BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS E
"Been singing in the
choir all your life?" (Collector)
• 201. Why
don’t Starsky and Hutch stay and question Alex and Marty
after they beat them up at the Trojan Spa? Are Starsky and
Hutch, now two civilians, afraid of getting into trouble?
Are Alex and Marty too beat up to be coherent? What’s the
reason for this seemingly lack of common sense? (Targets 3)
• 202. Thomas stands up Starsky and Hutch May at the Trojan
Spa at 10:15 pm. Yet it isn’t until lunchtime in front of
Rutt’s Hutt that they think of going to see May, and even
that is because of Soldier’s phone call. Why don’t they go
roust him sooner? Do they feel guilt an earlier visit may
have saved May’s life? Or they may have gotten info from
him that would have solved the case differently, or sooner?
Please speculate. (Targets 3)
• 203. When Starsky comments, “I could have been in this
movie,” regarding 'The Story of X,' is he more excited by
the thought of simply being an actor, or of being an actor
in a porno film? Extra credit : What kind of visual does
this comment provide Hutch? (Targets 3)
• 204. When Hutch complains to Starsky, “I’m all for doing
my part to support mass-transit, but this is ridiculous”
what is he referring to? And does his complaint about
supporting mass-transit also include having to give Starsky
his pocket change? (Targets 3)
• 205. Huggy is the only one with an appetite when Starsky
is critically ill. Is it because he is the one that has the
most optimism Starsky will be all right? (Sweet Revenge)
• 206. Note the symbolism of the ping-pong paddles as
foreshadowing of defibrillator paddles. Starsky slaps his
against Dobey’s lower side as he is leaving, Hutch slaps
his against Dobey’s upper chest, and both are roughly in
position doctor uses them later on Starsky. (Sweet Revenge)
• 207. Is the three course meal Hutch, Dobey and Huggy
bring Starsky in the hospital going to fulfill Starsky and
Hutch’s ping pong bet, or is Starsky going to make Hutch
take him out again? (Sweet Revenge)
• 208. Hutch thanks Jonathan Wells for clearing up “my
confusion about prostitutes…now I know that the high-priced
ones can also wear three-piece suits.” Hutch has certainly
known this previously, making his comment more a point of
information than anything. Name three other prominent
“prostitutes in three-piece suits” in other episodes and
speculate on their degrees of prostitution. (Sweet Revenge)
• 209. Mr. Schneider comments that with “minimal
cooperation from Wall Street,” Gunther will do well. Does
he mean cooperation in terms of crooked trading and bribes?
Or cooperation is terms of being pleased with the way it
naturally plays out, as the way the weather “cooperates”
for a picnic? In other words, does Gunther control much of
Wall Street or not? Speculate. (Sweet Revenge)
• 210. There is the Wall Street of Gunther’s world and the
Wall Street of Starsky and Hutch’s world in Bay City.
Compare and contrast these two streets of the same name.
(Sweet Revenge, Bait, Vendetta)
• 211. There are three “Number One Rules” mentioned by
Starsky and Hutch and Dobey. Cops aren’t supposed to be
happily married, don’t get emotionally involved and
absolutely no private parties. (Bounty Hunter, Crying
Child, Vendetta)
• 212. What is the significance of the necklace Gunther has
in his hand during meeting? Speculate why it is in Bate’s
hand as he dies. (Sweet Revenge)
• 213. Compare the two characters of C.J. Woodfield and
James Marshall Gunther upon the time of their arrest.
Comment on gun in desk, visible arrest warrant and the
final takedown. (Captain Dobey, You’re Dead, Sweet Revenge)
• 214. Compare and contrast Coyle and Lonigan’s business
relationship to that of Gunther and Bates. (Iron Mike,
Sweet Revenge)
• 215. What precisely has Bates done to make Gunther kill
him? Does Gunther dislike his optimism? His lack of
introspection? Is Bates killed as an example? Or is it
something else? (Sweet Revenge)
• 216. How does Gunther rationalize killing a man “who
would have gotten along fine” with Gunther Senior? Gunther
seems to admire his father’s ability to fix things, his
optimism (“Nothing can’t be fixed; just put your mind to
it.”) yet dislikes these features in Bates. (Sweet Revenge)
• 217. Pay attention to this lovely English Major Moment:
Gunther’s soliloquy about control and Bate’s inability to
perform goes right over Bate’s head; “I don’t follow,”
Bates says as he is sturdily working on paperwork right
next to Rodin’s famous statue, “The Thinker.” Gunther goes
over to Bates and rests his arm and hand on “The Thinker”
as Bate’s says sincerely but cluelessly, “I’m sorry.”
