Screenwriting : Airwolf Reboot by Burak Kanar

Television reboots are a huge gamble for the networks. Thus the main reason why the RE-IMAGED Battlestar Galactica ended up on Cable and not Network TV. Although for Cable BSG did do very well in the ratings when compared to a Network release the Universal was right in limiting BSG to Cable only and not green lighting a Feature Film. As for Star Trek, you just can't compare the two. Star Trek has always been a continuation and not a reboot. Yes, even the last series with Scott Bakula, Enterprise was a continuation of the Star Trek sage. Seeing an Airwolf reboot would be interesting but the big consideration is budget. CGI for a TV series is expensive and a could easily top 1 or 2 million and episode for a Network run. But if they followed the BSG path and produced it in Canada for a Cable run it could be doable. The one series I would love to see get a reboot would be BLUE THUNDER. With all the NSA spying and police militarization going on in the US this would be incredibly relevant.

So glad to hear from you Carlos! I'll never forget my first lounge post comment. This is great information you just gave on BSG. I believe part reason it wasn't aired on network is it had a limited fanbase, part it didn't have the production budget to classify it solely as a network franchise. This is the drawback for leaning on CGI too much. May this also be part reason TSCC lasted only for 2 seasons? People loved Airwolf back then because all dogfights were physical action, real footage. Any fantasy or sci/fi series produced today are doomed to fail if they were to increase the CGI proportion by a single inch. For Star Trek, I'll have to disagree with you to some degree. The previous Star Trek installment with Patrick Stewart ended in 1996 with a considerable gap till 2009. The next version came with a whole new (generation of) cast and budget. I'd say it's safe to call it a reboot. For Airwolf, it's about repeating what has been done back in 1984. The industry's tenfold rich than 30 years ago. An episode of GoT costs around the same number you gave. It's all about taking the risk. They managed to do pirates & fantasy on a regular basis. Will they go for air action? It's up for consideration if the budget remains in similar limits without going overboard. Next step is Star Wars on TV, not as animated series, but as a TV show with real young & talented actors who're up for the task. I'm amazed at the ethnical diversity and quality of young actors sprouting from nowhere. I'm meeting a new one every few days. The perfect talent pool to draw from in order to depict the full spectrum of Jedi Knights, smugglers and creatures from all across the galaxy.

The reason Airwolf succeeded back in 1984 is because it was piggybacking off the popularity of Knight Rider and the movie Blue Thunder. Also network tv had a stronger programming line up with a captured audience. People wished they had technology as advanced as what they saw on tv. Now that everything is over-explained and detailed. There's no magic in watching a show about a military helicopter spying on people from afar and making unmanned strikes. Because what used to be fictional is now reality.

Thanks for your valuable contribution! An idea which doesn't attract negative criticism is (and most likely never has been) too original or too good.. just plain, unworthy of attention. There are hardcore wolf fans, those who like all above out of 80's nostalgia and probably also those who aren't into Airwolf not only as a fiction series, but the very idea of an Airwolf out of personal tastes. Take my father, who always wanted to be a war pilot before he had to settle for a whole academic career in language and litterature. He'll just laugh at the idea of Airwolf taking down jets; others will die to see it, especially with today's technology. I personally never watched Knight Rider or Blue Thunder but am sympathetic to the names just for the sake of the good old 80's. So I believe it's really a question of different tastes. It's finally up to networks to decide, upon viewer polls, whether or not such a reboot will ever be possible.

A more essential question to think about, what would be the hook of Airwolf today? The only thing I remember about Airwolf is it went mach one. Watching a one hour documentary of the AH-64 Apache on the American Heroes Channel would be more entertaining than a reboot of Airwolf. But that's just my unworthy opinion.

