BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS I
"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." (Class in
Crime)
• 401.
“It’s nice to be wanted,” Hutch says facetiously when Iron
Mike is requesting he and Starsky for the stakeout. Too bad
their radars weren’t so finely tuned when Cameron requests
their help in Las Vegas. Are there examples of other
departments or law enforcement agencies genuinely
requesting Starsky and Hutch’s help on their own merits?
(Iron Mike, Las Vegas Strangler)
• 402. Starsky tells Hutch regarding the tango, “I’ll lead”
because he is teaching Hutch. Hutch teaches Starsky to play
chess, to meditate, to play golf. What are some other
examples of Starsky actively teaching Hutch something? Does
either man play the role of the teacher more often? (Tap
Dancing, Iron Mike, Game, Playboy Island)
• 403. Hutch points out to Starsky that the Chapel of
Bodily Invigoration would “appreciate a well-conditioned
body.” So does Gretchen Knebel, who suggestively says she
“likes a man who is physically fit,” and Meghan, who
mentions hiking into Pine Lake with her girlfriend in order
to “stay in really good shape.” What are some other
suggestions that tie being physically fit with being sexual
active? (Specialist, Pilot, Playboy Island)
• 404. On the subject of justifiable fear, Starsky
reassures Hutch that he too is afraid “every time I pull
this thing,” referring to his gun. Starsky also tells
Meredith, “People who don’t get scared, scare me.”
(Gillian, Black and Blue)
• 405. It appears Hutch ate Starsky’s plain baked potato,
as he mentions the two Irish plums he consumed. But Starsky
pays him back by hogging all the pillows in room 39 at the
Country Squire. (Specialist)
• 406. Hutch makes a chilling foreshadowing statement when
he asks Dobey, “What kind of security do we have around
here anyway, when a guy can walk into this garage, plant a
bomb in a car and walk out of here”? (Specialist)
• 407. Both Roger and Bigalow are co-workers that hassle
Hutch, and both men think of themselves as funny guys.
Envision the two of them eating in the cafeteria. What do
they say about Starsky and Hutch? (Survival, Vampire)
• 408. Hutch, rather than Starsky, seems to be a magnet for
unwanted women letting themselves into his place and
wanting to cook him dinner. Does Hutch underestimate Diana,
in part, due to his experiences with the fangless Fifi?
(Fatal Charm, Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty)
• 409. How did Chief Ryan get as far as he has with his
complete misread of Starsky and Hutch’s characters? When he
tells them, “This time we got two witnesses,” he has
certainly thought they have done some pretty awful things
in the past, not just goofy and flamboyant things. And how
does his misread of their basic character jive with the
fact Starsky got a commendation and invitation to speak at
the Academy? (Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty)
• 410. Chief Ryan distrusts Starsky and Hutch, but it is
Starsky that distrusts Ryan, thinking right away he is out
to frame them. Starsky is also the one to distrust Huggy
when isn’t straight with them about the car in his alley.
Is Starsky naturally more distrustful of people than Hutch?
(Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty, Kill Huggy Bear)
• 411. Starsky mentions shopping for clothes with Hutch
when he talks of the sweater they saw last week. Starsky
also mentions being with Terry and seeing the way “she
elbows her way through a department store.” Perhaps being a
shopping companion is his character litmus test? (Little
Girl Lost, Starsky’s Lady)
• 412. Starsky tells Terry he isn’t driving the bumper cars
because Hutch won’t let him; Hutch is worried Starsky will
“start driving like that on the street.” Sorry Charlie, he
already is. Of the two, who is more reckless in vehicles?
Who is more skillful? Do they ever have contact with
someone who is a better driver? (Starsky’s Lady)
• 413. The last two statements George Prudholm makes to
Starsky are one hundred percent true. He says to Starsky,
“You’re not going to shoot me. You’re too good a cop.” What
are some other things Prudholm gets right? And wrong?
(Starsky’s Lady)
• 414. Starsky and Hutch and their tastes in popular
culture are often at odds. Hutch doesn’t know who Kate
Jackson is and Starsky isn’t familiar with Ingmar Bergman.
