Manchild On The Streets

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S3 (Manchild On The Streets)

Another episode to support the theory that the third season had a more serious approach, but this time in a good way, like 'The Crying Child.' Funnily enough, this also deals with childhood issues, this time adolescence and maturity, the difficult period in a young boy's life when he has to make tough choices and grow up. This would have been enough for poor Junior to cope with without his Daddy getting shot by a white cop, stirring up racial tension and lifting the lid on bigotry and perhaps even police brutality into the bargain. Bigotry is an interesting word as it's slightly more general and removed compared to the word racism, which cuts right to the heart of the issue, pinpointing the problem more directly. Perhaps 'bigot' was a term more widely used in the seventies than the 'isms' that took over, but whatever the reason, Officer Raymond T. Andrews is never labelled a racist, but is considered a bigot, which is an interesting distinction. At first he appears just a young, gung-ho rookie straight out of the academy, his lack of experience adding to his overenthusiastic desire to gain commendation in the force. To be fair, the car that Jackson Walters rides in with Walter T., sorry, Dewey, was the car used in the store holdup (they didn't need ANPR to know that), and Dewey was breaking the law with his drinking and driving (though I get the impression such rules were rather more lax than they are today - even Jackson doesn't bother with a seatbelt!), and it was partly his refusal to stop that raised the infraction to a pursuit. Added to Andrews' greenness and that he allowed his blood to be fired up, and we have the makings of the tragedy.

I'm not saying it wasn't Andrews' fault, but I think there was a little blame to be spread around: for one, his partner, who clearly was an experienced officer, didn't do anything to guide or instruct his young partner, he just let him get on with it, supporting him with gun drawn. Now that's not entirely wrong of him, they were facing men which for all they knew, had been involved in the firearms incident at the store, where Maurice threatened the owner by pretending he had a gun in his pocket, so they weren't taking any chances. And Clayborne couldn't have known that Andrews would fire on an unarmed man who was slowly approaching with his hands in the air. You can also point to Dewey's selfishness at running away rather than realising the game was up, leaving his mate behind. No blame can fall at the feet of Jackson, who was only trying to prevent a tragedy by standing in the line of fire, protecting his no-good buddy, and he couldn't have been expected to act much calmer than he did. No, Andrews must take the lion's share of the responsibility, but even then if he'd simply owned to shooting too quickly (possibly prompted not just by Jackson's approach, but also by frustration at not having a clear sight on the man who was driving and now escaping), meekly accepting he was in the wrong, the tension might have been slightly lessened and his position might not have been quite as wrong as it was. But he tries to defend his actions, claiming he felt his life threatened, when in truth he was over eager (he could have fired into the air as Starsky did to warn and discourage the fleeing felon in 'Pariah' who wouldn't stop for him, only then aiming for the guy), his partner had him covered, and the man held only empty hands in the air.

What I found most interesting about the whole situation was Captain Dobey's position regarding the incident. He's in what could be considered a precarious position, when black men at the top weren't as common in those days, but he refuses to sacrifice Andrews on the altar of race relations, his professionalism winning out over any loyalty to race or colour, only to the truth - I love the way he responds so sarcastically to Vivian Fellers, the witness, who still thinks in terms of factions, as if Dobey is selling out 'their' faction, brother, when in fact he's proving that a Captain in the police force has no faction, sister, there to uphold the law and make sure his men do the same. Having had the experience of being on the streets (something we don't tend to hear about, unfortunately), he knows what decisions can go down in those important seconds. So he won't throw one of his cops to the wolves, he awaits the due procedure of an investigation. I would have liked to have seen more of what Andrews experienced in the process, and what happened to him, because I don't think we ever heard if his suspension became permanent dismissal from the service - you could have seen him learn from the mistake, even though the price of that experience was too high. If we'd even had the impression that he regretted his actions, had remorse, it would have been something, but he wasn't one of the main characters, or even one of the main guest characters, he was a means to set up the story and explore the world through Junior's eyes.

