HO--GANNN!!!
- The best and brightest generals are meeting at Stalag 13 (when will the Nazis learn?) The boys decide to "cater" the event with some bomb centerpieces in "An Evening of Generals".
- It's winter at Stalag 13, so the boys are building a snowman--with a tunnel underneath it. At one point, they have to act like the freezing barracks is like a sauna. We even get Hochstedder and Klink covered in snow. Well, "Everybody Loves a Snowman".
- Marya (Nita Talbot) is back, this time with a Nazi general setting a trap for Hogan. A rocket fuel depot (?) is being built right outside of--you guessed it--Stalag 13. Which side is she on? The general (Theodore Marcuse) ends up outsmarting himself, with deadly consequences. Marcuse often played the villain--he was even in "The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz"--despite being awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Presidential Unit Citation in real life.
- Carter a traitor? It's just another scam from the Mighty Hogan Art Players. They pose as a secret Gestapo team to kidnap him back from the Nazis. Since they're wearing masks, Kinch even gets a chance to play a bad guy. There's a beautiful double agent, played by German-born Antoinette Bower, who had dozens of TV guest roles from the 60's to the 90's.
- More ties to real-world events--Hogan turns out to have been in the 504th Bomb Group, which was the military unit that dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of course, Hogan knows NO-Thing about it, since it happened after his current assignment. A Nazi general knows all about their current operation, so they're about to bug out--but Hogan has to know about this "Manhattan Project". There's a rather grisly scene (at least for 60's TV) where the general's aide assassinates him (offscreen, of course). Alan Oppenheimer is the general--he's a familiar face, but better known for his voice work. He's the voice of Skeletor on He-Man, for instance.
- in "Is there a Doctor in the House?", the boys have to get a beautiful underground agent (is there any other kind?) out of Germany. The plan is to put her in Klink's trunk when he goes to town--but unfortunately he's sick. This is another episode that could have come from any sitcom. The girl was Brenda Benet--she had a career in TV guest roles and soap operas. She was married twice--the second to BIll Bixby. They had a child, and when he died suddenly, she went into a depression and committed suicide in 1982.
Cast info:
Sigrid Valdis (Fraulein Hilda) played Klink's second secretary, and did so from season two until the end of the show's run. She was born in California, and after high school spent time modeling in Europe and New York. She married a businessman in the fashion industry, and after the birth of their first child, she decided to become an actress. She was in several films including Marriage on the Rocks and Our Man Flint, and the TV show The Wild Wild West. She had a minor part on a first season Hogan episode, and was offered the HIlda role after Cynthia Lynn left the series. He first husband died in 1967, and she began a relationship with Bob Crane. They were married in 1970, on the set of the show. She left show business after the birth of their son. They had a short separation in 1977, but were together when Crane was murdered in 1978. Outside of work on her son's comedy radio show in the late 90's, she rarely made public appearances after that, and passed away in 2007.
Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.