Blue Thunder (Season 1)

Blue Thunder (1984) is an American action series you can watch online on iFILM. ABC spun it off from the 1983 feature film, keeping the real star of the show: a heavily armed, surveillance-packed attack helicopter nicknamed Blue Thunder.

The crew patrols the skies over Los Angeles, chasing criminals the regular police can't reach. On the ground they're backed by a unit called Rolling Thunder — a hulking support van with an off-road buggy stashed inside. James Farentino flies as Frank Chaney, and the ground team pairs two former NFL players, Bubba Smith and Dick Butkus. A young Dana Carvey also turns up here, years before Saturday Night Live made him a name.

ABC pulled the plug after just eleven episodes: stuck on Friday nights, it lost the ratings war to CBS rivals Airwolf and Dallas. That makes it a short, cheerfully dated relic from the golden age of helicopter-cop TV — best enjoyed for the nostalgia and the vintage stunt work. Stream every episode of Blue Thunder (1984) online on iFILM.