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AIRWOLF

Hawke_Stringfellow2 airwolf_mv_atm airwolf_ya_annual1986 airwolf_gm_kyugo Hawke_Stringfellow1
 
Full Name: Stringfellow Hawke
Series Name: Airwolf
Nationality: American
Organization: CIA
Occupation Agent

Creator: Donald P. Bellisario
Time Span: 1984 - 1987

ABOUT THE SERIES

Stringfellow Hawke is a freelance agent with the CIA.

A highly skilled helicopter pilot who earned a considerable number of medals and commendations for his actions and bravery during the Vietnam War, Hawke was content to leave the excitement and the danger behind when the war ended, even though that also meant losing the ability to search for his older brother and best friend, Saint John Hawke, who was also a pilot in that conflict but was listed MIA.

As the two-book series, or rather the television series from which the novelizations were drawn, commences, Hawke is nearing his mid 30's and is content to live in his rustic cabin high in the mountains of California though near enough literally as the eagle flies to Hollywood to be a pilot for his mentor and old friend, Dominic. This perpetually upbeat owner of Santini Air, which ferries anyone needing a helicopter but specializing in television and movie work, helped raise the two Hawke brothers after their parents died in a boating accident.

Hawke has few interests outside his mountain retreat. He enjoys the solitude of living with just nature and his aging hound-dog. He plays the cello for relaxation and has a near-priceless Stradivarius on which to do it. And he has a fortune in rare artwork purchased by his grandfather many years before to please his grandmother. Hawke's hermitage is largely the result of a belief that those he loves will soon be taken from him, starting with his parents and then a few years later with his brother's disappearance. (The fact that his adopted father and friend, Dominic, has not died after all the years they have been together has obviously escaped him.)

When he was in Vietnam, he and his brother were seconded to work with a division of the CIA called the F.I.R.M., headed by Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III, codename Archangel. After the war and before he went to work for Dominic, Hawke had been a test-pilot for the company working for the F.I.R.M. to create the revolutionary helicopter named Airwolf.

The premise behind the television series, and thus the books, is that the creator of Airwolf, Doctor Moffet, had stolen the only prototype and fled with it to Libya where he was using it to grow rich blowing up targets that the dictator, Qaddaffi, wanted gone. This included an American destroyer off the North African coast. To get it back Archangel goes to the best pilot he knows for the job, Hawke. For his part, Hawke has no interest in getting back into any fray but finally agrees if Archangel will help find his lost brother.

After considerable trouble and the death of a fellow agent at the hands of Moffet, Hawke and Dominic manage to get their hands on Airwolf. When Archangel's promised information on Saint John proves less than informative, however, Stringfellow Hawke decides to keep the incredible aircraft. He hides it away in a desert mountain cave and brings it out only when a special mission interests him or he is further coerced by Anchangel or others.

BOOKS

Number of Books:2
First Appearance:1984
Last Appearance:1985

1 Airwolf Airwolf
Written by Ron Renauld
Copyright: 1984

The novelization of the pilot and initial episodes, this book deals with the theft of Airwolf by its creator, Dr. Moffet. Stringfellow Hawke is coerced into heading to Libya to steal it back from Moffet and Libyan leader Qaddaffi.

2 Airwolf: Trouble From Within Airwolf: Trouble From Within
Written by Ron Renauld
Copyright: 1985

Novelizations of two episodes. The first, Daddy's Gone a Hunt'n by Burton Armus, has Hawke trying to keep an old friend from stealing new technology to get back a son he has never seen. The second, Bite of the Jackal by Nicholas Corea, deals with the need for Hawke to rescue Dominic and a young girl, stuck out in the desert. As he goes about this, though, he is pursued by a Firm agent out to capture Airwolf.
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YOUNG ADULT BOOKS

Number of Books:1
First Appearance:1985
Last Appearance:1985

1 Airwolf Annual 1986 Airwolf Annual 1986
Written by Unknown
Copyright: 1985

Published & Printed by World International Publishing in the UK. A Collection of stories, most likely comic and text.

MOVIES

Number of Movies:1
First Appearance:1984
Last Appearance:1984

1 Airwolf: The Movie Airwolf: The Movie
Director: Donald S. Bellisario
Writer: Donald S. Bellisario
Actors: Jan-Michael Vencent as Stringfellow Hawke, Ernest Borgnine as Dominic Santini, Alex Cord as Archangel
Released: 1984

The first 2 episodes of the TV series aired on television in the US and also played in theaters across Europe as a movie. Packaged on VHS then and on DVD later.
A secret government agency gets an ex-Vietnam war pilot to steal back a super helicopter from the defected scientist that created it and has taken it to Libya.


TELEVISION


Number of Episodes:80
First Appearance:1984
Last Appearance:1987
Network:CBS/USA

REGULAR CAST
Jan-Michael VincentStringfellow Hawke [ 1-3 ]
Ernest BorgnineDominic Santini [ 1-3 ]
Alex Cord"Archangel" Coldsmith-Briggs [ 1-3 ]
Jean Bruce ScottCaitlin O'Shannessy [ 2-3 ]
Barry Van DykeSt. John Hawke [ 4 ]

In 1984, CBS began airing the first of three seasons of action-filled airborne excitement in the show Airwolf which starred the handsome and popular Jan-Michael Vincent, making him the highest paid actor on the small screen at the time. The role of Dominic was fantastically played by the terrific veteran actor Ernest Borgnine. Archangel was played by Alex Cord who, with a patch over his left eye and dressing in all white suits, could have been the subject of his own dashing spy series.

