MovieChat Forums > Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976) Discussion > TV Show had nothing to do with the facts

TV Show had nothing to do with the facts

posted 19 years ago by cheval52
7 replies | jump to latest

Although the show overall wasn't that bad with it's exciting footage of Corsairs in action, it did take liberties with Pappy's character and the crew.

I met Pappy Boyington years ago at the Chino Air Show in California and he told me that he hated the way that Hollywood portrayed him. Unfortunately he was the Technical Advisor to the show and the pay was great. After the war ended he became great friends with the Japanese Pilot that shot him down, in fact that same pilot later became an American citizen and eventually moved to California.

For me it was truly an honor to sit and chat with Pappy and to get his autograph, he was truly a great guy and a class act. We need more people like him.

Patrick of Seattle

[–] scooby200245601 19 years ago

I know the TV Series wasn't historically accurate but they were enjoyable TV. At least they made an effort and had the real Pappy Boyington present for advice. This is a plague with Hollywood not with just this film but several. My grandfather served in WWII. He hit the beaches at Normandy a day or 2 after the main event but still saw plenty of action as he basically walked from Normandy to Germany and was wounded at "The Bulge". He served honorably and seen first hand the dirty business that war really is...He won't watch any war film. With the way Hollywood does these it's no wonder. For example remember Catch 22? This was supposed to be a spoof but it is really disrespectful to those who served in war anytime anywhere. There's a particular scene where 2 of our guys was walking along a runway while one of our B-25s was coming in on fire (which really happend a lot) but it gets landed and explodes at the end of the runway and these guys just keep BSing as if nothing happened. I know this is supposed to be a TV show but I think this crossed the line from disrespect to irreverent. My point is to remember and appreciate efforts made by the actors of Black Sheep Squadron to at least make an effort to keep from crossing lines. Yeah, they did do a lot HEE HAW but it is TV entertainment that many enjoyed which is the privilege that we all have. We need to be thankful to have this privilege many people around the world don't have such privileges. Just enjoy the moment if you don't like the show don't watch it. Don't spoil it for the rest of us who do. That's all I have to say. I don't want to argue with anyone I just want to enjoy the show. Those who don't want to watch don't have to. Which brings us back to my original question. Is there any word on the exact release date for Black Sheep Squadron. I would like to obtain both seasons. So if I had a heads up release date I'll know when to expect to see copys of this at Wal-Mart. They will have the best price at least in my area. thanx tim

By the way I used to live in the Seattle area too. Where are you? I lived across the lake in Bellevue. (NE 8th area Bellevue Estates)

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] bryanac625 19 years ago

I was crazy about this show when I was a kid. I believed everything I saw as fact and it took me quite a while to "unlearn" all of the BS from this show. But, it is entertaining, and I just picked up the DVD.

I hate to sound uptight, but the thing that bothers me is that too often, in order to sell history as mainstream TV or movies, a lot of facts have to be sacrificed. I suppose it would be enough to end there, but too many people (as I did with "Black Sheep Squadron" in the '70s, accept whatever they see in movies as fact (this is well documented).

And if you really want to press it, this TV show was disrespectful to the discipline and service of the real Black Sheep in the Corps, who were not the undisciplined, hell-raising, brawling drinkers the show made them out to be. To me, it even disrespects the Tuskegee Airmen, who never in a million years could have done a tenth of what the TV show guys did and still kept their wings.

But anyway, to me, even cheesy history is more enteraining than "Lord of the Rings..."

[–] TorontoJediMaster 18 years ago

Many member of the real VMF-214 despised the show. They felt it was an assassination of their characters.

Many went on to become career Marine Corps officers, while others were very successful in civilian careers. They always resented that Boyington allowed the show to portray them like that. One of them said that it was sad that Boyington (who, while a skilled fighter pilot, was a severe alcoholic who had a lot of personal and financial problems, many relating to his drinking) needed the money so badly he was willing to let the show go ahead.

One former Black Sheep pilot, who became trial lawyer after the war, said he seriously thought about filing a lawsuit for defamation of character and libel against the show. He opted against it when he realized this would just generate more publicity for the show.

If you want to read a good account of the squadron -including what a lot of them thought of the television show- read the book Once Were Eagles by Frank Walton. Walton had been squadron intelligence officer during their tour in the Solomans. He recounts that the only member of the squadron who EVER ran afoul of the brass, or ever got into any type of trouble, was Boyington himself. He had a tendency to get drunk and try to start fights. In fact, Walton was assigned to the squadron for that very reason, and given an extra, unofficial job. He was to keep Boyington in line. Walton had been so chosen because, before the war, he'd been a sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department. The brass figured that he was used to handling belligerent drunks...and told him that in exactly so many words.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] freyw 16 years ago

"I met Pappy Boyington years ago at the Chino Air Show"

Dude, I will give you $100,000 cash for that memory. (Sigh)

Regarding the show, as a WWII buff, some the "liberties" they took did bother me. On the other hand, shows like this at least inspire people to learn more. They'll see the show on the Yamamoto assassination, or hear the dialogue about the invasion of Bouginville, and think, "Hey, what about that? What happened there?" I watched it as a teenager, and it was the starting point for many lessons from my dad on WWII aircraft and battles. Whatever its faults, if it sparks an interest in the rich history of the period, that's a good thing.

[–] baran_erik 8 years ago

We've knownn that for 40 years.