I remember why I didn't like the series now. Characters are one dimensional, each episode is made to stand on its own with no character development or even thought to what has gone before in previous episodes. Characters act really too silly. Dialogue is not that great. Women are objectified and only the pretty are given any attention. Starsky even threatens to punch a fat woman in the mouth if she doesn't stop screaming though I doubt he'd say that if she were pretty and thin.

The same cars show up to dress the 'set'. Actors reappear in other roles. The green chevy that was blown up in episode one is in episode two.

The editing and continuity of story in the episode is bad like in the vampire episode for example S and H seem to recognize a photograph of a painting that the ballet teacher guy has but were not shown to have seen the painting. The vampire running in slo mo to get his victim is just laughable.

I bought the DVD's for S&H a couple of years ago, and have recently been re-watching them (along with re-runs of the show currently showing on RTV), and I really am amazed how well this show holds up so many years later. You can see the recycled cop storylines throughout the years from cop show to cop show, but S&H was so unique in it allowing it's 2 lead characters to honestly and truly care about each other. Possibly TV's first true (and strongest) 'bromance' as they call it today, the relationship between Starsky and Hutch was the glue the held the show together. As a fan of the show, you have to be commited to that relationship as well in order to completely enjoy it for all that it is.

The show was also important for it's Captain. It wasn't common place in the 1970's to see a black man in a position of power on TV. Captain Dobey not only fit that role, but did it with class and honesty with a fun streak tossed in. He was respected by those he commanded (he cared about them as well) and he was a well rounded family man. He was a much needed and much welcomed part of TV history.

S&H was also unique in that it tackled difficult issues without backing away from them with easy answers. Drug addiction ("The Fix" is easily one of most powerful and controversial episodes of the show), homosexuality (in a brilliant and powerful episode called "Death in a Different Place"), alcoholism, violent crimes against children, death of loved ones, etc. It never made light of the issues and always treated them with a respect that one would not expect from a show of the 1970's.

As someone else wrote in a review down below, you won't see a show like this ever again on television. Sure it was corny at times and there are a few episodes that just fall flat (what show doesn't have those?), but in the end, it's a show that is not afraid of itself and one that cared about the characters and their relationships above all else.

Starsky: "It's in my report."
Captain Dobey: "Oh yeah, about this report, it reads like a comic book, 'The fiery red Torino fishtails to a halt. We spill onto the street ready for action'. (tosses report at Starsky) What is this?"

On DVD for the first time in a stunning 5-disc set, ABC's Starsky & Hutch (original working title "Nightside" about two cops who only worked the night shift) was and remains a highly enjoyable 70s cop show from super-producer Aaron Spelling & Leonard Goldberg. The series benefited greatly from the casting of its two leads, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul in the iconic title roles. Their genuine chemistry and interactions with not only each other but with co-stars Bernie Hamilton (Captain Harold Dobey) and Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear) as well as the guest stars propel the smartly written and directed episodes from such notables as Michael Mann and Barry Shear respectively.

A common misconception among potential TV DVD buyers is that 70s cop shows like Starsky & Hutch don't age well and can't hold a candle to modern shows of the genre. Having watched the show back then and now, I'm glad to report that these first season episodes are every bit as entertaining (if not more) than any show of the genre today thanks to a great cast & crew and a good balance of action, drama, and humor. Not to mention the somewhat menacing opening & closing theme music by veteran composer Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible). The groundbreakingly dark and gritty first season also includes the following lineup of guest stars:

Lola Albright, Raymond Allen, Victor Argo, Barbara Babcock, Nellie Bellflower, Ramon Bieri, Fritzi Burr, Jason Bernard, Carl Betz, wrestler Butcher Brannigan, Dennis Burkley, Hamilton Camp, Mary Jo Catlett, Jon Cedar, Gino Conforti, Jack DeLeon, George Dzundza, Norman Fell, Alan Fudge, Jean Hagen, Lynn Hamilton, Art Hindle, Sherry Jackson, Gordon Jump, Steve Kanaly, James Karen, Rosanne Katon, Steven Keats, Roz Kelly, Richard Kiel, Michael Lerner, Geoffrey Lewis, Robert Loggia, James Luisi, Lynne Marta, John McLiam, Chuck McCann, Stephen McHattie, Kristy McNichol, Charles Napier, Arthur Peterson, Barbara Rhoades, John Ritter, Fran Ryan, Steve Sandor, Raymond Singer, Jacqueline Scott, Suzanne Somers, Jan Smithers, Jenny Sullivan, Richard Venture, Jess Walton, Danny Wells, Dick Anthony Williams, and more.

