The Rat Patrol: Season 2

I must admit, I was counting the days until the estimated delivery of this DVD. The packaging and covers were already opened before I made it through my front door, and the next several hours were spent gleaming through all 26 episodes on the 3 enclosed DVDs. I must say, I liked the second season of the Rat Patrol better than the first for several reasons. Foremost, the Germans appear to have spent their time wisely in the desert because they can actually hit the broad side of a barn now. There were at least 3 episodes where the Patrol's jeeps are the vehicles seen doing flip flops after being hit by enemy fire, and all of the Rat Patrol members get shot this season. Secondly, the series seems to have found its stride and matured more. Hauffman Dietrich doesn't just stand around with a frown on his face after being upped by Sergeant Troy, he's mad as hell and not taking it anymore. Although many of the snappy dialogues between the two are missing from this season, we get a deeper look into Dietrich's character even to the extent of discovering he is capable of killing one of his own comrades. Along the same thread, the second season seems more "darker" and realistic when compared to the first. Both sides are definately "not ready to make nice" and the stress is showing. Troy's nicotine habit has noticably increased, Hitchcock's characteristic smile is seldom seen, Moffitt is apologizing more, and Tully actually disappears for four episodes, replaced by various stand-ins. Also, in spite of requests for translation of German in the subtitles, the powers-that-be have only added useless captions like "Speaking in German", "Speaking in Arabic", "Man gasping for air", okay, maybe not the last one, but don't expect any difference here. However, on the positive side, Tully's haircuts are now making him look like a twenty year old, and the orange hair dye is gone. There are also more scenes taking place by the ocean, more German and Allied villains to love or hate depending on your preference, and hardly any episodes so hokey that they can only envoke shaken heads and rolled eyeballs. If you bought season one and thought it was great, you will not be disappointed with season two, although if you are it will probably be because of slightly fewer episodes and the fact there is no season three. We can only wonder what and where the series would have gone had it been renewed in an hour-long format as was originally planned for the next season. People have consistantly criticized the lack of character development in the series due to its half-hour episodes, but I got to know each character intimately. Whether that happened from watching all 58 episodes, appreciating the fine acting or a combination of both is debatable I guess. I just enjoy having a permanent reminder of childhood TV viewing days around the house now.

The Rat Patrol was one of my favourite TV shows growing up. I fell in love with both Christopher George and Hans Gudegast. I cheered for the Allies, but whenever Captain Dietrich's life was in danger, I prayed that he would not be killed. Although the Germans were supposed to be the "bad guys", I remember thinking that Captain Dietrich was "good". Now that I am (much) older and have had the chance to watch this program through adult eyes, I understand why I perceived Captain Dietrich as "good" and my opinion of him has not changed. On more than one occasion Captain Dietrich's humanity shone through as he put aside his duty as a soldier to do the morally correct thing, as in "The Truce at Aburah Raid" where he agreed to a truce to help save an innocent child, "The Violent Truce Raid" where he agreed to testify on behalf of Sgt. Moffitt to get much-needed medical supplies for his men, and "The Decoy Raid" where he saves the life of a neutral Swiss nurse. This TV show is appealing to both young and old, male and female, back when it was first broadcast, now, and, I am sure, will continue to appeal to future generations. Each episode is unique and exciting. The only thing I did not like about the DVD was the lack of extras. Unfortunately, Christopher George is no longer with us, but Hans Gudegast/Eric Braeden most definitely is. And what of the rest of the cast: Gary Raymond, Lawrence Casey and Justin Tarr? An excellent DVD, but interviews and/or commentaries with one or more of the men who appeared in The Rat Patrol would have added considerably to this DVD and given us insight into the making of this remarkable show.

I loved this series when it originally aired. It provided me with 5 major heroes and surrogate father figures. It also emphasized foreign languages so much, that it inspired me to take every language my high school had to offer: French, Spanish, German. And I would have taken Italian or Arabic given a chance. Old World War II films with German and other languages did provide inspiration to keep studying after The Rat Patrol went off the air. I am very disappointed that these DVD's did not subtitle the foreign language portions in the original languages and translate underneath. Subtitles that say "Speaking German," "Speaking Spanish," etc. just don't cut it. I don't remember enough to understand the German, and I would dearly love to know what Dietrich and Moffit were actually saying. (I would actually buy them again if this was added in the future.) Seeing both seasons now after so many years, I am impressed with the quality of acting and the characterizations. They are of high quality. There are lots of historical issues and other things you could nitpick, but this is entertainment, not documentary or biography, and the series is highly enjoyable anyway. Each episode (mission) is also a morality play in it's own way. Back in those days we Americans identified ourselves as the decent people who did not torture people in interrogations, unlike the evil Germans. How far we have fallen today from that today. Good entertainment. I loved it at ten, and I love it now.

