Combat on DVD

[kingfish]

This was the show that starred the late Vic Morrow who was killed while filming the Twilight Zone movie.

repost from tvshowsondvd.com:


At the tail end of 2003, we brought you this word that Combat! was coming to DVD in 2004. Well, it's all coming about now. Image Entertainment has successfully licensed the property from Buena Vista, and is putting together the first season for DVD release on July 20th.

In fact, you should expect not one release, but two. Just like in this Lost In Space - Season 2 report, the first season of Combat! is being split up into 2 separate box sets in order to make them more affordable for the fans. Expect each to list price for $39.95, but of course the discounted price in-stores will be cheaper than that. In fact, you can already pre-order these from DVDPlanet for under $28 each. Click on each title to purchase Combat! - Season 1, Campaign 1 and/or Combat! - Season 1, Campaign 2. However, the e-tailer has no informaton about the specs, content, or extras. Don't worry, though: we came through for you!

Steve Dawes and his wife, Marta, have been contributing to the Combat! DVD production, and Steve alerted us to the following post he made here at the "CombatFan" Yahoo Group (free registration required):

Image says it is ok to start spreading the word. Here is the scoop!

For now, Season 1 will contain Combat! Memories: Season 1 which is a 23-min video interview piece with Richard Donner, Sutton Roley, Pierre Jalbert, Tom Lowell, Michael Caffey, Ted Post, Eric Braeden, Joe Campanella, etc. as they recall their favorite Combat! memories. The box sets will also contain several audio commentaries by Robert Altman, Tom Lowell, Ted Post, Richard Donner and much much more!

Combat! is in its authoring / compression phase. In a few days, we should be receiving the sample DVDs for QC (Quality Control check). Also, Disney gets a copy for approval. Upon approval, we should be ready for replication.

More info will be coming soon.

A couple of days later, CombatFan's organizer (and fellow DVD contributor) Jo Davidsmeyer goes on in this post to add:
They've done a nice of splitting up the new material evenly between the sets. The "making of" special, at this point, will be included on both Season 1 sets. But the specials are going between the two.


Davidsmeyer also mentions that she is interviewed as well, and that among the "much much more" commentaries that Dawes talks about are tracks by Pierre Jalbert and Joe Campanella. This sounds like an exciting pair of releases coming up. It will be great to have all 32 episodes from the first season at your fingertips. Don't just stand there sucking on a prune pit, get these men some DVDs!

Stay tuned, and we'll have the official announcement and cover art from Image Entertainment just as soon as we can!

[kingfish]

Following up on our heads-up news a few days ago, we now have the official word from Image Entertainment for the split-set release of Combat! on DVD.

Confirmed for July 20th, there will be two DVD sets, sold separately, and each one will contain half of the first season of the popular World War 2 era series from 1962 that stars Vic Morrow and Rick Jason. Both releases are in the original black-and-white fullscreen video, and audio is in English mono. List price is $39.99 for each half-season package. Here are the write-ups and artwork direct from Image:

One of the television's most popular series, the groundbreaking Combat!! offers a gritty, unflinching look at American soldiers battling in Europe during World War II, confronting imposing odds and demonstrating remarkable levels of ingenuity and courage. Vic Morrow and Rick Jason head a stellar cast in the longest-running war series in history, featuring an incomparable list of guest stars from Hollywood's Golden Age as well as top directorial talent including Richard Donner and Robert Altman.



http://216.218.203.229/news2/Combat_S1.jpg


Combat! - Season I, Campaign I
Guest stars: Tom Skerritt, Tab Hunter, Jeffrey Hunter, Walter Koenig, Ted Knight, Harry Dean Stanton, Ned Wynn, Albert Salmi, Henry Daniell, Keenan Wynn, Frank Gorshin. Episodes include: Forgotten Front / Rear Echelon Commandos / Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd / Any Second Now / Far from the Brave / Missing in Action / Escape to Nowhere / The Celebrity / Cat and Mouse / I Swear by Apollo / A Day in June / The Prisoner / Reunion / The Medal / Just for the Record / The Volunteer. 4-Disc Set; Selected Audio Commentary by Robert Altman, Michael Caffey, and Tom Lowell; Photo Gallery; Memories of Combat! 749 minutes. Available for pre-order at DVDPlanet.
Combat! - Season I, Campaign II
Guest stars: Robert Culp, Dean Stockwell, Joan Hackett, Don Edmonds, Dan O'Herlihy, Victoria Vetri, Denise Alexander, Michael Murphy, Barbara Babthingy. The Squad / Next in Command / The Chateau / Off Limits / No Time for Pity / Night Patrol / Survival / No Hallelujahs for Glory / The Quiet Warrior / Battle of the Roses / Hill 256 / The Sniper / One More for the Road / The Walking Wounded / High Named Today / No Trumpets, No Drums. 4-Disc Set; Selected Audio Commentary by Robert Altman, Michael Caffey, and Tom Lowell; Photo Gallery; Memories of Combat! 750 minutes. Available for pre-order at DVDPlanet.

