Sat 30 May 2020
A TV Episode Review: COUNTERSTRIKE “Dealbreaker†(1990).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV Espionage & Spies[17] Comments
COUNTERSTRIKE “Dealbreaker.†USA Network., 01 July 1990 (Season 1, Episode 1). Christopher Plummer, Simon MacCorkindale, Cyrielle Clair, Stephen Shellen, Laurence Ashley-Taboulet. Guest Cast: Susan George, Chuck Shamata. Director: Mario Azzopardi.
Counterstrike was a Canadian-French TV series that was broadcast on USA here in the US for three seasons, beginning in 1990. Christopher Plummer was the biggest name in the cast, playing ,Alexander Addington, the wealthy leader of a group of three counter-terrorism agents. Unfortunately in this, the first show of the series, there is nothing to show how the team was assembled or their motivations, if any. The viewer is expected to pick upon things as they go.
And this is a state of affairs that applies to the story itself, I’m sorry to say A little bit of stick-to-it-iveness is a handy thing to have sometimes, and eventually the overall picture becomes clearer. To wit: A former girl friend of one of the team (Simon MacCorkindale) has been kidnapped. She’s now the wife of a former CIA agent who’s gone back on a deal with some terrorists involving some bomb detonators. It’s up to Peter to get her back, along with the help from Addington and the other two members of the team. The husband he cares about not at all.
There’s lots of spy stuff going on, but you needn’t bother paying too much attention to the details. There’s not a lot in this one you’ve haven’t seen before, and when you did, it was probably better told. Many of the episodes are playing now on YouTube, however, and maybe once you get to know the characters better, maybe the shows improve as well.

May 30th, 2020 at 11:37 pm
Fine cast, but sort of wasted by blah well trodden scripts.
May 31st, 2020 at 12:37 am
David, you do 11 word reviews very well.
May 31st, 2020 at 9:38 am
I was around when this was in production and I do not believe anyone had illusions about its strength other than top-notch cast. Plummer does not have enough to do, but Simon MacCorkindale picks up the slack, as does Susan George,. Chuck Shamata was a working actor and perfectly fine. All together, a mediocre but exploitable product in the waning days of Hollywood North. An idiotic and arrogant concept.
May 31st, 2020 at 9:51 am
You’re right as usual, Barry, especially those last two lines. You’re also correct about Christopher Plummer. He has more of a role than Charlie did on CHARLIE’S ANGELS, but not much more.
May 31st, 2020 at 4:01 pm
I enjoyed COUNTERSTRIKE 30 years ago when it was on.
It wasn’t great, but it was cheerful light entertainment.
As best I can recall, no personal “motivation” was ever ascribed to the three leads. They did their jobs because they thought bad guys should be in jail. And because they were paid.
If memory serves, COUNTERSTRIKE was completely lacking in gore or horror. And violence was at a fairly low level – perhaps due to budget limitations.
I can’t recall any offensive, controversial material.
People might find it thin – it was.
But it also served as pleasant popcorn entertainment.
As best I can recall after all these years.
I’m willing to stand corrected!
Over the decades, I’ve really enjoyed Canadian TV.
I’m not sure why.
But it has a fun quality.
May 31st, 2020 at 4:40 pm
Could it be,you are simply a nice guy and your heart goes out to the inept producers?
May 31st, 2020 at 5:45 pm
I’d rather say uninspired rather than inept, myself, but you’d probably call me a nice guy too.
May 31st, 2020 at 5:35 pm
MURDOCH MYSTERIES is one of the great triumphs of TV detective shows.
But even much more ordinary Canadian TV is often fun. In the 1980’s I enjoyed shows like NIGHT HEAT and HOTSHOTS.
Recently like DUE SOUTH, THE LISTENER, FRANKIE DRAKE, PRIVATE EYES.
Something in me is vibrating on the same wavelength as Canadian culture. For decades I listened to the Canadian classical music broadcasts on CBC-2.
May 31st, 2020 at 6:27 pm
The programs you have named come later, when they are no longer as ‘uninspired’ or inept. The classical music shows exist in the states; just recorded music.
June 1st, 2020 at 12:26 pm
I remember this series differently. It began when rich Alexander Addington (Christopher Plummer) wife is kidnapped by terrorists and killed.
He gathers a group of people to fight crime and terrorists. Leading the group was Ex- Scotland Yard Peter Sinclair (Simon MacCorkindale).
One of the running plot points in the crime/spy series was the problems Sinclair had with the methods of Addington. They blackmailed a French con artist and thief to join them. To get another member they busted American mercenary out of a Mexican jail.
The series was forgettable but it did deal with the morality of privately owned trouble shooters willing to bend rules for their own needs and beliefs.
As for Canadian TV series of the period I remain fond of THE COLLECTOR, reviewed here https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=36701
June 1st, 2020 at 2:09 pm
Michael
None of those plot points you mention show up in this first episode, except very very briefly in what I assume was the standard intro for all the episodes. Perhaps they showed the true “origin” episode later on in the season. Many shows do that. I don’t know why.
June 1st, 2020 at 12:32 pm
Michael, The Collector is fifteen years later and much better.
June 1st, 2020 at 5:22 pm
Barry Lane what is a decade or so between friends. I agree about which one was better.
I was thinking of Canadian and not much about era. But you got me thinking so here is a quick list of Canadian TV series by decade.
Lets ignore the American TV series such as X-FILES that was filmed in Canadian but was an American series.
1960s – SEAWAYS. I hope to watch WOJECK and THE COLLABORATORS someday.
1970s – STARLOST and GREAT DETECTIVE
1980s – ADDERLY and DIAMONDS
1990s – Cable exploded to 250 channels and broadcast networks reached six so there was a demand for lots of programs. DUE SOUTH, RELIC HUNTER, HIGHLANDER, ROBOCOP, F/X, FOREVER KNIGHT, EARTH FINAL CONFLICT, etc
2000s – STARGATE premiered in 1997 but it and its sequels lasted late into the 00s. CHARLIE JADE, ANDROMEDA, and STARHUNTER.
2010s – SYFY channel loves our northern neighbor with shows such as WYNONNA EARP, DARK MATTER, and ORPHAN BLACK. Another to note is REPUBLIC OF DOYLE. Surprising there are Canadian shows from this decade that have not made it to the U.S. such as INSECURITY.
June 1st, 2020 at 5:59 pm
Thanks, Michael. A super list! Some of these I know, many of them I don’t. It will be fun trying to track some of these down. (I’ve had a review of REPUBLIC OF DOYLE on ice for over a year now. I don’t know why I’ve never posted it. I’d better look and see how fresh it is. It might have gone stale.)
June 1st, 2020 at 5:32 pm
8. Mike Grost I liked your list.
Canada like many countries around the world is getting better at producing TV. What I like is they have always had their own identity, not stealing too much from American or British style. Their comedies such as SCTV, CORNER GAS and SCHITT CREEK have a style all its own.
In many ways Canada TV defined the style of 90s syndication action adventure.
June 1st, 2020 at 5:46 pm
11. Steve, they show the kidnapping in the pre-title action. Plummer’s motivation is a recurring backdrop. Even in the last season MacCorkindale’s character would think aloud about quitting over his disapproval of the groups methods.
I have not watched many episodes but I also noticed how the cast changed in all three series made a difference.
June 1st, 2020 at 10:16 pm
Michael
You are right. I watched the opening of the episode again, and there is a quick 30 second summary of what happened to Addington and his wife, and how that triggered his lifetime quest of hunting down criminals and terrorists wherever they might be.
I don’t think it’s the same as writing a story around it, but I was wrong. It’s there.