Any Second Now

Any Second Now is the fourth aired episode of Combat 's first season (second in production order). It was written by Gene Levitt and directed by Robert Altman. It aired on October 23, 1962.

Synopsis
Lt. Gil Hanley and Sgt. Chip Saunders get a break from the front and head into the town of Lore for some R-and-R. Hanley heads for a bar while Saunders looks for a place to get some sleep.

Hanley gets off to a rough start with British Maj. David Woodman, a bitter and self-doubting bomb-disposal expert none too pleased with cocky American servicemen. A German air raid bombs the town. The first wave passes without incident to the characters.

During a second raid a short time later, a bomb lands in the middle of a church, but does not detonate. It’s initially thought to be a dud, but Woodman identifies it as a timed explosive. He and some American officers agree to warn the parish priest and detonate the bomb as safely as can be done. Woodman is satisfied with this solution until pieces of debris start to move and it’s revealed that Hanley is trapped under a beam. Now Woodman has to swallow his self-doubt and his dislike of Hanley to properly defuse the bomb in the dwindling time left before it’s set to blow.

Hanley prods Woodman, at times even insulting him, in hopes of raising the Brit's ire enough to get the job done. As the tense defusing effort continues, Woodman uses Hanley as a sort of unpaid therapist, explaining the strains of his unique job and the toll on his confidence.

Ultimately, Woodman is successful in extracting the bomb's timed detonator. He tosses it out of the church just before it goes off. With the bomb rendered inert, Woodman can call in the equipment and men needed to free Hanley from the rubble.

A drowsy Saunders wanders into the church, saying he'd been looking all over for Hanley. He sits down on a surviving pew and, after checking on Hanley, falls asleep.

Recon report
As mentioned above, "Any Second Now" was the second Combat! episode to be produced, but the fourth to be broadcast. Production began in early June 1962 and wrapped about a week later, according to Rick Jason.

Curiously, Gene Levitt's script spends much of the first act focusing on guest stars Alex Davion (Maj. Woodman) and Ellen Willard (Anne Farrell). The major action, the bomb deactivation, doesn't begin until seventeen minutes into the episode.

At 08:20 into the episode, sharp-eyed viewers will notice a familiar face: a young Dick Peabody. This is his Combat! debut as Pvt. Littlejohn. Peabody wasn't a part of the original cast, but director Altman liked him and created a regular slot for him. Even so, Peabody said it wasn't until the second season he felt Littlejohn was safely part of the regular cast.

Interesting thing about Littlejohn in this episode: Neither Hanley nor Saunders appears to know him. Possibly, Littlejohn joined Hanley's platoon after that chaotic night in Lore.