The role of Airwolf was played by a Bell-222 helicopter, redressed to make it look even more ferocious. The crew of the initial Airwolf program wore a patch on their uniforms with the insignia of a wolf's head with bat wings.

While ratings were good enough in the first year to get a second and still high enough to justify a third, CBS pulled the plug on the show at the end of the third season. the new USA television network, however, decided to bring the series back the following year (1987) but with a totally new cast. Dominic is killed in an explosion and Archangel is reassigned. Only Stringfellow Hawke is around and then only for the initial episode in which it is revealed that Saint John is still alive and working undercover for another agency. A reunion between the two brothers occurs and the passing of Airwolf is done as Stringfellow heads to places unknown. The revived and revised show lasted one season and starred Barry Van Dyke as St.John.


1 Shadow of the Hawke
Episode S1-1, first aired 01/22/1984
Director: Donald P. Bellisario
Writer: Donald P. Bellisario

The brilliant, yet sociopathic engineer Dr. Moffet, builds the advanced attack helicopter Airwolf for the F.I.R.M., a covert agency of American intelligence. During the initial test flight, Moffet attacks the testing facility, Red Star Control, steals his creation and takes it to Libya having deleted the blueprints from the F.I.R.M. computers.

1 Shadow of the Hawke
Episode S1-2, first aired 01/22/1984
Director: Donald P. Bellisario
Writer: Donald P. Bellisario

The brilliant, yet sociopathic engineer Dr. Moffet, builds the advanced attack helicopter Airwolf for the F.I.R.M., a covert agency of American intelligence. During the initial test flight, Moffet attacks the testing facility, Red Star Control, steals his creation and takes it to Libya having deleted the blueprints from the F.I.R.M. computers.

3 Daddy's Gone a Hunt'n
Episode S1-3, first aired 01/28/1984
Director: Virgil Vogel
Writer: Burton Armus

Hawke is given the assignment of finding a test pilot who is about to steal a fighter aircraft to fly it to Russia. The pilot is being extorted by his half-Vietnamese son being held ransom.

4 Bite of the Jackal
Episode S1-4, first aired 02/04/1984
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: Nicholas Corea

While on a job assignment to Acapulco, Mexico (and unknowingly carrying a young stowaway portrayed by a young Shannen Doherty), Santini's helicopter is sabotaged and crashes in a desolate mountain area. Archangel discovers the man behind the bombing is a rival agent who wants to topple Archangel's position at The F.I.R.M. and is using Santini as bait to capture Airwolf.

5 Proof Through the Night
Episode S1-5, first aired 02/11/1984
Director: Harvey Laidman
Writer: Clyde Ware

Archangel sends Hawke and Santini to help a F.I.R.M. double-agent escape the Soviet Union. The agent is in possession of a neurotoxin developed by Russian scientists that is valuable to the F.I.R.M.

6 One Way Express
Episode S1-6, first aired 02/18/1984
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: Burton Armus

Santini is hired by a movie producer to fly as a helicopter stunt pilot for a gold heist scene. Concerned for his friend's safety, Hawke tries to stop him from performing the dangerous stunt. Archangel looks behind the scenes of the movie producer discovering the stunt is actually a cover-up for a real gold robbery arranged by a criminal mastermind.

7 Echos From the Past
Episode S1-7, first aired 03/03/1984
Director: Harvey Laidman
Writer: C.R. O'Christopher

Hawke gets proof from a friend that his brother's still alive, while leaving Hawke suddenly falls unconscious and crashes his helicopter. He wakes up in a hospital from a coma and is told he's been out for one year. He is also told Archangel and Santini were killed after their own attempt to get St. John had failed. Hawke soon realizes nothing is as it seems and discovers that everything is an elaborate ruse by foreign spies to get their hands on Airwolf, when an innocent nurse incidentally stumbles in the room Hawke is being held.

8 Fight Like a Dove
Episode S1-8, first aired 03/10/1984
Director: Stephen Dollinger
Writer: Burton Armus

A woman named Sarah LeBow seeks out Hawke and Santini to help avenge the death of her father, who was murdered by a former Nazi named Kruger. Sarah wants to use Airwolf to penetrate Kruger's fortress in Paraguay. Archangel informs Hawke that The F.I.R.M. has their own interests in Kruger and he must not be interfered with. Hawke discovers that their interest lies in the fact that Kruger is also a weapons dealer in possession of an advanced artillery system known as "Thor".

9 Mad Over Miami
Episode S1-9, first aired 03/24/1984
Director: David Hemmings
Writer: Joseph Gunn

Santini goes on a mission to deliver $2 million dollars raised by Cuban exiles as payment to free comrades who are being held by a Cuban colonel. He is later forced down and kidnapped by a group of mercenaries who also nab the money. A F.I.R.M. listening post confirms Santini's disappearance and Archangel secretly informs Hawke about the incident. Hawke quickly sets out to find his friend while the exiles accuse Santini of stealing the money for himself.

