The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

[The Old Mixer]

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Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

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Hogan's Heroes
"The Hostage"
Originally aired December 16, 1967

Theo Marcuse plays a German general out to get Stalag 13's resident saboteur.

The Germans build a rocket fuel depot within sight of the stalag, but it's a trap on the part of General von Heiner (Marcuse), who's accompanied by Marya (Nita Talbot in the first reprisal of her recurring role). Hogan suspects foul play and von Heiner suspects Hogan's involvement with the underground. When the general discovers a bug in Klink's office (but not in the usual place in Hitler's mic), he has the wire traced, but the prisoners are ahead of him and disconnect it, and Hogan tries to pass it off as the work of the Gestapo. With LeBeau as backup, Hogan later makes a rendezvous with Marya at her hotel room in Hammelburg while the general is out, and questions her about potentially having sold the prisoners out while refusing to divulge his own plans.

The prisoners use a tunnel to set a large, timed bomb at the depot (because transporting heavy objects isn't a problem again), but when they're back at the camp, the general has the barracks searched by experts (who never find any of the copious stuff there is to find there), and Hogan is taken to the depot to serve as a hostage. Suspecting the use of a timed explosive, Marya tries to bargain with Hogan for intel about when it will go off in exchange for letting Hogan go. Knowing that the prisoners can't get to the bomb to stop it, Hogan gives von Heiner false intel about partisans planning to attack the place. This ensures that the general is there when the place goes up, while Hogan and Marya are back at the stalag.

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Hogan's Heroes
"Carter Turns Traitor"
Originally aired December 23, 1967

The location of a chemical plant is the prize when Hogan gets Carter to become a traitor.

With the situation already in progress, the other prisoners openly threaten Carter with various colorful weapons in view of Schultz under the premise that they suspect him of wanting to defect. When Carter is questioned in Klink's office, he and Hogan drop that Carter is supposedly a chemical weapons expert, and Hogan maneuvers Klink into having experts from the chemical plant come to verify Carter's usefulness to the Reich. In Klink's quarters, Carter gives General Wittkamper (John Myhers) and alluring researcher Fraulein Richter (Antoinette Bower) a story about how he was captured while secretly on a sabotage mission involving a chemical agent. Left alone with Carter, Richter tries to seduce him, but the others intervene via the stove when she tries to poison him and leaves the room.

The general subsequently decides to take Carter to the plant, and Hogan and the others (including Kinch) disguise themselves as hooded Gestapo soldiers to hijack the general's car, announcing that they're there to deal with an unspecified traitor in the party. Schultz confesses to often seeing nothing; Wittkamper confesses to embezzlement; and Richter confesses to being the traitor that the Gestapo is after, who's been sabotaging the general's progress from within. Realizing that she tried to poison Carter because she thought he was for real, Hogan reveals his identity after Schultz has been taken aside and offers to get the general and Richter out of the country so the prisoners can get on with blowing the plant. In the coda, Hogan convinces Klink to sweep the whole matter under the rug to avoid crossing the Gestapo.

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Now that definitely ruins Klink's reputation.

Yeah, they didn't seem to address that in this case.

I wonder why. It seems like the regular guys don't get enough to do.

Just a recurring actor in the common role of an underground contact.

Another successful escape from Stalag 13, since they never see him again as himself.

To clarify, the Germans never knew that the Russian was hiding at the stalag, and never held him prisoner. They were searching for him because of the downed plane.

It doesn't seem any worse than most of their missions.

Yeah, one kind of got the subtext that they were actually objecting to it being a straight-up assassination mission, especially with the planned assassination having been sidestepped in the end.

I'd like to know the story behind that. Did it have the laugh track on the original broadcast? Maybe an unfinished copy was accidentally sent out. Didn't they send out copies to individual markets in those days, or even individual stations?

I seem to recall TOS-centric discussion of home video and syndication versions sometimes having different audio tracks.

Maybe it was his day job to finance his weather hobby. I assumed he worked for the government.

It seemed like he was using it as a weather observatory.

 

[RJDiogenes]

The Germans build a rocket fuel depot within sight of the stalag

That seems very suspicious.

Hogan suspects foul play

And Hogan agrees!

and von Heiner suspects Hogan's involvement with the underground.

You'd think they would have at least relocated these guys by now, if not just killed them and be done with it.

The prisoners use a tunnel to set a large, timed bomb at the depot (because transporting heavy objects isn't a problem again)

Maybe it's a hydrogen bomb. Haha. Never mind.

the general has the barracks searched by experts (who never find any of the copious stuff there is to find there)

He should have searched himself. He's the one who found the bug.

Hogan is taken to the depot to serve as a hostage.

Do you expect him to talk, von Heiner?

Hogan gives von Heiner false intel about partisans planning to attack the place. This ensures that the general is there when the place goes up, while Hogan and Marya are back at the stalag.

Lucky for them that von Heiner suddenly became uncharacteristically credulous.

"Carter Turns Traitor"

Gotta have at least one episode where someone seemingly turns traitor.

Hogan and the others (including Kinch) disguise themselves as hooded Gestapo soldiers

Poor Kinch will need a stiff drink and deep-tissue massage after that.

Schultz confesses to often seeing nothing

Realizing that she tried to poison Carter because she thought he was for real

Yeah, saw that coming. Why else?

To clarify, the Germans never knew that the Russian was hiding at the stalag, and never held him prisoner. They were searching for him because of the downed plane.

Oops, I misread it somehow. I thought he had been brought before Klink at some point.

Yeah, one kind of got the subtext that they were actually objecting to it being a straight-up assassination mission, especially with the planned assassination having been sidestepped in the end.

That crossed my mind at first. It sounded like they were basically going to go in and execute them. Then it turned into setting bombs, which they've done many times, killing many people. Weird how that makes a difference.

I seem to recall TOS-centric discussion of home video and syndication versions sometimes having different audio tracks.

That does sound familiar.

It seemed like he was using it as a weather observatory.

That would make sense, especially in that time period.

 

[The Old Mixer]

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Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

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Hogan's Heroes
"Two Nazis for the Price of One"
Originally aired December 30, 1967

A Gestapo officer who knows all about the Stalag 13 operation blackmails Hogan to find out about the Manhattan Project.

Hochstetter questions Hogan in Klink's office on behalf of his superior, Gruppenfuhrer Freitag, asking about the Manhattan Project by name, on the basis that Hogan's 504th bomb group was assigned to training with the project (see comments below). Hogan doesn't know what the project is (though he and the others seemed to be casually familiar with atomic research in a previous episode), but fearing a security leak at Allied HQ based on what Hochstetter knows, sends a backdoor communique to a bomber commander (which involves attaching an extension to the usual flagpole antenna, which Hogan bends into the shape of a swastika to avoid attracting attention) in order to initiate some false intel about an assassination plan against Hitler that roots out the spy. London follows up that the spy was working for Freitag and that Freitag knows about Hogan's operation, so the prisoners are ordered to evacuate to London. They start getting their belongings together, planning what they'll do when they get home, and to blow the tunnel and their equipment. Then Hogan learns that Freitag will be in town and has invited him and Klink to dinner, and decides that he has to stay behind to find out how much Freitag knows about the top secret project; and the others volunteer to stay with him.

When Klink and Hogan arrive for dinner, Freitag (Alan Oppenheimer--That's a little on the nose, isn't it?) ignores the former, interested only in the latter. While Klink's not within earshot, Freitag hints about how he won't share what he knows about Hogan's operation with his superiors if Hogan cooperates, and speculates that the project involves some sort of bomb. After Hogan pretends to respond to the idea of selling out when questioned by an alluring assistant named Ilse Praeger (Barbro Hedstrom), Freitag offers him passage to Switzerland and a bank account there. Hogan acts interested, but wants to bring his men with him--supposedly so they won't talk and get him in hot water after the war--so Freitag agrees to follow up with Hogan later at the stalag.

