties than on the holodeck with a virtual Troi. I'm curious how Geordi and Riker walk in on his holodeck fantasy--I thought Barclay would lock the door.
• A rich collector (Saul Rubineck) decides he wants Data in his collection in "The Most Toys". Data uses passive then active resistance against his foe. Rubineck had guest roles on dozens of TV shows including a recurring role on Frasier, and now plays Artie on Warehouse 13.
• Two generations unite as "Sarek" of Vulcan boards the Enterprise-D. Spock's father is leading one more diplomatic mission for the Federation. Unfortunately, a medical condition is robbing him of his emotional control, and it's infecting the crew. There's even a classic barroom fight in Ten-Forward! In the end, Picard offers to mind-meld with Sarek to give him emotional strength. Stewart gives a great performance as he processes the Vulcan's emotions. Mark Lenard reprises his role as Sarek. We'll see him again later in the series. Joanna Miles plays his second wife, Perrin (while Jane Wyatt, who played his first wife Amanda, was still alive at the time, her character would not have been by that time).
• Mix Ferengis and Lwaxana Troi, and you get wackiness. In "Menage a Troi", a Ferengi "diplomat" falls in love with Deanna's mother. Also, having a telepath on your side is a great way to make money. So, her decides to kidnap her AND Deanna AND Riker. Deanna's off duty wardrobe is as inappropriate as her uniform-looks like an 80's version of future fashion. Meanwhile, Wesley is ready to go to Starfleet Academy (yay!), but decides to stay on the ship (boo!), so Picard gives him a field promotion (huh?). At least it's the end of those ugly Wesley sweaters. Majel Barrett Roddenberry reprises the role of Lwaxana, and Ethan Phillips plays one of the Ferengi--he later plays Neelix on Voyager.
• Gates McFadden finally gets a reason to come back to the series--she wasn't getting a lot of screen time. In "Transfigurations", Dr. Crusher treats a mysterious alien with amnesia. Of course, he turns out to be a wanted criminal on his planet--poor Beverly! On the other hand, he appears to be a god-like being that can bring people back to life. Mark La Mura plays "John Doe". He's been on a lot of recent TV--Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Intent, 30 Rock, and Damages.
• We've made it to the defining moment of TNG--"The Best of Both Worlds". Considered by many to be the best Trek episode ever (certainly better than all the TNG films combined), it brings the Borg into the ongoing storyline, defines both the Picard and Riker characters, and brings us our first real cliffhanger to end the season. Riker is offered another commission as Captain, while new young officer Shelby (played by Elizabeth Dennehy) is gunning for his old job. The Borg attack, and Picard is kidnapped and turned onto a Borg. A lot of desperate weaponry changes are made, to no avail. In the end, Riker decides to take out the Borg, and....DUMM--DUMM--DUMM--TO BE CONTINUED...

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan Heroes - Part 18

And we're back, moving into Hogan Season 5...

• In a highly unlikely opening (but necessary for the plot), the boys are watching a war movie in the barracks. Klink wants to make a film about the "true" Stalag 13, and can do it with his new prisoner--the star of the film. Alan Oppenheimer is back as the pompous movie star. Schultz gets to play Klink in the "film", and Burkhalter becomes the producer. Of course, it's all a diversion for sabotage activities as "Hogan Goes Hollywood".
• There's a secret codebook Hogan wants his hands on, so they send Newkirk to break into Klink's safe. Unfortunately, it ends up in "The Well". One blown up waterworks, a fake escape, and a greased up Carter later... At one point, they mention Carter has to go down half a mile into the well, and a moment later, they have to drop him back in--how does that not kill him?
• Marya is back, and she's brought along a Count! He's on his way to the Russian Front with a attache case chained to his wrist. An attempt to get the case turns into a trap, a trip, and a suicide mission for Klink and the boys--they are "The Klink Commandos". The Count is played by Frank Marth, best known for his recurring role on "The Honeymooners".
• The Nazis have opened a gas station--at Stalag 13--and the boys need to take it out in "The Gasoline War". Dawson even gets to do the little old lady bit again. Of course, there's also the prerequisite beautiful agent, played by Marianna Hill, who also was on Star Trek and appeared in the Elvis Presley film "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" among others.
• Burkhalter's sister returns--Kathleen Freeman is back in the role--so Hogan and the boys kidnap her to swap for an underground agent. It's an "Unfair Exchange". As it normally goes when Frau Linkmeyer arrives, the episode script could just as easily be used on any 60's TV show.
• Hogan uses Klink as a courier for important papers, but it doesn't go well. The Gestapo finds him with the papers, so "The Kommandant Dies at Dawn" unless the boys can spring him. The Field Marshal for the week is played by Ned Wertimer, who must have been trying out uniforms for his role of Ralph the Doorman on The Jeffersons.
• There's a new Nazi "Bombsight" that could end the war--so Hogan's got to get the plans (why do they always pick Stalag 13?). Several failed attempts later, he decides to discredit the demo instead. For a 60's sitcom, there's quite a large number of explosion effects as the camp is bombed.

