moriarty@uw-june (Jeff Meyer) (02/06/84)
Well, I have to admit, this is something different on the tube. If you get the impression throughout this review that I have a grudging admiration for the creators, writers and photographers of this program, you're right; I'm hooked (and me, a champion of quality TV! argh.). The plot is rather complicated, and I am surprised that they don't fill you in every episode as to the general setup (rather pleasantly surprised, actually; they seem to expect the viewer to be responsible for catching up). The total premise is an amazing amalgamation of Blue Thunder and Firefox. In the premier movie, a genius (played very well by David Hemmings) has constructed a air-strike helicopter named Airwolf that can go the speed of sound and has enough firepower on it to destroy tanks, naval destroyers, and possibly the Guardian Angels on a good day. Unfortunately, he has several severe sexual hangups, as well as a secret grudge against the U.S. government, and decides to steal AW and take it Libya. He blows up the test labs of The Firm, a private intelligence organization somehow connected with the CIA, NSA, you-name-it-if-it-has-three-letters, and flies the sucker to Khadafii (spelled it wrong) to work as a mercenary. The head of The Firm who was crippled in Hemming's escape, goes to someplace in the California moutains and tries to recruit Stringfellow Hawke, a former chopper pilot in Vietnam, and general all around hot-shot (the main character of the show, played by Jan-Michael Vincent, by way of Clint Eastwood). Hawke is a hermit in the backwoods who plays his cello to bald eagles (I always expect to hear Leslie Nielson's voice over these scenes, talking about Maytag quality and quick death), and lives with his dog. He has not had a great life... his parents drowned in a boating accident when he was a kid, his fiancee died in a car crash when he left for Vietnam, and his only brother is still MIA. He believes anyone he gets close to buys the farm, and he is batting 1000, except for his father's old friend Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine, the second regular), another chopper pilot. Anyway, the head of the Firm, named Archangel (3rd regular Alex Cord -- where do these people get their names?), tries to talk Hawke into stealing Airwolf (the super-chopper... remember it?) back -- apparently he is the only one who can understand it. He also brings an agent with him, Gabrielle, who breaks down Hawke's shell and falls in love with him. Hawke agrees to get the copter, and takes Dominic with him to Libya. Unfortunately, Archangel needs an agent there and sends Gabrielle (boy this gets complicated), who is caught by Hemmings (the kinky scientist) and taken into the desert to die. Hawke and Dominic get the copter, find Gabrielle just in time for her to die on Hawke (his record is still intact), who then takes Airwolf out and blows away Hemmings in an orgy of machine-gun fire. He then flies Airwolf back to California and hides it, and says he won't give it back to the Firm until the Firm finds his brother (the one who's MIA). However, Archangel has got his grudging compliance to do occasional jobs for the Firm with Airwolf, in exchange for fuel, new bullets and missles and such. Thus we are left with Hawke in position to use Airwolf every week to blow away (and I mean BLOW AWAY) some nasty. Why have I taken so much space to describe the plot? 'Cause honest to God, if you didn't see the pilot you're gonna be confused... they drop references to Gabrielle, his brother, and Hemmings every week (so far). And since this is a review, I'd better do so. The bad points: All the things which bother me about this show are in the moral arena. One, the show is extremely right wing, which is more a personal note, I guess. The Russians and all the other fellows are played as real scum... no sympathetic characters whatsoever. Second, and more important, is the way women are portrayed in this show. While many have positions of power, their main purpose is to drool convincingly whenever Hawke shows up (which they do very well). Hawke, while apparently unbelievably attractive to women, is always shunning them because he is afraid of getting close to them and then he has to pay for their funeral expenses. This brings me around to the whole spirit of the show... it reads like one of those Mack Bolan Executioner novels, or the old 50's super-soldier pulps. This is a show where men are men and women are sex objects and Commies are much better blown to itsy-bitsy pieces..... There is a pretty unusual atmosphere where Hawke constantly denies the advances of beautiful women, but blows the living &!*% out of somebody at the end. I particularly remember an episode where Hawke, while inside Airwolf, has blown a Russian station to pieces, and then takes the coptor to eye level with the KGB leader. The KGB agent fires a sub-machine gun at Hawke (which bounce off the armor-plated glass(?) of Airwolf's windows) until he empties it; and then Hawke, using the nose of the copter, pushes the KGB agent around the flight field, as a tough bar customer might push a weaker opponent around the tavern. I'll bet Ronnie just loves to watch this show... every week, another Russian emasculated! If it's so bad, why I am reviewing it? Well..... basically because I enjoy it more than any new show this season (with the possible tongue-in-cheek adventures of Automan). Why? The good points are numerous, beginning with the fact that the dialogue is excellent. Ronnie is not the only one who would enjoy this.... I'll bet that scumbag Bill Buckley Jr. might tune in every week, and not feel insulted with the level of writing (in private, anyway). The Russians may be portrayed as monsters, but not dumb monsters; in fact, I think I have yet to see an unintelligent character in this show. The dialogue is tense, well put together, and showing a remarkable sense of characterization. Other than an occasional cutesy-poo ending (which are usually still redeemed by something), this is pretty well done -- no Hill Street Blues or St. Elsewhere, but on its own level, excellent. The actors are also good (this may be because of the scripting); this is the first Borgnine character I've seen in years that you really like right off... one of those characters who tells old war stories, but doesn't have a really rotten bone in his body. Also, the members of the US intelligence community (including Archangel) are sometimes made to look not much better than Russians. The other major factor is one heck of a good photographer. When Airwolf takes to the skies in Mach-One glory, it a) looks real and b) really gets the adrenilin pumping. Also, this show does not look cheap... most TV programs have to be careful of how they spend money, but every week they look like they spent a bundle on that specific episode. Airwolf itself is a real copter, and while it may not travel Mach 1 and be able to fire tracer missles, it sure looks like it can. So, to shorten this up, give it a watch and flame me if you disagree; I'd be interested to hear your opinions. Trivia Is My Business | Currently residing in | UUCP: -jwm- | {...decvax!}tektronix!uw-beaver!uw-june!moriarty | ARPANET: AKA MORIARTY | moriarty@washington