In a different move, the credits were 'Introducing' Brian Whitley as Junior, so he must have been new to the acting profession. In some ways I could tell that he wasn't the most fully formed actor because he came across as a bit withdrawn and not as engaged or 'real' as perhaps most do, but this actually suited the character: he's already lost his Mother, living with his Grandma, Father and lodger Dr. Sammie Mason (whom I at first thought was his sister, then Jackson's sister, until I realised she was just renting a room from them!), and is going through the struggles of finding his place in the world. Already he's started on a bad path, out on the streets, being given drugs, and mixing easily with those that have already gone too far, like Maurice, and as terrible a thing as his Father dying is, ultimately it causes the growth and activates the maturity inside that sets him back on the right path. It's a powerful arc for a minor character, a guest of the week, especially in a series like this in the seventies, and despite the impression of detachment in the character or actor, he does a magnificent job of convincing as a young lad that has to grow up too fast. Maurice was quite the opposite, the actor was very natural, and as soon as you see him shuffling and staggering down the street, probably high, you know he's bad news.

Maurice was a dangerous influence on Junior, he thought nothing of pretending to carry a gun, steal cars or rob the pharmacy at the hospital - he was what Junior could have turned into, and seemed like a friend, but was really the worst person to help sort out his life, being already too far gone himself. It would be no surprise if it had been Maurice who had been shot after being stopped by police, because catch him in the right mood and you can imagine him pulling his fake gun racket and ending up dead. His baby face wouldn't have saved him eventually, so it was probably for the best that S&H caught him, and he had to stand trial for the store holdup (I loved how the woman on duty flew into a rage, and rather than be cowed by his threatening behaviour, she started fighting back by hurling groceries at him!). It's telling that it's only now that I come to mentioning S&H, since their role in the story is antithetical to their usual level of involvement - this time they're trying not to be cops. We see them from the start acting in the same way as Junior and his Dad, the four of them having a friendly game of basketball, and we learn that they're friends of the family (though I do wish things could be a little less episodic sometimes, and that we'd have been able to see the family before, like they did with Kiko, for example - it wouldn't have made the events more emotional, but it would have solidified their friendship with Jackson).

I wasn't entirely sure if Hutch was the good friend, and Starsky had got to meet them through him, or the other way round, or even if they both met the family through their police work, as there wasn't much backstory that I picked up on, though the informal, relaxed atmosphere of Mrs. Walters' kitchen was a lovely departure for the series, with people talking over each other, milling around and generally seeming like an extended family. Into the midst of this happiness falls the sledge hammer of reality as Jackson loses his temper at Junior when he wants to go off to the street - I got the impression that he'd put it behind him, at least for the present moment, so as not to ruin the meal and start his shift in a bad mood, but Junior's wish to rush off ends that plan. It's nice that Starsky is the one who has the bond with the lad and who tries to talk to him on his level, both when he's been accused by his Father, and when he's heard the news of his Father's death. Hutch's scenes tend more to the police work that has to be carried out, recording the witness statement of Vivian, the most biting and angry witness he's probably had to deal with (Helen Martin does a brilliant job of it, too, very similar to the performance she gave as Nellie in Season 2's 'The Committee' - it's as if whenever they want a character to be distrustful and resentful towards the police they get her in!). But the episode really does belong to Junior, or Jackson as he takes on his Father's role and name in accepting what's happened.

S&H continue the theme of not being police officers when they go to apprehend Junior and Maurice at the pharmacy - it's a delicate situation, as, if Sammie doesn't inform the (this time Midway), hospital that her keys were taken, she could easily be booted out, being only an intern. Yet if S&H can sort the mess out unofficially they can save Jackson Junior from going to prison. In the end the truth has to come out thanks to the destruction of a good number of drugs by the thieving pair, chucking stuff into a bag willy-nilly, and then Jackson having to smack Maurice with it (no doubt smashing some bottles inside), to stop him hurting Sammie, which he unwisely chooses to take as a hostage using his no-gun trick again. Jackson stands up to him, and with good character references from S&H, no doubt, and the fact that the hospital didn't press charges, he's fortunate not to be convicted. When he stands up in Dobey's office after the invitation to go with S&H to his Father's funeral, he's come full circle, having learned lessons and choosing to face the future rather than run away and hide. Starsky's great line: "That's what funerals are all about: paying some respect to love," is one of several that stood out, showing that not only was it a well acted, well thought out story, it was well written, too. Jackson's line, "Do you know how to make a black Mother comfortable after a white cop just shot her black son?" was another memorable moment, although the one I always remember, and stands out most for me is Mrs. Walters when she shows she's not the bitter, reproachful type, saying "God don't give you more'n you can handle."