Cast info:

Harold J. Stone played three roles during the series. He had hundreds of television guest roles from the 50's to the 80's, including westerns and crime shows, but only had one regular TV role--on Bridget Loves Bernie. He passed away in 2005.

More of Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Is Getting Good

In the episodes below, the show has a turning point and matures as a series.

• "Yesterday's Enterprise" is considered to be one of the best episodes of the series. The Enterprise D runs into the Enterprise C--and the timeline changes as a result. Now the Federation is in a 20 year war, and the Enterprise C needs to go back to face certain death in order to make things right. Guinan is the only one who notices the difference. One other factor--Tasha is alive in the new timeline. 
  • The other guest stars are Tricia O'Neil as the Captain Rachel Garrett and Christopher McDonald as her helmsmen, who falls in love with Tasha.
  • Tricia began work as a model, then had a number of TV roles, including both TNG and DS9, with her last role on JAS in 2001.
  • Christopher had a number of guest and regular roles including the Dean Cain Superman series, Veronica's Closet, Family Law, and Harry's Law.
• "The Offspring" is a Data-centric episode. He's created an android daughter, Lal, Of course, a stupid Starfleet "expert" wants to take her away (Starfleet members outside of the Enterprise crew are usually idiots, insane, or evil). Lal is played with great subtlety by Hallie Todd. She had a regular role on the early Showtime series "Brothers", but is best known as the TV mother of Lizzie McGuire.
• It's another officer exchange program--this time, a Klingon (played by Tony Todd) comes on the Enterprise as first officer. He also happens to be Worf's brother, and they team up to save their father's reputation on the Klingon homeworld. The episode also ties into events in Star Trek VI. Tony has had a number of TV roles, mostly on genre shows (Andromeda, Stargate, Smallville, Xena).
• Picard gets the ol' switcheroo in "Allegiance"--he's beamed to a holding cell while a doppelganger runs his ship. He's stuck with members of three other races, played by Stephen Markle, Reiner Schone, and Jocelyn O'Brien, so he has to figure out how to escape, and who's the bad guy. Meanwhile, the faux Picard is singing on Ten-Forward and dating Crusher. We even get a rare kiss between the Captain and the Doctor.
• It's a "Captain's Holiday" for a worn out Picard. Of course, it's never that simple--there's a mysterious woman named Vash (Jennifer Hetrick, later seen as the same character on DS9, and per Memory Alpha, was at one point engaged to Patrick Stewart!), a Ferengi (Max Grodenchik, later to play Rom on DS9), time travelers, and an even more mysterious disk.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: More Season 3

After a short hiatus, we're back with more Next Gen reviews...

• If "The Vengeance Factor" wasn't about alien warring clans, it could be a police procedural. A girl can kill specific people by touch, based on their DNA. Crusher figures it out, but Riker has fallen on love with her by that point.
• There's some powerful overacting in "The Detector", mostly by James Sloyan as the titular Romulan. He played several alien roles on various Trek series, and was the voice of the Lexus commercials until 2009. He now does commercials for Mitsubishi.
• There's a bit of star power in "The Hunted", a story of military experiments and post-traumatic stress syndrome. James Cromwell plays the prime minister. He is a prolific actor going back to the 1970s, played Zephram Cochran on Tren film and television, and recently played the butler to the lead in the Academy Award winning The Artist. Jeff McCarthy plays the soldier--he had multiple Trek roles as well as those on Broadway, including a title role in Beauty and the Beast and the musical Chicago.
• Message coming in--TNG tackles terrorism in "The High Ground". Crusher is abducted by alien separatists, who turn out to need her help to cure the side effects of a transporter variant. Their leader is played by Marc Buckland--he only had a few onscreen roles before he moved behind the camera as an executive producer.
• It's "Deja Q"--except this time he has no powers. He's been kicked out of the continuum. He needs the Enterprise's help to survive, and they need him--they've got a planet to save from a rogue moon. John De Lancie is both wacky and emotive in the role of Q. We also meet another Q, played by Corbin Bernsen. He's now on Psych.
• It's Rashomon meets holodeck in "A Matter of Perspective". Riker is accused of murder, so they generate little "plays" with different views of what happened. Take the sci-fi elements out of it, and this could be any crime series. The episode also features Picard enjoying one of his hundreds of hobbies--in this case, painting. 

The show is about to ramp up big time--some of the best episodes are coming. Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 17

Repooooort! More Hogan...

