Airwolf - The Complete Series [DVD]

From the creator of JAG, NCIS, Quantum Leap, and the original Magnum, P.I., comes one of the most impressive spy-fi action dramas ever made. It came from Universal Studios, the same studio which gave us “Knight Rider,” just two years earlier—and has been often described as “Knight Rider in a helicopter.” However, tonally, it’s quite different. It’s generally far more realistic. The “Airwolf” helicopter doesn’t talk and is technologically comparable with today’s helicopter gunships in our modern military, with the exception of its ability to reach supersonic speeds (something actual helicopters, military or otherwise, are yet to achieve—as far as we know!). The tone of the show is also much darker, edgier, much more violent and more “adult” oriented than the family-friendlier “Knight Rider.” It’s actually a very different series and Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent) is a much darker, tormented soul than Michael Knight, despite both being Vietnam vets. Hawke has no moral qualms blowing the hell out of bad guys as dead as he can make them. More like “The Punisher in a helicopter” than Knight Rider. The production value of this series (well, the during first three seasons—more on that in a minute) is incredible. The number of helicopters, planes, aerial stunts, dogfights, action sequences and explosions rival big budget movies in quality and scope. It was easily one of most expensive series of its day—and holds up extremely well today. While beginning as a Cold War era drama where a typical episode involved our heroes using Airwolf to stealthily infiltrate behind the Iron Curtain, often to extract a Soviet defector or destroy an enemy threat with plausible deniability, the second season (at the network’s request) began to see more domestic storylines—and I’m sure it was a challenge for the writers to keep coming up with reasons why catching domestic bad guys (gangsters, etc.) requires a military helicopter. But somehow they managed to pull it off pretty convincingly—while allowing for international spy capers to be peppered in throughout to keep it from getting too silly. And the result is actually a pretty nice balance of varied storylines. This is aided by the interesting backgrounds of the characters: Stringfellow Hawke, a tormented Vietnam vet and ace fighter pilot, searching for his brother St. John, lost during the Vietnam War. Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine) a veteran WWII fighter pilot who served with String’s dad and now serves as String’s Airwolf co-pilot. Caitlin, a former Texas cop and chopper pilot who joins the Airwolf team in season two, and Archangel, a mysterious federal intelligence officer who acts as their handler, with sometimes questionable ulterior motives. The first three seasons are incredible and they look fantastic on this Mill Creek DVD set. I watched these on a 1080p HD television and the picture on these DVDs were so crisp and clear, I could have sworn I was watching a high definition Blu-ray, even though I knew they were actually standard definition DVDs. The quality of the transfer is that good. (Well, at least in the first three seasons.) In season four, everything changed: the cast, the network, the production company, and with that, the production value. Having been cancelled by CBS at the end of season three, following the departure of series creator Donald Bellisario, the series received a last minute resurrection from cable channel, USA Network. Production was moved from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Canada under a new production company, Atlantis—and would air as a USA Network Original. However, this time, “Airwolf,” once one of the most expensive series on television, would now be produced on minuscule budget. So small of a budget, the fledgling production would not even have access to the original helicopter, and would instead have to rely on stock footage from from the first three seasons. It’s a rough start for season four, which seems more like a loose spin-off series than a continuation. Jan-Michael Vincent does guest star as Stringfellow Hawke in the season premiere to hand off the baton to his long lost brother, St. John Hawke (Diagnosis Murder’s Barry Van Dyke), as Airwolf’s new pilot. However, Dominic Santini’s (Ernest Borgnine’s) abrupt departure is shockingly abrupt, but without the emotional and dramatic context he is due. Archangel is “reassigned” and replaced, while the ever loyal Caitlin disappears without a single mention—a glaring omission for an endearing major character. That said, as abrupt and ham-fisted as their introduction is, the new cast is actually quite likable with good interpersonal chemistry. Barry Van Dyke is always a warm, likable hero and Garaint Wyn Davies (best known as vampire cop Nick Knight in “Forever Knight”) is a particularly charming and witty addition to the cast. Jo Santini (Alien Nation’s Michele Scarabelli) replaces both Caitlin as the female teammate as well as replacing Dominic as the new owner of Santini Air and is already a trained intelligence operative. Even Archangel’s replacement, federal agent Jason Locke, is a much more hands-on boss than his predecessor—a skilled combat pilot, former JAG lawyer, and fearless field agent, he is a full co-equal member of the team sharing in the danger first hand. The characters and storylines of season four are actually fine and even underrated. Unfortunately, you have to be willing to look past the low budget look of the show, which sadly distracts from what are otherwise worthy additions to the Airwolf canon. Indeed, the plots and storylines of Season Four are extremely ambitious—perhaps too ambitious for their slashed budget—but ambitious enough to be admirable. The series actually returns to its Cold War roots, most episodes having some connection with international spy games. Production-wise, the first half of the season is atrocious. Whoever was working sound on set needed to be fired. The focus puller seemed to be pulling the wrong direction (I don’t think there’s any amount of remastering that could fix that). The resulting video quality is uneven at best and the special effects were often embarrassing. By the second half of the season, however, the production values improved exponentially. Most of the glaring problems had been fixed. The picture and sound problems had been mostly cleared up and the special effects were vastly improved. Major big name guest stars were beginning to appear, including Barry Van Dyke’s famous comedic father playing a Bond-like villain so over-the-top, only Dick Van Dyke could pull it off. By the second half of season four, the show is beginning to look a bit more like a mainstream network television series again. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. The audience had already jumped ship. That’s unfortunate, because looking past the terrible production issues, season four actually has some standout episodes and character drama which could stand right alongside the very best of seasons one through three. It’s almost unfair to compare the low budget season four to the movie-like big budget of the first three seasons. But I found the stories and characters enjoyable. Let’s put it this way: If “Airwolf,” Seasons 1-3, are akin to “Knight Rider in a helicopter,” then Season 4 is kind of like “Team Knight Rider”—a low budget sequel that pales in comparison to its predecessor as far as production quality, but gains some ground with a likable ensemble cast and some interesting stories. Suffice to say, seasons 1-3 are incredible, among the best hours of television ever made, while the odd stepchild, season four, at least deserves a second look—and it’s nice to see it included as part of a complete series in this reasonably priced boxset.

