Ep39—Combat Academia

Seen on the Small Screen Podcast

Today's episode of Seen on the Small Screen finds Jake and Becky heading back to school, transferring from the public education sector to military school as they talk about the 1986 television movie Combat Academy. When high school jokers Max and Perry cause enough mayhem to get suspended from school and arrested on the first day of class, they find themselves attending the town's local military high school on a courtroom mandate. Lucky for them, they're bringing a hefty A-list of television celebrities in full roles and cameos along with them, like, say: Jon Ratzenberger, Bernie Kopell, Sherman Hemsley, Robert Culp, Jamie Farr, George Clooney, and Richard Moll. Trapped in the microcosm of military school, the boys soon find out their normal pranks only lead to misery and more pushups. And in due time, a plane of cadets from the Soviet Union is going to land, not to invade, but take on their American counterparts in a war game that might very well determine the fate of the Cold War. All that may happen unless Max and his military squad can forge a plan to win the day for everyone. While this movie may appear like a family-friendly version of Police Academy, it's not all that bad even if it is trying to be a unique IP traipsing in camouflage and face paint as another IP.