• Hogan has to go to the hospital (with a fake illness) in order to meet up with a wounded agent. He's "Up in Klink's Room". Victoria Carroll plays the nurse--she had six different roles on Hogan, and then spent most of her time doing cartoon voice roles.
• Hovis gets a chance to (over)act, since he has to handle live ammo--nitroglycerine, to be exact--in "The Purchasing Plan". The only remarkable thing about this episode is the poor quality of the DVD transfer. Just the vagaries of old TV shows, I guess.
• Marya (Nita Talbot) is back--this time with Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod). He's got a Nazi superweapon, and he wants Hogan to witness its use and tell the Allies about it. Of course, Marya is only interested in getting the Russian scientist (Larry D. Mann) back, so it's up to Hogan to take out the rocket in "The Witness".
• The Nazis have a new superradar, and they want to test it at--wait, don't tell me--Stalag 13. There's also a beautiful (as always) British scientist involved, played by Karen Steele. She had guest television roles from the 50's to the end of the 60's (including Star Trek). Hogan has to take our the weapon and the girl in "The Big Dish".
• It's the "Return of Major Bonacelli"--except now he's Vito Scotti. He was the go to foreign accent guy for over 40 years, including Peter Gunn, Bonanza, Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Addams Family, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, CHiPs, and Mad About You.   Here he's a walking Italian stereotype. There's also a strange music loop in the opening credits--not sure if it was an error or actually intended.
• What do you get a colonel/superspy who has everything? An ammo dump!  Unfortunately, it's a trap, so it's no "Happy Birthday, Dear Hogan". Barbara Babcock is the guest star/beautiful underground agent. She was a mainstay on TV from the 60's to the 90's, with her last role (so far) on Judging Amy in 2004. She also had no less than 5 guest spots on Star Trek, and won an Emmy for her work on Hill Street Blues.

Cast info:

David Morick played minor guard and Gestapo roles on 17 episodes of the series. He had many guest roles from the 60's to the 80's, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, THe Doris Day Show,  The Six Million Dollar Man, and The A-Team, with his last in Amen (1988). He passed away in 1997.

That finishes the season--onto Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon. 

Hogan's Heroes - Part 16

Ho--GANN!! It's more of Season Four:

• LeBeau "escapes" to allow Hogan to go "capture" him, so that they can sabotage a Nazi war plant in "Man in a Box". The result is Schultz tailing Hogan, and Klink tailing Schultz--all in trench costs. It's like an episode of Get Smart.
• Hogan has a plan to kidnap Burkhalter and then trade him for an underground agent prisoner. Unfortunately, it all goes wrong, and Klink becomes the prisoner--he's "The Missing Klink"! There's several great scenes with Askin and Caine--they are rarely together without Klemperer.
• Klink's getting an award for his great work as a Kommandant, and he's getting it from a British defector.  Unfortunately, Hogan has orders to take out the defector. Klink wants to know "Who Stole My Copy of Mein Kampf?" The defector is played by Ruta Lee. She's worked in TV since an episode of "The Adventures of Superman" in 1953, and was just on Days of Our Lives.
• A beautiful general's daughter (what else?) is also an underground agent, and wants Hogan to get "Operation Hannibal" plans to the Allies. Jack Riley (Mr. Carlin on the Bob Newhart Show) has a minor role. The only memorable thing about the episode is the poor art direction. There's a shot of an estate that is a photograph with the "Ken Burns" effect, and on multiple shots behind Crane at the Stalag, the background is clearly a painting.
• Klink and Schultz try to set up Hogan with a Baroness in order to get his secrets.  Of course, he's not fooled--he uses her to fool Hochstedder with fake invasion plans. He's "My Favorite Prisoner". John Orchard plays a British agent--he played three roles on the series, and later was "Ugly John" in the early episodes of M*A*S*H.
• We're back in generic sitcom territory--Burkhalter's sister is back, and Hogan has to help Klink get out of marrying her. This time, however, she is played by Alice Ghostley. She was a staple of 60's TV, appearing on Get Smart, It Takes a Thief, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and most importantly, Bewitched. She played Esmerelda, they shy witch / babysitter.         

Cast info:

John Stephenson played eight different roles on the series. He guest starred on many TV shows from the 1950's (My Little Margie), 60's (Beverly Hillbillies), 70's (Lou Grant), and 80's (The Incredible Hulk). However, when you hear his voice, you'll be reminded of Saturday morning. He was and is a staple for the Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Mr. Slate, Doggie Daddy, most of the bad guys from Scooby Doo, characters from Jonny Quest, and many other authority figures--here's a list. His latest role from IMDB is a Scooby-Doo video from 2010. He has never given interviews and has rarely been seen in public.

John Hoyt played seven Hogan roles. He was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre, and at one point was a nightclub entertainer doing impersonations. Was on both the original Star Trek and original Battlestar Galactica. He had many TV guest roles going back to it's earliest days--Racket Squad, The Danny Thomas Show, The Life of Riley, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Untouchables, The Twilight Zone, Petticoat Junction--all the way to Gimme a Break in 1982. He also managed to get roles on both the original Star Trek (he was the doctor in the pilot) and the original Battlestar Galactica. He passed away in 1991.

