Airwolf : Out of the Sky

 A good bit of the first season really leaned on The Firm missions for the Airwolf, plenty of global and government espionage and intrigue, politically charged and the stories were seemingly never too far away from sky battles with terrorism plots even woven in. Then the second season seemed to change a lot, veering away from String and Santini tackling serious missions, instead opting to stick them with stunt jobs to help fund their helicopter company. "Out of the Sky", to me, is the bottom of the barrel in terms of wasting the initial premise in favor of mediocre plots...a Country music star (Misty Rowe) kidnapped while a doppleganger is set up to be crushed by a prop spaceship loaded with explosives to go off so the audience is provided a light show...Rowe's agent (Mayf Nutter) decides to kill her off so the record sales increase substantially in order for him to pay off his debts! Stringfellow Hawke is smitten with the singer/songwriter and wants to make sure she is rescued and to keep the agent and his assistant (Bercovici) from causing a serious incident. When it is pondered just why Jan-Michael Vincent was deep in the throes of alcoholism, watching Airwolf collapse into these kinds of stories is reason enough to understand. While the third season had its good episodes, "Out of the Sky" really signaled a forgettable nadir and far cry from the exciting adventures and thrilling suspense plots so prevalent in the first season. It was as if the writing by this point was tired and out of strong ideas. The second season sure needed to get to its end for a refresher of the third season. Get back to what the Airwolf is meant for and allow String and Santini (and Caitlin, too) to have those former challenges that gave this show its thrust and vitality.