Targets Without A Badge - Part II

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S4 (Targets Without A Badge - Part II) (2)

The difficult middle part of a trilogy… is actually not that bad in this case. I'd even go so far as to say it's the best of the three if my vague memories of disappointment about Part III ring true. And although middle parts have the reputation of being the weaker for not being a genesis or a conclusion, 'The Empire Strikes Back,' 'Toy Story 2' and 'The Search For Spock' say otherwise. With this middle it's more of a new story anyway, largely unconnected to Part I's characters and plot (though the credits list says differently - more on that later), the only continuation of note being S&H on the hunt for jobs in their newly unemployed lives. They still have the swagger of authority they've always had as cops, but now they have neither badge nor gun to back it up, yet they still can't avoid getting involved, their finely tuned instincts jumpstarting them into action to foil an armed robbery of some kind, two men on a motorbike evading the law until Hutch throws his jacket over the driver and Starsky flings open a passenger door to bring the pursuit to a dead stop - notice that it's not his car that sacrifices its door, and S&H nonchalantly stride away after the incident, leaving the poor car owner to pick up the pieces! One thing missing from all this is their position outside of law enforcement: we don't even see the cops involved in the chase warn them to keep out of the way in future, it's like they're still cops and they walk and talk as if they are (even pulling a ruse on the flower girl who delivers a package at the hotel, implying they have badges of authority), the FBI agents telling them to keep out while also talking to them almost as equals.

That's the reason this episode is more like a holiday special for them than genuine despair or concern for their future - we know they'll rejoin the force, and seemingly everyone around them does too, so the worst thing they have to suffer is the indignity of catching the bus back to where they left Starsky's Torino when the FBI pull them in for their talking to. It's a far cry from the threat level at the end of Part I where they're scrambling for their lives at the wrong end of assassins' guns. Here, the pair sent to follow them are pretty laid-back, cruising around, trying to work out how much they're involved, I suppose. This would make their sudden attempt on S&H's lives at the end make more sense, since the pair had visited both the FBI and Police HQ, so it's not too difficult to suppose that they're secretly still on the McClellan case. The presentation of the episode also fails to make it clear who some of the characters are. We get the vague impression of a big boss behind it all (you know he's big because of his White House-like home and opulent surroundings, though no red carpet this time!), a white-haired old gent (James Gunther, according to the credits, but not stated anywhere in the episode), with a curly-haired assistant (also unnamed), talking about S&H's coming death. But as for him being McClellan's boss up the food chain, or another party, we're not told. McClellan is mentioned, as is Soldier (though again, he was never actually named during Part I, so unless you're paying strict attention and watching the episodes on repeat viewing, you wouldn't know that he was the silver-jacketed hitman), though neither make an appearance, further divorcing this from Part I.

At least S&H are back on speaking terms with Huggy, rather than accusatory shouting terms, as we see them hanging out for lunch with their friend at The Pits. Mardean, the wife of murdered Rigger in Part I, gets a mention, another character who doesn't appear, though still at the forefront of their minds - Hutch asks if they can feel any more guilty than they already do, but it would have been better to see the trio patch it up rather than speaking of what happened previously. I'm not suggesting it would have been a barrel of laughs to see them guilt-stricken, unable to find a job, full of angst and self-loathing. Instead, this episode is a barrel of laughs, all the slapstick and banter bereft in Part I distilled into this one, making it quite a different experience than you'd expect after the emotional and physical battering they suffered at the end of that. That's one reason I didn't used to like this much, and I'm not saying it was a good episode, but it was most certainly an improvement from Part I. Just, if you were expecting a roller-coaster of danger, you don't get it. If you were expecting McClellan and the other characters, you don't get them. What you get is Starsky opening the episode kicking a tin can around (for some reason that always stuck in my head), Hutch dressing like an imitation of Tom Baker's fourth Doctor from 'Dr. Who' (same hat and long scarf, and this would have been the time when he was at the top of the ratings, at least in England), and the pair of them acting like fish out of water, bumbling and one-upping each other whenever a woman was in sight and generally making the most of their newfound freedom.

If the episode wasn't part of a trilogy you could almost see it as an alternate reality of what life might have been like had S&H not been on the force. The forced charm whenever it was needed, the big questions, such as whether they should go to a matinee screening of a film, and Hutch acting at his most eccentric with his continued strange taste in cars - sadly it seems his battered old motor that had been in the series since the pilot, was not salvageable from Soldier's explosion in Part I, as he's gone and got himself a new one. A silly little convertible he names Belle and carries an umbrella around within, in case of rain (is the hood broken?). In case it sounds as if the episode was played purely for comedy there is a little something injected by the strange case of Alison May, this girl that seems oddly open to S&H's attentions. It proves more than it seems when we find out she's actually Laura Anderson, a neighbour and friend of Starsky's from twenty-one years ago when they both lived in New York (84th Street). It's good enough that we're getting to hear another fact about one of our characters' past, but it becomes even more when we learn she was dead to Starsky, in a car crash at the age of eleven, or so he'd been told. In reality she and her parents, Frank and Marion, his neighbours for five years (Alison was six when they first knew each other), were given protected identities and moved away for their safety because of the work Frank did, becoming Tom, Carol and Alison May, though her Mum died six years ago.

