Epic Win: Airwolf
Airwolf (1984-1987)
From Wikipedia:
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 through 1987. The program concerned a supersonic military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and her crew as they undertook various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme.
The show was devised by Donald Bellisario, who had also created Magnum, P.I., and would go on to produce Quantum Leap, JAG, and NCIS. The first three seasons starred Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, and Jean Bruce Scott. The final season, for the USA Network, was recast.
I <3 this show so much. SO MUCH.
They blow it up! They blow it up goooood,
Ahhh yes Jan-Michael Vincent, another sad tale of debauchery. He was the “Brad Pitt” of his day.
Airwolf was a win simply for the theme song!
Damn, Airwolf kicked some serious a$$. I loved it’s BS “silent mode”
errr that was bluethunder !!
I wanted to wear all white and an eyepatch so bad!
I so had teh major crush on JMV…and then i saw him recently…what happened?
What happened to JMV? Booze, drugs, crazy living, time, legal unpleasantness.
mostly time
JMV was convicted of nearly beating his wife to death… than stated he felt that all woman needed to be beaten and would continue to do so. the actor’s guild than decided that because of his continued domestic violance he was permanently banned from acting again. He’s a real bastard!
I clicked on the thumbs up and it said I marked it as thumbs down? I think this one might be messed up! I love Airwolf!
Same happened for me. I would never thumb this down, and yet it says I did.
Voting FAIL!
string fellow hawk…what a name. and santini, , and kate, and archangel, and the stupid “dummy” helicopters that were never a match for airwolf. I loved the shriek when it hit the turbos…nostalgia indeed.
Then there were several episodes with his brother “Sinjin”.
Geez – I can’t believe I remember that…
Even the sound of the rotors at the beginning is a win.
Oh man, I remember than in one episode that helicopter even went into SPACE because they were followed by some badass helicopter.
OMG, that song gave me CHILLS. I loved that show so hard.
OMG, that song gave me CHILLS. I loved that show so hard.
–This rating is FX’d.. voted positive twice (once when signed in) and it still gives it the thumbs down…boo…
I knew the guy that played the ultimate bad guy way back when it was on air. I cried so hard when I saw him be bad as he was the nicest person ever.
Loved this show as well, and totally loved the theme song. One of the first times trying to make music was programming my old C=64 to play it. – Just a little bit hooked…
yeah what’s up with the ratings, yo? i gave it a hearty thumbs up, and the computer said i gave it a thumbs down! this rating system is fail!
Ernest Cline spoken word bit regarding Airwolf…
Same here, voted thumb up, listed as down… no good people… Airwolf season 1-3 where and still are one of the best TV show ever (with The Equalizer)
An obvious rip on Blue Thunder (the TV show of which bit), but great fun in its first season. Cute as she was, the arrival of Jean Bruce Scott was the beginning of the end, not to mention the steady decline in the special effects (there was some PAINFULLY obvious non-CG animation). Still, when it was, it was very full of win!
I think more of Airwolf as Blue Thunder’s successor. The first seasons were a blast. But in the follow-up seasons where St. John/Sin Jin (Hawk’s missing brother) takes over, that’s where it really went downhill. Airwolf still had the telltale shriek when it flew by, but the “whoo”-effect we hear in the opening credits was replaced by Blue Thunder’s FX engine sound. that’s when it started to get bland for me.
Airwolf came out at the same time as the Blue Thunder TV series, but after the movie with Roy Scheider (the sheriff from Jaws). I preferred it back then because it spoke to my young teen tastes more. Secret organisation, military tech instead of police stuff, outlaw chic and so on.
I can’t say that it aged all that gracefully, though. It was a comic book in many ways, with the same disregard for the laws of physics and the same over-the-top plots. But still, it’s full of win.
It’s on Hulu.com (click my name for direct link)
Uh, I clicked on “thumbs up” then the dropdown frame (on mouseover) tells me I picked “thumbs down.”
I imagine this is the reason it’s getting voted down so much? Airwolf was 100% win. For a good bit of it, at least.
I love this show! More Importantly, I love the helicopter! Wow, what a beaut!
Riptide was better.
I had totally forgotten about that show. It was way cool in its day. Yep poor JMV sure has not aged well.
I voted up, panel said down, this show was an unadulterated slice of grade a CHEESE, but i loved it anyway…fix the voting panel, ppl
My crazy uncle changed his name to Stringfellow Hawke.
i went into aviation as a profession largely because of this show. i now have a career as an airline captain.
It’s one thing to reminisce about things from the past that you liked with other people who liked them. It’s kind of fun.
It’s another thing to waste your time talking about something from the past that you did not like with people who liked it… and then insulting them while you’re at it?
If being a winner means that I’m going to spend my time focusing on things that I don’t like instead of things that I do… Well, in that case I would be proud to be a loser.
Remember when he used to play his cello by the lake? My first crush on the dark, troubled soul.
Yeah, screw the guy who didn’t like this show & rags on it. Great use of your time, dude. Have a life, FAIL.
I just recently ordered this from Netflix and I’m -still- happy with the show as much as I was back then. (well, almost… it’s a little absurd about the plots and the technology is so retro…)
Airwolf FTW, though, against most other shows with a signature vehicle.
The theme from this show brings a tear to my eye. I remember hiding under the coffee table when I was a kid, hoping my parents would forget it was past my bedtime and I’d get to watch the opening to the show. It was on after one of the shows they’d always watch.
This is the version of the theme that I really like though:
http://www.imeem.com/people/83pS5P/music/1noqIdza/sylvester_levay_main_themeextended_aerial/
Main Theme(Extended Aerial) ftw!
My friends had total crushes on Hawke, but all I wanted was the copter. Damn, that was a good show.
What an awesome show! I was grounded and lost my TV when the show first premiered, so I’d sneak in to watch it while the folks were out on Saturday night. Have you seen this website?
http://www.airwolf.tv
Can’t imagine a fan would find anything lacking there.
This show is still boradcast every night on some small chanel in my area, right after Knight Rider
never cared too much for this show.
A classic show about an alternate universe cold war, where stealing an experimental military chopper makes you a private contractor for the CIA, rather than getting you shot for espionage and/or treason.
And for some reason, the military has no satellite recon that can find their missing chopper, cleverly hidden in the only hollow mesa in the middle of miles of open desert, which it flies in and out of on a regular basis. Radar invisibility will only get you so far.
I always used to wonder where they found the replacement missiles for the ones they were continually expending. Those things are neither commonly available, nor cheap.