elshikh4
I wanted to begin my review by saying "welcome to the 1970s" but I believe (Starsky and Hutch) isn't the good introduction for that era. It's the TV, the entertaining TV, but it's still a TV.. in a bad scene I suppose. The worst about this show, which isn't a bad show by the way, is its writing; from the start there wasn't a main irony between this 2 leads, that's a high treason for the genre as a Buddy-show. For little instance, at the same year of its launch (1975) there were another Buddy-shows such as (Switch) or the cartoon (The Oddball Couple), actually both of them got basically an effective irony unlike those 2 – just seemingly different – cops. I bet a lot of kids went to play (Starsky and Hutch) at the time, yet not with many things to mimic I believe !It was playful plain comics, namely fun time, but too flat, tame, with no twists. Sometimes it managed to present attractively suspenseful and vigorous episodes, but this kind of solid scripts that utilized the elements and exceeded their own weakness didn't recur much. The theme music wasn't engaging or catchy, and the first opening credits looked as one of the dullest indeed (freezing David Soul's image while his mouth is wide open !, clips for Soul wiping a glass ?, boring pointless shots for the car, etc) you'll wait some years later till the opening credits became a star with many memorable works. Evidently its production wasn't that big. The action was suitable like one can of your favorite soda (small can by the way !), and the red "gran torino" wasn't given the chance to be that heroic the way next cars will be (such as The Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee 4 years later) being all the time nothing but a part of the nice picture.On the other hand, the top of the essential attractive points was the main plot of 2 title's roles awfully handsome unmarried young police (officers, cops, detectives, YOU NAME IT !) that belong to the streets more than the offices, being in action more than mysteries, chasing the bad guys all the time, and beating them every time. Not to mention a very childishly nerves but good superior, a very loyal 'police snitch', and the company of one of the coolest cars in the decade. This simple frame will be copied hundreds of times after, whether in TV or cinema (remember shows like CHiPs, Miami Vice, or Cagney & Lacey).Another factor : the awfully handsome unmarried young 2 heroes (Paul Michael Glaser) and (David Soul). Both of them surely captured too many hearts back then. There is a certain chemistry between them, but it's clear that (Glaser) was the best always, not because he can deliver fine and make every effort, but also because (Soul) wasn't making any efforts at all, relaying mainly on the way he, or his hair, would look!With the exception of short-lived TV shows like (Shaft), (Get Christie Love!) which were just humoring the gigantic success of the Blaxploitation movies at the 70s' start, it was such a scarce matter to watch black actors in such respectable roles in a TV drama back then. So I think, as a third factor, it was really something to watch (Bernie Hamilton) starring as the adorable Captain (Dobey), and (Antonio Fargas) as the good-humored good-hearted street hustler (Huggy Bear) sharing the opening credits with the title's characters like equal stars as well. They were both the best sidekick Starsky and Hutch would ever have, and some of the best characters – that were given to black people – to be remembered from that era. It took years to see black actor as a title's role in action shows like this, the closest that I can remember is (Avery Brooks) in (A Man Called Hawk – 1989). So it's about having a nice time, but even if, it wasn't that top-notch memorably great nice time. Unfortunately nothing but the stars' glamour was that clever. However, despite me and my opinions, it is watchable, and with the nostalgic feel (Starsky' wool sweater.. I used to wear that once!), increased by the end of this kind of entertainment today, it's rather highly watchable and so needed as one feel good show where the bad guys aren't meanly bad, the girls are all gals, the 2 leads must go in a street fist fight and win, and at its extreme there was no blood or explosions, only innocently blank shoots confrontations that always end well, and there must be a laugh, any possible or impossible laugh, at the finale.. Actually it was beyond redemption for that to be cut even for once, they didn't stand but to leave you with a smile.. so cute.
Benjamin Wolfe
I just watched the 'Pilot' episode again the other day and it has all the talent of a theater film, with all the intrigue! It's awesome. If you own the DVD set, see the pilot, again.From that moment back in late 1975 (I remember) I was not supposed to be watching T.V. much less be awake and in a dark living room watching television my show ended and then as I waited, I saw this new show. It shot through me like cold water in the face. I was on the very edge of my seat and I was almost seven years old. These two guys in a red and white striped Ford Gran Torino come practically sideways out of an alleyway being chased by a black Lincoln and race down streets until pulling into a parking lot skidding to a halt and one of the guys (with dark curly hair) bolts across the hood of the car in boots leaving a small ding-mark on the hood. The other fellow was pulling another big guy out of the black car too! There's a pretty dancing girl, "Hey this isn't bad, I thought to myself." They are now searching on streets for somebody at night, the red car rolling with magnet police light flashing along side the blond man, who's carrying a 357! All of a sudden that blond guy is yelling at someone in a parking garage(really loud, it looks like too) all this action and it was good, these guys are the good guys! I really enjoyed it and then the second season started and the theme music was done by Mark snow and Tom Scott. Just at the moment those first notes hit my eardrums, it coursed through my mind making a sound track impression {almost dreamy} that would instantly pull me back to that spot whenever I would hear it again! Thirty one years later it has almost the same effect when I hear the theme from season two. It was like being with the brother I never had (Soul) and the cousin I always love to hang out with (glasser) and a GREAT BIG uncle named Dobey. I am amazed at the topics that they covered in the first season alone. Figuring that this show being cutting edge was first brought to the air in the 70's it shows how they took different cases from actual police investigation files and made them for a large viewing audience. Death, , kidnapping, gambling, racketeering, etc and that was all in the 1975 season. This is the new breed of cop and cop show.As bad luck would have it, one night...I got caught watching the show by my parents and forbid by my dad to watch it anymore. What else can a regular 'Joe' like me say other than...I'm still hooked. I went and saw the Movie and it was pretty funny, although they didn't reach the emotional or story depth that the show had on most of the episodes, but I was amazed at the end of the (2004)Movie when David Soul and Paul Michael Glasser entered the scene even the second time I saw it in the theater, the audience applauded and whistled!! (just about thirty years later)I was caught off guard by the audiences 'cheering', three decades after the show was 'canceled'. P.S: Back then in the seventies, My Father used to work for Ford Motor Company I would go with him and run around the whole big place. "Bud Meadows Ford" in Portland Oregon, the dealership. He ended up selling quite a few of those limited edition 2-dr Red and white striped Gran Torino's I don't quite know at that time if he knew that the car was from my favorite t.v. show or not.(***)
mnstauto
I grew up watching this show, Bottom line no others came close to the action, Drama, and slap stick comedy all rolled into a 1 hour show.And just for the record had the coolest car sense the 60's Batman T.V. show! We all know the Torino was a stock 302cid automatic transmission car but non the less it sounded cool when it had to. And yes I saw the movie. At least when the Torino ( in the movie ) was airborne you could see it was a dual exhaust car. And if you watched the series you know that Hutch was not a " shady " cop. And lastly, in the series, Starsky and Hutch, THEY pushed around the " uniformed officers " not the other way around. as well as in the series. the Dolbey did not like Huggy Bear and never would have offered him a job
