Blue Thunder

Blue Thunder is an American action drama television series based on the movie of the same title that aired on ABC from January 6 until April 16, 1984, featuring the Blue Thunder helicopter. The series uses the converted Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter and large portions of stock footage from the 1983 film. A ground unit named "Rolling Thunder" backed up the helicopter in the television series. This was a large support van with a desert camouflage off-road vehicle stored inside. The television series cast includes James Farentino, future Saturday Night Live regular Dana Carvey, and former professional American football players Bubba Smith and Dick Butkus. A mid-season replacement, eleven episodes were made before the series was canceled by ABC due to low ratings.