I've always enjoyed watching Airwolf when it was shown on the USA Network everyday in the afternoons. That was until the original episodes quit being aired and the not so great fourth season episodes became the norm, and then the show no longer was on the air. I did eventually buy the first three seasons on DVD, which cost more than then I paid for this set. Season four came out, but I had no interest in buying it, and if you ask me with this set it's really just seasons 1-3 with season four being the extra feature. Airwolf is TV show a lot ike Knight Rider, and pretty much every episode is about the same, some situation arises, and Stringfellow Hawke flies Airwolf, a modified Bell 222 which kind of resembles a shark, in to complete the mission. Even though I enjoy the show, it does show signs of low production values. As you go through each episode, a lot the shots of the helicopter flying are usually recycled from previous episodes, probably to cut down on cost. Even the cockpit interior shots have this same issue, with the crew have those helmets on you can't see there mouths moving so syncing is not an issue. Every now and then old grainy stock footage is edited in where needed, usually it's old war time footage from the Vietnam and Korean wars. Often times locations and even supporting cast are recycled as well, you see one person play one character, and then play yet a different and unrelated one in another. Seasons one and two are the best, while season three falls short at times. Season four is not unwatchable, but I did not watch any of the episodes before I did this review. For it being an 80's TV show, and was made for television at the time, the aspect ratio and the audio is the same as the Universal DVD's, 1.33 to1 and typically mono sound. The picture quality is very good, I can see the grain from the 35mm, which was something I could barley see on the DVD verions. The helmets worn in the helicopter cockpit, I have noticed have a metallic look to them, while they looked flat grey on the DVD. It's hard to say what this set was mastered from, the 35mm camera negatives, or the high resolution broadcast tapes, either way it looks pretty good. Some might complain that they didn't master the image to fill the 1.77 to 1 aspect of todays TV screens, but to do that they have to crop the image accordingly to do so, and besides none of the other shows I have are like that. While there is no extra features or anything like that, but there is one that is missing that I don't miss, that annoying Universal logo that was on the front of all the DVD discs.