Hello back! First I'd like to correct a misunderstanding if I led to one. I was saying any idea which doesn't attract negative criticism is probably unworthy of attention. I honestly think the criticism itself is essential to the development of any promising idea, so I can only expect to get more of it and just be genuinely pleased! If I were to reflect on your point.. I believe it brings us back to the dilemma of reality and surreality. My favorite painters are Van Gogh and Dali, though their depictions might look childish to a great deal of art admirers, most of them possibly possessing academic knowledge on the subject. Some people will prefer Top Gun, Private Ryan or River Kwai over LOTR, Star Wars and all the many fantasy shows from the 80's. Hardcore fans of either one of these genres seldom have the least sympathy for the other. So I don't expect either the 1984 Airwolf or an actual reboot to appeal to some portion of viewers, it probably never will. In my humble opinion, an Apache could best co-star in a real war movie as air support, or at most, take on other copters as in Rambo 3's finale. So it offers very little creative maneuvrability for screenwriters to bring out anything spectacular or seminal. Airwolf on the other hand takes on copters, tanks, jets, goes up to the stratosphere, climbs down to a hundred feet from the ground and whoop goes back up with a sudden twist.. In full contrast, Airwolf offers a vast playground for imagination.. as far as it goes. (I'll go as far up as space, please read on! :)) Hell.. one could even pitch it against UFO's in a video game spinoff. Considering today's film industry's intimately linked to other entertainment media for a double-winning-purpose of making more money from a franchise and helping promote it, let me give you a handful of examples from the latest global hits that either directly or indirectly support this practice. There is a fanmade Airwolf mod and an area map full of alien specimens in GTAV about which young players are making 2+ hours-long fanvids on Youtube (and getting back hundreds of user comments - now there's a winner!) The sequel to a recent PS3 classic Red Dead Redemption was named Undead Nightmare, where the starring cowboy chases aliens instead of rednecks. All the way remembering LOTR launched an ever-expanding video game franchise on more than one genre and more than one medium. They're making a fortune from unlocking bonus characters or special powers on smartphone versions. The marketing possibilities are seemingly endless. So an instant idea I've had.. if Airwolf was remade on TV and producers decided to extend the franchise on the computer platform and a main title was published and it was a success.. It would be a brilliant idea to have the sequel star Airwolf chasing UFO's who've come down to claim our world, on the stratosphere.. or higher! Hollywood and the Silicon Valley think they can pitch a guy against zombies, so why not Airwolf against UFO's? Considering that we've bid farewell to the era of high quality space simulations after X-Wing and Space Commander for nearly two decades now.. ..and every new action game popping up from nowhere offers ridiculously poor creativity and art in comparison to the 90's all-time classics.. (I've just read on Twitter that makers of Space Invaders, one of the first games of the space simulation genre for the Atari platform, made a fortune out of it.) All in all, this is what I can say.. I just pitched an idea because I believe that's the very core Hollywood spirit. Thinking without limits.. making new things and bringing oldies back.. refusing no for an answer to the laughs of many.. (producers?) I've shared some Airwolf vids from Youtube on my Google+ account just for the fun of it. The last comment prior to mine was made like 11 months ago. It's getting a new vote up every few days. Not so frequently.. but not never either! Some people supposedly come check it up. How big of an audience, I really can't tell. I can just speculate there's candlelight at the end of the tunnel.

Burak, Yeah I remember how popular Airwolf was back in the day. The live action shots of the helicopter we unmatched by any other network at the time. A fun show, the hook was basically, what if an A-Team had a super secret helicopter to save the world. The biggest problem was that the story lines were minimal just like the A-team and Airwolf didn't have the fun characters like the A-team. Which is the big drawback these days, with the competition from Cable shows the writing would need to be top notch and not the run of the mill action writing. But it could be done if a network found the right big named star. Star Wars on TV? Wow, that would definitely have to be produced outside the US. But imagine the licensing potential around the world! Disney could put in on just about every country covering their production cost ten times over! Thing is with such a fanatic fan base the budget would be astronomical, probable 2-3 million minimum. But it would be so cool to see a Star Wars live action series.

