The Velvet Jungle

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S2 (The Velvet Jungle)

From the first shot we're taught to have a healthy respect for Harry Wheeling of Wheeling Wear, one of the businesses in the garment district. We meet him strangling one woman, then mercilessly chasing down another, and he's such a large, apelike man that his very look is menacing, seeming to hold power with a bulldog-like face and staring eyes like those of a lethargic ape that's just got an idea into its head, which makes him somehow diabolical and menacing, yet he also shows a friendly side when throwing the ball for the little boy in the street which makes him even more frightening. So he's immediately a worthy foe for S&H, though he wouldn't be a match for them, it was only the weak and defenceless his bullying personality would control. The other villain, however, Mr. Sterling, the agent in charge of the city's Immigration Office, who has the real, if corrupt, power of the piece, is never threatening and is shown to be a pretty stupid man. Not that Harry doesn't show his own stupidity - look at the moment Hutch visits his business to see if anyone recognises a picture of the dead girl, Elena, whom Harry murdered. He first asks if any of his employees recognised her, then when the answer is negative, he also claims no knowledge, which is pretty transparent. But it's Sterling that takes the biscuit: even his actions before the episode that led to Elena's murder show that he has no understanding of tact or planning, using the girl for his own enjoyment, which is how she found out about his connection with Harry and the whole smuggling of illegal aliens that they were both part of.

His idiocy doesn't end there. He shows more than willing to have cops killed if he can, when talking to Harry, and he's also quick to kill his own man to prevent from being taken down with him. That seems like a prudent thing to do, but rather than take his chances with Harry's testimony and the proof that would need to be offered up, he shoots him right there in front of Starsky, Hutch and Paco Ortega, the undercover immigration officer, then tries to make out it was because Harry was about to go out firing. Then he warns them that they'll have to prove it when Hutch accuses him of just blowing away their prisoner. He doesn't think very intelligently in the final confrontation either, when he's bought Ortega's line about buying in on the partnership through blackmail: his plan being for his driver to shoot Ortega once he's got the envelope, then call it an accident. How was he going to explain meeting with Ortega at the fountain of the Convention Centre in the first place, or what the envelope was about? Maybe he just planned to have his man arrested and blame it all on him, but he really wasn't very bright, and you'd think someone that was so self-serving would have it all worked out.

Mind you, S&H weren't too tactful themselves when going undercover as mime artists, choosing to act only when Ortega has a gun pressed to his stomach! The weapon could have gone off when Sterling was startled, not to mention all the spectators and bystanders that are in the way and have to duck or run to escape the firefight! The ending was one of the things that let a pretty good episode down, with just a standard and unexciting foot chase down into an underground car park and a mild shootout. The novelty of it being Charlie Chaplin and (presumably), famous mime artist Marcel Marceau doing the chasing didn't make it any less average. Then it all ends with a feeble joke back at Hutch's place when Starsky and new girlfriend Laura Stevens meet up with him and Paco. All as normal you might think, but the episode has some jewels of humour and observations on the S&H friendship that makes the episode stand out from duller episodes and worth a watch, but they'd almost be worth taking out of the episode, such as for a clips show, rather than having to sit through the rest of the fluff.

My favourite scene, and the only thing that stuck in my memory about the episode, was the "Esta Ramon aqui?" scene, in which Hutch sends his partner into a Spanish or Mexican bar in order to find out where Ramon is (the brother of the woman, Andrea Guiterrez, on the run from Harry, I think, or maybe just an informant, I lost track of the details at that point), perhaps the most memorable non-character in the series! The interplay between S&H where Hutch sets up his buddy for a difficult time, and Starsky tells him to relax, he'll like the plan, then when he's heard it, doesn't like it, but goes in overconfidently anyway, is all perfect for the characters. Hutch isn't taking great pleasure in it, but he does have a slight gleam in his eye, and we see him casually reading a book when Starsky's pushed out of the place by an undercover Ortega ('relax, I'm on your side,' before continuing to punch Starsky in the gut and whack him around to make it look real!). The whole scene is gold, and is as expert an introduction to a character as you could hope for. Paco was so full of energy and did everything with such gusto that he instantly endears himself, not to mention when we find out how he's trying to help people and sticking up for the weak or those that don't have rights.

It's just like S&H when they speed in to Sally's Sandwich Shop where Miguelito the pancake maker is blowing a fuse at the woman who broke his window. S&H soon get to the bottom of the incident, not put off by the owner's bluster - he refused to help Andrea, and you can tell from the way he talks about her as one of 'them,' that he has strong anti-immigrant feelings, an irony since he's obviously of Italian descent. Yet all he cares about are his pancakes and his small business, not wanting to help anyone, and still thinks of outsiders as 'us and them,' when America is a nation made up of immigrants. Immigration, rights and to a certain extent, racism, are the themes of this episode, showing more than simple criminality, which is a point in its favour - Sterling, for example, thinks immigrants are stupid, as Ortega says, which is why it's so easy to bait him into the meeting that exposes him.

The lighter side of the story is all against Starsky who's made the whipping boy of humour. Not only does he get suckered into his terrible display of Spanish or understanding of the culture or situation he's going into, but he also finds himself on the back foot when literally bumping into Laura, another character that gets an excellent introduction by opening a door in the garment district in Starsky's face and sending him reeling into a dumpster. Being the open, straight-up kind of girl she is, she proceeds to insult his attire, describing it as 'rummage sale chic,' an excellent summation of Starsky's look from the vantage point of a fashion model, her profession. It's all said innocently and with the best of intentions, she assuming he's into the counterculture of dressing down and being relieved he was only in his 'old' clothes when he falls in. And so begins a beautiful friendship that… has no bearing on the story at all! I liked Laura, but she needed to be part of the story rather than an extra spoke to add amusement to Starsky's day. It may have been still too soon after the painful experiences of 'Starsky's Lady,' then again it may not have been, and I would certainly have liked to see both Laura and Paco become recurring characters after this, but I don't think either ever appeared again, as usual the series reverting to its reset position.

Physical humour wasn't the only thing to be enjoyed, as demonstrated by the fashion designer, Lou Brownley's, quirky, wacky character, and specifically her conversation with Hutch about Starsky being cute, to which he responds, "I don't think so." Lou was the very definition of the series' archetype of The Crazy Person That S&H Have To Deal With, even introducing herself as "My name is Brownley and I'm a crazy person," which you can't get any closer to than that admittance. Laura is obviously another in that category, as is the exuberant Ortega who suffers injury and insult without even seeming to notice, Hutch even rugby tackling him to the ground in the alley and him simply nodding when Starsky asks if it was rough enough, or acting out things as he talks on the phone to Sterling, pointing to S&H when he mentions their names and that kind of thing! One thing I was impressed with Lou was that she was played by actress Susan Bay who was Leonard Nimoy's wife!

