Starsky and Hutch (TV Series) Murder Ward (1977) User Reviews

Teamwork

[monomerd · 8/10 · 26 July 2016]

Now this is what I like to see. The guys are undercover together, working out why people are dying suspiciously at a mental hospital. Starsky plays the patient, Hutch is an orderly caring for patients. They pick up information from various sources and pull it together, together, to get the job done.

The plot is pretty good and keeps moving. The added element of a crazed patient who recognizes Starsky and Hutch as the cops who busted him is a good way to add more danger and drama. The story could go off the rails and get too crazy, but someone keeps tight control of it. I assume the director? Bless him.

The setting for this episode is perfect so PMG can be a little silly and not detract from the plot. Since he's impersonating a mental patient, he's allowed to act goofy. In some ways, he underplays it compared to what he could come up with.

The final scenes where both Starsky and Hutch are incapacitated for a bit are really suspenseful. Who's going to save them when they are both in trouble? Starsky gets an assist from a grouchy nurse, and I like his reaction of kissing her on the cheek. Definitely just what Starsky would do. Then Starsky saves Hutch and gets the bad guys (with a final assist from Hutch).

I also noted that they used the ability that PMG and DS had to get into each other's personal space to great advantage in this episode. It shows up at the right places throughout the scenes, and also near the end, when Starsky has to pull/carry Hutch to a safer place before he can leave him to chase the villain. That was an excellent scene, well-done by both, and not squandering something good. When they let it work, it's pure gold.

I actually even liked the final tag; it was quite sweet for them to come back and bring some joy and fun to the folks in the mental ward. This will definitely be an episode on my repeat list.

Crazy Man Crazy

[sambase-38773 · 8/10 · 4 September 2021]

It's kind of a combination of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Shining". But it's Starsky & Hutch!

This episode is very well directed. Some really terrific camera work and set ups. Starsky and Hutch go undercover at a mental institution to find out what's going on. Already there and undercover also is a reporter posing as a nurse played by Suzanne Somers. She spends most of her time flirting with Starsky and Hutch so it's clear that the character is merely meant to be eye candy. But that's okay. Eye candy is a big part of show business. And what wonderful eye candy she is. Even in a sweatshirt and with her hair all messed up and piled on her head she still looks like a movie star. Gorgeous. What wonderful screen charm she had. Whether she's riding around in a T-Bird (American Graffiti) or hanging out in a mental institution she really stands out as special.

The episode starts out very light-hearted and then as the episode develops things get creepier and creepier and darker. The drama and the suspense keep building throughout the episode. I still have a lot of episodes to watch in season 3, but I have a feeling this is going to be one of my favorite episodes of this season.

Death Trap At The Laughing Academy

[JasonDanielBaker · 3 March 2015]

Police detective David Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) goes undercover as a mental patient at a state-run asylum where a suspicious number of inmates wind up dead in an equally suspicious space of time. His partner detective Ken Hutchinson (David Soul) infiltrates the same place as an orderly which tells you who drew the short straw.

The situation allows Hutch to have some fun thinking about whether he'll decide to just leave Starsky there. From their first meeting and after years working together each is convinced that the other is a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Their colleagues on the force don't necessarily disagree.

In the mix is ambulance chasing reporter Jane Hutton (Suzanne Somers) also undercover as an inmate. In there too is a real inmate who has an unresolved issue with our two heroes. The mystery unravels a little too quickly and too neatly. But the tour de force suspense of the conclusion makes up for a lot.

Suzanne Somers is to women what Velveeta is to cheese. Casting her in the role of a journalist was the ceiling of absurdity on a show that hit it many times. She was born to play a flighty airhead. I can think of any number of actresses who would have been more convincing and appealing. But my opinion is the minority view. North American audiences loved her. The ratings of each of her hit series prove that in the only way that matters.

If you noticed a similarity in the theme music in season 3 episodes of this show to Mission: Impossible you aren't the only one. The only theme that properly captured the substance of the show was in season 4.

Apparently, I rated this a 9 back when?

[imdb-25288 · 9/10 · 17 July 2021]

I guess I liked it. Today, it couldn't keep my attention as it re-aired on the old TV shows channel. It's weird. It weirds you out. Did Starsky's alter-ego direct this? Surprisingly, no. For starters, there is no Captain Dobey. There's no car. No chases. NO car chases. Is there guns? I don't know. No Huggy Bear. There's no precinct. It's hardly Starsky & Hutch at all. There's 3's company factor with a bimbo blonde. Where have I seen her before?

There's GHOST!!! The GHOST in GHOST with Patrick Swayze. You know. The one who wants a smoke. There's Starsky being funny after he exits the ambulance at the beginning. There was a Charlie's Angels of a similar title 8 months prior (Terror on Ward One.) For the rest, what I can tell you is it won't weird you out as much as the following episode. Now, that's something else! (I'm wondering how long it's gonna take for women to cancel those??!)

Anyway, watch it. Don't watch it. Believe it or not, this is not yet the slow descent into insanity for Starsky & Hutch, the series, although it was for them, the characters. No. Much worse awaits us.... the "following week". This season is rough. The next is even worse.

Does anyone know what happened to the original title score? For the opening credits. Did the Laslo guy remove his rights, demand more money for airing his audio clip? Because the music this season says "this show sucks", whereas in S1, it was the very best, intro music and episodes. Well, there ya go folks: you just read my review. Now pick a button below and let me know Yes or No if you liked it.