T.V Series 'Combat'

[David P. Williams]

As a child growing up in the mid to late 1970s i remember a weekly tv series called 'Combat' If i remember correctly it was on for an hour and usually portrayed an American platoon in Europe on some sort of patrol/mission.

Does anyone else remember this series and is it on DVD or Video Tape for Region 2. Thanks in advance.

[John Beaman]

Hi David: I never missed an episode. Amazon US has a complete set for $250 plus. Here's a link for the same set cheaper. Not sure if either is Zone 2.

http://ultimatedvdshop.com/movie/drama/combat.html

Put Combat TV series into Google and you get a lot

[David P. Williams]

Hi John,

You're a star, best $150.00 i ever spent! Not sure the wife would agree, but hey she won't have to watch them. Many thanks now i can re-live part of my childhood. All the best, David.

[edwest]

This series originally aired in the United States in the 1960s. It seems most programs concerned small squad actions against small groups of Germans. The most interesting, in my opinion, was an episode where a German POW was being used to locate all the booby traps in an abandoned town.



Regards,
Ed

[David P. Williams]

Ed/John,

Have spent over 20 years looking for this series, have now ordered the complete set and am like a child waiting for Christmas. Many thanks to you both, David.

[fsbofk]

Ah yes . . . how fondly I remember that show. Every Tuesday night at 7:30, my brother and I would be all washed up after dinner, pjs on, and ready to watch Combat (and then hit the sack when it was over). Great stories, authentic equipment (at least to an 11 year old's eyes), cool sound effects (I still remember the sound of the M-1, though it didn't sound like it does in more recent movies), good characters (but you always knew the new guy was going to get killed by the end of the show), whistleable theme song, and educational too (that's how I learned what a Cajun was !). And, then my brother and I would be ready to play army the next weekend with the other guys on the block, using our dads' helmets, belts, and canteens, running up and down the neighborhood and everyone's backyards "shooting" each other with our arsenal of Mattel Tommy Guns, Parris Springfields, Defenden Dan machine gun, and Remco bazooka (there was always competition to see who could "die" the most dramatically; had to count to 50 before we could get back up). Strangely, I haven't seen an episode since its original run on TV, even though it's been on cable (though not my service), and I haven't bought the DVDs (yet). I did buy a book a few years ago called Combat! A Viewer's Companion to the Classic TV Series by Jo Davidsmeyer (Forward written by Rick "Lt. Hanley" Jason) ISBN 0-9640338-4-4. It tells the whole story of the show - creation, actor bios, season-by-season story summaries, with lots of photos. If you bought the DVD set, you'll want this book (probably available through Amazon).

[Amrit1]

Hi

The Season and episode summaries are also available at:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055666/

[John Beaman]

Ah yes . . . how fondly I remember that show. Every Tuesday night at 7:30, my brother and I would be all washed up after dinner, pjs on, and ready to watch Combat (and then hit the sack when it was over). Great stories, authentic equipment (at least to an 11 year old's eyes), cool sound effects (I still remember the sound of the M-1, though it didn't sound like it does in more recent movies), good characters (but you always knew the new guy was going to get killed by the end of the show), whistleable theme song, and educational too (that's how I learned what a Cajun was !). And, then my brother and I would be ready to play army the next weekend with the other guys on the block, using our dads' helmets, belts, and canteens, running up and down the neighborhood and everyone's backyards "shooting" each other with our arsenal of Mattel Tommy Guns, Parris Springfields, Defenden Dan machine gun, and Remco bazooka (there was always competition to see who could "die" the most dramatically; had to count to 50 before we could get back up). Strangely, I haven't seen an episode since its original run on TV, even though it's been on cable (though not my service), and I haven't bought the DVDs (yet). I did buy a book a few years ago called Combat! A Viewer's Companion to the Classic TV Series by Jo Davidsmeyer (Forward written by Rick "Lt. Hanley" Jason) ISBN 0-9640338-4-4. It tells the whole story of the show - creation, actor bios, season-by-season story summaries, with lots of photos. If you bought the DVD set, you'll want this book (probably available through Amazon).

Gee, you had all that neat equipment--I'm jealous. We had to use dirt clods and green pine cones! Still have a scar from a direct hit of one of those!

[Dick Powers]

I, too, remember Combat – Vic Morrow and his Tommy gun. I was a bit older than John Beaman, probably in 8th or 9th grade, but we’d still play army. Its amazing how much authentic WWII paraphernalia we could drag out. After all, almost everyone had a family member who had brought back souvenirs. Real German helmets, American helmets, gas masks, even neutered hand grenades, complete with the pin to pull and the lever –count to 5 and yell “BLAM”.We would buy cheap metal reproductions of WWII pistols – Lugers, Colts, Mausers- advertised in the back of comic books. And the water guns that looked like Tommy Guns.

How politically incorrect. Imagine today seeing half a dozen adolescents all decked out with real helmets, gas masks, web belts and canteens, carrying real hand grenades and authentic reproduction guns walking the neighborhood looking for a place to play.

I do remember the grenades were HEAVY. When the bad guys (or good guys) lobbed them across the dirt piles you absolutely needed the real helmet. The helmet liner just woulldn't do.