Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Hi All, just watching an episode of “The Fix”
and came across this scene. You can see the
“Dewey Hotel” sign just to the right of the
Torino. The picture below this is of the
Dewey and the Senator Hotels today. Where
the Torino is parked in front of Huggy’s,
would be the center doorway in the Dewey
building. Obviously, in 35 years, there has
been a significant amount of façade change.
The addresses in case anyone is interested
is 729 S. Main for the Senator and 721 S.
Main for the Dewey. Both are in Los Angeles.
Tina
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Starsky & Hutch Fanfiction Story - One Last Moment
This short story is from the episode "Sweet Revenge"
My Zebra3 Car Project
April 2008 - I got this 'beauty' off of eBay for $430. It was a good bargain at the time, but I would soon learn it would've been better to have paid $3,000 more and not gone through all the headaches that came later on. Anyway, it's a 1975 Gran Torino Sport and came with no motor but a transmission. I wasn't aware that the roof was in bad shape and the inside trunk lid channel was rusted, but the rest of the car was in pretty decent shape.
After sitting at the mechanic's for a while, the car was moved to the body shop. Here, the front end has been dismantled so the frame and firewall can be painted. Once this was done, it went back to the mechanic's so he could install the 400 2-barrel engine that I bought from a friend of the seller's for $250. It would turn out that was a very costly mistake as the engine turned out no good and I had to pay for it to be taken out and a another, rebuilt one to be installed. One good thing, the rebuilt motor that we got from the junkyard had been very recently rebuilt. So, at least that worked out in my favor.Thursday, September 4, 2008
“The Heroes” Original air date – October 29, 1977
This episode begins with Starsky trying to convince Hutch to go along with a get-rich-quick scheme as they strut into the squad room. His great plan? Buy a fixer-up house, do some minor work, then turn around and sell it for ‘a bundle.’ Hutch is slightly interested and asks Starsky if they’re going to live together. Starsky blows the whole deal by telling him ‘no.’ Shaken, Hutch hides his disappointment but keeps playing along asking how much this venture is going to cost. When Starsky tells him ‘three grand’, Hutch can’t take the rejection anymore and says that amount of money won’t even buy a camper.
“Hutch, why are you checking out the help wanted ads?”
Before tensions get any higher, Dobey busts in on their conversation to let them know another junkie has died from strychnine poisoning. (As a side note, pay attention to what he’s wearing. Looks pretty sharp here, right? Just wait.)
The Captain also has something else he wants to say, but prefers to do it in his office. As the boys follow him in, Starsky can’t help but swat Hutch on the butt. Okay, so he doesn’t use his hand, but maybe Starsky’s already reconsidering letting Hutch move in with him. Once inside, Dobey informs his team that a C D Phelps, columnist from the local paper, is writing an article on the “Counter-Culture Cops…The New Breed” and plans to ride along with them. (Well, considering what they like to do ‘under cover’, this description might fit them to a tee.)
Not surprisingly, the boys aren’t up to sharing. Starsky insists that Dobey, “stick this Walter Cronkite in someone else’s back seat.” No sooner do they start to leave, then Mr. Cronkite walks in. Only, he’s gotten much younger, blonder and switched genders. Suddenly, the partners have a change of heart and nearly trample over one another trying to be the first to introduce themselves to the lovely Ms. Phelps (aka Karen Carlson – ex-wife number two for Soul, and who also played the doomed Gillian.) Pulling Dobey out of the office, Starsky and Hutch convince him that they can manage this temporary intrusion into their work environment. “Boy, you’re all heart,” Dobey tells them.
Maybe the cigar smoke keeps the flies away
Finally out on patrol, Phelps explains that she’s not here to do a ‘hatchet job, just get at the story.” Yeah, well, we all know that newspaper columnists write strictly for the truth and the article content has nothing to do with sales. The gang arrives at some market so that our boys can talk to the employer of the latest dead junkie. ‘Tony’ works in the meat department and doesn’t ever have to worry about the FDA making him their poster child. In fact, the only way our heroes convince him to talk is Starsky starts seeing invisible giant flies and Hutch implies that visits from the health department are in Tony’s immediate future. All the guy really ends up giving them is the name of a bar that the dead junkie hung out at. During the whole encounter, Phelps stands off to the side, displaying little smirks and taking copious notes.
