AIRWOLF

'''Airwolf''' is an American television series that ran from 1984 through 1987. The program concerned a supersonic military helicopter, codenamed ''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.
The show had a musical score (orchestral based in the first and early second season episodes; synthesizer-based thereafter) penned and performed by Sylvester Levay.

Contents

Synopsis

The Firm

Production history

''Magnum P.I.'' connection

Seasons 2 and 3

Season 4

Syndication

The ''Airwolf'' helicopter

Regular cast

Notes

Merchandise

Video games

Models

DVD releases

References

See also

External links

Synopsis

The series's protagonist is Stringfellow Hawke (played by Jan-Michael Vincent), a loner who lives in a cabin in the mountains, only accompanied by his Bluetick Coonhound Tet, and the surrounding wildlife. Hawke is a recluse, spending most of his time alone with his priceless collection of paintings, and serenading eagles with his equally priceless Stradivarius cello. His only real friend and mentor is the older, eternally cheerful Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine).
Earlier, Hawke was a testpilot for ''Airwolf'', an advanced supersonic helicopter with stealth capabilities and a formidable arsenal. Hawke is called upon by a man codenamed Archangel–the leader of “the Firm” that built ''Airwolf''–to steal Airwolf back from her twisted creator, Dr. Charles Henry Moffet, who had taken her to Libya.
Hawke, with Santini, finds the aircraft, but does not return it. Instead, they hide it in an extinct volcano (the Lair) in Monument Valley and occasionally fly it to carry out undercover missions for Uncle Sam, in exchange for assistance from the Firm in locating Hawke’s lost brother, St. John Hawke, missing in action since the Vietnam War.

The series also stars Jean Bruce Scott as Caitlin O'Shannessy, who is introduced in the second season, a feisty Texas Highway Patrol helicopter pilot who joins Santini Air, and eventually comes to serve as a backup pilot for ''Airwolf.''

The Firm

The mysterious organization known as “the Firm” (the “F.I.R.M.” in season three), is a covert branch of the Central Intelligence Agency, led by Michael Coldsmith Briggs III (Deputy Director of CIA; code-name: Archangel).
In the first two seasons, Archangel is often assisted by Marella (Deborah Pratt). She had doctorates in Aeronautical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Psychology, Microbiology, and French Literature. She was one year away from completing her Medical Doctorate as of the episode “Fallen Angel”.
The series was dark, arc-driven, and quite reflective of the contemporary Cold War, with the Firm personnel distinctly dressed in white and boasting that “wearing white hats” distinguished them as good instead of evil to the unconvinced Hawke and Santini. Early episodes detail the efforts of United States government to secure Airwolf from Hawke.
The Firm, during the first and second seasons, served as both ally and enemy for Hawke and Santini; when an opportunity to seize ''Airwolf'' presented itself, Firm operatives often took it.

Production history

The series ran for 55 episodes on CBS in the United States in 1984 through 1986, and an additional 24 episodes, with a new cast and production company, aired on the USA Network in 1987, for a total of 79 episodes. The first episode was a two-hour TV movie that was re-edited and released as a standalone direct-to-video film, marketed as 'Airwolf: The Movie'. The show was broadcast in several international markets.

''Magnum P.I.'' connection

Creator Donald P. Bellisario first toyed with the idea of the adventures of an ace combat pilot in a third season episode of ''Magnum P.I.'' entitled "Two Birds of a Feather" (1983), starring William Lucking, which itself was inspired by several episodes of Bellisario's ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'' - "Legends Are Forever" and "Honor Thy Brother" (1982), in which Lucking had played a similar character. The ''Magnum'' episode acted as the pilot for the would-be series, but the series wasn't commissioned. Bellisario heavily reworked the idea, and the final result was ''Airwolf''.

Seasons 2 and 3

Frustrated by studio preferences, producer Bellisario left the series after Season 2. The studio wanted to add a female character—which eventually happened at the start of the second season in the form of feisty Caitlin O'Shannessy (Jean Bruce Scott) — and for the series to move away from its quite dark and moody tales of international espionage into a more straight action-oriented, and more "family friendly" affair. ''Airwolf'' became more streamlined and self-contained. The moves by CBS proved unsuccessful, however, and the series was cancelled after ratings dipped and production cost over-runs grew. But the USA cable network funded new fourth season episodes produced via Atlantis and The Arthur Company owned by Arthur L. Annecharico, allowing the show to have enough episodes for syndication runs.

