A Navy submarine (what other kind?) has, through an odd catenation of circumstances, been painted pink and has on board a contingent of Army nurses. Based on a movie featuring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis.
John Astin is the Captain. After making a good name for himself as the wonderfully off-kilter Gomez Addams (and doing great supporting bits in movies) it's a bit disappointing that he has to play it straight, being the anchor of the show. If he doesn't seem like "John Astin," he no Cary Grant, either.
Richard Gilliland has the Tony Curtis role from the movie, Holden, the scrounger, and though he's good he lacks Curtis' oily charm.
The rest of the cast is full of types rather than characters. The stammering, shy typist-tecord keeper; the crusty engineer . . . Jim Varney (later famous as Earnest) plays "doom and gloom," The eternal pessimist. Fortunately, whoever put this show together had the sense to get actors with different looking faces, so they don't all run together.
The nurses include rising star Jamie Lee Curtis as Holden's love interest.
Unfortunately, the show has too many characters for a half-hour comedy. It even has too many nurses to treat them all fairly.
I wanted to like the show but it was made in the 1970s and lacked the edge of "McHale's Navy."
However, I've fallen for the klutzy nurse Melinda Naud and I'm only sorry I came upon her 47 years after the show was made, when i'm old and gray. Thanks, Melinda. You're the best part if the show!
The show was revamped in a second season but simply couldn't keep afloat. Pardon the pun.