After dealing with Tony, everyone except Phelps has regained their appetite so the gang piles back into the Torino in search of somewhere to go for lunch. Phelps is lucky that she’s still sitting in the front seat, as this privilege won’t last too much longer. Hutch, with a five dollar bet waged against Starsky, starts turning on the charm. “You have beautiful hair,” he says, making Starsky think about wanting to change his. “Your column’s not bad either,” Starsky counters, obviously upset that Hutch now prefers blonds.
Their next stop is a rundown hotel where the partners check in with the resident junkie, Roxy. She is apparently one of Hutch’s lost causes that he insists on caring for, along with all the puppies, old ladies and hookers he finds on the street. Roxy must really like Hutch too because she isn’t even visibly pissed when she motions for her john leave. Being the fair cop he is, Hutch even apologizes to the guy, only to be rewarded with a curtly ‘pig.’ They inform Roxy that her friend, Wells, died while shooting up some strychnine-laced heroin. She makes a bad joke about him and Phelps lashes out an indignant reply. Everyone ignores her and Hutch tells Roxy she’s welcome to call him any time, that is, as a snitch. Roxy doesn’t quite take it that way and informs Hutch that ‘business hasn’t been too good lately.” Starsky tries shoving Phelps out the door, but she ain’t going. Either she’s waiting to see how a junkie really earns a living, or wants to see Hutch naked. Hutch slips some money to Roxy, who gratefully invites him back some time for a freebie. He declines, saying his Sunday school teacher wouldn’t approve. Starsky silently offers thanks that Hutch never used that excuse with him.
After leaving the hotel, the gang finally settles for lunch at an outdoor burger stand. Hamburger buns aren’t the only thing the boys are ogling though, but Phelps refuses to let down her professional guard and goes right to work getting taped statements from them. Showing her completely unbiased nature, she pimps the boys on why they’re so lenient on Roxy.
“She’s a hooker,” Phelps snarls. “Why do you allow her to operate?”
“We need them,” Starsky says, referring to all their snitches but only off record.
“So, it’s okay to break the law only if you’re useful?” she sarcastically presses.
“You look familiar, have I seen you around somewhere?”
Hutch breaks in at this point and gives the nosey reporter a lecture out of Street Philosophy 101. Whether Phelps is impressed with it or not is interrupted because Starsky recognizes his stunt double ready to play the part of a flying pedestrian. After Picerni bounces off of the front end of a Cadillac, Starsky reveals the scam artist and sends the swindler on his way. To her credit, Phelps recognizes the snow job the boys are trying to pull on her and calls them a couple of “real heroes” on her recorder.
Once back at the precinct, Starsky and Hutch drop Phelps off so she can saunter over to her car. As she drives off, they get her license plate number to run through DMV. Supposedly back then, they could get information on her marital status, how many dogs she owned and what magazines she subscribed to.
Meanwhile, back at Riley’s bar, Roxy is trying unsuccessfully to get her supplier, Regan, to cough up some free dope. She must have bought herself ‘something pretty’ with the money from Hutch instead of using it for some dope. Unfortunately for her, Regan’s a tough businessman, and he doesn’t give away freebies. She then tries to steal money out of the cash register, but the owner, Al, catches her. He tells her she can’t turn tricks like she used to and threatens to kick her out of her room upstairs if she doesn’t “straighten up.” Roxy gets all shaky and leaves. A creepy, scary half-bald guy sitting nearby watches the drama unfold. We don’t know who he is yet, but chances are he isn’t Hutch’s long lost cousin from Duluth.
