Review(s): DVD F Troop (Television Favorites Compilation)
GIMME AN "F"!...
This military frontier comedy classic never had a chance to wear out its welcome during its pair of seasons, one in glorious black and white, the other in color. LARRY STORCH, lovable ham that he was, stole every scene he was ever in (except maybe the ones with the HECKOWIS). KEN BERRY was the best "perfect fool" since ED WYNN, MELODY PATTERSON was a rawhide-wrapped sexpot, and FORREST TUCKER held it all together with his rugged charm. Even the second bananas, from inept bugler DOBBS to myopic VANDERBILT to "glory days" ratchet-jaw DUFFY added a lot to the merry mix. That's not even counting the roster of wonderful guest stars, such as PAT HARRINGTON (as B. WISE, a takeoff on GET SMART), CLIFF ARQUETTE, HARVEY KORMAN, JULIE NEWMAR, PHIL HARRIS, MILTON BERLE, VINCENT PRICE, HENRY GIBSON and many more. Gimme an "F"! Gimme a cheer! F TROOP is finally here!!...
They know their moral won't droop...
Joining televisions other military comedies of the day was this overlooked gem. The thing that set "F Troop" apart from "Hogan's Heroes" and "McHale's Navy" was the fact that, while not politically correct, it was fair. The brave men of Fort Courage were as inept, sometimes moreso, than the Indian tribes of the area.
Led with a gentle hand by Captain Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), F Troop had a bugler who couldn't bugle, a soldier in the guard tower who couldn't see, and a cannon that usually caused damage to the fort when fired. He was ably assisted by Sgt. O'Roarke (Forrest Tucker) and Corporal Agarn (Larry Storch). Berry was adept at physical comedy, much like Dick Van Dyke he came from a dancing background. Storch was an over-the-top stand-up comic whose routine often lent itself to some fun moments in the show. Tucker was the stalwart Marshal Dillon type. Although a con-man, he had a soft spot for both Agarn and the Captain.
This collection gathers six episodes, 3 color and 3 black/white. The transfers are generally very good with minimal screen noise. The black and white episodes look a bit better, but only because of the oversaturated color of the other episodes.
Overall, for the price this is a great piece of nostagic entertainment.
Season One boxed set, please!
The first F TROOP release since Columbia House put 30 episodes out on VHS in 1998, this DVD in Warner's "Television Classics" series offers 6 episodes of the classic sitcom, which was ahead of its time in having scheming characters who did NOT have 'hearts of gold' (O'Rourke and Agarn) and subversively combined this with kiddy-friendly slapstick. Until the producers decided to go overboard with the slapstick angle and soften O'Rourke and Agarn in season two (arguably what killed the show), this was a true classic, anticipating SEINFELD in that our lead characters always wondered "what's in it for me?" and never learned any lessons in the end.
This sampler DVD could use a better episode selection: JOHNNY EAGLE EYE, THE 86 PROOF SPRING, THE DAY THE INDIANS WON and O'ROURKE VS. O'REILLY are among the B&W classics ignored, and THE RETURN OF BALD EAGLE has the somewhat grating presence of Don Rickles and is one of the first season's lesser lights. But the compilation quickly recovers: THE GIRL FROM PHILADELPHIA sees O'Rourke Enterprises threatened by Parmenter's old girlfriend seeking marriage and a transfer, which in turn has O'Rourke and the Hekawis scheming to get rid of her; INDIAN FEVER finds Agarn afflicted with the title disease.
Although the second (color) season is not as good as the first, the 3 color episodes included here are all true highlights, arguably the 3 finest episodes from that season. THE SINGING MOUNTIE features Paul Lynde as the title character (and yes, he does proclaim that we "always get our man") and also showcases Larry Storch in a dual role. Storch was at his best, and deservedly Emmy-nominated for this series (he lost to the late Don Adams in 1967), and the writers test the 1960's censors by naming the character "Lucky Pierre". BYE BYE BALLOON guest stars Harvey Korman as a Prussian balloonist who causes trouble by brainwashing Agarn and threatening the make the men of F Troop "real soldiers". And best of all, OUR BRAVE IN F TROOP is one of the few season two episodes to really recapture the feel of season one, as O'Rourke and Agarn sneak Chief Wild Eagle into the army to get his tooth pulled, not knowing that General Sam Courage (guest star Cliff Arquette) is planning a surprise visit!
Though Larry Storch is deservedly cited, kudos should also go to Forrest Tucker, who reinvented himself as a comedian after 25 years of dead-serious film roles as both hero and villain (some 15 years before Leslie Nielsen did this in AIRPLANE!) and to the very underrated physical comedian Ken Berry, whose talents for physical comedy were fully explored here; strangely, his talents were largely ignored in his later series MAYBERRY R.F.D.
A fine sampler, but a boxed SEASON ONE DVD set is what we REALLY need, Warners! Get on that right away... and that's an order!
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