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Nit-picker's
Bunker #2
Suncompass
is such a nit-picker that one bunker just wasn't big enough.
Here's a second bunker.
Be
warned that if you don't like nit-picking, read no further.
Consider
yourself warned.
Say
what? The terrors of translation.
The
Double Jeopardy Raid
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Translation
is not an easy task and, particularly when time is tight, mistakes
can be made. One such instance comes to light in 'The Double
Jeopardy Raid' (for a really complete description [with spoilers] of
this raid see here).
The Rat Patrol linguistic experts, according to the credits
at the end of the episode, gave this fine young man (see him in the
picture to the right) a 'girl's name'. <gasp!> They named him 'Françoise',
the female version of the male name 'François',
which is surely the name they meant to use. There is no doubt
that he is male. The gender of that French name is tied up in that
pesky little 'e' at the end. |
"Françoise" |
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Growing
up with a 'girl's name' no wonder this nice young man became a
fighter, says Suncompass. This reminds Suncompass of an old
Johnny Cash song (composer: Shel Silverstein)....'A Boy Named Sue'.
The
lyrics for that song are here: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnnycash/aboynamedsue.html |
Thanks
to Valdhery for confirming the spelling-gender confusion for this
poor lad and the misnomer for 'the Duke'(below).
For
translations of French dialogue see here.
The
Decoy Raid
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The
episode mission briefing:
An
especially evil (not to mention crazed) SS Officer enters the
territory and disrupts a humanitarian mission to innoculate the
locals against a Typhus epidemic. Time is of the essence (of course). |
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To
make matters worse the officer takes two aide workers captive and
sets a trap - a trap that involves Dietrich and the rats. A surprise
ending and a discussion about champagne result. |
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This
is La Duc, the official in charge of innoculating the locals against Typhus. |
La
Duc, the name of this character, means 'The Duke' - sort of.
The spelling they've used is problematic and the problem lies in that
French nouns have genders. Nouns are either 'masculine' or 'feminine'
based on rules that Suncompass has never understood.
As
it happens 'Duke' is, in French, a masculine noun and so must be 'LE
Duc' not 'LA Duc'. The character should have been 'Le Duc'. Even
better would have been 'Leduc', an old French name that makes perfect sense. |
Credits
from the end of the episode. |
[][][][][]
Decorating
with boxes.
The
Fire and Brimstone Raid
|
The
episode mission briefing:
The
rats sneak
into a local Arab winery that Dietrich has commandeered for storing
a lot of boxes of ammunition and explosives. A problem arises
(naturally) in that once the rats have set their timed explosives,
Dietrich shows up so they can't escape to safety to watch the fireworks. |
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This
is a serious problem and has the rats pausing to ponder a way out.
While they ponder, and eliminate a few arrow-shooting Germans, they
pile boxes of armaments in the doorway. This 'wall' of boxes
effectively prevents the Germans from taking pot shots at them
through the opening. |
This
item is definitely nit-picking but since everything on this page is
to some extent, Suncompass makes no apologies.
|
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On
the left, Dietrich throws away Troy's live grenade meant to blow up
the German explosives. Note the boxes (A & B) behind him.
On
the right, Dietrich, seconds later, thinks he has foiled the rats
for once (silly man). Note that box 'A' has turned around and
box 'B' has changed from 'ARTILLERIEMUNITION' to 'TELLERMINEN'. |
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The
top box (A) had a way of rotating now and then in the episode.
Beware,
watching for moving boxes may ruin your viewing pleasure. |
|
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On
the left, note the boxes (or lack of them at the arrow) just before
Dietrich escapes the imminent explosion caused by the Sheik.
On
the right, note the 'new' boxes (at the arrow) just a second later
but still before the imminent explosion. How did they get there? |
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Did
the Sheik do some last second redecorating before he blew himself
and the entire ammo dump to smithereens? Hardly seems likely,
does it? |
Thanks
to J.B. for spotting this boxed set of nit-picks. Well
spotted, J.B.
