Airwolf Pretty Much Shaped My Life And It Turns 35 Years Old Today

Updated Dec 1, 2019 6:33 AM EST

For some of us military technology and aviation obsessed souls, it wasn’t Top Gun or Iron Eagle that most influenced us during our formative years, it was a show about a secret super-helicopter that was flown by an emotionally damaged and reclusive veteran helicopter pilot, his few aviation nerd friends, and a mysterious quasi-governmental espionage and intelligence agency known simply as The Firm. Airwolf literally came in hot on January 22nd, 1984, cannons and a synth-heavy soundtrack blazing, capturing imaginations and leaving a select number of us begging for more.

The truth is that most people wouldn’t fall in love with the show until it was already deep in production hell towards the end of its run, or even after it was canceled, as reruns aired regularly on the then-popular USA cable network. So TV Guide was essential intel for planning to immerse yourself in the cold, violent, and at times somewhat cheesy, but intriguing world of Airwolf .

The show was similar to other hour-long action shows of the era, like the A-Team, Knight Rider, or Magnum PI , in its series format. Each week a new plot would be introduced and concluded, with some overarching themes playing lighter throughout its run. But where Airwolf differed greatly was in its tone. It was an action drama, not an action show laden with comedy, and it was violent in the final sense.

People died, lots of them. Bullets didn’t stun the enemy. Major personal loss and deep pain were major plot pieces, and the overall tone of the show was far colder than its counterparts that aimed for a far broader audience. That doesn’t mean it didn’t have its lighter episodes, but those rarely paid off like their counterparts.

Jan Michael Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke and Ernest Borgnine as Dominic Santini. , Public Domain

Case in point, the main character Stringfellow Hawke, played by then Hollywood hunk Jan Michael Vincent was increasingly loaded on set as the series progressed across its three core seasons. ‘String’ was a recluse that lived in a cabin on a picturesque lake among monumental landforms and was known to bust out his cello to string a heartbreaking dirge on his dock at sunset as bald eagles screamed overhead. Oh, and the source of his sadness? The tragic death of his parents at a young age, the loss of pretty much any women he loved, and above all else, not knowing the fate of his brother, Sinjin, who had gone Missing In Action in Vietnam.

So yeah, this is not Templeton Peck or B.A. Baracus we are talking about here.

Heavy themes of a government that couldn’t be trusted, one that was often at war with itself and would go to illegal lengths to do what it deemed necessary were also part of the show’s plot fabric. The on-again, off-again semi-ally, The Firm, was run out of a secret ultra-modern office complex at the hands of an eyepatch-wearing man named Archangel who wore all white suits and was driven around in a white limousine by beautiful bodyguards draped in white designer fashions. It was as absurd as it was enthralling.

Then there was the real star of the show, an experimental graphite-colored stealth helicopter called Airwolf officially, but ‘The Lady’ by Hawke and his crew, that was loaded with all kinds of tactical tricks. It had everything, from supersonic dash capabilities via afterburners, to a big selection of weaponry that was otherwise kept concealed when not in use, to the most advanced targeting and reconnaissance capabilities of any helicopter in the world. It was equal parts brawn and brain, with the ability to use guile and information over brute force when needed to accomplish its objectives. Oh, and everyone, and I mean everyone , wanted to steal it.

In reality, the aircraft used in the show was a dressed-up Bell 222A, but the thing is Bell’s creation was so futuristic and impressive looking—appearing both muscular and elegant at the same time—that Airwolf didn’t need all that much modification to make it look the part.

Watching the show today, it is kinda amazing all the concepts they worked in that seemed totally science fiction then, but are established capabilities today, even the more exotic ones . And back then, available information on sensors and weapons concepts was not what it is today, not even close. Keep in mind, when Airwolf premiered, the AH-64 Apache still hadn’t even entered into operational service.

Some great stunt flying was executed for the show and the snippets were always the highlight of each episode. In fact, when most of us think of Airworlf, an image of a black Bell 222 dumping the nose over while staring straight at us and the sound of the show’s iconic soundtrack is what immediately comes to mind.

All these elements, including the great character Domonique Santini, who would now be an AARP icon, played by the late and great Ernest Borgnine, were greater than the sum of their parts. While the overall plot of Airwolf sounds like a someone’s mid-1980s cocaine-addled fever dream, it worked more than it didn’t. And even though it had plenty of cheesy moments and some really uneven acting, just like most shows of the era, it really did take you to another place that not many shows of the time went. One steeped in espionage, secret bases, special operations raids, super weaponry, rogue intel agencies, a thankless government, terrorism, Cold War intrigue, and mercenaries. And yes, aircraft, lots of cool aircraft and exciting flying, all on a relatively minuscule budget by today’s standards.

With all this in mind, it’s abundantly clear how this show influenced my interests so heavily growing up. My curiosity in regards to these topics never died and spurred me to write about them in-depth later in life. As such, Airwolf is partially to thank, or to blame depending on your perspective, for this site. And I am not alone. I know many people, from pilots to engineers, who were also really influenced by this show.

So, although it may just be a stupid short-run action show that is too cheesy to watch now for many, for others it was much more than that or just shallow nostalgia. It was oddly inspirational and left us wanting to know and experience more. In retrospect, that is as a good a measure of success for a TV show than Nielson ratings or good critical reviews.

