Baa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)

"Black Sheep Squadron" redirects here. For the USMC squadron called the Blacksheep, see VMA-214.
Baa Baa Black Sheep

Logo from the program
Genre Drama
Created by Stephen J. Cannell
Directed by Alex Beaton
Robert Conrad
Larry Doheny
Walter Doniger
Starring Robert Conrad
Simon Oakland
Dana Elcar
James Whitmore Jr.
Dirk Blocker
W.K. Stratton
Robert Ginty
Joey Aresco
John Larroquette
Jeff MacKay
Larry Manetti
Narrated by Robert Conrad
Theme music composer Mike Post
Pete Carpenter
Country of origin USA
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 36 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Stephen J. Cannell
Producer(s) Philip DeGuere
Editor(s) Jerry Dronsky
Harvey Stambler
Location(s) Channel Islands of California
Running time 48 min
Production company(s) Stephen J. Cannell Productions
Universal Television
Release
Original network NBC
Picture format NTSC
Audio format Monaural sound
Original release September 23, 1976 – April 6, 1978

Baa Baa Black Sheep (later syndicated as Black Sheep Squadron) is a period military television series that aired on NBC from 1976 until 1978. Its premise was based on the experiences of United States Marine Corps aviator Greg Boyington and his World War II "Black Sheep Squadron". The series was created and produced by Stephen J. Cannell. The opening credits read: "In World War II, Marine Corps Major Greg 'Pappy' Boyington commanded a squadron of fighter pilots. They were a collection of misfits and screwballs who became the terrors of the South Pacific. They were known as the Black Sheep."

Plot

Greg "Pappy" Boyington is the commanding officer of VMF-214, a group of fighter pilots based in the Solomon Islands during World War II. Pappy often intercedes in altercations at the base, but everyone seems to pull together when they are assigned missions in the air. "Pappy" likes to drink and fight a lot when not flying missions, and owns a Bull Terrier named "Meatball" — which he claims belongs to General Moore in Flying Misfits, but General Moore says "he wouldn't own an ugly mutt like that."

The series premise was very loosely based on a portion of the real-life military career of Gregory Boyington, known as "Pappy" due to his "advanced" age compared to the younger pilots under his command. (He was 30 when he took command of VMF-214.) Boyington, who was a technical adviser for the series, commented that this was "fiction based on reality" and that no regular character in the series except for himself actually existed. In the documentary film Pappy Boyington Field Robert Conrad shares personal insight about Pappy from their time together during the television series.

Popular character John "Hutch" Hutchinson (Joey Aresco) was killed off in the episode Last One for Hutch and replaced as chief mechanic by master sergeant Andy Micklin (Red West), who had joined the squadron a few episodes earlier in Devil in the Slot.

Main characters

Robert Conrad as Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington in 1976

Recurring characters

1976 cast photo

Note: the above characters only appeared in the premiere episode, Flying Misfits, a 90-minute movie which is sometimes broken up into a two-episode viewing.

Episodes

Season 1 (1976–77)

