Season 4: 1987
For season four, CBS wanted to make the show into a more family-friendly, action-oriented program. Bernard L. Kowalski abandoned the project a year after series creator Bellisario had decided to leave as well. USA Network picked up distribution of the show, but with the remaining principal cast being too expensive to hire, an entirely new cast was created.
Season four aired from January to August 1987, and was produced on a comparatively shoe-string budget. Atlantis Production's contract did not provide the producers with the flying Bell 222 helicopter used for Airwolf, and recycled aerial footage and poorly-produced special effects failed to match the quality of the prior seasons. The full-sized mock-up of Airwolf from prior seasons was used for static shots.
In the first episode of this new version, "Blackjack", Hawke's missing brother St. John was suddenly (and surprisingly easily) discovered, creating contradictions to the character's already-varied history. He took over as pilot of Airwolf with its new crew. "The F.I.R.M." was now suddenly referred to as, "The Company," and gone were its famous white suits. Filming of the fourth season was completed in six months.
| No. | Ep. | Title | Director | Writer(s) | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | 1 | "Blackjack" | Alan Simmonds | Michael Mercer, Jana Veverka |
January 23, 1987 (1987-01-23) | 0906 |
| 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. Hawke takes the tape to the F.I.R.M. where he finds Archangel has been suddenly reassigned to the Middle-East and replaced by Jason Locke. Locke determines the tape proves nothing and refuses to get involved. Later, Hawke receives a mysterious package containing St. John's ring, further proof that his brother may still be alive and trying to send a message. Suddenly, Santini is killed when the helicopter he was about to fly explodes. The blast seriously injures Hawke and he slips into unconsciousness at the hospital. Meanwhile, Locke assigns pilot Major Michael Rivers to find Airwolf and return it to the F.I.R.M. (which has been renamed "The Company"). Jo Santini discovers what is going on and intercepts Rivers convincing him to help her find St. John. Rivers goes against orders and flies Airwolf to Asia to rescue St. John and bring him back home. St. John is found alive and returns to the United States just in time to be with Hawke; who's fate is left unknown. | ||||||
| 57 | 2 | "Escape" | Patrick Corbett | Patrick Kennedy | January 30, 1987 (1987-01-30) | 0901 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 58 | 3 | "A Town for Hire" | Patrick Corbett | Gwen Tulpa, Jordan Nicht |
February 6, 1987 (1987-02-06) | 0904 |
| 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. Jo crashes in the wilderness but St. John manages to make an emergency landing at a nearby airport. He is injured and taken to the small town of San Maria's hospital, but is furious that no one is looking for Jo's downed helicopter. Once he recovers his strength, he forces a local deputy to go looking for Jo but they can find no trace of the helicopter. The plot thickens as the whole town seems to be under the control of the nearby company, Lundhal Industries. Once the company is revealed to be a secret weapons testing facility, and Jo has stumbled on their operation, St. John fetches Airwolf to conduct a rescue, but soon Airwolf becomes the laser's next target. | ||||||
| 59 | 4 | "Salvage" | Ken Jubenvill | A.P. Liddell | February 13, 1987 (1987-02-13) | 0903 |
| 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. Investigating, the two stumble upon a secret base where an advanced military helicopter called the Scorpion is being tested and ready to be handed over to the KGB. | ||||||
| 60 | 5 | "Windows" | Ken Jubenvill | Leslie McBride | February 20, 1987 (1987-02-20) | 0905 |
| The Company sends the Airwolf crew to tail a KGB agent who has stolen computer boards belonging to a new government spy satellite. The team must recover the boards before they are handed off to his Soviet comrades. They manage to kill the agent and secure one of the boards but the other has already been handed off to a second operative. The crew must get it back before the second agent before he can escape the country. | ||||||
| 61 | 6 | "A Piece of Cake" | Bruce Pittman | Anthony Robertson | February 27, 1987 (1987-02-27) | 0907 |
| 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. The boy's hostile grandfather shows up threatening to kill everyone with a rifle and a bomb unless his grandson his handed over. In a scuffle, the man kidnaps Jo and takes her to a nearby dam. St. John arrives to help in Airwolf and he and Rivers try to get Jo back before the madman carries out his threat to kill her if his grandson is not returned. | ||||||
| 62 | 7 | "Deathtrain" | Patrick Corbett | Jordan Nicht, Gwen Tulpa |
February 27, 1987 (1987-02-27) | 0902 |
| 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. The train enters the tunnel and the Airwolf's crew temporarily lose sight of it until it reemerges at the other end. Soon, they realize they have been duped and are following a decoy train that was hidden in the tunnel while the real one has been stopped and diverted elsewhere. The mercenaries take the gas canisters off the train and hand them over to their fanatical leader who has his own dubious plans for the deadly chemical. The situation intensifies when Locke and a Russian commander who were on the train to supervise the disposal, are captured and held as hostages. | ||||||
| 63 | 8 | "Code of Silence" | Allan Simmonds | Bartholomew S. Spellman | March 13, 1987 (1987-03-13) | 0910 |
