Family Home Theater

Grade: C+/B-
Entire family: No
1977-78, 548 min. (22 episodes), Color
Not rated (would be PG for rude humor and adult situations)
Time Life
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Featured audio: Dolby Digital Mono
Bonus features: C-
Amazon link

Stand-up comedian Don Rickles made a career out of insult humor and politically incorrect jokes aimed at all races. So what better sitcom for him to star in than one that has him playing a Chief Petty Officer at a U.S. Naval training facility in San Diego, where he gets to go off on recruits—especially when those recruits include a Polish American, a Jewish American, an Italian American, and a Puerto Rican?

Call it Sgt. Bilko revisited, because Rickles is surprisingly good at playing a tough, acerbic CPO with a warm heart. The show lasted only two seasons, but it’s not because the sitcom isn’t funny or because the cast isn’t likeable. My guess is that it was another case of bad timing. The public already had one sitcom with politically incorrect humor, and did America really want or need another Archie Bunker?

That’s not fair, though, because Bunker was racist without knowing or admitting it. He tolerated black neighbors but wasn’t really friends with them. Sharkey is best buddies with fellow CPO Dave Robinson (Harrison Page), an African American with whom he feels comfortable enough to make racial jokes. Notice I said “racial,” not “racist.” There’s a difference, and in today’s hyper-politically correct world that difference isn’t acknowledged—hence the warning on the back of this DVD: “Some of the jokes and ethnic references heard in these episodes would most likely not be allowed on network TV today and reflect the tenor of the times.” Because of that racial humor, CPO Sharkey: Season 2 will only be for families with children old enough to realize that such jokes can’t be made today, no matter how fond you are of a person.

Still, CPO Sharkey is a refreshing change from the steady diet of family sitcoms that TV serves up. This second season begins as the first did, with a new commander taking over and rubbing Sharkey the wrong way. As with the first season, some of the humor is topical and has lost its comic edge, but the bulk of the jokes are of the insult variety—what Rickles was known for—and that never goes out of style. Just ask your junior high or high school family members.

This season is a little more uneven than the first. In some of the best episodes, Sharkey butts heads with “The New Captain” and can’t have fun on leave in San Francisco because he’s crammed into tight submarine quarters with Captain Buckner (Richard X. Slattery) in “Operation Frisco.” Sharkey’s barrack is selected for a coed pilot program in “Don’t Make Waves,” Sharkey’s girlfriend tells him he’s insensitive in “Close Encounters of the Worst Kind,” Sharkey breaks up a fight in a punk-rock nightclub (“Punk Rock Sharkey”) and has to deal with a runaway teen, Sharkey is afraid of flying and has to face the aerial music in “Fear of Flying,” and when Sharkey moves into an off-base apartment his life turns quickly off-base. Of the 22 episodes, nine are B or better, and the rest are C or C+ quality.

Language: Tame, but the insult humor and rude humor can seem abrasive
Sex: All talk, with adult situations
Violence: N/A
Adult situations: Some drinking, male-female situations
Takeaways: It’s hard to believe what TV got away with in the ‘70s, but while C.P.O. Sharkey is entertaining you have to be okay with insult humor to really like the show.