Hogan packs a gun to Klink's office, planning to liquidate Freitag. But when he gets there, he hears shots from the outer office, and goes in to find that Freitag's been shot through the window. Freitag's subordinate, Mannheim (Jon Cedar), rushes in and is promptly tricked into giving away that he was the shooter, motivated by resentment. A firefight ensues in the reception area, with Schultz staying behind cover and Klink bravely attempting to talk Mannheim down until he learns that the Gestapo officer's gun isn't empty as Hogan told him. Then Hochstetter bursts in with backup to take Freitag into custody.

I have to seriously question the authenticity of Hogan's involvement with the project. I doubt that bomber groups had been brought in on it earlier than Hogan had been captured, which would have been very early in the project if we take at face value that he's been at Stalag 13 for two years as has repeatedly been stated. In reality, the 509th was involved in training for dropping an atom bomb no earlier than December 1944. At this point, I have to think that Hogan's Heroes had the same approach to the timeline of WWII as The Goldbergs had to the 1980s--it all happened at the same time.

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Hogan's Heroes
"Is There a Doctor in the House?"
Originally aired January 6, 1968

Klink's illness jeopardizes plans to smuggle out a French girl---so the POWs pile on remedies and tender loving care.

French underground agent and former fashion model Janine Robinet (Brenda Benet) is brought to stay in the tunnel until she can make a rendezvous with a sub a couple of days later. Hogan's plan involves smuggling her out of the camp in the trunk of Klink's staff car when the kommandant attends a staff meeting. Then Hogan learns that Klink's sick and, after trying to get info from Schultz by telling him the entire plan as if it's a joke, goes to Klink's quarters to assess the situation for himself. During Hogan's visit, Burkhalter arrives to announce that he's bringing in a doctor and recommending that Klink be sent to a rest camp, which would completely blow the plan, so Hogan orders an airdrop of penicillin to try to get Klink better before the doctor arrives.

Hogan gets in to see Klink under the pretense of having LeBeau administer a home remedy involving garlic and bearnaise sauce plaster; while the "cockroach" (as Klink addresses LeBeau) is tending to the kommandant, Kinch slips Klink a shot of penicillin. Klink is back to work by the time Doctor Kronk (Anthony Eustrel) visits. But then Hochstetter arrives, announcing a lockdown of the camp while he brings in tracking dogs to find a French underground agent believed to be in the area. Hogan stages an accident to taint the article of Janine's clothing that the major has with the bearnaise sauce, then arranges for Klink to get a follow-up treatment and take a bike ride just in time for the arrival of the dogs. The dogs go after Klink, chasing him up a tree, while Janine is slipped into the trunk of Klink's car. Somehow, Klink gets out to his meeting and Janine is picked up by the sub as planned.

This appears to be the first episode with both Burkhalter and Hochstetter, though they don't share a scene.

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Poor Kinch will need a stiff drink and deep-tissue massage after that.

Well, you wanted him to have more to do...

That crossed my mind at first. It sounded like they were basically going to go in and execute them. Then it turned into setting bombs, which they've done many times, killing many people. Weird how that makes a difference.

And still, the show seems to draw a line between blowing up facilities with offscreen collateral damage and straight-up assassination.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Hogan doesn't know what the project is (though he and the others seemed to be casually familiar with atomic research in a previous episode)

Maybe they just got the preliminaries before they were captured. Or transferred. Or however that worked.

the prisoners are ordered to evacuate to London.

I wonder if this is the only time they were ordered to bug out.

They start getting their belongings together, planning what they'll do when they get home

Dude, you're just going to be reassigned.

Freitag (Alan Oppenheimer--That's a little on the nose, isn't it?)

That audition must have been funny.

Hogan packs a gun to Klink's office, planning to liquidate Freitag.

Here we go again.

But when he gets there, he hears shots from the outer office, and goes in to find that Freitag's been shot through the window. Freitag's subordinate, Mannheim (Jon Cedar), rushes in and is promptly tricked into giving away that he was the shooter, motivated by resentment. A firefight ensues in the reception area, with Schultz staying behind cover and Klink bravely attempting to talk Mannheim down until he learns that the Gestapo officer's gun isn't empty as Hogan told him. Then Hochstetter bursts in with backup to take Freitag into custody.

Well! That was cool! Presumably Freitag is dead at this point.

At this point, I have to think that Hogan's Heroes had the same approach to the timeline of WWII as The Goldbergs had to the 1980s--it all happened at the same time.

I didn't watch it for very long, but I think That 70s Show was the same way. We're basically just in the WWII-verse. It has always been WWII and it always will be.

Burkhalter arrives to announce that he's bringing in a doctor and recommending that Klink be sent to a rest camp, which would completely blow the plan

They seem way too reliant on Klink's trunk.

while the "cockroach" (as Klink addresses LeBeau)

That was uncalled for.

The dogs go after Klink, chasing him up a tree

This appears to be the first episode with both Burkhalter and Hochstetter, though they don't share a scene.

I wonder if that was intentional or if there was some kind of scheduling thing.

Well, you wanted him to have more to do...

I was hoping for a nice trip to Paris or something.

And still, the show seems to draw a line between blowing up facilities with offscreen collateral damage and straight-up assassination.

I guess the difference is looking somebody in the eye. Which is understandable, and kind of a good thing.

 

[The Old Mixer]

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Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

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Hogan's Heroes
"Hogan, Go Home"
Originally aired January 13, 1968

The Allied Command orders Colonel Hogan to leave and turn over his operations to the bumbling Colonel Crittendon.

The prisoners have just been planning to blow a train and oil refinery in one stroke when Kinch gets the word that Hogan's to return to the States to sell bonds. Contrary to the prisoners' expectation, Hogan is elated at the news, and they bribe Schultz to pick up black market groceries for a surprise party. Hogan has decided to refuse the order (and learned of the party from Schultz) when Klink summons him to gloat about how a newly captured British colonel will become the senior prisoner...and that the colonel is Crittendon. When Crittendon arrives, it quickly becomes apparent that the operation is in trouble.

The extraction plan involves having Hogan threaten to escape so that Klink has him transferred to another stalag, with Hogan escaping during the transfer. Hogan sells this by casually walking out of the cooler when Klink visits to taunt him. As Hogan's departing, he learns that part of his transfer will be via the Berlin Express--the train that the prisoners are planning to blow, which gets him uncharacteristically panicky. Dressed as underground operatives, the prisoners try to waylay the truck transporting Hogan, but Crittendon being involved, fumble the attempt. Hogan delays the truck by blowing a tire during a stop using the concealed blade in the swagger stick that Crittendon gave him as a farewell gift; and the prisoners catch up to hold up the guards...upon which Hogan announces his intent to return to the stalag.

In the coda, Klink can't believe that Hogan returned voluntarily after being released by the underground, Crittendon has gotten himself transferred to the other stalag by threatening to escape, and the train goes up on schedule.

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Hogan's Heroes
"Sticky Wicket Newkirk"
Originally aired January 20, 1968

Newkirk sneaks a beautiful woman into camp who turns out to be a Gestapo agent.

Newkirk's in town "on leave" spending time with a ladyfriend named Gretel (Ulla Strömstedt), who deduces his true nature, when a couple of constables bust in demanding to see papers and Newkirk has to admit who he is and what stalag he's from. When he's taken back, an again-gloating Klink announces a new policy of replacing cooler time with transfers to other stalags for such infractions. Hogan gives Newkirk a gun so he can escape during the transfer. Hochstetter is tearing into Klink because he wanted to question Newkirk when Schultz returns to sheepishly report Newkirk's escape. The Gestapo major expresses his suspicion to Hogan that a member of a group of escaped prisoners from Stalag 6 was captured and revealed under questioning that he was headed for Stalag 13.

