Television audiences in the 1970’s were lucky enough to be able to tune in weekly to some of the greatest detective series ever made: Columbo, The Sweeney, Kojak, The Streets Of San Francisco, Police Woman, The Rockford Files, Charlie’s Angels, Van der Valk etc. One of the most beloved of the decade was Starsky & Hutch.
The series was created by TV producer and screenwriter William Blinn(Brian’s Song, Roots), and was produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, the company which had been founded in 1972 by Aaron Spelling(Hart To Hart, T.J. Hooker) and Leonard J. Goldberg(Charlie’s Angels, Sleeping With The Enemy).
Starsky & Hutch originally began life as Nightsight, and focused on Kenneth Hutchinson and David Starsky, two detectives who only worked the night shift. This idea was scrapped due to the financial costs and other issues that come with night filming. William Blinn was asked to change the title and to also rework some other aspects of the script. One of the changes he made was to name the series after its lead characters.
Blinn based Starsky and Hutch on real-life New York detectives Lou Telano and Joe Sepe. The pair were known throughout the force for their creative and very unconventional methods of catching criminals while working undercover during the 1960’s and 70’s – posing as Hasidic Jews, lovers, hippies, wearing drag etc. They brought down many criminals including murderers and drug dealers and gained the nicknames “The Lone Ranger and Tonto.”
When work began on the series there was an extensive casting process. The up-and-coming young actor and singer David Soul was cast as the blonde-haired, calm, compassionate, health-conscious and well-read Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson. David had been working steadily mainly in television for a couple of years at this point. He came to the attention of the producers due to his role as Officer Davis in the second Dirty Harry film Magnum Force(1973).
The role of the dark-haired, tough, fun-loving and hot-tempered Detective David Starsky proved a little harder to cast. Eventually the role went to Paul Michael Glaser. At the time he was cast he was best known for playing Perchik in Fiddler On The Roof(1972). He had also mainly been working steadily in small television roles. When the two actors finally met and began to read scenes together they instantly clicked. They would go on to become life-long friends and remained close until David’s death earlier this year.
Bernie Hamilton was cast as their boss, the tough, gruff, no-nonsense and strictly by the book Captain Dobey. The character was notable at the time for being a black officer in a position of authority over white officers. Dobey was played in the pilot episode by Richard Ward, but the role was recast once a full series was commissioned, after Spelling and Goldman remembered being impressed by Bernie’s performance in the unsold pilot for a detective series called Stone.
The older actor was a Korean war veteran and was best known at the time for his work in films such as One Potato,Two Potato, The Young One and The Devil At Four O’ Clock. Bernie brought such intensity and strength to the character. I love how Dobey has Starsky and Hutch’s backs at all times, even though he can often be prickly with them over some of their backchat and actions.
Rounding out the main cast was Antonio Fargas as Starsky and Hutch’s street-wise informant Huggy Bear, the owner of a popular bar. Huggy was one cool dude. He’s loveable and funny, but he’s also often morally ambiguous, something which adds a layer of complexity to him. Huggy is a real friend to the lads on many occasions as well as being their informant. Antonio was best known at the time for his work in Blaxploitation flicks such as Cleopatra Jones, Shaft and Foxy Brown.
American audiences were first introduced to Starsky and Hutch on April 30th, 1975, when the seventy-minute pilot episode aired on the ABC channel as part of their Movie Of The Week slot. A full series was commissioned which premiered in America on September 10th, 1975. The series ran for four seasons and its final episode aired on May 15th, 1979. A fifth season had been planned but was cancelled due to the combination of Paul’s desire to leave the series and falling ratings.
Starsky & Hutch was one of the most popular series (of any genre)of the decade and turned David and Paul into megastars on both sides of the Atlantic. It initially had quite a gritty and serious tone and featured quite a bit of violent content. As the series went on the violence subsided and the humour increased. The quality and tone of the episodes varies drastically, but it can’t be denied that the humour helped make it a family show for many.
The series first aired here in the UK in 1976. It was an instant hit and was pretty much tied in popularity with The Sweeney. Superfans included Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother. David and Paul actually got to meet Princess Margaret and take her out to lunch while they were making the series. Unfortunately British audiences would have to wait until 1999 before we could see the season 1 episode The Fix. The episode was banned by the BBC due to its depiction of explicit drug use. It is one of the most popular and memorable episodes of the series and features some of David’s best work as an actor.
