Airwolf

[areaseven]

Airwolf
Belisarius Productions/Universal Pictures, 1984-1986, 2005
Created by Donald P. Bellisario (Magnum P.I., JAG)
Running Time: 55 minutes per episode (110 minutes for the pilot episode)
Rated TV-PG for violence and mature situations.

Cast

Jan-Michael Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke
Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012) as Dominic Santini
Alex Cord as Michael 'Archangel' Coldsmith Briggs III

Lowdown
A private organization known as "The Firm" has developed the ultimate military weapon. Codenamed "Airwolf," this sleek helicopter is capable of flying at speeds in excess of Mach 1 and is armed with the most sophisticated and lethal weaponry ever developed. However, things go wrong when Airwolf's creator destroys the Firm's headquarters and runs off with the helicopter.

Three months later, ace pilot Stringfellow Hawke is recruited by the Firm's chief Archangel to travel to Libya and recover Airwolf. In exchange, Archangel will help Hawke locate his brother St. John, who has been missing in action for over 14 years. In addition, Hawke brings in his old friend Dominic Santini to aid him on his mission. They have less than 48 hours to bring Airwolf out of Libya, if they don't want an all-out war to occur.

And so begins the legend of Airwolf - a tale of espionage and pulse-pounding action involving a customized Bell 222 helicopter. Jan-Michael Vincent delivers a no-nonsense role as the show's antihero Hawke. Shortly after Hawke takes Airwolf with him, he keeps it away from the Firm's grasp. In exchange for more clues to his brother's whereabouts, Hawke and Santini embark on more dangerous missions - many of them involving the Soviet forces.

Sadly, like many top TV shows in the '80s, Airwolf met its demise within its third season. Vincent developed personal problems to the point where he was kicked out of the show. As a result, the cast was completely revamped and the show went completely downhill.

But now, you can relive the glory of the show's first season in a two-disc DVD set. The 11 episodes in the set may look pretty grainy and the audio is still in mono, but hey - $29.99 (Best Buy price) for 10 hours ain't too bad.

If you grew up watching Airwolf, then go get this DVD. And while you're at it, save up for the 1/48 diecast.

Rating: B+

DVD Extras: F
If Universal gave Miami Vice and Knight Rider the royal treatment, why not Airwolf?

Reference
The Internet Movie Database

Edited July 31, 2014 by areaseven

[yellowlightman]

A7, why do you put the names of the titles you review in katakana even if they aren't Japanese?

[Akilae]

A7, why do you put the names of the titles you review in katakana even if they aren't Japanese?

Must be keeping with tradition, since A7 started with anime reviews, right?

[Goshawk]

Oh god I used to watch that back in the 80's now I feel old. lol

[Hikuro]

tell me about it, I think I still might have a few random episodes on tape SOMEWHERE in the vault.

[Prime]

I remember watching it regularly, but I hardly remember anything about it now...

[Goshawk]

this is bad cause i can remmber what the armarment was on airwolf, including the one that some badguys built ( Airwolf II ).

1x12.7mm Browning M2 machine gun, 2x7.62mm M240 machine gun located in each gun pod on each side of the aircraft, 3 pod "mini missile" launcher on the bottom of it, and chaff and flare launchers, one located on each side along the back panel (not on the tail boom but right before it).

Airwolf II had the same thing except it had "high intensity laser in the nose"

Armor was a mixture of titamium/aluminum/ceramic armor

I think I need help.

but then this is all going by memmory so I could and may be wrong

Edited May 25, 2005 by Goshawk

[Lynx7725]

Here is some help, but not much. At least there are links.

[Axelay]

Airwolf II had the same thing except it had "high intensity laser in the nose"

Wasn't that one called Redwolf?

And where was the M2? For some reason, I don't seem to recall that one...

[Goshawk]

the M2 i assume your referring to the machine gun was located in the "wingtip houseing"

they sat in a upside down triangle shape the Mauduce or M2 on the bottom with the 7.62ers on either side.

and here is the both wolfs.

Edited May 25, 2005 by Goshawk

[Godzilla]

Airwolf was alright till the 3rd season. So was it because the star's drug problem?