10 And They Are Us
Episode S1-10, first aired 03/31/1984
Director: Nicholas Corea
Writer: Nicholas Corea

Archangel sends Hawke and Santini to a small African nation to protect their president during a military coup. Hawke discovers the leader behind the coup is a rogue colonel his brother St. John served with in Vietnam.

11 Mind of the Machine
Episode S1-11, first aired 04/07/1984
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: T.S. Cook

Archangel asks Hawke and Santini to test fly an Airwolf simulator designed by Dr. Robert Winchester who worked with Dr. Moffet on the design of the real Airwolf. Involved in the test is an attractive assistant who unbeknown to all is really an undercover KGB agent with orders to steal the schematics for Airwolf so the Russians can build their own.

12 To Snare a Wolf
Episode S1-12, first aired 04/14/1984
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: Louis F. Vipperman

Archangel informs Hawke and Santini that a high-ranking government official will be using a newly launched satellite to find the hiding spot for Airwolf. Hawke and Santini plan to hide Airwolf somewhere else until the satellite flies over. On the way to the hiding spot, they discover a female pilot who is stranded in the desert, but suspicions arise that she may be a spy working for the government official who wants Airwolf found.

13 Sweet Britches
Episode S2-1, first aired 09/22/1984
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: Donald P. Bellisario

Hawke learns a Vietnam war buddy of his has been gunned down in the Texas desert by a corrupt and sociopathic Sheriff after the man supposedly escaped from jail. Hawke and Santini fly Airwolf there to investigate the incident and find the conditions of the killing are suspicious.

14 Firestorm
Episode S2-2, first aired 09/29/1984
Director: Ray Austin
Writer: Calvin Clements, Jr.

An old pilot friend of Santini, who lost his nerve to fly after a crash had killed his passengers, has become a drunken recluse living in a trailer in the middle of the desert. The man suddenly comes to Santini with a wild story of seeing strange lights in the sky at night. Everyone dismisses the drunken rant until Santini witnesses the lights himself.

15 Moffett's Ghost
Episode S2-3, first aired 10/06/1984
Director: Donald A. Baer
Writer: T.S. Cook

Airwolf's systems begin to act erratically when a strange virus infects the on-board computer which periodically seizes auto pilot control and turns the helicopter into a flying terror. Hawke and Santini discover the virus is a trap, a logic bomb, originally planted by Airwolf's designer, Dr. Moffet, and programmed to unleash itself at a specific time unless the proper override code is entered.

16 The Truth About Holly
Episode S2-4, first aired 10/13/1984
Director: Alan J. Levi
Writer: Phil Combest

Hawke and Santini rescue Santini's niece Holly from a compound ran by a Mexican crimelord. Once she is safe, Santini keeps an eye on her at his airport, but strange things begin to occur around Santini Air. Hawke and Santini believe the gangsters may be trying to scare Holly, but the sabotage incidents become worse after Hawke turns down Holly's passionate advances and when former Texas Highway Patrol Deputy, Caitlin O'Shannessy, arrives to work for Santini.

17 The Hunted
Episode S2-5, first aired 10/20/1984
Director: Sutton Roley
Writer: Chester Krumholz

An industrial millionaire, Carter Anderson III offers a big paying contract to Hawke and Santini, requesting they use Airwolf to protect and transport him around whenever the need arises. Santini is excited by the offer, but Hawke is skeptical, wondering why the man requires such protection.

18 Sins of the Past
Episode S2-6, first aired 10/27/1984
Director: Donald A. Baer
Writer: Westbrook Claridge

Santini is stunned at the news that his daughter Sally Ann has been found dead on a beach on the Caribbean Island of San Remo, apparently from a drug overdose. Hawke is stunned as well because Santini never told him he had a daughter.

19 Fallen Angel
Episode S2-7, first aired 11/03/1984
Director: Sutton Roley
Writer: Deborah Pratt

Both Hawke and Santini are injured after a botched stunt in a biplane. Hawke injures his arm but Santini fairs worse, injuring his back and is bed-ridden. At the hospital, Hawke is informed that Archangel has been taken prisoner by the criminal ex-Nazi Karl Kruger and is being held in an East-German compound. Mounting a rescue operation, Hawke must add Caitlin to the Airwolf crew to temporarily replace Santini.

20 HX 1
Episode S2-8, first aired 11/10/1984
Director: Gerald Mayer
Writer: Steve Hayes

The advanced helicopter, "HX1", is stolen by a group of mercenaries and Hawke learns that the tactics used in the theft are similar to those used by the special forces unit his brother St. John worked with.

21 Flight #093 is Missing
Episode S2-9, first aired 11/17/1984
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Writers: Chester Krumholz, Calvin Clements, Jr.

Flight #093 has been hijacked and crash landed into the ocean. The terrorists claim the hostages are still alive and threaten to finish them off unless paid $50 million dollars. The incident becomes personal once Hawke and Santini learn that Caitlin was on the flight.

22 Once a Hero
Episode S2-10, first aired 11/24/1984
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Writer: Alfonse M. Ruggiero, Jr.

Hawke is presented with an outdated surveillance photo of a P.O.W. camp located deep inside the jungles of Laos where the F.I.R.M. believe his brother St. John is being held prisoner. Hawke mounts a rescue attempt, rounding up members of his old Vietnam War strike team to go in and find him.

