After 15 years of research, interviews, photo collecting, newspaper clippings, and personal anecdotes, Stephen Chapis’ book, POOR LITTLE LAMBS: The Baa Baa Black Sheep Story, is set to be released on September 21, 2025. Click HERE to pre-order your copy. If that date sounds familiar, it should—it marks the 49th anniversary of FLYING MISFITS, the two-hour pilot episode that debuted on NBC. On September 21, 1976, the famed television series Baa Baa Black Sheep first aired in the United States. While FLYING MISFITS—officially listed as Episode 0—premiered on that Tuesday night, the show’s first regular one-hour episode, BEST THREE OUT OF FIVE (Episode 1), followed three days later on Thursday, September 23, 1976.

It was a seminal moment for many of us who follow vintage military aviation today—especially those who were kids at the time. To revisit the story behind the making of the show and the aircraft involved, Stephen Chapis draws from his article “Poor Little Lambs,” which originally appeared in Warbird Digest #49 (July/August 2013). When the article was published online by Warbirds News in 2016, it quickly went viral. The response was so strong that it became an annual tradition to repost the piece every September 21st, with growing engagement each year. Nearly five decades after the series left the airwaves, it still resonates.

Thanks to a small but enthusiastic and tight-knit group of supporters—who will be acknowledged in the coming months—Chapis was able to navigate the process of securing a publishing deal with Key Publishing in the United Kingdom. The publisher is excited. Everyone who has helped bring this long-awaited project to life is excited. Stephen is excited—and now we hope you are too. The most in-depth study ever undertaken on one of television’s most unique and unforgettable series will soon be in your hands. Key Publishing has just activated the pre-order link on their website. Click HERE or below to place your order. Your wait is almost over.

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