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Airwolf is an American action military drama television series. It centers on a high-technology attack helicopter, code-named Airwolf, and its crew. They undertake various exotic missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme. It was created by Donald P. Bellisario and ran four seasons, from January 22, 1984 until August 7, 1987.
The main cast for the first three seasons is Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, Deborah Pratt (who left after season two when her husband Bellisario left the series), and Jean Bruce Scott (who became a regular in seasons two and three). The program originally aired on CBS and was cancelled after the third season. USA Network picked up the show for a fourth season that was completely recast, with Jan-Michael Vincent having only a minor role in the first episode. The fourth season was filmed in Canada, with the aerial scenes relying heavily on stock footage or repeated footage from the first three seasons.
The distinctive musical score was composed and conducted mainly by Sylvester Levay.
Archangel recruits the reclusive Stringfellow Hawke (Vincent), a former test pilot during the development of Airwolf, to recover the gunship. Archangel leaves his assistant Gabrielle Ademaur (Belinda Bauer)—who becomes Hawke's love interest—at Hawke's cabin to brief him for his mission. One week later, after an undercover operative in Libya is killed in the line of duty, Gabrielle is sent in undercover and Hawke is sent in sooner than originally planned. With the assistance of pilot and father figure Dominic Santini (Borgnine), Hawke finds and recovers Airwolf, but Gabrielle is tortured and killed by Moffet. Hawke obliterates Moffet with a hail of missiles from Airwolf before returning to the US. Instead of returning the gunship, Hawke and Santini booby-trap Airwolf and hide it in "the Lair", a large natural cave in the remote "Valley of the Gods" (actually filmed in visually similar Monument Valley). Hawke refuses to return Airwolf until the Firm can find and recover his brother, St. John (Christopher Connelly), who has been missing in action since the Vietnam War. To obtain access to Airwolf, Archangel offers Hawke protection from other government agencies who might try to recover Airwolf; in return, Hawke and Santini must fly missions of national importance for the Firm.
The Firm, during the first three seasons, serve as both ally and enemy for Hawke and Santini; when an opportunity to seize Airwolf arises, Firm operatives often take it. The first season of the series is dark, arc-driven, and quite reflective of the contemporary Cold War, with the Firm personnel distinctly dressed in white, implicitly boasting that "wearing white hats" distinguished them as good instead of evil. Hawke remains unconvinced, and Santini is skeptical. Early episodes detail the efforts of the US government to recover Airwolf from Hawke, who is officially charged with having stolen it. Because CBS wanted to make the series more family-oriented, the program was transformed during season two into a more light-hearted show, with Hawke and Santini portrayed as cooperative partners with the Firm. This persisted into the fourth season with the newly introduced "Company" and the new crew of Airwolf.
The two pilot episodes were later edited into a theatrical-style movie for home video release titled Airwolf: The Movie, and included a number of differences such as later-style music from the show, shorter scenes and dialogue changes for an older audience. It has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray as a stand-alone title separate to the TV series.
To improve Nielsen ratings, the studio wanted to add a regular female character and jettison the dark and moody tales of international espionage. This was accomplished at the start of the second season with the addition of Caitlin O'Shannessy (Jean Bruce Scott) and new stories that were domestic and more action oriented. These changes proved unsuccessful, however, and while production costs remained high, creator Bellisario left both the studio and the series after Season 2. Bellisario's then-wife, Deborah Pratt, also left at that time (she was nearly three months pregnant with their daughter, Troian, as Season 2 drew to a close). Series star Jan-Michael Vincent's problems with alcoholism also contributed to the show's problems.Dangaard, Colin, "Danger: Falling Idol", Los Angeles Magazine, March 1997: 54–64 Bernard Kowalski stepped in as executive producer for the third season, but the ratings remained low and the series was cancelled by CBS.
Seasons 2–3 (CBS, 1984–1986) – two seasons of 22 episodes each.
Season 4 (USA Network, mid-1987) – 24 episodes, bringing the total hours to 80.
After the show was canceled, the modifications were removed from the aircraft and are now owned by a private collector.
The helicopter was repainted and eventually sold to the German helicopter charter company, Hubschrauber-Sonder-Dienst (aka HSD Luftrettung and Blue Helicopter Alliance), and given the registration number D-HHSD. While operating as an air ambulance, the helicopter crashed into a mountain in fog on June 6, 1992, killing all three occupants.
A new, full-size replica of the Airwolf helicopter was created by Steven W. Stull for display in the short-lived Helicopter Headquarters museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee that opened in August 2006, using a non-flying Bell 222 with molds taken directly from the originals used in the show. The museum was unsuccessful, and offered the replica for sale through eBay. The replica was housed between 2007 and 2015 in the Tennessee Museum of Aviation in Sevierville, Tennessee. It was then sold to a private collector in California, having been further modified at West Coast Customs during September 2015. The replica was then placed on top of a mansion in Bel Air, California.