Hogan's Heroes - Part 15

Achtung! More Season Four...

• Hogan's working with a beautiful underground agent (is there any other kind?), but she might be a double agent. Marj Dusay plays the agent--while she had many guest roles (including the worst episode of Star Trek and two other Hogan roles), she is best known for her 16 years of work on the soap Guiding Light.
• Another guest star in the episode is Ned Glass, who plays the grocery store owner.  His career goes back to the Three Stooges, as well as a recurring role on Gunsmoke, and continued through to 1981.
• A very naive (I'm going to call him dumb) foreign correspondent decides it's a great idea to publicize what Hogan and the boys are doing under Stalag 13. He doesn't name the camp, but it's more than enough to get Hochstedder involved. He sends in a ringer--there's a new guard that's also a spy. You may recognize both guests:
  • The correspondent is played by Richard Erdman, who's had TV guest roles since the 1950's, and currently plays Leonard on the cult show Community (Go Human Beings!)
  • The guard/spy is played by James B. Sikking, who played three different roles on the series, but is best known for his work on Hill Street Blues
• There's agents, double agents, poison rings, snipers, important briefcases--it's another Mission: Impossible episode. Actually, it's a Bad Day in Berlin". This episode is crawling with famous faces as guest stars--stay tuned.
• The Blue Baron (a famous WWI pilot) is in town, and Hogan wants to know where his secret airbase is. How? Get Klink to throw a party in "Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?".  This otherwise minor episode has three interesting points: 
  • Cpl. Langenscheidt covers for Schultz--John Banner missed this episode
  • One of the dancing girls is played by Cynthia Lynn aka Helga from season one
  • The budget must have run out--the "airfield" looks like it has cardboard planes

Cast info:

Arlene Martel (Tiger) played an underground agent in 7 episodes of the show (she also had the character names of Gretchen and Olga). She was born in the slums of the Bronx, but her mother's boss covered the costs for Arlene to attend a Connecticut boarding school. She attended New York's High School of the Performing Arts, and started her career in the Broadway production of "Uncle Willie" at age 16. She went to Hollywood and began television roles including The Twilight Zone, Route 66, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission Impossible, The Rockford Files, and Knot's Landing. Her talent with dialects came in very handy. Of course, there's also a Star Trek connection--she played T'Pring! Her latest role was on Brothers and Sisters in 2010.

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon. 

Hogan's Heroes - Part 14

We're moving onto Season 4...

• Schultz accidentally sees something he shouldn't have seen, and now he's off to the Eastern Front. It's a "Clearance Sale at the Black Market". Murray Slaughter--sorry, Gavin MacLeod returns as the heavy that the boys have to blackmail.
• To get an electronics expert out of Germany, Hogan turns a rabbit trap into a high tech secret in "Klink vs. the Gonculator". Noam Pitlik guest stars--he had dozens of TV roles including one of Bob Hartley's regular patients on "The Bob Newhart Show", and then became a prolific TV director. There's some great interplay between Klemperer, Banner, and Askin in this episode.
• Newkirk subs for Hogan at an Underground meeting--unfortunately, it's a trap---"How to Catch a Papa Bear". The guest star Fay Spain will also be seen in a Season 5 Hogan episode. She had TV roles from the 1950's to the 1970's.
• Crittendon's back! Now he's taking over Underground efforts in "Hogan's Trucking Service...We Deliver the Factory to You". To be honest, they've turned Crittendon into an unbelievable buffoon by this point in the series. For a moment, I thought I was watching F Troop.
• The Gestapo's given up on violence--they've decided to use feminine wiles on our boys in "To the Gestapo with Love". One of the three "interrogators" was played by Sabrina Scharf, also seen in a Star Trek episode (I am Kirok!). There's a cut in the opening credits of this episode--perhaps it was running long?
• We're back in generic sitcom territory--the boys adopt a dog, Hogan has to hide a roll of film in the dog's bone, and the dog buries it.  Now they have to follow the dog around the camp to get it back in "Man's Best Friend is Not His Dog". Mr. Whipple (Dick Wilson) is back a as a prison camp inspector.

Cast info:

Jon Cedar (Corp. Langenscheidt) was the bumbling guard who acted as Schultz' backup--he appeared 17 times on the series. Cedar served in WWII in Italy, then toured in off-Broadway and traveling productions including South Pacific and Irma La Douce. His television roles outside of Hogan included Matlock, Barnaby Jones  Moonlighting, The Rockford Files, and Murder, She Wrote. Film roles included Foxy Brown, Capricorn One, and The Condorde...Airport '79. He also produced the horror film The Manitou in 1978. He passed away in 2011.

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon. 

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Continues

We work further into Season 3 of Next Gen...

