EPISODE GUIDES: F Troop Season Two

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Two (the final season) of F Troop!

F TROOP: SEASON TWO
1966-1967
31 episodes

The second and final season of F Troop transitions to glorious color and definitely picks it up on the comedy. While there are still some clunkers, most of the best episodes of the series come from this season, not from season one. The show dipped a little more into the surreal and satirical and I have to think it would have headed even more in that direction if it had continued longer. But it became one of those "two and done" shows of the 60s just like fellow classics The Munsters and The Addams Family.

Starring
Forrest Tucker as Sergeant Morgan Sylvester O'Rourke (31 episodes)
Larry Storch as Corporal Randolph Agarn (31 episodes)
Ken Berry as Captain Wilton Parmenter (31 episodes)
Melody Patterson as Wrangler Jane (31 episodes)
Frank de Kova as Chief Wild Eagle (31 episodes)

James Hampton as Private Hannibal Shirley Dobbs (31 episodes)
Don Diamond as Crazy Cat (31 episodes)
Bob Steele as Trooper Duffy (30 episodes)
Joe Brooks as Trooper Vanderbilt (20 episodes)

35. The Singing Mountie (9/8/66)
A Canadian mountie arrives at F Troop looking for Agarn's French Canadian cousin who is accused of stealing fur.

It really is a treat to see F Troop in color. The show just pops so much more. For some shows like The Andy Griffith Show, it didn't matter much. For some of these more farcical shows like this, I Dream of Jeannie, and Gilligan's Island, it makes a big difference. I think that probably would have been true for The Munsters and The Addams Family too if they had run long enough. This season starts strong on a creative note too with Paul Lynde bringing his signature ridiculous nature in a guest starring role. Whoever had the idea to have Lynde play a singing Canadian mountie deserved a raise. There's a decent twist to the story too. All in all, a very strong start for F Troop's season in color.
RATING: 8.5/10

36. How to be F Troop Without Really Trying (9/15/66)
Everyone in F Troop is set to be transferred except for Agarn who must stay and train the new troops.

This is a fun plot that is executed pretty well even with some silly moments mixed in. The dual plots of Agarn training the new troops and everyone else trying to get the decision overturned means a lot is happening in the episode and that is always a better situation for F Troop. I like that this episode plays up the Wrangler Jane/Parmenter relationship but I do wish the show didn't resort so often to Parmenter just being a stumbling idiot. Less is more when it comes to those sight gags.
RATING: 6.5/10

37. Bye, Bye Balloon (9/22/66)
A Prussian balloonist comes to Fort Courage to teach the troops how to use balloons against the Indians.

This episode exemplifies 1960s "dumb-coms" at their best. The plot here is just beyond ridiculous and it's complemented by an over the top, hammy performance from guest star Harvey Korman (of The Carol Burnett Show fame). There's silliness that can be subversive or played well as a farce and then there's just dumb plots and this episode falls into the latter category. Adding in the long straying from the plot where Agarn starts acting like the Prussian guest, this is an all around bad episode.
RATING: 1.5/10

38. Reach for the Sky, Pardner (9/29/66)
After the payroll is stolen, Agarn and O'Rourke volunteer to guard the replacement one on a train.

This was an episode that had a really interesting opening scene but after that, I just kept hoping would get going and become interesting again. I especially got hopeful when O'Rourke and Agarn got on the train. I love a good train episode and I think there was a lot of comedy to be mined by the disguises they were in and the stakes of what they were doing. But it fell flat. This episode just kind of meandered and never seemed to live up to its opening scene and overall premise. Also, did they use stock footage from the Petticoat Junction theme at one point in this episode or am I just thinking that because Charles Lane was also in the episode?
RATING: 2.5/10

39. The Great Troop Robbery (10/6/66)
Agarn develops amnesia and is accused of stealing from the fort.

Ah, the required "amnesia" episode. Getting amnesia was more common in TV characters of the 60s than probably any other demographic ever. This episode is aided by Milton Berle as a Medicine Man (can you imagine any white actor much less a major TV star playing a role like this today? It would be a huge controversy!) Nevertheless, I'm not judging by today's standards and Berle is enjoyable in the role. The episode has a good amount of suspense and Larry Storch is good in this episode. And of course, how does amnesia get cured? By another bump on the head of course!
RATING: 7/10

40. The West Goes Ghost (10/13/66)
O'Rourke leads a group of F Troop members in taking over a ghost town with hopes of getting rich if a train is built than runs through it.

