BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS C
"All my life I've
dreamed of living at sea, what it would be like to be a
captain."
(Murder at
Sea)
• 101. Is
Woodfield contemplating suicide as he waits for police at
the end of the episode? (Captain Dobey, You’re Dead)
• 102. Hutch calls Colby “Bum,” refers to him as “Colby,”
but calls him “John” seventeen times. Starsky calls Colby
“John” once, but calls him a variety of nicknames, all
fairly derogatory. How does this support Hutch’s
knowing/feeling closer to Colby than Starsky did? Or the
other way around? (Deadly Imposter)
• 103. Hutch tells Starsky, “That’s Colby, I want him.” Is
Hutch more eager to collar Colby than Starsky because Colby
“put him out” or because Hutch was closer to Colby and
feels his betrayal more intensely? (Deadly Imposter)
• 104. “The Old Man.” Write a short essay about a man so
memorably ancient that Tom and Joey, Hutch and even Theresa
refer to him only as “the old man.” Extra credit for
involving ‘The Sea.’ (Shootout)
• 105. Hutch tells Starsky, “Two out of three isn’t bad,”
in relation to being left-handed and discovering Rosie
Dobey is too. Hutch comments, “Two out of three isn’t bad,”
after Starsky’s horoscope reading “tall, dark and
handsome.” Madame Yram brings his horoscope up too. Starsky
replies that he isn’t really that tall, suggesting he is
“two out of three.” First, what did Hutch mean by this
comment over Rosey Malone? Secondly, which of the three
attributes is he eliminating for Starsky at the cafe? The
same one Starsky eliminates for himself. (Captain Dobey,
You’re Dead, Hostages)
• 106. Both Dobey, as well as Linda Mascelli, tell Starsky
and Hutch the case against Jojo “has to stick.” Explore how
both these people represent different sides of Starsky and
Hutch’s responsibility, Dobey as professional duty and
Linda as personal conscience. (Jojo)
• 107. Linda says she walked four hours on the beach, not
seeing a single soul. Is Starsky and Hutch’s reaction to
her admission surprise that in hours, she saw no one, or
that a jumpy woman who was raped on the beach would spend
hours there alone? Or are they both wishing they knew of a
beach one could go to to have that much privacy? (Jojo)
• 108. Starsky tells Merle he feels he needs to “apologize
for my partner’s rudeness,” and probably means it. Hutch
insincerely apologizes to Matt Coyle about Starsky’s bad
manners after Starsky walks on his coffee table. When does
Starsky do the same for Hutch? (Jojo)
• 109. Enter the Crowley Pharmaceutical Heroine, Mrs.
Haberman, looks like she could be Starsky’s mom. Agree or
disagree? Expand with three arguments for or against this
statement. (A Coffin for Starsky)
• 110. Does Starsky “hate soapy scenes” as he tells Dr.
Franklin, or does he think Hutch does, and wants to spare
him? Do either of them give each other, in other episodes,
scenes they would consider soapy. (A Coffin for Starsky)
• 111. Run with the circus theme with geeks, elephants and
peanuts and the Shrine Circus poster in Palm Crest Hotel
Lobby. (Bounty Hunter)
• 112. Your compendium-er can find no mention of circus
geeks forming a union, either in 1932 or otherwise. The
other facts are, as Hutch suspects, probably fictitious as
well. Does Starsky really believe what’s in this book or is
he teasing Hutch? How about Huggy, who would seem to be the
epitome of street smart? (Bounty Hunter)
• 113. In the opening scene, it is two days before
Christmas. Hutch says this to Perkowitz about Juvie,
Starsky says to Hutch in car. Molly / Pete stays with Hutch
one night and with the Williams one night. After Molly is
kidnapped the first time, Starsky comments “tomorrow is
Christmas Eve,” making it appear no time has passed at all.
Are Starsky and Hutch stuck in time until Hutch learns the
lesson of the true meaning of Christmas. Compare and
contrast the apparent stoppage of time with the movie
“Groundhog Day,” in which the main character has to “get
something right” in order for time to progress. (Little
Girl Lost)
• 114. Itchy is brought down by his own soup. Name some
other characters that are also “hoisted by their own
petards.” (Bust Amboy)
• 115. Abby asks Hutch, “Isn’t a 10-40 what you always have
when you’re in the middle of a good time?” No, Dear Abby,
that would be a “Henry Ocean,” a hard-on. Later, Abby
complains to Starsky’s girlfriend she and Hutch didn’t get
to pour the wine. Starsky’s girlfriend pouts, “We didn’t
even get the cork out.” Seeing how this picnic was
supposedly a prelude to sex, who smells more “like
frustration,” as he gets into the Torino, Starsky or Hutch?
