Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2022 September 7

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September 7

Comanche in Top Gun: Maverick

In Top Gun: Maverick, there is the fairly important supporting role of Comanche, the female officer in the E-2 Hawkeye. But apparently, she is not credited in the film. The only person in the credit list that could be her is "Air Control Officer" Margaret Strabala, which would be a misattribution of her role. Is she it? If not, what is the name of the Comanche actress? Anyway I wonder that there is absolutely nothing on Comanche to be found on the internet. --KnightMove (talk) 01:57, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

I haven't seen the film, but the E-2 Hawkeye does indeed include an Air Control Officer in its crew of five, three of whom are Naval Flight Officers in the rear of the aircraft. This webpage written by a former Hawkeye radar operator says:

ACO – Air Control Officer. Guy controlling most of the air wing assets. May have up to 20 airplanes under his control. He’s the furthest aft and stays very busy.

Of course, "he" may be a "she". Alansplodge (talk) 13:50, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

Ok, thank you, then we just don't cover this meaning in Wikipedia. Air control redirects to Air traffic control. --KnightMove (talk) 14:05, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

I believe the on-board air control officer has duties of a ground-based air control officer: watch radar, create flight plans, and direct aircraft. Basically, she would be in charge of telling the air craft in a flight plan where to go and what to do when they get there. By the dialog the character has in the film, that's exactly what she's doing. Instead of doing it from the tower at an airport, she's doing it from the E-2 Hawkeye. The Wikipedia article says that the aircraft has "command and control capabilities for all aircraft-carrier battle groups", which sounds again exactly what the role is in the film. --Jayron32 14:25, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

Our article on this is Airborne early warning and control. The "Air traffic control" article already has a stack of hatnotes on it so it may need a disambiguation page. Alansplodge (talk) 21:23, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

Now done KnightMove, see Air control. Alansplodge (talk) 21:49, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

Excellent, thank you. I'm glad that being a movie freak may have good side effects. :-) --KnightMove (talk) 11:28, 8 September 2022 (UTC)

When Gimme a Break! went to Rome

Hi everyone, when I was a little girl one of the first shows I ever remember watching was Gimme a Break!. I remember they had some type of special or maybe a two part episode where they actually went to Rome and the little boy on the show met John Paul II. I cant find this mentioned on the episodes page or in summaries of the show. What episode was this or was it a 2 hour TV movie? I think it must have been some type of TV special event as they used to call it. -KTcup82 (talk) 18:00, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

TV Tropes has a page on the Vacation Episode, which is a common trope of sitcoms. Maybe it wasn't Gimme a Break! but a different show. Possibly that page may jog some memories? --Jayron32 18:10, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

I did the following Google search: "gimme a break" rome|vatican|pope|john-paul The first three hits weren't helpful but the fourth one was on this Chicago Tribune article from 1987, where "Rome" is somehow misspelled as "Some" in the headline and first sentence. Anyway it says the title of the special was Easter in Rome. The full title according to the IMDB is Andy Williams and the NBC Kids: Easter in Rome. It was made in 1987 and included actors Joey and Matthew Lawrence, appearing as themselves rather than in character from Gimme a Break. --174.95.81.219 (talk) 23:08, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

I'm positive that was it. Thanks! -KTcup82 (talk) 14:09, 8 September 2022 (UTC)