Season 4

The original cast was completely written out of the fourth season (1987); only Jan-Michael Vincent appears, and even then only for a few minutes in the first episode. Dominic, only seen from the back, and in the form of a double, was killed off in an explosion; Archangel was said to have suddenly been assigned overseas; and no mention was made of Caitlin. Saint John Hawke, now played by Barry Van Dyke, was suddenly revealed to be alive and well (there were already contradicting facts about his fate in the original three seasons, and this new version confused things even more). St. John was rescued and subsequently replaced Stringfellow Hawke as the central character. Production moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a smaller budget of $300,000 an episode, less than one-third of the original CBS budget. The production crew no longer had access to the original ''Airwolf'' helicopter, and all in-flight shots were recycled from earlier seasons; the original full-size studio mockup was re-dressed and used for all interior shots. This new "Canadian" version of the series is held in very low opinion by many fans generally.

Syndication

''Airwolf'' is rarely shown on TV channels today, although a syndication package does exist and occasionally appears as re-runs. In December 2006 and May 2007, the series was given "marathons" on the Sci Fi Channel, to promote the DVD releases of Seasons 2 and 3, respectively.

The ''Airwolf'' helicopter

Main articles: Airwolf (helicopter)

The flying ''Airwolf'' helicopter was actually a Bell 222 (sometimes unofficially called a Bell 222A, serial number 47085). The helicopter was eventually sold after the show ended and became an ambulance helicopter in Germany.
The concept behind Airwolf was a supersonic and armed helicopter that could ''blend in'' by appearing to be civilian and non-military in origin - a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Airwolf's insignia patch (also designed by Probert) as worn by the flight-crew was a snarling wolf's head with gossamer wings that appears to be wearing a sheepskin complete with the head of lamb over the wolf's forehead; a play off "a wolf in sheep's clothing".

Regular cast

'Season 1' (CBS, Spring 1984) — two-hour pilot and ten additional episodes.

★ Jan-Michael Vincent — Stringfellow Hawke (Captain, U.S Army) (noted as 34 years of age in the 5th episode)

★ Ernest Borgnine — Dominic Santini (sole proprietor of Santini Air)

★ Alex Cord — Michael Coldsmith Briggs III (Deputy Director of CIA division nick-named "The Firm"; code-name: Archangel)
'Seasons 2–3' (CBS, 1984–1986) — two seasons of 22 episodes each.

★ Vincent, Borgnine, Cord, and

★ Jean Bruce Scott — Caitlin O’Shannessy (former Deputy Sheriff & helicopter pilot of the Texas Highway Patrol)


'Season 4' (USA Network, Spring–Summer 1987) — 24 episodes, bringing the total hours to 80.

★ Barry Van Dyke — Saint John Hawke (reserve Major, U.S Army)

★ Michele Scarabelli — Jo Santini (inherited Santini Air from her uncle Dominic Santini after his death)

★ Geraint Wyn Davies — Mike Rivers (Major, U.S Air Force)

★ Anthony Sherwood — Jason Locke (a core agent in the government agency called "The Company")

★ William B. Davis - Newman (Locke's supervisor in the Company; Newman was initially played by Ernie Prentice just in the pilot episode "Blackjack")

Notes

★ The CD soundtrack for the show, ''Airwolf Themes: 2CD Special Limited Edition'' (GERCD3), is a collectors’ item selling for up to $981—a world record—on eBay, making it the “World's Most Expensive Television Soundtrack”. Only 1,000 copies were made. A sequel soundtrack will be released in late 2007.

★ Dale Wayne Eaton signed a short letter "Stringfellow Hawke" and left it on the grave of the young woman he had murdered in the notorious Lil Miss case.[1]

★ In 1987, a Japanese CD was made, featuring both "Airwolf" and "Knight Rider" themes (エアウルフ/ナイトライダー) with full orchestration arranged by Kenji Kawai. This CD is also very rare and hard to find (K30X-7096).

★ During filming of the series, a helicopter crashed during a manoeuvre in Pico Canyon, in California. Reid Rondell, Jan Michael Vincent's stunt double, was killed, and a special credit appeared at the end of that episode (''Natural Born''), dedicating the installment to him.

★ In the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, an ''Airwolf'' comic strip appeared for several years as part of the children's television magazine and comic ''Look-In'', to tie in with the British run of the series.

★ The sound effect of ''Airwolf's turbos igniting is made up of several sound elements, including a pane of glass shattering. This shattering effect is a stock sound effect, and can be heard in various Universal-produced series, including several episodes of ''Magnum P.I.'' and ''Airwolf'' itself.

★ The push-button turbos effect was Donald P. Bellisario's homage to the Colonial Vipers in ''Battlestar Galactica'', on which he also worked.

★ In the first two seasons, The Firm was spelled as a regular word. In the third season, it was written in capitals, indicating that it stood for something. No clue as to what it actually stood for (if anything) was ever given, but many fans have come up with their own various suggestions. During the fourth season, the Firm was renamed altogether as "the Company" (a nickname that the CIA is known by). Also with the change of name to the Company, the famous all-white suits and equipment were gone.

