Hogan's Heroes: A Russian Is Coming (1967)
Season 3, Episode 12
5/10
Bob Hastings not given enough to make us laugh
17 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
We begin with the Heroes' friend from France, Maurice, and one of his Underground colleagues bringing in a person all tied up and gagged. It is explained that he is a Russian pilot whose plane just crashed near the camp. They had to tie him up because he didn't believe they were on the same side of the war and wanted to help him. So they dump him with Hogan inside one of their tunnels.

Hogan is able to convince the pilot, named Igor, played by Bob Hastings, best known as Carpy on McHale's Navy, that they are all on the Allied side, but the pilot is insistent on going home to Russia and not to England, which is the way Hogan wants to send him because he doesn't have connections to send him East.

The pilot is left in the tunnel at some point and he "escapes" and is again caught and tied up by the Underground and returned. Hogan now says he'll get him back to Russia, but Igor needs to trust him. Igor promises to do so.

Meanwhile, Klink has been ordered to find this missing pilot and told his future depends on it. It suddenly seems he has dozens of extra men not needed to guard his own prisoners, and he spends most of the episode on several walkie-talkies communicating with the various group leaders as they are directed by Klink on where to search for the pilot.

Hogan comes up with a fake relative of noted Nazi leaders who is in contact with Klink on the phone. Not recognizing Hogan's undisguised voice, Klink tries hard to please him, but then Kinch pretends to be the lieutenant's commander who says the man is a thief he wants to get rid of. He tells Klink that if he shows up, to send him to the Russian front.

Naturally, Hogan gets Igor into a German uniform and Igor now is quickly sent to the Russian front via the Germans.

Now we aren't told that Igor speaks German, but it would seem that he couldn't pass as a German officer on this trip without being able to.

I think the biggest problem with the action here is that Maurice finding this disagreeable Russian and dumping him inside the tunnels seems quite unwise. He could have blown the whole operation. I think all Hogan really needed to do is explain, "Igor, we have a way to get you back to Russia but you have to first go through our connections to England before they send you back. The other option is for you to go free in the woods outside camp, with hundreds of Krauts looking to make you a prisoner, and you try to find your own way back home." Igor would have said, "England will do, thank you."

About the only laughs came from Igor spending some time telling our friends what a wonderful place Russia is, extolling them the virtues including all sorts of agricultural statistics showing how they have improved farming methods over time. The Heroes were bored silly, but Igor tells these stats with glowing excitement in his voice.

Otherwise, the fine actor who was one of the funniest regulars on McHale's Navy, was not utilized very much on this show. Too much of this centered on all the phone calls to Klink, setting up the resolution. I give it a 5 out of 10.
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