And speaking of Hutch, he’s back in the squad room getting the rundown on Phelps from DMV. Starsky shows up wondering what his buddy found out. Hutch isn’t a good liar and soon Starsky knows everything Hutch does. Dobey stops by to say goodnight and tells Starsky some creditor called. Starsky lets Dobey know him and Hutch are planning to buy a house. Dobey doesn’t seem too surprised at the idea and probably thinks it’s about time the two started living under the same roof. He leaves saying ‘goodnight’ to the boys as if he’s on the set of The Waltons. As the evening comes to a close, we see creepy, scary half-bald guy standing outside of Roxy’s room where, inside, she’s ready to start bouncing off of the walls because she needs a fix.
“Oh, so there’s the brake pedal!”
Next morning, Hutch comes racing into the precinct parking lot where Phelps can admire his inability to back up and park a car right. She makes an off-handed remark about the lack of a racing stripe on his car just as Starsky roars in with the Torino. “No, I don’t do car shows,” he flatly says and then almost fights Starsky to get to the passenger door first so he can open it for Phelps. After Starsky scores by guessing Phelps’ Zodiac sign, Hutch calls him a “jive chump.”
Shortly afterwards, the boys get a call of a dead body at Riley’s. Starsky’s actually happy because for some unknown reason, his department allows him to run code to this call. (I guess they need to get there fast before the body disappears or something.) When they arrive, they discover the victim is Roxy. The medical examiner lets them know her death was probably due to strychnine poisoning. If the boys are surprised, they don’t show it. Phelps lets them know she thinks they could’ve prevented Roxy’s death if they’d only arrested her the day before.
The next scene is almost reminiscent of the pilot. Starsky and Hutch get to do their shake down of a crowded bar. After Starsky primps around and subtly insults most of the patrons, he finally threatens Al, the owner, with liquor code violations. Al’s no snitch, but he breaks under the pressure and tells the boys he saw Roxy trying to score from Regan and that she also tried to steal money from the cash register.
The following morning finds Hutch angrily pacing around the squad room reading Phelps’ column in the latest edition of The Dispatch. When Starsky arrives, the partners realize someone got their dress dates mixed up because both look like the Bobbsey Twins, wearing matching black leather jackets and plaid shirts. That’s not the worst thing, Phelps has nick named them “Mutt and Jeff” and accused the two of ignoring calls and harassing innocent civilians. When they go into Dobey’s office to groan and moan, they get another shock.
"Don't these I A guys ever shut up?"
Edith either forgot to do laundry or wasn’t home when Harold left for work because he’s dressed like a nerdy fifth grader. He must not realize that Star of David print shirts don’t match with striped plaid jackets. Anyway, the boys are stuck with Phelps, but Starsky vows to stick the reporter in the Torino’s back seat so he can make her car sick when he drives. Hutch is happy he won’t be the only one now who’s had to go through that experience.
It doesn’t take too long before Starsky gets his wish. The Torino gets to chase after Regan driving a fastback Mustang. It’s kind of like watching a bull dog trying to catch a rabbit. Fortunately for the detectives, Regan doesn’t drive very well and gets stopped when he turns into the wrong parking lot. He gets the ‘Hutchinson’ finger treatment from Starsky plus a promise to be turned into pavement material if he doesn’t stop dealing dope to kids.
Now that Starsky’s got that out of his system, he’s ready to leave, but Phelps isn’t. She’s still trying to keep her breakfast down and doesn’t like the way Starsky asks her to get inside the car. “Can we just get this out in the open, now?” she whines. Hutch gets back out and tromps over to join them. Phelps gets on her self-righteous soap box and explains there were “no names” mentioned in her article along with “no lies” either. “How can you write a commentary about something you know nothing about?” sneers Hutch. “I can defend my actions, can you?” she shoots back, and adds some “where do you get off” attitude as well. Hutch starts explaining himself, but Starsky pops in thinking he can say it better. “You think we use excessive violence,” he starts, talking about the guy using strychnine, “Then why don’t you tell us how much violence is necessary to stop him?” Evidently, this is too logical for her to argue against and now that everybody’s got their frustrations out, they all happily get back into the Torino.