This is a fun and very original episode of F Troop. As I mentioned in season one, I like episodes that can work on F Troop but not other sitcoms. The amnesia episode was fun but almost every 60s sitcom did an amnesia episode. Not every show could do a theme set in a ghost town in a legitimate way. It's also a fun way to split up the main cast and kind of unusual for the four in the ghost town to include Duffy and Vanderbilt. The episode had a good amount of suspense and plot turns too. Probably my favorite so far in the series, actually.
RATING: 9/10

41. Yellow Bird (10/20/66)
A white woman raised by the Indians falls in love with Captain Parmenter.

This could have been an interesting episode because it has an interesting premise. But it's also a little bit too heavy of a topic for a 60s sitcom to handle in anyway other than just pure silliness and that's what we get. We get a super silly episode with a surprisingly uninspired performance from Julie Newmar. This seems like the type of role that would be great for her but maybe it's a little too broad comedy and not enough seduction.
RATING: 3/10

42. The Ballot of Corporal Agarn (10/27/66)
Agarn has not sent in his absentee ballot for mayor of his hometown. When the race is tied, the two candidates show up at Fort Courage to woo him.

I love the plot of this episode. I think it's a very clever one and sets up a ton of funny comedy. There are many chances for Larry Storch to shine as Agarn is being wooed by the two candidates (including That Girl's Lew Parker doing a great job here). It also keeps the suspense going throughout the episode. The actual way Agarn will vote is not clear throughout the episode and the way it interjects with O'Roruke Enterprises is all very clever. This is a well done episode.
RATING: 8.5/10

43. Did Your Father Come from Ireland? (11/3/66)
Sergeant O'Rourke's father arrives from Ireland while O'Rourke is away on a mission and drives everyone crazy.

Usually it's Larry Storch who doubles up on roles but it's Forrest Tucker's turn for this episode as he plays his character's Irish father. The show keeps the actual O'Rourke away for much of the episode so most of Tucker's role in this episode is as the father. Tucker does a pretty good job here, but he is too much of a straight man to really play a comedic character like this over the top Irish man with a lot of gusto. The scene with Agarn, Parmenter, and Jane as leprechauns, while impressive from a costuming standpoint, was a little too silly.
RATING: 5.5/10

44. For Whom the Bugle Tolls (11/10/66)
A colonel visits who judges a troop based on their bugle player, and that makes all of Fort Courage nervous.

This is a fun episode and a great spotlight for Dobbs, who is typically seen as more of a side character. It's also fun to design an entire episode around his bad bugle playing, which has been a recurring joke but nothing more than that for the entire series to date. If the episode was attempting to drive us viewers as crazy with Dobbs' relentless practicing that angered the troop and scared all the animals, they succeeded. That was a long sequence to sit through so I guess it got its point across! It was also a good small little showcase for Crazy Cat, also an underutilized supporting character.
RATING: 7.5/10

45. Miss Parmenter (11/17/66)
Wilton's sister visits the camp and becomes intent on marrying Dobbs.

This is the second straight episode to deal with Dobbs. However, he is not as much of a presence in this episode even though the plot centers on a character's affection for him. The show did a nice job of making Parmenter's sister similar to him but it was an uneven performance from guest star Patty Regan (who I disliked as well in her guest appearance on Bewitched). It also seems to get a little weirdly serious as it turns from a more light-hearted episode about cookies to an episode where Chief Wild Eagle is on death's door.
RATING: 3/10

46. La Dolce Courage (11/24/66)
An Italian father and daughter visit Fort Courage while hiding out from the daughter's former lover who wants her back.

