CBS's Definitive '80s Action Thriller Series Is Officially Free to Watch on Streaming

With Hollywood veterans Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine in the cockpit, Airwolf spectacular aerial action, and pure '80s escapism.

Premiering on CBS in 1984, Airwolf starred Jan-Michael Vincent as Hawke, a brooding Vietnam veteran and test pilot who takes possession of a top-secret military helicopter. Alongside his friend and mentor Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine), Hawke flies dangerous missions for a shadowy intelligence organization while they search for his brother, who disappeared during the Vietnam War. It was part Cold War espionage thriller, part high-tech fantasy, and an awful lot of things exploding in the sky.

Now streaming for free on The Roku Channel, Airwolf is a reminder of just how much fun '80s action television could be. Unlike Magnum, P.I. or The A-Team, however, its biggest star wasn't one of the actors. It was the helicopter, and nearly four decades after the series ended, it's still one of television's most memorable machines.

The 1980s were obsessed with cool vehicles

The '80s were a great time to be a kid who dreamed of owning something cooler than the family station wagon. Doc Brown transformed a DeLorean into a time machine in Back to the Future. The Ghostbusters have Ecto-1, a converted Cadillac ambulance. And the Duke boys have the General Lee, an orange Dodge Charger that spends almost as much time in the air as it does on the road.

Airwolf belonged in that company, but it took the fantasy to another level. Based on a Bell 222 helicopter, the aircraft became a sleek, black-and-white flying weapons platform with retractable machine guns, missiles, and fictional supersonic capabilities. A helicopter breaking the sound barrier? Completely ridiculous. But when Airwolf hit the turbo boost and left enemy aircraft in its wake, who cared?

What made Airwolf different was how much of its identity rested on the machine. KITT has a personality, but his friendship with Michael Knight is the heart of Knight Rider. Thomas Magnum's Ferrari, Tigers cap, and Hawaiian shirts were accessories to an already compelling character. Stringfellow Hawke had an intriguing backstory and a cool name, but let's face it: Nobody was tuning in to watch him play the cello, even if the opening credits suggested otherwise.

The real helicopter had a less glamorous fate. After the series ended, it was stripped of its modifications and sold to a German company, where it served as an air ambulance before crashing in 1992. A full-size replica later spent several years at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation before being sold to a private collector. According to the museum, as of 2019, it had found perhaps the most appropriately extravagant retirement imaginable: perched atop a $250 million mansion in Bel Air, California.

Airwolf had two legitimate movie stars in its cockpit

For a show dominated by a helicopter, Airwolf had some serious Hollywood talent. Jan-Michael Vincent was already an established leading man, with credits including The Mechanic opposite Charles Bronson, Buster and Billie, and the surfing classic Big Wednesday. His good looks and brooding intensity made him a natural fit for Hawke, a man who rarely smiled and seemed perfectly content keeping the rest of the world at arm's length.

Then there was Ernest Borgnine, who brought an Academy Award to a show about a heavily armed helicopter. Borgnine won Best Actor for 1955's Marty, beating Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Spencer Tracy, and James Cagney. His credits also included From Here to Eternity, The Wild Bunch, The Poseidon Adventure, and the sitcom McHale's Navy. As Dominic Santini, Hawke's friend and mentor, Borgnine supplied much of the show's humor and heart. Where Hawke brooded, Santini smiled, joked, and occasionally seemed to be having the time of his life.

Alex Cord rounded out the memorable cast as Archangel, Hawke's contact with the mysterious intelligence organization known as the Firm. With his all-white wardrobe, eyepatch, and distinctive voice, Archangel looked like he'd wandered in from a particularly stylish spy thriller. His uneasy relationship with Hawke gave the first season an entertaining tension. They needed each other, but neither was entirely convinced the other could be trusted.

Airwolf lost its edge and eventually its entire cast

The first season of Airwolf was surprisingly dark. Hawke essentially held the helicopter hostage, refusing to return it until the government helped locate his missing brother, St. John. That gave the series an ongoing conflict beyond its weekly missions. Hawke wasn't simply following orders, and Archangel wasn't always sure whether he was dealing with an ally or a very well-armed headache.

By season 2, the series shifted toward more conventional, family-friendly adventure. Hawke and Archangel became friendlier, the missions grew more episodic, and some of the original intrigue faded. The action was still entertaining, but the show increasingly settled into a familiar formula. Of course, when that formula involved a supersonic helicopter blowing things out of the sky, there were worse ways to spend an hour.

Then came season 4, when Airwolf somehow managed to replace nearly everything about the show except the helicopter. After CBS canceled the series in 1986, USA Network revived it in 1987 with an entirely new cast. Vincent, Borgnine, and Cord were gone, replaced by actors including Barry Van Dyke (Dick Van Dyke's son) as Hawke's long-missing brother, St. John. A much smaller budget meant extensive use of recycled aerial footage, and the result barely resembled the original series. The revival lasted just one season.

For all its ups and downs, Airwolf remains a wonderfully entertaining reminder of an era when television wasn't afraid to build an entire action series around an outrageous premise and an even more outrageous machine. It may not have always reached the heights it promised, but when Airwolf took flight, there was nothing else quite like it on television.

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Airwolf is free to watch on Roku.