Thomas Magnum solves mysteries in a Ferrari 308, Doc Brown time travels in a DeLorean DMC-12, The Duke brothers outrun Roscoe daily in a Dodge Charger, Colt Seavers soars to new heights in his Chevy C10… the list of iconic “boys and their toys” from the late ’70s through the early ’90s is extensive and memorable. But did you know that Joe Aster had a Viper? Probably not.
“…It prowls the streets in the pursuit of justice. Its origins are secret, Its technology – 21st century, its existence officially disavowed, but it’s presence – undeniable, the perfect weapon for an imperfect future… VIPER!”
I can just imagine the board room discussions at the Chrysler Corporation, Lee Iacocca behind his desk, saying something to the tune of “Ok folks, this is my 2nd time at bat here at Chrysler, I’ve green lit the skunkworks project with my dear friend Carroll Shelby to build the Viper, but we need a way to launch it with a bang!” – The early ’90s economically, wasn’t the best time to introduce a sports car into the domestic automotive landscape. America was still recovering from a recession and people weren’t really interested in “a muscle car” anymore. As many of you all will recall, most of the offerings from the ’90s were just mobius blob-like shapes that barely outperformed their ’80s sub/compact cousins. The cars were heavy, bland and generally under performers – the automotive equivalent to a vanilla ice cream cone melting in the summer. Until the Viper.
Back to the board room… post-meeting an intern walks up to the CEO and says something like: “Mr. Iacocca sir (voice cracking)… What if we created a show around the VIPER? … I was always a big fan you know… of cop dramas, maybe something along the lines of Knight Rider? And we can use all the new products as extras on the show. It worked for GM, right?” – a complete fabrication, but the origins of the partnership between NBC and Chrysler to create VIPER (the show) are still a mystery, but one thing is clear: Chrysler was sponsoring the project in a big way.
I distinctly remember when this show piloted -on air- in 1994 on NBC. That night, sitting around the family room with my parents watching the 2-part premiere, is when I fell in love with the Viper (the car). Seeing it for the first time and hearing that distinct V10 engine note, it was the coolest thing to come out of the Big-3 in a what seemed like ages. Posters immediately went up on the wall, model cars were purchased, it became a passion.
So what about the show? – Unfortunately, because VIPER aired in the evenings – unlike Magnum PI which I’d watched religiously after school at 4pm – I wasn’t able to catch the show on the regular, but I tuned in when I could. After the show ended in 1999 it all but vanished, not even the bargain bin at Blockbuster or FYE had any trace of the show. For decades now, I’ve been trying to find a copy, rekindle that spark, and more importantly… see how the story ended! I managed to get my hands on a poorly digitized VHS version of the pilot episode from a friend and have hung on to it like a prized jewel. With more modern technology, I’d set up google and amazon alerts to ping me about any new mentions of the show. Outside of some bootleg German voice-over copies, nothing official has ever surfaced, until a couple weeks ago…
You bet I overnight prime shipped that bundle and couldn’t wait to dive in!
After binge watching all 80 episodes, I can honestly report that VIPER went through several serious evolutions. Looking back it was quite unclear that the show would make it past the pilot. But NBC was able to squeeze out another 10 episodes in Season-1. Where our hero “Joe Aster” formerly known as Michael Payton struggled with forced memory loss and went from high profile criminal wheel man for “the syndicate” to justice crusader overnight, now working for “metro city’s metropol special projects division” code-named: Project VIPER.
The plot of Season-1 was much like that of Knight Rider, almost to a “T” (as in Targa Top). Though the Viper doesn’t talk to Joe like KITT, he does have a guardian angel in the form of the vehicles developer Julian Wilkes that speaks to him through satellite uplink. Julian can be easily compared to a combination of KITT and Devon. Frankie X. Waters the “comic relief” is brought in to play the equivalent to Bonnie (KITTs technician). Unlike KITT, the VIPER can “transform into an armored assault vehicle” known as The Defender (seen further below). Disappointingly, by episode 3, Joe/Michael had regained more than half of his memory, and used his stash of cash from his previous life to buy an abandoned power station, stole the Viper and setup a new HQ for the recently“disavowed” VIPER project. This gave VIPER a very “Batman-like” quality as Joe would drive in/out of the basement of the station, usually in the evening, and head into town to save the day.
