Episode 23 - Last One For Dave and Steve

It's a play on the title of the episode as usual, not some retirement announcement...

This might be, at least to me, the best episode of the series.  It is certainly the best episode of season 1.

To quote Steve 'once you get Red West, the character of Hutch is unnecessary,  Joey Aresco is gone.'

Muted Micklin is a bit different, I liked it.

Indeed, Red West showed a side of his acting I didn't know existed.

Col. Lard does what he can here, as does Gen. Moore.

Doug the DJ who did coke on WKRP was one of the pilots this week!

Wait, so was Mr. Carlson!

This is the only episode that has ever brought a tear to my eye.

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Episode 22 - S*T*E*V*E and D*A*V*E welcome D*A*N to the podcast

Is this a good title?  Look, I've had worse.

Oh yeah, welcome Dan, of Six Million Dollar Man fame.  

(Also, don't tell anyone, but Dan is kinda sorta famous).

The WASPS were real, they were amazing, and they were brave.  They were finally recognized as veterans in 1977.  Thirty seven WASPS died in the line of duty.

They were not military pilots, so their commander in the episode could not be a major.

The second half of the season has dealt with things more seriously.  

Still, everything is solved by men, but that's with 2025 eyes.  This is pretty progressive for a show from 1977, especially a military one.

I love Andy Micklin.

TJ Sniffinstuff.

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Episode 21 - Poor Little Dave and Steve

I like this title.

Nice performances by guest stars this week, especially Soon-Tek Oh.  We're both big fans.

OH look, an episode with a crash an a nun, I think Dan and I have covered an episode like this.

'I am not French, I'm Swiss'.  So was my grandfather, he fought Nazis and Japanese fascists, just saying...

Sorrel Booke is another great guest star this week.

Nice use of footage from 'Operation Petticoat' in this one, but you do see some pink sub at the end, which kind of both gives it away and takes you (if you're me) out of the scene.

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Episode 20 - Steve and Dave Have Trouble at Fort Apache

It's that time of the month again.  Wait, that sounds bad...

Lots of use of stock footage this week, much of it over Europe.

The B17 was not that big a deal in the Pacific theatre.

Inter service rivalry is a thing.

So general Moore just leaves....

Col Lard working together with Pappy, as much as he can, is a nice twist.

There's still this sense that everything can be cured with a fistfight, though, I suppose that sort of dispute resolution kind of comes to mind when your job is trying to make sure some other guy dies for his country.

I liked this one, though Masters of the Air it ain't.....

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Episode 17 - Dave and Steve in the Slot

That may sound, umm, odd, but it only refers to the title of the episode!

RED WEST!

We also get Tommy Hirachi, Pappy's nemesis in the show (not so much in real life).

Some real exploration of Gutterman's PTSD.

Ginty's best work of the series so far.

Wait, you can't solve everything with a punch?

OK, well you can solve some things.

I am warming up to Col. Lard.

This is a crossover episode with WKRP

Andy Micklin is basically a walking trope and Steve and I don't care.

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Episode 14 - Steve and Dave are the Uni Biz Warriors

Long trip for this title.  I apologize in advance.

Wait, what did you pay for the podcast? Nothing.  I retract my apology.

JAMES DARREN!  I love Jimmy Darren.  I loved him in the Time Tunnel, I loved him in DS9, and he plays 'movie star' really well.  Of course Jimmy died on Sept 3.  If you get a chance, check out the interview with him on the Shuttlepod podcast.  It's excellent.

Hollywood stars did joined the armed forces, as did pro athletes etc.

Who?  Oh, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Glenn Miller, you know, no big stars...  This is the equivalent today of say Ryan Reynolds, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and oh I dunno, Taylor Swift joining the armed forces to fight the evil that is fascism.  This shows you how seriously people took this.

Rod getting names wrong, classic.

Everything is solved with toxic masculinity.

What's Nancy's problem?

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Episode 13 - Dave and Steve

Easy title this month.

This one is about bullying, and hit home for both of us (you'd never guess the two of us would be bullied, no, kids love weird kids who read a lot...)

I like that it focusses a lot on Larry.

I like that it focusses a lot on Jerry.

Look, I like these guys.

Wartime romances were a real thing.  They were often intense, and often a bad idea.  A lot of guys came home to babies that couldn't have been theirs, and a lot of couples generally had kids outside of marriage, which was not as accepted a thing, generally.  Mostly people moved on.

Some really good dogfighting scenes in this one.

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Episode 12 - Steve and Dave are the Cat's Whiskers

Better title this month I think.

Hey this one has not one, but two made up islands!

The 'well if we could just get a mission we won't get court martialled' trope continues.  (Also, is it martialled or martialed?). OK, turns out it must be the double l one right?

This one was broadcast on December 7, 1976.  You may not know this, but, a pretty big thing happened on  December 7, 1941, just saying.

I don't put my feet up on my desk much, but if Admiral Nimitz says it's a good idea I will start.

I really liked how Lard knew something was up because there was too much Scotch on Espartos Marcos.

Pappy's plane changes a few times scene to scene which is pretty funny.

'It's called stock footage David, be quiet'.

That said, much of the dogfighting stuff is great.