• The producers must have decided to amp up Troi's sex appeal--she's now wearing a light blue gown that's rather revealing.
• In "The Survivors", an elderly couple are the only remaining citizens of a planet that was attacked by mysterious aliens. Marina Sirtis performs some truly Shatnerian overacting during a telepathic attack.
• To hell with the Prime Directive! The Enterprise comes to the aid of scientists studying Bronze-Age humanoids, and end up creating a religion around Picard in "Who Watches the Watchers". Ray Wise is the prophet of the group--he's hardly recognizable here. You normally see him as a mob guy in an expensive suit.
• It's another touchy-feely episode when an officer is killed in an away mission, leaving behind a 12 year old orphan. There's a lot of people sitting around talking and lots of drama in "The Bonding".
• LaForge needs to save the ship from an ancient snare, so he does the obvious thing--he whips up a holographic scientist to be his girlfriend in "Booby Trap". She's one of the main designers of the ship's engine. Susan Gibney plays the girlfriend--this was one of her early TV roles. She later had a role on ST: DS9, tried out for the roles of Janeway and Seven of Nine from ST: Voyager, then went on to CSI, Crossing Jordan, and Lost.
• LeVar Burton gets another chance to shine in "The Enemy". Geordi is left   injured on a planet during an away mission, so he works together with a Romulan to save themselves. Also, Picard gives a big military speech--which he's good at.
• Troi falls in love with a man negotiating for a "stable" wormhole in "The Price". It turns out he's part -Betazoid, and uses that to manipulate his competitors--and Troi. Matt McCoy plays the negotiator--he has roles going back to the early 80's, was on Seinfeld, The West Wing, and Carnivale, and was just on the new series Touch.

Season 3 continues next time. Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 13

Let's wrap up season three of Hogan's Heroes...

• LeBeau complains a bit too much about an elderly underground agent--who is actually a beautiful woman (Celeste Yarnall) in the appropriately titled "LeBeau and the Little Old Lady". Yarnall had a lot of TV roles from the 1960's to the 2000's, including a guest spot on the original Star Trek ("The Apple").
• Murray Slaughter / Captain Stuebing (Gavin MacLeod) is back as a general doing some work on the side--stealing French artwork--in "The Collector General". The boys decide to put him out of business.
• Hogan wants to misdirect the Nazis to the wrong target, so he convinces Schultz he has ESP (via a delayed news broadcast and some targeted raids) in "The Ultimate Weapon". We even get a catchphrase--"Flat as a pancake!". A female Gestapo officer comes in to test Schultz, played by Marian Moses.  Her film debut in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966) was also the debut for Harrison Ford.
• In the tradition of all great sitcoms, a chimpanzee visits Stalag 13--it's "Monkey Business". A local zoo has been destroyed by Allied raids, so Hogan convinces Klink that LeBeau is a big game hunter (how many professions did LeBeau have?). At one point, we hear what is clearly a sound effects record of wild animals.
• We learn that Carter is descended from the Sioux tribe--so let the Native American stereotypes begin in "Drums Along the Dusseldorf"! They use a flaming arrow to take out a truck with jet fuel. We also get an over the top old lady bit from Richard Dawson. 

Cast info:

Nita Talbot (Marya) was born in New York City, and had her first role as a model in the film It's a Great Feeling in 1949. She was best known for playing glamorous women, often with foreign accents. She moved primarily to television in the 1950's, and had roles on Studio One, Maverick, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and CHiPs, among others. She also did a lot of work on the soaps--Search for Tomorrow, The Secret Storm, and General Hospital. She won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress for her Hogan role in 1968. Her last role was voice work on the Spider-Man animated series in 1997, although she is still alive.      

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Hogan's Heroes - There's Always Room for...

Back in the 50's and 60's, the television industry had little concern mixing their show content with commercial content.  This has recently come back into vogue--it's now called "product placement".

As I noted previously, I'm watching Hogan on the DVD boxed set of the series my wife gave me as a Christmas present. It has a number of extras, including the following commercial with the cast IN CHARACTER welcoming Carol Channing into the barracks. It's time for dessert, and there's always room for Jell-O (there's even a laughtrack). This is very strange to watch, but you can find examples of this type of thing from the Andy Griffith Show, the Dick Van Dyke Show, and the Flintstones (Fred and Barney enjoy a Winston cigarette). Someone was nice enough to put the Hogan commercial on YouTube...

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Hogan's Heroes - Part 12

Let's get a beer at the Hofbrau...

