History Headscratchers / HogansHeroes

* In S3 E18, Hogan and his crew cure Klink of a mild bout of the flu which threatens to derail their plans by surreptitiously injecting him with Penicillin. Since when did antibiotics like Penicillin cure Viral infections like the flu? And how did they know that Klink wasn't allergic to Penicillin like 10% of the population is?

* In S3 E18, Hogan and his crew cure Klink by surreptitiously injecting him with Penicillin. His illness is stated to be "Mild Flu". Since when did antibiotics like Penicillin cure Viral infections like the flu? And how did they know that Klink wasn't allergic to Penicillin like 10% of the population is?

* Was Bob Crane getting tired of the show in the end? Admittedly, I added the {{Flanderization}} entry on the main page based on observation, though I was recently rewatching some early episodes (which I tend to skip), and the stark contrast in Hogan's demeanor is a lot more noticable than I remembered: watch an episode from the first season, and even Hogan is not above cranking up the [[LargeHam ham factor]], especially whenever he poses as a Kraut, then he cranks it UpToEleven (and uses the cheesist-sounding phony German accent you ever heard). Then watch an episode from the last season, and Hogan seems to deliver every single line of dialogue with the exact same deadpan monotone - whether it's a straight line or a wisecrack - and as also mentioned on the main page, he [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent doesn't even bother faking a German accent whenever he poses as a Kraut]]. I think I remember hearing that he was having financial problems in RealLife, causing him to invest in the show itself (notice during the final season, the credits say, "A Bing Crosby Production in association with Bob Crane Enterprises)... think maybe that was eating away at him?

* Don't any of the other prisoners ever ''eat''? Anytime we see LeBeau cooking up a meal, only Hogan and his men eat, while the other prisoners in the barracks are seen in the background, doing their own thing (reading books, writing letters, playing cards, whatever).
** Watsonian answer: They aren't hungry. Doylist: To have LeBeau serving everyone in the barracks would bog the show down.

* Was Bob Crane getting tired of the show in the end? Admittedly, I added the {{Flanderization}} entry on the main page based on observation, though I was recently rewatching some early episodes (which I tend to skip), and the stark contrast in Hogan's demeanor is a lot more noticable than I remembered: watch an episode from the first season, and even Hogan is not above cranking up the [[LargeHam ham factor]], especially whenever he poses as a Kraut, then he cranks it UpToEleven (and uses the cheesist-sounding phony German accent you ever heard). Then watch an episode from the last season, and Hogan seems to deliver every single line of dialogue with the exact same deadpan monotone - whether it's a straight line or a wisecrack - and as also mentioned on the main page, he [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent doesn't even bother faking a German accent whenever he poses as a Kraut]]. I think I remember hearing that he was having finacial problems in RealLife, causing him to invest in the show itself (notice during the final season, the credits say, "A Bing Crosby Production in association with Bob Crane Enterprises)... think maybe that was eating away at him?

** It's presumed they, prisoners and Germans alike, bathe, eat, clean their clothes, etc. As the above troper said, showing them doing all that would really bog the show down in useless filler.

** Watsonian answer: They aren't hungry. Doylist: To have LeBeau serving everyone in the barracks would bog the show down.

* Don't any of the other prisoners ever ''eat''? Anytime we see LeBeau cooking up a meal, only Hogan and his men eat, while the other prisoners in the barracks are seen in the background, doing their own thing (reading books, writing letters, playing cards, whatever).

** I think this is one of those examples where you have to suspend your disbelief. This is the same show where Hogan and Klink can fly a military plane together, have Hogan push Klink ''out of the plane'', and at the end of the episode, Hogan's totally still alive after his stunt and chilling out in his cabin, and Klink somehow survived being pushed out without suffering injury.

** I think this is one of those examples where you have to suspend your disbelief. This is the same show where Hogan and Klink can fly a military plane together, have Hogan push Klink out of the jet, and at the end of the episode, have things be back to normal.

** I think this is one of those examples where you have to suspend your disbelief. This is the same show where Hogan and Kink can fly a military plane together, have Hogan push Kink out of the jet, and at the end of the episode, have things be back to normal.

* Carter's chemistry lab...How exactly does that even work? I know this show runs on WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief but the chemistry lab is just going too far. If that lab is underground, it means that it doesn't have proper ventilation and you can see right in the opening that Carter does not have any protective equipment (even worse, the episode the opening shot is taken from, has him specifically mention mixing ammonia and bleach, and he mentions having nitroglycerine in later eps, both very toxic chemicals), so how exactly does Carter protect himself (and by extension the rest of the guys in the tunnels) from the fumes? This Troper worries that he is going to wind up with numerous health problems after the war...

* How, exactly, is Hochstetter's name pronounced? With all the different characters from different cultures and having different dialects and accents, I almost never hear his name pronounced consistently; we've got: HAWCH-STETTER, HAWSH-STETTER, HAWK-STETTER, HAWK-SCHTETTER, HOESH-STETTER... I'm just not entirely sure of the properly pronunciation.

