swordznsorcery (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
swordznsorcery) wrote2007-08-01 01:28 am
swordznsorcery) wrote2007-08-01 01:28 am
Entry tags:
Street Hawk!
Has it really been twenty-two years since I saw this?! That's scary. Mind you, there's no denying that this is a product of the eighties. The bike itself is remarkably undated, and the clothes are quite timeless, but the music is very much a product of its time. Not that that's a bad thing. It's by Tangerine Dream, which is rather impressive, and it sounds terrific. It's just right for the chase scenes especially, and the theme tune itself is brilliant. No doubt that it's from the eighties, though. The date practically zings out of every chord.
So then. Jesse Mach is a fun-loving motorcycle cop who's out mucking about with his partner one day in the dunes. His partner drives slap bang into the middle of a drugs deal and is killed, and the bad guys try to get rid of Jesse as well. Left for dead, Jesse is saved, but left with a smashed left knee. He can't walk without a cane, and can no longer go out on patrol. Aw, poor Jesse. And poor Marty, his partner, who's played by Robert Beltran. He's always getting a rum deal, is Robert Beltran. Getting killed off right at the beginning of the show... being made to play second fiddle to the dreadful Captain Janeway in a Star Trek series that turned out to be impressively awful... Some guys don't get all the luck.
Anyway, in the middle of all this bumping off and maiming of motorcycle cops is Norman Tuttle. Hello Norman. I've missed you. Norman is the sweetest geek that American television has ever produced; a nervous, highly-strung genius charged with creating a superbike. A powerful, well-armed attack bike capable of speeds up to 300mph, and all Street Hawk needs now is a pilot. Norman doesn't especially want Jesse, since Jesse is, predictably enough, a maverick. But Norman gets Jesse anyway, smashed knee and all, and helps him work his way back to full health.
Now this is where things get a little weird. I can't quite figure out the politics of this show. There's little Norman, whose only concern seems to be getting all his wires connected up right, and figuring out his next equation - and yet he announces that his great dream is to have a super attack bike in every police precinct in the country. Just strikes me as ever such a weird dream for a computer geek. Do we have issues, Norman?! Jesse asks him, reasonably enough, why the project is so secret, only to be told that some people might have a problem with a super attack bike patrolling the streets. Well yeah, they might, but I can't see the FBI caring. And that doesn't half make Norman sound like some mad right-winger with a grudge against liberals. Like I say - can't quite figure out the politics. Anyway, it's a rubbish explanation for why the Street Hawk project is just the two of them. Not that I mind it being just the two of them - it definitely works better that way - it's just that somebody should have thought up a better reason for it. And preferably something that refrains from making the otherwise highly endearing Norman look like a raving loony. Anyway, Jesse takes the job, predictably puts himself on the trail of Marty's killers, and saves the day in his skin-tight black jumpsuit. Hurrah!
It's a lot of fun. The stunt team did a fabulous job with this, and the vehicular stunts are wonderful. The SFX are good too, as Jesse puts the bike through its paces. As I've already said, the music is great, so really the only thing that lets the show down are some of the performances. Joe Regalbuto as Norman Tuttle is terrific. He was my favourite character in the show as a kid, and that hasn't changed - although that bit about not understanding people not being comfortable with heavily-armed vigilantes on superbikes; and wanting said vigilantes all over the country; does bother me a bit. Still, it seems so wildly out of character that I'm willing to overlook it. Rex Smith as Jesse is okay. Actually, that's unfair. His scenes with Norman are particularly good, and they spark off each other well. He's a little overly-inclined towards dramatics, but a lot of the time that works well. This is hardly ultra-realistic stuff, after all. His scenes with Annoying PR Woman are pretty bad, though. Mind you, that could be her fault. She's terrible; and since she's supposed to be the female lead, that's pretty unforgiveable. The real weak link is Christopher Lloyd as the main bad guy, though. Now, I know that he's a fairly well-respected actor, and I liked Back To The Future as much as everybody else, but is the man only capable of OTT whackjob? It's not just his default setting - it seems to be his only setting. Every stare, every line, every facial expression, is totally overdone. And this show is hardly the first time, or the last; he always seems to play every role the same. Not that that's any reason for Jesse to cold-bloodedly murder him at the end of the episode, mind. Yes, it was an excuse for a great piece of FX work with the bike, but at the end of the day, it was still murder. American TV does that far too often.
So, with one or two minor niggles, most of which can be written off as pilot issues - this was the first episode, after all - this is great fun. Street Hawk is often spoken of as a Knight Rider rip-off, but in some ways it's better than Knight Rider. Jesse is a bit of a pillock, but I can see him settling down into his role soon enough. He's not nearly as annoying as Michael Knight for one thing, and Rex Smith is probably the better actor. Norman Tuttle is definitely better than either Bonnie or April, KITT's two engineers, who both seemed to exist merely to lean over the engine in tight sweaters, and flirt with Michael. Mind you, Knight Rider did have Devon. He was cool. And to be fair, so was KITT. This was great fun, anyway. It deserves a DVD release. Seems a shame that it only got thirteen episodes, too.
Norman and Jesse meet for the first time.
With Finnish subtitles.
Jesse gets his first look at the bike.
Norman merrily encases his new friend in foam. As you do.
In order to make him a form-fitting black jumpsuit. Again, as you do...
The Jesse Mach dramatic stare, patent pending.
Pretty Finnish ad cap.
