Viper TV SeriesIn the day after tomorrow, the Metrocity became the playground of the criminals. Against that threat, Engineer Julian Wilks created the ultimate police pursuit machine, a Dodge Viper which could morph into a vehicle called 'Defender'. One thing was missing...The driver which could handle Defender's enormous skills. The best driver of the bad guys, Michael Payton, had an accident. He was recovered from death by MetroCity Police, his criminal identity was erased and he became Joseph 'Joe' Astor, a policeman, expert for pursuit. Good Show! Great Effects and good character development!
Season 1 (1994)
Metro was under siege from a crime wave that was begun by "The Outfit," a crime group led in the pilot by a man known only as Mr. Townsend (played by William Russ), and later led by Lane Cassidy (played by Richard Burgi). The Metro Police Department, or MetroPol, was unable to get a handle on the situation. This led to the creation of the Viper Project, a special top secret task force created by the federal government to fight the wave of violence sweeping Metro.This task force used a modified Dodge Viper RT/10 sports car that could, at the flip of a secret switch, transform from a muscle car into an armored machine known as "Defender". The "Defender" was an invention of technological specialist Julian Wilkes (played by Dorian Harewood), who was paralyzed during a shootout between police and criminals. The project was delayed by numerous setbacks, mainly due to the fact that regular drivers were unable to handle this deadly machine. A precision driver was needed for this car.Michael Payton (played by James McCaffrey), a top driver for "The Outfit," was leading his team from their latest heist when he got caught in an accident and was injured. Captured, Payton's memory was erased and he was reborn as Joe Astor, an officer for Metropol. With a bribe to Councilman Strand, the man who approved the Viper Project and orchestrated the erasure of Payton's memory, "The Outfit" discredits the Viper Project, leading to its cancellation. However, Astor and Wilkes, with the help of mechanic Franklin Waters (played by Joe Nipote), steal the Viper and gain access to Payton's bank account, using both in a private war against crime. Astor runs the operation for several months before he is sent to Europe to handle deep cover operations for the U.S. Government, leading to the end of the Viper Team's war on crime.Season 2 (1996–1997)
Shortly after Astor's departure, Metro was hit by a second crime wave, this time in the form of a team of renegade ex-commandos led by Col. Hanson Dekker (played by Tim Thomerson), a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer who served combat tours in Iraq, Bosnia and Cuba. It was against this backdrop that Thomas Cole (played by Jeff Kaake), a CIA agent with evasive driving experience, was selected to head a new Viper Team. He was delivering the new Viper to Metro when he was pulled over for speeding by two Metropol officers, Randy Carpenter (played by Roger R. Cross) and Cameron Westlake (played by Heather Medway). It was during this traffic stop that Dekker and his commandos hit the Metro Bank.Upon hearing of the bank heist on their radio, Carpenter and Westlake left Cole behind to join their fellow officers at the bank to confront Dekker and company. However, their efforts were unsuccessful. Westlake's partner, Carpenter, died saving her life. Because of the bank heist, the Viper Project was reborn, with a Metropol liaison to ride shotgun. For this assignment, Westlake's superior, Capt. Harold Benning (played by Mike Genovese), promoted her to Detective and sent her to the meeting place, where she found herself meeting Thomas Cole, the very man she and Carpenter pulled over. She also met Waters, the original mechanic from the first Viper Project, and Allie Farrow (played by Dawn Stern), Viper's systems specialist.Despite a systems glitch and the kidnapping of Waters by Dekker and his men, the Viper Team defeated them and rescued Waters. Dekker was killed when the International Transtar 4300 big rig he was driving was blown up by the team to keep it from crashing into Metro Hospital. After this victory, the Viper Team carried on its crusade against evil, overcoming such obstacles ranging from interference by Special Agent Sherman Catlett (played by J. Downing), a by the book bureaucrat from the FBI, to the team being discredited again, this time by Lee Cyrus (played by Dean Wray), Dekker's right hand man ... and the murderer of Westlake's partner, Randy Carpenter.Cyrus' scheme to discredit the team involved a replica of the Viper in the 'Defender' configuration, which he and his men used to commit vicious crimes, including a murder. This would lead Cole's superior, the Administrator (played by Bruce A. Young), to shut down the team. In defiance of orders to stand down, the team cleared their name and Westlake avenged Carpenter's death.Season 3 (1997–1998)
