by Thunder In Paradise starring Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon and Carol Alt is a cult classic from 1994 that wrestling fans still talk about today.
It only lasted one full season as Hogan eventually returned to Pro Wrestling, shocking the world and heading to WCW. One can only wonder how big the show would have gotten had it returned for multiple seasons.
Hogan played ex-Navy Seal RJ Hurricane Spencer who went on missions with his Navy Seal partner Martin “Bru” Brubaker in their supped-up boat “Thunder”.
It was the perfect mix of Knight Rider and Baywatch and had something for everyone. It even had the incredibly beautiful female lead in Carol Alt as “Kelly”. She owned the “Scuttlebutt Bar” on the beach that the lead characters often frequented.
She became part of the show in multiple roles however as Hogan’s daughter on the show Jessie, suddenly needed a Mom when hers died in a car accident after the first episode. While not romantically linked to Hogan, Alt’s character stepped in as a pseudo mother to Jessie at times throughout the series.
Perhaps the coolest part of the show for fans watching was all the wrestlers that made appearances. The lead foil was Sting, who played “Hammerhead”, a Navy Seal gone bad. They also had appearances by Jim The Anvil Neidhart, Brutus Beefcake, Jimmy Hart, Terry Funk and perhaps the best villain on the show, Giant Gonzales as “Mogadore”. I could also see Alexa Bliss in a Heidi Mark Alison Wilson role.
With all that being said, I have often thought that all the pieces would be in place if they ever decided to bring it back. With the massive success of sitcom reboots such as Roseanne / The Connors, Will & Grace and Fuller House just to name a few, I would imagine this would be a massive hit as well.
How would it work more than 25 years later? I have an idea and it goes a little something like this.
Spencer and Bru are retired are trying to stay retired and relax while their daughters run the company. Jessie is now 30 and working along side the daughter of Carol Alt and Bru who have since been married and divorced. Their daughter is played by none other than Brooke Hogan.
The lead villain Hammerhead actually turned face towards the end of the original series so he is no longer around as a villian but finds time to make appearances and help the good guys. However, the role of super heel now belongs to the evil Eric Bischoff who has a team of mercenaries both male and female who set out each week to destroy the Thunder Crew. Most of these can be played by actors or former or even current wrestlers with acting experience which plenty of them have.
Wrestlers such as Goldberg as well as Nattie Neidhart as her father once did. How about the Great Khali as the new Mogadore role and I’d have to believe people like The Miz and Dolph Ziggler would be perfect foils as well.
The bottom line is that Hogan, Lemmon and Alt had incredible chemistry together and that would be sure to return as well. With Brooke Hogan for the young beauty and grown up Jesse for the sentimental fans to cheer for, this could work.
Clearly, Lemmon and Hogan may say that they are retired on the show, but it will be easy to find a way to get them involved in the action every single episode.
Bru was great, and people loved to laugh with him as the perfect sidekick. That magic would remain and if you mix in some bickering with him and his ex “Kelly”, then the storylines would write themselves.
Enough with the reality TV, and gimmick after gimmick, let’s get back to what the fans really want. Thunder In Paradise is played around the clock in the McKee home as my two young daughters love it! Now let’s have the reboot played around the clock in yours!
