The Hostages

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (The Hostages)

When Starsky or Hutch are in danger we feel for them much more than for unknown guest stars who will be here today and gone tomorrow, regardless of whether they survive the episode. Consequently, episodes like this, in which S&H have time to laugh and joke around in between their serious investigations, can often seem less of an intensive experience than, say, last episode. Both this and 'Shoot Out' are about hostages, the difference is that we have to sympathise with unknowns this time as S&H are free to gallivant around the city. They made them young so we feel sorry for them, and Ellie is pregnant, so that's another reason to care, but we don't get to know them, and they are really only a means to get S&H moving. The characters that were interesting got comparatively little screen time - the older woman, Belle Kates, who we find out does care about the girl, and doesn't want any deaths on her conscience; and young Meg, the tough little girl mending her motorized tricycle, or whatever that mini vehicle was.

Belle we find out just enough about to be intrigued by, and to want her to do the right thing. We find out a little of her history, and her weariness of the business, as well as her wish to get some money together to retire on. In the end she does do the right thing, but she doesn't exactly have much choice by the time S&H come storming into her house. At least she shows that she's somewhat relieved not to have to go along with the nastier people in the outfit. She plays along to S&H's plan, so I hope that was taken into account for a more lenient sentence. Sadly, we don't find out what happened to her and whether she got a reduced sentence because of her cooperation, or not. We don't even get a conclusion to the story, as the end scene has nothing to do with the it (except for the weak astrology theme, that couldn't even be called a running gag in the episode it has so little impact), only there to end things in fun, clownish fashion. I wanted to know what Belle or the young couple felt after the event. I was expecting to see Ellie and her husband talking to S&H, maybe they visited for tea, and then they could have had another scene with Meg, too.

Kristy McNichol, who played the child must have made a favourable impression on the producers or casting agents, as she would return a couple of times more ('Little Girl Lost' and 'The Trap'), though not as that character. She continues the tradition of S&H having an instant connection with children, perhaps because of a natural joviality, or deliberately to appeal to a younger audience, though that seems unlikely as the series consistently dealt with adult themes. More likely they just had good chemistry with children, and so young characters continued to be written in. It doesn't seem very wise to ask her if she wanted a ride downtown with them, even though they were police officers, as they could be anyone saying that. Perhaps people were less concerned in those days, but I'd have thought the least they could do would be to phone her parents!

That wasn't the only faux pas they made this episode. Right before meeting the girl, they roll up opposite Ellie's house where they think she's being held, yet they don't disguise their car or do anything to make themselves less conspicuous! Hutch jokes about Starsky's appearance, then Starsky trots up to the house, but if the kidnappers had been in there you can bet they'd be keeping an eye on the street, so Starsky's planned cover of saying he was a plumber wouldn't fit with the bright red sports car! As if that wasn't bad enough, they give their appearances away far too early in the episode, and unnecessarily: Tom comes to pick up the money, they reveal they're cops, then Starsky goes out with him to the armoured van so the kidnapper sees him. Okay, so Hutch isn't seen, even though he comes to the door of the building, so he could get away with the trick to get the kidnapper out of the van at the end of the episode, but it could have been a risky thing to do. Also, after they've watched the van leave from the first stop, they rush back inside leaving the door wide open - not very security conscious!

Huggy makes a very strange appearance, probably the first of his 'street antics' that would become his way in in later seasons, though I think giving him his own locale from which he could work was his best way of being part of the stories. I think they were joking when they talked about him leaving his restaurant business behind, but he does mention his cousin Elijah, who may be the one that shows up in 'Huggy Bear and The Turkey.' Captain Dobey has little to do in this, too, there at the warehouse to make the crack about it being a good job S&H are out of uniform as they look terrible; in a briefing with Mr. Ames; and the end scene with the diet. Dobey's relationship to food is one of the running jokes of the series, but it had no setup in this episode, it just was there. Twice S&H go undercover in alternative outfits: as the money clerks at one of the supermarkets, and at the end when they take on the roles of security guards of the armoured van. Paul Michael Glaser's stunt double (I'll really have to look up his name one of these days), makes one appearance that I noticed, in the fight at the warehouse. And Hutch's distrust of Starsky's taste in food and restaurants is again played out when he takes him to the diner of the astrology-loving girl.

The astrology side of the story wasn't taken seriously, but it did crop up too often for me, such as when they visit Madame Yram's house. Another revisited joke was about odd ladies being attracted to Starsky, probably because he's a bit odd himself. The house they enter looks very much like the one Ezra performed his fake cult in from 'Terror On The Docks,' though it looked more rundown so I'm not certain it was the same one. I wasn't sure if Sweet Alice had been seen before, as she knew S&H, though they do know a lot of people. She was another of those tragic figures, who always plans to go straight, there for S&H to show a bit of kindness to. The line "Two out of three ain't bad" was used again, the most memorable thing about the 'Vampire' episode in Season 2, this time said after Starsky talks of being tall, dark and handsome. And that's about it for the conventions of the series I always look for. It was funny that Ellie looked like Barbara Good of 'The Good Life,' - dungarees and something about her face, especially as she was married to a Tom! But I'm not sure that series had been invented then, so no plagiarism suits for me.

It wasn't a boring or dull episode, it just never went far enough or explored any of the characters. That's fine for this series, it wasn't about deep psychological motivation or delving into issues, but sometimes they did, and those episodes tended to have more going for them. This was a comfortable watch, seeing S&H do what they do, not ever really being threatened, and the villains being fairly petty and small time. There were occasional moments, such as Tom following their plan, bravely insisting on seeing his wife, or Belle showing second thoughts about what she's involved with, but we never went further than the surface. I couldn't even say whether this was in the positive or negative bracket of city life, as it shows prostitutes (off duty), but also rich money companies, with mainly neighbourhoods and shopping malls, so I suppose it was closer to the positive side of city life. There's even the hint of conflict between S&H and Ames, the head of the armoured car company, who shows more concern for his money than for the hostages, but it peters out after that one scene. So not a bad episode to watch, but a weak one to think about.

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