BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS L

"Wouldn't you like some cheese?"
"No thank you, I'm on a diet."
(Snowstorm)

• 551. The mayor says Starsky and Hutch “challenged a powerful enemy and emerged victorious.” Allison asks them, “Well, didn’t you?” Starsky replies, “Who knows.” What other foreshadowing moments are in the Targets arc? (Targets 3)

• 552. Old women as prophets, compare the characters of Hannah Kanen and Mrs. Greene. (Deckwatch, Black and Blue)

• 553. Juxtapose these two sentences, uttered back to back: Harry tells Hannah he killed the women, “She was just there, “ to Laura’s statement to Starsky and Hutch about Harry in the very next scene, next line of dialogue, “He was just there.” (Deckwatch)

• 554. The Sight of Blood. Four characters comment on their own reactions to the sight of blood. Does each of their reaction say something about their personality? Hector asks Laura if she likes the sight of blood and her answer is, “No.” Hector says he doesn’t mind the sight of blood. Hutch says of blood, “I’m getting sick of the sight of it on my clothes.” Hannah says, “It’s not easy…I’ve seen lots of it.” (Deckwatch)

• 550. Hutch tells Colby “You can find us at my place.” Apparently Starsky is going to spend all his off hours on the weekend with Hutch. Merle refers to Starsky and Hutch as “Starkinson.” Starsky and Hutch apparently share a bar tab. And Starsky is the one with the pager; Metro must assume only one of the pair needs the device and they will be together. Just how much off time do Starsky and Hutch spend together? And how much do other people assume they do? (Deadly Imposter, Bloodbath, Action, Class in Crime)

• 551. Starsky tells Hutch while he sits with Catlin in the expensive car, “Did you know these things are so quiet that you can actually hear the rustle of silk stockings against the leather. I love the smell of leather.” Hutch answers him, “Well yeah, you and Todesco ought to write a book together.” What would the book be about? Starsky and Todesco’s shared love of the smell of leather? Their shared appreciation for fine cars? Or something else? Would Hutch read this book? (Class in Crime)

• 552. Gage’s choice of words reflects his bizarre, and insulting, belief in the relationship between a murderer and his or her victim. He uses two word match-ups, “killer” and “killee.” And the even worse one, “victor” and “victim.”

• 553. Why does Professor Gage kill? Jack and Allen refer to him as a professional hit man. Does Gage kill out of an intellectual exercise, feeling his victims “chose” their deaths by his hand? Does he kill because he is mentally ill or because he simply enjoys it? And, where does Michelle’s willingness to murder fit in this puzzle? (Class in Crime)

• 554. Professor Gage uses the terms “victor” and “victim.” Is the killer always the victor, in his mind? (Class in Crime)

• 555. Stewart Ross, a little boy, calls Hutch up at the station and complains about his mother punishing him, with spanking, for stealing cookies. Professor Gage tells his class a crime, whether it is murder or “stealing cookies when your mother isn’t looking” has a strange equality. Good thing Gage isn’t Stewart’s papa, or Starsky and Hutch would be called to the Ross household for a homicide. (Cover Girl, Class in Crime)

• 556. Starsky and Hutch both comment on Joey’s “budding.” Starsky refers to her “budding life of crime.” Hutch tells Starsky he “doesn’t want to interrupt this budding romance.” Triangulate their comments with the disaster in the flower shop. (Trap)

• 557. Pedicures and Hutch. When does he say he, “almost got a pedicure,” and when does he actually get one? (Trap, Dandruff)

• 558. Starsky’s Horses: He tells Huggy, “For a man that looks like an Egyptian horse, your house is made of glass.” Starsky also feels Hutch’s tractor trick is, “like a Trojan Horse in reverse.” Are these two horses more or less alarming than the biting ones up by Pine Lake? (Black and Blue, Trap, Satan’s Witches)

