I was 8 and was watching it and Knight Rider Re Runs. I really enjoyed the twist with Joe’s story being that of Identity which I believe was the actual theme the series was going for. Too bad we never saw the Outfit again after season 1 unless it’s in Season 4 or 2.
Funny enough, when they also tried to reboot Knight Rider, they had a very similar style of effect on the new Mustang hero car....only to be replaced with the physics-breaking panel transformation when it became a short-lived series.
I worked security on the set for Paramount for this show back in the early 90's. I saw models, sets being built and destroyed, cars being raced down Santa Fe Ave in Los Angeles. The Abandoned chemical factory it was filmed in has since been torn down.
@@greenkoopa Batman blew that up, don't you remember. The superhero who totally doesn't kill blew up the whole factory using his car as a battering ram, racing through the factory, dropping bombs spraying bullets.
Blue Thunder, Airwolf, Knight Rider, Team Knight Rider (All Knight Rider sequels/spinoffs), The Highwayman, Street Hawk, Viper, Thunder in Paradise, and (mostly) Automan, plus cartoons like Pole Position, MASK, Turbo Teen, Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, etc.
My favorite part of Viper was the drone it had that would rise out of the back so he could get an aerial view of stuff. Even today when I'm stuck in traffic I look at my sunroof and think, "I need to get a drone..."
I remember wanting all week for Viper to come on, everyone sitting around the small wood panel TV with the weekly treat of fast-food spread around the lounge table. We did the same thing for shows like Seasquest, Earth two ect~. That's one thing I really miss about old TV and there only being a few channels, everyone sitting around together and everyone being on the same page about the "hot new shows".
"Viper was another chapter in a long history of sci-fi vigilante law enforcement fantasy drama television series..." My favorite type of tv show, back in the days!
Oh man! I almost forgot about that show! Hulk Hogan with a high tech battle ready stealth speed boat! Toy Galaxy definitely needs to cover Thunder in Paradise!
I totally remembered this show, but apparently everyone else didn't and kept giving me a weird look everytime I talked about it . Glad to see I wasn't the only one with this problem.
Supposedly, the CGI Viper transformations were $100,000 VFX shots (each time on the show that it happened). Considering the budget was $1.2 - $1.5 million per episode, and considering that the Defender did the transformation in almost every episode, that's a pretty big chunk of the show's budget.
@@BunyipDude Of course they re-used many shots, so it wasn't like they were doing the effect specifically for each show. But for a show of that caliber a $100,000 VFX shot for a 90's show that wasn't a known franchise like Star Trek was impressive. The Invisible Man had also a ton of impressive VFX for a same caliber show, and you could see how they's try to minimize doing the more elaborate transitions EVERY episode, leaving them only for key scenes.
@@patfer1189 True, I’m sure that they only had to do a limited range of different Viper-to-Defender transformation animation sequences (rendered from multiple angles), but I’m sure it took a boatload of time and money to do the compositing work to put the animation into all of the live-action footage. Not easy to do, especially when the first season aired in 1994 - I’m sure a single frame still took hours to render back then, even on Alias PowerAnimator or whatever they used back then. I also imagine that the Probe animation was also quite difficult, though as far as I can tell, they used a combination of CGI and practical effects for those sequences.
Can I confess that I watch your videos, and even subscribed to your channel, and I don't even really collect toys? I collect videogames but your videos are so interesting that I feel obligated to watch them. Thank you for your passion!
I collect nothing, but I love all the intricacies that this channel gets into regarding production. I am an engineer that works for a manufacturing company that also has an advertising division, if there was a channel like this about breakfast cereal I would probably watch it.
Baywatch made it 12 years, Paramount had connections with the Star trek Syndication world, it was doing ok, would of got a season 5, except WB and UPN were both 6 days a week at this point and took all the good time slots. The amount of 1st run syndication in late 90s is anazing.
@@TheRobotAssassin yeah but it probably would of done the same, fox would of killed it in yr 1, by airing it out of order and switching time slots then Paramount would of tried syndication. The only difference is on NBC it was getting descent ratings, the problem was it was expensive and not in the top 20 shows of the week. Paramount may of had a slightly tougher time launching yr 2 if aired on fox
This show 100% worked on me as a child. I loved the Dodge Viper and wanted one so badly. I remember once when I was maybe 12-13 years old, our local Dodge dealership actually got one and had it displayed in their showroom and I had my mom take me specifically so I could see it. They let me sit in it and check it out. I was amazed.
On October 7th 2022, someone offered to take me for a spin in their Dodge Viper. It was amazing! The car was super fast, and had great handling. I loved the roar of the engine. I felt like I was in a fighter jet.
I can't afford a Dodge Viper nor do they make them anymore. I did recently purchase a rare shiny metallic paint Hot Wheels '13 Dodge SRT Viper, [red] Factory 500. I'm supposed to get it today.
This show is the reason why I fell in love with the Dodge Viper, RT-10 and GTS Coupe. It's a shame that it got cancelled. It's also a real shame that it has NEVER seen release on DVD. It was BRILLIANTLY written, acted and directed.
This show was exactly what I needed as a Viper loving teen! I finally got my '94 Viper a few years back, and quickly picked up the Viper DVD set to go with it. This show is a part of my DNA, no matter how corny it was, there was just something that captured me!
I watched the second season premiere back in the day, never realized that I was missing an entire season until looking it up on Wiki years later. As a kid I absolutely loved the show and always played out the concept with my Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars.
