During this cold, cold February, there hasn't really been much to do besides try not to worry about what the Braves season will be like, revive this blog, and watch TV. As I believe I have mentioned before, I really like older TV shows, specifically from the '60s. They are clean and they are funny, which can't be said as much for modern shows (at least not what I have seen of them). Two of my favorites are F Troop (which I talked about briefly in an earlier post) and Hogan's Heroes, which I was only introduced to within the last six months. I got to thinking recently about how these shows share some similarities. They both have an armed forces setting (one in a US Cavalry fort, the other in a WWII POW camp for members of the Allied Air Forces), they both have a wide variety of characters that somehow work together to make a fantastic blend of delightful humor, and it turns out that several of the same writers worked for both shows, which probably explains some of the similarities. Anyway, since I have the same amount of experience with both of them (F Troop had two seasons and I've seen two seasons of Hogan's Heroes) I thought it could be fun to compare the characters and see who was who's closest counterpart. So, let's go!
*one character is missing from the F Troop pic, and one additional one is in the Hogan's Heroes pic.
Sgt. O'Rourke v. Col. Hogan
Sgt. Morgan O'Rourk, US Cavalry - A veteran of the Mexican-American war, O'Rourke is tough as nails and has gained all the smarts needed to not only run Fort Courage without his commander realizing it, but to also own the local saloon AND run a souvenir business with the local Indian tribe to supplement his Army pay behind the Captain's back. Out of all the men in F Troop, he is the only one who truly fits all the qualifications of a soldier and a leader, and he does take advantage of it. Despite his rough exterior, there are times when his Irish sentimentality comes through and he will do something for someone else without any thought of what he will get in return.
Col. Robert Hogan, USAF - After he was shot down over Germany and taken prisoner, Hogan decided to take advantage of being behind enemy lines and turned his prison camp, Stalag 13, into an underground base for sabotage and for helping to get fellow prisoners and defectors out of the country. He and his men wreck havoc on anything that the Germans put within their reach, all under the nose of the camp's commandant and, after a while, the Gestapo. He also has something about him that makes him pretty irresistible to almost all the women on the show, which more often than not he uses to his advantage (although he will admit that sometimes he doesn't come out unscathed from those encounters).
These two are definitely the ones that are the most alike. They are both schemers, they are both sneaky, they are both a bit cocky and VERY self-assured, they are both skilled, charismatic manipulators, and they both have the luck to be able to pull off their schemes most of the time. The main difference is who they are doing it for. O'Rourke is doing it for himself to make a fast buck, while Hogan is doing it to aid the Allied cause. As to whether that makes Hogan's plans more ethical or not is up for discussion. But it can't be denied that no matter which of them is doing the planning, laughs are almost always sure to ensue! And of course there are times where their plans backfire and they have to scramble to try to keep everything together (and always somehow manage to do so).
Chief Wild Eagle v. Cpl. Newkirk
Chief Wild Eagle - The chief of the small, peaceful Hekawis Indian tribe, he heads the Native American side of O'Rourke Enterprises. While he is a willing partner with O'Rourke, he also stands up for his people's rights in the partnership and makes sure that O'Rourke doesn't take advantage of them. He frequently offers helpful advice to others on the show who are having a problem (or, to be more accurate, tries to offer, but more often than not it "looses something in translation", as he puts it). He also has to put up with his heir-apparent, a brave named Crazy Cat, who keeps "pushing" him to try to become chief sooner.
Cpl. Peter Newkirk, RAF - He is the one that Hogan goes to whenever any kind of con work needs to be done. A skilled slight-of-hand artist, he uses his talent to lift "important" objects off of other people and to distract others while information is being gathered or while incriminating things are being hidden out of sight. He is also the resident safe-cracker, forger and card shark. He occasionally becomes the weakest link in Hogan's chain thanks to his tendency to fall for a pretty face (but he never, ever gets the girl in the end. Ever. Which is a surprise considering his accent, in my opinion. ;) I guess Germans just don't find a Cockney drawl attractive).
*Update: After seeing all six seasons of Hogan's Heroes, there are a couple of times where Newkirk does get the girl, but it's very rare.
These two characters don't exactly have similar roles in their respective shows, but their personalities are a bit more alike. They both can be pretty sarcastic at times with some pretty good one-liners, and they both can be about as sneaky as the duo mentioned above, with Wild Eagle even pulling a few over on O'Rourke (if Newkirk wasn't on the same side as Hogan, I bet he would have occasionally, too. Or at least checkmated him). There are also times where they are left scratching their heads at the plans that they are asked to assist in, and as often as not they don't agree until they have weighed how harmful or beneficial the possible outcome could be to them personally. But they always come through in the end, either because of their conscience bothering them or because of getting a good deal.
Capt. Parmenter v. Sgt. Carter
Capt. Wilton Parmenter, US Cavalry - Descended from a long line of army heroes in which he is a misfit, the Captain earns his officer's bars by accident, by sneezing during the Battle of Appomattox close to some retreating soldiers who thought he was saying "Charge!" and who obeyed the "order" and changed the tide of the battle. As a result of his "bravery", he is given the command of Fort Courage and F Troop, the most inept group of soldiers in the whole cavalry. Wanting to do the best he can with what has been thrust upon him, he is hardly caught anywhere without his Officer's Manual.
