F Troop is set at Fort Courage, Kansas, a fictional Army outpost in
the West, in 1865, the year the Civil War ended. The commanding
officer at Fort Courage is the gallant but chronically clumsy and
accident-prone Captain Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), the descendant
of a long line of military leaders. He is awarded the Medal of Honor
after accidentally instigating the final charge at Appomattox: he is
meant to call "retreat", but he sneezes just as he is about to speak
and his troops mistake this for the order "Charge!" His superiors
soon realize his ineptitude and post him to remote Fort Courage, a
dumping ground for the least useful or trustworthy soldiers.
A concern with this F TROOP set: My copy of Season 1 had TWO
defective DVDs out of six! This May 2008 repackaging includes all 12
discs as originally issued. Let's hope Warner's quality control has
improved since '06.
F TROOP aired 65 half-hour episodes between 9/14/65 and 4/5/67. Only
the show's second season is in color. Also, things really picked up
steam part way through the first year, with Season Two having the
lion's share of "classic" episodes. Primary cast was Forrest Tucker
as Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke, stand-up comic Larry Storch as Cpl.
Randolph Agarn, dancer Ken Berry as Capt. Wilton Parmenter, and
17-year-old (at time of premiere) Melody Patterson as Wrangler Jane
Angelica Thrift.
Other series regulars: Frank DeKova as Chief Wild Eagle, James
Hampton as bugler Hannibal Dobbs, former cowboy star Bob Steele as
Trooper Duffy, Joe Brooks as near-sighted Trooper Vanderbilt, Ivan
Bell as Duddleson, John Mitchum as Hoffenmueller, Don Diamond as
Crazy Cat, Ben Frommer as Smokey Bear and (for six season 1
episodes) Edward Everett Horton as medicine man Roaring Eagle.
SYNOPSIS--
Wilton Parmenter receives a medal and promotion to captain after
inadvertantly winning a Civil War battle with a sneeze. Parmenter is
then sent west to command the most inept bunch of soldiers ever.
Fort Courage's bugler can't play anything but a bad Yankee Doodle,
their lookout is practically blind and Parmenter's sergeant and
corporal have a thriving business with the local tribe, the Hikawis,
who manufacture souvenirs and moonshine for them. Chief Wild Eagle's
second-in-command, Crazy Cat clearly wants the top job while tribal
elder Roaring Chicken is well into senility. Parmenter himself is
quite the opposite-- a babe in the woods who often bungles things up
and trips all over himself. None of this clumsiness deters trading
post owner Calamity Jane-- she practically throws herself at
"Wilton" whenever she can.
Suggested item:
GET SMART, with Don Adams and Barbara Feldon premiered the same year
as "F Troop."
Series was produced and written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.
FOR COMPLETE DETAILS OF ALL EPISODES, INCLUDING ORIGINAL AIRDATES
AND GUEST STARS, SEE COMMENT #1, LOCATED BELOW THIS REVIEW.
Season One (Black and White)
Scourge of the West
Introduction
Don't Look Now, One of Our Cannons Is Missing
The Phantom Major
Corporal Agarn's Farewell to the Troops
The Return of Bald Eagle
Dirge for the Scourge
The Girl from Philadelphia
Old Ironpants
Me Heap Big Injun
She's Only a Build in an Girdled Cage
A Gift From the Chief
Honest Injun
O'Rourke vs. O'Reilly
The 86 Proof Spring
Here Comes the Tribe
Iron Horse Go Home
Our Hero, What's His Name?
Wrongo Starr and the Lady in Black
El Diablo
Go for Broke
The New I. G.
Spy, Counterspy, Counter Counterspy
The Courtship of Wrangler Jane
Play, Gypsy, Play
Reunion for O'Rourke
Captain Parmenter, One Man Army
Don't Ever Speak to Me Again
Too Many Cooks Spoil the Troop
Indian Fever
Johnny Eagle Eye
A Fort's Best Friend is Not a Mother
Lieutenant O'Rourke, Front and Center
The Day the Indians Won
Will the Real Captain Try to Stand Up?
Season Two (Color)
The Singing Mountie
How to Be F Troop Without Really Trying
Bye, Bye, Balloon
Reach for the Sky, Pardner
The Great Troop Robbery
The West Goes Ghost
Yellow Bird
The Ballot of Corporal Agarn
Did Your Father Come from Ireland?
For Whom the Bugle Tolls
Miss Parmenter
La Dolce Courage
Wilton the Kid
The Return of Wrongo Starr
Survival of the Fittest
Bring on the Dancing Girls
The Loco Brothers
From Karate with Love
The Sergeant and the Kid
What Are You Doing After the Massacre?
A Horse of Another Color
V is for Vampire
That's Show Biz
The Day They Shot Agarn
Only One Russian Is Coming! Only One Russian
Is Coming!