23 Random Target
Episode S2-11, first aired 12/08/1984
Director: Virgil W. Vogel
Writers: Herman Groves , Paul Savage , Chester Krumholz , Westbrook Claridge

Hawke and Santini go on a job to film some desert terrain footage for Santini's fellow airport business partner Sam Kowal. After completing the job the film is given to Kowal, who later turns up dead after being killed by thugs in a mob hit.

24 Condemned
Episode S2-12, first aired 01/05/1985
Director: Tom Blank
Writer: Douglas Steinberg

The F.I.R.M. assigns Hawke to investigate a remote facility in Alaska where scientists have been working on an experimental vaccine to counteract the deadly effects of Russian bio-weapon virus set loose in Afghanistan.

25 The American Dream
Episode S2-13, first aired 01/12/1985
Director: Virgil W. Vogel
Writer: Dennis R. Foley

Hawke helps out a troubled Vietnamese man he fought alongside in Vietnam whose crops are being sabotaged by a rival Vietnamese landowner known as "The Spider". When the sabotage turns to murder, Hawke takes matters into his own hands.

26 Inn at the End of the Road
Episode S2-14, first aired 01/26/1985
Director: Ray Austin
Writers: Westbrook Claridge, Alfonse M. Ruggiero, Jr.

When a prototype weapon guidance computer called "LOKI" is stolen by terrorists, Archangel assigns Hawke and Santini to recover the device before it falls into enemy hands.

27 Santini's Millions
Episode S2-15, first aired 02/02/1985
Director: Sutton Roley
Writer: Michael Halperin

Santini is piloting Airwolf on a mercy mission to deliver a transplant heart to a dying boy in Chicago. Along the way he comes upon a downed aircraft piloted by a millionaire named Carl Barron and comes to his aid. The millionaire is desperate to make a business meeting in L.A. and offers Santini $50,000 dollars to divert from the heart delivery and take him straight there.

28 Prisoner of Yesterday
Episode S2-16, first aired 02/09/1985
Director: Georg Fenady
Writers: Chester Krumholz, T.S. Cook

Hawke is on a relaxing fishing trip with a doctor friend named Jason Gifford, but the tranquil setting is disturbed when two South American rebels show up and kidnap Dr. Gifford at gun-point and disable Hawke's Jeep so he cannot follow. Determined to get his friend back, Hawke learns that Gifford had been treating a South American President with antibiotics but the man is suffering from radiation poisoning.

29 Natural Born
Episode S2-17, first aired 02/23/1985
Director: Virgil W. Vogel
Writers: Alfonse M. Ruggiero, Jr., Westbrook Claridge

Stringfellow Hawke and Caitlin talk Dominic into hiring a young hotshot pilot, Kevin Hansen, but do not realize that the kid has more in mind than his employer would suspect. Kevin is after the men who killed his beloved Uncle Chester Hansen.

30 Out of the Sky
Episode S2-18, first aired 03/02/1985
Director: Bruce Seth Green
Writers: Gregory Harris, Charles Winston

Hawke and Santini film aerial footage for a music video by country star Roxanne Marvel. Unknown to everyone, Roxanne's corrupt manager and ex-husband is plotting her murder to boost record sales, and replaces her with a body double.

31 Dambreakers
Episode S2-19, first aired 03/09/1985
Director: Virgil W. Vogel
Writers: Douglas Steinberg , Alfonse M. Ruggiero, Jr. , Westbrook Claridge , Westbrook Claridge , Alfonse M. Ruggiero, Jr.

Hawke is hired to fly a news reporter to interview a group of religious puritans who have an isolated commune near a hydro-electrical dam. Hawke and the reporter discover the villagers have been taken hostage by a group of terrorists who disable Hawke's helicopter and prevent them from leaving.

32 Severance Pay
Episode S2-20, first aired 03/16/1985
Director: Sidney Hayers
Writer: Chester Krumholz

Hawke is assigned to find Larry Mason, a disgruntled former F.I.R.M. agent, who has been shafted on his retirement benefits. As a result, Mason begins to reveal classified information to the press about his previous employer and it begins to jeopardize foreign relations.

33 Eruption
Episode S2-21, first aired 04/06/1985
Director: Tom Blank
Writers: T.S. Cook , Kevin Hartigan , Kevin Hartigan

Hawke and Santini are on a job to take atmospheric samples around Mt. Catherine, a dormant volcano that is showing signs of "waking up". They collect their data just in time to witness Catherine "blow her top" and escape the blast. The eruption shock destroys a town in a nearby valley and Hawke and Santini set down to render aid.

34 Short Walk to Freedom
Episode S2-22, first aired 04/13/1985
Director: Virgil W. Vogel
Writers: Robert Blees, Dorothy Robinson

Caitlin is hired to fly a group of archeology students and their teacher to Mayan ruins in South America. In reality, the teacher is really a mastermind thief and is using the trip as cover to steal whatever priceless artifacts he can find.

35 The Horn of Plenty
Episode S3-1, first aired 09/28/1985
Director: Sutton Roley
Writer: Sutton Roley

Hawke flies a woman named Angelica to an Arizona resort where she carries a suitcase full of priceless gems for a buyer named John Bradford Horn. A sudden change in plans sends Hawke and Angelica to Horn's private compound in Texas, but upon landing, they are surrounded by armed men and taken prisoner.

