As of 2006, "Counterstrike" airs daily in Canada in syndication and is also in syndication in some other countries. For more about the Canadian airtimes, see Canada.com - TV Tropolis.

Here are a few videoclips from the series, which are also on the video page.
      The Beginning Clip1 | Clip2 | Clip3 | Clip4 | Clip 5 | Clip 6
      Cherchez La Femme Clip1 piano clip Clip2
      Ripped from the Grave Clip1
      The Circus Ring Clip1
      Dead Heat Clip1
      Village of the Damned Clip1
      Behind Bars Clip1 | Clip2

TV Guide Canada, Oct. 26, 1991

BROADCAST HISTORY

Three seasons, for a total of 66 hour-long, colour episodes. A Canada-France co-production produced by Alliance Communications Corporation with Gaumont-Robur and Atlantique, in association with Power Pictures Corporation and Grosso-Jacobson Productions, for the CTV Television Network, the USA Network and TF-1, with the assistance of the Ontario Film Investment Program. First broadcast in the U.S.A. 1990-1993. Broadcast in Canada (from November 2) and France 1991-1994. Syndicated in many countries.

TYPE

Contemporary action/adventure drama, mainly set in high class surroundings, focussing on a clandestine anti-terrorist group financed by a wealthy industrialist.

CAST

Alexander Addington (66 episodes) ............... Christopher Plummer
Peter Sinclair (66 episodes) ........................... Simon MacCorkindale
Bennett (66 episodes) .................................... Tom Kneebone
J.J. (66 episodes) .......................................... Andre Mayers
Luke Brenner (episodes 1-23) ....................... Stephen Shellen
Nikki Beaumont (episodes 1-22) ................... Cyrielle Claire
Suzanne Addington (episodes 1-23) ............... Laurence Ashley
Gabrielle Germont (episodes 24-66) .............. Sophie Michaud
Hector Stone (episodes 25-66) ...................... James Purcell
Hélène Previn (episodes 24-66) ..................... Patricia Cartier

CHARACTERS

Alexander Addington, an influential billionaire industrialist with wide-ranging interests and investments, heads dozens of companies and supports numerous research, environmental and ecological groups. He has homes in various cities all over the world, is married to Chantal, and they have one child, a daughter, Suzanne. He's devoted to both of them. His hobbies include growing bonsai and fishing, and he plays the piano for recreation. A gruff, impatient exterior hides a caring heart. His money and contacts keep the Counterstrike Team funded and operating.

Peter Sinclair is Scotland Yard's foremost hostage negotiator, and he has been with the Yard for many years. He was the youngest Inspector in the history of the Yard. He was married to Claire but that marriage broke up because of his dedication to his job. He has two sisters and various nieces and nephews, and his father runs a chain of tobacco stores. He and his father have been estranged for many years; Peter's father disapproves of his son's choice of career. Peter has a love for the finer things in life such as art and music, and is quite knowledgeable in them, a love and knowledge which is shared by Alexander. Before heading the Counterstrike Team Peter was growing dissatisfied with the restraints placed on the police which allowed many criminals to "get away with" crimes and/or escape punishment. Being part of the Counterstrike Team allows him to have the bad guys get their "due".

Suzanne Addington, 20 years old, is studying computer technology, among other things, at the Sorbonne in France when her parents are kidnapped. She flies home to Toronto when she learns of it. When the police finally call off the search Suzanne urges her father to do something which will channel his anguish over her mother's disappearance into some positive action, and he decides to start up the Counterstrike Team to combat terrorism in all its forms. Suzanne decides she's had enough of school and joins her father, assisting him in his work and also working as a liaison between her father and the Team, and sets up the computer links they'll need. In the first episode of season 2 she moves to Baltimore to work as a sales rep at Addington Electronics so that she can learn her father's business from the bottom up. She returns in season 3 for one episode (although she's played by a different actress), when she throws a surprise birthday party for her father and announces her engagement. Like her father she has many interests, predominantly in the arts. She's also very idealistic.

Bennett is Alexander's butler/valet. He is Alexander's confidante and probably knows more about Alexander's business enterprises than Alexander himself does. They met during the Second World War and it's possible that Bennett was in the Army, in M.I.5, military intelligence. Bennett has a Jack Russell terrier which he takes for walks around their Parisian neighbourhood. Bennett's hobbies include doing the Times crossword puzzle, probably in a matter of minutes, and reading books on great British explorers and British history. Also, being bilingual (English/French), he reads similar books written in French. Bennett has had a very upper class British upbringing.