Digitally mastered by Columbia/TriStar Home Entertainment, Starsky & Hutch - The Complete First Season is a 5-disc (single-sided) set featuring all 22 episodes plus the 90-minute pilot, Full Frame (1.33:1) video, English & Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, Closed Captioning. Special Features include: Featurettes "Behind The Badge" (27:12), "It's Harder Than It Looks" (6:18), "Starsky & Hutch: The Movie" (3:05), "Third Star" (5:57); Exclusive new Interviews with David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser; Original TV Promo Spots; and Trailers. Here are the episodes and how the discs will be configured, plus original airdates:

Disc 1:
Pilot (4/30/1975)
Savage Sunday (9/10/1975)
Texas Longhorn (9/17/1975)
Death Ride (9/24/1975)

Disc 2:
Snowstorm (10/1/1975)
The Fix (10/8/1975)
Death Notice (10/15/1975)
Pariah (10/22/1975)
Kill Huggy Bear! (10/29/1975)

Disc 3:
The Bait (11/5/1975)
Lady Blue (11/12/1975)
Captain Dobey, You're Dead! (11/19/1975)
Terror On The Docks (11/26/1975)
The Deadly Imposter (12/10/1975)

Disc 4:
Shootout (12/17/1975)
The Hostages (1/7/1976)
Losing Streak (1/14/1976)
Silence (1/21/1976)
The Omaha Tiger (1/28/1976)

Disc 5:
Jojo (2/18/1976)
Running (2/25/1976)
A Coffin For Starsky (3/3/1976)
The Bounty Hunter (4/21/1976)

Highly Recommended!

As someone who was ten when "Starsky & Hutch" premiered in September of '75, I was very excited to get my hands on this brand new DVD first season set in honor of one of my favorite shows of the 70's. (The other being "Emergency!"). Looking at these episodes so crisply re-mastered, brings back a lot of memories of sighing longingly while gazing at Paul Michael Glaser ("Starsky")..as my older sister pined for the dreamy David Soul ("Hutch"). I remember the excitement as a young child of waiting for "my" show to come on every Wednesday evening and discovering what "messes" my heroes were going to get into. Even back then, I appreciated the humor, loyal friendship and camaraderie of the two leads; two men who were never afraid to show or express their deep love and affection for each other. It is that element that has kept me a fan to this day.
As always, my favorite episodes involved angst or "hurt/comfort"..and I eagerly awaited fan favorites such as, "The Fix", "The Shootout", and "A Coffin for Starsky"; anything that expressed the heartfelt devotion and concern these two men had for each other. I know that in today's age, such overt displays of affection would be frowned upon amongst men..and certainly back then it was unique, unusual and different..but it is this very uniquely displayed vulnerability and CHEMISTRY amongst the gritty reality of their daily lives that made the show a winner for me, and still makes it so to this day. There has been, nor will there EVER be, a cop show to match the heart that this show had: two undercover cops whose priority to their jobs was surpassed only by their deep love and affection for each other. Their motto: "Me and Thee" sums up in a nutshell what this series was all about-friendship first. It warms my heart, also, to know that both Paul and David were and still are just as close offscreen. It makes watching these episodes all the more touching.
A VERY BIG thank you to Amazon for sending out my replacement DVD's within a two-day period. You guys ROCK!!!

It sure is good to climb in to my time machine, sit back and get sent all the way back to a time when television was meant to be fun and entertaining.
This production is truly 1st class. As a graphic artist I can only imagine what fun the designers must have had in putting the packaging together. Creative! Strong layout! I'm jealous big time.
As a whole some one thought this entire thing out. This collection is put together solid and I am more than jazzed with the fact it was released as a complete season with the pilot movie. I loved the 1st season the best. I still remember the first time I saw the movie. I thought, "these two dudes are so cool!". Even though I was only about 12 or so I remember thinking this show was some how different. That it was special.
The access menus are enhanced by the best theme song of all 4 seasons. I could never figure out why they changed it. Lalo Shiffrin's work is mememorable, pure classic 70's t.v and movie sountrack. Although he is only given credit for the theme song I can catch hints of Enter the Dragon type pieces throughout the entire show. I'm not sure how decisions are made when it comes to putting these collections together but it seems to me that all the right ones were made here. The special features are too few but at least they exist. I like them all except the upcoming movie tie in. I think that it will eventually detract from the collection if the film ends being a flop. I do like the fact that both David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser are actually shown interacting with their movie versions. How often do you get to see that? My favorite feature is found on disc 5; the featurette called "Harder than it looks"; classic, "don't take TV too serious" type bloopers, with a twist. To tell the truth there were a lot more bloopers that could have been added to the feature, I caught a few myself. But, I don't think that these bloopers make the show bad or detract from it. Times were different back then. Television was innocent. It wasn't all wrapped up in technical advisors and stuff like that. Television and movies nowadays have it made. With all the technological advancements that have been made in equipment, production and special effects. With the amount of knowledge available today actors nowadays have all of this technical and tactical training available to play a part but many times the one thing that lacks is the ability to act. Too much is spent on flash and not enough on substance. Starsky and Hutch was a show unto itself. After sitting through all 23 episodes I still feel the connection with the characters, even after all these years. Like I know them and I guess that is what attracted me to the show back then. The acting was very solid. The characters original. Raw and edgy, funny and real, not just another copy of a copy.It was a show that shaped a generation. Not the other way around.

