Murder At Sea, part II

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S2 (Murder At Sea, part II)

Compared to part I this goes like the clappers, and if that was the comedy half, this is by far the serious side to the story in the same mould as the previous two-parter, 'The Las Vegas Strangler.' S&H look the part of seagoing folk, dashing around in shirts and bellbottoms, hair flying everywhere, with little of the cartoonish behaviour or ridiculous shenanigans they displayed as Hack and Zack - their alter egos are now 'undercover' as they put it to Nellie Brown… er, Helen Carnahan… er, well, whatever her name was, she turns out to be a useful ally, and different to what I expected. Not having seen these episodes for a few years I'd forgotten much of the detail, only knowing it was about S&H tearing round the ship in a desperate hunt for bombs, then tying them together in a sheet, eventually ending up on a speedy desert buggy chase. Helen's real identity and motive for being on the voyage come to light, though again, she doesn't play all her cards until forced to - she has to tell S&H she's a reporter for The Phoenix Sun, but it's not until Joey Fortune, the Mr. Big behind it all who wants back in at the top of the syndicate, recognises her as the girl of a man he killed (Teddy Carnowski), that we get to the bottom of her. She was more dangerous than we ever thought.

While we're getting to the bottom of things, we also find out that it was Second Officer Art Jensen that was responsible for offing Eric Snow, the figure this all resulted from - he was paid off by Helen's paper for info on the syndicate meeting, though her real interest in it was to kill Joey. We're never told this, but we see the monkey mask worn by the killer kept in a locked box of Jensen's, an unusually subtle, non-verbal choice of revelation, and one of the little things that sets this apart from the standard episode. It's not just little things, but the whole tone which is different, more urgent and threatening than part I. There is humour, but it's used to emphasise the tension and how seriously in deep S&H are: at the most terrifying, deadly moments S&H show their affection, the funniest probably being just before the second bomb goes off and the pair have to crouch in a corner with Helen to escape the blast and Starsky says: "At moments like these it's comforting to know you got a partner who bathes." But the most touching was simply his parting goodbye as they dash off in different directions to find the third, fourth and fifth bombs, telling Hutch he'll see him around, both taking time to share a brief moment of realisation that this could be the end, and not only of each other, but three hundred passengers are depending on their detective skills!

That's what transforms this into an episode that beats with a steady tension, a succession of desperate situations. At first it's just their own lives at risk, they're uncertain of who to trust so they can't go round undercover any more, they're hunted men. It's not long before they get caught by their enemies, but only because Hutch prevents Helen from carrying out her revenge. Never a word of thanks escapes Joey's mouth for being saved, instead he shows admiration for the sparky young woman who had the guts to attempt it. Not that he was going to reward her, but if it means anything, it's high praise from him that he sees where she's coming from. Joey Fortune, the only new character of the episode (the end credits have been incorrectly repeated from part I, featuring some roles that aren't in this one, and not Joey, which is a bit irritating), is a good villain, setting up the double-cross I hadn't been expecting. I'm not sure I fully buy into this old guy taking back the reins of the organisation, but you can look to the ambition of his younger supporters, Jensen and Nicky Cairo, sick of living in his brother's shadow, to see his backing was solid. Didn't see it coming, and neither did Patsy and co. Joey was very spry for his age, clambering up the rope ladder onto the Amapola, striding briskly around deck, but keeping his face hidden under a panama hat, almost as if he was being played by a double for those acrobatic bits…

S&H trapped in a room with a ticking time bomb and a bunch of goons (all individually attired in different coloured suits to give them a bit more character), continues the good situational inventiveness and the stakes push S&H to new heights of creative courses of action. I love seeing the bad guys working together with them in the quest for survival, doing what they're told and piling up sandbags and furniture against the bomb, which really did go off with a proper blast! I'm not sure it was the best use of time to chuck those fold-up chairs in the baddies' direction when it would surely be quicker to leap through the door to freedom, not wasting valuable time throwing matchwood, but the impression of life ticking away by the second and the great solution made that scene really strong. Then it turns into a race against time for S&H to locate the remaining three bombs - I was expecting Jensen to be waiting in the shadows down below, but that wouldn't have made sense as the motor launch had already left with Joey and his goons aboard. It was the last we see of Patsy Cairo and gang, it might have been a good idea to show them banged up or handed over to police for some closure.

