Cobra (American TV series)

Did You Know?

• On February 13, 2007, Visual Entertainment released Cobra: The Complete Series on DVD in Canada.
• Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in the United States on September 29, 2009.
• Canadian rock band Saga's 1994 album Steel Umbrellas contained most of the songs produced for the series.

Premise

Robert "Scandal" Jackson, Jr., an ex–Navy SEAL who went A.W.O.L. after refusing to bomb a civilian-occupied command center, hid in Alaska as a teacher. Shot in the face and left comatose, he awoke with a new face and a new life thanks to Danielle LaPoint. She recruited him for Cobra, an undercover anti-crime agency. Reluctant to leave Alaska, he accepted after Dallas Cassel offered him the chance to catch his father's murderer. Driving his classic AC Cobra, Scandal works in Bay City.

Background

Cobra was created by Stephen J. Cannell with Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle, who later created The Pretender. Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin served as supervising producers and later executive produced Diagnosis: Murder and Martial Law. Matt Dearborn was an executive consultant and later produced Disney Channel sitcoms including Even Stevens. Bill Nuss executive produced alongside Mitchell and Van Sickle while also co-executive producing Renegade and Silk Stalkings; he later worked on The X-Files, NCIS, and Hawaii Five-O. The series was originally titled Viper, but Chrysler Corp. sued for trademark infringement because Chrysler was developing a series called Viper featuring the Dodge Viper concept car. Cannell changed the title to Cobra, believing the name could be altered without harming the creative concept. Three episodes had already been filmed under the original title. Canadian rock band Saga produced the main theme and additional songs; their album Steel Umbrellas contained most of these. Lyrics were written for the theme "Someone is Out There," but only the instrumental version aired.

Characters

Robert "Scandal" Jackson, Jr. (Michael Dudikoff) is a martial artist, expert marksman, ex-Navy SEAL, and former NSI investigator. He drives the vintage Cobra he helped his father restore. Danielle LaPoint (Allison Hossack), daughter of Cobra's founder Quentin Avery, holds a Ph.D in Psychology from Harvard and recruited Scandal. Dallas Cassel (James Tolkan), a former F.B.I. agent and Cobra's director, faked Scandal's death to secure his honorable discharge, which Scandal later accepted.