Newkirk surprisingly returns via the tunnel entrance, having gone back for Gretel and brought her with him. A cautious Hogan pulls down the concealed map to discuss a plan for getting the other Stalag 6 escapees out that involves a commando airdrop and open breakout. When Schultz visits the barracks and tries to see nothing with Newkirk and Gretel there, Gretel orders him to take her to the kommandant so she can report. She tells Hochstetter and Klink everything she saw, and following a nearby explosion, takes them to the barracks...where she's unable to get the tunnel entrance open, and Hochstetter's men dig up the ground under the bunk to find only dirt; and the concealed map has been replaced with a concealed pinup. Along the way, Carter has entered disguised as a Luftwaffe general, who taunts Hochstetter, helps to discredit Gretel as an informant being used against the major, and announces to Klink that any more transfers will get him sent to the Russian front.

Presumably the explosion and the disappearance of the tunnel entrance are meant to be connected, but how it worked isn't explained. An uncredited Stewart Moss appears as Captain Anderson, leader of the Stalag 6 escapees.

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I wonder if this is the only time they were ordered to bug out.

See above. Also, in one of the other recent episodes (I think the one with Marya), Hogan assumed that they'd been compromised and ordered the prisoners to prepare to blow the tunnel.

Well! That was cool! Presumably Freitag is dead at this point.

Whoops--that should have read "Then Hochstetter bursts in with backup to take Mannheim into custody."

 

[RJDiogenes]

Kinch gets the word that Hogan's to return to the States to sell bonds.

I sense an "Enterprise Incident" coming up.

Contrary to the prisoners' expectation, Hogan is elated at the news

Yep, definitely some sort of bait and switch.

Hogan has decided to refuse the order

Weird. This plan is definitely complex and confusing.

Klink summons him to gloat about how a newly captured British colonel will become the senior prisoner...and that the colonel is Crittendon.

This is obviously part of the plot.

As Hogan's departing, he learns that part of his transfer will be via the Berlin Express--the train that the prisoners are planning to blow, which gets him uncharacteristically panicky.

Here it comes, he's going to fake a breakdown or something. Or maybe he's an imposter.

the prisoners catch up to hold up the guards...upon which Hogan announces his intent to return to the stalag.

So... the plan was to... sabotage their own operation...?

In the coda, Klink can't believe that Hogan returned voluntarily after being released by the underground

Okay, wait, what the hell just happened? Was this a dream sequence or something? None of that made any sense whatsoever.

Newkirk's in town "on leave" spending time with a ladyfriend named Gretel (Ulla Strömstedt), who deduces his true nature

I don't think he tries to hide it. Oh. Oh, that true nature.

Newkirk has to admit who he is and what stalag he's from.

Apparently his true nature is no longer that of a fast-talking con man.

Klink announces a new policy of replacing cooler time with transfers to other stalags for such infractions.

He calls it The Crittendon Plan.

Newkirk surprisingly returns via the tunnel entrance, having gone back for Gretel and brought her with him.

Because she needs to be extracted... or something....?

Presumably the explosion and the disappearance of the tunnel entrance are meant to be connected, but how it worked isn't explained.

This didn't make much more sense than the last one. Was Newkirk supposed to be endangering the whole operation for love or something? And there's no way they could hide those tunnels if somebody really looked. Suddenly the writing is incredibly sloppy.

Also, in one of the other recent episodes (I think the one with Marya), Hogan assumed that they'd been compromised and ordered the prisoners to prepare to blow the tunnel.

Okay, that's interesting.

Whoops--that should have read "Then Hochstetter bursts in with backup to take Mannheim into custody."

Ah, right, I should have guessed.

View attachment 35171

I wonder if he sent the dogs to the cooler.

 

[The Old Mixer]

50 Years Ago This Week

July 1

• The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was created within the U.S. Department of Justice to enforce the Controlled Substances Act, merging the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement.
• U.S. President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation including the Case–Church Amendment, providing for the end of all U.S. involvement in Indochina after August 15, 1973. With the only remaining operation being the U.S. Air Force bombing of Cambodia, the original amendment, attached to a funding bill, had been passed by both houses of Congress in June as an immediate halt to operations. After Nixon vetoed the legislation, the negotiations were made for a new bill that provided for six more weeks of bombing before a halt.

July 2

• Match Game '73, the first and most successful revival of the NBC game show, made its debut on CBS. As with the NBC version, Gene Rayburn, was the host. Rather than having two celebrity panelists, the show had six, starting with Richard Dawson, Vicki Lawrence, Anita Gillette, Jack Klugman, Michael Landon and Jo Ann Pflug, and had been scheduled to start on June 25, but had been preempted by the testimony of John Dean before the Senate Watergate Committee. It would soon become the highest-rated daytime TV show on U.S. television.

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• Betty Grable, 56 American film actress and pin-up girl of World War II, died of lung cancer.
• Swede Savage, 36, U.S. race car driver, died of injuries sustained in a crash during the Indianapolis 500 race in May.

July 3

• The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy dismissed all charges that had been brought against seven former American prisoners of war in court-martial proceedings. The enlisted men—five Army and two Marines—had been charged with collaboration with the enemy. In addition to the lack of more than hearsay and circumstantial evidence, the servicemen had spent an average of five years confinement. The came seven days after the June 26 suicide of an eighth accused person.
• David Bowie "retired" his Ziggy Stardust stage persona in front of a shocked audience at the Hammersmith Odeon at the end of his British tour.

July 4

• Camilla Shand, then 25 and destined to become the Queen consort of the United Kingdom in 2022, married for the first time, in a wedding to British Army Major Andrew Parker Bowles, in a ceremony attended by the Queen Mother and by Princess Anne. After her divorce from Parker Bowles in 1995, she would marry Prince Charles, the future King Charles III of the United Kingdom, in 2005.
• Don Powell, the drummer of British pop group Slade, was critically injured in a car crash in Wolverhampton and his 20-year-old girlfriend was killed. Powell recovered after surgery, and was able to join the band ten weeks later in New York, to record "Merry Xmas Everybody".
• Wings open a short British tour with a concert at the City Hall, Sheffield.

July 5

• In the U.S., 11 firefighters were killed in a catastrophic explosion of boiling liquid expanding vapor in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank. This explosion has become a classic incident, studied in fire department training programs worldwide.
• All of Wings attend the [British] premiere of the new James Bond film, Live and Let Die, at the Odeon Cinema, Leicester Square.

July 6

• The James Bond film Live and Let Die was released in British cinemas (after premiering in the United States on June 27, 1973), with the spy played by 45-year-old The Saint star Roger Moore.
• Ringo Starr and Maureen Starkey attend David Bowie's London farewell party after his first "last ever gig".

