List Price: $49.95 Our Price: $44.96YOU SAVE $4.99!
Buy it
DVD Starsky & Hutch - The Complete Second Season
Starsky & Hutch: The Complete Second Season proves the 1970s ABC series, in its sophomore year, both codified its earliest strengths while continuing to evolve into a sharper, wittier, and often darker show. Contributing to those improvements were the stars themselves: David Soul (who plays maverick police detective, intellectual, and health nut Ken Hutchinson) and Paul Michael Glaser (as Hutch's more impulsive, junk-food-junkie partner Dave Starsky), each of whom directed exemplary episodes in season 2. Series creators also struck a more entertaining balance between the comic and dramatic possibilities inherent in Starsky and Hutch's bluntly honest, fraternal relationship. A number of stories placed the guys in intentionally funny undercover situations: as garish gamblers in the two-part opener "The Las Vegas Strangler;" entertainment directors (named Hack and Zack) on a luxury cruise ship in "Murder at Sea;" gigolo-like dance aficionados in the playfully-titled "Tap Dancing Her Way Right Back into Your Hearts;" and, most amusingly, stunt men in "Murder on Stage 17."
Those are all good shows, and the duo often bicker within them, to great comic effect, like an old married couple. (Soul and Glaser's commitment to their schtick as well as their more emotionally raw collaborations is truly admirable.) But it's the relentlessly tougher episodes that prove each character's mettle and demonstrates the depth of Starsky and Hutch's mutual trust. Among these is the powerful "Gillian," in which Starsky discovers Hutch's classy new girlfriend is a prostitute and breaks the news to his shattered friend. Somewhat lighter but just as revealing is "Little Girl Lost," starring a young Kristy McNichol as an orphaned street urchin whom Hutch, lately in a misanthropic, anti-Christmas mood, takes into his home. Glaser's directorial debut, the harrowing "Bloodbath," gives Soul a lot of room for an intensely physical and psychological performance as Hutch scurries to find his kidnapped partner. Soul returns the favor with "Survival," in which Starsky desperately seeks his missing pal, trapped and slowly dying beneath a car wreck. All in all, a very good season, with (of course) Antonio Fargas still sharp as sidekick Huggy Bear. --Tom Keogh
Review(s): DVD Starsky & Hutch - The Complete Second Season
Not as good as I remember
There is one particular episode of S&H that I am trying to locate, but dont know the name of it. I hoped to find it on Season 2 but it wasn't there. What I did find is that the show in general wasn't as good as I remember. Season 2 generally has ALOT of dull episodes with issues which seem extremely dated now.
Apparently in Season 3, the storylines are more realistic so I am considering checking it out. And hoping the episode I am after is on there.
'Starsky & Hutch' hits it's stride!
This is the entire second season's worth of episodes, from a total of four seasons. With this set, you're halfway to having every episode!
And this is arguably the best season of the entire run of the show, with the premiere season a close (very close!) second.
The surprise hit of the '75 season, 'Starsky & Hutch' was a monster success for ABC, Spelling-Goldberg productions, the actors and everybody involved.
When the second season rolled around, Paul Michael Glaser as 'Starsky' and David Soul as 'Hutch' had settled comfortably into thier roles, and the writing and production staff finally got around to creating some stories written specifically for this show, as opposed to the first season's episodes, which were all originally written for other shows, with the exception of only two episodes.
The insane level of ultra-violence (by 70s-era TV standards, anyway)was still there from season one, but instead of merely being action tacked needlessly onto the story-line, it was seamlessly written into each story as an integral part of the plot. In this way, even though there was still plenty of fist-fights, car chases and gun battles, they seemed less gratuitous and therefore did not detract from the story.
The action of this show is one of the stand-outs, and the series' stunt-coordinator Charles Picerni must be given the lion's share of the credit for making it seem so realistic and exciting. Not only was Picerni the stunt-coordinator, but he was Paul Michael Glaser's stunt-man also. The fact that he looks remarkably similar to Glaser is one reason for the great realism.
The combination of Picerni and Gary Epper (David Soul's stunt-man through the second season)helped to create the image of 'Starsky & Hutch' being the toughest guys on the Bay City police force! Boy, Starsky sure could throw a mean kidney-punch! And Hutch's Ju-Jitsu inspired fighting style made fast work of any bad guy!
For the sharp-eyed viewer, the 'third star' of the show went through some subtle changes beginning in season two. Starsky's beloved Ford Gran Torino, nicknamed the 'Striped Tomato' this season by Hutch, got a make-over for the new season.
Well, not so much a make-over, as a...do-over! The first season cars (2 of them) were 1975 Gran Torinos, equipped with standard small displacement engines (351 'Windsor'). All 'high-performance' was achieved with the courtesy of film tricks and sound effects. Notably, these first-season cars were equipped with body-colored(red) 'sport' mirrors on the doors, body-colored (red) bumper-to-body panels, and full-width cloth bench seats.
For the second season, the two 1975 Torinos were replaced with four brand new 1976 Gran Torinos, each custom painted by the production company in the famous red and white stripe scheme.