| 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. The mission is being led by Colonel Combs, a man who St. John once served under and is not on good terms with. During the flight home, one of the helicopters piloted by an Army General's son, is shot down and crashes. Now Colonel Combs is being held responsible for the pilot's death. St. John is stunned when Combs chooses his former enemy, St. John, to help in his defense at the court martial. | ||||||
| 64 | 9 | "Stavograd (Part 1)" "The Stavograd Incident (Part 1)" |
Ken Jubenvill | Sydney Burrows | March 20, 1987 (1987-03-20) | 0911 |
| 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. A new component at the power plant has failed and the engineers cannot stop the dangerous gas leak which is threatening the lives of millions. Disobeying Company orders to not get involved, St. John offers the Russians assistance but they refuse the help and warn not to enter their airspace. St. John pilots Airwolf into Soviet airspace anyway and is quickly fired upon. Although Airwolf avoids their missile strike, she is eventually surrounded by Migs and forced to land where the crew are captured. Learning Airwolf has been compromised, The Company simply writes them off and denies involvement. | ||||||
| 65 | 10 | "Stavograd (Part 2)" "The Stavograd Incident (Part 2)" |
Ken Jubenvill | Sydney Burrows | March 27, 1987 (1987-03-27) | 0909 |
| 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. Arriving at Stavograd, Locke attempt to get the crew out of lock up, but his cover is blown and he finds himself in jail with them. Once St. John learns of the commanding officer, General Kirov's plan to fire a missile into the Stavograd reactor to seal the leak, St. John indicates that only Airwolf's laser can fire so accurately. When one of Kirov's fighters tries the maneuver and fails, Kirov turns to St. John's plan, but St. John negotiates to do the job only if they release his companions. Kirov reluctantly agrees, and as promised, St. John flies Airwolf to the reactor to seal the leak. | ||||||
| 66 | 11 | "Mime Troupe" | Bruce Pittman | Lyal Brown, Barbara Brown |
April 3, 1987 (1987-04-03) | 0908 |
| 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. St. John and Locke try to uncover who is plotting her demise, while Jo and Rivers stay close to the girl, but she does not believe her life is in danger once the agents reveal who they are. | ||||||
| 67 | 12 | "X-Virus" | Ken Jubenvill | Lyal Brown, Barbara Brown |
April 10, 1987 (1987-04-10) | 0912 |
| 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. Now he must uncover the madman behind its creation and avert his deadly attack. | ||||||
| 68 | 13 | "Rogue Warrior" | Brad Turner | R.B. Carney | April 24, 1987 (1987-04-24) | 0914 |
| 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. On their return home, The Company fires Locke, along with the rest of the Airwolf crew and they demand "The Lady" be handed over immediately. | ||||||
| 69 | 14 | "Ground Zero" | Alan Simmonds | Michael Mercer | May 1, 1987 (1987-05-01) | 0915 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 70 | 15 | "Flowers of the Mountain" | Randy Bradshaw | Stephen Ainsworth | May 8, 1987 (1987-05-08) | 0913 |
| 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 but quickly finds himself on the run after the company sends hit men after him. | ||||||
| 71 | 16 | "The Key" | J. Barry | Rick Drew | May 15, 1987 (1987-05-15) | 0916 |
| 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. At the same time Airwolf is off the shore of a Scottish island, while Mike infiltrates the group's headquarters to get a code that can stop the plan. Mike gets caught and the protest group's leader is killed by his partner. The partner drugs Mike to get him to give up Airwolf's location. Hawke frees Mike before he talks. | ||||||
| 72 | 17 | "On the Double" | Ken Jubenvill | Frank Kniest | May 22, 1987 (1987-05-22) | 0917 |
| 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. At the air show the Airwolf team find that the East Germans are on to the agent and have imprisoned his wife until he completes his part in the air show. | ||||||
| 73 | 18 | "Storm Warning" | Brad Turner | Michael Mercer | May 29, 1987 (1987-05-29) | 0918 |
| In a war-torn South American country, Airwolf must rescue Hawke's friend, Jack, from a local General. Hawke and Mike break in, while Locke uses Airwolf to provide cover. Unfortunately, Jack is already dead, leaving the mystery of where some smuggled money might have gone unsolved. | ||||||
| 74 | 19 | "The Golden One" | George Erschbamer | Ray Hoagan | July 3, 1987 (1987-07-03) | 0919 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 75 | 20 | "The Puppet Master" | Zale Dalen | Jordan Nicht, Gwen Tulpa |
July 10, 1987 (1987-07-10) | 0921 |
| 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. He is then sent home, unaware of the control in an attempt to get Airwolf. | ||||||
| 76 | 21 | "Malduke" | Ken Jubenvill | Michael Mercer | July 17, 1987 (1987-07-17) | 0923 |
| Hawke and Mike find out via television that a madman (Dick Van Dyke) 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. | ||||||
| 77 | 22 | "Poppy Chain" | Ken Jubenvill | Chris Haddock | July 24, 1987 (1987-07-24) | 0920 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 78 | 23 | "Flying Home" | Brad Turner | Rick Drew, Chris Haddock, Jana Veverka |
July 31, 1987 (1987-07-31) | 0922 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 79 | 24 | "Welcome to Paradise" | J. Barry | James S. Hughs | August 7, 1987 (1987-08-07) | 0924 |
| 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. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Airwolf Episodes
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