I'll still give it a 5 out of 10 because of the nostalgia factor for me and the fact that S&H was one of my favorite shows growing up, but one can see that this is the point from whence the series began to go down hill. Partly because of the advocacy groups in the 70s that were against violence on television and partly because of PMG's growing frustrations with playing Starsky the same old way, the show was given a major overhaul for season 3 and retooled from its original season 1 (and to a gradually lessening degree, season 2) format of gritty and violent stories about two tough streetwise cops fighting crime on the mean streets to an aspect that focused more on stories revolving around some sort of personal issue of either Starsky or Hutch (even towards the end of season 2 you could see this trend starting with the episode "Nightmare" that despite featuring a quite violent and disturbing theme about the rape of a young retarded girl, the character of Lisa was still a "personal friend" of S&H and not just some random crime victim). While I did, and still do, enjoy watching the show, especially all of season 1, I must say that, in some parts, this episode strains my tolerance level almost to the breaking point. It's got a weak and pointless opening which features our two super cops in a restaurant/bar supposedly just about to go on vacation to a lake and discussing the pros and cons of outdoor life, when some seemingly random babe picks them up and takes them 'home'. It turns out that she's a cop leading them to a meeting with Captain Dobey and another guy who is an agent of some kind, in which S&H are told that instead of going on vacation they're now going undercover on Playboy Island to help solve some mysterious murders and save an aging tycoon. It's a needless setup that purports to be a "cover" so that some, to this point rather nebulous and non-existent, criminal element does not cotton on to the game at hand. IMO it could have been avoided and just opened with S&H arriving at the meeting. But it's filler so that this can be a "movie length" two-parter, and there's more filler to come. S&H arrive on Playboy Island in the (ridiculous and completely unnecessary) personas of two members of a waste removal company on some silly industry convention. It gets sillier from there on in: there's a ludicrously stereotypical voodoo shaman who laughs insanely and continuously; a "helpless" nurse who turns out to be the mastermind behind the entire series of killings; unexplained (and impossible) voodoo-style killings that even just as inexplicably affect Starsky and force him to almost kill both himself and Hutch; a crazy scheme involving a fake marriage; and so on. None of this is totally unbearable for me, again because I love the show and S&H are two of my favorite TV heroes, but all of it could have been more cleverly and more believably constructed. For instance there is no earthly reason why the voodoo shaman, upon first capturing S&H, would not just kill them outright, as he has been doing with all others who threaten to get in the way of the evil plan. Instead, S&H meet with the nurse and ask her if she can get the tycoon out of his mansion compound. She says she cannot and so S&H infiltrate the place in a rescue attempt and get caught by the bad guys. The shaman throws some sort of "voodoo powder" at them (which is never explained in the show and yet could easily have been described as some sort of psychotropic drug that would have made it more believable) and the show ends with the cliffhanger scene of S&H writhing in agony from the effects of this powder. Right then and there they are helplessly in the voodoo shaman's power and he could easily dispatch them, but instead episode 2 opens with them washed up on a beach none the worse for wear except for some residual dizziness. They then proceed to run into the nurse again and repeat the entire sequence wherein they ask her if she can get the tycoon out of his mansion compound -- and quite conveniently she now comes up with the brilliant idea of "I can get him to the market." I mean, wtf? She can "get him to the market!" Really? If it's suddenly that easy why couldn't she have done it in the first place? Oh wait, they had to stretch this episode into a two-parter. Anyway, it gets even wackier from that point on and devolves into a car chase that looks more like it belongs in an episode of The Keystone Cops than Starsky & Hutch. So I won't go on except to say that, on a purely escapist level, I still enjoy this silly episode... and there are plenty of bikini-clad babes present to make for some re-watchable eye candy... and, unlike the 2007 movie, no matter how bad this story is, it still features the real Starksy and Hutch and not Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson desecrating the characters.
Starsky and Hutch (TV Series)
Starsky and Hutch on Voodoo Island (1977)
User Reviews
Review this title10 Reviews
What Were They Thinking??
kgraovac20 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Spelling-Goldberg loved their flashy season premieres, didn't they? S&H had a decent one the previous year in 1976 in Las Vegas but this one suffers from a ridiculous premise and poor writing.
The duo fly to "Playboy Island" and get involved in bizarre voodoo rituals. This would have worked better if the villain had not been straight out of the Sid and Marty Krofft school of acting. The tone is too far-out for a S&H episode. You won't believe your eyes when you see the boys in blackface, channeling Harry Belafonte--complete with midriff baring blouses--performing a Calypso number with Huggy Bear. Or when they start writhing on the ground uncontrollably at an outdoor market after having some weird voodoo power blown in their faces.
Another reviewer remarked on the physical resemblance between the two guest actresses (Samantha Eggar and Joan Collins) which made them kind of indistinguishable. I agree there should have been more contrast between these two. I guess Lynda Day George was busy that week. She would have nailed it as the crafty nurse.
Charlie's Angels had a tropical adventure this same week back in 1977 and that ended up being one of their best episodes ever. Too bad Starsky & Hutch ended up with this dud. This is one of those "What Were They Thinking?" episodes.
