BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS F

"Who'd ever think of looking for a pimp on a motor scooter?" (Iron Mike)

• 251. Wouldn’t Starsky, Hutch and Dobey, when hatching the plan to catch the vigilantes, to bring the guy from top in on it from the beginning? Yet they don’t, staging the “show” in Dobey’s office seemingly for Fargo’s sole benefit, showing they didn’t trust him even from the beginning. Why, then, does Dobey feel no compunction about telling Fargo later some details about the undercover case, but still doesn’t give him the details? He precedes it with the statement “No secrets between friends.” What changes his mind? (Committee)

• 252. Hutch tells Kate he finds it hard to understand that she would hire someone to kill her before she dies of natural causes. “I don’t know how you could even consider death before it comes. Life is all we got, whatever the circumstances.” How much of this does Hutch feel strongly about and how much is he saying it for Kate’s sake? (Cover Girl)

• 253. English Major Visual: The Angel with outspread arms, fluffy feathers falling all around. (Cover Girl)

• 254. The first thing Stryker says to Nick, “I like your jacket.” The last thing Stryker says about Nick is to tell his thug to keep Nick’s jacket nice after killing him; Stryker wants to give it to his own nephew. (Starsky’s Brother)

• 255. Three old women are in charge of their own criminal enterprises: Stella and her “Women’s Guild,” Olga and her prostitution-plus business and Ethel and her brothel. What are the differences and similarities in these three women? How do they appear to run their businesses? How do they treat their customers and employees? How do they react to Starsky and Hutch? What are Starsky and Hutch’s reactions to each woman?? (Golden Angel, Gillian, Captain Dobey, You’re Dead)

• 256. One possible speculation: If Hutch were paying the attention to what Camille was saying, like he did with Simon Marcus, rather than focusing on what a “space chicken” she was, he might have picked up the clues in her repeated words. The first half of them appear to be giving Hutch her motivation, the second half of them are more of a soothing verse for herself. Combine them with her other telling doozies in English Major Moment #257, and Camille looks more than just a little unbalanced. Here, in order, are all of Camille’s repeated words: “years, change, me, lines, years,, change, him, hold onto, here, today, tomorrow, understood, still friends.” (Golden Angel)

• 257. Camille tells Hutch, “”Can you predict the path of a vine?...The light and the dark are deceptions, by one we are shadows, by the other, ghosts… but in love we are solid, in love we are true, in love there is reason for all that we do.” Compare her answers to the ones Simon Marcus gives Hutch. (Golden Angel, Bloodbath)

• 258. “Wrestler Claims Victory in Unscheduled Bout with Dummy” is headline on page three. Is this where Hutch hatches his plan to have Starsky portray the Golden Angel, Hutch focusing in on the key word, “dummy”? And does Hutch think up this plan, putting Starsky at risk of some injury, because of his disgruntlement at Starsky’s preoccupation with his inheritance? Hutch reveals some animosity when he tells Huggy Starsky is “spending more time talking about the will than he is on this case”? (Golden Angel)

• 259. One week from today, Starsky says, he is going to be a free man. Hutch has to hold Starsky back from telling Dobey he quits, telling him to at least wait until the will is read. What is Hutch feeling when he sees Starsky so ready to quit his job due to becoming rich? Especially without even talking to Hutch about it? Is Hutch worried about Starsky’s self-proclaimed Emancipation Proclamation? Or does Hutch truly believe Starsky’s fortune isn’t going to pan out? (Golden Angel)

• 260. Comment on the seemingly very fine line between the David Starsky who, when faced with sudden riches, seems to be very eager to give up his job, buy a lot of flashy stuff, show off and abandon his partnership with Hutch to Nick Starsky who desires the same material goods. (Golden Angel, Starsky’s Brother)

• 261. Starsky seems nothing but excited by his uncle’s death. Hutch says somewhat sympathetically, “Sorry Starsk, about your uncle.” Starsky looks embarrassed and has a momentary, insincere moment of mourning. Does Starsky karmically deserve his fate when he gets such a small amount from his uncle’s estate? (Golden Angel)

• 262. When Hutch tells Starsky, “It takes all makes and models to fill that four-lane highway we call life,“ does Hutch consider himself in the upper echelon and Starsky not? Or is he just harassing Starsky? (Golden Angel)

• 263. Starsky says he, “Would walk a mile for a Camel” at the 4th Street Gym. Actually they are going to walk a lot further than “a mile for Camille” later, making this a pretty lame attempt at foreshadowing by your compendium-er. (Golden Angel)

