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Review: Jack Foley & Lizzie Guilfoyle
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: None listed
EPISODE GUIDE: Episode titles: The Las Vegas Strangler Part
One, The Las Vegas Strangler Part Two, Murder at Sea Part One,
Murder at Sea Part Two, Gillian, Bust Amboy, The Vampire, The
Specialist, Tap Dancing Her Way Right Back Into Your Hearts, Vendetta,
Nightmare, Iron Mike, Little Girl Lost, Bloodbath, The Psychic,
The Set-Up Part One, The Set-Up Part Two, Survival, Starsky's
Lady, Huggy Bear and the Turkey, The Committee, The Velvet Jungle,
Long Walk Down a Short Dirt Road, Murder on Stage 17, Starsky
and Hutch Are Guilty.
THE second season of Starsky and Hutch furthered the combination
of grit and humour that was established from the outset, while
building on the relationship between the two detectives.
Second seasons traditionally have it all to do, in terms of building
on the success of their predecessors, without making them seem
like simple re-treads.
Hence, while some series have struggled to live up to the original
standard set, Starsky and Hutch seemed to get stronger.
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The balance between humour and pathos
is never more stark than in episodes such as Tap Dancing Her
Way Right To Your Heart, which veers towards the slapstick,
and Starsky's Lady, in which a heartbroken Starsky is
forced to watch helplessly as a special girlfriend is fatally
injured by a vengeful gangster.
The latter episode, in particular, continues to tug on the heart-strings
even to this day, such is the depth of emotion the lead actors
display.
Such episodes truly highlighted the bond between them, as they
were always there for each other, no matter how dire the predicament
facing them.
So while Hutch was there for Starsky, the reverse is true for
an episode entitled, Gillian, in which Starsky discovers
that his friend and colleague's girlfriend is really a prostitute.
The moment of truth sees Hutch tormented by disbelief, anger and
finally heartbreaking acceptance.
The actors, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, were aware of
playing up the emphasis on their partnership, too, as each directed
episodes for the second season - both of which feature the one
coming to the other's aid.
In Glaser's directorial debut, Bloodbath, Hutch is forced
to do much soul-searching as he seeks to find his kidnapped partner,
while in Survival (directed by Soul), it is Starsky desperately
attempting to trace his best friend, who has become trapped and
is slowly dying beneath a wrecked car.
Season two probably found the most consistency, given that the
one which followed became progressively more light-hearted, and
it remains a fitting example of why the appeal of the show, as
a whole, has remained so timeless.
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