Grandma Walters was one of the best characters of the piece, the terrible moment when S&H have to tell her what's happened to her son such a real and affecting moment, far more than if she'd just burst into tears. I know what it's like to tell someone that one of the family's died, and it's not an easy thing to do, but it's scenes like this that raise the episode a bar above the average, and make it one I always look forward to seeing again. It's helped by the direction, David Soul returning to that role after debuting with last season's 'Survival,' though for some reason he only got one slot this year where Paul Michael Glaser got two. I've mentioned before that I think Soul's direction was better suited to the series because it was a little more subtle and he wasn't trying to be too artistic, something which hog-tied a lot of Glaser's directorial work on the series, but at the same time, his style wasn't in your face (except one moment when it literally does focus on Starsky's sleeping face longer than necessary!), but he did try things out - the basketball game, though perhaps a little long, again, was well shot in handheld style. It does draw attention to itself a little because handheld wasn't common on the series, and we didn't often get a scene of leisure that didn't have much to do with the plot, but I liked the slight indulgence in that opening. Yes, he could have cut to Jackson finding his son's pills more quickly, but it made a nice to change to see S&H just having fun with friends (especially as Huggy's a no-show, probably not wanting to get too many friends of S&H when the focus was tightly on the story).

I also liked the shot where Starsky walks away from Mrs. Walters, the camera lingering on her tearful face as he disappears into the shadows behind. It's clear Soul was a natural Director. Another shot that worked well for me was the actual shooting, with the impact shown in slow motion as Jackson falls to the ground, emphasising the shock and horror of what had happened. There were other shots that stood out rather than melting you into the story, because they were more than functional, but nothing as strongly attention-grabbing as some of Glaser's ideas in the episodes he directed, reinforcing my appreciation of Soul's ability. It helped that he had such a good story, which, although it doesn't touch on every aspect (for example, was there the possibility of riots in the black community, in outrage at the treatment of one of their number, which would have just as much resonance now - because we don't really get a resolution on the investigation there's no sign of what other effects this miscarriage had on the city), it zooms in on one family and one member of that family, and shows his reactions, ending with probably the most sombre and serious final scene, that was also hopeful and optimistic.

This might gain the record for most previously used actors on the series, with five returnees! As well as Helen Martin as Vivian, Officer Clayborne was played by Chuck Hicks who'd been Cronin in 'Death Notice' (and I can't help but wonder if he was also a member of the stunt team, as there's often somebody looking a bit like him in the background or small roles, though this was only his second credit in the series). Fuddle Bagley (what a great name!), as Dewey, had also been in 'Huggy Bear and The Turkey' from Season 2, playing Walter T. Baker, once again providing what little humour there was in his confusion over how his car could have moved down the street (though he didn't give up the booze!). Dorothy Meyer, who gave such a strong performance as Mrs. Walters, had also been Mrs. Marlowe in 'Starsky And Hutch Are Guilty,' and J. Jay Saunders, Jackson himself, had played a Sergeant in 'Vendetta.' Maurice Sneed hadn't appeared before, but it must have been easier for him to respond in the role as he was playing a character presumably named after himself! Finally, I'd thought Officer Andrews was a returning character from an episode like 'The Committee,' since S&H knew of him (Hutch claiming he was a secret bigot), but W. K. Stratton hadn't been in the series before. Being such an atypical episode that wasn't about S&H for a change (and worked so well with them in the role of friends), the only reference I could dig up was an Eval Knieval slot machine in the background of the pool hall. We may have seen the rundown parts of the city (Junior hides in an old sofa at the rubbish dump), it was not a 'negative' episode and also dealt with hospitals and such, most importantly being an ultimately positive story of maturity from boy to man, and that's what Jackson would have wanted for his son, I'm sure.

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