It was not safe to be pretty, young and female on 70s TV. You almost certainly were going to die. Especially if you were a nightclub dancer. Then you were really in trouble.
So someone has left a couple of threatening messages and then murders have occurred, taking out two of the said pretty, young female nightclub dancers. Starsky and Hutch capture an older immigrant who says he has "heard voices" about killing the girls. That's all Captain Dobey needs to hear, and Starsky and Hutch are inclined to agree. But then they probe just a little deeper and find out there is a whole different story that is the real solution to the case.
Besides the nice plot twist, there are other good differences in this episodes. I really liked the portrayal of the nightclub owner; instead of the usual hard-nosed businessman exploiting his girls to make his bucks, this guy treats his girls like valuable assets and mother-hens them. He knows how important and valuable a good dancer is and he likes and cares for them. That was certainly not your typical attitude in the 70s. Bravo on the writing of that part.
I also like the scene of Starsky and Hutch talking to and, more importantly, listening to their initial suspect. The immigrant man has limited expression in English and at first says things that most deranged killers say. But Starsky and Hutch listen and question and slowly realize the man is not meaning what they assumed at first. I thought that was also good writing and made the story different.
I like the scene where Starsky and Hutch are surrounded by the mostly unclad dancers while they are questioning them about the threats. They managed to maintain their professionalism, by a thread, while near-naked female bodies assault their senses on every level. PMG and DS found the perfect way to play that scene.
Another fine Season 1 episode. Nothing spectacular, but solid enough. It saddens me that the show didn't have a better run when it had this much going for it.
So someone has left a couple of threatening messages and then murders have occurred, taking out two of the said pretty, young female nightclub dancers. Starsky and Hutch capture an older immigrant who says he has "heard voices" about killing the girls. That's all Captain Dobey needs to hear, and Starsky and Hutch are inclined to agree. But then they probe just a little deeper and find out there is a whole different story that is the real solution to the case.
Besides the nice plot twist, there are other good differences in this episodes. I really liked the portrayal of the nightclub owner; instead of the usual hard-nosed businessman exploiting his girls to make his bucks, this guy treats his girls like valuable assets and mother-hens them. He knows how important and valuable a good dancer is and he likes and cares for them. That was certainly not your typical attitude in the 70s. Bravo on the writing of that part.
I also like the scene of Starsky and Hutch talking to and, more importantly, listening to their initial suspect. The immigrant man has limited expression in English and at first says things that most deranged killers say. But Starsky and Hutch listen and question and slowly realize the man is not meaning what they assumed at first. I thought that was also good writing and made the story different.
I like the scene where Starsky and Hutch are surrounded by the mostly unclad dancers while they are questioning them about the threats. They managed to maintain their professionalism, by a thread, while near-naked female bodies assault their senses on every level. PMG and DS found the perfect way to play that scene.
Another fine Season 1 episode. Nothing spectacular, but solid enough. It saddens me that the show didn't have a better run when it had this much going for it.
