I have just finished watching every episode of this series on Tubi, and it certainly afforded me a lot of nostalgia for my very early childhood (I hadn't seen the series on it's original run, simply because as the son of a USAF sargeant myself we were living in Madrid, Spain at the time where my father was assigned to the U. S. embassy). However, the adult me has discovered that STEVE CANYON holds more than a few surprises in the viewing.
Yes, it certainly has elements of a recruitment for the U. S. Air Force, and there is a lot of hardware on display, including some pretty rare and impressive black and white photography of just about every type of aircraft used in the USAF in the 50s, even as far back as the Korean War. But it seems as the show went along, changes in production personnel took the show to places well beyond Air Force showcase territory, and while a few episodes are predictably clunky, others are surprising in their nature and depth. Subjects like (what eventually became known as) PTSD, abuse of authority, friction between the military and civilians, Cold War espionage, wartime refugees, and even UFOs are featured (although don't expect the UFO episode to be entirely honest about the mysteries still coming to light on the subject today). There is even one episode that has definite elements of Hitchcock, which I will leave you to find.
But another surprise is to be found in the cast and crew of this show. Not only was Jerry Paris, the future neighbor of the Dick Van Dyke Show, a regular on STEVE CANYON, a wealth of future stars also made appearances. Just a basic list includes James Drury (THE VIRGINIAN) in a recurring role, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly (STAR TREK), Roy Thinnes (THE INVADERS), Russell Johnson (GILLIGAN'S ISLAND), Nick Adams (THE REBEL), Richard Anderson (THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN), Martin Milner (ROUTE 66 and ADAM-12), Marion Ross (HAPPY DAYS), Gavin MacLeod (THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and THE LOVE BOAT), Ron Ely (TARZAN), Werner Klemperer (HOGAN'S HEROES), Ross Martin (THE WILD WILD WEST), and even in a bit role, Mary Tyler Moore herself. You'll have fun just looking for all these recognizable actors and more. There's even an episode written by classic science fiction writer Ray Bradbury!
So enjoy. It's not a classic, but it's certainly an interesting experience to explore.