36 Airwolf II
Episode S3-2, first aired 10/05/1985
Director: Don Medford
Writers: Al Martinez , Louie Elias

Hawke is interrupted during a friend's ceremony when Archangel arrives to inform him that Hawke is suspected in a train robbery where the thieves used a Santini Air helicopter and a weapon similar to one Airwolf carries, to stop the train.

37 And a Child Shall Lead
Episode S3-3, first aired 10/12/1985
Director: Allen Reisner
Writer: Stephen A. Miller

A leading aircraft designer, Robert Phelps, is abducted by foreign agents to the horror of his mentally challenged son, Bobby. Hawke takes the assignment to find Phelps, obtaining leads from Bobby, whose autism gives him the ability to draw detailed clues from memory.

38 Fortune Teller
Episode S3-4, first aired 10/19/1985
Director: Sutton Roley
Writers: Rick Kelbaugh , Rick Kelbaugh , James L. Novack

Archangel fails to meet Hawke and Santini at a secret rendezvous point, and the F.I.R.M. learns he has been kidnapped and being tortured by a criminal military hardware dealer named Stoner.

39 Crossover
Episode S3-5, first aired 10/26/1985
Director: Don Medford
Writer: Elliot West

Hawke is working covertly for the F.I.R.M. in Baja, Mexico to meet defecting Czech laser-scientists Victor Janek, and his daughter, Inge. Hawke soon learns that a Soviet bounty-hunter is hot on the duo's trail with orders to eliminate them.

40 Kingdom Come
Episode S3-6, first aired 11/02/1985
Director: Harvey S. Laidman
Writers: Michael Halperin , Rick Kelbaugh , Michael Halperin

A stockpile of nuclear detonators, which can detonate any large amount of radioactive material and turn into a deadly bomb, are stolen from a government facility. The mastermind behind the robbery is the facility chief of security and gets close to Caitlin to kidnap her.

41 Eagles
Episode S3-7, first aired 11/09/1985
Director: Virgil W. Vogel
Writer: Edward J. Lakso

An advanced airplane built by Stappleford Industries, the "X-400", is to be handed over to the U.S. Air Force who are interested in the craft's performance. The X-400's main test pilot, Roane Carver, knows the plane has potentially deadly flaws and interferes with the final sale knowing her company is selling a dangerous lemon and steals the schematics.

42 Annie Oakley
Episode S3-8, first aired 11/16/1985
Director: Daniel Haller
Writers: Rick Kelbaugh , Harold Stone , Carleton Eastlake

An advanced laser device called "The Mongoose", is stolen from a F.I.R.M. transport while it was on its way to a testing ground. The thief, Karl Stern, is expected to sell the laser on the black market to an East German buyer, but when his partner, Slade, realizes he is being shafted on his cut of the sale money, he threatens to go to the F.I.R.M. for a reward.

43 Jennie
Episode S3-9, first aired 11/23/1985
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Writer: Katharyn Michaelian Powers

Hawke and Caitlin go to a war-torn South American country, meeting up with a legendary soldier named "El Gato", and work to find an imprisoned scientist.

44 The Deadly Circle
Episode S3-10, first aired 11/30/1985
Director: Harvey S. Laidman
Writer: Robert Specht

The families of three of Hawke's Vietnamese friends have been kidnapped and taken to an isolated compound in the California desert. He discovers the kidnappers are survivors of "Village #108" which was a target destroyed in an air strike led by Hawke and his three friends after intelligence said it was a Viet-Cong hide out.

45 Where Have All the Children Gone?
Episode S3-11, first aired 12/14/1985
Director: Daniel Haller
Writers: Al Martinez , Alan Godfrey

A Vietnam War buddy of Hawke's named John Fargo has died and been laid to rest. Hawke takes Fargo's coffin flag and war medals to a small town to give them to Fargo's only relative, his estranged brother Billy, who did not show at the funeral. Billy however, is nowhere to be found, and a young girl at his residence informs Hawke he does not live there anymore.

46 Half-Pint
Episode S3-12, first aired 12/21/1985
Director: Bernard McEveety
Writer: Robert Janes

Hawke discovers that his brother St. John has a half-Vietnamese son named Le Van, nick-named "Half-Pint", who is living with an adopted family. The adopted father Darren McBride tells Hawke that he was part of St. John's strike team where he personally saw his brother go down during a raid on a Viet Cong chemical weapons facility and believes he was killed.

47 Wildfire
Episode S3-13, first aired 01/11/1986
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: David Westheimer

Santini gets to spend time with an old oil-drilling friend named "Big Cec" and his son "Lil' Cec". Santini is shocked to learn the son was thrown out of college for marijuana possession and their "father-son relationship" has been falling apart since Cec's wife died. Big Cec hopes things will go better for his son now that he was given a promising job at the oil company, but trouble really begins when it is revealed that Lil' Cec job has been smuggling drugs out of Mexico for the company's shady owners.

48 Discovery
Episode S3-14, first aired 01/18/1986
Director: Alan Cooke
Writers: Stephen A. Miller , Del Reisman

The criminal mastermind, John Bradford Horn, returns, and has sent his henchmen to execute a woman, Grace Harrison, and her boyfriend out in the desert. Grace is shot but manages to get away, crawling into a cave which happens to be the hiding spot of Airwolf.

