The Bait

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (The Bait)

It's the first episode where S&H dress up to take on undercover roles, a strand that would become well established in later seasons, but one that means this isn't the most serious story of the season. It features some serious subjects: major drug dealing, female prostitution, violence against women, but it remains mostly frivolous and doesn't address these issues. I got the feeling this was a bit of fun for the main cast, getting to wear loud and garish clothes, drive around in the sun in a completely different car with a female sidekick, like a mid-season holiday for the leads. I just wish it was as enjoyable to watch as it looks like it was to act. Although drugs are at the heart of the story this would easily be defined in the positive category of stories with very little negativity or threat. S&H aren't cops caught on the mean streets of a gritty, downtrodden city, they experience more of the high-life than usual, dealing with extremely rare stamps, visiting lavish private residences full of expensive adornments, seeing life on the street from a business perspective: a shoeshine shop, a games arcade, far from the backstreet tramps and forgotten drug-users.

There are times when we see a back alley or two, but only at humorous moments, when they're running from police or having a fight with Connie and two goons - a minor inconvenience soon dealt with. The lack of any worries on the part of S&H is what turns the episode into the unremarkable tale it is. If only Connie had been shown as a worthy opponent - instead he flashes out a razor blade when he's crossed, then Starsky pulls a gun; he and his two heavies hardly get S&H out of breath in the fight behind Huggy's (a fight against a fence two episodes in a row!); and all it takes is a couple of moves from Hutch to subdue him before he can run away at the end of the episode. He was a despicable character, talking about women like cars to disguise their prostitution, and the way he sees them as his property. But he could also have been a memorable villain thanks to his flashy 70s clothes and weapon of choice if he'd been harder to beat.

The real villain of the piece is Danner, another big boss up in his ivory tower crowing about art and his eccentric hobbies while waving off right-hand man Billy to do his dirty work. Danner was in the same style as Stryker, a man of taste, seemingly only interested in crime for the wealth and ability to indulge his passions it brought. A little bit eccentric, but like Connie, nowhere near a match for S&H. Some degree of complexity was attempted by the addition of Cheryl, one of Connie's girls that wants to help the police after her friend disappeared, and a degree of tension with the addition of Shockley, another of Danner's men, who knows Hutch because he was busted by him in Hutch's uniform days. That once again begs the question: why aren't S&H known by all the criminals and how can they ever go undercover? At least they weren't using the Torino this time, but changing car and clothes is a bit like wearing a fake moustache or having a different hairstyle!

When there's no real danger in an episode it's hard to care too much and this episode just chugged slowly along, never getting too exciting, except perhaps at the end when Shockley returns to Danner's grand house in the middle of the deal S&H are using to bait Danner. There was even an attempt to add a bit of horror to the story when Billy turns out to be Cheryl's former boyfriend and sees S&H leave her house. He goes in and slaps her across the room. While S&H later repay him for his behaviour, the issue isn't addressed and it's 'righted' by Hutch giving Billy a slap in payment. The only moment when the episode shows a glimmer of something more is when S&H find Cheryl crying, distraught and bruised on the floor, so frightened and alone that she doesn't want to have anything to do with them. It's a compassionate moment, as is the scene when she talks about her friend who disappeared. I quite enjoyed having her along for most of the ride because it made a slightly different dynamic, adding to the holiday feel. This time S&H were too busy playing their roles and dealing with their job - other episodes would show them trying to outdo the other in front of a girl.

I believe it was Lynne Marta (Cheryl) who was married to David Soul, probably even at this time, so that added a bit of interest, and I think she also came back in another episode, although I could be wrong on both counts! Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat on 'DS9'), was in it briefly as a contact S&H meet as part of their drug-dealer cover, and I'm certain Shockley's lawyer played another character on the series (owner of a hotel or something seedier?). When I first saw Billy I wondered if it was the same actor who later played Starsky's brother in the episode of that name, but it wasn't. There was a slight return to the idea of rivalry among departments or organisations when S&H begin their famed cheating of other law powers - this time it's the Feds who give them the money necessary to set up the incriminating deal, and they give false details of where they're meeting Danner. That was something of a running theme that they never trusted authority (except Dobey), and wanted to do things their way without interference.

Although there's a lot of jokey humour, there aren't many running gags, though the most obvious is the one where their cover names keep getting confused - I think it happened three times ("I'm Rafferty, he's O'Brien"). The thing with Starsky's uncomfortable shoes looked like it was going to be one, but didn't resurface, although it was fun to see him doing the ape run with those hefty shoes in his hands. There were few stunts so I'm not surprised I didn't spot the usual stunt guy, and something that really stood out to me was the lack of crazy characters. I suppose S&H were being wacky enough for them not to include any, but I think it was a problem with the episode and helped reduce it to the status of unremarkable, though the scene near the beginning where S&H are laughing in their Texan garb was jolly enough to be used in the credits of later seasons. Another running joke seen again was Dobey shown either eating or drinking, as well as Starsky taking some of that food or drink (this time sipping the Captain's coffee!), and there was also a bit of fun in the Dobey/Huggy association when Hug successfully fools the Captain into thinking he sold Chinese soup, getting Diane (yes, she's definitely in this one), to go out and get some in an effort to impress his customer.

Most amazing to me was that a swimming pool featured in the episode and neither Starsky nor Hutch ended up in it - indeed, almost everyone else did, except them! I chuckled as soon as I saw it, but the usual drenching didn't happen. I was sure that prized stamp had gone in, though it turned out to be safe. So although certain marks were hit, and there was some amusement to be had, the fact that the episode rolled comfortably along without really going anywhere meant it was ultimately just another drugs-related story with S&H having a bit of fun and the occasional workout, never in any real danger that they couldn't handle easily. It wasn't terrible, but neither would it stand out if dropped into a pile of episodes rummaged through at random. Apart from setting up the much-loved alter ego episode type there was very little to watch.

**