The Defender
In real life, the Defender is one of the last “specialty built” vehicles for TV not unlike the Lincoln Futura based Batmobile, the Coyote from Hardcastle & McCormick or the AC-cobra powered stretch T-bucket called “the Munster-mobile”, and others. The exterior design of the Defender was created by Mike Sciortino (and the team at Unique Movie Cars, Hollywood, CA), though fans at the time believed that the Chrysler company built the Defender concept. ***7/2022 – NEW INFORMATION AVAILABLE!***
That being said, the Defender IS a re-skinned version of a production Viper RT/10 and its design queues seem to have foreshadowed the idea of the “Viper GTS Coupe” which didn’t make production for another 2 years (1996). To make the Defender feasible as a KITT replacement means that the show is packed with CGI-magic that was on par with NBC’s other SciFi offering at the time: SeaQuest DSV. The “transformation” sequences between Viper & Defender-mode were revolutionary for the time, with the Season-1 special effects reported to cost $50k each time the car morphed. (later seasons utilized CGI more heavily which reduced cost). More importantly, the “remote activated drones” as seen coming out of the trunk were ahead of their time by about 20 years.
When seen side-by-side, the Defender design is actually shorter than the production Viper, and also wider in the rear giving the car an even more aggressive and staggered look. The overall height of the Defender is lower, with a shorter windshield and the added hardtop which gives the impression of being a “smaller vehicle”. The Defender retains the signature door shape of the base Viper while most other aspects of the car were changed. You’ll also notice that the Defender comes with a staggered tire package as well, where the rear tires have a much higher aspect ratio than the front. Designers needed to modify the Vipers handling characteristics to better meet the needs of the many pursuit scenes in the show.
Defender mode includes:
- Poly-morphic hexagonal armor plating
- Bullet proof glass
- Body armor is “fire resistant”
- Remote control drone with video surveillance, infrared, talons and laser cutting tool
- Side mounted multi-purpose “cannon” including small round machine gun, flamethrower, EMP, and miniature tactical missile (Season 1)
- Front/rear extendable bumper battering rams
- Trunk mounted 50-caliber machine gun
- Roof mounted “holographic projection imaging system”
- Satellite communications with “hands free” speech.
- On-board computer system tied into Viper HQ mainframe
- Off-road mode with instant 8+ inch lift and transformable tires (knobbies)
- EMP fed “boost mode” added in Season 2
- Rocket propelled Grappling Hook adding to side-mount cannon in Season 2
- Projectile Netting, Lasers, Rubber bullets (expanding to the size of Tennis balls) and Spider-bombs added to side-mount cannon in Season 3
- Hovercraft mode (Season 4)
Vehicles seen in VIPER spanned the Chrysler line including models from Jeep, Eagle, Dodge, etc. Common cars included the Cirrus/Stratus, the Mitsubishi 3000 GT based Stealth and the Avenger. Chrysler did a stellar job of also including older Chrysler products in the show. Frankie’s daily is a “Plum-Crazy” HEMI Barracuda (which is later replaced with a purple Challenger R/T). Many of the “disgruntled youths” in Metro City are seen driving around in modified Plymouth Furies, Chargers, etc. Season-1 included all sorts of running/driving Chrysler prototypes as well as debuts of new models (like the Prowler, and first glimpses of the Viper GTS coupe). Paying close attention you’ll see that there is a Chrysler product: new, old and future somewhere in every shot. #productplacement #marketinggenius. Below are just some of the vehicles you might see during Season-1 of VIPER.
Metro City’s mayor drives a Chrysler Thunderbolt
Season 2 & Beyond
Just as the story of Joe Aster was unfolding, Season-1 ends abruptly – NBC cancelled the project and sold it to Paramount Studios who picked it up for the 1996 UPN season. VIPER resurfaced with a new premise and a new team (seen in the clip above). During the first episode “the Feds” explain away Season-1 as an “earlier attempt” and Julian’s role by saying he was transferred to Washington to work on another special project for the government “of the utmost national security.” While Joe Aster’s disappearance was completely glazed over, he is referred to once as “the former driver” in that episode. Limited information about the show’s history tends to highlight disagreements with the actors, studio… typical Hollywood. #highlander2. Meanwhile, the all-male cast was replaced, except for Frankie who was retained and promoted to VIPER mechanic. VIPER HQ was moved to an underground subway facility controlled by “The Feds” (Agent Catlett) with a batcave-esque turn table and tunnels quickly leading to all parts of Metro City.
Joe Aster was replaced by Thomas Cole, former CIA agent and Secret Service “driver.” More importantly Season-2 introduced two female leads. Instead of being a team of one, Tom was quickly partnered with Det. Cameron Westlake after a traumatic downtown shootout involving an attempt to create some “arch-enemies” that would have longer story arks in the series (but ended up being a bust and never went anywhere). Julian was replaced by Dr. Alley Farrow, taking over the VIPER project and introducing new “Inspector Gadget” levels of tech to the Defender.
