An oddball segment puts Kirby in the spotlight, as the mission concerns a certain SS colonel (played by Albert Paulsen), who it turns out ended up killing the fiance of Kirby' sister. This means war!
I managed to get the picture of the Combat! Writers Room erupting at the pitch for this particular nutty script out of my mind, and managed to sit through the show. As usual, level-headed Vic has to somehow get his soldier calmed down and not going off seeking, you guessed it, retribution!
Hanging an entire episode on this dumb gimmick is a big mistake: I couldn't get interested at all in what follows. Creating an evil SS man is all too easy, while the other extreme (see: "Hogan's Heroes") is nauseating. So I'm afraid the series' prolific writer Ed Lakso painted himself into a corner, with Kirby captured and having to go one on one with Paulsen. I suppose watching Paulsen do his smug routine is typical audience manipulation, but I definitely did not enjoy it.