As usual Dobey remained unimpressed, never liking anyone coming into his rotund personal space, or office, but making up for no Huggy Bear we do get to see more colours to the Captain's character come through. Nothing we haven't seen before, but we get a mix this time, whether that's his angry standing up to Sterling's threats to go over his head, to warning S&H to stay out of his way if they haven't solved the case by Thursday as that's likely when his own Chief Commissioner will tell him to drop it, after Sterling promises to complain to his superior who will complain to Dobey's (in the days before email when communication wasn't instant, some might say the good old days) - it's that old thing of Dobey turning a blind eye if it helps give S&H a bit more time, bending the rules because he trusts his men, and though he's buttoned up and keeps to the rule book he also knows when to give leeway, if he can get away with it. There's even the recurring gag of his food love, this time we see him with a tray of food stopping off at a dispensing machine to get something else when S&H find him, Starsky joking this is all part of a new diet where you collect all the week's food together at the start!

I would suggest that this episode would fit neatly into the negative category of episodes, as S&H are dealing with a problem in the city and society, and visiting the rundown buildings and messy backstreets of the garment district, home to poor workers. The fashion show is quite another area, it seems, with the kind of people there very different in contrast to the workers we see. There's not really any comment on the fashion industry and whether it could be responsible for some of the situation, that it should check it's suppliers more thoroughly, or things of that nature, but the message of the episode is probably that no one belongs to anyone, as Dobey says to Sterling when the man says Andrea belongs to him because she's an illegal alien. S&H know that she won't be safe with him, and resolve to protect her if they can, and it's as much about looking after those that are illegal immigrants, that they have rights too, as it is about regulating and stopping the use of such people, Harry's game being to smuggle in Central Americans to be used as cheap labour. As often happens, while S&H aren't going deeply into the issues, they are challenging the status quo and making sure justice prevails where they can, the series touching on these issues in the form of these adventure or action stories.

Not everything S&H do is angelic and right, as we've seen many times before, but they're of their time. The biggest example to me was Starsky helping himself to coffee at Miguelito's shop without paying. The actor that played him must have had nerves of steel because he stands near the curb as Paul Michael Glaser hurtles the Torino towards him, screeching to a stop so close to his leg that a slight miscalculation would have done some real damage, and he never flinched! On top of the visual references to Chaplin and Marceau (shots of which would be later used in the credits montage), Dobey asks if Starsky thinks he's Milton Berle after the crack about the Captain's food, Berle being a famous comedian, though I'm not sure how active he was during the seventies. We also get another comment on Starsky's name (Lou says how nice it is), with Laura mispronouncing it as Starchy, something old Eddie Hoyle called him in Season 1. Pinky or Perky is visible again in prime position on S&H's desk; Hutch does his trademark takedown, leaping from a car onto Sterling; and he also gets out his guitar again, though just for some plucking at the end than a full on musical number. Moreno, the super at Andrea and her cousin Elena's apartment building proves to be another dodgy caretaker as we've seen so many times before - I assumed that he'd been told to contact S&H to draw them out.

Aside from the villains' stupidity there weren't many observations I could make of things that weren't quite right, though the bar looked like Nellie's Restaurant from the previous episode with a bit curtained off, so it may have been the same brick-design set. I wasn't sure who the female mime artist with S&H was, whether it would be Laura, who had no business being undercover in a police operation, or Ginny, the woman at the morgue who gives us the information on the dead girl (and insights such as medical science being able to tell them about her, but it being up to them to tell who she was), neither of which would have made sense. Charles Picerni was very visible in the bar fight when Starsky gets pushed over a table, and even more as Chaplin when he recklessly (and pointlessly - it would have been just as quick to get to the bottom and run round!), jumps over the stairs onto hard ground. And usually it was Starsky that had door trouble, but this time it's Hutch that can't open a car door in one smooth motion, having to try again and unlock it from the inside before dragging Sterling out. I wonder if there's a story there? Maybe the actor locked the door on purpose as part of an in-character power struggle?

So another episode that comes close to working on all levels, but is let down by a bad main villain who overtakes the good villain, a lacking finale, and the disappointment of such good characters that weren't going to be able to make an impact again. It was good to learn something new about Hutch, that he speaks fluent Spanish, or that Starsky was on the east coast three years before when Hutch busted the barkeeper, or even that Ramon is said to be at St. Luke's Hospital, which must be different to Memorial - does that mean the city has more than one hospital? If only the faults could have been played down, because the qualities don't need to be scratched into to be seen and enjoyed.

**

The Committee

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S2 (The Committee)

One whose title sparked no memories whatsoever, so I was all geared up for an average episode that would disappoint. Maybe the low expectations did the trick, but this time I thought it was actually pretty good with some twists in the tale, moments that made me chuckle, and genuine surprises. In many ways it felt like a return to the style of Season 1, with a more serious approach, yet room for the niggling comments and irritated banter between the two leads; an impression of them against a big, bad city; dusty streets and the kind of places you wouldn't want to go, whether that be abandoned warehouses or dark tunnels strewn with rubbish; as well as a line in police corruption. I can't exactly explain it, but the feel was very much of the first season, but with the twist of lemon that gives Season 2 its distinctive upbeat nature. That's the thing about this season, it has a much more positive impression and generally veers off into trademark craziness, though this episode steers away from that, aside from the 'adopt a rock' scene, Huggy's only contribution this time, as a Cyrano Jones-like figure selling the equivalent of Tribbles (though I think it was as much to settle up with Hug for information provided)!

Even that rock Starsky buys becomes part of the story, you could even say an important part, as it helps save his life when he's put in an impossible situation at the end: having infiltrated the committee that's going around being vigilantes for justice, or justice as they see it, his initiation is to kill Garner, a lawyer who provides counsel for the criminals S&H bring in, this time a rapist, or potential rapist - irony is heavy that Garner had earlier accused Starsky of wanting to be judge, jury and executioner, and then here he is, being just that! Stood in that tunnel with a gun loaded with one bullet, and his cover blown, Starsky's solution to the Kobayashi Maru scenario (to bring in a little 'Star Trek' parallel), is to come up with another alternative, shouting for Garner to run, and charging headlong down the tunnel as his surprised captors give chase. It was fortunate for him that Hutch screeched in at just the right moment to knock Officers Knight and Williams out of the race, but still Starsky had only one bullet in his gun - he uses Ignatius (the name of his rock!), to cause a diversion and avert his pursuer's attention, then jumps out, single shot ready and willing to be loosed.

