Starsky and Hutch (TV Series) The Heavyweight (1978) User Reviews

Good Episode from Season Three!

[jazzfi · 8/10 · 18 April 2020]

Perry Mason came on last night at 10'30 as usual and lo and behold, there was Gary Lockwood playing the role of a boxer in "The Case of the Playboy Pugilist." Wait a minute, was he an amateur boxer before he got into acting? Because I recalled seeing him as boxer Jimmy Spencer in this Starsky & Hutch episode from season 3, "The Heavyweight." Good story, good plot about gangsters, smuggling, fight fixing, and doing the right thing. Here, Hutch shows the true passion and dedication of a straight cop, more than usual, while Starsky spends most of the episode trying to date a kind of pretty but very ditzy blonde stewardess. An undercover cop is killed on the docks warehouse after he discovers some smuggling going on and Spencer (while working on the docks for sleazy boxing promotor and well-connected gangster Haley Gavin) witnesses it all. S & H get undercover jobs as dock workers and soon realize something shady going on. Spencer is ordered by Gavin to throw his next fight but when he instead knocks out his opponent, he immediately finds himself confronted by Gavin's gorilla henchmen. S & H try to convince Spencer into testifying against Gavin but is too scared. But when Spencer's best friend and manager, Jeeter (well played by Sandford & Son veteran, Whitman Mayo) sells him out to Gavin, Spencer decides he's had enough and resolves to meet Gavin and his gorillas face to face. S & H arrive just in time to avert the ambush and Spencer gratefully decides to testify against Gavin. Exciting and suspenseful episode from the elusive 3rd season.

Solid ground

[monomerd · 7/10 · 3 August 2016]

Sensible, neat and smart. Not flashy, not silly. A basic story put together in a classic, controlled way that made sense. Pretty good supporting cast. This is what Starsky and Hutch is supposed to be like. There was some good dialog in there, but nothing standing out too much on first viewing. I suspect it might get better with additional viewings, and I could happily watch it again. I know I was unconsciously smiling when it ended, so that's a good sign. A little bit of a moral lesson is included, but not done too heavy-handedly. I think Earl Bellamy as director usually gets a good, solid result.

Hutch is being smart and cop-like; Starsky is being responsive to his partner's intuition and getting the job done. Points off for Starsky becoming such a sex maniac. You're over-compensating, Starsky.

Puffy Puncher

[sambase-38773 · 6/10 · 2 February 2023]

It's an enjoyable episode to some degree, but you kind of have to squint your eyes so that you don't notice that Gary Lockwood is way too out of shape to pass for a prize fighter. It's obvious that Lockwood made no attempt to get in shape for the role. I guess I can't blame him. 1970's cop shows were thought of as disposable entertainment. It's not like it was a serious movie or something. And it's possible that by 1978 he was tired of the whole acting thing. Or maybe he was just enjoying the good life. Who knows. But he does give a reasonably good performance. Not great, but passable.

The boxing scenes are extremely fake. They made no effort in that regard. And lots of boxing cliches in the non-fighting scenes. Fixed fights, aging managers, the little kid that yells "That's my dad!" etc. It feels very recycled from movies and other TV shows. No originality at all that I could see.

Starsky spends the entire time lusting after a chick who looks like she's almost too young to be legal. It's all he talks about. It's all he thinks about. And she acts like she's some kind of nympho. She's an airline attendant. That's the worst part of the episode by far. It's just really dumb.

But there are some redeeming things in it. Just don't expect too much.