MartinHafer Before I talk about this pilot movie for "Starsky and Hutch", I have an important confession....I have never seen the ensuing TV series. Yep, I was certainly old enough to watch it...just never did. However, my curiosity was piqued because this movie was an installment of "The ABC Movie of the Week"...and I've watched several dozen of these movies recently on YouTube. However, this pilot was not on YouTube (probably for copyright reasons), so I saw it on the first disc for the TV series...and it's available through Netflix.The show begins with two tough assassins killing a young couple making out in a cool looking red and white Ford Torino. Why is the car important? It's the spitting image of Starsky's car and the cops immediately wonder if the murderers were actually trying to kill Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and Hutch (David Soul). Through the course of most of the film, the two detectives look for their would- be murderer...until they realize that the killings and motivations weren't exactly what they first thought.This is a reasonably good cop film made for television...but never once did it scream out "This is so good it MUST become a TV series"! In the case of "The Six Million Dollar Man", the pilot movies clearly DID and were very unique and compelling. This film, on the other hand was good...but not great. Worth seeing but nothing particularly memorable.By the way, when the two assassins are in their hotel room, I did enjoy seeing one of them (Richard Lynch) reading "The Age of Voltaire"...a very large and cerebral sort of book. This guy was no dummy and proves just how far in life you can go if you exercise your mind. Sadly, in a scene soon after this, you see the guy shoot at Hutch and the nearby car explodes...which was pretty stupid (and next to impossible).

eti55 If only the subsequent episodes had been as good as the pilot. OK, the first season showed promise, but after that the series degenerated into a parody of itself. But the pilot for Starsky and Hutch was, at its time, the grittiest cop show that had been on TV (the pilot premiered as one of those ABC made-for-TV "Movies of the Week" during the 70s). This Starsky and Hutch is dark and violent, but not without a sense of humor. The dialog is above average, the story is actually pretty good, and Soul and Glaser both do a fine job as two tough plainclothes cops of the "cowboy" type that some big city departments have (as opposed to the standard suit-and-tie detectives). They're also believable as friends, and it's that chemistry that kept the show going even after the writers had long since run out of ideas. This pilot took it's cues from uber-violent 70s cop movies like Dirty Harry. To give you an idea, in the opening sequence you witness two hit men blow away two kids in a car..at point blank range. Even though it was the days before showing gore and blood splattering on TV was commonplace, that scene is disturbing. As things turn out, it looks like Starsky and Hutch were the actual targets. The two wade through the seedy streets (and the various shady characters and street stoolies) of the unnamed Southern California metropolis where they work, looking for answers as to who is trying to kill them and why.

Hippiesetter99 This isn't any 70's cop show. It really shows how two very macho men can become the best of friends. Both Starsky and Hutch have the looks and the attitude to bring the "bad guys down". They display a great comfort in what they do. Starsky seems to be the innocent one, he's always out to have fun while doing his job. Glaser does a great job with the part. Hutch on the other hand usually is making sure Starsky is OK. Soul also does a wonderful job with the character of Hutch. There are some great episodes when you can really feel how much they care for one another and they would do anything for the other one. Both really show there emotion when they feel their pal is in trouble. The "Starsky Mobile" which is an awesome car to use in the show adds more excitement(with the burn-outs).I'm making this comment as a 16 yr old girl who loves the 70's and appreciates a great friendship.

JGARY763 I was a teenager when "Starsky and Hutch" first came on TV. It made a great impression on me at the time and remains one of my all-time favourite shows. Having recently revisited the series with its release on DVD, I can see it has dated a little but is still very watchable... and they say you should never go back for fear of disappointment. In my opinion, it is the closest thing to "Dirty Harry" that US TV had at the time; and probably since. Soul and Glazer still rock and Dave and Ken are still cool, while Starsky's Red Torino remains the dream car for the forty-something teenager. Hutch's frequently overlooked motor was a tan-coloured 1973 Ford Galaxie 500 4-door sedan, if anyone was wondering. Thought not!