• Hogan's finally put in his time--Allied Command is ordering him home. Guess who his replacement is? Col. Critterdon! We get a rare chance for Klink to needle Hogan about it. Crittendon manages to botch Hogan's escape in multiple attempts in "Hogan, Go Home".
• Newkirk sneaks a local girl suspected of being a spy into camp. Unfortunately, she's a Gestapo spy. They have to blow up the tunnel to save themselves--along with Carter's help as a fake Nazi general--"Sticky Wicket Newkirk".
• In my favorite episode so far, Hogan has to free underground leaders held by the Gestapo at Stalag 13. Otherwise, they'll be prisoners until the war is over. The obvious solution? End the war--or at least convince Klink and Hochstedder it's over. A fake radio broadcast and newspaper, along with an intercepted call to Berlin, does the trick in "War Takes a Holiday". We also learn that Schultz made toys before the war--as the owner of Germany's equivalent to Mattel. Maybe Klink will work for Schultz after the war...
• It's a "Duel of Honor" when Klink has to escape to Argentina to avoid a crazed general and jealous husband (played by Carter). It's all to get big secrets back to England--just have Klink take them. There's a bit of physical comedy with Schultz playing with Klink's riding crop--too bad those went out of style.
• Hogan needs to get some info to the underground, but the Gestapo have moved into town. Also, "Axis Annie" has come to Stalag 13.  What to do? Kill two birds with one stone--use Nazi propaganda to communicate with the underground. Louise Troy played multiple parts on the series--she also happened to be Werner Klemperer's wife at the time. She was nominated three times for a Tony, but never won.
• Hochstedder is becoming a near-regular on the series. In "What Time Does the Balloon Go Up?", he's back to track down a traitor who has important info to get to the underground, but the camp is sealed. Hogan holds a BIG basket-weaving contest--just big enough to fly out the traitor on a hot air balloon. Also, where did Klink get a Lucite map of Europe? I don't think they had these in WWII.

Cast info:

Bernard Fox (Col. Crittendon) was descended from a long line of actors. He was in several British films before coming to the US to work for Danny Thomas, and has the distinction of being in the two major films about the Titanic--A Night to Remember (1958) and Titanic (1997). In addition to his work as the bumbling Crittendon, he's well known as Doctor Bombay on Bewitched (calling Dr. Bombay, Come in Right Away...). He played a number of stuffy British characters on many TV shows from the 60's to 2001, with his last role (for now) on Dharma & Greg. One of the hardest-working men in 60's and 70's TV, you can hear all about him on an episode of our Vast Wasteland podcast.

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Hogan's Heroes - Part 11

HO--GANNN!!!

• The best and brightest generals are meeting at Stalag 13 (when will the Nazis learn?) The boys decide to "cater" the event with some bomb centerpieces in "An Evening of Generals".
• It's winter at Stalag 13, so the boys are building a snowman--with a tunnel underneath it. At one point, they have to act like the freezing barracks is like a sauna. We even get Hochstedder and Klink covered in snow. Well, "Everybody Loves a Snowman".
• Marya (Nita Talbot) is back, this time with a Nazi general setting a trap for Hogan. A rocket fuel depot (?) is being built right outside of--you guessed it--Stalag 13. Which side is she on? The general (Theodore Marcuse) ends up outsmarting himself, with deadly consequences. Marcuse often played the villain--he was even in "The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz"--despite being awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Presidential Unit Citation in real life.
• Carter a traitor? It's just another scam from the Mighty Hogan Art Players. They pose as a secret Gestapo team to kidnap him back from the Nazis. Since they're wearing masks, Kinch even gets a chance to play a bad guy. There's a beautiful double agent, played by German-born Antoinette Bower, who had dozens of TV guest roles from the 60's to the 90's.
• More ties to real-world events--Hogan turns out to have been in the 504th Bomb Group, which was the military unit that dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of course, Hogan knows NO-Thing about it, since it happened after his current assignment. A Nazi general knows all about their current operation, so they're about to bug out--but Hogan has to know about this "Manhattan Project". There's a rather grisly scene (at least for 60's TV) where the general's aide assassinates him (offscreen, of course). Alan Oppenheimer is the general--he's a familiar face, but better known for his voice work. He's the voice of Skeletor on He-Man, for instance.
• in "Is there a Doctor in the House?", the boys have to get a beautiful underground agent (is there any other kind?) out of Germany. The plan is to put her in Klink's trunk when he goes to town--but unfortunately he's sick. This is another episode that could have come from any sitcom. The girl was Brenda Benet--she had a career in TV guest roles and soap operas. She was married twice--the second to BIll Bixby. They had a child, and when he died suddenly, she went into a depression and committed suicide in 1982.

Cast info:

Sigrid Valdis (Fraulein Hilda) played Klink's second secretary, and did so from season two until the end of the show's run. She was born in California, and after high school spent time modeling in Europe and New York. She married a businessman in the fashion industry, and after the birth of their first child, she decided to become an actress. She was in several films including Marriage on the Rocks and Our Man Flint, and the TV show The Wild Wild West. She had a minor part on a first season Hogan episode, and was offered the HIlda role after Cynthia Lynn left the series. He first husband died in 1967, and she began a relationship with Bob Crane. They were married in 1970, on the set of the show. She left show business after the birth of their son. They had a short separation in 1977, but were together when Crane was murdered in 1978. Outside of work on her son's comedy radio show in the late 90's, she rarely made public appearances after that, and passed away in 2007.

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Hogan's Heroes - Part 10

More of Hogan Season 3...

