Unlike Westerns, TV series about WWII normally didn't fare well. If you look them up you'll find fewer titles and most of them only lasted a single season.
Combat!, The Rat Patrol, and 12 O'Clock High were the exceptions, and The Rat Patrol only lasted two.
We prefer the first season with Robert Lansing, and I watched that season as a kid. Our family lost interest when they "killed off" General Savage, but over the last few years my wife and I have been watching the series a show here and there, and we find the second season as compelling.
The show managed to find young actors early in their career who'd go on to be major stars in both TV and film, and you can browse the cast list here to see what I mean. As I type, we're watching an episode starring James Macarthur, who in a few more years achieved major stardom on Hawaii 5-0. It's also got Patrick Wayne and Lee Meriweather. You'll find such combinations of soon-to-be stars in every episode.
The series combined actual war footage and the sense of daylight bombing raids with dramatic character studies.
Combat!, The Rat Patrol, and 12 O'Clock High were the exceptions, and The Rat Patrol only lasted two.
We prefer the first season with Robert Lansing, and I watched that season as a kid. Our family lost interest when they "killed off" General Savage, but over the last few years my wife and I have been watching the series a show here and there, and we find the second season as compelling.
The show managed to find young actors early in their career who'd go on to be major stars in both TV and film, and you can browse the cast list here to see what I mean. As I type, we're watching an episode starring James Macarthur, who in a few more years achieved major stardom on Hawaii 5-0. It's also got Patrick Wayne and Lee Meriweather. You'll find such combinations of soon-to-be stars in every episode.
The series combined actual war footage and the sense of daylight bombing raids with dramatic character studies.