A Day in Paris - Part 2

It was still Thursday.
We had just left the souvenir shop near the Pantheon. We were on our way to the Luxembourg Gardens. The sidewalk was pretty wide, wide enough for some shops to have racks of goods out on it. There was also a youth sprawled on the sidewalk. He had two suitcases next to him. The suitcases were red. We gave him a wide berth; there was something hinky about the guy. 

I realized what the feeling was when my wife kicked the container, made from the bottom quarter of a clear plastic water bottle, which held a few coins, and which he had placed out in the center of the walk. The container was virtually invisible. She hit it solidly, like an opening kickoff. The bit of bottle went tumbling; the coins went skittering. Did I mention the grate across the sidewalk? Most of the coins went down the grate that was located about six or eight feet from the ambush site. 

I found two of his missing coins that the grate had not consumed, both one centime pieces. I could see that we had walked right into the trap. My wife was very apologetic. I thought about explaining to the guy that he should be more careful about where he puts his stuff. I'm not sure if he wasn't much of an actor, or if he was just saving the theatrics in case they were needed; he didn't seem very upset...and I was still packing about two pounds of change in my pocket. So...I asked how much he had had in the bottle bottom. He said, "Quatre." He didn't say whether it was euros or centimes. So I pulled out a handful of coins and gave to him...it was probably a little more than four euros worth. He seemed happy. We moved on, having fallen victim to a scam, but not feeling too badly about it.

Luxembourg Gardens welcomed us. In my memory, it had always been bright and sunny at Luxembourg Gardens; it was where I had spoken with an American writer all those years ago; if I remember correctly, he had told me that he had helped write the script for the movie version of An American in Paris. 

It was Thursday, and the sky had begun to take on a battleship hue. We were both hungry, having skipped step one (breakfast) of our planned 22 steps for the day. We bought ham and cheese crepes and ate them in the park, admiring the greenery, and getting lightly sprinkled with rain.

According to the daily sheet from the red book, our next step, number 7, was to take the metro to the catacombs; exploring the catacombs was step 8. Problem: step 9 involved leaving the catacombs via the M4 to the Musee d'Orsay. The M4 was nonfunctional; we would lose more time in circuitous travel. We scratched the catacombs from our list. I had been there: bones, lots and lots of bones, macabre. Besides, I had already decided to add another destination to our list. We skipped steps 7 through 10, substituting a new metro route to get us to step 11, the Musee d'Orsay.

There were two or three lines to get into the museum. I noticed that the shortest line was specifically labeled for British and Americans. We got in quickly (using our Paris Museum Pass)...after the usual frisk and bag examination, but no body cavity search. The museum was seriously awesome. Tons of stuff. We took our time, trying to enjoy the moment, examining lots of paintings and objets d'arts. Some of them are pictured below. We looked until we could look no more, to the point that the thought of gazing upon one more framed canvas, or one more likeness in clay, bronze, or stone caused our eyes to roll back in their sockets, our knees to collapse, and the bowels to loosen. So we were there a good twelve or thirteen minutes. No. Seriously, we were there for an hour or two. It's really a place to spend an entire day...but it was Thursday, and we had 22 steps to complete.

This one was sculpted after the model stepped on a LEGO.

 I'm pretty sure this one was entitled "Selfie with Dead Girl."

Aerobics can be so exhausting.

When we left the museum, we purchased drinks. My wife chose a bottle of water. I, remembering the sweet citrus bite of the drink from dinner the night before, chose an Orangina. And we were off to the destination that I had added to our schedule. A guy on a rickshaw bike offered to give us a ride there...but we already had plenty of metro tickets, which were much cheaper than the price of the ride...so we went under ground once more.

Next time: A Day in Paris - part 3.

"Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd" - Recap and Review

Combat!

Season 1 Episode 3: “Lost Sheep, Lost Shepherd”

The player characters are: Hanley, Saunders, Doc, and Littlejohn.

The opening reports a massive tank battle shortly after D-Day…and its aftermath of scattered tanks, crews, and infantry. After footage of tanks driving, shooting, burning, blowing up, and in other ways failing their saving throws versus 88 millimeter armor piercing magic missiles, we finally see some familiar faces; they’re marching on a road in Normandy.

