Street Hawk

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!

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.

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.

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!