The duo fly to "Playboy Island" and get involved in bizarre voodoo rituals. This would have worked better if the villain had not been straight out of the Sid and Marty Krofft school of acting. The tone is too far-out for a S&H episode. You won't believe your eyes when you see the boys in blackface, channeling Harry Belafonte--complete with midriff baring blouses--performing a Calypso number with Huggy Bear. Or when they start writhing on the ground uncontrollably at an outdoor market after having some weird voodoo power blown in their faces.
Another reviewer remarked on the physical resemblance between the two guest actresses (Samantha Eggar and Joan Collins) which made them kind of indistinguishable. I agree there should have been more contrast between these two. I guess Lynda Day George was busy that week. She would have nailed it as the crafty nurse.
Charlie's Angels had a tropical adventure this same week back in 1977 and that ended up being one of their best episodes ever. Too bad Starsky & Hutch ended up with this dud. This is one of those "What Were They Thinking?" episodes.
Voodoo Island Gone Mad
sambase-3877331 July 2021
I'll say right from the start that I do not like 2-part episodes of any TV show. Two-part episodes are typically bloated and slow and don't have a reason to exist other than to feed the ego of the writer, but there are exceptions of course. But generally speaking I don't like them. So you better dance for your supper if you're going to make me sit through a 2-part episode. You better make it great. Well, this is not great. As I expected it really started to wear me out before it was over. There's a lot of 70's silliness in this episode. And I'm cool with a little silliness here and there, but there's too much in this episode. I got through it with some fast forwarding here and there, especially in part two. If I was not a fan of S&H I probably could not have gotten through it. If you're new to S&H don't start with this episode. It's really for the people who want to see every single episode of S&H. I hadn't seen it since the 70's so I wanted to see it again.
I love that episode
simonegentilini4 April 2020
Mish-mash Mess
monomerd26 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
The first episode of Season 3 could not make it more clear that something has gone drastically wrong. What exactly happened here is a mystery to me. George McCowan, who has directed some very good episodes in the past seasons, totally loses his way on this one. And as we go forward in Season 3, there will be some good and normal shows again. But this - this is complete nonsense.
There is no point in describing the details of the episode and pointing out the problems. There is very little here that isn't a problem. It's James Bond meets Austin Powers with Lewis and Martin in the lead. Most of the first half is ludicrous and seems to be played for laughs. OK, you think, I guess this drama is now a comedy show. As usual, their undercover characters are the dumbest people imaginable with accents that sound more like speech impediments. If you are going undercover for real, it would probably be better to not act so stupid that people will remember you as the weirdest person they ever saw. So everything is crazy and lame. Then out of nowhere, PMG and DS will drop into their smart-cop characters and start to treat it like a real case. Part 1 ends with them washing up on the beach after being dumped by the voodoo priest, who has previously subdued them by blowing an innocuous-looking white powder in their faces that made them writhe on the floor like insects sprayed with bug killer. Oh, I forgot to mention that at this point they are in their calypso-singer disguises of silk shirts tied across the chest, tight Capri pants, and black-face. Yeah, really.
On to Part 2. Apparently, someone decided enough was enough and tried to turn this into a real show again. Starsky and Hutch basically stop using their undercover characters and start being cops trying to do a job. It's too late really, because the plot is so crazy and convoluted, but it's nice to see them act like themselves. But they still have deal with a voodoo priest who controls minds from afar, a nurse who they trusted for help from the very start who is untrustworthy, and a sudden subplot that comes out of nowhere. When it's all over, the plot will somewhat come together, but after all that has gone before, it hardly matters.
The supporting cast members for this show are universally bad. Lines drop like lead balloons. At first I thought that was being done on purpose, to highlight how comic this was supposed to be. But, no, I think they were just that bad. The detective they are sent to work with is awful, the sexy women working the hotel are all terrible, the voodoo priest chants randomly and laughs menacingly but is just weird and not convincing as a villain. I couldn't tell the Samantha Eggars and the Joan Collins characters apart and thought they were the same person for three quarters of the show. The second half at least has Starsky and Hutch acting mostly real and like themselves, even if everything else is terrible. That's the only reason the show gets more than a 1 out of 10 rating.
The very worst and saddest part for me is how they are squandering the relationship between Starsky and Hutch. Because they had been able to portrait a close male friendship that was not typically seen, accusations that the characters were gay were all around. It felt like someone decided to throw in references to that and make some statements about it, but they were awkward statements and wasted the very special aspects of PMG and DS's great chemistry together. It was like, see, they can wear gay- looking clothes and not be gay. See, they can walk around together in tight shorts and bare chests and not be gay. See, Starsky can touch Hutch's butt, and not be gay. By doing this, they just made everything worse and wasted that unique ability that PMG and DS had to let each other into their personal spaces without reservation. Sad. Sad. Sad.
