Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I was a teenager when I discovered Rat Patrol in 1966. I was at the time depressed because of the cancellation of another WW II show that I enjoyed very much, 12 O'Clock High, which I sincerely wish they would release on DVD but have not.
The Rats came in to fill that void in my TV watching life and I enjoyed every single episode. What makes a girl or a woman want to watch a war show? NO, it isn't the shoot 'em up 50's or the racing jeeps spewing sand! It's the interesting characters and the stories which had heart to them. With just a half hour they couldn't delve those characters as deeply as 12 O'Clock High did (one of the best character dramas ever) but they made a good go at it. They displayed the many facets of the regulars, Troy (Chris George) who was the original loner/rebel who had to learn to be a team player and to trust others, and Moffitt (Gary Raymond) the intelligent, laid back Englishman whose strong emotions lay carefully controlled just below the surface. Less time was accorded to Hitch (Larry Casey), the cute skirt chaser, and Tully (Justin Tarr) whose love is his jeeps.
The other regular was the German commander Dietrich played by the actor then known as Hans Gudegast who has since gone on to a long lasting career in soap opera as Eric Braeden. What was so great about Dietrich was that, contrary to the popular stereotyping of the German foe at that time, he was not a conscionless, sadistic Nazi. He was a good soldier who loved his country even though in his heart he knew its methods were misguided. He gave a very human face to the enemy and you couldn't walk away from this show hating him. You understood that the enemy is human too.
There were also numerous guest characters in the many different episodes, too many for me to remember and describe, but they were very often memorable and dimensional in their own limited ways so that you felt for them as well.
So ladies, don't turn away from this one because of the war theme. There is a lot here that you will like too, not the least of which is Chris' swarthy good looks and Gary's elegant gentlemanly good looks. I give it a 10... I mean 5... well, whatever the top rating is.
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Blazing across the North African deserts, it¹s THE RAT PATROL, an elite Allied commando team whose mission is to attack, harass and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel¹s vaunted Afrika Korps. Join four-man army Sgt. Sam Troy (Christopher George), Sgt. Jack Moffitt (Gary Raymond), Pvt. Mark Hitchcock (Lawrence Casey) and Pvt. Tully Pettigrew (Justin Tarr) as theywage war against Nazis, traitors and wild-eyed fanatics in this action-packed first season collection, featuring all 32 explosive episodes, uncut, unedited and commercial-free!
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