Series Description

The Blue Thunder TV show was a 60 minute crime/action series on ABC about a baby-faced rookie cop and his unconventional Lieutenant who used a high-tech helicopter to fight crime along with their team members on the ground with a van containing equally advanced electronic gear.

Blue Thunder Cast

James Farentino .... Frank Chaney
Sandy McPeak .... Captain Ed Braddock
Dana Carvey .... Clinton "Jafo" Wonderlove
Ann Cooper .... J.J. Douglas
Bubba Smith .... Lyman "Bubba" Kelsey
Dick Butkus .... Richard "Ski" Butowski

Blue Thunder Trivia:

The TV series was based on a Blue Thunder movie starring Roy Scheider and Warren Oates that had played in theaters less than a year before the TV show premiered.

The Blue Thunder helicopter had the capability to operately nearly noiselessly in "Whisper mode". It also flew at super high speeds and could perform maneuvers that were impossible for any other aircraft. In addition, it had high tech deadly weapons at its disposal!

TV Guide reported in its September 3-9, 1983 issue that Gil Gerard ("Buck Rogers in the 25th Century") would be playing one of Blue Thunder's pilots but apparently the deal didn't get made or TV Guide simply got it wrong.

In order to keep production costs to a minimum, many of the aerial scenes were ones that had appeared in the theatrical movie. On several occasions they also had the pilots wear the flight suits from the movie (which were green) rather than the blue ones made for the TV show. Maybe the TV ones were at the dry cleaner, huh?