That shady pursuer was Lieutenant Fargo, one of the shocks of the episode, as the Internal Affairs man seemed such a genuine grizzled old cop, and the way he talks to S&H so informally and sends them back to work made him seem a good sort, although I did suspect him of being overly friendly so that he might later come down more heavily on Starsky. The main reason I'm always fooled by him is that I have the impression he's a main character from another series, maybe another old police series called 'Fargo'. I don't know where this impression comes from, there probably isn't one, but the way the character was acted it seemed like he was more than just a character of the week as if it was some kind of crossover episode. So when Dobey inadvertently drops Starsky in it by mentioning to him about there being a man on the job of this vigilante group (and who else would it be but Starsky when they've just got a new recruit?!), things look bad. I think it might be that Alex Rocco who played Fargo might have had another role on the series, so that might have been something else that affected my thinking.

Fargo's being the instigator of 'The Committee,' using guns taken from the confiscated weapons room so the members can kill without fear of a weapon being traced, wasn't the least of the turns the story played up. The biggest thing might be when Starsky storms out of Dobey's office after being suspended thanks to his buddy Hutch's report on the death of Willits, the rapist who was out on bail and they suspect of trying to run. Thing is, you can believe that Hutch saw the event slightly differently because of the way it's all set up with Starsky being impatient and coming up with the idea to stake out Willits' place, then getting irritated on this Sunday by Hutch's more careful approach of phoning Garner, following procedure. Then they find Willits driving away and tail him in the most obvious way, don't bother to put the flashing light on, Starsky practically rams him off the road, then shoots him when he pulls a gun. All this plays out in a way that you can believe S&H's reports might be different, so I was shocked when Starsky slams out, the truth only dawning when he goes to Nellie's restaurant where we see other police hanging out. Well before he whacks Hutch in the chops I was onto them, but it's a good sequence and clever use of the characters and their situation.

Ginger, the woman who brings Starsky in on The Committee, was a bit of an enigma. We discover that her real name is Alice K. Conrad, and she was under the thumb of Fargo, who got her off a felony charge, so her motivation isn't in question and the way she talks to Starsky about justice shows that she appears to care about the cause Fargo has taken up. But then she suddenly goes cold on Starsky as if she likes him enough that she doesn't want him getting mixed up with The Committee, so it's a strange mix. She even says to Knight and Williams that she doesn't want anyone getting hurt, but coldblooded murder is what the whole operation is about! She must have had her assistance to the police massively taken into account, as despite being a recruiter for this vigilante group, she doesn't appear to even have been charged, after helping the police and spilling all the beans. I suppose that was what her cry against people getting hurt was all about, so we can believe she'll turn on the others, as well as the fact that she might have been working a little under duress.

Something else that improves the episode is that the themes are strong. We've seen police do things their own way before, such as in 'Iron Mike' in which the Mike of the title bent the law, even broke it for the greater good. It's the kind of thing you might expect to get in the Nolan Batman films, so it raises the quality of the story when such things are brought into what could easily have been just an action adventure. The law versus justice, and the line between following the rules or resorting to vigilantism is explored, with Dobey having the last word on the subject in his little 'sermon' about right and wrong having nothing to do with the law and justice (not sure that's true as surely laws are created to enforce right, and breaking them is where the wrong comes in), but he insists this is a country of law, whether that's making sure even the guilty are given legal representation, or the way police officers are allowed to enforce it. He also pays S&H the highest compliment by not only recommending them for the Medal of Valour, but admitting that even they can come up with a good idea sometimes, not something the curmudgeonly Captain tends to do! Fargo may have lied about bad cops making him feel it, and good cops his only friends, but Dobey's the one you suspect lives that sentiment.

I didn't guess the run in with Knight at Nellie's was a set up for what was coming later, I assumed he'd just had a bad day and was letting off steam at S&H who were fooling around while the world burned, the injustice of it all getting to him, and the theme coming through of the horrors of police work and what they've all had to face over the years, another reference that puts it into a Season 1 mindset, specifically the pilot's negativity towards the city. But S&H have learned to be able to enjoy life and do their job, they're not brought down by the decay around them, even though once in a while they're personally affected they bounce back, their eternal optimism as young men with a good life and a job they excel at keeping them sane, not allowing depression to take over as it had the offending officers who would take power into their own hands just because they feel entitled. The truth is that everyone is equally unworthy of leadership (though some are better than others), and to be in control, but there has to be someone directing at the top, which is where democracy comes in.

I agreed with S&H that it would have been nice if Garner had thanked them for saving his life, but Dobey's words are true: they're just doing their job and they don't have the right to expect thanks, the lot of someone in their position, perhaps the pride of the service (and he made up for it with the Medal of Valour recommendation anyway - just because they can't expect thanks from the public, doesn't mean they won't be rewarded for good service by their own). Dobey had some good words to say (not least in the semi-running joke of Starsky throwing his paper cup around in the Captain's office, this time Dobey responding to his wish for a wastepaper basket by telling him to throw it on the floor - in Starsky's office!), but he was also out and about, backing up his men at the end and sitting in Starsky's Indian fan-type chair munching on a bowl of apples (another recurring gag - the food theme also comes up when Hutch buys himself a Hamburger with all the trimmings, but for Starsky gets a tuna burger in line with someone that adopts a rock!). That scene where Starsky pops into his place for some wine while Ginger waits in the car was great fun because Hutch and Dobey were in on Starsky's violent mood swing, yet we haven't seen them together since he slammed out, so it's fun to see them just behaving normally.

When we first see Ginger's place I thought the police officers were at Starsky's because of the distinctive Indian bamboo chair, but when we actually visit his place we see that one is brown while Ginger's was white. I also feel like this might be the first, or one of the first times we see this version of Starsky's apartment that would be in it to the end (I remember his brother being there in the fourth season), although here it's possible to look out of a little window in the door and see down to the road, since Hutch photographs Ginger from there. Similarly, when we first zoom in on Nellie's restaurant (the episode starts very oddly with a freeze frame that is obvious because a car is slightly blurred), and find Huggy in there, I thought this might be Huggy's place (though police wouldn't be hanging out there if it was, I'm sure!). I'm sure the actress that played Nellie had been in it before, but it could have been uncredited, or it may be she was used later. Two actresses that definitely had been in it before were the girl S&H save from Willits and Billings, Millie (not to be confused with Nellie!), played by Muffi Durham who'd been Nancy in 'The Bounty Hunter' of Season 1; and Shannon Wilcox as policewoman Maxine who helps Hutch identify Ginger (in the days when memory and paper records had to be relied upon rather than computers!), previously Laura Lonigan in 'Iron Mike.'