• The boys have to get to a Nazi scientist, so Hogan scams Klink into letting them go into town. There's a great sequence where they put Schultz to sleep with a bit lifted from cartoons. The scientist is in love with the hotel lounge singer, so Hogan plays matchmaker in "How to Win Friends and Influence Nazis".
• Just a general note--while everyone else on the show seems to have one set of clothing--even the Germans--Hogan has a whole wardrobe. Regular and dress uniforms, suits, a trench coat, pajamas, a robe--seems strange a POW would have such a large closet.
• The Nazis are making counterfeit money at Stalag 13 (they always seem to do their dirty work there, don't they?). So they trick one of the technicians with a mocked up recording to take out the operation in "Hot Money".   I love how they use a fake sewing kit as a wire tape recorder. 
• A new prisoner (Paul Picerni) sells out Hogan to Klink (I'm shocked it too so long for it to happen). Hogan uses it as a diversion to take out a secret weapon. Picerni served as a bombadier in WWII, and later was in the case of The Untouchables.
• In yet another coincidence, a French entertainer went to high school with one of Hogan's boys--Kinchloe. He and Hogan are off to Paris, along with Klink who was (conveniently) chosen as "German Soldier of the Month". They have to get secret plans from a general who's a "friend" of the entertainer, played by Barbara McNair. She was a singer and entertainer, with many spots on variety shows including her own series from 1969-72--one of the first black women to host her own series. She passed away in 2007.
• A Russian flyer needs help to get back to Allied territory--unfortunately, he wants to get to Mother Russia instead of England. Cold War-era jokes abound. The Russkie is played by Bob Hastings--another face you would recognize if you ever watched TV. His roles go back to 1949, and currently does voice work for animation and video games.

Cast info:

Cynthia Lynn (Fraulein Helga) played Klink's secretary during the first season of the show. She was born Zinta Zimilis in Latvia. She and her family escaped the Nazis near the end of the war.  She made it to the US in 1950, and was presented as the Hollywood Deb Star Ball in 1962, an event that focused on upcoming female talent. She had minor roles in 1960's and 70's television--never getting a bigger part than the one on Hogan's Heroes. After the first season, she left the show, but did return for two background roles in later seasons.

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: From Season 2 to Season 3

It's Pulaski's swansong and Crusher's return in this short entry.  Mindy and I are watching TNG together, and she's out of town this week.

• In "Peak Performance", Riker's put in charge of a derelict ship as part of a war game, and it takes Klingon guile and a cheat from Wesley to win. Meanwhile, Data plays Space Stratego and loses, shattering his confidence. It's all Pulaski's fault, and this is the last nail in her character's coffin.
• I mentioned earlier that the final episode of Season 2 was a clip show, due to show costs and the writers' strike that delayed the season.  We've now reached it in "Shades of Gray". Riker is critically injured during an away mission, and is forced to relive bad memories to save him. We see only three sets--the transporter room, a cramped planet set, and sickbay--except in the flashbacks. Almost no additional crew are seen--it's the ultimate "bottle show". At least Pulaski gets a big role in her final episode.
• Season 3 begins with Scrubs' Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) as a stellar scientist. Crusher's return is all about her relationship with Wesley--a year later, he's a lot more independent, and she's not a fan of it. Meanwhile, the ship's computer has gone nuts, and it's all because Wesley screwed up some nanites. The production value of the show--at least the lighting--seems a lot better in this season. It's all in "Evolution".

Season 3 continues next time. Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 9

We're moving onto Season 3 of Hogan's Heroes...

• Allied Command is sending a special expert to destroy a convoy--it's "The Crittendon Plan". Unfortunately, it's the wrong plan--he wants to plant geraniums. Crittendon is just so helpless...
• The Nazis are training on RAF planes, and the boys need to stop them in "Some of Their Planes Are Missing". It's party time for Hogan, who needs an alibi.
• We're finally tying into actual WWII events--in this case, D-Day. The Nazis are making their final plans--at Stalag 13? There's also a deep cover female agent who may no longer be on the good guys' side. Plus, everyone's convinced that Klink will be the new German Chief of Staff. It's "D-Day at Stalag 13".
• Schultz the great lover? Unfortunately for him, he's in love with a Gestapo spy. Unfortunately for her, he knows NO (wait for it) THING. The spy is played by Joyce Jameson--you might recognize her as one of the Fun Girls on the Andy Griffith Show. 
• We're back in Mission: Impossible territory--a British flyer is given a mission to kill Churchhill, or at least his double is. Again, we get the classic double shot with the obvious line in the middle. Lloyd Bochner plays the dual role    --you would recognize his face if you've ever watched TV.  He had hundreds of guest roles from the 1950's to the 2000's.
• Burkhalter's sister is back--this time as Klink's replacement secretary. Hogan scams Klink that she's a Gestapo spy, so he has to woo her. The boys also take out the real spy.

