Review for Street Hawk: The Complete Series (Review)
Thursday, 11th March 2010, 17:57

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Extras
I received just the discs for Street Hawk, no packaging, which means I can’t comment on the eight-page booklet that will come with the final retail release. The discs get nicely animated menus that offer more of that memorable theme tune.

There are synopses for the episodes, but you’ll have to go to Episode Select, then Chapter Select for the episode that you are interested in, to find the synopsis tucked away discreetly in a corner. There ought to have been an easier way to find them.

The remaining extras are on disc 4. Well worth a watch is Street Hawk: The Making of a Legend. This documentary lasts 41 minutes, and in it Rex Smith (Jesse), Joe Regalbuto (Norman), and Jeannie Wilson (Rachel), share their reminiscences of making the show. It’s presented in widescreen, which squishes some of the clips of the show, but it’s a small grumble, the anecdotes are more than worth it.

Of great interest is the Unbroadcasted Pilot. There are usually reshoots, re-edits and alterations made between filming and broadcast, and this version of the pilot episode is actually 4 minutes longer than the show that we all saw. There is at least one deleted scene, several extended and alternate scenes as well. The effects shots are different too, with Street Hawk originally equipped with a blue taser, instead of a red laser, and some poorly animated jump effects that were thankfully replaced with practically shot stunt work. Also altered is the music, in this version, 60 seconds of Van Halen went out to be replaced with about 5 seconds of Kenny Loggins. I think I prefer the temp track originally used. The downside is that only an unloved VHS tape could be found of this version, and it has Prop. MCA #3965 tattooed across its midriff for the duration.

There are dozens of images to flick through, publicity stills, action shots, bike designs and the like. There’s also an interesting section on the bike restoration. Apparently someone found the original Street Hawk bike and spent wonga on bringing it back up to broadcast quality standards. It’s in Cumbria if you want to take a look.

There are biographies for the three main cast members, and it’s all rounded off with the Series Synopsis, putting into text what voiceover man gave us at the start of each episode.

Conclusion
Once again I’m assailed by the duality of vision caused by rampant nostalgia. Looking at this show fresh, with my thirty-something perspective applied to its eighties simplicity, I have to say that it really is a bit of nonsense, much like a lot of the action entertainment television of the period. This was the era when shows like this, The A-Team, Knight Rider and so on were firmly aimed at the younger demographic, and depth of writing and consistency of plot really weren’t a major priority, as long as they got the requisite number of stunts in. There’s something achingly stereotypical about Jesse’s reckless nature and propensity to have a new girl on his arm every episode, there’s something just as stereotypical about Norman’s nerdish-ness, Altobelli’s shouting police commander, and indeed all the other characters we encounter in the show. Seen through a 25-year lens, it seems like a parody of itself. But then my inner 12-year old takes control, and reminds me that this is the best television ever created. It’s awesome, it’s brilliant, it’s great entertainment, it’s got cool stunts, the bike is brilliant, and the characters are fun. It doesn’t take a lot of persuasion before that little kid convinces this older, cynical reviewer that he’s right, for I have to admit, beneath all the nitpicking and criticism, I had a blast watching these episodes. It’s not just nostalgia either, as after 25 years, I couldn’t really remember any of the stories, so it was almost as if I was watching them for the first time, with only a familiarity with the characters sparking nostalgic warmth.

It did get me wondering why I was enjoying the show so much, after all, attempts to find that same wonder and excitement with shows like Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team and Knight Rider all failed miserably for me. Yet Street Hawk hasn’t exactly dated the same way. It certainly aren’t the special effects, with the A-Team corkscrew car flip used to excess in these episodes, and Street Hawk’s hyperthrust looking pretty laughable now. Oddly, the simple effect of just speeding up the film is still a lot more appealing in the nighttime scenes, and with the Tangerine Dream soundtrack, is certainly more enjoyable than that 3-minute compressed train journey that the BBC used to fill dead air once upon a time. The show still holds up when practical and in camera stunts are used, and in Street Hawk that is a surprisingly large proportion of the effects work. It could be the music, although I am well aware that eighties electronica is something of a marmite proposition. Personally, I thing that Le Parc by Tangerine Dream is one of the best opening themes of the era, but I expect many will be laughing derisively in my direction at that statement.

