McKeever and the Colonel

I was very small when this show was on, and only remember bits and pieces of plots. I do remember that McKeever was in military school-- he was not a bad kid. However, the boy stayed in trouble because of plans he made that went wrong. One of the military personnel who worked at the school was sympathetic to McKeever. The other old soldier who ran the school was not, and that's where the comedy came out of. It was a pleasant show.

For some reason, this short-lived show really imprinted on my psyche. I was only seven when it premiered, but I have always remembered it fondly. I don't remember many specifics, but the whole ambiance remains clear to me.

The one plot I do remember is one where the Colonel decides to keep McKeever out of trouble by making him a Military Policeman. The MP gig does not work out the way the Colonel expected, of course.

Jackie Coogan was great as the sympathetic sarge.

I think the show influenced my whole life; I went to a military school, became an army officer, and am now retired from the service.

Thanks, Scott.

Back in 1962, I would have been 5 years old. We only had 2 TV stations in town, the CBS affiliate and the NBC affiliate. But, the NBC affiliate would often preempt NBC shows and show an ABC show instead. Which is why we never got the first season of ST:TOS. I think this is what happened to McKeever, but someone gave me the the Milton-Bradley board game based on the show, and I played it constantly with my friends. All I remember about the game was there were multiple plastic pillars that you would hide the characters behind and the other side had to find them, similar to Battleship. I always wished that they would air this show in syndication but I never got a chance to see even one episode. Does anyone know if it's available for viewing somewhere?

i used to love this show, maybe it had something to do with the fact that i wanted to go to a military acadamy just like mckeever, so it was a way for me to live the fantasy. i was only 8 when the show was on, so i was not old enough to go. i always hoped that TV land would begin to show reruns. and no, i never did make it to a military academy!

I was 10 years old when I saw this show. We were stationed in Pensacola, Florida at the time. I remembered bits and pieces of it. It was like Dennis The Mennace in a military school. McKeever had 2 fellow students with him. One was named "Monk" and the other was the chubby kid who played the bugle. I remember that the sergeant was good old "Uncle Fester" from the Adam's Family, Jackie Coogan. There was a lady in the show as well. I think she was a nurse for the boys at the academy. Of course the antagonist "Mr. Wilson" if you will, was the colonel. All the kids watched the program. Soon I would be off to Iceland at a new duty station with the family and we didn't have much TV there. I still remembered this show. It made an impact on me and I really liked it. Wow, that was 43 years ago! It didn't seem like only 1 season!