Editorial review of McHale’s Navy – Season One

Something of a cross between MASH (it’s set in wartime) and Sgt. Bilko (the emphasis in on ensemble acting, with a ringleader and his band of merry pranksters), McHale’s Navy isn’t on a level with those two immortal sit-coms. But this amiable show, debuting on DVD with all 36 black & white episodes from its first season (1962-63) on five discs, stands the test of time surprisingly well. Not that there’s any important new comedic ground broken here. These half-hour episodes are pretty much all about the same thing: Lt. Cmdr. Quinton McHale (the always reliable Ernest Borgnine), skipper of Navy PT boat #73, and his crew are stationed “somewhere in the South Pacific, 1943.” They’re capable sailors, engaging the Japanese enemy when duty occasionally calls, but most of the time they hang out on their own private island and have a good time–much to the chagrin of their blustery commander, Capt. Wallace Binghamton (Joe Flynn), who’s constantly trying to rid himself of the regulation-defying McHale and his fun-loving band of miscreants.

Imogene Coca (November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress.

She was born Imogene Fernandez de Coca in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of José Fernandez de Coca, a conductor, and his wife Sadie Brady, a dancer and magician’s assistant. She had Spanish and Irish ancestry.

In her youth, she received piano, dance, and voice lessons. She moved from Philadelphia to seek a living as a dancer, while still a teenager, starting in the chorus of the Broadway musical When You Smile. She came to be featured as a headliner, appearing in Manhattan nightclubs, with music arranged by her first husband, Robert Burton. She came to prominence when she began to combine music with comedy: her first big critical success was in New Faces of 1934. (more…)