We also see these two guys with a dog.

Cut to the Lt. and Saunders. Hanley is going over a map; he wants Saunders' advice. Saunders informs him that they have about an hour and half before the enemy tanks overtake them. 

Run the opening credits. Jeffrey Hunter is guest starring as the featured NPC of the week (Sergeant Dane).

Saunders tells a soldier who is singing the chorus to "The Whiffenpoof Song" (go to 0:59 to hear the chorus) (echoing the ‘lost sheep’ reference of the title) that their destination is Paris. 

Unbeknownst (which is one of my favorite words; it looks like some foreign word, maybe an autocorrect rendition of Uzbekistan) to the G.I.s, they’re about to try their luck on the random encounter table; they’re walking into an ambush.

Not a man goes down when the sniper in the tree, and the big MG open-up on the Americans…but every tree they hide behind takes a hit. Obviously, it’s the magic bark that attracts projectiles. The Germans didn’t count on that. The sniper, to his misfortune, picked a tree without the magic bark. Saunders drops him, like the wicked witch under Dorothy's house, with a blast from his machine gun.

The guy we saw earlier with the dog (Wiggins) puts the pup down; it does what pups do, and walks off. This NPC fails his saving throw versus sudden idiocy, and goes after the dog, away from the magic trees. Scratch that NPC. Casualties are at one for each side so far.

Saunders volunteers to take half the men to outflank the enemy position. Cue the ominous sounds of a big engine and creaking treads. Cut to close-ups of individual infantry men. Oh no! It’s a tank! Will they be trapped between two fires?

Wait. It’s one of ours.

Color the two Germans on the MG obliterated.

I bet we’re about to meet guest NPC.

He’s not Captain Christopher Pike in the tanker helmet…but it is Jeffrey Hunter. He’s sullen, dirty, and low on fuel. He doesn’t want anyone riding on his tank. Hanley outranks the tanker sergeant who is not in contact with his unit. The infantry will ride.

An eerie silence greets them when they enter the battle-scarred town of Gavray…right up until the welcome wagon is rolled out courtesy of the Third Reich, beginning with a burst from a big MG. Again, no one is hit in the initial firing--the MG man failed his sneak attack check, noisily knocking out some window panes before firing. The tank attracts bullets even better than the trees did. An American goes down when he runs for shelter. 

There are two MG positions. The tank blows them each a kiss from its main gun; the sounds of silence are restored…except the NPC guest star has to blast the cross off the church…apparently he's not down with religion--or he just hates right angles.

The tank needs gas. The order from Hanley is to search house-to-house, and watch out for booby-traps.

Littlejohn is packing the dog. He hands it to Doc (the same Doc from episode 1), and enters what must be a bicycle shop. (I like the several shots taken through the bicycle wheel).

 They find a table set for a meal, and a fire going in the fireplace. Guest NPC has also found something in front of an empty-eyed building.

The devious DM has Not Captain Pike roll on the treasure table…and the fuel barrels are empty. Instead of gas, they discover an old wounded priest, and a young boy—Not Captain Pike’s expression says this is the worst treasure roll ever.

When the priest tells them that they must leave, and that everyone has left the town, Saunders makes his save to disbelieve. Not Captain Pike gets in the priest’s face, as if to inflict breath weapon damage, but Hanley calls him off.

We soon see that Saunders is wise to disbelieve when the shot cuts to an ominous view from behind a German helmet (an actual helmet, not a German named Helmut…although he could be; we’re not given his name).

The camera follows the German…he comes to a point where he looks down on a room (basement) full of the townspeople; he looks down on them the same way Not Captain Pike looked down on the wounded priest.

The people are not alone down there. There’s a German radio operator. I can tell, because he has those radio things on his head. An important message comes over the wire.

Next, it’s night. Guest NPC is on the prowl. He goes into an art shop…and nothing.

Back to Hanley and Saunders. Hanley is puzzled about why the Germans pulled out of such a commanding position…and the priest won’t talk.