After serving as the team's systems specialist for several months, Allie Farrow was reassigned to another post, which left Waters to take care of the Defender's systems and mechanical needs by himself. During this period, the team had to contend with new enemies, including Lena Weisinger (played by Stephanie Niznik), a former Stasi agent turned freelance mercenary, who had a personal vendetta against Westlake for killing her lover, Emil Rurik (played by Mike Dopud), during a shootout.However, after years of successful operation, the team suffered a tragic loss ... not of one of their people, but the car. A notorious criminal named Giles Seaton (played by Peter Wingfield) concocted a plot to steal the Defender by using a criminal named Terry Hawkes (Jeff Kaake in a dual role), who was turned into a Thomas Cole look-alike with plastic surgery. As Cole, Hawkes successfully penetrated the team's headquarters and, despite being exposed by the real Cole, made off with the Viper. To prevent Hawkes from escaping, the team blew up the Viper, keeping its secrets from falling into enemy hands.Season 4 (1998–1999)
In the aftermath of the Viper's destruction, Cole was permanently reassigned to undercover work on other fronts. With the team gone, Metro was again gripped by an enormous crime wave, forcing the feds to restart the Viper Team a third time. This time, the car they used was a Cobalt Blue Metallic Dodge Viper GTS coupe, which, thanks to Wilkes, had the equipment of the original Defender, along with some new equipment, most notably the hovercraft mode. Since Cole had been reassigned, Joe Astor, the original driver, was called back to service. However, Astor would be haunted by his old Payton identity once more.The series debuted in NBC in January 1994 about a Viper sports car that fights crime in the future. The first series was about Michael Payton, top driver for crime organization "The Outfit." After an accident from a high-speed chase with Metro City Police, doctors put a chip in his brain, erasing memories of his past. Payton was reborn as police officer Joe Astor, the only man capable of handling the Viper and its systems.To some, the Viper was nothing but a hot rod, but with the flick of a button, it morphs into an silver vehicle known as the Defender. But Astor's past came back to haunt him when his Outfit associates asked to steal the Viper, but he refused, and his girlfriend ends paying the price. When the Viper Project was terminated due to corruption, Joe sets out to steal the Viper and uses it for his fight against the Outfit. With the aid of the car's designer Julian Wilkers and Metro City police mechanic Franklin "Frankie" X. Waters, they set out to clean up the streets of Metro while Joe digs deeper into his past.The 1994 series revolve around the trio's war against the Outfit, Joe investigating his past, and dodging the police after them. Airing on Friday nights-- where Knight Rider was in the 80s -- Viper had everything. It had a comic-book feeling. Metro City was Gotham City; Joe was Batman, and the Viper/Defender the Batmobile. The Power Station was the Batcave. Viper was sort of like Knight Rider-- except the car didn't talk and the protagonist was a bad guy. Still, the main character was given a new identity, new life, and new mission-- champion of the innocent. Joe, Julian, and Frankie were the main heroes while The Outfit-- headed by powerful businessman Lane Cassidy -- was the main villian. The transformation from Viper to Defender was cool. However, despite amazing special effects and character-driven storylines, Viper was cancelled in April 1994 after 12 episodes.But the series was revived in syndication in the fall of 1996. The concept was the same, but there were new characters, new stories, and a new team. Thomas Cole was both new driver and leader of the Viper team. Cameron Westlake was the police liason on the project. Dr. Allie Farrow was the systems designer, and Frankie joined the new team. Julian Wilkes took a post in Washington, D.C. and Astor left because he couldn't play by the rules. There was a new Viper with new weapons such as .50 caliber machine guns. Allie left the team a year later and to work for a government think-tank organization in Portugal, and was replaced by FBI Agent Sherman Catlett, who worked with them on several cases. A year later, the Viper was blown up, leading Cole to reassigned from the Viper team.Julian, the original Viper designer, returned and created an even better Viper-- a blue GTS Coupe. The original Viper driver and leader, Joe Astor, returned to head the team and drive the new Viper. Both Astor and Westlake develop romantic feelings for one another later on the series. In the finale, an electric shock