12 O'Clock High Episode Guide
(Twelve O'Clock High Episode Reviews)

wpe1A5.jpg (132556 bytes)This 12 O'Clock High commentary is by Doug Pelton, as originally posted on the CombatFan discussion list, reprinted here with his permission. Many of the comments discuss how the show relates to the TV series Combat! They are listed here as a "blog" with the most recent comments first.

(Pictured left: Shot down while flying a British commando team to Weisbaden, Colonel Joe Gallagher (PAUL BURKE, center) and Sergeant Komansky (Chris Robinson, left) are stranded behind enemy lines. Episode titled 'Fortress Weisbaden" aired Friday Sept 30 1966 @10pm NYT on ABC.


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wpe1A6.jpg (127959 bytes)
KEVIN McCARTHY as he guest stars as a Russian officer in the second-season episode "Massacre." Originally aired Friday Sept 16 1966

From:  "doug783" <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Sat Mar 29, 2003  3:08 pm
Subject:  12 O'CLOCK HIGH..OVER...AND OUT!!!!!!!!!

Dear Friends,
Well,it had to happen. This week we ran out of fresh episodes of the air series to report on. Three remaining colour episodes from year three and we"re back to the start in b/w, with Robert Lansing, and John Larkin, minus Paul Burke and Chris Robinson. It's been REALLY enjoyable to be your field reporter every week since the History Television run began early last December. Was getting used to the newer looking colour episodes like I was for Combat series 5 for the first time late 90s. So when Thursday's airing came on in black and white a downer feeling overcame me. So for the final time, until in a stroke of genius History resurrects GARRISON'S GORILLAS, and/or brings back RAT PATROL for similiar reportage, the final three as as follows...

SIX FEET UNDER. An allied ground advance overruns a key German outpost,coming across boxes of Luftwaffe files but no translator. Gallagher and Komansky aer sent to oversee the translation of the documents and their return to England. In this most-Combat!-styled episode, Martin Milner leads the ground unit along with future Garrison's Gorilla RUDI SOLARI. Attempts to fly in a translator are thwarted by surrounding German flak and fighter strikes, so Gallagher has to rely on a teenager supposedly played by GERALD MICHENAULD, from THE TOWN THAT WENT AWAY, to do the translating, while his younger brother is treated for being collaterally wounded at the start of the episode. During radio communications with area groundf and armoured units references are made to individual LOVE and KING COMPANIES!! And Milner's helmet is a good copy of Vic's camo helmet. Along from the Nazi side is LAWRENCE MONTAIGNE. And back at Wing in Archbury is JAMES SIKKING from A LONG WAY HOME(s). RICHARD ANDERSON reprises his short term role as brig Gen Phil Doud. Why the title 6 FEET UNDER? Well, most of the key events take place in a cellar, where they found the files and hidden safe with more Nazi goodies, and the local teens get trapped in a grenade explosion and surface fire.

THE HUNTERS AND THE KILLERS featured no on or off-camera Combat! people but did tell of the rivalry that existed between the air corps and the Navy, as the 918th is aske dot co-operate with the Navy in nailing an elusive wolfpack of U-Boats. With screen legend RALPH BELLAMY as a Commodore clashing a bit with Gallagher all because of something that went on between Bellamy's character and Joe's father.

A LONG TIME DEAD had PETER GRAVES as a troubled pilot prone to mental freezes during Combat! resulting in irrational behaviour / actions. Tom Skerrit was one of his crew or the crew he lead in a mission that had him go into a mind-numb and ditch Komansky out the bomb bay door  when wounded. HANK BRANDT, our seasoned German in Combat!, played Major Cross who gets tangled in this story of mental breakdowns occurring in battle.

Okay guys and dolls that's it. I now return you to your regularily scheduled postings..

Best Wishes,
Doug Pelton

From:  "doug783" <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Sat Mar 22, 2003  1:59 pm
Subject:  12 O'CLOCK HIGH Hi!,Again!

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Spring bound Mississauga, Ontario....

We continue getting fresh episodes, in colour, of the series three months after History started this initial cable run. Published references indicate a 78 episode total for the whole series,but I feel that that total has already been passed.