★ Creator Donald P. Bellisario and Deborah Pratt (Archangel's assistant Marella) met and fell in love through working on the series, and eventually got married. When Bellisario left the series at the start of the third season, unhappy with (what he saw as) the unwanted direction he was being forced to take the series, he took Pratt with him. (To fill her place, in the third season Archangel had a number of "white lady" assistants.) As well as making a number of guest star appearances, Deborah Pratt went on to write episodes for some of Bellisario's other hits, including ''Magnum, p.i.'' and ''Quantum Leap''. Many of her penned episodes are considered as fan favorites of the particular shows. Bellisario and Pratt divorced in the 1990s.

Merchandise

★ Airwolf Themes: 2CD Special Limited Edition (Official CD soundtrack)

★ Airwolf: The Wonderweapon (German CD soundtrack)

★ Airwolf Collector's Edition (VHS)

★ Airwolf Replica Helmet (fully-functioning) Video of Helmet working

Video games

★ ''Airwolf'' (Commodore 64), written and designed by Neil A. Bate and Chris Harvey, with graphics by Chris Harvey and Rory Green, and music by Mark Cooksey.[2] There were unrealized plans to rename the European-produced ''Airwolf'' C64 game as ''Fort Apocalypse 2''.

★ ''Airwolf'' (Amstrad CPC), popular in Europe.[3]

★ ''Airwolf'' (ZX Spectrum), popular in Europe.[4] Followed up with ''Airwolf II''[5]


★ ''Airwolf'' (BBC Micro and Atari 8-bit family^[1]) by Elite, adapted from an unreleased game called ''Blue Thunder!'' by Richard Wilcox Software. The helicopter is blue in the game. Seemingly, the only thing changed from the unreleased version was the title. (Note: another BBC game, Superior Software's 'Codename: Droid', used ''Airwolf's rotor-like base-line on its opening screen. Whether royalties were paid is unknown. This is the only ''Airwolf'' connection with the game.)

★ ''Airwolf'' (Arcade), by Kyugo Boueki.

★ ''Airwolf'' (Nintendo Famicom), by Kyugo Boueki, released in Japan only.

★ ''Airwolf'' (Nintendo Entertainment System), by Acclaim.

★ ''Super Airwolf'' (Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis), by Kyugo Boueki, released in the U.S. as ''CrossFire''.

★ ''Operation Flash Point'' also has an Airwolf addon.

★ ''YS Flight Simulation System 2000'' has an Airwolf Addon

★ ''GTA'' has an Airwolf addon

Models

★ ERTL 5" (~1:100 scale) die-cast toy model (1984) — available carded (alone) and boxed (with a Santini Air helicopter and jeep)

★ ERTL 14" (~1:36 scale) die-cast toy model (1984) — available boxed

★ amt/ERTL 1:48 scale plastic model kit (1984) — many Asian knock-offs are also available

★ Airwolf 1:19 scale Fuselage kit (unknown) — designed to fit the T-Rex RC helicopter

★ Charawheels 1:120 scale die-cast toy model (2004) — Charawheels is "Hot Wheels" in Japan

★ Aoshima 1:48 scale die-cast collector’s model (2005, 2006) — available in cobalt blue ("normal"), black ("Limited"), weathered (2006), and matte black (2007)

★ Cox gas-engined Airwolf (1988). Non-RC. Engine powered a small rotor which lifted the model up; a larger free-wheeling rotor auto-rotated the model down when the fuel ran out. Location of touchdown at the mercy of prevailing winds.

DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Universal-Playback outside the USA have released Airwolf Season Box Sets onto DVD for the very first time. So far only the three CBS seasons have been released. There is no confirmation that Season Four will be released so far, and is made further unclear due to different companies holding the rights to the season.

DVD Title	Number	Region 1	Region 2
Season One	11 episodes	May 24 2005	April 3 2006
Season Two	22 episodes	December 26 2006	March 12 2007
Season Three	22 episodes	May 22 2007	August 13 2007
Season Four	24 episodes	TBA	TBA
Seasons 1-3	55 episodes	N/A	October 22 2007

References

1. [http://www.ataricave.com/A/Airwolf.htm Airwolf, Ataricave. Article retrieved 2007-03-13.

See also

★ List of Airwolf episodes

★ Blue Thunder

External links

★ ''The Wolf’s Lair'' — a semi-annual colour magazine detailing extensive cast and crew mixed with exclusive behind-the-scenes information, interactive flight manual, comprehensive episode guide and video trailers

★ Airwolf Themes — creator of soundtrack, builder of the full-size Airwolf museum replica, episodic posters and fully-functional replica helmets.

★ Airwolf.org — a long-running, large, and detailed site with a chat forum

★ ''Airwolf Supercopter'' -French Site about Airwolf

★ — television movie pilot (1984)

★
★ — seasons 1–3 (1984–86)

★
★ — seasons 4 (1987)

★ Airwolf Season 4 Homepage — a detailed site about the fourth season.

★ Airwolf computer game information at MobyGames