[][][][][]
Gridlock
in the Rat Patrol's desert?
The
Last Chance Raid
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The
episode mission briefing:
When
deep in the desert their radio is shot up the rats must find another
way to relay an urgent message to an approaching Allied convoy.
If they fail, the convoy will drive straight into an enemy trap and
be destroyed. |
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With
a plan to use the German's own radio propaganda machine, they climb
aboard their remaining jeep for a trip to a nearby German-held town.
But wait! What's that
right behind them? |
|
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In
the green box we see there's something behind them. Is it the
enemy? Look closely (see image on right). It looks more like
rush hour gridlock on their bumper (that's what you get for stopping
on the busy freeway, lads). Or did they just happen to
stop in a vehicular graveyard in the middle of the desert? How odd!
|
Close
up of area inside green square. |
Thanks
to keen-eyed Alexandra, Nicolas, Jonathan, and Alexander R. for
spotting this strange desert sight.
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Wardrobe
Malfunction?
The
Love Thine Enemy Raid
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The
episode mission briefing:
When
the rat patrol chase down an enemy convoy, Troy accidentally
seriously wounds a German nurse (a pretty one, naturally). He is
wracked with guilt for having shot a non-combative. Against
Moffitt's concerns, they decide to take her to a nearby German field
hospital for treatment. |
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They
arrive at the German camp, take out the dismayingly ineffectual
German guards without difficulty, literally strip them of their
uniforms, and prepare to carry the barely conscious woman into the
German encampment. |
|
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With
being seriously, but gently, man-handled throughout this episode,
the nurse developed a worrying wardrobe issue. The man-handling took
a toll on the mechanical part of her trousers or so distracted her
that she forgot to do up the unmentionable part. Either way, the prim
series' overseers were asleep on the job to let this 'low flying'
lapse slip by.
By
the next scene her shirt had been tugged down to cover the gap.
Suncompass
apologises for stooping to such levels of nit-picking, but was happy
to be reminded that she's not the only one to accidentally 'fly low'
on occasion. Stupid zippers! |
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Thanks
to Donna for uncovering this surprising wardrobe malfunction.
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While
we have Tully close at hand, so to speak, another nit-pick comes to
light in the the "Love Thine Enemy Raid".
Inside
the circle one can see that Tully has not cocked his
submachine gun (ie. yanked back that 'button'). He therefore isn't
exactly prepared to defend them should the enemy, mere dozens of feet
away, happen by a stroke of luck to spot them. |
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To
be fair, the enemy in the series was woefully inept most of the time
and were not likely to have detected our heroes, but all the same
Tully should have remained vigilant and fully prepared - especially
when within spitting-distance of the enemy. Tsk tsk, Tully.
Suncompass
suggests Tully might have been distracted by the lovely lass by his
side. Not excusable perhaps, but understandable. |
Thanks
to weaponry expert, Frank, for catching Tully's oops moment.
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Muscles
and guts! But a sound mind can be helpful too.
The
Pipeline to Disaster Raid
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When
the rats pick up an injured British General they get more than they
expected. The General has important information about a German
pipeline, but because of his wounds, he becomes ever
more a
danger to them all. |
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As
they lie in hiding, waiting for a Dietrich-led
German column to pass, the British General, seriously wounded and
unfamiliar with their weapons, fires off a burst of rounds thereby
revealing
their hiding place. |
|
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Suncompass
didn't notice this nit-pick, but once it was pointed out, it seems
quite obvious. The ailing General might be forgiven for some
confusion about the submachine gun in his hands in as much as someone
kept switching it on him.
One
moment he's holding one model submachine gun (a 1928 Thompson,
according to weaponry expert Frank) and the next moment he has a
different one (a M1 Thompson). Then it's back to the first model
again. Is it any wonder the poor man became befuddled?
Suncompass
certainly would be (with or without a serious wound) |
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Thanks
to Frank for spotting this weaponry nit-pick too.
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Don't
believe everything you read.