Back to Guest NPC. He’s still prowling.

Cut to the two NPC tank crewmen. Saunders finds them and pumps them for information on Not Captain Pike. They describe their Sgt. as a real go-getter…and a spoiled priest; he’s a sky pilot washout (sort of, not an army chaplain as in the song). They hate him.

Saunders confronts Not Captain Pike about the matter of being a spoiled priest. He informs the former man-of-the-cloth that they are going to tangle if he keeps on as he has been. Our guest NPC gives a heartfelt explanation and claims he can never go back to being a priest after all the killing he’s done.

Saunders, in his unique, sympathetic way, not quite straight from Carnegie’s book on winning friends and influencing people, tells the tanker that he has no guts, and he’s just not man enough to be a priest. Consider that our tanker is holding a machine gun in his hands that is not quite pointed at Saunders during this discussion.

The DM throws the dice for guest NPC on the table of unexpected reactions. The tanker decides he wants to go to confession. (I particularly like the shadow of the mirror next to the candle in this shot, and the triangle it forms with the priest and guest NPC as the other points of the triangle).

Hanley, Saunders, and Doc watch, screened from the intimacy of the confession by a mere shadow barrier.

Not Captain Pike gets right with God…just in time…the German radio man has more important news. Of course, I can’t tell what it is because, in one of the things that I always loved about the series, the Germans speak German (which I don’t). The French prisoners speak French (which I do), and worry that the Germans will kill them all; the old man doing the talking isn’t worried about himself, but he can’t bear the thought of the children being killed.

Cut to Sanders and Hanley at the fountain outside. Noise in the distance. Division is about to break out. They talk about the tanker sergeant until Doc gets them. Not Captain Pike is nowhere to be found. The priest is saying in French, “They will be killed. They will be killed by the Germans…the church.” Hanley makes a roll to understand tongues and scores high enough to get the gist of the priest’s message. (Caje isn't in this episode. Neither Hanley nor Saunders speak French).

Now we’re primed for some action… Hanley and Saunders take off. There’s movement among the Germans as well. Guest NPC is waiting for them. He takes out a couple Germans with a pistol before the clerical spell of warding against high velocity lead expires. He takes a perforation or two while holding the priest's crucifix—not as effective against bullets as against vampires--who knew? Hanley and Saunders burst into the church, spraying projectiles and relieving the Germans of all their hit points. Saunders also gives the radio man a KIA result, and the French hostages are freed. Not Christopher Pike isn’t dead…yet. The villagers stream past him as he stands bleeding against the church wall. He struggles to the front of the church, and expires.

Roll the credits.

Not the most exciting episode. Saunders and Hanley are the only ones who gained any XPs. Saunders eliminated 3 enemies; Hanley brought down one. Every other enemy sent to the other realm did so with a ticket punched by Not Captain Pike--leading to the issue raised in the episode: What does all the killing in war do to a man’s soul? Saunders and guest NPC touched on it. I think it was only resolved to some extent for guest NPC after he met with the priest. I suppose the answer, as far as one may be found, should be read in the final shot before the credits.

A Day in Paris - part 1

It was a Thursday. 
According to the red book, we had 22 steps for the day's events. I had constructed the red book before we had left home. Every day had been planned with destinations, addresses, telephone numbers, flight numbers, airports, arrival times, etc, from the departure day of May 11 to the return day of May 19--all tucked into clear plastic page protectors. Each day had a schedule page, subsequent pages contained the documents that we might need for that day. The red book had served us well. At hotels, I had pulled out the reservations previously made online; at the car rental when the girl insisted on asking me every question that I had already answered online, I showed her the page from the red book and everything went smoothly. My advice regarding the red book, in the voice of Karl Malden: Don't leave home without it. 

But this was Thursday. 
We were going to Paris. We would be at Notre Dame by step 3. Step one consisted of breakfast...and we skipped that, going right to step two: RER B to St. Michel/Notre Dame. I had constructed the plan for the days events by going over the Paris map and the Paris metro map. We knew where we were going, and exactly how we were getting there. I just didn't know how long we would be at each destination. I knew the plan was ambitious, but a man's reach must exceed his grasp, n'est-ce pas? We were Maxwell Smart and 99 in the city of lights. What could possibly go wrong?