Two more regulars appear again, Mickey Mouse, seen on another filing cabinet at police HQ, and either Pinky or Perky Pig on S&H's desk in its right and proper place. I also had a flashback to 'Murder At Sea' when Ginger asks Starsky if his name is Polish (and he replies 'something like that'), a reminder of Bertha and Edna Zelinka ("I'm never wrong about these things!"). The best line has to be when Nellie brings S&H their milkshakes and Starsky switches them around, saying "He's chocolate, I'm strawberry." The stuntman fighting Willits as Hutch, who normally blends into the background so well, could easily be seen this time, perhaps because we're closer in on the camera view than usual. When Dobey came on the radio to report a woman's screams from a warehouse it didn't make sense that he'd be playing dispatcher until you realise that it's linked to an ongoing investigation - we're realistically starting in the middle of police business rather than the very start. You'd think if someone had gone to the trouble of reporting the screams, as ever, that they might have done more, but in a place where there are guns maybe you have to leave it to the cops to sort out. She must have been screaming for a while, though, as it takes them time to arrive (as usual they have to squeal round and head in the opposite direction!). There's also the usual trope of them going around in the red Torino and expecting to be able to stakeout or tail their quarry without being noticed, a convention of the series.

The other thing is the issue of secrecy, with only Dobey and Hutch in on Starsky's undercover mission, but then we see that Willits is in fact not dead at all, but hanging out on Starsky's own bed under guard from another officer, so he at least must have known his colleague was involved in something! On the whole it's the story and characters that make this a good one rather than the action-packed nature of it, though the car chase after Willits wasn't a bad little sequence and there are some good in-car camera views through the episode that make you feel like you're actually there, cruising an American city in the late seventies. A good decision not to show the murder by Knight and Williams of Ward Billings in his hotel room and keeping the baddies hidden a bit longer, seeming more powerful when we don't see above chest height. I do feel the music let the side down a bit as it sounded like all stock rather than anything original, something that improved some recent episodes like 'Bloodbath' or 'Survival.' Not that it was enough to push those episodes clearly over the line of mediocrity, or bring down this one, but music does make a difference and it would have been easier to rate it a good episode if the music had been stronger in theme or hadn't danced through the back catalogue. Not to say some of the themes aren't good, but they could have stuck with less of them.

***

Prophecy

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S6 (Prophecy)

One I missed from the original run, which might explain why I was less engaged by it, despite features such as a Jonas who can see visions of the future, a view of an attack on the SGC, the questions of what the future is, and a planet of people to liberate. I think partly it was not having any prior connection, but also that in some cases it's talk rather than action - we don't see Mot's troops routed at the end, or the party laid on by the planet's people, or much of what happened when Mot and his Goa'uld came early thanks to a traitorous member of the planet's race. It had a good mix of things, but it could also be said to be too much to fit into one episode when something like Jonas' experiences could have been enough to work the story around. It was nice to see him spoken of so well and so unquestionably part of the team, and is a testament to the actor that he made a 'replacement' character so likeable. Knowing he's to leave at the end of the season I couldn't remember how it happened exactly, so I was thinking this could be it, so close to the end, and maybe that was why they were reminding us that he used to be the new guy and is now a fully fledged member of the team, but it may just be preparation for a sad goodbye soon.

His qualities were played up again, one being his selflessness in the cause against the enslavement of the Goa'uld, because even though whatever Nierte may have done to him (the suspicion being that it was when she trapped him in the device in 'Metamorphosis' she gave him this future-seeing ability, though there's no indication of why it took so long to manifest), is potentially going to kill him, he wants to keep having the visions in order to serve the greater good (echoes of Captain Sisko in 'DS9' episode 'Rapture'). Something that has had considerably less play in the season is what we're reminded about in this one: that he has extraordinary powers of perception and attention to detail. Jonas' 'superpowers' weren't ever really explored in depth, perhaps because he fitted in just fine as an earnest and fascinated human-like figure, so didn't need extras to make him work, but they could certainly have gone into more depth on the character's make up. I liked that he was the main point of this episode, although that's probably the reason we don't see so much of what was happening on the planet as we might usually do.

It was hard to accept that Jonas' future-gazing ability could be related to a tumour in his brain, but I suppose technically that's what the brain is all about - it's a mystery that encompasses biology and abstract concepts such as the mind and memory, so why should a 'supernatural' or advanced scientific experiment not fit into the biological? But for me it made it feel farfetched, whereas I could have accepted without question if there were no physical cause - strange, but that's what I expect, I suppose. What the episode did go into, if in little depth, was what the future actually means, the last conversation between Jonas and Sam giving us the taste of a good sci-fi/philosophical question to ponder and which I wished had been the basis for the story rather than the much-trodden path of a people threatened by Goa'uld aggressors: Jonas saw the future and they were able to alter what happened to prevent Teal'c, Hammond, and others from dying (if you can get away with killing characters for the short term why not take it?!), but at the same time there was the paradox that SG-1's saving of the planet was in that people's history as an ancient prophecy. Sam suggests a lucky guess, but it's clear that the writers want us to think about such things, so it's only a shame for it to be bundled in at the end with no more time to ponder.

Not to say that a Goa'uld politics update wasn't in order - it was good to know that Lord Yu is the last and only opponent of the System Lords to continue to defy Anubis, with, presumably, all the others keeping in line. The real stuff was about this minor, an emissary of Baal's, Lord Mot, who has unsurprisingly continued to harvest this planet without his master knowing (backstabbing among the Goa'uld? Unheard of!). The Goa'uld stuff has generally taken more of a backseat this season, in a move away from the origins of the series, but whether that was a good move or not, I couldn't say. One thing that did surprise was Mot's despatch, shot by the daughter of the old leader of the planet, Ellori (played by Thomas Kopache whom I know well as a man of many faces in small parts in Trek, most notably as Major Kira's Father on 'DS9') - I wanted to see the continuation of that scene when she must have turned to the traitor who had been talking to Mot, though it may be that the guy had already been finished off by the palm device his master was torturing him with!

The style of the flash-forwards was nothing that hadn't been done before, but it was all filmed beautifully, especially the long yellow grass O'Neill and the others move through as they head for the Stargate. There was a bit of a logic shift in the use of the visions, though, with Jonas at first always seeing things from his point of view, only later, conveniently, changing so he could see the Goa'uld attack on the SGC in more dramatic angles, or what happened to O'Neill and the team on the planet, but that's dramatic licence, and certainly the latter vision could be explained by his attempt at controlling the views of the future (though I wasn't sure how a table of candles was going to help that, nor sitting in an uncomfortably cross-legged position - I'd have recommended lying flat on his back with comfy pillows!). As I said, I'm not entirely sure why I didn't completely get drawn into the story or ideas, and I do hope the finale gives us some good Jonas time. I'm pretty sure he doesn't die, but whatever happens it will be a shame to lose a one-season wonder who gelled so well in such a strongly cast unit.

