[Epapazian]

The TV networks- ABC and NBC notably, thought they were on to a good thing with WW II-based dramas in the early-mid-1960s, in part due to the impetus of the Vietnam War as it led inevitably to fuller U.S. involvement. The earliest of these, "Combat" was mildly successful in the rating race, but far from a hit by the standards of the day. "Rat Patrol" got a very impressive sampling on its first telecast, but slid rapidly in the Nielsens due primarily to its half hour length---little time for character or storyline development---and, frankly, its hackneyed scripts which had a handful of jeep-bound commandos wiping out half of the "Afrika Korps" in every episode. "Rat Patrol" was dropped during its second season due to miserable ratings. As for the others---"Gallant Men', "the Lieutenant" ( which starred Robert Vaughn, later of "Man From U.N.C.L.E." fame) and "12 O,Clock High", all met with a tepid response from the viewing public and were speedily canceled. Except for "Combat", which fared reasonably well on the syndication rerun circuit for a number of years, the other shows disappeared quickly from the TV scene---only to reappear now in DVD form. Although many of us have fond memories of shows like these, few of TV's golden oldies have stood the rigors of time and are still good viewing today. Comedies like "I Love Lucy" or "All In The Family" tend to be exceptions to the rule because they use recurring situational backdrops and feature popular stars we enjoy watching again and again. The old dramas, however, appear dated and wear thin very quickly. Exceptions, in my opinion, are "The Untouchables", "Wild, Wild West' , "Kolchak, The Night Stalker", "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" and, of course, "Star Trek".