The Wackiest Ship in the Army (TV series)


The Wackiest Ship in the Army is an American comedy-adventure series that aired for one season on NBC between September 19, 1965, and April 17, 1966. Produced by Harry Ackerman and Herbert Hirschman, the series was loosely based on the 1960 film starring Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson, which itself was a fictionalized account of a real wartime vessel.
Although often referred to as a comedy series, the show violated three unwritten rules which unofficially defined TV sitcoms at the time: it was an hour in length, it had no laugh track, and characters were sometimes killed in it.

Synopsis

The series is set in the Pacific theater of World War II and centers on the crew of the USS Kiwi, a leaky wooden twin-masted schooner whose mission is to place spies behind Japanese lines. Its old-fashioned, non-combatant appearance works in its favour, and it sails under false colours when in enemy waters. The Kiwi is jointly commanded by Army Major Simon Butcher, who's in charge of shore operations, and Navy Lieutenant, junior grade Richard "Rip" Riddle, who's in command when the vessel is afloat. The crew consists of:
Guest stars included:
The theme music and scoring was by Nelson Riddle.

Ship

The USS Kiwi was based on the real-life, a 40-year-old schooner or scow that was transferred to the United States Navy from the government of New Zealand. It was returned to New Zealand in 1944.

In other media

A paperback based on the series, by Lee Bergman, was released in 1965.

Episode list