Combat - Season One - Campaigns One and Two DVD Collections!!!!! (1 Viewer)

[smithb]

Questions for those with the Combat! sets. I recently saw on an Amazon post that the episodes appear on the DVDs in syndication order not the original airing order. Since they reference being about campaigns I would think the order would be important to the story arc, but maybe I'm wrong.

Below is a reference to what I read:

DISC #1

Episode 11: Day in June, A (10/18/1962)

Episode 4: Any Second Now (10/23/1962)

Episode 15: Just for the Record (01/15/1963)

Episode 17: Squad, The (01/29/1963)

DISC #2

Episode 3: Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd (10/16/1962)

Episode 1: Forgotten Front (10/02/1962)

Episode 6: Missing in Action (11/13/1962)

Episode 2: Rear Echelon Commandos (10/09/1962)

DISC #3

Episode 19: Chateau, The (02/12/1963)

Episode 12: Prisoner, The (12/25/1962)

Episode 7: Escape to Nowhere (11/20/1962)

Episode 8: Celebrity, The (11/27/1962)

DISC #4

Episode 5: Far from the Brave (10/30/1962)

Episode 25: Quiet Warrior, The (03/26/1963)

Episode 9: Cat and Mouse (12/04/1962)

Episode 13: Reunion (01/01/1963)

As you can see, they are not even close to the original airing order. Are people with the sets just watching then in the order they appear on the DVDs? Has it disrupted the flow at all? Or are some watching in order of how they were aired? IMDB clearly shows the correct order of the episodes.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Questions for those with the Combat! sets. I recently saw on an Amazon post that the episodes appear on the DVDs in syndication order not the original airing order. Since they reference being about campaigns I would think the order would be important to the story arc, but maybe I'm wrong.
Below is a reference to what I read:
DISC #1
Episode 11: Day in June, A (10/18/1962)
Episode 4: Any Second Now (10/23/1962)
Episode 15: Just for the Record (01/15/1963)
Episode 17: Squad, The (01/29/1963)
DISC #2
Episode 3: Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd (10/16/1962)
Episode 1: Forgotten Front (10/02/1962)
Episode 6: Missing in Action (11/13/1962)
Episode 2: Rear Echelon Commandos (10/09/1962)
DISC #3
Episode 19: Chateau, The (02/12/1963)
Episode 12: Prisoner, The (12/25/1962)
Episode 7: Escape to Nowhere (11/20/1962)
Episode 8: Celebrity, The (11/27/1962)
DISC #4
Episode 5: Far from the Brave (10/30/1962)
Episode 25: Quiet Warrior, The (03/26/1963)
Episode 9: Cat and Mouse (12/04/1962)
Episode 13: Reunion (01/01/1963)
As you can see, they are not even close to the original airing order. Are people with the sets just watching then in the order they appear on the DVDs? Has it disrupted the flow at all? Or are some watching in order of how they were aired? IMDB clearly shows the correct order of the episodes.

How could there be a 10/16/62 airing and a 10/18/62 airing? IMDB is never as accurate as people assume.
I watched the entire run of the series on DVD with my 10 year-old son, which was a great experience, since that's the same age I originally watched the show. With the exception of the first episode dealing with D-Day, I do not think it's that critical to watch them in airing order if, indeed, that is different than the DVD order. There is no real continuity like Band of Brothers as far as the campaign, and it was primarily an anthology series dealing with WWII featuring the adventures of one platoon.
Most of the series in the 60's, to my viewing experience, except for soaps like Peyton Place or Dark Shadows could be played out of order (for syndication or rerun) and there wasn't as much emphasis on that as there is today with shows like Lost or Heroes that rely more on continuing cliff-hanger storylines. I think there is a revisionist movement to project that back on earlier shows. Unless you have a photographic memory and are obsessed with watching them in the exact order you may have seen them first time around in their prime time run as a child, is it really that important?
I can only testify that my 10 year-old certainly didn't care. But it was a hoot seeing him get bored during the talking parts and sit forward for the gun battles, just as I had done when watching with my own father back in the early 60s (and hearing my WWII veteran dad complain about them never running out of ammo). And now, this time around, I was more interested in the talking parts and stories (which are pretty damn good). It was a great show to provide both. I'm so glad to have this show again, no matter what the order.

 

[smithb]

While I'm sure IMDB is not absolutely accurate at all times, I doubt it would be off as much as is shown by the arrangements of the episodes on the DVDs. But it is good to know that it isn't a distraction in the viewing.

I only came to the continuity conclusion based on the names of the sets. They give the appearance that they may each be focused on a singular story arc.