49 Day of Jeopardy
Episode S3-15, first aired 01/25/1986
Director: Georg Fenady
Writers: Everett Chambers , Rick Kelbaugh

Tess Dixon, the wife of the infamous crimelord Cullen Dixon, and an old flame of Hawke's, escapes her husband's bodyguards and Archangel contacts Hawke to deliver her to a safehouse. She plans to testify against her husband's involvement in a plot to assassinate several top-ranking Washington officials.

50 Little Wolf
Episode S3-16, first aired 02/01/1986
Director: Bernard McEveety
Writer: Robert Specht

Hawke is visiting a former Vietnam War pal named Greg Stewart and finds him in the midst of a child custody battle between him and his ex-wife, Rainey. The battle becomes more complicated when Greg's rich mother Martha, gets involved and refuses to release the child from her custody at her ranch.

51 Desperate Monday
Episode S3-17, first aired 02/08/1986
Director: Gregory Prange
Writers: Rick Kelbaugh , Robert Janes , J.L. D'Angeles

Caitlin is attending a Kappa Lambda Chi fraternity homecoming on the Queen Mary luxury liner. Unbeknown to her, one of her friends, Barbara Scarelli, the daughter of a rich businessman, is about to be kidnapped in an extortion attempt set up by her shady boyfriend Robert.

52 Hawke's Run
Episode S3-18, first aired 02/15/1986
Director: Richard Irving
Writer: B.W. Sandefur

An old Vietnam War buddy invites Hawke to join his mercenary squad, but Hawke turns down the offer. The friend then invites Hawke to an art showing, but before he can respond to that request, an assassination squad appears. Hawke is shot, but manages to escape. He is helped by a passerby who gets him to the hospital under an assumed name.

53 Break-In at Santa Paula
Episode S3-19, first aired 02/22/1986
Director: Dennis Donnelly
Writer: Edward J. Lakso

Hawke helps a friend get her wrongly convicted son Terry, out of a brutal Mexican prison. Apparently her business is perfect for potential illegal activities; although she refuses, the conspirator put her son in prison as leverage if she doesn't reconsider.

54 The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
Episode S3-20, first aired 03/15/1986
Director: Don Chaffey
Writer: B.W. Sandefur

During a night-time fishing trip, Hawke spots a helicopter fly down and dump a body into the lake. He fishes the body out of the lake finding it to be a young woman who is barely alive and takes her to a hospital. The girl recovers but has lost all memory as a result of being injected with medication that erases her memory.

55 Tracks
Episode S3-21, first aired 03/22/1986
Director: Ron Stein
Writer: Rick Kelbaugh

Hawke takes a group of vets who use wheelchairs on an outdoor trip into the mountains, but the group runs across a deranged woodsman known as "The Cat" who has been terrorizing and murdering anyone who trespasses on "his mountain". Santini and Caitlin learn Hawke and the men are in trouble and mount a rescue attempt, racing against time to find the team first before the killer does.

56 Birds of Paradise
Episode S3-22, first aired 03/29/1986
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Writer: Robert Janes

Hawke's nephew "Half-Pint" shows up at Santini Air begging for help to find his stepmother, Minh Van McBride, who has been missing for weeks. With Archangel's help, Hawke and Santini track Minh Van's last whereabouts to a swanky nightclub. They learn she has been abducted by Nick Kincaid, a "white slaver" who kidnaps foreign women and sells them as sex-slaves.

57 Blackjack
Episode S4-1, first aired 01/23/1987
Director: Alan Simmonds
Writers: Michael Mercer, Jana Veverka

Hawke and Santini's niece Jo are testing a helicopter control device, and after landing they find an audio tape that someone secretly placed into the helicopter. The tape reveals evidence that Hawke's lost brother St. John is still alive and being held prisoner somewhere in South East Asia by a rebel mercenary group. [After much effort] St. John is found alive and returns to the United States just in time to be with Hawke; whose fate is left unknown.

58 Escape
Episode S4-2, first aired 01/30/1987
Director: Patrick Corbett
Writer: Patrick Kennedy

Jo is in Istanbul awaiting her contact who has smuggled top secret papers out of Bulgaria. The papers contain the locations of Soviet missile installations and are brought to a Stockholm peace conference as evidence that the Soviets are violating treaty stipulations. Her contact fails to show so she goes looking for him and finds him shot. Before he dies he reveals his hiding place for the papers and Jo retrieves them. She gets on her plane for Stockholm but the flight is forced down by Bulgarian fighter jets. Jo is arrested as a spy and taken to a prison. Now St. John and Rivers must rescue her in time for the conference.

59 A Town for Hire
Episode S4-3, first aired 02/06/1987
Director: Patrick Corbett
Writers: Gwen Tulpa, Jordan Nicht

Jo is testing a new navigation computer in her Jet Ranger helicopter, as St. John follows in his plane. Suddenly, both aircraft are fired upon by a laser weapon.

60 Salvage
Episode S4-4, first aired 02/13/1987
Director: Ken Jubenvill
Writer: A.P. Liddell

St. John and Rivers go to the remote town of Devil's Peak to meet a former F.I.R.M. employee and check on her story of strange sounds and lights coming from a nearby Indian burial ground.