Such a surprise revelation, followed by Alison's admittance of deliberately getting to know Starsky again because she'd heard about what happened and wanted to trust someone again, adds depth to the story and it stops being about S&H messing about and struggling to find their footing now that they don't have a steady job to hold them down. That 'Uncle' Frank is angry at Alison for bringing Starsky into it, and doesn't trust him, only increases the interest, especially when we see that he's being blackmailed by a woman known only as Karen, Alison's life in danger otherwise, and something to do with Thomas being a collaborator (there's one for advanced 'DS9' viewers - I knew him best for playing a Bajoran fifteen years later in… 'The Collaborator,' where he also used a cane if I recall, so perhaps it wasn't an actor's affectation, but a required prop. It's like the guy that played Joe Dawson in 'Highlander,' and I'm still not sure if he actually needed a stick or it was part of the character). He's got names of people he can share, which all ties into the McClellan case and Gunther's operation, though none of this is very clear from the actual episode. As if to reassure us that S&H are on track to get back to where they should be, the episode ends with them in Dobey's office wanting him to speed up their application for gun permits, then it ends quietly and abruptly with 'To Be Continued' on screen.

One natural development missing from both parts of the story was Dobey's reaction to S&H's quitting. I'm sure he would have given them a wise talking to and told them they could do more good by being in the force than out of it, and they shouldn't be so selfish to allow guilt to take away their valuable contribution to society. That's what I imagine he would have said, but we never got to see it, and even if he'd exploded at them as Huggy did it would have been an added dart in them to add to the pain and drama. Here, Dobey is serious and disapproving, but S&H look as comfortable and in the right place reclining in his office than they ever have, which proves that having the badge is only an extension of their personality and the natural inclination they have to get involved. Things certainly look up for them - they may have been attacked again, but now they're ready to fight back, the gun application only one more sign that they're ready to saddle up again, and a personal connection in need to give them the motivation.

As well as learning where Starsky used to live we get a valuable data point when S&H talk of how long they've worked together in this precinct: seven years, so we've seen more than half their career together, assuming they didn't work at another precinct before that (prequel series anyone? 'Starsky & Hutch: The First Three Years' - I'd watch that!). When reporting the theft of the Torino's battery they mention it to the unimpressed Policewoman dealing with their incident. She's quite stern with them, newly transferred, and now she's there and they're not - where's Minnie when you need her! I wouldn't quite say this was their typical bumping up against authority that we're used to (though they do that too, when reacting to Agent Smithers and the other guy from the FBI's warning to back off), but she might just fit into the eccentric band at a stretch. There aren't the references, but we certainly get at least one other eccentric, the sleazy 'filmmaker,' Blaze, who talks ten to the dozen when they visit in response to an ad in the paper. When he says it's for film work in front of camera Hutch claims they don't have acting experience, but how could he be so modest? This season he, himself, and Starsky too, have both played undercover roles (I don't need to mention the episodes!), and shown an enjoyment and aptitude for acting that should suit them perfectly to such a job, not to mention the 'acting' in 'Murder On Stage 17,' and other undercover parts. But then they learn it's for 'adult' films and are out the door as quick as they can, never mind a hundred bucks a day, it's too sleazy even for them!

The big continuity is in their fawning over women and competing most seriously against each other with tricks and messing about - the funniest moment is at the Employment Centre where they both try to get Miss Evers to interview them, Starsky bumping the table so Hutch loses his balance, tips over a low partition onto some secretary's desk, ending up with his face in her lap as a hanging plant swings into her face and she screams for him to get off! But it's the competition over Alison that really harks back to their 'glory days,' with Hutch arresting Starsky's immediate attentions at The Pits where Alison happens to be (they're too interested in her to be suspicious she should have popped up again), by advising caution and fairness, tying it back somewhat into Starsky's card trick in Part I, only he tells Starsky to think of a number from one to ten as he shuts his eyes, and of course Hutch takes advantage by tiptoeing away and getting in first, winning a meal at the Brighton Coffee Shop with her. But even when they first meet her they're immediately fawning over her, helping with the handbrake and complimenting her, and it's so funny, though so typical. The confusion over which is Starsky and which is Hutch returns, with Mr. Gore at the Employment Centre addressing Hutch as Starsky, though miss Evers puts him right (I'm still waiting for the classic, 'He's Hutch, I'm Starsky'), and the running joke is slight, but Hutch's new car would seem to fit - he's very proud when telling Alison about it.