[Ed.Coli]

http://www.ernestcline.com/spokenword/Airw...Ernie_Cline.mp3

"Airwolf

by Ernest Cline

At the dawn of the Paleolithic Period

when the first humans left their caves,

mastered the secrets of fire,

and start making tools with which to hack civilization out of the wilderness-

This was mankind’s first, tiny step towards an unseen, singular goal that would take millennia to achieve.

The centuries that we spent devising

physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, metallurgy –

All of our combined knowledge and technological advancements as a species were to finally culminate in the creation of a machine of such flawless beauty that it now clearly stands out as human civilization’s crowning achievement:

Airwolf.

In 1984 the world’s most brilliant scientists and engineers were assembled in secret for the sole purpose of constructing the world’s most advanced

Mach One Plus attack helicopter.

This would be more than just an instrument of war.

It would be a work of art.

And no expense was spared in this, mankind's boldest endeavor to date.

The original De Vinci parchments were consulted.

Extrapolations were made.

Fifth generation Swiss craftsmen were flown in merely to construct the dashboard.

There was painstaking attention to detail.

And upon its completion,

those present were unable to do anything

but stand and marvel

in wonder and in awe

at the sleek, black aerodynamic perfection . . .

that was Airwolf.

And I know there are voices of dissent shouting,

"What about Blue Thunder? What about Knight Rider?"

fart Blue Thunder.

fart Michael Knight!

Airwolf.

Airwolf is the adjective we should use to describe anything

of majesty, beauty, and intensity.

Something that is simply farting bad ass . . . is Airwolf.

James Brown's music is Airwolf.

Shakespeare is Airwolf.

Sex so good it makes your spine ache and your knees buckle. . .

That's Airwolf.

And nothing is more Airwolf than Airwolf.

Airwolf is the Holy Grail. The Golden Fleece.

The thing you want that you cannot have.

When you go sprinting through the Mall

desperate to fill the emptiness in your life

through the purchase of name brand clothing and electronics-

You will never achieve satisfaction.

Because the one brand name you really want

is the one you can never have.

Airwolf?

Oh, I’m sorry, we're all sold out.

That item was only available for a very limited time

and in very limited supply.

One.

And only one man stepped forward to purchase it.

String Fellow Hawk!

And he bought it for the bargain basement price

of having the solid brass balls to steal it from the US government,

when, in their hubris, they were foolish enough to ask him to be the test pilot!

You don’t ask a guy with a name like String Fellow Hawk

to fly your top-secret black helicopter.

Why?

Because he is obviously going to steal it!

He's obviously a prototypical American anti-hero,

for fart's sake!

He lives in the mountains.

He plays the cello.

His name is String Fellow Hawk.

He cannot be trusted.

He's not gonna use Airwolf to execute American foreign policy.

He's going to keep it for himself.

Which is exactly what you would do.

Walking out to your back yard to stare at it every night around sunset.

The sight of it filling you such peace and resonant satisfaction

that you would come to believe the perfect haiku

would have just two syllables: Airwolf."

[Beltane70]

I used to really enjoy Airwolf back when it was on back in the 80s. I thought the helicopter was really cool. That was until I saw the Apache and learned about real helicopter mechanics and the fact that no helicopter would ever be able to fly at Mach 1 or even clsoe to it. Ah, how reality can ruin fantasy!

[Greyryder]

I think the whole supersonic thing was done with the jet engines in the wing stubs. We won't go in to the fact being reduced to a rocket powered gyrocopter would still cause the blades to disentegrate at transonic speeds. Don't nitpick the details, just enjoy the ride.

That show was great, untill they got of Stringfellow. Sinjin was a knob. (How ever you want to spell his name)

Wasn't there another evil Airwolf, after Redwolf? Scorpion, or something like that?

[Yohsho]

Oh man I remember airwolf, that show rock when I was a kid. I loved how it was filmed in vancouver and my cousin pointed out the capilano suspension brigde they were standing on.

[Skull Leader]

Jan Michael Vincent got into some serious drug/alcohol issues... I remember reading about this all not too long after the series went tits-up, and if I recall correctly Vincent pretty much did everything he could to be an ass during production. He was so convinced of his own importance that the producers eventually told him where he could stick it and cast him out. Sadly enough he WAS that important to the show, because it was all downhill from there.