Exactly.. without top directing and actors it's hard for any reboot to survive for long. In my opinion that would also be the hook itself you've emphasized, seen the new popularity the Chris Pine-Zachary Quinto-Zoe Saldana trio brought to the Star Trek franchise (without forgetting the short cameo from Leonard Nimoy!) I always used to think Wars and Trek fans were as opposed to each other as in the Celtics/Rangers rivalry.. now to my amazement I'm officially a Trek fan as well! The same financial roadblocks obviously apply for Star Wars, so a joint production with the countries that the series would be involved with seems to be a way out. Take, for a hypothetical Star Wars show, it could be a USA /UK (Scotland) /Australia co-production, covering most of the forest, desert and winter locations and also splitting the costs. This could be the way to produce next-gen high-budget live TV shows.. I believe it's already being done in GoT.

Believe me I wasn't trying to be a naysayer to a potential reboot. I just had a hard time remembering what made Airwolf stand out. After reading your response and Carlos response the premise of the show is coming back to me. I think you hit upon a potential hook. Have the new Airwolf exceed the capabilities of the Lockheed SR-71/SR-72. Give it the computing power of RIKEN. Also make it a quadcopter. Have a special payload deployment of Boston Dynamic Big Dog, DARPA Atlas, Honda ASIMO, and Kawada HRP-4. Have Airwolf hack M.I.T and Carnegie Mellon for academic/industrial espionage assassinations. And for the season finale have Airwolf submerge below the water and attack a submarine. Also the pilots of Airwolf can never be identified. Wait til season 3 to show their faces. I'm on board as a writers assistant, freelance writer, or do I dare say it staff writer. And maybe co-show runner.

I believe it's best to keep things simple. A little physical makeup to a modern helicopter of choice, same crew -with a younger cast- but nothing too fancy. :) Among the first guys I've met on this platform, director of photography Andrew Sobkovich provided some broad information on the new types of camera and shooting techniques which might render this somewhat hard reboot plausible for the modern eye. According to his experience it's possible to capture high end dogfight sequences cost-affordably, at times with the help of drones, reducing crew number and expenses. All the more why proper budgeting seems to be the main roadblock for this project if and when quality casting and affordable tech are provided. It's a relief though to know there are at least two professionals with particular knowledge on aircraft and aerial shooting techniques who could help with the project.

Hi Burak, What exactly is your question? Are you asking if a possible Airwolf reboot is on the cards or are you saying you'd like to pitch an Airwolf reboot? They have already tried a reboot of Knight Rider, that lasted one season. You seem to have a love of aviation and a childhood love of the original Airwolf series, which has convinced you that a reboot would be great. Personally, I don't think so. If you suggesting that you pitch a reboot of Airwolf, you don't own the rights to the source material. Kind Regards, Eoin

Actually its common to pitch known IP pilots in tv. Either the original IP holders will disregard the pitch or it can serve as a writing sample. I actually thought about writing a "AMC The Walking Dead" episode.

Hi Eoin, I've just been speculating and sharing information on the success of a potential Airwolf remake in what seems to be an appropriate place for it. I don't intend to infringe the legal rights of the people who brought this franchise to us, though I'm hoping a new team of talents with or without me will bring it back to surface by presenting a well-rounded project to Universal Studios. Sincerely, Burak

You brought up an interesting issue. Who is the star of the Airwolf reboot the chopper or the pilots. You might have to go with a clear canopy, clear helmet visor in the flight scenes. That's a tricky balancing act.

