F Troop 

The misadventures of the staff and neighbors of a remote U.S. Army outpost in the Wild West.

Creator:

Richard M. Bluel

Stars:

Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Ken Berry

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Forrest Tucker	...	Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke / ... 65 episodes, 1965-1967
Larry Storch	...	Cpl. Randolph Agarn / ... 65 episodes, 1965-1967
Ken Berry	...	Capt. Wilton Parmenter / ... 65 episodes, 1965-1967
Melody Patterson	...	Wrangler Jane Angelica Thrift 65 episodes, 1965-1967
James Hampton	...	Hannibal Dobbs / ... 65 episodes, 1965-1967
Frank DeKova	...	Chief Wild Eagle / ... 63 episodes, 1965-1967
Bob Steele	...	Trooper Duffy 63 episodes, 1965-1967
Ben Frommer	...	Smokey Bear / ... 4 episodes, 1965-1967
Don Diamond	...	Crazy Cat / ... 49 episodes, 1965-1967
Joe Brooks	...	Trooper Vanderbilt 44 episodes, 1965-1967

Storyline

Becoming a hero by accidentally leading a cavalry charge the wrong way, Captain Wilton Parmenter is given command of Fort Courage. The Fort's crafty Sergeant O'Rourke has a deal with the local Hekawe Indians to market their wares to the tourists. They must sometimes pretend to be enemies (and the Shugs really are enemies). Jane is out to marry the innocent Parmenter.

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Plot Keywords:

fort | u.s. army | blonde | comic sidekick | commanding officer | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Western

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many viewers thought that because "Old Charlie" the town drunk would usually be thrown through the saloon doors (or window), bounce off a support post, fall face forward over the hitching rail, spin around and land on his face or back that he was actually a young stuntman in "old man" make-up. In reality, "Charlie" was ace stuntman Harvey Parry, who at that time was 65 years old and had been a stuntman for almost 45 years.

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Goofs

The breech-loading revolvers and rifles seen in the show had not been invented as of the late 1860's.

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Quotes

Chief Wild Eagle: Hekawi not fighters! Hekawi lovers!

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Teenage Caveman (1991)

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Soundtracks

F Troop
Lyrics by Irving Taylor
Music by William Lava

User Reviews

"Who says I'm dumb?"

Although it only ran for two seasons, "F Troop" was a consistently hilarious western spoof that should have stayed on much longer. It didn't just stick to satirizing westerns--the show managed to throw in vampires (Vincent Price showed up in one episode), James Bond-ish secret agents (Pat Harrington as "Agent B. Wise"), rock bands (Agarn leaves the army to manage a group called The Bedbugs) and just about anything else they could think of. The show was crammed with memorable characters: Ken Berry's well intentioned but bumbling Capt. Parmenter, Forrest Tucker's scheming capitalist Sgt. O'Rourke, Larry Storch's loyal but not particularly bright Cpl. Agarn, Joe Brooks' sight-impaired lookout Cpl. Vanderbilt. The real find, though, was Frank DeKova as Chief Wild Eagle. DeKova parlayed his sinister, menacing appearance into a career of playing cold-hearted killers and various psychos. As conniving Chief Wild Eagle, though, he showed a flair for comed y that was wholly unexpected. Although he went over the top sometimes, he was consistently fun to watch, and you really looked forward to his appearances. There were some truly funny running gags (Parmenter's "Please Jane, not in front of the men" whenever Jane tried to put the moves on him; directions to Fort Courage that always went, "Make a left at the rock that looks like a bear, then a right at the bear that looks like a rock"), but the one that everyone remembers is when O'Rourke would say to Agan, "I don't know why everybody says you're so dumb", and then ten minutes later, in the middle of another scene, Agarn would turn to O'Rourke and say, "Who says I'm dumb?" A truly funny show that should have lasted longer than it did.

P.S. There's a blooper reel in circulation that has about 10 minutes of "F Troop" outtakes on it. If you ever come across it, snap it up. It's even funnier (and far dirtier!) than the stuff that made it into the show.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

F Troop

Filming Locations:

Kanab Movie Ranch - 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, Utah, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (65 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (season 1) Color (season 2)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1