Blue Thunder

Genre: Action & Adventure,Crime,Drama,Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Director: Guy Magar

Cast: James Farentino,Dana Carvey,Sandy McPeak,Dick Butkus,Bubba Smith

First aired:

Last air date:

Show status: Canceled

Overview: Blue Thunder is a 1984 ABC television series based on the movie of the same title featuring the Blue Thunder helicopter. The series uses the converted Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter and large portions of stock footage 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 off-road vehicle stored inside. The television series cast includes James Farentino, Dana Carvey, and former professional American football players Bubba Smith and Dick Butkus. The series was canceled by ABC after they felt the similar Airwolf on CBS would win the ratings battle. Also, the series aired at the same time as the CBS soap opera Dallas on Friday nights, and lost. Eleven episodes were made before the series was cancelled.

Trailer Cast Crew Videos

    • James Farentino

      Frank Chaney
    • Dana Carvey

      Clinton Wonderlove
    • Sandy McPeak

      Captain Braddock
    • Dick Butkus

      Richard Butowski
    • Bubba Smith

      Lyman Kelsey
    • Roy Huggins (Production)

    • Jeri Taylor (Production)

    • Donald A. Baer (Production)

    • David Moessinger (Production)

    • ABC Monday Night promo April 1984

      • Trailer
Show information in first post provided by The Movie Database
The series was canceled by ABC after they felt the similar Airwolf on CBS would win the ratings battle.
The fact that the show was cheaply made and relied upon using footage from the movie didn't help. There are just so many ways you can edit the same footage over & over again before viewers give up.

But it does serve as a great trivia question for Dana Carvey. Not many people remember him in roles prior to him joining SNL in 1986.
 
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