# Hogan's Heroes Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860 "2006-07-17T15:28:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shizaru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@shizaru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shizaru)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/1 "2006-07-17T15:28:51Z")
This is a silly question, but it comes to mind because I’m watching reruns of Hogan’s Heroes… Was there ever any resolution to that show? Did they just do a Gilligan’s Island and just stop with the guys still in Stalag 13 or did they show anything pertaining to the end of the war? (I’m guessing they didn’t since Bob Crane was killed way back when…I’m not sure but he probably died during the show’s run.) ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/2 "2006-07-17T15:33:29Z")
I can’t answer your question about the resolution of the series, but Bob Crane died in 1978, and the series ended in '71, so his death wasn’t the reason for the series going off the air. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/3 "2006-07-17T15:41:43Z")
Funny, I was just thinking about that. Since I watched the show religiously when I was a kid, I can tell you, no the series never depicted the war ending. I also engaged in some highly geeked-out speculation about after the war. Hogan and Klink become friends, but Klink, down on his luck and humiliated at having let the prisoners get away with so much, goes to the US to get help form Hogan. Hilarity ensues. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/4 "2006-07-17T15:47:10Z")
[Summary of the show’s final episode](http://experts.about.com/q/Hogan-s-Heroes-1374/final-episode-Hogan-Heroes.htm). The series never showed the end of the war or the guys getting out of the camp. The last episode was fairly routine and interchangeable with the rest of the series. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/5 "2006-07-17T16:03:13Z")
It aired in the 60s. Shows did not routinely have series finales until much later. There were a few exceptions ( **The Dick Van Dyck Show** had one, though that was pretty much a regular episode with nothing tied up or any resolution), but usually it was expected that a show would continue indefinitely if it had the ratings or be cancelled if it did not. The idea of resolving everything just wouldn’t have occurred to anyone at the time. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/6 "2006-07-17T16:03:42Z")
Having a last show that is different than the rest is a fairly new phenomenon. I can’t recall anyone doing one prior to Mary Tyler Moore but I could be wrong. In the good old days they just kept cranking out the shows in the hopes that it got renewed. When it didn’t, that decision came down well after the last show was in the can. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/7 "2006-07-17T16:04:43Z")
Trivia point: AFAICT, the series was inspired by the excellent movie **Stalag 17**. Catch it on AMC the next time it’s on. You’ll recognize several elements that made it into the series, although the humor is darker and the drama more serious. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/8 "2006-07-17T16:09:59Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I can’t recall anyone doing one prior to Mary Tyler Moore but I could be wrong. I believe The Fugitive was the first show with a series-ending finale. ---
**Author:** ![shizaru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@shizaru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shizaru)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/9 "2006-07-17T16:16:02Z")
Thats too bad. I like the idea that Klink came the the US humiliated and needed Hogan’s help. Neither he nor Shultz were Nazi party members. Both of them, Klink especially, seemed like men caught up in events, not evil anti-semite crazy men. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/10 "2006-07-17T16:35:39Z")
I seem to remember that Spy magazine had a prank, just about the time that TV-show-inspired movies were becoming all the rage, where they called around pretending to be producing a big-screen _Hogan’s Heroes_ movie, to see who they could get to go along with it… Which got me thinking of what you could do with a _Hogan’s Heroes_ movie. My idea was to set it at a reunion, ten years after the end of the war, with everyone anxious to finally meet the mysterious mastermind, Papa Bear, who had planned the entire operation. There would be flashbacks to the group’s last missions, the liberation of the camp, their debriefings and return to civilian life. At the end of the movie, Papa Bear arrives, and it’s Colonel Klink. ---
**Author:** ![shizaru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@shizaru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shizaru)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/11 "2006-07-17T16:51:35Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > I seem to remember that Spy magazine had a prank, just about the time that TV-show-inspired movies were becoming all the rage, where they called around pretending to be producing a big-screen _Hogan’s Heroes_ movie, to see who they could get to go along with it… > > Which got me thinking of what you could do with a _Hogan’s Heroes_ movie. My idea was to set it at a reunion, ten years after the end of the war, with everyone anxious to finally meet the mysterious mastermind, Papa Bear, who had planned the entire operation. There would be flashbacks to the group’s last missions, the liberation of the camp, their debriefings and return to civilian life. > > At the end of the movie, Papa Bear arrives, and it’s Colonel Klink. That could work with only a very very very good cast, crew, screenwriter and director. