A funny thing happened in season three. The writers seemed to get battle fatigue.
12) "McHale and His Jet Set." When Binghamton gets fleeced by a Frenchman, the crew decides to get even. Don't ask me why.
13) "Christy Goes Traveling." Christy's daughter is turning two and he's itching to see her, and so he stows away on a bomber bound for the States.
14) "The Missing Link." When Capt. Binghamton's anthropologist niece (Marlo Thomas) visits, she decides Ensign Parker makes the perfect subject for her research.
15) "Fuji's Big Romance." When McHale and the gang take Fuji to a luau on another island, he falls for a native who already has a boyfriend.
16) "The Stool Parrot." Binghamton gets wind of the PT-73's latest party from none other than a pet parrot of Gruber's (Carl Ballantine).
17) "The PT-73 Follies." When Binghamton, McHale, and the crew are taken prisoner, they're saved when they put on a show . . . shades of Season Two.
18) "The Truth Hurts." Instead of laughing gas it's truth serum this time. Can't these writers come up with anything new? Binghamton administers the serum to the crew, but of course McHale and the gang turn the tables again.
19) "The Late Captain Binghamton." Binghamton thinks he's dying and wants to go out by serving on a mission with the crew of the PT-73. Uh, why not a different boat?
20) "McHale's Floating Laundromat." Parker has a job at the base laundry, and it leads to predictable complications.
21) "All Chiefs and No Indians." Binghamton tries to get rid of the PT-73 crew again, this time by trying to get them to shoot for promotions which will ship them out.
22) "Pumpkin Takes Over." McHale and the gang have women problems when Binghamton's wife and a nurse converge.
23) "The Seven Faces of Ensign Parker." Things get old with this episode that has Binghamton trying once more to get Parker. But a dictation machine? Come on, guys!
24) "The Return of Maggie." Binghamton tries to get at McHale through a friend of his (Jean Willes) who runs a drinking and gambling joint on nearby New Caledonia.
25) "Send this Ensign to Camp." Weak episode has Parker going back to childhood days after a bump on the noggin.
26) "By the Numbers, Paint." Hard to believe episode has the crew trying to raise money for Christy's daughter's tonsillectomy. I mean, really!
27) "Chuckie Cottontail." Easter comes to Taratupa, and McHale and his crew end up smelling like . . .lillies.
28) "The Great Necklace Caper." This time Binghamton tries to get McHale and his crew for the disappearance of a necklace he bought for his wife.
29) "Will the Rear Admiral Please Stand Up?" Another far-fetched episode has Binghamton and McHale sent to negotiate oil rights at the island of Durani. Give me a break.
30) "Hello, McHale? Colonna!" Comedian Jerry Colonna appears as himself in this story about McHale's attempt to land the show on Taratupa.
31) "Rumble on Taratupa." McHale and his crew tangle with the Air Force over who gets to sell booze on the island. Turf wars in the Pacific?
32) "All Ahead, Empty." A nerdy electronics wizard might make McHale and his men obsolete. Yeah, right.
33) "The Vampire of Taratupa." Binghamton assigns Parker to a perilous assignment but then has second thoughts.
34) "Birth of a Salesman." Binghamton tries his hand at insurance after learning he's lost his Stateside job.
35) "A Star Falls on Taratupa." And she wants to use McHale and the crew to make headlines.
36) "Make Room for Orvie." Binghamton plants a spy in McHale's crew.
Video:
As rough as this season is content-wise, it's also a little rougher in terms of video quality. There seem to be more flickers of dirt and imperfections, more moments of distortion recall a tape or movie reel getting temporarily hung up on the sprockets, and more washed-out episodes that are way too light. But for fans of this show and other TV classics, that won't matter. "McHale's Navy" is presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
Audio:
The audio is a nothing-special Dolby Digital Mono which seems as if you have to turn it up to hear the dialogue, but then you realize that there's a lot of background white noise. Again, fans will be grateful that these seasons exist at all, but when you compare this to the gold standard for this era ("The Dick Van Dyke Show") it's sorely wanting.
Extras:
No bonus features this time.
