User Reviews

In one of the more plain episode that we have recently seen, this show starts out with the Germans advising about their bombing of London. Hogan, with the help of Allied command, is going to set a trap for the Germans by saying that a new rocket plant is being built in a nearby London community. And when the German set off to destroy the fake plant they will shoot down many of the bombers that have caused problem in London.

Carter is suppose to bait Klink into calling for a local General where the location of the fake plant will be revealed. So when General Von Lintzer arrives at Stalag 13, the General wants to take credit for the information leaving Klink on the sidelines. But little does Klink know, the sidelines is the safest place.

The only thing that seemed incorrect about the story was how foolish the writer made Carter. I feel sure they felt like it would provide some comic value to the script but all it did was make one of our heroes look like a idiot or shall we say dummkopf. There is some good lines in this episode but they are few and far between. After some really entertaining shows this seemed like a let down.

In the first of four scripts they wrote for "Hogan's Heroes," Art Baer and Ben Joelson give every indication that, having watched a few episodes, they thought, "Hey! We could do this too!" The pair had been writing for sitcoms such as "Car 54, Where Are You?" since the early 1960s, but their slapdash approach to "Klink's Rocket" seems more like what we now call fan fiction, aping the source's stylistic elements without ever understanding what makes them effective.

Consider: Stalag 13 commandant Colonel Klink smugly informs his prisoners of war, including Hogan's Heroes, Colonel Hogan's band of covert intelligence and sabotage operatives, that the Luftwaffe has launched a "blitzkrieg" against London, which incites the ire of English Corporal Newkirk, and thus prompts Hogan to concoct a plan to lure the Germans into a trap.

This entails hoisting non-Stalag 13 POW Billett (John Orchard, mangling what may be a Scottish accent), whom the Heroes are trying to deliver back to Britain, up a tree in a parachute so he can be captured having passed along a "breech plate" to the new, secret Allied "rocket gun"--actually the shade lock from Klink's office lamp--to Sergeant Carter, who is caught with it, prompting an "interrogation" by Klink and Sergeant Schultz that involves . . . Gourmet food, with Carter's groaning when overstuffed making the Heroes think he's being tortured. (Only by the plot, as are we all.)

Carter certainly cannot remember the name of the English town where the rocket-gun factory is located, which of course has been heavily fortified as the trap. This spurs Klink to call his not-really "old buddy" General Von Lintzer (a wasted Harold Gould) for help, with Von Lintzer poised to launch a bombing raid to destroy the factory once he learns the name of--

--Ay yi yi! Please make this Rube Goldberg contraption of a narrative stop. Leaving aside the illogical elements of their plot, such as keeping Billett hung out to dry--is he now fated to remain at Stalag 13? If he does escape, wouldn't that ruin Klink's perfect no-escape record?--Baer and Joelson play fast and loose with history.

Certainly, IMDb contributors have rushed to post Trivia and Goofs items noting that the (in)famous "Blitz," the Germans' ruthless bombing of Britain, particularly its capital city London, occurred from September 1940 to May 1941. This is true, and it would have made the presence of any American POW from Hogan on down anachronistic since the US didn't officially enter the war until December 1941.

But whether Baer and Joelson actually knew this or took a chance and got lucky, the Germans did launch Operation Steinbock, nicknamed the "Baby Blitz," in January 1944, bombing raids that targeted southern England, including London, until May 1944. Then there is the matter of the map on Klink's wall, which depicts Allied forces in proximity to German forces in and around Germany itself, which didn't occur until the very end of the war. Would Klink have wasted all that sumptuous food--with any food already in short supply by that point--on Carter just to get the location of one secret-weapon factory?

Do your homework, fellas. "Klink's Rocket" is slapped-together fan fiction that goes ka-blooey.

When Colonel Klink tells the POWs how well the war is going for the Germans. Hogan and the men are upset and he plans to show Klink something different.

Allied command sets a trap of a new rocket plant being built in a fictional area. Once the Germans find out about it and go to shoot their target, the British army would be in position to shoot down the German planes.

Colonel Klink needs to be convinced that a new POW has a part of this new rocket that he gave to Carter. In reality the part is something from Klink's own lamp that Hogan stole.

When Carter is interrogated, he needs to tell Klink that the town of Leadingham is where the rocket factory is located.

Things get complicated instead of interrogating Carter, Klink gives him gourmet food. Klink wants to wait until a local general arrives and then ask Carter questions. Trouble is Carter has trouble remembering the name of the town.

Over 50 years on, the whole episode looks silly and infantile.