Call to Glory is an American drama that aired for 22 episodes during the 1984–85 television season on ABC. The show focuses on USAF pilot Colonel Raynor Sarnac (Craig T. Nelson) and his family, living near Edwards Air Force Base, where Sarnac was stationed during the early 1960s. Heavily promoted during ABC's broadcast of the 1984 Summer Olympics, the pilot episode was aired August 13, 1984. The first episode is related to the U-2 flights over Cuba during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. During its production run, the show came to focus more on the loneliness experienced by wife Vanessa Sarnac (Cindy Pickett) while stationed on base and what she and the family would do to spend time in productive pursuits while enduring the Antelope Valley's isolation from civilization. The series also stars Elisabeth Shue in one of her early roles as the eldest Sarnac child, daughter Jackie. Also appearing in the series was David Lain Baker as Tom Bonelli; Baker would later become one of the judges on the competition show Forged in Fire.

Cast

Episodes

Production

Craig T. Nelson received familiarization rides in USAF jets at Edwards Air Force Base during the filming of the series, including flights in the T-38 Talon, the F-4 Phantom II, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. On one particular flight in the F-16, the aircraft suffered an electrical failure. Nelson and his pilot prepared to bail out, however, the pilot was able to safely land the aircraft. Call to Glory was filmed in Texas at Laughlin Air Force Base in Val Verde County, near Del Rio.