Starsky and Hutch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Starsky and Hutch | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Running time | 60 Minutes |
| Creator(s) | William Blinn |
| Starring | David Soul Paul Michael Glaser Antonio Fargas Bernie Hamilton Richard Ward |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | April 30, 1975–May 15, 1979 |
| No. of episodes | 90 |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
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For the film, see Starsky & Hutch (film). For the song by LL Cool J, see Phenomenon
Starsky and Hutch was a 1970s American television series that consisted of 89 episodes of 60 minutes and a single-90 minute pilot, created by William Blinn and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC network, distribuited by Metromedia. The pilot was directed by Jack Starrett (under the name Claude Ennis Starrett Jr.).
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The protagonists were two Californian policemen, the dark-haired David Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) playing a streetwise detective with intense, childlike curiosity and the blond Ken 'Hutch' Hutchinson (David Soul) who was more reserved and intellectual. They were known for driving Starsky's red two-door Ford Torino, which had two large white stripes (reminiscent of the Nike swoosh logo). Starsky's car was known as the "Striped Tomato". Their main underworld contact was Huggy Bear (Antonio Fargas); their boss was the irascible Captain Dobey, played by Bernie Hamilton in the series, though in the pilot Dobey was played by gravel-voiced actor Richard Ward.
Fans loved the gritty, often violent, plotlines, comic banter, and, particularly, the close, devoted, and enduring friendship between Starsky and Hutch. In stark contrast to police characters on TV up until this time, Starsky and Hutch were open with physical gestures of affection, often declaring that they trusted only each other against the world.
In 1977, a rising concern about violence on TV forced the screenplay writers to cut down on action scenes as compared to more romantic and socially themed episodes; also the lead actors, in particular (Glaser), became jaded with the general theme of the series. These factors, among others, contributed to the fading popularity of the series, which was abandoned two years later.
[edit] List of episodes
[edit] Pilot (1975)
Starsky and Hutch (90 mins.)
[edit] First Season (1975–76)
- Savage Sunday
- Texas Longhorn
- Death Ride
- Snowstorm
- The Fix
- Death Notice
- Pariah
- Kill Huggy Bear
- The Bait
- Lady Blue
- Captain Dobey, You're Dead!
- Terror on the Docks
- The Deadly Impostor
- Shootout
- The Hostages
- Losing Streak
- Silence
- The Omaha Tiger
- Jojo
- Running
- A Coffin for Starsky
- The Bounty Hunter
[edit] Second Season (1976–77)
- The Las Vegas Strangler - Part 1
- The Las Vegas Strangler - Part 2
- Murder at Sea - Part 1
- Murder at Sea - Part 2
- Gillian
- Bust Amboy (a.k.a. Nightlight)
- The Vampire
- The Specialist
- Tap Dancing Her Way Right Back Into Your Hearts
- Vendetta (a.k.a. The Monster)
- Nightmare
- Iron Mike (a.k.a. Captain Mike Ferguson)
- Little Girl Lost
- Bloodbath
- The Psychic
- The Set-Up - Part 1
- The Set-Up - Part 2
- Survival
- Starsky's Lady (a.k.a. Revenge)
- Huggy Bear and the Turkey
- The Committee
- The Velvet Jungle
- Long Walk Down a Short Dirt Road
- Murder on Stage 17
- Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty
[edit] Third Season (1977–78)
- Starsky & Hutch on Playboy Island (a.k.a. Murder on Voodoo Island) - Part 1
- Starsky & Hutch on Playboy Island (a.k.a. Murder on Voodoo Island) - Part 2
- Fatal Charm
- I Love You, Rosey Malone
- Murder Ward
- Death in a Different Place
- The Crying Child
- The Heroes
- The Plague - Part 1
- The Plague - Part 2
- The Collector
- Manchild on the Streets
- The Action
- The Heavyweight
- A Body Worth Guarding
- The Trap
- Satan's Witches
- Class in Crime
- Hutchinson: Murder One (a.k.a. Hutchinson for Murder One)
- Foxy Lady
- Partners
- Quadromania
- Deckwatch
[edit] Fourth Season (1978–79)
- Discomania
- The Game
- Blindfold
- Photo Finish
- Moonshine
- Strange Justice
- The Avenger
- Dandruff
- Black and Blue
- The Groupie
- Cover Girl (a.k.a. No Deposit, No Return)
- Starsky's Brother (a.k.a. Starsky's Little Brother)
- The Golden Angel
- Ballad for a Blue Lady
- Birds of a Feather
- Ninety Pounds of Trouble
- Huggy Can't Go Home (a.k.a. Huggy Can't Go Back)
- Targets Without a Badge - Part 1 (a.k.a. The Snitch)
- Targets Without a Badge - Part 2
- Targets Without a Badge - Part 3
- Starsky vs. Hutch
- Sweet Revenge
[edit] International
- In France, the show was shown on TF1.
- In the United Kingdom, the series was a huge hit when shown in the 1970s on BBC1, with occasional re-runs through to the early 1990s. It was re-run by Five in 2003. It is now regularly shown on the UK television station Bravo.
- The success of Starsky and Hutch caused British TV producer Brian Clemens to respond with a more hard edged, gritty show called The Professionals which aired on UK TV between 1977 and 1983.
[edit] Trivia
- The show's theme song was recorded by the James Taylor Quartet.
- Reruns for the show could be found on Memorable Entertainment Television in the United States.
- References to Starsky and Hutch characters have been made in films. In the 1993 comedy So I Married an Axe Murderer, Charlie Mackenzie tells Tony Giardino, "You look like Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch." [1]