Where I lived this came on back to back with the tv show thriller Two. Two was a poor man's Fugitive and Viper was a poor man's combo of Knight rider and Air Wolf.
I remember falling in love with the Dodge Viper because of this show when I was a kid, but then being disappointed that they didn't make a hard-top version until later, and it didn't wind up looking like the one from the show.
I don't remember this show at all, but I do have a definite memory of a scene where a car went through a tunnel and changed colour, and the cops ignored it because they were looking for a silver one. I always thought it was from a Knight Rider episode.
The Viper model for the "Defender" mode looked a lot like the Dodge Venom concept car that never made it into production and probably a lot of people didn't know ever existed. On a somewhat related note, there was another Viper-based concept car called the Chrysler Firepower which is one of the most badass looking cars ever made. It's a shame it was never produced.
This really funny, I had a friend who helped wrench at the local shop in Burnaby BC Canada that built and maintained those vipers. The shop also brought in the shells of Escort and Sierra Cosworths to assemble and registered for the street. It was all over the local papers when it was uncovered that these vipers were meant to be destroyed not to be privately owned and street driven. He helped build the XR4Ti for the early 2000's reboot of The Twilight Zone (season 1 ep 24 The Last Lap) and managed to legitimately acquire the hero car that did not get destroyed. Filmed in the rain on the Vancouver streets closed off for the Molson Indy champ car race before it was cancelled. Love the channel thanks for digging into this.
@@charliepotatoes001 the first one from Season 1 got bought by a crew member around LA to my knowledge. They brought in a "Plum Crazy" 1970 Challenger for Season 2, which I thought was also privately owned. Not sure what happened to the Seasons 3 & 4 'Cuda, or who owned it. I thought it was separate from the Vipers & Defenders. I do remember the producers struggled to find a '71 Cuda, thus the Challenger in Season 2.
I missed 2 season and rest of series, because it was "on cable". I did not have cable. I did see adds for the new season 2 and season 3. But not season 4. I think it was on USA network (I maybe wrong).
@@Lost_n_Found_1 Somehow I feel like we dodged a bullet with that one. Only going by the game here, but it gave off the same vibes as the 2008 Knight Rider reboot. Not that that show is completely free of redeeming qualities. For one it had Smith Cho.
Fun fact: Dorian Harewood provided the voice of the Shredder in several episodes of the 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon when James Avery wasn't available to record.
It’s awesome to see someone bring up this blast from the past. I grew up watching this show and it’s definitely one that is not very commonly brought up or remembered these days. Thanks for the nostalgia!
uhh, family matters was horrible....friggin the mary kate and ashley show was horrible....this at worst was just another supercar show and at best was another supercar show LMAO win win chief! LMAO Action Adventure show TV was the best, sitcoms were never the best take any western from back in the day, any cop drama ever or any hero show and they're better and worthy of more respect than the dime a dozen sitcoms, one may cal me biased and I say SO!? are we not men? WE ARE DEVO! sorry, that just popped in there lol and I mean hero show like Knight Rider or Magnum PI and stuff, not superheroes
I loved Viper! So glad I have the DVD set! I was a huge Knight Rider fan in the 80s so when this "next gen" series came out, I was instantly hooked. I was a sucker for all the shows like this. Viper, Super Force, yes I even loved Thunder in Paradise.... I often imagined a garage filled with K.I.T.T., Viper and the cycle from Super Force with Airwolf on the landing pad and Thunder docked in the water. Now THAT'S the MCU style team up I want to see!
@@CLA82529 yup. It was released on Region 1 by VEI out of Canada (who also released "Cobra" on DVD). Germany also got a complete series "Viper" release on DVD as well.
I was obsessed with this show as a kid. I made a similar video to this on my own channel last year after finally watching the DVDs. During syndication, it was always late Sunday nights when it aired. I had many sleep deprived Mondays in high school.
I thought my memory was playing tricks one. Good to hear the show did indeed have an Alberta connection. I remember a scene was filmed in my small town outside of calgary (Okotoks). I never got to see the crew as it all happened during school hours but I remember thinking we were about to be the next Hollywood. After seeing the show I remember being very disappointed it was so bad. Even as a kid...
I have been thinking about this show every time you bring up air wolf, knight rider, or turbo kid and trying to remember what it was called for about a year; thank you for freeing those brain cells.
You've got to know when to hold' em Know when to fold' em Know when to walk away And know when to run To the owner of the grey viper. "Just sell it it now and take the loss!"
Anybody remember the show “Space Rangers” that came on the year before this? Has pre-“Finish him!” Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Didn’t last long, but starred Jeff Kaake who went on to be the lead in Viper later.
I do. Aired on CBS for a believe a month. I remember it starred that actress who's a little person who would later go on to be the leader of NCIS: LA. She was also in that Richard Greeko movie from 1993 where she played a poor woman's Bond villain. That's about all I remember.
@@seibervideo You are correct sir (As the late Ed McMahon would say). Despite people's mixed feelings for that film, it starred a LOT of great actors/actresses who would go on to do shows they would be synonymous with (specifically a certain Starship captain whose adventures were a staple of my Saturday Night routine for close to six years).
I remember years ago I talked about the hex skin. They said they changed it for the syndicated series because it was more expensive to do the hex morph.
Greg and Dan, you make a long day at work melt away. Congratulations on the sponsor. I love seeing you guys succeed. How do you keep finding all this stuff?
The special effects guys for the show use to come into a computer shop I worked at, to buy stuff for the show from me. Normally, broken computer parts. I watched the show, and always saw the stuff I sold them being used and had to laugh because I knew what it was, but it was something WAY more advanced in the show.... I liked the show when it was on.
