Starsky & Hutch

Along with "All in the Family" and "Seinfeld", "Starsky & Hutch" was among the best shows ever on the air. From 1975-1979 I had only missed the last episode because it had been moved from 9 to 10 pm, one hour past my curfew. I did however throw a tantrum and in the morning was given my first lesson on repairing drywall. Unfortunately in my anger, I had thrown the Gran Torino model I had made through the wall. Now 29 years later, I find myself forgetting phone numbers and names...but for some strange reason, I never forgot the S&H plate number, 537-ONN...SCARY. I was so happy to hear about the movie, but when I found out that they were replaced by Wilson and Stiller, I was sick. That is moronic. However, nothing was as moronic as the film. I read that Glaser & Soul had a 5 minute cameo...but I suppose for those who liked the movie and thought it was funny, they may be too young to tell time. The cameo didn't last more than a minute and it was all unlaughable comedy. The original TV show was a mixture with actors who actually have talent and chemistry. Stick to the original and don't waste a dime on renting the movie. Get the DVD collection. I have it and it is amazing. There is also a Starsky and Hutch game for 9.99-19.99. It is so much fun, and it has the original huggy's voice for the narrator, Antonio Fargas. I hope that one day before long, I will turn on the TV and David Soul will get his wish, Starsky & Hutch will once again ride the TV airwaves for a final tribute.

How can I begin to describe one of the best buddy/cop shows on the air in the Seventies? I looked forward to each episode and hated it when I had to miss it for some reason. The chemistry between David Soul and Paul M. Glaser was superb, with each man giving to his character that special something that can't be duplicated. The blond and the cute, the dark and the handsome, one a thinker, the other a doer, one quiet, one a little bit loud, but both very appealing....Did their best work in a red and white Torino. The show was at it's best when the powers that be let them do their own thing, at it's worst when it tried to comply with those who wanted it to be something it was not...it was not a show about social workers. It was a show about two cops and two men who cared about each other. It was at its greatest when it found the humor of life after all the chaos of the evenings episode. It was and is truly one of its kind. I loved it and cherish it as one of my favorite childhood shows. Thank you Paul and David!!

And thank goodness for that. Starsky and Hutch could've been like every other cop show out there, all about fists and bad guys, tough street talk and that car, but it wasn't. What makes Starsky and Hutch unique among cop shows, even today, was the relationship between the two partners. I know that isn't and wasn't everyone's cup of tea, and there are a lot of people who malign the show for the alleged homosexual overtones, but it was the friendship that has drawn me back over all these years. What Starsky and Hutch had was a relationship that spanned all situations...from the crises (The Fix, Shootout, A Coffin for Starsky, et al.) to the everyday humor and good-natured bantering that showed how their closeness and enjoyment of one another. Call me sentimental, but the clothes, the car, the talk, all are somewhat laughable today...but a friendship like that is rare, as well as special, and never goes out of style.

As a second-generation fan I discovered this TV Gem from repeats in the mid-nineties. I've just finished watched the final series and you can't help but think that a fifth season would have rounded it off rather nicely, 'Sweet Revenge' intentionally leaves the door wide open for the fifth series but with it's cancellation we'll never know what becomes of our favourite duo; does Starsky return to work? do they quit, get their happy ending in the shape of happy love affairs that's not doomed for once - what?!

The dynamic of Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul as the loyal, live-wired cops has hardly ever been equalled: Glaser brings passion and humour - not to mention the sexy strut and a smile to die for - into Dave Starsky. While David Soul brings humility and quiet strength into Ken Hutchinson, together they really are quite something. Then you have the coolest sidekick on '70's TV Huggy Bear played by Antonio Fargas though acquiring odd clothes he usually hogged the best lines! The second and third season is really when Starsky & Hutch is at it's finest: whether it goofing around in Las Vegas or on an exotic island, the stories are gripping in one minute then sensitive and serious in the next. My particular favourites are 'Murder on Playboy Island', Starsky's Lady, 'A Body worth Guarding', 'Murder at Sea' and 'Gillian'

First Season is slow but has some memorable episodes, the fourth is very gritty, realist and uneven at times. Showcasing the actors' restlessness. But episodes like Targets without a badge and of course Sweet Revenge proved that the show still had some sparkle left, pity really......

Watching archived episodes of Starsky and Hutch on hulutv has been a real treat lately, especially since I was a regular viewer when the original series started in 1975.

I noticed that producer/director/writer Michael Mann, ala Miami Vice, wrote the first 4 episodes on Season 1.

The episodes had good plots, a variety of fine character actors that played some of the bad guys, foxy girls, funky music background, an original opening theme written by Lalo Schifrin and many other elements that contributed it the show's success.

Fans of the show will always remember Starsky's leather jacket that must have been worn by an ace WW11 fighter pilot and passed down from generation until he probably found it cheap at the local thrift store and Hutch's plaid shirts, khaki pants, the shoulder holsters that held those 6 shooter cannon revolvers, the 2 cars and of course their sometimes pimp but harmless snitch Huggy Bear.

I miss shows in today's TV cable world that's sporting almost 500 channels like the old days of dramatic, sometimes comedic cop shows like S&H. I really had no desire to see the recent movie.

Watching episodes through the online link is really bringing back some memories of decades past.