DVD Release Date: June 6, 2006 (Warner Bros. Home Video)
B&W/1965-66
MSRP: $39.98
Number of Discs: 6
Number of Episodes: 34
Running Time: 867 Minutes
Languages: English
Subtitles: French and Spanish; Closed Captioned
Special Features: None
Introduction:
Saddle up for classic Western comedy at its finest!
Discover how the West was funny with all 34 Season One
episodes of the short-lived but classic '60s series -
F TROOP. F Troop is about soldiers who made jokes -
not war. The series stars Forrest Tucker (as the
Sergeant), Larry Storch (as the Corporal), Ken Berry
(as the captain) and Melody Patterson (as Wrangler
Jane).
Episodes Included / Notable Guest Stars:
All 34 Season One episodes are included in this
release...
Disc 1
1 - Scourge of the West
2 - Don't Look Now but One of Our Cannons Is Missing
3 - Phantom Major, The
4 - Corporal Agarn's Farewell to the Troops
5 - Return of Bald Eagle, The
6 - Dirge for the Scourge
Disc 2
7 - Girl from Philadelphia, The
8 - Old Iron Pants
9 - Me Heap Big Injun
10 - She's Only a Build in a Girdled Cage
11 - Gift from the Chief, A
12 - Honest Injun
Disc 3
13 - O'Rourke vs. O'Reilly
14 - 86 Proof Spring, The
15 - Here Comes the Tribe
16 - Iron Horse Go Home
17 - Our Hero, What's His Name?
Disc 4
18 - Wrongo Starr and the Lady in Black
19 - El Diablo
20 - Go For Broke
21 - New I.G., The
22 - Spy, Counterspy, Counter Counterspy
23 - Courtship of Wrangler Jane, The
Disc 5
24 - Play, Gypsy, Play
25 - Reunion for O'Rourke
26 - Captain Parmenter, One Man Army
27 - Don't Ever Speak to Me Again
28 - Too Many Cooks Spoil the Troop
29 - Indian Fever
Disc 6
30 - Johnny Eagle Eye
31 - A Fort's Best Friend is Not a Mother
32 - Lieutenant O'Rourke. Front and Center
33 - The Day the Indians Won
34 - Will the Real Captain Try to Stand Up
Special guest stars this season included Don Rickles,
George Gobel, Henry Gibson, Edward Everett Horton and
more.
Packaging:
The set is slip sleeve, which means individual disc
cases are inside of the box. The main cover is simple;
it features the show logo along with color cast photos
of the four main actors (Forrest Tucker; Larry Storch;
Ken Berry; Melody Patterson). The back of the box
gives a nice description of the series along with a
list of the cast. Inside the box are three slip-sleeve
cases, which hold all six discs (two discs to a case).
The cases themselves are interesting. The cases don't
really have a design; they just list the episodes,
along with a description. On top of the cases are
shots of the cast. Case 1 features Larry Storch; Case
2 features Ken Berry and Melody Patterson and Case 3
features Forrest Tucker. The discs themselves do
feature artwork. Each disc features a black and white
promotional shot of the cast. Disc 1 features Larry
Storch and contains episodes 1-6. Disc 2 features
another cast member (the man who plays the trumpet)
and episodes 7-12. Disc 3 features Ken Berry and
episodes 13-17. Disc 4 features Melody Patterson and
episodes 18-23. Disc 5 features Forrest Tucker and
contains episodes 24-29. Disc 6 features the Indian
Chief and contains episodes 30-34.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The menu is very simple (which is nice). When you put
the disc in, a cropped shot of the four major cast
members together is shown on top of a fence. The logo
is underneath and the theme song plays (with lyrics,
but it's not the *entire* theme) and then loops after
it's done (oddly enough, it repeats just once and then
stops). The three selections are "Play" (which is the
play all feature), "Episodes," which takes you to
another menu that lists the episodes on that disc. The
final selection is "Languages" which gives you English
as the main language but you can select French or
Spanish subtitles. There are no chapter stops.
Video and Audio Quality:
Now, remember, this season was aired in 1965/1966, so
the quality is quite good if you factor in how old it
is (forty years old). There is some grain, because it
is black & white, but overall, it's really very good.
The audio itself isn't a problem, either; it's quite
loud compared to a lot of old TV series released (in
which the audio is incredibly low). Each episode
appears to be uncut and runs 25-26 minutes in length,
which I believe is on par for the shows that aired in
1965-66.
Special Features:
There are no special features on this release. Just
the episodes are included.
Final Comments:
I have to say, even though I'm not a fan of westerns
at all, F Troop is one of my favorite comedy series.
It's just fun to watch. Just hearing the theme song
again after all these years of it being off TV
syndication, get you going. It's a warm show that
everyone can watch. I am very disappointed that there
aren't any special features, though. What a shame for
such a classic series. And it was short-lived, too,
only two seasons! Hopefully on the last season, Warner
Brothers goes all out. My only gripe is the set design
isn't the best. It looks rushed and amateurish, but
it's fantastic to have the series on DVD. I believe
the TV Favorites set did its job! I encourage you all
to go out and buy it so we get the final season
released.