I worked on season 2 of the show, when production moved from LA to Calgary (before ultimately moving to Vancouver) and was fairly chummy with Jeff Kaake. I feel the need to point out that his last name is pronounced "Cake" and not "Kah-kay". Also of note, Danny Bilson and Heather Medway eventually got married. If you look up Joe Nipote's channel on RUclips, he has a couple of videos where he has mini Viper reunions. He's not too shy about expressing his disdain for Jeff, though he never specifically names him. The cast of season 2 were not exactly a harmonious group.
We looked and looked and looked for an interview or something where someone pronounced his last name and could not find one. We were able to find a few other videos talking about this show and we went with their pronunciation. We had a 50/50 shot.
@@SecretGalaxyTV I've got some (ahem) "TV rips" of the show, and there's one episode where Jeff Kaake & Heather Medway do a little drug PSA at the end - Jeff himself pronounces it "Cake" when he introduces himself. Agreed though, it's not exactly obvious when you read it. Viper is, strangely, a show that I never knew existed until years after it ended. I live in the UK and I don't know if/how the show aired over here, but considering how much young me loved Knight Rider, I'm honestly surprised at myself that I could not have known anything about it at the time.
Hey!! I'm very interested in what happened. I didn't like when Ally Farrow left the team. I really liked that team (Cole, Westlake, Frankie and Ally). Now in real life, why Dawn Stern left the serie? And then why Jeff Kaake left the serie too? By the way my favorite season is season two because you presented some futuristic topics like Artificial Intelligence (the black box), or a psychopath cyborg (manhunt). Very nice season. I hope you will read my comment.
Is It Knight Rider? I did a spit take there, the laugh I needed today. Also I have very little recollection of this show, but James McCaffery played Dennis Learys dead brother in Rescue Me..But I do remember one of my friends having the car phone!
If memory serves me right, the last time a Dodge was in a supporting role on TV before Viper was McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) piloting a red Daytona on Hunter.
This reminds me of the time Dodge wrote in their magazine concerning the film Twister as "featuring the Dodge Ram." My father bought a Dodge Intrepid at around the time, and picked up a die cast model car of the vehicle as well. During that time, auto parts supply catalog JC Whitney sold die cast model cars.
@@DisgruntledDoomer Well, the deployment of ablative armor on Star Trek ships at the end of Voyager and beyond is handled by reconstituting the material from stored data. So, particle synthesis and transporters. Science magic, but it obeys the laws of the setting.
As a trekkie, I understand what you mean. But I also strongly disagree. The shield-plates that surround Voyager, for example, appear very similarly to how the Batmobile example works! Plating out of thin air. @@DarmokAtTinegra
4:06 That's messed up that the government rewrote someone's memories for their own agenda. Was there ever a story arc in this show about this character finding out this memories were erased and that he was actually a different person previously? If not, there should have been. It would have been a good opportunity for some character growth and good story telling in this show.
That is what made the series. The Astor character was trying to put away the people he ran with. They would recognize him everytime and question why he was driving the VIPER. It added to the story. When the second season started they dropped all the characters except Nipote and the new driver didn't have the depth behind his character, it became more basic cop show with a flashy car. The first season also had a comic-book vibe. All was gone come Season 2-4.
Season 4 last episode or so the chip goes bad, only frankie (only other season 1 cast member) knows about the chip, end of episode he has to choose to be good vs chip steering him that way.
Glad they finally did this video. I enjoyed the first season. I even have the rc controlled Viper car which still works. Only problem is I crashed it at some point when I was younger so the front black windsheild has a piece broke out of it and some paint is scratched. One of these days I need to have it fixed up since I still like it.
The Viper is the perfect crime fighting car, unless you want to turn the corner at moderate speeds, drive through snow/ice/heavy rain, need leg room, or need to go more than 30 miles before refueling.
As I was getting in my teens I kept asking myself "This Knight Rider without KITT?" What I never understood was how they got four seasons? Then I recall this one episode when it was aired on NBC where they used the new camera phone that was all the rage back then. IN the show they joked that the driver was calling from a museum when in actuality the phone was showing one of the worst frame rates ever. And of course it would be almost another twenty years when camera phones would be where they are today.
Sorry to be “that guy” but I scrolled through and can’t believe no one has corrected that the Viper was never produced with a V8 As stated in the video...they were all V10’s.
So much fun to watch this one! What a life "VIper" had too! Well done Toy Galaxy. Loved you bringing it together with the "Is It ?" bits. Hilarious but TRUE! They all took influences from each other to some respect. Does make you wonder what a show like that could be with today's technology. Keep up the excellent work!
Hey Dan, thank you for providing a detailed review of Viper, well done! 👍🏻 There were some things about the show that I never knew, specifically, it's merchandise until you brought it up. Just a side note, the character of Joe Astor (James McCaffrey) was not reassigned to Europe to conduct missions for the Feds, quite the contrary because at the very beginning of season 4, Frankie Waters revealed to Westlake (Heather Medway) that Joe Astor quickly became fed up with the ongoing corruption within the organization so he left, took all the money he saved, and hopped on a plane to Thailand. Ironically, he came back for the final season to deliver the new Viper to the new Viper team. Anyway, keep up the great work! I look forward to seeing more of your videos! You just earned a new subscriber! 😎
This show was my childhood. I loved this show and still do. Recently I bought the entire series on DVD. Did I watch Cobra? Yes. Did I enjoy it? No. It wasn't Viper. 🤷🏻♀ The audio effect they used for the second transformation (the panel transformation) will always live in my head rent free.
