7. Filming 'The Final Countdown' 

Well, I was a flight instructor and flying charter when Final Countdown came out. Me and a buddy went to see it and that was it for me. I got with a Navy recruiter in Detroit, before I knew it I was down in Pensacola going through AOCS class 24-80 in Oct 1980.. Got my wings in June 1982, selected East coast Tomcats. Got to the RAG in Sep 1982, ended up in the mighty Tophatters of VF-14 in Jun 1983. Alex "Rattler" Rucker was my first Skipper and Ed "Hunyak" Andrews was my CAG on that first cruise. Great podcast episode guys.....V/R Bob "Munch" Lambert

This is in the top five! I can watch this over and over. So glad these are being posted again. Thanks to all.

Shoes you are a Sailor, NEVER apologize for that! Senior Chief sends. BZ, great job in the interview.

What a brilliant guy to have on, could have listened to him for hours👌🙏 Great podcast, thank you 👍

Thank you to "Jell-O", "Bio", "Crunch" and "Shoes" for your continued selfless stalwart and steadfast devotion and service to this grateful nation. Shoes, my utmost heartfelt and sincerest condolences to you on the loss of your friends "Fox" Ferrell and Jim Huston. Keep doing this Tomcast y'all. Love it! And you're correct, the Final Countdown is making a comeback it seems. And we do need the return of the "Cat". Hand salute.

I'm almost 50 years old and guys like Shoes still are and will always be my heroes. They always have the most amazing stories to tell and they always seem so much larger than life. It was always my dream to be a fighter pilot, but life dealt me a hand that led me into the JAG Corps. Maybe in the next life? Check six!

I was 6 years old when this movie came out. My parents let me stay up late to watch it. I so love this movie. My childhood was watching this, Black Sheep Squadron, Top Gun, and Iron Eagle. And then living at places near military bases near the flight path watching the aircraft take of or come in for landing.

Love The Final Countdown! Anyone looking for a Final Coundown accurate VF84 helmet, I'm your guy 🤙

I could sit and listen to Shoes allllll night!

Great video everyone! Thanks for sharing. Love the salute story near the end.

Loved The Final Countdown, must have watched it a hundred times.

VF-84's paint scheme was simply the best look on a fighter. Whether the F-4 or the F-14, they both looked kick-ass. I have to remember that line, "Nah, there's no hope. You can't. That's like converting a goat into a greyhound." - Al "Shoes" Mullen, lol.

I saw FC in the theater when it came out and loved it. Another great episode! Thanks for mentioning the B25. As a current 25 pilot in VA Beach, it always warms my heart when my favorite bird makes it into the conversation.

Hey Shoes! I was there in Key West with you guys. Ya'll gave my father one helluva ceremony and inducted him into the squadron. He always remembered that very fondly. A little while after that ceremony a bunch of you guys ripped my shirt off and spray painted the skull and crossbones on me with the squadron stencil. I thought that was the coolest shit in the world. Still got the official shirt with all of the patches. Thanks for all of the fun.

Great episode. Loved hearing all the behind the scenes of my fav movie since I first saw it on the big screen. I watch it over and over and my navy pride swell to tears. Thanks again. Here is a additional behind the scenes. I have volunteered at the uss intrepid museum since day 1 and the main film about life on a carrier was edited with the same footage from this film including the F-14 shots. Thanks to the movie company also. Thanks for the podcasts for the best planes ever.

My favorite aviation movie! :)

Guys like Shoes make me even prouder to be an American. He looks and sounds like he could still be flying fighters. I agree with you sir, about the paint scheme on the VF-84 Tomcats, and the matching helmets!

Meridian is my home town 😎 Final Countdown one of my all time favorite movies ‼️‼️‼️‼️

Great interview. Thanks "Shoes" for the insights into this classic movie.

There is a camaraderie within the military that no one outside the military will ever understand or relate to. Those who have served all hate it together and love it together and their experiences cannot be fathomed by anyone who hasn't done it themselves. These three guys were truly the tip of the spear, and they make it all sound like a Sunday afternoon outing, but at the same time they are serious as a heart attack. I understand most of it, I was USAF medical aircrew (Flight Nurse), way, way out on the fringe of what these guys did, but hearing them tell their tales makes me want to be back in the back of that C-141B, or out on the flight line, listening to that sound of freedom while I lost my hearing doing it. I loved the film "The Final Countdown", it was before my time in the military and I was so impressed with flight procedures on the carrier. The pivotal scene for me was the pair of Tomcats hauling ass past the yacht. wings tucked. Of course Katherine Ross was okay, too.