** It really depends on just how far into the war the series took place; yes, in the beginning, officers would not have bunked with enlistedmen, and likewise, different nationalities and races would usually be kept in their own separate compounds, so [=LeBeau=] would have been kept with other Frenchmen, Newkirk with other Englishmen, Kinchloe with other Blacks, Carter with other White Americans, etc. I'm not entirely 100% sure, but from what I understand, later in the war, after a while, the Germans stopped bothering trying to separating prisoners that are brought in, and just started placing them wherever, regardless of rank (or ethnicity); so if this series took place later during the Allies' involvement in the war, a situation like Colonel Hogan bunking with enlistedmen could very well be possible... just about the only true inaccuracy is that Hogan would not have had his own room/office inside the barrack.

*** It was not uncommon for families to send packages of effects, and even food, through the Red Cross (when the Nazis did not censor/filch them on the way).

*** It's mentioned that most of the men at Stalag 13 barely passed the physical fitness requirements. Schultz still probably wouldn't have passed, but as a former soldier (he's said to have fought in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI) he might have been drafted and assigned to Stalag 13 to bring some experience to the unit.
**** It was stated that He ran the largest/most famous Toy Company in Germany before the War, so clearly he was conscripted; they took his toy Factory for the War Effort and assigned him to Stalag 13 to keep him out of their way which likely means one of the ball bearing plants the Team blew up used to be His.

*** It's mentioned that most of the men at Stalag 13 barely passed the physical fitness requirements. Schultz still probably wouldn't have passed, but as a former soldier (he's said to have fought in WW1) he might have been drafted and assigned to Stalag 13 to bring some experience to the unit.

* What is ''Colonel'' Hogan doing in a camp that seems to be otherwise almost all enlisted? Real life militaries, when keeping prisoners of war, separate officers from enlisted, and often try to separate NCOs from privates, to deprive them of leader figures.

* What is ''Colonel'' Hogan doing in a camp that seems to be otherwise almost all enlisted? Real life militaries, when keeping prisoners of war, separate officers from enlisted, and often try to separate NCOs from privates, to deprive them of leader figures.

* Why was all of Battling Bruno's dialogue dubbed? Not only did the lines not match his lip movement half the time, but it sounded like Ivan Dixon faking a German accent recorded the dialogue.

** It seems to have been more of a means of keeping a good mix of personalities in shot to allow for witty banter. Besides, most of them seem to operate in two-man teams, so with Hogan overseeing everything, they have to have an even number of operators.

* Did Hogan always have to have four men on his team for any given mission? I always find it interesting that whenever one of the actors is absent from an episode, a character replacement is brought in for that episode (no other TV show I can think of has done that), like whenever Larry Hovis was absent, a pre-''M*A*S*H'' William Christopher would fill in for him, or the episode from the first season where [=LeBeau=] is absent, another [=POW=] named Scotty took his place. I can't remember, though, if any of the episode Ivan Dixon missed (prior to his departure after Season Five) had someone fill for him though, but still, it just makes me wonder if Hogan felt he needed at least four other prisoners working with him on a mission.

* Did they not have a latrine at Stalag 13? I recall in one episode, Carter mentions that he takes a bath every Saturday night, but I've often wondered why there never appeared to be any kind of facility in camp for the POWs to do just that, and otherwise take care of business as well. I know Klink had a bathroom in his private quarters... I suppose the POWs figured out a way to sneak in to take care of business while Klink was preoccupied. Nevertheless.
** I'm pretty sure one episode has LeBeau come out of barracks fresh out of the shower (he's not in full uniform and wearing a towel around his shoulders). Considering the barracks looks much bigger from the outside than the inside, I think it's safe to assume they have a bathroom, we just never see it.

** That's probably why he's only a guard. As for how he got in in the first place, nepotism? I think I recall him mentioning having an uncle or something fairly high up.

* Realistically, would either Schultz or Burkhalter be allowed in the Luftwaffe? I remember ''M*A*S*H'' did an episode where Hawkeye and B.J. try to help a corpsman lose weight because the army was going to discharge him because he was too fat to be a good soldier... I figured other armies around the world would have similar concerns.

* I know the prisoners made their own German uniforms for whenever a scheme involving them masquerading as Krauts or Gestapo officers arose, but did they make clothing for themselves as well? Realistically, the prisoners would have been shot down and taken prisoner only with whatever uniform they were wearing at the time, however, in some situations, Hogan and Carter (and I think Kinchloe and Baker) are wearing dress/Class-A uniforms; as well as bedtime scenes, the prisoners wear pajamas (Hogan and Newkirk wearing civilian pajamas, and Hogan even having a bathrobe).

* Did they not have a latrine at Stalag 13? I recall in one episode, Carter mentions that he takes a bath every Saturday night, but I've often wondered why there never appeared to be any kind of facility in camp for the POWs to do just that, and otherwise take care of business as well. I know Klink had a bathroom in his private quarters... I suppose the POWs figured out a way to sneak in to take care of business while Klink was preoccupied. Nevertheless.