User Reviews

This is a FICTIONAL military show so I don't understand why people tend to nitpick! "I served 300 years in the Corps and the way that Marine ate his cheeseburger was a JOKE!" Wow. I served five years in the Navy, I served with Marines as well. I went to A School in Meridian with Marines, they're hardcore. I've been to Mayport and Pensacola more than a few times. Of course this show is nothing like the real thing! This used to come on in syndication on Saturdays back in the day in Queens. After working hard Monday thru Friday syndication shows on Saturday and Sunday were my release valve. Once I'm on the couch with some snacks and wifey in the kitchen cooking dinner, the last thing on earth I wanted was realism. This is show is filled with unbelievable situations (somewhat similar to Space Above And Beyond these pilots were also a special operations unit conducting ground missions) That's what made it FUN! I watch TV to ESCAPE reality for a few hours not run towards it! This is by no means a Kubrick masterpiece! But a fun way to binge on the weekend back in the late 90s! Along with Xena, Hercules, Time Trax, Viper, VIP, Queen of Swords, Amazon and the rest! Good memories!

This is like eating a tub of ice-cream when depressed or lonely. No nutrition, but feels good in the moment and guilty later.

A mindless watch, but strangely compelling. The suspension-of-disbelief requirement is high, the action is a pastiche of The A-Team. The social elements surrounding the core (daughter, girlfriend etc.) add value and are the chocolate sauce holding the whole thing together.

What an unfortunate and regrettable entry into TV fare. I was a Marine Corps officer. This is pure tripe. There is nothing realistic about it, and James Brolin should be both embarrassed and ashamed for his role in this show.

Although I was not a pilot, I served with many pilots both in TBS and at a MCAS. Those reviewers who simply question the inaccuracy of the Florida location are really missing the boat. This show has no accuracy at all about the Marine Corps.

The one reviewer who compared it to Baywatch was right on the button. The inaccuracies as to the relationship between the Navy and the Marine Corps are very simply explained: The Department of the Navy includes both branches, i.e. the Navy and the Marine Corps. And Pensacola is a training base both for Navy and Marine Corps pilots, but...

There is little time for romance and intrigue at Pensacola, it is a highly dynamic, stressful, and competitive training environment. The ludicrous situations that they concoct on this show are an affront to not only TV programming in general, but also to the real pilots that they pretend to depict.

I think it is interesting that there are so few reviews of this show here at IMDB, and even more interesting that not one real pilot did a review. I have to assume that is because none of them ever watched the show.

First season was very enjoyable. Watching the second season now and disappointed in the changes. The first season was full of content and so far the second season is fluff.

Too completely recast after one season is almost always a show killer. They had a good thing going too bad they ruined it.

I question anybody's intelligence that thinks this show is good. It's terrible. Within 10 mins of the opening episode - they did a fatal & mandatory Hollywood blunder when it comes to military shows/movies. The one officer is in his convertible while the other officer is trying to cross the road & they have a confrontation. When James Brolin's character starts to walk away the other guy in the car salutes him. First off, you NEVER, EVER salute while sitting. Any officer in ANY branch of the military would know this. So right off the bat they ruined the authenticity aspect of the show because that proved the people making this don't know their butt from their elbow. Also, you don't ever salute while NOT wearing your cover (hat) - which they do in this show. I like the shots of the F-18's when they have no ordnance whatsoever on the wings (and sometimes no bomb racks on the wings) but yet another shot will show some type of weapon on the wing. They are also very PC - making sure a black guy and a woman are included in their little special "team". Plus, Brolin's haircut would never fly in the Marines with hair sticking over the back of his collar - that's another instant sign that this show is fake. And why have the pilots be Marines? 90% of the pilots that go through Pensacola (the cradle of U.S. Naval Aviation) are Navy personnel. People associate NAS Pensacola with the Navy - not the Marines. Only about 10% of the pilots that pass through here are Marines. It'd be like calling a show "Parris Island S.C." and having all the main characters Navy people. It would make no sense & be confusing.

