Street Hawk
| Street Hawk | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Bruce Lansbury Paul M. Belous Robert Wolterstoff |
| Starring | Rex Smith Joe Regalbuto |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | January 4, 1985 – May 16, 1985 |
Street Hawk was an American television series that aired for 13 episodes on ABC in 1985. This series was originally planned for the fall of 1984, Mondays at 8:00/7:00 CST. However, ABC changed their minds when a summer series Call to Glory did well and Street Hawk was pushed to mid-season.
Street Hawk made its debut on January 4, 1985 on ABC at 9 PM EST and lasted until May 16, 1985. The show was about a police officer and former amateur dirtbike racer called Jesse Mach who was secretly picked to test a top secret project named "Street Hawk" - a high-tech motorbike capable of speeds in excess of 300 miles per hour. Norman Tuttle, his partner, designed and built the bike and reluctantly picked Jesse to test it. Mach began to lead a double life, a police Public Relations officer by day, and crime-fighter by night.
The musical theme was composed by Tangerine Dream and a modified version (which features in the pilot episode during the sequence where Jesse takes the bike out for the first time) appeared on their album Le Parc, titled "Le Parc (L.A. - Streethawk)"
The opening-titles narration is as follows:
This is Jesse Mach, an ex-motorcycle cop, injured in the line of duty. Now a police troubleshooter, he's been recruited for a top secret government mission to ride Street Hawk. An all terrain attack motorcycle, designed as a fighter of urban crime, capable of incredible speeds up to 300 miles per hour and immense fire power. Only one man, federal agent Norman Tuttle knows Jesse Mach's true identity. The Man... The Machine... Street Hawk.
Episode 2, entitled A Second Self, featured an appearance by a young George Clooney playing the character of Kevin Stark in one of the actor's first TV roles.
The motorbike
The motorbike in the pilot episode was based upon a 1983 Honda XL500 trailbike. The bikes used in the series were based on 1984 Honda xr500s. The bikes used for the stunt shots were based on Honda CR250s. Overall, fifteen bikes were used in the show.[citation needed] The whereabouts of fourteen of the bikes is unknown, but one now resides in the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, Cumbria, England, after being restored by the show's stuntman Chris Bromham. The pilot bike was designed by Andrew Probert and the series bikes were redesigned by Ron Cobb.
There is also evidence[citation needed] that a second bike survived, but the whereabouts of this bike now are unknown. It is known, however, that a bike was displayed at "Star Cars" in America in the 80s or 90s. It is believed that, that particular bike is missing. There was talk of it showing up at the 'Bulldog Bash' about 3 years ago but no source has been able to confirm for certain.
List of Street Hawk episodes
- Street Hawk (1.5-hour pilot) (January 4 1985)
- A Second Self (January 11 1985)
- The Adjuster (January 18 1985)
- Vegas Run (January 25 1985)
- Dog Eat Dog (February 1 1985)
- Fire on the Wing (February 8 1985)
- Chinatown Memories (February 15 1985)
- The Unsinkable 453 (February 22 1985)
- Hot Target (March 1 1985)
- Murder is a Novel Idea (March 8 1985)
- The Arabian (May 2 1985)
- Female of the Species (a.k.a. The Assassin) (May 9 1985)
- Follow the Yellow Gold Road (May 16 1985)
Video releases
There have been at least two official releases of the Street Hawk pilot movie on VHS. One was from MCA Canada and contained the full 90-minute pilot (actually 76 minutes or so without commercials), and the other was the U.S. MCA release that ran about 60 minutes. There are short bits of footage that are unique to each release. Other differences include a "blue lightning"-style primary weapon in the Canadian version (whereas the red "laser beam" from the rest of the series appears on the U.S. release) and actual stunt jumps instead of the "matted-in" fake jumps in the Canadian version.
There will be a fan-produced release of both versions of the pilot by PDTV in the near future, but there are apparently no plans for an official DVD to replace the VHS tapes.