July 7

• U.S. President Nixon sent a letter to U.S. Senator Sam Ervin the chairman of the U.S. Senate Watergate Investigation Committee, writing "In this letter I shall state the reasons why I shall not testify before the committee or permit access to Presidential papers. I want to strongly emphasize that my decision, in both cases is based on my constitutional obligation to preserve intact the powers and prerogatives of the Presidency and not upon any desire to withhold information relevant to your inquiry", and went on to justify his position. Nixon agreed five days later to meet with Senator Ervin at Ervin's request to avoid "a fundamental constitutional confrontation between the Congress and the Presidency."
• Uganda's dictator Idi Amin ordered the detention of 112 Peace Corps volunteers from the U.S. after their chartered East Africa Airlines flight stopped at the Entebbe International Airport near Kampala for refueling. The U.S. airplane had been on its way from London to Bukavu in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Amin, shouted "Bring them all back!" after he learned that Peace Corps members were on the Vickers VC10, told his cabinet the next day that he felt that the group "could be mercenaries trying to enter Rwanda", where the government had recently been overthrown. The airliner halted preparations for takeoff after being warned that it would be shot down by Ugandan Air Force fighters. The hostages were released two days later.
• Billie Jean King defeated Chris Evert, also from the U.S., in straight sets, 6-0 and 7–5, to win the women's singles title at the All-England Tennis Championship at Wimbledon. In the men's finals, Jan Kodeš of Czechoslovakia defeated Alex Metreveli of the Soviet Union, 6–1, 9–8 and 6–3 to win the title the same day.
• Veronica Lake (stage name for Constance Ockelmann), 50, American film actress, died of kidney failure brought on by hepatitis.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "Will It Go Round in Circles," Billy Preston
2. "Kodachrome," Paul Simon
3. "My Love," Paul McCartney & Wings
4. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," George Harrison
5. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," Jim Croce
6. "Playground in My Mind," Clint Holmes
7. "Shambala," Three Dog Night
8. "Yesterday Once More," Carpenters
9. "Right Place, Wrong Time," Dr. John
10. "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby," Barry White
11. "Smoke on the Water," Deep Purple
12. "Long Train Runnin'," The Doobie Brothers
13. "Natural High," Bloodstone
14. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," Bette Midler
15. "One of a Kind (Love Affair)," The Spinners
16. "Pillow Talk," Sylvia
17. "Diamond Girl," Seals & Crofts
18. "Behind Closed Doors," Charlie Rich
19. "Daddy Could Swear, I Declare," Gladys Knight & The Pips
20. "Money," Pink Floyd
21. "Frankenstein," The Edgar Winter Group
22. "So Very Hard to Go," Tower of Power
23. "I'm Doin' Fine Now," New York City

25. "Daniel," Elton John
26. "Monster Mash," Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers

28. "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," Dawn feat. Tony Orlando
29. "Touch Me in the Morning," Diana Ross

32. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," Chicago
33. "Time to Get Down," The O'Jays
34. "Where Peaceful Waters Flow," Gladys Knight & the Pips

36. "Drift Away," Dobie Gray
37. "Why Me," Kris Kristofferson

41. "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)," Johnnie Taylor
42. "The Morning After," Maureen McGovern

45. "If You Want Me to Stay," Sly & The Family Stone

48. "Get Down," Gilbert O'Sullivan

55. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," Stevie Wonder

58. "Uneasy Rider," The Charlie Daniels Band

60. "Are You Man Enough," Four Tops
61. "Brother Louie," Stories

63. "Delta Dawn," Helen Reddy

69. "Live and Let Die," Paul McCartney & Wings
70. "Over the Hills and Far Away," Led Zeppelin

73. "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)," Al Green

75. "Tequila Sunrise," Eagles

77. "Angel," Aretha Franklin

79. "Wildflower," Skylark

81. "Hocus Pocus," Focus

99. "I Was Checkin' Out She Was Checkin' In," Don Covay

Leaving the chart:

• "Funky Worm," Ohio Players (19 weeks)
• "No More Mr. Nice Guy," Alice Cooper (12 weeks)
• "Steamroller Blues" / "Fool", Elvis Presley (12 weeks)
• "Stuck in the Middle with You," Stealers Wheel (18 weeks)

Recent and new on the chart:

"Over the Hills and Far Away," Led Zeppelin

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(June 23; #51 US)

"Are You Man Enough," Four Tops

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(June 23; #15 US; #2 R&B)

"Here I Am (Come and Take Me)," Al Green

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(#10 US; #2 R&B)

"Live and Let Die," Paul McCartney & Wings

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(#2 US; #8 AC; #9 UK)

_______

Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki page for the month and Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day, with minor editing as needed.

_______

So... the plan was to... sabotage their own operation...?

Okay, wait, what the hell just happened? Was this a dream sequence or something? None of that made any sense whatsoever.

London runs Hogan's operation like it's a sitcom or something...! There was a bit about Crittendon overselling his qualifications, which consisted of a couple of days of commando training and a day or two of unarmed combat.

There's also the question of how valuable Hogan would be on the war bond circuit if nobody could know what he'd been doing for the past two years; to the public, he'd just be an escaped POW.

Because she needs to be extracted... or something....?

This didn't make much more sense than the last one. Was Newkirk supposed to be endangering the whole operation for love or something?

Yeah, he thought she was in trouble with the German authorities and was letting his heart, or some other organ, motivate his actions.

And there's no way they could hide those tunnels if somebody really looked. Suddenly the writing is incredibly sloppy.

That was really such a nonsensically magical handwave. One explosion and the tunnel system completely disappears without a trace, so that digging where the entrance was produces nothing but dirt?

I wonder if he sent the dogs to the cooler.

Zey vere Gestapo dogs!

 

[DarrenTR1970]

"Live and Let Die," Paul McCartney & Wings (#2 US; #8 AC; #9 UK)

There's the oft-told story where George Martin was given the task of scoring the movie, so he asked Paul to come up with a theme song. Paul went, bought the book, read it over the weekend and, with Linda's help, came up with the theme song.

Paul then took Wings into the studio where, with George Martin producing, they recorded the song live with the orchestra.

George Martin took the song to James Bond Producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who listened to it, then said, 'That's a very good demo. Now who are we going to get to sing it?"

George had to convince "Cubby" that that was the finished theme song and that's what would be played over the opening credits.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Betty Grable, 56

Wow, just 56. That's hard to comprehend.

The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy dismissed all charges that had been brought against seven former American prisoners of war in court-martial proceedings. The enlisted men—five Army and two Marines—had been charged with collaboration with the enemy. In addition to the lack of more than hearsay and circumstantial evidence, the servicemen had spent an average of five years confinement. The came seven days after the June 26 suicide of an eighth accused person.

Bloody hell, leave them alone.

All of Wings attend the [British] premiere of the new James Bond film, Live and Let Die, at the Odeon Cinema, Leicester Square.

My favorite Bond film, but I wouldn't actually see it till it came around to the dollar theater in Columbian Square.

"Over the Hills and Far Away," Led Zeppelin

Some of these old Led Zep songs have developed a real nostalgic feel for me.

"Are You Man Enough," Four Tops

I vaguely remember this. It's not bad.

"Here I Am (Come and Take Me)," Al Green

Sounds like Al Green.

"Live and Let Die," Paul McCartney & Wings

My favorite Bond theme from my favorite Bond movie, and possibly my second favorite McCartney song overall.

London runs Hogan's operation like it's a sitcom or something...!

There's also the question of how valuable Hogan would be on the war bond circuit if nobody could know what he'd been doing for the past two years; to the public, he'd just be an escaped POW.

Not to mention the complete waste of his talent and expertise. I was seriously expecting it to be some major plot that even the boys couldn't be let in on, and then... nothing.

Yeah, he thought she was in trouble with the German authorities and was letting his heart, or some other organ, motivate his actions.

You're not alluding to his brain, I'm pretty sure.

Zey vere Gestapo dogs!

George Martin took the song to James Bond Producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who listened to it, then said, 'That's a very good demo. Now who are we going to get to sing it?"

What exactly did he mean by that? Did he not like it? Not a Paul fan?

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

Going back to a couple from Season 2 that were previously missed...

_______

Hogan's Heroes
"A Klink, a Bomb and a Short Fuse"
Originally aired November 4, 1966

Hogan's POWs photograph the contents of Klink's code book---but forget to put film in the camera.

