Starsky and Hutch was the first of the wisecracking "buddy cop" shows (and later movies), and in the first season that's what you got: Action/violence and glib one-liners, not only from the main characters, but from the various street stoolies and other people Starsky and Hutch would run across. (How can you not like Huggy Bear?) Some of the dialog in season one in particular was damned funny. Alas, it immediately went downhill in season 2 and picked up speed in seasons 3 and 4.
When it first went to air Starsky and Hutch was the grittiest, most realistic (and funniest) cop show ever put on TV. This was especially true of the pilot, originally shown as a "movie of the week." What really makes this show work in the early episodes in particular is the relationship between the two main characters (established in the pilot movie), which is completely believable in spite of it being the subject of jokes (gay references in particular because they would openly display affection for one another). In truth they act like siblings; brothers who constantly snipe at and try to one-up each other, but when it really counts are always there for one another. It was made clear in the pilot, where the two suspect corruption either in their police department or in the DA's office. Starsky asks Hutch point blank, "Who do we trust?" Hutch says, "The same people we always trust. Us."
Then it jumped the shark with the first episode of season 2: the lame on location 2 parter "The Las Vegas Strangler." Any time a show starts resorting to multiple part episodes and sending the main characters to various locations, you know it's in trouble and has run out of ideas (or decent writers). By season 2 the main characters were already becoming parodies of themselves, and in Seasons 3 and 4 it only got worse (4 in particular was awful).
I give it 5 out of 10 because of Season 1.
When it first went to air Starsky and Hutch was the grittiest, most realistic (and funniest) cop show ever put on TV. This was especially true of the pilot, originally shown as a "movie of the week." What really makes this show work in the early episodes in particular is the relationship between the two main characters (established in the pilot movie), which is completely believable in spite of it being the subject of jokes (gay references in particular because they would openly display affection for one another). In truth they act like siblings; brothers who constantly snipe at and try to one-up each other, but when it really counts are always there for one another. It was made clear in the pilot, where the two suspect corruption either in their police department or in the DA's office. Starsky asks Hutch point blank, "Who do we trust?" Hutch says, "The same people we always trust. Us."
Then it jumped the shark with the first episode of season 2: the lame on location 2 parter "The Las Vegas Strangler." Any time a show starts resorting to multiple part episodes and sending the main characters to various locations, you know it's in trouble and has run out of ideas (or decent writers). By season 2 the main characters were already becoming parodies of themselves, and in Seasons 3 and 4 it only got worse (4 in particular was awful).
I give it 5 out of 10 because of Season 1.