Hélène Previn is Alexander's executive secretary, who started working for him after Suzanne left to go to Baltimore. She is a widow, and her husband was a business associate of Alexander's. She had known his wife, Chantal, before her kidnapping and had served with her on some committees; Hélène's still involved in several of the same charities. When Alexander asks her why she wants to work for him she says that because her husband was a similar kind of businessman as Alexander she understands the needs of powerful men. She is efficient, loyal, honest, hardworking, intelligent and charming. She also knows how to handle Alexander and, like Chantal, she doesn't let him shirk personal responsibilities with excuses.

J.J. is the pilot of Alexander's executive jet (which the Team uses) and at times helps out the Team with their assignments. He teaches Peter and Luke how to fly, and Peter tries to teach him how to make a palatable cup of coffee. He has a younger brother who's a boxer and is married.

The First Team

Nikki Beaumont is a con artist and high class jewel and art thief, as is her father. They both live in Europe, mostly France. Nikki tries to set up a scam to defraud Alexander, unaware that it's actually Alexander who's set up Nikki in order to "blackmail" her into joining the Counterstrike Team. She has a lot of contacts among European criminals, and the Team can use that knowledge. She's used to living by her wits and charm and those attributes, too, can be useful to the Team; she's also not averse to using her feminine charms to extract information from those unwilling to part with it. Nikki is an invaluable part of the Team until she suddenly decides she wants a "normal" life and quits to marry a French nobleman after the first season of the show. She does come back for one episode in the third season, though, in order to help them out in a situation where her knowledge proves invaluable.

Luke Brenner is rescued from a Mexican prison by Peter and Nikki so he can join the Counterstrike Team. He is an impatient soldier of fortune, an expert in munitions, explosives and guerilla warfare, also electronics and communications systems. He too has many contacts in the criminal world, and knowledge of Hans Krueger. He's used to living by his wits, and is not averse to using violence if the situation demands it.

The Second Team

Gabrielle Germont is a clever and beautiful freelance photo-journalist. She was born in Alexandria, Egypt and has travelled the world for most of her life. While researching a story on Alexander Addington, Gabrielle unwittingly exposes the Counterstrike Team. Contrite and guilty, she offers Addington all her research on his strike force by way of an apology and rethinks her journalistic future. Peter and Alexander, impressed with her honesty, integrity, ingeniousness and abilities, offer her a spot on the Team. She agrees and the Team gains a fearless and sometimes fierce ally with such an eclectic background that she's always pulling surprises from her repertoire.

Hector Stone is an ex-Navy SEAL, ex-CIA agent. An all or nothing character who deflects high stress with a seemingly impenetrable armour of black humour, Stone lets almost no one into his personal life. His devil-may-care attitude looks on the surface to be extremely dangerous, but Peter Sinclair quickly recognizes it as a highly developed defence mechanism. He sees in Stone a man who would never jeopardize a mission, but he would die for one. All or nothing. Stone got his early "training" on the streets of Philadelphia.

MAJOR STORY LINE

Alexander Addington, an extremely wealthy and influential multi-national industrialist, is kidnapped along with his wife, Chantal, when they are on their way to a diplomatic function at an embassy in Toronto. Alexander is shot in the knee (and limps and walks with a cane afterwards) and is thrown out of the kidnappers' car; his wife is taken for ransom (to be in the form of weapons and missiles... "they've ordered enough artillery to start a bloody war," as Peter Sinclair says. "And win it," adds Alexander). The weapons are to be dropped by parachute into several locations in the Angolan jungle. Alexander had called in the local police, but impatient with their lack of progress he has also called in Scotland Yard's top hostage negotiator, Peter Sinclair, by a call to England's Home Secretary. Peter states to the local police that he's there in an advisory capacity only, but they are still very defensive about his involvement in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, Alexander's 20-year old daughter, Suzanne, has flown home immediately after hearing of her mother's kidnapping. She's been studying computer technology at the Sorbonne in Paris.

When the kidnappers call Alexander the local police trace the call and race to its location, only to find that the number belongs to a phone booth where two public phones had been taped together. There is no way to find out where the call originated.

Peter Sinclair suggests that Alexander start putting the wheels in motion to get the kidnappers' weapons together. That way they can, if they need to, stall for time, but in the meantime the kidnappers will believe their demands are being met.

The police ask Alexander what he knows of Angola, and he and Peter concur that the weapons are meant to aid the ruling vicious dictator and that they will be used for government-sanctioned terrorism with Alexander's wife as a pawn.

In the meantime they await the next call from the kidnappers as to exactly where the weapons are to be delivered. Alexander is impatient at the lack of progress and unable to sleep. In a late night chat with Peter he asks him about his reasons for becoming a policeman since Peter is well-versed in all types of the arts and has obviously had a superior education. Peter tells Alexander he has "always been passionate about seeing the bad guys getting their due", but admits that while the passion for police work is still there, he's getting a little tired of doing it with his hands tied behind his back.

