77 Sunset Strip (TV Series) Flight 307 (1963) User Reviews

An Episode That Echoes The Books of Arthur Hailey

[reprtr · 7/10 · 15 June 2018]

I'm guessing that five seasons in, the makers of 77 Sunset Strip were hard-put to find new approaches to episodes that would hold viewers' interest -- they'd done well over 150 episodes, a few of them very off-beat and even daring (i.e. "The Silent Caper"), and so they were open to anything that seemed different at that late date (the 6th season being the most "different" approach of all). "Flight 307" plays more like an Arthur Hailey book (specifically Hotel and Airport, which hadn't even been written yet), with lots of interlocking plot elements and only one character (Bill Williams' airport manager) whose role touches on most of those elements. Series principal character Stu Bailey plays a key (if slightly subdued) role in the progression and resolution of the plot, whose various strings get drawn together in the last 15 minutes, and the whole thing seems a bit rushed (there's enough exposition and character development here for a 90 minute movie), but it is entertaining and it is fascinating to see how the various plot strands do get woven into a coherent whole by the end.

Flight 307? Pilot for Airport?

[rfaust1-406-139617 · 10/10 · 31 August 2017]

77 Sunset Strip is one of the most underrated TV shows ever. Flight 307 starring such superstars as Gena Rowlands and Jack Worden was clearly ripped off by the producers of the 70s blockbuster "Airport". We are so lucky to be able to view the greatness of ABC late 50s and early 60s masterpieces like 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside Six, Hawaiian Eye et al. Kookie lend me your comb! Over and out.

It Worked Once

[darbski · 10/10 · 31 August 2017]

They put this one out before. The same type of plot and story, that is. It was called "Nine To Five", and a lot of the same type of action follows. Talk, talk, talk....etc. Little sub plots to the main so-called drama of getting an airliner landed in fog, and a murder. Landing in fog is not a big deal, and hasn't been since the Navy, The Air Force, and every commercial Airline in the world found landing patterns, and high wattage lighting.

The other stories are a stupid movie star, and her stupid life, a crook who's just removed a partner in crime permanently, and a pilot who's about to be permanently grounded. They all coalesce into an hour long "Grand Hotel" type story where everyone almost runs into each other, but it all works out in the end. Almost. I'm not gonna tell you anymore than that; except that nothing I've said is quite what it seems. The movie star turns out to be intelligent and gracious, her agent not a bad sort. The pilot who was a hero in Korea (and saved the airport director's life) remains true to who he is. Actually, he's a good guy all the way through with a sad end. Stu's vacation?? ?? I'm NOT gonna tell you everything; that just wouldn't be fair.

Now, I know that this suggestion might be a stretch, but if it were expanded and modified a bit, you'd have a story very similar to Alex Hailey's "Airport". Yeah, I said it was a stretch, but run it around the block and see what YOU think. A solid 10, and worth staying up for.

A dud

[VetteRanger · 2/10 · 31 August 2017]

We were surprised with the episode "Nine to Five", which was three episodes prior to this one. Speculation runs that it was a pilot, and I think for an anthology series. This looks to be another audition for that series, as again Stu Bailey is relegated to a very minor role and almost no screen time.

But where "Nine to Five" was entertaining, this story was merely irritating. None of the characters were likable or really even sympathetic. Two weak stories came together at the end, and there was no reason to care. Oh, Stu helped catch a bad guy.

Even a 77 Sunset Strip completist can safely give this dud a pass.