Entertainment
George Clooney's 1980s Knight Rider Knockoff Is So Bad It's Good
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
There’s nothing like the television of the 80s. It’s the only decade in which Knight Rider could have become a hit. In 1985, Universal decided to replicate the success they stumbled into with a show about a supercar and a clandestine organization by making a show about a super-secret government prototype known only by its codename: Street Hawk.
Instead of a car, the short-lived series featured a motorcycle. If you can already see the problem, congratulations, you’re smarter than an ’80s studio executive.
Knight Rider, But On A Motorcycle
Street Hawk is about a motorcycle riding vigilante by night, a cop by day, and a dirt bike racer whenever he can fit in the time, named Jesse Mach. That name sounds fake and made up, but the character’s played by Rex Smith, another name that sounds like someone had to settle after learning “Max Power” wasn’t available. Today, Rex is an accomplished Broadway performer, but back in the 80s, he was a blatant attempt by Universal to create a new David Hasselhoff.
The motorcycle, also called Street Hawk, comes across as a third-generation photocopy of Kitt without the wit of Mr. Feeny’s voice. Instead, Jesse talks to his crime-fighting partner and the creator of Street Hawk, Norman Tuttle (Murphy Brown’s Joe Regalbuto), who also assumes control when the bike activates its super-speed mode, the Hyperthrust. Going at over 300 mph in the middle of the city, what could possibly go wrong?
The military prototype also concealed a nose-mounted particle beam, amplified with machine guns and a rocket launcher after the first episode. If you’re wondering how a motorcycle can fit all of that within the chassis, you need to stop right there. Street Hawk is not the show to obsess over fine details; it’s a show to watch and wonder how did this get made?
A Missed Opportunity
Episode 2, the first to air after the TV-movie pilot, features one of Jesse’s friends coming into town on a mission to take out Street Hawk and steal the bike. Jesse’s friend is played by a young George Clooney, after he lost out on the lead role to Rex Smith. It’s the only time anyone chose Rex Smith over George Clooney.
To the shock of no one, Street Hawk was an immediate flop. Viewers were starting to reject the cheesy, 80s vehicular adventures in favor of the new wave of crime dramas led by Miami Vice. Except for India, where Street Hawk was a massive hit, leading to street-legal reproductions of the bike becoming the hot new toy for men.
As with its contemporaries, binge-watching Street Hawk can be hard, as every episode is essentially the same. Someone arrives in town, a different group is after the Street Hawk, there’s a chase on the motorcycle, Hyperthrust is activated, rinse and repeat. That formula, combined with the level of acting you’d expect from an action series in the mid-80s, makes this one of the greatest so bad it’s good shows of all time.
Street Hawk is dated in all of the best ways. The fashion, the special effects, the concept, everything. In a world where every series from the million-dollar franchises down to the latest multi-camera sitcom is focus-tested within an inch of its life, it’s refreshing to watch a series that filmed the first draft.
Entertainment
Super Bowl LX performers: Who is singing the anthems
The Super Bowl LX halftime show featuring Bad Bunny and the Super Bowl pre-show featuring Green Day may be taking up all the attention when it comes to Super Bowl performances — and rightfully so! Everyone is looking forward to what the internationally known artists will do or say regarding President Trump and ICE.
However, other musical artists are performing at this year’s Super Bowl as well.
Charlie Puth to sing national anthem
Kicking the show off with the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” is the Grammy-nominated singer Charlie Puth. Puth’s debut single, “Marvin Gaye,” featuring Meghan Trainor, was a Billboard chart hit upon its 2015 release. Puth has since had other hits, including “We Don’t Talk Anymore (feat. Selena Gomez),” “Attention,” and “Nothing But Trouble.”
Mashable Top Stories
Brandi Carlile to perform patriotic song
Next up, singing “America the Beautiful” is singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile. Carlile has a whopping 11 Grammys and two Emmy awards. Her biggest hit was 2007’s “The Story,” but she is also known for songs like “Broken Horses” and “The Joke.”
