Firestorm is a strange episode but in a good way! What works in Firestorm is we got an old fashion U F O story! There is the town drunk and near bar fight and Alpha male posturing for a good start. Santini wonders about the friend. What works is the story about the ex general and the Vietnam experience, which glides into the middle of Firestorm. What is the former general up too? I love the editor for fading to black and white for the viewer and learn of the deep hidden pain of Hawke's past. The plot twist of the hidden camp and finding out what the is up too is brilliant. Airwolf to the rescue. I never will forget the fad to black and white with the atomic explosion. The ending hits like wallop. Very coldwarish with the feel for the 80's A memorable episode. 7 stars.
4 Reviews
Airwolf - Firestorm
Scarecrow-884 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
A rogue former general named Sandhower (Joseph Campanella) has set up base in the desert near a former Nam pilot's little trailer home. This pilot, Eddie (Eugene Roche, last seen in a different role in the very first episode of "Airwolf" as a senator killed by Airwolf's first terrorist pilot), is a struggling alcoholic (some believe this is a shot at star Jan-Michael Vincent's own problem-causing bouts with booze during the show's run) and friend of Santini's. As Eddie's claims of "lights in the sky" while stumbling-over drunk fall on deaf ears, eventually Santini also sees what his war buddy has been insisting, the two of them eventually captured by Sandhower, holding them prisoner while String investigates their whereabouts. Sandhower and his illegal armed squad, camped and prepared to make a statement about how America has decided to avoid confrontation (essentially "going soft") with the likes of Russia, equipped with a nuclear warhead (!) that will be launched towards its target country to initiate WWIII, must be stopped or else. String is momentarily also captured by Sandhower, drugged to determine what he knows about Firestorm (the nuclear launch operation), eventually freeing himself thanks in part to flimsy security guarding the building he's held in along with Eddie and Santini. The plot is questionable at best-how could Sandhower equip himself with the resources and nuclear warhead capabilities when he's obviously a threat, considering what he has said on record after discharge-but Santini and String firing off machine guns against Sandhower's armed guard, with some brief Airwolf action (engaged with choppers, and ultimately targeting Sandhower's warhead as it begins to launch towards its desired destination), could mask the episode's flaws. The mushroom cloud that goes up after the warhead is destroyed, reaching Sandhower's own base (of course) and nearly taking out Airwolf, would have left a lot of the area surrounding it under serious radioactive fallout so that is also a rather staggering plot hole avoided altogether. Eddie's need for the happy juice appears more important to the episode than Sandhower's WWIII plot, featuring Santini's attempts to help his friend get over his downward spiral, started after a Nam chopper crash due to mechanical malfunction. The desert backdrop is an atmospheric presence, even if the action plot remains rather suspect. No mention of the Firm, ArchAngel, or Caitlin in this episode. The second season remains oddly laid out at the start considering the efforts made during the first season (a judgment by the powers-that-be, seemingly because the first season's story arc was too "dark") of the show. String, with little patience for Eddie's lack of belief in his capabilities anymore as a pilot (he would need to assist String because Santini was shot in the arm during the machine gun standoff at Sandhower's headquarters), ordering him to quit being a nuisance and help to successfully carry out their mission is an ironic parallel to Jan-Michael's own difficulties on-set of the show.
Major edit goof
ecrocker10 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
When String, Dominick and his friend escape from a missile base String is in jeans and a button down shirt. When he gets to the lair and gets on or in to Airwolf you see him zipping up his flight suit and putting on his helmet. When String lands at Doms friends house trailer you see him step out back in his jeans and shirt. You have to admit that Belasarious has a very creative mind when it comes to his shows. I tried to give him a plot to work with while Jag was still on Network TV but his production company pooh poohed me. I must say that most of the scenarios of his show make one wonder. I mean Does a chopper like Airwolf really exist? Is it like Kitt on Knight Rider? I mean both were fast and both were bullet proof.
Firestorm
Prismark101 August 2020
Firestorm is a curious episode. I did not like it much the first time I saw it, although I thought it was better on a rewatch although it is flawed.
It raises the issue of alcoholism and does it without having a nice neat ending to it. It also has a general who was a little too bloodthirsty in Vietnam and has the issue of nuclear weapons. Nuclear missiles were very topical back in the mid 1980s.
Eddie Donahough is an old Vietnam war buddy of Santini. He is also a drunk and claims to see UFOs near his trailer.
No one believes him, not even Santini. However one night Santini who is with Eddie sees some bright lights. Both disappear.
Hawke who goes looking for Santini but he gets taken by a mad general called Sandhower (Joseph Campanella) who thinks the US government has gone soft against the Soviets.
Sandhower has a private army base near Eddie's trailer. Sandhower tortures Hawke and he gets flashbacks of Sandhower in Vietnam.
The climax is Airwolf going against Sandhower's arsenal which includes nuclear missiles.
There is some very 1980s television special effects depicting a nuclear explosion, although you do expect for there to be a lot of devastation. You do wonder why Sandhower had a base so near Eddie's trailer.
Even Santini jokes with Hawke that Airwolf does not get out much. I thought it would hardly be used in this episode, it gets a good airing at the end.
It raises the issue of alcoholism and does it without having a nice neat ending to it. It also has a general who was a little too bloodthirsty in Vietnam and has the issue of nuclear weapons. Nuclear missiles were very topical back in the mid 1980s.
Eddie Donahough is an old Vietnam war buddy of Santini. He is also a drunk and claims to see UFOs near his trailer.
No one believes him, not even Santini. However one night Santini who is with Eddie sees some bright lights. Both disappear.
Hawke who goes looking for Santini but he gets taken by a mad general called Sandhower (Joseph Campanella) who thinks the US government has gone soft against the Soviets.
Sandhower has a private army base near Eddie's trailer. Sandhower tortures Hawke and he gets flashbacks of Sandhower in Vietnam.
The climax is Airwolf going against Sandhower's arsenal which includes nuclear missiles.
There is some very 1980s television special effects depicting a nuclear explosion, although you do expect for there to be a lot of devastation. You do wonder why Sandhower had a base so near Eddie's trailer.
Even Santini jokes with Hawke that Airwolf does not get out much. I thought it would hardly be used in this episode, it gets a good airing at the end.
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