I remember when this came out and it blew me away. I had seen Raiders of the Lost Ark and this was in the same genre. A former American Volunteer Group (aka "Flying Tigers") fighter pilot in the late 1930's has his own Grumman Goose flying boat and sets up shop on a fictional south Pacific island run by a cool Franch magistrate. He has a mechanic named Corky and a great sidekick, a one-eyed dog named Jack. His love-interest is a woman named Sarah, who is a covert spy for the American government. Surrounded by the Japanese military and their nazi allies, as well as remote islands full of lost treasure, it's a dangerous and exotic location and every "milk run" job Jake flies turns into a swashbuckling adventure (of course!).
The pilot was especially good, with lots of action, lovable good guys and a great twist at the end. In fact, with a bigger budget it could've been a fine theatrical film.
And if you love old airplanes, there's no question what the draw to this show was.
A final note: Bellisario concocted this show in the late 1970s, prior to the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the networks suits wouldn't bite until they saw how well Spielberg's film did, so it's not fair to call this a ripoff. Spielberg wasn't the only film maker or writer rediscovering the magic of 1930s-era adventure stories.
And this was one of the best.
The pilot was especially good, with lots of action, lovable good guys and a great twist at the end. In fact, with a bigger budget it could've been a fine theatrical film.
And if you love old airplanes, there's no question what the draw to this show was.
A final note: Bellisario concocted this show in the late 1970s, prior to the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the networks suits wouldn't bite until they saw how well Spielberg's film did, so it's not fair to call this a ripoff. Spielberg wasn't the only film maker or writer rediscovering the magic of 1930s-era adventure stories.
And this was one of the best.