Hunter

This past week I viewed an episode of the hit drama cop series "Hunter" which now can be seen on TBS during the weekdays. In fact over the last few months I have viewed a couple episodes of "Hunter" and the viewings just reminded me just what a great show it was! I remember as a youngster on Saturday night "Hunter" occupied the NBC schedule and during that time period of the mid 1980's it's popularity was unmatched and I can see why. With every episode I watched from my days as a child and even now on TBS you can notice not only are the scripts well crafted but the characters are really what made this show. Especially notice the chemistry between Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer they are able to play partners to perfection. Dryer a former professional football player a defensive end to be exact is tailor made for the part of Detective Sergeant Rick Hunter his own physical appearance combined with the attitude of a kick ass style cop make him a perfect fit and that made the show more interesting to watch. Stepfanie Kramer handles her job as Sergeant Dee Dee McCall just wonderful. Hey what happened to Stepfanie Kramer? What kind of logic are the TV networks and executives using? I tell you Stepfanie is a real cutesie. She definitely needs to be back once again in front of a TV camera her beauty must be noticed. "Hunter" ranks as one of the best cop shows of all-time due to the reasons I mentioned. Finally do yourself a favor and watch the reruns on TBS if you have the time believe me you will be pleased.

Just recently finished revisiting this show on DVD, i say revisiting, what i actually meant was watching the whole seven seasons on the all inclusive box set.

To set the picture, i had only seen upto the end of season two back in 87/88 when the ITV here in the UK suddenly decided that they didn't like American action/drama shows anymore and stopped showing them or shuffled them off to the wee hours of post midnight television. A few episodes of season three did pop up sporadically and then it went over to SKY TV for its seventh and final season.

This was the turning point where ITV and i parted company, gone were the days of The A team, Knight Rider, The Fall Guy, Airwolf, TJ Hooker, The Greatest American Hero, The Equalizer etc and of course, Hunter. In came shows with all the entertainment value of picking your nose and on it goes to this day with X factor, anyway, Hunter.

Now i've finally seen all the episodes, i can say that Hunter has to be one of the all time great American cop shows, what started, admittedly as a "homage" to the Dirty Harry movies, fought through that to establish its own relevant and unique persona.

Yes, the action was toned down post season two, but after watching the entire run now, it seems clear that this move is what guaranteed the show its seven season run, if it had relied on purely shoot outs and car flips, it would have folded much sooner.

It became more layered as it progressed, the characters became more three dimensional and even "issues" were tackled within the story lines. Effort such as this, at that time, is the beginning of the evolution to the cop shows of today, to move beyond being subservient to property destruction.

That said, the new Hawaii Five 0 seems to be back in this old vein and Justified is very much "old school" in its approach and consequently both a firm faves of mine.

Fred Dryer, considering he was a professional sportsman at the beginning of his career, managed to take Rick Hunter beyond being just an imposing presence against the scum he had to deal with and made him laconic, witty and even warmly human on occasion. Likewise Stepfanie Kramer, over the course of the shows run, made Dee Dee McCall a fully formed, professional law enforcement officer.

As with Hunter's character, it was revealed she had thoughts and feelings and was far more than just an attractive foil to Hunter and could crack skulls just as well as he could. Again, these efforts made at that time are what has helped to round out the TV tecs of today.

In summation, i was truly surprised and impressed by Hunter when i finally got to see all of them recently, yes a few episodes go clunk, but the ones that really work easily surpass them.

I recommend this show unreservedly, if you like good cop shows, you'll like this.

The basic virtue - the proposition of an old fashion hero. Man of law , out of law metodes, angry, charming, in a non - stop revenge, more hunter than cop, it is one of beautiful characters from a large and noble family. From music to plot, from action scenes to romanticism, an impecable serie. And a great hero.

This was the all time best cop show made. Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer were matched perfectly and Charles was great as the captain. If you have never seen it you missed out. The story lines were great and the show was kept realistic.

My favorite cop show of the 80s was HUNTER. Fred Dryer was awesome as Rick Hunter, a shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later Dirty Harry-type, which is actually what the show started out as, but the character was toned down a little afterwards. Stephanie Kramer, as D.D. McCall, was the best of his three female partners, as was Charles Hallahan as the third of three different captains. It was like a small-screen action movie, with plenty of car chases and gun fights. Dryer and Kramer had great chemistry, which especially came across in the episodes featuring personal stories for the two, such as the first season two-parter in which Hunter defies orders and goes to Mexico to look for a guy who had attacked McCall and hid behind his diplomatic immunity. It was an episode that allowed Hunter to display the depth of his friendship to McCall and showed just how much the characters cared for one another. I don't remember too much about the later years (in which Hunter went through two new partners), but I recall a lot of the earlier ones, with many standout episodes. I would definitely love to have this great series on DVD.