Created by Michael Berk and Douglas Schwartz
Produced by Berk - Schwartz - Bonann Productions
Rysher Entertainment
Music by Cory Lerios and John D'Andrea
Title Music by Cory Lerios, Pamela Phillips Oland, Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart and John McGuire
REGULAR CAST
Spence (RJ "Hurricane" Spencer)
Terry "Hulk" Hogan
Bru (Martin Brubaker)
Chris Lemmon
Kelly "Legs" LaRue -- Carol Alt
Jessica Spencer -- Ashley Gorell
Edward Whitaker -- Patrick Macnee
(Episodes in no particular order)
PILOT
Spence (a tactical expert) and Bru (a technical whizz and computer genius) quit the US SEALs in order to design and build Thunder, a dream of a boat (and cunningly bigger inside than out - which we may or may not have been supposed to notice). The building of the boat having been an expensive process, and a hoped for naval contract having been lost, they are in danger of losing their baby, until it transpires that Megan Whitaker, a local woman whose daughter Spence and Bru have befriended, is about to lose her hotel due to a glitch in her father's will; she has to be married in order to retain her inheritance. Spence marries her, on the understanding that she will pay off the bank debts, whereupon the trio enter into an extremely unlikely alliance when they come into the possession of a treasure map. Needless to say, there are bad guys after the treasure too.
Writer Michael Berk, Director Douglas Schwartz
Guests: Sam Jones -- Head Bad Guy
EYE FOR AN EYE
Spence and Bru go to Cuba, to rescue the wife and child of a defector. Bru catches a cold, which is infinitely funnier than it sounds, and the pair of them manage to blow up half of Cuba's coastline (well, it looks like it anyway) whilst rescuing the afore mentioned pair. Dubiously saccharine ending, but one becomes immune to these things. Writer Michael Berk, Director Gregory J. Bonann TUG OF WAR
An old enemy of Spence and Bru's - the despicable Hammerhead - gets hold of the control disk for a top secret naval device. The boys are despatched to get it back, but at the same time must deal with Uncle Edward Whitaker, who wants to send Jessica back to England to live with relatives (Megan, it transpires, has been killed in a road accident whilst visiting her homeland). Writer Michael Berk, director Douglas Schwarz STRANGE BRU Strange events lead Spence and Bru on the trail of voodoo practitioners, who are determined to turn Spence into a zombie. Protected by a charm, he leads the battle against them, whilst Bru, in a great performance from Chris Lemmon, hallucinates wildly after being shot with a poisoned arrow. Writer David Braff, Director Lyndon Chubbuck GETTYSBURG: CHANGE OF ADDRESS Another old enemy of Spence and Bru's, an army captain named Fitch who was once thrown out of the SEALs, challenges the boys to a game - a re-enactment of a Civil War battle with his side playing the Union Army victors. Thanks to some minor revisions of a few historical points, and the addition to their ranks of the lovely Bru-etta, the pair win. Jessica learns never to try to do her homework when Bru is around, and Legs deals with a two-timing ex-boyfriend. Writer Jonathan Torp, Director Russ Mayberry ENDANGERED SPECIES When Spence and Bru are out doing their manatee watching duties, they capture a gang of poachers, who have in one of their cages a young boy raised by wolves. It quickly transpires that the boy is Tommy Ralston, the only survivor of an ill-fated expedition some years earlier. It soon also transpires that the rest of the expedition was murdered, and whoever tried to kill Tommy then, is equally determined to kill him now. Writer Michael Berk, Director Les Sheldon (See also Manimal episode 004 - "Female Of The Species") DISTANT SHOUT OF THUNDER In a deeply hilarious episode, a tugboat captain assists the boys in their battle against a megalomaniac Scotsman, who aims to destroy the world's economy by means of a computer virus. The gentleman in question lives on an island with a gang of heavies (who have quite abysmal pretend Scottish accents) and spends his life playing Highland Games. Whilst Bru deals with the computer virus, Spence tosses a caber with the bad guys. Writer Tom Greene, Director Lyndon Chubbuck CHANGING OF THE GUARD A English Earl hoping to gain control of an inheritance passed only through the females of his family, claims that he is Jessica's natural father, and when she goes to England to visit him he kidnaps her. Assisted by Uncle Edward, Spence and Bru speed to her rescue, and find themselves in the torture chamber of an ancient castle. Writer W.M. Whitehead, Director Gus Trikonis NATURE OF THE BEAST The boys are hired by a Vietnamese man, who turns out to be Dai Ri, the man who murdered Bru's older brother Paul during the Vietnam War. In flashback we see how Bru set out to avenge his brother's death all those years ago, only to be captured and tortured by his murderer. Back in the present Spence manages to persuade Bru to try to rescue the man's daughter, and eventually they find her on an island, being threatened by a giant energy beast; a beast which can apparently only be defeated by Bru's ukelele playing. Another great performance by Chris Lemmon, who actually gets to do some real acting in what is probably the best episode of the series. Writer Tom Greene, Director Gus Trikonis DEADLY LESSONS (PARTS 1+2) On assignment for the DEA, Spence and Bru capture Manuel Santiago, a particularly nasty drug lord, only to find themselves the targets of a revenge campaign by his lieutenant, Mason Lee. When Lee takes Jessica, her school friends and