Cast info:

Kenneth Washington (Sgt. Baker) was Ivan Dixon's replacement in the last season of Hogan's Heroes. There is scant biographical information on Washington--born 1946, had several guest roles in 1960-70's crime shows (Dragnet, Adam-12, Police Story) and sitcoms (My Three Sons, I Dream of Jeannie, Petticoat Junction), as well as a cameo on Star Trek. His last role was on A Different World in 1989, although he is apparently still alive. 

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Hogan's Heroes - Part 8

Let's wrap up Hogan Season 2...

• Newkirk gets drafted into the German army--and Stalag 13--while working in a war plant the boys are trying to sabotage in "The Swing Shift". Plus, he gets to work for Mayberry's favorite drunk, Otis (Hal Smith). Here, he plays the plant owner.
• Amother dual role--this time for John Banner--as he plays both Schultz and a Nazi defector in "Heil Klink". Hogan convinces Klink that Hitler is going to hide out at Stalag 13. We even get the classic dual shot with one Schultz on one side of the screen and another Schultz on the other, with an obvious line separating them. 
• We meet Schultz' wife Greta (Barbara Morrison) in "Killer Klink". She had roles ranging "From Here to Eternity" all the way to "Little House on the Prairie". Hogan wants to get Schultz a three day pass so he can ferry radio parts, but he overdoes it with a fake medical review--now the Nazis think he's dying.
• A French fighter pilot (Felice Orlandi) and his fiance (Susan Albert) are wed in holy matrimony by--"Reverend Kommandant Klink"?  LeBeau brings the girl back from Paris, and they use a camp show to mask the real wedding,   Felice's face is well known from his many guest TV roles stretching from the 1950's to the 1980's.
• Yet again, the boys need to save Klink from the Russian Front. This time, they blackmail Burkhalter with some incriminating pictures in "The Tower". Leon Askin gets a big part in the episode.
• In "Colonel Klink's Secret Weapon", everybody--Klink, Schultz, and Hogan--are on the same side against a new "by the book" sergeant. So, they have to discredit him.
• Hogan poses as Klink to catch a (made up) assasin in "The Reluctant Target". Of course, Klink dresses as Hogan. It's great to watch Hogan make Klink squirm. As a bonus, Hogan (as Klink) gets to host a top secret meeting that proves not to be so secret.

Cast info:

Howard Caine (Maj. Hochstetter) was born in Tennessee, and managed to get a role in one of the Hal Roach "Our Gang" comedies (they filmed a skit there). His family moved to New York City when he was 13, and he began studying acting. Not only was he able to get rid of his Southern accent--he learned 32 other dialects. Upon graduation, he moved to Broadway, appearing in Wonderful Town, Inherit the Wind  and Damn Yankees. Moving onto Hollywood, he had roles in several films including Judgment at Nuremberg and Watermelon Man. He acted in over 750 television programs, including Adventures in Paradise, The Untouchables, My Three Sons, The Twilight Zone, Get Smart, and War and Remembrance. He also did voice work in 80's cartoons including GoBots and Jonny Quest. In addition to all this, he was a master banjo player, and took dozens of trophies for both banjo and singing. He passed away in 1993.

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: More of Season 2

We're getting near the end of Season 2 of TNG.

• When I was watching "The Icarus Factor", I kept thinking a soap opera writer was involved--people talking at each other. It seemed more like a Love Boat episode.
• It's one step forward for Wesley (who commands a research mission) and two steps back for Data (who breaks the Prime Directive multiple times) in "Pen Pals",
• "Q Who" introduces the main villain of the 24th century--The Borg. Q brings them to a distant sector to teach Picard a lesson, and he definitely gets one. The Borg changes the whole chemistry of the show over time--less philosophy, more action.
• In "Samaritan Snare", Riker ignores warnings from Worf (understandable) and Troi (why?), leaving LaForge in danger on an enemy ship. Meanwhile, it's a long car (shuttlecraft) ride for Picard and Wesley.
• The Enterprise must evacuate the cast of Brigadoon--sorry, a group of colonists--in "Up the Long Ladder".  There's a second story about cloning, which is quite jarring against the Darby O'Gill story.
• Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) is on the prowl, so Picard hides out in the Holodeck in "Manhunt". This is a particularly wacky episode. Of course, Majel Barrett needs no introduction to Trek fans--Number One, Nurse Chapel, and the voice of the ship's computer throughout all the series.  Speaking of the latter, we get one scene with Lwaxana talking to herself (the ship's computer). We also get a cameo from Mick Fleetwood as a fish-like alien--a closet Trekkie, I guess.
• K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) makes her first appearance in "The Emissary".. Plakson has the distinction of playing four different aliens in the Trek universe--a Vulcan doctor and this role of a Klingon on TNG, a female Q on ST: Voyager, and an Andorian on ST: Enterprise.

That's plenty for now--we'll finish out Season 2 and move onto Season 3 next time.  Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!