Baa Baa Black Sheep Volume 1 DVD Review:

Based on the real life “Black Sheep Squadron” a group of troublemaker Marine fighter pilots run by Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, Baa Baa Black Sheep was one of the earliest television series created by producer Stephen J. Cannell. Season One of this WWII series was aired in 1974, and now the first half of it has been released on Volume One of the series, which includes the feature length pilot and the first ten episodes. Pulling all of his pilots because of their ability to get into trouble, Boyington creates a group of men who will fight, steal, and drink like crazy, but once they are in the air they also are able to fly better than anyone else. The squadron must always be sure to stay one step ahead of everyone else otherwise they will be split up and sent somewhere less forgiving of their devious ways.

The series does a great job of having fun with the characters without losing the seriousness of the situations. Many episodes deal with interesting questions about war, and there are often losses in battle. Many of the dogfights were also quite impressive for television at the time. The cast of characters are also all well developed, which makes the show fun to watch. Robert Conrad is great as Boyington, a man who isn’t afraid to break the rules in order to do what he thinks is right.

It is uncertain why only half of the first season has been released, but it is certain to upset fans, as it should. It seems that if they have already waited over thirty years to release the series, they might as well wait a bit longer in order to get the entire first season in one package.

The package which has been released looks good however. The cover art is well done, and although the photos aren’t great, they make it look as good as they can. The ten episodes and the pilot are all on two double-sided discs which are not set in slim cases, making for a bulky half-season.

The transfer is inconsistent, whether it is because that was simply the quality of the stock footage that they used for the dogfights, or because it has not been properly restored. Either way, there are times when the picture is as sharp as can be, but then the next shot may be grainy and blurry. The consistency is way off, but at least some of it has been polished a bit.

It is a great show and it is well past time that we can see it again, but the package seems to be suffering a bit. There is one great special feature, which is interviews with the real Major Gregory Boyington, but the fact that only half of the season is included must be taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to purchase the set.



Ryan Izay