The camera is hidden in a copy of Mein Kampf, with the photographing taking place outside Klink's office. Klink find the code book missing and has Schultz search everyone, so the prisoners pass it down the line behind their backs, and the last person apparently being Newkirk's stand-in, Klink ends up finding it in his own coat pocket in front of a visiting Burkhalter, who informs Klink back inside that they've been picking up Allied broadcasts that appear to be coming from inside the stalag. A signal-finding device with a spinning arrow on top of it points directly to the barracks. Fearing his command is in jeopardy, Klink, in a very noteworthy moment, sends Schultz ahead to tell Hogan to get rid of his transmitter, if he has one. A panicky Schultz doesn't manage to get anything out, but the prisoners see Burkhalter and Klink coming with the device and Kinch flips a switch down in the tunnel, which causes the device to point to a footlocker with the coffee pot in it, actually percolating coffee for once. Now with the double complication of the signal-finder and the book being kept in Klink's safe, Newkirk remarks that Hogan should just ask Klink to take it out to be photographed, which inspires Hogan's scheme.

The prisoners arrive at Klink's office equipped with a tripod-mounted camera and lights. Hogan has Hilda put him through to Burkhalter and pretends to be a local sausage maker who found a code book. Burkhalter calls Klink to confirm that he hasn't lost his book, causing Klink to open his safe. Then the prisoners burst in requesting the honor of doing a photo shoot of their admired captor, Klink the Fink--which they tell him stands for Firm, Impartial Nazi Kommandant. While Klink poses for pictures at his desk, LeBeau stands behind him with a light and turns the pages of the code book. This time they get the pictures, and a very close bombing raid of a railroad gives Hogan the idea of distracting Burkhalter from using the signal finder by having Carter create a dummy bomb to plant in the camp. When such a bomb is found, Hogan gets it to start ticking by kicking it and cooly negotiates for increased privileges for the prisoners in exchange for defusing it. He toys with the Germans by doing things that might set the device off, and very casually gets on with poking around in its innards. Then Kinch comes out to take him aside and inform him that Carter got trapped in a collapsed section of tunnel with his dummy bomb--and that Hogan's been toying with a real one that happens to be situated right over Carter. After an initial moment of panic, a more tensely sober Hogan gets to work defusing the bomb for real...ultimately relying on Klink to pick which wire should be cut, so he knows to cut the other one.

_______

Hogan's Heroes
"Tanks for the Memory"
Originally aired November 11, 1966

When Newkirk discovers a new radio-controlled tank that could win the war for Germany, the allies want Hogan and the men to photograph the tank and then destroy it - but complications ensue during their mission.

Newkirk is enjoying a picnic in the woods with a girl (Margareta Sullivan) during a nearby bombing raid while he's supposed to be on a recon mission when he sees a miniature tank roll down the road and, rocked off-course by one of the explosions, into a tree. A German major and civilian technician (Vincent Van Lynn and Robert Gibbons) arrive to tend to the remote vehicle and decide that it needs to be tested in a location that's secure from the interference of bombing--Stalag 13. (They must not have caught the previous episode.) Newkirk arrives at the tunnel exit by night to find Schultz sitting on the stump, so he casually walks up from the woods in his commando outfit and tricks the sergeant into going into the woods to catch LeBeau (who isn't there).

Hogan decides to dig a tunnel extension to the building where the tank will be kept. Needing a way to get rid of the dirt, he has Kinch make up a phony announcement of a contest to find the best-maintained stalag, and Carter plant it in Klink's mail. Klink negotiates extra privileges for Hogan's men to work on beautifying the camp, under cover of which the dirt is dealt with. Once the very neatly laddered and hatched tunnel is ready, the prisoners go in when the building is unoccupied to photograph the tank and plant a bomb. But Burkhalter unexpectedly arrives with a party of German brass to demonstrate the tank. (Why would the Luftwaffe be in charge of a tank project?) Kinch has taken the control box out for sending to London and doesn't have time to reinstall it, so before bugging out through the tunnel with the others, Hogan has LeBeau get in the tank to drive it for the demonstration. Hogan, who's allowed to watch, repeats the commands for him very loudly. When the tank is driven behind a building, the prisoners take LeBeau out and plant the bomb. It keeps going by itself somehow, firing its cannon at the VIPs and ultimately running into Burkhalter's car and blowing up.

In the coda, Klink is more determined than ever to win the phony contest to pay for the general's car; but Hogan plans to send another letter announcing its cancelation.

_______

Match Game '73, the first and most successful revival of the NBC game show, made its debut on CBS. As with the NBC version, Gene Rayburn, was the host. Rather than having two celebrity panelists, the show had six, starting with Richard Dawson, Vicki Lawrence, Anita Gillette, Jack Klugman, Michael Landon and Jo Ann Pflug, and had been scheduled to start on June 25, but had been preempted by the testimony of John Dean before the Senate Watergate Committee. It would soon become the highest-rated daytime TV show on U.S. television.

Another piece of my childhood falls into place. And what a star-studded 50th Anniversaryland panel, with representatives from Hogan's Heroes / Laugh-In, Carol Burnett / the top of the Billboard chart, The Odd Couple, and Bonanza...plus a couple of others. And of course, I always assumed that Richard's longtime gig as a Match Game panelist got him his hosting spot on Family Feud.

Some of these old Led Zep songs have developed a real nostalgic feel for me.

As-classic-as-it-gets hard rock.

I vaguely remember this. It's not bad.

The Shaft series is already up to its third film--time flies in 50th Anniversaryland! One of the Tops' more memorable post-'60s numbers.

Sounds like Al Green.

Sounds nice, been in my playlist for a while as an album track.

My favorite Bond theme from my favorite Bond movie, and possibly my second favorite McCartney song overall.

This may have come up before, but as much of a Paul fan as I am, it only ranks #2 for me as Bond themes go. In my book, "Nobody Does It Better" is the quintessential one.

You're not alluding to his brain, I'm pretty sure.

Anything but.

What exactly did he mean by that? Did he not like it? Not a Paul fan?

Couldn't have one of those long-haired Beatle kids doing a Bond theme...!

 

[DarrenTR1970]

What exactly did he mean by that? Did he not like it? Not a Paul fan?

Couldn't have one of those long-haired Beatle kids doing a Bond theme...!

There might be some truth to that. He wanted Shirley Bassey or Thelma Houston to sing it. George Martin had to convince him that the song was good as it was.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

The Shaft series is already up to its third film--time flies in 50th Anniversaryland! One of the Tops' more memorable post-'60s numbers.

I recently checked out/listened to The Four Tops Anthology from the library. I'm surprised the liner notes didn't mention that this was the theme song from the third 'Shaft' film.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Interesting...now that Decades is Catchy Comedy, Weigel is continuing the Fourth of July weekend Twilight Zone marathon tradition on H&I.

"My name is Talking Tina...and you'd better be nice to me."

 

[RJDiogenes]

Klink find the code book missing and has Schultz search everyone, so the prisoners pass it down the line behind their backs

It's so easy.

Burkhalter, who informs Klink back inside that they've been picking up Allied broadcasts that appear to be coming from inside the stalag.

They seriously just would have bulldozed the place by now.

Fearing his command is in jeopardy, Klink, in a very noteworthy moment, sends Schultz ahead to tell Hogan to get rid of his transmitter, if he has one.

That's fantastic.

Kinch flips a switch down in the tunnel, which causes the device to point to a footlocker with the coffee pot in it, actually percolating coffee for once.

Interesting trick. You'd think they'd keep it on all the time.

Hogan has Hilda put him through to Burkhalter and pretends to be a local sausage maker who found a code book.

And Hilda sees noth-ING!

While Klink poses for pictures at his desk, LeBeau stands behind him with a light and turns the pages of the code book.

Hopefully Klink won't ask for copies.

Then Kinch comes out to take him aside and inform him that Carter got trapped in a collapsed section of tunnel with his dummy bomb--and that Hogan's been toying with a real one that happens to be situated right over Carter.

That pushes the bounds of coincidence a bit too far, but it's hilarious.

After an initial moment of panic, a more tensely sober Hogan gets to work defusing the bomb for real...ultimately relying on Klink to pick which wire should be cut, so he knows to cut the other one.

