I don't think "Rat Patrol" was all that bad. I don't think we watched it, expecting a documentary. It was an action-adventure series, set in WWII. When I wanted to watch a documentary on WWII, I watched "The World at War", which PBS aired here in the States.
I understand your reaction, though. It's natural, given our hobby and our interest in history. We have to remember not to let it spoil things that are meant to entertain, rather than present unalloyed fact. As an example, when "The Patriot" came out, I saw it, and I hated it. I found so many things wrong with it, starting with melting down semi-round German toy soldiers from around 1900 to make musket balls in the Carolina swamps in 1780, and with the depiction of Cornwallis as a fop. But a couple of years after that, I happened to catch "Northwest Passage" (1940), and as I watched it and noted the many, many errors and distortions (like the Rangers all uniformly uniformed, forming a marching column and marching off in step), I realized that it wasn't a documentary, it was an adventure film. And it occurred to me that so was "The Patriot". Once I remembered that, I was able to watch "The Patriot" again and enjoy it for what it is.
Or another example--do you watch "Kelly's Heroes" and nitpick about the details, or just sit back and enjoy Oddball?
"Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning."
Prost!
Brad