Hunter (TV Series) Hunter (1984) User Reviews

An exciting and well written way to start off a great TV series.

[beverlyhillscopseries · 9/10 · 12 September 2010]

Seeing as how well written, how much action, and how entertaining this pilot episode was, how in the heck did Hunter almost get canceled after the first season? What the heck was American viewers thinking back in the 1984-1985 TV season? This show didn't crack the Top 75 in ratings after its first season. But thank God fans woke up in Season 2 thereafter, and realized that Hunter was a heck of a show. Hunter is my favorite TV show of all time and just think it almost got canceled in mid 1985. I was only 23 months old when Hunter premiered in 1984 but through syndication, etc. I was able to see this show in its entirety and love it to death! Meanwhile in the Pilot, there was almost an instant bond between heroes Hunter and McCall and it was a bond that lasted all the way up until the end of the 1989-1990 season. They got together and busted that sociopathic "psychiatrist" Doctor Bolin (played excellently by Brian Dennehy I might add) who tried to convince Hunter that he was crazy, delusional, etc. when in fact he (Dennehy) was all those things and a killer no less. Dennehy (he is in my opinion a very underrated actor) was a scumbag pulling a wool over the LAPD's eyes except for Hunter and later McCall in this episode, it was so satisfying to see Hunter duck as Bolin flew off the roof of a tall building to his death.

Two actors on here who went on to success with other 1980s staple TV shows appeared in this episode, which where Joanna Kerns (Growing pains) and John Diehl (Miami Vice) who played a robber with a bad perm near the beginning of the episode. Then there was Michael Cavanaugh who played Captain Cain, and I swear he had to be in my Top 5 for the most stiffest and by the book characters I have EVER seen on a TV show or movie. He was a good actor, but I cringed every time his presence was on my TV. Steven Williams (as King Hayes) was a scumbag pimp who got a rise and a rush out of hitting women, and it was really something how a character like that passed through the FCC (or whatever they called it back then) on prime time TV in 1984.

All in all an excellent start to a great series that should have never been threatened to be canceled. if I would have grew up in the 1980s, I would have been a loyal viewer of this show in all seven of its seasons.

the world is introduced to the small screen Dirty Harry equivalent

[movieman_kev · 9/10 · 2 September 2005]

We're first introduced to Detective Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) driving a piece of crap car and without a partner. He figures out that a robbery of the bank he's in is about to go down. He subdues one, but two get away in a car. Hunter of course captures him after a lengthy car chase. Back at the station house he's chastised by his new superior who tries to team him up with an ass, but Hunter picks Detective McCall (Stepfanie Kramer), the only other cop who's even a bit like Hunter himself. Together they try to solve the crime of a nut carving up middle aged blond haired blue eyed girls., not knowing the culprit might be a bit more close to him then either suspect. This pilot episode of the TV series got me hooked when I was a kid. Only four shows were beyond cool in my eyes while in the '80's Hunter, the a-team, magnum PI, and Miami vice. And while they all had pretty bad seasons as time were on, Hunter (when it started) was among the best of them. This pilot movie rocked.

My Grade: A

On second viewing still a good show.

[mm-39 · 8/10 · 31 October 2022]

As a teenager I loved watching all the action shows A Team, Miami Vice, Magnum etc. Then there was Hunter, a Dirty Harry influence t v series for the small screen! When I was in grade ten, after watching the preview, I said to my self "self this series could flop big time! It has big shoes to fill" With a mix of delight, and terror I watched the series premier, and was impressed. During covid aka lockdown, I had too much time on my hands I decided to re watch the pilot episode, and wonder after all theses years was Hunter really that good? Times and attitudes change. Some series become classics, while other are corny. The music, and starting credits were strong! Then the introduction of Fred as Client and Fred pulled it off. The character development of a hard edged cop, with a intelligent human side. Always in trouble and needing a partner to work with Hunter does the Dirty Harry formula well! Hunter needed some balance, humor, or the series would be like Ajax just to over powering. Humorous, the De De character is introduced, forced together by a chief neither liked, the team decides to work separately after stumbling across the same case. What makes Hunter, the character and series, work was the banter, ebb and flow of the two similar character that are just different enough to compliment each other. As the duo was forced to work together a chemistry develops; The serial killer case hits hard for the detectives, which want to catch the sicko so passionately that the viewer sees a passion for justice from both protagonist. We the viewers like the detectives. Hunter pilot script writers had enough action balanced out with humor and plot twist that keep the viewer coming back for more. Strong pilot eight stars.

Well Punk, ya gonna go for it?