Dan, Your package goes out tomorrow friend!😁👍 I have to look this one up and watch a few episodes because I absolutely love the Dodge Viper! I do not remember this show.
I know it doesn't fit in with these 80's esque sci-fi action series, but you should do the BBC Narnia series, and Hitchhiker's Guide. As a kid they gave me the kind of "what is going on here?" feeling that I couldn't turn away from, for fear I'd never see the show again, the same as these action shows.
I felt Knight Rider was throughly developed, in every way possible, from the beginning. Viper... Just pushed the name of the car, and didn't throughly bury it in concept and story development. Special effects were impressive... Just weak on writing, packaging and delivery.
3:10 "It is a car, playing a car, disguised as another car!"
Line of the year
@1tiercel More of a Kirk Lazarus line
Who says companies only made 1/2 hour commercials for KIDS' toys?
That car-changing scale-ish cgi effect is burned into my brain as something 6-year-old me thought was the coolest damn thing ever.
Well, I was definitely older than 6 when this came out. So I have no excuse.
I was 8 and was watching it and Knight Rider Re Runs.
I really enjoyed the twist with Joe’s story being that of Identity which I believe was the actual theme the series was going for. Too bad we never saw the Outfit again after season 1 unless it’s in Season 4 or 2.
For 1990's, the CGI's very impressive especially for tv which usually have smaller budgets than a motion picture.
Funny enough, when they also tried to reboot Knight Rider, they had a very similar style of effect on the new Mustang hero car....only to be replaced with the physics-breaking panel transformation when it became a short-lived series.
@@Conundrum191 hated that effect
I worked security on the set for Paramount for this show back in the early 90's. I saw models, sets being built and destroyed, cars being raced down Santa Fe Ave in Los Angeles. The Abandoned chemical factory it was filmed in has since been torn down.
Me too!
Aww man. Sucks that the building is gone but that's awesome!
I hear Joker used to work there at the abandoned chemical factory
Some of the exterior shots from the 1st season appear to be a dam super imposed on a mountain near Los Angeles.
@@greenkoopa Batman blew that up, don't you remember. The superhero who totally doesn't kill blew up the whole factory using his car as a battering ram, racing through the factory, dropping bombs spraying bullets.
At this point, I feel like "crime-fighting vehicle" shows can be considered an entire genre in their own right.
Especially if there's a guy with a new face involved.
Blue Thunder, Airwolf, Knight Rider, Team Knight Rider (All Knight Rider sequels/spinoffs), The Highwayman, Street Hawk, Viper, Thunder in Paradise, and (mostly) Automan, plus cartoons like Pole Position, MASK, Turbo Teen, Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, etc.
@@leonardmccain668 great, now I have the Pole Position theme stuck in my head. Thanks A LOT!
@@Undrave Pole Po-SISHuuUUNNNN!!!
Night Man's Purple Prowler, Black Scorpion's Car, The Black Beauty, & The Chan Clan Van.
My favorite part of Viper was the drone it had that would rise out of the back so he could get an aerial view of stuff. Even today when I'm stuck in traffic I look at my sunroof and think, "I need to get a drone..."
I used the think the exact same thing. The drone was actually ahead of its time and quite feasible now.
I remember wanting all week for Viper to come on, everyone sitting around the small wood panel TV with the weekly treat of fast-food spread around the lounge table.
We did the same thing for shows like Seasquest, Earth two ect~. That's one thing I really miss about old TV and there only being a few channels, everyone sitting around together and everyone being on the same page about the "hot new shows".
sea quest was great it gave new lift Roy Schider of Jaws, and don't forget the pet Darwin.and his runabout in the vessel and that it could talk!
"Viper was another chapter in a long history of sci-fi vigilante law enforcement fantasy drama television series..."
My favorite type of tv show, back in the days!
Growing up in Detroit this was basically a MUST WATCH when I was in high school. EVERYBODY wanted a viper.
Not me, I liked the Stealth way more than the Viper.
Now I'm thinking about Thunder in Paradise. Do Thunder in Paradise please!
Oh man! I almost forgot about that show! Hulk Hogan with a high tech battle ready stealth speed boat! Toy Galaxy definitely needs to cover Thunder in Paradise!
I dont think they had a toyline so idk if he will
Ah yes, Hulk Hogan's Knight Boat.
ruclips.net/video/s68BlMt9KBg/видео.html
Loved that show back in the day!
I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT REMEMBERED THIS SHOW! I loved it as a kid. Wouldn't miss it. Thank you for telling us it' story.
Honestly I remembered the show name, but after watching this video I just learned I thought Viper was Mantis. Both good shows!
I thought I was only person know what’s caps lock button is!
I totally remembered this show, but apparently everyone else didn't and kept giving me a weird look everytime I talked about it . Glad to see I wasn't the only one with this problem.
:) it's available on dvd now. It's great! I missed it.
Viper and Mantis were my two favorites as a kid. 😀
The thing I remember of Viper is that, for a 90's TV show, the CG was solid.
Yeah definitely liked the snake skin transformation versus season 2's transformation. It blew my mind.
Supposedly, the CGI Viper transformations were $100,000 VFX shots (each time on the show that it happened). Considering the budget was $1.2 - $1.5 million per episode, and considering that the Defender did the transformation in almost every episode, that's a pretty big chunk of the show's budget.
