If you're like me and really enjoy watching rugged, masculine, man-to-man combat that features plenty of high-powered explosions, rapid gunfire showdowns, and "in-your-face" confrontations, then, believe me, The Rat Patrol is definitely your #1 ticket to some truly awesome TV entertainment.Set in the vast North African desert, during WW2, The Rat Patrol is an elite Allied commando team of experts whose mission is to attack, harass, and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel's vaunted Afrika Korps.Join this fearless, four-man army of rough'n'tough dudes, headed by Sgt. Sam Troy (played by Christopher George), as they fearlessly wage war against Nazis, traitors, and wild-eyed fanatics.Filmed in living color, The Rat Patrol, from 1966, is a fast-paced, action-packed collection of 32 explosive episodes that are pure dynamite from start to finish. This was no low-budget production here!With its episodes all being only 30 minutes in length, The Rat Patrol's no-nonsense, clearly-defined stories were always direct and to the point.

I recently watched the Rat Patrol. Its maybe the most ridiculous war related series ever shown. The 4 men occupy two regular issue jeeps with 50 caliber machine guns mounted. As part of there "missions" they regularly destroy Nazi tanks, armored troop carriers and other difficult targets or roll with impunity into Nazi camps to destroy a target. Like a jeep with a 50 caliber machine gun was going to destroy a heavily armored German tank. In every episode except the first (where an unknown gunner was killed)the rat patrol members are NEVER killed.The Nazis are lead by a bumbling idiot called Capt. Detrich who had to be a reject in any army. In reality Rommels Afrika Korps was one of the best fighting units in World War II. If Rommel was still alive I am sure he would die laughing at this show. I wish that a more realistic series could have been produced such as Combat or 12 Oclock high where at least battles were portrayed somewhat accurately.

One of the episodes I like in the Rat Patrol was where a patch of penicillin was poisonous. Sgt. Mofft tries to warn the Germans and the British about the batch after the Germans show up and threaten to shoot up the British convoy unless they were given some penicillin. Well, both sides did not listen to Mofft and Mofft jumps on a jeep with a machine gun and shoots up the penicillin. Next thing you know the German soldiers are shooting up the convoy and stealing the rest of the penicillin. The amazing thing is that the German officer who is chasing the Rat Patrol is standing next to a half-track acting cool, calm, and collected while bullets are flying all over the place.

I thought "The Rat Patrol" was pretty implausible. I mean, four guys tooling around the desert in a couple of jeeps with two .50-caliber machine guns taking on troop convoys, armored columns, and anything else the Germans cared to offer. And with all the lead thrown their way, the Rat Patrol always came through unscathed. (Extraordinary. Didn't the German Army teach its men to shoot during basic training?!) This show was essentially escapist stuff, and not based on military reality. I watched the show because of the actors' performances, while discounting its implausible premise. (I thought that Christopher George as Sergeant Troy was pretty good.)