• 559. Is Starsky’s seeming lack of interest in getting reimbursed for expenses related to his idea Louise make him rich? Compare to Starsky’s visions of wealth when his uncle dies and leaves money to Starsky. How does this desire for quick money mirror his brother, Nick’s? (Hutchinson for Murder One, Golden Angel, Starsky’s Brother)

• 560. Starsky really pays attention to the ultimate placement of the fifty dollars Hutch uses to bait John-John the Apple. They seem to make an equal amount of petty bets against each other, more for sport than anything. They both try to weasel out of their bar tab and Hutch’s gym dues. Starsky won’t bet Nick Starsky $50, as that is too rich. Yet both Starsky and Hutch feel of them feel they can lose two weeks’ pay in a game of hide and seek Is Starsky or Hutch more hard up for money? (Collector, Game, Pilot, various)

• 561. Vanessa tells Hutch see will meet him at the Pits at 9:00 pm. Hutch is seen at the bar working on his third beer. Did Hutch go early to the Pits? Or did Vanessa get there late? (Hutchinson for Murder One)

• 562. “I’ll see you at nine,” Vanessa tells Hutch rather imperiously, as she has no idea of his schedule. Apparently 9:00 is shortly, as Hutch leaves right away. Is this an example of Vanessa saying, “Jump,” and Hutch saying, “How high?” Or not? (Hutchinson for Murder One)

• 563. Knowing Vanessa is a big liar, is she telling the truth when she tells Boyle and Cardwell she has cleared missing the flight to London yesterday with Avery Wheeler? In all of Vanessa’s statements, from whether she still loves Hutch, to wanting Hutch as a business partner, to her comments to Mr. Steen in Amsterdam and her knowledge Hutch likes his eggs, scrambled, medium, what is the truth and what isn’t? And does Vanessa even know? (Hutchinson for Murder One)

• 564. Starsky and Hutch go to Huggy’s for shelter. Starsky wants to make a phone call and goes directly to Huggy’s bed, flips over the pillow and grabs the phone for his call. Comment please. (Hutchinson for Murder One)

• 565. Compare and contrast Vanessa and Starsky’s plan to get really, really rich. Vanessa’s plan involves a fake diamond. Starsky’s plan involves a fake chinchilla. (Hutchinson for Murder One)

• 566. It is Friday the 24, 1978, February, March or November. Dobey reminds of Starsky being in the hospital while Hutch was on a case alone. Which case was this, and do these times stick in Starsky and Hutch’s minds? (Hutchinson for Murder One)

• 567. Catherine Oates and Jack Cunningham in the bedroom. Catherine is lying on the bed. Jack kneeling next to it. She asks Jack if he has ever had sex with a woman, with the answer apparently no. “Been singing in the choir all your life?” Jack looks pretty embarrassed, yet interested in what she’s offering. He just has to slide his hand over, gently, gently, to slowly get between her plump and alluring…mattress. To get at the money. Right Jack, it’s the money you’re after, right? And as for sex or money from Catherine: better triangulate your position with Duvcha, pal. (Collector)

• 568. How would the case with Internal Affairs have gone differently if Hutch hadn’t gone into the initial meeting with Simonetti and Dryden seemingly intent on not cooperating? It has already been established they don’t have a history with each other. Dobey has to explain to Starsky and Hutch who Simonetti and Dryden are. And Dryden has to read Hutch’s file to understand who he is. What if Hutch had been more cooperative? Less combative? Given a proper statement rather than angry reactions? And not stormed out in the middle of the interview with an aggressive challenge? Hutch may be distraught, but he is also a professional, and way smarter than that. Simonetti and Dryden may be asses, but could Hutch have played this better? Or as Starsky would have told him, “Don’t antagonize the people,” you need, Hutch. (Hutchinson for Murder One, A Coffin for Starsky)

