Private Benjamin

This series suffered from poor writing and Blah direction which probably explains why it has never shown up again since its demise.

Lorna patterson is passable as Private benjamin but nothing special...And none of the gags in any of the episodes were ever above par.....The show was sweet natured enough...but thats really about it

Oh and what ever happened to Lorna anyway???

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, the unfunny sitcom was a staple of network television. Shows like "Family Affair" and "The Brady Bunch" laid it on thick with the laugh track, but no jokes ever emerged and nothing funny ever happened in them. They were the television equivalent of the "Family Circus" comic strip.

Coming along in 1981, after Mary Tyler Moore, Mash and All in the Family seriously raised the bar on TV comedy, Private Benjamin was a throwback to those earlier sitcoms. Based on an actually funny movie, the series strained hard, with an omnipresent laugh track, to make Judy Benjamin's klutzy mistakes look like they were high comedy. Hal Williams and Eileen Brennan were pulled in from the movie, but just seemed strained in the series. Brennan in particular seemed like she was SCREAMING ALL THE TIME.

Lorna Patterson, coming off the truly funny movie Airplane, is cute but adds nothing to the mix.

They don't make 'em like this anymore, thank goodness.

My mom and I really enjoyed this show; especially Eileen Brennan's character as Captain Lewis. I haven't seen this show since reruns in the 80s and would love to watch this hilarious show again and again. What I enjoyed the most of this show is the interaction between Private Benjamin and Captain Lewis as Benjamin attempts to evade the watchful eye of Captain Lewis. Please bring this delightful comedy to DVD. All seasons combined!!!!

This series tried to take off the success of the movie by the same name. No such luck, maybe it was because that the TV staff could not hire Goldie Hawn to portray Private Benjamin. Even though this series has been off for nearly 20 years I still remember one of the jokes made by Captain Lewis (Eillen Breenan). Captain Lewis was explaining to Private Benjamin why the Army would not promote her to Major. " I made a big mistake. Instead of sending a hundred turkeys to a battalion, I sent a hundred battalions to Turkey"

I enjoyed the movie, and the series wasn't half-bad for an 80s sitcom. Sure, it wasn't Cheers but so what. It was funny and I enjoyed watching this alongside Donahue.