• 264. Tommy Reese says to Starsky and Hutch, “Wrestling isn’t all sport now. You know that and we know that.” Starsky acknowledges with, “Yeah.” Cue the next scene’s circus music as people go into arena…so what had changed between the time Starsky and Hutch deal with Eddie Bell and now? At that time, Hutch was fully in the know about wrestling not being a sport with Starsky a full denier. Starsky has no argument about it now, laughing along with Hutch, dressing up in the outfit and with no mention of his previous belief. (Omaha Tiger, Golden Angel)

• 265. Compare and contrast the two characters Lillian Spenser and Camille Boone, both wives/ex-wives that didn’t like the violence in their husbands’ “sports” job. (Heavyweight, Golden Angel)

• 266. Compare and contrast these two scenes: Eddie Bell nearly suffocates Hutch in the wrestling ring, Starsky sharply calls it off, saving Hutch. Dobey nearly strangles Hutch in wrestling ring by pulling him through two twisted ropes, Starsky sharply calls it off, saving Hutch. (Omaha Tiger, Golden Angel)

• 267. Speculate on the outcome of these three cage matches: Russian Mummy versus Hammerlock Grange, Omaha Tiger versus Golden Angel, Terrible Tessie versus Starsky. (Golden Angel)

• 268. Tommy Reese’s assertion that wrestling is the “goss-i-pull truth” is both far from the truth and yet truth condensed. (Golden Angel)

• 269. Edith and Harold are left in the dust. Dobey tells Starsky and Hutch the old ballrooms Edith and he like to visit have turned into discos. Hutch reminds Buzzy the “Nightclubs have turned into discos.” Not only have Dobey and Edith not done enough dancing, it appears the Dobey’s have missed the entire nightclub link. (Discomania, Golden Angel)

• 270. Comment on this touching scene: Hammerlock and Angel, supposed enemies, are shown helping each other get ready for a bout. Hammerlock helps Angel with his outfit and straightens out his halo. (Golden Angel)

• 271. Basil Monk tells Starsky and Hutch, “Violence appalls me. I’m a devout coward.” Are either, both, or none of these two statements true? Tie in Starsky’s rejoinder, that the hit man “Was invented because a lot of people are cowards.” Extra credit for mentioning Camille, the “violent pacifist” in your answer. (Photo Finish, Golden Angel)

• 272. When Nicole Monk makes her sexual come-on to Starsky and Hutch, suggesting the desirability of their knees and openness to a threesome, Starsky and Hutch glance at each other’s knees. Tie this moment in with Starsky and Hutch’s willingness to both go over to Sally Hagen’s place for what could be a threesome. Extra credit for mentioning going to the Boston Symphony with Allison May. (Photo Finish, Specialist, Targets 2)

• 273. Starsky and Hutch are always promising and providing police protection. Like the wily phone trace, this service is most often of no help. Spotlight three times “police protection” was effective. And what are the three most glaring police protection disasters? (Photo Finish, Captain Dobey, You’re Dead, Bounty Hunter, Nightmare, Heavyweight, Targets 2, Set-Up, Cover Girl, Ballad for a Blue Lady, Jojo)

• 274. Why don’t Starsky and Hutch radio ahead and tell Officer Batson to keep Kate from turning on the lights? Don’t they trust him to do a good job? Can’t they get a hold of him? And isn’t there another squad there who can get there sooner than Starsky and Hutch? Did they try calling Kate on the phone? (Cover Girl)

• 275. Would Starsky have been so shook up about his shooting of Emily if she hadn’t been young, female and beautiful? (Blindfold)

• 276. Work with the Sunday theme: Starsky thanks Dispatch for the Sunday Sermonette, Starsky and Hutch’s discuss crime occurring on Sundays, Starsky invoking God in his plea/prayer over Emily and tie them all into the theme of religious redemption. (Blindfold)

• 277. Hutch tells Starsky the “bad guys are all in church” on Sunday mornings. How far can one take the irony of Hutch’s light comment? (Blindfold)

• 278. Marcie Fletcher says, “Oh terrific,” to Starsky and Hutch when they are putting two and two together about “Greta Wren” and Dora Pruitt. She says it precisely the same way Denise Girard does when she learns Starsky and Hutch know Bo Rile. Compare and contrast these two women and their situations. (Bounty Hunter, Photo Finish)

• 279. Brazen Dora: she puts gun in holster on upper right thigh, spreads out on bed in front of Starsky and Hutch, hiking her robe up to what could be an inch from disclosure and doesn’t even appear to break a sweat. What is going through her head? (Photo Finish)

• 280. Marcie complains when Hutch asks her to make an enlargement in her darkroom from the negative. Why in the heck does she still have the negative in her possession? Starsky made it clear it was police evidence and should be at the police lab. If nothing else, there are safer places to keep it than Marcie’s bra, high cost of “high polycontact paper be damned.” (Photo Finish)