We don't usually get to see Hogan sweat.

it needs to be tested in a location that's secure from the interference of bombing--Stalag 13.

Of course.

(They must not have caught the previous episode.)

Or any episode.

Needing a way to get rid of the dirt, he has Kinch make up a phony announcement of a contest to find the best-maintained stalag

Because they can't just take it out through the existing tunnel. Come to think of it, there must be a huge hill of bare dirt somewhere in those woods.

(Why would the Luftwaffe be in charge of a tank project?)

Burkhalter is Luftwaffe? The writers probably forgot.

This may have come up before, but as much of a Paul fan as I am, it only ranks #2 for me as Bond themes go. In my book, "Nobody Does It Better" is the quintessential one.

Interesting choice. Come to think of it, there's not really a lot of Bond themes I like so much, or can even remember-- "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball" are the only ones that spring to mind.

There might be some truth to that. He wanted Shirley Bassey or Thelma Houston to sing it. George Martin had to convince him that the song was good as it was.

Hmm. I don't know about Shirley Bassey, but I'd be curious to hear what a Thelma Houston cover sounds like.

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

_______


"The Night of the Surreal McCoy"
Originally aired March 3, 1967

West and Gordon encounter Dr. Loveless for the seventh time. His latest invention can transport real people in and out of the two-dimensional world of paintings.

In Denver, Jim and Artie are in charge of guarding the Crown Jewels of Herzburg, which they leave in a closed room with a guard watching them. When the Herzburg ambassador (Ivan Triesault) goes back in the room for his gloves moments later, the jewels are gone and the guard has a knife in his back. Axel Morgan (John Doucette), a wealthy rancher who donated a painting of a Western street that was one of the other items in the room, comes in the aftermath to take it; and Artie has ascertained that the painting is a forgery, which he's sure that Morgan, based on his reputation as a collector, must know. Jim, Artie, and the ambassador accept an invitation to accompany Morgan to his estate...where he slips into a secret room to report to the forger, Dr. Loveless, who shares that his plan to deal with West involves having sent for Lightnin' McCoy, the fastest gun the West has ever known. As Jim guards the sitting room outside the ambassador's bedroom, a group of outlaws enters from the bedroom and a tussle ensues, following which Jim finds the ambassador gone while the windows are locked from the inside, and then that the outlaws have disappeared as well. We see that Morgan's painting was put in the bedroom, and it seems to light up to the sound of Loveless's laughter.

Artie discovers that Morgan's collection seems to consist largely of forgeries, and that he's planning to give them away to various heads of state and institutions. When the agents find that one of the paintings has a safe behind it with the jewels inside, Morgan pulls a rope to summon a number of gunmen. Enraged at Morgan's interference with his plans, Loveless uses a blowgun that looks like the lower part of a trombone to create a distraction allowing the agents to make a break for it. They dash upstairs to the ambassador's room and Artie gets out via a zipline fired from Jim's sleeve gun, but Jim is caught at gunpoint by Loveless. Morgan wants to kill West immediately, but Loveless insists on waiting for McCoy to arrive, so he invites the agent to dinner in his secret chamber...where he uses a tuning fork to activate a strange contraption that plays a strange sort of music, and a trio of Chinese waiters appear in front of a painting of a Chinese port.

Artie's at a cantina looking into getting a message out when an ornery gunfighter (Quinton Sondergaard) enters and nearly clears the place out. He threatens a Latino man sitting calmly at a corner table, who draws on the gunfighter and kills him. He introduces himself to Artie as Lightnin' McCoy (John Alonzo) and asks about Morgan and Loveless. Artie offers him a drink with a mickey in it. Back at dinner, the waiters--said to be hatchet men from tongs--disappear again in front of the painting; and Loveless is informed that McCoy has arrived--Artie, of course. Jim jumps to the perfectly logical conclusion that all of Loveless's paintings have summonable killers in them, and Loveless shares how a couple of them are headed for the Bank of England and U.S. Mint. He describes how he mastered a method of using the vibratory properties of sound to manipulate matter or somesuch, and informs Jim that the ambassador never left his room. Then Morgan holds West and Loveless at gunpoint, intending to double-cross his partner, but Jim tosses an explosive button that allows them to make a break for it. Jim chases Loveless upstairs to the ambassador's room, where--in front of the disguised Artie--Loveless pulls a rope that activates the device while West is standing in front of the painting of the Western street from the museum, causing Jim to disappear.

Jim awakens on the street in the painting, where Loveless comes out from a saloon accompanied by several gunfighters. Loveless tells Jim that he's in the dimension of the painting, and introduces his companions as the second through seventh fastest guns in the West. Inside the saloon, Loveless brings out Artie-as-McCoy and forces Jim back outside for a showdown with the man whom he inexplicably doesn't recognize as West's partner. The street is covered by Loveless's watching gunmen, so the agents coordinate in taking out a couple of them and take cover behind a wagon for a shootout in which they methodically pick the others off. Back in the saloon, Artie retrieves the ambassador and they find a painting of Morgan's estate. Artie plays a nearby triangle, which causes them to appear outside of the estate in the real world. Inside the house, Loveless brings forth the actual titular character, whose draw seems roughly equal to West's...but after a suspenseful pause, it's McCoy who ends up falling to the floor. Loveless retreats back into his chamber, where the agents assume that he's escaped into one of the paintings and start to crate them all up.

In the coda, the agents, ambassador, crown jewels, and crated paintings are on a train ride to Washington, where Jim plans to have the paintings put in a vault. After they leave the car, we hear one of the crates being sawed from the inside.

_______

Interesting trick. You'd think they'd keep it on all the time.

It involved cutting off their transmitter, which might be all that it actually did, and the signal from the coffee pot was a separate thing.

And Hilda sees noth-ING!

She seems to be a willing conspirator, though it doesn't come up much.

Hopefully Klink won't ask for copies.

True.

We don't usually get to see Hogan sweat.

Because they can't just take it out through the existing tunnel. Come to think of it, there must be a huge hill of bare dirt somewhere in those woods.

Yeah, it seems like they've got plenty of room down there to deal with dirt from additional digging.

Burkhalter is Luftwaffe? The writers probably forgot.

I just looked this up and it appears that he was an army officer after all...but still Klink's superior because his job was overseeing stalags.

Hmm. I don't know about Shirley Bassey, but I'd be curious to hear what a Thelma Houston cover sounds like.

Seems like Thelma Houston was barely even a thing at this point.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Jim and Artie are in charge of guarding the Crown Jewels of Herzburg

Who did they piss off?

Artie has ascertained that the painting is a forgery

A forgery of a random Western painting? That's very suspicious!

he slips into a secret room

Drink!

Dr. Loveless

Chug-a-lug!

Lightnin' McCoy, the fastest gun the West has ever known

The Old West isn't over yet, buddy!

it seems to light up to the sound of Loveless's laughter.

Hey, who doesn't?

Morgan's collection seems to consist largely of forgeries

Anything good? Birth of Venus? Liberty Leads the People? Lady Godiva?

Artie offers him a drink with a mickey in it.

Nice. It usually works the other way around.

Loveless tells Jim that he's in the dimension of the painting, and introduces his companions as the second through seventh fastest guns in the West.

So many questions.....

Loveless brings out Artie-as-McCoy and forces Jim back outside for a showdown with the man whom he inexplicably doesn't recognize as West's partner.

Artie is just that good.

Back in the saloon, Artie retrieves the ambassador and they find a painting of Morgan's estate. Artie plays a nearby triangle, which causes them to appear outside of the estate in the real world.