turns Astor back into his former criminal self Payton. But the shock caused an malfunction in the chip in the brain, so it had to be removed or Astor will die. And it was removed by the people turning Michael Payton into Joe Astor. After the surgery, Astor has memories of both his lives. But our hero not only ends up with Westlake, he decided to become Joe Astor-- the man he was always meant to be.After finally ending in 1999, Viper was aired on USA Network and then the SCIFI Channel for a short time.What is interesting about the series is due to two things-- the Vipers and the Defender. It is hard to decide if I like the RT/10 Roadster or the GTS Coupe better. They're both great Vipers, not to mention the Defender because it is a sweet and hot ride! Someday, I want to have a Viper, but I can dream, can I?Thomas Cole was okay, but Joe Astor was the best driver on Viper. I love the 1994 series better because Joe, Julian, and Frankie played by no one's rules but their own, willing to do whatever it takes to bring the bad guys to justice. The syndication show was okay, but the NBC series I'd prefer because every episode was good from beginning to end. They are, according to fans, "classic".What makes Viper great is because of the story, the characters, and special effects-- not to mention the Defender. It is one of the best action/car shows since Knight Rider (which I like), but even cooler. Viper is a very great show that will be missed, and it is indeed an "classic.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. Viper is an action-adventure TV series about a special task force set up by the federal government to fight crime in the fictional city of Metro City, California that is perpetually under siege from one crime wave after another. The weapon used by this task force is an assault vehicle that masquerades as a Dodge Viper RT/10 roadster and coupe (later, the ViperGTS replaced the RT/10). The series takes place in "the near future". The primary brand of vehicles driven in the show were Chrysler or subsidiary companies.
The Viper Defender "star car" was designed by Chrysler Corporation engineers (unlike most Hollywood Film/TV cars that are usually customized by film picture designers like George Barris). The exterior design of the car was produced by Chrysler stylist Steve Ferrerio.NBC Version
NBC run The series originally aired on NBC during the 1993-1994 season, debuting on January 2, 1994 with a two hour pilot movie. After falling ratings, the series was cancelled in April 1994. The music composed for the pilot and opening theme for Season 1 was composed by Eddie Jobson. Jay Ferguson took over the composing for the rest of the seasons as well as composing a remixed theme of the original Season 1 opening and composed the brand new Season 4 Opening Theme from it. The Dodge Viper RT/10 Roadsters used in Seasons 1–3 were actually not production models. Instead, Chrysler supplied various left-over engineering mules and prototypes of the Viper (still visually the same). Many other cars in Season 1 were left-over prototypes as well. For example, in the pilot movie, the Eagle Premier sedans with yellow vinyl stripes were drivetrain engineering mules for the LH cars (Dodge Intrepid/Chrysler Concorde). The special effect "hex snake skin" transformation for the pilot and the first season were done by Metrolight Studios. Tim Claycomb & Tim Eilers took over the transformation sequence after the first season. Sources indicate that it cost $50,000 for each "hex snake skin" transformation scene in the NBC season.First-run syndication version
The series was then revived by Paramount Television with a complete re-casting/re-tooling of the show for first-run syndication from September 1996 - May 1999. The only actor to return after Season 1 was Joe Nipote in his role as Frankie "X" Waters, and he would remain until the end of the series. Actor James McCaffrey would return as the Viper's original driver from Season 1, Joe Astor, during Season 4 in 1998-1999. Actress Heather Medway, who played Det. Cameron Westlake, was the only new cast member from the show's revival to stay on the entire three syndicated seasons (from 1996–1999). Season 2 was filmed predominantly in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.The series was then moved for filming in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada during Seasons 3 and 4. The Cobalt Blue Metallic color on the Viper GTS in Season 4 was not an optional color for the production Viper GTS, it was specifically for the show only.Main Cast
James McCaffrey as Joseph "Joe" Payne Astor
Joe Nipote as Frankie Xavier Waters
Dorian Harewood as Julian Wilkes
Jeff Kaake as Thomas Cole
Heather Medway as Cameron Westlake
J. Downing as Agent Sherman Catlett
Dawn Stern as Allie Farrow
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