Hogan's Heroes - Part 22 / by Mark

After a hiatus, we're moving onto the final season of Hogan's Heroes. Ivan Dixon (Kinchloe) has left the series, to be replaced by Kenneth Washington (Baker). No explanation from a narrative perspective--it's the Two Darrens syndrome.

  • LeBeau is doing his normal job--chef by day, spy by night--when he gets word that de Gaulle is calling in all free Frenchmen to fight. Of course, he wants to go, and despite the boys arguments, he does. There's a strange moment when he says goodbye to each of them including Baker, who we've known for less than 10 minutes. The girl (Brenda Benet) helping her escape is captured, so Hogan and the boys help him out--as long as LeBeau comes back for more "Cuisine 'a la Stalag 13".
  • A Gestapo man (Edward Knight) comes into camp, then grabs and shoots a german soldier--why? Turns out he was involved in a top secret project at his last post--and there's a second man involved that's now on leave (Noam Pitlik). Hogan and the boys get to him just before the bad guys do in "The Experts".   
  • It's another scam on Klink--this time Hogan convinces the Commandant he's a great painter. It's all so they can meet underground agents at an art gallery for "Klink's Masterpiece". It's very much like a Sgt. Bilko episode--except for the POW camp.
  • The plane of an English traitor, Sir Charles Chitterly, crashes near Stalag 13--he happens to look a lot like Col. Critterdon (Bernard Fox). The boys want to nab him, so they have to break out the real Crittendon from a nearby stalag and set him up to replace the traitor. They make the swap before the Nazi general (Harold Gould) comes up pick up Chitterly. Unfortunately, his wife (Anne Rogers) shows up, which is a problem for "Lady Chatterly's Lover". She's apparently one of the good guys and she wants him dead (the real one) so she joins the team. Ooh, it's a two parter...
  • Hitler wants Chitterly in Berlin ASAP--that's a problem. Lady Chitterly doesn't trust  Hogan, and vice versa--another problem. She decides to play up a former relationship with Hogan, in order to delay their exit from the camp. The real Crittendon escapes from the tunnels, and confuses Klink and Schultz. If that isn't enough, Hochstedder arrives and there's a lot of shouting. Hitler calls (?!?) and Lady Chitterly tells him to send troops across the channel (so they can be ambushed). Crittendon and Lady Chitterly are on their way to England before that happens.
  • The Gestapo is back--Maj. Strauss (Joseph Ruskin) is checking out the camp.  It's "The Gestapo Takeover" of the whole operation, sending the current administration to Stalingrad. Hogan needs to get rid of them--Klink agrees to ally with him to avoid the Russian Front. I love Klink in sunglasses trying to be incogneto. Hogan decides to blackmail Strauss. Klink (of course) is the patsy, giving papers to Burkhalter that Strauss and his boss are involved in a plot to kill Hitler and surrender to the allies. 

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.