So Starsky and Hutch have come to the conclusion that they have unearthed a serious conspiracy. But now they need to find out how the brainwashing of their shooter/victim was done, and by whom. They have one lead, who gives them a vague location. Now they go on a search to find the truth.
The second half of this episode starts to get a bit James Bond-ish. The guys connect with a pilot-friend of Huggy's who flies them to a "castle" in the middle of the desert where the suspicious activities are taking place. The pilot comes with his own arsenal of heavy weapons and grenades, everything they need to storm the castle. They find the evidence they need to prove the conspiracy. But also unlike other Starsky and Hutch episodes, the show ends without really pinning down who was the mastermind behind the whole thing. And their brainwashed shooter is left hanging, without really knowing who he was before. Quite a strange non-conclusion for this series. Even so, it was interesting to watch and was acted well.
I liked the pilot and the way he jumped in and helped them storm the castle, as if he did that kind of thing all the time. Without him, they would have been woefully unprepared.
If this story had been done these days, some of this story line would pick up in future episodes and we would find out more about who set this up and how. But this show was done before that was the norm in prime-time TV, so we never hear about this again. It feels truncated because of the lack of a real ending, but it was still done pretty well. It definitely had more depth to it than a normal episode.
One curious thing that happens that also never gets mentioned again: Starsky's car gets blown up near the beginning of this Part 2 episode. It is destroyed. And yet, they will have his car on next week's episode and nothing will ever be said about having to replace the car. Ignoring those situations from week to week was just the way things were done in the 70s. Somehow we didn't care or notice. I'm not really sure why. Maybe we didn't expect as much from our TV entertainment back then. As much as things have changed, I suppose it's more surprising that Starsky and Hutch is as watchable now as it is. Many other series from this time period are too ridiculous and dated to watch. I feel like PMG and DS gave Starsky and Hutch special qualities that have never been done or seen since, so I will always enjoy watching them.
The second half of this episode starts to get a bit James Bond-ish. The guys connect with a pilot-friend of Huggy's who flies them to a "castle" in the middle of the desert where the suspicious activities are taking place. The pilot comes with his own arsenal of heavy weapons and grenades, everything they need to storm the castle. They find the evidence they need to prove the conspiracy. But also unlike other Starsky and Hutch episodes, the show ends without really pinning down who was the mastermind behind the whole thing. And their brainwashed shooter is left hanging, without really knowing who he was before. Quite a strange non-conclusion for this series. Even so, it was interesting to watch and was acted well.
I liked the pilot and the way he jumped in and helped them storm the castle, as if he did that kind of thing all the time. Without him, they would have been woefully unprepared.
If this story had been done these days, some of this story line would pick up in future episodes and we would find out more about who set this up and how. But this show was done before that was the norm in prime-time TV, so we never hear about this again. It feels truncated because of the lack of a real ending, but it was still done pretty well. It definitely had more depth to it than a normal episode.
One curious thing that happens that also never gets mentioned again: Starsky's car gets blown up near the beginning of this Part 2 episode. It is destroyed. And yet, they will have his car on next week's episode and nothing will ever be said about having to replace the car. Ignoring those situations from week to week was just the way things were done in the 70s. Somehow we didn't care or notice. I'm not really sure why. Maybe we didn't expect as much from our TV entertainment back then. As much as things have changed, I suppose it's more surprising that Starsky and Hutch is as watchable now as it is. Many other series from this time period are too ridiculous and dated to watch. I feel like PMG and DS gave Starsky and Hutch special qualities that have never been done or seen since, so I will always enjoy watching them.
