''Thunder in Paradise'' is an American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

TV series from the creators of ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bo ...

,'' which stars

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

Chris Lemmon Christopher Boyd Lemmon (born June 22, 1954) is an American actor and author. Early life and education Lemmon was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Cynthia Stone and actor Jack Lemmon. Lemmon attended the Verde Valley School i ...

, and

Carol Alt Carol Ann Alt (born December 1, 1960) is an American model and actress. Early life Alt was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, the daughter of Muriel, an airline employee and model, and Anthony Alt, a fire chief in the Bronx. She was noticed wai ...

. This first-run syndicated TV series originally premiered as a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy w ...

feature film in September 1993, then ran for one season from March 25 until November 27, 1994, before being cancelled. In May 1994, during a taping of ''

WCW Saturday Night ''WCW Saturday Night'' is an American weekly Saturday night television show on TBS that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Launched in 1971 initially by Georgia Championship Wrestling, the program existed through various incarn ...

'', Hogan publicly expressed a desire to return to professional wrestling and hinted that he would no longer be a part of the show. The series was later rebroadcast on the

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

cable network.

Series concept

''Thunder in Paradise'' follows the adventures of two ex-

United States Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting s ...

, Randolph J. "Hurricane" Spencer and Martin "Bru" Brubaker, who work as

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes Pseudonym, 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 memb ...

out of their tropical resort headquarters along

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missi ...

. Using their futuristic, high-tech boat, nicknamed ''Thunder'', they travel around the world fighting various criminals and villains. They must also balance their dangerous undercover work with their responsibilities of raising widower Spencer's young stepdaughter Jessica, who lives with them. Former model Kelly LaRue, who owns and manages the Scuttlebutt Bar & Grill on the beach in front of the resort, looks after Jessica whenever Spence and Bru go on their missions. Kelly also serves as a romantic

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

for Bru. Edward Whitaker, Jessica's uncle, owns the beach resort and makes semi-regular appearances in the series, primarily for comic relief.

Characters

Main cast

as Randolph J. "Hurricane" Spencer *

as Martin "Bru" Brubaker *

as Kelly LaRue *

Ashley Gorrell Ashley Gorrell is an American actress known for her role as Jessica Whitaker in ''Thunder in Paradise''. Filmography Film *''Thunder in Paradise II'' (1994, as Jessica Whitaker) *''Thunder in Paradise 3'' (1995, as Jessica Whitaker) *''I'll Be ...

as Jessica Whitaker Spencer (episodes 4–22) *

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

as Edward Whitaker *

Felicity Waterman Felicity Waterman (born 11 October 1964) is an English actress known for her role as Vanessa Hunt during the final two seasons of the television drama series ''Knots Landing'', and for her role as regular cast member Lt. Abigail Hawling on the ...

as Megan Whitaker Spencer (episodes 1–3) *

Robin Weisman Robin Weisman is a former American child actress. She is well known as the "little lady" Mary Bennington in the 1990 film ''Three Men and a Little Lady'' co-starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson. Weisman was born in Hollywood, F ...

as Jessica Whitaker Spencer (episodes 1–3) * Russ Wheeler as The Voice of ''Thunder'' *

Sam J. Jones Samuel Gerald Jones (born August 12, 1954), known professionally as Sam J. Jones, is an American actor and former football player. He is known for playing the title character in the 1980 film ''Flash Gordon'' and for starring in the short-lived ...

as Pilot * Michael Andrews as The Beach Bartender

Recurring cast

Steve Borden Steve Borden (born March 20, 1959), better known by the ring name Sting, is an American professional wrestler and former bodybuilder, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as the mentor of Darby Allin. He is regarded as one of the greate ...

