The Streets of San Francisco is one of the many shows from the 70's I was not aware of until I began constructing the list of shows for me to review. In fact, it was my mother who brought this show to my attention. This first episode is a television movie pilot, designated SE01 EP00 on IMDb (much like the debut episode of Murder, She Wrote), and runs one hour and 39 minutes.
Episode Name: The Streets of San Francisco
Original Airdate: September 16, 1972
As expected, San Francisco is not the safest place to live. A child named Joe Ramsey has been abducted and likely killed, with almost no leads for the police to tackle (aside from a single red boot). A Donner woman has been mutilated, but they at least found two boots, quipped the police captain. The media is of course going wild over it, and are connecting the murders and abductions. And the job for the San Francisco Police Department gets no easier when a body of a young woman is found floating in the bay by a jogger and his dog.
We meet our main characters, Lieutenant Michael Stone, a veteran police officer, and his partner, Assistant Inspector Steve Keller, a 28-year old Criminology major, when they arrive on the scene. Suicide is ruled out quickly due to where the body was found, and around the neck of the girl is a business card for one David Farr, attorney at law. Upon contacting and meeting with Farr, it is evident to Keller that he is clearly hiding something - the extent to Farr's involvement, according to Farr, is that he bailed the girl, Holly Berry, out of jail the week prior and insofar as family members, she mentioned to him a brother (who is at a halfway house) and an uncle. From the coroner, they learn that Berry didn't drown - she died due to a blow from the carotid artery.
Stone and Keller check out her apartment, and learn that Farr was seen there in her apartment by the landlord, and more so, he had her key. He also saw someone who called himself her uncle, not so much interested in Holly, but in her brother, Delbert.
From flashbacks from Farr, we learn that he was quite more involved then he said - he and Holly met at a party, and she later went over to his place, and they became quite entangled. Stone and Keller contact Farr again, and he tells them more. When he bailed her out, he didn't take her home, but to a hotel, as Holly insisted someone tried to run her off the road, due to something her brother saw in the truck of his vehicle. Farr didn't believe her, but still dropped her off at a hotel and went back to her apartment to pick up some clothes for her. After leaving them in her room, he left, and hadn't seen her again.
Stone and Keller don't believe Farr's story about the mysterious attempted killer at all, and Keller definitely suspects Farr to be the one who murdered Berry. The hotel manager let them know that he heard an argument from the room he put them in between a man and a woman, but could say nothing else. From Farr's neighbor, they learn that Farr is a green belt in Karate, and Keller goes to check out that angle.
From the karate master, Keller learns that Farr complained about losing his keys the last week, and finds out that Farr has a boat, which they didn't know of before. Keller and Stone run into Farr a few additional times, and it becomes clear to Farr that he is the main suspect of the murder. He calls Stone and threatens to file an harassment suit against them when he finds out Keller has been snooping around his boat. Farr claims the brother is the key to the case, and lets Stone know that he intends to find him and discover what he saw in the trunk of the mysterious man's vehicle.
Stone and Keller go to the yacht club, and speak to two attendees, and learn that Tuesday night, they saw two figures get onto Farr's boat, whom the two suspect is Farr and Holly. Stone then has a warrant put out. Farr contacts the band Delbert, Holly's brother, is in, and sets up a meeting via a band mate for the next night. Back at the station, Stone has suspicions that Farr is not the one they're after, and is more interested in locating Berry's "uncle," who Stone suspects has far more to do with this case then they realize.
Inside Farr's boat cabin, though, they discover Berry's yellow belt buckle, and an arrest warrant, along with an APB, get put out on Farr. A person fitting the description of the uncle was seen near Farr's boat in the week prior, making Stone wonder even more what his connection to the case is, and reaffirms his belief that he is an important piece of the puzzle. When they find out that this man has been four of the same locations as has Farr, this further cinches it.
Finally, Farr is able to meet Delbert, Holly's brother, who is jacked up on drugs, but is able to speak. He saw something which he wouldn't name in the back of a car, and was planning to blackmail the individual, using his sister as a go-between. This plan fails when the man kills Holly. Farr then calls Stone and Keller from a phone booth outside, letting them know he found Delbert. While he is on the call, Delbert is killed. Minutes later, the same man attacks and abducts Farr.
The police arrive after the man leaves - as there was a pileup on the Golden Gate Bridge, though, they conclude that he can't get far. The identity of the man, they discover, is Gregory Praxas, an actor. Farr wakes up in a vaguely satanic dungeon. Praxas, seemingly pretty crazy, torments him a bit, but before he can do much more, Stone and Keller arrive at his place.
The conversation starts out well enough for Praxas, who calmly denies knowing Delbert Berry. When asked what he did the night before, he claims he went to dinner late, and came back home around midnight. The location where he went to eat, however, was across the Golden Gate Bridge, which was closed at the moment, tipping Stone and Keller off.
Praxas attempts to kill Farr, but is stopped by the two officers working together, and is eventually shot multiple times (evidently crazy enough to believe himself invincible). After the threat is neutralized, they discover what was in the back of his trunk, that set off this whole event - a little red boot, the same type that Joe Ramsay, the child who was abducted and killed prior to the episode, was wearing. They also found many mementos, various pieces of clothing, and deduce that many of the unsolved murders in San Francisco were of Praxas' doing.
Stone and Keller visit Farr's hospital room, and give him some pictures of Holly they think he might want to keep. Keller apologizes for misjudging Farr, and leave Farr to mull over the past few weeks.
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| Steve Keller (Douglas) and Michael Stone |
I have mixed feelings over this pilot.
While I understand the reasons behind an hour and a half pilot, in this case, I feel it didn't work as well as one would hope. Portions just dragged on, and while a few scenes stood out, the plot as a whole wasn't one I really felt invested in.
Michael Stone and Steve Keller make an interesting pair. Stone has almost a grandfatherly, genial attitude about him, and while he is not averse to being gruff toward suspects, most of the time has a calm, yet stern, demeanor. Keller, on the other hand, is a younger college grad who comes across as a bit of a hothead. It's a role that a young Michael Douglas seems to excel in. I also hope that we see more personal life from each of the two officers - we learn that Stone's wife has been dead for some time, but that's about the extent to it. Being a 70's series, I can't really see these characters changing personalities too much over the course of the show, but it'd be nice to see such.
The 70's atmosphere is something I sense will take some getting used to. The music itself was quite the throwback, not to mention the hair and clothes styles. I've seen a fair share of Starsky and Hutch episodes, though, so the learning curve shouldn't be difficult to overcome.
For the flaws, though, such as the somewhat sluggish plot (which may be solely because this was an hour and a half as opposed to the average 50 minutes), can be let go, given this was just the pilot. There's room to improve, and the final 15 minutes, which I felt were quite thrilling, definitely shows what they're able to do with this show. Because of that, I'm rating this above average, though it is a close call. Hopefully as the show goes on, it can pick up some steam this pilot more often than not lacked.
Rating: Above Average
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