Image's write-ups sound like the bonus material for both sets are exactly the same, and we don't think that's actually the case. It looks more like there was a typo that sabotaged this, and the same supplements were listed twice. If that turns out to be the case, we'll update you and let you know. In the meantime, this looks like a great pair of sets that would surely make "Sarge" proud!

[Muffit]

This is neat Kingfish, thanks! I'm really not much for war films, but this series was completely different. It wasn't about rampant killing and treating human beings as cannon fodder simply because they were born on the wrong side of a pair of invisible lines.


The stories were rich and moving. They were about interpersonal relationships and how values existed on both sides. It's one of the very few war shows I actually watched and liked. It came out about the same time as Seahunt I believe (LLoyd Bridges' claim to fame).

Sadly I won't be able to purchase this set just now, but hopefully it will be out for awhile and will be successful.

Thanks Kingfish!
:muffit:

[kingfish]

A CORRECTION:

Repost from tvshowsondvd.com

In our last news item, we reported on Image's announcement of the first season releases for Combat!, which is split into two half-season box sets. But we had called into question the posted list of extras for Combat! - Season 1, Campaign 2, because they seemed to be a cut-and-paste of the supplement list for Campaign 1. We got in touch with the right people, though, and cleared up the mystery. There will be commentary tracks on both box sets, but only the first one will have the featurette and photo gallery that had been described.

Here, then, is the breakdown of what you will find on each of the Season 1 box sets that Image is releasing this July:

Season 1, Campaign 1:
Episodes:
Forgotten Front / Rear Echelon Commandos / Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd / Any Second Now / Far from the Brave / Missing in Action / Escape to Nowhere / The Celebrity / Cat and Mouse / I Swear by Apollo / A Day in June / The Prisoner / Reunion / The Medal / Just for the Record / The Volunteer.
Guest stars:
Tom Skerritt, Tab Hunter, Jeffrey Hunter, Walter Koenig, Ted Knight, Harry Dean Stanton, Ned Wynn, Albert Salmi, Henry Daniell, Keenan Wynn, Frank Gorshin.
Extras:
Featurette:
"Memories of Combat!: Season One" - A documentary with all new interviews with Directors: Richard Donner, Sutton Roley, and Ted Post. Also on camera were actors Pierre Jalbert, Tom Lowell, Joe Campanella, Ben Cooper, and Eric Braeden (credited as "Hans Gudegast"). Rounding things out are Jo Davidsmeyer, author of "Combat! - A Viewers Companion," and First Assistant Director Mike Caffey. Running time is around 24 minutes, and it will be found on Disc 1.
Commentaries:
"The Celebrity" - Tom Lowell
"Cat & Mouse" - Commentary #1 by Robert Altman, Commentary #2 by Michael Caffey (separate tracks)
"The Medal" - Joe Campanella
Photo Gallery, found on Disc 2.
Specs:
Video: Black & White Fullscreen; Audio: English Mono; 4 DVDs; 749 Minutes; $39.99 SRP, Release Date: July 20, 2004.


http://216.218.203.229/news2/Combat_S1.jpg

Season 1, Campaign 2:
Episodes:
The Squad / Next in Command / The Chateau / Off Limits / No Time for Pity / Night Patrol / Survival / No Hallelujahs for Glory / The Quiet Warrior / Battle of the Roses / Hill 256 / The Sniper / One More for the Road / The Walking Wounded / High Named Today / No Trumpets, No Drums.
Guest Stars:
Robert Culp, Dean Stockwell, Joan Hackett, Don Edmonds, Dan O'Herlihy, Victoria Vetri, Denise Alexander, Michael Murphy, Barbara Babcock.
Extras:
Commentaries:
"Next In Command" - Tom Lowell and Ben Cooper
"Survival" - Robert Altman
"Battle of the Roses" - Sutton Roley
"The Sniper" - Ted Post
"No Trumpets, No Drums" - Richard Donner
Specs:
Video: Black & White Fullscreen; Audio: English Mono; 4 DVDs; 750 Minutes; $39.99 SRP, Release Date: July 20, 2004.

