Street Hawk - an all terrain attack motorcycle designed to fight urban crime. Capable of incredible speeds up to 300 miles per hour, and immense fire power ranging from machine guns, to a particle beam, to a miniaturized missile launcher.
The name Street Hawk would apply to the rider of the motorcycle as well as to the motorcycle itself on the series of the same name, which debuted January 4, 1985 on ABC at 9PM, and lasted 13 episodes before it was cancelled on May 16, 1985. The show starred Rex Smith as police officer Jesse Mach, an ex-motorcycle cop who is injured when his partner (played by Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Beltran) was murdered by a drug dealer (played by Christopher Lloyd) who then ran over Mach's knee.
Also starring were Joe Regalbuto as Federal Agent Norman Tuttle, who designed the Street Hawk motorcycle and reluctantly recruits Mach as its rider, Richard Venture as Commander Leo Altobelli, Mach's boss at the police department who is unaware of Mach's duel identity as Street Hawk, and Jeannie Wilson as Mach's co-worker Rachel Adams. (Jayne Modean played Rachel Adams in the pilot episode but ABC believed she was too young for the role, and the part went to Wilson, whom producer Burton Armus believed was too old for the role.)
The series was created by Bruce Lansbury, but he never worked on the show. Producer Burton Armus was no stranger to the 'supervehicle' series as he worked on Airwolf during its first season, and did two seasons of Knight Rider. The executive producers of the show, however, were two inexperienced, yet highly opinionated, individuals named Robert Wolterstorff and Paul Belous. For Wolterstorff and Belous, Street Hawk was the first, and last, show they were ever put in charge of.
The show itself was a crime drama with Mach racing around hoping to stop the bad guys with the Street Hawk motorcycle. Tuttle sat in an abandoned warehouse refitted to be a central command center where he could monitor Mach's actions and the bike's functions, including the computer assist hyperthrust which launched the bike into incredible speeds up to, and even past, 300 mph. The bike itself was a modified 1983 XL500 from Honda, which was used in the pilot. For later episodes an XR500 was used with 11 1984 Honda XCR250's used for stunts.
Four bikes were made for the show outside of stunt use. The bike for the pilot was designed by Andrew Probert with Ron Cobb designing the later bikes. When the series ended one bike sold for $12,000 on eBay. The buyer? Chris Bromhan, a stuntman on the show.
Despite the show having a cult following, and a budget of $850,000 an episode, Street Hawk had a lot of problems, according to producer Burton Armus.
First was the bike itself, which was always in transition and constantly in need of repair. Producer Armus did not believe that the bike was the brute that it should have been. If the decision was up to him, Armus said that he would have preferred using a 1500cc Harley with full cowling, solid roll bars and additional armaments and weapons.
Another problem was the choice of Rex Smith to play Jesse Mach. Armus's view of Smith was that Smith was not 'dangerous enough' to be a series hero. Smith brought a sense of naivety and youthfulness to the Mach character, but he wasn't considered to be on the 'star' level that David Hasslehoff and Jan-Michael Vincent were with their portrayals of Michael Knight on Knight Rider and Stringfellow Hawke on Airwolf.
Other problems lay with the executive producers Robert Wolterstorff and Paul Belous and their inexperience at running a show. This inexperience led to line difficulties with the crew and one or two bad decisions. One example: due to production delays, an explosion was not filmed and, instead of removing the charges, Belous ordered the site be blown up without the safety measures in place. In the process the windows of a synagogue on Wilshire Blvd, and a high rise were blown out spewing shrapnel everywhere. When Street Hawk ended neither Belous or Wolterstorff were ever heard from again.
But the main problem perceived with the show was that it never caught on. In a world where shows like Airwolf and Knight Rider made their debuts there wasn't any room for Street Hawk. The show apparently came too little, too late, and was cancelled.
The pilot episode however did go out on VHS and was seen on some video and library shelves. It also had a brief resurgence of popularity during the UHF boom of the late 80's, like Voyagers and Battlestar Galactica had. It also had a limited merchandise run during its first airing ranging from walkie-talkies, shooting ranges, I.D. sets, color/activity books, and four novels published in 1985 by Target Books of London. The theme music was sold on an album made by the show's composers, 'Tangerine Dream'.
