Death In A Different Place

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S3 (Death In A Different Place)

Furthering the impression garnered by this season of a much more serious edge to proceedings, last time it was mental health, this time it's sexual politics, as a police Lieutenant is murdered in a dodgy hotel, and S&H find that they have to tread carefully as their superiors are watching and putting pressure on Dobey (now goatee-less again). It's serious in more ways than one as there aren't a lot of light moments, especially as Alec Corday, a 'narco' cop (narcotics, I guess, only he's a dealer rather than a deal-breaker!), murders people left, right and centre. A baddie on the inside, who can think on his feet, coming up with a plausible story for why he's at the apartment of a murdered man, is a dangerous type, not to mention ruthless and efficient. It all makes you ask where Internal Affairs are when you need them? It's not the first time we've had dodgy dealings on the force (look at Lieutenant Fargo and the group of vigilantes in last season's 'The Committee'), but there was never any mystery this time, Corday killing John Blaine right on camera at the start (or technically, in camera, as he pushes the pillow into the audience's face). There are a few 'in your face' moments during the episode, the directing style, in places, full on and dramatic: when S&H squeal up to the hotel we see their arrival from a shaky cam on-the-street view (reminiscent of a Season 1 episode, I can't recall which, though I think it was part of the credits, at some point), jiggling around as they push past the interested passersby.

The best scene is the chase of Nick Hunter, the suspect in the Blaine killing, with closeups of his face as he dashes madly away from the pursuing Hutch in his battered old car, 'trash cans' snagged under it, but inexorably it keeps coming, until the missing Starsky suddenly belts round from the other side and catches him. The episode definitely falls into the negative view of the city, with seedy bars (The Green Parrot), and hotels (St. Francis), in a dodgy part of town (Holloway Boulevard), not to mention the familiar back alleys and streets. Like Hutch's car, the episode is rundown and dishevelled - speaking of which, the Torino lets the side down, as during a heat wave the engine keeps breaking down, meaning S&H's drive to work is messed up. This would have been a running joke in another season, but here it's just a 'light' opening for the buddies (where they get angry at each other!), and for much of the episode they use Hutch's dented vehicle, though inexplicably the Torino's fine again later! For a heat wave it's ironically overcast, missing the usual blue skies for the duration! If there'd been a reason for the Torino to be out of action I could have understood it, but it seemed to offer no connection to the story other than to open the episode. It felt a bit of a weak story, too, and despite flashes of directing flair (a nice sequence was Hunter's dramatic exit from Lawford's place, smashing a chair through a window, then leaping down into the alley, Corday following like a predator stalking his prey, the camera looking up at him as he traverses narrow concrete beams), it wasn't one of the most memorable.

If only they could have gone into more detail about the fact that Blaine was a friend of Starsky's, he'd grown up next to the family and the man had taught him how to fight, as I always love it when we hear some backstory to the main characters. Still, Starsky's quite shocked at the compromising position Blaine was discovered to be in, and we see the heartbreak of his wife at both his death and learning the truth, or accepting the truth, about her husband. Hutch doesn't really comment, but Starsky admits he doesn't know how he'd have felt if Blaine had told him, rather than living the double life he did, so that was interesting, but there's not a lot else of great interest, and very few of the usual gags or oddities. Sugar is the only wacky character (unless you count Lawford, who makes custard and calls it cooking, when he's nervous!), and really it's all an act (Hunter tells him to cut it, when things get serious), although in his stage performance we get the only pop culture references, as he does basic impressions of 'Marilyn,' 'Carol,' and 'Bette' at The Green Parrot. For once, Huggy goes undercover with Hutch (we first meet him, surprisingly, and inexplicably, in a smart suit, registering people to vote, so I'm not sure what his angle was there, whether he had something going or was genuinely assisting in a public service way, which seems very unlikely!). As nice as it was to see him in the episode, he really didn't have anything to do, you barely see him.

At least the showdown at the Parrot was a bit of action, with Corday using Sugar as a shield, S&H powerless to stop him, but they don't look powerless - Starsky shows one glinting eye round the corner as he watches Corday retreat down the corridor, like a tiger waiting to pounce as soon as the corridor's clear - a coiled spring ready to snap into full action, and rarely is it so apparent as there. I also liked the mirror trick, used to protect Hunter when he's the bait for Corday, who shoots the mirror image instead of the real man - it certainly had me fooled! There were one or two moments in the episode where S&H's stunt doubles looked likely, though usually it was too far away to tell, except when Starsky throws himself over the piano at the Parrot, and Hutch over the bar, to take out Corday. The joke at the end seemed halfhearted, as if they were driving away from the events of the episode and trying to think of something amusing to finish on, with Hutch asking Starsky if men that spend seventy-five percent of the time together are likely to have certain tendencies, which Starsky innocently agrees, having just admitted he's not for or against such things, but it's something to be contended with, then Hutch points out that that describes their partnership. Not very funny, in an episode which wasn't very funny, or notable. I thought I recognised Gregory Rozakis, who played Hunter, and I did: he was in Season 1's 'Pariah,' a far better story!

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