• 281. Hutch tells Al on the phone the description of “Greta Wren”/Dora Pruitt ’s car, a dark green sedan, but says he didn’t get the license plate. Your compendium-er did, it is 938 LYN, and is in fact the same plate that is on Dobey’s car. (Sweet Revenge, Photo Finish)

• 282. Perhaps if Basil Monk’s and the Angel’s energy and interest in toys were harnessed together, it would have been enough to keep them off the street and out of trouble? (Cover Girl, Photo Finish)

• 283. Basil Monk doesn’t drive, it scares him “to death.” He has no problem driving the police remote control car all over the table. Comment on possible symbolism of Monk’s manipulation of squad car from above, with Starsky and Hutch looking on. (Photo Finish)

• 293. Hutch tells Dobey about Basil Monk, “We ran a bank check on him. We had a warrant, don’t worry.” Dobey gripes, “You always say you have a warrant.” Do Starsky and Hutch have a history of getting information without warrants? Has this caused the obvious problems later in court? Or is Dobey crabbing for the sake of crabbing? (Photo Finish)

• 294. Actress Fran Ryan was in three episodes. In two of them, she mispronounces similar words in the same way, “meringue” as “meer-ang-gew” and “vogue” as “vog-gew.” Think of a word, possibly a medical one, Nurse Bycroft could have said that would complete the “tria juncta in uno.” (Jojo, Murder Ward, Photo Finish)

• 295. Dobey seems very surprised that Starsky and Hutch got a warrant and checked Monk’s bank account. What was he surprised about, the bank check or the warrant? Monk’s account seems to be a great place to start an investigation. And as for the warrant, Dobey asks Hutch if he and Starsky got one, the answer being an affirmative one. “You always say that,” Dobey says to Hutch, crankily. Do Starsky and Hutch “always say that”? And is it true? Wouldn’t NOT getting a warrant be counter-productive later in court? Wouldn’t Dobey know what Starsky and Hutch would be doing in this case, especially with Dobey’s concern about no rich people getting their feathers ruffled? Or is Dobey just blowing off steam? (Photo Finish)

• 296. Starsky complains to Hutch about having to work on Sunday. Starsky has a whole list of faulty statements and statistics. “Only cops work on Sundays’, which he knows is untrue. “95% of crimes committed are committed between Monday and Saturday,” which may or may not be true, but doesn’t line up with Starsky’s last magic number that “only 2% of crimes are committed on Sundays.” Try 5%, Starsk. Hutch lets him babble on, perhaps remembering another one of Starsky’s creative statistic exercises when he and Starsky were in the desert on the way to Las Vegas. Starsky said then, “100 cars cross the desert with 23.6 of them having engine trouble.” Why might, aside from the dubious math, Hutch not believe Starsky’s statistics. (Blindfold, Las Vegas Strangler)

• 297. Four times Starsky grabs a woman’s upper arms and tells her to “shut up”/ be quiet. One he even tells, "I'm gonna bust you in the mouth if you don't shut up." The women are Sharman, Emily, Fifi and Rosey Malone. All four times are with women he cares something about. All four times he does it to make them do something for their own good. Three times Hutch isn’t in the room with him. Would Starsky have done this with Terry? Is Starsky’s action jarring or in character? Comment. (Running, Blindfold, Rosey Malone, Deadly Imposter, Starsky’s Lady)

• 298. The bedside manner, at least to those in the waiting room, of Emily’s doctor is atrocious. He is rude, doesn’t know the facts but is nasty to Starsky, hostile to questions, gives off-the-cuff, non-helpful answers, is sarcastic about required paperwork (which you know a nurse is going to do 98% of anyway) and thoroughly unprofessional. Compare and contrast him to some other doctors in some other episodes. (Blindfold)

• 299. All Starsky wants is for it “to be okay,” just as he tells Emily. Starsky’s entire relationship with Emily is based on making him feel less guilty. It is also thoroughly unprofessional. Starsky shuts Hutch and Dobey down, lies to Emily about who he is, manhandles her, gets inappropriately sexual with her, and uses her blindness to beat himself up. Do his behavior and decisions compare with any other character in the series, major or minor? (Blindfold)

• 300. Starsky may get some points for trying to empathize with “being blind,” however sitting in one’s house blindfolded as he did for an hour, or blindfolding Hutch for 30 minutes, isn’t even close. It doesn’t give credit to how a person does cope and learn, over a period of time, just like any other personal situation. Starsky tells Hutch being blind isn’t all about Seeing Eye dogs and Helen Keller, but Starsky gains no insight (pun intended) into a very complicated situation. (Blindfold)