MovieChat Forums > Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964) Discussion > Was Viet Nam ever mentioned?

Was Viet Nam ever mentioned?

posted 19 years ago by bredbenner
25 replies | jump to latest

They made this show at the height of the war. I can't remember it ever being mentioned. Remember the episode when the Oriental girl visited Vince? I think she was supposed to have been Korean.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] ridgerunner72160-609-362419 13 years ago

The '70s was when TV really became nothing more than left wing propaganda. Every show was written to ridicule, mock and insult conservatives, especially those shows produced by Norman Lear. However, I do agree that the war in Vietnam was a waste. American troops were dying so that Lyndon Johnson, one of the worst presidents in this country's history could make money off his shipping company getting all the contracts to move stuff to southeast Asia. The war was supposed to be to protect South Vietnam against the scourge of communism. It ended up becoming nothing more than another crooked business deal for Johnson.

[–] jefgg 12 years ago

Gomer would have decimated the Vietcong.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] dini0519 11 years ago

It's ironic that it was never mentioned, but I have read and heard more than once that it actually NEVER WAS!

Dini

[–] BiffGG 11 years ago

It has been said CBS mandated GP : USMC not to talk about Vietnam and that would make sense since the tone was anything but serious.

[–] sbrady53 9 years ago

The only sitcom I remember ever mentioning the war in Vietnam at the time was another CBS series: The Munsters!

[–] jefgg 10 years ago

Despite being a military themed show and airing during the peak of the Vietnam War, the show never discussed the war. Instead, the show focused on "Gomer's innocent simplicity and Sergeant Carter's frustration and later concern for Gomer's well being.

In 1987, some eighteen years after Gomer Pyle finished its broadcast run, Stanley Kubrick's film Full Metal Jacket was released. In it the nickname "Gomer Pyle" is derogatorily given to Private Leonard Lawrence played by Vincent D'Onofrio during boot camp, after incurring the drill instructor's wrath, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman played by R. Lee Ermey, for being unable to turn off his idiot's grin and his perceived incompetence.