If you grew up in the 70s and you had a TV in your home, then Primetime shows were a part of your weekly viewing schedules. Some of these shows included The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. Saturday nights were not complete unless you had watched both of these shows back-to-back. As sad as it may seem now, that was the pinnacle of our entertainment back then. I mean, who didn’t love to hear Tattoo (Hervé Villechaize) shout, “The plane! The plane!” before heading to bed?
Pre-cable and internet television was about as exciting as any quality family time could get. Those were the days when Aaron Spelling was a household name because he was the executive producer for just about every show on television then. To give it some context, he was to TV in the 70s and 80s what Shonda Rhimes has been for ABC Thursday nights in the 2000s. Two words: Boss. Mode.
What I remember about that time is despite being super young, I was mesmerized by some of the stars on those shows. With all of the many “hunks” on TV to choose from though, none were as dashing to women and girls everywhere as David Starsky and Kenneth Hutchison; the detectives on a show named for its main characters, Starsky and Hutch.
This show was a staple, especially if your parents liked to watch any shows in which the bad guys wreaked havoc, confounded the authorities, and in the end got their just desserts – all within the span of one hour. Starsky and Hutch was one of those shows. Not only were these tough detectives on the small screen kicking butt and solving crimes – they were often the topic of conversation between my sisters and me. We would have heated debates about which of the dynamic duo was the most handsome and dashing. I liked Starsky and my two sisters adored Hutch.
In the original show, Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) was the one with the dark, curly hair and killer smile. Hutch (David Soul) was the tall blonde with chiseled features, and while some thought he was the bee’s knees, he just didn’t float my boat. I was all of 6 or 7, but I was convinced that Starsky was the one I wanted to father my future children. Years later, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson starred in the 2004 movie version of this show. Poor little tink-tinks – they tried. They just didn’t do it for me.
As odd as this may seem, it was common for little girls to idolize some of the stars of television yesteryear. Even little Black girls had major crushes on Bo and Luke of The Dukes of Hazard, despite the fact that the confederate flag was plastered on the roof of their car. This, of course, pre-dates the “woke” years.
I sometimes wonder how these shows may have affected my preferences in partners by the time I was a teenager. Was I subconsciously choosing Starsky when I was crushing on a boy in my junior year of high school who looked eerily similar? I guess I’ll never know. It is totally normal for kids to have crushes, but I wish there were more shows that had guys my age in them back then because I was not feeling any of the Brady boys! Well, there was Willis (Todd Bridges) of Different Strokes, who was once a teen heartthrob and frequented the pages of Right On! Magazine. One of the reasons why I’m grateful for the Disney channel today is because little girls can have crushes on boys their own age – not grown men old enough to be their fathers!
I also had a huge crush on Dan Tanna (Robert Urich) when he was running around the streets of Vegas. I was 7 when this show premiered and apparently, I was not the only child who had eyes for the older TV gents from back in the day. I recall a conversation with a friend a few years ago, and as we reminisced and laughed about those childhood TV crushes, she happily exclaimed, “Girl, yaaaasss! Dan Tanna was my baby!” She, too, was a mere child when this show was on the air. But I ask, who could resist this handsome face?
I don’t remember exactly when I grew out of those girlhood gushing years, but I eventually did. Times have certainly changed though. Girls today are not limited to the lead actors on detective shows to set their sights on (thank God). Can you imagine a 7-year-old girl today pining away over Christopher Meloni or Ice-T from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit?
I am still known to star gaze a bit and crush on a handsome guy lighting up the big or small screen. The difference now is that I know better than to hold out hope that I will be the future Mrs. Whoever. Besides, I am a happily married woman.
(Looks around) But if anybody runs into Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky) in the near future, tell him to come holler at your girl!