Starsky And Hutch - Series 1 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)

...under a certain age, then Starsky and Hutch will only mean two things - the lacklustre film starring Ben Stiller or the Playstation game that was released around the same time. Well needless to say the boxed set of the first series predates these by 30 years!

The original 90 minute pilot was aired in April 1975 and received very positive feedback that launched a further four seasons of the show. The show aired on ABC for a total of ...
...and menacing look that takes Starsky and Hutch into such places as seedy strip clubs and drug dens, from a story point of view this opens up a lot of possibilities with regards to stories and characters they meet and come up against.

The pair used the call sign Zebra 3, that was usually used by Hutch when on the radio to dispatch while Starsky was driving the legendary Ford Torino. Affectionately known as the striped tomato the car ... more

If you're under a certain age, then Starsky and Hutch will only mean two things - the lacklustre film starring Ben Stiller or the Playstation game that was released around the same time. Well needless to say the boxed set of the first series predates these by 30 years!

The original 90 minute pilot was aired in April 1975 and received very positive feedback that launched a further four seasons of the show. The show aired on ABC for a total of 92 one hour episodes from September 1975 to May 1979. The premise is simple, two policemen work together as partners for the Bay City Police Department. These two seem to get all the dirty jobs that no other cops want to do, which in turn gives the show its dark, moody and menacing look that takes Starsky and Hutch into such places as seedy strip clubs and drug dens, from a story point of view this opens up a lot of possibilities with regards to stories and characters they meet and come up against.

The pair used the call sign Zebra 3, that was usually used by Hutch when on the radio to dispatch while Starsky was driving the legendary Ford Torino. Affectionately known as the striped tomato the car has achieved cult status and is easily recognisable as the vehicle used in the TV show.

Acting wise there were two actors, David Soul and Paul Michael Glazier who played the lead roles of Starsky and Hutch respectively, two young actors who had the opportunity to make their part their own and shape the characters. They were very well received by the audiences and will be remembered for the roles they played in the show, something that both actors had a problem getting away from. From the moment you see Starsky and Hutch on screen you realise that they have a screen chemistry that will only ever be repeated in the following shows and you do get the impression that they have worked together for a long time and know each other well.

Other than the main leads, Antonio Fargas plays informant Huggy Bear. If Starsky and Hutch needed information on the word "on the street" actually was then Huggy Bear was the first stop. Naturally it was never disclosed as to what his proper job actually was, but from the manner in which he was dressed it could easily identified as a pimp, later on this changes to become an owner of a bar.

Starsky and Hutch report to Captain Harold Dolby, in the episodes he is played by Bernie Hamilton who gives Starsky and Hutch their investigations. I liked the manner in which he played the role, don't forget his screen time is usually limited to just a few minutes per story so naturally he has to have an impact to the story, as the season continues he tends to get more screen time with Dolby becoming the focal point in a number of stories. Captain Dolby does get questioned on why he treats Starsky and Hitch in such a bad way, his reply is that basically he has a lot of respect for the, but he prefers not to show it. This was a definitive blue-print for a Police Chief that has been copied in other shows since.

It was also refreshing to see two black actors gain such powerful roles in a TV series, as Fargas and Hamilton add so much power to the cast of the show. They have roles that grow and expand rather than being just ensuring certain types of actor are cast, they have immediate appeal to the audience.

The show is extremely dark in places and also for a show in the seventies was quite violent in nature with scripts and plots involving rapists and arsonist who killed to escape capture or plots involving death threats to certain individuals. The stories were on a par with Dirty Harry, who I believe had been an inspiration for the show as the film was only released a few years previously. Some stories such as The Fix and Jojo are dark in nature and didn't tend to finish on a jovial high note that most did, these were dark and relatively taboo subjects being bought out onto primetime television. You also saw Starsky and Hutch go through pain as well as pleasure as they would be hurt and drop to the ground when punched or even in some cases shot, and in season one there is very little humour.

Rather than clichéd lines there is a fair amount of decent acting taking place in the stories, whether its one of the main leads disagreeing with Captain Dolby or an interrogation scene taking place the lines are realistic and never get delivered in a comic book style. This is a big compliment to William Blynn who created the series as this not only adds realism to the show but also manages to balance out the action sequences, whether it's a chase by car or foot, and this balance doesn't tend to bore the audience.

The first season consists of the pilot and all 22 episodes from the first season, these are:

• Starsky and Hutch (pilot episode)
• Savage Sunday
• Texas Longhorn
• Death Ride
• Snowstorm
• The Fix
• Death Notice
• Pariah
• Kill Huggy Bear
• The Bait
• Lady Blue (a.k.a Lady Killer)
• 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

Personally for me, the first series of Starsky and Hutch is by far the best season of the entire series. There are a number of reasons for this, such as the originality and the sheer grittiness of the show itself. What I found after watching all four seasons on DVD was that the stories opened up to an extent that the Detectives were sent to other locations like the Bahamas or Las Vegas to solve murders and mysteries that the plot revolved around. On this box-set, the most powerful episodes are the pilot, which involves Starsky and Hutch being hunted down by suspected mafia hit men and The Fix where Hutch is kidnapped and becomes dependant upon Heroin. In fact the BBC were so appalled with this episode that they never broadcast it till BBC2 has a Starsky and Hutch night in 2004! In fact when the show was originally broadcast, I was never allowed to watch this as it was too violent, now Channel 5 have recently showed this at 11am in the morning which goes to show how times have changed.

This had an obvious world wise impact, to the extent that Avengers creator, Brian Clements created the British version of Starsky and Hutch. These were two characters called Bodie and Doyle who appeared in The Professionals. This also generated the buddy cop genre such as the Lethal Weapon films and TV series Miami Vice which was created by Michael Mann, who was also a writer on Starsky and Hutch.

There are extras within the set and these include:

• Featurette on the new theatrical release of Starsky and Hutch
• Making of the TV series
• Two featurettes
• Original TV spots
• Image gallery

This isn't too bad for something that was made 30 years ago as the TV spots are interesting to watch as these were actually broadcast on American television; my main disappointment is that there is a blatant advert for the new film that was being released at the same time as the DVD was released. However the Making of the show more than compensates for the previous featurette and goes into quite some depth with the feelings of the actors at the time of getting the parts and starting production. The interviews with the creator and producer of the series shows what the original premise of the show that was pitched and how different the characters as well as title of the show could have been.

Overall this is great entertainment and does entertain sufficiently to the stage where you want to go and get the remaining seasons to watch as well. One thing you'll notice is that the 5 discs that are contained within the packaging all have the same picture of the wheel alloys from the Torino on them, nice touch to a great box set. 

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