The networks finally achieved what drug lords, mobsters and even zombies could not. Year four meant the end of Starsky and Hutch. Unfortunately the show was running out of gas quickly, so this was not near the quality of the previous years. It looks too much like David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser were pretty much ready to move on to other things. Neither of the men would make the impact again they made with Starsky and Hutch. Huggy Bear is not to be found near as often as he had been, so a ton of the humor was mis…ing from the season. Many of the storylines were recycled from previous episodes, like the one partner in the hospital while the other tracks down the bad guys routine. Still, even just going through the motions, the boys are worth watching one more time.
Video
Each episode of Starsky and Hutch is presented in its original full frame format. When you consider the source material, these episodes have been transferred with a great amount of care. The only real flaw is the digital compression artifacts.
Audio
A simple Dolby Digital mono track is all you get here. The dialogue is quite present and easy to understand. There are times the music distorts, mostly in the higher ends. The episodes are not consistent. There are a few instances where even the dialogue is almost too muddy to make out. This is an old show; don’t expect modern standards, and you won’t be disappointed.
Special Features
The boys go out with a whimper. No extras.
Final Thoughts
It’s sad that the boys didn’t get a better send-off. With the film finally over and soon forgotten, it’s obvious these shows dropped down the chain in priority. Not much effort is made on either the sound or the image. Mostly the set serves out the unfortunate purpose of finishing off your collection. I suppose it does that just fine. If you’re waiting for an eventual nicer release, it’s not coming. This is it, folks. You could look for it, but “don’t bet on it”.