Episode # Title Original Airdate Director Guest Stars Notes
1.00 Flying Misfits Sept. 21, 1976 Russ Mayberry Peter Donat
Sharon Gless
George Gaynes
1.01 Best Three Out of Five Sept. 23, 1976 Lawrence Doheny Charles Napier
1.02 Small War Sept. 28, 1976 Walter Doniger Rene Auberjonois
1.03 High Jinx Oct. 5, 1976 John Peyser Donald Petrie
1.04 Prisoners of War Oct. 12, 1976 Jackie Cooper Clyde Kusatsu An English speaking Japanese pilot is shot down and captured, but then bonds with the men of the squadron.
1.05 Presumed Dead Oct. 26, 1976 Lawrence Doheny Kent McCord
James Hong
Norman Burton
An American pilot believed shot down is found floating on a raft, but exhibits strange behavior. Boyington discovers he's been brainwashed and sent on a secret mission by the Japanese.
1.06 The Meatball Circus Nov. 9, 1976 John Peyser Stewart Moss
Robert Clarke
Boyington tries to come up with an alternative to a plan for a secret mission that's sure to be suicide.
1.07 Up for Grabs Nov. 16, 1976 Ivan Dixon George Takei
Yuki Shimoda
A Japanese commando force invades the island where the 214 is stationed in an attempt to capture Gen. Macarthur, who's due to visit.
1.08 Anyone for Suicide? Nov. 23, 1976 Jackie Cooper none
1.09 New Georgia on My Mind Nov. 30, 1976 Jeannot Szwarc James Luisi
1.10 The Cat's Whiskers Dec. 7, 1976 Russ Mayberry Frank Maxwell
1.11 Love and War Dec. 14, 1976 William Wiard Leslie Charleson Two of the squadron pilots fall for the same nurse.
1.12 The War Biz Warrior Jan. 4, 1977 Lawrence Doheny James Darren
Ford Rainey
A famous actor joins the squadron, but the Black Sheep start to resent the media attention piled on him.
1.13 The Deadliest Enemy of All: Part 1 Jan 11, 1977 Barry Shear Anne Francis First episode with Larroquette, Manetti, and MacKay in the opening credits
1.14 The Deadliest Enemy of All: Part 2 Jan 18, 1977 Barry Shear Anne Francis
Greg Boyington
Boyington finds out the nurse he's falling for is already married.
1.15 Devil in the Slot Jan 25, 1977 Edward Dein Red West
1.16 Five the Hard Way Feb. 1, 1977 Jackie Cooper Kenneth Mars
1.17 The Last Mission Over Sengai Feb. 8, 1977 Jackie Cooper A new pilot from a politically powerful family claims he was ordered into a ground attack that accidentally strafed US Marines by Boyington, forcing Pappy to face a court-martial.
1.18 Trouble at Fort Apache Feb. 15, 1977 Edward Dein Joel Fabiani
James Keach
Les Lannom
1.19 Poor Little Lambs Feb. 22, 1977 Jackie Cooper Sorrell Booke
Lilyan Chauvin
Soon-Teck Oh
1.20 W*A*S*P*S Mar. 1, 1977 Dana Elcar
1.21 Last One for Hutch Mar. 8, 1977 Lawrence Doheny
1.22 The Fastest Gun Mar. 15, 1977 Lawrence Doheny

Season 2 (1977–78)

Episode # Title Original Airdate Director Guest Stars Notes
2.01 Divine Wind Dec. 14, 1977 Lawrence Doheny The Black Sheep face the first kamikaze attacks.
2.02 The 200 Pound Gorilla Dec. 21, 1977 Dana Elcar Micklin instigates a bar clearing brawl to keep from being promoted to warrant officer.
2.03 The Hawk Flies on Sunday Dec. 29, 1977 Robert Conrad The Black Sheep join forces with an Army Air Forces squadron on a top secret mission to shoot down Adm. Yamamoto, head of the Japanese fleet.
2.04 Wolves in the Sheep Pen Jan 4, 1978 Edward Dein A navy squadron-and their pet wolf Sheba-temporarily stationed on Vella La Cava causes much tension.
2.05 Operation Stand-Down Jan. 11, 1978 Philip DeGuere An officer visits to re-qualify the squadron for combat duty, but his testing standards are far different from the Black Sheeps combat experience.
2.06 Ten'll Get You Five Jan. 18, 1978 Robert Conrad Greg Boyington
2.07 Forbidden Fruit Feb. 22, 1978 Robert Conrad A new pilot joins the squadron, but they have doubts about him due to his age.
2.08 Fighting Angels Mar. 1, 1978 Lawrence Doheny
2.09 The Iceman Mar. 8, 1978 Dana Elcar Boyington has to fight an attempt to have him transferred from combat duty when word gets out that a top Japanese pilot who hunts enemy aces has targeted him.
2.10 Hotshot Mar. 15, 1978 Lawrence Doheny A top scoring Army pilot is temporarily assigned to the squadron and causes friction with his efforts to increase his number of kills.
2.11 The Show Must Go on...Sometimes Mar. 23, 1978 Dana Elcar The squadron has to trick a navy Seabee unit into building them a new runway after theirs is damaged in a Japanese bombing run by promising them a USO review.
2.12 Sheep in the Limelight Mar. 30, 1978 Lawrence Doheny After the Black Sheep save Eleanor Roosevelts plane from being shot down, the squadron gets much unwanted media attention.
2.13 A Little Bit of England Apr. 6, 1978 Donald P. Bellisario Peter Frampton A pilot gets shot down and comes under the protection of a coast watcher from England. The squadron races against time to rescue him before he's captured by the Japanese.

Critical response

The day of the show's debut, The Washington Post called Baa Baa Black Sheep a "war-is-swell series [aimed] at anyone who remembers World War II as a rousing, blowzy, fraternity turkey-shoot."[4] The series was cancelled after 2 seasons, consisting of 36 episodes.