Happy Birthday to The Lady, 35 years old today.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2019年12月1日上午6:33

对于我们这些痴迷军事科技和航空的人来说，在我们成长的岁月里，影响最大的并非《壮志凌云》或《铁鹰战士》，而是一部讲述一位情感受创、孤僻的退伍直升机飞行员驾驶着一架秘密超级直升机的剧集。剧中还有他几个同样痴迷航空的朋友，以及一个神秘的、准政府性质的间谍情报机构——“公司”。《飞狼》于1984年1月22日强势回归，炮火轰鸣，合成器音效震撼人心，瞬间俘获了无数观众的心，也让一部分人欲罢不能。

事实上，大多数人直到这部剧集接近尾声、制作陷入困境，甚至被砍掉之后，才会爱上它——因为当时颇受欢迎的USA有线电视网会定期重播。所以，《电视指南》对于想要沉浸在《飞狼》这个冷酷、暴力、有时略显俗套但又引人入胜的世界中的观众来说，是必不可少的信息来源。

这部剧的模式与当时其他时长一小时的动作剧类似，例如《天龙特攻队》、《霹雳游侠》或《夏威夷神探》。每周都会推出并结束一个新的故事情节，贯穿全剧的主题则以轻松的方式呈现。但《飞狼》最大的不同之处在于它的基调。它是一部动作剧情片，而非一部充斥着喜剧元素的动作剧，而且从根本上来说，它非常暴力。

很多人死了，子弹对敌人毫无作用。重大的个人损失和深切的痛苦是剧情的主要组成部分，整部剧的基调比那些面向更广泛受众的同类剧集要冷峻得多。这并不意味着它没有轻松的剧集，但这些剧集很少能像同类剧集那样获得成功。

简·迈克尔·文森特饰演斯特林费洛·霍克，欧内斯特·博格宁饰演多米尼克·桑蒂尼。（公共领域）

举个例子，由当时好莱坞帅哥简·迈克尔·文森特饰演的主角斯特林费洛·霍克，随着剧集在三季正剧中的推进，在片场的身价也越来越高。“斯特林”是个隐士，住在风景如画的湖边小屋里，周围环绕着雄伟的地貌。据说，每当夕阳西下，秃鹰在头顶鸣叫时，他都会在码头上拉起大提琴，奏起一首令人心碎的挽歌。哦，他悲伤的根源是什么呢？是父母早逝，几乎所有他爱过的女人都离他而去，而最让他痛苦的是，他不知道在越南战争中失踪的弟弟辛金的下落。

所以，我们这里说的不是坦普尔顿·佩克或B.A.巴拉克斯。

剧中也着重刻画了一个不可信赖的政府，这个政府内部纷争不断，为了达到目的不惜铤而走险。时而结盟、时而疏远的半盟友“公司”由一个名叫“天使长”的神秘超现代办公大楼掌控，他戴着眼罩，身着全白西装，乘坐白色豪华轿车，身边簇拥着身着白色名牌服饰的俊男靓女保镖。这一切既荒诞又引人入胜。

然后，真正的明星出现了——一架实验性的石墨色隐形直升机，官方名称是“空中之狼”（Airwolf），但霍克和他的机组人员都叫它“女士”（The Lady）。这架直升机配备了各种战术装备，从利用加力燃烧室实现超音速突袭，到种类繁多的武器（平时不用时都隐藏起来），再到世界上所有直升机中最先进的目标定位和侦察能力，它应有尽有。它既有蛮力又有智慧，必要时能够运用计谋和情报而非蛮力来完成任务。哦，对了，每个人，我是说每个人，都想把它偷走。

实际上，剧中使用的飞机是一架经过改装的贝尔222A，但问题是贝尔的这款飞机外观极具未来感和令人印象深刻——既充满力量又优雅——因此《空中之狼》不需要进行太多的改装就能使其看起来像样。

今天再看这部剧，真是令人惊叹，他们当时提出的那些概念，在当时看来完全是科幻，但如今都已成为现实，甚至包括一些比较奇特的。要知道，那时候关于传感器和武器概念的信息远不如现在丰富。要知道，《空中之狼》首播的时候，AH-64阿帕奇武装直升机甚至还没正式服役呢。

节目中呈现了一些精彩绝伦的特技飞行，这些片段总是每集的亮点。事实上，当我们大多数人想到《空中世界》（Airworld）时，脑海中立刻浮现的往往是一架黑色贝尔222直升机俯冲而下，机头直勾勾地盯着我们，以及节目标志性的配乐。

所有这些元素，包括由已故的伟大演员欧内斯特·博格宁饰演的、如今堪称美国退休人员协会（AARP）标志性人物的多米尼克·桑蒂尼，都远超各个部分的总和。虽然《飞狼》的整体剧情听起来像是上世纪80年代中期某人嗑药后的狂想，但它的成功之处远大于不足之处。尽管它像那个时代的大多数剧集一样，充斥着不少俗套的桥段和参差不齐的演技，但它确实带你进入了一个当时鲜有剧集涉足的领域。一个充满间谍活动、秘密基地、特种作战突袭、超级武器、叛变的情报机构、忘恩负义的政府、恐怖主义、冷战阴谋和雇佣兵的世界。当然，还有飞机，大量的炫酷飞机和精彩刺激的飞行场面，而这一切，以今天的标准来看，都是在相对较低的预算下完成的。

综上所述，这部剧对我的成长影响之深远，显而易见。我对这些话题的好奇心从未消退，并促使我在日后深入探讨这些主题。因此，这个网站的诞生，在某种程度上要归功于《飞狼》，或者说，在某种程度上要归咎于它，这取决于你的视角。而且，我并非孤例。我认识许多人，从飞行员到工程师，他们都深受这部剧的影响。

所以，尽管对很多人来说，它可能只是一部愚蠢的短篇动作剧，如今看来也过于俗套，不值得一看，但对另一些人来说，它的意义远不止于此，也不仅仅是肤浅的怀旧。它有一种奇特的启发性，让我们渴望了解更多、体验更多。回想起来，这或许比尼尔森收视率或评论界的好评更能衡量一部电视剧的成功。

祝这位女士生日快乐，她今天35岁了。

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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