You sir, are no admiral Nimitz.

There are, today, listening posts like the show talked about.  This one though seems to detect things using active sonar pings and Morse code...

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Episode 11 - Dave and Steve on My Mind

This one has some great 70s guest stars.

The New Georgia campaign actually happened!

Pappy and the Black Sheep don't seem to get that in wartime the whole thing doesn't revolve around you.

The lack of military discipline in the show can usually be overlooked, but Steve and I are pretty sure enlisted men don't talk to officers like they do in this episode.

Coastwatchers were a real thing, JFK knew that. Oh so does Peter Frampton.

Generally this one was supposed to make me hate the marine raiders, but, umm, the 214 are just as bad as far as Steve and I are concerned.

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Episode 8 - A Steve and Dave Circus

Not a bad title this month.

Repeat this with me, there was no Christmas Island campaign.

I wonder if what Pappy proposes is technically a war crime.

Some great stuff about carrier operations this week.  That guy is in a dumb looking shirt and hat for a reason.

US Navy vs USMC rivalry is a real thing.  Inter service rivalries are in general in every country with armed forces.

We get some proper toxic masculinity this week.

We both love Gutterman.

We also get the 'flying misfits vs the US armed forces' this week.  I'm not complaining BTW.

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Episode 5 - Dave and Steve are Jinxes Who May Be High

Obligatory bad title comment.

This one is pretty dark.  We think of Baa Baa Black Sheep as a sort of swashbuckling 'isn't war fun' kind of show.  And yes dear listener, it often is.  But hidden in that brew of bullshit is often some great commentary on war.  This episode is like that.  Poor Doug has no life outside of being an Admiral's son, or being a jinx.

This one also talks about privilege and superstition, two things Pappy would have none of.  He didn't care who you were, as long as you could fly, but of course, he'll take advantage of your position in life.

There are some wild historical inaccuracies in this one that we discuss.

James Whitmore Jr. kills in this episode.

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Episode 4 - Dave and Steve Have a Small War

Jesus that's another awful title.

This is all about redemption.  Both Gutterman's and Hooper's.

This one is the classic 'guy gets shot down over enemy territory and has to figure a way out'.  This has been seen in so many shows and movies.  Be it, Star, both Wars and Trek, be it 12 O'Clock High, be it Combat! be it Piece of Cake, Wings (the 1977 one look it up) hell, I think there's a Hogan's Heroes like this!  Still, a good one.

Rene Auberjonois is in this one and he's very good.  There are a  couple of scenes where he really shows his chops.  Spoiler, he's a better actor than Robert Conrad.  Another spoiler, Conrad keeps up.

Why are they on an island off the coast of Labrador?

Pappy was actually shot down of course and ended up in transit on Truk, where they attack on the show, and where at the end of the episode you will hear a real newsreel from the time that pappy is ctually in (you can't really easily make him out from the air, but he talks about it in Baa Baa Black Sheep).

This is, as usual, a fun one.

Whitmore steals every scene he is in, killer performance this week.

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Episode 3 - Best Steve Out of Dave

I'm sticking to the episode naming convention I have developed and there is nothing you can do to stop me.

Charles Napier is always fun.  He just chews scenes, and I love it.

I always wonder about two guys just playing straight poker with each other.  Why not just flip a coin?

I would never get Jim Gutterman mad, I'd be afraid he'd snap.  Whitmore did an excellent job with this character.

Bar fights that men bond over.  It's a war movie trope.

Greg and Red both sucker punch each other in this episode.

In a lot of ways, this is the quintessential Baa Baa Black Sheep episode.  It's got Col Lard, Gen Moore, Red fighting Pappy, some great dogfighting, some ground combat.  Oh and lots of drinking and historically questionable bits...

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Episode 2 - Dave and Steve Fit and Miss

My clever title game is weak this week.

Hey, it's part 2 of the pilot!

One thing about the show, while Pappy is the hero, he's not sugarcoated, he's a drunk and, as he would say 'a bum'.

Guy could fly though.  He actually did down five Japanese planes in one engagement, which is nuts.

I wish they'd use real place names, but as Steve reminds me often, Cannel was in the entertainment business. 

There is some really good use of stock footage from the war in this episode.

I love the Corsair.  That is just true, so I thought I'd say that.

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Episode 1 - Steve and Dave are Misfits Who Have Flown

VMAF 214 Patch today

Yes yes, you knew it was coming.

We've dropped enough hints.

Hell, on the retro TV podcast I am a part of I covered this show on my third episode.

Anyway yes, it's the Black Sheep Squadron/Baa Baa Black Sheep, the story of famed US Marine fighter squadron, the Black Sheep, and their first commander, Major Greg, 'Pappy' Boyington.  Originally they were to be called 'Boyington's Bastards', which obviously is where we got the name for our little show.

Oh and by the way, if this is in your Rockford or Mad Men feed yeah, it will happen once.  Look, what did you pay for the podcast?  Nothing, that's right.  We'd like a case of Scotch and two crates of .50 cal ammo.

You can see the squadron's unit patch today honours the originals.

There is some truth in this episode.  You know, WW2 happened for example...

We still deal with some serious WW2 stuff this week, as of course Steve and I would.

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