''Blue Thunder'' is an American

action drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

television series based on the movie of the same title that aired on ABC from January 6 until April 16, 1984 featuring the ''

Blue Thunder ''Blue Thunder'' is a 1983 American action thriller film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman, and Andrew Fogelson and directed by John Badham. The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modifie ...

'' helicopter. The series uses the converted

Aérospatiale Gazelle The Aérospatiale Gazelle (company designations SA 340, SA 341 and SA 342) is a French five-seat helicopter, commonly used for light transport, scouting and light attack duties. It is powered by a single Turbomeca Astazou turbine engine and wa ...

helicopter and large portions of

stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stoc ...

from the 1983 film. A ground unit named "Rolling Thunder" backed up the helicopter in the television series. This was a large support van with a desert

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

off-road vehicle stored inside. The television series cast includes

James Farentino James Farentino (February 24, 1938 – January 24, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 100 television, film, and stage roles, among them '' The Final Countdown'', ''Jesus of Nazareth'', and '' Dynasty''. Career Born in Brooklyn, N ...

Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...

, and former professional American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

players

Bubba Smith Charles Aaron Smith (February 28, 1945 – August 3, 2011), commonly known as Bubba Smith, was an American football defensive end and actor. He first came into prominence at Michigan State University, where he twice earned All-American hon ...

and

Dick Butkus Richard Marvin Butkus (born December 9, 1942) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, and actor. He played football as a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1965 to ...

. The series was canceled by ABC after getting low ratings. Eleven episodes were made before the series was canceled.

Cast

as Frank Chaney, protagonist, policeman and pilot of the "Blue Thunder". *

as Clinton Wonderlove, aka "

JAFO ''Blue Thunder'' is a 1983 American action thriller film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman, and Andrew Fogelson and directed by John Badham. The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modified ...

", Frank's flight engineer on "Blue Thunder", as well as his sidekick. Clinton handles technical aspects of the chopper. *

Sandy McPeak Sandy McPeak (February 21, 1936 – December 31, 1997) was an American actor best known for such films and television series as '' Winnetka Road'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Centennial'', '' Ode to Billy Joe'', '' Patton'', ''The Osterman Weekend'', ''Kell ...

as Captain Braddock, Frank's superior. *

as "Bubba" Kelsey, a cop who is one of the two members of "Rolling Thunder", Frank's ground crew. *

as "Ski" Butowski, another cop who is the other member of "Rolling Thunder". *Ann Cooper as J.J. Douglas, radio operator who is Frank's contact at headquarters, and the only female regular in the series.

Episode list

US television ratings

Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 on August 22, 2006. A Region 2 release followed on September 27, 2010.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0086671, title=Blue Thunder
Blue Thunder series page on tvacres.com
& episode guide 1984 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings 1980s American drama television series Television shows set in Los Angeles American Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by Sony Pictures Television Aviation television series English-language television shows American action television series Live action television shows based on films