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Dec-2006

AMERICANLIFE TV NETWORKSM SALUTES ROBERT ALTMAN WITH SPECIAL ‘COMBAT!’ WEEK, DEC. 4-8
WASHINGTON, DC - AmericanLife TV NetworkSM, the 24 hour network devoted to Americas baby boomer generation, will pay tribute to the life of director, writer and producer Robert Altman with a special week of Combat! episodes that he directed, from Monday, December. 4 through Friday, December 8. The tribute to the director, who passed away Nov. 20, will air each weeknight at 7 p.m. ET / 11 p.m. PT. We very rarely change our schedule on such short notice, but Altman was such an influence on the Baby Boomer generation through such seminal films as M*A*S*H and Nashville, said Larry Meli, president and COO, AmericanLife TV Network.SM He also directed 10 amazing episodes of AmericanLife TVs most popular classic TV series, Combat!, so a Combat! salute to Altman seemed most appropriate. Altmans work during the first season of the acclaimed war drama in 1962-63 has barely been acknowledged in all the glowing write-ups in recent days, Meli continued, but viewers of this special week will see some of the TV mediums greatest work ever.

The specially selected Combat! episodes to be shown Dec. 4-8 are:
  • Monday, Dec. 4 Forgotten Front In the series premiere episode, which originally aired Oct. 2, 1962, Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow) is forced to decide on the life or death of a German captive who has information to crush an impending attack.
  • Tuesday, Dec. 5 Cat & Mouse In the only episode that Altman both wrote and produced, in addition to directing, Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow) balks at another Sergeants foolhardy boldness.
  • Wednesday, Dec. 6 I Swear By Apollo The platoon captures a German Army doctor so that he can operate on a wounded Frenchman with information they need.
  • Thursday, Dec. 7 The Volunteer A ragtag French war orphan, determined to fight Germans, follows the squad into action.
  • Friday, Dec. 8 Survival Made over the objection of his bosses, this episode reportedly got Altman fired from the series. After escaping from his German captors, Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow) wanders alone through a forest, suffering from wounds, hunger and exhaustion. Featuring a performance that Morrow believed got him nominated for an Emmy that year, it is uncompromising in its look at agony and despair, and flaunts a shocking grimness, rare even by today's television standards, writes Jo Davidsmeyer at www.CombatFan.com.






September Schedule Highlights