History Series / TheRatPatrol

''The Rat Patrol'' is a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII ActionAdventureSeries from TheSixties. It follows the {{shoot em up}} exploits of a four-man band of Allied soldiers as they wreak havoc on the Afrika Korps' supplies and missions. Most episodes are set in and around the deserts of UsefulNotes/{{Libya}}, although the heroes are sometimes sent on commando raids in less hostile environments.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Captain Wansee in "[[Recap/TheRatPatrolS2E19TheDecoyRaid The Decoy Raid]]". The man suffers from [[VillainousBreakdown extreme mood swings, alternating between quiet disinterest in anything going around him to screaming at the top of his lungs and even nearly crying,]] [[ForTheEvulz and, of course, committing random acts of cruel violence at the drop of a hat]].
* AmbiguousSituation: PlayedForDrama and pathos at the end of "The Love Thine Enemy Raid". [[spoiler:The wounded German nurse overhears plans for an upcoming raid. After a debate, the Rats decide to let her live and drop her off at a German base for treatment, and trust her not to talk. Later, the raid goes off without a hitch, which means that either the nurse didn't talk or she didn't live. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse Neither the Rats nor the audience learn if she survived or not]].]]

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero — Troy
** TheLancer — Moffitt
** TheSmartGuy — Hitchcock
** TheBigGuy — Tully
** SixthRanger — Dietrich (doubling as TokenEvilTeammate), when he’s not trying to kill the Rats.

* OneSteveLimit: DefiedTrope, as several German names are reused by various enemy characters. See NamesTheSame on the Trivia page for the details.

* ADayInTheLimelight: "The Dare-Devil Rescue Raid" is this for Moffitt with a ''huge'' dose of ItsPersonal thrown in when he and the other Rats are waiting for [[TheNameless Moffitt's father]] to join them on a mission while the plane bringing him is shot down in front of them. Moffitt refuses to believe his dad's dead until he's sees his body. The episode's SpoilerTitle should tip you off that father are son are reunited.

* NiceHat: One for everybody. Moffitt sports a black beret, Troy has an Australian slouch hat, Hitchcock is in a red kepi, and Tully wears the only standard headgear, an American GI helmet.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mickey Roberts from "The Do-Re-Mi Raid". He's a famous singer who has been captured by Dietrich, and the Rats are sent on a mission to save him. However, it turns out that Roberts would rather spend the war in a safe POW camp than go back to combat. Worse, the Germans have tortured him into revealing that Perkins, a British soldier being held with him, has valuable information, which leads to Perkins being tortured. However, he feels guilty about this and is adamant that Troy rescue Perkins while he stays behind. In the end [[spoiler:Roberts [[HeroicSacrifice is killed]] while covering Troy and Perkins' escape.]]

''The Rat Patrol'' is a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII ActionAdventureSeries from TheSixties that follows the {{shoot em up}} exploits of a four-man band of Allied soldiers as they wreak havoc on the Afrika Korps' supplies and missions. Most episodes are set in and around the deserts of UsefulNotes/{{Libya}}, although the heroes are sometimes sent on commando raids in less hostile environments.

The Rat Patrol are three Americans -- tough, clever commander Sgt. Sam Troy (Christopher George), bespectacled mechanic Cpl. Mark T. Hitchcock (Laurence Casey), BadassDriver PFC. Tully Pettigrew (Justin Tarr) -- and an Englishman, DesertWarfare expert Sgt. Jack Moffitt (Gary Raymond). They fight various Germans, but their most frequent nemesis is Captain Hans Deitrich (Hans Gudegast), a NobleDemon who is neither cruel nor sadistic, unlike many of his fellow Nazis. (Dietrich is often referred to by his German rank, Hauptmann.)

** In the UK, the show was actually taken off the air after the first six episodes due to the number of complaints received. While Creator/TheBBC never brought it back, Creator/UnitedArtists released the CompilationMovie (see below) in the UK in 1969. The series was eventually shown on British satellite TV decades later, and season 1 is available on region 2 DVD.

* WouldNotShootACivilian: One of the ways we learn Captain Dietrich is different from the other bad guys. Also goes for the Rats, naturally. However, this causes a MoralDilemma for the team in "The Trial by Fire Raid", in which Troy has to figure out how to destroy a supply depot while doing minimal harm to the Arab villagers who are working there. [[spoiler:In the end, one villager [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to save his daughter.]]

* ADayInTheLimelight: "The Dare-Devil Rescue Raid" is this for Moffitt with a ''huge'' dose of ItsPersonal thrown in when [[spoiler: he and the other Rats are waiting for [[TheNameless Moffitt's father]] to join them on a mission while the plane bringing him is shot down in front of them. Moffitt refuses to believe his dad's dead until he's sees his body. The name of the episode should tip you off that father are son are reunited.]]

* AnOfficerAndAGentleman: Sergeant Moffitt, although he technically enlisted and isn’t an officer. He’s got the upper-class Brit part down, and the cool-headedness to [[RedOniBlueOni counteract]] the more HotBlooded Troy. Captain Dietrich is one for the German side, due to being played by the future [[Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless Victor Newman]].

* WouldNotShootACivilian: One of the ways we learn Captain Dietrich is different from the other bad guys. Also goes for the Rats, naturally. However, this causes a dilemma for the team in "The Trial by Fire Raid", in which Troy has to figure out how to destroy a supply depot while doing minimal harm to the Arab villagers who are working there. [[spoiler:In the end, one villager [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to save his daughter.]]

* AmbiguousSituation: The end of "The Love Thine Enemy Raid". [[spoiler:The wounded German nurse overhears plans for an upcoming raid. After a debate, the Rats decide to let her live and drop her off at a German base for treatment, and trust her not to talk. Later, the raid goes off without a hitch, which means that either the nurse didn't talk or she didn't live. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse Neither the Rats nor the audience learn if she survived or not]].]]

* KnightOfCerebus: SS Captain Wansee from "The Decoy Raid" is quite a disturbing, mood-swinging nut job and an usually dark VillainOfTheWeek for the time the show was made. When he's not going on deranged rants about how all is fair in war, he's [[ILied going back on his word]] or needlessly killing a prisoner [[ForTheEvulz just to show how serious he is]]. Even Dietrich, who may be a Nazi but at least [[EvenEvilHasStandards has a code of honor]], is repelled by this psycho.