Legs hostage, he demands the release of his chief as payment. Bru disguises himself as Santiago, a ruse which works temporarily, and Spence breaks into the school to disarm the bomb left by Lee. Pure camp, but quite delightful nonetheless. Writer Deborah Bonann Schwartz, Director Douglas Schwartz SEA QUENTIN Hammerhead has been consigned to an undersea prison, but he soon escapes and takes over. When he demands Spence as ransom, in exchange for the safety of the warder and guards, Bru has to sneak in the back way to help out. Needless to say, all does not quite go according to plan, which is just as well, because Hammerhead has to live to fight another day (because I like him). Meanwhile Legs worries about keeping her new barmaid safe from the advances of the local guys. Writer John Hill, Director Gregory J. Bonann BLAST OFF A terrorist threatens to blow up a space ship unless he receives a ransom of a billion dollars. Spence and Bru head off to save the day, and in a strangely relevant sub-plot, Bru ponders over a suitable nickname for himself (he is jealous of Spence's tag "Hurricane"). After coming up with Gale (not advisable), and numerous other suggestions, he saves the day by deflecting a laser beam with a dustbin lid, and earns himself the new nickname of "Trashcan" Brubaker. (Not that it lasts, mind, since we never hear it again). Writer David Braff, Director Paul Cajero IDENTITY CRISIS A member of Hammerhead's new gang manages to dupe Spence into recording a tape, which the gang edits into a threat to destroy Miami. When Hammerhead impersonates Spence to frame him for the theft of a missile, the boys find themselves on the run from the authorities, and having to fight their old enemy once again. In the meantime Trelawny, the delightfully batty psychic practitioner, meets up with an old flame that she once jilted. Writer Michael Berk, Director Gregory J. Bonann SEALED WITH A KISMET (PARTS 1+2) Legs dreams of an Arabian prince, who will come and whisk her away to a life of romance in the East. When her dream begins to come true Bru is both worried and jealous, but she leaves nonetheless for pastures anew. Meanwhile Jessica has dreams of her own, showing Thunder being destroyed when the boys go to rescue a woman. Kelly's frantic calls for help send them dashing to her assistance, with Jessica's dream looking more and more as though it might come true. Even when the immediate threat caused by a local warlord has been dealt with, escape is a long way away, as Spence and Legs find themselves forced into marriages they have not asked for, and Bru is about to be turned into the eunuch in charge of the local virgins. Writer Tom Greene, Director Douglas Schwartz QUEEN OF HEARTS Bru falls for a beautiful woman, who turns out to be a jewel thief after the Royal Sceptre, in Paradise accompanying the queen on a State Visit. Whilst Spence does battle with a giant, fire-breathing, robot dinosaur, Bru gives chase to win back the sceptre. Meanwhile Uncle Edward struggles with his conscience, not believing that he is entitled to the medal being bestowed upon him by the queen. Or by the back of her head, anyway... Writer W.M. Whitehead, Director L. Lewis Stout PLUNDER IN PARADISE When Jessica returns from her summer camp holiday, Spence tells her all about the adventure that she missed whilst she was away. We see, in flashback as he tells the tale, how he, Bru and Legs help a young Indian search for the hidden burial grounds of his people, in order to keep his promise to his grandfather. Modern day pirates complicate things as they search for legendary treasures supposedly hidden in the same burial grounds. Spence wrestles the most spectacularly fake crocogator that I've seen since Johnny Weismuller stopped being Tarzan, and Bru has a whale of a time swashbuckling his way through the episode. An absolute joy. Writer Jonathan Thorp, Director Bernie Kowalski DEAD RECKONING After an accident involving Thunder, Bru is left seriously injured and afloat on a raft with Hammerhead for company. Edward and Jessica come to the rescue (with the revelation that Uncle Edward was in the Royal Navy during WWII, and has the medals to prove it). Whilst adrift together, Bru, Hammerhead and Spence mull over old times, and try to discover just why it was that they became enemies. They begin to discover that it may be something to do with a military brainwashing experiment using SEALs as guinea pigs. Writer Tom Greene, Director Tom Greene THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (PARTS 1+2) Spence is persuaded by his nephew to assist in the programming of a cyborg soldier for a Virtual Reality experiment. This involves Spence's brain being scanned, so that MAJOR, the cyborg, takes on his training and personality traits. When MAJOR also absorbs Spence's love for Jessica, he becomes determined to protect her from everyone - Spence and Bru included. Meanwhile somebody is trying to take control of the cyborg. Incidentally, MAJOR stands for Morphizing Acrylonitrile JPS-particle Organic Replica (as if you didn't know that already). Writer Tom Greene, Director Gregory J. Bonann --LYRICS-- OPENING TITLES There's a hurricane blowing in CLOSING TITLES When the Sun comes up in paradise Download the theme tune (opening titles) at Me TV - (now requires log on) --VIDEOS-- THUNDER IN PARADISE The pilot, minus a couple of scenes, presumably cut for length. Missing is the scene when the boys give CPR to Megan, after escaping from the underground cave, and also some of the stuff between Bru and Legs in the jacuzzi, at the end of the episode.