Cars are a prominent topic, with Hutch having qualms about getting in Starsky's after what happened to his. It's not because the white-striped tomato would draw attention and be an obvious target as it would in the real world, but simply that Starsky left it unattended overnight in a quiet little street (though just before he said that you can just see a guy standing in frame watching them - was it an extra that wasn't supposed to be loitering, a member of the crew, or a member of the public not supposed to be there, I wonder?), so it could have been tampered with. I'm assuming this is the outside of Starsky's place, which we almost never see, as it would make sense for Hutch to drive up, while Starsky is waiting for him. We also see them at his place later in the episode. Hutch was really getting into his role - when he's burbling at Alison on their first meeting he fumbles his line about being 'so glad we didn't run that little car over,' and has to repeat it to get it out! I also found it interesting where they go to take the aptitude test: the full name on the building reads 'State of California Employment Development Department Employment Office.' Not very catchy, but it puts their city in California if we can take signs to mean anything since there have been a few that have suggested Los Angeles and New York in recent episodes!

And now the Saga of The Credits. It took me ages to go through and work out who was who and what was going on with this episode because it's one of the rare ones that has the main guest actors' names at the beginning (along with the episode title), but as they did with some of the two-parters, all the main roles are credited regardless of whether they appear in this episode or not, which is bizarre! They didn't have the names at the start of Part I, perhaps to camouflage the fact it wasn't going to end in the space of one episode, but here's a rundown as best I could work out for who's in it and who's not: Ken Kercheval (Deputy DA Clayburn), Robert Tessier (Soldier), Troas Hayes (Mardean), all from Part I, get a credit and don't appear, while Peter MacClean (Judge McClellan), also doesn't, but gets a 'Special Guest Appearance' credit which he didn't get in Part I! William Prince is the only actor to also get his character name (James Gunther), while other actors in the closing credits are there, but not in the episode: I don't recall a Fred Oates in the episode, nor a Reporter, a guy called Dodds or a woman called Nancy. To top it all, Felicia, the woman in a dressing gown who comes in during S&H's interview at the dodgy film company, isn't credited (unless she was Nancy in the original script), nor does Karen, the blackmailer, and La Wanda Page doesn't appear as Mrs. Swayder. I'd remember her as she played Lady Bessie in Season 2's 'Huggy Bear and The Turkey.'

Alex Courtney is credited at the start, and I think he was the curly-haired assistant to Gunther as he'd been in another role before (Simonetti in Season 3's 'Hutchinson: Murder One'), though he was credited as Alex rather than Alexander that time. Angus Duncan is another name I couldn't put a face to (as are Dave Shelley and Lee Bryant), but was another prior connection, appearing as Wilson in Season 2's 'The Set-Up.' Darrell Zwerling makes an almost unprecedented fifth appearance on the series, though previously under the name Darryl (he'd played minor roles in four other episodes across Seasons 2 and 3), as Mr. Gore. Gino Conforti was the sleazy Blaze, but had been Mickey in Season 1's 'The Fix' (as Gene), and Richard Herd deserves mention as FBI Agent Smithers for being both a 'TJ Hooker' (the Captain Dobey role in that series), and Trek stalwart (his most famous role being Admiral Paris, Tom Paris' Father on 'Voyager'). The most fun casting connection is Charles Picerni as one of the hitmen tailing S&H, his third credited role on the series, though he can usually be spotted doubling Paul Michael Glaser in Starsky's action scenes, was Stunt Coordinator, and also a Director. Even more interestingly, his partner in crime (I'm assuming he was Marty as there wasn't anyone else called that), was played by Chuck Hicks, another repeat offender for the series in his third credited role, though I have the feeling he was also a member of either the regular extras or the stunt team as he's a face that crops up now and again.

When S&H decide to see if they've got a tail, and you automatically assume it's the guys who have been doing that all episode (love it when Hutch shouts to put on the red light and Starsky replies 'what red light,' so even that had been stripped away from them!), I was thinking it could be Charles Picerni, which would mean he was chasing himself (something we came close to seeing when one of his previous characters was chasing Starsky on foot), since you can just make out it's him sitting in for Starsky, but it turned out to be the FBI agents, not the hitmen. The muddled situation with the credits is a good analogy for the episode and trilogy as a whole: it's bigger and more varied, but it's not quite right, nor do you get what you expect. Part III didn't keep the upward curve going from my recollection, so it was more of a failed experiment than an overriding success, but this part of it remains pretty fun and uses S&H in entertaining ways of old. If you zoned in on this one and watched it as a standalone you would be left in the dark about a lot of things, but even watching it as Part II it doesn't do much better, the scope of the story and the number of characters perhaps leading the writers to run away with themselves rather than keeping track and neatly, coherently, laying the whole thing out. But there's a lot to be said for humour done right (as opposed to the extremes of 'Dandruff' - oops, I mentioned it again).

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