Hennesey

Jackie Cooper played a WWII Army vet who went to medical school and entered the Navy as a doctor. In the first episode when the new doctor reports to his new commanding officer at the naval hospital, the CO looks over his personnel record, notes the Army experience and asks Hennesey, 'Have you ever been to sea?' No, sir.' 'Have you ever been on a ship?' 'No, sir.' 'Can you identify water?' 'In daytime, I can, yes, sir.' In the series, James Komack played a hip nonconformist dentist who reputedly filled his own teeth. Henry Kulky as Max probably had the best role of his career as the sensitive Goliath who--in one episode--saved the arm of a sailor who had it caught in a machine. Max picked up the sailor and turned him over to unwind the arm from the gears. The show was blessed with a great cast and excellent writers. The show was funny without being silly and serious without sinking into melodrama.

I remember the remarkable thing about "Hennesey" was that it was a dry, adult comedy WITH NO LAUGHTRACK. My mother used to love the show for that reason alone. The absence of that psychological prod actually made the absurdities funnier. We the audience were being treated as adults who could laugh when it was funny. This was an innovative and bold move in television of the time. I really notice the idiocy of American TV when it is rebroadcast here in Italy. The use of the laughtrack to manipulate the audience into thinking something is funny is really noticeable here, where it is rarely employed. Also, the use of implausible situations, as mentioned above, was lacking. The show stood or fell on the quality of the characters and writing. Whoever chooses to re-release this show will have an uphill battle to avoid inserting these banal mechanisms to please sponsors.

I really looked forward to each weeks program. The cast was stellar and the writing was excellent. I remember one night that I watched Hennesey, I was to leave for the Army the next day. It made me laugh and took some of the pressure off of me. I spent some time in the army and wish that I would have had a CO like Roscoe Karns. The same goes for the time that I spent in an Army Hospital. Oh if I only would have had a nurse like Nurse Hale. The Army nurses that took care of me were great and Abbey Dalton did a very realistic job of portraying military nurses. I wish that the programs were available on DVD, I would buy all of them. Many have praised the theme song and I agree with them. It was a very good show and it is sad that it is not available so that a new generation of people can enjoy it.

I totally agree with the writer's comments on the Hennesey Theme Song. I have been looking for it for years.

A couple of interesting facts: The exteriors for the show, were Balboa Naval Hospital, and 32nd St. Naval Station. In the late 50's, there was a specific section of the station that all or most all of the Pacific Fleet Destroyers tied up. Before the actual piers, was the Pacific Mine Warfare Admin Building. This long shot included an overhead view, of the access road to the piers, and the roof & grounds of the Admin building.

As I recall I used to watch it every Monday evening. Another interesting fact: Both Jackie Cooper, and Glenn Ford retired as Admirals in the Naval Reserve.

I remember this show vividly from my childhood -- I was in grade school when it was on and can remember watching it every week with my parents. (I think one of the reasons I liked it was that my dad was in the Navy during WWII.) I have a vague recollection that one of the episodes featured Jackie Cooper visiting Pearl Harbor and that that show aired around December 7th. Like others who've written things here, I also remember it as a serious show (I was a serious kid) and that the theme music was very unusual.I'd love to see the entire series on DVD -- or better yet, on network TV. I keep reading that the networks have given up on Saturday evenings -- why not ditch the junk they are airing that night (nobody's watching anyway) and re-run classic series like Hennesey or The Law & Mr. Jones or The Defenders or Leslie Nielsen as the Swamp Fox (which I believe was Disney.) I think Baby Boomers would love the chance to see these "lost treasures" from the 50s and 60s again. And a whole new generation of kids would be exposed to entertaining-but-intelligent programs on network TV every Saturday night.