Acapulco H.E.A.T.

Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Format	Action
Starring	Catherine Oxenberg Brendan Kelly John Vernon Fabio Lanzoni Lydie Denier Alison Armitage Christa Sauls Michael Worth Holly Floria Graham Heywood Spencer Rochfort Randy Vasquez
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
Production
Location(s)	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Balenciaga Productions M6 Films CNC Les Films du Triangle Film Groupe S. A. (1993–1994) France Triangle Films (1996)
Distributor	All American Television (1993–1994) Keller Entertainment Group (1996)
Broadcast
Original channel	M6 (France) Syndication (United States)
Original run	Sept. 28, 1993 – April 14, 1996

Acapulco H.E.A.T. is a 1993 syndicated television series that followed the Hemisphere Emergency Action Team [H.E.A.T.], a group of top-secret agents based in Acapulco, Mexico and recruited by C-5, a secret government coalition, to fight terrorism and international crime. The team kept a low profile, by acting as models and photographers who represented a Beach Fashion enterprise.

Synopsis

Led by Ashley Hunter-Coddington (Catherine Oxenberg), a former MI6 operative, and Mike Savage (Brendan Kelly), a former CIA agent, the H.E.A.T. team fights international terrorism and crime. They receive their assignments from Mr. Smith (John Vernon), the mysterious head of C-5, a clandestine government organization linked to the United Nations. The team operates throughout the Caribbean and around the world under cover as fashion models and photographers. The team members are Catherine "Cat" Avery Pascal (Alison Armitage), a former cat-burglar, who had to choose between life imprisonment or to work in the HEAT team for a year and learning their values. Tommy Chase (Michael Worth), as the martial arts expert, who could understand the human mind like no body else. Brett Richardson (Spencer Rochfort), a former Navy SEAL, with a vast knowledge of explosives. Krissie Valentine (Holly Floria), the computer genius that could do anything with computers no mater the situation and who got involved with fellow team member Marcos. Marcos Chavez (Randy Vasquez), a member of the Los Federales, and whose contacts on Mexico provided a much needed help. Arthur Small (Graham Heywood) who dealt with the teams logistics and managed the "facade" of the Beach Fashion Enterprise and Claudio (Fabio) the owner of the hotel where the team had its headquarters.

Catherine ("Cat") Avery Pascal and Tommy Chase, are the only original team members to return in the second season. The team disbanded a few years after the first season. Cat became a beach fashion photographer and Tommy became a lone wolf. They were contacted by Nicole Bernard (Lydie Denier), an ex-spy and Joanna Barnes (Christa Sauls), Nicole's protégée and a computers expert. They continued fighting international crime backed by private investors and under cover as owners of a beach fashion boutique, called "Acapulco HEAT Beach Fashions".

Production

The show — which had a memorable theme song, "I Feel the Heat,"[1] sung by Sable Jeffries (first season) and Pepper Mashay (Second Season) — initially lasted only one season (1993–94), but was brought back for a second season with a mostly new cast. This second season was produced for distribution in Europe in 1996 but also aired in the U.S. during the 1998–99 television season. A total of 48 episodes were made.

Cast and characters

First season (1993–1994)