Production notes

Although the title Baa Baa Black Sheep comes from a nursery rhyme, the song heard at the beginning of the opening credits is actually the chorus to The Whiffenpoof Song, written in 1909 as a homage to Rudyard Kipling's poem Gentlemen-Rankers. One of the squadron's real-life members, Paul "Moon" Mullen, adapted "The Whiffenpoof Song" for the squadron's use.

"We are poor little lambs,
Who have lost our way.
Baa, Baa, Baaaaa."

The name of the island where the real-life Black Sheep were stationed was Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands of the southern Pacific, known as The Slot; this was changed to Vella la Cava in the series for legal reasons. The same was done for the Rear Area Allied Command island of "Espiritu Santo" (Espritos Marcos). The Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California provided an adequate substitute backdrop for flying scenes. Filming of airfield scenes was primarily done at the now-closed Indian Dunes Airport in Valencia, California.[5]

Some air-battle scenes were actually short clips from the 1969 film Battle of Britain, and German markings on the planes can clearly be seen. Other flying scenes pioneered the technique of mounting cameras on helmets worn by pilots, thus providing a pilot's-eye view never before seen in films featuring single-seat aircraft. Because of reflections from the Plexiglas canopies, many close-ups were shot with the canopies removed.

The Vought F4U and FG-1 Corsair fighter planes (BuNos 17799, 92132, 92433, 92436, 92629, 97359 and 133714)[6] were leased to Universal Studios by private owners. Many scenes showing repairs on the aircraft were filmed during actual preventative maintenance. "Japanese" aircraft used in the series were actually North American T-6 Texan World War 2 trainer planes, which had been modified to resemble Japanese planes for the film Tora! Tora! Tora! and later purchased by collectors. The Grumman J2F Duck float biplane belonged to legendary stunt pilot Frank Tallman and his Tallmanz Aviation museum in Santa Ana, California. Tallman often stated that this was his all-time favorite plane to fly, with the Corsair in a near-tie. Tallman provided or arranged for most of the aircraft used in the series.

At an aviation history symposium in 2002, members of the real VMF-214 were asked about the authenticity of the TV series.[7] Retired Colonel Henry A. McCartney said the list of errors was too long to repeat. Boyington himself referred to the series as "... inaccuracies, hogwash, and Hollywood hokum,"[8] although he did serve as technical adviser on the show, and had a cameo appearance. A 2001 History Channel documentary depicted some of these differences in greater detail.[9]

DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released the complete first season on DVD in Region 1 in 2 volume sets. They also released volume 1 on DVD in the UK.

In Germany, ZYX Music GmbH released the entire series on DVD.

On December 7, 2015, it was announced that Shout! Factory has acquired the rights to the series in Region 1 and will release the final season on DVD on May 17, 2016.[10][11]

Boxset DVD release date
Region 1 Region 2
Baa Baa Black Sheep, Volume 1 May 24, 2005 July 17, 2006
Baa Baa Black Sheep, Volume 2 July 3, 2007 N/A
Baa Baa Black Sheep, Season 2 May 17, 2016 N/A

References

  1. Gamble, Bruce (2000). Black Sheep One. Novato, CA 94945-1340: Presidio Press, Inc. p. 225. ISBN 0-89141-716-8.
  2. Gamble, Bruce (2000). Black Sheep One. Novato, CA 94945-1340: Presidio Press, Inc. pp. 277–81. ISBN 0-89141-716-8.
  3. Gamble, Bruce (2000). Black Sheep One. Novato, CA 94945-1340: Presidio Press, Inc. p. 261. ISBN 0-89141-716-8.
  4. Shales, Tom (1976-09-21). "'Black Sheep': Oh, What An Unlovely War". The Washington Post.
  5. Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:Indian Dunes Airport (4CA4), Valencia, California
  6. "Corsair Registry". Warbird Registry. Warbird Resource Group. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. "CORSAIR!". Dayton Daily News. 2002-09-12. p. Z3-10. Retrieved 2007-06-24. The Gathering of Corsairs and Legends at the Indianapolis Air Show in Mount Comfort, Ind. ... Numerous Navy and Marine pilots who few Corsairs in combat attended the show, where they participated in a symposium and signed autographs.
  8. Bates, Tom, "Black Sheep of the South Pacific," SOF's Action Series, Volume II. #6 (Valor), December 1986, Omega Group, Ltd, p. 57.
  9. "2001 History Channel documentary on the differences between the TV show and the real VMF-214"
  10. 'The Final Season' is Confirmed for DVD!!!
  11. We'll All Have to Wait Just a Bit Longer for 'The Final Season'

External links

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