BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS G

"Any clown could have put on a black jacket and gotten into that party."
"Well, it worked for you, didn't it?" (Photo Finish)

• 301. Who is “blind” in this episode? Emily, both in sight and her inability to see through Don Widdicombe? Starsky in his inability to separate duty, guilt, responsibility and himself? Sharon for not telling Emily the truth about Starsky? Pinky for not knowing he was going down for the last time? Kenny, for blindly following his brother? (Blindfold)

• 302. Emily is either really dumb or really duplicitous. On the dumb side: she doesn’t ask the name of the officer who shot her and appears to have no questions about legalities, she doesn’t try to locate Widdicombe, doesn’t show any interest in the diamonds supposedly heisted and just generally seems out of it. On the sneaky side: she sure doesn’t give anything up about why she was on the sidewalk at that time, doesn’t say anything about Don and Ken and manages to hide her involvement perfectly. (Blindfold)

• 303. Why does Hutch seem so much more focused on catching Don and Ken, more so than the average perp? Is it because, as he said to both guys, taking a shot at Starsky was unacceptable? If so, Starsky and Hutch have been shot at lots of times, without this reaction from the other. Or is it because Hutch is angry over Starsky losing himself in guilt with Emily? (Blindfold)

• 304. Hutch knocks on Starsky’s door when he is unsure of his reception and lets himself in without knocking when he knows all is well. The exception to this rule is when either one suspects female company may be involved. (Blindfold, various)

• 305. Starsky wants to take a photo of Emily and asks Sharon to “step out of the frame.” Does Sharon understand his symbolic, subtle request for her to stay out of his relationship with Emily? And in the end, why does she not tell Emily Starsky’s real identity? (Blindfold)

• 306. “Five will get you ten,” Starsky tells Hutch that Hutch couldn’t hack an hour blindfolded; Hutch could have done it if Starsky had played fair. Pinky ended up getting “five to ten” which he could have avoided by being honest with Hutch. (Blindfold)

• 307. So much for trust. How long is it going to take Hutch to trust Starsky again after getting tricked into falling down the stairs? Does that time include the waiting period for Hutch’s electric wheelchair? (Blindfold)

• 308. Being blind is not the same as being stupid; Starsky could have figured out which was the cold water tap, he probably does it in the dark all the time anyway. And being deaf is not the same thing as being stupid; Larry Horvath may not be able to hear, but he was judged mentally competent to spend time in a regular prison. Why does everyone treat him like six-year-old child? And while she may have the mental age of ten, Lisa must know she isn’t the same as other adults; the judge’s comments seem to come as a complete surprise to her. (Blindfold, Silence, Nightmare)

• 309. Donner Party of One, your adventure is about to begin. Mrs. Donner says the worst thing about being a cop’s wife is waiting “waiting until he comes home for supper, waiting to know if some junkie stabbed him, waiting for him to get home from Europe, waiting until the doctor comes and tells me he is going to be all right.” Was waiting the worst thing about being a cop’s wife? Or is Virginia Donner one the verge of realizing there is something even worse? (Plague)

• 310. Hutch tells Starsky “every snitch on your circuit is asking about the blind girl and the cop.” Does Hutch refer to it as “your circuit” because he is pissed off, or do Starsky and Hutch have some separation in physical area? Does the use of the word “your” make Starsky feel crummy, just as Starsky’s saying, “You have a long way to go” rather than “we” as Hutch is battling his heroin addiction. Figure of speech or more? (Blindfold, Fix)

• 311. Starsky goes to door, palms his gun and studies it. Is he thinking of suicide? Contemplating its deadliness? When he grabs his camera, he decides to shoot in a different way. (Blindfold)

• 312. Jack Ives may be excused for joking with Jack Parker about how half the population (of women) is under twenty-five and the other half wants to appear to be under twenty-five. Ives even has the zinger about how the 26 year old women and older don’t “look too well in swimwear.” After all, he is supposed to be a sexist rube. But add that to Starsky’s later comment to Hutch about the lack of “foxes” that aren’t “pushing 17 or on their way to retirement homes,” and it is understood one has about a seven year span of attractiveness in Bay City. (Groupie)

• 313. Dobey seems to know just how much rope to allow Starsky and Hutch to get the job done. What kind of cops would Starsky and Hutch have been under a different boss than Dobey? Envision these kinds of bosses for Starsky and Hutch:
#1 a real hard-nose without compassion, just wants the job done, doesn’t care how it happens
#2 a kind boss, who wants the best for everyone, but hates conflict and can’t say “no” to Starsky and Hutch
#3 a rigid boss that insists on going by the rules, no matter what, and cannot deviate
#4 a fun boss that is their best buddy, hanging out with them, socializing often
#5 a sneaky, politicking, backbiting boss
#6 a boss eighteen months from retirement who doesn’t care what they do
#7 a completely incompetent boss
#8 a boss who is intimidated, perhaps afraid, of Starsky and Hutch
#9 a female boss with one of the above characteristics

