The Rat Patrol 'The Fatal Chase Raid" #1.8 (1966)

Easily my least favorite episode thus far, 15 August 2017

The Rat Patrol busts-up a convoy of German transport vehicles loaded with Allied POWs. Among the group is a Sgt Gribs who has intel on German troop movements that might be useful. Troy and Co need to get Gribs back to headquarters. Making things more difficult: the team is down to one jeep for seven guys, they're low on water, Gribs is a royal pain, and there are two soldiers who want to kill Gribs for being a coward.

The Fatal Chase Raid is easily my least favorite episode thus far. I really can't imagine enjoying any of the rest of the series any less. It's that bad. The problem is Gavin MacLeod as Gribs. MacLeod was a decent enough actor, but his Gribs character is so annoying that, like his men, I wanted to see him die also – a slow, painful death. I know the character was meant to grate at the nerves, but it's way too over the top. Had I been Troy, I would have had to knock him out to shut him up. Also, The Rat Patrol usually has an unrealistically easy time handling the Germans they face, but here, the Germans all but roll over. For example, I "like" the way The Rat Patrol was able to destroy the convoy using dynamite, yet the German vehicles were still operable. Was it skill, luck, or lazy writing? You decide.

4/10