Arrived quickly, packaged beautifully and good quality. My husband was feeling nostalgic and I'd never seen the show. Decades later the helicopter is still impressive. It's dated, but was fun none the less.

This Blu-Ray set is priced quite low and I appreciate that because the quality of the video and audio is better than expected. What a bargain! The image looks amazing and does not seem to feature the kind of noise reduction that turns older productions into mush. It's so good that the stock footage (used from NASA, the military, etc) is even more obvious than before. The mono soundtrack is fine. A stereo remix would have been cost prohibitive. Thankfully the audio is lossless so unlike DVD there is no shallow tiny feeling to the audio. We all love that classic electronic score and it's crystal here during each episode (I have watched about 2/3 of them). Many of the episodes have dated to the point of hilarity, but some still hold up quite well, especially from the first season and a few from the second (Moffet's Ghost is a standout from the second season). Season 4... I'll not even bother. It was awful then and it will be awful now. By the way, if you are aware of Jan Michael-Vincent's alcoholism you can watch for it as the show progressed. In season 1 his performances were fine, he appeared healthy and all seemed well. During the second season you could see he was tired and as the season progressed he was more frequently in single shots as he had to be filmed separate from the other actors. During season 3 he is on a LOT of single shots, frequently leaning against something. Why? Because otherwise he would fall over drunk! What a tragic waste of a life.

All the episodes of this show are here. This is only the episodes with no frills like behind the scenes clips with a simple menu (play all or episode select). I got this for Season 4, which I had only seen I handful of episodes and I wanted to re-watch episodes from Seasons1-3 Season 1 only has 11 episodes and I like them all as we get to know Hawke, Dom, Marella, and Archangel. Season 2 brought Caitlin and stories like rebellion, biological warfare, and others as the Airwolf crew and Marella and Archangel from the Firm tries to stop them. I still like all these episodes. Season 3 still has Hawke and Dom. Caitlin is learning and growing more. Marella is gone replaced by other operatives since Archangel is not in every episode. I do not like every episode and it seems like everyone is going through the motions. Season 4 - I first saw some of these episodes on the MeTV Channel several years ago. This is with a new cast. St. John seems to be a more laid-back version of String, John Locke is a shadow of Archangel (Archangel seems to have more experience than Locke), and I do like Jo Santini and Mike Rivers. It would have been nice to have Marella or Archangel look for what happened to String or even Caitlin. The episodes seem to be a rehash of episodes that have already occurred in the previous seasons, but I did like the dynamic between the characters, who fought at times but would help each other. Must watch! Don't expect any frills. This is like how it would have been seen on television in the 1980's. I enjoyed it!

