The Checklist: Acapulco H.E.A.T. (S2 Ep25) “Code Name: Flight 401”

With only two seasons to its credit (and those two seasons not even being consecutive), Acapulco H.E.A.T. falls in the dreaded “what could have been” category of television series.

The potential was there, but Acapulco H.E.A.T. was unable to gain traction and join the likes of syndicated dynamos like Baywatch and Renegade. Still true fans of the series will never forget the show and the characters and I personally would put Acapulco H.E.A.T.‘s theme song up against any other TV theme song in history.

In this installment of The Checklist, I set adrift on memory bliss and put what would end up being the penultimate episode of the series, titled “Code Name: Flight 401”, to The Checklist test…

1. Were there any notable guest stars?

Not only did “Code Name: Flight 401” feature a notable guest star, it had arguably THE most notable guest star in the entire two season run of the series… David Carradine.

Carradine was a fixture on television himself first in Kung Fu (1972-1975) and then later the follow up series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993-1997). In between his TV gigs, Carradine found himself in a variety of genre films including Death Race 2000, Lone Wolf McQuade, The Warrior and the Sorceress, P.O.W. the Escape and Future Force.

In “Flight 401”, Carradine plays Victor Garrison a former/disgruntled CIA man, who tracks down his old colleague and current H.E.A.T. team member Nicole Bernard (Lydie Denier, Guardian Angel and Bulletproof) to gain access to the H.E.A.T. team’s super computer… one of three computers on the planet that can assist Victor in remotely detonating a bomb he planted on Flight 401 if his ransom demands are not met by his former employer… Side Note: The other two computers with this capability are at The Pentagon and NORAD. 1/1

2. Did Cat and Tommy argue like an old married couple?

The Cat (Alison Armitage) and Tommy (Michael Worth) dynamic was always a point of interest on the series. When we first see Cat and Tommy in this episode, Cat is helping a hungover Tommy into the H.E.A.T. room after he went on a bender of beer/sunshine with his old army buddies. Now one could assume as Cat was dragging Tommy’s drunk ass to the H.E.A.T. room she was busting his balls the whole time and the audience only caught the tail end of it, but The Checklist doesn’t grade on assumptions so we can only give “Flight 401” partial credit here. 1.25/2

3. Did the show take advantage of its beautiful locale?

Since the series was called Acapulco H.E.A.T. you might be under the assumption the show was shot in Acapulco… well, you’d be wrong. The series was actually shot in Puerto Vallarta… however none of that really mattered in this particular episode as aside from a few establishing shots, the entire story unfolds in the secret bunker that is the H.E.A.T. room and the secret bunker that houses the aforementioned H.E.A.T. team’s super computer. So instead of the action and adventure taking place with the backdrop of the ocean, white sand beaches, blue skies and sunshine… the action and adventure took place in a drab and dreary bunker. 1.25/3

4. Did Michael Worth get to show off some of his martial arts skills?

The real question here is did Michael Worth and David Carradine square off? And the answer to that is HELL YEAH! Worth’s Tommy and Carradine’s Victor trade fists and kicks as our heroes desperately try to save the 283 passengers on Flight 401 and themselves.

Over the years Michael Worth has shared some behind the scenes pictures from this episode and working with David Carradine on his various social media platforms. I have to believe this was a special episode for Michael given his fandom of all things Bruce Lee and Carradine’s connection to Lee, from taking Lee’s spot in Kung Fu and then later starring in Circle of Iron, a movie based on a story that Bruce Lee had written.

Side Note: While Tommy and Victor were brawling, Cat was having her own fight with Victor’s right hand man Bobby and Cat snapped his freaking neck! 2.25/4

5. Did the episode end on a lighthearted note?

One of the more tense moments in the show is when the H.E.A.T. team’s resident computer geek Joanna (Christa Sauls) has to help the CIA agent on board Flight 401 disarm the bomb… but during this tense moment, the CIA agent on the plane starts putting the moves on Joanna, promising to meet up with her if they both survive.

Well as luck would have it, they both survive and the final scene of the show is Joanna returning to the H.E.A.T. room after her date with the CIA agent and being rather coy with the romantic details… something that raises some eyebrows of her teammates and lightens the mood in classic television fashion. 3.25/5

• Final Score = 3.25/5 (65%) What the show lacked in Acapulco H.E.A.T. tropes, it more than made up for with David Carradine, making the final score a bit misleading.