About a year ago Professor Paul Cantor of the University of Virginia, who wrote that interesting book Gilligan Unbound, wrote an article for the Claremont Review of Books arguing that this was the true "Golden Age of TV", citing wonderful shows such as Deadwood,Lost, Rome, and Mad Men( I'm surprised he didn't mention "Friday Night Lights.) One of the reasons for the huge number of excellent TV programs nowadays is the existence of Cable networks which provide outlets for shows that appeal to "niche" audiences. As recently as the late eighties, a show had to succeed on the "big three " networks, or, as Timothy Leary once called them in one of his lucid moments, ABCBS. The annals of TV history are littered with very fine shows that were "brilliant but canceled": The Westerner,The Rogues, My World and Welcome To it, East Side West Side, Slattery's People- and the list goes on and on.Any of those shows would have found a "niche audience" nowadays on a cable channel. I know of most of those shows by reputation alone, as none of them is available on DVD. Here is yet another instance. This, In contrast, is a show I remember fairly well, since it aired in 1984( Which incidentally was perhaps the strangest year in my life-but thats another story.) The Call To Glory was set on an Airforce base in the early nineteen sixties, and was apparently originally intended as a "historical drama' akin to British historical soap Operas like the maginificent Upstairs Downstairs. ( Which incidentally inspired an American ripoff called Beacon Hill which may have been one of the worst, most stilted, TV shows ever made.)It would have followed the Sarnac family and its friends through the glory years of Camelot and the years of upheaval that followed. Sadly, the show never got around to the Vietnam war years( though at least one episode foreshadowed Vietnam.) This was a well acted, well written and stirring series. I would compare it to other "brilliant but canceled " shows from the eighties, All Fly Away and Home Front.
9 Reviews
Limited review
johnnydesk@attbi.com13 August 2018
My memory of this show is vague, but I know I liked it a lot. I especially enjoyed Craig T. Nelson's dramatic acting, something I can't say for his comedic acting. I'd love to watch the series again if it were ever run. Sorry that's all I got for now.
A magnificent series that time has forgotten
cirvin125823 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I was just out of high school and just into the USAF when this series aired, and I was totally blown away.
Being an airplane fanatic, I can't describe what it was like to see a series about an officer that flies U-2 spy planes, then moves to California, and begins flying SR-71's! It was something that you just didn't find on television then, and you won't find it now.
The chain of events taking place in the era in which the series took place (the early 1960's), and the Sarnac family's involvement in them, the actual newsreel footage added in to partially tell the story, the music, this was amazing stuff. From the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Civil Rights Movement, to our entry into Vietnam, it was all there, as was the characters' involvement/reactions to those events.
Unfortunately, with most great television shows, the cost of production often outweighs the profit - and that was the case with this one. U-2's, and especially SR-71's are ungodly expensive aircraft to feed (one of the reasons SR-71's were finally retired - a SR-71 usually took on fuel at least 6 times just doing a routine training flight, they used so much fuel!), and being able to shoot on the flight line only when the USAF says you can, never mind transforming a modern town into a 1960's town during production, adds up to a series that was dead before it could take off.
Keep in mind, this was in the era when television shows didn't have mega-budgets the likes of The X-Files.
If you happen upon this series somewhere, watch it!
Being an airplane fanatic, I can't describe what it was like to see a series about an officer that flies U-2 spy planes, then moves to California, and begins flying SR-71's! It was something that you just didn't find on television then, and you won't find it now.
The chain of events taking place in the era in which the series took place (the early 1960's), and the Sarnac family's involvement in them, the actual newsreel footage added in to partially tell the story, the music, this was amazing stuff. From the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Civil Rights Movement, to our entry into Vietnam, it was all there, as was the characters' involvement/reactions to those events.
Unfortunately, with most great television shows, the cost of production often outweighs the profit - and that was the case with this one. U-2's, and especially SR-71's are ungodly expensive aircraft to feed (one of the reasons SR-71's were finally retired - a SR-71 usually took on fuel at least 6 times just doing a routine training flight, they used so much fuel!), and being able to shoot on the flight line only when the USAF says you can, never mind transforming a modern town into a 1960's town during production, adds up to a series that was dead before it could take off.
Keep in mind, this was in the era when television shows didn't have mega-budgets the likes of The X-Files.
If you happen upon this series somewhere, watch it!
Excellent series.
tlance60-634-92357730 June 2019
Remember this series when it was aired on ABC. As usual the network never gave it a chance. Have hated ABC ever since. It doesn't pay to get hooked on anything with that network. They have no taste.
Wish I could find the series on dvd. Wonderful cast, great acting.
We loved this show!
sstet12 June 2010
We loved this series! It gave us such a sense of patriotism and nostalgia. We remember events depicted happening. We lived the history shown here. Characters were real and believable. It was so much better than most of the shows today. It was probably too real and honest for the time. Today a show like this would have a chance. People are more receptive to reality and truth. People are looking for a reason to feel good about our past and our country. Craig T Nelson was great and we love that he went on to so many great parts. Cindy was wonderful in this and we enjoyed her later in "Pickett Fences." First look at Elizabeth Shue. We'd love to see reruns brought back. Is this available in DVD?
Truth lasts only one season
dana-2710 March 1999
This tv show was so far ahead of it's time, not even the Open Records Law could protect it.
There is one episode that tells the depth of how much the writers knew and what they should not be telling.
Raynor makes his first trip to Viet Nam, at the request of RFK, to report back the fitness of the goverment there to receive aid from the USA to the president.
What he learns there summarizes the whole Viet Nam war. And explains the astonishment of 99% of the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who served in that theater.
But, I will not name the episode, because the series can only be really savored if you see them all.
A 10, really, a 10.
There is one episode that tells the depth of how much the writers knew and what they should not be telling.
Raynor makes his first trip to Viet Nam, at the request of RFK, to report back the fitness of the goverment there to receive aid from the USA to the president.
What he learns there summarizes the whole Viet Nam war. And explains the astonishment of 99% of the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who served in that theater.
But, I will not name the episode, because the series can only be really savored if you see them all.
A 10, really, a 10.
Should have lasted longer!!
shasta-863-86767919 September 2021
A Great Show
BizzyB0721 January 2023
I have always been fascinated by Military shows, I guess because my dad serviced in the military for 30 years. I've always wanted to know what it felt like to fly in a fighter jet. I was glued to my TV the year this show was on. I loved the Sarnac family & really miss this show. I wish it would have lasted longer than a year. I loved how they incorporated real life events in the show. It also showed us the pressures of balancing a family and your sacrifices of servicing your country. I'm a huge fan today of Craig T Nelson. I wish this series was available on DVD. It would be awesome if they did a Reboot of the Series. Miss it.
Ahead of it's time?
yenlo14 June 1999
This TV series was heavily hyped during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the Pilot/Movie which launched it was quite good. The series however just couldn't seem to get off the ground. It appeared to have one to many characters which tends to spoil many shows. The writers it seemed were constantly messing with Cindy Pickett's Vanessa Sarnac and it left the viewer getting fed up with her in the end. The show was possibly a little ahead of it's time and perhaps if viewed today would come off better.
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