Coco Jones to sing Black national anthem
Grammy Award-winning R&B artist Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” has become a Super Bowl staple since 2021, when Alicia Keys performed it at the event. Singer and actress Ledisi performed the song at last year’s game.
Entertainment
How A Star Wars Set Malfunction Caused A Cast Member To Meet Jesus
By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated
Would you believe that arguably the most recognizable figure in the entire Star Wars franchise once ran into Jesus? This was no Jedi, although it’s admittedly fun to imagine what the Son of God might have had to say to someone else who could come back from the dead as a powerful ghost. No, the Star Wars character in question was R2-D2, and he had an accidental meeting with the divine when a remote control malfunction sent him to the set of Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth tv movie!
A long time ago (1977, to be precise), in a desert far, far away (Tunisia), two very different filmmakers were working on two very different projects. Franco Zeffirelli (best known for his Oscar-nominated Romeo and Juliet) was working on Jesus of Nazareth, which blended the four Gospels of the biblical New Testament into a single TV movie. Meanwhile, fresh off the success of American Graffiti, rebel filmmaker George Lucas was working on Star Wars, a movie that would effectively define his life while reshaping pop culture history as we know it.
Meeting The Maker
Aside from the involvement of James Earl Jones, these projects didn’t have much in common, and Lucas and Zeffirelli generally stayed out of each other’s way despite their sets neighboring one another. That all changed thanks to a scene requiring R2-D2 to be piloted using a remote control. While actor Kenny Baker was often inside the droid for scenes where R2 had to stay relatively still, there were some scenes in which George Lucas simply needed to move the little astromech from Point A to Point B.
In this case, Lucas intended for R2-D2 to exit a scene by rolling out from behind a sand dune. To do this, they intended to use a remote control, but the unit malfunctioned. Therefore, instead of stopping where the filmmakers intended, R2 just kept going until (as if guided by a higher power) he ended up on the set of Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth.
Fortunately, the runaway astromech didn’t cause any damage to the set of the Jesus TV movie, something that we can only assume would be some kind of sin. These days, the whole incident has become a bit of amusing trivia for Star Wars fans to share among themselves. At the time, though, R2 encountering a savior from heaven was just one more reason that filming this sci-fi blockbuster had become a living hell.
When Droids Move In Mysterious Ways
Reportedly, this is one of many incidents in which the droids weren’t doing exactly what the filmmakers needed them to do. On top of that, the droids were powered by exotic batteries that were hard to replace, and those batteries were soon drained in the hot Tunisian sun. Making matters worse, the truck storing R2-D2 and other droids once caught fire, damaging valuable props and costing George Lucas money he couldn’t really afford to spend.
Fortunately, it all worked out: after all these onset issues, Star Wars became one of the most successful films ever made. There are many reasons for this, including its perfect cast, killer effects, and charming story. However, we can’t discount the possibility that the movie’s success is a product of divine intervention; after all, his excursion to meet Jesus proves R2-D2 is a droid with friends in very high places!
Entertainment
Who is the Super Bowls Black national anthem singer Coco Jones?
“Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem, has been sung at every Super Bowl since 2021, when Alicia Keys performed the song.
This year, at Super Bowl LX, Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
So, who is Coco Jones?
Mashable Top Stories
Coco Jones is a Grammy Award-winning R&B artist. In 2024, she was nominated for 5 Grammys and won one award for Best R&B Performance for her platinum-certified song “ICU.” She earned two more Grammy nominations in 2025 and was nominated for Best R&B Album at this year’s award show.
The artist’s father, Mike Jones, is a former pro football player. Jones was an NFL linebacker who played for the New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams, and Tennessee Titans.
If you’re not familiar with Coco Jones as an R&B artist, she might look familiar to you if you watched the Peacock series Bel-Air. Jones is the actor who played Hillary Banks on the drama that reimagined the Will Smith sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. As a child actor, she was also a well-known Disney Channel star, appearing in So Random!, Good Luck Charlie, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Let It Shine.
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