There is no point in describing the details of the episode and pointing out the problems. There is very little here that isn't a problem. It's James Bond meets Austin Powers with Lewis and Martin in the lead. Most of the first half is ludicrous and seems to be played for laughs. OK, you think, I guess this drama is now a comedy show. As usual, their undercover characters are the dumbest people imaginable with accents that sound more like speech impediments. If you are going undercover for real, it would probably be better to not act so stupid that people will remember you as the weirdest person they ever saw. So everything is crazy and lame. Then out of nowhere, PMG and DS will drop into their smart-cop characters and start to treat it like a real case. Part 1 ends with them washing up on the beach after being dumped by the voodoo priest, who has previously subdued them by blowing an innocuous-looking white powder in their faces that made them writhe on the floor like insects sprayed with bug killer. Oh, I forgot to mention that at this point they are in their calypso-singer disguises of silk shirts tied across the chest, tight Capri pants, and black-face. Yeah, really.
On to Part 2. Apparently, someone decided enough was enough and tried to turn this into a real show again. Starsky and Hutch basically stop using their undercover characters and start being cops trying to do a job. It's too late really, because the plot is so crazy and convoluted, but it's nice to see them act like themselves. But they still have deal with a voodoo priest who controls minds from afar, a nurse who they trusted for help from the very start who is untrustworthy, and a sudden subplot that comes out of nowhere. When it's all over, the plot will somewhat come together, but after all that has gone before, it hardly matters.
The supporting cast members for this show are universally bad. Lines drop like lead balloons. At first I thought that was being done on purpose, to highlight how comic this was supposed to be. But, no, I think they were just that bad. The detective they are sent to work with is awful, the sexy women working the hotel are all terrible, the voodoo priest chants randomly and laughs menacingly but is just weird and not convincing as a villain. I couldn't tell the Samantha Eggars and the Joan Collins characters apart and thought they were the same person for three quarters of the show. The second half at least has Starsky and Hutch acting mostly real and like themselves, even if everything else is terrible. That's the only reason the show gets more than a 1 out of 10 rating.
The very worst and saddest part for me is how they are squandering the relationship between Starsky and Hutch. Because they had been able to portrait a close male friendship that was not typically seen, accusations that the characters were gay were all around. It felt like someone decided to throw in references to that and make some statements about it, but they were awkward statements and wasted the very special aspects of PMG and DS's great chemistry together. It was like, see, they can wear gay- looking clothes and not be gay. See, they can walk around together in tight shorts and bare chests and not be gay. See, Starsky can touch Hutch's butt, and not be gay. By doing this, they just made everything worse and wasted that unique ability that PMG and DS had to let each other into their personal spaces without reservation. Sad. Sad. Sad.
okk
petjack-4810429 August 2021
Ok, I admit this is not the best episode of starsky and hutcg, the story is funny and dark, and it turns out like a comedy-horror in detective format, but it doesn't deserve the grade it has and so I give it 10 to make it a in a bit raise.
This is where they started to lose people.
peacefrog-6209116 February 2021
As someone who watched the show back in 1970s when it first aired, I can tell you that beginning with the season 3 opener, things took a drastic turn for the worse. In the fall of 1977, we were all looking forward to the debut of season 3 of Starsky and Hutch. And boy we were in for a shock, starting with the new unmelodic theme song, changed over from the beloved season two definitive one. Then this whole business of our heroes being "kidnapped" for their assignment briefing, which itself was a ridiculous premise, on loan to the Federal government! Things just got worse from there and became a jumbled mess with too many characters and unintentional two female lead look-alikes. The undercover characters S&H portray are completely pointless and silly. And don't even get me started on their succumbing to the "voodoo powder". Part II is only slightly better, as much as S&H have abandoned their stupid covers and start acting like themselves again. But then it is ruined by a dopey twist and car chase. All in all, very little is redeemable in this two-parter and worse yet, it was a forewarning of the series decline in season 3, which was the most blah of the entire series, alternating between the unrealistic and dopey like this episode, the mundane and the afterschool special type viewings. At least in season 4, there were attempts to recapture some of the grittiness of season one and the cheesy charm (but with grittiness too) of season two. But alas, by then, too many viewers had already tuned out.
GREAT EPISODE
tonyalfa-8236116 August 2021
S&H jump the shark
Flubber693 June 2021
Silly episode and a sad milestone compared to the quality of seasons 1&2. Not even the great Joan Collins could rescue this one.
Although "jumping the shark" became part of the vernacular first, "going to Voodoo Island" would be an equally apt metaphor.
Although "jumping the shark" became part of the vernacular first, "going to Voodoo Island" would be an equally apt metaphor.
Kind of boring "special" two-part episode
hypestyle31 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This episode finds Starsky and Hutch sent on a special federally-sponsored case to a presumably Caribbean island, owned by a reclusive billionaire and turned into a tourist destination. Seems like federal cops have been killed there, and S&H have to go undercover and crack the case before more deaths happen.
There is lots of campy goings-in in this episode, likely too much. It's not really a crime thriller or much of a mystery, as too many characters keep getting introduced.
There is lots of campy goings-in in this episode, likely too much. It's not really a crime thriller or much of a mystery, as too many characters keep getting introduced.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