Notre Dame was fabulous. It was much like the other old churches that we had visited, but even more so--yes, I really mean that.

It was about three weeks later that the hammer-wielding terrorist struck at that location, and many tourists were locked inside the cathedral for much longer than they had planned. I suggest marking the sans marteau box on all tours to this location. 

I spent many months in Paris many years ago. I have a clear memory of eating chicken and frites in the middle of the day with a friend from Ireland on a bench near the cathedral. 

There was some kind of bread making exhibition going on in a large shelter in the square. We walked through it, but didn't stay long. We had a schedule to keep. On to the Latin Quarter.

Step four had us walking to the Cluny Museum, a distance of a few blocks. I wanted my wife to have that part of the experience of Paris, walking both the grand avenues as well as the narrow side streets. The Cluny is a medieval history museum. We spent a short time there. One room contained the six tapestries of The Lady and the Unicorn. That room held a certain sense of mystery, as if the true meaning of the tapestries would manifest itself to the perceptive viewer. We thought it was cool, but apparently weren't perceptive enough to gather any deeper meaning. 

From the Cluny, pursuant to step five, we walked to the Pantheon. Things were proceeding quite nicely.

This massive block of stone is quite breathtaking within. I could see it as a superb location for filming a battle between a character played by Alain Delon, or Jean Claude Van Damme, and some enemy with the weapons being swords and Frankish throwing axes. It struck me as a celebration of the nation, a place to worship the France of the past, its history, and prominent persons. Although there was a picture of Clovis, I must have missed the paintings of those most famous of Gauls, Asterix and Obelix.

Step six of the red book directed us to walk to the Luxembourg Gardens. We deviated slightly from that mandate by going into a souvenir shop to get shirts. The shop was right there, and I knew with our ambitious schedule, if we waited to pick up some souvenirs for ourselves and our kids, we probably wouldn't get any. The young gentleman at the store was extremely helpful. He sold us all of the cheap, over-priced items that we wanted; they were quite nice...and as I couldn't find any stamps or tags indicating the country of manufacture, I assumed they were probably all made in China...but we bought them in Paris; that's what counts.

We set out again for the Luxembourg Gardens. Little did we know that just a short few dozen meters down the street, a trap had been cunningly placed in our path.

Next time: A Day in Paris -- part two

Rear Echelon Commandos - Recap and Review

Combat!

Season 1 Episode 2: Rear Echelon Commandos

In this episode the primary player characters involved are…sort of...Saunders, Caje, and Kirby.

At the opening, Caje follows Saunders into a barn where cows and soldiers rest. Saunders drops his equipment belt, and collapses with fatigue to sit on the floor. Littlejohn gets the first line. The news is that they’re getting three new men. Hooray! NPCs to soak up damage, or are they going to be regular player characters?

Kirby introduces the three newcomers as each having two years of rear echelon experience: a cook, a physical fitness instructor, and a disc jockey. As Saunders shakes down the new guys, we learn the physical fitness instructor was actually a ballet dancer (played by Tim Considine of Disney fame). Disc jockey claims that he’ll be back in London in two weeks. He’s definitely got obnoxious NPC written all over him; he’ll probably be at the center of the story in this adventure scenario. The cook is just very fearful.

The introductions have been made, it’s time for the opening credits and a messenger from the DM with the mission objective. Instead, of a messenger, the DM does a role-play lead-in. Saunders complains to Hanley, who is now a lieutenant, and seems to be washing T-shirts. 

Saunders says that the replacements won’t last a week. Hanley, perhaps still remembering Hazel and the French girl from the first episode, assigns Saunders to take out a recon patrol of six men the following afternoon. When Saunders argues that he can’t find six men who can stand, let alone go on patrol, the Lt. tells him to take two men plus the three replacements. The DM is running the Lt. tonight…and no good comes from arguing with the DM.