TO SEEK AND DESTROY centered around a wayward V1 "robot bomb," as it was called in the script, winding up in Sweden. Our boys must race to the site, get to the downed rocket, and find out where individual parts are being manufactured in order to bomb those individual factories, thus crippling the Nazi rocket project even more thoroughly. They have to depend on a British expert on the fledgling enemy rocket technology, whose nerve is shot and assuaged by the bottle. His drinking problem complicates matters when they make it into Sweden to the allied recovered rocket before the Gestapo. ANY SECOND NOW's Elen Willard appeared as a va-va-voomed up friend of Sgt. Komansky's who shelters the Brit after going AWOL on a binge.

THE FIGHTER PILOT features perpetually pre-occupied DON GORDON from CROSSFIRE as the leader of Mustang pilots who con their way into the 918th, their assimilation into blending in with the bomber crew concept revealing falsified credentials and an open disregard to the 918th discipline.

BURDEN OF GUILT had Matthew Broderick's dad JAMES as a driven pilot who's on General Britt's and Colonel Gallagher's carpet for bomb runs that fail to nail a critical U-Boat pen at Nordensohm.

THE ACE is an old friend of Gallagher's whose rep is that of an accomplished pinpoint bomber, having made that so in the Pacific and Italy. The pilot played by JAMES WHITMORE from the CASSOCK uses a DAM BUSTERS-styled skip delayed-fuse bomb to achieve his strikes. The episode's target is a building in a German village housing scientists working on a possible Nazi A-bomb. They use shielding around the building of captured allied officers, hence the need to nail this structure to avoid the nearby pow housing. The arial photos and scale model of the village conflict with the actual reality. With certain landmarks changed since that intel was gathered, the first attempt nails the pow building instead. THUNDER FROM THE HILL's BEN WRIGHT appeared as a British army advisor. JOE MAROSS appears as Major Ken Chandler, a character continuing on into.....

....GRAVEYARD. The lily is shot down, the crew bail out and wind up at the captured Nazi compound, manned by two US soldiers, one of whom, changes his identity. Ditching at the same time is a Luftwaffe pilot played by JON VOGHT. This episode has three prominent black actors: OSSIE DAVIS as the id-changer pacifist, LAND OF THE GIANTS' DON MARSHALL as the other one in this Island of Italy compound guarding some captured Nazi's. LLOYLD HAYNES from ROOM 222 appears as a fighter squadron leader. Voght's presence changes the control of power at this base. complicating rescue attempts. Regular Combat! German soldier actors CHRIS ANDERS and HORST EBERSBERG rounded things up.

Last night we had the recent S.A.G. awards on local tv. partway  through this they film-clipped a montage of those guild members who passed on last year. Surprised to see RON SOBLE from MORE THAN A SOLDIER and HEADCOUNT in with the rest of the departed.

Observation....when the series goes from the skies to ground level, involving troops from both sides, the uniforms appear too clean and well-pressed, as if the wearers never got them dirty as was the used look of Combat's G.I.s of soiled jackets, scruffed up helmets, worn out boots. And those gunfire sound effects!!! One sequence actually used the sound effect used when Saunders fired off his famous Tommy gun.

Okay that's the fun and serious stuff. See you in 7..
Doug

From:  "doug783" <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Mon Mar 17, 2003  4:40 pm
Subject:  12 O'CLOCK HIGH Report a tad late.....

Dear Friends,

DUEL AT MONT ST. MARIE was a blend of I SWEAR BY APOLLO and CRY IN THE RUINS wherein the 918th had to have commandoes tell NUNS in another CONVENT on a hill under a higher located Kraut anti-aircraft battery, to evacuate. Our boys and the local Germans are confined in the retreat. We had Joe
Campanella as a chaplain, Richard Anderson back home waiting to launch the bomb run, dependable underground contact EMILE GENEST, still worry-warting JOHN MILFORD from Billy The Kid, and Horst Ebersberg.

FACE OF A SHADOW had Jack Lord playing a griping-chip-on-his-shoulder commander living the high life in Italy with LUCIANNA PALUZZI! And fellow Combat!-belly-acher PHILIP PINE. Peter Hellman was around as a German. Lord's character got the heave from flight training by Gallagher and therein lies the "chip!" Directed by Dick Peabody's fave Richard Benedict.