THUNDER IN PARADISE 2 The episodes Tug Of War and Sea Quentin, which sit quite well together as though they were part of a concurrent story.
THUNDER IN PARADISE 3
Sealed With A Kismet, Parts One And Two. Also includes Bru's fantasy sequence, often edited out of TV showings, when he dreams of looking after the harem girls (before finding out what 'alteration' will be made to him first!). NB:- These details relate to UK video releases. In the US it seems that 2 is 'Sealed With A Kismet', and 3 is 'Deadly Lessons'. Plus! - Video Detective.Com has trailers! If you are looking for further information (and, quite frankly, who wouldn't be?!) Thunder In Paradise, the classic episode guide, can be found lovingly situated here, complete with rather more detailed cast lists. There are also numerous gaming pages, since Thunder has now been turned into a series of extremely well received interactive CD-Roms. You can also check out the comprehensive fan-fic resources of Bentley's Bedlam, should you be desiring the chance to write a story for one of the Thunder fanzines in existence. Well, you might be.
Guests: Jimmy Hart -- Jimmy and James "The Anvil" Neidhart -- Kowalski
Guests: Steve Borden -- Hammerhead and Jim MacDonald -- Cdr. Brody MacIntyre
Guests: Kiki Shepard -- Trelawny and Jimmy Hart -- Jimmy
Guests: John Beck -- Captain Fitch, Jeff Altman -- George Langston Sibley VI and Kiki Shepard -- Trelawney
Guests: Alexander Sommer -- Tommy Ralston and Nancy Duerr -- Andrea Hale
Guests: Sherman Hemsley -- Capt. Hawspipe and Rus Blackwell -- Head Bad Guy
Guests: John O'Hurley -- Bryden Chubshaw and Duchess Tomaselli -- Aunt Flavia
Guests: George Kee Cheung -- Dai Ri, Vivienne Sendaydiego -- Lac Ta and Kiki Shepard -- Trelawny
Guests: Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa -- Mason Lee, Chris Lemmon -- Manuel Santiago and Heidi Mark -- Alison
Guests: Steve Borden -- Hammerhead, Jimmy Hart -- Jimmy and Brutus Beefcake -- Brutus
Guests: Richard Lynch
Guests: Steve Borden -- Hammerhead and Kiki Shepard -- Trelawny
Guests: Carlos Lauchu -- Prince Aramour, Gerald Martin -- King Aramour, Jorge Gonzales -- Mortador and Kiki Shepard -- Trelawny
Guests: Terry Funk -- Amarillo, Kiki Shepard -- Trelawny and Janis Benson -- Ashford
Guests: Zahn McClarnon -- Billy Cyprus, Brave Standing Eagle -- Shaman and Jim Pirri -- Jean LaFue
Guests: Steve Borden -- Hammerhead and Kiki Shepard -- Trelawny
Guests: Brandon Call -- Jack, Lowell Fenner -- Doctor Franklin and Kiki Shepard -- Trelawny
Over the water
Waiting in anticipation
For the action to begin
Baby I wanna hear...
Thunder, thunder in paradise
Ohhhh...
Thunder (anything can happen)
Thunder in paradise
Etc...
The girls look pretty
Ooh they look nice
I can smell the cocoa-lotion in the air
Oops it's going everywhere
You better start running
'Cause there's a hurricane a-comin'
Thunder in paradise
Messin' with him is like rolling the dice
Thunder in paradise
You fool around with him you're playing with your life
Playing with your life