fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2850 ]

[ SECRET POST #2850 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2850 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

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I'm starting to want to watch this show because everyone keeps going on and on about their awesome relationship. I'm just worried I wouldn't be able to get past how dated it is.

Edited 2014-10-22 22:56 (UTC)

Hard to say. Do you watch any other old shows? It's not as dated as, say, Star Trek TOS in my opinion, and I think that show is still awesome. The most dated parts are the fashions/hair/background music (which I got used to faster than I thought I would), and two or three goofy ripped-from-the-headlines episodes, like the one with the Charles Manson-esque cult leader. But those ones generally aren't the best episodes.

I like Star Trek TOS. TV Guide channel shows Love Boat and I've tried to watch that a couple times. It was a little painful ;) I've watched some 70's sitcoms and liked them so I'll probably give it a chance one of these days.

Oh, well it's definitely a lot better than Love Boat :D

"Everyone"?

Is it that popular on FS? Cool!

/doesn't visit FS often enough, clearly...

There have been a lot of secrets about it lately.

What I found dated about it when I watched it was the plotting - you know how most shows, especially procedurals, usually have an A plot, a lesser B plot, and maybe even a C plot or some character arcs being developed in the background? Well Starsky & Hutch usually has 1 plot per episode, 2 if they're being really adventurous. And that second plot or character development is usually something that is relegated to the beginning scene, then resolved in the tagline. And that's a well thought out episode. And the pacing is slower on top of all that.

But if you can get past that, the character moments are really lovely. And because the pacing is slow, there is that much more time in each episode just to have Starsky and Hutch banter stupidly/touch each other inappropriately/gaze into each other's eyes lovingly. Which is a good thing imo.

Not sure if I'd care about that kind of plotting. I'm willing to give it a chance, though, especially if there are lots of moments between the characters like that :)

nayrt

There's also quite often a running gag or some kind of ongoing idea that gets periodically brought up throughout the episode. Not quite to the level of a subplot, but...well, like that other anon said above -- the show I compare it to a lot is Star Trek TOS.

If you want, I'd be glad to rec a few episodes that might be most likely to make a good first impression ;)

Rec away!

ayrt

Okay, I think the ones that would make good starter eps are The Fix, Pariah, Iron Mike, Vendetta, Survival, and The Shootout. Or for that matter, the Pilot (the Pilot is a bit different than the rest of the show though, so it could be a little misleading).

There are many other amazing episodes, but I think the others are the kind that would work better after getting a feel for the characters and show first ;)

(no subject)

queerwolf - 2014-10-23 05:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

lauramcewan - 2014-10-23 23:31 (UTC) - Expand

Actually, I find one thing I really love about S&H is the pacing. It's so radically different how they linger on secondary or completely non-central characters at the end of a scene to get their reactions or side-interactions instead of cutting away immediately. You get some really awesome moments that way you wouldn't otherwise. More depth. I hadn't realized, until I watched S&H, how utterly focused we are these days on just the primary characters of shows to the exclusion of everyone else.

The clothing is what gets me, but even when it's bad it's hilarious, so. And I'm not as fond of the girls-as-babe-objects thing, but it was the time.

That's one of the things I love too! I think that's why, even though the show is really all about just two characters, the one-shot characters are so memorable and makes the setting feel real. Especially the ones who only show up for a couple of scenes, like Charlie the Mechanic or Merle or Flashy Floyd or Sugar or Vivian the witness from Manchild on the Streets, or Belinda Williams or Marcellus Cobb or a load of others.

> I hadn't realized, until I watched S&H, how utterly focused we are these days on just the primary characters of shows to the exclusion of everyone else.

Yes! And unsurprisingly this is true of fanfiction too, by and large. The fandoms I gravitate to are usually the ones where you'll find fics lovingly written about secondary or even (gasp!) tertiary characters. And OK, maybe they're not always the characters that fans fantasize about, but they're the ones who give canon its TEXTURE.

MTE! Stories are so flat when nothing is included but the primary characters.

Yeah, the clothes were pretty bad, but man, I'd love to have a Torino like that one.

I had to settle for a scale model. :D

If you ever see the sitcom "The Middle", the oldest son has a Torino (not red and white, sadly) and his college roommate is Hutch. Cracks me up.

Lol, the Torino. The high-speed chases are a special point of hilarity to me, because that car can't maneuver worth a damn. XD

Shhhhh, no one knows that nowadays! But yeah, it was because Ford just really, really wanted to convince people that the Gran Torino was actually a cool car that could drive awesomely, seriously, you guise. I always figured the only reason Starsky hung onto it was to annoy Hutch. ;)

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2014-10-23 02:52 (UTC) - Expand

That's a really good point! I really like how there are so many great minor one-off characters, especially really offbeat or colorful ones, or non-essential moments that are there just for their own sake, not to move the plot forward. One of my favorites was that washed-out addict singer from Texas Longhorn who is mostly superfluous to the plot, but the show takes pains to patiently linger on her scene and treat her with sympathy and let the impact of her plight sort of sink in. And that dad of a petty crook who was killed, the dishwasher, who kept talking about how his son borrowed his shoes.

Yes! Oh my god, you just brought back that entire scene with that one image. That poor guy, he redirected all his grief into his obsession over his shoes. I have a lump in my throat just thinking about it.

(no subject)

intrigueing - 2014-10-23 22:46 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

esteefee - 2014-10-23 23:24 (UTC) - Expand

Well, none of the episodes tie into each other unless it's a two-parter, so there's very little continuity. If you like the way series today build on previous eps, this is not your kind of story.

However, it's got some incredibly fun moments, the H/C pretty much wrote the book on Pretty Angst, and...well...there are reasons why I still have posters and magazines from the 70s so I can ogle the attractive men. With their bulges.

Oh I don't know. With the assistance of some of the awesome fanfics lying around the internet, you can easily create an ongoing arc out of season 4 in particular. 'Course, it's all fanon, but still.

Fanfic: The unofficial Fifth Season. :)

Edited 2014-10-23 23:34 (UTC)

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