I liked this episode quite a bit more than I expected to. It was emotional but not too preachy and it was surprising how it felt very contemporary with what is still going on today. Perhaps that is the unfortunate part.
The first half establishes Starsky and Hutch as friends of the family of a black man named Jackson. Through a series of events, Jackson ends up a passenger in a car that was used in a robbery. When the driver runs from police, Jackson is caught in a situation he has nothing to do with, but ends up being shot and killed by an over-zealous rookie cop. The officer claims Jackson was threatening, but there are witnesses to the contrary, and Starsky and Hutch know that would not have been true of their friend.
The emotions that PMG and DS express as Starsky and Hutch lose their friend to a police officer are just the right combination of sorrow and distress and disbelief. When PMG's Starsky has to tell the man's elderly mother that he is dead, it's a very strong and heartbreaking scene. I also very much like the scene and dialog of Starsky and Hutch with Dobey, discussing the cop's actions. Dobey finds himself in the position of defending the officer until his culpability has been fully established, while Starsky and Hutch defend their friend and want Dobey to relieve him of duty. The black chief has to defend the white officer while the white cops go against their fellow officer to defend their black friend. Very effective dialog and thought-provoking questions.
I thought it was very, very interesting that the N-word shows up twice in this episode. First, the white cop uses it as an insult to the witness against him, and Starsky slaps him across the face for it. Very strong scene. But later, the black punk who was responsible for the theft that started the events uses it as a greeting to another black friend. I did not think that the dichotomy of the use of that word got much play until several decades after this show was made.
The show then turns away from the killing of Jackson to the effect it has on Jackson's son, and Starsky and Hutch have to stop him from making some bad choices in his anger over the death of his father. I thought this part was less effective and distracted from following up on the death of the father. In today's climate, this story would have of course stayed on the shooting of Jackson and the investigation on the events and the officer. That part gets very brief mention at the end of the show, but certainly would have been the crux of the show if done today.
This episode gives Starsky and Hutch some very good dialog and a chance to explore their feelings about being cops when the cops are in the wrong. They rightly stand up for their friend over a fellow officer who does not behave in the proper and professional way, and they struggle to be as professional as they can in righting the wrong. David Soul did a very good job in keeping this episode emotional without becoming melodramatic.
The first half establishes Starsky and Hutch as friends of the family of a black man named Jackson. Through a series of events, Jackson ends up a passenger in a car that was used in a robbery. When the driver runs from police, Jackson is caught in a situation he has nothing to do with, but ends up being shot and killed by an over-zealous rookie cop. The officer claims Jackson was threatening, but there are witnesses to the contrary, and Starsky and Hutch know that would not have been true of their friend.
The emotions that PMG and DS express as Starsky and Hutch lose their friend to a police officer are just the right combination of sorrow and distress and disbelief. When PMG's Starsky has to tell the man's elderly mother that he is dead, it's a very strong and heartbreaking scene. I also very much like the scene and dialog of Starsky and Hutch with Dobey, discussing the cop's actions. Dobey finds himself in the position of defending the officer until his culpability has been fully established, while Starsky and Hutch defend their friend and want Dobey to relieve him of duty. The black chief has to defend the white officer while the white cops go against their fellow officer to defend their black friend. Very effective dialog and thought-provoking questions.
I thought it was very, very interesting that the N-word shows up twice in this episode. First, the white cop uses it as an insult to the witness against him, and Starsky slaps him across the face for it. Very strong scene. But later, the black punk who was responsible for the theft that started the events uses it as a greeting to another black friend. I did not think that the dichotomy of the use of that word got much play until several decades after this show was made.
The show then turns away from the killing of Jackson to the effect it has on Jackson's son, and Starsky and Hutch have to stop him from making some bad choices in his anger over the death of his father. I thought this part was less effective and distracted from following up on the death of the father. In today's climate, this story would have of course stayed on the shooting of Jackson and the investigation on the events and the officer. That part gets very brief mention at the end of the show, but certainly would have been the crux of the show if done today.
This episode gives Starsky and Hutch some very good dialog and a chance to explore their feelings about being cops when the cops are in the wrong. They rightly stand up for their friend over a fellow officer who does not behave in the proper and professional way, and they struggle to be as professional as they can in righting the wrong. David Soul did a very good job in keeping this episode emotional without becoming melodramatic.