**

Memento

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S6 (Memento)

So SG-1 go to another planet and pretty much mess it up with very little thought or effort, and not even with the good intentions of first contact, but just because they're on a so-called shakedown cruise and something goes wrong so they need that planet's Stargate! That really does sum up the episode, and it makes them look quite bad on the whole as if they can just waltz over to any planet and make huge changes or force the people to face things they didn't want to. But I forget that these are contemporary 21st Century people, not the heroes of 'Star Trek' who had the Prime Directive and many years of experience with both space flight and first contact to guide them. Trouble is, they seem to be invoking Trek with the use of the Prometheus, making this feel less like a 'Stargate' story - you can tell Colonel O'Neill feels that way, too, as he's more of a loose cog in a big wheel than the leader of a small, but important team, thanks to tagging along on the Prometheus' test run in case of problems. And a good job SG-1 were there, since I get the feeling Captain Colonel Ronson (or should that be Colonel Captain?), would be quicker to blow up the ship and land on the closest planet if it meant survival for his crew!

Ronson is very much an O'Neill kind of figure, he, alien military leader Kalfas and O'Neill all have lack of trust and a simple way of seeing the world, in common. What I found interesting about the situation was the complicated chain of command: O'Neill and Ronson are both the rank of Colonel, but Jack's just there for support with his team's level of experience in space, while Ronson's the Captain and has the command of the ship. So it's a tricky diplomatic situation, and becomes even more difficult when they land on Tagrea and have to deal with two very different powers of military and civilian government. It made a change for Robert Foxworth as Ashwan to be playing an honourable, reliable character rather than the duplicitous Admiral Leyton of the 'DS9' two-parter where he was a bad apple, and the role I most associate him with - he also played a Vulcan on 'Enterprise,' but I can't remember how trustworthy he was on that! I kept expecting Ashwan to reveal a deep, dark secret about the past, and that SG-1 were making a big mistake in providing an unknown race with information and use of the Stargate, mainly because of prejudice about Leyton!

Even if Foxworth hadn't played the planet's leader I would have been thinking it best that the 'gate was not directly spoken about. It would have been wrong to try and use it without the Tagreans knowing, and they got themselves into a corner by needing to use the nearest one available in order to return to Earth for supplies with which to repair the ship - but really, they didn't have the necessary equipment or spares to fix the engines, the most important component of the ship? They even eject it and it seems crazy that the equivalent of a warp core is being discarded so early in the ship's life. Once again, I have to remind myself this isn't 'Voyager' (even though they do have hard-landing capability!), and humans having hyperdrive spaceflight ability is a momentous thing in itself. But you'd think, in that case, that they wouldn't have taken on such a relatively long journey without backup from the Asgard or Tok'ra - human pride, I suppose, wanting to go it alone. I must complement them on the smoothness of their ship - even when under attack the quiet levelness of the ship's decks seems very tranquil compared to other ships in sci-fi, though I was missing the low hum the Trek's all had, and these things don't help to sell the 'reality' of a starship.

Even with such a precarious situation to deal with, they seemed far too quick and eager to hightail it to the nearest planet which should have a 'gate, rather than looking at any alternatives - maybe there was another planet that had been visited, a little further away? Maybe they could have contacted the Asgard? It falls to the reliable Jonas to come up with the idea of hopping to Tagrea, as they learn it's called (and I'll miss him when he's gone as he's integrated brilliantly now - would have been fantastic to see him, the whole team and Jackson working together), and it gets them out of a tight spot, but taking into account the trouble they often have with advanced races (or any races, come to that, but if it had been a primitive planet they could have found the Stargate without interference), being so quick to land and spill the beans about the existence of the 'gate was too much leaping before they looked. I know they didn't have a lot of choice thanks to almost starting a war after their engine explodes over the planet, forcing O'Neill to make contact to prevent missiles blasting them out of the sky, so it was a chain of events, but even when they're in with the Tagreans, they're not careful about what they say: for example, Tarek, the professor of mathematics at the library Jonas and Teal'c visit, reveals that he's a member of a secret group that still believe in the past that has been obliterated, when Horus ruled, and Jonas just says that he was Heruer and their people were slaves, thus overturning a religion without thought.

I'm all for the false gods of the Goa'uld being revealed as such to their former servants, but even though that's so, you don't just reveal such major facts to a race without preparation! As it happened Tarek didn't seem that bothered by the revelation, but there were several things like that which people didn't respond in the most realistic way: alien contact for the first time was a big enough bombshell to drop on a people for one day, then to say the Stargate is real (they'd known it only as a myth of 'the ring of the gods'), to find out why the history pre-three hundred years ago had been wiped out, and the discovery of the 'gate (which, by the way was a momentous event, and was filmed in a way that showed that, even if it did start slightly ridiculously with three people using spades!) - even Kalfas' arrest for taking matters into his own hands was far too easy, and came simply because the running time of the episode was almost out, rather than a natural and believable conclusion. The military weren't going to turn on their top brass just because of a speech by the planetary leader! So it ends all happily and safely when really SG-1 would have been shown to totally mess up the planet, which would have been more interesting and might have left the door open for a sequel.

Saying all that, I curiously enjoyed this episode, possibly because of its Trek-like style, something I didn't enjoy on original transmission, but that I appreciate now that there isn't any new Trek on TV. The joke in the teaser was good, about the Captain saying 'prepare to fire' in the usual space sci-fi way, and O'Neill pointing out that's rather melodramatic, but the teaser itself was a bit inconsequential - I suppose the amazement of humans out in space was supposed to be enough, but we see that all the time in other sci-fi, so it wasn't. I couldn't see a spinoff for Captain Ronson, as proud of his ship and crew and as dedicated to them as he kept saying he was, we never got a chance to see him do anything, really - it was too small a story to have two main leaders, and this is O'Neill's world, even if he's straying into unfamiliar territory when he's not welcome on the bridge, which was strange, but believable. As Ronson said, if this ship's crew is to function and work together, they need to do it without the assistance of another group. Interesting to learn that SG-1 had been to one hundred and thirty-three planets, but what was incongruent was that despite all this high tech alien stuff, ring transporters, hyperdrive, etc, they still use those little radios for communication! You'd think they'd have reverse-engineered some superior technology to take its place by now.

Finally, I felt that there was a trick missed by the fact that history would have been like an illegal drug to certain members of the Tagreans. As history before 'year zero' had been completely erased, anything that could exist from that time would be vital and revered to those that disagreed with the system, such as Tarek, yet he happily and unthinkingly hands over this ancient manuscript which says where the Stargate is buried, without question and in full view of the guards following Teal'c and Jonas around. Ignoring the episode's faults and oddities, and missed opportunities, as well as stereotypical leaders, I still enjoyed it, perhaps because it's fun to see SG-1 out in the galaxy, jumping down to planets, sharing walks and talks down corridors (the ship surely isn't big enough for much of that!), diplomatic dinners ('Star Trek VI' came to mind), and playing at 'Star Trek' even if it's not as compelling as that franchise.