Bottom Line:
"McHale's Navy" was an entertaining show in the "Sergeant Bilko" mold, but this season the writing really stands out . . . like a sore middle finger.
13) "Christy Goes Traveling." Christy's daughter is turning two and he's itching to see her, and so he stows away on a bomber bound for the States.
14) "The Missing Link." When Capt. Binghamton's anthropologist niece (Marlo Thomas) visits, she decides Ensign Parker makes the perfect subject for her research.
15) "Fuji's Big Romance." When McHale and the gang take Fuji to a luau on another island, he falls for a native who already has a boyfriend.
16) "The Stool Parrot." Binghamton gets wind of the PT-73's latest party from none other than a pet parrot of Gruber's (Carl Ballantine).
17) "The PT-73 Follies." When Binghamton, McHale, and the crew are taken prisoner, they're saved when they put on a show . . . shades of Season Two.
18) "The Truth Hurts." Instead of laughing gas it's truth serum this time. Can't these writers come up with anything new? Binghamton administers the serum to the crew, but of course McHale and the gang turn the tables again.
19) "The Late Captain Binghamton." Binghamton thinks he's dying and wants to go out by serving on a mission with the crew of the PT-73. Uh, why not a different boat?
20) "McHale's Floating Laundromat." Parker has a job at the base laundry, and it leads to predictable complications.
21) "All Chiefs and No Indians." Binghamton tries to get rid of the PT-73 crew again, this time by trying to get them to shoot for promotions which will ship them out.
22) "Pumpkin Takes Over." McHale and the gang have women problems when Binghamton's wife and a nurse converge.
23) "The Seven Faces of Ensign Parker." Things get old with this episode that has Binghamton trying once more to get Parker. But a dictation machine? Come on, guys!
24) "The Return of Maggie." Binghamton tries to get at McHale through a friend of his (Jean Willes) who runs a drinking and gambling joint on nearby New Caledonia.
25) "Send this Ensign to Camp." Weak episode has Parker going back to childhood days after a bump on the noggin.
26) "By the Numbers, Paint." Hard to believe episode has the crew trying to raise money for Christy's daughter's tonsillectomy. I mean, really!
27) "Chuckie Cottontail." Easter comes to Taratupa, and McHale and his crew end up smelling like . . .lillies.
28) "The Great Necklace Caper." This time Binghamton tries to get McHale and his crew for the disappearance of a necklace he bought for his wife.
29) "Will the Rear Admiral Please Stand Up?" Another far-fetched episode has Binghamton and McHale sent to negotiate oil rights at the island of Durani. Give me a break.
30) "Hello, McHale? Colonna!" Comedian Jerry Colonna appears as himself in this story about McHale's attempt to land the show on Taratupa.
31) "Rumble on Taratupa." McHale and his crew tangle with the Air Force over who gets to sell booze on the island. Turf wars in the Pacific?
32) "All Ahead, Empty." A nerdy electronics wizard might make McHale and his men obsolete. Yeah, right.
33) "The Vampire of Taratupa." Binghamton assigns Parker to a perilous assignment but then has second thoughts.
34) "Birth of a Salesman." Binghamton tries his hand at insurance after learning he's lost his Stateside job.
35) "A Star Falls on Taratupa." And she wants to use McHale and the crew to make headlines.
36) "Make Room for Orvie." Binghamton plants a spy in McHale's crew.
Video:
As rough as this season is content-wise, it's also a little rougher in terms of video quality. There seem to be more flickers of dirt and imperfections, more moments of distortion recall a tape or movie reel getting temporarily hung up on the sprockets, and more washed-out episodes that are way too light. But for fans of this show and other TV classics, that won't matter. "McHale's Navy" is presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
Audio:
The audio is a nothing-special Dolby Digital Mono which seems as if you have to turn it up to hear the dialogue, but then you realize that there's a lot of background white noise. Again, fans will be grateful that these seasons exist at all, but when you compare this to the gold standard for this era ("The Dick Van Dyke Show") it's sorely wanting.
Extras:
No bonus features this time.
Bottom Line:
"McHale's Navy" was an entertaining show in the "Sergeant Bilko" mold, but this season the writing really stands out . . . like a sore middle finger.
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