Twelve O'Clock High

12 O'Clock High is an American military drama television series set in World War II. It was originally broadcast on ABC-TV for two-and-one-half TV seasons from September 1964 through January 1967 and was based on the 1949 film of the same name. The series was a co-production of 20th Century Fox Television (Fox had also produced the movie) and QM Productions (one of their few non law-enforcement series). This show is one of the two QM shows not to display a copyright notice at the beginning, but rather at the end (the other was A Man Called Sloane) and the only one not to display the standard "A QM Production" closing card on the closing credits. Overview The series follows the missions of the fictitious 918th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), equipped with B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, stationed at Archbury Field, England (a fictitious air base). For the first season, many of the characters from the book and 1949 movie were retained, including Brigadier General Frank Savage, Major Harvey Stovall, Major Cobb, Doc Kaiser, and General Pritchard, albeit played by different actors from in the motion picture. In addition to these characters, several other infrequently reappearing characters were introduced, including Captain (later Colonel) Joseph "Joe" Gallagher, who appeared in two episodes (episodes 1 and 24) as well as being the central character for seasons two and three. At the end of the first season, the studio executives decided a younger-looking lead actor was needed. In the first episode of the second season, General Savage, played by Robert Lansing, was killed in action and replaced by Colonel Joe Gallagher, played by Paul Burke. (Burke, though considered more youthful-looking than Lansing, was actually two years older, which TV critics were quick to point out.) The decision to replace Lansing with Burke proved unpopular and the ratings began to drop quickly. The character Joe Gallagher's father was Lt. General Maxwell Gallagher, played by Barry Sullivan. Burke and Sullivan had previously worked together in the TV series Harbormaster. In an interview given by Lansing on The Mike Douglas Show in 1965, Lansing mentioned that had he known what a boost to his career 12 O'Clock High was, he never would have fired himself. Savage was killed off in a way so as not to require Lansing's participation.