User Reviews

This episode features the first appearance of old radio and TV legend Andy Devine as local boat repairer Hap Gorman. Resplendent in his huge white eyebrows, hairy ears and old school dungarees, Hap has Bud enthralled with endless tales of adventure many of questionable truthfulness. This prompts Porter to warn Bud to not believe everything Hap says and an unbelievably realistic sneer from skeptical Sandy. The impatience that mid adolescent boys have with child siblings is very apparent in the dialog between Bud and Sandy.

Porter advises he suspects poachers are about in the park and that night he takes the skiff and a rifle to try and catch them. He stumbles on them coming out of the water and tries to shoot them as they run but their larger boat rams the skiff leaving Porter clinging to wreckage. Sandy awakes at 4am, finds his Dad not home and called Ranger Warden and they, with Flipper's help, find Porter at sun up.

Bud and Sandy accompany the Rangers as they investigate boat repair yards up and down the Keys trying to find if anyone repaired the damaged poacher's boat. Hap is particularly shifty when questioned and it turns out that, under threat of death, he did the repairs.

Bud takes off in the skiff, sees the poacher's boat and ties up only to find that they take off with the skiff still tied to their boat whilst he's diving where he discovers the illegal lobster pots. Hap meanwhile is rowing and meets Flipper who tries to get Hap's attention - Hap is not a fan of Flipper who just takes over and tows the row boat to the buoy where Flipper towed Bud to.

Hap carries Bud into the Ricks' home, owns up to the repair and accompanies Porter to the poachers boat and sort of helps with the arrest.

The colorful fashions of the 60's are evident in this episode with Sandy sporting light blue pants with a series of very typical bright striped T - shirts.

Like any boy, Bud likes to believe a man who tells large tales. They want to believe an old man who says he has done numerous life-saving deeds. But Bud's father warns him that not everything Hap says can be taken as fact.

Later, when Po goes to investigate poachers, they ram his boat and leave him for dead. He's found the next day drifting on the ocean, spends a couple days in the hospital, then goes in search of those posters. But soon Bud finds himself in deep danger from the same three poachers!

But, of course, has to realize that the old man isn't the hero he claims to be. But his faith is quickly restored when...well, I can't say what happens...

This story was Luke-warm...

Bud (Tommy Norden) visits old H.P. "Hap" Gorman (Andy Devine), a local "marine carpenter" who enjoys filling the boy's head with his exaggerated "fish tales." After Ricks (Brian Kelly) and Sandy (Luke Halpin) pick Bud up from Hap's place, Ricks informs the boy, "Not everything that Hap says is necessarily gospel." Then, the three go to investigate some an area Ricks suspected is being used by poachers. With Flipper's help, Ricks finds evidence of poaching; he decides to go out that night and capture the culprits - but, they wreck his boat and leave him for dead. Sandy can't sleep and realizes his father needs to be rescued. Bud wants Hap to help capture the poachers, not realizing the old man is somehow connected to the criminals…

This is the first appearance of Andy Devine as recurring character H.P. "Hap" Gorman. Mr. Devine is a great supporting player - gracing each episode in which he appears; understandably, the veteran actor receives a special credit - right up front with the series regulars.

***** Not Necessarily Gospel (10/31/64) Leon Benson ~ Brian Kelly, Andy Devine, Tommy Norden