While it makes next to no sense that a bunch of Italians practically fresh off the boat would end up in the wild west at a place like Fort Courage, this is still a funny episode with a lot of good comedy and some suspense. There's a nice (if not underutilized) guest turn from Jay Novello, who also made memorable guest appearances on I Love Lucy. It's interesting how many 50s and 60s shows seemed to want to do an episode centered around a very Italian character.
RATING: 6/10

47. Wilton the Kid (12/1/66)
An outlaw who looks just like Wilton wreaks havoc at Fort Courage.

Now it's Ken Berry's turn to do double-duty as he plays outlaw Kid Vicious who is conveniently a double to Captain Parmenter. This is an example of F Troop being gimmicky instead of just telling a good story. An outlaw who's hard to track down hiding around Fort Courage is a great story but when it turns out the outlaw is an exact double to Parmenter, it veers from being a good story to being a silly gimmick. Berry does a decent job in the different role and Agarn has some funny moments here, but I would prefer to just have a regular episode about an outlaw.
RATING: 6.5/10

48. The Return of Wrongo Starr (12/8/66)
The jinx, Wrongo Starr, returns to Fort Courage and this time is bringing a load of dynamite with him on a mission.

Wrongo Starr's second trip to Fort Courage isn't as good an episode as the first. The problem is twofold. First of all, Henry Gibson just isn't that funny enough of a guest star to be playing the type of role he's asked to play. Secondly, this episode seems to focus almost entirely on Wrongo being a klutz with a few asides to a silly subplot involving a goat. At its best, F Troop can be borderline subversive and satirical. At its worst, it's a dumb 1960s sitcom. This is an example of the latter.
RATING: 2/10

49. Survival of the Fittest (12/15/66)
Parmenter and Agarn take an army survival test and O'Rourke is worried about their ability to complete the tasks.

This episode starts with a really funny moment as information is passed from one soldier to another. It doesn't really have anything to do with the episode but it's a very funny bit. The plot to the actual episode is a good one and one that seems like it could be rife with comedy. Agarn and Parmenter having to do a survival test is a good chance to show a dynamic between two characters who don't interact individually very often. I was disappointed that this episode chose to be more about O'Rourke funneling them food than about the mission.
RATING: 6/10

50. Bring on the Dancing Girls (12/22/66)
O'Rourke and Agarn go after a man who swindled them out of their saloon but upset the rest of the troops in the process.

This is an interesting episode because it pits O'Rourke and Agarn against the rest of the troop and puts the two guys who are usually on the inside on the outside. It's a nice change from the expected goings-on of F Troop. One thing that I think about from time to time, it sometimes seems like the Hekawi scenes are not necessary. They are sometimes integral to the plot but in other episodes (like this one), having a scene at their camp doesn't really feel all that necessary.
RATING: 6.5/10

51. The Loco Brothers (12/29/66)
A pair of renegade Indians kidnap Parmenter because they want some company.

This was the episode of F Troop that Nick at Nite selected for their 10 Year Anniversary Week back in 1995 when they were supposedly picking the "best" episodes. It's not a terrible episode, but for the life of me I can't figure out why this is the one that was chosen. Sure, there's some fun stuff here. Agarn dressing up as an Indian woman along with Jane's failed attempts at seducing the Loco Brothers is funny. But, there are better F Troop episodes out there than this one.
RATING: 6/10

52. From Karate With Love (1/5/67)
A Japanese woman fleeing an arranged marriage stays at Fort Courage with assistance from the troop.

Well, in addition to the usual Indian stereotypes, we get quite a few Japanese stereotypes in this episode. Just like with Italian characters, 60s sitcoms seemed to love to bring Japanese people in for an episode for culture clash reasons. So, we get to see silly sight gags like Wilton getting fully into the Asian culture and wearing a kimono in a fully redecorated office. It did actually have a little bit of a sweet ending though and a commentary about the problem with arranged marriages.
RATING: 6.5/10

53. The Sergeant and the Kid (1/12/67)
A young boy runs away from home and wants to join the army so O'Rourke tries to figure out a way to get him uninterested.

Another 60s sitcom trope... a young kid (almost always a boy) gets involved in whatever setting the sitcom takes place in. Despite being a typical 60s plot, this is perhaps the sweetest and most sentimental F Troop ever gets. Instead of simply being about shenanigans (though there are plenty of those, most of which involve the entire troop dressing like Indians), there's a genuine warmth between O'Rourke and the boy who seems him as a father figure. Also a fun fact, and it's noticeable when you know to listen for it, the boy (Peter Robbins) was the voice of Charlie Brown for the two most memorable Peanuts specials - A  Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
RATING: 8/10

54. What Are You Doing After the Massacre? (1/19/67)
A very old Hekawi chief visits and wants the tribe to massacre Fort Courage.