61 Windows
Episode S4-5, first aired 02/20/1987
Director: Ken Jubenvill
Writer: Leslie McBride

The Company sends the Airwolf crew to tail a KGB agent who has stolen computer boards belonging to a new government spy satellite.

62 A Piece of Cake
Episode S4-6, first aired 02/27/1987
Director: Bruce Pittman
Writer: Anthony Robertson

Jo catches a teenage boy hiding at the Santini Air hangar who has run away from a nearby wilderness youth camp. The boy seems afraid of being returned to his abusive grandfather, but Jo and Rivers bring him back to the camp and decide to help make sure nothing happens to the boy.

63 Deathtrain
Episode S4-7, first aired 02/27/1987
Director: Patrick Corbett
Writers: Jordan Nicht, Gwen Tulpa

Airwolf is on a mission to guard a train carrying a deadly nerve gas on its way for disposal, but a rebel mercenary group sets up a trap ahead of the train at a mountain tunnel.

64 Code of Silence
Episode S4-8, first aired 03/13/1987
Director: Allan Simmonds
Writer: Bartholomew S. Spellman

Airwolf is supporting a group of military helicopters who are returning a kidnapped U.S. Ambassador who has just been set free by friendly ground forces.

65 Stavograd (Part 1)
Episode S4-9, first aired 03/20/1987
Director: Ken Jubenvill
Writer: Sydney Burrows

On a covert surveillance mission, Airwolf's scanners detect a large plume of radioactive gas being vented from the nuclear power plant at Stavograd, Russia.

66 Stavograd (Part 2)
Episode S4-10, first aired 03/27/1987
Director: Ken Jubenvill
Writer: Sydney Burrows

The story continues as the Airwolf crew are being held as spies and "The Lady" is in the hands of the enemy. Locke is furious about his employer's decision to abandon them and decides to enter Russia on his own under a bogus passport, posing as an international athlete.

67 Mime Troupe
Episode S4-11, first aired 04/03/1987
Director: Bruce Pittman
Writers: Lyal Brown, Barbara Brown

The Airwolf crew go to France to protect Anna LeBlanc, the star of a mime troupe and whose father is dedicated to fighting terrorism. The Company believes she may be the target of a retaliation after her father receives a threat letter.

68 X-Virus
Episode S4-12, first aired 04/10/1987
Director: Ken Jubenvill
Writers: Lyal Brown, Barbara Brown

St. John investigates the murder of a Japanese businessman who was injected with a deadly experimental virus. St. John learns that if the virus were released it could kill millions of people.

69 Rogue Warrior
Episode S4-13, first aired 04/24/1987
Director: Brad Turner
Writer: R.B. Carney

Once again the Company tries to take possession of Airwolf after Rivers and Locke ignore orders not to proceed into Soviet airspace and retrieve information from a double agent.

70 Ground Zero
Episode S4-14, first aired 05/01/1987
Director: Alan Simmonds
Writer: Michael Mercer

Jo is kidnapped by a Japanese businessman and forced to fly him to a nuclear power plant. St. John discovers that the man was a Japanese pilot, shot down in World War II by his father, and he seeks revenge.

71 Flowers of the Mountain
Episode S4-15, first aired 05/08/1987
Director: Randy Bradshaw
Writer: Stephen Ainsworth

St. John is testing a new military aircraft called the "Viper", but something goes wrong with the plane and bails out before it crashes. After it is revealed that the company who engineered the plane has made a lemon and just wants a quick military sale, St. John tries to expose their scheme.

72 The Key
Episode S4-16, first aired 05/15/1987
Director: J. Barry
Writer: Rick Drew

Anti-nuclear protestors seize nuclear missiles in both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The group threatens to detonate them unless both countries destroy their nuclear stockpiles.

73 On the Double
Episode S4-17, first aired 05/22/1987
Director: Ken Jubenvill
Writer: Frank Kniest

Mike's near twin, an East German pilot, will appear at a European air show and Mike has to replace him, while he is debriefed. Things get complicated, with a schedule change, and Mike has to rush his mission training.

74 Storm Warning
Episode S4-18, first aired 05/29/1987
Director: Brad Turner
Writer: Michael Mercer

In a war-torn South American country, Airwolf must rescue Hawke's friend, Jack, from a local General.

75 The Golden One
Episode S4-19, first aired 07/03/1987
Director: George Erschbamer
Writer: Ray Hoagan

An Afghan rebel wants military weapons and Jo Santini. Meanwhile Hawke and Jo are testing Airwolf when Jo gets a message. A former boyfriend wants to see her, and asks her to visit him in Afghanistan. She does go, unknowingly walking into a trap.

76 The Puppet Master
Episode S4-20, first aired 07/10/1987
Director: Zale Dalen
Writers: Jordan Nicht, Gwen Tulpa

Locke falls for a beautiful woman, who works for the Ridgemont Institute. The Institute is run by a former employee of the F.I.R.M. who was a mind control expert. When Kate shows Locke her workplace, he is captured and an implant is used to gain control of him.