Alexander then tells him that the weapons have been amassed and are ready to be delivered whenever he gives the word. Peter reminds him that there's no guarantee his wife will be delivered even then, and if she is, is Alexander willing to pay the price knowing what the terrorists will do with the weapons? Alexander says he knows the cost, but is willing to do anything to get his wife back. But Peter's question has obviously started him thinking.

Peter then gets a phone call from a colleague at Interpol to whom he had a tape of the kidnapper's voice sent. The colleague tells him they were able to get a voice print match, and that the voice belongs to Hans Krueger, a member of the old Bader-Meinhof terrorist gang, several of whom, Krueger included, escaped when the Germans arrested the gang. They are now hiring themselves out to the highest bidder.

Then finally there's a break in the case. Peter had suggested to the local police that they might find the kidnapper's car, a new model, on a dealer's lot. An investigation of new car dealers turns up the car used, and Mrs. Addington's ring is found inside. An employee of the car dealership is suspiciously missing and with Suzanne's computer skills all his phone calls are traced. This leads to an address near a power plant, and the local police, Peter and Alexander converge on the farmhouse. Unfortunately, due to the arrogance and incompetence of the local police who are totally disregarding Peter's suggestions, Alexander's wife and Hans Krueger are not found at the farmhouse, although several of Krueger's gang are, and are either killed or arrested.

As far as the local police are concerned the case is now closed and they won't actively pursue it any longer. They leave Alexander's house (where they'd set up a headquarters) and Peter is about to leave as well when Alexander asks him to stay for dinner. After dinner, Alexander and Suzanne ask Peter to work for them. They suggest this may be his one chance to do things his way, unencumbered by police or government bureaucracy. Alexander will supply the money, resources and contacts Peter will need, and Suzanne will set up a computer network to help him. Their resources will be far superior to any police force's in the world, and Peter will be free to add any manpower he wishes. As it happens, Peter already has a "team" in mind, and although they both have ties to Krueger and the Bader-Meinhof gang, both are also on the wrong side of the law. Alexander states that is no problem, and agrees that Peter is to be the head of the Team and will be in charge of all decisions and plans.

Peter sets about "recruiting" his fellow Team members. Nikki Beaumont is a high-class thief and con artist who is caught trying to sell Alexander a forged Picasso. She agrees to join the Team to keep from being arrested for possessing fake Swiss francs, which Alexander had used to pay for the painting. Luke Brenner, a munitions and electronics expert, very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, is rescued from a Mexican jail where he's being held indefinitely on unspecified charges. Thus is born the first Counterstrike Team. Their headquarters will be in Paris, where Alexander has moved so as to be closer to Suzanne, who is returning to her studies at the Sorbonne. Bennett, Alexander's long-time butler, has found them a residence and office at the top of the Lutetia Hotel, chosen not only for its spectacular views of Paris, but because it already has in place an extensive and comprehensive security system. Suzanne will set up the computer systems they need, and decides to leave school in order to monitor the computer systems and help her father run his empire.

Peter then reveals their assignment to the Team - they are to find Hans Krueger and rescue Alexander's wife. Nikki protests this is more dangerous than she'd bargained for and refuses the assignment but is persuaded to join the rest of the Team when she sees Alexander's obvious anguish at the loss of his wife. When Krueger calls with more ransom demands Suzanne traces the call to a cellular phone somewhere outside Berlin. Nikki knows exactly where Krueger is staying and leads the Team there. The Team overpowers the guards and infiltrates the house, overpowering the guards inside as well. They capture Krueger but there is no sign of Mrs. Addington. Krueger tells them she's probably at the bottom of Lake Ontario but they don't believe him, and in fact, in later episodes there is strong evidence that she's being held hostage somewhere in the Middle East.

The Team reports back to Alexander and prepares to disband. It's been an exhilarating experience for everyone involved and Peter, especially, wonders how he'll re-adjust to working within the bureaucracy again. Eventually, at Suzanne's urging, Alexander decides to keep the Team permanently operating. If his wife is alive he hopes their work will uncover some clue to her whereabouts. If she's dead, this will be his memorial to her. He will fight terrorism in all its forms.

"I swear eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

ETC.

After the first season of the show both Stephen Shellen and Cyrielle Claire decided to leave. Stephen Shellen wanted to pursue a career in movies, and Cyrielle Claire had financial differences with the producers. So a second Team was brought into the show, but because these characters were on the "right" side of the law to begin with, that changed the dynamics of the Team and it became more of an actual "team" instead of a "boss" and his two subordinates. Most fans welcomed the change from Luke Brenner to Hector Stone, they felt Luke was too much on edge, too much of a loose cannon, and that Stone brought a needed professionalism to the Team.

