Viper

OK so the year was 1994, this series dropped on me out of the blue, I accidentally watched the pilot episode and got drawn in. The near future looked amazing, the mood was dark and desperate, special effects were amazing for TV back then(love the snake morph, love the stylized damages on the car when it gets hit by a rocket) the idea of a lone hero with a dark past kinda like Knightrider but much cooler looking and feeling here played by an actor that wasn't very conventional looking but had some good points to him. Viper may have been a product placement thing from Dodge/chrysler corporation but it was certainly worth its while, anyone notice the designs of the buildings ? kinda reminiscent of Tim Burton's first batman movies, amazing, loved those busts on the ceiling beams of the Viper hideout. For the technology I can only say bravo and I suspect the automobile industry had a lot of advice to give, who else had shown us those flatscreen monitors and TV's back in those years, who else had handsfree carphones the way we have now back then (bluetooth technology anyone ?)actually the only thing that looks a little dated by now is the red Viper. Even the Defender still looks hot. The first 13 episodes absolutely rocked and the final episode where Joe and Julian steal back the replacement heart for a kid who needs it was absolutely fantastic. If it had to stop somewhere, it was there. Season two and three sucked big time, somehow the morphing had changed, the timeframe was different and gone was the dark gloomyness. Jeff Kaake just didn't cut it as a replacement for James Mccaffrey and the proof was that the final series kinda made up for the two crappy ones in the middle when Joe came back. But even then, they should have left it in the near future's darker world, it was not a good idea to turn it into KnightriderII but I guess it made it all more accessible to a younger audience which is what the suits in the offices want these days, no more good storytelling, just sell sell sell and make money. I almost forgot to mention the music, the first season soundtrack absolutely fit the mood, amazing work for a TV show. OK so in short, good points : premisse, looks, music, wardrobe, casting, believable technology (not talking about the morphing here although... who knows), setting, production design, details, stories. Bad points : everything from season 2 on was crap in my opinion except for the new Viper in season 4 and the return of Mccaffrey.

The original Viper (1994) adapted the Bilson–De Meo formula of mixing comic-book adventure with live action, something that the pair had successfully done with The Flash and Rocketeer. With the big-screen Batman and other films of the era re-creating the comic-book feel, Viper, with its part-science-fiction, part-crime storylines brought the style to the small screen. The villains in futuristic concept cars or Richard Burgi playing golf on a life-size simulator; the haunting lair of the Viper team and the excellent special effects – there was courage by a crew that tried to paint a picture of a time just after now. The same philosophy helped the success of series across the Atlantic such as The Avengers or UFO.

When Viper was revived in 1996, the ingredients that had made the original so charming and distinctive had disappeared. Relocated to another city, Viper was set firmly in the present, rather than the near future. Replacing the science-fiction style was the tried-and-trusted American cop-show formula. Whereas the original team had been outside the law, the new one would be a legally sanctioned police team. Motor pool suit Franklin X. Waters (Joe Nipote) got a larger role but as the Viper mechanic and HQ-based geek, but his promotion meant the disappearance of his beloved Plymouth Barracuda.

Now, the only difference between the police detectives here and those on any other American police show was the use of a morphing Dodge Viper, updated to the relevant model year.

This allowed for more unimaginative storylines and plot holes, just as any everyday American police series had. One could easily transfer a story from any other cop show into the new Viper: this series now smells of metooism and cheapness. It had lost any of the originality that the first writers and current executive producers, Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, injected. Less logical and less distinctive, it was relegated to late-night slots in New Zealand, while its 1994 predecessor had enjoyed prime time. The programmers made the right decision.

Despite the return of James McCaffrey in the lead in 1998 and a guest appearance by original cast member Dorian Harewood, little improved. The new formula is just that: a formula. About the only distinction remaining is one's ability to observe Chrysler product placements. Like so many American shows, Viper became far weaker on its revival and was probably another victim of US network tinkering.

Okay, so the morphing effect was kinda cool. But what was the point, plotwise? Was the Viper supposed to be a kind of "superhero car" complete with a secret identity?? It's been a while, but I remember at least one pursuit scene where the Viper was in "plain clothes" and then Joe had to morph it just to use the Acme Stop-That-Car Device (tm). Which btw was pretty cool too...

I loved the addition of Westlake and Frankie was better than ever. The car was still awesome and all new tricks for its gadgets were added.

The show had some great adventures. I think it did suffer losing Astor and the futuristic element (and its worth noting that we are now IN that future..complete with drones, flat screen tvs and the equivalent of vid phones) and was thrilled he at least returned last season (I assume that is NOT a spoiler since you can see his name right in the credits and if a synops is ever added to those last season shows it'll probably have his name attached.) That isn't to say I didn't like Cole: its simply that Astor had the whole backstory tied into the Viper and I really missed that rogue element.

The only terrible thing about it: it ended too soon, right when it was picking up speed again in my opinion. Personally I suspect 'rating sabotage' (which is what I call it when the show keeps bouncing around day/time slots in an era where the only way to find it is a TV Guide that had to be printed - and a change after that meant finding your show was like hitting a moving target.) And of course, it just took to long to find its stride after being revamped after the first season.

I would've loved to see more seasons: the season/series finale was a great wrap up but it also had potential to take it into some new unexplored character arcs plus tie up some loose ends from first season.

I think "Viper" is just great. Of course, some people out there might think "hey, just another high-tech car like the one of 'knight rider'". But trust me, this is different and this tv show features (in my opinion) a number of great actors. Well, especially J. Downing aka "FBI agent Sherman Catlett" does a good job.