When I was 12 years old I made the conscious decision that I wanted a car. Not the little Hot Wheels that were sitting in my room or even a model that I could display on my shelf. I wanted a real, live car that I could drive around town, go to the store in, and more importantly do peel outs with as I sped off to chase down criminals. And what do you suppose I thought was the perfect car for the job? A red and white-striped Gran Torino. Yup. Thanks to the team of Dave Starsky and Ken Hutchinson, the two coolest cops of the 1970s, this kid knew that was the car he wanted. When “Starsky & Hutch” first aired in 1975 I was there to see it. I knew from the movie pilot, this was going to be different from other cop shows. And it certainly was that. Aside from being able to see (what seemed to be at the time) the most awesome car ever, I loved watching the show because of the great rapport between the lead actors, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul (“I’m Starsky…he’s Hutch”).

Though the two had not met before doing this series, right from the first they made it seem like they had been working together for years. I realize a lot of that had to do with the writing, but I have to give these two guys credit for playing off of each other so well.

Most of the episode plots weren’t necessarily original, like the one where Starsky is injected with a poison that will kill him in 24 hours. It was a ‘been there, done that’ idea that still gets used today, but Glaser and Soul were able to completely sell it as if it were a new concept. Then, of course, there always seemed to be someone out to kill one of the main characters. If not them, then someone wanted to kill their boss, Captain Dobey (Bernie Hamilton). Or even worse, their friend and informant, Huggy Bear (Antonio Fargas). It just doesn’t pay sometimes to be a good cop.

Speaking of Huggy Bear, could there possibly be a more recognized character from any cop show of the 1970s? I was still a bit young when I first watched the show, and back then I had a hard time figuring out exactly what he did for a living. I mean, I knew he helped out Starsky and Hutch by getting them information, but was he a club owner or a pimp? Some people have told me it was fairly obvious, and re-watching the shows now I can see that. The main thing I remembered though, were some of the outrageous clothes he wore.

I got to re-watch the first season last year thanks to the folks at Sony / Columbia Tristar. Over the last year or so, they have released a ton of old shows on DVD. Most of the sets have been pretty straightforward, full season releases. Most come without extra features (though this is not the case with newer shows), but they took a decidedly different approach to “Starsky & Hutch.” The first season set was timed to the release of the big screen remake with Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and (God help us) Snoop Dog, so some of the features were geared towards that. Those would be just about the only extra features we'd get for the entire series.

Since then, the studio has released the second and third seasons and is now gearing up to release the fourth and final one. The final two sets don't have any extra features to speak of, but to be honest, that is my only disappointment with any of these sets. Well, at least all the episodes are here, so I guess that should be enough. I really would have liked to have seen interviews with some of the guest stars. That feature has begun to crop up on a few other series and it tends to allow more diverse comments.

In spite of the lack of extras, the fact that “Starsky & Hutch” was amongst the best of the cop shows in the 1970s, still makes all four season DVD sets well worth having. Now if we could just see a DVD for “Toma”, my collection would be complete (figuratively speaking, of course…)

Episodes:
Discomania
The Game
Blindfold
Photo Finish
Moonshine
Strange Justice
The Avenger
Dandruff
Black and Blue
The Groupie
Cover Girl
Starsky's Brother
The Golden Angel
Ballad for a Blue Lady
Birds of a Feather
Ninety Pounds of Trouble
Huggy Can't Go Home
Targets Without a Badge, Part 1
Targets Without a Badge, Part 2
Targets Without a Badge, Part 3
Starsky vs. Hutch
Sweet Revenge

Starring: Paul Michael Glaser, David Soul, Antonio Fargas, Bernie Hamilton
Extras: None
Specifications: Full Frame, Dolby Digital
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 10/17/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Starsky & Hutch: Season 4 a B-.