Airwolf Classic Childrens Programmes Synopsis, Images and Clips

Airwolf

[NOMS][The Care System][Family Values][Horror Movies Home][OTR][Academia][Our Existenz][Raison d etre][Action Movies][Cult Classics][War Zone][Links][Paleontology][X][Miscellaneous][Memento Mori][Sitemap]

Play theme tune

Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 through 1987. The program concerned a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and her crew as they undertook various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme.

The series' 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 test pilot for Airwolf, an advanced supersonic helicopter with stealth capabilities and a formidable arsenal. Airwolf was built by the FIRM, a division of the CIA . When it is stolen by its twisted creator, Doctor Charles Henry Moffet, Archangel — codename of the deputy director of "the FIRM" — asks Hawke to go to Libya and get it back.

After finding himself stripped of FIRM support and discovering that his pilot-episode love-interest Gabrielle (Belinda Bauer), is undercover in Libya, Hawke, with Santini's assistance, finds Airwolf and recovers it. But Hawke chooses not to return it. Instead, Hawke and Santini hide Airwolf, booby trapped, in an extinct volcano (the Lair) in the remote "Valley of the Gods" (visually modeled on Monument Valley). Hawke refuses to return Airwolf until the FIRM can recover his brother, St. John, who has been missing in action since Vietnam. To get access to Airwolf, Archangel offers Hawke protection from other government agencies who will try to recover Airwolf in exchange for flying missions of national importance for the FIRM.

In the second season, to satisfy CBS executives who wanted to appeal to a wider female audience, the show introduced Caitlin O'Shannessy, played by Jean Bruce Scott. Caitlin is a feisty former Texas Highway Patrol helicopter pilot who eventually joins Airwolf's crew. In "Fallen Angel" Hawke confirms Caitlin's suspicions that he and Santini possess and operate a super helicopter as the three fly Airwolf into East Germany to recover Archangel.

The FIRM

The mysterious organization known as “The FIRM” is a covert branch of the Central Intelligence Agency , whose Deputy Director, Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III (Alex Cord), is code-named 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 , and was one year away from completing her Medical Doctorate as of the episode “Fallen Angel.”

The first season of the series was 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 remained unconvinced, and Santini was skeptical also (this was explained in “Daddy's Gone a Hunt'n”). Early episodes frequently detailed the efforts of the United States government to secure Airwolf from Hawke, whom it officially charged with having stolen it. Because CBS wanted to transform the series into a more family-oriented show, the program was transformed during Season Two into a more light-hearted series with Hawke and Santini being portrayed as cooperative partners with the FIRM (see below for more behind the scenes information).

The FIRM, during the first three seasons, served as both ally and enemy for Hawke and Santini; when an opportunity to seize Airwolf presented itself, FIRM operatives often took it.

Series #	Title	Original air date
1	"Shadow of the Hawke"	January 22, 1984 (1984-01-22)
2	"Daddy's Gone a Hunt'n"	January 28, 1984 (1984-01-28)
3	"Bite of the Jackal"	February 4, 1984 (1984-02-04)
4	"Proof Through the Night"	February 11, 1984 (1984-02-11)
5	"One Way Express"	February 18, 1984 (1984-02-18)
6	"Echos From the Past"	March 3, 1984 (1984-03-03)
7	"Fight Like a Dove"	March 10, 1984 (1984-03-10)
8	"Mad Over Miami"	March 24, 1984 (1984-03-24)
9	"And They Are Us"	March 31, 1984 (1984-03-31)
10	"Mind of the Machine"	April 7, 1984 (1984-04-07)
11	"To Snare a Wolf"	April 14, 1984 (1984-04-14)

Series #	Title	Original air date
12	"Sweet Britches"	September 22, 1984 (1984-09-22)
13	"Firestorm"	September 29, 1984 (1984-09-29)
14	"Moffett's Ghost"	October 6, 1984 (1984-10-06)
15	"The Truth About Holly"	October 13, 1984 (1984-10-13)
16	"The Hunted"	October 20, 1984 (1984-10-20)
17	"Sins of the Past"	October 27, 1984 (1984-10-27)
18	"Fallen Angel	November 3, 1984 (1984-11-03)
19	"HX 1"	November 10, 1984 (1984-11-10)
20	"Flight #093 is Missing"	November 17, 1984 (1984-11-17)
21	"Once a Hero	November 24, 1984 (1984-11-24)
22	"Random Target"	December 8, 1984 (1984-12-08)
23	"Condemned"	January 5, 1985 (1985-01-05)
24	"The American Dream"	January 12, 1985 (1985-01-12)
25	"Inn at the End of the Road"	January 26, 1985 (1985-01-26)
26	"Santini's Millions"	February 2, 1985 (1985-02-02)
27	"Prisoner of Yesterday"	February 9, 1985 (1985-02-09)
28	"Natural Born"	February 23, 1985 (1985-02-23)
29	"Out of the Sky"	March 2, 1985 (1985-03-02)
30	"Dambreakers"	March 9, 1985 (1985-03-09)
31	"Severance Pay"	March 16, 1985 (1985-03-16)
32	"Eruption"	April 6, 1985 (1985-04-06)
33	"Short Walk to Freedom"	April 13, 1985 (1985-04-13)

