Baa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)

Baa Baa Black Sheep (later syndicated as Black Sheep Squadron) was a television series that aired on NBC from 1976 until 1978. Its premise was based on the experiences of United States Marine Corps aviator Pappy Boyington and his World War II "Black Sheep Squadron." The series was created and produced by Stephen J. Cannell. The opening credits read: "In World War II Marine Corps Major Greg 'Pappy' Boyington commanded a squadron of fighter pilots. They were a collection of misfits and screwballs who became the terrors of the South Pacific. They were known as the Black Sheep Squadron."

Fiction versus reality
"Pappy" Boyington is the squadron-leader of a group of fighter pilots stationed on an island in the Pacific, during World War II. Pappy often intercedes in altercations at the base, but everyone seems to pull together when they are assigned missions in the air.

The series premise was very loosely based on a portion of the real-life military career of Gregory Boyington, known as "Pappy" due to his "advanced" age compared to the younger pilots under his command (he was 30 when he took command of VMF-214). The premise is misleading, in that the "Black Sheep" were not misfits or screwups. Boyington, who was a technical advisor for the series, commented that this was "fiction based on reality" and that no regular character in the series except for himself actually existed.

Popular character "Hutch" (Joey Aresco) was killed off during the second season, to be replaced as chief mechanic by "Micklin" (Red West). West appears on cover of the Volume 1 DVD collection, though he had not joined the cast during the first season.