A fun show cut down by lack of popularity and experience of the executive producers. Yet it still maintains a cult following today. The man...the machine...Street Hawk.
As WildCard #1 the Infomercial Kings are proud to select Miami Vice.
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The show became noted for its heavy integration and use of music and visual effects to tell a story. The series starred Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989. The USA Network would later broadcast an unaired episode during its syndication run of the series on January 25, 1990.
Unlike standard police procedurals, the show drew heavily upon 1980s New Wave culture and music. It is recognized as one of the most influential television series of all time. People magazine stated that Miami Vice "was the first show to look really new and different since color TV was invented."
Last edited by Superflyer; 02-05-2009 at 09:06 PM.
The Cleveland Indian Head Test Patterns Select in the category Reality-Ongoing
U8TV: The Lofters
The show followed the lives of eight young Canadians who lived together into a Toronto loft for a one-year period, while at the same time producing and hosting their own television programs for Life Network or other cable TV networks, and for the website U8TV.com. The loft, located in Toronto's Entertainment District near the intersection of Peter and Richmond streets, had 21 cameras filming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all rooms of the house including the bathrooms — although the bathroom camera was only broadcast if Lofters went in there to talk.
The show was unique in that it was not only a fly-on-the-wall-style reality show similar to MTV's The Real World but was also a nightly series of talk shows and documentaries that were created and hosted by the cast members themselves. Some of the online shows or TV shows produced by the Lofters included Fuel, So Gay TV, Male Box, Spin the Bottle, Love Shack, Money Shot and House Party. The shows had regular weekly time slots and were hosted regularly by one or two Lofters, and usually centred on themes of interest to young people.
Hopefully I am following the new rules correctly and not just stepping on everyones toes making a pick out of turn or something....
Team Idiot Box would like to select in the category of drama, CSI:NY.
It's got everything, including a couple of really hot guys with 'New York' accents in stars Eddie Cahill, Carmine Giovinazzo, and AJ Buckley. It's got Gary Sinise, who I think is a fairly underrated actor. It's got forensic science (well, Hollywoods version of it) but it's still pretty cool and interesting stuff. It's my favourite of the CSI franchise.
I don't think this one has been picked yet, so... it's mine now.... unless it has been picked, then it isn't.
**Also, going over the draft board, my pick of Get Smart wasn't added in my Pre80s category.
Barnes: that was your 14th round pick, you still have one more in this block.
Oh sorry. I thought I forfeited.
I choose World's Toughest Fixes in the Education/Information Category (even though Wikipedia calls it reality)
World's Toughest Fixes is an American reality series that premiered on the National Geographic Channel on September 28, 2008. It features Sean Riley participating in various "tough fixes"; repairs and renovations done on equipment that is very large or dangerous. Riley is an expert in heavy duty rigging and load bearing, and works with other specialized engineers to tackle these uniquely difficult jobs. As of September 26, 2008, 13 episodes were ordered for the first season.
"High Voltage Power Lines"
"Boeing 767"
"Giant Telescope - Very Large Telescope"
"Nuclear Turbine"
"Thirty-Eight Ton Engine"
"2000 Foot Tower"
"Cruise Ship Engine - Radiance of the Seas"
Hopefully I am following the new rules correctly and not just stepping on everyones toes making a pick out of turn or something....
Team Idiot Box would like to select in the category of drama, CSI:NY.
It's got everything, including a couple of really hot guys with 'New York' accents in stars Eddie Cahill, Carmine Giovinazzo, and AJ Buckley. It's got Gary Sinise, who I think is a fairly underrated actor. It's got forensic science (well, Hollywoods version of it) but it's still pretty cool and interesting stuff. It's my favourite of the CSI franchise.
I don't think this one has been picked yet, so... it's mine now.... unless it has been picked, then it isn't.
**Also, going over the draft board, my pick of Get Smart wasn't added in my Pre80s category.
You're doing it right.
It's hasn't been picked yet.
I've corrected the board.