 The Sgt. runs the three through grenade drills. Disc jockey is full of attitude and nearly blows himself and the Sgt. to bits when he fumbles a grenade. Saunders' quick reaction prevents catastrophe. Instead of contrition, Disc jockey gives Saunders a heaping helping of attitude. 

It looks like Saunders is about to roll the dice on the non-gentle persuasion table when Caje interrupts the little tête-à-tête. The Lt. wants him; they’re moving out.

Saunders is to take the patrol, using an inaccurate map, to the destination, find out if the Germans have left a certain town, and report back. Hanley gives them specific instructions not to engage the enemy; the mission is for recon only. We know that instruction is going to go down like the Prime Directive an encounter with Captain Kirk; there will be an engagement with the enemy.

Caje takes a moment to tell Ballet not to worry too much about getting killed. Ballet says it’s killing others that he’s worried about. I sense a future moment when Ballet will be faced with the difficult choice of killing the enemy, possibly saving the lives of the others on the patrol. Saunders follows up with Ballet. He learns that Ballet comes from a family of cops where shooting others and getting shot are par for the course; Ballet just doesn’t like it.

I suspect things are about to get interesting when Saunders leads the patrol to a bridge with an overturned motorcycle and sidecar on it. This particular DM loves to throw a bridge into the mix whenever possible--I remember one from the first episode. But it’s a fake-out. There’s no action at the bridge, aside from Disc jockey’s whining. In dungeon parties I’ve seen, Disc jockey might have had an unfortunate accident while crossing the bridge. Not here; these players know their DM too well; they would never get away with it.

The patrol makes it to the town. A nice view from an arch promises some future action at the church seen through the archway--I love that shot. The Sgt. divides his squad into three pairs, with each PC taking an NPC. Saunders takes Disc jockey. Soon enough, we find a bridge in town. I knew it. I knew there would be some action at a bridge.

There’s a lot of goose stepping going on around the town…by actual geese, and they won't stop honking. The Germans are in a building at the end of the street…where Disc jockey was supposed to look, but didn’t. Disc jockey lies to the Sgt. and tells him that he did check the whole street. 

Fortunately, the Germans remain oblivious to the American incursion, being distracted by a basket of kittens. Who knew the Wehrmacht had a secret weakness for kitties?

I love the cinematography here. There are many great shots in this episode featuring unique shadows, lines, and angles. The black and white film really makes these shots fabulous.

Saunders and his patrol reunite in a dress shop--it looks like it's right out of an episode of The Twilight Zone. He assigns them to go through the town, house-by-house, in the same teams as earlier. Before he leaves the shop, Saunders hangs his binoculars case on one of the mannequins in the dress shop. That seems strange; I suspect some German is going to see the case and become suspicious.

Ballet discovers some dead Germans, and fails his saving throw versus inexplicable paralysis. Kirby has to go get him, and drag him back to the dress shop. Caje and the cook end up going back to the dress shop after the cook can’t even climb stairs without stumbling in fear and dropping his rifle. These NPCs are downright annoying. Saunders and Disc jockey also return after the former catches the latter not checking a house; Disc Jockey admits that he never checked the street as he earlier claimed to have done.

Kirby and Caje complain about the replacements. The Sgt. sends Caje back to the bridge outside of town to guard against any German patrols. Saunders figures that if he can’t find Germans in the town, the DM could be sending some to him via the bridge. Nevertheless, he takes Kirby to check the town while the NPCs complain and commiserate in the dress shop.

Naturally, left to their own devices, the DM doesn’t even require the replacements to make a saving throw versus stupidity. Disc jockey builds a fire. Saunders sees the smoke…only moments before the Germans see it. Kirby and Saunders make it back to the dress shop. The Germans have gathered around the machine gun...

like kids around a new View-Master projector. 

(That would be like 3rd graders around a new iPod for a more modern comparison).

The Germans open up; Kirby goes down. Saunders drags him back into the dress shop amid heavy machine gun fire. The Germans soon decide to move to the upper story of the building for a better field of fire against the Americans. Meanwhile, Saunders decides to haul along Disc jockey in an attempt to take out the Germans with grenades.