• Ashley Hunter-Coddington (Catherine Oxenberg) - A former British MI6 operative, founder and leader of the H.E.A.T. team. She was the daughter of a ambassador and her mother was killed by Red Brigade members. Her codename was "Surround". She worked undercover as a fashion photographer.
• Michael "Mike" Savage (Brendan Kelly) - A former CIA agent and co-founder/leader of the H.E.A.T. team. He also posed as a photographer for the agency and his codename was "Platform".
• Catherine (Cat) Avery Pascal (Alison Armitage) - A French ex-cat burglar, who was "invited" to the team after being arrested for her crimes. She had to stay with the team for a year in order not to go to prison. Eventually accepted that being on the side of justice was far better. She poses as one of the models of the agency and her codename was "High Dive".
• Brett Richardson (Spencer Rochfort) - A former Navy SEAL and the team's weapons and explosive expert. Could do anything quick and effectively. Posed has one of the teams models and his codename was "Deep End".
• Krissie Valentine (Holly Floria) - A computer expert. She provides the team with useful information for their missions, and poses undercover as one of the models of the agency. She was romantically involved with Marcos. Her cover was as one of the team models. Her codename was "Spring Board".
• Marcos Chavez (Randy Vasquez) - A former member of the Federales in Mexico and an expert in undercover missions. He was romantically involved with Krissie. Posed as the responsible for providing transportation for the equipment the team used during their work in fashion (and actually, has the equipment used on their missions). His codename was "Agua Azul".
• Tommy Chase (Michael Worth) - A government member responsible for personality analyses. Was the ZEN type of guy and martial arts expert. Posed has one of the teams models and his codename was "Backflip".
• Arthur Small (Graham Heywood) - Works out most of the logistics of each mission.
• Claudio Divanti (Fabio) - Owner of the hotel where the team had their headquarters.
• Mr. Smith (John Vernon) - One of the government representatives that constitutes C-5, a secret coalition composed of various members of the U.N. He assign the team their missions and was seen only via video link.

Second season (1996–1997)

• Catherine (Cat) Avery Pascal (Alison Armitage) - Between the first and second seasons, she became a beach-fashion photographer. Has one of the original members of the H.E.A.T. team, she now had to deal with the responsibility of being her own boss. Her new cover was of one of the owners of a small shop called "Acapulco HEAT Beach Fashions".
• Tommy Chase (Michael Worth) - Between the first and second seasons, he started seeing the world with more cynic eyes. He started a personal fight against drug dealers and small crime. He's also one of the original members of the HEAT team to join the new version. His new cover was of an employee of the small-shop "Acapulco HEAT Beach Fashions".
• Nicole Bernard (Lydie Denier) - A former French spy that re-organized the H.E.A.T. team to help her track a stolen necklace, but decided to keep working with them. Her cover was of one of the owners of a small-shop called "Acapulco HEAT Beach Fashions". Very serious, she had trouble trusting people, though she had plenty of trust in her new allies.
• Joanna Barnes (Christa Sauls) - The new computer expert of the team and a protégée of Nicole. She could do anything with a computer, though she could never explain how or what she did. Her cover was of one of the employees of the small-shop "Acapulco HEAT Beach Fashions". Though naive, she struggle to keep a serious look around her.

Notable Guest Stars

• David Carradine
• Chase Masterson
• Catherine McGoohan

Trivia

• Originally, when the series was being proposed to investors, the cast was completely different for the exception of Catherine Oxenberg and John Vernon, who retained their characters.
• On the pilot episode, Alison Armitage's character, Cat, was called "Marie-Claire Pascal".
• Also, during the first episode (first season) Marcos Chavez, was not a member of H.E.A.T. He became a member during the ending of the second episode.
• The first season was shot during the rainy season, though it seemed it was Summer.
• Though not mentioned on the box for the second season DVD, the first and second episodes have alternative audio tracks (comments by actor Michael Worth).
• According to actor Michael Worth comments, as an audio-extra for the second season DVD, the H.E.A.T. room was much more hotter that it seemed on television. On TV it seemed more comfortable and fresh.
• According to an early promo for the first season, the main theme was sung by a male voice, instead of the final female voice.
• The first and second episodes of the first seasons alluded the viewer into thinking that Catherine Pascal and Marcos Chavez would become a romantic pair. Instead, that happened between Marcos Chavez and Krissie Valentine.
• On the second season twentieth episode called "Blood Ties", Brett (Spencer Rochfort) and Marcos (Randy Vasquez) characters returned, having important roles on the episode development and participating on that episode mission. Brett went to visit Tommy and Cat and was about to get married. Marcos was now a limousine driver and his relationship with Krissie had ended.
• Though Cat was French, by the second season, that fact was never mentioned, even by Nicole, who was also French.
• The H.E.A.T. room - the headquarters of the team - though, it never changed place (or hotel), between seasons, by the time of the second season it wasn't the same room as in the first season. On the second season, the room was much smaller, the entrance was completely different and the room acted more as a secret room needed only when the computers had to be used, because the team decided many important things inside the boutique they owned.

