TIME TRAVEL ARE YOU READY? The Canteen is about to embark on another journey back in time.
If you're brave enough, climb aboard, no ticket required
we're about to take off.
Come on, hop in, watch your step ...... The controls are set. Buckle up. Now don't be afraid....I know how to fly this thing.......Here we goooooooooo.......LIFT OFF
..
WHOOOOOOSHHHHHHHH
Landing with a gentle thump. Here we are - Let me turn on the television to see what is on.
Do any of you remember these shows?
Baa Baa Black Sheep
9/21/1976 - 9/1/1978 NBC
Color - 60 minutes
37 episodes
Technical Advisor: Lt. Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington
Baa Baa Black Sheep Cast
Robert Conrad as Maj. Greg 'Pappy' Boyington
James Whitmore Jr. as Capt. James Gutterman
Dana Elcar as Col. Thomas Lard
Simon Oakland as Gen. Thomas Moore
Dirk Blocker as Lt. Jerry Bragg
Robert Ginty as Lt. T.J. Wiley
John Larroquette as Lt. Bob Anderson
Jeff MacKay as Lt. Don French
W.K. Stratton as Lt. Larry Casey
Larry Manetti as Lt. Bob Boyle
Jeb Stuart Adams as Lt. Jeb Pruitt
Red West as Mechanic Sgt. Andy Micklin
Joey Aresco as Sgt. John David 'Hutch' Hutchinson
Steven Richmond as Cpl. Stan Richards
Nurses:
Katherine Cannon as Capt. Dottie Dixon
Nancy Conrad as Nurse Nancy Gilmore
Denise DuBarry as Nurse Samantha Green
Brianne Leary as Nurse Susan Webster
Kathy McCullen as Nurse Ellie
Baa Baa Black Sheep Theme Song
Unknown
Baa Baa Black Sheep Tidbits
This is the story of Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington, who led VMF-214, a cracker jack bunch of World War II pilots who became known as the Black Sheep Squadron. Although some elements of the war ace's life during this time were Hollywoodized, much of the story is true.
As presented in Baa Baa Black Sheep, Major Boyington, looking to form a squadron in the South Pacific, recruited men who were under threat of court martial for crimes such as drunkeness, fighting and disrespect of military protocol. None of these seemed much like crimes to the 35 year old Boyington (he was called Pappy because of his age) as he had often been guilty of them himself.
While it is true that the real Boyington was a hard drinking, hard fighting renegade, some of the members of the real Squadron took exception to their TV portrayal as deadbeats. This caused a rift for a time between the fliers and their former commander.
In the first season, we find the 214 stationed at Vella La Cava. When not in the air, they are living up to their name of "black sheep." Boyington exercises little discipline when they are on the ground. But he expects much when they are on the trail of the Japanese.
The group quickly gets a reputation for aerial prowess, racking up many Zeros "splashed." Some of Baa Baa Black Sheep's best moments are the scenes of the Corsair's flying. Even though some of it is stock military footage, the scenes are thrilling nonetheless. And the restored Corsairs used in the show were fun to see.
Pappy Boyington must report to Col.Lard, USMC (Dana Elcar). He is contemptuous of Boyington and his lack of respect for the rules. This has some basis in fact and Boyington's real life nemesis was Lt. Col. Joseph Smoak, operations officer of Marine Air Group 11.
The supporting cast consists of many who would go on to other shows: John Larroquette (Night Court, John Larroquette Show), Larry Manetti (Magnum PI), Robert Ginty (Falcon Crest), Jeff MacKay (Magnum PI, JAG). Dirk Blocker was Dan Blocker's (Bonanza) son and Red West had been Elvis Presley's bodyguard.
Boyington served in China as a member of the American Volunteer Group, the famed Flying Tigers.
In 1943 with Boyington as CO and Major Stan Bailey as Exec, the 214 trained hard at Turtle Bay on Espritu Santo. They made their reputation in just 84 days, piling up a record 197 planes destroyed or damaged, troop transports and supply ships sunk, and ground installations destroyed. And that's just the big stuff.
Boyinton's best day was September 14, 1943 when he claimed 5 kills in one day. From that day through January of 1944 he claimed 22 kills. While this number is in dispute by a few kills, he was still the ace with the most kills.
In 1944 he was shot down and spent a year and a half as a Japanese POW.
Gregory Boyington was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He died in 1988 of cancer.
Passings
Dana Elcar died in June of 2005.
S.W.A.T
2/17/1975 4/3/1976 - ABC
Color - 60 minutes
S.W.A.T Cast
Mark Shera as Officer Dominic Luca
James Coleman as Officer T.J. McCabe
Robert Urich as Officer Jim Street
Steve Forrest as Lieutenant Dan "Hondo" Harrelson
Recurring Star: Rose Marie as Hilda
S.W.A.T Theme Song
Not found
S.W.A.T Tidbits
Thanks to hit programs like Adam-12, the cop show rose to a new level of prominence during the 1970's. And if you know your TV history, you know that means cop shows galore on your prime time schedule. There were indeed several badge-flashing action dramas over the course of the decade, but perhaps none as interesting (or controversial) as S.W.A.T., a program inspired by the real-life crime-control units that rose to prominence in the U.S. after the civil disturbances of the late 1960's. Although its brutal level of action ensured that it had short life on television, S.W.A.T. became an impressive success during its short run and continues to be a cult favorite today.
S.W.A.T. was a spin-off of the popular ABC cop drama The Rookies. This particular Special Weapons And Tactics' unit was an elite five-man team of police officers who dealt with situations that were too dangerous for the police force to handle. Each had a specific job: Lt. Harrelson called the shots as the group's commanding officer, Sgt. Kay was the group's scout and Officer McCabe was the resident marksman. Each was also a Vietnam veteran, so they all adopted a military style (navy-blue fatigues) and used a combat mentality to deal with the problems they faced.
During the show's run, the S.W.A.T. team had no shortage of psychos and crazies to deal witheverything from snipers to Satanists to scuba-diving jewel thieves. The swatters also had to deal with being the direct targets of these bad guysStreet dated a woman whose last few boyfriends were killed by a sniper in "The Bravo Enigma," and a family of criminals targeted the entire S.W.A.T. team for extinction in "Kill S.W.A.T." No matter who was plotting to kill whom, you could count on plenty of mayhem each week as the S.W.A.T. rolled from destination to destination in their specially-equipped van to dispense justice the hard way.
S.W.A.T.'s combination of cool cops and brutal action made it a popular choice when it hit the airwaves in 1975. The show even produced a radio hit when its orchestral-funk theme song, performed by Rhythm Heritage, became a Top-10 smash on pop radio.
That's the end of the ride for today. Please watch your step on exiting the time machine. Now that I've shown you a few, how about you share something from your memory. Or, if one of these were your favorite show then, share a memory of the best episode for you.
Final note: All information found freely on the Internet
..especially here
Footnote: Management is not responsible for the accuracy of historical events. Management is not responsible for children left in the time machine. To claim them, please see Burkaman. Please clean up your popcorn droppings before exiting the time machine.