Counterstrike (1990 TV series)

*Counterstrike*
Counterstrike
	Counterstrike title screen
Also known as	Force de frappe
Genre	Action-adventure
Starring	Simon MacCorkindale; Christopher Plummer; Tom Kneebone; James Purcell;
Country of origin	Canada; France;
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	66
Production
Executive producers	Denis Heroux; Robert Lantos; Larry Jacobson; Sonny Grosso; Steven DeNure;
Producer	Julian Marks
Production locations	Toronto, Ontario; Paris, France;
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Alliance Communications Corporation; Grosso-Jacobson Productions;
Original release
Network	CTV; TF1; USA Network;
Release	July 1, 1990 –; May 9, 1993

Counterstrike is a Canadian-French crime-fighting, espionage, action-adventure television series. The series premiered in Canada on CTV, in France on TF1, and in the United States on the USA Network, on July 1, 1990. It ran for three seasons, airing 66 hour-long episodes in total.

Plot

After his wife is kidnapped by terrorists, international industrialist Alexander Addington assembles a clandestine team of troubleshooters to help combat terrorism around the world. He recruits Peter Sinclair from Scotland Yard to lead the team. They set up a French con artist and art/jewelry thief named Nicole Beaumont and blackmail her into joining because of her valuable criminal connections. The third team member is Luke Brenner, an American mercenary whom they rescue from a Mexican jail. The series' other recurring characters are Bennett and J.J., Alexander's valet and pilot, respectively.

In the second season's second episode Peter and Alexander encounter a French reporter named Gabrielle Germont whom they recruit into the team to prevent her from publishing a story about them. In the season's third episode Peter and Gabrielle rescue Hector Stone, an American CIA-operative and former Navy SEAL whose cover has been blown, and invite him to join the team.

The character of Alexander's daughter Suzanne Addington, who designed the team's computer systems, was also written out of the series at the beginning of the second season. Suzanne appears in one third season episode, although played by a different actress. In her stead Alexander gets a secretary/confidante named Hélène Previn.

Cast

Christopher Plummer as Alexander Addington (1990–1993)
Simon MacCorkindale as Peter Sinclair (1990–1993)
Cyrielle Clair as Nicole Beaumont (1990–1991)
Stephen Shellen as Luke Brenner (1990–1991)
Laurence Ashley-Taboulet as Suzanne Addington (1990–1991)
Sophie Michaud as Gabrielle Germont (1991–1993)
James Purcell as Hector Stone (1991–1993)
Patricia Cartier as Hélène Previn (1991–1993)
Andre Mayers as J.J. (1990–1993)
Tom Kneebone as Bennett (1990–1993)

Episodes

Season 1 (1990–91)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Dealbreaker"	Mario Azzopardi	Richard Oleksiak	July 1, 1990 (1990-07-01)
2	2	"Dead in the Air"	Jorge Montesi	Tim Dunphy	July 8, 1990 (1990-07-08)
3	3	"Now and at the Hour of Our Death"	Mario Azzopardi	Tony DiFranco	July 15, 1990 (1990-07-15)
4	4	"Art for Art's Sake"	Jorge Montesi	Jim Henshaw	July 22, 1990 (1990-07-22)
5	5	"Power Play"	Mario Azzopardi	Angelo Stea, Peter Lauterman	July 29, 1990 (1990-07-29)
6	6	"A Little Purity"	George Mendeluk	David Rotenberg	August 5, 1990 (1990-08-05)
7	7	"Son with a Gun"	Paolo Barzman	Christian Watton	August 19, 1990 (1990-08-19)
8	8	"The Lady of the Rhine"	Paolo Barzman	Eric Watton	August 26, 1990 (1990-08-26)
9	9	"Knights of Aram"	Jean-Pierre Prévost	Richard Oleksiak	September 9, 1990 (1990-09-09)
10	10	"Extreme Measures"	Michael Shock	Michael Zettler, Shelly Altman	September 16, 1990 (1990-09-16)
11	11	"Thanos"	Doug Jackson	Christian Watton	October 7, 1990 (1990-10-07)
12	12	"Siege"	Bernard Dumont	Peter Mohan	October 14, 1990 (1990-10-14)
13	13	"Escape Route"	Paolo Barzman	Chantal Renaud	October 28, 1990 (1990-10-28)
14	14	"The Beginning"	Allan Eastman	Landen Parker	November 10, 1990 (1990-11-10)
15	15	"Cry of the Children"	Mario Azzopardi	Tony DiFranco	November 17, 1990 (1990-11-17)
16	16	"Masks"	Donald Shebib	Christian Watton	November 24, 1990 (1990-11-24)
17	17	"Mindbender"	Allan Eastman	Richard Oleksiak	December 1, 1990 (1990-12-01)
18	18	"Regal Connection"	William Fruet	Tony DiFranco	December 15, 1990 (1990-12-15)
19	19	"Cinema Verité"	René Bonnière	Eric Watton	December 22, 1990 (1990-12-22)
20	20	"Verathion"	Donald Shebib	Chantal Renaud	January 12, 1991 (1991-01-12)
21	21	"The Millerton Papers"	George Mendeluk	Eric Watton	January 19, 1991 (1991-01-19)
22	22	"The Dilemma"	Jean-Pierre Prévost	Richard Oleksiak	February 2, 1991 (1991-02-02)