Technical Sgt. Andrew Carter, USAF - He is the group's bomb and explosive expert. He is never happier than when he is working on a plan to blow something up, responding to Hogan's requests with his trademark "You got it, boy - er, sir!" And, as Hogan puts it, Carter is the soldier who "looks more like a German than the rest of us", so he is usually their go-to whenever they need a physical impersonator, especially of Hitler. It is also mentioned in one show that he is a Sioux Indian (but he can't be full-blooded, since he IS the most German-looking of the whole group. Go figure).
These guys are shown as the simple-minded sweethearts of their respective shows (which I don't think is quite fair to Carter, because sometimes he does some very quick thinking that gets his buddies out of trouble). Both of them are very tenderhearted, have strong moral codes, always try to think the best about people, are a bit naive, and can be depended on to stick to their duty whatever the cost. And like the Captain came into his roll by accident, in one show Carter admits the he doesn't know why he was ever drafted. The biggest difference between them is that the Captain is a klutz. Thankfully for the boys in Stalag 13, Carter isn't. Even without that they have enough close calls with his experiments!
Cpl. Agarn v. Cpl. LeBeau
Cpl. Randolph Agarn, ditto - He is O'Rourke's right hand man and vice president. He's not much better than the other soldiers in F Troop, thanks to his fear of blood (and a good many other things), but he is very good with mimicry and impersonations, which they sometimes use to get out of scrapes. He can be just as greedy as O'Rourke, but isn't half as smart. Whenever he does come up with a good idea, it is usually met with by an exclamation of "Agarn, I don't know why they say you're so dumb!" (which he first treats as a compliment, then responds to hours later with, "Who says I'm dumb?!?!?!?")
Cpl. Louis LeBeau, FAFL (Free French Air Force, translated) - Possibly the first POW to be imprisoned in Stalag 13, he is the group's master chef. He uses his cooking skills to aid in the distraction and/or wooing of various Germans. He also has the best relationship with the guard dogs, which comes in handy quite often. Because he is much smaller than the other members of the group, he usually gets stuck into tight places to eavesdrop or to gets smuggled into somewhere that the others couldn't otherwise get in to. And the fact that he is the only Continental European in the group makes him invaluable since they frequently run into other French people.
These two don't have as much in common on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper you see that they do have some similarities. Both of them are very romantic and flirtatious (and a bit gullible with women, although LeBeau isn't as bad as Newkirk and occasionally does get his girl), almost always wear their feelings on their sleeves, can be pretty loud at times, and whenever they get involved in something they give 250% with loads of enthusiasm. They also both have a somewhat tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and out of all these comparisons they are the ones that look the most alike, at least as far as coloring and height. And Agarn can do a pretty decent French accent.
Wrangler Jane v. Sgt. Kinchloe
"Wrangler" Jane Angelica Thrift - She runs the local trading post and Post Office and is the town's resident sharpshooter, star horsewoman and great cook. A spunky tomboy, she has her cap set for Captain Parmenter, and isn't shy about showing it (although the Captain is sometimes still oblivious). She joins the soldiers in their battles against the ferocious Shug Indians, and usually nails more of them than the whole fort combined. Because of her being the local Postmistress and telegraph operator, she also serves as the fort's pipeline for communication with the rest of the army and usually gets word of what's going on before anyone else does.
Staff Sgt. Ivan Kinchloe, USAF - Kinch serves as the group's radio man and mechanic. He is also most often the one used whenever they need a voice impression of a German for phone calls or radio broadcasts. As the most level-headed of the non-coms, he serves as Hogan's unofficial second in command, even though he is technically outranked by Carter. Because he is an African American in a European country, he isn't able to participate as freely in the groups' sabotage missions and is usually left behind to keep things under control at Stalag 13, although he does help on some night missions and when they are wearing masks with their costumes (such as when they impersonate a Gestapo execution squad).
Bear with me a bit on this one. The first similarity between these two is that they are the minority on each of their respective shows. Wrangler is the only girl that's regularly on F Troop, and Kinch is the only African American with a main role on Hogan's Heroes (until he was replaced in the sixth season, anyway). They both serve as the primary connection with the outside world for both groups of soldiers, both use Morse Code as a part of that connection, and they are both the most steady and dependable characters on their shows. They are always there and always ready for whatever happens, and they are the most trusted and relied on by their associates (because of Wrangler's superior ability to shoot and ride and Kinch's understanding of the mechanical devices they depend on for information).
Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with comparisons for any of the other wonderful characters on either of these shows, specifically Col. Wilhelm Klink or Sgt. Hans Schultz, the bumbling commander and staff sergeant of Stalag 13. But the fact that they are the "enemy" on Hogan's Heroes and that F Troop has no regular "enemy" made it well nigh impossible to come up with anyone to compare them with. So I will have to leave them just as they deserve to be, unparalleled. :)
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| I don't think Hogan is impressed with that. |
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