Street Hawk, novelization #3: Golden Eyes

Noel

Sorry. I said last week I was hoping to get through both the third and fourth novelizations in time for this post, but I was only able to get through Volume 3. Yet another release by Target, this installment was written by Charles Gale instead of the Jack Roberts who wrote the initial pair. Like Roberts, I can't find any information on Gale, who may very well be a pseudonym. As with the second book, this adapts two episodes from the series out of sequence from how they aired.

Street Hawk, novelization #2: Cons at Large

Noel

As with the pilot episode novelization, which I covered a couple months back, this and the two books I'll be covering were published by Target Books, a division of MCA Publishing known for their breezy film and television tie-ins, most notably adapting nearly every episode of the classic Doctor Who series. Also like the pilot, this novelization was written by Jack Roberts, an author I know nothing else about, with a name generic enough that it may very well have been a pseudonym. Unlike the pilot adaptation, each of the remaining books adapts a pair of episodes. I was curious if they'd keep each adaptation separate, like in the Star Trek books by James Blish, but was pleasantly surprised to find bridges and revisions that attempt to link the two stories into a single whole.

Street Hawk merchandise

Thanks to 80sKID for again giving us permission to use some of his pictures for this article. Check out 80sKID.com to see his full collection of merchadise, as well as great items for Automan, Greatest American Hero, and other fun shows of yesteryear.

Tony

Back when I wrote the merchandising article for Automan, I used the biblical verse "A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown," to illustrate that, even though American-based corporations had essentially ignored the series, elsewhere, particularly in the UK, it got more love. In doing the research for this article on Street Hawk merchandising, I came across the same phenomenon, causing me to tweak Mark 13:57 just a bit to now read: “A profit is expected everywhere except in his hometown.”

Street Hawk, episode 13: "Follow the Yellow Gold Road"

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A squad of heavily armed men in ski masks (led by Harry Northup and John Aprea) break into a Federal Gold Depository at night. They blow the safe, make off with a ton of gold, and put a couple bullets in a guard when he triggers the alarm.

In a dark side of town, Phil Simkins (Robert Costanzo) gathers a large force of friends and fellow blue collar workers - The 12th Street Protective Association - who, armed with baseball bats, surround the hangout of the Pugs, a street gang who's been attacking local women. Jesse had been patrolling the area on Street Hawk, and when he sees the Pugs pull out guns, he has Norman call the police and races into the scene, keeping both sides at bay until the cops show up.

Street Hawk, episode 12: "Female of the Species"

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Street Hawk lingers in the shadows of daylight just outside of LAX. World famous industrial heir and philanthropist Steven Cavanaugh (Paul Rossilli) is in town and the place is swarming with Feds - lead by grizzled pin-striper Frank Menlo (Dennis Franz) - who are on edge because of threats made against Cavanaugh by international terrorists bitter at him for his father's past political ties, despite the young man not sharing them. Phillip Truman (Marc Alaimao - Gul Dukat!), a terrorist disguised as a nurse, suddenly pulls a gun and fires on the Feds. Street Hawk interrupts the hit and Truman hops in a car. Street Hawk pursues, but Norman orders Jesse to back off when airport security cars take up the chase. When Jesse returns to the Command Center, he's furious to learn Truman got away.

The Feds take out an entire floor of the hotel where Cavanaugh is staying, filling it with agents and a command post working round the clock to sort things out. Altobelli shows up and chews Menlo out for not making use of the local cops, and Menlo gets right back in his face for allowing Street Hawk to continue roaming the streets. After getting a brush off, Altobelli tells Rachel to work the press and Jesse to keep an eye on the hotel.

Street Hawk, episode 11: "The Arabian"

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From stables emerges a veterinarian who tells Harry Stone (Jeff Pomerantz) that the horse within, Rebel's Choice, is dying and needs to be put out of its misery so it doesn't linger in pain until morning. This is a problem for Stone as the horse, a prize-winning breeder worth $8,000,000, is just a few days away from being sold, and if he dies, he's only insured for $4,000,000. Stone conspires with trainer Keller (Tom Simcox) and the two quickly kill the vet and swap out the dead Rebel's Choice for one of its siblings.

The horse's real owner, struggling actress Corinne Collins (Bibi Besch) is unaware of the deal hatched by her fiance Stone and even fails to recognize the new horse as an impostor when she visits the next day. Suddenly, a van full of armed men (all on Stone's payroll) squeals into the stables, firing machine guns into the air and catching a stable hand with a stray bullet. They make off with "Rebel's Choice", but are caught by surprise when Street Hawk, in the area on some test runs, shows up and chases them down. The crooks get away, but not before a stray thug, Belding, is left behind for the police to catch.