These new cars, however displayed the minor changes that Ford made in the product line from 1975 to 1976. Instead of the red mirrors as before, these new cars had shiny chrome-plated 'luxury' mirrors on the doors. The red bumper-to-body panels were now a fleet-grey color, obvious in the episode 'The Psychic'.
Most importantly, these cars were all ordered with the biggest, most powerful engines available from Ford, the 460 cubic inch 'Police Interceptor' engine. Don't get excited though...the realities of late-seventies emission standards did not allow any manufacturer to produce a true 'high performance' engine. Rated at just a measly 202 horsepower,these cars were not what anyone would consider 'high performance'. However, the world of TV show production does not rely on reality...it creates its own! And through sound effects, incredible stunt driving and skillful editing techniques, Starsky's bright red hot-rod was as fast and powerful as ever!
One change the new cars had that the stars themselves didn't like were the new seats! Whereas the original cars had relatively-grippy cloth front seats, the new 1976 cars had nice black leather seats, all smooth and shiny...and slippery! Glaser and Soul, as well as the stunt drivers complained that they were sliding all over the seats as they did their 'spirited' driving scenes, so the production company switched the seats from the two original 1975 cars into two of the new 1976 cars.
If you pay very close attention, you will notice that the front seat upholstery does not match the rear seat upholstery in several scenes. If you look really closely, you may even notice that Starsky is driving on a leather seat, only to arrive on a cloth seat.
But in the whole scheme of things, this is all reletively meaningless. The thrust of this show is the stories, and this season doesn't dissapoint! Some of the best, most memeorable episodes came from season two, and they are all here in thier glory!
'Bust Amboy' is the quintessential episode of 'Starsky & Hutch'. It contains a little of just about every detail that made this show awesome: A rich, 'untouchable ' bad guy that taunts our heroes as they struggle with thier own rules about how and why they can arrest him, one of the better car chases of the entire series, excellent humor derived from the drama of the scene, a couple of touching, tender moments between the guys and the bad guy's girl-toy, and several exciting and inventive fight scenes. One of my personal favorites.
'Gillian' gives David Soul as 'Hutch' the chance to really show his acting chops again like in the first season episode 'The Fix'. Unknown to him, Hutch's girlfriend Gillian, played by Soul's then-wife Karen Carlson, is a prostitute trying to quit the business to lead a life of normalcy with Hutch, but her psychotic pimp and his ruthless mother(!) refuse to let her go. Probably the most touching and tender moment between best friends Starsky & Hutch as they fight each other to prove thier loyalty to one another. A dramatic showdown at the end of the episode is puncuated by the excellent music of 'Prigmore & Macleod'
'The Psychic' pits the guys in a race against time to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a millionaire football-team owner. Skeptical of the none-too-willing psychic's ability at first, the guys are forced to reluctantly take advantage of his dubious abilities.
'Tap Dancing Her Way Right Back Into Your Heart' gives Glaser and Soul a chance to stretch thier acting muscles as they go undercover in a blackmailing dance-studio sting operation...Starsky as the smoldering armenian dance-instructor 'Ramone', and Hutch as the wealthy Texas oil-man dance-student 'Charlie'.
'Survival' pits Hutch in a potentially fatal situation as he lies trapped, near death underneath his wrecked car at the bottom of a remote canyon. As Starsky frantically looks for any clue to his missing friend's whereabouts, only 'Colonel Sonny McPherson', an institutionalised mental-patient who believes he is still fighting World War II knows where Hutch is,and Sonny belives he's a German spy! And Sonny fully intends to execute all spies to protect his country!
And as a treat to the fans that think the 'car is the star', the final episode of season two, 'Starsky & Hutch Are Guilty' is the typical 'evil twins' episode of the show, albeit with a little more realism than in most efforts. ADA Sharon Fremont (Lauren Tewes of Love Boat fame) hires two dead-ringers for Starsky & Hutch to impersonate them and ruin thier credibilty. The episode culminates with the imposters, driving a perfect replica of Starsky's Torino, being chased all over Bay City by the real Starsky & Hutch in the real Torino. This episode was directed by the stunt coordinator Charles Picerni, and this extended-length car chase is his tour-de-force effort for the entire series. It is the best car chase of the entire series, and probably the best car chase of ANY TV series.
There are many other excellent episodes, each one as good as the next. There are only a couple of clinkers in the whole lot, and they are only poor when compared to the rest of them.
The theme music used for this season is the famous Tom Scott score 'Gotcha!', easily the most identified and popular theme music used on the entire series. Packed with action and excitement, but still possesing an upbeat and lighter tone, this theme perfectly captures the tone of the second season episodes.
This collection is a must-have...so get it! Enjoy!
A good quality awsome tv show.
Starsky and Hutch is an awsome tv show. Unlike movies, a tv show provides an opportunity to unravel the depth of its characters and this show does a top-notch job in that department. Made in the 70's, this show is still a class apart from any show today when they make extensive use of weapons and have less room for human emotions/growth in a majority of the shows.
