Tonnerre mécanique

Back in the "super vehicle boom" with Airwolf, Knight Rider, The Highwayman and this show, teenagers everywhere watched week after week with anticipation for the next episode.

While Airwolf was the only adult show of the whole lot (and my personal all-time favourite series), Knight Rider the most family orientated, Street Hawk was aimed at a teenage demographic. Why it failed is anybody's guess (probably time-slot or competition on the other channels at the time), but while Airwolf and Knight Rider both made 4 successful seasons each (and now run in syndication today), Street Hawk was cancelled after a half season of 13 episodes - which was a real shame.

The action, the bike, the music... especially the music by Tangerine Dream (they actually did 3.5 hours of a musical suite for the show which was then split up for each individual episode - a well overdue soundtrack release would be appreciated!) added to the high-tech production values of this comic-book type show. It never got a chance.

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.

Wow loved this show this brings nothing but great memories and good fun times When tv was enjoyable not like boring political movies and Tv shows now

I Remember this show and it was good! I watched all the shows that featured a nice looking vehicle; Colt Seavers' truck (Fall Guy), Dave Starsky's Ford Torino (Starsky & Hutch), Mark McCormick's Coyote 1 (Hardcastle & McCormick), The General Lee (Dukes of Hazzard) and of course K.I.T.T. (Knight Rider). Even The A-Team van was cool. What happened to the good old days?? There isn't anything on TV now that shows off a cool car or truck. Hey, I'd even settle for a skateboard now! I don't understand why good shows like these didn't stay on the air long. With all the cable networks available, you would think someone would pick up one of these shows in syndication. To this day, I'm still waiting to see Hardcastle & McCormick again.

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!