Excellent point. The late trend in TV shows is to lift all up by outstanding acting (as opposed to the 80's shows that relied on super vehicles as the main and only hook), particularly through relatively unknown young talents. So it'd be a wise thing to make that a priority or the show may be a terrible fail. After a short while that this reboot idea hit my mind, I quite undeliberately pictured some names who at the moment seemed to be capable of uplifting the show (though it might be hard to convince them for such a risky project since they're all doing fine with their routine). I may DM you those I have in mind. Now while signing the cast seems to be harder, gathering the proper crew may be an easier task seen that me, a total stranger to Hollywood made acquaintance with both a fine director of photography with aerial expertise and a screenwriter particularly interested in helicopters. It's really awesome. I can imagine the legion of professionals whom producers might pick among in the US. Returning to our priority dilemma, it would also be weird for a chopper flick to underrate the action part for the benefit of quality acting. So.. I believe firmly the copter, which is going to come 2nd in screentime priority (ratio of dogfights to total is like 5% max), must remain believable for the audience. Your question made me also think of the perfect example on where Airwolf should stand in the early 2000's. In my humble opinion.. it should stand exactly where Christopher Nolan repositioned the 90's fancy Batmobile in today's reality : An expensive high-tech engine with point modifications made upon a change in purpose. Drawing from your parody of Airwolf diving into the sea for the season finale.. that could very well mean the series finale. The copter should be kept, as in the original version, a modified, advanced attack helicopter, pushing (not exceeding!) the limits of current aerodynamics.. anything beyond that becomes sci-fi and denies real(istic) action. (The Mach1+ problematic which seems to be the greatest mental block could be overrided with a new scientific explanation in the introduction, or just overlooked for the higher good) That's all, and that's all that has to be! Present company excepted, people in general would object to an Airwolf remake because they would envision it as a spacecraft since we're in a new millenium (only 30 years have passed over the original), but they wouldn't consider putting it out there the way it is, just remodeling it for today's expectations and not tomorrow's. There's Minority Report for that, for God's sake! About the cockpit interior.. Previous directors seem to have taken your suggestion about the visor seriously also back then. If you'll recall, Hawke only used to put the visor down right before locking on a target and would remove it quickly thenafter. The helmet would be on all the time, but the audience had to see Jan-Michael Vincent's compassion and reactions moment by moment. I would suggest the same route followed in the reboot. Now about captivating a fresh audience cinematographically.. I believe Airwolf's success to create a fanbase for dogfights lied in formidable piloting and aerial shots, which frankly should be nominated an Oscar-deserving performance if one takes into account the technological leap in the past 30 years of moviemaking! They took a regular Bell copter designed for transportation, gave it a cool look with added weaponry, turbo thrusters and vent stacks.. for a static appeal. While dynamic action got highlighted by moments of piloting & shooting skills : a full spin to go from a nose-up climb to a full dive, a quick vertical climb to attempt a lock-on, a horizontal full reverse engine to face a target head on after running over it. 3:15 to 4:10 from the "Fallen Angel" clip below is broadly what needs to be enhanced and replicated with today's technology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glgMeX5c6wo With the new micro/remote camera technologies Andrew spoke of it's possible to shoot the little turns, dodges and sprints in much greater detail. Just for the record, for better realism, it's also a good idea to use ground/terrain advantage between copters and jets when it is applicable. On forest, valley, mountain locations.. Overall, a well-chosen, fresh-looking but not futuristic copter, displaying enhanced maneuvrability and a series of high-tech gadgets and weaponry. A greater scope of lethal enemy weaponry as part of the hook, instead of using 'red alert' relics MIG's for 4 whole seasons. On top of that as a basis, perfect casting, a skillful team of pilots (job opportunity for ex-army members?), a set of talented screenwriters and cam operators, a good accounting team to mix this all up in an affordable budget and a good director will do.

After watching that clip I kinda see high production costs involved. Outside of the actual missile launches that was pretty high quality sfx. You read my mind because I was trying to remember what Airwolfs main vehicle adversary was. Most communist block nations have some type of MiG variant. Maybe Airwolf could be based in another country neutral to the US policy or opposed. That way you open up the variety of fighter jets. Also looking at the helmets in those clips would be a no-go today even though they were technically correct. Essentially a full open face design flip-top visor for maximum actor/actress visibility. Is the UH-60L Black Hawk sexy, AH-64D Longbow Apache ???, RAH-66 Comanche ???, or something more along the lines of Kawasaki OH-1. Maybe the crew can be two pilots, one weapon system, one commander field operative. At most only three are ever on the ground at one time. As far as actors one character has to have either Brad Pitt looks or Tom Cruise. You capture two major audiences women, and action picture lovers. Maybe a Kate Mulgrew as a type of operations controller. Maybe a Kim Jong series nemesis. Its starting to look doable if the series reflects current political climate.