AIRWOLF: The Complete Series on Blu-Ray Long time fan of this series. It is the first show I remember recording and saving all the episodes as a kid. Owned the tv movie on VHS. Later bought season one on dvd through Columbia House and eventually later season dvd sets when they were released. So when the region one blu-rays by Mill Creek were announced I was hesitant. Do I really want to double dip, or triple dip, in this instance? Plus, Mill Creek is notorious for being cheap on production and packaging, so would I feel ripped off? But in a moment of impulse buying weakness I picked up the complete collection... So was it worth it? In terms of blu-ray quality, for a show over 30 years old it is pretty decent. It is definitely better than my Airwolf original dvd releases. But compared to my beloved BATTLESTAR GALACTICA which was released on blu a couple of years back, and is even older than Airwolf, it pales in comparison. Classic BSG on blu looks amazing, I would give its video quality a high 9 out of 10. Airwolf, I would give a 7.5. The typical talking head scenes show their age, but the aerial combat scenes, with the blue skies and open horizons look fantastic. Also, the framing of this older series compliments 16x9 nicely if you want to zoom in (cinema tv mode) to fill up your big screen tv, not too much is cut off and as I said the air combat looks incredible. No surround sound audio. No bonus features. Each blu has 5 or 6 episodes. Each season is in its own plastic case, though the disks are stacked on top of each other, not separated. Though this is slightly better than Mill Creek's usual of putting all their dvds is paper slips and piled on top of each other. How does Airwolf still hold up? Airing from 1984 to 1988, the series was created by Donald P. Bellisario (Magnum PI, NCIS, JAG, Tales of the Gold Monkey) and starred Jan-Michael Vincent as String Fellow Hawke (what a name!!!) and Ernest Borgnine (nicest guy ever!!) and Alec Cord. And features one of the greatest tv themes ever by Sylvester Levay. It was the most expensive tv series on the air at the time, with Vincent pulling down a pay check of $250,000 per episode. Season One This season is pretty damn near perfect 80s action drama. In many ways, it was ahead of its time. Dark, moody, sophisticated, political and gritty. A cold war espionage thriller grounded with complicated and engaging characters performed by a charismatic cast. Only 12 episodes as a mid season series replacement and all are still highly entertaining and rewatchable. 10/10 Season Two Like all networks, CBS could not leave a winning formula alone, and ordered the show to be less dark, less topical and less international. More domestic threats were created, though over all the series still has a nice balance between lighter fare and some very substantive grim episodes. And even though the show's very formulaic story structure (every final act was Airwolf in combat) was obvious, solid character writing and casting kept the show very entertaining. Jean Bruce Scott joined the cast as a potential love interest, but that never materialized since Scott and Vincent reportedly did not like each other. Also, Vincent's abuse of drugs and alcohol were significantly affecting his performance. 8/10 Season Three After fighting with the network for two seasons, Bellisario departed the series and the show was watered down even more to be family friendly. It was not Knight Rider-level drama, but it was not far off either. Also, Vincent had sadly spiralled even deeper into drug abuse. Many times over the years I have watched a season one ep back to back with a late season 3 ep, and it is shocking to see the obvious deterioration in the man. It is so sad. There is a handful of decent adventures, but most are forgettable. 6.5/10 Season Four: CBS cancelled Airwolf, but the rights were picked by the USA network for a fourth season. Vincent appears in the premiere but is killed and replaced by Barry Van Dyke as Hawke's missing brother SinJin. All new, boring, bland cast, almost no continuity to the previous seasons and seemingly zero tv budget. All the Airwolf footage was recycled from the previous seasons and the stories were average fare. Was this last season as horrible as many say? On it's own, it ok, mindless entertainment. There are actually a few episodes I enjoyed. But when compared to the previous season one and two, this just painful to watch. 4/10 So is the complete series on blu ray worth buying for only two out four great seasons??? Even at 50bucks, that isn't a bad price, considering the original dvd season sets used to cost $25-$35 a piece. And as I said, the picture upgrade is noticeable. It isn't awesome but it is an improvement. So if you are an Airwolf fan or have been curious, I can think of worse ways of blowing 40 to 50 bucks.

I am glad that I was able to watch the entire series. I think the first 3 seasons were the best. The 4th season, while not the same show, did offer some closure. For me, any Airwolf is still better than no Airwolf. I think if it weren’t for Vincent’s drinking problem the show would have been much different in Season 4. I understand the need to have more episodes so the show could go into syndication. The Season 4 actors did the best that they could under the circumstance. I think I read somewhere that Jan Michael Vincent was the highest paid actor at the time the show was being made and it’s too bad that he had a drinking problem. In general the story lines were good as well as the actors and various guest stars. Alex Cord (Archangel) played his roll well. Often times he was mixed up in some questionable deals (the enemy of my enemy is my friend), Ernest Borgnine (Dominic Santini) and Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent) play well off each other. Jean Bruce Scott (Caitlin O’Shannessy) was a guest star at first and turned into a series regular. The show had everything going for it and just ended too soon. I wish that producers would make an “ending” show in the event that the series was canceled that could be aired or at least included in a box set to wrap up the show. I new Airwolf movie would be good too. Even if they could not film the "ending" show, at least have a story line that could be included in the notes or read by someone as a special feature.

Was a gift, recipient was happy