''Counterstrike'' is a Canadian/ French crime-fighting/espionage

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

. The series premiered on American

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

channel

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

on July 1, 1990. It ran for three seasons, airing 66 hour-long episodes in total.

Plot

After his wife is kidnapped by

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

s, international

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

Alexander Addington assembles a clandestine team of troubleshooters to help combat terrorism around the world. He recruits Peter Sinclair from

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

to lead the team. They set up a French con artist and art/jewelry thief named Nicole Beaumont and blackmail her into joining because of her valuable criminal connections. The third teammember is Luke Brenner, an American

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

whom they rescue from a Mexican jail. The series' other recurring characters are Bennett and J.J., Alexander's valet and pilot, respectively. In the second season's second episode Peter and Alexander encounter a French reporter named Gabrielle Germont whom they recruit into the team to prevent her from publishing a story about them. In the season's third episode Peter and Gabrielle rescue Hector Stone, an American CIA-operative and former Navy SEAL whose cover has been blown, and invite him to join the team. The character of Alexander's daughter Suzanne Addington, who designed the team's computer systems, was also written out of the series at the beginning of the second season. Suzanne appears in one third season episode, although played by a different actress. In her stead Alexander gets a secretary/confidante named Hélène Previn.

Cast

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

as Alexander Addington (1990–1993) *

Simon MacCorkindale Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale (12 February 1952 – 14 October 2010) was a British actor, film director, writer and producer. He spent much of his childhood moving around owing to his father's career as an officer with the Royal Air Force ...

as Peter Sinclair (1990–1993) *

Cyrielle Clair Cyrielle Clair (born 1 December 1955) is a French actress. She has appeared in 55 films and television shows since 1978. Clair starred in the 1983 film '' La Belle captive'', which was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. S ...

as Nicole Beaumont (1990–1991) *

Stephen Shellen Stephen Shellen, also known as Stephen Shellenberger (born June 17, 1957), is a Canadians, Canadian actor. He is probably best known for his role as Luke Brenner on the TV series ''Counterstrike (1990 TV series), Counterstrike'', for his role as ...

as Luke Brenner (1990–1991) * Laurence Ashley-Taboulet as Suzanne Addington (1990–1991) * Sophie Michaud as Gabrielle Germont (1991–1993) *

James Purcell James Purcell may refer to: * James Purcell (actor), American actor and filmmaker * James Purcell (businessman), Australian businessman * James Purcell (mountain man), American mountain man of the 19th century * James Purcell (politician) Ja ...

as Hector Stone (1991–1993) * Patricia Cartier as Hélène Previn (1991–1993) * Andre Mayers as J.J. (1990–1993) *

Tom Kneebone Tom Kneebone, (12 May 1932 – 15 November 2003) was a New Zealand-Canadian cabaret performer and actor. Early life Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Kneebone went to England to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Career He moved ...

as Bennett (1990–1993)

Episodes

Season 1 (1990–91)

Season 2 (1991–92)

Season 3 (1992–93)

Awards and nominations

* 1992 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Simon MacCorkindale) – Nominated * 1992 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Christopher Plummer) – Nominated * 1994 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Sophie Michaud) – Nominated * 1994

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (James Purcell) – WON

Broadcast

''Counterstrike'' aired in the United States on

channel

, premiering on July 1, 1990. It premiered on November 2, 1991 on CTV in Canada, and on TF1 in France on November 20, 1991. ''Counterstrike'' has since aired in reruns in Canada on

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

and

TVtropolis DTour (styled as DTOUR) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel was originally established by Canwest in 1997 as Prime, a cable companion to Global Television Network, Glob ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Counterstrike (1990 Tv Series) CTV Television Network original programming Espionage television series 1990s Canadian drama television series 1990 Canadian television series debuts 1993 Canadian television series endings Canadian Screen Award-winning television shows USA Network original programming French drama television series Television shows filmed in Toronto Television series by Alliance Atlantis