Search - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series on DVD

Good things come to those who wait

Crowhurst | New York, USA | 05/14/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It took me years to assemble something close to a complete collection of Hogan's Heroes episodes from the heavily edited television re-runs back in the 1990's. It was a labor of love that paid off well in the years before the ascendency of the digital video disc.

Of all the wonderful television classics now released to DVD, none excites me more than Hogan's Heroes. I have been patiently awaiting the day when the complete series would become available and I am thrilled that that day is finally here.

Having said that I think greater care and attention to detail should have been devoted to the presentation and packaging of this one-of-a-kind television classic. I would have liked to have seen more DVD extras including more commentary, interviews, subtitle options, maybe a half-hour documentary, and definately a specially designed box to house all the DVDs. This product is simply the individual season packages bundled together in shrink wrap. But alas one can't expect the major studios to be motivated by anything over and above expedient profit. Just look at the hack job they did with TV classics like WKRP In Cincinnati and Happy Days which resulted from studios unwillingness to pay for the rights to include the original music from these series in the DVD releases.

Fortunately music copyright royalties are not an issue with the DVD release of Hogan's Heroes. Fans everywhere can now enjoy, complete and without interruption, any and every episode of the heroics of Hogan and his men in the comfort of their own home. If this isn't modern living then I don't know what is!"

Colonel Klink? Make that Emmy award Best-Supporting-Actor We

tendays komyathy | U.S.A. & elsewhere traveling | 06/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The comedian Gilbert Gottfried (AF-lac!) has a bit about the least likely idea to make a sitcom about. Picture this: A Nazi-era German prisoner-of-war camp; allied inmates behind barbed-wire. It's a Comedy! Yeah, right. But somehow it made it into production & now it's out on DVD, finally. I'm not saying it's the greatest sitcom or anything, but it's a vaudevillian incarnation; a treat of the first order, and can be watched again and again---the test of a genuinely whimsical show. ("Family Ties" & "Barney Miller," amongst others, were funny when they were running, but are not at all interesting to me anymore, for instance.) Quite possibly, the thing that saves "Hogan's Heroes" is that it wasn't contemporary when it came out. The plots of this WW2-set show run the gamut of the allied inmates trying to swipe or disable anything of a military nature that passes through the camp, to kidnapping German scientists, blowing up bridges miles from camp, and impersonating German officers in town...as they utilize escape tunnels to leave and return to camp, as well as employing hidden radio transmitters to send and receive coded messages from London, and most importantly play on Camp Kommandant Colonel Klink's gullibility to make him an unwitting partner in some measure, in their exploits. TV programs set in specific historical periods are simply not as easily "dated" as other shows are (think of "Sanford & Son," "Growing Pains; even dramas the likes of "Hill St. Blues"). "M*A*S*H," for instance, is still a great show and, like Hogan's Heroes," is holding up well. Exaggerated characters helps too---think of Hawkeye Pierce's Groucho Marx-inspired one-liners in "M*A*S*H." Colonel Klink likewise is a standout, and is thus (in my opinion at least) the real star of "Hogan's Heroes;" in the same sense that Gracie Allen was more essential than George Burns in making the great Burns & Allen combination successful. Klink's flamboyantly delicious delivery of his oft-repeated (of course, ridiculously untrue) lines, admonishing anyone and everyone that "There has Nev-er been an escape from Stalag 13!" or "This is the toughest P-O-W camp in all of Germany," never get old. Even funnier is when he cannot even finish such lines before being told to shut up by General Burkhalter or other visiting superior officers. While you're at it too, there's another show very much like this one. It was made in the the UK and is called "Allo, Allo." It's also set in WW2 Europe, but this time in a German-occupied French town. Akin to "Hogan's Heroes" the Germans are likewise obtuse while the French resistance attempts to persuade the same unfortunate cafe owner each episode to facilitate their wacky schemes along the lines of Hogan's men. Check out some reviews of it. If you're a fan of "Hogan's Heroes" you'll probably think it a riot; I do. Cheers!"

Worth waiting for the complete set

S. Reichman | SE Penna. | 07/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The complete set of six seasons was well worth the wait. I saw Season Six at Walmart and almost bought it there but when I found the complete set on Amazon, it was one of those, "now's the time" purchases (wincing as I clicked the purchase button...) ;^D

You will fine all the episodes very entertaining with lots of healthy laughs. It is really neat watching my kids enjoy the program as much as I have and still do.

The problem is tearing them away from small installments (they wanted to watch four in one sitting). 168 episodes is alot but most of us who saw the originals and re-runs had to wait a week at a time - the wonders of technology today.

Anyhow, the quality of this set is excellent, remastered DVDs, there are a few bonuses on some of the season sets, if there was a negative more bonus material would have been a plus.

Opinion statement: Some say M*A*S*H was the all time hit, Actually I liked Hogan's Heros more and it was more family friendly, very minimal adult-type humor, Hogan's Heros has the type of humor the kids can enjoy, even at their level. Hogan's Heros successful six seasons paved the way for M*A*S*H to become a reality and a success.

It is a good family friendly set and I'll not hesitate to recommend it. It is an investment in some fun moments with you spouse and kids! (...that's 65 cents per episode...)
"

It's A Sucker Deal!

Hussein In The Membrane | Warner Robins, GA | 04/07/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Like me, you'd probably be happy to spend the money they're asking for this complete set of all six seasons of Hogan's Heroes. If it were only the show being reviewed here, 5 stars wouldn't have been enough! But like me, you'll probably also be disappointed when you receive your package only to find that there is nothing here that you couldn't have gotten for around $23 less by just ordering the individual seasons at (current Amazon price) $15.99.

It's a sucker deal! There's absolutely no advantage to paying the extra dough because you get nothing extra for the money! Not even a nice box to contain and/or display the set, nothing at all other than the same six seasons, in the same untidy packaging that you'd get for the lower price of $95.94 if buying the seasons separately! And with Amazon's free shipping on orders over $25 or free 2-day shipping with an Amazon prime membership, shipping costs don't play into it at all.

The set doesn't display nicely on a shelf because the spines aren't uniform, nor are the seasons identically packaged.

Season 1: 5 discs, each in its own slimcase.

Seasons 2 and 3: 5 discs in only 3 slimcases (per season), meaning that two of the three cases contain 2 discs each.

Seasons 4, 5 and 6: 4 discs in two slimcases (per season).

That's 6 sets in boxes of three different sizes with unidentical print design on the spines. There is no "good side" to display!

What the...? Add it all up and you have an untidy, not so great looking set for purposes of presentation on a shelf or media rack. Still, it's Hogan's Heroes! Buy it, but be smart and buy the separate seasons!"