***

Starsky's Lady

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S2 (Starsky's Lady)

It's difficult writing a review for the best episode of a series, you don't want to analyse it too much in case the magic disappears, but you want the review to match the quality when it's often harder to write about things that are so right than it is to pick apart or journey into the depths of less well put together episodes. This particular one works in almost all respects - the only thing that lets the side down is a dearth of action and excitement, but that's because this is an atypical example of the series' fare, and has more to it than the usual fighting and chasing thrills. From frame one it's got a sensitivity in direction and music that says 'this is going to be special,' and it is. The music throughout, though it didn't inspire me to want to hear it separate from the visuals as some themes this season have, was far from the seventies aural wallpaper we often get, and was truly written with care and subtlety to create a loving mood tinged with the air of tragedy, and proceeds throughout not to overwhelm, but to compliment the sad events and heartfelt sentiments portrayed on screen.

Initially I was thinking the title would have been better focused on the enemy, calling it 'Starsky's Nemesis' might have been more apt. But as the story played out I realised that George Prudholm, the returning villain from Season 1, actually had less impact and import for the episode and for Starsky than Terry, the 'Lady' of the title, so it was perfectly fitting after all. I'd forgotten that Terry survives the malicious attack only to have death hanging over her, the inevitable waiting in the wings, and it's how she deals with this that brings a whole new level to a series usually as simple as cops chasing robbers. To be able to introduce a new character, let alone have her injured and certain to die in the near future, and for the audience to care a jot about her is a lesson to the writers of other episodes. Every week we have new characters introduced, some live, some die, but most don't make much of an impact and we rely on the main two, and to a lesser extent the supporting two, to carry the story and make us care. Whether it was the actress they chose to play Terry, or whether it was Paul Michael Glaser's ability to make us believe his attachment to her was more than the usual girl of the week; direction; music; a combination of all those factors, I don't know, but we do care.

It helps that Terry is as much about internal beauty as external, always showing care for others, a selfless person, even after the attack when she's shot in the head at the drugstore, or later, when the bullet's moved and she's lying in a hospital bed again, she's more worried about the development of the disabled children she's been working with, than her own situation. She thinks of both Dave and Ken, leaving them presents to open after she's gone that will make them smile as much as anything else, a reminder of life and happiness and not wanting them to be downhearted. Contrast this with Hutch's most famous girlfriend, Abigail Crabtree who appeared in several episodes of Season 1 and 2 - it's unfair to compare her to this almost angelic person, and it was a perfectly natural reaction for her to leave after going through a terrible attack for being connected to Hutch, but she did leave, and Terry reacted differently. I wish Terry (surname not given), could have been in more episodes, but it may be that that impression of goodness would have been broken as it always is when we see more of a real person, all being imperfect creations. Perhaps the fleeting time she has with Starsky is what gives the episode its bittersweetness. She's given a lot of depth very quickly, more than most characters get in an episode (more than Abi got in all hers), and if she could get Starsky to talk about having a baby or marriage then she had to be something special as he never usually has such concerns!

As much as Season 2 is the lighter season, the more joyful season, the upbeat and comical season, it's known its share of tragedy and loss. As well as Abigail hightailing out of Hutch's world, he also lost Gillian to his enemies, so he knows what Starsky's going through. Though the episode is much more closely attentive to Starsky and Terry, it doesn't forget to include Hutch and to give Starsky someone to blow off steam to, that he controls himself over when with Terry - visiting her in hospital after she's made the decision not to be cautious and possibly have a year of bed-bound life, but to seize what little time she has left, whether a day, a week, a month, or longer, Starsky has to restrain his natural outrage, quickly realising it was her choice and she decided to make it alone, and all he does after that is support her. My favourite scene is at the fairground after the pair have been watching Hutch and his new girl, Christine (could she be the one he was making dinner for in the previous episode, whom we never saw?), having great fun on the dodgems, she shows Dave what she really wants to do: ride the giant slide with him. Initially defensive for her safety and condition she makes it a conditional thing, and seeing how much it means to her, he reluctantly agrees, knowing the danger, but that again, it's her choice. But that's enough for her, knowing that he would let her means she doesn't need to actually do it.

I could almost see this episode without Prudholm as the villain. They didn't need to bring him back, they could have stuck any murdering scoundrel in and told us about a backstory he had with Starsky, but that they chose to bring back the man who was probably the best villain of the first season, actor and all, showed they spared no creative expense in making this the episode it was meant to be - so often I watch and think about how it could have been better, what doing this or that, or changing something could have improved, but there's little I would change about this one. Prudholm might be the weak link in terms of characterisation; he's just a ball of hate that 'wants his head blown off' as Starsky so eloquently puts it, he's the motivating factor, the force that creates the jeopardy, and I can fully believe that the idea of bringing him back came first and then they thought about the best way to upset Starsky (when they weren't going to kill any of the main characters). They achieved it in 'Pariah' (probably of all the episode I most refer back to), by killing police officers, but they go further and make it even more personal this time which gives it an even more personal edge.

This has got to be the most continuity-heavy episode that isn't a direct two-parter of the entire run as we're reminded of the events of Starsky's first encounter with Prudholm, a vengeful Father of a criminal son who blamed Starsky for that son's death after he put him away and the son died in a prison fight. He's remained fixated on Starsky as the only solution to his anger and anguish, and he wouldn't have cared what happened to himself after Starsky was killed, even admitting that after it's all over he'll hand himself in and plead insanity again. How insane the man really is, is up for debate. He knows enough to have complex issues about his boy's death, and certainly knows right from wrong, even laughing that no one can touch him because he's 'crazy' and not responsible for his actions. Yet he clearly does have mental problems - he calls his associate (Woody The Magic Man), Gary, forgetting that his son is dead, so he's clearly not all there, and it takes a twisted mind to want to hurt an innocent to get to someone else, but it's difficult to denote the line between hatred and insanity, and we don't see enough of him to understand him better.

What Prudholm does give us is the ultimate test for Starsky in whether his professionalism can overcome his emotions. The direction allows time and space for the raw emotions to rise to the surface: after wise old Yoda, Dr. Quo, has given him the news about the bullet lodged in Terry's brain, Starsky walks closer to the camera and fights a battle on his face, and rather than play loud explanatory music over it, there's silence, and the scene fades quietly out. It's the same with the scene in which we're given a recap of past events, useful for new viewers, though this episode has nothing in it to really confuse those that hadn't seen 'Pariah,' Terry being the logical person to explain the connection to. As the three drive around in the Torino the music has an air of resignation about future tragedy because we know she's going to die, it's just a matter of when, as the car drifts off into the distance. These moments are full of mood without words, and where music is used it doesn't distract, but enhances. Through all this, however plain the reactions of Starsky are, at the end when he has opportunity to kill Prudholm, he's stronger than his own feelings and doesn't give in to revenge. It's what Prudholm wanted - either kill Starsky or ruin his life and career completely, but he doesn't count on Starsky being so strong.