PRACTISE TO DECEIVE was a far-fetched plan by German military types planning to off crazy ole Adolph back in berlin. This was all before D-Day. Combat! vets JOHN VAN DREELEN, SASHA HARDIN were in this POW camp that started things off for Gallagher as he was to link up with this old WW1 German Navy vet and family friend after that war and get him and important papers back to London to validate the plot and surrender. Horst Ebersberg was also in on this. The inside man in the POW camp was JAN MERLIN.

A DISTANT CRY featured instrument flight evaluator ROY THINNES being challenged to face up to the realities of mid-air combat after a troubled pilot under his inspection, played by ROBERT BLAKE!, dies in combat. WAYNE ROGERS came along as a crew member.

THE ALL-AMERICAN blended in THE CELEBRITY and MAIN EVENT as a pre-wrapped football hero enters the 918th with an annoying manager and, like his role in THE RINGER, MART HULSWIT does his best to struggle to prove he can cut it in combat much to the horror of his manager on this publicity thing played by NORMAN FELL. You know, "Don't get my boy hurt!"

Happy St.Patrick's Day,
see ya next weekend,
Doug

From:  "doug783 <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Fri Feb 28, 2003  9:14 pm
Subject:  12 O'CLOCK HIGH report

DEAR FELLOW COMBATFANS...
Usually I wait until Saturday to do the weekly report from the 918th Bomb Group, but I have the pc all by myself tonight fresh from five more WWII Drams...

ANGEL BABE was a B-17 that had RODDY MCDOWALL from THE LONG WALK as the Technical flight sergeant. Ya see he and its crew had reached a mission limit of 50 and the plane was to be re-commissioned as a p.r. tool back Stateside. But things evolved that led one to belief like her crew that the plane KNEW what was going on. LEE PATTERSON the basement hidden CAPTAIN HOWARD from 9 PLACE VENDEE also was in on
this tale of "possession!"

DECOY had Gallagher being used along with MICHAEL CALLAN as stranded on a chunk of rock in the North Sea bait for a U-Boat intent on torpedoing help coming there way,after being shot down and forced to belly land in the drink. No C! people but a novel story that kept moving on two fronts.

THE HOLLOW MAN was a pilot freshly-returned to the 918th after a few years of traumatic status as a P.O.W. PAUL CARR From HILLS was someone kinda "on" to the troubles this pilot was having fitting back in. The SS Officer leading the interrogation was CURT LOWENS a regular teevee Nazi officer. Seems that I can't find him in Jo's book, help. Script co-written by GUSTAVE FIELD.

CROSS HAIRS OF DEATH dealt with a flight training washout JAMES FRANCISCUS from DECISION conning his way into the 918th out of prving to himself that he could've hacked it, had he made it and not gotten the heave earlier on. ROGER PERRY from THE MASQUERS and H.M WYNANT from COUNTERPLAY and POINT OF VIEW where those in the crew he did get as far as going on missions with, who were early on suspicious of his behaviour. Which was played nervously again by Jimmy like he did with the demo man in DECISION. Entering the storyline trying to hide something that could get him in trouble along the way.

DAY OF RECKONING had regular WWII series Nazi players HANS GUDEGAST and JOHNNY VAN DREELEN spearheading a brazen bombing mission-target-the 918th airfield!! After inflicting considerable death and damage to our familiar buildings and bailing out over the airfield, they spend the rest of the hour trying to evade capture, commandeer GI uniforms, whilst engineering an effort to destroy the bomb dump with pilfered ammunition. Also recovered from the bail out was JAN MALMSJO from A SUDDEN TERROR and CHAPEL AT ABLE-FIVE. Base security guards were played by Combat! vets WILLIAM CORT and......ein Rosenman drum roll please.....WALT DAVIS!!! Yeaaahhhhhh!!!! And true to his Combat! luck Walt never got credited for his few appearances with a carbine in hand. This episode and CROSS HAIRS were directed by ALAN
CROSLAND, JR, who did his share of our series episodes.

I took in the interview with VIC that was conducted in 65. Loved it, could hear his trademark Brooklyn draw voice behind every sentence. Thanks........

Have fun with this and see y'all next week We may be moving into the colour season that wound up the series as a whole.