So the paintings can act as portals to dimensions within themselves, but paintings within paintings can act as portals to other locations outside the paintings. Does that mean that Loveless painted the painting inside the painting, or did he paint the painting outside the painting and bring it into the painting? Or maybe paintings within paintings just lead to a second dimension inside the second painting, which would mean that they just think that they're escaping from the painting when they're really just getting lost deeper and deeper into painting sub-dimensions.

Loveless brings forth the actual titular character, whose draw seems roughly equal to West's...but after a suspenseful pause, it's McCoy who ends up falling to the floor.

Why did Loveless send for McCoy? Couldn't he just paint him? Or were those Chinese guys real people who he trapped in the painting?

After they leave the car, we hear one of the crates being sawed from the inside.

Cute ending, but if paintings can be either portals to bubble dimensions or other locations in the real world, Loveless would have had escape routes planned to any of his backup lairs. And with this kind of technology there will be no stopping him-- except that he'll somehow forget all about it by his next appearance.

It involved cutting off their transmitter, which might be all that it actually did, and the signal from the coffee pot was a separate thing.

Must be connected to the wifi.

She seems to be a willing conspirator, though it doesn't come up much.

Yeah, that seems to have been implied before, I think.

View attachment 35211

Haha.

Seems like Thelma Houston was barely even a thing at this point.

I remember her as an early Disco artist, around the mid 70s, so maybe she was a new and promising artist then. She had a pretty good voice.

 

[The Old Mixer]

_______

Post-55th Anniversary Viewing

_______

Hogan's Heroes
"War Takes a Holiday"
Originally aired January 27, 1968

Hogan masterminds a peace hoax to free underground leaders.

Klink's having the barracks fixed up with new mattresses and stoves for an impending visit by a Red Cross inspector when Hochstetter (who's introduced to Hogan as if they haven't met) arrives with a truck full of captured underground leaders, who are put in the cooler. Hogan convinces Klink that he needs to fix up the cooler like he did the barracks, but Hochstetter discovers that the prisoners are hauling out old mattresses with the underground leaders in them. When Newkirk makes a remark that the underground prisoners won't get out until the war is over, Hogan decides to inspire future impossible missions by ending the war.

Kinch and Thomas (William Christopher, subbing for Larry Hovis) take over a radio station in Hammelburg to announce the news of an armistice for Klink's benefit. Newkirk intercepts Hochstetter's call to a superior, putting on an audio play of a celebration with voices and sound effects; and LeBeau swaps the newly delivered newspaper with a fake one under Schultz's nose. Klink looks forward to getting a job as a bookkeeper, while Schultz, it turns out, owns a toy company. Hochstetter decides to release the underground prisoners, and as the camp breaks into celebration, Hogan convinces Hochstetter to lend the underground leaders his car. No sooner have they driven out than Inspector General Busse (Frank Marth) drives in, to inform everyone that the war is very much on.

_______

Hogan's Heroes
"Duel of Honor"
Originally aired February 3, 1968

Hogan helps Klink prepare for a hasty trip to Argentina when he finds himself in a duel.

Schultz is convinced to leave the barracks so he'll see nothing when Hogan brings contact Erika Weidler (Antoinette Bower) out of the tunnel. She assigns Hogan with smuggling a list of the men who plan to kill Hitler out of Germany. Once again, a remark of Newkirk's inspires Hogan's plan--to have Klink deliver it. He has a dummy paper made up with a story about Klink being up for a promotion for his efficiency, and arranges for Klink to receive an admiring letter from Erika. Hogan acts as chaperone for a blind date in Klink's quarters, and when Klink sees Erika and learns of her attraction to bald men, he tries to dismiss Hogan...but Erika's mood swings 180, as she blames Klink for making her cheat on her husband, a general on the Russian front with a penchant for killing rivals in saber duels.

Carter poses as the maniacal General Weidler, who challenges Klink to a duel when Erika expresses her love for the kommandant. Erika arranges for Klink to fly off with her to Argentina. But she's intercepted on her way to the rendezvous by Hochstetter, who's suspicious of Klink's activity, and goes back to inform Hogan. When Hochstetter is arresting Klink as his plane is arriving at a secluded field, Hogan and a couple of the others (including Kinch) arrive disguised as masked members of the Abwehr, a rival of the Gestapo, to hold Hochstetter and Klink up and hijack the plane for a secret operation, which involves taking the document to the plane and having it take off without Klink.

_______

Hogan's Heroes
"Axis Annie"
Originally aired February 10, 1968

Using the German propaganda radio network, Hogan gets information to the underground.

Out on the road, an underground agent codenamed Blue Fox (Chet Stratton) who's being pursued by Germans stops long enough to give Hogan the plans to a rocket base, charging Hogan with getting them to a contact named Vandermeer who's visiting Hammelburg. Increased Gestapo security prevents the POWs from just taking them there; and they learn that Blue Fox died during pursuit; so while they try to find a way to deliver the plans, they tape them to Carter's back--sometimes feeling that they need secure hiding places for such things when they've got a subterranean lair that nobody ever finds to put shit in. Anna Gebhart of the Propaganda Ministry (Louise Troy), a.k.a. the titular radio personality, arrives to announce that she's looking to interview POWs for her program to demonstrate how Germany is following the Geneva Conventions. Nobody volunteers, but then Hochstetter arrives with a radio detection truck to take charge of the stalag as part of an investigation into the agent, and when Annie pulls weight to persuade the Gestapo major to let her continue with her interviews, Hogan gets the idea to volunteer himself, Newkirk, and LeBeau as a means of getting the intel out via a dinner in Hammelburg that they negotiate as a privilege...with the catch that this requires Carter and Kinch to destroy wax discs being made of the interviews, which could get them court martialed after the war. (You'd think their status as agents would clear them of such charges if it was part of an operation.)

While Hogan's group dines at the restaurant in Vandermeer's hotel following their interviews about how well they're being treated, Carter and Kinch use incendiary devices to blow the radio truck as a diversion, then set fire to the building with the discs. At the restaurant, a fight and a staged fire serve as diversions for Hogan to call Vandermeer and leave the letter in his mailbox. In the coda, Vandermeer (Karl Bruck) bumps into Klink at the hotel desk and Klink hands him the dropped letter.

Evidence to be used at the court martial:


Hogan's said to be from Bridgeport, CT--has that come up before?

_______

Hogan's Heroes
"What Time Does the Balloon Go Up?"
Originally aired February 17, 1968

Hogan helps an escapee go out of camp in a balloon.

The Gestapo set up security around the camp after the escape of Christopher Downes (Peter Brooks), a British spy who's smuggled into the tunnel and is carrying valuable documents that have to be gotten to London ASAP. With radio detection trucks now a regular thing in such circumstances, Hogan gets an idea for smuggling the intel out when Schultz--carrying stuffed animals and balloons for a nephew's birthday that he can't get to--accidentally lets one of the balloons loose. Hogan puts the men to work weaving baskets, flying kites, and building tents, which makes both them and Klink think that he's going off the deep end.

When the POWs try to stage an intervention, Hogan reveals that these tasks are components of a plan to build a balloon for getting Downes out, which includes getting meteorological data via the kite. Hochstetter cracks down on two of these activities as he believes the kite could be a signal and the tent could hide tunnel-digging. On the night of the escape, Hogan has Klink judge the basket-weaving contest--which includes a very large entry from Newkirk. Kinch flies the kite into power lines, causing it to burst into flames. During the ensuing confusion, Downes is smuggled into the tent in the large basket, and the tent is inflated into a balloon. LeBeau has to distract a wary Schultz, who doesn't recognize what he's looking at, but the balloon takes off successfully.

Apparently giant Lucite maps were even a thing in wartime Germany:


_______

Drink!

But it wasn't underground.

The Old West isn't over yet, buddy!

I was thinking that when they were talking about the artist who does Western paintings...it sounded too much like the West was a thing of the past.

So many questions.....

