hfan77 i remember watching F Troop and to me it was a very funny satire of the Old West that took place in the post Civil War era. The first season theme song with vocals did a great job in explaining the premise on how Parmenter became captain of F Troop. Unfortunately, when the show went to color in the second season, they canned the vocal theme and went to an instrumental. Also, the show had an outstanding cast, anchored by Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Ken Berry and Melody Patterson. Patterson actually lied about her age to get the role of Wrangler Jane. There were also Frank De Kova as chief Wild Eagle and Don Diamond as Crazy Cat. Also adding to the mayhem was James Hampton as the inept bugler Dobbs. But it was Storch who stood out as he played a number of dual roles including cousins Lucky Pierre and Russian Agarnoff. It showed his true talents as an impressionist. There were numerous guest stars, including Henry Gibson, prior to Laugh- In as jinx Wrongo Starr. Though F Troop was still getting good ratings, ABC canceled the show after two season because of high production costs. It deserved a longer run since it was a very funny sitcom. Sound the "Charge" call that was heard at the end of the closing credits to end this review.

Jakester Gleefully incorrect, politically speaking. It makes fun of Indians, white people, gay people, military discipline, handicapped people (there's a near-blind guy as the fort's lookout), capitalism, the Beatles, and plenty more.Wildly uneven, comedy-wise. At its best (quite often) it's laugh-out-loud funny. Most of its best moments involve Larry Storch, and really, the program should have been called The Larry Storch Show. It's the perfect setting for him - his super-charged persona plays beautifully against low-key Forrest Tucker. He lets 'er rip, and when Larry Storch lets 'er rip, it stays ripped. I'm prepared to call his work here as good as any performance ever on a situation comedy (IMO). He can take a nothing line and make you laugh with his delivery and hamminess; when he's got a good line, you can count on him to make it sing and dance.Thanks to Decades TV for the all-weekend splurge or plunge or binge or whatever they call it. And thanks to Larry Storch for his genius.Two additional notes: (1) Great opening credits/theme song. (2) Melody Patterson (1949-2015) as Wrangler Jane is a wonderfully feisty proto-feminist. One of the interesting tensions of the show is, what the heck does she see in Capt. Parmenter?

pingshar The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, Green Acres and F Troop -- what were they thinking? Not much, I guess. Looking back, it seems there was a competition to make the stupidest TV sitcom and still get people to watch it. I wonder what the stuff they didn't watch was like?F Troop was a stupid show back then, and it hasn't improved any with age. Bad acting, bad writing, bad set, did I leave anything out? Was F Troop so bad it had to be good? Perhaps junk like this was the inspiration for Mel Brooks' 1968 "The Producers." Formula for a hit: Strive for a flop, making everything as awful as possible, and people will think it's a scream.I have been reviewing some 1960s sitcoms out of strictly anthropological interest. Trying to recreate the milieu, all I can see is a bunch of whitebread kids sitting slack jawed in front of the boob tube with nothing better to do with their time. Hey, I was a kid back then, and I didn't watch this garbage, except maybe once or twice to check it out. There was good stuff on TV back then that was genuinely funny, such as Mel Brooks' "Get Smart." I just want to say thanks to the geniuses behind F Troop for making such lousy shows that it encouraged me to read books.

Parker Bena *WARNING! THIS COMMENT MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!* F-Troop has to rank right up there with McHALE'S NAVY and M*A*S*H* as one of the all-time great military comedies. Ken Berry was great as Captain Wilton Parmenter, Fort Courage's bumbling idiot of a commander, though his intentions were good. Whenever Parmenter would get into a sticky situation with visiting brass, it was always Sgt. O'Rourke and Cpl. Agarn (Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch) who saved the day and made their Captain look good. Tucker and Storch were a great comedy team. James Hampton (who would go on to play Burt Reynolds' sidekick in THE LONGEST YARD and Michael J. Fox's father in TEEN WOLF) was hilarious as Trooper Hannibal Dobbs, the company Bugler who couldn't play a note. The addition of Dobbs to F Troop is a somewhat curious one because since Dobbs was a Southerner and the Civil War had just ended, Hannibal Dobbs would have, in reality, been ineligible for service in the United States Army. Ineligible or not, Dobbs was still hilarious and I even liked his back and forth banter with Agarn ("I'm Warning you, Dobbs!") If I were Captain Parmenter, I would have finished, "Jane. How many times have I told you? Not in front of the men." with "Why don't we go into my bedroom?" (Note: during the Second Season, Melody Patterson was, in fact, of legal age.) I also liked the entrepreneurial Hekawis, Wild Eagle and Crazy Cat. They weren't your typical Indians. They were opportunistic Capitalists with good heads for business - almost as good heads as O'Rourke and Agarn. My favorite episode has got to be "Our Brave in F Troop". The one where Chief Wild Eagle has a toothache and he has to visit the Army Dentist. Unfortunately, there are a number of delays in getting the Chief's tooth pulled. Most of them were courtesy of General Sam Courage (after whom Fort Courage is named), who keeps promoting him through the ranks. He ends up with the rank of Major before his "disappearance" is conveniently arranged by O'Rourke and Agarn with a little assistance from the befuddled General Courage.