P.W.O.R.
Doug

From:  "doug783 <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Sat Feb 22, 2003  10:06 pm

UNDERGROUND had Gallagher making it back to England with a busload of Combat-friendly types in tow, ROBERT WALKER JR, our G.I. Perfect OLLIE JOE was this so-called German deserter, CLAUDINE LONGET as a wife of an unseen contact, SASHA HARDIN as another underground-er in German garb, MAURICE MARSAC from a handful of C-eppies, EMILE GENEST and NORBERT MEISEL from the end credits ... whew!

THE OUTSIDER was ENCOUNTER's Jimmy Macarthur as a P-51 pilot who didn't fit in, tried too hard to get his first kill, a somewhat cross between OLLIE JOE and the Culley character in Combat!'s OUTSIDER. Common storyline format. A bit appearance in one scene was LEE MILLAR "German radio operator" from OP FLY TRAP. Also a return appearance of the soon-to-be Catwoman LEE MERIWETHER that had  me drooling...

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD had an on board radar system tested throughout developed by Burgess Meredith, Batman supervillain number two this week on the show. The German's at a radar station of there own were lead by ALF KJELLIN, who made it very PERSONAL between him and the 918th. Meredith's understudy was ROBERT DOYLE a familiar face I can't shake, Combat or not. And some other people in a top-heavy guest cast episode that makes it hard to successfully try to nail down the face with a name and in two or three seconds time!

25th MISSION has 60s-70s drama guest star BRADFORD DILLMAN as a pilot with anxiety attacks under stress and BEFORE stress. Tommy SKERRIT appears again along with ANTOINETTE BOWER our little tranced BATTLE OF THE ROSES girl.

SURVIVOR features the first directorial appearance of Combat second half vet ALAN CROSLAND JR. Directing an anti-social, problem type DON GORDON from CROSSFIRE basically playing his glaring tense driven type
of man. His in air and off-duty behaviour were continuing points of controversy. JILL IRELAND was the widow of his only friend he blames for letting die.

Today on our SPACE (SciFi)Channel OUTER LIMITS classic episode was the O.B.I.T. episode that had ALAN BAXTER who played the short-lived CAPT. ROBERTS from the IMPOSTORS.

That's it from here. Wherever you live hopefully you'll dig yourselves out of whatever Snowstorm's gone through your "front line!" We're getting one now that's gonna require SILVER SERVICE snowshoes.

Until the Ides of March...
Cheers, Doug Pelton

 

From:  "doug783 <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Sat Feb 15, 2003  4:02 pm
Subject:  Re: Dictionary needed here! Along with Another 12 O'CLOCK HIGH Report.

GREETINGS FRIENDS!,
Hello from Mississauga Ontario, freezing worse than Mickey Rooney's feet from the SILVER SERVICE. Can relief be on the way? We need warmer weather up here as much as Hanley needed a) artillery support to tale the Bunkers and b) a tank or two to localise the operation. Through HISTORY Television up here, I Ordered the updated edition of Jo's much-used book. It arrived on February the 13th,a day before the Vic Morrow would-have-been birthday. Imagine that. S2 must have had something to do with it. The photos reused and recropped here seem to be printed on better stock this time. I like the episode reviews and the bayonet scale. But half a bayonet? Did it break off during a struggle? What would have it taken for an episode to earn the grand total of five? One gets the impression that the turkeys accumulated more and more as the seasons wore on. Loved having the INDEX, but there are notable omissions like Norbert Meisel over the series, Kurt Landon, Hank Brandt, Chris Howard also making numerous appearances, ditto for Lisa Pera recently on 12OH...

Speaking of 12OH.....on with the show..

THE JONES BOYS dealt with brothers in the service and the strife that carried over from family to service. Peter Mark Richman was an Allied officer, Andrew Prine one of the Jones boys, frequent German ED DEEMER shows up as an MP, and Burt Douglas.

STORM AT TWILIGHT has 44-year-old Major Stovall,series reg FRANK OVERTON spurned on to a return to active flying combat when he hears that his son is missing in action on theground. This one had the elements of MAIL CALL and THE LETTER as it centred on the stress,fear of the unknown,helplessness that these two COMBAT episodes had run through Saunders.Anthony Spinner wrote this one,TED KNIGHT a regular Kraut Officer was temporary wing commander until Gallagher got back after an injury.WILLIAM CORT who was Pvt. Harmon in WALK WITH AN EAGLE was also featured. Our traditional favourite artilery sound effect used dozens of times in Combat! managed to show up in stock footage of 88s sending up flak and in the next episode...