Extras for future seasons will depend on how well retailers order the Season 1 box sets, and of course retailer orders will depend on customer demand. So be sure to ask for both of these at the retail chains you shop at!

Image is making plans to move forward with the remaining four seasons, however. They already have a tentative street date (subject to change, of course) of Nov. 16th for Combat! - Season 2, Mission 1 and Combat! - Season 2, Mission 2. March 2005 will probably see the release of Combat! - Season 3, Operation 1 and Combat! - Season 3, Operation 2. Look for Season 4 ("Conflict 1 and Conflict 2") in July 2005, and Season 5 ("Invasion 1 and Invasion 2") in November 2005. Each is projected to sell at around $40 list price.

Stay tuned for more information about those future releases, when Image Entertainment officially announces them. Our extreme gratitude to everyone that contributed to this story.

[Muffit]

Hi Kingfish! Hi all!

I guess I misunderstood you about the date of the Combat marathon - it was today! (eeks, dumb me, I should've realized they would show it on Memorial Day!). I missed most of the eps, but luckily I happened to stop coding just long enough to catch the last broadcast ep tonight - "Hills are for Heroes".

Just hearing the intro music brought back fond memories of the good old BW TV days, when shows had heart and characters were not silly shallow pools. So many things I never realized till tonight!

First up, the writer of this ep... Gene L. Coon! Of Star Trek fame! In fact, his list of writing credits embrace nearly every one of my favorite 60's shows:

Kung Fu (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-2162/Kung_Fu/) (1972) - Writer
The Immortal (1970) (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-10200/The_Immortal_1970/) (1970) - Writer
The Immortal (1970) (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-10200/The_Immortal_1970/) (1970) - Story
Then Came Bronson (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-4296/Then_Came_Bronson/) (1969) - Writer
The Name of the Game (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-638/The_Name_of_the_Game/) (1968) - Producer (Tony Franciosa episodes)
It Takes a Thief (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-4081/It_Takes_a_Thief/) (1968) - Writer
It Takes a Thief (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-4081/It_Takes_a_Thief/) (1968) - Story
Star Trek (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-633/Star_Trek/) (1966) - Writer
Star Trek (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-633/Star_Trek/) (1966) - Story
Star Trek (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-633/Star_Trek/) (1966) - Producer
Laredo (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-4583/Laredo/) (1965) - Writer
The F.B.I. (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-522/The_FBI/) (1965) - Writer
My Favorite Martian (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-152/My_Favorite_Martian/) (1963) - Writer
McHale's Navy (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-668/McHales_Navy/) (1962) - Writer
Bonanza (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-228/Bonanza/) (1959) - Writer
Rawhide (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-1063/Rawhide/) (1959) - Writer

Second, the composer - Leonard Rosenman!! We were just talking about him! Star Trek and Planet of the Apes composer... wow, small world indeed!

Thirdly, I think this ep was truly a quintessential Combat ep, (to quote the Klingon ambassador in The Voyage Home). The goal, the struggles, the character drama, and ultimately the realization that all the battles in life, war or otherwise, which seem so desperately important at the time, are really fruitless. The real battle is within ourselves. If we come out a hero to ourself, that memory is the only medal we really need.

Thanks so much for letting us know about this Kingfish! :heart: Now I can't wait till someday I can buy the set (hopefully!).

May each of us find a moment today to reflect and honor all those, on every side of every conflict, who have passed from this life, in the belief their actions were not in vain.

Fondly,
Muffit
:muffit:

[bsg1fan1975]

I remember hearing that Eric Braden was on this show. In fact many years ago I caught "Combat" on syndicated tv and could not believe how young Eric Braden who plays Victor Newman on CBS's "Young and the Restless". I almost didn't recognize him.