(Vendetta, Heavyweight)
• 116. Hutch actually completes the call to Starsky---you
can see him punch in seven numbers---as the brick comes
through the window. What is Starsky hearing and thinking on
the other end of the line? (Vendetta)
• 117. Hutch tells Starsky he is worried about a person
being able to get in his front door to leave a rat in his
icebox. Is he thinking of the key he leaves on the
doorframe? Or of someone told his landlord he was Hutch’s
little brother from Boston to get let in? (Vendetta, Fatal
Charm)
• 118. If Starsky never missed the Maxie Malone show, and
Hutch says he was on one, speculate on the chances of
Starsky seeing Hutch in the audience. (Captain Dobey,
You’re Dead)
• 119. Speculate a different path for Gillian if she didn’t
hit Olga Grossman after she turned in the three keys. Would
she have disappeared from Bay City, and Hutch as well? Hid
in Bay City and watched Hutch from afar? Stayed Bay City
and asked for Hutch’s help in quitting the business?
(Gillian)
• 120. Commander Jim feels radio waves bombard his head,
which makes him feel crazy. Collandra says his psychic
talent makes his head feel like a television set without a
channel selector. Compare and contrast these two
characters. (Psychic, Lady Blue)
• 121. Hutch says it doesn’t make sense when bus driver
identifies Mousy as a rapist. Hutch comments, “…From what
we’ve heard from the joint from the time that he spent in
there, he has a tendency to go the other way.” Hearing
about Mousy’s sexual preferences, at least while in prison,
is fairly detailed information. How much information do
Starsky and Hutch get “from the joint”? (Nightmare)
• 122. While it could be nothing more than a continuity
error, comment on the possibility that when Iron Mike shuts
the bedroom door a second time, it is because Laura Lonigan
opened it to listen to the conversation in the living room
and knows Mike is turning over her husband. (Iron Mike)
• 123. When Starsky and Hutch promise Mike, as he is dying,
that they will use his black book and not tell Dobey, do
they keep their promise? Was the promise to use the book?
To not tell Dobey? Both? (Iron Mike)
• 124. What the heck is Hutch doing and saying as they
arrest Lucky Lester in the blue Mercury? He appears
agitated. Is it because he thinks Lucky Lester looks a
little too much like Coley? Speculate on what is going down
with Starsky and Hutch. (Iron Mike, Pilot)
• 125. “Huggy might bend the law a bit, but he’s not a
monster like Coyle,” Starsky tells Dobey. Coyle tells
Starsky and Hutch they should be grateful he got the
monsters and “hard cases” off the street. How far is this
from the rationalization Mike makes to himself regarding
Coyle from the one Starsky, Hutch and Dobey make about
Huggy? In both cases, decisions about guilt and who should
remain on the street remains private decision. (Iron Mike)
• 126. How much of Starsky and Hutch’s anger at Iron Mike
is due to his cruel and inept way of dealing with his
underlings, and then finding out he was “cheating” to get
his results? Would they have been more forgiving if he was
a better boss? Would Starsky and Hutch called him on his
dubious management skill if they suspected he was cheating
to get his busts? (Iron Mike)
• 127. Hutch buys Molly / Pete a surplus army outfit for
Christmas, rather than a dress. He gives her what she
really wants, even though it isn’t what he wanted. Why then
does he get Starsky the tree, rather than the sweater or
the caboose, things Starsky really wanted? (Little Girl
Lost)
•
128. Leotis doesn’t lack “basic logic” so much as he is
gullible and takes things literally. He thinks a heater is
a hot water heater. Leotis tells information to Sugar and
Milo when they say they are FBI Finally, Leotis brings
pizza for breakfast. At the same time, his three “goofs”
are perhaps not all his fault. Agree or disagree. Elaborate
on your answer. (Huggy Bear and the Turkey)
• 129. Speculate on the thought that Sonny Watson and Foxy
Baker are lovers. One clue may be his taking off her
glasses at the amusement park. Name two other sets of
people who may be having sex together and the possible
clues. (Huggy Bear and the Turkey)
• 130. Starsky puts Hutch’s Buddy Holly album in the oven.