What really does appeal in this show, and what has stood up strongly to the test of time, is the central relationship between Jesse and Norman, an odd couple pairing if ever there were one. Jesse is the freewheeling, reckless playboy, who is looking to extract as much fun as possible out of life, while Norman is the consummate nerd, the meticulous engineer, overworked, devoted, professional and anal. The two should rub each other the wrong way, and initially they do, but as the series progresses, they develop a respect, and eventually an affection for each other. It’s bromance in the truest sense of the word, and it’s what still makes the show so strong even after all these years. The rest of the cast slot in well around that, with Rachel being a potential real-world partner for Jesse in the police PR department (the shame of such a short run was that so many of these characters were never developed as far as they ought to have been), Altobelli was the stereotypical police commander, but played with energy and flair by Richard Venture. Another interesting character that never got enough screen time was the resident CSI Bernie, whose brusque and world-weary scientist was balanced by a comical eccentricity. Again, the character never really had the chance to develop.

Another charming thing about this show are the guest stars, and with Christopher Lloyd putting in a powerful performance as a drug dealer in the pilot episode, it certainly gets the show off to a great start. Also in the pilot you may recognise Robert Beltran, who later went on to play Chakotay on Star Trek Voyager. Being an anime buff, I got a buzz out of seeing Richard Epcar as a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him cop in the same episode. He’s gone on to voice characters in anime like Ghost in the Shell, Naruto, Robotech and many more. Of course most interest will be in the second episode, A Second Self, which features perhaps the second significant role for one George Clooney, years before he hit the big time in Return of the Killer Tomatoes.

Another thing that surprised me was how technologically prescient Street Hawk was, although not with the laser armed motorcycle. Yet in one episode, Norman wishes that someone would hurry up and invent the Internet, when he has to sift through a bunch of magazine articles and newspaper clippings by hand. He also introduces us to his car, which has an alarm, not unusual even in 1985, but it also has a tracker installed to tell him where it goes if it is stolen. All of that before the invention of GPS. A later episode introduces a laser designed for eye surgery, although it looks like it escaped from an episode of Battlestar Galactica.

But with the smart comes the dumb, and as with many shows, Street Hawk changed in concept from pilot to series, not just in the casting. In the pilot, Jesse was to maintain his pretence of a cripple to avoid suspicion of his being Street Hawk, and the bike was strictly a non-lethal weapons platform armed with a rubber bullet gun, and a laser (which could be set for stun, but never was). By the time the series proper was filmed, the bike had machine guns and rockets as well, and Jesse lost the limp and the cane. Also, for a clandestine operation, Jesse was remarkably open about having an FBI agent for a new best friend, and even used the office phone to call him about Street Hawk business. Then again, Clark Kent maintains his cover with a pair of glasses.

Of all the heroes with gadgets shows from the eighties, Street Hawk has stood the test of time best of all, probably because of its shorter run. Most of the other series would resort to more and more gimmicks to keep things as fresh as possible, KITT getting a new upgrade every couple of episodes (by the end of the run, the car was hovering on water), Boy George in the A-Team, it got pretty desperate in the end for some of the shows. Street Hawk never had the opportunity to fall, even though this run of thirteen episodes does have a dud or two (The Arabian is pretty dire). The good still by far outweighs the bad in this show. If you are a genuine eighties aficionado, then you simply must have this series, but you know, I think even today it will turn the heads of the young pre-teen male demographic. Street Hawk is Good and Cheesy! Hyperthrust Cleared … 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Go!

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