User reviews

Yes, I was a kid when the show was on. And yes, I got a "special dispensation" to watch it every Wednesday night (it was on after my bedtime). I loved it! My favorite character was Chief Screaming Eagle. My brother and I both used to call out the Heckawi's war cry, "We're the Heckawi!" Of course, one of my uncles taught us the other version, the one that began with an "F" but we still liked the original.

I now have a 7 year old, and would love to have him watch some of the old shows that I grew up with, like Captain Nice (underrated and really a blast), F Troop, and the local hits, like Wonderama and the Sandy Becker Show.

"I think we're lost. Where the heck are we?" Only instead of where the heck are we, it was pronounced we're the Hecate. I laughed so hard at the cleverness of this old joke. I was only a young teenage kid @ the time but this show was one of my favorite sitcoms. Ken Berry was talented @ slapstick & prat falls. The old vaudevillians teams were the the Sgt. & Corporal for one, and the Chief and his right hand man for the other. Still, the Chief was the most clever. When the Chief would talk about overhead or getting the short end of the stick, it would break me up. The writers were genuinely clever. True the show was silly, but what good is a sitcom unless it makes you laugh? F-Troop had the ability to make me laugh. At a time when hormones are running wild, and when our insecurities are @ their peak, F-Troop was a wonderful escape to a place of pure laugh filled entertainment. Maybe you think it's corny, but let me ask you this. Do you like the 3 stooges? You have to GET it to find the joke(s) funny. When it comes to F-Troop, I get it and am glad to get it. Watch & enjoy.

Though it only lasted for 65 episodes F Troop has become a TV comedy legend. The cavalry here is certainly not the cavalry that John Ford idealized in his westerns.

Real command of these misfits belongs to Forrest Tucker as Sergeant O'Rourke. Tucker has his finger in many of the town businesses, he's the silent owner of the saloon, the general store and has even got his own peace treaty with the Hekawi Indians. Under Chief Wild Eagle, played by Frank DeKova they're more interested in selling souvenirs to the tourists than going on the warpath.

But such peace presents problems and occasionally things have to be stirred up even if only for show to justify keeping Fort Courage open. And you need a commanding officer who you can bamboozle.

The opening episode provided such an officer, Captain Wilton Parmenter an apple that fell far from his military family tree. Ken Berry as Captain Parmenter proves to be the perfect dunce for Tucker's crafty schemes. Tucker is aided and abetted by Larry Storch as Corporal Agarn who got to do a lot of borscht belt shtick in his role. And if the shenanigans of Tucker and Storch weren't enough to keep him occupied, there was Wrangler Jane, a Calamity Jane ripoff played by Melody Patterson. She's the front woman for Tucker's businesses, but she actually falls for Parmenter and saves him from harm on more than one occasion.

F Troop lasted only two seasons, but it has an enduring following today. Some of the gags here may have inspired Burt Kennedy in some of his comic westerns. It's a TV Classic.

I watched this in re-runs throughout the '70s. The "Old West" setting is just that - a setting. The real laughs are how they put in 20th-century gags ranging from old showbiz groaners to mid-'60s topical events like the Playbrave Club and a rock group called - wait for it - "The Bedbugs" (don't ask where they got the electric guitars.)

The show ran on ABC for only 2 years, one in b/w, one in color; even so, it's still better than 90% of what's been aired as "comedy" since then. I wish somebody would put it out on video.

I bought the first season after buying a six episode sampler. F Troop was one of my favourites when it first aired in the mid sixties. The first season ( 34 episodes ) are in black and white but it really doesn't matter because they've done an excellent job of restoring the shows. There are a number of interesting guest stars - among my favourites are a couple of brief appearances by Jamie Farr ( Klinger from Mash ). John Mitchum ( Robert's brother ) as the nearly blind private in the watch tower. Melody Patterson as the captain's love interest is great playing a Calamity Jane type role. I haven't even mentioned Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch who work so well together and Ken Barry as " the old man " - the captain. Here's hoping they release the second season very soon - it's in colour and has tons of great special guest stars. Paul Lynde as " The Singing Mountie " alone would be well worth the cost. This one's a keeper - bet you'll watch it many times - it really is funny!

F Troop was one of the best of the stupid high-concept sitcoms of the time when I was growing up and seriously in need of Cathode-Ray parenting. Like Goldilocks, Gilligan's Island was too stupid, and The Munsters and Bewitched weren't stupid enough, but F Troop was just right (as was the Addams Family, Get Smart and oh yes, Green Acres.)