• 314. Rubber suits. Elaborate. (Groupie, Kill Huggy Bear)

• 315. Agent Bettin is angered by Starsky and Hutch’s collar of what he sees as two-bit Jojo, wrecking up the bigger Nick Dombarris arrest. Agent Walters lectures Starsky and Hutch, “Sometimes the big picture is more important than the bit parts,” which Starsky and Hutch go against in their pursuit of Jack Parker. Yet Hutch wonders aloud to Starsky over Iron Mike’s failing, that perhaps Mike had been out so long he couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Where are Starsky and Hutch in this continuum? (Jojo, Groupie, Iron Mike)

• 316. Jack Parker states he “feels the future of fashion is in youth.” No kidding. What are some other ways Jack Parker shows he to be perhaps not the best man for the job? (Groupie)

• 317. “A marriage counselor with a gun” and “an accountant with a gun,” are two cynical phrases Starsky employs. Is Starsky more or less cynical than Hutch regarding official institutions? (Photo Finish, Groupie)

• 318. Melinda wants her “own sales territory” and to sleep with cops. Marcie wants a good portfolio as well as a “blue Rolls Royce with a cream colored top.” Sharon Freemont wants a partnership in a law firm as well as Starsky’s fettuccine. Comment. (Groupie, Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty, Photo Finish)

• 319. Despite all the gunfire, only two innocent bystanders are shot in the series. Both are women and both shootings involve Starsky. (Photo Finish, Specialist)

• 320. Jimmy Shannon “died like a man in pursuit of happiness.” What are the two false statements here? (Vendetta)

• 321. Robert Loggia gets to tie Hutch to a chair in both the episodes he is in. Coincidence? Or was one of Smooth Tony Zucker’s aliases Ben Forest? (Fix, Groupie)

• 322. Aside from a childish game of Rope-a-Dope, why does Starsky draw Parker’s fire on a crowded ship deck? What are some other times Starsky and Hutch do something that is frankly, dangerously out of line. Limit your examples to less than ten, please. (Groupie)

• 323. Starsky draws Parker’s fire not unlike how he drew the fire of Father Ignatius at the movie theater, ducking up and down. Is this what Starsky is talking to Hutch about when he comments about feeling like a carnival game when he and Hutch walk along the balcony at the hotel on the way to dinner? (Specialist, Groupie, Silence)

• 324. Huggy makes it pretty clear the benefits he gets from the relationship he has with Starsky and Hutch when he greets them as, “My main man, my slack, my pipeline to the city treasury.” What are some other pointed moments that illustrate the advantages Huggy gains by being Starsky and Hutch’s main angel? And does it ever cross the line, a la Iron Mike and Matt Coyle? (Groupie, Iron Mike)

• 325. Apparently being lettuce is not desirable. Nick Starsky calls Starsky a “head of lettuce.” Jack Parker is going to be dropped like “hot lettuce” when the Feds find out the cops are on to him. A head of lettuce is thrown at the Hutch as he referees the wrestling match. Create a geometric proof, showing there is something worse than being a head of hot lettuce. (Starsky’s Brother, Groupie)

• 326. Seems like there must be a missing scene involving stolen bullets. Melinda takes a bullet from the gun of each sexual conquest. Did she take one from Hutch? And if so, why weren’t the implications shown? If she didn’t, is it because Hutch was too alert? Is why he doesn’t want to sleep with her anymore because he caught her messing with his gun? And if this is the case, he had better check Starsky’s gun tomorrow morning. (Groupie)

• 327. Starsky is clearly talking to himself as he heads up the corridor to Parker’s stateroom. Imagine what he is saying? (Groupie)

• 328. As Hutch is sitting, confined to chair, along with birdbrain Melinda, is he thinking of the time he was confined to a chair along with birdbrain Lisa Kendrick? (Groupie, Foxy Lady)

• 329. Dobey complains mightily about the phone call he received from Melinda. “I’ve never had a call like that in my entire career!” In the nearly thirty years he has been on the force, Dobey has never gotten a phone call from a frightened, unclear caller hoping to pass on information? (Groupie)

• 330. What is the scar on Hutch’s lower back from? (Groupie)

• 331. The ditzy woman is the salon is giving Hutch a tutorial in numerology. “1,9,4,9 adds up to 23…Now 2 and 3 add up to 5…I happen to be an 8, and 5 and 8 are about as far apart as you can get.” She suspects Hutch is a 6. Are Starsky and Hutch both 7, as Starsky guesses in his ESP test? What would be Starsky and Hutch’s numbers and what would they mean? (Dandruff, Black and Blue)

• 332. Starsky and Hutch tell Dobey they act “instinctively…sometimes impetuously.” Is there more evidence that disproves this self-admitted fact than its opposite? (Dandruff)

