F Troop

F Troop was an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1965-1967 on ABC.

Related Topics:
Television - Sitcom - 1965 - 1967 - ABC

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The show was set at Fort Courage, an Army outpost in the West, in the years following the Civil War. The commanding officer at Fort Courage was the gallant but clumsy Capt. Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), who was commissioned after accidentally instigating the final charge at Appomattox. His subordinates at Fort Courage included the shifty Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker), the Ernie Bilko of his day; and the dimwitted Cpl. Randolph Agarn (Larry Storch), O'Rourke's business partner in the illegal O'Rourke Enterprises. O'Rourke's business dealings involved illegally running the local saloon and his exclusive rights treaty with the local Indian tribe (the Hekawi) to sell their "authentic" souvenirs to tourists.

Related Topics:
Civil War - Ken Berry - Forrest Tucker - Larry Storch

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Captain Parmenter, the "Scourge of the West", was credited with keeping the peace (really kept by O'Rourke's secret treaty) although the troopers and the Hekawi sometimes pretended to be antagonists when outsiders showed up expecting the soldiers and natives to be enemies.

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The Hekawi chief was Wild Eagle (Frank de Kova), his assistant was Crazy Cat (Don Diamond), and the medicine man was Roaring Chicken (Edward Everett Horton). Captain Parmenter's girlfriend was "Wrangler" Jane Angelica Thrift (played by then 16-year old Melody Patterson), who ran the local general store, and other troopers included Hannibal Shirley Dobbs (James Hampton), F Troop's inept bugler; Private Vanderbilt (Joe Brooks), the legally blind lookout (20/900 in each eye according to Agarn); and Private Duffy (1930's western star Bob Steele), a slightly senile survivor of the Alamo.

Related Topics:
Frank de Kova - Don Diamond - Edward Everett Horton - Melody Patterson - James Hampton - Joe Brooks - Bob Steele

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Much of the humor on the show was derived from the schemes of O'Rourke and Agarn, alternately seeking to expand and conceal their enterprising business, and the struggles of Captain Parmenter to exert his authority and escape the matrimonal plans of his girlfriend.

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Guest stars included:

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• Vincent Price as Count Sforza, a suspected vampire
• Zsa Zsa Gabor as a traveling gypsy
• Phil Harris as 147-year old Flaming Arrow, determined to take the United States back
• Harvey Korman as Heinrich Von Zeppel, a Prussian balloonist
• Henry Gibson as "Wrongo" Starr, an extremely unlucky soldier

Although only two seasons were produced, F Troop enjoyed a very healthy second life in syndication, much like fellow 2-season entries The Munsters, The Addams Family, and Batman from the same era. The show was a particular favorite on Nick At Nite in the 1990's, running from 1991 to 1995 despite the fact that there were only 65 episodes to run. The show did draw some negative criticism for its portrayal of Native Americans.

Related Topics:
The Munsters - The Addams Family - Batman - Nick At Nite - Native Americans

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On September 27, 2005, Warner Home Video released the first F Troop DVD compilation as part of its "Television Favorites" series. The 6 episode DVD included 3 black and white episodes and 3 color episodes. Previously, the series had been digitally remastered and released on 10 VHS tapes by Columbia House in 1998, with 30 of the 65 episodes represented in that series.

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