MovieChat Forums > McHale's Navy (1962) Discussion > War is not a joke!

War is not a joke!

posted 15 years ago by doorkeeper
14 replies | jump to latest

My father refused to watch this show. He absolutly hated how they made war look like funtime at summer camp. He would always say 'It was a war, lives were destroyed, people were killed, families forever changed - nothing funny about that.' But, me and my sister loved this show! We would sit in front of the TV in the den and our mother would give us ample warning when dad was pulling into the garage... I think we must have seen the first 20-25 minutes of each episode at least 4-5 times, but dad always managed to make it home before we got to see the ending! Glad to see it finally out on DVD as now I get to watch the entire episode... just don't tell dad! ;)

[–] JEFJR 15 years ago

Then I guess he wasn't a big fan of Hogan's Heroes?

[–] tjlamb-1 15 years ago

Wow...that was my first thought, too.

[–] eastcoastguyz 15 years ago

As I recall, the war itself wasn't the focus of the show. It was all the internal stuff that was going on. The show could have just as easily taken place in an office like the Drew Carey Show. Except this show was really funny!

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ghostfan 13 years ago

I know this is an old post, but I had to add my two cents. My father served in Korea, and he liked this show - just because it did poke fun of the whole military thing.

My uncle was a POW during WW2 and did have an underground thing on like in Stalag 17/Hogan's Heroes, and he hated both shows. For the same reason. He said if you were there, the jokes weren't as funny.

My older brother (born 1955) enlisted in the Navy the year after high school and was somewhat surprised that the legit Navy was nothing like MacHale. I think the storyline that irritated him most though was one where Binghampton got the guys to all test to be a Chief Petty Officer so he could get them transferred.

I am a bit hazy on the details, but my bro said this was a total joke. He said that you had to be in the Navy for like two terms (8 years?) before you could even become a Petty Officer, and a lot more before you could be a chief.

[–] DeepFriedJello 13 years ago

This is no differnt than M*A*S*H or any number of comedy war shows.
I can't wait to see the hillarious hijinx in Irag show.

[–] loughsprng 13 years ago

Not to mention all the great comedy war movies that have been made over the years, some of which mixed comedy and tragedy. It's the way life really is.

[–] grendelkhan 12 years ago

It's all in how you approach the subject. McHale's Navy tended to joke about the service itself and authoritarians like Binghamton. Hogan's Heroes treated most of their missions, and the danger to their collaborators, as very important, while Klink and Schultz were the butt of most of the jokes. Even in the UK, you have Allo Allo, which dealt with the very serious world of the French Underground. I don't recall many movies or series that treated combat like a joke. Absurd situations that arose in the middle of the fighting, maybe, but not the actual business of killing. However, when you look at the absurdity of war itself, satire is as good a method of commentary as drama. Some did both quite well, like Mr. Roberts, or MASH, in its earlier seasons (before Alan Alda steered it further and further away from the comedy elements). Believe me, whenever you geta group of veterans together, you spend as much time, if not more, talking about the comedic situations as you do the harrowing stuff. Of course, it does depend on the circumstances of your duty or war.

"Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!"

[–] gallileo60 12 years ago

My Dad was a fighter pilot in WWII, and he loved this show, and hogans Heroes..He thought it was good that they made light of the war after being in it...

You Have a Hard Lip, Herbert..

Better Living Thru Chemistry

[–] flyerzzrul 11 years ago

When I was a kid my friends mom freaked out when she saw us watching Hogans Heroes, she said the Germans were not that stupid. I dont know what her reason was, but then again she was a witch who beat the crap out of her daughter right in front of me. Punching, scratching, wow I sure got off subject.

[–] LindaY 10 years ago

Diff'rent strokes. My dad was World War II veteran and he loved all the service comedies, McHale's Navy, Hogan's Heroes, etc. He used to say when we watched Hogan's Heroes, "I wish the Germans had been that stupid!"

[–] gsfsu 10 years ago

My father served in WWII and was severely wounded at Leyte and had much the same opinion. Although I spent two years in Vietnam my experiences did not affect me the same way. I had not seen McHale's Navy before I left for overseas and obviously there was no American TV in Vietnam in those days. Nor had I seen another WWII comedy "Hogan's Heros". Upon my return I saw both and liked them. I still watch them, although not religiously, today.

The main reason I liked MN was the character of Capt Binghamton as one of my best buddies aboard ship was exactly like him (although not a captain). I liked HH primarily because of the "German" characters - Hochstetter, General Buchalter, Col. Klink and Sgt. Schultz. I thought those were hilarious.

There were movies that also made war into a comedy. One of my favorites was "Wackiest Ship In The Army".

Perhaps it is the ability to separate the real war from a TV comedy that makes the difference.

[–] vinidici 10 years ago

I suppose your dad never liked the Beetle Bailey comic strip, either. Or Willie & Joe.

Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!

[–] gschwertley 7 years ago

Probably individual experiences in the military affect how they look upon it years later. You get banged up in a POW camp, you might wind up bitter about it. But most of the TV audience hadn't had the POW experience so Hogan's Heroes wasn't seen as being offensive to them. Ditto McHale's Navy, et al.

For most veterans who came home healthy, military experience looks better in the rear view mirror than it actually was. Cleaning a toilet bowl with a toothbrush sounds funny now; not when you were doing it.

A guy in another post told about how his dad was a navy veteran, and that exposure plus watching McHale's Navy caused him to join. His experiences were quite dissimilar. I would agree. If you watch Sergeant Bilko and see the men sitting around playing cards during a duty day, that isn't normal. If you don't have army work to do, they will find some for you.