@@BunyipDude Of course they re-used many shots, so it wasn't like they were doing the effect specifically for each show.
But for a show of that caliber a $100,000 VFX shot for a 90's show that wasn't a known franchise like Star Trek was impressive.
The Invisible Man had also a ton of impressive VFX for a same caliber show, and you could see how they's try to minimize doing the more elaborate transitions EVERY episode, leaving them only for key scenes.
@@patfer1189 True, I’m sure that they only had to do a limited range of different Viper-to-Defender transformation animation sequences (rendered from multiple angles), but I’m sure it took a boatload of time and money to do the compositing work to put the animation into all of the live-action footage. Not easy to do, especially when the first season aired in 1994 - I’m sure a single frame still took hours to render back then, even on Alias PowerAnimator or whatever they used back then.
I also imagine that the Probe animation was also quite difficult, though as far as I can tell, they used a combination of CGI and practical effects for those sequences.
Can I confess that I watch your videos, and even subscribed to your channel, and I don't even really collect toys? I collect videogames but your videos are so interesting that I feel obligated to watch them. Thank you for your passion!
You're welcome. And thank you!
Yeah no toys here either but nostalgia keeps me coming back
I collect nothing, but I love all the intricacies that this channel gets into regarding production. I am an engineer that works for a manufacturing company that also has an advertising division, if there was a channel like this about breakfast cereal I would probably watch it.
This lasted 78 episodes. The 90's really were a completely different world.
Baywatch made it 12 years, Paramount had connections with the Star trek Syndication world, it was doing ok, would of got a season 5, except WB and UPN were both 6 days a week at this point and took all the good time slots.
The amount of 1st run syndication in late 90s is anazing.
The key is not having your show on the Fox network.
@@TheRobotAssassin yeah but it probably would of done the same, fox would of killed it in yr 1, by airing it out of order and switching time slots then Paramount would of tried syndication. The only difference is on NBC it was getting descent ratings, the problem was it was expensive and not in the top 20 shows of the week.
Paramount may of had a slightly tougher time launching yr 2 if aired on fox
@@petewillson205 Amazingly awful for the most part. 90s syndication is where 80s TV concepts went to die.
All you need is the backing of a major car manufacturer...
This show 100% worked on me as a child. I loved the Dodge Viper and wanted one so badly. I remember once when I was maybe 12-13 years old, our local Dodge dealership actually got one and had it displayed in their showroom and I had my mom take me specifically so I could see it. They let me sit in it and check it out. I was amazed.
On October 7th 2022, someone offered to take me for a spin in their Dodge Viper. It was amazing! The car was super fast, and had great handling. I loved the roar of the engine. I felt like I was in a fighter jet.
I can't afford a Dodge Viper nor do they make them anymore. I did recently purchase a rare shiny metallic paint Hot Wheels '13 Dodge SRT Viper, [red] Factory 500. I'm supposed to get it today.
This show is the reason why I fell in love with the Dodge Viper, RT-10 and GTS Coupe.
It's a shame that it got cancelled. It's also a real shame that it has NEVER seen release on DVD.
It was BRILLIANTLY written, acted and directed.
Ummm it’s been on dvd for about 5 years bra.
"Mom, can we get some Knight Rider?"
"No. We have Viper at home."
Hahahaha! That's a good one!
Spot on!!!
That's exactly how I felt about Viper as a kid.
Its just a high tech car nothing like knight rider
Lmaooo
This show was exactly what I needed as a Viper loving teen! I finally got my '94 Viper a few years back, and quickly picked up the Viper DVD set to go with it. This show is a part of my DNA, no matter how corny it was, there was just something that captured me!
I watched the second season premiere back in the day, never realized that I was missing an entire season until looking it up on Wiki years later. As a kid I absolutely loved the show and always played out the concept with my Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars.
Where I lived this came on back to back with the tv show thriller Two. Two was a poor man's Fugitive and Viper was a poor man's combo of Knight rider and Air Wolf.
I remember falling in love with the Dodge Viper because of this show when I was a kid, but then being disappointed that they didn't make a hard-top version until later, and it didn't wind up looking like the one from the show.
It was designed to be a “modern Shelby cobra” no windows, no door handles, no roof. Just a simple recipe of big engine, little car.
I don't remember this show at all, but I do have a definite memory of a scene where a car went through a tunnel and changed colour, and the cops ignored it because they were looking for a silver one. I always thought it was from a Knight Rider episode.
13:22 “The headlines flash when the horn rings.”
This line broke my brain 😅
Same!
The Viper model for the "Defender" mode looked a lot like the Dodge Venom concept car that never made it into production and probably a lot of people didn't know ever existed. On a somewhat related note, there was another Viper-based concept car called the Chrysler Firepower which is one of the most badass looking cars ever made. It's a shame it was never produced.
This really funny, I had a friend who helped wrench at the local shop in Burnaby BC Canada that built and maintained those vipers. The shop also brought in the shells of Escort and Sierra Cosworths to assemble and registered for the street. It was all over the local papers when it was uncovered that these vipers were meant to be destroyed not to be privately owned and street driven. He helped build the XR4Ti for the early 2000's reboot of The Twilight Zone (season 1 ep 24 The Last Lap) and managed to legitimately acquire the hero car that did not get destroyed. Filmed in the rain on the Vancouver streets closed off for the Molson Indy champ car race before it was cancelled. Love the channel thanks for digging into this.
I heard the classic Purple Hemi Cuda that was seen on the show was crushed on orders from Dodge out of spite.