Gunther says he is sorry too. (Sweet Revenge)
• 218. The rhythmic ping of Starsky’s heart monitor is
echoed with the sound of the clock in Gunther’s office, the
bounce of the ping pong ball, the click of the spoon
against the cup with Bate’s poisoned coffee, the whooshing
of the ventilator, and the sound of Huggy’s footsteps in
the hallway. (Sweet Revenge)
• 219. While it appears Gunther is still considering
whether or not to kill Bates as Gunther soliloquizes, the
decision has already been made; Thomas has already had
instructions to bring in the poisoned coffee. (Sweet
Revenge)
• 220. Bates comes in and warms up his hands by the fire,
yet it is Gunther who is cold, cold, cold. “I’ll pour,” he
says to Thomas, regarding the coffee. Gunther certainly
will. (Sweet Revenge)
• 221. Gunther says Starsky and Hutch have “inflicted
massive damage on this organization.” Gunther later
inflicts “massive damage” on Starsky. (Sweet Revenge)
• 222. Hutch gently verbally teases Starsky about the car
running better when you start it, after his emotional
moment at Lonnie’s mom’s house. Huggy does the same thing
to Hutch, “Your keys, you can’t drive a car without keys,”
after Hutch goes down to find Dobey’s car in the garage.
(Sweet Revenge)
• 223. Joey Carston is the conductor on her own English
Major Moment when she says to Huggy, “Love’s a runaway
train, and I am riding this one to the end of the line.”
Does or doesn’t she end up doing just that? Speculate on
the opinion that all of Joey’s relationships are going to
be “runaway trains.” Extra credit for visualizing Lionel
Train attempting a get-a-way, creating another “runaway
Train.” (Ninety Pounds of Trouble, Black and Blue)
• 224. Speculate on the future outcomes for Joey Carston,
Molly/Pete Edwards, Vivian and for Kiko. (Ninety Pounds of
Trouble, Trap, Black and Blue, Running)
• 225. Is Starsky extra-prickly with Goodson and Chambers
because he is embarrassed about getting the initial
brush-off from Rosey Malone? He was, while not exceedingly
friendly with them at first, at least civil. What was his
tipping point? (Rosey Malone)
• 226. Starsky and Hutch date some really, really young
women. Julie McDermott and Molly Bristol don’t seem to be
more than a few months older than Joey Carston. Why do they
then make the distinction that Joey is too young?
(Collector, Action, Ninety Pounds of Trouble)
• 227. How much confidence does Starsky lose in their plan
to have Hutch impersonate Carlyle when Hutch asks Starsky,
“Where’s my hat” and Starsky has to point out it is on his
head? (Ninety Pounds of Trouble)
• 228. Contrast and compare Starsky’s experience with Rosey
Malone and Hutch’s experience with Marianne. Both men go
undercover to get info out of women who are connected to
someone who is living a life of crime. Both men fall in
love and sleep with said women. Both men need reminders
that they are cops who are supposed to be doing a job. Both
men get found out and face wrath from said women, and both
men feel like heels. What are some other differences and
similarities in these two episodes? (Rosey Malone, Ballad
for a Blue Lady)
• 229. When Huggy tells Joey, as discouragement, that
Starsky is “over the hill…set in his ways…basically a
demented sex fiend.” How much truth is there in Huggy’s
description? Provide examples. (Ninety Pounds of Trouble)
• 230. Dobey reminds Starsky and Hutch that Carlyle has a
right to a phone call and lawyer when he awakes, which
would jeopardize their plans to get Schiller. Dobey then
gives Starsky and Hutch thirty-six hours, which he says is
cutting it close. How is Dobey able to guarantee any amount
of time? Is it based on medical information? Or will Dobey
do some finagling with the doctors, suggesting a little
more painkillers to make him incapacitated? How far can,
and has, Dobey gone in a situation like this to ensure more
time for police work? (Ninety Pounds of Trouble)
• 231. What is Hutch really trying to say, comparing
“salary” and “soul” when he says he “may have the salary of
a cop, but he “has the soul of an aesthete”? And does this
mean Hutch believes he doesn’t have the soul of a cop? Who
would he consider having a cop’s soul? (Ninety Pounds of
Trouble)
• 232. Give some examples that would prove or disprove
Hutch’s assertion he “would be at home with the hoi polloi
as the Rothschild’s.” (Ninety Pounds of Trouble)
• 233. Starsky notes to Dobey that Hutch can make the
charade work because Hutch has Carlyle’s size and coloring
and that Carlyle’s clothes will fit Hutch. Starsky doesn’t
mention Hutch is a good enough undercover cop to make it
work. What could be the meaning behind this omission?