In the next scene we see the creepy, scary half-bald guy sitting alone in his hotel room, mixing rat poison into some baking powder. Ah-ha, so he’s the killer! Either that or he can’t read the directions off of cake recipes very well. After the drama music dies down, we see our three-some getting a radio call of a woman being attacked at an abandoned construction site. Now, I’ve gotta ask this. Just how does someone spot this attack occurring at such an isolated location, and then find a phone to call it in on? Food for thought. Anyway, the boys arrive to save the day and while Phelps attends to the hysterical victim, Starsky and Hutch do the manly thing and capture the bad guy; but not before Starsky almost crashes the Torino into a parked bulldozer as soon as they get there. (And in one of the few bloopers for this episode, you can see a male moving around in the back seat while everyone else is out of the car.)
“Starsky, put your arm down, you look ridiculous standing there.”
Well, I bet you thought that our little gang had all kissed and made up. Wrong. Back at the precinct, Phelps is furious that the boys are releasing the would be rapist. She doesn’t get it that the victim has to agree to be, well, a victim. “I was a witness!” Phelps screams, “And so were you!” “Doesn’t work that way,” Starsky flatly tells her. She still doesn’t get it and yells some more. Starsky finally tells her that all she does is “talk” and cops like him are the ones who have to deal with the stupid laws. He’s also “sick to death” of her whining and says there’s nothing more they can do. Still not done arguing, Phelps now wants to talk girl-to-girl with the victim. “We have a trained staff for that, lady,” Hutch pipes in. Well, that goes over well and she slaps the table and starts to storm out of the room. “What do you want from us?” Starsky offers. (Ah-hem, I wish I could answer that!) “Maybe a little more sensitivity,” she growls, then heads out the door. Hutch and Starsky are left wondering how to figure women out.
Later that day, everyone is back at the hamburger stand. Phelps is left standing at the order window while Starsky and Hutch go sit down with Huggy. (While I can’t swear to it, I believe the two RVs that PMG and DS used as their on location dressing rooms are parked in the background.) After Huggy gives them a hot tip, they’re reading to leave, seemingly unconcerned that Phelps won’t get to eat her lunch. It really doesn’t matter as she drops half of it on the ground and then ends up throwing everything in the trash can. Maybe if she wasn’t so busy carrying around her purse, wallet and tape recorder, she’d have a free hand or two.
After a stop at the office for a records check, the crime fighting team arrives at the address of the creepy, scary half-bald guy, whose name is “Rizzo.” He’s been a resident of a few mental hospitals and had a sister who was murdered about a year ago. Starsky and Hutch spot him but their cover is blown when Phelps has to shout “Look, that’s him!” loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Naturally, the guy takes off running back inside the building with everyone right on his tail. Well, except for Phelps because it’s hard running in those platform shoes. Nonetheless, they all seem to meet up on the roof at the same time and Rizzo grabs Phelps using her as a hostage.
“How about a great big hug?”
While Hutch tries to talk Rizzo into surrendering, Starsky is able to leap across tall buildings in a single bound and come up behind him. Phelps is able to crawl away leaving all three of the men pointing their guns at each other. Making the first move, Starsky lowers his gun and drops it to the ground, amazingly gaining the trust of Rizzo. He uses the “dead relative would never want you to do this” routine and is able to take the distraught killer into custody without firing a single bullet. (Hey, that’s a rarity on this show!) Phelps blubbers out, “Why didn’t you shoot him?” Starsky just gives her a dumb look and Hutch says, “It wasn’t necessary.” Ah, that’s so touching.
The ending tag shows the boys riding in the Torino, with Hutch scanning the paper for Phelps’ column. He finds it and happily announces it has “pictures and everything.” Wha-hey! That’s what undercover cops strive for, isn’t it? Anyway, seems like Phelps has written a glowing editorial about the cops calling them “educated, caring, and rational.” “She likes me!” says Starsky, with a big grin on his face, then adds, “She liked you, too.” Poor Hutch, and his day hasn’t even started yet.
