Thunder in Paradise


Thunder in Paradise is an American action-adventure TV series from the creators of Baywatch, which stars Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon, and Carol Alt. This first-run syndicated TV series originally premiered as a straight-to-video feature film in September 1993, then ran for one season from March 25 until November 27, 1994, before being cancelled. The series was later rebroadcast on the TNT cable network.

Series concept

Thunder in Paradise follows the adventures of two ex-Navy SEALS, Randolph J. "Hurricane" Spencer and Martin "Bru" Brubaker, who work as mercenaries out of their tropical resort headquarters along Florida's Gulf Coast. Using their futuristic, high-tech boat, nicknamed "Thunder", they travel around the world fighting various criminals and villains. They must also balance their dangerous undercover work with their responsibilities of raising widower Spencer's young daughter Jessica, who lives with them.
Former model Kelly LaRue, who owns and manages the "Scuttlebutt Bar N' Grill" on the beach in front of the resort, looks after Jessica whenever Spence and Bru go on their missions. Kelly also serves as a romantic foil for Bru. Edward Whitaker, Jessica's uncle, owns the beach resort and makes semi-regular appearances in the series, primarily for comic relief.

Characters

Main cast

Home media release

On September 26, 2006, Lionsgate released a DVD 3-disc Thunder in Paradise Collection that contained Thunder in Paradise, Thunder in Paradise II, and Thunder in Paradise 3.

Filming locations

The Thunder in Paradise pilot movie was filmed in and around the historic Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, Florida, during April 1992. When the series was picked up for a full season, the production company then moved to Disney's Hollywood Studios near Orlando, where the primary filming location became the Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa at the Walt Disney World Resort. Other filming locations at Walt Disney World included Disney's Old Key West Resort, Fort Wilderness Campground, and EPCOT, used heavily due to the wide variety of futuristic and architectural styles available at that theme park. The destruction of the school featured in the two-part episode "Deadly Lessons" was an actual controlled demolition of a school building in Central Florida that the production company agreed to perform in exchange for filming rights. Stetson University in DeLand, Florida was utilized for an episode.

Reception

On the release of the DVD collection in 2006, the series was reviewed by David Cornelius of DVDTalk.com:
Cornelius admits to giving the series a higher rating than usual, and selectively recommends it but warns "Those not so fond of Bad Movie fun, meanwhile, should obviously Skip It."