The Fix

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (The Fix)

The most important thing about this episode is that there's a swimming pool featured and S&H do not, repeat, do not jump into it. I'm joking of course, but not about their lack of wetness, about this being the most important thing. Incidentally, I'm sure they would have jumped in if they'd been within sight of the pool! This one is unashamedly in the 'dark underbelly' side of the series, almost as far from the lighthearted style as you can get. They may be a little depressing to watch sometimes, but they can also have the advantage of emphasising the bonds of friendship between the detective duo at their most potent. Like the pilot this is one in which the city itself is an enemy, and one which a weakened Hutch almost finds too much. Mickey, a grass of Starsky's, a pitiable figure as they often are, weakly agrees to help their enemies. Another shot shows the Torino speeding round the mean streets with the camera choosing to linger on a man asleep amongst rubbish. Hutch bounces from hedge to fence, ending up face down in the muddy concrete floor of a back alley. It all speaks of a stark and desolate city that can eat you up and spit you out if you're weak.

For once Hutch is weak, even though he proves stronger than most in his situation, kidnapped by men working for a Mr. Forest, his only motivation seemingly to get back the girl that has fled into Hutch's arms. A failing of the episode is that we don't get to know the villains and their motivation. Monk, the main henchman, shows concern over dealing with a cop, but Forest doesn't care. He seems to be a Mr. Big, but there's very little evidence except for his big house (and swimming pool!). He has these three guys doing his dirty work and there's a hint that he has other places of business when at the end he talks about Jeanie, the girl in question, as doing things in Las Vegas. The hint seems to be that she was a prostitute and that she was forced to work for him, or maybe he 'rescued' her from it. It's not clear, but there's no complicated backstory or evidence of his status that can make the bad guys three-dimensional.

I didn't buy Monk trying to persuade his boss from giving up the girl after all the trouble they've had kidnapping a cop and abusing him. I also felt he was wrong to say that Hutch hadn't seen any of their faces, because in the fight he turns round and wallops the first assailant. I suppose it could have been too fast to register. I also felt like I knew the actor that played Forest and the name Robert Loggia sounded famous, so I don't know whether I've seen him in something else or whether he played another character on the series. Similarly with Mickey the informant, but I can't imagine him coming back after the double-cross he pulled! Monk's face was also familiar, but it could be I'm simply recalling this episode. I also feel sure the back door into the delivery area of the diner where one of the henchmen drags Hutch was later used as the back of Huggy's.

You expect two-dimensional villains in the series, but in this one it made a difference and lessened Jeanie Waldon's dilemma. She's never seen to be hurt or distressed by Forest, he seems to take good care of her, it's Hutch that takes all the pain. It's not like he shows jealousy or rage at her care over Hutch, either. This is the first episode we get to see his house or bungalow, whatever its designation might be, down by the river, so at least they were beginning to have lives beyond their jobs by this point. On being snatched by the baddies: I wanted the fight to go on longer as it started promisingly enough. The episode's other flaw is that it's light on the action, so it's mainly Starsky's care of Hutch that provides the centre to the story, along with Huggy's assistance. Injecting a main character with drugs to get them addicted and helpless was a particularly terrible thing to do, and the way Forest is introduced, standing rigid and still in his dark suit and hat, back to the camera, then turning round slowly, his eyes glittering, giving him a powerful presence which went downhill from there.

Initially the episode echoes into later stories such as 'The Game' (another one where Hutch is struck down and Starsky has to find him to help him), 'Gillian' (another one where Hutch becomes involved with a woman only for it to go wrong because of her past, or even present), and perhaps a little of the series finale, 'Sweet Revenge' (this time Hutch has to do what he can to bring the villains to justice after his partner's attacked). I wonder if this was the inspiration for those other stories? The episode begins fairly lightly, Starsky once again giving out the wrong message by kicking the candy bar machine so he doesn't have to pay. Not only that, but it's a candy bar machine at the police station and he does it right in front of a criminal in cuffs whom he's dealing with. No wonder people think they can do as they please when they see the police act in that way! I guess the 70s was much looser and less moral than it is (or should be), today, but it's supposed to be a fun little scene in an episode which has a dearth of them, so it's easy to forgive.