Pulling up in front of a dilapidated house stuck in behind some businesses along a commercial back alley, Starsky proudly shows Hutch their new real estate venture. Hutch takes one look and tells his partner the only way they can fix that house up is to tear it down. Starsky doesn’t take no for an answer. He drags Hutch over to the front entrance where they both promptly step on and crash through the wooden door serving as a ramp. Hutch picks himself off the ground but as soon as he gets up on the front porch, he leans against the railing and ends back on the ground. He tells Starsky he should have just bought a camper. What is it with the camper? And where did Starsky have the time in the last two days to find this house and buy it? Questions, always questions.
The End
This episode begins with Starsky trying to convince Hutch to go along with a get-rich-quick scheme as they strut into the squad room. His great plan? Buy a fixer-up house, do some minor work, then turn around and sell it for ‘a bundle.’ Hutch is slightly interested and asks Starsky if they’re going to live together. Starsky blows the whole deal by telling him ‘no.’ Shaken, Hutch hides his disappointment but keeps playing along asking how much this venture is going to cost. When Starsky tells him ‘three grand’, Hutch can’t take the rejection anymore and says that amount of money won’t even buy a camper.
“Hutch, why are you checking out the help wanted ads?”
Before tensions get any higher, Dobey busts in on their conversation to let them know another junkie has died from strychnine poisoning. (As a side note, pay attention to what he’s wearing. Looks pretty sharp here, right? Just wait.)
The Captain also has something else he wants to say, but prefers to do it in his office. As the boys follow him in, Starsky can’t help but swat Hutch on the butt. Okay, so he doesn’t use his hand, but maybe Starsky’s already reconsidering letting Hutch move in with him. Once inside, Dobey informs his team that a C D Phelps, columnist from the local paper, is writing an article on the “Counter-Culture Cops…The New Breed” and plans to ride along with them. (Well, considering what they like to do ‘under cover’, this description might fit them to a tee.)
Not surprisingly, the boys aren’t up to sharing. Starsky insists that Dobey, “stick this Walter Cronkite in someone else’s back seat.” No sooner do they start to leave, then Mr. Cronkite walks in. Only, he’s gotten much younger, blonder and switched genders. Suddenly, the partners have a change of heart and nearly trample over one another trying to be the first to introduce themselves to the lovely Ms. Phelps (aka Karen Carlson – ex-wife number two for Soul, and who also played the doomed Gillian.) Pulling Dobey out of the office, Starsky and Hutch convince him that they can manage this temporary intrusion into their work environment. “Boy, you’re all heart,” Dobey tells them.
Maybe the cigar smoke keeps the flies away
Finally out on patrol, Phelps explains that she’s not here to do a ‘hatchet job, just get at the story.” Yeah, well, we all know that newspaper columnists write strictly for the truth and the article content has nothing to do with sales. The gang arrives at some market so that our boys can talk to the employer of the latest dead junkie. ‘Tony’ works in the meat department and doesn’t ever have to worry about the FDA making him their poster child. In fact, the only way our heroes convince him to talk is Starsky starts seeing invisible giant flies and Hutch implies that visits from the health department are in Tony’s immediate future. All the guy really ends up giving them is the name of a bar that the dead junkie hung out at. During the whole encounter, Phelps stands off to the side, displaying little smirks and taking copious notes.
After dealing with Tony, everyone except Phelps has regained their appetite so the gang piles back into the Torino in search of somewhere to go for lunch. Phelps is lucky that she’s still sitting in the front seat, as this privilege won’t last too much longer. Hutch, with a five dollar bet waged against Starsky, starts turning on the charm. “You have beautiful hair,” he says, making Starsky think about wanting to change his. “Your column’s not bad either,” Starsky counters, obviously upset that Hutch now prefers blonds.