Hutch likes country music and Starsky doesn’t. Hutch likes
the classical music on the radio and Starsky doesn’t. Hutch
complains Starsky only went to the Brahms concert to
impress Allison. What are some popular culture they DO
agree on? (Murder on Stage 17, Long Walk, Starsky and Hutch
Are Guilty, Targets 2)
• 415. What did Wally Stone go to prison for? It was bad
enough to have a woman spit in his face later, but Steve
says, “They never proved that Wally pushed” Jane. (Murder
on Stage 17)
• 416. Hutch tells Dobey Captain Ryan doesn’t like the way
he and Starsky comb their hair, the way they dress and
doesn’t think Starsky’s joke was funny. That’s a far cry
from what Ryan is thinking about them when he says, “This
time you got sloppy. This time you got two witnesses.”
Points in style and brutality are pretty far apart. How do
Starsky and Hutch misread Ryan so badly in what he suspects
of them? (Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty)
• 417. Hutch says Starsky makes Earl’s Custom Car Cult
sound like a religion. Does this make Father Merle the only
religious figure of integrity Starsky and Hutch run into in
Bay City? (Jojo)
• 418. What if Wally Stone and Steve Hanson were in on the
murder of the rest of the Wolf Pack? Steve is getting old,
and Wally is washed up. Steve admits this movie is his last
hope. What better publicity that a “real life” walk down
Main Street, ghosts from the past and all that yummy
publicity? There already seems to be something going on
between them, as Wally says he “took the rap” for Steve.
Steve seems way braver, and foolhardy, than expected in his
High Noon Moment with Wally. And Wally can use all the help
he can get. (Murder on Stage 17)
• 419. Starsky asks Hutch, “Do you trust me or not? Hutch
replies, “With my life, yes. With your choice of women,
no.” Does Hutch consider Starsky’s choice in women bad?
Worse than his own? (Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty)
• 420. Dobey says regarding the frame-up of Starsky and
Hutch, “Twenty-seven years on the force, god knows I’ve had
my situations like this.” Could he be referring to a prior
case where a fake Dobey and a fake Elmo were framed in a
series of abuses? (Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty)
• 421. Would Nikki really get the real Starsky and Hutch
mixed up with the fake ones? First of all, she is used to
seeing men in the dark, so her identification skills are
high. And the fake Starsky puts out a cigarette just as he
knocks on the door. Nikki would smell that and know the
real Starsky, just a couple of minutes ago, didn’t smell
like that. (Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty)
• 422. Tthere are only two episodes that have Starsky and
Hutch specifically mention a past case the viewer has seen.
“Partners” is one long reminisce. And “Pariah” is mentioned
in “Starsky’s Lady.” The four-part arc in season four isn’t
taken into account with this observation, as I am
considering it one long episode unto its own. (Losing
Streak, Partners, Pariah, Targets 1, Targets 2, Targets 3,
Sweet Revenge)
• 423. “Seventy-Eight” is mentioned as something worn out
and down to a bad end: Hutch offers to sell Starsky his old
“78” records a few seconds before Knight tells Starsky and
Hutch about the seventy-eight year old man who died in his
arms. (Committee)
• 424. Two characters in the Committee have similar names:
Officer Williams and Paul Willits. Take the part that
differs, “am” and “it,” and investigate how those two words
relate to their respective characters. (Committee)
• 425. Compare and contrast the characters of Dirty Nellie
and Anita. (Committee, Game)
• 426. Dobey better go downstairs to see Bigalow. He
declined the wastepaper basket once, but seems to be
missing it. (Survival, Committee)
• 427. Hopefully Starsky and Hutch’s evidence on Sample is
more than forensic, as I don’t think they’ll be able to
keep a straight face in court having to say “hairy sample.”
(Shootout)
• 428. Envision the crime pit these two addresses seem to
be: Schultz’s Bar is at 1326 Devon. This address also is
heard over the police radio three years later as the scene
of a “211 in progress.” Nikki’s house of prostitution is
also located at 1328 Devon, apparently right next door.
