The Military Was Never Really This Funny....

Conagher_1880

"Gomer Pyle, USMC" is the quintessential 1960's-era escapist service comedy. Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) was a naive Marine private (and later PFC) from North Carolina who joins the Marines to see the world. His DI is a tough, decorated (look at the rack of ribbons on his uniform to see just HOW decorated he is) Gunnery Sergeant named Vince Carter (Frank Sutton). Carter is Marine to the core (no pun), and Pyle is a, well....well meaning, shall we say.....but not too swift Marine. Oddly enough, although Pyle is a bumbler, he's apparently a good Marine. He follows orders to the best of his ability, looks out for his buddies, respects NCO's and officers, is a good shot (his marksmanship badge is that of Rifle Expert), and performs extra duties for the Corps. His sole drawback is that he's not exceptionally bright.

"Gomer Pyle, USMC" never makes mention of Vietnam, and indeed, the utilities worn by the Marines in the series have a very distinct WWII flair about them (they are the pre-McNamara era Marine Corps utilities, not the all-service OG-107s issued post-1962), and no one carries an M-14 or M-16...all rifles shown (except for the parade deck sequences where M-14s are visible) are M-1 Garands. None of the Marines in the series display Vietnam Service or Vietnam Campaign ribbons on either their khakis or their blues....and forest greens are nowhere to be seen. In a sense, it's as if the Vietnam War wasn't even taking place. (My own opinion is this: While I wouldn't mind having Pyle in my platoon if I were in someplace like Hue City or Quang Tri, I'm not so sure I'd want Gunny Carter in my platoon. If he couldn't get Pyle to be a bit more disciplined, I doubt he'd be much good under fire.)

As I said, this was escapist comedy, and the shame of it is that it ultimately did a disservice to the Armed Forces. A good service comedy should show the military as being capable of humor, but not as being near incompetent. I could see MSgt. Ernie Bilko fighting the Japanese during WWII, and probably the Chinese in Korea....his wise-ass attitude showed a sergeant who was tough on the inside. Colonel Hogan was believable as a bomber pilot....heck, even "Major Dad" was believable as a Marine....and I could almost see Maj. Nelson on "I Dream of Jeannie" in the cockpit of an operational aircraft! The Marines on "Gomer Pyle," however, struck me as being a Boy Scout troop with M-1s.

**SPOILER?** A couple years back, Jim Nabors was honored by the Marine Corps for his part in promoting a generally positive image of the Corps by having PFC Gomer Pyle promoted to Lance Corporal. Although Pyle was a buffoon, he at least tried to be a good Marine. And, he was a decent guy, so what's to complain about? Basically, my own military service wasn't as funny as Pyle's, but then....real life isn't a sitcom.

score /10

Conagher_1880 20 May 2005

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1084533/