Written by Christopher Arnold (as Chris Arnold), David Martin and Geoff Morrow. Much of the series was shot on location in the Los Angeles beach community of San Pedro. Here's where they feature in the films. Due to the success of S&H, in 1976 (the Torino's final year) Ford released a limited edition (only 1,305 units total, plus three pilot production cars) Starsky and Hutch replica Gran Torino. Although a potential safety hazard at the time, the problem was solved by replacing the front bench of the number two Torino with bucket seats at Glaser and Soul's request; Glaser said in 1999, "It took us a year to get them to put bucket seats in it so David wouldn't slide all over the place whenever I took a corner.". Over time, an unforeseen problem was discovered with the Torinos when they were used during stunt driving scenes. The body-side mouldings were installed on these cars and the stripe was, unlike the pilot cars, integrated with the mouldings. In fact, during filming of the 2004 Starsky & Hutch movie, Glaser had several opportunities to sit in the newest iteration of "his" car, and even drive them, but he refused. It still had its original 460 V8, interior, and paint; however, Mickey Thompson valve covers and a chrome air cleaner were added by the first owner after he purchased it from Barber Ford. Hutch helps his troubled friend Jack while Starsky enjoys a brief encounter with a beautiful showgirl with a heartbreaking back story. He also directed both sequels, though The Hangover Part III was notable for it's darker tone and felt more like a thriller than a comedy. Here's The Dan Band tie some of Todd Phillips' biggest comedies together. Two series characters were named for people from William Blinn's past: Starsky was the name of a high school friend, and Huggy Bear was a local disc jockey. After its prime-time run, Starsky & Hutch was sold into syndication, and has been shown on several local channels and cable networks (e.g., The National Network, and WWME-CA in Chicago). The show was created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast from April 1975 to May 1979 on the ABC network. He just was not interested; however, in 2004, during the last day of filming a movie in Canada, the crew wanted a group picture of Glaser with a Starsky and Hutch Torino, so he agreed to sit in the driver's seat of a Limited Edition replica with the crew surrounding the car. The last appearance of the Torino on the series seems to show that the driver's door and window will not even close correctly, possibly due to the rigours and effects of the spirited stunt driving the car suffered over the years. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. However, the duo's cover was often blown because Hutch's vehicle had a humorous glitch: when its driver's side door was opened, the horn would go off, instantly drawing attention. Perhaps Ben and Owen can be the ones making cameos this time around. In sharp right-hand turns, Soul would sometimes slide accidentally across the vinyl bench into Glaser. The new cars were ordered under Ford's fleet program, which is what was required to get them painted in the previous year's Bright Red(2B), as Ford used a different shade of red for new standard-order Torinos by this point. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson starred in a 2004 movie, where the original Starsky and Hutch made cameos. Starsky and Hutch were based on two New York cops named Lou Telano and John Sepe. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures Television in the United States and, originally, Metromedia Producers Corporation … Their spirited performance and strategic use of swear words made for a memorable scene, and they reunited with Phillips' the next year for the big-screen version of Starsky & Hutch, starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Lou Telano and John Sepe later sued Aaron Spelling's production company and settled out of court for $10,000 each. Both cars had a role in the pilot movie, one being "Starsky's" car, and the other being a similar car which is mistaken for Starsky's car by the film's villains. NBC had the NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. The show's production team spent considerable time with the two detectives during their daily routines. In January 1978, the show moved back to it original Wednesday night time slot of 10 p.m. Stunt cars, camera cars, tow cars, dolly cars, and cars used for "beauty" shots varied in model year from 1974 to 1976 Ford Torinos, since the body style of the Gran Torino was unchanged. Listen to trailer music, OST, original score, and the full list of popular songs in the film. Largo (nightclub) - Wikipedia His film appearances include Under Siege , Rambo: First Blood Part II , RoboCop 2 , Lethal Weapon 4 , Rush Hour , Starsky & Hutch … Starsky and Hutch continue to uncover the clues that will lead them to the Las Vegas Strangler. Though their tactics were — albeit — a little weird, they were able to nab muggers, rapists, and murders. ABSTRACT Adapted from and standing as a prequel to the 1970s television series of the same name, Starsky & Hutch centers on the adventures of police officers Dave Starsky and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson. According to Glaser in several early interviews,[which?] Soundtrack album: Starsky & Hutch 2004 soundtrack CD with The Band's "The Weight" included. Torino #2[13] is owned by a New Jersey man who supplied the main close-up Torino (featured on the movie posters)[14] for 2004's big-screen Starsky & Hutch