Season 2 (1991–92)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
23	1	"Tie a Yellow Ribbon"	Allan Eastman	Richard Oleksiak	September 21, 1991 (1991-09-21)
24	2	"Hidden Assets"	René Bonnière	Tony DiFranco	September 28, 1991 (1991-09-28)
25	3	"Fall From Grace"	Allan Eastman	Richard Oleksiak	October 5, 1991 (1991-10-05)
26	4	"It's All in the Game"	Gilbert M. Shilton	Michael Leo Donovan	October 12, 1991 (1991-10-12)
27	5	"Hide and Seek"	George Mendeluk	Richard Oleksiak	October 19, 1991 (1991-10-19)
28	6	"Native Warriors"	Alan Simmonds	Ann MacNaughton	October 26, 1991 (1991-10-26)
29	7	"Breaking Point"	George Mendeluk	Stephen Alix	November 2, 1991 (1991-11-02)
30	8	"Going Home"	Jorge Montesi	Richard Oleksiak	November 9, 1991 (1991-11-09)
31	9	"Survival Instinct"	Mario Azzopardi	Karen Janigan	November 16, 1991 (1991-11-16)
32	10	"Night of the Black Moon"	Miklós Lente	Tony DiFranco	November 23, 1991 (1991-11-23)
33	11	"Fire in the Streets"	Allan Eastman	Tony DiFranco	November 30, 1991 (1991-11-30)
34	12	"In the Blood"	René Bonnière	Michael Leo Donovan	December 7, 1991 (1991-12-07)
35	13	"Village of the Damned"	Allan Eastman	Ian Sutherland	December 14, 1991 (1991-12-14)
36	14	"Prize Package"	Jorge Montesi	Richard Oleksiak, Tony DiFranco	January 4, 1992 (1992-01-04)
37	15	"The Three Tramps"	William Fruet	Richard Oleksiak, Tony DiFranco	January 11, 1992 (1992-01-11)
38	16	"Behind Bars"	Bruno Gantillon	Elizabeth Baxter	March 14, 1992 (1992-03-14)
39	17	"Cherchez la Femme"	Jean-Pierre Prévost	Jean-Vincent Fournier	March 21, 1992 (1992-03-21)
40	18	"Dead Heat"	Jean-Pierre Prévost	Marc Eisenchteter	April 4, 1992 (1992-04-04)
41	19	"La Belle Dame Monique"	Dennis Berry	Martin Brossollet	April 11, 1992 (1992-04-11)
42	20	"Ripped from the Grave"	Bruno Gantillon	Elizabeth Baxter	April 18, 1992 (1992-04-18)
43	21	"Trigger Finger"	Daniel Moosmann	Tony DiFranco, Richard Oleksiak	May 2, 1992 (1992-05-02)
44	22	"The Circus Ring"	Robin Davis	Fabrice Ziolkowski	May 9, 1992 (1992-05-09)

Season 3 (1992–93)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
45	1	"I Remember It Well"	Robin Davis	Jean-Vincent Fournier	September 26, 1992 (1992-09-26)
46	2	"The Sting"	René Bonnière	Richard Oleksiak	October 3, 1992 (1992-10-03)
47	3	"Till Death Do Us Part"	Bruno Gantillon	Michael Leo Donovan	October 10, 1992 (1992-10-10)
48	4	"Bastille Day Terror"	Bruno Gantillon	Tony DiFranco	October 17, 1992 (1992-10-17)
49	5	"No Honour Among Thieves"	Jean-Pierre Prévost	Martin Lager	October 24, 1992 (1992-10-24)
50	6	"Skin Deep"	Robin Davis	Vincent Lambert	October 31, 1992 (1992-10-31)
51	7	"The Curse of the Amber Chamber"	Jorge Montesi	Jean-Vincent Fournier	November 7, 1992 (1992-11-07)
52	8	"Death S.E.A.L."	Allan Eastman	Fabrice Ziolkowski	November 14, 1992 (1992-11-14)
53	9	"Cyborg"	William Fruet	Richard Oleksiak	November 21, 1992 (1992-11-21)
54	10	"D.O.A."	Allan Eastman	John Sheppard	December 5, 1992 (1992-12-05)
55	11	"Cat in the Cradle"	Alan Simmonds	Stephen Alix	December 11, 1992 (1992-12-11)
56	12	"Bosnian Connection"	Alan Simmonds	Elizabeth Baxter	December 20, 1992 (1992-12-20)
57	13	"Betrayed"	René Bonnière	Tony DiFranco	January 9, 1993 (1993-01-09)
58	14	"Clear Cut"	Donald Shebib	Jean-Vincent Fournier	February 7, 1993 (1993-02-07)
59	15	"Free to Kill"	Jean-Pierre Prévost	Tony DiFranco	February 14, 1993 (1993-02-14)
60	16	"The Hit"	William Fruet	Jean-Vincent Fournier	February 28, 1993 (1993-02-28)
61	17	"French Twist"	Jean-Pierre Prévost	Richard Oleksiak	March 21, 1993 (1993-03-21)
62	18	"The Contender"	Allan Eastman	Jean-Vincent Fournier	March 28, 1993 (1993-03-28)
63	19	"The Raw Truth"	William Fruet	Richard Oleksiak, Tony DiFranco	April 11, 1993 (1993-04-11)
64	20	"Peacemaker"	George Mendeluk	Richard Oleksiak	April 18, 1993 (1993-04-18)
65	21	"Muerta"	Allan Eastman	R.B. Carney	May 2, 1993 (1993-05-02)
66	22	"Bad Guys"	George Mendeluk	Richard Oleksiak, Tony DiFranco	May 9, 1993 (1993-05-09)

Awards and nominations

1992 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Simon MacCorkindale) – Nominated
1992 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Christopher Plummer) – Nominated
1994 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Sophie Michaud) – Nominated
1994 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (James Purcell) – WON

Broadcast

Counterstrike premiered in Canada on CTV and in France (as Force de frappe) on TF1 on July 1, 1990.^[1] It premiered in the United States on the USA Network on July 1, 1990.

Reruns aired in Canada on Showcase and TVtropolis.