Their next stop is a rundown hotel where the partners check in with the resident junkie, Roxy. She is apparently one of Hutch’s lost causes that he insists on caring for, along with all the puppies, old ladies and hookers he finds on the street. Roxy must really like Hutch too because she isn’t even visibly pissed when she motions for her john leave. Being the fair cop he is, Hutch even apologizes to the guy, only to be rewarded with a curtly ‘pig.’ They inform Roxy that her friend, Wells, died while shooting up some strychnine-laced heroin. She makes a bad joke about him and Phelps lashes out an indignant reply. Everyone ignores her and Hutch tells Roxy she’s welcome to call him any time, that is, as a snitch. Roxy doesn’t quite take it that way and informs Hutch that ‘business hasn’t been too good lately.” Starsky tries shoving Phelps out the door, but she ain’t going. Either she’s waiting to see how a junkie really earns a living, or wants to see Hutch naked. Hutch slips some money to Roxy, who gratefully invites him back some time for a freebie. He declines, saying his Sunday school teacher wouldn’t approve. Starsky silently offers thanks that Hutch never used that excuse with him.
After leaving the hotel, the gang finally settles for lunch at an outdoor burger stand. Hamburger buns aren’t the only thing the boys are ogling though, but Phelps refuses to let down her professional guard and goes right to work getting taped statements from them. Showing her completely unbiased nature, she pimps the boys on why they’re so lenient on Roxy.
“She’s a hooker,” Phelps snarls. “Why do you allow her to operate?”
“We need them,” Starsky says, referring to all their snitches but only off record.
“So, it’s okay to break the law only if you’re useful?” she sarcastically presses.
“You look familiar, have I seen you around somewhere?”
Hutch breaks in at this point and gives the nosey reporter a lecture out of Street Philosophy 101. Whether Phelps is impressed with it or not is interrupted because Starsky recognizes his stunt double ready to play the part of a flying pedestrian. After Picerni bounces off of the front end of a Cadillac, Starsky reveals the scam artist and sends the swindler on his way. To her credit, Phelps recognizes the snow job the boys are trying to pull on her and calls them a couple of “real heroes” on her recorder.
Once back at the precinct, Starsky and Hutch drop Phelps off so she can saunter over to her car. As she drives off, they get her license plate number to run through DMV. Supposedly back then, they could get information on her marital status, how many dogs she owned and what magazines she subscribed to.
Meanwhile, back at Riley’s bar, Roxy is trying unsuccessfully to get her supplier, Regan, to cough up some free dope. She must have bought herself ‘something pretty’ with the money from Hutch instead of using it for some dope. Unfortunately for her, Regan’s a tough businessman, and he doesn’t give away freebies. She then tries to steal money out of the cash register, but the owner, Al, catches her. He tells her she can’t turn tricks like she used to and threatens to kick her out of her room upstairs if she doesn’t “straighten up.” Roxy gets all shaky and leaves. A creepy, scary half-bald guy sitting nearby watches the drama unfold. We don’t know who he is yet, but chances are he isn’t Hutch’s long lost cousin from Duluth.
And speaking of Hutch, he’s back in the squad room getting the rundown on Phelps from DMV. Starsky shows up wondering what his buddy found out. Hutch isn’t a good liar and soon Starsky knows everything Hutch does. Dobey stops by to say goodnight and tells Starsky some creditor called. Starsky lets Dobey know him and Hutch are planning to buy a house. Dobey doesn’t seem too surprised at the idea and probably thinks it’s about time the two started living under the same roof. He leaves saying ‘goodnight’ to the boys as if he’s on the set of The Waltons. As the evening comes to a close, we see creepy, scary half-bald guy standing outside of Roxy’s room where, inside, she’s ready to start bouncing off of the walls because she needs a fix.
“Oh, so there’s the brake pedal!”