• 569. Upon Hutch’s initial interview with Internal Affairs, how aware is he of how the case is stacking up against him? He knows it looks bad with his gun, his living room and his ex-wife. He probably remembers the fight at the Pits, though may not. He may or may not remember Vanessa’s scratch across his hand. And he definitely doesn’t know about the diamond. Keep in mind, Hutch has been around the block a time or two and knows most combative ex-spouses don’t need a million dollar diamond as motive, only a physical altercation and anger gone way too far. (Hutchinson for Murder One)

• 570. Is Starsky ever disciplined for slugging Simonetti? Are Starsky and Hutch ever disciplined for cuffing Dryden to the table, handling his gun, disobeying an arrest warrant from the County of Los Angeles and fleeing? Should they have been? If they weren’t, what kept them from accruing some pretty heavy charges? Extra credit: Do Simonetti and Dryden keep their jobs? They are never heard from again. Is this why Simonetti apparently changes his name to Alex Bates and gets a job with Gunther? To exact revenge on two thorns in his side? (Hutchinson for Murder One, Targets 1, Targets 2, Targets 3, Sweet Revenge)

• 571. Compare and contrast the phone calls between two guys and their moms. Both Tony and Starsky call their moms regularly. Both profess their love. (Running, Discomania)

• 572. Tony Mariposa complains about his childhood in Brooklyn being rough, no “bowl of cherries.” Speculate on whether Starsky and Hutch would say the same about their childhoods. Were they “bowls of cherries,” and if not, perhaps what they needed was to come to Bay City and add “the Pits,” and all this implies, to their cherries? (Discomania, various)

• 573. Tony Mariposa and David Starsky seem they could be peers back in New York. Did Starsky’s childhood include ripping off hubcaps with Tony, or some of his pals, in Brooklyn? (Discomania)

• 574. Speculate on the meaning of the four addresses in New York mentioned in relation to the Starsky family. Crazy Sammy Pearl went through a window on 48th St., Starsky and Nick argue about the Loews on 86th St. and the movie house on 3rd Avenue. Nick Starsky worked at a printing business on 104th St. The three “street” addresses are in the heart of New York City, near Radio City Music Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park. The 3rd Avenue is a little less clear, but all of these addresses have the Starsky’s hanging out in some pretty nice real estate. (Starsky’s Brother, Targets 3)

• 575. What is Starsky doing the hours Hutch is laying, knocked out in his apartment? We don’t see him checking Vanessa’s flight record, talking to any snitches, investigating the diamond’s path, talking to the Lab about the lack of gunpowder residue on Hutch’s hand or doing anything police-like. Starsky and Hutch are strangely impotent with their investigation at Fever. They don’t seem to talk to the victims’ families? Find out if there were any signs of rape, or theft, or other forensic evidence with the bodies, nor do they do any real investigation into what the victims may or may not have had in common. Hanging out and dancing and asking vague questions don’t seem to be too pro-active. While there have been other cases in the past which display less than logical police work by Starsky and Hutch, do they tend to become more or less prevalent as the seasons progress? (Hutchinson for Murder One, Discomania)

• 576. Frank and Virgil are shown swilling moonshine. Sam Ivers drinks moonshine by the Mason jar. While Dolly mentions drinking it, “I’m not taking a chance on poisoning myself,” she is never shown actually consuming any. Is this because she is smarter? A chick? Some other reason? (Moonshine)

• 577. Sam Ivers says, “Our family’s been brewing corn since Washington D.C. was nothing more than a swamp.” He also says his family has been in the business for the duration of “four wars” and “twenty presidents,” which is contradictory. One could assume they have been brewing moonshine for about 188 years (putting Washington D.C. as nothing but a swamp at about 1790), but haven’t had a bad batch since World War I. However, Sam makes it a point there has never been a bad batch out of the Ivers still. Is there some revisionist history going on? Is Sam confused in his old age? Has he had one too many “snort of loudmouth”? (Moonshine)

