Two underage prostitutes are abducted in a van by a man (Kario Salem) known as 'The Boulevard Strangler' and his accomplice (David Labiosa). veteran cop Sgt. T.J.Hooker (William Shatner) and his young partner Vince Romano (Adrian Zmed) are dispatched to investigate after an anonymous tip details the kidnapping. Hooker, as was his custom, runs the van off the road.
One of the abducted girls is dead having been strangled. The other girl, Betsy Campbell (Jill Whitlow) is returned home and tries to resume life as a normal teen knowing the men she witnessed kill her friend escaped the accident and may be looking for her. Hooker tries to find them first. But along the way he finds out some surprising things about 15 year old Betsy.
The theme of law enforcement vs the world's oldest profession was reduced to a punchline by most police procedurals in the early 1980s. This show sometimes focused on the subject with more sensitivity. The main character had two daughters and tended to look at every child of the night as someone's kid.
I tend to regard this as one of the few truly powerful episodes of the series. The scene in which Betsy wipes away her make-up and changes into conservative high school girl clothing makes for a startling transformation. The duality of this child who walks between an All-American high school existence whilst hustling the streets at night is profoundly chilling.
Then there is baddie - one who conceals a criminal persona seemingly so perfectly. It is fitting that he does double-headed coin tricks as each side is different than the other but the same. Beyond psychosis what in us is self and what is persona? It was unusual for this show to explore anything so cerebral and completely unexpected that it do something like that so well.
If you think this is just a dumb cop show (And I just can't imagine why you would!) this type of character exploration is something you generally find elsewhere.
One of the abducted girls is dead having been strangled. The other girl, Betsy Campbell (Jill Whitlow) is returned home and tries to resume life as a normal teen knowing the men she witnessed kill her friend escaped the accident and may be looking for her. Hooker tries to find them first. But along the way he finds out some surprising things about 15 year old Betsy.
The theme of law enforcement vs the world's oldest profession was reduced to a punchline by most police procedurals in the early 1980s. This show sometimes focused on the subject with more sensitivity. The main character had two daughters and tended to look at every child of the night as someone's kid.
I tend to regard this as one of the few truly powerful episodes of the series. The scene in which Betsy wipes away her make-up and changes into conservative high school girl clothing makes for a startling transformation. The duality of this child who walks between an All-American high school existence whilst hustling the streets at night is profoundly chilling.
Then there is baddie - one who conceals a criminal persona seemingly so perfectly. It is fitting that he does double-headed coin tricks as each side is different than the other but the same. Beyond psychosis what in us is self and what is persona? It was unusual for this show to explore anything so cerebral and completely unexpected that it do something like that so well.
If you think this is just a dumb cop show (And I just can't imagine why you would!) this type of character exploration is something you generally find elsewhere.