The series isn't always strongest at closing out a story, and that continued with this - few of the weird characters reappeared in part II, and then they were mere cameos, mainly in the final scene, if they did (Mr. Takahashi doesn't even get to be more than an extra, briefly glimpsed in the crowd chasing S&H in their new 'game'). The whole bomb-transporting sequence was masterful, with S&H on top form, using their skills to the limits (look out for a continuity mistake when Hutch goes up the stairs first, followed by Starsky, then the shot cuts to Starsky leading!). Their teamwork is essential to the saving of everyone's lives, and yet it's a chilling moment when the people gaily chase after the pair as they charge aft to release their deadly cargo into the sea, the holidaymakers not knowing how close to death they are, squealing in delight at the spectacle. It's very much a superhero type of situation where the oblivious masses happily go on with their lives, blissfully unaware of the heroic deeds transpiring around them to keep them safe. The ship became like a giant steady hand game with S&H having to trust each other implicitly as they always have, in order to win the day, the moment ably enhanced by the bomb music, uncertain, uneven, as if hanging in the balance that at any moment could tip. I'm not sure it could even be classed as music, it was more of a discordant jangle, usually the style they use in their horror episodes, but effective in being an audio metaphor for what was happening.

When one disaster's averted there still remains unfinished business: Joey Fortune and his accomplices must be brought to justice. This is apparently happening in Mexico, so you'd think they would prefer to take up the matter themselves rather than let a couple of American detectives chase down the baddies, even going so far as to provide helicopter transport (but only part of the way?), and a desert buggy for them to show off in, I mean 'carry out their mission,' though Hutch looks to be having a good time driving it (much like Picard in 'Star Trek Nemesis' which is, bizarrely, the mental connection I made when I watched the chase!). I wonder if they had him drive so that Starsky's stunt double (pulling double double duty as Nicky Cairo, Joey's right-hand man), wouldn't have to drive both vehicles, since he was already in the steering seat of the Jeep. This is really the only true action sequence of the episode, but what a sequence! It's likely the best car chase they ever did, like a James Bond sequence, over the top, funny, but most importantly thrilling, as S&H soar over the brows of hills, burn through clouds of dust, and drive over small trees! It's exuberant, but so exciting, and I'm not surprised they went on to use clips from this in the opening credits, later: they don't call him Crazy Joey for nothing, and this was Crazy Joey's Crazy Jumps Extravaganza!

No sign of the Torino, not a peep out of Captain Dobey, nor a visit to police HQ, it's a wonder Huggy got to be in it at all. This leads me to one of the most bizarre tag scenes I can think of, in which Huggy (now monikered Huggerini The Incredible, as opposed to last episode's Huggerino The Supremo), apparently severely injures, if not worse, poor Bertha Zelinka, while S&H try to sneak out the back! For one, it's not their fault what Hug does, and for another, why is he trying such a dangerous trick and why does it end without us knowing the fate of Bertha? It also snaps into this scene too quickly - yes, the main villains have been caught; yes, presumably the other ones were kept secure by Stafford, but it wouldn't have hurt to see them handed over to the authorities. Also, I was thinking they were still on the Mexico side of the journey so it was odd that Huggy had somehow flown out there to perform, until I realised this must be the end-of-cruise party back at home port. Due to the pace and content of the narrative there's no time for the usual tropes of the series, such as in-jokes (the closest being someone toppling into the onboard swimming pool as Starsky rushes past, or the fact that he actually gets to belt fake Starsky, or the actor that usually plays him in stunts!), pop culture, or much in the way of odd people, but it strongly reaffirms S&H's implicit trust and friendship with each other and shows that they'll risk their lives for the good of others.

In that way it is very much a typical episode, but the setting, the high-octane action and the stripped-down nature of the story, means this stands out proud from the crowd (as Hug might say), the scale of it draws you in, because in part I, it was a mere convenience to be on a ship, but this time we see the motor launch pulling away after dropping off Joey, we see them traversing the bowels of the ship, and the scope feels big, helped by the desert chase to cap off a good episode. I thought it was going to be shorter to make up for the fact that part I ran long, but it was about standard length, it just felt faster because of the pacy story. Again, there are some issues with the picture quality, with a few scenes looking slightly fuzzy or blurry (both inside and outside shots), which can perhaps be put down to the technical side of filming on a ship in the 70s, but it's only brief and doesn't detract. S&H look naturals at sea, Hutch showing off his knotting skills and Starsky mounting the ladder with the rope in his mouth like a pirate biting his knife as he climbs the rigging. It was a setting that worked and justified the two-part story and the effort and  large scale production that went into it.

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