And
be ever ready to suspend disbelief.
The
Darkest Raid
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In
The Darkest Raid some of the rats kidnap (one way of putting
it) a feisty German officer with a bandaged head and hold him captive
in a handy warehouse not far from the local German Headquarters.
Meanwhile Troy, with eyes bandaged, impersonates that German officer
so Troy can gain entry to the German offices and especially their safe. |
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In
the German safe is reported to be a fortune in confiscated diamonds
(enough to help finance their desert campaign) and it is those that
Troy intends to get his hands on. With bandaged eyes he carefully
explores the layout of the building so he can navigate to the safe
even when the power is cut later that night. |
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Although
it is clearly Troy, bandaged and impersonating a wounded German
officer, who cases out the German headquarters, the 2007 DVD
box (second season) describes The Darkest Raid this way:
"Moffitt takes the place
of a captured German captain in order to pick up a cache of
"confiscated" diamonds."
Moffitt?
Huh?! Didn't someone even watch the episodes so they could write a
correct description? |
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Suncompass,
unable to completely suspend disbelief, just can't help jumping in
here with some observations about this episode.
[That's
a surprise. Editor assumes no responsibility for Suncompass comments.]
If
only the episode had followed the description above Suncompass would
have no complaint (not much, anyway). But as the episode is,
Suncompass questions the sanity of the episode writer in havingTroy,
a non-German speaker, pretend to be German and venture into the very
heart of a German H.Q. Was the viewer supposed to believe that
no one inside the German H.Q. would speak German to Troy? Was it to
be assumed that all the German staff just happened to want to
continually practise their English when Troy was there? Oiy!
Who'd believe that ?! It completely boggles Suncompass's mind
[not all that difficult - Ed.]. Suncompass has a feeling the
show's producers lacked respect for the intelligence of the Rat
Patrol viewer. Tsk tsk.
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Mutual
Motor Pool?
(or
'Keep your eye on the birdie...err, number')
The
Violent Truce Raid
|
In
this raid Moffitt and Tully happen
across an American Lieutenant who is on a mission to locate an
Allied medical supply convoy travelling through the area. He says the
plasma they carry has been contaminated and will kill anyone who
receives it so he must warn them not to use it.* Unfortunately,
the Lieutenant has run out of gas so Tully gives him some. |
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Even
more unfortunate for the
Lieutenant,
the Germans then begin lobbing shells at the two stopped jeeps. When the
Lieutenant
is struck by shrapnel, Moffitt opts to take the
officer's
jeep and pick
up the mission. Tully takes the critically wounded officer back to
camp to be unsuccessfully (as it turns out) treated. |
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1.
The jeep before capture. |
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Note
the identification number on Lt. West's jeep - 975068. That
particular jeep gets around. It goes from West's hands to Moffitt's,
then falls into Dietrich's. But wait! There it is again, being
used to transport the British Major in the supply convoy. Huh? |
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2.
The captured jeep being driven into Dietrich's camp.
It
becomes German property. |
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3.
Jeep 975068 again, somehow back in the Allies' hands. |
*
What? No such thing as radios, Suncompass asks sarcastically.
[That's enough of that, SC. - ed.]
Suncompass
wonders how much paint and effort it would have taken to change just
one little numeral on that jeep? A daub or two of paint would have
done the trick. Sheesh!
Thanks
to a sharp-eyed Don R. for catching this motor pool oops. |
If
nit-picking is your joy, check out
'Nuts
and Bolts - dropped from some Rat
Patrol
vehicles'
If
you think you've seen an 'oops' in the series, let Suncompass check
it out.
Email
: Suncompass@fandom.tv
Suncompass
maintains that flaws in no way diminish enjoyment of the
series. In fact, some flaws even make the series more entertaining.
Forty
years after its creation, The Rat Patrol still packs a
tank-sized wallop of entertainment - just as it was meant to do.
Above
all, enjoy watching!
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Page
last updated October 2009
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Suncompass |