Those guys are WICKEDLY GREAT!!!!! Thanks for sharing 🙏

I recently found your channel and I love it. I'm speculating how each of you got your call signs. I work in an office and, believe it or not, us men have codes (call signs) for just about everybody and they are quite funny as inside jokes; so that leads me to the next question, how exactly did you acquire your call sign? Here are my theories. "BIO" - Short for Bio Hazzard. "Shoes" - Short for clown shoes (one of my nicknames). Office code names back at you. Hilarious. Office women also do the same, truth be told, it's universal.

Such a great interview, so many great stories

I am mere mortal middle-aged nerd who's into flight sims (DCS). I've had the F-14 on it since the module released. I've long decided that the F-14 isn't for me (me an FBW millenial). But this podcast is inspiring me to go back and pick up the Big Cat again for a spin.

Great show!

Enjoying these SO MUCH the 2nd time around!

Wow, that was awesome

Great movie!

Cool episode guys!!

I have the deluxe DVD release of Final Countdown (with the lenticular cover) AND the more recent 4K deluxe that's bundled with the soundtrack CD. The soundtrack CD, btw, last I checked was still available separately. Never got the Blu ray version. I heard the BD deleted a 1 or 2 extras the 2-disc deluxe DVD had. Fox Farrell is interviewed in a making of documentary for FC and discusses the "near-fatal" F-14 dive. There's a Navy promo film available on Periscope RU-vid channel that was narrated by the late Cliff Robertson, best known to modern audiences as Uncle Ben in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy (2002, 2004, 2007). That promo film used footage from The Final Countdown as well as the theme music. My general impression of The Final Countdown is that it's less prestigious among the public but I've gotten the feeling the Navy crowd appreciates the fact that FC didn't have the interpersonal BS and competition that was put into Top Gun. [There is no Top Gun trophy cup competition! The military doesn't do things that way!!!] Also, there were fewer obvious technical goofs in FC (such as 3 missiles firing from THE SAME MISSILE RAIL) than Top Gun.

I regularly watch this movie, all aircraft scenes are superb.

Great movie!! Not only more US NAVY footage than Top Gun, but better!

Really enjoyed hearing the behind the scenese stories!

Since the Navy outsources enlisted shore duty squadron jobs, they might as well outsource adversary pilot jobs as well.

Maverick: "I'm thinking about being an instructor, Sir." Skipper: "God help us." 😂😂 Great video, gents!! Semper Fi. 🇺🇲

wauw.!!!.. Awesome talk!

And the music really made the movie too

One question I would have is, what were Shoes' feelings about the US Navy's move away from the high-viz squadrons markings and helmets (that he says was perhaps one of the reasons VF-84 was chosen for the movie) to the low-viz grey that we saw in Top Gun and beyond? As a fighter pilot, did he ever feel exposed and too conspicuous with the high-viz markings?

I keep looking at that scene and seeing all the spoilers deployed and the tailerons at full deflection and seeing it still rolling the other way for a moment. I just wonder if the flight surgeon had to remove a seat cushion or two.

It was the same B-25 that filmed the Battle of Britain 1969.

I loved the War Hoover as an avionics tech. But, I'd be lying if I said the Tomcat wasn't the coolest bird to see launch at night.

Awesome interview! It was interesting to hear Sir Shoes’ experiences with filming the movie, especially the challenges that came about while filming the famous scene with the Zeroes. If it hasn’t been done yet, would it be possible to have Bozo Abel or any other VF-51 pilots to share about their involvement in flying the Tomcats in Top Gun for a future episode?

Wow, I never knew about the B-25, very cool. I wonder where that aircraft is today.

Thanks Jello, Crunch, & Bio!

Like me as a truck driver, after a while when I'm actually in the driver's seat of my truck, I pretty much know and can feel where every part of it is and what ita doing like it's a part of my own body. Do you get that way with your aircraft and how long does it take you to get to that point?

Fear the bones, baby😼

Just a note that the video indicates Dale Snodgrass died in 2001… just a heads-up to that error.

I wish you would have asked Shoes how he was given his call sign. Same with Crunch and Bio.

Katharine Ross's "boyfriend" was Sam Elliot; they have been married since 1984.

John Paul Jones was also Scottish!

Oh, gee. "This is why women live longer than men" never proved so relevant! There's static discharge. I don't care, I want to try it! LMAO! I love these Tomcasts.

Shoes=Legend👍🫡

Crunch when were you a black lion

Shoes Mullin... Fox Farrell, and the "..on the Deck..." Shot. VF-84 Jolly Rogers. Legendary. I agree with Shoes... Without the hype about the F-14 from Final Countdown, there is probably no 1984 Top Gun Film...