FALLING STAR ... James Daly [who played] Major Cole from ENCOUNTER was this WWI air combat legend basically out of place in the current war. Directed by Laslo Benedek it rung a similiar echo of DOUGHBOY when Eddie Albert's character was eventually depended on,mental lapses notwithstanding, to save the episode's bacon in the end. Paul Comi was also in this.

THE SLAUGHTER PEN featured John Van Dreelen yet again essaying his usually suave Nazi officer type at a pesky radar station resisting Allied bombing allowing the episode title to live up to its name. A joint attack of allied ground commandoes and the 918th was mounted, all co-ordinated by MICHAEL RENNIE and Harry Guardino. JOHN ALDERSON who was the personable Sgt. Rawlings in BUGLES lead the brits. In the radar station we had semi-Combat!-regular PETER HELLMAN  who was "German Truck Driver" in LUCK WITH RAINBOWS, amongst other spot roles. There were others in this station that I remember from our show but
went uncredited as far as I could get from the end-credits. Like one of the Germans Saunders and GARY LOCKWOOD had captured in OPERATION FLY TRAP.

WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS featured Diane Merrill trying to stay afloat in the usual macho world of the war despite eras circumstances. She was a weather survey officer recruited to help the 918th reach a critical target.her "struggles" throughout were like the ones LIZ ALLEN encountered in NO HALLELULIAHS FOR GLORY.

That's it gotta saddle this up...
Doug

From:  "doug783 <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Mon Feb 3, 2003  3:36 pm
Subject:  Re: combat videos and delayed 12 O'CLOCK HIGH Report

Dear Friends,
Had a busy weekend hence this filing a few days after I normally do this...while the just-concluded week is fresher in my memory...

WE'RE NOT COMING HOME centred around a raid deep into Germany,with the unit hightailing it southward to decoy the pursuing Luftwaffe. However ace German pilot GUNNAR HELLSTROM and his underling SASHA HARDEN are in hot pursuit. The Lily is shot at and forced to lad in Yugoslavia where they run into local resistance fighters headed by MICHAEL FORREST the artillery commander who stiffed HANLEY's requests for anything during HILLS ARE FOR HEROES. Background Combat!-Nazi HANS HEYDE was also in this one

R/X FOR A SICK BIRD directed by RICHARD DONNER had a storyline centring around on-base sabotage of the 17s prior to take-offs. Gallagher had to co-operate with THE QUIET WARROIR's J.D. CANNON and a Yugoslavian Officer played by HANS GUDEGAST (aka ERIC BRAEDEN). HANS's character turned out to be the leader of this infiltration ring GIA SCALA the Italian actress from GUNS OF NAVARRONE was the lead female guest star. Someone named JAMES BROLIN appeared as an airman. During R/X FOR A SICK BIRD the infiltrators' ring is being rounded up. The radio-tapping hideout of GUDEGAST's is raided by the good guys. Soldier opens fire with an M1 CARBINE, the type HANLEY and CAJE used, but the sound effects types synched in RAPID FIRE MACHINE GUN sound effects.

THEN CAME THE MIGHTY HUNTER was a nearly-plagiarised episode copy of THE SHORT DAY OF PRIVATE PUTNAM including BEAU BRIDGES playing yet another underaged recruit,exhibiting the asame traits and saving the Lily's bacon in the end before getting shipped back Stateside. TOM SKERRITT was in this as someone pestering the kid. LASLO BENEDEK helmed this one.Also Bridges' character finds solace and refuge with an older female local,this time an English pub's operator's daughter.

GRANT ME NO FAVOUR was written in part by ANTHONY SPINNER Co-writer of THE TREE OF MORAY

THE IDOLATER was GARY LOCKWOOD a childhood friend who's back to try and prove something to Gallagher like aerial showboating and solo attacks on non-arranged targets. GIDEON'S ARMY concentration camp survivor ALBERT SZABO appeared at the end of this one s a Russian officer, congratulating the unit on the episode's bomb runs. This was co-written by Gustave Field who wrote THE GENERAL AND THE SERGEANT.

In the first season of the original OUTER LIMITS, those with tapes or the new dvds can look for SASHA HARDEN as a United Earth Force looie being held prisoner on the planet Ebon during the NIGHTMARE episode starring MARTIN SHEEN. WALT DAVIS is also in the SPECIMEN:UNKNOWN episode about this deadly alien plant species brought back to earth.

