Time Bomb

I spent a great moment watching this Tv movie from the deep eighties. I loved it, even if there are many expected lines. I loved Morgan Fairchild's character, in the pure line of Marthe Keller's one in BLACK SUNDAY, where - as here - she killed the hero's best friend. It was Robert Shaw instead of Billy Dee Williams who then intended a fierce revenge agaisnt the evil terrorist lady. Yes, yes, I love this kind of reverse scheme. Good hero vs the Evil female gang leader. But BLACK SUNDAY was a masterpiece, with more budget and a better directing though.

The title makes sense, the plot has its use, the cast chosen for the movie is really great. Though this was not a big screen hopeful, it was perfect for the TV. "Time Bomb" is a very fair movie to see, and the characters there are amazing. Morgan Fairchild plays Renee De Salles; a beautiful, but deadly villain. Billy Dee Williams plays Wes Tanner, Merlin Olsen plays Jake Calahan, and Joseph Bottoms plays Dan. They get to ride in a armored white GMC Aero Astro, that carries plutonium. They go across the US until they get hijacked by DeSalles and her crew. She kills Calahan, and they disable the truck. Once they fix it up, it would go like it was the Knight Industries 2000(K.I.T.T.) only heavier. Wes and Dan go out and take out the hijackers one-by-one until Wes gets his revenge on DeSalles, on the plane. Everyone comes back, only with a price. Wes is the only one who has to break the sad news, although his wife found out herself he was dead. Dan was wounded, and Wes had to console two women, which was honorable. The movie was fine, the truck is what I really liked! 3 out of 5 stars!

I saw this movie as a kid, and the most awe-inspiring thing is the incredible soundtrack by Sylvester Levay (creator of the Airwolf TV series music). It was so good, in fact, that I recorded it on cassette tape, a tape I still have to this day. Electronic music virtuoso Sylvester Levay virtually all but disappeared from the TV music theme after his great success with the popular musical Elisabeth. I hope that he will return one day to his roots as a TV musician.

However, the movie itself, as I remember, was forgettable, the only thing I remember is that it was a truck out of control (kind of a predecessor to Speed) Billy Dee Williams was fairly good as the lead.

In the 1980s, American television networks such as NBC still regularly made television films. Since they were usually cast with series stars who were also known in German-speaking countries, they were broadcast by the emerging private television in West Germany.

Morgan FAIRCHILD, known from DALLAS (Jenna Wade), FLAMINGO ROAD (Constance Weldon Carlyle) and FALCON CREST (Jordan Jennifer Roberts), plays a crazy super-terrorist named Renee DeSalles. Renee and her team are trying to take control of a plutonium transport in Texas. But Billy DeeWILLIAMS, who we know from various STAR WARS films, but who also played the husband of Dominique Devereaux (Diahann CARROLL) for a few episodes in DYNASTY, is looking after him.

The film itself was nothing special, only FAIRCHILD's performance as the cunning terrorist aunt was memorable.

I really enjoyed the movie. I believe each character was portrayed with lots of emotion for their part in the movie, one would have empathy for the various character's causes. One incident could effect so many lives. How easily we forget, the various people whom have causes, even if we may not agree with them - they are there. Then there are the people whom put their lives in harms way everyday for their own cause, to protect us from the causes that other people truly feel so much passion. Since 911, we have had to think twice about the various people in the world and their causes, that affect our lives on a larger scale and still maintain some kind of a normal secure life.