The Rat Patrol

When one thinks of the chaotic whirlwind that was the 1960s, the mind usually drifts toward the psychedelic kaleidoscope of Haight-Ashbury or the smoky dives of Greenwich Village. But in 1966, while the rest of the world was busy getting high and railing against The Man, a renegade quartet of war-hardened ruffians burst onto our television screens in The Rat Patrol.

This wasn't just another WWII drama. No, it was a blazing, gas-guzzling, Nazi-smashing fever dream that could only come from the minds of TV producers high on the fumes of gasoline and heroism. Each episode a manic burst of courage, camaraderie, and pure unadulterated action. Picture this: four men in jeeps, tearing through the North African desert like a band of berserk jackrabbits, with every dune concealing danger, death, and the occasional explosive twist.

The lead man, Sergeant Sam Troy, with his chiseled jaw and unflinching eyes, became a beacon of rugged American masculinity. This wasn't your clean-cut war hero - Troy was gritty, raw, and ready to bite the head off a snake if it meant getting his men through the next firefight. His compatriots - Moffitt, Tully, and Hitchcock - each brought their own flavor of madness to the mix. Together, they were less a squad and more a sandstorm of vengeance, hell-bent on dismantling the Nazi war machine one ambush at a time.

Cinematography? Don't get me started. The desert landscapes were captured in such stark, unflinching detail that you could almost feel the grit in your teeth. Every explosion rattled the screen, and the chase scenes - oh, those magnificent chases - were pure, adrenaline-soaked poetry.

And the sound design, a symphony of gunfire, roaring engines, and the occasional witty quip, was the perfect backdrop for this visual assault. You didn't just watch The Rat Patrol; you were thrust into the chaos, with bullets whizzing past your ears and the hot desert wind stinging your face.

The Rat Patrol wasn't just a TV series; it was a cultural bullet, a reminder that in the face of tyranny, a handful of determined men could wreak absolute havoc. In a time when the world seemed to be losing its mind, this show was a glorious, unabashed celebration of courage and tenacity.

Here's to The Rat Patrol, a series that didn't just march to the beat of its own drum - it drove a jeep over it, guns blazing, middle fingers raised. An absolute must-watch for anyone who appreciates the beautiful, chaotic mess that is guerilla warfare on primetime TV.

**9/10 - A rollicking ride through the sands of time, with a shot of adrenaline and a chaser of gunpowder.**

"THE RAT PATROL"-Produced by Rich/Mirisch Productions for UATV. Number of Episodes Produced: 59 episodes in color. Filmed on location in Spain and parts of Europe. Series ran on ABC-TV.

First Telecast Of The Series: September 12,1966. Last Telecast Of The Series: March 18, 1968. Repeated Episodes aired from March 25,1968 until September 16,1968.

Producer: Lee Rich-Executive in charge of production. Executive Producers: Lee Rich and Walter Mirisch,under Mirisch Productions for United Artists Television.

Stars: Christopher George,Gary Raymond,Jack Moffitt,and Eric Braeden.

Synopsis: Filmed on location in Spain where a great deal of war material was left over from filming of the movies "The Great Escape", and "The Battle Of The Bulge". This was an action-adventure series about a group of American and British soldiers fighting for or against the Germans and "The Rommel" in the North African desert during the days of World War II. This was a grand series that had supreme production values and was in full color to boot,which was the selling point of the series. In other words,this was one action-packed show showing the soldiers each week battling it out over the Germans in the sophisticated "jeeps" through the desert and the adventures they face along the way. This was a series that made stars out of not only actor Christopher George,but also made a career boost out of German-born actor Eric Braeden,who would make a name for himself later on in several television shows and also would boost him to the top of the latter in American daytime television(as Victor Newman on the soap-opera,"The Young And The Restless").

Also to point out,when "THE RAT PATROL" premiered in 1966,this was the only ABC show that depicted WWII in color since the network's longest-running WWII series at the time "COMBAT",and not to mention "TWELVE O CLOCK-HIGH",were still in black and white,but would make the transition to color later on,respectfully in their final seasons. Both of the shows mentioned ran for one hour,while this series ran for an half-hour,with some episodes leading up to a cliffhanger until the next installment.

Also if you notice that every episode had the title "RAID" in it. This was basically a prime example of other shows of the 1960's that before THE RAT PATROL did the same thing with the same title. For example,on the spy drama "The Man From UNCLE"(NBC,1964-1968),every episode had the title "AFFAIR" in it,and the western fantasy/adventure-espionage drama,"The Wild Wild West"(CBS,1965-1969),had the title "NIGHT" in it.

Getting back to the series,THE RAT PATROL,this series had some of the best action sequences out there,especially with some of the episodes which were very good and some were passable. In all,compelling drama mixed with high adventure and breathtaking excitement. It held up brilliantly until the show's final episode on September 16,1968 when it went off the air with a whisper,and from there into syndicated repeats during the 1970's and continue onward into cable re-runs of the early to mid 2000's.

I hate it when people take a show like Rat Patrol, and try to show how smart they are when it comes to being a critic. It wasn't intended to win awards, or be a dramatic masterpiece. One of these reviews used the term escapism, like that single fact makes this show a disgrace. Well, that happens to be why I love this show, and many others from the the 50's, 60's, and 70's. This was before the loosely used term "reality TV", was even close to being thought of. I like to turn on the TV and be entertained by a simple show, that knows it's there to entertain me and take me away for awhile.As a kid I used to stay up until mid-night in the late 70's to watch Rat Patrol. I grew up in the D/FW(Texas) area, and this used to come on after the local Saturday Night Wrestling. And I had a little 13in. black&white TV. I loved it. And now I have both sets of DVD's and I'm over joyed that it's in color! So long live the Rat Patrol!!!

This show is escapist entertainment because it is supposed to be escapist entertainment. And that just happens to be why I like this show so much. The plots were short and simple. They HAD to be since the show was only a half hour long (not a full hour like COMBAT or 12 O CLOCK HIGH). So in a nutshell, the Rat Patrol came, they raided and then they were off. In 30 minutes, there was not much more they could do in the time allotted. True, some of the episodes are kind of silly but other episodes are really good.

Unlike most war related features of the time (tv shows, movies, etc), the Germans were not depicted as villains, but as the opposing force. The Germans were lead by Captain Deitrich, who actually respected the Rat Patrol and on more than one occasion, teamed up with the Rat Patrol on a truce. One truce, for example, was declared to rescue an Arab girl who had fallen into a well.

The main selling point of this show was that it was in color! Another selling point was to promote one of the stars (Lawrence Casey) as a sort of teen-zeen idol. It was a tactic that would work until 1968, when the public would quickly lose interest in anything war related and THE RAT PATROL would drop suddenly in the ratings war and get the cancellation ax later that year.

Rarely shown today in syndication, Rat Patrol was a pretty entertaining series, focusing on a small group of British and US soldiers in North Africa during the Second World War. Most episodes dealt with a raid of some kind the patrol would undertake, though often the small raids became larger battles against the Germans (particularly Captain Dietrich and his unit). While you could tell it was produced by Hollywood, the desert environment as well as the great uniforms, vehicles, weapons, and sets gave the series an air of authenticity. While the writing level may have been low in a number of episodes, the action definitely makes up for it, and the actors do well with their limited dramatic scenes. Well worth seeing for anyone interested in World War Two.