@@charliepotatoes001 the first one from Season 1 got bought by a crew member around LA to my knowledge. They brought in a "Plum Crazy" 1970 Challenger for Season 2, which I thought was also privately owned. Not sure what happened to the Seasons 3 & 4 'Cuda, or who owned it. I thought it was separate from the Vipers & Defenders. I do remember the producers struggled to find a '71 Cuda, thus the Challenger in Season 2.
Love all the "Is it (insert noun here)?" Questions throughout the episode
I was SUPER into this show in its original season. I didn't even know it got three more. I guess it didn't air in my area.
I missed 2 season and rest of series, because it was "on cable". I did not have cable. I did see adds for the new season 2 and season 3. But not season 4. I think it was on USA network (I maybe wrong).
@@MrTechblackdog Yes, it was on USA
The creator deems machine guns too deadly to put on the car.
But missiles? Heck yeah!
This RUclips hits on nearly all my childhood television memories.
to me ..Knight Rider was the tv show ver. of 80s Spy Hunter game
Viper was the tv show ver. of 2002 reboot of Spy Hunter game
Good analogy.
@@Lost_n_Found_1 at least we have KR & VP thats bass on it
@@Lost_n_Found_1 Somehow I feel like we dodged a bullet with that one. Only going by the game here, but it gave off the same vibes as the 2008 Knight Rider reboot. Not that that show is completely free of redeeming qualities. For one it had Smith Cho.
The orignal Knight rider was mysterious and untouchable
I think it’s time for a Spy Hunter TV show to reinvigorate that franchise then! 😁👍
Fun fact: Dorian Harewood provided the voice of the Shredder in several episodes of the 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon when James Avery wasn't available to record.
Loved this show when i was a kid. Took me a long time to realise the actor also starred as Max Payne 😲
It’s awesome to see someone bring up this blast from the past. I grew up watching this show and it’s definitely one that is not very commonly brought up or remembered these days. Thanks for the nostalgia!
This is still in my top 10 TV-Shows of all time, despite being horrible. I fell nostalgic about very few things, but this is one of them.
Wasn't horrible at all...
uhh, family matters was horrible....friggin the mary kate and ashley show was horrible....this at worst was just another supercar show and at best was another supercar show LMAO win win chief! LMAO
Action Adventure show TV was the best, sitcoms were never the best
take any western from back in the day, any cop drama ever or any hero show and they're better and worthy of more respect than the dime a dozen sitcoms, one may cal me biased and I say SO!?
are we not men? WE ARE DEVO!
sorry, that just popped in there lol
and I mean hero show like Knight Rider or Magnum PI and stuff, not superheroes
This was the show I absolutely had to watch growing up. Still remember the dude asking someone to scratch his back because he couldn't reach it lol
Viper. Cobra. Stingray. I want a show about an crimefighter with an undercover car called "Civic".
Psych had the Blueberry
Lol!
Or go old school, "Gremlin"
@@kentlindal5422 A Gremlin would be a bit too interesting. Let's stick to as generic a vehicle as possible.
"I was about to ask him what kind of hero car he drove, but he told me on his own accord."
I loved Viper! So glad I have the DVD set! I was a huge Knight Rider fan in the 80s so when this "next gen" series came out, I was instantly hooked. I was a sucker for all the shows like this. Viper, Super Force, yes I even loved Thunder in Paradise.... I often imagined a garage filled with K.I.T.T., Viper and the cycle from Super Force with Airwolf on the landing pad and Thunder docked in the water. Now THAT'S the MCU style team up I want to see!
There's a Viper DVD set???
@@CLA82529 yup. It was released on Region 1 by VEI out of Canada (who also released "Cobra" on DVD). Germany also got a complete series "Viper" release on DVD as well.
I was obsessed with this show as a kid. I made a similar video to this on my own channel last year after finally watching the DVDs. During syndication, it was always late Sunday nights when it aired. I had many sleep deprived Mondays in high school.
Fun fact: Alexander Archibold worked on this show before becoming an antique dealer with the popular RUclips channel "Curiosity Incorporated."
I thought my memory was playing tricks one. Good to hear the show did indeed have an Alberta connection. I remember a scene was filmed in my small town outside of calgary (Okotoks). I never got to see the crew as it all happened during school hours but I remember thinking we were about to be the next Hollywood. After seeing the show I remember being very disappointed it was so bad. Even as a kid...
Came here after hearing James McCaffrey passed. Miss this show and will always miss Joe Astor.
I have been thinking about this show every time you bring up air wolf, knight rider, or turbo kid and trying to remember what it was called for about a year; thank you for freeing those brain cells.
One of the assault vipers is in a private garage in Nevada. I know the collector
You've got to know when to hold' em
Know when to fold' em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
To the owner of the grey viper.
"Just sell it it now and take the loss!"
I'm so happy I found this channel. I have been binging it every night! You are doing great work with excellent research!
- I legit liked this show when it first came out. I loved the silver version of the car. 😎
Same
I caught up the show 2 years later the premiere, because, Mexican television
I watched every Friday
Agreed. The Viper is badass by itself and the Defender mode was a beast.
@@benraya9405 and I caught it 3½ years later because Colombia Television
Viper was a cool show I definitely wish they made a crossover between Knight Rider and Viper now that would have been an awesome TV movie.
“It’s a turBINE booster. You see, our buns don’t have seeds...”
"They got the golden arches, mine is the golden arcs." --Cleo McDowell
Their song goes "doo doo doo doodoodoo doo" and mine goes "doo doo doo doodoodoo dew".