The look of the modifications was designed by Andrew Probert, and they were first applied to the non-flying mock-up (built from the body of the very first Bell 222, serial number 47001).Van Hoten, C: " The Wolf's Lair ", Issue 2, page 6. Veritas Fan Publishing, 2005 From this mock-up molds were made so that parts could be made to FAA specifications before they were added to the flying helicopter. After the maiden flight with the modifications, primary pilot David Jones told the producer that "It flies better now than before!"" Q&A with Andrew Probert ". airwolf.org
The machine guns mounted on the side of the landing gear sponsons were mock-ups that used spark plugs and fuel to simulate gun firing. Other modifications were implied with Foley artist and sets; the interior sets were of a fantastical high-tech nature, and there were implied "stealth" noise-reducing capabilities with creative use of sound effects. On the show, the deployment of the weapons systems were usually shown via close-ups of the action; in reality, these close-ups were produced on props off-site, while the non-moving prop components were attached to the aircraft by a technician in the field or at the JetCopters hangar.
The concept behind Airwolf was a super-fast 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 a lamb over the wolf's forehead. Airwolf is sometimes referred to in-show as "The Lady" by Santini and Hawke.
In the show, Airwolf was an armored, stealthy aircraft. It could perform impossible maneuvers and stunts, including traveling at Mach speeds (the theoretical maximum speed of a helicopter is significantly below Mach 0.5, or half the speed of sound), and flying into the stratosphere. Some of these impossible capabilities are explained in the show by such features as auxiliary turbofan engines (visible at the roots of the landing gear ), rotor blades that can be disengaged for supersonic flight and a lifting body fuselage.
Sound effects were also associated with many of the aircraft's abilities. When Airwolf bolted across the sky in "turbo boost" mode, one would hear it "howl like a wolf" as it made a glass-shattering sound effect. When sitting idle, the aircraft made a mechanical trilling sound, and while hovering the rotor blades made a ghostly wind drone.
The weapons were state-of-the-art, with machine guns that could rip apart tanks and bunkers. The belly missile pod could fire a variety of rockets, including air-to-surface Mavericks, Hellfires, and heat-seeking air-to-air Sidewinders. When fired, these rockets usually glowed like a laser bolt or "photon torpedo" from Star Trek. Airwolf was also equipped with an advanced computer system which could identify and track aircraft and ground vehicles. It could display 3D wireframe models and schematics of its targets. The communications system could eavesdrop on radio and telephone conversations, tap into and foul up computer systems, jam enemy transmission frequencies and disrupt ground-based electrical systems. The stealth systems were capable of rendering Airwolf invisible to radar, as well as producing multiple radar returns. The weapons system could be tied in with the communications system to lock the missiles onto any monitored electronic system. In the first episode, a Bullpup missile was launched from Airwolf against an American destroyer while the helicopter was being used by its in-story inventor, Doctor Charles Henry Moffet.
In the second episode of Season 3 ("Airwolf II"), Airwolf had a twin, Airwolf II, also known as Redwolf. Redwolf was secretly built by The Firm to replace Airwolf, but was subsequently stolen and flown by Harlan Jenkins, its egotistical creator and test-pilot rival of Stringfellow Hawke. Redwolf differed from Airwolf in that its underbelly was painted red (where Airwolf was painted pearl-grey). It was also equipped with a powerful laser weapon coupled with a quick-firing, single-tube rocket pod (although in reality it had no external modifications to the Bell 222). Season 4 also featured a similar copter to Redwolf, known as the Scorpion, though the footage of the dogfighting was recycled from the "Airwolf II" episode.
A series of tie-in novels was printed by Star, adapted from the scripts of various episodes, and coloring books for children (printed in the UK by World Publishing), and a UK annual, which, though produced in 1985 (to cover 1986), was based around the first season. For several years, the children's TV comic magazine Look-In ran an Airwolf comic strip to tie in with the original UK broadcast of the series.
Season 4 was released in Region 1 on February 1, 2011.
On September 6, 2011, Shout! Factory released Airwolf: The Movie on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. This single-disc set features the two-hour pilot tele-film fully restored and uncensored. It also contains special features including a new interview with Ernest Borgnine.
On March 8, 2016, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series and would release Airwolf - The Complete Series on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on May 3, 2016. They also re-released the first season on DVD on the same day.
Fabulous Films have released an all-new, High Definition Series 1–3 Blu-ray (Region B) box-set for the UK market during April 2014. The new HD transfers were created by Universal Studios.
Fabulous Films have since released single season Blu-ray (Region B) box sets, plus the equivalent DVD (Region 2) season box sets including, for the first time, a Canadian Airwolf II Season 4 set from the newly restored prints.