(Iron Mike, Moonshine, Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty)
• 429. Watch the story played out when Starsky and Hutch
dress as a mime and as Charlie Chaplin. Starsky looks
interested in the other mime, Hutch hits him to distract
him and Starsky turns the screws on Hutch’s instrument as
an effort to control him. Starsky’s character has complete
fluid motion and Hutch’s character is choppy and
controlled. (Velvet Jungle)
• 430. "Velvet Jungle" is an episode filled with “hand
talkers.” Sally the sandwich guy, Lou Brownley and Paco
Ortega use their hands extensively to gesture and speak.
Perhaps this is a subtle way of saying that despite a
difference in spoken language, people have a great capacity
to understand each other. (Velvet Jungle)
• 431. Envision for a moment that Guillermo the bartender
isn’t just some whippo Hutch put in the junk three years
ago. Perhaps it is Mike Todesco undercover, cover so deep
even Hutch isn’t aware of its depth, and is working to
crack an immigration ring even bigger than Sterling’s and
Paco’s? (Velvet Jungle)
• 431. Harry tries to reassure Sue Ann about Tabor, “We’ve
got experts who can deal with people like that.” Does Hutch
really have a solid faith in this, even after their
experience with Commander Jim and his doctors? Or is he
doing what Paco did to Andrea Gutierrez when he tells her
Sterling “has no power…he only pretends to be big.” Both
Hutch and Paco aren’t necessarily telling the truth, as
their past experience in the system has told them
otherwise, but both seem willing to stretch this belief
just a little further to get at something bigger. Discuss
Paco and Hutch’s possible remorse at using a victim in this
way. (Velvet Jungle, Long Walk)
• 432. Compare and contrast the twenty pound baby girl
“due” to the showgirl, the eighteen pound baby girl Starsky
tells Rosey Malone about and the twenty pound turkey Molly
/ Pete says isn’t in her refrigerator. (Targets 1, Rosey
Malone, Little Girl Lost)
• 433. Starsky and Hutch, as per their emasculated
undercover characters, bring it home to the station. There
have been plenty of times they have gotten drenched, buy
have never piteously wrapped themselves in blankets,
shivering and putting bare feet on Dobey’s desk. This scene
also has Dobey scolding them and Starsky responding,
“Sometimes we act instinctively.” Hutch adds mincingly,
“Sometimes impetuously.” Dobey rounds out the scene by
referring to the salon as “where you two are practicing
your culture. “ (Dandruff)
• 434. When Ed Ohlin says, “Sometimes the big picture is
more important than the bit parts,” is he agreeing or
disagreeing with Hutch’s observation about Iron Mike’s
inability to see the forest for the trees? (Groupie, Iron
Mike)
• 435. Name two things referred to as Golden Eagles. (Game,
Huggy Bear and the Turkey)
• 436. While Sharon may have not decided to tell Emily who
Starsky really is at the time she sees him in the park
taking photos, she also, for some inexplicable reason,
declines to do so later. It is stated Emily has “no
family,” making Sharon her closest ally. It would appear
Sharon is the only person to have Emily’s best interests at
heart, yet is just a crummy friend as Don and Starsky. Her
good moves: she sits in the waiting room for Emily,
suggests Emily not to go with Don at the end and makes a
half-hearted try to try to call Starsky about Don moving in
on Emily. But not telling Emily who Starsky really is, not
being more forceful about Don, not calling Starsky
immediately when Don comes and takes Emily, she executes
some serious lapses with a friend who has been blind all of
a week or so. (Blindfold)
• 437. Emily, after regaining her eyesight, tells Starsky
he really is handsome. He replies, “Would I lie to you
about a thing like that?” No, but he sure lied about other
more important things. (Blindfold)
• 438. Hutch tells Slate angrily, “Justice has nothing to
do with murder. Never did.” True? (Strange Justice)
• 439. “You guys ever get tired of putting the squeeze on?”