Then I got perusing the 80s MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE guide of mine and have run into a whole lot of Combat! people sprinkled over the years the show was on. From year 7 1972-73 episode titled TWO THOUSAND had VIC in lotsa make-up playing a nuclear physicist. The guide has a photo of VIC under the fake beard and latex as series co-star GREG MORRIS Looks on. And there's this other episode I'd spend the next half-hour looking for again,which has PIERRE as a guest star. Next time out I'll get the title and year number.

Gotta go thanks,
Doug

From:  Douglas Pelton <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Sat Jan 25, 2003  7:56 pm
Subject:  Name That Episode

12 O'CLOCK HIGH Report — Changing of the Guard...

Hello one and all. This week marked the move from season one to season two with Wednesday's episode.

MONDAY's was V FOR VENDETTA with Gary Sgt, Meider-OPERATION FLY TRAP Lockwood and Ken THE HOSTAGES Motor Poll Sgt. BERRY in it. Tuesdays was one where THE HERO frm Savage's past a WWI ace came back to the Second One. Pappy Hartley was played by every one's favourite fake priest JAMES (Father Herzbrun) WHITMORE. Like EDDIE ALBERT'S second-season DOUGHBOY, Whitmore's character found it hard to identify with the current campaign being waged on the same turf. Also Peter Deuel was in it. Pappy would want to solo things all along contrary to the group approach in effect out of Archbury

....end of season one....

SEASON Two saw THE LONELIEST PLACE IN THE WORLD for new star PAUL BURKE from POINT OF VIEW as Colonel Gallagher. Savage's 17 was downed in the teaser so Burke takes over. The episode dealt with enemy in-air infiltration using captured US bombers to wolf things in sheep's clothing. CLAUDINE LONGET from PARTISAN and SILVER SERVICE appeared as a London-based underground media rep, intel liasion. Paul Carr from HILLS ARE FOR HEROES was in the new crew along with new regular CHRIS ROBINSON as a sergeant. Occasional German soldier from Selmur CHRIS HOWARD appeared as one of the straggler pilots. ALl this was directed by RICHARD DONNER again.

BIG BROTHER was the one JACK LORD was in,see relevant messages elsewhere on site, as Gallagher's infantry leading brother. Burke's plane was forced down to this collection of allies base lead by Lord in the same mood as he was when Little John dropped that reel of radio line! Douglas Henderson was also in this one

THE HOT SHOT was Warren Oates as a P-51 Mustang group leader who clashed on all levels with Galagher, Jill Ireland was a piece of off duty decoration whilst our first Combat! regular, William Bryant, guested as Major Marriott. GUNNAR HELLSTROM from I SWEAR BY APOLLO and NO TIME FOR MERCY was the leading Stuka ace pilot. Directed by Richard Donner.

Cheers,
Doug

From:  "doug783 <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Sat Jan 11, 2003  5:07 pm
Subject:  Weekly 12 O'Clock High r

Hello from 12 O'Clock Canada,
Me here, Doug Pelton with the report.

TO HIENIE WITH LOVE dealt with the airman with a father who became a member of the American Nazi Party before the war. There were questions about the son's loyalties as they may affect missions. Greg Mullaly a German sgt. from BENEATH THE AHSES was featured. Gilbert Ralston wrote the show.

THE TICKET dealt with pilot Earl Holliman who's luck and attitude changed when he won a lottery prize of 2o,ooo pounds and went out to marry his new girlfriend ELEN WILARD from ANY SECOND NOW.

THE TRAP was as close to one of Jo's "beamers" episodes,as Savage was trapped in a cellar during a german air raid.Written by Richard Newhafer, the people trapped in this predicament also had a sensitive bomb ticking in the mound of debris obscuring their way out.

THE END OF THE LINE had POINT OF VIEW'S Sgt. O'Neill, PAUL BURKE, as a flight officer being groomed for a pinpoint dam busters styled raid on a german dam. Complicating things in this Dean Reisner script were his being sucked in my a local lady running a scam to on money and affection out of US servicemen. Our very own SUTTON ROLEY got another crack at this his second episode to be aired so far up here. A Brritish officer assigned to the Dam Bombing Run was played by BEN WRIGHT who was Boulange,an underground contact in THUNDER FROM THE HILL.