For true 'Starsky & Hutch' fans, this is an excellent box set. I give it 5 out of 5 stars simply because any fan of 'S&H' will no doubt love it.

'Starsky & Hutch' was a ground-breaking show when it debuted in 1975. Based loosely on the early-70s TV movie 'Super-Cops', itself a true-life inspired story, 'Starsky & Hutch' blended the buddy-formula that worked so well in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', as well as 'The Sting' with the conventions of TV cop show simplicities, throwing in a lot of personal touches along the way.

Critics initially lambasted the show for being little more than an ultra-violent shoot-em-up peppered with endless car chases, but the sincere sensitivity displyed by the main characters, fleshed out by the very-likable leads Paul Michael Glaser as 'Starsky' and David Soul as 'Hutch', as well as supporting cast Antonio Fargas as thier snitch-buddy 'Huggy Bear'(he was NOT a pimp!)and Bernard Hamilton as thier tough-as-nails 'Captain Dobey' was enough to take the hard 'edge' off of the violent action that would have quickly become boring and uninteresting.

The TV show 'S.W.A.T.', another Spelling-Goldberg production airing during 1975 was also initially a huge hit, packed with even more of the audience-grabbing uber-violence. Unfortunately, that show did not have the talents or likeability of a cast like Glaser, Soul, Fargas and Hamilton to give it any lasting appeal, and it was soon gone from the air-waves.

What gave this show it's lasting appeal was the near-perfect balance of action, friendship, humor and drama, all capped off with theme music, as well as incidental episode music that was far and away the best ever used on an hour long weekly cop series up until that time.

The opening theme music for the first season, as well as much of this season's incidental music was by the award-winning Lalo Schifrin, most famous for his unforgettable them to 'Mission: Impossible', as well as his jazzy theme for the private-detective series 'Mannix', starring Mike Conners. Schifrin also was responsible for the award winning scores from both 'Dirty Harry', the Clint Eastwood film and 'Bullit', the Steve McQueen actioner famous for its near-perfect 15-minute car chase scene through the streets and hills of San Francisco.

Along with Schifrin's unbeatable contributions, many other famous film composers contributed to the 'Starsky & Hutch' sound during its freshman season.

Probably the most amazing thing about the first season of 'Starsky & Hutch' is the fact that of the 23 episodes, only two of the stories were written originally for this show.

This show was cutting-edge for its time, tackling subjects rarely, if ever shown on a typical hour long TV show before.

Of the entire first season, almost every episode is a classic, with no stinkers in the bunch.

The biggest treat to fans for this set is the inclusion of the rarely-seen pilot episode. Like most pilot shows, there are a few differences from the series once it was underway, but they are very few and barely noticeable. In other words...they got it right from the beginning and didn't have to 'fix it' when it became a series. The most obvious change is that 'Dobey' is played by Richard Ward in the pilot, who was unavailable for the series. Bernie Hamilton then became the beloved 'Dobey' for the entire 4-year run of the series. The pilot is a little more gritty and rough than what the series was, but all the elements are clearly in place. After all these years, seeing the pilot again is a real treat!

Unlike most cop-shows from the era, 'Starsky & Hutch' gave its two leads plenty of opportunities for some real acting by letting the characters show flaws, hesitations and quirks along with the usual heroic and unflinching abilities of most TV cops.

'The Fix' is probably one of the best hours of episodic drama ever produced for American televison, even by today's standards. As revenge for 'stealing' his girlfriend, a viscious and insanely jealous mobster gets Hutch strung-out on heroin, simply to get him to reveal where Hutch is hiding her. David Soul's performance in this episode is a tour-de-force display as he takes the viewer through every harrowing stage of Hutch's ordeal from being kidnapped, shot-up while blindfolded, beaten to near-death while high, and eventually left for dead as a strung-out junkie too weak and disoriented to even know who his friends are. This episode was so disturbing it was banned from all European broadcasts of 'Starsky & Hutch' until the early 1990s!