Season 3
Season three was produced in the same manner as season two (13 episodes, then an additional 9), however the show's loss of original production staff, ratings decline, escalating problems behind the scenes and significant increases in production costs led to CBS selling off the show to the new USA Cable Network.
Season 4
The USA Network funded a fourth season in 1987, to be produced in Canada by Atlantis and The Arthur Company (owned by Arthur L. Annecharico) in association with MCA. This was intended to increase the number of episodes to make the show eligible for broadcast syndication so that a return could be generated against the series' overall production costs. The original cast was written out of the fourth season: Jan-Michael Vincent appears in a first transitional episode; a body double for Ernest Borgnine seen only from the back represented Santini, who was killed off in an explosion; Archangel was said to have suddenly been assigned overseas. "The Firm" was replaced by "the Company"; no mention was made of Caitlin. Stringfellow's brother St. John Hawke, (now played by Barry Van Dyke), was suddenly revealed to be alive, having been working for many years as a deep undercover agent for American intelligence, contradicting characterizations in the previous three seasons. St. John replaced Stringfellow as the central character. Production moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on a reduced budget that was 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. Actress Michele Scarabelli, who played Jo Santini, said in a Starlog magazine interview that all 24 scripts were in place before the cast arrived, leaving the actors little room to develop their characters.
Cast
Season 1 (CBS, 1984) – two-hour pilot and ten additional episodes.
Airwolf helicopter
The flight-capable Airwolf helicopter was a cosmetically modified Bell 222, serial number 47085 and tail number N3176S, sometimes unofficially called a Bell 222A.Van Hoten, C: "The Wolf's Lair, Issue 3, p. 6" . Veritas Fan Publishing, 2005. wolfslair.airwolf.tv During filming of the series, the helicopter was owned by Jetcopters, Inc. of Van Nuys, California.Credits at the end of the episodes state "Helicopters provided by Jetcopters, Inc." Andrew Probert designed the Airwolf uniform insignia patch worn by the flight crew members, a snarling bat-winged wolf's head wearing a sheepskin.
Appearance
Airwolf was painted "Phantom Gray Metallic" (DuPont Imron 5031X)Van Hoten, C: "The Wolf's Lair" , Issue 3, page 7. Veritas Fan Publishing, 2005 on top, and a custom pearl-gray (almost white) on the bottom, in a Countershading pattern. The craft was also fitted with various prop modifications, such as "turbojet" engines and intakes, an in-air refueling nozzle and blister cowling on the nose, retractable machine guns at the wingtips, and a retractable rocket launcher, known as the "ADF Pod" (ADF standing for All Directional Firing, as the pod could rotate 180 degrees to fire at targets at the sides—90 degrees to the left, forward, or 90 degrees to the right) on its belly.
Specifications
+ Airwolfs "Design Specifications" + Airwolf vs. Bell 222
Models
Static-display models
Over the years a number of licensed Airwolf models have been available.
Flyable models
Music
The theme music for the show's opening titles was composed by Sylvester Levay, who also scored most of the music in the show's early episodes. Udi Harpaz, Ian Freebairn-Smith and Bernardo Segáll contributed scores to later episodes.
Books
During the original series run, two books were published. Both were written by Ron Renauld and are titled Airwolf and Trouble From Within, respectively. Airwolf Series A graphic novel was published in August 2015, titled Airwolf Airstrikes, which recasts Archangel as a woman, and Dominic Santini's son, who is black. Airwolf Airstrikes Vol 1
Merchandise
Video games
Home media
Universal Studios has released the first 3 seasons of Airwolf on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4. Earlier releases consisted of single episodes on VHS (double episodes in the UK and some countries, edited together into "movie" format; later in the UK, a selection of first and second season episodes were released by Playback on both VHS and DVD), including a United Kingdom 18 certificate cut of the pilot episode, presented as a standalone film (reshuffling and reworking many scenes, and removing much of the continuity ties with the following series, as well as incorporating footage from the first-season episode "Mad Over Miami", and with profanity that was not present in the aired version).
See also
External links
Categories: American Military Television Series, American Spy Drama Television Series, American Spy Thriller Television Series, Television Series About The Central Intelligence Agency, 1984 American Television Series Debuts, 1987 American Television Series Endings, American Television Series Revived After Cancellation, American Action Television Series, American Aviation Television Series, Canadian Action Television Series, American English-language Television Shows, American Spy Television Series, Television Series By Alliance Atlantis, Television Series By Universal Television, Television Series Created By Donald P. Bellisario, Television Shows Filmed In Vancouver, Television Shows Filmed In Utah, Usa Network Television Dramas, 1980s American Drama Television Series, Military Fiction, Canadian Spy Television Series, Cbs Television Dramas
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