The friendship between Starsky and Hutch as well as their constant search for truth and justice at any cost to themselves make this a very special story. They seem so much at par with each other; each of them can understand what the other is feeling. On occasions we can clearly see their struggle to control themselves when the system does not always work to protect the victims against the criminals. But they still do that and keep themselves way apart from the criminals or vigilantes. This show is an outstanding example that a cop show can be gripping and entertaining without using obscene/curse words.
The balance bewteen action, drama, and comedy is beautifully maintained thoughout the story.The interaction between the lead characters is priceless. The most important feature is that the characters remain consistent throughout the show - unlike some stories when they change the charaters so much that one starts wondering if these are the same people you loved to watch earlier.
Of course, the fabulous Huggy Bear and gruff but affectionate Captain Dobey are integeral parts of the story. Their presence, although short at times, is very refreshing.
I do have some complaints about the DVD set (not about the show itself):
(1) It does not have subtitles. I usually find it very helpful to have subtitles.
(2) It does not allow one to select scenes from any given episode - one can either run all the episodes in order or select an episode but one cannot select a specific scene from within an episode.
(3) They should have full length commentaries for some of the episodes by the creator/characters.
(4) My DVD set did not include any booklet containing a list of episodes etc. I am not sure if it is the case with all the sets or my set just missed it.
Despite the issues with the DVDs, it is a classic show worth keeping in your collection. It is Starsky and Hutch and the issues with the DVD sets weigh nothing when compared to the quality story telling :). You can never get bored with it and you may discover something new to like about it everytime you watch it. It is a masterpiece.
Please bring the season 4 on DVD soon.
Related DVD's Starsky & Hutch - The Complete Second Season
In the rough-and-tumble, wildly entertaining world of Starsky & Hutch, impatient cops--anxious to join a foot race in pursuit of a villain--throw themselves out of moving vehicles and roll to a bruising stop. Undercover detectives Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (David Soul), hardly imbued with the powers of Spider-Man, routinely scale walls, hop from rooftop to rooftop, and fling themselves down steep hillsides to stop bad guys from doing what bad guys do.
Two years before Hill Street Blues redefined the cop genre as a mesh of overlapping storylines and workaday frustrations, Aaron Spelling's Starsky & Hutch capped a five-year run (1975-1979) portraying LA's finest as madly heroic creatures of reckless determination and physicality.... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): David Soul DVD Release Date: Released the 02 March 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $49.95 Your Price: $44.96YOU SAVE $4.99!
Buy it
The show is great, but some episodes were edited, especially "Quadromania", one of the very best episodes of the series, with an amazing Richard Lynch killing cab drivers.
Disappointing. :( More Info about this DVD Actor(s): David Soul DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $49.95 Your Price: $44.96YOU SAVE $4.99!
Buy it
On the timeline of successful TV cop dramas, Kojak offered bold authenticity and paved the way for NYPD Blue. As immortalized by Telly Savalas, veteran detective Theo Kojak was introduced in the 1973 TV movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders (not included in this 3-disc set), a ratings hit that encouraged CBS and writer-producer Abby Mann to create a trend-setting series (based on a book by Selwyn Raab) that premiered on October 24 of that year. The Greek, bald-headed, snappily attired Kojak brought no-nonsense bravado to homicide cases in South Manhattan--a setting that lent a gritty, urban edge to intelligent plots that won the respect of real cops with an emphasis on diligent police work instead of overblown action and phony glamour. While working cases with his captain... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Telly Savalas DVD Release Date: Released the 22 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $39.98 Your Price: $35.98YOU SAVE $4!
Buy it
Tough but not swaggering, serious but not solemn, S.W.A.T. won over its 1970s television audience with several unexpectedly interesting elements: A degree of storytelling sophistication; visually exciting, guerrilla-like street violence; and a subtle but determined fascination with the psyches of the show's five principal characters. To a non-viewer, S.W.A.T. looked like a fatuously reassuring, law-and-order shill in the aftermath of the Vietnam war and Watergate. In reality, creator-producer Robert Hammer (a Peabody Award winner for the 1979 POW TV drama, When Hell Was in Session) managed to make an ideal, mid-'70s Aaron Spelling cop show with an extra emphasis on the human factor in peacekeeping.
Spun off from an earlier Spelling series, The Rookies,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Steve Forrest DVD Release Date: Released the 03 June 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $29.95 Your Price: $26.96YOU SAVE $2.99!
Buy it
It is a sordid fact of life that were it not for Robert Blake's newfound infamy as an accused wife murderer, Baretta, which lasted from 1975 to 1978, might have been relegated to late nights in TV land. But as they say in Hollywood, there's no such thing as bad publicity. So here is this three-disc set containing all 12 episodes of the offbeat cop series' first season. Created by Stephen A. Cannell (whose eclectic credits range from The A-Team and The Great American Hero to The Rockford Files and Wiseguy), Baretta was a tailor-made star vehicle for the pugnacious Blake. In light of his later situation, lines such as "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime," "You just pull the trigger and somebody dies," and "Husbands have been known to... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Robert Blake DVD Release Date: Released the 29 October 2002 Usually ships within 24 hours
List Price: $39.98 Your Price: $35.98YOU SAVE $4!
Buy it
