He only lasts one whole season, granted, because that's as far as The Lieutenant made it on the air — yet another strike against me in that whole The Fugitive vs. The Lieutenant fiasco, as the former series ran a total of four seasons, and eventually inspired both a feature film remake as well as a television remake — while The Lieutenant only achieved less-than-minor cult status with die-hard Gene Roddenberry fans and possibly people who were enlisted in the Marine Corps during the '60s. Again: two completely dissimilar things, I realize that. Please, don't write in.
During its one-year mission, Roddenberry's military drama succeeded in garnering its own fans; people who were looking for some kind of entertainment since the country was (for the most part) at peace and the only competition for the show's time slot was The Jackie Gleason Show (which was grand itself). The Lieutenant's popularity didn't keep it in the loop, however, as events which would escalate over in Vietnam soon took television viewers in the United States to a different kind of war on TV: a real one. Thus, Gary Lockwood found himself out of a job, whilst Roddenberry looked to the stars for a new idea.
Long unavailable on any sort of home video format, The Lieutenant has finally found a home on DVD-R via the Warner Archive Collection in two four-disc sets. Co-starring in this television classic are Robert Vaughn (just a stone's throw away from achieving worldwide fame as Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), with semi-regular appearances by James Gregory, Richard Anderson, John Milford, Henry Beckman, Steve Franken, Carmen Phillips, and Chris Noel — who appeared in a different role each week. Strangely enough, neither David Janssen or Barry Morse make a guest appearance here. Damn, I struck out yet again.
Some of the many guest stars include Rip Torn, Dennis Hopper, Ted Knight, Neville Brand, Eddie Albert, Strother Martin, Robert Duvall, Bill Bixby Chad Everett, and Ricardo Montalban and Madlyn Rhue-- who would later become Star Trek favorites. Speaking of Trek, several of that show's stars also pop up here, including Leonard Nimoy, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, and Nichelle Nichols — the latter of whom appears in a racially-charged episode of here that originally went unaired ("To Set it Right").
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