Next morning, Hutch comes racing into the precinct parking lot where Phelps can admire his inability to back up and park a car right. She makes an off-handed remark about the lack of a racing stripe on his car just as Starsky roars in with the Torino. “No, I don’t do car shows,” he flatly says and then almost fights Starsky to get to the passenger door first so he can open it for Phelps. After Starsky scores by guessing Phelps’ Zodiac sign, Hutch calls him a “jive chump.”
Shortly afterwards, the boys get a call of a dead body at Riley’s. Starsky’s actually happy because for some unknown reason, his department allows him to run code to this call. (I guess they need to get there fast before the body disappears or something.) When they arrive, they discover the victim is Roxy. The medical examiner lets them know her death was probably due to strychnine poisoning. If the boys are surprised, they don’t show it. Phelps lets them know she thinks they could’ve prevented Roxy’s death if they’d only arrested her the day before.
The next scene is almost reminiscent of the pilot. Starsky and Hutch get to do their shake down of a crowded bar. After Starsky primps around and subtly insults most of the patrons, he finally threatens Al, the owner, with liquor code violations. Al’s no snitch, but he breaks under the pressure and tells the boys he saw Roxy trying to score from Regan and that she also tried to steal money from the cash register.
The following morning finds Hutch angrily pacing around the squad room reading Phelps’ column in the latest edition of The Dispatch. When Starsky arrives, the partners realize someone got their dress dates mixed up because both look like the Bobbsey Twins, wearing matching black leather jackets and plaid shirts. That’s not the worst thing, Phelps has nick named them “Mutt and Jeff” and accused the two of ignoring calls and harassing innocent civilians. When they go into Dobey’s office to groan and moan, they get another shock.
"Don't these I A guys ever shut up?"
Edith either forgot to do laundry or wasn’t home when Harold left for work because he’s dressed like a nerdy fifth grader. He must not realize that Star of David print shirts don’t match with striped plaid jackets. Anyway, the boys are stuck with Phelps, but Starsky vows to stick the reporter in the Torino’s back seat so he can make her car sick when he drives. Hutch is happy he won’t be the only one now who’s had to go through that experience.
It doesn’t take too long before Starsky gets his wish. The Torino gets to chase after Regan driving a fastback Mustang. It’s kind of like watching a bull dog trying to catch a rabbit. Fortunately for the detectives, Regan doesn’t drive very well and gets stopped when he turns into the wrong parking lot. He gets the ‘Hutchinson’ finger treatment from Starsky plus a promise to be turned into pavement material if he doesn’t stop dealing dope to kids.
Now that Starsky’s got that out of his system, he’s ready to leave, but Phelps isn’t. She’s still trying to keep her breakfast down and doesn’t like the way Starsky asks her to get inside the car. “Can we just get this out in the open, now?” she whines. Hutch gets back out and tromps over to join them. Phelps gets on her self-righteous soap box and explains there were “no names” mentioned in her article along with “no lies” either. “How can you write a commentary about something you know nothing about?” sneers Hutch. “I can defend my actions, can you?” she shoots back, and adds some “where do you get off” attitude as well. Hutch starts explaining himself, but Starsky pops in thinking he can say it better. “You think we use excessive violence,” he starts, talking about the guy using strychnine, “Then why don’t you tell us how much violence is necessary to stop him?” Evidently, this is too logical for her to argue against and now that everybody’s got their frustrations out, they all happily get back into the Torino.
In the next scene we see the creepy, scary half-bald guy sitting alone in his hotel room, mixing rat poison into some baking powder. Ah-ha, so he’s the killer! Either that or he can’t read the directions off of cake recipes very well. After the drama music dies down, we see our three-some getting a radio call of a woman being attacked at an abandoned construction site. Now, I’ve gotta ask this. Just how does someone spot this attack occurring at such an isolated location, and then find a phone to call it in on? Food for thought. Anyway, the boys arrive to save the day and while Phelps attends to the hysterical victim, Starsky and Hutch do the manly thing and capture the bad guy; but not before Starsky almost crashes the Torino into a parked bulldozer as soon as they get there. (And in one of the few bloopers for this episode, you can see a male moving around in the back seat while everyone else is out of the car.)
