One Of George Clooney's First Roles Was On A Failed Sci-Fi Motorcycle Series

George Clooney's breakout role came when he played Dr. Doug Ross in the NBC medical drama "ER" from 1994 to 1999. Since then, he has appeared in over 40 films, with movies like "Gravity," "Three Kings," and "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" earning critical acclaim. His first major leading role in a movie was in the Quentin Tarantino-directed vampire western, "From Dusk Till Dawn," in 1996. He even starred as Batman in 1997's "Batman and Robin." Even though it was panned by both critics and audiences, James Gunn still included his version of Batman in "The Flash" movie.

Today, George Clooney is one of the biggest A-list celebrities and an iconic '90s leading man. His first major TV role, though, came from a short-lived super-vehicle series called "Street Hawk" that aired on ABC in 1985 for 13 episodes. It's about a cop-turned-vigilante who rides a high-tech motorcycle called the Street Hawk and fights crime in the streets of Los Angeles, California. George Clooney was not the star, but he did play a villain of the week.

The show never caught on during its original run. With low ratings, coupled with high production costs, the show was canceled after one season. It was released internationally in 1986, where it became a hit with kids, from the U.K. to India to Brazil, driving high merchandise sales well after its cancellation. Through the decades, it has garnered a large cult following.

After an injury that sees him relegated to a public relations officer, Jessie Mach (Rex Smith), a former motorcycle cop, is recruited by a secret government agency to become the rider of the Street Hawk. It's no ordinary motorcycle, but an all-terrain, heavily-modified, fast-moving weapon that's packing some serious firepower and the ability to reach incredible speeds (up to 300 miles an hour). Test driving the Street Hawk is a night job that is completely separate from Jessie's day job, forcing him to live a double life. The department he works for has even branded him a vigilante.

"Street Hawk" was an episodic television series, meaning it had no overarching plot or multi-episode story arcs. Every episode was self-contained, making it perfect for jumping in at any point. That is largely why Clooney appears for one episode. He played Kevin Stark, an old friend of Jessie's from his racing days, with whom he has a longstanding rivalry. Kevin doesn't show up to catch up with his old buddy, but to help a crime lord deal with Street Hawk once and for all.

After Clooney achieved massive success, the producer and co-creator, Robert Wolterstorff, thought maybe he would have made a better Street Hawk. In an interview with Street Hawk Online (via Den of Geek), he said, "Rex was fine. We wanted George, but the studio nixed it. If I'd cast Clooney as the lead — I'd probably have a feature career right now."

In the same interview with Street Hawk Online, Burton Armus, a producer, agreed that Clooney might have been better. However, he did say that "it would not have changed the surrounding facts that left the show an incomplete product. Its failure was at the top." One of the unfortunate events Armus was alluding to was the show's unfortunate placement in the ABC lineup — the Friday night death slot.

Ratings were notoriously low on Friday nights because the coveted younger demographic (between 18 and 34 years old) was usually out during that time. To make matters worse, it faced competition from the soap opera "Dallas," which was a major ratings juggernaut for CBS. Viewers simply weren't going to abandon "Dallas" for another super-vehicle show that was considered a knock-off of "Knight Rider." The David Hasselhoff-led show is so iconic that it launched his career, with the vehicle KITT inspiring today's self-driving cars.

ABC didn't send "Street Hawk" out to die, though. There was also some behind-the-scenes drama with the show going through massive retooling that delayed its debut. When it was ready, it landed as a mid-season replacement with a shorter episode count and the Friday night slot. Since a high-concept show like this is not cheap to produce (probably due to the bike), ABC axed the show after one season.