Blue Thunder: The Complete Series Blu Ray Review (Sony Pictures)

Blue Thunder is a 1984 action television series directed by Guy Magar (Retribution, Children of the Corn: Revelation, La Femme Nikita, Stepfather 3, and The A-Team), Bernard McEveety (Gunsmoke, Airwolf, Knight Rider, and The Incredible Hulk), Gilbert M. Shilton (The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, La Femme Nikita, The Flash, and Poltergeist: The Legacy), Earl Bellamy (CHiPs, Speedtrap, and The Mod Squad), Phil Bondelli (The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, and S.W.A.T.), Bernard L. Kowalski (Sssssss, Baretta, Terror in the Sky, and Mission: Impossible), and Charlie Picerni (T.J. Hooker, Tales from the Crypt, and Spenser: For Hire). It was produced by Donald Baer (The Boy Who Drank Too Much, Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier, Tomorrow’s Child, and Tales of the Gold Monkey). It’s featured in the MacGyver pilot. It’s a follow up to 1983’s Blue Thunder!!!! The Blue Thunder Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department which includes Frank Chaney (played by: James Farentino from Dead and Buried, The Final Countdown, Bulletproof, Dynasty, and ER), Clinton “JAFO” Wonderlove (played by: Dana Carvey from Wayne’s World franchise, Saturday Night Live, The Master of Disguise, Trapped in Paradise, Clean Slate, and Opportunity Knocks), Captain Braddock (played by: Sandy McPeak from Patton, Kelly’s Heroes, Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo, and Murder, She Wrote), Richard “Ski” Butowski (played by: Dick Butkus from NFL, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, The Last Boy Scout, Spontaneous Combustion, and Any Given Sunday), and Lyman “Bubba” Kelsey (played by: Bubba Smith from NFL, Police Academy franchise, My Samurai, Black Moon Rising, and The Silence of the Hams) operates a special helicopter. It’s fully equipped with miraculous facilities including its being able to run almost silent to continue to surprise the ruthless criminals that they track down!!!! Blue Thunder is really only connected by it’s title when it comes to the original feature. That movie was more adult, this is aimed at TV family time so it’s very different and a little tamer for the mainstream. It’s more of an alternate universe with some similar aspects that connect both of them. It still has the Braddock character here but it’s been recast. It does have plenty of action but it has way more comedy added to the mix to balance it out and separate itself from it’s source material. ABC didn’t promote it enough so it got buried as a mid season replacement to fill in a slot. Plus it’s scripts and stories were basic and they didn’t push any boundaries. Blue Thunder had so much competition like Airwolf, Knight Rider, The A-Team, Magnum P.I., The Fall Guy, The Dukes of Hazzard, Hunter, and Miami Vice when it aired so it struggled to find it’s viewers for it’s one season before it was cancelled. I personally think it would have gotten a bigger following if it came back after this. The Rolling Thunder vehicle was an interesting addition to this show. The special unit includes James Farentino, Dana Carvey, Sandy McPeak, Dick Butkus, and Bubba Smith. It’s loaded with talent and familiar faces. They were a good team together and I enjoyed their unpredictable chemistry. It only lasted 11 episodes but it had some over the top villains that were mainly portrayed by skilled character actors that made every week a total blast. The supporting cast includes Richard Lynch (Invasion U.S.A.), Geoffrey Lewis (Double Impact), Ted White (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead), M.C. Gainey (Con Air), Kurtwood Smith (RoboCop), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks), Paul Koslo (Robot Jox),.Ann Cooper (Blue Sunshine), Kelly Preston (Christine), Tracy Scoggins (Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), Liz Torres (Gilmore Girls), Gregory Sierra (Deep Cover), George Gaynes (Police Academy franchise), David Spielberg (Christine), Scott Hylands (Night Heat), Dennis Holahan (Halloween II), Richard Yniguez (Boulevard Nights), Maylo McCaslin (Superstition), Belinda Montgomery (Miami Vice), Thalmus Rasulala (Above the Law), Robert DoQui (RoboCop), Edward Grover (Death Wish), and Peter Elbling (Phantom of the Paradise). Honestly, this would have survived if it wasn’t for Airwolf. They both were too similar and it obviously won when it came to the ratings. The super vehicle was extremely popular during the 80’s so they thought they had a hit with this but it never made a dent on the small screen. Second Thunder, Revenge in the Sky, Skydiver, The Long Flight, and The Godchild were the stand out episodes when it came to this. Blue Thunder wasn’t afraid to be campy or over the top, it seemed like it didn’t really know what it really wanted to be which probably divided it’s chances at a specific target audience. Regardless, it’s very fun and entertaining, it just something that you don’t take seriously. It’s a time capsule back into the 80’s and it takes you back to those times!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Sony Pictures! These 1080p (1.33:1) transfers on all 11 episodes actually look way better than expected. It looks great and much sharper, it almost feels like watching it for the very first time. It blows away the 2006 DVD release when it comes to home video. I am surprised that this got upgraded before so many other television productions but it makes sense because Arrow Video just released the original film in 4K so it’s an interesting companion piece to that despite them being nothing alike for the most part. It has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks on all 3 discs. Blue Thunder has lots of action so the audio sounds awesome for all of it’s crazy moments during it’s single season. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the chaos is elevated, and the music has a big boost to it. It has English and English SDH subtitles. There’s no bonus material on this home video release. It’s available everywhere right now including Moviezyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!