Hi my friend! Your post led me to contemplate on a few good matters so let me enumerate some and then check on those copters you've suggested. Your first paragraph really points to the backbone of this show, if it was ever to air. Shortly, the missile shots, machine guns, flares etc. would have to be SFX, but most of the aircraft, Airwolf to begin with, need to be real except for the mock-ups used in the destruction sequences, as in the original series. This is ultimately what will bring the network to a budgeting decision, but also what will make it stand out or fail as an imitation, just as happened in the 4th season where all air action was put together from previous seasons footage and accordingly put aside by Airwolf fans.. Now the question of the antagonist deserves a particular focus since that was arguably a weakness, given the political circumstances, technological capabilities and dramatic creativity those times offered. One can't blame a hater for suggesting most plots were in vain and the villains too dull, other than just acting evil. We need to separate Airwolf antagonists in two : people and the aircraft. For the people part, the main antagonist is supposed to be Dr. Charles Henry Moffett, builder of Airwolf, both genius and sociopath, thus a personality good enough for main antagonist, in my opinion, quite assimilable to Moriarty from Holmes. Yet, this guy was already dead by the very first season of Airwolf, only to be replaced by a horde of fifth-rate one-timer villains who would, out of nowhere, come up with a bright idea, usually in the shape of an advanced aircraft they would be plotting to use against the forces of good, and eventually be trashed along with it by the end of the episode. This is a very outdated, uncreative and unattractive standard for today and a shortcut to fail. For the machinery part, as above, none got to appear in more than one episode; and in a handful where the screenwriters decided to pitch Airwolf against its match; an Airwilf II called Redwolf, a Harrier with the mind-reading Fortune Teller device, a Vaught V4U corsair, HX-1 (a Sikorksy).. those were the few episodes to hold a value of remembrance. Most others were regular attack copters like HUEYs that didn't seem to make a difference. In order to counter the weakness in both terms, the show would need a very firm plot basis (separately from the turns and twists in each episode) and a major cast, emphasizing the commons and contrasts among the protagonists and between the protagonists and antagonists; the FIRM organization and most definitely another secret (global) organization it faces in most of the storyline, except when sidetracking for individual plot developments. Moffett could be the very head of this global terrorist organisation, just like SPECTRE and Number 1.. or.. be linked closely with it and feed them perpetually with crucial top-secret intel on US or NATO infrastructures/operations, blackmailing the latter for funding his evil scientist research or again help their enemies with the development of super-weapons like Airwolf.. a modern Redwolf for instance.. and.. in rare cases, like in a season finale, or at unexpected times during a season (without prior notice on episode ads), appear on a big screen (Airwolf's, on a mission, or the FIRM's command center, similar to the MI6 headquarters from Bond movies), signaling an upcoming threat in person (as in Moffet's Ghost by when he was long dead and had priorly set to activate a virus on Airwolf to take hold of its computer systems).. or come out as a direct adversary, piloting one of these aircrafts he helped design against Airwolf (since he's highly dexterious with his creation other than ingenious). Or all of the above! Point is.. Moffett is such a treasure that would be a waste to overlook. He could appear in a similar fashion, in my opinion, to Vane from Black Sails. With minor screen time -in the beginning-, he became one of the plot centers by the end of the season.. because he was a "character" all the time, and led to unthought possibilities to be explored later on. A pirate takeover on the coastline. This being told, it's not a big stretch, seen that the likes of Airwolf are belittled for being simple action shows, to think that Moffett's sadomasochistic behavior towards women (and suggestibly his staff, similar to Vader and his crew) could be treated in more depth, exploring the thin line between genius and insanity, the