This story is from the middle of the seventh and final season of Hunter. I wouldn't say the show was running out of steam per se, but it certainly lost something when Stepfanie Kramer left her role as Hunter's sidekick DeeDee McCall at the end of the sixth season. Gone were the snappy one-liners between the two cops, who'd once slept together but became close friends. Gone also was the vivid fashion sense that McCall had while chasing down the bad guys.
In short Kramer's departure left a hole that would be hard to fill by any replacement. Fred Dryer and the other producers chose Darlene Fluegel to step in. Fluegel had already appeared in the short-lived drama Crime Story on NBC. This would be her first role as a detective, and she had enough sass to hold her own. Unfortunately Fluegel was a bit too temperamental, and instead of playing nice with Dryer and compromising on things like Kramer had done, she was much more vocal about the scripts and what she was expected to perform as officer Joanne Molenski.
In fairness I think Dryer wanted this replacement to work, and he exercised a certain amount of patience to allow Fluegel to grow into the role and become more comfortable with the formulaic aspects of the job. However, Fluegel continued her outspokenness behind the scenes, and she continued to clash with Dryer. He finally pulled rank and convinced the other show runners and the network to fire Fluegel.
As a result, Fluegel's character barely lasts half a season on the program. She isn't around long enough to make a huge impression on viewers. But in this memorable two-parter, her character is abruptly killed off and it is still shocking. Viewers at the time were probably not expecting a regular character to go down in a hail of bullets. Especially, not a female character. When Kramer left as McCall, her character was married off and given a happy ending. But not Fluegel. Her character was going to be given a very violent exit.
Because the character of Molenski is going to die at the hands of a deranged person (Ellen Wheeler) in the line of duty, she will ironically become more heroic than even Hunter. The first part sets up Wheeler's arrival in the area, and we learn she has killed a series of officers. So not only is she deranged, she's a serial killer and more importantly to this show's story, she's a cop killer. Part one ends with Molenski pulling Wheeler over for a routine stop, and Wheeler firing a shot at her point blank. Molenski goes down and dies instantly.
The second part begins with the solemn and reflective nature of Molenski's funeral. Daryl Gates, who was then the real-life Chief of Police in Los Angeles, makes a camera during the funeral. The immediate aftermath of Molensky's death is poignantly played by Fred Dryer, costar Charles Hallahan and the others. After the funeral, it is Hunter's job to nail Molenski's assailant. At the same time, we have been introduced to a new female cop, played by Lauren Lane, who will help solve the case. Lane would stay with the show the rest of the season until it went off the air. She's given a backstory (translation: past romance) with Hunter, and unlike McCall and Molenski she has a daughter, so there are more domestic type scenes with her.
In short Kramer's departure left a hole that would be hard to fill by any replacement. Fred Dryer and the other producers chose Darlene Fluegel to step in. Fluegel had already appeared in the short-lived drama Crime Story on NBC. This would be her first role as a detective, and she had enough sass to hold her own. Unfortunately Fluegel was a bit too temperamental, and instead of playing nice with Dryer and compromising on things like Kramer had done, she was much more vocal about the scripts and what she was expected to perform as officer Joanne Molenski.
In fairness I think Dryer wanted this replacement to work, and he exercised a certain amount of patience to allow Fluegel to grow into the role and become more comfortable with the formulaic aspects of the job. However, Fluegel continued her outspokenness behind the scenes, and she continued to clash with Dryer. He finally pulled rank and convinced the other show runners and the network to fire Fluegel.
As a result, Fluegel's character barely lasts half a season on the program. She isn't around long enough to make a huge impression on viewers. But in this memorable two-parter, her character is abruptly killed off and it is still shocking. Viewers at the time were probably not expecting a regular character to go down in a hail of bullets. Especially, not a female character. When Kramer left as McCall, her character was married off and given a happy ending. But not Fluegel. Her character was going to be given a very violent exit.
Because the character of Molenski is going to die at the hands of a deranged person (Ellen Wheeler) in the line of duty, she will ironically become more heroic than even Hunter. The first part sets up Wheeler's arrival in the area, and we learn she has killed a series of officers. So not only is she deranged, she's a serial killer and more importantly to this show's story, she's a cop killer. Part one ends with Molenski pulling Wheeler over for a routine stop, and Wheeler firing a shot at her point blank. Molenski goes down and dies instantly.
The second part begins with the solemn and reflective nature of Molenski's funeral. Daryl Gates, who was then the real-life Chief of Police in Los Angeles, makes a camera during the funeral. The immediate aftermath of Molensky's death is poignantly played by Fred Dryer, costar Charles Hallahan and the others. After the funeral, it is Hunter's job to nail Molenski's assailant. At the same time, we have been introduced to a new female cop, played by Lauren Lane, who will help solve the case. Lane would stay with the show the rest of the season until it went off the air. She's given a backstory (translation: past romance) with Hunter, and unlike McCall and Molenski she has a daughter, so there are more domestic type scenes with her.
