Starsky & Hutch LB 1x00: Pilot
okay I've done enough jumping around I'm finally gonna start watching this show from the beginning lol.
Starsky in the beanie is making me giggle, it's so not his signature look in my mind.
How is our introduction to these characters like... Starsky, instead of waiting out in the car or even just in the main part of the gym, comes into the locker room to wait while Hutch takes a shower. Seems pretty straight so far.
Also S makes the "Mom, I just met a doctor, I think he loves me" joke to the gym owner. Heterosexual behavior all over the place here.
Cute lil punch to the arm from H to S while H is still shirtless
Their banter about the girls they're dating is literally so flirty
They're already establishing that like... S&H are part of the community, the two-bit criminals know them and have a rapport with them. They let the pickpocket go...
H checking in on S, "all right, what's bugging you" they are so in lockstep
The two of them blowing off Dobey immediately is really funny.
Starsky strutting around the bar and freaking everybody out is so not a good look, though it is funny that he actually makes everybody fill out an anonymous vote
"You don't have a mother, you were found in a garbage can behind weight watchers" - yikes lol
"We're not like most partners. There's the one guy who's kinda folksy, and then there's the other guy, the hard-nosed kinda guy..... see, we're both hard-nosed" lol. Basically saying they're bad-cop-bad-cop" lol. Which is... honestly, as the show goes on Hutch is kinda the more reserved one but it holds true for the most part, they're both pretty intense
I love that the reaction shot on "we have reason to believe someone tried to kill Starsky last night" is on Hutch, we see him frowning and looking over at Starsky...
S&H being mistaken for each other for the first time lol
I love the whole convo when they're listing people who might want to kill "us", they keep saying "us" even though the current contention is that STARSKY ONLY was set to be killed
Sooo much unspoken communication, H saying they're going to switch cars and S knowing the whole reasoning for it instantly
S saying that they're willing to get killed out doing their jobs but they won't just sit back and wait...
And again with the instantly knowing each other thing... S asking H what's wrong when he gets in the car
I love them doing a "save the cat" moment for H, with him giving a dollar to a homeless man. But also I feel like the bigger purpose is again that sense that they actually know this community. They know the guy's name, and they have an ongoing relationship with him
Their utter nonchalance during the car chase lol. The slow pace of the editing and lack of music really undercuts the tension.
The repeated "he's Hutch, I'm Starsky" refrain, I like how S is the official introducer
It's the pilot and the two of them are stripping out of their clothes standing right next to each other, they really don't waste any time do they
Also love that right here in the pilot, there's a bit where a woman who works for Tallman is objectifying them, rather than them leering at women
The steam room framing where Tallman is hidden in the steam for the first part of the convo is kinda cool
But why did they bring their holsters in with them lol that's so unnecessary
S grabbing at H's arm after they almost got shot in the pool
They are shirtless so many times in this tv movie lmao. Eye candy.
"Who are we supposed to trust?" / "Same people we always trust. Us." They are really establishing them as being incredibly close and loyal to one another.
them meeting Huggy Bear in an adult movie theatre, and sitting right next to each other with S kinda sitting sideways and leaning into H a little... commenting on the soft core porn they're watching together... fellas... Also just in general we've already got S establishing the habit of never being able to sit like a normal person, very bisexual of him.
"Starsky, I don't like to talk to cops about cops" - fair, Huggy Bear. Very fair.
Antonio Fargas (Huggy) is a beautiful man... his eyes have such a sparkle to them...
I love that S & H take turns being the smart ones who figure out the situation, H figures out the Fat Rolly phone call thing, and then S figures out the hit men didn't miss and the kids from the beginning were the real target. And they both believe each other's hunches
The murdered woman's roommate being suspicious of cops... "lots of cops say stuff like that"... and then Starsky "I hope you know the difference between the ones that really know the melody and those that are just saying the words." I mean, not to give too much credit to this copaganda-ass cop show, but I kind of love that S doesn't say "hey, cops are the good guys" but instead says that no, in this case THEY are sincere, even though they're well aware that cops aren't in it for the right reasons all the time. They're very willing to believe that there's corruption going on inside, after all. And there is!
Their chemistry just as like... scene partners is nuts. I keep thinking how the editing and pacing of this is so much slower and more ponderous than anything would be on tv today, but the scene where S & H are going back and forth and putting together the clues about Henderson, they're so locked in that I'm riveted anyway.
S's arm on the back of H's seat in the car when H is driving... I feel like from the other eps I've seen this is a typical pose lol
THEM GETTING PULLED OVER and S getting mistaken for H AGAIN lol.
"Seven, seven, come on seven... thank god." LMAO.
Hutch denting the roof of his own car jumping down onto it is amazing
The COMPLETE lack of blood on the bad guys after they're shot... lol
I also love how like... aesthetically, S is the more sloppy, slouchy, salt-of-the-earth of the two, but H is the one with the busted up car, and he can't pay his gym bill and makes Starsky cover him lol. S even says "again?!" like this is a regular occurrence of S needing to spot H money
I love that the ending gag is H not following S in his car, but then more than that, it's S clocking it immediately and turning around to follow H instead. The idea of not going to get dinner together is apparently not one S is willing to entertain at this time lmao.
Overall thoughts - I'm shocked by how fully established the characters feel in this pilot movie, like, these characters already feel so lived in and embodied by the performers. Their natural chemistry with each other, their physicality, especially Starsky's way of moving around the world, kinda knocking into stuff everywhere he goes and taking up all this space, it feels like a character that's been lived in for a long time. Their little personality quirks, with H being a health nut, etc... it all feels grounded and a lot more nuanced and filled out than I was expecting for the first appearance of these characters! It really feels like if you watched this after seeing later episodes of the show (which is what I'm doing) you wouldn't necessarily clock that this was the first time these characters had ever appeared. Although, of course, a few small details like the different actor for Dobey is a clue that we're not settled into status quo yet.
The other big thing I noticed was the establishing them as being really good at their jobs, and really pragmatic about the world - they play heroes and get into car chases and shootouts or whatnot, but they've got like... regular bits with street informants and people doing petty crime, they joke about having arrested the woman from the soft core movie they see, Hutch gives money to the homeless man Elijah who then goes off to offer to buy lunch for someone else living on the streets, we've got the bar scene where it's clear that everybody in that joint is familiar with S&H, and maybe doesn't like them, but also isn't like... afraid of them. They might both be tough, but they're not arbitrary or cruel for no reason, and they have a reputation, they're familiar faces around the watering hole. Honestly the vibe is very much that S&H are staples of this environment, not inimical outsiders who pose obstacles to the goings-on. I like that vibe for this kind of thing, even though I'm also aware it's contributing to the copaganda of it all, ultimately.
This was fun, I'm not sure I'll actually live blog every episode this thoroughly but I'll try and share additional thoughts as I go! I'm going to use #shlb as a tag for myself for these in case anybody wants to check them out as I go.