'Texas Longhorn' tells the story of good ole' boy millionaire car-dealership owner 'Zack Tyler', who's wife is brutally raped and murdered. Instead of the typical TV show rage and anger, Zack's sedate and disturbing depression draws so much sympathy from Starsky & Hutch (as well as the audience!) that it is hard to find fault with him for hunting down the rapists responsible for his wife's death. Another touching episode.

'Deadly Imposter' features the awesome Canadian-actor Art Hindle as Starsky & Hutch's friend John Colby from thier police-academy days. Colby's surprise return to Bay City, asking his pals Starsky & Hutch to help him find his ex-wife and son is in reality a cover for the fact that he is now a highly-paid assassin, using his friends Starsky & Hutch to unknowingly help him track down a mob informant marked for assassination...by Colby! The hand-to-hand combat between two former close friends on the beach at the end of the episode is startlingly realistic and quite dramatic. Another great episode!

'The Hostages' tells the suspenseful story of a young armored car driver(John Ritter) and his pregnant wife being held hostage who will be killed unless he turns in all the money from the day's pick-ups. A well-acted and well paced race-against-time episode.

These are only a few of the great episodes, and my favorites from this season. But rest assured...every episode from this set is a great one!

The over-riding theme set up during the first season is that 'Starsky & Hutch' are truly best friends, not just co-workers. They would willingly give thier life for each other if necessary, and thier dedication to each other, as well as 'doing the right thing', even if it means bending the rules a bit is inspirational and makes the characters seem like real people.

Glaser and Soul ARE 'Starsky & Hutch' and are unforgettable. Stiller and Wilson were just acting.

The picture quality and sound on this set is generally excellent. Some artifacts from the original source films are present, mostly in the opening credits on some episodes.

The packaging is pretty nice, with a colorful box, a nice fold-out section to hold the 5 discs, and plenty of close-ups of the famous Torino to look at. Unfortunately for true aficianados, the Gran Torino used on the package is the version used in the new Stller and Wilson 'Starsky & Hutch' movie, not the 'real' Torino from the TV show.That's undestandable, since the original cars are owned by a collector and are in original, unrestored condition...meaning they are pretty rough! In fact, there is a short featurette in the 'special features' all about these origianl cars.

The 'special features' also includes a nice up-to-date set of all-new interviews with Glaser, Soul, Fargas and the producers. Very enlightening!

The only sore spot for me is the 'Original TV Promo Spots' included. They are in fact NOT original 'promo spots', but are actually the promo spots produced in 1980 as part of the syndication package for the entire series. Its still cool to see them though.

If you are a fan of 'Starsky & Hutch' this set is for you. You will definately enjoy it, so just get it.

Do it.Do it.........Do it.

Just in time for the theatrical release is this handsomely packaged 5-CD set of the first season. It is hard to imagine the movie will measure up to the series, although you can catch a glimpse of the movie in the extras included in this box set. The series burst on the scene in the mid 70's. Starsky and Hutch proved an instant hit as an entertaining police odd couple covering the streets of LA in their sporty red Gran Torino. I was partial to Starsky myself. Hutch a bit too straight laced, but the two played so well off each other, until success spoiled them in the later seasons. Huggy was a great comic foil, and you will enjoy the numerous guest appearances in this series. Interesting to see that Michael Mann wrote two of the early episodes: Texas Longhorn and Lady Blue. He would later make his mark in Miami Vice. But to me, Starsky and Hutch remains the best buddy cop show on TV, playing off the various cop movies of the time. And you just can't beat that Gran Torino!

I bought all four seasons of Starsky and Hutch. Having just finished watching Season 1 (I probably haven't seen most of these episodes for 30+ years) I had forgotten how charismatic David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser were together.

Whether you think the series is dated or not, no one can deny it set a brand new trend in TV--the "bromance". Starsky and Hutch were very touchy feely for two cops and I think no one had ever seen this on TV before.

Yeah, some of the filming was cartoonish. After all, the 3rd star of the show was a red Ford Torino with a giant white stripe. (Glaser hated the car so much he purposely ran into everything he could to try and destroy it). I was amazed at how physical the actor's roles were--they did a lot of running and jumping and chasing bad guys. Studios probaly wouldn't even allow their stars to do this today because of insurance issues!

All in all, I really enjoyed Season 1 from beginning to end and am looking forward to watching S2,3 and 4. If you have a fondness for 70's TV, Starsky and Hutch S1 will bring a smile to your face. If it doesn't then you must be too young to appreciated the time and the place.