The writing was standard, the actors were good, but there was something missing from this war drama set during the Korean War: actual drama.
That's because Hank Searls' screenplay hews carefully along the lines of patriotic assumptions. The Generation Gap story is way too familiar to arouse much sympathy with either the big-shot admiral played by Robert Young or his rebellious Navy pilot son Robert Reed. Even the casting spotlights two of the most straight-arrow, traditional television stars of the '60s.
The suspenseful and dramati moments revolve around tough decisions Young must make which are not really difficult. He has to support the invasion of Inchon by perhaps leaving his son in danger, that's obvious. Just as obvious is that Reed will come around to finally realize his father's placing patriotism above family (literally) point of view and end up falling in line, rather than leaving the military.
So the episode plays okay as a routine war drama, but falls flat on its intended emotional impact. Real dramas about the military, which might tackle some important issues that can't be resolved by executive decision: ongoing sexual harassment and worse in the military; or abandonment of veterans on many health issues they face. Patriotic fervor doesn't solve these.
That's because Hank Searls' screenplay hews carefully along the lines of patriotic assumptions. The Generation Gap story is way too familiar to arouse much sympathy with either the big-shot admiral played by Robert Young or his rebellious Navy pilot son Robert Reed. Even the casting spotlights two of the most straight-arrow, traditional television stars of the '60s.
The suspenseful and dramati moments revolve around tough decisions Young must make which are not really difficult. He has to support the invasion of Inchon by perhaps leaving his son in danger, that's obvious. Just as obvious is that Reed will come around to finally realize his father's placing patriotism above family (literally) point of view and end up falling in line, rather than leaving the military.
So the episode plays okay as a routine war drama, but falls flat on its intended emotional impact. Real dramas about the military, which might tackle some important issues that can't be resolved by executive decision: ongoing sexual harassment and worse in the military; or abandonment of veterans on many health issues they face. Patriotic fervor doesn't solve these.