Starsky and Hutch drove around in their red and white striped Gran Torino while out on patrol. Paul famously hated the car and referred to it as “the striped tomato.” The Torino was an instant hit with the fans however. The thrilling driving sequences would earn the wrath of senior British Police officer Kenneth Oxford, the Chief Constable of Merseyside Police at the time the series aired, who stated that these sequences were causing some of his own officers to “drive like bloody maniacs.”
The series changed the face of the detective genre forever. Gone were the barely developed older male detectives in formal suits and ties. Instead these detectives were two young guys who were cool, likeable, fun and chose to keep their look casual. They had beautiful girlfriends and had friends of different ethnicities and backgrounds. The series felt inclusive and welcoming to so many viewers. Many men wanted to be them and many women wanted to be with them. People wanted to spend time with these guys. You don’t really watch this series to see them investigate crimes. You watch it for their relationship and to see how they get themselves out of dangerous and life-threatening situations.
Their relationship also challenges the ridiculous and harmful views of masculinity that says men should be constantly tough and macho and that by visibly showing any emotion you are somehow weak and less of a man, when actually it is unhealthy and unnatural to repress and deny your emotions and lack compassion and the ability to be empathetic, tender and gentle. Starsky and Hutch regularly share their feelings and are emotionally open and vulnerable with each other. Starsky and Hutch’s relationship also disproves the notion that only two people who are in a romantic relationship with each other can be soulmates. Your soulmate can be someone of the same gender, a friend, a romantic partner, or even a sibling.
Starsky and Hutch also told each other frequently how much they loved each other and shared many hugs and tears. This was groundbreaking for the time, although I would say that Mike and Steve’s father/son relationship in The Streets Of San Francisco, which proceeded Starsky & Hutch, was actually very similar in that regard.
Such emotional moments and relationships in the detective genre usually(even today) tend to occur between male and female partners only. Think of the relationships between such characters as Benson and Stabler in Law And Order: Special Victims Unit; Lynley and Havers in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries; Mulder and Scully in The X-Files; and James and Harriet in Dempsey And Makepeace. Steve and Danny’s relationship in the reboot of Hawaii Five-O is the only example I can think of which features two male leads who have a relationship like that of Starsky and Hutch.
The relationship between Starsky and Hutch was the subject of much discussion at the time the series originally aired. Some commentators questioned if the pair were a gay couple rather than friends and colleagues. The subject was even tackled in the season 3 episode Death In A Different Place. Paul and David have had a lot of fun with this aspect of the series over the years. The pair famously posed for an hilarious photoshoot where they walked down a beach in matching Starsky and Hutch shirts grabbing each other’s bottoms. The relationship has inspired countless fanfiction writers and video tribute makers over the years to depict them as friends and also depict them as a couple. The beauty of the relationship is that there is something in it for everyone.
I love this series so much but there are a couple of things about it that do I take issue with. I wish it had maintained its initial grittier tone all the way through. Some episodes are enjoyable but very silly, whereas others are completely serious, moving and filled with suspense. Tonally it can be very jarring at times.
It’s so frustrating and disappointing to see female detectives and female uniformed officers feature only very briefly in minor roles, or as the girlfriends or ex-girlfriends of the lads. The exceptions to this are the episodes Black and Blue(season 4), The Crying Child(season 3) and Lady Blue – which features references to a murdered female detective who was friends with the lads – which show female officers carrying out their duties equally to their male colleagues and friends and playing key roles in those episodes.
I also think that the episodes Gillian(season 2) and Starsky’s Lady(season 2)would have had more of an emotional impact than they already do if both Gillian and Terry had been in a few more episodes prior to these particular episodes. The relationships they had with Hutch and Starsky would have added to the overall impact of what happens to them in those episodes. We would have gotten to know them more and been able to see that these relationships were not brief and fun flings, but something much deeper and significant.
I am going to end by sharing my picks for the top 5 best episodes from the overall series:
Deckwatch (season 3)
The Plague(two-part episode from season 3)
The Fix (Season 1)
Sweet Revenge(the series finale)
Targets Without A Badge: Part 1( first in a three-part episode from season 4 which would have made a great final episode of the series)
What are your memories of this series? What are your favourite episodes? Which episodes make your top 5 list?
Sources
Starsky & Hutch: Making Of Behind The Badge
This is my entry for the Aaron Spellingverse Blogathon being hosted by Gill at Realweegiemidgetreviews. Be sure to visit her site to read all of the other entries for this.