No way could it be made into a movie today! Forget about it! We were too stupid to realize how offensive the racism on the show was, and that was fine. The same stuff wouldn't be funny today.

Yes, I remember Larry Storch as his identical cousin Lucky Pierre: "They say I'm the Burglar of Banff-ff-ff!" Agarn:"The Burglar of Banff-ff-ff?" Pierre: "The Burglar of Banff-ff-ff!" Pure Vaudeville. I had forgotten about Paul Lynde's Singing Mountie until reading these reviews just now. This was the height of Lyndes's popularity, I think. (He was playing Samantha Steven's unforgettable warlock Uncle Arnold on Bewitched about the same time. He just didn't have the right star vehicle when the studios finally gave him his own sitcom.)

The reason one reviewer remembered "It Is Balloon!" so well was cause it was so damn funny! Throughout the episode, Agarn and O'Rourke kept describing to Wild Eagle and Crazy Cat hot air balloons, and they kept on refusing to believe any of it. Then in the last five minutes, it comes from out of the sky and... you had to be there.

For some reason, I'll never forget the episodes where Henry Gibson played the living jinx "Wrongo Starr." (Great stupid anachronisms abounded!) and Parmenter was always trying to give him affirmations, "You're not Wrongo Starr! You're Lucky Starr!" and Wrongo always managed to set off sequences of events that would have all the stunt actors in Hollywood busy for the week, always ending with the cannon misfiring and hitting the watchtower with somebody flying out of it.

You had to be a kid to love this show!

This TV series was absolutely brilliant! I remember rushing home from school to watch it. ABC Australia had it on at around 5:00 pm. The whole set up was really clever. The "Hekawi" Indian tribe who always got lost! (As in where the heck are we!) {Get it! 'We're the Hekawi!'} Dobbs, the bugler who couldn't play the bugle. Bumbling Colonel Parmenter, who managed to solve problems, by using the only ability he had... bumbling. Sgt O'Rourke who was one of the classic "lead from behind" characters in any series. Corporal Agarn, who always got things wrong, and that was before he put his foot in it! Tropper Duffy, who survived the Alamo, if anyone wanted to listen. {BTW, history has that that there were only one or two survivors of the Alamo!} And, of course Wrangler Jane, the female lead and colonel Parmenter's love interest. The original forward, put it out there, female. An absolutely fantastic series. Only three seasons! Shame!

Due to a sneeze Capt. Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry) becomes "The scourge of the west." He is sent out west to command F Troop. We find the real command of F Troop is O'ouke Enterprises. Always deceiving the military leaders that there is an ongoing war.

It tries too hard to be campy. There are lots of slapstick and ridiculous situations. Off-color jokes as she is a "She is a blue-nose redskin" or "If not work, me sue. No, me not Sioux, me Hakawi" - the Hakawi chief.

It leaves great memories and has surprising guest stars. Some of the stars are Milton Berle, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Harvey Korman, Don Rickles, Vincent Price, and Edward Everett Horton. You will have to watch the whole series to spot the actors not mentioned here.

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.

It is funny, but Ken Berry & Melody Patterson are the feature couple love interest & serious characters on this show. The comedy is carried by Larry Storch & Forrest Tucker plus an assortment of loonier characters. Ken Berry is given some physical comedy to do, but with the second bananas to play off, this show doesn't get off the ground. In fact, Forrest Tucker really steals the series. He is the glue that holds this together. In some ways, this is one of those ABC network products that should have worked better than it did in the 1960's. It only lasted 2 seasons & was never a big success. It did help make Tucker & Storch famous while landing Ken Berry a job on Mayberry RFD after the series was canceled. The 1965 to 1967 time frame was a time a lot of great series were on & it just couldn't make a dent in the ratings. I was young when this was on, & being young, I never felt I could get enough of Melody as she often got lost in the plots or was given little to do. I am not sure how politically correct Native Americans would find this now, as they were portrayed as inept to say the least.

I truly loved this show. Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch were a great comic team and they had a great chemistry together and Ken Berry was great at slapstick and this show was truly a showcase for that talent. It also could be seen as a parody of capitalism, especially in the case of the Hekawwe's. Wild Eagle had to have been one of the great con men in the history of television.

