DVD REVIEW: Starsky & Hutch: The Complete Collection

Shane | 17 February 2016 | Reply

DVD REVIEW: Starsky & Hutch: The Complete Collection
Shock Entertainment
2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8 1/2 /10

Many TV series are made, but very few strike a chord with more than a cult audience, let alone inspire four seasons, and be remembered enough for a feature film a quarter of a century after the show finished.

The reason Starsky & Hutch endured so well is a combination of the easy camaraderie between leads Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, and a gritty reality that saw them tackling real inner-city urban crime, drug pushers and pimps. The series was also boosted by the presence of Antonio Fargas as slick pimp Huggy Bear, the duo’s number one informant. Huggy Bear almost got his own spin-off series as a result of his popularity.

Interestingly, the relationship between the two cops was ridiculed by many in the macho ‘70s (the show screened from 1975 through 1979) for their close mateship, with some deadheads laughingly labelling them “homos” because of it.

As happens with many series, the writing quality diminished after the first flush of success, and in an attempt to deflect some of the flak they were getting from the very grittiness that had made the show so realistic, resulting in less action and dwindling ratings, and after 93 episodes the show was not picked up for a fifth season.

Every episode is included here, as are interviews with the co-leads.