The Checklist: Acapulco H.E.A.T. (S2 Eps1&2) “Code Name: The Raven”

A momentous occasion such as the birthday of Bulletproof Action favorite Michael Worth deserves a celebration. At first I thought putting an episode of Acapulco H.E.A.T. to The Checklist test would be a good way to celebrate the day.. that is until I realized doing a rare super-sized Checklist and putting a special two part episode of the 90s action adventure series to The Checklist test would be even better!

That is how I landed on the two-part reboot of the series entitled “Code Name: The Raven”. I say reboot because after the first season ended in May of 1994, the show went on a multi-year hiatus. After some retooling, Acapulco H.E.A.T. returned to the first run syndication airwaves on September 23, 1998 with Part 1 of “Code Name: The Raven”. How will Parts 1 and 2 of “Code Name: The Raven” fare in this special super-sized edition of The Checklist? Let’s find out…

#1. Was there a big action open?

A box truck barreling through a barricade, masked men in tactical gear riding motorcycles, explosions, gun fire and stealing a half dozen works of art!? That’s some major heist action to kick off the show and the season! 1/1

#2. Were there any notable guest stars?

After the big heist we see Serge Rudolf pay a visit to his old friend Nicole Bernard (Lydie Denier, Guardian Angel) to get her out of espionage retirement to lead what is left of the Acapulco H.E.A.T. team in order to recover the stolen paintings and bring down The Raven. Serge was played by the awesomely named Clement von Franckenstein, who I will always remember from Lionheart thanks to his over the top hand clapping. Clement also appeared in American Ninja 5 and T-Force.

The Raven was played by none other than the Wishmaster himself, Andrew Divoff! Divoff’s action credentials are plenty including Toy Soldiers, A Low Down Dirty Shame and Interceptor. Not surprisingly Divoff does a great job here as The Raven alternates from being charming one moment to ruthless the next.

I want to mention Fred Cavally who played one of The Raven’s minions, Philip Zyker. I knew I had seen Fred before, but it took a few minutes to click that he was the “star” of 1995’s Werewolf… the subject of one of my favorite MST3K episodes of all-time. 2/2

#3. Does Michael Worth get to use any of his martial arts skills?

Michael Worth’s Tommy Chase appears to be living the life of a beach bum when we first see him in “Code Name Raven”. Tommy is chilling and sipping on a cerveza when he spots some drug pushers trying to corrupt the youth of Puerto Vallarta. So Tommy springs into action with some well placed kicks to the face, which leads to an all out brawl that eventually includes Cat and Nicole as reinforcements and laying the seeds for the new and improved H.E.A.T. team. 3/3

#4. Were there any nods to the original series?

When Nicole first recruits Cat she encourages her to call the now retired Mr. Smith to vouch for her. Mr. Smith (played by John Vernon) was the bureaucrat that the H.E.A.T. team reported to in the first incarnation of Acapulco H.E.A.T.

Cat also mentions how other than her and Tommy, all the original H.E.A.T. team members left Puerto Vallarta and aren’t looking to be found.

The H.E.A.T. team’s headquarters is still located in the basement of the Puerto Vallarta Marriot and most importantly remix version of the high energy theme song was used. 4/4

#5. Were any new characters introduced?

With so many of the original characters written off it stands to reason that there would be some new characters to take their place… I’ve already mentioned Nicole Bernard. But Nicole doesn’t come to Puerto Vallarta alone, she brings her business partner/friend Joanna Barnes (Christa Sauls, Ghost Rock). Joanna has a natural gift for working with technology… making her the perfect support player for the team, but to her credit Joanna wants to be more than “the person in the chair” which makes her the classic fish out of water character for the show. 5/5

#6. Did Part 1 have a quality cliffhanger?

A key element to a two part episode is the cliffhanger at the end of Part 1 that will make the viewer anticipate Part 2.

As Part 1 comes to a close, The Raven’s lunch date with Cat gets awkward when he mentions that a man followed her to his place and wants to know why… that man was Tommy and when the two try to pass themselves off as jewel thieves who were trying to steal some of The Raven’s stolen goods, The Raven isn’t buying it and orders his men to drown Cat and Tommy.

But wait! Nicole and Joanna show up and start shooting, the distraction gives Cat and Tommy an opening to escape. However, The Raven manages to escape with his jewels, but not without leaving a note that he will be back for Cat and Tommy!! The hunted has become the hunter! 6/6

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

Cat can’t help but get on Tommy’s case about his appearance when she and Nicole go to recruit him. Then in Part 2, Tommy has the opportunity to get on Cat about her driving skills. There was some definite Cat/Tommy chemistry and I am sure all their back and forths would have led to more, had the series continued. 7/7

#8. Did Tommy wear his Rambo necklace?

Michael Worth has mentioned in the past (possibly on the commentary track included on the DVD release) that the necklace his character Tommy would often wear on the show was inspired by the necklace from Rambo: First Blood Part II. In “Code Name: The Raven” you can see Tommy wearing his “Rambo necklace” in several scene. 8/8

#9. Was there any bikini wearing?

One of the reasons Baywatch made it big was by featuring attractive women and hunky men in swimwear. Shows like Acapulco H.E.A.T. were inspired by Baywatch‘s ratings winning formula, so it was really no surprise that by the end of Part 2 Cat, Nicole and Joanna are enjoying the sun and sand while wearing bikinis. Was this the easiest acting gig Michael Worth ever had?!?

As a bonus, when Nicole first finds Cat in Puerto Vallarta, Cat is actually working as a photographer on a bikini photo shoot. Syndicated television skin for the win! 9/9

#10. Did Part 2 have a lighthearted ending?

After recovering the stolen art and bringing The Raven and his accomplices to justice, the H.E.A.T. team finds out that Joanna has already spent almost all of the money they made on the job for new high tech equipment for H.E.A.T. headquarters. If you think Joanna deserves to be playfully dumped into the ocean for that bit of overspending you are thinking just like Tommy, Cat and Nicole were. But a funny thing happened on the way to the ocean, Tommy falls on his ass! Was it intentional or a blooper that they just rolled with? If Michael Worth sees this, maybe he can answer that question, but one thing is for sure it made for a lighthearted ending. 10/10

• Final Score = 10/10 (100%) Some would call Acapulco H.E.A.T. a guilty pleasure, I just call it a pleasure. The new and improved Acapulco H.E.A.T. brought back my two favorite characters from Season 1 which was a huge plus in my book. A seasoned action veteran like Andrew Divoff as the villain, makes The Raven amongst the best antagonists in the show’s history. I applaud the “less is more” decision on the team too. It’s hard to care about a huge cast of characters and it is even harder coming up with something for them all to do each week, by keeping the H.E.A.T. team to 4 members, they all had a chance to shine.