This is a fun, Hekawi-centered episode that features a good guest turn by Phil Harris as a 147 year old Indian chief (and a very funny Hello Dolly! joke that would have been a pretty timely one in 1967). The beginning of the episode when they meet Flaming Arrow is better than the end of the episode. Agarn posing as George Washington isn't really a funny or satisfying solution to an otherwise well developed plot. A funny tag scene does help save the ending a little bit.
RATING: 6/10

55. A Horse of Another Color (1/26/67)
O'Rourke and Agarn are trying to capture the same wild stallion that Parmenter is.

As you may have read in other episode guides, I am not usually a fan of animal episodes. This is actually a pretty decent one as far as animal episodes go thanks to a fun competing storyline between O'Rourke/Agarn and Parmenter/Jane. It does get a little long during the part where Agarn and Parmenter are stuck in the cave (seemingly the same cave The Loco Brothers took Parmenter to a few episodes ago). Also, it might be because a storyline involving a horse makes a lot more sense in an Old West setting than some other 60s sitcom settings.
RATING: 6/10

56. V is for Vampire (2/2/67)
A count from Transylvania arrives at the fort and the troop worries he might be a vampire.

Unlike the previous episode that made a lot of sense (incorporating a horse), this is an example of F Troop just getting downright silly by bringing a vampire to the fort. I feel like the writers were just sitting around and someone said "let's do an episode where a vampire shows up" as a joke and then it became reality. Or maybe they had a chance to have Vincent Price on so they, of course, had to do a vampire episode. Aside from the ludicrous plot, a lot of the episode is just a "haunted house" episode which can be fun, but is done better in other sitcoms.
RATING: 3.5/10

57. That's Show Biz (2/9/67)
A rock 'n' roll group comes to Fort Courage and want Agarn as their manager.

A pretty notorious episode of F Troop that takes it out of the 1860s and puts it in the 1960s. If you thought a vampire coming to Fort Courage was silly, how about a 60s Beatles-type band called The Bedbugs? However, what I will say about this one - as opposed to the previous episode - this one is so ridiculous that it's actually fun especially with how dated the episode has become when it was clearly trying to be hip at the time. When the troop forms "The Termites" as a competing band, the cast looks like they are having a great time. I don't know, I know this episode is stupid, but I had more fun watching it than almost any F Troop episode.
RATING: 8/10

58. The Day They Shot Agarn (2/16/67)
Agarn is facing the firing squad after he lets a prisoner escape who seemingly murders O'Rourke.

Just like the first season finale, F Troop experiments with storytelling a little bit here. They start with Agarn marching towards his execution and then flash back to show what led to that point. I think it's done even better in this episode than it was the first time they used this conceit. The suspense stays throughout the episode and it's not clear where things are going or how they're going to be resolved. I also like the song that plays over the beginning and end of the episode. The music is a lot more appropriate for the time than the Bedbugs music from the previous episode!
RATING: 9/10

59. Only One Russian is Coming! Only One Russian is Coming! (2/23/67)
Agarn's cousin from Russia visits and takes a liking to Jane with plans to steal her from Parmenter.

Boy, this troop got a lot of visitors, especially in season two! This is another chance for Larry Storch to ham it up, this time as Agarn's Russian cousin. Here's the thing - Storch is just hammy enough as Agarn to a point where it is funny. Any time that he plays these alter egos, he tends to overdo it. It's one thing when you have someone like Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched who is typically playing a straight woman and then gets to be kooky as Serena. But Agarn is a little kooky as is. We don't need a more extreme version of Agarn.
RATING: 3/10

60. Guns, Guns, Who's Got the Guns? (3/2/67)
Parmenter is tipped off that someone in the fort is selling guns to the Indians and goes on a mission to find out who it is.

