COLUMBIA PICTURES TELEVISION
Presents
STARSKY & HUTCH
Starring
DAVID SOUL as Det Ken Hutchinson
PAUL MICHAEL GLASER as Det Dave Starsky
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| DAVID SOUL & PAUL MICHAEL GLASER |
ANTONIO FARGAS as Huggy Bear
BERNIE HAMILTON as Capt Harold Dobey
" MURDER ON PLAYBOY ISLAND" Aka "Murder On Voodoo Island"
Guests ...
JOAN COLLINS as Janice
SAMANTHA EGGAR as Charlotte
CRAIG STEVENS as Walt Healy
ROSCOE LEE BROWNE as Quatraine
DON PEDRO COLLEY as Papa Theodore
LOUIS NYE as Jerry
LA WANDA PAGE as Minnie
PAUL PICERNI as Johnny Doors
LINDA THOMPSON as Meghan
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| JOAN ON SET WITH PAUL & DAVID |
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| THE BOYS GET STEAMED UP OVER JANICE! |
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| SAMANTHA EGGAR |
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| THE GUYS BARE THEIR CHESTS ON PLAYBOY ISLAND! |
Like "Star Trek" and "Batman", "Starsky & Hutch" is one of those classic series that needs no introduction... The series began in 1975 and ran for 92 episodes until 1979. It featured the adventures of two Californian cops, David Starsky and Kenneth Hutchinson who drove a red and white two door ford gran corino. They reported to Captain Dobey (Hamilton) and were kept informed by old friend Huggy Bear (Fargos), who was their underworld contact and he ran his own bar...Joan appeared in this episode, which was a two parter to launch the third season. She was not too keen on the script, but she needed the work and she was pestered by daughter Tara, who was a fan of the show to do it! But apart from the script, she found the whole experience far from glamorous or memorable and even though it would take her to Hawaii for eight days of shooting, working conditions were deplorable. First of all she had to share a tiny dressing room with a bimbo bit player, who was as messy as she was beautiful. The episode was set on the luxurious Playboy Island and the cast had it's fair share of bimbettes, who seemed to have more clout than the genuine stars. Both Joan and Samantha Eggar couldn't even get a canvas chair to sit on, while on set, this problem did not affect the enhanced bits players! Samantha was playing the villianess on the show, while Joan played Janice who was undercover on the island to try an find her father who had disappeared.. Joan also had to become involved in some of the stunts on the show, a situation she did not approve off, remembering the advice she had received from old friend Gene Kelly, never do your own stunts as you are doing a stunt person out of a job!. By time this episode was shot, the tone of the show had been softened as there had been a backlash against TV violence and Paul Michael had voiced his own opinions on it and scriptwriters were told to tone down the violence and to produce more dramatic storylines and introduce some romance for the crime fighters..By the end of the fourth season, Paul Michael asked to leave the show and as the ratings were falling, it was decided to end the series... "Starsky & Hutch" is one of those series that will always be shown somewhere in the world and will always find an audience....
It always struck me as odd that Samantha would play the villainess in the story whereas Joan was the "good" girl. It usually would be the other way around I think, except that Samantha had been more visible in US television in the previous few years than Joan.
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