• 578. While it seems pretty stupid to cut moonshine with wood alcohol, which seems would kill off all your customers, there is a good chance Willy and Melvin were more careless than devious. Willy wants to cut the “old with the new…I’ll cut it plenty, Sam, so as no one will get poisoned, much less sick.” It is unclear if the wood alcohol is cheaper to produce, making the moonshine go further. If this is the case, perhaps they added it to the moonshine in too greedy a dose? Another possibility is Willy and Melvin’s technique; in the distillation process, one is instructed to pour off the first 50 ml produced, this first product being wood alcohol. Perhaps Melvin and Willy were too cheap to decant their hooch? (Moonshine)

• 579. Dolly asks Starsky, after he swats her on the butt with the guitar case, “Do you play that thing Curly, or is that just your way of getting attention?” What would be Starsky’s answer? (Moonshine)

• 580. Dobey tells Starsky and Hutch that Agent Kendall’s body was discovered an hour ago. He transmits no other information before hanging up, only telling Starsky and Hutch their cover better be better than Kendall’s and they had better be there (Backwoods Inn) tonight. On many other occasions, Dobey’s instructions to them are merely, “I don’t want to know how you do it, just get it done.” Dobey often gives them an amazingly small amount of direction, or information, counting on Starsky and Hutch to take care of these details themselves. Dobey is there, however, to help clean up the mess in what must be a huge amount of fall-out in paperwork and ruffling the feathers of others after the dust settles on each case. While this appears to be effective with Starsky and Hutch, is this hands-off approach one he practices with his other employees? Any other comments on this style of management? (Moonshine, various)

• 581. Starsky complains to Hutch about working on Sundays. He then comments to Emily, “All the normal people are working right now,” and the time is suppertime. It seems as though Starsky and Hutch’s work schedule has been so varied and convoluted that Starsky doesn’t even know what a “normal” schedule is anymore. Comment. (Blindfold)

• 582. Just how isolated is Emily Harrison? She has no relatives, so says Starsky. And her only friend and support person is Sharon. But Emily hasn’t told Sharon anything about Don Widdicombe, the man with whom she is heavily involved. In fact, Sharon and Don have never met, as Emily has to introduce them to each other near the end of the show. (Blindfold)

• 583. Huggy tells Pinky, “No one ever killed someone because their (sic) jokes were bad.” Is this true? (Blindfold)

• 584. Starsky kisses Emily on the mouth. She is still blind and doesn’t know it was he that shot her. Is this any different than his kissing Rosey Malone when she didn’t know his real job? Why or why not? (Blindfold, Rosey Malone)

• 585. Cameras, furs and calculators seem to be what are the currency of the street in terms of stolen and pawned goods in Bay City. What would be the three things Starsky and Hutch would be seeing at fences if it were today? (Blindfold, Bounty Hunter)

• 586. Emily’s eyesight returns one hundred percent. Starsky is off the hook. What would have happened with Starsky if she remained blind? Or if regained partial eyesight? And how would Starsky’s feeling of responsibility changed towards her future, knowing she was Don’s lookout? (Blindfold)

• 587. Starsky and Hutch seem to be equally goading each other at the Pits, and it is Starsky who first brings up the idea of a bet. It is Starsky who gives the bet teeth with a monetary reward, but Hutch who makes ups the amount. Who is the main instigator in the game of Hide and Seek Starsky and Hutch set up? (Game)

• 588. Hutch quotes a scene from Shakespeare’s “Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra,” to Starsky in the opening scene. “When it appears to you where this begins, turn your displeasure that way. For our faults can never be so equal that your love can equally move with them. Provide you going. Choose your own company and command what cost your heart has mind to.” What speaks to Hutch Antony’s quote? What does he hope it says to Starsky? Is Starsky even listening? Or, is the quote a random one, meant to convey nothing personal? (Game)