Now that you mention it...how do you rate the second through seventh fastest guns without, y'know, getting them killed in gunfights? Are they doing rodeo competitions or something?

Artie is just that good.

He's just that recognizable, and the audience is apparently meant to recognize him, so it makes someone like Loveless look like a lot less of a genius.

So the paintings can act as portals to dimensions within themselves, but paintings within paintings can act as portals to other locations outside the paintings. Does that mean that Loveless painted the painting inside the painting, or did he paint the painting outside the painting and bring it into the painting? Or maybe paintings within paintings just lead to a second dimension inside the second painting, which would mean that they just think that they're escaping from the painting when they're really just getting lost deeper and deeper into painting sub-dimensions.

Why did Loveless send for McCoy? Couldn't he just paint him? Or were those Chinese guys real people who he trapped in the painting?

I definitely got the impression that the people coming out of the paintings were real people who were put in them. There was no indication that Loveless could create life...but that raises other questions.

Cute ending, but if paintings can be either portals to bubble dimensions or other locations in the real world, Loveless would have had escape routes planned to any of his backup lairs.

I can suspend disbelief that his ego prevented him from putting such a contingency in place, and all of his paintings were in his secret studio. He does seem situationally dependent on patrons.

And with this kind of technology there will be no stopping him-- except that he'll somehow forget all about it by his next appearance.

Yep.

I remember her as an early Disco artist, around the mid 70s, so maybe she was a new and promising artist then. She had a pretty good voice.

Maybe...she'd had a modestly charting album and a modestly charting single or two at that point, but hadn't broken out.

 

[RJDiogenes]

an impending visit by a Red Cross inspector

That could be an interesting plot all on its own.

Hochstetter (who's introduced to Hogan as if they haven't met)

That's a very weird oversight. Maybe it was supposed to be a flashback and parts were cut out.

When Newkirk makes a remark that the underground prisoners won't get out until the war is over, Hogan decides to inspire future impossible missions by ending the war.

And the Secretary will know nothi-INK!

Thomas (William Christopher, subbing for Larry Hovis)

I hope he didn't kill him and take his place this time.

Schultz, it turns out, owns a toy company.

Interesting. I wonder if it was repurposed for munitions or something. Maybe they built that wrist gun.

No sooner have they driven out than Inspector General Busse (Frank Marth) drives in, to inform everyone that the war is very much on.

And no consequences for the massive con.

Once again, a remark of Newkirk's inspires Hogan's plan

Newkirk is the Ringo of Hogan's Heroes.

Erika arranges for Klink to fly off with her to Argentina.

Cute.

Hogan and a couple of the others (including Kinch) arrive disguised as masked members of the Abwehr, a rival of the Gestapo

Well, that's a nice little bit of historical detail.

which involves taking the document to the plane and having it take off without Klink.

And this somehow inspires Hochstetter to let Klink off the hook?

and they learn that Blue Fox died during pursuit

Ouch. An unusually grim detail.

they tape them to Carter's back--sometimes feeling that they need secure hiding places for such things when they've got a subterranean lair that nobody ever finds to put shit in.

Even when they dig for it.

she's looking to interview POWs for her program to demonstrate how Germany is following the Geneva Conventions.

Show her the hot tub!

(You'd think their status as agents would clear them of such charges if it was part of an operation.)

I would hope so.

In the coda, Vandermeer (Karl Bruck) bumps into Klink at the hotel desk and Klink hands him the dropped letter.

Evidence to be used at the court martial:
View attachment 35229

Good thing there was no Facebook.

Hogan's said to be from Bridgeport, CT--has that come up before?

Not that I remember.

Hogan puts the men to work weaving baskets, flying kites, and building tents, which makes both them and Klink think that he's going off the deep end.

They should know by now.

LeBeau has to distract a wary Schultz, who doesn't recognize what he's looking at, but the balloon takes off successfully.

Another openly successful escape from Stalag 13, with no consequences for those who remain behind.

Apparently giant Lucite maps were even a thing in wartime Germany:

I wonder. Seems kind of unlikely.

But it wasn't underground.

Small drink.

I was thinking that when they were talking about the artist who does Western paintings...it sounded too much like the West was a thing of the past.

That's true. They need to remember what century they're in.

Now that you mention it...how do you rate the second through seventh fastest guns without, y'know, getting them killed in gunfights? Are they doing rodeo competitions or something?

Maybe the Secret Service rates them.

Always overthinking....

I definitely got the impression that the people coming out of the paintings were real people who were put in them. There was no indication that Loveless could create life...but that raises other questions.

I guess that forgery of Birth of Venus wouldn't do me much good then.

I can suspend disbelief that his ego prevented him from putting such a contingency in place, and all of his paintings were in his secret studio. He does seem situationally dependent on patrons.

I don't know, he always seems to have a balloon or something. But he had no female sidekick in this one, so maybe that makes him less cautious.

 

[The Old Mixer]

That could be an interesting plot all on its own.

I was expecting them to do more with that.

That's a very weird oversight. Maybe it was supposed to be a flashback and parts were cut out.

I don't think so. Could just be the old production/airdate thing. Though I'd been assuming that the ones with Hochstetter in the suit (which included "Duel of Honor") were the EIW.

And the Secretary will know nothi-INK!

No...it can't be...!

And no consequences for the massive con.

Don't think the POWs did anything to give away that it was their con.

And this somehow inspires Hochstetter to let Klink off the hook?

Hogan in Disguise claimed that the Abwehr had been using Klink as a dupe in their highly secret mission.

Ouch. An unusually grim detail.

Handwave to offscreen events.

Not that I remember.

Here we go...from four years ago our time / the following season:

Also, Hogan indicates that he's from Bridgeport, CT.

Another openly successful escape from Stalag 13, with no consequences for those who remain behind.

He was another VIP being smuggled out, not a prisoner; and Schultz was the only one who saw anything noth-INGK!

I wonder. Seems kind of unlikely.

Actually, the Wiki article indicates that the various forms of Lucite/Plexiglass were developed in the '30s and in common use in periscopes and airplane windshields during the war.

Poly(methyl methacrylate) - Wikipedia

Now why a stalag kommandant would be working on a strategic-level map of Europe is another question.

I guess that forgery of Birth of Venus wouldn't do me much good then.

That's the big question--If Loveless made paintings with people in them, I'll assume that those people couldn't leave the paintings...but if somebody from the real world entered the painting, what would they find? Living, breathing, virtual people? Motionless lifelike statues?

I don't know, he always seems to have a balloon or something. But he had no female sidekick in this one, so maybe that makes him less cautious.

Ah, yes...it looks like this was the first one without Antoinette.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I don't think so. Could just be the old production/airdate thing. Though I'd been assuming that the ones with Hochstetter in the suit (which included "Duel of Honor") were the EIW.

It seemed like Hochstetter was around longer than that, but I lose track.

No...it can't be...!

Don't think the POWs did anything to give away that it was their con.

Who else, though? It was a pretty localized con.

Hogan in Disguise claimed that the Abwehr had been using Klink as a dupe in their highly secret mission.

Ah, okay.

Here we go...from four years ago our time / the following season:

Well, that's my photographic memory at work.

Actually, the Wiki article indicates that the various forms of Lucite/Plexiglass were developed in the '30s and in common use in periscopes and airplane windshields during the war.

Wow, that's pretty amazing.

Now why a stalag kommandant would be working on a strategic-level map of Europe is another question.

Seems anachronistic, but who knows? I can't find when that type of product specifically went into use.

That's the big question--If Loveless made paintings with people in them, I'll assume that those people couldn't leave the paintings...but if somebody from the real world entered the painting, what would they find? Living, breathing, virtual people? Motionless lifelike statues?

True. And also, how far do those virtual worlds extend? Could you enter the virtual Western town and travel to San Francisco, or would you bump up against the backdrop?