(WCW's "Sting") as "Hammerhead" McCall *

Kiki Shepard Kiki Shepard (born Chiquita Renee Shepard; July 15, 1951) is an American television host, best known as the longtime co-host of ''It's Showtime at the Apollo''. She is a native of Tyler, Texas. Shepard has also worked as an actress and voice act ...

as Trelawny / DJ Moran *

Heidi Mark Heidi Mark (born February 18, 1971) is an American model and actress. She is of Finnish descent; her father was born in Helsinki, Finland. She has worked at her father's law office and Hooters. She was ''Playboy''s Playmate of the Month for July ...

as Alison Wilson *

Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and Worl ...

as Jimmy

Episodes

Home media

* The pilot movie was originally released on home video the week of September 27, 1993. It was not broadcast on television until the beginning of Season 1, after which it was split into two episodes for reruns and later syndication. * The two-part episode "Sealed with a Kismet" was combined and released to home video as the feature ''Thunder in Paradise II''. * The two-part episode "Deadly Lessons" was combined and released to home video as the feature ''Thunder in Paradise 3''. * The two-part episode "The M.A.J.O.R. and the Minor" was used as the basis for the ''

Thunder in Paradise ''Thunder in Paradise'' is an American action-adventure TV series from the creators of ''Baywatch,'' which stars Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon, and Carol Alt. This first-run syndicated TV series originally premiered as a direct-to-video feature film ...

CD-i The Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I, later CD-i) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, data storage format that was mostly developed and marketed by Dutch company Philips. It was created as an extension of Compact Disc Di ...

interactive game. In addition to the episode itself, additional footage was filmed for use at different stages in the game. This game-exclusive footage was shot at the same time as the episode itself. Another video game based on ''Thunder in Paradise'', this one from

The Software Toolworks The Software Toolworks (commonly abbreviated as Toolworks) was an American software and video game developer based in Novato, California. The company was founded by Walt Bilofsky in 1980 out of his Sherman Oaks garage, which he converted into ...

, was announced for the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...

and

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

, but never released. On September 26, 2006,

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

released a DVD 3-disc ''Thunder in Paradise Collection'' that contained ''Thunder in Paradise'' ("Thunder in Paradise" Parts 1 & 2), ''Thunder in Paradise II'' ("Sealed with a Kismet" Parts 1 & 2), and ''Thunder in Paradise 3'' ("Deadly Lessons" Part 1 & 2).

Filming locations

The ''Thunder in Paradise'' pilot movie was filmed in and around the historic

The Don CeSar The Don CeSar is a hotel located in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Developed by Thomas Rowe and opened in 1928, it gained renown as the Gulf playground for America's pampered rich at the height of the Jazz Age. The hotel was designed by Henry H. D ...

hotel in St. Pete Beach, Florida, during April 1992. When the series was picked up for a full season, the production company then moved to

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by M ...

near

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, where the primary filming location became

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is a Victorian themed hotel and spa located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The property opened on June 28, 1988, as the ''Grand Floridian Beach Resort''. The name changed to ''Disney's Grand F ...

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

. Other filming locations at Walt Disney World included Disney's Old Key West Resort,

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground is a themed camping resort located in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area at the Walt Disney World Resort in the U.S. state of Florida. It officially opened on November 19, 1971. The resort is situated adj ...

, and

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unre ...

, used heavily due to the wide variety of futuristic and international architectural styles available at that theme park. The destruction of the school featured in the two-part episode "Deadly Lessons" was an actual controlled demolition of a school building in

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the ...

that the production company agreed to perform in exchange for filming rights.

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

DeLand, Florida DeLand is a city in central Florida. It is the county seat of Volusia County. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. As of the 2020 ...

was utilized for an episode.

Reception

On the release of the DVD collection in 2006, the series was reviewed by David Cornelius of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

: Cornelius admits to giving the series a higher rating than usual, and selectively recommends it but warns "Those not so fond of Bad Movie fun, meanwhile, should obviously Skip It." In 2008, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' ranked it as the "cheesiest" syndicated TV series.

References

External links

* ** ** ** * ** ** ** {{Baywatch Nav 1994 American television series debuts 1994 American television series endings American action television series English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Nautical television series Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Lionsgate Television Television shows set in Florida