The Checklist: Blue Thunder (S1 Ep1) “Second Thunder”
You wait years for one television show about a gadget-filled, high-tech helicopter, and then two come along at once.
That’s right, in January 1984 both Airwolf and Blue Thunder debuted on TV screens in the US (Blue Thunder aired on ABC January 6, with Airwolf following on CBS January 22).
While Airwolf was to be become the more successful and celebrated of the two shows, I thought it’d be fun to look at its mostly forgotten rotor-craft rival.
As the names makes clear, Blue Thunder was a spin-off of the film starring Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, and a tricked out Aérospatiale SA-341G Gazelle, which had been released in May 1983.
Rushed into production as a mid-season replacement, the TV show was cancelled just as quickly after just 11 episodes due to disappointing ratings. Meanwhile, Airwolf went on to run for 80 episodes and earned itself an enduring cult reputation (although the less said about the unfortunate Barry Van Dyke era the better).
So, with the stage set, let’s hit the turbine boost and put the very first episode of Blue Thunder to The Checklist test…
1. Who’s in this?
Viewers hoping to see Roy Scheider in his flight suit again will be sadly disappointed. Predictably, the Jaws star was never going to be tempted away from his big-screen career for this thrown-together small-screen spin-off. And with the film leaving Daniel Stern’s character dead, and Warren Oates actually dead, the producers had little scope for cast continuity.
Taking control for the TV show, we have James Farentino (The Final Countdown) as Blue Thunder’s pilot and the show’s protagonist, Frank Chaney (renamed from Frank Murphy in the film). He gets a fast-talking, fast-quipping sidekick in the shape of a pre-Saturday Night Live Dana Carvey. The dynamic between them echoes that of the film, with Carvey playing the green recruit to Farentino’s veteran cop. He also gets to show off his comedic chops by throwing in a James Stewart impression, although the biggest laugh comes from the fact Carvey’s character is named Clinton Wonderlove. Truly magnificent.
In an innovation for the show, our heroes can call upon the assistance of a ground support unit called Rolling Thunder – a truck filled with additional high-tech gizmos. The vehicle is crewed by American football legends Dick Butkus and Bubba Smith as a pair of bickering frenemies. The gridiron duo had previously starred together in a string of beer commercials, and the show clearly wants to trade on their real-world personas, as we learn that their characters are both NFL players turned cops.
2. Do things get personal for the hero?
Someone has been shooting down LAPD helicopters in a heavily armed Mohawk OV-1 airplane. The culprit is the mysteriously named PVC, who is enabling drugs to be smuggled into the country by tying up law enforcement and depleting their airpower. We later learn that PVC is an old criminal informant of Frank’s who he believed he’d killed after being double-crossed. Now PVC is out for revenge and intends to kill off our hero as part of the drug smuggling operations. Quite how much sense that plan makes depends entirely on how seriously you take Eighties action television.
3. Are there any notable guest stars?
The story’s villain is played by the late, great Richard Lynch (Invasion USA). We’ve not consulted the record books, but it’s hard to imagine that anyone clocked up more appearances as an unhinged crazy than our pock-marked-faced friend. Here, he chews a matchstick (along with the scenery) and sings country songs while shooting down LAPD helicopters. And, just for good measure, Captain Screw-loose shoots up a police funeral just to taunt the boys in blue. So skilled is Lynch at these roles that his performance is by far the highlight of the episode, and he’s barely out of second gear. And, if you pay attention, you’ll spot a young Troy Evans (Under Siege) in the cast too.
4. Does the show reuse footage from the film?
It’s not a case of déjà vu, as déjà vu thunder [geddit?]. The episode opens with footage recycled from the attack run demonstration of Blue Thunder, with shots of the new cast members inserted into the sequence. Eagle-eyed viewers will also spot numerous shots of Blue Thunder taking off and landing that are borrowed from the film. As the makers of Airwolf were also to discover, making a show that relies heavily on aerial photography is prohibitively expensive. Later episodes of that show frequently reused footage from earlier episodes and dogfight scenes borrowed from old war movies, to increasingly embarrassing effect.
5. How good is the action?
You can’t complain about the quantity, although the quality does occasionally come up short. Apart from the opening action scene – which is lifted from the film – the rest of the sequences are original. We get to see Richard Lynch blow up two police helicopters – one with the guns on his Mohawk and the other with a rocket launcher, and there are a couple of exciting aerial duels between our villain and Blue Thunder. Clearly, though, there wasn’t much budget for pyrotechnics as many of the explosions in the film leave a lot to be desired.
Final Score = 5/5 (100%)
As a huge fan of the film, I couldn’t help but enjoy this TV version and seeing Blue Thunder take to the skies over LA once again. James Farentino and Dana Carvey make a great double act, with an effortless onscreen rapport. Just as enjoyable was the pairing of Butkus and Bubba, even if they were rather underemployed in this episode
However, no amount of love for the film can obscure the episode’s flaws. There’s a truncated quality to the story and certain scenes that suggest something went on in the editing room. Was this a feature-length episode that got cut down? We may never know. Thank goodness then for Richard Lynch, who sandpapers the rough edges of this episode with a typically charismatic turn as the villain.