Anyway, good riddance to this show being off the air as it was terrible in so many ways.

Although another review revealed that "Pensacola, Wings of Gold" was not shot in Pensacola....... We watched them shoot the 66 episodes at Miramar Marine Air base in San Diego with the marine brass strictly guiding and assisting in the accuracy of all the series episodes. This went all the way up to Washington, D.C. where the Marine corps leader General James Jones approved the overall coordination of the show and it's accuracy with the USMC. General Jones presented the show and it's exec producer James Brolin a Marine Corps award for the show's help in recruiting and goodwill for the USMC. The Segal Studios are right outside the base fences where many the additional interiors were shot for a 3 year period. The base Hornet F-111 Jets worked most all days during the shoot, with their always active pilots assisting. While jet noise or no jet noise, so did the show go on. The show was dropped in the scramble of the Viacom stock takeover of CBS and Paramount, and replaced by a cheap reality show. At the time it was showing and representing American good will in a full 39 countries around the world.

Outstanding series about four marines, who are the best. Great cast of young people which I really got used to them. They really take my breath away.

there are F-18 at NAS other than the Blue Angels. And yes, the show has very little to do with P'cola, besides the name.

Here are ways that it does: 1)no mountains, but the only time the actually show the mountains is after they have taken off and have gone some distance to run flights. You don't have to go very far for mountains. Alabama has them. 2)Their beaches....not quite as nice as they really are. 3)palm trees??? if you have ever been to P'cola in the winter, you know that palm trees won't survive that well. I don't think in the 9 years that I lived there I ever saw a palm tree like the ones on the show. Even the ones there now, don't look half as good. 4)They never say that the entire base is commanded by a Marine, just the people they report to... which is the way it would actually be, Marines in charge of Marines. And obviously you have never told these thoughts to a Marine, because I know a few that would kill you for saying that they work for the Navy. They may be branched off of the Navy, but they don't work for them. You aren't military either, because none of the branches work for the other, they all try to work together.

While the show may not have been the best, there were some good aspects of it (both casts). I never got to watch it when it was on because P'cola didn't show it till 2 am on Sat. But now I am getting back into it. And every so often they show something from home. The intro usually has the "City of Five Flags" sign that is at the main way into the city. A few epis ago I saw one of the cast actually reading the Pensacola News Journal in one of the epis. And every so often you get a second or two of footage that is actually from P'cola.

You have to remember it is television. Most shows take place in NYC or LA or a major city cloe to there. P'cola isn't a major city (you're lucky if it is a city) and it is now where near NYC and LA. Most of the show was probably filmed in Cal. somewhere south of LA, probably San Diego. It is cheap to film there and it is only a few hours away. No one would actually want to go out to P'cola and spent 3 months there to film the show. It would cost a fortune. But they tried.

Just give the show a try if you want. It really isn't that bad. Just don't go to P'cola looking for what you see on TV.

I would just like to point out (in addition to pleading for the series to be released on DVD) that a show does not have to be realistic to be entertaining. These days, with all the blood and gore in the news and in crime dramas, reality shows, etc. it's nice to get lost in a good, cheesy show with entertaining characters. PWOG fits the bill. Was it Emmy material? No, but it was awesome just the same.

I also have to put a vote in for the second cast - they were more charismatic than the cast of season one. I would definitely agree that the first season had a more serious vibe than the second two, but I was definitely more sucked in by the latter cast. Even though the series has been off the air for years, I'll never stop hoping that it be released for purchase.

The first season told pretty much how all elements of the Marine Corps would operate (i.e. ground, air, helicopters and jets) as a team. That's the season I give the high rating to! (True, there are still a lot of "liberties" taken in season 1, but the stories were more believable.)

The subsequent seasons were a gawd-awful attempt of Melrose Place meets Top Gun!

I was a Marine stationed at Miramar at the time and I remember them shooting the show around the San Diego area. I got to talk to Rod Rowland and James Brolin.

Rowland's character was good to go.