• 589. Compare Hutch to the Antony in Shakespeare’s “Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra.” Antony, one of a triumvirate, pride and love, torn between the Rome of duty and the Alexandria of pleasure and love. Antony’s understanding of himself, full of tension, as he recalls his glory, golden days of heroism when he felt he knew his path. Antony, now entangled in a messy love affair. Antony, aware of how far he has strayed from his ideal self, his struggle between emotion and reason. Extra credit for comparing Hutch’s decision not to call off the game, despite his illness, to Antony’s botched suicide. Extra credit for comparing the can of cold clam chowder to an asp. Extra credit given for showing how this play has nothing to do with Starsky and Hutch; the book Hutch reads from being a throwaway moment. (Game)

• 590. “It’s no secret,” Hutch tells Starsky. “I’ve been carrying you since Day One.” What day does Hutch consider Day One? (Game)

• 591. “Well yeah, you and Todesco ought to write a book together, Hutch tells Starsky. Assuming this book would be about Starsky and Todesco’s shared love of the smell of leather, or their shared appreciation for fine cars, would Hutch read this book? Hutch goads Starsky at the Pits, telling him, “I am the brains of this duo and you’re the not-too-inconsiderable brawn.” Starsky asks Hutch who wrote that book. Hutch answers, “Life. Just gonna have to accept it.” Will Starsky read this book? Should they both curl up on the couch with their respective tomes and then have a little book club discussion? (Class in Crime, Game)

• 592. He, who has the working car, has the brains apparently. Starsky tells Hutch to give, “Both our careers a break…let me do the finding. You ride shotgun.” Finding = driving = brains. Brawn = passenger. (Game)

• 593. Brother Ernie Silvers Explains It All To You. He sums up the question of who’s smarter. Ernie tells Hutch (in disguise) that both Starsky and Hutch are dumb, “Especially the blond one.” So dumb, “they don’t even know the difference.” Hutch asks for clarification, “I thought he (Hutch) was supposed to be the bright one?” Ernie replies, “Yeah, if he is, it ain’t by much.” (Game)

• 594. Merle is either showing Starsky his true colors when he tells him, “For money, baby, I’d work on Ben Hurr’s chariot and charge him for a ring job,” or his standards have changed from when he hassled Hutch about working on his dump of a car because Merle had an image to uphold. (Game, Jojo, Bloodbath)

• 595. Hutch tells Gina, “I’m no mood to dance.” If Gina had known more about Hutch, she would have replied, “Good, cause I’m in no mood to watch.” (Game)

• 596. Dobey speculates Hutch won’t come to him when he is feeling ill because he knows Dobey will chew him out. Starsky tells Dobey Hutch won’t go to Huggy either, “Knowing Hutch, he figures Huggy’s in on the set-up.” Does Huggy align himself more strongly with Starsky than with Hutch? If so, why? (Game)

• 597. Grabbing Gina. Everyone seems to do it. Hutch grabs her arms and yells at her. Starsky grabs her arms and yells at her. Pardee grabs her arms and yells at her. (Game)

• 598. Starsky tells Hutch, after Hutch rips the tag from the tux and ruins it, “Someday, someway, I’m going to pay you back.” Does he? (Photo Finish)

• 599. Nicole Monk shows a part of her soul when she tells Starsky and Hutch Troy Braddock was a “gorgeous man…particularly in extremis.” Why was he most beautiful to her at his moment of death? Because she was finished with his attentions and his murder was a relief? Because she has some kinky necrophilia thing going on? Perhaps she and Basil have a twisted sexual game going on, where he is happy to kill off her lover for the pleasure it gives her? (Photo Finish)

• 600. Harvey, Basil Monk’s butler, is constantly being ordered about by Basil. Contrast the symbolism of Basil telling Harvey to “show the gentlemen out” as the camera focuses on the cymbal-clapping monkey toy Basil winds up. The toy has the same lime green vest and dark arms Harvey has on. (Photo Finish)