One of Hutch’s meditation phrases is “Lake Medley,” a title
off the Buddy Holly Story soundtrack, released in 1978. Are
there any other Buddy Holly references in this episode?
(Game)
•
131. Starsky asks for some rules to the game, saying even
“Ringolevio had rules.” How does Hutch’s street theater act
compare to Ringolevio? (Game)
• 132. Nick Edward’s girlfriend, Peggy, calls Molly / Pete
to tell her of her father’s accident. That is the last time
you see or hear of her, making her a pretty crummy
girlfriend. In terms of presence and support, which of
these girlfriends steps up to the head of the class: Ella
(Vern), Mickie Marra (Professor Gage) or Lola (Leo). Why?
(Little Girl Lost, Running, Class in Crime, Captain Dobey,
You’re Dead)
• 133. While Starsky and Merle complain about Hutch’s car,
it only actually breaks down once, when trying to apprehend
Pardee. Are there any times when the Torino is a detriment
to police work? Aside from the fact it is bright red and
immediately recognizable. (Game)
• 134. “If you prick us, doth we not bleed…,” Hutch quotes
Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice” to Kira, when she
comes to talk to Starsky and Hutch at the Pits. So what was
this Merchant of Venice selling when she slept with both
Starsky and Hutch? Extra credit for using Venice Place in
your answer. (Starsky vs. Hutch)
• 135. The grenade goes off. Starsky covers Kira. Hutch
covers Joey. Kira then crawls to Joey without a look to
Starsky or Hutch. She comforts Joey. What might this scene
tell Starsky and Hutch? (Starsky vs. Hutch)
• 136. When Starsky tells Huggy, “I have a beautiful blond
coming to meet me,” does he mean Kira or Hutch? (Starsky
vs. Hutch)
• 137. Starsky’s soliloquy: “I figure after eight years on
the street, you learn to take things as they come…I figure
you come into this life alone and you go out alone, in
between try to experience everything as it comes, expect
nothing, don’t take anything too seriously.” How much of
this does Starsky really believe? Has he always believed
it, or is he feeling depressed and burnt out? Is Kira right
when she calls him on it? (Starsky vs. Hutch)
• 138. Starsky tells Kira, “I figure you come into this
life alone and you go out alone.” How does what he says to
Kira become a direct violation of what he would say to
Hutch in regards to “me and thee”? (Starsky vs. Hutch)
• 139. Starsky tells Hutch he has been dating Kira for a
month, yet it seems there is a possibility they haven’t had
sex yet. Seeing how both Starsky and Kira are highly
motivated in the sex department, why have they waited so
long? (Starsky vs. Hutch)
• 140. When Starsky says Hutch has Kira “covered tonight,”
does he have any thought that it is more than business,
considering he and Hutch’s past track records with women?
(Starsky vs. Hutch)
• 141. Minnie asks Starsky, “You taking care of that
gorgeous blond sergeant?” Starsky certainly isn’t. And
Minnie knows it. (Starsky vs. Hutch)
• 142. The guy playing pinball at Golden Lady resembles a
young Harold Dobey. Extrapolate on a young Officer Dobey’s
character, expectations and possible experiences. (Starsky
vs. Hutch)
• 143. Starsky’s dance partner scolds Starsky, “Listen,
when you are going to make a big move, let a girl know.”
Assuming dancing is symbolic of sex, this could be a clue
she would not be compatible with Starsky in bed either.
What are three characteristics Starsky would look for in a
good sexual partner? (Starsky vs. Hutch)
• 144. Starsky suggests he drive after Hutch’s car conks
out, to “save both our careers.” Hutch complains about
having to drive, citing three reasons, all money related.
Would it be a good thing for Starsky and Hutch to stick
with the Torino one hundred percent? (Game, Strange
Justice)
• 145. The number of times Starsky and Hutch have body
contact in season four is a drastically smaller amount than
in the previous three seasons. Speculate. (various)
• 146. What exactly does Durniak mean when he asks Starsky
to drive so he can talk to Hutch, saying “if you’re not
here, he’ll only hear my side”? (Set-Up)
• 150. “Just think what might have happened, Starsky, had
you been nice to an old man?” Hutch tells Starsky on the
phone after Starsky doesn’t recognize the old man selling
Gold Eagles. Just what might have happened if he did?
(Game)