That's it ladies and gentlemen,have a wonderful week...
Saddling up,
Doug

From:  Douglas Pelton <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Sat Dec 28, 2002  9:26 pm
Subject:  12 O'Clock High Weekly report

Dear Jo and Fellow Dog Soldiers,

Another week has gone by in the world of the 918 Bomber Group. Each episode was loaded with Combat! crossover so, without any further ado ...

DECISION was an episode that had downed US fliers in a bomb run target area near a parts factory. Combat! vet, from the episode ANIVERSARY, John Van Dreelan was the commander of the P.O.W. situation. BUCK TAYLOR and PETER DURYEA from JONAH were prisoners.

APPOINTMENT AT LIEGE was concerned with GARY LOCKWOOD (Operation Flytrap) and his personal axe to grind based on a tragic bombing run that cost the lives of his crew then. Also we had PETE DEUEL.

THE SUSPECTED had Eddie Binns from the episode RESCUE and ANTOINETTE BOWER from BATTLE OF THE ROSES.

SOMETIMES SOLDIERS KILL had a murder suspect in the unit with John Williams from THE FURLOUGH as a Scotland yard inspector on the heels of a murder that involved General Savage. Resident G.I. Prick TOM SKERRIT was also on hand. This episode was helmed by our frequent director SUTTON ROLEY.

HERE'S TO COURAGEOUS COWARDS featured our quicksand technician BRANDON de WILDE as a conscientious objector clerk in Savage's office who's challenged to put aside his objections to help in and undermanned situation,as a wing gunner.

Okay people, have awonderful New Year full of cheer
and more weekly reports like this one. In 2003....:-}

It's Your Plane!
Doug Pelton (aka Canloan 53)

From:  Douglas Pelton <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Thu Dec 19, 2002  10:50 pm
Subject:  12 O'CLOCK HIGH

Week two of Twelve O'Clock High. So far this week regular French villager Jacques Roux was in one, ditto for Elen Willard from ANY SECOND NOW as a betrothed Air base nurse who's gonna get hitched to the best belly turret gunner in the Wing. JED TAYLOR from a Combat! episode that escapes me has been on twice.Today CHAPEL AT ABLE-FIVE's Fritz Weaver played a downed German officer holding Savage and GLYNIS JOHNS captive in her palatial London-area estate. THE TIME TUNNEL's JOHN ZAREMBA also guest starred. Also DANA WYNTER, female lead from SINK THE BISMARK, was in a Kleenex-friendly episode set in the Scottish
countryside.

The gunfire sound effects and anti-aircraft sound effects sound strange. They need(ed) Finn Ulback's Combat-ters. which sound more organic ballistically.

I've always loved DOMINIC FRONTIERE's music for THE OUTER LIMITS and the INVADERS, so I love his tension-reflecting bits, but the rest could have been lifted from a '40s production of the same ilk.

Like Combat! most of the British characters Twelve O'Clock High come off as a tad bit too caricatured, like the intent was to have them come off as too eager to please the Yanks. But not as stubborn as the C.O. refusing to leave the  beleagured train depot in WHAT ARE THE BUGLES BLOWIN' FOR?

But it's a little strange to now join you people as once being served with Combat!,after being a bit arrogant in that regard for years and years. Join the club, I guess. That's this week's Flyboys Report from The
Greater Toronto Area. See you next week?!?!

From:  "doug783 <doug783@yahoo.ca>
Date:  Fri Dec 13, 2002  9:47 pm
Subject:  12 O'CLOCK HIGH

So far in the first week, we've had Combat! series vets Emile Genest and Jay Novello in one episode and today's was penned by god old Eddie Lakso.The dramas are a bit top-heavy in dialogue set pieces and not on action,but there's only so much you can get out of repeated stock footage of bombing runs and mid-air battles. It's gonna be fascinating to see this series for the first time, really, moreso than Combat 1997, which was a rediscovery.

And to see the Combat! talent overlap. My other greatest challenge is finding a gift tie-in period comic from the series I got last year but can't find,now that it represents my lone collectible of the show. I am a proud owner of the 2003 C Calendar, which is a continuance of the quality improvement curve going back to the first one. Better photo reproduction, especially the months grid fillers.