[JasonDanielBaker · 6 September 2012]

In this pilot for the highly popular TV series loose cannon Los Angeles cop Sgt. Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) is investigating serial murders of attractive blonde women who frequent a country western bar. He would have an easier time doing his job if police bureaucracy i.e. his superior Captain Cain didn't interfere.

Hunter is ordered (department regulations) to see police shrink Doctor Bolin (Brian Dennehy) a duplicitous quack colluding with Captain Cain to get Hunter thrown off the force.

Meanwhile Hunter, having been paired with Bernie Terwiliger (James Whitmore Jr.) an incompetent yo-yo he loathes strikes an arrangement with outcast cop Sgt. Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) - a trigger-happy, Lynda Carter lookalike referred to as "The Brass Cupcake" by her more sexist colleagues like Terwiliger.

They will be partners in name only. Since neither could keep a partner and they both worked better on their own the arrangement appeared to make sense. They would sign each others reports and vouch for one another conducting investigations separately. But somehow they manage to co-operate long enough to catch the killer.

The biggest criticism of the show was the acting chops or lack thereof of ex-pro football player Fred Dryer. Dryer actually appeared to be affecting an impression of Eastwood with an angry glare and clenched teeth sneering his lines early in the series. That worked quite well for the role and the simplistically formulaic rip-off of "Dirty Harry" made the show popular as a vapid guilty pleasure.

The fantastic performance given by Brian Dennehy makes this episode worth watching all the more. Dennehy is the type of actor who might be seen in Bronson/Eastwood vigilante action movies and was thus an impeccable casting choice who fit the formula perfectly.

The series production team should have gotten more supporting cast members from Bronson/Eastwood movies - as many as they could and copied the plot-lines of those films as they appeared to be doing in the first couple of seasons and in this episode.

Watchable mostly because of Stepfanie Kramer

[rvm-2 · 6/10 · 14 January 2001]

I certainly didn't watch Hunter for the stories: they were fairly predictable. In particular, Fred Dryer's "Hunter" was somewhat comedic in the way he would nail the bad guy in a macho way with one or two perfectly placed shots. I also felt his acting was somewhat wooden and prone to macho posturing. You could really see this get worse as he took more control of the series. Anyone who knows anything about the police would suspect that if ex-Vietnam vet Hunter really offed as many guys as that, he'd had a lot of explaining to do. On the positive side, the character itself was somewhat sympathetic because he wasn't stupid.

I found Stepfanie Kramer's acting to be much more natural and have a greater range (eg. serious to humorous), and wow, she was great to look at (I was in my mid-twenties when this show was on the air). She was cast as the sidekick, but to me was really the star of the show and the only reason to watch it. She's got a singing career now, but it would be nice to see her get a really good movie role. It's probably somewhat unlikely now, given that Hollywood doesn't favor women over 40.

Pretty good beginning bad end

[luigigiacomello · 6/10 · 25 July 2000]

This TV series was amazing in first times, but in the latest years became a little too serious, and, may be just my personal impression, the feeling of the cast didn't seem so good (sorry for my English), especially between Kramer and Dryer. Dryer (always my impression) seemed too pompous.

Hunter

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 9 February 2021]

Frank Lupo and Stephen J Cannell tapped into a paranoia of crime being out of control in the 1980s. The police had their hands tied behind their backs by bureaucratic bosses.

Hunter is basically a small screen version of Dirty Harry mixed with the cheesy vigilantism message of Cannon Films.

The first episode sees maverick cop Hunter clashing with his new boss who wants Hunter to pass a psychiatric assessment.

Hunter also teams up with a new partner, Dee Dee McCall who is just as independent and pig headed as him. In fact their initial arrangement is a marriage of convenience.

They go on the hunt for a serial killer. Every wednesday night a woman is killed in her home. The previous murder victim left a country & western club.

There is no doubt that Hunter is cheesy and not to be taken seriously. It has all the hallmarks of US cop shows of that era, slow going and it was still pushing the black pimp stereotype.

The serial killer angle with the psychiatrist becoming the prime suspect was straight out of a bad B movie.

There was a small role from John Diehl as a bank robber. He would soon get a regular role in Miami Vice which was also broadcast in 1984. That left shows like Hunter for dead.

Dirty-Harry light

[ost-4 · 4 May 2000]

Hunter is like a nice version of our favourite cop, Harry Callahan. They both have unorthodox ways in dealing with "the scum". But while Harry seems to be stone cold, Hunter is "the perfect father". Very funny indeed!

Hunter is a very entertaining, though rather stupid series. The cases are standard, but Hunter is a very funny character to watch. He is so good at everything...And he always shoots the bad guy with several bullets in the chest (watch...it happens in almost every episode)!