It's not as if he's unaffected by what happened to those police officers that died before, or even more so by Terry's fate - he tells her he plans to quit the force so we know how hard he's taken it because that's not something Starsky would do. He's seen more than his share of a city in despair, of the people in the gutter living out horrible lives, of rapists and kidnappers and all manner of evil, and none of that has made him give up in disgust, he's just carried on doing his bit because he's good at his job and he enjoys being good at it. There's a conversation he has with Terry at the beginning during the basketball game, in which he explains his absences from her recently by talking of the crooks that do what they want if he's not around, but it's not in the manner of so much of Season 1, where episodes either seemed to fit into a category of positive, optimistic views on life in the city, all the stories of people helping each other or fighting poverty and crime, or into the negative where they were part of a 'toilet bowl' of corruption and hopelessness. Season 2 episodes have been very difficult to categorise as either, which shows that they'd become a little more complex, or perhaps a little less as the series capitalised more on the humour and joy between the characters and showed less negativity in style.

For Starsky to want to leave the job he's done for so long and so well shows the deep attachment he has to Terry. The only other person I can imagine him quitting for would be Hutch, if he were to die, although that might as easily turn into a workaholic need to punish as many criminals as possible. In the end, he still has his best buddy to shoulder some of the load after Terry's death - earlier in the episode Dobey's shown his own gruff brand of sensitivity by giving Starsky a leave of absence, though at that point it's the last thing he wants, as he needs to put his energy into tracking down Prudholm. Whether he wanted it or no, Prudholm's not going to let him become uninvolved. After Terry's death Starsky could have gone into depression, forgetting all responsibilities, but he knows that's not what she wanted. Neither does he become a revenge-seeking ball of anger, a credit to his well-adjusted nature. Hutch may be less involved in the episode, but he isn't any less Starsky's partner, something that Starsky forgets for a moment near the end when he wants to ride in alone on Prudholm where he's holed up at the grocery supply house, but Hutch reminds him that it's 'theirs' to do, not Starsky's alone. It wouldn't have made sense for Starsky to be allowed near such a volatile situation so close to a connected bereavement, but even that inconsistency is trampled by it being at Prudholm's insistence: and he has hostages.

The desire to leave the force and escape such problems plays out in the beautiful final scene. There was no death scene left to come at the end, and nor would that have suited an upbeat series to leave on such a sad moment, it happened in full grief before Prudholm was dealt with, them speeding in under 'this means business' music, and doing what they do. But it's the aftermath that we so rarely see, things laughed off so the episodes can end on a lighter tone and people will remember that they primarily had a good time and will want to tune in next week, or that's the theory I can imagine was subscribed to. This time we see S&H two weeks after Terry's death, playing a game of Monopoly, something she liked to do, while Hutch is drunkenly trying to sign him and his partner up for a Canadian football team because they're going to quit the force. They aren't really serious, they're just having a moment, and it is funny, but it doesn't finish like that - bittersweetness returns as they unwrap the presents Terry left for them, leaving them, especially Starsky, grinning sadly at her sense of humour and the loss of a special person. Probably the best ending of any episode of the series, no cheesy joke, just a meeting of minds in greatest friendship - so good it was one of the scenes used in a later clips show. Terry wouldn't be the last of Starsky's Ladies, but she was the most memorable.

I could joke that they should have brought Prudholm back every season to once again cause grief and chaos for Starsky, but though he still lived at the end, he couldn't have done anything more (in the confines of the series - killing Hutch might do it), to get at him, so his story was done. The failure of his scheme to get to Starsky so much that he would kill him showed that he was defeated and I can imagine him nonplussed and dismayed, retreating into himself so that he becomes fully insane. I don't believe they could have topped this episode, so I'm glad they didn't do another sequel. If I'm nitpicking, I would suggest that the fight with Prudholm was a bit of an anticlimax, though the motorbike smashing through the glass door was a great stunt (you could tell it was the stunt doubles doing their bit, just as in Starsky's spring on his enemy in the aisles), so good they showed it in slow motion for maximum effect! But the episode's use of Prudholm was secondary to Terry's impact on Starsky.

I do wonder what happened to the third man… The first time we see Prudholm, he's with Woody in a car, with a black driver, but we only ever hear about two men ripping off stores, this mysterious third man that must be in their confidence enough that he's allowed to hear the villain's plans and drive him around, yet remains unspoken of, though I thought I saw him with the police in the car park of the grocery store siege, so they may have picked him up or perhaps he called in the police as he didn't like hostages? You'd think that Prudholm would have heard the motorbike revving up right next to Dobey as they speak on the phone, and be suspicious, but his lack of imagination, despite shrewdness, and his single-mindedness, may have blinded him from anything around. Something else about the showdown was a continuity error that makes Starsky look like he's got Superman-like speed: he grips the collar of his nemesis with one hand while holding the gun, then the next shot we see he's got both hands on the collar, and it flicks back to another shot and he's holding the gun again, only one hand on the collar! There's little to find fault with in general, though Prudholm escaping Caballo Point, the maximum security hospital for the criminally insane because of a clerical error, has to be one of the weakest story points ever!

One moment of unintentional amusement is when S&H meet the informant, Freddie (they haven't been doing well with these people recently after Hutch's snitch set him up for an assassination in 'Survival'!), on the bridge - Hutch puts his hand on the rail, then Freddie turns and inadvertently puts his hand over Hutch's, who promptly recoils, moving his hand, though you can tell they did this scene in one take as you couldn't plan something like that, and they all continue the scene professionally which somehow makes it funnier. Something else I noticed was in the Memorial Hospital scene - the situation of the bed and the room Terry's in looked identical to the set in which Terry Nash, the guy who lost his memory in 'The Set-Up' was, so when two different Terrys, but same room, occurred to me, the connection was amusing. And talking of links to other episodes, Huggy gets beaten up again, this time for being a friend of Starsky's - he was also knocked around in Season 1's 'Kill Huggy Bear.'

References of the episode include Monopoly, obviously, though it's an American version, a Popeye cutout well in frame at the amusement park (a change to see an open funfair that's thriving rather than deserted and used for criminal meeting places!), Hutch's nickname of the blond blintz is back (during the basketball game), and the shot of him looking over, concerned at Terry, in his green tracksuit, would be used in later credit montages. You could also point to Pepsi being front and centre at the grocery store during the showdown, maybe a balance for the Coke bottle Starsky had last episode? Crazy golf had been seen before in 'Death Notice,' incidentally the episode right before 'Pariah' in Season 1, though I think this was a different place. And the bridge location over a busy road where S&H met Freddie with his snack van looked the same as the place they met each other in 'Tap Dancing Her Way Right Back Into Your Heart,' and there was a snack van there where a hotdog was bought, though it wasn't the same as Freddie's van. This time, Prudholm actor Stephen McNally is credited as 'Special Guest Star' which he wasn't in 'Pariah,' Dr. Quo is played by Beulah Quo, and the girl that played Sally is credited as sally with a small 's'.

