George Clooney's 1980s Knight Rider Knockoff Is So Bad It's Good

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 48 seconds ago

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.