ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

eti55 If only the subsequent episodes had been as good as the pilot. OK, the first season showed promise, but after that the series degenerated into a parody of itself. But the pilot for Starsky and Hutch was, at its time, the grittiest cop show that had been on TV (the pilot premiered as one of those ABC made-for-TV "Movies of the Week" during the 70s). This Starsky and Hutch is dark and violent, but not without a sense of humor. The dialog is above average, the story is actually pretty good, and Soul and Glaser both do a fine job as two tough plainclothes cops of the "cowboy" type that some big city departments have (as opposed to the standard suit-and-tie detectives). They're also believable as friends, and it's that chemistry that kept the show going even after the writers had long since run out of ideas. This pilot took it's cues from uber-violent 70s cop movies like Dirty Harry. To give you an idea, in the opening sequence you witness two hit men blow away two kids in a car..at point blank range. Even though it was the days before showing gore and blood splattering on TV was commonplace, that scene is disturbing. As things turn out, it looks like Starsky and Hutch were the actual targets. The two wade through the seedy streets (and the various shady characters and street stoolies) of the unnamed Southern California metropolis where they work, looking for answers as to who is trying to kill them and why.

frankfob As previously mentioned, this is a surprisingly gritty, dark and violent pilot for what would become one of the most popular TV shows of the '70s. While the series itself eventually evolved into (or degenerated into, depending on your point of view) a somewhat corny buddy-buddy show, you sure couldn't tell by this pilot. A couple is shot down on the streets of L.A. in a seemingly random killing, but the two detectives investigating the shooting discover that the couple was murdered by mistake--the actual targets were the detectives themselves. The pair then have to use all their wiles, skills and contacts in the city's seedy criminal underground to find out who is trying to kill them, and why. Soul and Glaser work extremely well together and play off each other as though they'd been doing it all their lives, the supporting cast is first-rate, the writing is sharp and clever, and it's very tightly directed by Barry Shear. It has exciting car chases, taut action scenes, some welcome humor, and the great chemistry between Soul and Glazer. A worthy effort from producer Aaron Spelling.

hutchnstarsk Although, the pilot isn't quite what the show would evolve into, once it was a series, it does demonstrate the remarkable chemistry between the two stars, David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser, which is probably the most memorable legacy about the show itself. The two portrayed an incredible friendship on-screen, shared a unique friendship off-screen, one that remains to this day. The pilot shows the two young police officers, working together, trusting in only each other...the beginning of a portrayal of friendship that has yet to be matched or surpass onscreen.

bob the moo When a car just like Starsky's is the target of a hit, the police suspect that the target was really Starsky and Hutch. The two cops decide to stay on the street and try to find out who wants them dead and why. However their informants tell them a much deeper tale.The pilot for the original show doesn't have the cool music but it does have everything else that gave birth to the cult TV show. The plot isn't exactly going to set the world on fire but it is passable. However it does allow plenty of chance for Starsky to crack wise, Hutch to look good for the ladies, Huggy Bear to be cool and Dobey to shout and be gruff.The action is very basic but is still fun – however it's hard to ascertain how good it would be if it wasn't already a cult classic. Soul is good and was always my mum's favourite – however I always preferred Glaser as the witty Starsky (and it was his car!). it's hard to imagine the world without Huggy Bear – and Fargas is still making a living off that one role all these years later!Overall it's not as good as the TV show itself but this pilot has much in common with it and is well worth a watch – if only for the car, the jokes and those terrible cardigans.