McKeever and the Colonel

*McKeever and the Colonel* almost certainly got greenlighted in 1961 as the result of a favorable reception for the television broadcast of Charlton Heston's *The Private War of Major Benson* (1955).

The antics of McKeever, his allies and his enemies among the military school student body, made for harmless entertainment even by the standards of the early '60s. I came to think of it as a boys' version of *The Phil Silvers Show* (1955-1959), made memorable by the rapscallion character of MSgt. Earnie Bilco, then pounding away in re-runs on NBC.

Those who are only familiar with the absolutely godawful 1995 Damon Wayans knock-off of Heston's movie (*Major Payne*) owe themselves a look at the much, much better original, and would certainly enjoy seeing *McKeever* if someone had the sense to issue the series in re-runs or on DVD. --