Just minutes into "The Experts," viewers witness a unique sight on "Hogan's Heroes": the only explicit, on-camera killing ever seen on one of the most unusual sitcoms in American television history. Indeed, this story scripted by Laurence Marks veers so deeply into straight-ahead drama that it might as well be another series--and viewers expecting a farce that paints the Germans as comic buffoons will be sorely disappointed.
On the other hand, this sitcom set in a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War Two was in the last of its six seasons, and its formula had been recycled so many times that it was running on fumes. So, why not try something different?
Gestapo Major Stern (Edward Knight) rousts Stalag 13 commandant Colonel Klink out of bed, demanding that he hand over two of his newest transfers, Sergeant Holtz and Captain Metzler (Noam Pitlik). Holtz is in camp but Metzler, Klink's new adjutant, is on leave.
Klink scoffs at Stern's explanation that the men are wanted for organizing black-market activities, citing their newness and thus lack of time to organize anything, to which Stern snaps, "If you don't like that crime, make up one of your own," before threatening to implicate Klink as well, with Knight, whose portrayals of German characters always had an air of genuine menace, shining in a powerful if brief appearance.
Eavesdropping on that conversation (with a hitherto-unrevealed microphone installed in Klink's bedroom) are the Heroes, the Allied intelligence and sabotage unit led by Colonel Hogan, all prisoners in Stalag 13. As Stern and his guards set out to arrest Holtz, Hogan witnesses them shoot Holtz to death.
Intent on discovering why the Gestapo wants to eliminate Holtz and Metzler, the Heroes learn from the underground that Metzler is shacked up with his girlfriend Maria (Barbara Babcock) in Hammelburg, and with underground agent Luisa's (Sabrina Scharf) help, Hogan and Corporal Newkirk, knowing that Metzler, along with Holtz, were radio experts, barge in on their love nest to strike a bargain with him. Or else.
Pitlik, who from his first appearance as "The Informer" in the pilot episode, excelled in playing duplicitous or hunted characters throughout the series, and here is no exception.
Knowing his fate should the Gestapo arrest him, Metzler is also suspicious about the Heroes' motives and demands proof of their bona fides, leading to hastily-arranged verification but that ultimately results in a tense showdown, well-staged by director Marc Daniels, as the Gestapo closes in on Metzler and his girlfriend, with Babcock doing the best she can with a decorative part.
High drama, indeed--but where does this leave the humor in a situation comedy? Mostly in the sardonic asides Marks pens as dialog, but also in the charade Sergeant Carter and Corporal LeBeau enact in front of Schultz and Klink's secretary Hilda as they search for Holtz's and Metzler's personnel files right under their unwitting noses; however, viewers looking for the zany hijinks typical of "Hogan's Heroes" overall will not find it in "The Experts."
What they will find is a precursor to the serio-comedy that Lawrence Marks would soon be writing for: "M*A*S*H." Not coincidentally, director Gene Reynolds and recurring guest star William Christopher would also join fellow "Hogan's Heroes" refugee Marks on "M*A*S*H."
A preview in "The Experts" of the realism that "M*A*S*H" would manifest is that the operation Metzler was part of prior to his transfer to Stalag 13 was part of the actual communications network used by the German command structure during the war, although Marks, as always, crafted his storylines with plausibility and realism, qualities he would bring to his next job.
So, does that approach, a clear departure from the usual "Hogan's Heroes" fare, work here? You be the expert and decide for yourself.
REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?
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