Brolin's character was good in the first season only. For some reason he slacked off after the first ep of the second season.

If you want to see a LITTLE of how the Marine Air Ground team operates, then season one is the one to watch.

If you're into Melrose Place and soap opera like plots with an attempt to merge them into Top Gun, then see the last two seasons.

I really like Pensacola, it's a perfect mix of action, drama and war... But I like the first episodes much more than the later ones, I liked the actors more, that is...

So, if I had to recommend the series to anybody, all I'd like to say is: Watch it!!!

This TV series isn't about flying fighter jets. It's all about would-be sexy chicks. Not only this, the acting is so bad sometimes I can't differ it from some porn flick. I can't see one non-sexbomb chick in it, and the more good looking they get, the more bad they act.

The stereotypes of different characters are more influential in the plot than the actual story.

AVOID AT ALL COST!

Is this show to be taken seriously? Or is it meant to be a strange cross between TopGun and HotShots. Years ago (like the late 50's) this would have been a major TV hit but today it's almost beyond camp! Major Dad was more realistic than this Turkey. However as long as it's on "JAG" won't have to worry about being the worst military theme show on TV.

The first season was excellent with its four Marines -- the Sea Dragons. The show was about "teamwork" with its exciting story lines about how four people come together as a unit. They are intelligent and respectful of one another, their superiors, and their assignments. The first season portrayed women and male/female relationships in a very positive manner, without the degrading cheap attention-getting tricks like boobs, bodies, bikinis, and the sexual innuendo that slimed across the screen in the second season. Yes, the Sea Dragons are the best of the best, and first season took my breath away.

this was a great show. the cast couldn't have been made up of better people. It's way too bad that it ended. It seems that now a days the REALLY good shows just don't make it. Yet all the teen dramas, which are just so fake, are at the top of the charts! There have been so many GREAT shows that many other people just can't understand. They have to watch simple plots like, dawson's creek, buffy, and etc. It's because of those people that all the good shows don't last long! IF ONLY THEY COULD GET THEIR MINDS TO COMPREHEND THE "COMPLEX IDEAS" THAT THESE GREAT SHOWS DEPICT!"

It's impossible to say how absolutely perfect this show is. When it first aired in Australia I hadn't heard much about it, but I'll be forever grateful to channel 9 for showing it. Pensacola is original & full of action, but it's not one of those shows that's just explosion after explosion. People like myself who adore this show watch because it is the best show ever on television with the best characters ever. The actors are incredible & make P:WOG very realistic. My favourite character was Colonel Rebecca Hodges & I also thought the rest of the first season cast was the best, so I was disappointed when the cast changed after season one. However, season two is still excellent.

That's just my opinion on the show. I've always had a fascination for the military & when P:WOG started here I began watching it because my favourite actress is Brynn Thayer. However, you don't need to like the actors or theme of this show to be totally swept away by it like I was. It's not just a military show for young boys who want to join the army. It's funny, dramatic, classy & timeless, with excellent writing & great storylines. I've watched a lot of television & seen a lot of excellent programs & Pensacola is right up there with E.R. & other shows of its calibre.

I realise I've used words like 'best' & 'excellent' quite a few times & Pensacola is completely deserving of such words. For those of you who have not seen this series, I feel sorry for you, because you have missed out on something truly wonderful.

This show was pretty bad but watchable and relegated to late Saturday night with another awful American television program: "Walker: Texas Ranger".

Watch out for that nasty American moralising and cheesing happy endings where it wouldn't happen in real life.

hey I'm a big fan when this show was on and i just want to know where i can buy the series from many.. i have been trying to find Pensacola: wings of gold for ages and everywhere i look that sells DVD does not have the series to it i would much appreciate it if someone could please tell me where i can get the series please. if anyone has any information on where i can get this show from please feel free to email me at any time. i like most of James Brolin shows i like this one the most cause i like army and navy show cause my family is in the defense forces many thanks Kylie. i don't know what else to write in these i have explained what i have.