F-Troop – The Complete Second Series
Picture:
C+ Sound: C Extras: C Episodes: B-
Until Mel
Brooks made Blazing Saddles (1974,
reviewed elsewhere on this site), the wackiest send-up of The Western was the
TV series F-Troop and the first full
color season also happens to be The
Complete Second Series now released by the same company that made the
Brooks film, Warner Bros. Though TV had
its share of restrictions, the series was all over the place and very
politically correct by today’s standards.
Its lack of being uptight is one of its charms.
Forrest
Tucker is O’Rourke and Larry Storch is Agarn, holding out in the title fort as
they juggle their various get rich quick schemes with the politics of holding
the fort and their secret business relationship with “The Indians” who are
smarter than the contemporaries (including Ken Berry in one of his hit shows) is
like The Phil Silvers Show gone
nuts. This new set has all 31 half-hours
and if you enjoy the spirit of the show and the growing chemistry of Tucker and
Storch, then you will likely enjoy this set.
Guests this season in fine form include Milton Berle, Paul Lynde, Harvey
Korman, Vincent Price and Phil Harris.
The 1.33
X 1 image is not bad on most of the prints with nice color schemes and decent
cinematography. Some prints do not look
as good with plugged up colors, but the color is almost meant to exaggerate the
comedy, which is impressive after the show came off of a black & white
first season. The Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
is often weaker than one would like, with fidelity that is more limited than
the shows would actually offer for their age.
They also vary from episode to episode.
The only extra is a fine half-hour featurette Fall In With F Troop that
was a most pleasant surprise.
Tucker
and Storch went on to do more work together after the show, including my
favorite work they ever did, the Horror/Comedy show The Ghost Busters from 1975.
These sets have arrived at about the same time and you can read more
about that show at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5399/The+Ghost+Busters+–+The+Complete
In the
meantime, that is two seasons for F-Troop
and that was actually the end of the series!!!
Can you believe it? Only 66
shows! Oh well. Tucker and Storch also appeared together on
the Love, American Style episode Love & The Arctic Station, the Gold Is Where You Find It episode of Life & Times Of Grizzly Adams and
voicing their characters from Ghost
Busters for the animated mid-1980s revival.
What a team!
- Nicholas Sheffo