Cobb asks Starsky and Hutch. Hutch answers, “Nope.” Is this
true? (Strange Justice)
• 440. Harry Owens says, “She won’t talk. I’ll bet my life
on it.” He ends up paying with his life, as Fitch calls in
his marker. And in the end, was Harry right about his
sister? And was she right about him? (Ballad for a Blue
Lady)
• 441. Hutch tells Starsky before they get to the warehouse
standoff with Reuben and Luke, “Look, I promised Doris I’d
give her the money.” The money is the motivating factor for
all. Doris told Hutch about Luke, but extracted the promise
Hutch would return the money to her, putting Hutch in a
terrible spot. Luke sets up Reuben and Hutch for the money.
Luke sets up Palmer for the money. In the end, it is
unclear if Doris gets the money, but she sure lost her
husband. If Doris thought waiting for him to come home from
work was lonely, she now gets to wait out a shameful prison
sentence. (Birds of a Feather)
• 442. Janet Margolin, who played Dr. Judith Kaufman, had
her very first television role in a 1961 episode of the
“Edge of Night.” The “Edge of Night” is the daytime drama
Mrs. Marlowe says was on when Starsky and Hutch went to
beat up Oscar Newton. (Plague, Starsky and Hutch Are
Guilty)
• 443. “Either you pay off, or I blow the whistle that you
arranged it.” Really. Is this Reuben threatening Luke or
the other way around? And does it really matter? Both have
about an equal amount of dirt on the other; it seems
Huntley could have spun this differently, but since his
goal was to get the money back, he was backed into a
corner. (Birds of a Feather)
• 444. Hutch mentions Starsky being “back east “ three
years ago as they devise the barrio bar plan. Hutch
mentions Starsky hasn’t seen Nick in four years when Nick
comes to visit, two years later. Depending on the part of
the year Starsky’s visit was, it is possible these two
mentions are the same visit. This would match up to when
Starsky had his first case out of uniform. But it is
entirely possible that when Starsky went “back east,” it
didn’t include seeing Nick. (Velvet Jungle, Pariah,
Starsky’s Brother)
• 445. Both Red and Dolphin, and Dewey, drive away from a
robbery in which they shoot a man in a panic. Both parties
involve the “light green Ford” in a minor traffic accident.
It is parked in front of Red and Dolphin’s get-a-way car
and they run into it. Dewey drives the “light green Ford”
into the car parked in front of him. Even more coincidence
is that both of these episodes involve Huggy protecting
someone and lying to Starsky and Hutch. (Huggy Can’t Go
Home, Kill Huggy Bear)
• 446. Jimmy Lucas corners Palmer who is being protected by
police. He tells Palmer, “Reuben sends his regards.” He
then shoots him, and Palmer’s body flies out the window.”
Soldier corners Rigger, who is being protected by police.
He tells Rigger, “Hello Pigeon. Let’s see if you can fly.”
He then shoots him, and his body flies out the window.
(Birds of a Feather, Targets 1)
• 447. Starsky tells Commander Jim’s doctor he wouldn’t let
him fix a sewing machine. Would Starsky allow Gunther
Senior the job? (Lady Blue, Sweet Revenge)
•448. Combining all three of the rattlesnakes that make an
appearance or get a mention, one would have a snake with a
noisy tail, in the refrigerator, whose name is Ernie.
(Velvet Jungle, Satan’s Witches, Game)
• 449. Starsky proposes marriage to two people and one
thing, Terry, Mrs. Greene and his hot dog lunch. With whom
or what would he have been most compatible? (Starsky’s
Lady, Black and Blue, Silence)
• 450. Starsky and Hutch note that Huggy has out-and-out
lied to them twice. In both instances, they speculate why
Huggy would lie. It is noted that maybe "he never had a
good enough reason" before. And in another instance, that
the amount of money involved was high enough to make him
lie. Are Starsky and Hutch assuming that every single
person has their price? What would Starsky and Hutch's be?
(Kill Huggy Bear, Huggy Can't Go Home)