As television was developing in the mid-to-late 1960's, the three networks did a good bit of experimenting with show formats, story lines, novelties, special effects, and backgrounds. In the 1967-68 series, One of the things that CBS decided to try was elimination the laugh track on a comedy that was considered to be "intelligent." "Hogan's Heroes," which was a comedy with serious elements, fit the bill as well as any other on the air at the time, so the network decided to eliminate the laugh track during one episode to see if the comic element could stand on its own merits. Ratings showed that the laugh track was needed, and it was used thereafter, although CBS did lessen its use in certain situations, such as the operating-room scenes in M*A*S*H after the first two seasons.
The story itself is well-done here and is a cut above most in the series.
The story itself is well-done here and is a cut above most in the series.