movie. It was originally equipped with a 351 Modified (also VIN code "H") ; however, during filming, one of the stuntmen damaged the engine beyond repair, and it was replaced overnight with a 429 Lima V8. Click the button below to start this article in quick view. A few years later, Torino #1 was sold to Dezer Car Collection in Miami, Florida. [12] After Starsky and Hutch was cancelled, the cars were returned to Ford's Studio-TV Car Lease Program and sold at a Ford Motor Company auction to A.E. In the "Behind The Badge" interviews, Glaser said that during the early stages of production of the pilot, Spelling took him outside to introduce him to the red & white-striped, mag-wheeled Torino. The car underwent a full restoration in a Pennsylvania Shop and is back on the road. At the same time, the lead actors—Glaser in particular—became jaded with the general theme; these and other factors contributed to the fading popularity of the series. Approximately four different cars were used for filming. However, the disgruntled Glaser decided to return yet again, to finish out the season. The first retail sale of Torino #1 was to a resident of Ojai, California; he owned it for one year, then sold it in a private sale to an Air Force officer that owned it for 17 years. It was repaired, although it was repainted the wrong shade of red and the iconic stripe was improperly painted. The iconic, jazz-funk riff that we all remember today didn’t actually show up until the show’s second season — the first season theme, which was darker and more ominous, was written by Lalo Schifrin of Mission: Impossible fame. From September to December 1977, the show stayed in its Saturday night time slot, now up against The Jeffersons and The Tony Randall Show on CBS and the NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Glaser has not grown to appreciate the car as he has learned to simply accept its popularity as a necessary component of the fans' appreciation of the show. He's super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. Don’t worry too much about why undercover cops would drive a Gran Torino fittingly nicknamed the striped tomato. Find all 28 songs in Starsky & Hutch Soundtrack, with scene descriptions. The front fenders seemed to have taken a lot of abuse, and the Gran Torino nameplates on the front fenders are missing in several episodes, as are the chrome wheelhouse moldings. Phillips continued to feature Dan, as the sleazy bat-mitzvah singer in Starsky & Hutch and again as the irreverent wedding singer in The Hangover After seeing The Dan Band, With David Soul, Paul Michael Glaser, Antonio Fargas, Bernie Hamilton. We don’t get paid extra to kill people, either. The part was written with Parton in mind, but Anderson wound up playing the role. In 1988, Torino #1 was purchased by an Ohio resident; however, he sold it in 2012 to Cars Of The Stars Motor Museum in the United Kingdom. The aggressive stunt driving required of the show resulted in many accidents and fender-benders for the Torinos. It was written by Mark Snow and released on an LP around 1979. The second-season episode "Huggy Bear and the Turkey" was the test pilot for a proposed spin off with Huggy and his friend, former Sheriff "Turkey" Turquet (Dale Robinette) becoming private investigators; however, this premise proved unpopular with viewers, and a spinoff never materialized. Season 1: Starsky & Hutch aired on Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. and aired against Kate McShane on CBS and the second season law drama Petrocelli on NBC. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released 4 Seasons on DVD in Regions 1 and 2 between 2004 and 2006. This was the only appearance of the Torino in the series, and many fans have speculated over its strange one-off appearance. The Dan Band are a recurring theme in Todd Phillips' comedies, including Starsky And Hutch and The Hangover. The series' protagonists were two Southern California police detectives: David Michael Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser), the dark-haired, Brooklyn transplant and U.S. Army veteran, with a street-wise manner and intense, sometimes childlike moodiness; and Kenneth Richard "Hutch" Hutchinson (David Soul), the divorced,[2] blond, Duluth, Minnesota, native with a more reserved and intellectual approach. The section of stripe that runs across the front wheel opening was gradually curved up and around the opening. Starsky & Hutch finished #36 in the Nielsen Ratings in their final season. Season 2: Starsky & Hutch was moved to Saturday night for the second season and was up against tough competition on CBS with the Mary Tyler Moore Show followed by The Bob Newhart Show. The Dan Band are known for their foul-mouthed cover versions of hit pop songs, and they memorably performed Bonnie Tyler's “Total Eclipse of the Heart." Starsky and Hutch go undercover as Rafferty and O'Brien, Texas-based dealers looking to make a five-kilo heroin buy from drug kingpin Danner. During the last season of Starsky and Hutch, The Dukes of Hazzard premiered on CBS, and one of the factory replicas was used in the first episode, "One Armed Bandits", seen to be driven by regular character Cooter Davenport (Ben L. Jones). starsky and hutch, huggy bear, huggy les bons tuyaux, capitaine harold dobey, capitaine dobey, david soul, paul michael glaser, ford gran torino, david starsky, ken hutchinson, hutch, zebra3. In Starsky & Hutch, they perform a completely inappropriate cover of "Feel Like Makin' Love" at a bat mitzvah. From $1.22. Barber Ford of