I've also ordered the revised edition of Jo's book through History's website up here,taking advantage of a free shipping offer up to  December 20th. In clearing out vast quantities of group messages doubling as my Yahoo Email I noticed a Jop e-missive complaining that a small clique of group posters are the only ones to do so,out of a membership in the hundreds. Okay I'll admit to my dereliction of duty. Consider this as an apology.

May I take this time to wish everyone along our front lines a Very Morrow Christmas and a Hanley New Year.

That's it for now,contact me,react to this,that's what Jo wants,so....

Taking The Point One More Time,
Doug Pelton CANLOAN53

 
B-17 Posters

 

12 O'CLOCK HIGH
78 Episodes
(listed chronologically) 

  1. Golden Boy had Nine Black Sheep 9/18/64
  2. Follow the Leader 9/25/64
  3. The Men and The Boys 10/2/64
  4. Pressure Point 10/9/64
  5. Sound of Distant Thunder 10/16/64
  6. The Climate of Doubt 10/23/64
  7. Decision 11/6/64
  8. Hours Before Dawn 11/13/64
  9. Appointment at Leige 11/20/64
  10. Interlude 11/27/64
  11. Here's to Corageous Cowards 12/4/64
  12. Soldiers Sometimes Kill 12/11/64
  13. The Suspected 12/18/64
  14. An Act of War 12/25/64
  15. Those Who Are About to Die 1/1/65
  16. In Search of My Enemy 1/8/65
  17. The Albatross 1/15/65
  18. The Lorelei 1/22/65
  19. Faith Hope and Sergeant Aaronson 1/29/65
  20. To Heinie-With Love 2/5/65
  21. The Clash 2/12/65
  22. The Ticket 2/26/65
  23. The Trap 3/5/65
  24. The End of the Line 3/12/65
  25. The Threat 3/19/65
  26. Mutiny at 10,000 Feet 3/26/65
  27. The Mission 4/2/65
  28. Cry of Fallen Birds 4/9/65
  29. V for Vendetta 4/16/65
  30. P.O.W.(Part1) 4/23/65
  31. P.O.W.(Part2) 4/30/65
  32. The Hero 5/7/65
  33. The Loneliest Place in the World 9/13/65
  34. R/X for a Sick Bird 9/20/65
  35. Then Came the Mighty Hunter 9/27/65
  36. The Idolator 10/4/65
  37. Big Brother 10/11/65
  38. The Hot Shot 10/18/65
  39. Show Me a Hero I'll Show You a Bum 10/25/65
  40. Runway in the Dark 11/1/65
  41. I Am the Enemy 11/8/65
  42. Grant Me No Favor 11/15/65
  43. Storm at Twilight 11/22/65
  44. We're Not Coming Back 11/29/65
  45. The Jones Boys 12/6/65
  46. Between the Lines 12/13/65
  47. Target 802 12/27/65
  48. Falling Star 1/3/66
  49. The Slaughter Pen 1/10/66
  50. Underground 1/17/66
  51. Which Way the Wind Blows 1/24/66
  52. The Outsider 1/31/66
  53. Back to the Drawing Board 2/7/66
  54. Twenty Fifth Mission 2/14/66
  55. The Survivor 2/21/66
  56. Angel Babe 2/28/66
  57. Decoy 3/7/66
  58. The Hollow Man 3/14/66
  59. Cross Hairs on Death 3/21/66
  60. Day of Reckoning 3/28/66
  61. Siren Voices 4/4/66
  62. Gauntlet of Fire 9/9/66
  63. Massacre 9/16/66
  64. Face of a Shadow 9/23/66
  65. Fortress Weisbaden 9/30/66
  66. A Distant Cry 10/7/66
  67. Practice to Deceive 10/14/66
  68. The All American 10/21/66
  69. The Pariah 10/28/66
  70. The Duel at Mont Saint Marie 11/4/66
  71. To Seek and Destroy 11/11/66
  72. The Fighter Pilot 11/18/66
  73. Burden of Guilt 12/2/66
  74. The Ace 12/9/66
  75. Six Feet Under 12/16/66
  76. Graveyard 12/30/66
  77. Long Time Dead 1/6/67
  78. The Hunters and The Killers 1/13/67

-- Compiled by Bob Heffner - 8/8/99
of Bob's B-17 Page