Jeanie's fear is at first mysterious and begs the question. What's she afraid of and why is Hutch involved? But as I mentioned, once the tension of finding her is over thanks to Hutch pitifully spilling the beans, Forest walks in and takes her, without any menace or manhandling. After that she becomes a bit pointless although she's the first female-of-the-week who has to leave. It was what always happened with their girlfriends, either leaving or dying, so she was the template for the rest of the series. It makes sense, you wouldn't want women interfering with their lives for too long (except in rare cases such as 'Starsky's Lady'), as it could become a soap, but when a series lasts for several years such things do become repetitive (just like jumping into swimming pools).

The tension switches to Hutch's destiny to be killed, and my favourite scene, when he's being driven to a place of execution, still in a drugged stupor, yet aware enough that he understands what's going to happen and manages to kick his way out of the car, loping off haphazardly, almost being run over as he staggers across the road, crashes into a hedge, rebounds into a fence, then can go no further, falling to the wet and muddy concrete ground. I always remember the line from the policeman that finds him and he says Starsky's partner is a junkie, then Starsky grabs him and forcibly asks him not to tell anyone. That was something that could have been taken further as he has to deal with prejudice at the station, but episodes weren't written like that very often.

When given the opportunity in the episode David Soul does his craft proud, his awful look as the desperate, drug-addicted version begs for more giving him free rein to show what he can do. The same when he makes his weak, but essential getaway, and to some extent the cold turkey sequence. This didn't go far enough for me, I wanted to see him call Starsky names, to fight, struggle, weep, play all the emotions to get what he wants and needs, but it wasn't written or played to the maximum. It retains a lot of the internal struggle and Starsky is brilliant as the caring partner who does everything he can to get Hutch through the pain and anguish.

This is the first episode where the four main characters all pull together. We've seen them helping and protecting each other and being buddy-buddy, but the chips (or the drugs) are down in this one, allowing them to show the friendship that was at the heart of the series. Dobey gives his men great leeway and understanding, and while it might not have been sensible to allow a man with strong vested interests to go after the criminals who got his partner into such a state since he could become compromised, go too far, it shows he has some sensitivity when needed, and faith that Starsky will do all he needs to without going over the line (as broad a line as the series had in those days). He even speaks civilly to Huggy who he clearly doesn't like in many episodes, possibly unhappy with the necessary evil of dealing with people who are on the edge of the law and aren't above running a few scams, maybe even feeling Hug is a bad representative for black people. Huggy may be, but he's also charming and shows his attachment to his buddies strongly, allowing them to use his upper rooms (and us the first chance to see them), and dropping everything to help them, even, against his good sense allowing Hutch to leave. Deep-voiced barmaid Diane is spoken to and replies, but is never seen on camera for some reason. And Dobey's son is mentioned too.

Due to the serious nature of the episode there are no references to pop culture, few jokes, no appearance from the Starsky stunt guy and no running gags, although Hutch pretending to be Starsky when questioned was as close to the mistaken identity strand as there was going to be. The opening credits now feature a shot of Starsky running in his unique style from 'Savage Sunday,' but apart from that it's settled down a bit. Even the ending eschews the joke at the end for a minor snort (maybe that's not the best word to use in a drug-related episode!), from Hutch after Starsky offers to let him drive his car. Something light was needed after the bad experiences of the episode, and it resets them into their usual partnership ready for next week when something unrelated would be the story, but at least it was kept to a minimum.

The episode isn't terrible, it's not boring, but it is a little too slow, lingering on shots such as when Hutch is bundled out of the car and taken into the bad guy's house which is viewed from a distance and takes several seconds. With the lack of action and build up of the villains (one of whom looks like some 30s gangster with his hair slicked back and his sharp suit!), and the full working out of the drugs in Hutch's system not played to full strength, this was the first episode that didn't meet the standard of the others. They were careful not to show the needle going in, so there's little violence the episode could be accused of having, but at the same time there's less escalation because of it, all ending in a back alley with Starsky shooting Monk and saving Hutch. It was fine, but it wasn't that good and if only certain things had been pushed a little more it could have been more memorable.

**