 

[Jeff Willis]

As Wayne said so well, this is one show that can be viewed out of order from the original air dates. I had the same experience as Wayne, waching the original airings with Dad although my earliest memories are when I watched the show in Season 3. That was the first season, when watching the DVD sets, that I remembered specific episodes from the 60's. I hadn't seen any of these in syndication so when the DVD sets started coming out, it was a dream come true to get the entire series released. True, the Image DVD's were liscensed and were not struck from the original elements for the DVD's, but they're watchable transfers, imo. As others had mentioned here back when the thread was active during the releases, I'd loved to seen transfers from the 35m negatives and not time-compressed, but the DVD's contain the entire scenes/footage from the original episodes, no edited scenes. That was the important part of these releases, imo.

 

[Greg_S_H]

that rely more on continuing cliff-hanger storylines. I think there is a revisionist movement to project that back on earlier shows. Unless you have a photographic memory and are obsessed with watching them in the exact order you may have seen them first time around in their prime time run as a child, is it really that important?

Two other exceptions are I Love Lucy and The Beverly Hillbillies. Late Lucy and early Hillbillies episodes were very serialized (think the entire Hollywood season of Lucy). Still, they could be watched in any order even then.

 

[Bob Gu]

There was a little bit of continuity in first season Combat!, with two semi-regular characters, that would be killed off after appearing in a few episodes. The episodes on the DVDs are in correct order for that.

 

[smithb]

How is the packaging for the full series in comparison to the two releases per seasons? Many times individual seasons are packaged in standard slim DVD cases where the disks usually stay in place and aren't as easily damaged. While full series sets use a variety of methods from cardboard sleeves that can scratch disks over time to multi fold hard plastic cases with hubs easily broken, too loose, or too tight for removal of disks.

Getting the full series would probably be cheaper but it isn't always worth it based on the packaging. Your thoughts?

I have plenty to watch so I'll probably wait until summer and try to get it during a DD 25% off sale or maybe get lucky and someone will put it on a BOGO free deal. Anyone get it for a really good deal? If so, what deal? Maybe they will do it again sometime if I keep an eye out.

 

[Bob Gu]

I have the individual 10 vols, bought as they first came out. The pricing at deepdiscount, now, seems about the same as I paid then. DD bundled S2 with Rick Jason's biography. I dont remember if the book was free or if I paid extra.

I've seen the vols as low as $19.99 during amazon sales in the past.

The photo of the complete set at amazon looks like it might be a box with five individual cases. Plastic or paper?

 

[smithb]

$20 a volume is what I was hoping for. So as long as DD doesn't raise their prices it would work out to about the same as what you saw at an Amazon sale. Or I could get lucky and they put it on the Deal of the Day, like Land of the Giants recently.

Are the individual volumes in standard slim line cases or those foldout hard plastic packs, like Little House on the Prairie and M Squad? Image did Little House on the Prairie to so I wouldn't be surprised if they are plastic foldouts.

 

[Bob Gu]

Brad the individual Combat half-season volumes house the four discs in a green plastic Nexpak 1" wide case, with disc one on a swing out plastic hub (I think it's called), discs 2 & 3 on either side of a middle section and disc 4 seated on the back.

 

[docdoowop]

A heads-up bump for those waiting for a good price. DVD Planet has each volume on sale for $9.99.

 

[Jari K]

"Combat! The Complete Series" is now re-released:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/62033/combat-the-complete-series/

The review says that the re-release has the same content, but not 100% sure. I have the old box set.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Costco has this re-boxed set for $99

 

[JoeDoakes]

There is a really interesting review for the Complete Series set on DVD Talk (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/62033/combat-the-complete-series/). In it, the review points to an interview with Vic Morrow included as one of the extras in which Morrow says that the runtime of the episodes was 47 minutes plus commercials. The reviewer concludes that, because the episodes all run 45 to 47 minutes, it does not appear that they are timespead after all.

 

[Bob Gu]

The reviewer's conclusion is wrong.The 47 minutes Vic Morrow refers to is story content and does not include the opening music and closing credits and commercial break logo bumpers.In 2005 the COMBAT! DVD producers said they had to use the time-sped prints because the original film elements for S1-4 were in bad shape at that point, and were beyond their budget to fix. (The time sped prints were made in the '80s and cleaned up in the '90s for cable.)For color Season 5 they were able to use the original film elements. and these clock in at 51:12, still with no bumpers. Bumpers would bring the runtime up to 52 minutes.

 

[JoeDoakes]

The reviewer's conclusion is wrong.The 47 minutes Vic Morrow refers to is story content and does not include the opening music and closing credits and commercial break logo bumpers.In 2005 the COMBAT! DVD producers said they had to use the time-sped prints because the original film elements for S1-4 were in bad shape at that point, and were beyond their budget to fix. (The time sped prints were made in the '80s and cleaned up in the '90s for cable.)For color Season 5 they were able to use the original film elements. and these clock in at 51:12, still with no bumpers. Bumpers would bring the runtime up to 52 minutes.

Thanks for clearing that up.