Street Hawk

Yeah well, KNIGHT RIDER made it because a 4 wheel crime-buster was always going to win out over a two-wheeled vigilantemobile! Street Hawk's "Harley with attitude" might have had a 200 mph speed capability and a $3 million price tag (bit suss, that one!) but when all was said and done, Rex Smith was no Steve McQueen! More like crime-fighter Disney style.

Best of the offerings, the actual Pilot telemovie entitled STREET HAWK. It ran for 75 minutes and was released in many countries as a one-off video. (I have a copy!) Besides some skimpy background to Street Hawk's existence - The rookie cop, consigned to Public Relations, mega-bike wages war against the local "Mr Big" (Christopher Lloyd in a most un-Disney role). Not only does Jess Mach (Smith) take out Lloyd's cronies, he performs an aerial ballet that sees Lloyd and his 4 Wheel drive nose dive DUEL style off a desert cliff!

Music by Tangerine Dream was certainly a plus, although suspiciously ripped off from the NZ scifi actioner BATTLETRUCK, which coincidentally features a hero riding a superbike!

I remember this show, I liked it. It had one of those premises you just don't see anymore. And it had a hero. Remember those? Heroes? You don't see those in movies or TV much anymore, either. People who did what was right.. just because it was right. Jesse woulda been the same kinda man with or without the super-bike. But I'm digressing far too much.

Maybe I'm getting old, but I miss shows that were about going out, doing good, and looking cool while doing it. Street Hawk had that in huge spades. I can't say it was canceled before it's time, really. It just came too late in the game.

Of course, we could do like the Firefly fans and all gather up and inflate it as being better then it really was, and cry about the injustice about a totally average show getting cut because average isn't good enough on the big networks. That might be fun.

Your read correctly. The Eighties were awesome. Knight Rider,The A-team,Miami Vice,Stingray,Airwolf,and much much more and then there was Street Hawk. It was great being a kid back then. Fantastic looking super vehicles that could do these amazing stunts,what is not to love about it. So yes of course this is pure nostalgia. Still,shows like these were proof that they were far more creative than they are in current days. Now I must admit that if you take out the eighties and purely look it as an action show then you will find it a bit bland. The stunts are not that impressive. But what wins you over right from the bat and what actually is one of the reasons the show has any kind of popularity is the soundtrack. Tangerine Dream simply makes this bland show in a ultra cool one. The best scenes are the scenes where the main character is cruising around or dealing with the bad guys while the theme is playing in the background. So don't go expecting something spectacular. But as lightweight crime shows goes this one has likable characters and just enough action to keep you entertained.

Oh, how I wish Street Hawk would have had a longer run. It only ran for several episodes and it deserved a longer run especially considering the rubbish nowadays that goes on for several seasons.

This was one of the great 1980's action shows. In the 80's we TV fans seemed to have an obsession with super vehicles. There was Airwolf for fans of helicopters, Knight Rider for car fans and Street Hawk for motorcycle fans.

I've rode motorcycles on only a few occasions and I think they're great-they really get the adrenaline going. So when I watched Street Hawk I was quite excited. It was just as good as Knight Rider. The hero was one of those moralistic 80's guys. His name was Jesse Mach and his motorcycle was really hi-tech. I'll never forget the scenes where Street Hawk is speeding down the freeways to battle evil. I think this series had the potential to be as successful as Knight Rider but we were not so lucky.

I recommend this to anyone who can get hold of it.

Along with most other comments in here, i was a kid of the 80's who watched all of the super-vehicle shows..

"Street Hawk" was definitely up there among the best of the lot, with, as most people have pointed out, a terrific soundtrack. TO THIS DAY i can still hum the theme song in it's entirety. Didn't realize at the time that that was Tangerine Dream!

I still refer to Joe Regalbuto (aka FRANK FONTANA from "Murphy Brown") as "NORMAN from STREET HAWK" whenever i see him in anything.....

Really wish the show would have lasted longer.

Would kill for a DVD release!