Lady Blue

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (Lady Blue)

They were fighting an uphill battle most of the way with this emotive story that forgot to include its own heart in the picture. Helen was an enigma, we only 'know' her through Starsky's reaction to her death, so the only reason to care any more than another dead body, was because of his guilt and sadness at her demise. To be fair, he and Hutch ruled the roost and made the episode much better than it should have been, but I wonder if this episode in particular was considered when Season 2's great 'Starsky's Lady' was written - the missing part of getting to know the girl before the bad stuff happens was evident there. In truth this could just as well have been called 'Lady Out of The Blue', since we're left in the dark about who exactly Helen was and what connection she had with S&H at first: until revealed as a former cop who apparently left for bad behaviour, all we have is a name, and a photo flashed for a second in front of us. We never really get a mental picture of her, but instead she fades into the background, and the drive Starsky has to right this wrong becomes the core. He means business, telling Dobey this would be the most professional investigation the department had ever carried out. So no vigilante action here - Dobey should have known better, especially after Starsky's dealing with Prudholm recently, but S&H do use rather belligerent tactics this time after all that was said!

They beat up the hapless doorman/barman (the large guy that would go on to be one of the wrestlers in Season 4's 'The Golden Angel'), and they drive Wally, the used car salesman ragged, until he realises he's being used more than his cars. They did later announce they'd pay for the car (to which 'Fifth Avenue', Wally's brother, coolly responds that 'it's been taken care of'), but as much as I enjoy these antics, they wouldn't get away with it to the letter of the law - a little heavy-handed. That is to say, within the confines of the story - it fits the mood because the funny stuff is kept to a minimum, mainly excised before the serious business of Helen's murder. I thought Hutch's car trouble was going to run through the story with Starsky giving him the usual stick, but his mind was on other things, and instead Hutch is there supporting him in true friend style, standing by him in his anger at the doc of the mental institute letting 'Commander' Jim go; pepping him up with a bit of a laugh (Rudolfo Valentino and Paul Muni being about the only pop culture references I spotted - plus Reader's Digest, although I didn't really get the names. Maybe meant more to 70s viewers?); and even cooking a meal at the end.

Early on, it was Hutch who was the irritated one, getting all irascible about people being called numbers, after the computer couldn't find him when he called his car company. Still very true today, and something else I was expecting to ripple through the episode as a theme. They could have tied it into Helen and how each individual is special, and capped it at the end of the episode somehow, but I suppose writing in those days didn't often get into that kind of complexity too often. Still, I really wanted to meet Sneaky Pete! The episode, while not totally delivering on its potential, was actually quite restrained (e.g.: the 'dancing' joint wasn't seedy or suspect), and was a little better than I had anticipated thanks to the allowance of Starsky showing some guilt and anger at his former girlfriend's death. He's vindicated in a series of twists - his breakup with her wasn't what made her leave the force as she was actually still in it, undercover. But it also wasn't a planned murder by the thieves who used The Mellow Yellow as their base, but a case of wrong place, wrong time.

There were enough strong scenes to keep it watchable throughout, some highlights being Starsky's determination to bring in the sick mind; Cindy's moment at the hospital, drugged with hallucinogens; Hutch cheering his buddy up; and the both of them arguing with the doc at the institute. It showed a forgiving side to Starsky in the way he talks about even Jim being failed, seen as a victim as much as his own targets. I could see both points of view there, because the medical man was using the procedure and the stats; the test, as a guide, and that's what he worked with, meaning Jim was let out with only 4% over the sanity point of 72%, but there had to be a cutoff somewhere. Starsky represents the more humane view, railing against process and the robotic nature of the doc, who holds his head in his hands trying to explain how it works to two 'dumb' cops, or that's how I read it. I liked that it led to the clue that would find Jim, and it was a well-acted scene. I felt I recognised the doc as being in a previous episode, maybe as some high-up police or FBI man.

One actor I did recognise was Elisha Cook who played the mentally unstable Polly - ten years previous he'd been Captain Kirk's lawyer in 'Star Trek'! I thought it was funny that Cindy was played by an actress called Timothy Blake, as the episode has two male characters with female names: Polly, and Ruby Solenko. The villains, in line with a number this season, were a bit weak, really only a Ruby herring to divert attention from the Man of Foil. There was also too many of them to keep track of, and once they had the stocking masks on there was no chance! In terms of the supporting cast, this was very much S&H's show. Dobey and Huggy didn't contribute much, though the Captain did get a solid glare off at Starsky for chucking his pencil on the floor, and a bit of his usual forceful shouting. That would change significantly with the next episode.

There were the usual level of quirkies in the story: Polly of course, and Wally, though he was just a stereotype, even if one that people enjoyed seeing toyed with; his brother Fifth Avenue being the main one - an honest 'professional' thief, just trying to do his 'job' and looking down on the vagabonds tarring his 'profession' with a bad name. There was something of the showman about him, like a magician, the way he steals Hutch's watch and gives it back to him at the end. Obviously Jim was less quirky, and more sick in the head. I enjoyed the high-wire ending of climbing the radio mast with a rifle (reminding me of 'Murder On Stage 17' from the following season, which ends in similar style), although it was inevitable he'd fall. There's the rough handling of the girl, Starsky acting his heart out to persuade Jim to stand down, and the last-ditch climb. I thought I saw the usual Starsky stunt double, but he was well hidden.

I wondered why it was so easy for Karen to be kidnapped, but then, thinking about it, she's probably made that walk out to her car so many times she takes it for granted, as you would. Her friend was pretty useless, screaming her head off and doing nothing else! Good to see Hutch's place again, and the episode ended nicely, but I did spot a few things that were worth pointing out: Jim is called Commander Jim at first, then it slips to Colonel Jim, then it's back to Commander. I suppose if it was Polly, he's got a good excuse to be mixed up. There was also the rookie's mistake of Cindy phoning the police right outside the door of those desperate criminals - she should have left the building at least. S&H weren't much brighter (or, alternatively, extremely bright, literally speaking), showing up for a stakeout in the white-striped tomato, but in their defence it does appear to have some kind of invisibility shield that stops crims from noticing it. Hug slops tea over Starsky's cup, meaning Paul Michael Glaser has to improvise and wipe it on his sleeve, so that proves they must have only done one take or it wouldn't have been left in. Unless they did lots of takes, Antonio Fargas was getting anxious, and that's why it spilled? I must say I loved the square disco lights in the background!

One thing I thought odd was that Helen's car radio just happened to be tuned to a sad old piece of music, but it was part of the plot so it's exempt from criticism this time. And one little observation: the police woman dressed as a housemaid in the undercover sting to catch the thieves was called Angie. Could she be the same Angie that was working at Hug's recently? If so, maybe she's on an undercover mission to trap Mr. Bear? Also, we see the hospital where Cindy's staying, but we don't see the full sign which reads '…ic Hospital', so it didn't appear to be Memorial. And allow me to close with some choice lines:

"…10-4. Five-Six. Tac 2, Zebra Three."

"Zebra Three, 10-4, 40 buffalo and a gaggle of geese."
"And a partridge in a pear tree."

"Forty zebras. What are you talking, 200 antelopes? What are we, a zoo?"

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