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/12 "2006-07-17T16:59:57Z")
Schultz was actually the owner of a toy factory so Klink might be working for him after the war. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/13 "2006-07-17T19:48:41Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I can’t answer your question about the resolution of the series, but Bob Crane died in 1978, and the series ended in '71, so his death wasn’t the reason for the series going off the air. Crane definitely didn’t die during the series run; he continued onto an abortive film career (_Superdad_), a series of guest shots on various TV programmes (see [his IMDb.com entry](http://imdb.com/name/nm0186314/)) and a stint in dinner theatre purgatory. Although I can’t vouch for its authenticity the recent film [Autofocus](http://imdb.com/title/tt0298744/) purports to cover the highlights of his “Hogan’s Heros” days through his death (and implies that an electrican named John Carptenter who was invovled in Crane’s infamous sexual exploits) was responsible for the murder in a Scottsdale, AZ hotel. > [@Robot Arm](#): > > Which got me thinking of what you could do with a _Hogan’s Heroes_ movie. My idea was to set it at a reunion, ten years after the end of the war, with everyone anxious to finally meet the mysterious mastermind, Papa Bear, who had planned the entire operation. There would be flashbacks to the group’s last missions, the liberation of the camp, their debriefings and return to civilian life. Please, Og, no. The original show was sufficiently in bad taste; a cinematic remake would be hideous. Of course, I’d say the same thing about _Knight Rider_, _The Dukes of Hazzard_, and _Miami Vice_, but no one listens. :dubious: Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/14 "2006-07-17T20:01:11Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Please, Og, no. The original show was sufficiently in bad taste; a cinematic remake would be hideous. I’ve always wondered about that. Is _Hogan’s Heroes_ in worse taste than _The Producers_ or _To Be or Not to Be_? Is Mel Brooks the only person who’s allowed to make fun of Hitler these days? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/15 "2006-07-17T20:09:03Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > I’ve always wondered about that. Is _Hogan’s Heroes_ in worse taste than _The Producers_ or _To Be or Not to Be_? Is Mel Brooks the only person who’s allowed to make fun of Hitler these days? I assumed **Stranger** meant “in bad taste” simply in reference to its assault on comedy, not that a sitcom set in a WWII POW camp was necessarily bad taste. _Chicken Run_, though it wasn’t literally set in a POW camp, was in no uncertain terms a sendup of German WWII POW camps - nobody argues that it was in poor taste, do they? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/16 "2006-07-17T20:09:39Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Of course, I’d say the same thing about _Knight Rider_, _The Dukes of Hazzard_, and _Miami Vice_, but no one listens. Wait. There is a remake of _Knight Rider_ out? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/17 "2006-07-17T20:19:00Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Wait. There is a remake of _Knight Rider_ out? There were. [One with Hasselhoff and KITT](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102227/), [one with a new KITT and no Hasselhoff](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110273/), and [one with a bunch of new KITTs and still no Hasselhoff](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127398/). ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/18 "2006-07-17T20:21:20Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > There were. [One with Hasselhoff and KITT](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102227/), [one with a new KITT and no Hasselhoff](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110273/), and [one with a bunch of new KITTs and still no Hasselhoff](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127398/). Oh, yeah, the nineties. I’d don’t remember much from the nineties. Looks like I didn’t miss much. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/19 "2006-07-17T20:26:23Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I assumed **Stranger** meant “in bad taste” simply in reference to its assault on comedy, not that a sitcom set in a WWII POW camp was necessarily bad taste. > > _Chicken Run_, though it wasn’t literally set in a POW camp, was in no uncertain terms a sendup of German WWII POW camps - nobody argues that it was in poor taste, do they? Isn’t _Chicken Run_ based on _The Great Escape_? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860/20 "2006-07-17T20:56:58Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > Isn’t _Chicken Run_ based on _The Great Escape_? Mostly. Not the ending 😃 Seriously, largely no - there are a lot of references to TGE. But CR is its own story. It’s really not The Great Escape, plot-wise - the tunnel escape was a throwaway joke early on in the movie. And TGE was a movie about various prisoner’s individual experiences _after_ the escape. CR was _really_ about the plot to get out of the camp. And tons of other differences - there’s no “Rhode Island Red” equivalent _at all_. And they did a _fantastic_ job of communicating POW camp without ever _saying_ POW camp, and at the same time communicating it _wasn’t_ a concentration camp (I can just imagine how worried the makers of the movie were about _that_). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heroes-question/364860.md?page=2)