Series #	Title	Original air date
34	"The Horn of Plenty"	September 28, 1985 (1985-09-28)
35	"Airwolf II"	October 5, 1985 (1985-10-05)
36	"And a Child Shall Lead"	October 12, 1985 (1985-10-12)
37	"Fortune Teller"	October 19, 1985 (1985-10-19)
38	"Crossover"	October 26, 1985 (1985-10-26)
39	"Kingdom Come"	November 2, 1985 (1985-11-02)
40	"Eagles"	November 9, 1985 (1985-11-09)
41	"Annie Oakley"	November 16, 1985 (1985-11-16)
42	"Jennie"	November 23, 1985 (1985-11-23)
43	"The Deadly Circle"	November 30, 1985 (1985-11-30)
44	"Where Have All the Children Gone?"	December 14, 1985 (1985-12-14)
45	"Half-Pint"	December 21, 1985 (1985-12-21)
46	"Wildfire"	January 11, 1986 (1986-01-11)
47	"Discovery"	January 18, 1986 (1986-01-18)
48	"Day of Jeopardy"	January 25, 1986 (1986-01-25)
49	"Little Wolf"	February 1, 1986 (1986-02-01)
50	"Desperate Monday"	February 8, 1986 (1986-02-08)
51	"Hawke's Run"	February 15, 1986 (1986-02-15)
52	"Break-In at Santa Paula"	February 22, 1986 (1986-02-22)
53	"The Girl Who Fell From the Sky"	March 15, 1986 (1986-03-15)
54	"Tracks"	March 22, 1986 (1986-03-22)
55	"Birds of Paradise"	March 29, 1986 (1986-03-29)

Series #	Title	Original air date
56	"Blackjack"	January 23, 1987 (1987-01-23)
57	"Escape"	January 30, 1987 (1987-01-30)
58	"A Town for Hire"	February 6, 1987 (1987-02-06)
59	"Salvage"	February 13, 1987 (1987-02-13)
60	"Windows"	February 20, 1987 (1987-02-20)
61	"A Piece of Cake"	February 27, 1987 (1987-02-27)
62	"Deathtrain"	February 27, 1987 (1987-02-27)
63	"Code of Silence"	March 13, 1987 (1987-03-13)
64	"Stavograd (1)	March 20, 1987 (1987-03-20)
65	"Stavograd (2)	March 27, 1987 (1987-03-27)
66	"Mime Troupe"	April 3, 1987 (1987-04-03)
67	"X-Virus"	April 10, 1987 (1987-04-10)
68	"Rogue Warrior"	April 24, 1987 (1987-04-24)
69	"Ground Zero"	May 1, 1987 (1987-05-01)
70	"Flowers of the Mountain"	May 8, 1987 (1987-05-08)
71	"The Key"	May 15, 1987 (1987-05-15)
72	"On the Double"	May 22, 1987 (1987-05-22)
73	"Storm Warning"	May 29, 1987 (1987-05-29)
74	"The Golden One"	July 3, 1987 (1987-07-03)
75	"The Puppet Master"	July 10, 1987 (1987-07-10)
76	"Malduke"	July 17, 1987 (1987-07-17)
77	"Poppy Chain"	July 24, 1987 (1987-07-24)
78	"Flying Home"	July 31, 1987 (1987-07-31)
79	"Welcome to Paradise"	August 7, 1987 (1987-08-07)

Genre	Action / Espionage
Created by	Donald P. Bellisario
Starring	Jan-Michael Vincent Ernest Borgnine Alex Cord
Narrated by
Counrty of origin	United States
No. of episodes	79
Running Time)	45 minutes per episode
Original Run	January 22, 1984 – August 7, 1987
Language	English

Airwolf's “Design Specs

Range 950 miles (armed crew of 3)
Midair refuel capable
1,450 miles long range (crew of 2)

Flight
Ceiling 11,000 feet (3,400 m) unpressurized
89,000 feet pressurized
THIRD SEASON
100,000 feet pressurized

Speed 300 kn (560 km/h; 350 mph) (conventional)
Mach 1+ (turbo thrusters)
Mach 2 Maximum Speed

Wing
Guns 40mm Cannon (×2)
30 mm Chain guns (x4)
Firing up to 4000 rounds per min.

Missiles
and
'Heavy Weapons' FIRST SEASON
AGM-12 Bullpup missiles
AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles
AIM-95 Agile missiles
AGM-45 Shrike missiles
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles
Paveway Bombs
SECOND – FOURTH SEASONS
(ADF Pod launched)
M712 Copperhead shells (×6)
FIM-43 Redeye missiles (×12)
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles (×6)
(Auxiliary bay launched)
AIM-4 Falcon missiles (x4)
FOURTH SEASON
Red Laser

Defense Sunburst anti-missile Flares
Chaff (radar countermeasure) anti-missile decoys
Bullet-proof armoured fuselage
Learning flight/combat computer
Radar/Radio Jammer
90% Radar absorbent skin

back