Cannon (TV Series) Death of a Stone Seahorse (1973) User Reviews

First Starsky, now Hutch!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 29 August 2013]

A few episodes before "Death of a Stone Seahorse", one of the baddies on "Cannon" was Paul Michael Glaser--otherwise known as 'Starsky' from "Starsky and Hutch". Now, with "Death of a Stone Seahorse", David Soul (Hutch) is the killer AND a drug dealer!! How DID these two end up being cops just two years later?! The show begins with an awkward scene. That's because when a guy discovers that Sean has been dealing in drugs, he does what no sane person would ever do--confront the guy in the middle of no where with no witnesses! This is an incredibly dumb scene--it's fortunate that the rest of the show is much better.

As Sean is a dirt-bag, he of course doesn't admit he killed the man but does something really awful--he convinces his nice but rather unstable sister (Sondra Locke) that SHE killed the guy! Given that she's rather fragile emotionally, she isn't sure what happened--and it's up to Cannon to save the day.

In this show, Cannon is a bit more physical than usual and gets to beat the crap out of Sean TWICE! In real life, I would have put my money on Soul, but with TV you do need to occasionally suspend disbelief! Overall, an interesting episode and one that is quite good even if the initial murder was poorly constructed.

Big Name Actors make for a great episode of Cannon

[FloridaFred · 9/10 · 25 March 2021]

Big name actors including Sondra Locke, David Soul, and Tim O'Connor make for an entertaining episode of Cannon.

The viewers know from the start who the real killer is, but it takes Cannon quite a bit of sleuthing to get past the mentally unstable "Trish Caton" (actress Sondra Locke) and the conniving "Sean Caton" (actor David Soul).

Cannon's former fellow police officer, "Lieutenant Fred Norris" (actor Malachi Throne), provides a great foil. There are also some interesting marine biology lessons thrown into the mix. The only questionable scene is "Dr. Paul Bridges" (actor Keith Charles) confronting a drug dealer face to face, unarmed and with no witnesses on hand.

Overall, a very good story. I rate "Death of a Stone Seahorse" 9 stars.

THE FAMOUS FISH HOOK EPISODE!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 17 March 2022]

This is the one, the episode that may have made the show an overnight hit, if not a cult show. 10 Stars.

Growing up in the 70s, there were always certain cop show episodes you never forgot. This was one of them. DEATH OF A STONE SEAHORSE, which was a cool title to begin with, has Cannon pitted against drug dealer David Soul (just a few years before STARSKY AND HUTCH). Here, he definitely meets his match. Soul is mixed up with drugs and murder and even stoops as low as to get his vulnerable sister (well played by Sandra Locke) into believing she was part of the crime.

That's the only strange thing here, her character falls way too easily into the crime. But best of all are the fight scenes between William Conrad and David Soul. This is what good directing is all about, thanks to veteran William Wiard. He works his magic.

Cannon is speared with a fish hook (YIKES) and nearly kills the guy. It all happens fast, but it will stay with you. This one gets violent, but extremely well acted. A solid adventure, perhaps written as a showcase both for David Soul and Sandra Locke, both who would appear again on the series.

Malachi Throne (from IT TAKES A THIEF) plays the law. Throne later became a popular commercial voice actor in the 70s; you would here him everywhere. Also solid support from good guy/bad guy Tim O'Connor.

Note all the boats in this one as Bill Conrad was an amateur sea captain, partly filmed at scenic Playa del Rey. Director William Wiard headed 19 episodes for the show, over 20 for the ROCKFORD FILES, and was behind the DORIS DAY SHOW, for all us sitcom fans.

Recommended. SEASON 2 EPISODE 16 CBS/Paramount remastered dvd box set No 2. 2010.

10 hrs per box set.