Street Hawk, episode 10: "Murder is a Novel Idea"

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Street Hawk waits outside while a jewelry store heist is in progress. The crooks escape in a van and Street Hawk pursues. The thieves toss out an oxygen cylinder, which lands near a young boy and bursts into flames. Street Hawk stops to rescue the boy and loses the van.

At the Command Center, Norman gushes over Stefanie Craig (Belinda Montgomery), an author on television discussing her upcoming book in which she will reveal the identity of a killer in a twenty year old unsolved campus murder case. Jesse reveals that he knows her from her days on the police force. In an undisclosed office, two men watch the same program as Donald Jordan (John DiSanti), the campus police officer who found the body of the girl, is interviewed. They vow to find out what Stefanie knows. Back at the Command Center, Jesse and Norman argue over Norman hacking into Jesse's answering machine.

Street Hawk, episode 9: "Hot Target"

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In the desert, a suited man in a limo meets a suited Charles Napier in a helicopter. The suited Charles Napier (Charles Napier) is John Slade, and he's all set to sell the other man an anti-tank laser weapon, but the buyer balks and backs out of the deal when Slade kicks the price up. When the buyer threatens to spread word to other potential buyers that Slade doesn't stick to his word, Slade uses the laser to blow the man and his car to bits. Jesse, out on a test run with Street Hawk, witnesses the explosion and follows the helicopter. Street Hawk gets close enough to record the chopper's ID numbers, but loses it when the road ends at a sharp cliff.

At the Command Center, Norman matches the ID to Marpell Industries, where he has a contact in the form of an old flame named Mona Williams (Joanna Kerns). While Jesse heads to work, where he finds out he has just one day to put together a speech honoring Altobelli at an awards luncheon, Norman builds up the courage to call Mona and arrange a meeting.

Street Hawk, episode 8: "The Unsinkable 453"

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Eric Gault (Mayf Nutter) loses an appeal for a new trial. On his way back to prison, the transport bus is attacked by men launching teargas grenades through the windshield. Norman picks up an emergency signal and alerts Street Hawk. The guards get the prisoners off of the bus as another tear gas grenade lands amongst them. In the confusion, Gault rolls under the bus. On the other side is a look-alike who rolls back under the bus and takes Gault’s place while Gault gets into a waiting van. Street Hawk shows up in time to see Gault flee and pursues the van down an alley. He's halted by a fire bomb until Norman reassures Jesse both his suit and the motorcycle are fireproof. Street Hawk rides through the flames, but the van has vanished.

The press grill Altobelli about Street Hawk, then ask about the prison transport assault. He assures the press that all prisoners are accounted for. When the conference is over, Altobelli assigns Jesse and Rachel to crack the identity of Street Hawk. Instead, Jesse leaves the task to a frustrated Rachel while he calls Norman and asks him to pull the tape. Norman identifies Gault as a mercenary and Jesse goes to the prison to investigate, only to be told that Gault died that day in a kitchen fire.

Street Hawk, episode 7: "Chinatown Memories"

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In Chinatown, a young man named Joe Ching (Jame Saitos) steals an imperial ivory statue from the criminal Tong organization, bringing the full power of the Five Families down on him in their attempts to recover it, mostly lead by Mr. Ming (Keye Luke). The next day, Jesse returns home from his morning jog and is shocked to find Lile (Shelagh McLeod) waiting for him. Lile (pronounced Lih-lay, though Jesse calls her Lillie) was Jesse's girlfriend back in the day, but left him when he joined the police force because she couldn't stand being with someone who put their lives in danger. She's here now to ask Jesse for help in getting Joe Ching, her friend, out of trouble.

The first place Jessie goes is the home of another old friend, Auntie Pearl (Beaulah Quo). Lile was the daughter of English photographers who often left the girl at their home in China where Pearl worked as her nanny and caretaker. Lile was never able to fully acclimate to either China or England, and is still struggling to find a place here in America. Pearl reveals to Jesse that Joe and Lile are a couple, and that Joe's been shunned by his family for the dishonor of getting engaged to a white woman. When Joe and Lile secretly meet, we learn he stole the statue because the Tong originally stole it from Joe's family, and he's hoping to regain his family's support by returning it to shanghai.