C.P.O. Sharkey - Premise

Premise

The series starred Don Rickles as a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. C.P.O. Otto Sharkey was an abrasive, sharp-tongued veteran in charge of a company of new Seaman Recruits on a San Diego naval base. Rickles is famous for his jokes about various ethnicities and this show provided him with a vehicle for his politically incorrect humor. The young company consisted of Daniels, an African-American; Kowalski, a Polish-American; Skolnick, a Jewish-American, Mignone, an Italian-American and Rodriguez, an Hispanic-American. Sharkey's best friend on the base was Chief Robinson (Harrison Page) who was African-American.

Rickles as Sharkey also put his insult humor to good use with the other characters. Sharkey's assistant, Seaman Pruitt (Peter Isacksen), was 6' 7" and simple-minded. His immediate superior was the smug and buck-toothed Lt. Whipple. The base commander was the female Capt. Quinlan (Elizabeth Allen), whom Sharkey never insulted to her face. In season 2, Capt. Quinlan left and was replaced by Capt. Buck Buckner (Richard X. Slattery), a by-the-book Captain whom Sharkey feels is a man's Captain, until he socks it to Sharkey "loud and clear", then he gets second thoughts on Buckner. But Sharkey was really a nice guy beneath his harsh exterior and often went to extreme measures to help his recruits with their problems.

In the first season, Sharkey's first name was never revealed until in one episode, he referred to himself as "Seymour". In the second season, he was named Otto.

The series was the first American prime-time TV series to have a punk rock themed episode, with San Fernando Valley punk rock band, The Dickies, making a guest appearance. .