# A-Team, Knightrider, that one with the helicopter **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923 "2015-02-05T21:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Steve918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@Steve918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve918)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/1 "2015-02-05T21:46:11Z")
Are there any contemporary American equivalents of ‘Eighties television programmes aimed at boys, such as The A-Team and Knightrider? These programmes may not have been great art but they had a certain moral code and were quite popular. I have nephews aged ten and twelve and have been observing the differences between what I was exposed to at their age and what they watch. As far as I can remember, these shows were shown on the UK’S main commercial network, ITV, in an early evening slot. It would be inconceivable for ITV to broadcast similar programmes now but the potential audience is still out there. There is a significant output of adult male-orientated shows such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead from the US that are popular over here, but there doesn’t seem to be anything for the demographic that my nephews currently inhabit. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/2 "2015-02-05T21:47:08Z")
_Riptide_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/3 "2015-02-05T21:48:04Z")
‘That one with the helicopter’ was _Airwolf_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/4 "2015-02-05T21:51:49Z")
Riptide had a helicopter too… it was pink and the pilot always had to thump part of it to start it. But you’re probably right… I never watched Airwolf. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7cNC8nEajPk/hqdefault.jpg "Riptide") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cNC8nEajPk) ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/5 "2015-02-05T21:53:43Z")
Unfortunately no. That style of show died out with “for syndication” shows, which was early 00s. That demographic is focused on video games now anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/6 "2015-02-05T21:59:39Z")
I would argue that, in a way, Person of Interest is a spiritual successor to the A-Team. There’s a shady group of people working to save innocent people and prevent them from harm while simultaneously hiding from law enforcement forces out to get them. Instead of cool vans and guns, they have a (basically) magical ability to get into anything computer-related. The end of the PoI intro (“If you’re number’s up, we’ll find you”) has always reminded me of the A-Team intro narration (“If you need help, and if you can find them…”). ---
**Author:** ![Steve918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@Steve918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve918)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/7 "2015-02-05T22:03:31Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Unfortunately no. That style of show died out with “for syndication” shows, which was early 00s. > That demographic is focused on video games now anyway. Yes. They’ve tried to introduce me to the pleasures of Minecraft. Can you kill the sheep? Or square chicken things? The only UK one I can think of was Robin of Sherwood. They couldn’t show people being shot with arrows in the thigh, for some reason. They could show headbutts and slashes to the belly though. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/8 "2015-02-05T22:06:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘That one with the helicopter’ was _Airwolf_. Oh, right, the one with the wife-beater. And Ernie Borgnine. There was also _Stingray_ - which had one or two very intelligent bits I remember. _Magnum PI_ started off being a lot about the Ferrari and other toys Magnum got to play with, and _Miami Vice_ had an awful lot of old Ferrari scenes, too. Rather later, there was _Renegade_ - which was sort of Knight Industries meets _Sons of Anarchy Lite_. _The Equalizer_ is getting a bit far from the premise, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/9 "2015-02-05T22:06:41Z")
I’m kind of bummed about not being able to find current shows of this mold. I can watch Knight Rider with my kid and he’ll be interested in the talking indestructible sports car and the guy fighting crime, and I don’t have to feel like I’m suffering through a pathetic kid’s show, just a dated show from my youth. Maybe I’ll look into PoI and see what it may hold for us. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/10 "2015-02-05T22:08:12Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Oh, right, the one with the wife-beater. I’d defend Jan Michael Vincent, but he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/11 "2015-02-05T22:11:39Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > _Magnum PI_ started off being a lot about the Ferrari and other toys Magnum got to play with, _Magnum PI_ also had a helicopter but, as you said, it was mostly about the Ferrari. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/12 "2015-02-05T22:24:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘That one with the helicopter’ was _Airwolf_. Don’t forget _[Blue Thunder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Thunder_(TV_series))_– starring Bubba Smith, Dick Butkus and a pre-SNL Dana Carvey. Or [Automan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automan), which didn’t star a helicopter, but featured one quite often. The 80s truly were the Decade of the Helicopter. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/13 "2015-02-05T22:27:09Z")
I’d say _Leverage_ might be a modern version of the format. While nothing modern has the same “code” as eighties shows (everything has to be “dark” and “gritty”), it had the A-team feel. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/14 "2015-02-05T22:33:11Z")
_ **This Jesse Mach, an ex-motorcycle cop, injured in the line of duty. Now a police troubleshooter, he’s been recruited for a top secret government mission to ride Street Hawk – an all-terrain attack motorcycle designed to fight urban crime, capable of incredible speeds up to three hundred miles an hour, and immense firepower. Only one man, federal agent Norman Tuttle, knows Jesse Mach’s true identity. The man…the machine…Street Hawk.** _ TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![CorneaGenii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@CorneaGenii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CorneaGenii)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/15 "2015-02-05T22:35:52Z")
_sigh_ Nobody ever thinks to include _[Street Hawk](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088618/)_ or _[Viper](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115413/?ref_=nv_sr_2)_. ☹ ETA: Ninja’d ---
**Author:** ![Steve918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@Steve918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve918)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/16 "2015-02-05T22:39:52Z")
> [@CorneaGenii](#): > > _sigh_ Nobody ever thinks to include _[Street Hawk](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088618/)_ or _[Viper](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115413/?ref_=nv_sr_2)_. ☹ > ETA: Ninja’d Or Manimal. I liked his wife. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/17 "2015-02-05T22:44:37Z")
> [@CorneaGenii](#): > > _sigh_ Nobody ever thinks to include _[Street Hawk](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088618/)_ or _[Viper](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115413/?ref_=nv_sr_2)_. ☹ Street Hawk I’d forgotten, which I think is merciful. Even Dodge was uncomfortable with Viper, I think. I remember seeing an ad, might have been the ten-year anniversary of the Viper, with timeline of events across the bottom. Very close together were “Viper TV show premieres” and “Viper TV show is cancelled.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/18 "2015-02-05T22:49:55Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > everything has to be “dark” and “gritty” I guess you don’t watch The Librarians then 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/19 "2015-02-05T22:51:43Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’d say _Leverage_ might be a modern version of the format. While nothing modern has the same “code” as eighties shows (everything has to be “dark” and “gritty”), it had the A-team feel. I’d say Burn Notice was probably quite inspired by it too. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923/20 "2015-02-06T00:43:46Z")
You could probably stretch this to _The Dukes of Hazzard_ as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-team-knightrider-that-one-with-the-helicopter/711923.md?page=2)