Los tigres voladores

Black Sheep Squadron is a series that is fascinating to watch, over and over. I first started watching it on the History Channel and have numerous tapes that are wearing out from use. These are quite interesting since they contain the comments of the original Black Sheep members, as well as some by Conrad.

The stories, for the most part, are quite interesting and the acting is top-notch. Conrad is a seasoned actor going back many years and does very well in all sorts of roles, including this one. Clyde Kusatsu in his role as a captured Zero pilot was believable and has been in many other movies since. The regulars...Dana Elcar, Robert Ginty, W. K. Stratton, Simon Oakland, James Whitmore, Jr. were well-placed in their roles.

Set in the South Pacific during World War Two, the series dealt with a squadron of US pilots known as the Black Sheep (called such due to the fact most were misfits and disciplinary cases before joining the outfit). The best part of the series were the aerial combat sequences; using a mix of archived material from the war, newly filmed sequences, and superbly edited tapings of radio transmissions, the producers made it seem like you were up there in the sky with the squadron in the encounters with the Japanese. On the ground, the dramatic scenes were often done just as well; you got to realize that even though the squadron was made up of screwballs they behaved as a unit and worked as a team to make it through whatever came up.

Later episodes in the series tend to be rather lacking in entertainment value. The addition of "Pappy's Lambs" - a group of nurses assigned to the island - was probably meant to help ratings, but at the same time the focus started to swing towards them and away from the war against the Japanese, which had been the backbone of the more successful earlier episodes. The overall writing of the series seems to have deteriorated as the show got towards the end of its run as well.

While mixed in quality through its run, the show is definitely worth watching, if nothing else for the Corsairs that were restored to be used on the show - great aircraft!

I loved the "Corsairs" as long as I can remember. I was so disappointed when the Black Sheep series ended I never watched network television again. Pro football was the only network programming I would watch. Then cable came and most recently The History Channel has aired the Black Sheep. I taped as many as I could. Then came my computer and I still haven't watched a network program for over 20 some odd years. I know NBC don't miss me. I don't miss NBC either. God Bless Pappy Boyington. May you rest in peace.

I remember i was just a kid when i came home from some where and the first episode came on and i watched it with my grand dad i was hooked from then on. my grand dad remembered the black sheep from his days on Guadalcanal and told me about the real Boyington and the black sheep. we knew the TV show was pretty much hokam but we enjoyed the spirit of the show and how good it made us feel. i later was given a copy of the book pappy wrote by my grand mother and i would build corsairs from kits and hang them in my room. i never got to meet pappy before he died but if i ever get back to Arlington national cemetery i will go to his grave as i do grand dads and say a word of thanks. i was also lucky to grow up not far from the little town where Audie Murphy was born in Kingston Texas. and my other favorite military person was general George s Patton Ole blood and guts himself. it is too bad we do not have those type of men around any more but to them all a heartfelt thanks. they were in deed the greatest generation.

I watch this every day on the History Channel. Great show, maybe not the most historically accurate, but you get a sense of what life was like for these young pilots in the Pacific. Gutterman and Pappy are my favorite characters. Most everyone with a speaking role in the series carved out a nitche for himself and made his character fairly memorable. This is a show the whole family can watch together and learn a little about WW2. One thing I like about the History Channel is that each commercial break has a blurb from a real member of the Black Sheep Squadron giving insights into areas where the show is not accurate.

Why did they cancel this show?? The show went WAY down hill with the addition of the T&A factor (aka Pappy's Lambs). What was a pathetic attempt to boost ratings further detracted from the historical accurateness of the show by depicting woman with no acting talent, often scantily dressed, with 70s hairstyles positioned on the front lines in WW2. Pappy Boyington was a technical advisor to the show and should have put a stop to this!!!

Attention Hollywood: Pappy Boyington and his brave men would make an excellent feature film. The TV series just scratches the surface of the adventures of the Black Sheep.