rise and fall of moral values in a human being as a result of external conditions and how a savior may turn into a traitor.. thus endowing the show with more of a message-giving character and more uncharted territory for dramatics to explore.. Many who desire an Airwolf remake will insist on keeping Moffett as the lead villain, or at least one of them. I'd make him even darker, erratic and sick; rounding up his personality in all aspects and giving it a modern shape for today's expectations from villains. To give a perfect example, make him a bit like Javier Bardem in Skyfall. Once Moffett is settled, along with the 5 other main characters, namely, *Hawke *Dom *Archangel *Caitlin *Marella other minor villains' design becomes a routine. I've got also some practical suggestions for Moffett's casting. This both physically and intellectually "evil German/Russian" stereotype of the Cold War times (though Moffett was never explicited that way) has been widely referred to in Hollywood, though recently making appearences mostly in comedy shows (such as Klaus on American Dad) or parodies of old times. So this may be an orange alert that the stereotype needs a slight make-up, if not a total makeover. Moffett, in the original show, was cited to be an American, and no further references were made to his ethnic roots. He could be remade into a once-bright, world-reknowned American scientist, expatriated to the US for some unknown reason when he was young (only this time, through this unknown, we have a mystery to delve upon : why was he kicked out of his native country, what did his people not like or fear about him?). He became a legend among the world of army/engineering for his remarkable talent at devising aircraft like Airwolf or imbuing them with breakthrough innovations. At some point, he flipped out and vanished from sight. (This in my view is a better means to have the audience speculate about him than simply pointing to a monetary conflict with his bosses) By the time of Airwolf, he might already be long gone and little by little, speculatively associated with some weird stuff happening around the world, with terrorists getting the upper hand in some locations. It might be some time for him to reveal himself directly to the FIRM, or for the FIRM to discover him. (A great moment of stupefaction and sudden realization for Archangel that I can play in my head right now starring Alex Cord). This might make things much more interesting. So back to the ethnicity problem.. why not make of Moffett a slightly differed version of the classic European or Far Eastern ingenious villain, and give him Swedish, Norwegian or South African origins, instead of going with the German stereotype? Something people could also relate with the development of his psycopathic nature, not literally "the" concentration camp maybe, but "a" slave camp (which is up for a brainstorming session of its own).. or somewhere he was constantly bullied, put down for coming from a poor family.. or an abusive childhood that he had to take to the very end (till he finally killed his parents and got away with it and to the US, under a fake identity?) The actor might very well be picked from, as follows, a Northern.. A Northern American, a Scandinavian.. someone with cold, dead looks, clear blue/green eyes and a pale skin. A (dreadfully) white man. I also have a suggestion for that, that I'm gonna DM you. A very recent newcomer from a late comic adaptation series, though his age might be an issue. Finally, last but not least, the age levels of the whole cast is a serious issue of consideration.. Make them too old and it's the old Airwolf, make them too young and who knows what you'll get.. What I have in mind though is a young crew, overall. Actors in their late 20s / early 30s, perfectly fit to make a sudden flash in a silent and terribly failed reboot industry. If a proper cast could be found for all these parts, keeping their relative age restrictions, this may be another problem well resolved. Whoa! There's a lot to imagine, a lot to speculate and obviously a lot to write after every new post of yours which leads to a new brainstorming session. Maybe it's also time to put some of these in organised form. I'll go check some copters and come back to share more thoughts. In the meanwhile, since you're the one who's come up with names, can you give me a Bell, if they have anything nice to offer? (Not for the record, totally as a fan request!)

