Operation Petticoat

While a lot of people are familiar with the John Astin version most don't even realize there was a second season with an entirely new cast and many new characters. I loved the Astin version when I was a kid but don't even remember Season Two.

It's hard to picture Montooth's Bender replacing Lt. Holden.

Nor does it seem to have the same humor and the Pink Submarine bit was getting rather old.

Worse they turned the Sub from a combat sub into a glorified hospital ship.

They should have let it go when the first cast was cut.

I was (and still am) a fan of the 1959 movie, so when this series was announced, I was looking forward to it. Alas, it was a major disappointment. This lacked everything that made the movie charming.

The cast just didn't have the spark that was necessary to carry the show. John Astin was excellent and unforgettable as the zany, completely off the wall Gomez Addams, but he was a very poor fit as the subdued skipper here. Meanwhile, Richard Gilliland never gave the impression of the member of high society that the original Lt. Holden was supposed to be. He was a schemer, but lacked even a bit of the slightly smarmy charisma that made the original Holden character believable. With all due respect to these actors, Cary Grant and Tony Curtis had not only very big shoes to fill, they played their characters perfectly, and if you can't emulate them, you might as well just give it up. The rest of the cast was also peculiarly bland. Only on occasion did a talented guest star bring some real comedic acting to the show, such as Sorrell Booke a couple of years before he became Boss Hogg on the Dukes of Hazzard.

Worst of all, this was a below average sitcom even for that era. Bad jokes aside, there was usually a haphazard buildup through each episode followed by an unimaginative deus ex machina solution then a very abrupt ending with no coda or epilogue. Compared with the top-rated sitcoms at the time - shows like Happy Days and Three's Company - the very best episodes of this were less memorable and far less enjoyable than the very worst of those shows. Looking at the writing credits, it's obvious why. The two men responsible for most of the scripts had no comedy writing credits. They wrote westerns and adventures. Their closest connection was that they came up with the story premise for the original movie, but they didn't write that screenplay. It wasn't a bad idea to make a series from the movie. It's just that this effort was completely lackluster. It's no wonder the show sank beneath the waves, rightfully forgotten even by most of those few who watched it.

A Navy submarine (what other kind?) has, through an odd catenation of circumstances, been painted pink and has on board a contingent of Army nurses. Based on a movie featuring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis.

John Astin is the Captain. After making a good name for himself as the wonderfully off-kilter Gomez Addams (and doing great supporting bits in movies) it's a bit disappointing that he has to play it straight, being the anchor of the show. If he doesn't seem like "John Astin," he no Cary Grant, either.

Richard Gilliland has the Tony Curtis role from the movie, Holden, the scrounger, and though he's good he lacks Curtis' oily charm.

The rest of the cast is full of types rather than characters. The stammering, shy typist-tecord keeper; the crusty engineer . . . Jim Varney (later famous as Earnest) plays "doom and gloom," The eternal pessimist. Fortunately, whoever put this show together had the sense to get actors with different looking faces, so they don't all run together.

The nurses include rising star Jamie Lee Curtis as Holden's love interest.

Unfortunately, the show has too many characters for a half-hour comedy. It even has too many nurses to treat them all fairly.

I wanted to like the show but it was made in the 1970s and lacked the edge of "McHale's Navy."

However, I've fallen for the klutzy nurse Melinda Naud and I'm only sorry I came upon her 47 years after the show was made, when i'm old and gray. Thanks, Melinda. You're the best part if the show!

The show was revamped in a second season but simply couldn't keep afloat. Pardon the pun.

I have a tape of this season of Operation Petticoat in German, and it's hilarious. I would love to see the episodes in English. Although I saw the movie Operation Petticoat, I was never aware that a TV show had been made for it. I know that I would have liked to watch it. Although made in the 70s, the sitcom "formula" hasn't changed much - just more sex (under the guise of romance) and violence now. :-(

This Comedy Series about a pink Submarine is really funny. RandolphMantooth is wonderful as the stupid Lieutenant Mike Bender.

This Operation is Successful!