Episode guide

First season (1993–1994)

Ep.#	Prod.#	Airdate	Title
1-1	101	1993-09-28	Code Name: Checkmate (Part I)
1-2	102	1993-09-28	Code Name: Checkmate (Part II)
1-3	103	1993-10-09	Code Name: Honeymoon Lost
1-4	109	1993-10-16	Code Name: Strange Bedfellow
1-5	111	1993-10-23	Code Name: Million Dollar Ladies (also known as Vanished)
1-6	105	1993-10-30	Code Name: Feminine Institution
1-7	112	1993-11-06	Code Name: Desert Dragon
1-8	104	1993-11-13	Code Name: Archangel
1-9	107	1993-11-20	Code Name: Arabesque
1-10	113	1993-11-27	Code Name: Body Double
1-11	106	1993-12-04	Code Name: Perfect Specimen
1-12	115	1994-01-22	Code Name: Easy Riders
1-13	114	1994-01-29	Code Name: Rip Van Winkle
1-14	119	1994-02-05	Code Name: The Stalking Horse
1-15	108	1994-02-12	Code Name: Frame-up
1-16	116	1994-02-19	Code Name: Ghosts
1-17	120	1994-02-26	Code Name: Stranded
1-18	110	1994-03-05	Code Name: Shamrock
1-19	117	1994-04-30	Code Name: Stalemate (Part I)
1-20	118	1994-05-07	Code Name: Stalemate (Part I)
1-21	121	1994-05-14	Code Name: Deep Six
1-22	122	1994-05-21	Code Name: Assassin

Second season (1996-1997)

The series was produced in 1996 for European distribution, but was not syndicated in the United States until the 1998-99 television season.

Ep.#	Prod.#	US Airdate	Title
2-1	201	1998-09-23	Code Name: The Raven (Part I)
2-2	202	1998-09-30	Code Name: The Raven (Part II)
2-3	208	1998-10-07	Code Name: Spear of Destiny
2-4	218	1998-10-14	Code Name: Day of the Dead
2-5	209	1998-10-21	Code Name: Dream Girl
2-6	206	1998-10-28	Code Name: The Killing Club
2-7	213	1998-11-04	Code Name: Mr. Paradise
2-8	221	1998-11-11	Code Name: The Mouse That Squeaked
2-9	203	1998-11-18	Code Name: Easy Green
2-10	205	1998-11-25	Code Name: Dangerous Bait
2-11	223	1998-12-02	Code Name: Million Dollar Man
2-12	216	1999-01-23	Code Name: Death of a Friendship
2-13	207	1999-01-30	Code Name: Sister Soothsayer
2-14	217	1999-02-06	Code Name: Hot Chains
2-15	212	1999-02-13	Code Name: Till Death Do Us Part
2-16	211	1999-02-20	Code Name: Cumshaw
2-17	224	1999-02-27	Code Name: Phantom
2-18	210	1999-03-06	Code Name: Bucket of Blood
2-19	214	1999-03-13	Code Name: Cult Zero
2-20	215	1999-04-24	Code Name: Blood Ties
2-21	222	1999-05-01	Code Name: Matador
2-22	204	1999-05-08	Code Name: Juice
2-23	219	1999-05-15	Code Name: Lollipop, Lollipop
2-24	220	1999-05-22	Code Name: The Stolen Leg
2-25	225	1999-05-29	Code Name: Flight 401
2-26	226	1999-06-05	Code Name: I Remember

DVD releases

Mill Creek Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 in 2006. On May 6, 2008, Mill Creek Entertainment released Acapulco H.E.A.T.- The Complete series, an 11-disc boxset featuring all 48 episodes of the series.

As of 2010, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
Acapulco H.E.A.T.: The Complete First Season	22	June 27, 2006
Acapulco H.E.A.T.: The Complete Second Season	26	October 31, 2006
Acapulco H.E.A.T.: The Complete Series	48	May 6, 2008

External links

• Acapulco H.E.A.T. in Show Guide
• Acapulco H.E.A.T. at the Internet Movie Database
• Acapulco H.E.A.T. at TV.com
• Acapulco HEAT Episode Guide