I watched this series as a kid and always remembered it as one of my favorite shows. Just got Seasons I and II for my son for Christmas. I enjoy watching it as much as I did back in the 60's.

Great buy!

One of the sixties great series has been released on DVD! Image Entertainment is responsible, not ABC or Disney though the half season sets would make you think they were the ones responsible. The episodes aren't in chronological order though, which is a shame. Season one of Combat! is a bit disjointed because of the differences in the visions of two directors & the producers. The two directors, Robert Altman (directed 10 episodes) & Burt Kennedy (directed 6 episodes), envisioned the episodes as being focused on individual members of the squad whereas the producers wanted to focus more on the squad as a group. Of course, we know which faction won out which cost the series two great directors.

The cast was in a constant flux also. Vic Morrow (Sgt. Saunders) & Rick Jason (Lt. Hanley) were constants. Season one had a little more focus on Hanley than in subsequent seasons. It was the supporting cast that had less stability & yet gave them more opportunity to be the main focus in an episode. Shecky Greene (Pvt. Braddock) was a comedian of some renown in 1962. He was only in 8 episodes total & was the major focus of two episodes. He managed to opt out of his contract before the completion of the first season. In those days ABC has less money to spend that its competitors so they weren't able to pay as much in salary. Greene claimed it cost him money every time he had to do an episode.

We barely see Jack Hogan (Pvt. Kirby) or Dick Peabody (Pvt. Littlejohn). Pierre Jalbert (Caje) is a little more visible. His French speaking skills were what kept him in the series. His character background was he was a Cajun from south Louisiana. In reality he was French-Canadian. He was actually a film editor that got hired as a member of the squad because of his French speaking ability, also his English wasn't heavily accented. Fletcher Fist (Pvt. Brockmeyer) figured heavily in the first season because he spoke German fluently.

The set opens with the episode "A Day in June" which is a flashback to June 6, 1944. We see Hanley was just a sergeant who would later receive a battle field commission. It's a good selection to be shown as first episode though it wasn't originally that way. Combat! would get more focused in season two & become the series that most of us are familiar with. It's fun to see the differences of season one though.There are bonus features that include audio-only commentaries during selected episodes; notes, oddities & bloopers are revealed in notes for most episodes; a photo gallery & a documentary, "Memories of Combat!" that has some cast members, guest stars & directors.

Combat! Season 1, Campaign 1 (of 2)

1962, 16 episodes, B&W, mono, approx. 12-1/2 hours, 4 discs (dual layer), 1.33:1, no indication of CC or subtitles. First half of first season. Included in case, a 'Scene' list card for the episodes... usually 6 scenes, counting end credits. Double thick DVD case. Each disk has some extra features; each episode has 'Notes, Oddities and Bloopers'... simple as they may be. Interview with some of the extra cast, directors, guest stars. Photo gallery on set. And extra audio commentary on a couple of episodes (The Celebrity, Cat and Mouse).

Good to see this well-made '60's TV show again. Full series is available. Find out more about the series online, such as at Wikipedia and IMDB.com.

Have not seen these in years are really enjoying watching this series and plan to get the rest of them. The shows are done really well. I say this is a good buy.

I love this DVD Combat and this just the way i remeber it, when it was on TV.