Saunders has trouble avoiding German fire while keeping Disc jockey on mission. The Sgt. takes a hit, but the damage roll is not bad; it’s a minor wound to the leg. Disc jockey and Saunders are pinned down, unable to move--Saunders by his wound, Disc jockey by his attitude.

The DM, seeing that two PCs are down with wounds, and the other is out guarding against wandering monster attacks, decides to stir things up with more NPC conduct: The cook goes out to help. He doesn’t last long, and is soon doing some water therapy. One NPC out.

The DM doesn’t let that stop things. Send out the next NPC. Ballet makes his move. In a stroke of sheer genius (not), he goes right to where Sanders and Disc jockey are pinned down under enemy fire. When the DM is running the NPCs, they can do whatever the DM wants. Saunders humorously suggests that he blow up the Germans and the machine gun. Ballet agrees to do so.

After ditching his shoes, he uses his unique skills of balancing and jumping—learned in ballet, we assume—to make his way across the rooftops, making all of his saving throws along the way. Disc jockey even gets up and shoots a German who comes outside to take aim at Ballet. Apparently the German on the big machine gun failed his saving throw versus distraction by thoughts of kittens in a basket; he would’ve had a perfect shot at Disc jockey.

Ballet at last gets into position, and sends through the window his warmest regards with suggestions for a complete interior decoration renovation in post modern devastation by hand grenade.

No word on whether any kitties were injured in the episode.

Later...

Back with the rest of the platoon, Kirby is getting his shoulder patched up, and Saunders learns that he’ll be getting 5 new replacements. Ballet and Disc jockey have become soldiers. I was completely wrong in my predictions about the binocular case and action at the church.

It was an episode largely driven by the NPCs; the PCs were just along for the ride. I blame the DM.

Actually, the episode is not a bad look at the difficulties faced by both the veteran soldiers and the replacements. I believe it was in Citizen Soldiers that Stephen Ambrose discussed the resentment or distrust that the veterans often had for the replacements. The veterans knew that the replacements were likely to do something stupid that would get themselves and those near them killed. The replacements had a significantly higher casualty rate than those who had been in combat for several weeks. The veterans didn’t want to form ties with the new guys who likely wouldn’t be around for long. The replacements, lacking both practical training and experience, had to get by with what little direction the experienced men could spare them. They felt unwelcome and vulnerable.

And I just found this link confirming what I just wrote. Kudos to me for remembering as much as I did. 

Hamburger Surpise

This was on the wall of our room at the bureaucratic hotel:

It's not the exact picture; I found this one on the internet. In fact, I remembering the moon as being bigger.

Another thing we found in the room (along with the bottle of water and candy) was a menu.

I also found this one on the internet, as I did not consider the menu something of which I wanted a picture when we were there. This picture is too small for me to accurately read. The actual menu that we found in the room suffered from a similar problem--not legibility, but accuracy. We spent some time deciding what we would have. I forget now what we finally decided to have...but it sounded good.

When we arrived in the restaurant, we discovered a completely different menu. Apparently, the menu in the room was outdated; the selection upon which we had decided was not to be found on the new menu. We couldn't find anything on the new menu that interested us. Nevertheless, in our famished condition, not having eaten much of anything since our massive breakfast in Bayeux, we ordered something.

It was the kind of mistake that Americans probably make with frequency; we ordered hamburgers. They were one of the cheapest things on the menu. Our first meal at Versailles had been from McDonald's; in fact, our evening meal on the second night had been from McDonald's; both of those meals were fine. We failed to account for the fact that although the hamburgers were the cheapest things on the menu, they were way overpriced. Overpriced hamburgers are never good. We didn't account for the fact that a "chef" rather than a simple cook was preparing these burgers. A simple hamburger is beneath contempt for a "chef." A "chef" must expand, magnify, and supplement the plain ordinary hamburger. Rather than a simple but filling meal, the "chef" must concoct a masterpiece...and thereby completely ruin that acme of ordinary meat. 

