For those of you who are too young to remember TV programming of the 60s, in 1966, ABC pre- miered a 30 min action/adventure series very loosely based on the exploits of the SAS in North Africa during WWII. It was one of 6 war dramas on broadcast TV in the 60s, and though not in the same ballpark as its sister series (not even close!), Combat!, or Twelve O'Clock High for that matter, it was a successful series that captured the imagination of at least this 10 yr-old.
A dear friend and colleague is a fellow fan, and we were discussing our favorite shows in the 60s one day. It wasn't long before we got to The Rat Patrol (TRP). After a considerable amount of reminisc- ing about everything about the show, and the merchandising of the same--who can forget the Au- rora diorama set?--we came to the conclusion that "there was very little love for TRP in our little world." Which brings us to the first project in our "Hollywood" category. . .
TRP was set in the North African theatre of operations during WWII. Hollywood at the time did what it always did: take the vehicles that were available to it, paint them 'Sand Yellow', slap some Balkenkreuz on them. . . eh voilà, instant DAK! Lest we judge the TRP too harshly, let us not forget Patton (1970). . .
In TRP, American vehicles such as M3 half-tracks, the M4 Sherman, the M47 Patton, the M8/ M20 Greyhound--and the M7 Priest, amongst others, were 'disguised' as German vehicles. The one that always intrigued me (I was a SPG fan even then!), was the M7 Priest 'disguised' as a German. . . what?
This is the first hurdle to be overcome--or is it? Most believe that it is meant to represent a Mar- der. I personally lean more to a Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B; however, to the best of my know- ledge, the StuIG did not see service in North Africa. Soooo. . . the answer to our question above is. . . who cares?
[To be continued in pt. II]
“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003
No comments:
Post a Comment