This was one of my fav TV shows, and a favourite with my family too. We could quote the lines and even now "I twinkled, Sir!" is a guaranteed laugh with my cousin and me. I loved the silliness, the seriousness, the general humour and the Marine stuff... wholesome and fun for all the family but still tackling some sensible issues.
Yes some of the episodes were a bit cheesy and full of that shouty one liner talking that is prevalent in US sitcoms which always gets good old predictable canned-sounding laughter - especially with the 'stage school' style children's performances, but that didn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the show. It was comedy, from a more naïve and family-suitable time; no bad language, no sleaze, no overt sexual innuendo or content. Nice. Laugh out loud funny.
Gerald McRaney was superb... oh I just loved everything about this show. Is there really nowhere you can buy it on DVD?