Wheeeeeeeeee!
Norman at his control desk.
Street Hawk on the road.
The Jesse Mach dramatic stare part two.
I don't know. Something. I'm just a sucker for scenes of the two of them together.
The Jesse Mach dramatic stare. Again. And why not?!
The boys again. With their Finnish subtitles. :)
So then. Jesse Mach is a fun-loving motorcycle cop who's out mucking about with his partner one day in the dunes. His partner drives slap bang into the middle of a drugs deal and is killed, and the bad guys try to get rid of Jesse as well. Left for dead, Jesse is saved, but left with a smashed left knee. He can't walk without a cane, and can no longer go out on patrol. Aw, poor Jesse. And poor Marty, his partner, who's played by Robert Beltran. He's always getting a rum deal, is Robert Beltran. Getting killed off right at the beginning of the show... being made to play second fiddle to the dreadful Captain Janeway in a Star Trek series that turned out to be impressively awful... Some guys don't get all the luck.
Anyway, in the middle of all this bumping off and maiming of motorcycle cops is Norman Tuttle. Hello Norman. I've missed you. Norman is the sweetest geek that American television has ever produced; a nervous, highly-strung genius charged with creating a superbike. A powerful, well-armed attack bike capable of speeds up to 300mph, and all Street Hawk needs now is a pilot. Norman doesn't especially want Jesse, since Jesse is, predictably enough, a maverick. But Norman gets Jesse anyway, smashed knee and all, and helps him work his way back to full health.
Now this is where things get a little weird. I can't quite figure out the politics of this show. There's little Norman, whose only concern seems to be getting all his wires connected up right, and figuring out his next equation - and yet he announces that his great dream is to have a super attack bike in every police precinct in the country. Just strikes me as ever such a weird dream for a computer geek. Do we have issues, Norman?! Jesse asks him, reasonably enough, why the project is so secret, only to be told that some people might have a problem with a super attack bike patrolling the streets. Well yeah, they might, but I can't see the FBI caring. And that doesn't half make Norman sound like some mad right-winger with a grudge against liberals. Like I say - can't quite figure out the politics. Anyway, it's a rubbish explanation for why the Street Hawk project is just the two of them. Not that I mind it being just the two of them - it definitely works better that way - it's just that somebody should have thought up a better reason for it. And preferably something that refrains from making the otherwise highly endearing Norman look like a raving loony. Anyway, Jesse takes the job, predictably puts himself on the trail of Marty's killers, and saves the day in his skin-tight black jumpsuit. Hurrah!
It's a lot of fun. The stunt team did a fabulous job with this, and the vehicular stunts are wonderful. The SFX are good too, as Jesse puts the bike through its paces. As I've already said, the music is great, so really the only thing that lets the show down are some of the performances. Joe Regalbuto as Norman Tuttle is terrific. He was my favourite character in the show as a kid, and that hasn't changed - although that bit about not understanding people not being comfortable with heavily-armed vigilantes on superbikes; and wanting said vigilantes all over the country; does bother me a bit. Still, it seems so wildly out of character that I'm willing to overlook it. Rex Smith as Jesse is okay. Actually, that's unfair. His scenes with Norman are particularly good, and they spark off each other well. He's a little overly-inclined towards dramatics, but a lot of the time that works well. This is hardly ultra-realistic stuff, after all. His scenes with Annoying PR Woman are pretty bad, though. Mind you, that could be her fault. She's terrible; and since she's supposed to be the female lead, that's pretty unforgiveable. The real weak link is Christopher Lloyd as the main bad guy, though. Now, I know that he's a fairly well-respected actor, and I liked Back To The Future as much as everybody else, but is the man only capable of OTT whackjob? It's not just his default setting - it seems to be his only setting. Every stare, every line, every facial expression, is totally overdone. And this show is hardly the first time, or the last; he always seems to play every role the same. Not that that's any reason for Jesse to cold-bloodedly murder him at the end of the episode, mind. Yes, it was an excuse for a great piece of FX work with the bike, but at the end of the day, it was still murder. American TV does that far too often.
So, with one or two minor niggles, most of which can be written off as pilot issues - this was the first episode, after all - this is great fun. Street Hawk is often spoken of as a Knight Rider rip-off, but in some ways it's better than Knight Rider. Jesse is a bit of a pillock, but I can see him settling down into his role soon enough. He's not nearly as annoying as Michael Knight for one thing, and Rex Smith is probably the better actor. Norman Tuttle is definitely better than either Bonnie or April, KITT's two engineers, who both seemed to exist merely to lean over the engine in tight sweaters, and flirt with Michael. Mind you, Knight Rider did have Devon. He was cool. And to be fair, so was KITT. This was great fun, anyway. It deserves a DVD release. Seems a shame that it only got thirteen episodes, too.
Norman and Jesse meet for the first time.
With Finnish subtitles.
Jesse gets his first look at the bike.
Norman merrily encases his new friend in foam. As you do.
In order to make him a form-fitting black jumpsuit. Again, as you do...
The Jesse Mach dramatic stare, patent pending.
Pretty Finnish ad cap.
Wheeeeeeeeee!
Norman at his control desk.
Street Hawk on the road.
The Jesse Mach dramatic stare part two.
I don't know. Something. I'm just a sucker for scenes of the two of them together.
The Jesse Mach dramatic stare. Again. And why not?!
The boys again. With their Finnish subtitles. :)