TV COPS WEEKEND - THE MAD THIRD SEASON OF STARSKY AND HUTCH

The third season episode, Satan's Witches was one of the maddest episodes in a season of mad episodes - after the relatively realistic episodes of the first two seasons the comedy aspect and the buddy buddy relationship was built up. The funky dark theme tune was also updated, though to my mind the theme tune of the third season is the weakest of all those used.

Paul Michael Glazer had threatened to quit before the season began filming over concerns about the violence in the show, he even sued to be let out of his contract early and the writers wrote several episodes featuring Officer Linda Baylor who was to replace Starsky - the show was even to be called Hutch and Baylor.

However Glazer was talked back but the show was by now a very different beast and never again reached the highs of the first two seasons. The character of Baylor was used in one episode - Fatal Charm. The deal that brought Glazer back was a rise from $5,000 an episode to $35,000 an episode and the chance to direct some episodes as well as more script control.

Satan's Witches was episode 17 of the third season - and features Starsky and Hutch on vacation in Captain Dobey's cabin, while Satanists have stolen the local sheriff's daughter and plan to sacrifice her. Much of the episode is played for comedy. And when the big showdown comes our intrepid detectives find themselves having to bring the baddies to book without the use of firearms.

It's a bizarre episode and is a major contrast from the excellence of the first and second seasons. It as if the show had suddenly, in recognition of its large youth following, become a children's action comedy. And by this third season that is very much what it was - the first two episodes of the season featured a voodoo storyline and if you think that sounds implausible, another two parter saw the cops trying to hunt down an hit man who was going to release a deadly plague on the city.

I was a huge fan of the series as a kid and still hold much of it in high regard, but the third season is, I feel, the beginning of the end. It still works because of the incredible chemistry of the stars but the scripts were mostly weak and the show had become a parody of itself.

A pity because Starsky and Hutch still rates as one of the all time classic cop shows.