Baa Baa Black Sheep

[lucas80]

Watching an episode on MeTV right now. Heckuva show. The Japanese have landed troops on Vella La Cava and Boyington, Lard, and Micklin are trying to fight them off. I can't believe they only made 36 episodes of that show.
I was partial to Micklin. I always fancied myself with a cigar clenched between my teeth, growling out, "College boy", at some slick talking pilot.

 

[ClarindaA's]

Black sheep squadron?
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[lucas80]

It was released as Baa Baa Black Sheep. After the show was cancelled and went out to syndication they changed the title to Black Sheep Squadron.

 

[HawkFantastic]

The Corsair and Maj Gregory Pappy Boyington.
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[bagdropper]

Probably my favorite TV show as a kid. I hadn't seen it at all for almost 35 years until MeTV starting broadcasting it last September.

Little known fact - Micklin (actor Red West) was part of Elvis' Memphis Mafia.

Half the fun of that show is (now) watching all the guest stars parading through every episode, much like most all the reruns on that channel.

 

[sultanofsuede]

forgot about that show. i think i would watch reruns of it when i was about 4, and i loved it. but truthfully, all i remember was it was in black/white, and it had cool planes....

 

[bagdropper]

Originally posted by sultanofsuede:
forgot about that show. i think i would watch reruns of it when i was about 4, and i loved it. but truthfully, all i remember was it was in black/white, and it had cool planes....

Those were the re-created WWII newsreels they'd start every show with to set the episode.

They were very fortunate the Corsair was such a fantastic design that it morphed into an attack plane by the Korean War...numerous survivors took part in the show. They also cannibalized much color footage from Korea and the Pacific WWII campaign, along with outtake footage from Tora! Tora! Tora! and a Japanese movie from the 60's (much like the movie Midway) and intertwined those clips with the survivors to make battle scenes more realistic.

I thought it jumped the shark a bit when the Pappy's Lambs characters were introduced to save the show...but the first year is pretty darn good.

I noticed in the credits one episode...they guy behind the NCIS juggernaut, Donald Bellisario I believe is his name...was involved with BSS/BBBS.

 

[SSG T]

I loved the show when I was a kid, it was really my introduction to WWII.

I read somewhere that despite being technical advisor, Boyington hated the show. He thought it was too unrealistic and that using real stories would be more interesting than made up ones. He was probably partially right, but it's too hard to make real things interesting, especially on TV and in the late 70's. It would be far easier now, especially on film or on a cable channel.
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[Hawk in SEC Country]

Originally posted by SSG T:
I loved the show when I was a kid, it was really my introduction to WWII.

I read somewhere that despite being technical advisor, Boyington hated the show. He thought it was too unrealistic and that using real stories would be more interesting than made up ones. He was probably partially right, but it's too hard to make real things interesting, especially on TV and in the late 70's. It would be far easier now, especially on film or on a cable channel.
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Same here...that show was my favorite show when I was a kid. My grandfather and my uncle were both aviators during WWII......I used to pretend the show was about them.(even though they were both in Bombers)