Assumption or something else? (Ninety Pounds of Trouble)
• 234. Apprehending Carlyle, Starsky and Hutch shout to
each other, “Cover me” and then “Got you.” Really, is this
not what, in the end, we all need from each other? (Ninety
Pounds of Trouble)
• 235. Sid tells Starsky she met Schiller once in New York,
and he showed her a good time. She tells Starsky “You don’t
want him mad at you,” testifying to is undesirable company,
but here she is, meeting him again. What is Schiller’s hold
over her? (Ninety Pounds of Trouble)
• 236. Melinda tells Hutch, “You have cop written all over
you.” Does this make the scar on his lower back a
punctuation mark? (Groupie)
• 237. Fitch and Harry pronounce Marianne’s name, “Marion.”
Hutch pronounces it “Maryanne.” Does this show the
dichotomy between the two interested factions? Or
illustrate how Hutch doesn’t even manage to pronounce her
name right, giving her impassioned statement that she “is a
person” more credence? Or is it just a sloppy error?
(Ballad for a Blue Lady)
• 238. Lou Brownley asks Starsky and Hutch, “When was the
last time you went to somebody’s house to tell them
somebody didn’t die?” When indeed? (Velvet Jungle)
• 239. Hutch has two subtle moments with Marianne where she
may have gone his way, and he fails in both. The first is
when he is pleading with her to help. She tells him she
will marry him, and they can go away forever. All Hutch has
to do is say, “Yes,” echoing what he is asking her to do.
Hutch hesitates in his answer, and then says, “That’s not
the point.” While her thought of marriage isn’t the point,
his deflection tells her all she needs to know. The second
stumble is when Marianne tells him she can’t do it alone.
Hutch solidly says, “We could do it.” Marianne replies,
“You really believe that?” It is Hutch’s second
waffle-answer, “I’d like to,” that confirms his back-up
can’t be counted on. Both of Hutch’s hesitations, while
entirely human, are not what Marianne wanted to hear.
(Ballad for a Blue Lady)
• 240. Tony Mariposa lives at 214 Carrington and Angel of
Death stayed in a hotel at 204 Carrington, apparently on
the same block. Did Tony’s loud disco music keep Angel up
at night? Was Tony jealous of all the cool toys Angel may
have practiced driving in the parking lot? (Cover Girl,
Discomania)
• 241. Foreshadowing: Marianne comments, “Mister, you are
doing me wrong” and “Your mama ever tell you it’s a sin to
lie?” setting the scene for Hutch’s duplicity. (Ballad for
a Blue Lady)
• 242. Between his time at the Playpen and he and Hutch
being out of a job, Starsky has learned to pronounce
“debonair.” (Vampire, Targets 2)
• 243. How does Hutch not know Stuart Ross is not another
Guy Mayer? (Cover Girl, Crying Child)
• 244. Angel says, “There are no accidents in my life.”
Does that mean he intended, for some reason, to be caught?
Is this why he doesn’t immediately drive away from the
hotel when he sees he familiar Torino parked there? Is this
why self-destructed “like some hophead.” (Cover Girl)
• 245. Angel tells Brady, “…You can soar like an eagle or
self-destruct like some hophead.” He asks which one Brady
thinks he is. Brady responds, in probably the most honest
answer he has given anyone, “I guess it’s self-destruct.”
Right after Brady’s strangely endearing answer, Angel tells
Brady he won’t be able to contact him anymore. Is Brady’s
answer the reason? Or had Angel decided to cut ties with
him before this conversation? (Cover Girl)
• 246. Kate tells Hutch, “With death over your left
shoulder, everything is important.” Does “everything”
indeed become important? Some would argue that oncoming
death, or a brush with death would cause one to decide what
is important and let the rest go. (Cover Girl)
• 247. Marianne may be the most depressed person in the
series, but she still has the get-up-and-go to have fresh
flowers in her room. Speculate on their origin. (Ballad for
a Blue Lady)
• 248. There is some soft, subtle background music at the
very end of the episode, music on the LP and the songs
Marianne sings. There is, however, no background music,
making this episode very sparse, and very different than
all the others. Speculate on the reason for this production
decision. (Ballad for a Blue Lady)
• 249. Starsky wears his dapper brown sports jacket to the
dentist. When are some other times he dresses up more in
the fourth season than he did in the previous three?
Discount court appearances. (Cover Girl)
• 250. Hutch asks Kate about Randolph the Great, asking
her, “Is he?” Does he mean, “randy” or “great,” or both?
(Cover Girl)