It doesn't get better than this. Made in 1965 the comedy was pure and unedited fun with a gigantic heart. Larry Storch plays Forrest Tucker's sidekick but manages to run away with the scene without upstaging his fellow thespians. Forrest Tucker was the straight man who delivered the stability and rock bottom level-headedness that only a major con-man can pull off with such savwarfair. Ken Berry was aptly caste as the bumbling commander of an already "messed-up" troop of goofs, layabouts, and losers. The troops of F-Troop were a misfit bunch of misfits too unfit to do anything but procrastinate and mess up any assignment they were given. And last but not least, the Indians! I loved every scene they were in... (Frank DeKova as Chief Wild Eagle! :) - those wacky injuns were 40 years ahead of their time for today's modern "Native American" casinos! :)

So here's to one of the best all-time TV comedy shows ever to grace the TVs of many American homes - clink the champagne and a tip my hat boys! (I can hear the bugle now ... here comes Agarn to lay one on that darn bugler! :)

Larry Storch .... Cpl. Randolph Agarn

Forrest Tucker .... Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke

Ken Berry .... Capt. Wilton Parmenter

Melody Patterson .... Wrangler Jane Angelica Thrift

James Hampton .... Trooper Hannibal Dobbs

Frank DeKova .... Chief Wild Eagle

Bob Steele .... Trooper Duffy

Joe Brooks .... Trooper Vanderbilt

Don Diamond .... Crazy Cat

May God richly bless each and every one of them! ... in Jesus' name, amen! :)

-LD

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my faith: http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/jbc33/

Hard to believe there are a couple of reviews rubbishing this series, but then, not everyone has a sense of humour I guess? This show was pure class, in the slapstick comedy genre, and had one of the great all time ensemble casts ever! One of the most difficult styles of comedy to do, is that of the 'innocent bumbler' Ken Berry was brilliant at it, right up there with Fred MacMurray and Robert Cummings, who were also masters of this style! Forrest Tucker, a seasoned performer in westerns, displayed a great flair for comedy, and Larry Storch had a style all his own, and yes, he was funny! Melody Patterson, only 16 when the series started, was a mature, for her age, gorgeous blonde, who played the tom boy part of 'Wrangler Jane' to perfection! Frank DeKova, an Italian who played 'Chief Wild Eagle' was hilarious! It was pure fun, with great writers, and the only tragic thing about it, was that it was cancelled after only 2 seasons! But those 65 episodes will remain little gems for all time or, as long as technology allows!

COMEDIES THAT CENTER on the life in the military are a commonplace sort of genre. Even before the days of TV, the Service Comedy was a guaranteed crowd pleaser. We have only to look at such examples in the theatrical release category as WHAT PRICE GLORY? (Two versions), THE SGT.DOUBLEDY "B" Movie Series (from Hal Roach), Martin & Lewis in JUMPING JACKS and even TELL IT TO THE MARINES (starring Lon Chaney).

AS FAR AS examples on the small screen, we have PHIL SILVERS SHOW/YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH, McHALES' NAVY, ENSIGN O'TOOLE, HOGAN'S HEROES and the short lived series THE SOLDIERS (with Hal March & Tom D'Andrea).

EACH ONE OF these has at its central element some sort of ongoing friction between some conniving officer & his men with the Commanding Officer. Hence we see Sgt. Bilko & his Platoon vs Colonel Hall, Sgt. O'Rourke & Cpl. Agarn vs Lt. Parmenter, Hogan vs Klink, etc.

PERHAPS BECAUSE IT gave the production company a chance to strike out into a slightly different direction, F TROOP was born. After all, each of the previous TV Service Comedies were set in contemporary times; no one had thought of setting a series in the Old West, circa 1870's and having the antagonists in the U.S. Cavalry.

WELL, THE IDEA did get off of the drawing board and was filmed by Warner Brothers' TV Unit. Its success seems impossibly short today, as it lasted only two seasons. One of its years was done in B&W, the other in Color. Music was supplied by Hollywood Veteran, William Lava; whose career had included work in Warner's Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies animations, Republic Serials and his Television output.

BEING THAT THIS series went for the obvious gag and was not at least subtle, we wonder what did make it so memorable? In one sense, it is the BILKO Show or McHALE in a different packaging. The only essential difference would be substituting horses for jeeps, planes and warships.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW, we discover that it is the work of the cast that made it click. The teaming of Forrest Tucker (Sgt.O'Rourke) and Larry Storch (Cpl. Agarn) was one of those pleasant accidents that work out so well. They function as a sort of straight man & stooge comedy team and do it well. How often they used the running gag of, "I don't know why people say you you're so dumb. Agarn!", followed by (after a dissolve to another scene) "Who says I'm so dumb, Sarge?"

INSTEAD OF HAVING a hard boiled, commanding officer (such as those on McHALE or BILKO, F TROOPS' antagonist is a sort of man child. Innocent and Naïve, Ken Berry's characterization of the Lieutennant was never cross with his men and also never aware of all of the shenanigans that were playing out.