The Rat Patrol - The Complete Second Season is off the chart! 5-star rating? No! I give it 99-star! Although not as "psychologically deep" as the 1960s Combat TV series, The Rat Patrol offers lots of tough action-packed sequences with many first-person in-your-face camera angles that takes the breath away from hardcore war-action fans, at least it does mine. Furthermore, the episodes are very clever and certainly challenging for Sgt. Troy and his men; hats off to the producers of the show! The plots--all of them--do NOT insult the viewer's intelligence, as so many TV shows and movies do today. For me this DVD video collection could not be better. I love watching it now even more than I did almost 40 years ago! Scripts, locations, cast, acting, AND color is all AWESOME!!! As Sgt. Troy always says "Shake it!"

Though it only lasted two seasons, "The Rat Patrol" is still one of the best of the genre: a slam-bang thirty minutes of derring do and American-flag waving bravado that still holds up after four decades. Like its initial season, the second one features the sandswept locales of northern Africa (actually Spain and southern California), crisp direction and storytelling, great music from composer Dominic Frontiere, and movie-like production values. Christopher George still leads his men as the brave and crafty "Sgt. Troy" while Gary Raymond (Moffitt), Lawrence Casey (the popular Hitch) and Justin Tarr (Tully) round out the squad. Hans Gudegast is equally effective as the "Nazi with a heart," Captain Dietrich. If the show had lasted a third season, it's likely that Dietrich would probably have defected because he shows a softer side in several episodes from this season, sometimes even relunctantly aiding the Rat Patrol or the Allies. Most of the twenty-six installments in this compilation are well-made with outstanding and inspired performances from the principals and guest stars. Though the short-running time of each episode does not leave much time for personal relations about the characters, the viewer does learn that Troy has a brother ("The Field of Death Raid" with George's actual brother playing the part. We also learn that Englishman Moffitt had a romantic relationship with a French woman ("The Fatal Reunion Raid) and also loses a brother in "The Hickory Dickory Dock Raid." Other outstanding episodes are the touching "The Love Thine Enemy Raid," the tense "The Truce at Aburah Raid," the truly exciting "The Hide and Go Seek Raid," and the thought-provoking "The Life for a Life Raid." Guest star John Anderson is brilliant as a British general in "The Pipeline to Disaster Raid" while Michael Tolan is fine, playing against type, as a loyal Indian to English soldier Ben Wright in "The Fifth Wheel Raid." No show about WWII would be complete with the stereotypical evil Nazi and this year there are many standouts: Phil Burns as an officer targeted for death in "The Kill at Koorlea Raid and " Charles Irving in the aforementioned "The Fifth Wheel Raid." Most chilling is Richard Davalos as an SS Officer that comes unglued and meets a most deserving end in "The Decoy Raid." Inspired casting can be found in Jewish-American actor Milton Selzer playing an Arab father in "The Trial by Fire Raid." Fabrizio Mioni is quite good as a defecting Italian in what-could-possibly-be-called the show's sole "comic" episode: "The Never Say Die Raid." Unfortunately, Dick Sargeant, however, is not believable as a Nazi posing as an American in "The Boomerang Raid." The set has no bonus features but is close-captioned with English and Spanish subtitles. It has a running time of 662 minutes on three single-sided discs.

I haven't seen this since it was on T.V. in the 60's,... God I'm old! The begining always started with a booming voice "The RAT patrol! In Technocolor!" (I loved how the announcer always emphasized "RAT!") This show had what you needed, action, explosions, chases, guys who could accessorise in desert dress. Who cares about historical accuracy! They said, "Lets make a show with a lot of guns and movement!" It was the predassesor to the Tela-Tubbies, no actual food valu, just the creamy goodness of the Twinkies center. Entertainment for guys who thought jumping a jeep 50 feet off a sand dune with a .50 Cal. blazing away was COOL! By the way, the story goes that the man who performed that stunt, shown at the beginning of every show, knocked out every single one of his front teeth when his face slammed into the .50 grip... Something to look for. Why do I think it rates a 5? It couldn't take itself too seriously, so it didn't, and guys just aren't as cool as that anymore. Like I tell my wife, "The older I get, the better I was." This is the "A-Team" with DEATH!

This set is the 1967 second season of the T.V. series 'Rat Patrol' and is complete with all 26 episodes and no commercials. For one of the first color series made for television I was pleased to see how clear and vibrant the recordings were. I do not remember them looking this good. The 'Rat Patrol' is non-stop World War II action having a two jeep (four man) Long Range Recon Team facing off against the larger German Recon Team. The series flow and keeps your attention. This is for pure entertainment, especially for those who love the World War II time period for entertainment. But remember that it is a series and the two units would never have let some of what the other unit gets away with when caught and there was no U.S. Long Range Recon in the North African Theater of War. So this is by no way historically accurate...but what this series is...entertaining!

I was greatly pleased at the quality of the new dvds sold by Amazon and the quickness of reception by super-saver shipping. Both sets of Rat Patrol were perfect, flawless and complete with uninterrupted themes. I had the option to go to individual episodes or let every episode run in sequence; giving a full length movie-like viewing experience! Recommended for history buffs and to youth. It is a no blood showing, suggested shootings only, pg13 type seried that is safely within good taste yet full of interpersonal drama and military strategy. I like to adventure to north Africa in WW2 and hear authentic languages: german, berber etc. An exciting series.

The DVD set arrived within the alloted time frame and the set was all I'd hoped for.