__________________
Watching the Oilers defend is like watching fire engines frantically rushing to the wrong fire
With our second selection in the 2008 Calgary Puck Television Draft, we here at the Patterson Corporation are pleased to select for our lineup on our new channel MQS-TV, a show that helps teach us about the most fascinating things in our lives, the places where we live, work, and spend our free time. With only voice over and interviews from construaciton workers and engineers there is no re-occuring cast. Filling our the Ecducation/Information* slot, we here at MQS-TV humbly select from the National Geographic Channel (Canada/USA), Five (United Kingdom), and France 5 (France), MegaStructers.
__________________ "Calgary Flames is the best team in all the land" - My Brainwashed Son
In the WORLD category, The Don Lapre Appreciation Society chooses for their 15th round pick, a show I used to watch on MTV in the 1980s, The Young Ones (1982)
The Young Ones was a popular Britishsitcom, first seen in 1982, on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers. Soon afterwards, it was shown on MTV, one of the first non-music television shows on the fledgling channel.
The show combined traditional sitcom style with violent slapstick, non sequitur plot-turns and surrealism. These older styles were mixed with the working and lower-middle class attitudes of the growing 1980s alternative comedy boom, in which all the principal performers except Ryan had been involved.
Although the series was set in North London, many external scenes were filmed in Bristol. All four characters attended the fictional Scumbag College, although they were never seen attending the institution and were rarely seen studying.
The show was voted #31 in the BBC's Best Sitcom poll in 2004.
Episode "Sick"
End of "Sick"
Motorhead "Ace of Spades"
Only 12 episodes were made... about on par with another favourite British series of mine, Fawlty Towers.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to WindomURL For This Useful Post:
__________________ I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love." - John Steinbeck
I'm not disappointed because Spongebob sucks. He doesn't. I'm disappointed because Windom picked the gem of my draft board. I'm the idiot for letting it go this far, but I really thought maybe only Jagger would be on it. So in the spirit of the Young Ones, Windom URL is a complete B A STARD!!
What can be said about Spongebob? Started watching it when my son was 4 and it slowly grew on me. Pretty damn funny. ...oh...and anyone who has never seen The Young Ones, do yourself a favor and by the DVD set NOW. Just great, great stuff.
Unfortunately youtube is littered with perverted spongebob videos and I don't have the patience to wade through the muck to find legit stuff.
Theme
__________________ I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love." - John Steinbeck
The Following User Says Thank You to Displaced Flames fan For This Useful Post:
The Infomercial Kings are proud to select in the Canadian Category, The Raccoons.
Debuting in 1980 with The Christmas Raccoons TV special, The Raccoons slowly began its journey to becoming a regular animated series, using assorted specials over the next few years as stepping stones (The Raccoons On Ice, The Raccoons and the Lost Star, Let's Dance), before finally becoming a regular series in 1985. Five series of episodes were produced, airing from 1985 to 1992.
In 1989, a new character by the name of Lisa Raccoon was introduced into the series. Lisa is Ralph's niece, and the statuesque older sister of Bentley Raccoon, and the daughter of George and Nicole Raccoon. She is the love interest/best friend of Bert Raccoon. Lisa made her debut in Spring Fever, she was voiced by Lisa Lougheed, the singer of the series' ending theme.
I almost selected The Raccoons as my cartoon pick last round. Good show, I still watch it when I am flipping through and find it on.
Team Idiot Box will select in the wildcard category #2, The OC, another which I don't believe it has been picked yet.
The second season was pretty much garbage, focusing too much on Seths comic book, but the first and the last few seasons managed to be pretty good, cheesy, cheap entertainment.
And of course, Ben McKenzie, not a bad looking young man.
Marissa Dies
Final Moments of the OC (Don't watch this if you don't want anything spoiled, if you have any intention of ever watching this show and you want nothing ruined...)
With my 15th pick, Vic Mackey and the Strike Team are extremely disappointed to have to select in the cartoon category, Sponge Bob Squarepants.
I'm the idiot for letting it go this far
, but I really thought maybe only Jagger would be on it. So in the spirit of the Young Ones, Windom URL is a complete B A STARD!!