Most fans were saddened by the loss of Nikki Beaumont, although she did return in an episode in the third season to help out the Team. They felt Gabrielle was too much of an "amateur", especially in her use of weapons and hand-to-hand combat, and that that was a detriment to the smooth functioning of the Team.

One of the things all agreed on, though, was that the relative lack of violence in the show, considering its subject matter, was one of the positive values of the series. Because it was a Canada-France co-production it was different in that respect than most U.S. productions would be, given the show's premise.

The show was extremely contemporary, weaving current world news stories concerning terrorism into its scripts. And although the dynamics of the second Team were quite different than the first, the basic premise and high production values of the show remained the same. This was, in part, due to having the same producers for all three seasons, as well as input on production from Simon MacCorkindale (who played Peter Sinclair) throughout the series.

The introduction of the second Team was handled in as smooth a way as possible. At the beginning of the second season it was revealed that Nikki Beaumont had decided to "retire" and marry a French nobleman. In that same show, Luke Brenner sacrificed himself to a terrorist's bomb so that Peter could escape. In the next episode the audience was introduced to Gabrielle Germont as a photo-journalist who had uncovered evidence of the Team. In order to sabotage the article she was about to write concerning her research into the Team she is recruited into the Team herself.

In that same episode the audience was introduced to Hélène Previn as Alexander's new executive secretary, a widow whose husband had been a business associate of Alexander's. At first the producers envisioned a romantic interest between Alexander and Hélène, but that never materialized because the fate of Chantal was never resolved, and Hélène was still devoted to and in mourning for her late husband. (In that respect the character of Hélène mirrored the life of executive producer Fern Field Brooks whose husband Norman had died during the second season of filming.)

In the following episode the audience is introduced to Hector Stone, an ex-Navy SEAL. After working undercover in South America for many years (probably for the CIA) he is unmasked, and gets rescued by Peter and Gabrielle. He is only too happy to join the Team, doing the same type of work as he'd been doing before, only for a different "company".

In the third season the producers (notably USA Networks) decided to bring in a lot of internationally known guest stars such as Elke Sommer, Brigitte Nielsen, Vanity and Janet Jackson. Many fans felt that weakened the series because it took away from the emphasis on the Team itself and focussed more on the guest stars.

Episode Titles (in order)*

Season 1

1. Dealbreaker
2. Dead in the Air
3. Now and at the Hour of
4. Art for Art's Sake
5. Power Play
6. A Little Purity
7. Son With A Gun
8. The Lady of the Rhine
9. Knights of Aram
10. Extreme Measures
11. Thanos
12. Siege (misspelled as "Seige")
13. Escape Route
14. Cry of the Children
15. The Beginning
16. Masks
17. Mindbender
18. Regal Connection
19. Cinema Verite
20. Verathion
21. The Millerton Papers
22. The Dilemma

Season 2**

23. Tie A Yellow Ribbon
24. Hidden Assets
25. Fall From Grace
26. It's All In the Game
27. Hide and Seek
28. Native Warriors
29. Breaking Point
30. Going Home
31. Survival Instinct
32. Night of the Black Moon
33. Fire In the Streets
34. In the Blood
35. Village of the Damned
36. Prize Package
37. The Three Tramps
38. Behind Bars
39. Dead Heat
40. La Belle Dame Monique
41. Ripped From the Grave
42. Trigger Finger
43. The Circus Ring

Season 3**

44. Cherchez La Femme
45. I Remember It Well
46. The Sting
47. 'Til Death Do Us Part
48. Bastille Day Terror
49. No Honour Among Thieves
50. Skin Deep
51. The Curse of the Amber
52. Death SEAL
53. Cyborg
54. D.O.A.
55. Cat In the Cradle (misspelled as "Craddle")
56. Bosnian Connection
57. Betrayed
58. Clearcut
59. Free To Kill
60. The Hit
61. French Twist
62. The Contender
63. The Raw Truth
64. Peacemaker
65. Muerte

* as shown in U.S.A.
** Second season U.S.A. had 21 episodes; third season had 23. In Canada the second season had 22 episodes, as did season 3 - episode 44 was shown as the last episode in season 2.

When the series was shown in Canada they changed the episode order, especially for season 1. "The Beginning", which had been added to season 1 as episode 15 to explain the premise of the show (at the urging of Simon MacCorkindale and Fern Field Brooks), was moved to episode 1. The running order of some of the other episodes was also changed. Here's the running order for the first seven episodes as run in Canada (a year after the series started in the U.S.A.):

1. The Beginning
2. Siege
3. Mindbender
4. Dead In the Air
5. Extreme Measures
6. Verathion
7. Masks