Is it Toy Galaxy? Yes!
Omg! This DVD is on my Amazon wish list. I loved it as a kid
I've got it. Its worth it.
@@dougwhiddon8227 Good to hear. I've had it on my watchlist on ebay for a while.
That Cobalt Blue default in season 4 was the introduction to the hardtop Viper GTS.
Anybody remember the show “Space Rangers” that came on the year before this? Has pre-“Finish him!” Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.
Didn’t last long, but starred Jeff Kaake who went on to be the lead in Viper later.
I do. Aired on CBS for a believe a month. I remember it starred that actress who's a little person who would later go on to be the leader of NCIS: LA. She was also in that Richard Greeko movie from 1993 where she played a poor woman's Bond villain. That's about all I remember.
@@jonathancook1096 Yeah, Linda Hunt stood out. I want to say it’s the first thing I saw her in, but she had been in the 1984 Dune film.
@@seibervideo You are correct sir (As the late Ed McMahon would say). Despite people's mixed feelings for that film, it starred a LOT of great actors/actresses who would go on to do shows they would be synonymous with (specifically a certain Starship captain whose adventures were a staple of my Saturday Night routine for close to six years).
Jeff Kaake was on NBC before Viper hit the airwaves in a show called "Nasty Boys".
@@jonathancook1096 You mean Richard Grieco? That movie was "If Looks Could Kill".
So there was Air Wolf and Street Hawk shows but we never got a Sea Monkey one. There was Land Shark though, but he was really just a Dolphin.
That was the Snorks. They looked cute versions of the comic book ad with Smurfs thrown in.
Loved the show. Watched it every week during the initial run!
It started as a Knight Rider knock off without the AI, then became a generic detective show with a James Bond car.
Anakin Skywalker's ex-father-in-law co-created a TV show starring Max Payne. Wild world we live in.
"Inspector Gadget" was based in Metro City, too, so I'm just gonna consider both series as taking place in the same universe.
That's an underrated comment right there.
I remember years ago I talked about the hex skin. They said they changed it for the syndicated series because it was more expensive to do the hex morph.
Greg and Dan, you make a long day at work melt away. Congratulations on the sponsor. I love seeing you guys succeed. How do you keep finding all this stuff?
So that's what happened, i only watch the first season i think
I liked the changing color effect back then
This show was... yes... but it's undeniable that the Viper is one of the most interesting and "coolest" cars ever, even to this day.
I watch viper incredible show it’s like knight rider but different
Props on the Cobra mention.
Oddites is one of my favorite viedos on the channel a machine wars oddities would be a good viedo.
The special effects guys for the show use to come into a computer shop I worked at, to buy stuff for the show from me. Normally, broken computer parts. I watched the show, and always saw the stuff I sold them being used and had to laugh because I knew what it was, but it was something WAY more advanced in the show.... I liked the show when it was on.
Machine wars oddites please.
And I would not mind a reboot. Even a Knight Rider/Viper hybrid show with both cars.
I worked on season 2 of the show, when production moved from LA to Calgary (before ultimately moving to Vancouver) and was fairly chummy with Jeff Kaake. I feel the need to point out that his last name is pronounced "Cake" and not "Kah-kay".
Also of note, Danny Bilson and Heather Medway eventually got married.
If you look up Joe Nipote's channel on RUclips, he has a couple of videos where he has mini Viper reunions. He's not too shy about expressing his disdain for Jeff, though he never specifically names him. The cast of season 2 were not exactly a harmonious group.
We looked and looked and looked for an interview or something where someone pronounced his last name and could not find one.
We were able to find a few other videos talking about this show and we went with their pronunciation. We had a 50/50 shot.
@@SecretGalaxyTV I've got some (ahem) "TV rips" of the show, and there's one episode where Jeff Kaake & Heather Medway do a little drug PSA at the end - Jeff himself pronounces it "Cake" when he introduces himself. Agreed though, it's not exactly obvious when you read it.
Viper is, strangely, a show that I never knew existed until years after it ended. I live in the UK and I don't know if/how the show aired over here, but considering how much young me loved Knight Rider, I'm honestly surprised at myself that I could not have known anything about it at the time.
Hey!! I'm very interested in what happened. I didn't like when Ally Farrow left the team. I really liked that team (Cole, Westlake, Frankie and Ally). Now in real life, why Dawn Stern left the serie? And then why Jeff Kaake left the serie too? By the way my favorite season is season two because you presented some futuristic topics like Artificial Intelligence (the black box), or a psychopath cyborg (manhunt). Very nice season. I hope you will read my comment.
My dad used to watch this with me. It was my favorite. That least season was so over the top lol. Submarine mode was awesome
Being Italian I missed this one. I remember Cobra around the same time with Michael Dudikoff
Dude! I had that viper slot car set! The viper had a red flashing light in the windshield!
Is It Knight Rider? I did a spit take there, the laugh I needed today. Also I have very little recollection of this show, but James McCaffery played Dennis Learys dead brother in Rescue Me..But I do remember one of my friends having the car phone!
If memory serves me right, the last time a Dodge was in a supporting role on TV before Viper was McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) piloting a red Daytona on Hunter.
Absolutely loved Viper. Watched it all the time growing up. 👍🏻
This reminds me of the time Dodge wrote in their magazine concerning the film Twister as "featuring the Dodge Ram." My father bought a Dodge Intrepid at around the time, and picked up a die cast model car of the vehicle as well. During that time, auto parts supply catalog JC Whitney sold die cast model cars.
im totally with Dan on the "conservation of mass" thing, always pulls me out of the story when they disregard it
avoid knight rider 2008 at all costs.