I felt the disabled children seen in this episode weren't shown to be pitiable, but were seen having a good time. The moment Terry starts to break down and Sally follows her and Starsky off the court made the episode sadder because she doesn't understand what's wrong. For the time it shows a more progressive attitude to the disabled than perhaps was common, but then they had two black co-stars as well, so the series was, if not ahead of its time, certainly pushing the envelope to an extent. Violence was barely seen this time, but it didn't stop the impression of danger being there, perhaps because the real horror was from a force that could not be fought: the lodged bullet, and it was more about dealing with facts of life, not trying to prevent or undo damage. It was a good choice not to show Terry actually being shot because then we're in the same boat as Starsky as he rushes in to find out what happened, and is a quality common in this episode where so many others fail to reach this level. It didn't need to be action-packed because we're seeing deeper into the characters so that carries the story as much, if not more than stunts. I thought the shotgun trap had been used in 'Pariah,' but it's probably just me remembering this one. Interestingly, we don't go to Starsky or Hutch's apartments, the only home environment we seem to be in is Terry's, even in the final scene it doesn't look like the recognisable home locations of S&H, which makes it more as if Terry is there, or the connection to her life is still strong.

It takes time to build characters so that what happens to them means more than a new face that will soon be gone. By the time we see Terry die in bed, Starsky collapsing over her, we've come to know her, enough to understand what sort of person she is. The camera pulls slowly away and once again we're reminded that everything in this episode works as it should - Terry's fear that she admits to earlier in the episode vanishes just before she dies. Death, when played with care, is often the most affecting thing that can be shown, no matter how many times we see a romanticised version of the final passing. It's sadness comes because there is a little real pain there as we contemplate those we've known and who have gone, so we feel some of Starsky's pain, the happy times they shared something both to treasure and to make the absence keener. For this series to attempt, and succeed, in telling such a story, careful and crafted, is surprising. In a way it's a shame that such an atypical episode should be the series' best, but it's stripping out what's unnecessary and working up what is. So we care.

****

The Waterfront Story

DVD, The Incredible Hulk S1 (The Waterfront Story)

I thought we might get something special for the last episode of the season, perhaps a showdown with Jack McGee, the roving reporter that has dogged the Hulk's steps ever since he first appeared, or even some kind of settling down for Banner, especially as he'd found a woman in the same situation as him. No, not turning into a big, green monster whenever she got annoyed, they both had lost their partner; both widowers. It was something that maybe wasn't explored enough in favour of the political race between two candidates, Tony Kelly, slimy man number one, and Cliff McConnell, talks nice, but I suspected him of sinister motives almost from the start, perhaps from the way he wasn't taking no for an answer from Josie. It was special in one way as we get three Hulk-outs, though I'm not sure the first could be counted as it happens right at the start and we come to it mid-Hulk, which must be new. As usual David's snooping around something bad going on, his nose for trouble twitching like a superpower (maybe he was affected by more than just turning into a green giant…), a smuggling racket at the docks, so that's how he got involved as the Hulk at first, though he's really staying in the area while he works at Josie's bar.

In all honesty not a lot happens and there isn't a lot to comment on, disappointing with this being the end of Season 1, but it could be they didn't plan for this to be the season ender, or that such things were only ever meant to be another episode, just like 'Starsky & Hutch' from the same era never finished on a special episode or a cliffhanger. There are the usual collection of characters, most of which are flimsy, two-dimensional constructs with little to recommend them, such as Marty Hammond the heavy who appears to be on Kelly's side at first, but is revealed to be secretly working for McConnell - as soon as David and Josie went in to find Cliff's place smashed up I suspected he'd organised it himself, though I thought it was to gain sympathy and Josie's endorsement (her husband being the previous candidate, I think), I didn't suspect Hammond to be working with him. Hammond isn't much of a character, just the usual heavy to cause trouble. The bar workers Sarah and Vic weren't bad, and I did enjoy her meeting with the Hulk, hiding him from the police and chattering away the whole time. And Josie wasn't badly sketched, with a theme of standing on your own two feet and facing up to things, but it was all a bit watered down and pedestrian.

One thing that should have been played up was McGee being in the area right from the start. True, Banner (or David Barton as he is this week), had a close shave when McGee walks out of a building in front of him, but there was never much of a feeling that the reporter was homing in on him, or whether he was suspicious of this dark-haired guy showing up wherever the Hulk does and trying harder to get an interview with the man. It should have felt like he was around any corner, but he barely comes into it again, a waste of a good premise. I hope he's used more effectively next season, and I did wonder if he might find out that Banner was alive by the end of this season - I can't imagine the cat and mouse game continuing forever and there have been some wonderfully narrow escapes for Banner, but it could be that he eventually just gives up.

Hulk-out two was in the bar after Hammond's set him up for a beating by slipping a fish into a customer's jug of beer, leading to a rather weak and halfhearted bar fight, though there was nothing halfhearted about the way Banner was thrown over the bar and through into the back room! The better Hulk-out was the third when Josie and David are running from the crooks, in a nicely directed scene that had already been given away in the teaser, then Josie falls unconscious or faints after falling and hitting what looked like cardboard boxes, which leads them to be captured and locked in a crate, which leads Banner to get frustrated and smash out. I'm surprised no one ever made the connection that two people were put in and then green man appears with the girl… Maybe the hideous sight was too off-putting and lost them the ability to think! This was one rare moment when we see the Hulk moving in fast speed - usually he's shot in slow motion to give him weight (like he needed it!), but there's a shot where he stands up from Josie's prone form and chases the boat Captain who'd just walloped him with a plank of wood, and it looks like they forgot to slow it down as he goes like a shot!

Banner was a better Spider-Man in this episode, climbing up on to the roof of the warehouse Josie Larkin was trapped in, and finding a way in and down to floor level! But as a Hulk episode, or even a Banner story, it left a lot to be desired. It doesn't stop me from wanting to see more, but I don't feel, on the whole that this season fulfilled its potential. A couple of good episodes, and mostly reasonable stories that were all a bit samey leave it lower in the estimation than it might have been. But you have to watch these things with the era they were made firmly in mind because that's what defines them and makes them what they are, and if the TV of the day called for individual, mostly unconnected episodes, then they need to be judged on the merits of each episode rather than a greater whole. What stands out to me is that Bill Bixby creates such a charming hero in Dr. Banner, a man that has the mind of a professor, but has to tip out rubbish bins to make ends meet. Whether he's performing demeaning tasks or using his knowledge of medicine or science, he always does it to help those around him, just like 'Star Trek: Voyager' where they were forever stopping to help people or solve problems. Banner could have stayed away from people and probably found a cure more quickly, but his natural instinct is to get involved, and that's what makes the series work.

**