77 Malduke
Episode S4-21, first aired 07/17/1987
Director: Ken Jubenvill
Writer: Michael Mercer

Hawke and Mike find out via television that a madman wants all diseased people quarantined so they can no longer contaminate the world. Airwolf is sent to investigate. The madman finds out about Airwolf and threatens to poison the Pacific if it is used against him.

78 Poppy Chain
Episode S4-22, first aired 07/24/1987
Director: Ken Jubenvill
Writer: Chris Haddock

In Laos, Mike tries to capture one of the world's largest opium suppliers. After he fails, Hawke, Jo, and Mike are sent on separate missions to stop portions of the drug lords operation.

79 Flying Home
Episode S4-23, first aired 07/31/1987
Director: Brad Turner
Writers: Rick Drew, Chris Haddock, Jana Veverka

Hawke and Mike investigate stolen plutonium, while Jo's dad lets her know that he is dying. The guys find out that an employee was blackmailed into the theft by neo-Nazis who want a nuclear weapon.

80 Welcome to Paradise
Episode S4-24, first aired 08/07/1987
Director: J. Barry
Writer: James S. Hughs

Hawke ends up helping an old friend, who owns an aircraft charter service, at the friend's wife request. They find him shot dead. They go after the man responsible, who wants the land for his lumber scheme.

COMIC BOOKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, AND MANGA

Number of Stories:4
First Appearance:1986
Last Appearance:1986

     The British information-entertainment magazine designed largely for teens and young adults, Look-In, ran weekly from 1971 to 1991 for a total of 1,092 issues. It routinely contained gossip and tidbits from the world of television, movies, music, and sports all geared to what would interest the audience.

     One common feature was a series of short graphic adventures of television characters, both home-grown and imported. Some would stick around for quite a few tales but most would arrive, tell a handful of stories, and then get replaced.

     In the Fall and early Winter of 1986, spilling just a tad into 1987, were 4 stories about Airwolf.

Note: The intel here was pointed out to be by a fellow spy-fi fan and comes from the Look-In Wiki (https://look-in.fandom.com/wiki/Airwolf_Chronology). The titles are those created by that entry. The plots are my words but based on its descriptions.


1 'The Train Trackers' 'The Train Trackers'
Published by ITV
Contributors: Gordon Gray (artist), Maureen Gray (artist)
Copyright: 1986

Published in Look-In vol. 16, #40 - #43, 09/29/1986 - 10/18/1986.
Caitlin in on a train when she meets two CIA agents escorting the children of the President of San Pedro. When the train is stopped by rebels wanting to snatch the kids, she contacts Airwolf for help

2 'Scoop!' 'Scoop!'
Published by ITV
Contributors: Gordon Gray (artist), Maureen Gray (artist)
Copyright: 1986

Published in Look-In vol. 16, #44 - #50, 10/25/1986 - 12/06/1986.
While using Airwolf to help break up a logjam that threatens downstream towns, the helo is spotted by a reporter. His efforts to get a scoop and Hawke's attempts to keep his craft a secret cause a major set of troubles for both, including a freelance foreign spy getting involved.

3 'Game On!' 'Game On!'
Published by ITV
Contributors: Gordon Gray (artist), Maureen Gray (artist)
Copyright: 1986

Published in Look-In vol. 16, #51 - #52, 12/13/1986 - 12/25/1986.
Though Hawke reports that Airwolf is out of action until a part arrives, Archangel is in great need of its use to help investigate the disappearance of a nuclear physicist.

4 'The Malaysian Tiger' 'The Malaysian Tiger'
Published by ITV
Contributors: Barrie Mitchell (artist)
Copyright: 1986

Published in Look-In vol. 17, #1 - #5, 12/27/1986 - 01/24/1986.
An old friend of Santini and the man's son are hauling a Malaysian tiger called Sultan back to its native land via a cargo plane. The plane has engine trouble and crashes in the mountains near where the Airwolf is secreted.

GAMES

Number of Games:1
First Appearance:1987
Last Appearance:1987

1 Airwolf Airwolf
Game Type: Video Arcade
Published by: Kyugo
Copyright: 1987

A flight combat scrolling shooter game that was found in arcades and stores around the world based on the TV series of the same name.
There were two versions of the game, an upright and the cocktail table. The player controlled the famous helicopter.

MY COMMENTS

I was a big fan of the show during the first season, watching every episode with great enjoyment. Most of the second season also got viewed but with not so much enthusiasm. Jan-Michael Vincent's moody mopping got to me, as well as life pulling me in other directions. I saw very few of the third season which apparently was the case with most of the country. I saw none of the USA episodes but now after all these years, I think I will see if I can.

This series belongs in this compendium because the jobs that Hawke gets called to do are mostly by the CIA, aka the F.I.R.M., and do fit in the normal ranges of assignments from blowing up something to rescuing someone. The hero just gets to use a really cool looking piece of equipment to do it in.

There is, however, very little to hold your attention outside of this cool action. Hawke is a stilted and stiff as a board while, granted, being a hunky looking board doing so. I got tied of Hawke really early in my viewing. If it had not been for the Airwolf, Dominic, and super-cool head agent Archangel, I would have quit long before I did.

Mr. Renauld did a very good job with the novelizations, giving more personality to the lead character than Vincent did the acting, outside the smoldering that he did so well.

GRADE

My Grade: C+

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