COMIC CARICITUER OF the local non hostile Indian Tribe were provided by Frank DeKova (Chief Wild Eagle), Don Diamond (Crazy Cat), Edward Everett Horton (Roaring Chicken) and others. Those of the Hokowi tribe were more interested in doing business than making war. (We often wonder if, knowing human nature, these types weren't really commonplace in the West!)

WE RECALL SEEING Forrest Tucker some years after F TROOP had gotten the ax. It was on some talk show (Merv Griffin, maybe?). He said that they wanted to get together and revive the series for some new episodes; but alas, it never materialized!

NOW, WE KNOW why everybody says that Network Execs are so dumb!

Was Vanderbilt eligible for Workmen's Comp? I like F Troop even if they did the same gags (like shooting down the guard tower) over and over again. Season 1 is better than season 2 IMO also. The Hekawi Indians and the show's guest stars usually steal the show from the rest of F Troop's cast.

This comedy series was way ahead of its time. Maybe this was the reason it unfortunately only went for two seasons. When I was a kid it was originally released on ABC TV and most kids didn't watch the ABC. When it eventually aired on a commercial station many years later, I started watching it and couldn't get enough of it. I now own the full box set of 65 episodes and watch it over and over. Although I love Mchales Navy, which I also have each episode of, it relied heavily on the antics of Captain Binghamton and Ensign Parker for its success. With F Troop, I felt every character worked brilliantly with one another. A timeless series that I will never tire of.

A who's who from the old B westerns was the original draw....Bob Steele and Forrest Tucker in particular. Add to that Larry (Judyjudyjudy) Storch and his tag lines that come off like rimshots in a cheesy nightclub. "Bless you child." Guest appearances by the likes of Don Rickles and Harvey Korman. Corny shtick, but surprisingly still funny. And finally Ken Berry.....

Two things. He's built like a gymnast, and his continuous pratfalls are reminiscent of Tati. But even better, he's a hilarious prototype of Mr. Rogers. That syrupy smooth in-control voice and persona.... leading to a string of utter absurdities....

OMG i hated that chick on here. Kept hoping she'd meet an untimely end. I did like ken berry and i could never stand him before. V for vampire was the best episode. Gotta love Vincent Price - what class. Loved Storch's war dance jig. Frank DeKova was an amazing Indian even though i was used to him being a gangster on the untouchables. Always loved Forrest Tucker. Dad would talk about this show. Course i get it after he dies. I mainly got this because of Bob Steele. Oh i love him. Sadly his scenes were few and far between. His scenes should have been much more extended. Ken you can tell was a dancer. He got some grace in his falls!

F-Troop is the kind of classic comedy show that should have been on for many years. It makes you want to kick the people that canceled it. I read that fans at the time wrote in letters to keep it alive,but unfortunately the foolish television executives canceled this fine show after only two seasons. Season one(B&W)went for 34 episodes and season two(color)of F-Troop went for 31 episodes for a total of 65 thirty minute episodes,and classic comedy episodes they are. Ken Berry(Captain Parmenter)used his dance training to fine effect in the many comedy stunts that he did. He also appeared in the Andy Griffith show and also had his own show after F-Troop finished. Ken then went and did a lot of Disney tele-movies and TV shows like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island,but F-Troop was his best show by far. I hope that this series gets to DVD as I will be first in line to by the two box sets.

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.

I will add, Forrest Tucker is an interesting actor. He's very good, believable, in "Chisum" (1970). He reminds me of Brian Keith in terms of believability.

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?

In 1965, ABC aired a western comedy ("F-Troop"), created by Richard Bluel; which, sadly, only ran for two seasons. This was a clean comedy about a U. S. cavalry fort on the American frontier, shortly after the American Civil War and one of the tribes that they were on friendly terms with (the fictional Hakawi tribe). It was an episodic show that had the characters getting into a different misadventure each episode.

Most of these comedic situations would be instigated by Corporal Agarn (played by Larry Storch) and Sergeant O'Rourke (played by Forrest Tucker). These two were among a great comedic cast, that included Melody Patterson, who proved that a woman does not need to dress scantily to be alluring.

Also, despite what some might have you believe there were woman characters like Wrangler Jane who were smart and tough, while still being able to maintain their femininity. There were a great many, who were far from being a Brady.

As well as being well-acted and written, this television show was, also, quite technically sound, despite being made in the 1960s. The picture quality was quite clear.

I can not think of a single flaw, with this show. If anything, maybe it would be the tribal scenes looking a bit like they were on a set. I give it an 11/11. If you want to see a clean and well-done comedy. Give it a watch.