This is an episode that tries to be suspenseful but is a little bit too transparent about where things are going to go. Maybe they weren't trying too hard to be secretive about how the episode would resolve, but it seemed to play like an F Troop episode that was building to a surprising conclusion and then it ended up not being that surprising. The most interesting part of this episode was the opening where we learned that F Troop was set in 1866 because they were celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Duffy at the Alamo (a pretty funny recurring joke they do).
RATING: 4/10

61. Marriage, Fort Courage Style (3/9/67)
O'Rourke and Agarn bring a matchmaker to the fort and Jane hires her to help her marry Parmenter.

This episode is a little bit frenetic as it involves two dream sequences plus the main plot. The main plot is pretty fun with a solid guest performance from Mary Wickes and some good comedy between Wrangler Jane and Parmenter. The show loses some points when it comes to the dream sequences, which remind me a little bit of the bizarre Mary Tyler Moore episode "Mary's Three Husbands" (yes, I know this came first). Both the Agarn and Parmenter sequences aren't that funny and that bogs the episode down.
RATING: 4.5/10

62. Carpetbagging, Anyone? (3/16/67)
A man has bought the land that Fort Courage sits on and plans to throw out the troop.

This episode starts in a fun way as we get to hear the theme song played differently and in the context of the actual episode. The entire episode is pretty fun because we have everyone coming together to get rid of someone threatening their way of life. That's usually a fun conceit for an episode because it allowed the troop and the Indians to work together even closer than usual as well as some solid chances to shine for some of the supporting characters like Dobbs, Duffy and Vanderbilt. Although it was a little weird to see another near death moment so soon after "The Day They Shot Agarn."
RATING: 8/10

63. The Majority of Wilton (3/23/67)
Wilton is up for a promotion to major but has to deal with a cold and then alcohol-based remedies before his test.

The first time I saw F Troop was in the Summer of 1995. I was eight years old and obsessed with Nick at Nite and discovered F Troop and recorded it (as it aired in the middle of the night) almost daily. Since then, I've only seen a smattering of episodes and so a lot of these felt new. But this one, despite not seeing it since 1995, came right back to me. It's a funny episode with a committed performance by Ken Berry as a drunk Wilton. It is also sweet at the end and would have made for a good series finale. My only frustration with it was it took a little too long to get to the meat of the episode.
RATING: 8/10

64. Our Brave in F Troop (3/30/67)
O'Rourke and Agarn sneak Chief Wild Eagle into the fort to get dental help but he ends up earning the favor from a visiting general.

We get a little bit of a reversal in this episode. Instead of the troop posing as Indians, we have Chief Wild Eagle posing as a soldier this time. Although the conceit of this episode is a little silly, it still makes for a fun episode and gives Frank de Kova (finally) something different to do. De Kova was up to the challenge and I wonder if they would have made the character more versatile had the show continued beyond season two. F Troop really seemed to hit a stride towards the end of season two. It makes me wonder what kind of show this would have become.
RATING: 7.5/10

65. Is This Fort Really Necessary? (4/6/67)
An officer famous for shutting down forts arrives at Fort Courage to get married to a woman who has a past with O'Rourke.

F Troop ends its two year run with an episode that isn't quite as strong as the recent stretch of episodes and of course, I don't think they knew at the time they filmed this that it would be their final episode (not that it mattered for plot back then). This is a so-so episode that is putting a lot of its comedy on misunderstanding and pulling fast ones whereas I wish they had played up the romantic tension with O'Rourke more. The jumping back and forth in the dinner scene is not nearly as funny as it could be.
RATING: 5.5/10

AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON TWO:
5.8/10

The Best Episodes
1. "The West Goes Ghost" (#40) - 9/10
2. "The Day They Shot Agarn" (#58) - 9/10
3. "The Singing Mountie" (#35) - 8.5/10
4. "The Ballot of Corporal Agarn" (#42) - 8.5/10
5. "The Majority of Wilton" (#63) - 8/10

The Worst Episodes
1. "Bye Bye Balloon" (#37) - 1.5/10
2. "The Return of Wrongo Starr" (#48) - 2/10
3. "Reach for the Sky, Pardner" (#38) - 2.5/10
4. "Only One Russian is Coming, Only One Russian is Coming" (#59) - 3/10
5. "Yellow Bird" (#41) - 3/10

Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV news stories of the week!

Next Thursday: A recap of F Troop including my picks for best and worst episodes!