They patties glistened like varnished mahogany...and were nearly as tasty. Seriously, they had been seasoned, not unpleasantly so. But they were thick. It was like trying to eat a doorjamb in a bun. I removed the lettuce; it was that single, thin, dry-but-green leaf from the outermost edge of the plant; it's the kind of lettuce that many restaurants use to hide the real food, the throw-away wrapper--it gives color to the plate but is completely unpalatable.

The burger wasn't awful; it was just thick and strange tasting. A burger should be fun to eat, with dripping condiments that complement the flavor of the beef, the bun, the tomato, and the onion. (I don't enjoy pickles on hamburgers--this one was on the side). The ground beef should be the star in this culinary play; the other performers should all be in love with the meat and cling to it longingly. Instead, this burger was a real ham, upstaging all the supporting cast, and stinking up the show. None of the other players could rescue the great ground round patty from itself. 

The fries were those thick, soggy pieces of lumber rejected by CostCo...but they were better than the burger.

The one redeeming aspect of the meal was Orangina. 

They served it in a short bottle just like that one in the picture above, with glasses in which to pour it. I remembered Orangina from my stay some 30 years earlier. I remembered it as a flat, watery, orange-pulpy drink in a blue can. In spite of my rather tepid recollection of the drink, I wanted to try it again for nostalgia's sake. 

The burger gave me a tremendous thirst. The drink hit my mouth like an artillery barrage, exploding with refreshing citrus flavor and carbonation. I fell in love with it. It was nothing like I remembered.

After we finished our meal--we had eaten most of the burgers because hunger had driven us to that extreme--we went back to the room. The aftermath of the meal is best described as extremely unpleasant in a gastrointestinal sense. I blamed the burger. I would later find out that the burger may have received a bad rap for that unpleasantness.


Next time: A Day in Paris

A Day in June - Recap and review of the very first Combat! episode

Combat!

Season 1 Episode 1: A Day in June

In this episode the player characters in the adventure party are Saunders, Hanley, Doc, Braddock, Caddy, and Beacham. The rest are all NPCs. This episode establishes Saunders as the sergeant who knows what he's doing.

At the opening, Vic Morrow (Sgt. Saunders) gets the first line. We see guys who will be the show regulars, including Tom Skerritt. They’re resting in a leaky building during a rainstorm, talking about getting to Paris. Saunders lights up and remembers back to England, telling the current adventure party about a previous adventure in this same campaign setting. The rest of the episode is a flashback.

 Hanley is in church with other soldiers in dress uniform. He’s sitting with a blonde. The service is interrupted and all military personnel are ordered to return immediately to their bases. Hanley rides the bus with the blonde.

We hear her English accent, and see her gaudy earrings before they get off the bus; Hanley and the blonde get off with them…with the earrings, that is. Before they part, meaning Hanley and the blonde, not the earrings, she tells him that she’ll be at home waiting for him tonight. Hanley promises to be there if the DM doesn't ruin it with a pointless side quest.

The big question is whether this is the day the troops will cross the channel. 

Doc is one micro story of the episode. 

He’s a nice looking, smallish guy; he’s the medic. The scene of Doc walking around in the church has some nice angles and framing (See, e.g., the above picture.). He follows Hanley from the church back to the base. The barracks are crowded, but he’s alone. 

He gives a troubled soldier, Beacham some pills. (Beacham is played by Dean Stanton—who passed away earlier this year). 

We learn that Saunders was in the North Africa Campaign. Doc, on the other hand, has not seen combat.

Hanley, who is a sergeant in this episode (It looks like he’s wearing master sergeant stripes.), puts Sgt. Saunders on guard duty when he finds him trying to sneak into town to see Hazel (the blonde). 

That punishment becomes moot, because everyone ends up being restricted to barracks, and ordered to turn out for rations, ammunition, and seasick pills. Apparently Hazel was the side quest, and that has been scotched. The invasion is on.

We next see the men in the bowels of a troop transport. Hanley informs the men that their mission is to make their way through an orchard to a farmhouse, and report back to battalion whether to advance or to pour in heavy artillery. Saunders wants to go around the orchard, instead of through it; he’s worried that any DM worth his salt would have an unwelcome encounter prepared in the orchard. Discussion on this point ends without resolution when orders come to board the landing craft.