Has there ever been a thing where it WAS adhered to...?
@@DisgruntledDoomer Well, the deployment of ablative armor on Star Trek ships at the end of Voyager and beyond is handled by reconstituting the material from stored data. So, particle synthesis and transporters. Science magic, but it obeys the laws of the setting.
As a trekkie, I understand what you mean. But I also strongly disagree. The shield-plates that surround Voyager, for example, appear very similarly to how the Batmobile example works! Plating out of thin air. @@DarmokAtTinegra
There are two movies: those that adhere to the conservation of mass, and those that include transformation sequences.
My second favourite Iacocca mention since Robocop
And take the highest bid... sage sage advice Dan. I’m dying over here.
I remember seeing this on both UPN and The SciFi Channel. Good stuff!
4:06 That's messed up that the government rewrote someone's memories for their own agenda. Was there ever a story arc in this show about this character finding out this memories were erased and that he was actually a different person previously? If not, there should have been. It would have been a good opportunity for some character growth and good story telling in this show.
That is what made the series. The Astor character was trying to put away the people he ran with. They would recognize him everytime and question why he was driving the VIPER. It added to the story. When the second season started they dropped all the characters except Nipote and the new driver didn't have the depth behind his character, it became more basic cop show with a flashy car. The first season also had a comic-book vibe. All was gone come Season 2-4.
Season 4 last episode or so the chip goes bad, only frankie (only other season 1 cast member) knows about the chip, end of episode he has to choose to be good vs chip steering him that way.
Glad they finally did this video. I enjoyed the first season. I even have the rc controlled Viper car which still works. Only problem is I crashed it at some point when I was younger so the front black windsheild has a piece broke out of it and some paint is scratched. One of these days I need to have it fixed up since I still like it.
Have you done, samurai pizza cats or earthworm jim? I know I'd love to see you do a vid covering them 😁
Or Sam and Max: Freelance Police, though I'm not sure how many toys that got...
I loved COBRA as a kid. It helped that I was a fan of the American Ninja movies. Just wish it got more than one season.
My favorite show. I’m a viper devote.
I watched this show with my dad as a kid during the first couple of seasons. I wasn’t sure anyone else would remember it
The Viper is the perfect crime fighting car, unless you want to turn the corner at moderate speeds, drive through snow/ice/heavy rain, need leg room, or need to go more than 30 miles before refueling.
As I was getting in my teens I kept asking myself "This Knight Rider without KITT?" What I never understood was how they got four seasons? Then I recall this one episode when it was aired on NBC where they used the new camera phone that was all the rage back then. IN the show they joked that the driver was calling from a museum when in actuality the phone was showing one of the worst frame rates ever. And of course it would be almost another twenty years when camera phones would be where they are today.
thing about KITT is he still looks cool.. to me anyway
That car was my generation after Knightrider.
Sorry to be “that guy” but I scrolled through and can’t believe no one has corrected that the Viper was never produced with a V8
As stated in the video...they were all V10’s.
The hero car, Defender, had a V8 and the show's early cars were not actually production line models.
So much fun to watch this one! What a life "VIper" had too! Well done Toy Galaxy. Loved you bringing it together with the "Is It ?" bits. Hilarious but TRUE! They all took influences from each other to some respect. Does make you wonder what a show like that could be with today's technology. Keep up the excellent work!
I remember thinking Viper looked like a sillier version of Knightrider!
Then KR2008 saw Viper and said "A transforming car?? Hold my beer!"
Hey Dan, thank you for providing a detailed review of Viper, well done! 👍🏻 There were some things about the show that I never knew, specifically, it's merchandise until you brought it up.
Just a side note, the character of Joe Astor (James McCaffrey) was not reassigned to Europe to conduct missions for the Feds, quite the contrary because at the very beginning of season 4, Frankie Waters revealed to Westlake (Heather Medway) that Joe Astor quickly became fed up with the ongoing corruption within the organization so he left, took all the money he saved, and hopped on a plane to Thailand.
Ironically, he came back for the final season to deliver the new Viper to the new Viper team.
Anyway, keep up the great work! I look forward to seeing more of your videos! You just earned a new subscriber! 😎
"Mom, can we have Knight Rider?"
"No, we have Airwolf at home."
Streethawk at home: *TURBO TEEN*
This show was my childhood. I loved this show and still do. Recently I bought the entire series on DVD. Did I watch Cobra? Yes. Did I enjoy it? No. It wasn't Viper. 🤷🏻♀ The audio effect they used for the second transformation (the panel transformation) will always live in my head rent free.
☝️😲Yoooo! This so reminded me of Time Trax! Can you do a video on that please?
Dan,
Your package goes out tomorrow friend!😁👍
I have to look this one up and watch a few episodes because I absolutely love the Dodge Viper! I do not remember this show.
I know it doesn't fit in with these 80's esque sci-fi action series, but you should do the BBC Narnia series, and Hitchhiker's Guide. As a kid they gave me the kind of "what is going on here?" feeling that I couldn't turn away from, for fear I'd never see the show again, the same as these action shows.
I felt Knight Rider was throughly developed, in every way possible, from the beginning.
Viper... Just pushed the name of the car, and didn't throughly bury it in concept and story development.
Special effects were impressive... Just weak on writing, packaging and delivery.
This is Remo Williams meets Knight Rider.
Yesssss, I was hoping for this one some day.