After that, JM Vincent was seen on a number of different talkshows, trying his best to deny any drug or alcohol addiction there might be. finally he was cast into the abysmal depths of B-movie actors. I've only seen him in ONE B-movie (I think it was called "Silver Bullet", not sure)... but beyond that he's pretty much dissapeared off the face of the earth.

[Lynx7725]

I think the whole supersonic thing was done with the jet engines in the wing stubs. We won't go in to the fact being reduced to a rocket powered gyrocopter would still cause the blades to disentegrate at transonic speeds. Don't nitpick the details, just enjoy the ride.

Y'know, it would have been entertaining if the rotors would disintegrate every time the jets were turned on.

"Hit the jets!"

"NOOOO! Our rotors would fall off!"

"Look, it's either our rotors fall off or our tail shot off -- make up your mind!"

[Graham]

On the subject of Airwolf's armament, I seem to remember the opening had a schematic of Airwolf, which listed it as carrying Bullpup missiles.

This is pretty funny as the Bullpup missile was already being phased out of US service in the 1970s and completey removed from service by 1982.

This means that Airwolf which first aired in 1984 was carrying obsolete missiles

Graham

[areaseven]

Let's see how good you guys are with Airwolf trivia:

On the pilot episode, Moffet tells the Libyan major that Airwolf is bulletproof all around except for one place. Where is Airwolf's weak spot?

[armentage]

Let's see how good you guys are with Airwolf trivia:

On the pilot episode, Moffet tells the Libyan major that Airwolf is bulletproof all around except for one place. Where is Airwolf's weak spot?

The inflight fueling probe!

[Beltane70]

Yeah, I remember another helicopter that they fought against. I believe they called it something like the HX-1. I do remember it was a modified Sikorsky S-76, but that's about it.

[areaseven]

The inflight fueling probe!

Wow, you really know your Airwolf trivia, armentage.

[Gaijin]

I remember that show...I liked Blue Thunder better for some reason.

[armentage]

The inflight fueling probe!

Wow, you really know your Airwolf trivia, armentage.

Ahh, who could forget that edge-of-your-seat scene where it's Stringfellow standing on foot in front of Airworlf, and he takes aim with a simple hand gun to blow up to multi-million dollar armor attack copter!

It was the coolest thing I had EVER scene as a 8 year old!

[areaseven]

Next trivia question:

In episode 3, this child actress made a guest appearance as a stowaway aboard Dominic's helicopter. Eventually, she became a famous (or otherwise infamous) actress in the '90s. Who is she?

[EXO]

looks like Shannon Doherty. I can almost tell from the uneven eyes.... One eye is higher than the other... kinda grosses me out.

Edited May 26, 2005 by >EXO<

[Blaine23]

My wife is always bugged out about that too, >EXO<... she calls it "gimpy-eye" and refuses to look at Melissa Joan Hart because of it.

Airwolf is pretty much classic Bellisario fare. Silly premise, very 80's. But it was fun seeing Jan Michael Vincent become a no-teeth crack addict in later life.

[EXO]

She also came out in Little House in the Prairie. As one of the later adopted Ingalls kids... haha, How's that for a sick knowledge of useless trivia...

[Jemstone]

Oh wow, Airwolf..... This takes me back. Jan Michael Vincent was the hotness back in the day. Too bad I don't remember much else about the show. LOL

[eugimon]

I used to love airwolf... snappy theme song too.

the reboot was really quite awful

[areaseven]

looks like Shannon Doherty. I can almost tell from the uneven eyes.... One eye is higher than the other... kinda grosses me out.

You really know your celebs, >EXO<.

[EXO]

I liked airwolf it was one of the first shows where people actually died. He blasts his girlfriend in the first episode.

[areaseven]

Next trivia question:

What does a "Leech" missile do?

[Chronocidal]

Hehe.. going with the standard sci-fi leech missile, I'd say it drains electrical or other power.. but I think that's from the Wing Commander universe.

You know what's really great though? Anyone ever played the Airwolf NES game?

[Pat S]

Still one of the most beautiful aircraft designs I've ever seen. Here are some pics of "The Lady" being built.

http://www.officestar.de/airwolf/real/airwolf-real01.htm