The Checklist: Thunder in Paradise (S1 Ep13) “Queen of Hearts”
It is always fun to play a little game of “What If?”. We have played that game numerous times here on Bulletproof Action, pondering things like what a live action G.I. Joe or Spider-Man movie would have looked like back in the 1980s.
As a longtime fan of professional wrestling, I recently thought what if the Hulk Hogan series, Thunder in Paradise, had been a huge television hit? Would The Hulkster have left the wrestling business completely? Would he be the Brock Lesnar of his day and just pop up for the major WWE events when Thunder in Paradise was on hiatus? Or would he have still joined the rival World Championship Wrestling, since they would likely be more willing to work around Hogan’s schedule? And if Hogan did join WCW, would wrestling’s ultimate good guy still have turned into the villainous Hollywood Hogan and help spark the wrestling boom of the late 90s with the formation of the New World Order?
After watching a randomly selected episode from the series, I quickly remembered that there was little to no chance that it was going to be a hit. The episode really didn’t resonate with me. Still, when I saw the preview for the next exciting episode I found myself intrigued and decided that I would put that episode (titled “Queen of Hearts”) to The Checklist test and here we are…
#1. Does the show have a quality open?
The Thunder in Paradise open brings equal amounts of thunder and paradise. Filled with some of the big action highlights from the series mixed with shots of fun in the sun and a theme song by Cory Lerios and Pamela Phillips Oland that has an island vibe, the open gives the first time viewer everything they need to know going in. The series regulars are of course spotlighted including Terry “Hulk” Hogan, Chris Lemmon, Carol Alt, Ashley Gorrell and Patrick Macnee as Edward Whitaker. 1/1
#2. Does the premise have legs?
Thunder in Paradise tells the tale of Hurricane Spencer (Terry “Hulk” Hogan, No Holds Barred) and Martin “Bru” Brubaker (Chris Lemmon, Land of the Free), two ex-Navy SEALs, who now work as mercenaries that are headquartered in a tropical resort on Florida’s Gulf Coast. They also have a high tech scarab jet boat, named Thunder… complete with all sorts of gadgets and gimmicks in the tradition of Knight Rider and Airwolf.
On the surface all of that sounds like a winning formula and one that should have led to multiple seasons for the series… Was it too much? Was it not executed well? Did non-wrestling fans not give Hogan a chance? Did wrestling fans turn their back on Hogan for moving on from the ring? Or maybe Chris Lemmon is to blame? Personally, I blame Thunder… it was not the charismatic computerized character that K.I.T.T. was, more like the creepy HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, something I’m sure we are all familiar with by now. 2/2
#3. Is this a Patrick Macnee episode?
Macnee, who I mentioned was a regular on the show as Edward Whitaker, did not actually appear in every episode and receives “credit only” status in a number of episodes. However he is a big part of Episode 13 as Edward Whitaker is set to receive the Medal of Naval Valor from the Queen of England herself. It should be noted that The Queen’s sceptre plays a big part in “Queen of Hearts”. I would like to note that series regular Carol Alt, got the “credit only” treatment in this one. 3/3
#4. Were there any notable guest stars?
The first notable guest star on this episode makes an over the top first impression… which is fitting since I am talking about Terry Funk of Over the Top and Road House fame. Funk played the bull whippin’, hootin’ and hollerin’ Amarillo Doaks. Amarillo is a monster truck driver/promoter. Amarillo and Spencer stage a beach brawl as publicity stunt for Amarillo’s Monster Truck show later that night, where Amarillo and Spencer will race and if Spencer wins, Amarillo will donate $5,000 to Make a Wish.
During the beach brawl, the coat tail riding Brutus Beefcake can be seen in the crowd. Jimmy Hart is also is looking on and even gets involved preventing Amarillo from using his double cross branding iron on Spencer.
This is also about the time that Alison Armitage of Acapulco H.E.A.T. fame makes her presence known as adrenaline junkie Shannon Daring. Shannon uses her feminine wiles to wrap Bru around her little finger, which ends up giving her security clearance to Thunder… Later Shannon starts putting the moves on Amarillo and convinces him to gift wrap Truckasaurus and have it delivered to Edward’s ceremony as a gift to the Queen.
As you might imagine, a giant mechanical dinosaur is quite distracting and the commotion allows Shannon to swipe the Queen’s sceptre and then make her getaway in Thunder… and she may have accomplished it too if not for a water skiing Bru! That leaves Spence to deal with the Truckasaurus and who better to slay that monster than the man who slammed that big, nasty Giant in the Pontiac Silverdome!? 4/4
#5. Does The Hulkster say brother?
A Hulk appearance where he doesn’t say “brother” is like a classic Kung Fu movie that doesn’t include the word “bastard”… it’s just not natural. Sadly, I did not catch any brothers in this episode from Spencer (or anyone else for that matter) or maybe I missed it because it wasn’t proceeded with “Let me tell you something…” I was disappointed but if you ever wanted to see the Hulkster let the Queen of England drive his jet boat, then “Queen of Hearts” is the television episode for you. 4/5
- Final Score = 4/5 (80%) Thunder in Paradise is total cheese and much like the lactose intolerant should avoid actual cheese, the “so bad it’s good” intolerant should avoid Thunder in Paradise. I will say that I enjoyed Episode 13 more than I did Episode 12… of course Alison Armitage could have played a part in that… she’s dreamy! Being a wrestling fan, I expected guys like Jimmy Hart and Brutus Beefcake to be a part of the show, since they are known Hogan loyalists, but Terry Funk’s involvement was a pleasant surprise. The Funker makes whatever he is in better… a true professional and a natural born showman.
