Television series

F Troop

Name: F Troop
Genre: Comedy, Western
Released: 1965
Cast: Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Ken Berry, Melody Patterson, James Hampton

Parody
Comedy western
Light-hearted
Dip in and out

F Troop is a gleefully absurd sitcom about a hopelessly incompetent cavalry unit at a remote Kansas fort, where the commanding officer is accidentally heroic, the sergeant runs schemes with the local Native Americans, and nobody competent is anywhere in sight. It's anarchic, affectionate, and completely unburdened by historical accuracy or plausible military protocol. Pure, unapologetic fun.

TVMaze rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love broad sitcom farce where a clueless cavalry outfit keeps tripping over its own schemes, and you don't mind a 1960s laugh track rhythm.

Skip it if you wince at how Native American characters are used as punchlines, since many gags rest on that, and the broad, creaky sixties pacing may wear thin.

What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes on a steady, repetitive loop, so you can dip in anywhere; attention stays light, and gags land through repetition rather than surprise.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

McHale's Navy1962

Same anarchic energy as F Troop but floating on a ship: a scrappy ensemble outsmarting authority while running black-market schemes. If you love con-artist sergeants and bumbling superior officers, this nails it with superior charm.

But The pace is relentless and sometimes too frantic; some sketches wear out their welcome within minutes, and the humor lands unevenly even by sitcom standards.

The Andy Griffith Show1960

Warm, funny, character-driven comedy about small-town life where nobody's really bad, everybody's slightly ridiculous, and the humor comes from human awkwardness rather than forced punchlines. Same gentle spirit as F Troop's best moments.

But It's slower and quieter than F Troop, more interested in pathos than slapstick. If you want constant zaniness, this will feel measured and sometimes even sad.

Get Smart1965

Espionage parody where the bumbling hero succeeds by accident and sheer stubbornness, supported by a clever partner. It's smart-dumb in the best way: constant gags, physical comedy, and a spy who shouldn't possibly survive his next mission.

But The gadget jokes and spy-movie references will feel dated if you're not already familiar with the genre; some episodes pile on plot at the expense of character breathing room.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from F Troop

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Blazing Saddles1974

Both films are Western comedies that mock military incompetence and make Native Americans characters with agency rather than victims; both build their humor on the collision between high authority and low cunning.

Mel Brooks tears Western tropes to shreds with the same anarchic irreverence as F Troop, but weaponized and filthy. Absurdist Western comedy that understands what it's parodying well enough to demolish it. Relentlessly inventive and genuinely subversive.

But It's aggressively crude, uses slurs repeatedly (in context of satire, but the satire is blunt), and assumes you find its provocations funny rather than offensive. This will alienate you if you need comedy to punch up rather than shock.

Petticoat Junction1963

Rural sitcom with an ensemble cast, offbeat characters, and a setting just as unlikely as Fort Courage. It shares F Troop's commitment to lovable chaos and small-town scheming without taking anything seriously.

But The humor is lighter and more domestic than you might want; it leans on family dynamics rather than military absurdism, so it's a gentler show altogether.

Hogan's Heroes1965

Prisoners of war running an elaborate con against their captors with everybody in on the secret except those who need to be fooled. Endlessly clever about finding humor in impossible situations while maintaining genuine warmth between characters.

But It's set in a WWII POW camp, which means the premise sits uncomfortably close to real tragedy. The moral weirdness of playing that for laughs doesn't entirely work, even if the show executes it skillfully.

The Beverly Hillbillies1962

Fish-out-of-water comedy about people who don't fit their new world but remain fundamentally good and eccentric. Jed Clampett has the same honest bumbling as Captain Parmenter; chaos follows them naturally.

But It relies heavily on mocking rural people and their accent, which lands as unkind more than funny in retrospect. The fish-out-of-water premise can feel repetitive across episodes.

Car 54, Where Are You?1961

New York cop sitcom with a bumbling duo trying to survive on the job while the city spirals into everyday chaos around them. Same warmth and incompetence; physical comedy meets character affection.

But It's set in a grittier world than F Troop, so the tone is a bit more cynical; some of the humor about poverty and urban life hasn't aged well.

The Dick Van Dyke Show1961

Sitcom about people who genuinely like each other, where the comedy springs from character and situation rather than contrivance. Beautifully written and performed, with an ensemble cast that feels like a real team.

But It's a workplace comedy about TV writers, so the humor is more cerebral and less slapstick; if you want physical comedy and military mayhem, this is too refined.

Gilligan's Island1964

Incompetent castaways on an island where impossible escapes fail in wonderfully stupid ways. Every character is a specific type of useless in a different direction; the chaos is baked into the premise like F Troop's fort.

But It's genuinely repetitive—same premise every episode with minimal variation. The humor becomes predictable quickly, and there's very little character development across the run.

The Great Dictator1940

Both feature innocent incompetents mistaken for authority figures who exploit the confusion; both use slapstick and physical comedy to show how arbitrary power structures are, though one stays light and one breaks your heart.

Chaplin plays a bumbling Jewish barber mistaken for a fascist dictator; it's slapstick physical comedy meets genuine pathos and moral clarity. Comedy that actually means something, where the laughs don't undercut the stakes.

But It's black-and-white, made before modern comedy language emerged, and the final speech is genuinely serious—a tonal shift that might feel manipulative if you came for laughs. Also nearly silent; dialogue is sparse.

Raise the Red Lantern1991

Both shows are obsessed with how uniforms and rank create behavior; both suggest that institutional structures are fundamentally absurd. F Troop laughs at it, Raise the Red Lantern documents what happens when the hierarchy is real and matters.

A woman enters a wealthy man's household as a concubine and watches her position destroyed by status games and protocol. Visually stunning, morally complex, and absolutely gripping—a completely different tone, but the same obsession with how arbitrary hierarchies and uniforms generate behavior.

But It's a Chinese language film about patriarchal oppression with a deliberately slow pace and an ending that offers no comfort. If you want comedy, this is the opposite direction; if you want escapism, it's unrelenting.