Season-2 was a bit of a reboot, and a let down. The show filmed in Canada as a backdrop for the neo-futuristic post-apocalyptic California-based “Metro-City” but more often than not, it was raining which made shooting action scenes with the Viper more challenging than expected. It was amusing to see the stunt drivers trying to keep the car constantly under control, and there are even a few “J-turns” that don’t end well. There is definitely more than one driving scene that was chopped up and left on the cutting room floor. The show also recycled actors from Season-1 and reintroduced them as “new villains” while incorporating some lesser Hollywood stars as victims, making cameos while attempting to boost the shows ratings.
The VIPER formula became super simple: Get a report of a criminal activity, set off in pursuit, use the Defender and it’s plethora of gadgets to stop said baddy, fight/argue with “The Feds” about how the mission was carried out. Go back to HQ. Lather-Rinse-Repeat. – Still sounds like Knight Rider, right?
After a rather flat 22 episode Season-2, VIPER was surprisingly renewed for a 3rd season. And as you can see from the intro more of the same, but the team was downsized. Alley was removed with little explanation, and now Frankie was completely in charge of the vehicle and it’s gadgets. By this point the VIPER projects progress had plateaued which meant nothing new in the way mods to the Defender – because Alley had sorted all that out in Season-2, right? To combat the lack of imagination, the writers took on more of the “global terrorist and corporate espionage” vibe instead of focusing on saving Metro City and its citizens “from evil.” VIPER was moving deeper into “Fed control” with Agent Catlett taking on a larger role and handing out the missions the VIPER team would pursue. Season-3 introduced characters like Billy Denver “the rookie cop,” who had a crotch-rocket motorcycle version of the VIPER that he used to create chaos for the VIPER team and temporarily play that “Robin-style” sidekick. (sigh) 20 more episodes…
The prodigal son returns…
It’s obvious from the Season-4 intro (above)… that the writers went #FULLSEND and must have been working on Terry ‘the Hulk’ Hogans “Thunder in Paradise” at the same time (below). But in reality, UPN sold VIPER back to NBC in 1998 and tried to pick up where they left off. Brothhhherrrrrrr! the Defender can jump like Fall Guy and swim like the Bat-boat. #hulkamania #crazyness. OMG. LOL.
“Alright, who blew up MY car!?!” – exclaims Joe Aster as he reemerges to lead Season-4 of VIPER –woot!- and along with Joe came the return of Julian Wilkes to introduce the replacement for the classic red Viper targa. The new VIPER is a blue GTS Coupe with the signature 3-spoke targa wheels swapped on for consistency when it transforms into the same Defender shape we’ve come to appreciate. Thomas Cole was out (“permanently reassigned to the CIA” was the explanation used in S4:E1), and the team retained Cameron and Frankie for the final hoorah. Sadly, in order to justify keeping Cameron on the team, they changed Joe’s character from lone-wolf crime-fighting vigilante to a bumbling Luddite incapable of understanding the VIPERs advanced systems for the entirety of the Season. #justadriver #fail.
Outside of the Season-4 premiere, the only episode(s) that really mattered was the 2-part Series finale titled “Split Decision” where the writers decided that a 90 minute – “bottle episode” – recycling much of the original footage from the pilot was an appropriate way to end the Series. In the end, all of Joe’s memories of being Michael Payton are painfully restored, and he’s faced with a decision “which man does he want to be: Michael or Joe?” – If you couldn’t have guessed it, he rides off into the sunset with Cameron who asks in the final bits of dialogue: “I can’t believe Catlett let you take the car?!?…” to which Joe replies “He didn’t, I stole it.” #exitstageleft #takeabow #rollcredits.
Now that I’ve carefully studied the show, the complete story, and removed my long-time rose-colored nostalgia blinders. I can honestly say, VIPER is period appropriate, it has all the troupes and cliches of the era. But it also *had* tons of potential. Unfortunately, that potential was lost somewhere at the end of Season-1 when the show suddenly pivoted on its heels, softened its suspension, and it was never really ever able to recover.
“Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.” – Marcel Proust
The Viper (the car) on the other hand, I will continue to argue is one of those designs that can’t be dated. Coming from an period in Automotive design full of cookie cutter, plain-yogurt styling, seeing a 1st-Gen Viper in person… it’s intimidating and gorgeous at the same time, much like the original Cobra that inspired it. It really was Shelby’s swansong, a true masterwork. And much like Tania M’s article on the Fiat Panda, I want one. BECAUSE.
If you’re in for a good laugh, countless burn-outs, and a retro scifi-esque cop-drama, then I can’t recommend VIPER enough.
So many burn-outs! #killsallthetires #merrymotoring.