• 333. Dobey says chasing the robber in the lobby while undercover as Tyrone and Marlene, when they were supposed to stay “buried in the beauty parlor” is the dumbest thing Starsky and Hutch have ever done. Agree or disagree? Provide examples. (Dandruff)

• 334. It’s a box, not a pouch. It’s a bug, not a listening device. What are some things that Are, but Are Not? (Dandruff)

• 335. Starsky tells Rosey, as part of his cover, “I spent some time up in the mountains.” It is one thing to say you are familiar with Huichol art but seems pretty risky to say you have been someone you haven’t, especially there. This is assuming he isn’t telling truth. Rosey doesn’t have any questions about his time there? Seems like she would. (Rosey Malone)

• 336. Doris Huntley and Virginia Donner are lonely cop’s wives, waiting for their husbands. Edith Dobey is a cop’s wife as well, who most likely hardly ever sees her husband either. Assuming Edith and Virginia aren’t hitting the poker tables, what makes these three women different? Is it Doris’ lack of children to care for? Personality? Their husbands? (Captain Dobey, You’re Dead, Birds of a Feather)

• 337. What is to become of Doris? Her husband is in jail, disgraced. Her $50,000 probably ended up in the police fund. She’s got a major gambling addiction, no support and is going to be lonelier than ever. (Birds of a Feather)

• 338. Dobey muses, regarding Hutch’s comment defending Huntley; he “swears to god he never has to make that decision.” Would Dobey indeed make the same decision as Huntley? Why or why not? (Birds of a Feather)

• 339. Visualize Edith Dobey, Virginia Donner and Doris Huntley at the poker table together, talking about their husbands who are never home. (Captain Dobey, You’re Dead, Birds of a Feather, Plague)

• 340. Reuben tries to set Luke up as a “high-minded cup with too many years on the force…and too little to show for it…finally breaks down and goes on the take.” Is Reuben really that far off the mark? (Birds of a Feather)

• 341. Compare and contrast these four characters: Dan Slate, Luke Huntley, Mike Ferguson and Fargo. (Strange Justice, Birds of a Feather, Iron Mike, Committee)

• 342. Hutch didn’t seem to have one bit of hesitation about taking Starsky with him after Luke asked Hutch to come alone to the meet. Would he have done the same thing if Starsky hadn’t come walking up to him in the middle of the phone call? Would Hutch looked for Starsky before he left? Or was his decision more of a more spur-of-the-moment thing? (Birds of a Feather)

• 343. Hutch outright lied to Huntley about two things: the time of the meet and coming alone. How does Hutch justify this to himself? Does Hutch consider Starsky so much apart of himself that he doesn’t even make the distinction that bringing him isn’t technically alone? Does Hutch’s choice to bring Starsky along accentuate the fact that Huntley seems really personally isolated? Would a partner have eased Huntley’s burden? (Birds of a Feather)

• 344. Huntley doesn’t notice $50,000 slipping out of his accounts over a period of ten years. He doesn’t notice his missing wife’s wedding ring? What are some other things he may have added distance to? Is there a clue to be had that he has to introduce Hutch to Doris with “You remember Kenny Hutchinson”? (Birds of a Feather)

• 345. Dobey reprimands Starsky and Hutch, “Don’t tell me the about the word on the street until you have spent as much time out there as I have.” Is Dobey speaking of time on the force or literally “time on the street”? Dobey, as Captain, would have insight Starsky and Hutch don’t as well as more experience, but Starsky and Hutch would seem to have more street knowledge than Dobey at this point. (Huggy Can’t Go Home)

• 346. Compare the characters of Julius and his relationship to Huggy to Luke and his relationship to Hutch. Both older men are mentors, calling in a favor that puts their mentoree at great risk and both wanting the “their” money back for their old age. (Huggy Can’t Go Home, Birds of a Feather)

• 347. Huggy tells Starsky and Hutch he has a “bad taste in my mouth trying to figure out who my friends are.” Compare his situation to when Hutch tells Kiko it is time to figure out who his real friends are. (Running, Huggy Can’t Go Home)

• 348.Starsky comments to Hutch that “Huggy is a bad liar” and he has never lied to them before. Starsky and Hutch also figured the same thing when Huggy covered for Dewey Hughes and the car in his alley. How often does Huggy lie to Starsky and Hutch? And what do all three consider a lie? (Kill Huggy Bear, Huggy Can’t Go Home)

• 349. Conflicting relationships: Huggy and Julius, Huggy and Starsky and Hutch, Starsky and Hutch and Dobey. Comment on this triangle. Are there any other times when the lines of friendship, allegiances and loyalty are laid out this darkly? (Huggy Can’t Go Home)

• 350. Huggy tells Starsky and Hutch he “reminisced about the good old days which weren’t that good.” Hutch tells Vanessa the good old days she mentions “weren’t that good.” Will Starsky and Hutch, sitting on the stoop of their nursing home, feel the old days were pretty darn good? Or not? (Hutchinson for Murder One, Huggy Can’t Go Home)