I've DM'd you my cast suggestions, also checked yours on the next copter of choice. First of all, a cabin space of up to 4 crew members is required if the original setting is to be kept, so that is seats for a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and a minimum of one extra spot for unexpected passengers like a saved prisoner. Seen that the old Bell 222 was originally designed for medical transportation, this was not much of an issue. I would say none of the choices above offer much in terms of elegance, maybe except for the RAH-66 Comanche which might bring a futuristic taste (though crew capacity remains an issue). Since this is a TV show and even today's most advanced copter still won't match the fictional features attributed to it, it may not be a necessity to pick from a military copter. It could be anything, actually. The funny idea I've had right now, was to computer-remodel a new Airwolf from the original design and have it built with minimal specifications and minimal costs, just good enough to ensure proper shooting for the air sequences. Making a special contract with the manufacturer, for hiring the copter over a fixed price for every episode/seasons and revising it if the show continues longer than estimated. Obviously the other choice is to pick a ready design and hire it with the right to make modifications on it. This Bell Jet Ranger X looks like one such cute chopper which could be played upon : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XssmNATesUI&list=UUNzUMvXNewuUaA9jTzzIhOQ It keeps the 222 elegance, giving it a modern look, cheaper than military choppers anyway and provides the required crew capacity. How about it?

I will comment in depth later about the choice of copter. Just to bring to your attention the fan base I'm researching. The main appeal of Airwolf is actual chopper flight footage. The apparent downfall of the series had to do with re-using stock footage and all aerial dogfights took place in the same California desert region. Just by going by fan base reaction a CGI Airwolf would be an instant no regardless if it makes economic sense. Highly detailed models in a blue or green room with motion controlled cameras might be the go between substitute. Also another major niggling point was no one actually died on the show except the enemy MiG pilots. I'll message you my analysis after I view all of season one.

A quick reminder : according to my own research, Airwolf's decline started well before Season 4, with creator Donald Bellisario quitting the team after Season 2 and the show making a sudden change of track in storytelling after Season 1, which led CBS to let it go by the end of Season 3. CBS supposedly wanted to make the show more family-friendly from Season 2 on, switching from the international conflicts-based Cold War scheme to national issues and adding a female lead (Caitlin the flight engineer) to the crew. For equally powerful dramatics it is also my view to keep Caitlin as a major character, but it'd still be wise to keep in mind that this move didn't do much good for ratings, with an ever-decreasing slope. So without hastily discarding Caitlin or all the pros of Seasons 2&3 it looks imperative to discern the reasons behind the show's downfall towards Season 4. As a conservatist in tastes, my gut feeling is to keep the original Season 1 spirit, particularly the international plotline and as well do justice to the improvements made in the following seasons, such as the laser add-on from Season 4 which is considered to be the worst among all the four. This will require some rigorous detective work and a delicate balance.

Airwolf was fun for a while, so a remake is sort of interesting. It has to be up to date and different than the flawed and frankly silly show it was. Character and story driven always is better that gadget driven. A sleek looking helicopter was pretty good for a season 30 years ago, but what would have the equivalent impact now? Light bending invisibility? Personal flight packs? Some sort of transporter beam? Perhaps a period piece with then astounding technology, i.e. what would Jules Verne do? SteamPunk roolez!!!! or whatever. The characters and the story are a big deal. A credible backstory, and flawed approachable real characters help any story. Are the stories international spy-guy stuff or saving a kitten in a tree? With the advent of increasing numbers of "superheros" on television, what would set a re-done Airwolf apart from them? I’m not sure that more better flying sequences are enough to carry a series. A redone Airwolf has to be freshly conceived for the current story-telling world.

Actually the idea is to keep the storyline and characters much or less as they were and improve upon them as you suggest. That's why I also think this won't work without top-class actors and screenwriters, and particularly for Airwolf, equally skilled pilot and camera teams. Stories are more likely to be internationally oriented since that provides a greater range of script material for long term and also is more interesting than national conflicts. Since the old Bell still keeps its allure to date, it's preferable to pick (or have designed) a new chopper with modern looks yet physically not differing much from it. A model which has the looks of a wolf from the front and a shark from beneath. This is how she looks in a simulated modern environment, not too bad a reference for a possible TV remake with a real model. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1E53SXFfIs

@ Andrew You can read from prior posts me and Burak debated some of the topics you brought up. In my own research I discovered the humble origins of Blue Thunder and Airwolf. Both helicopters were regular working civilian helicopters dressed up to their final versions. This erases some of the financial difficulties. It now becomes a task of a set designer to re-envision some production model into something 30 years more advanced while still being air worthy. The biggest hook of the show was practical effects. Any CGI helicopter footage will equal a short series run. Although I didn't take the current stake of Superheros on tv and the big screen, that particular genre is reaching a point of saturation. And yes Airwolf would have to be very relevant to today's world. The short jaded attention span of today's audience will have to be addressed. A reboot does have legs its just a matter of getting it airborne.

@Demiurgic Endeavors Hi, you once said Airwolf didn't meet its match, which holds correct for more than half of the episodes featuring MIG fighters and those round choppers in dogfights. So I thought maybe you might find this a bit interesting.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiLy7wZeqa4

I have a written scrip of airwolf 3 soldier of fortune my name is Keith Noel. apolloknight16@gmail.com