McHale's Navy is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network.

Academy Award–winning dramatic actor Ernest Borgnine first appeared as Quinton McHale in an hour-long one-shot drama called "Seven Against the Sea",[1] which aired as an episode of Alcoa Premiere in 1962, an ABC dramatic anthology also known as Fred Astaire's Premiere Theatre and hosted by Fred Astaire, who introduced television audiences to the Quinton McHale character.

When they get word that a Marine battalion is pinned on a beach and an enemy cruiser is planning to attack the beachhead in the morning, McHale's attitude changes.

In an interview in Cinema Retro magazine, Borgnine said the show was meant as a vehicle for Ron Foster, who was to be contracted to Universal Pictures, but that did not work out.

Producer Jennings Lang recalled the 1953 film Destination Gobi inspiring a half-hour comedy with the Borgnine character's PT boat.

The producer, Edward Montagne, had enjoyed success with The Phil Silvers Show—often referred to as Sergeant Bilko, after the series' protagonist—a military comedy that ran from 1955 to 1959 about an opportunistic non-commissioned officer and his loyal platoon putting loony things over on the camp commander.

A popular book, PT 109: John F. Kennedy in WWII by Robert J. Donovan, came out the previous year and PT-109 was referenced in the episode "Send Us A Hero".

Moneymaking schemes of the wacky and somewhat crooked Mayor Mario Lugatto (Jay Novello) and the looney antics of the citizens introduce many more plot twists and gags.

[citation needed] Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine) – A principal character of the series, he is also a former captain of a tramp steamer who is familiar with the South Pacific and is especially knowledgeable about the islands and natives around Taratupa, which often helps him in combat situations and makes him a favorite with the admirals.

Although he tries to be military, he is too dimwitted to command too much respect and many of the episodes involve Parker getting into trouble because of his bumbling and ineptitude such as accidentally firing depth charges or shooting down Allied aircraft.

Captain Wallace "Wally" Burton Binghamton USNR (Joe Flynn) – McHale's perpetually frustrated commanding officer, referred to as "Old Leadbottom" (usually behind his back—a nickname he received from a bullet wound to the posterior).

The one time Binghamton leads the PT-73 into battle, he only succeeds in "sinking" an enemy truck on land with a torpedo (a gag that was used in the Cary Grant film Operation Petticoat), based on an actual attack conducted by the USS Bowfin.

This is done so Binghamton does not have to face tough-as-nails Admiral "Iron Pants" Rafferty (Philip Ober), who is inspecting naval installations (an episode with a young Raquel Welch as Lt. Wilson).

Another example is in the episode entitled "Little Red Riding Doctor", in which Don Knotts is Army psychiatrist Lt. Pratt, whom Binghamton tries to con into believing McHale's crew is suffering a terrible case of combat fatigue and should be sent back to the States.

Lieutenant Elroy Carpenter (Bob Hastings, a veteran of Sergeant Bilko) – Binghamton's sycophantic bumbler aide who tries to be military, but is too inept to be taken seriously.

Christy marries Lt. Gloria Winters (Cindy Robbins) early in the series in "Operation Wedding Party" and she moves to San Diego.

Gunner's Mate Virgil Edwards (Edson Stroll) – A handsome and well-built lover boy who is a crack shot with a .50-caliber machine gun.

In the first episode set in Europe ("War, Italian Style"), he is passed off as a member of the 442nd Japanese-American Regiment, where he finds a second cousin through his mother's family of Kobayashi.

Fuji's seemingly fluent yet awkward command of the English language serves as a comic device; particularly humorous is the unexpected and arbitrary use of American colloquialisms and ethnic phrases, all spoken with a thick Japanese accent—personal catchphrases include the Yiddish lament Oy vey and the Italian exclamation Mamma mia!.

In "The Balloon Goes Up", Urulu displays the sign "Gone Headhunting" when he leaves his hut and is called a cannibal by Binghamton and McHale (no indication that it is meant to be taken literally).

Stanley Adams played a native chief, the Shah of Durani, and political boss Frank Templeton in the last episode "Wally for Congress."

In "The Missing Link", Marlo Thomas played Binghamton's niece, Cynthia Prentice, who takes an interest in Ensign Parker, although it turns out entirely for anthropological reasons.

Steve Franken played the snooty Lt. Jason Whitworth III in "Birth of a Salesman", whom Binghamton hopes will give him a job selling insurance after the war.

Marvin Kaplan played the MIT electronics genius Ensign Eugene J. Kwazniak in "All Ahead, Empty", in which the PT-73 is wired for remote control.

After receiving a "Dear John letter", shy and broken-hearted Willy's love interest becomes Southern belle Nurse Cindy Bates (Brenda Wright).

In "Fuji's Big Romance", the lonely prisoner of war falls for lovely Sulani (Yvonne Ribuca), the daughter of a Polynesian chief, when the crew sympathetically takes him along on one of their social outings to a luau with the native islanders.

[13] Producer Edward Montagne set up a female version of McHale's Navy entitled Broadside, which ran for 32 episodes on ABC during the 1964–65 television season.

In place of the PT crew were a group of WAVES led by Anne Morgan (Kathleen Nolan) consisting of Joan Staley, Sheila James, Lois Roberts and Jimmy Boyd (as a male with a female name), up against Binghamton-type Captain Edward Andrews and his Lt. Carpenter clone George Furth, who guest-starred in an episode of McHale's Navy entitled "Dart Gun Wedding."

[17] Years after the show ended, Borgnine and Conway played the SpongeBob SquarePants superhero team Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.

The sea-going PT-73 was extensively filmed running between San Pedro and Catalina Island's Avalon harbor, which stood in for the fictional town where the show was set.