“Starsky, put your arm down, you look ridiculous standing there.”
Well, I bet you thought that our little gang had all kissed and made up. Wrong. Back at the precinct, Phelps is furious that the boys are releasing the would be rapist. She doesn’t get it that the victim has to agree to be, well, a victim. “I was a witness!” Phelps screams, “And so were you!” “Doesn’t work that way,” Starsky flatly tells her. She still doesn’t get it and yells some more. Starsky finally tells her that all she does is “talk” and cops like him are the ones who have to deal with the stupid laws. He’s also “sick to death” of her whining and says there’s nothing more they can do. Still not done arguing, Phelps now wants to talk girl-to-girl with the victim. “We have a trained staff for that, lady,” Hutch pipes in. Well, that goes over well and she slaps the table and starts to storm out of the room. “What do you want from us?” Starsky offers. (Ah-hem, I wish I could answer that!) “Maybe a little more sensitivity,” she growls, then heads out the door. Hutch and Starsky are left wondering how to figure women out.
Later that day, everyone is back at the hamburger stand. Phelps is left standing at the order window while Starsky and Hutch go sit down with Huggy. (While I can’t swear to it, I believe the two RVs that PMG and DS used as their on location dressing rooms are parked in the background.) After Huggy gives them a hot tip, they’re reading to leave, seemingly unconcerned that Phelps won’t get to eat her lunch. It really doesn’t matter as she drops half of it on the ground and then ends up throwing everything in the trash can. Maybe if she wasn’t so busy carrying around her purse, wallet and tape recorder, she’d have a free hand or two.
After a stop at the office for a records check, the crime fighting team arrives at the address of the creepy, scary half-bald guy, whose name is “Rizzo.” He’s been a resident of a few mental hospitals and had a sister who was murdered about a year ago. Starsky and Hutch spot him but their cover is blown when Phelps has to shout “Look, that’s him!” loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Naturally, the guy takes off running back inside the building with everyone right on his tail. Well, except for Phelps because it’s hard running in those platform shoes. Nonetheless, they all seem to meet up on the roof at the same time and Rizzo grabs Phelps using her as a hostage.
“How about a great big hug?”
While Hutch tries to talk Rizzo into surrendering, Starsky is able to leap across tall buildings in a single bound and come up behind him. Phelps is able to crawl away leaving all three of the men pointing their guns at each other. Making the first move, Starsky lowers his gun and drops it to the ground, amazingly gaining the trust of Rizzo. He uses the “dead relative would never want you to do this” routine and is able to take the distraught killer into custody without firing a single bullet. (Hey, that’s a rarity on this show!) Phelps blubbers out, “Why didn’t you shoot him?” Starsky just gives her a dumb look and Hutch says, “It wasn’t necessary.” Ah, that’s so touching.
The ending tag shows the boys riding in the Torino, with Hutch scanning the paper for Phelps’ column. He finds it and happily announces it has “pictures and everything.” Wha-hey! That’s what undercover cops strive for, isn’t it? Anyway, seems like Phelps has written a glowing editorial about the cops calling them “educated, caring, and rational.” “She likes me!” says Starsky, with a big grin on his face, then adds, “She liked you, too.” Poor Hutch, and his day hasn’t even started yet.
Pulling up in front of a dilapidated house stuck in behind some businesses along a commercial back alley, Starsky proudly shows Hutch their new real estate venture. Hutch takes one look and tells his partner the only way they can fix that house up is to tear it down. Starsky doesn’t take no for an answer. He drags Hutch over to the front entrance where they both promptly step on and crash through the wooden door serving as a ramp. Hutch picks himself off the ground but as soon as he gets up on the front porch, he leans against the railing and ends back on the ground. He tells Starsky he should have just bought a camper. What is it with the camper? And where did Starsky have the time in the last two days to find this house and buy it? Questions, always questions.
The End
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