Beacham  attempts (half-heartedly) a saving throw versus falling from the cargo on the side of the ship; the result is a massive failure. He falls between the LC and the ship. He is rescued and dragged into the LC. (At this point, I was reminded of my father-in-law’s recollection of D-Day. He recounted the boarding the LCs. He reported that the seas were very rough. Those guys who fell, weighed down with ammunition and equipment, often did not surface. Some were actually crushed between the ship and the LC in the tossing sea. It seems like Cornelius Ryan and/or Stephen Ambrose mention this as well in their D-Day related writings.) 

Beacham took enough damage in the fall that he has to be moved back to the ship. He won’t have to hit the beach, and seems rather relieved relieved about it. I don't think he was committed to the adventure from the beginning, or his mom called him to come home; the fall was just a DM tactic to allow him to leave early. The first party member is removed from play. I don't expect that we will see him again.

The LC’s are off to the beaches beneath a thundering cloud of naval artillery fire. (My father-in-law’s account of riding the LC to the beach included the rough seas, and the memory that the bottom of the LC was slippery with vomit).

Saunders and his men hit the beach under heavy fire. Hanley is reminded of his mission and ordered to get moving on it. The radio man has already been killed--among a number of other NPCs to go down on the beach; the radio is riddled with bullet holes. Hanley will have to send a couple men back to report.

Saunders has to hold Doc’s hand and tell him where to crawl on the beach. Saunders even tells Hanley, “This is a bad place to park…You better move it before they give you a ticket.” They move just before a shell strikes that position. They make it to the rocks where Caje’s (or Caddy as he is referred to in the episode) Cajun buddy is killed--another NPC bites the dust. (I didn’t remember him from the show; I had guessed that he wouldn’t survive the episode.)

We next see the men approaching the orchard. Hanley decides to go around it. Braddock (played by Shecky Greene), who has lost his rations and ammo, pesters Saunders until he gives him some of both. There is a micro story in the episode about Braddock and his winnings, but it's fairly predictable.

They find the farmhouse; what’s left of the platoon of paratroopers they are to meet has been captured by the Germans. It was at this point that I remembered how much I like the black and white episodes. It’s all texture with black shadow, and shades of grey. These scenes possess a certain grittiness that was lost in the color episodes. The bark on the trees, the stone walls, the fences, the uniforms, they all possess a quality of authenticity in black and white. It’s probably because nearly all of the WWII photos and footage that I’ve seen are in black and white.

 Hanley wants to fight to rescue the paratroopers, rather than risk having them killed in an artillery barrage. Before they can act, they come under mortar fire. Caje fails his saving throw versus fear, and panics, nearly running into a blast. Doc follows him at first, but then stops. Caje resumes his panicked retreat.

The Germans have a tank.

More NPC’s, French peasants, a young woman and two old men, find Caje, greeting him as a hero. He informs them that he is no hero. They give him a few gulps from a canteen of red wine, telling him that it will do him well.

Saunders is about to take a million to one shot at knocking out the tank with a grenade launched from his rifle, when Doc interrupts. Caje runs up carrying a bazooka a rotary-feed machine gun. Apparently the red wine was a courage potion which renewed Caje’s will to fight. He says there’s a lot more equipment that was dropped for the paratroopers. The peasants, or resistance fighters, join them with two Molotov cocktails. Apparently there wasn't a clever trap waiting in the orchard, but a treat prepared by the DM to help the adventures--which they cunningly avoided. Thank goodness for NPCs.

Saunders, always looking for a date, appoints himself to take out the tank. The men lay down some fire. Braddock nearly takes out Saunders with rifle-launched grenades…twice three times. The captured paratroopers take advantage of the situation to turn against their captors, and help take out most of the German infantry. The tank stops after Saunders lobs a cocktail from behind it, scoring a critical hit. The remnants of the German infantry fail their courage tests and surrender.

Saunders once more demonstrates his preeminence over the taller Hanley by stealing the French woman from under Hanley’s nose--using his high charisma stat bolstered with a few chocolate bars…but it’s Caje who gets the final kisses. 

It just goes to show that speaking French has its perks.