• 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 Without a Badge arc? (Targets Without a
Badge 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, either 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 laying 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 Without a Badge 1, Targets Without a Badge 2,
Targets Without a Badge 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
Without a Badge 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 doesn’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 want 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 is 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 Widdicome, 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 look-out?
(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 throw-away 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 Hur’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)