In the Pacific Theatre of WWII, veteran seaman Quinton McHale is commissioned into the Navy reserve and named skipper of the Torpedo Patrol (PT) Boat #73. Along with his crew of good hearted swabbies who love to have fun, McHale is a constant thorn in the side of his base commander, Captain Wallace B. Binghampton. Binghampton is forever trying to find a way to get rid of McHale and his rule-bending crew, while McHale and company are forever scheming to keep him from succeeding. It all adds up to the wackiest tour-of-duty television has ever seen!