Ventura, California. The time demands of a weekly production mandated quick body and paint repairs so the cars could get back to work as soon as possible, and many of the quick and often sloppy repairs are quite evident to eagle-eyed viewers of the show. These cars were powered by 400 V8s (VIN code "S") because extra power was going to be needed for additional stunt driving scenes. A reworked "Gotcha", similar in style (but not identical) to the version on Blow It Out, returned for the fourth and last season. It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. It was also noticeable due to the severely cluttered back seat, so cluttered that there was no room to transport both prisoners and the two detectives simultaneously. Schifrin, Scott and Snow also scored several episodes; Alan Silvestri also worked on the series, scoring three episodes.[17]. The detectives' main confidential informant was the street-wise, ethically ambiguous, "jive-talking" Huggy Bear (Antonio Fargas), who often dressed in a flashy manner and operated his own bar (first named "Huggy Bear's", and later, "The Pits"). The show was created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast from April 1975 to May 1979 on the ABC network. "Starsky" redirects here. How The Dan Band Ties Todd Phillips' Comedies Together. A frothy mix of action, wisecracks and deadly serious detective work, the beloved show as a major hit. 1975 – 1979. Starsky & Hutch had no trouble beating its competition and finished #16 with a 22.5 share in the A.C. Nielsen Ratings. However, when production started on the pilot episode, Ford Motor Company's Studio-TV Car Loan Program was the lease supplier for Spelling-Goldberg. This page was last edited on 2 May 2021, at 22:46. I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You. A video game based on the series was developed by Mind's Eye Productions and published by Empire Interactive for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Windows and Game Boy Advance in 2003. In particular, the driver's side quarter panel and tail-light area were seen to be smashed up in 4th-season episodes, and at least one of the cars was shown to have a dented and twisted front bumper along with some visible damage to the grille behind. The Dan Band are a recurring theme in Todd Phillips' comedies, including Starsky And Hutch and The Hangover. Outside of Phillips' work they've appeared on the likes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and they've released a number of albums. Directed by George McCowan. Every Madagascar Movie Ranked From Worst To Best, How The Dan Band Ties Todd Phillips' Comedies Together, 2019 Has Been Dominated By The People Who Made The Hangover, Marvel’s New Phase 4 Slate: Every MCU Movie Release Date (2021-2023), Star Wars: How Much Time Passes In The Empire Strikes Back, Ferris Bueller Has A Fight Club Style Fake Person Twist - Theory Explained, Hocus Pocus 2 Title, Logo & Fall 2022 Release Date On Disney+ Revealed, Helen Mirren Is Stoked She Finally Gets To Drive In F9, Dwayne Johnson Cast As Krypto the Super Dog In DC Super Pets Movie, Quiet Place 2 Early Ticket Sales Higher In 2021 Than 2020, Eric Bana Has No Interest In Returning To Hulk Movie Role, Mark Ruffalo Joins Emma Stone In Yorgos Lanthimos' Re-imagining Of Frankenstein, Brie Larson Shows Off Impressive Strength In Captain Marvel 2 Training Video, Shrek Trends On Twitter As Fans Celebrate Movie's 20-Year Anniversary, Henry Cavill Eyed To Star In Highlander Reboot Movie From John Wick Director, The Flash Movie Set Photo Shows Ezra Miller's Actor Chair, Top Gun 2 Should Have Kept The Original Director’s Story Idea, Ant-Man 3 Star May Have Spoiled A Major Villain Return, Matthias Schweighöfer Interview: Army of the Dead. Courtesy of Arista Records, Inc. That sweater. Several scenes of Glaser driving the car show him smashing the front wheels into curbs as he slides the car around corners and such, but that may also be attributable to the fact that he is primarily an actor, not a trained stunt-driver. Directed by Earl Bellamy. Paul Michael Glaser “Starsky” in 2018. Although still equipped with bucket seats, #2 no longer has its original 460 engine, which was replaced at some point with a 2.8 litre Ford V-6. Here's The Dan Band tie some of Todd Phillips' biggest comedies together. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site. During its life after Starsky and Hutch, #2 was wrecked and sold as salvage. Phillips' returned to the Old School comedy formula for The Hangover, which became one of the highest-grossing R-rated comedies of all time. In the episode it was revealed that Huggy's last name is Brown (no clue as to his first name was given, though). They looked at lease stock and chose two 1975 351 Windsor V8-powered (VIN code "H") "Bright Red" (paint code 2B) 2-door Gran Torinos. "Unit 129" was owned by a collector in New Hampshire; as of May 2018, it is for sale by a Florida collector vehicle dealer. The stripe was also thicker on the roof section and whereas the front pointed section ended well behind the amber marker light on the pilot cars, the newer design had the point ending far ahead of it, on the front fascia piece. Finally, the 20th Century Fox Torino was purchased in 2009 by the owner of #2, sold to an Oklahoma couple in 2010, and restored. Directed by Ivan Nagy. Soundtrack Credits. Here's where they feature in the films. Movies and Specials. ... dan band, old school, hangover, starsky and hutch, total eclipse of the heart, frat pack, comedy, will ferrell, vince vaughn, ben stiller, owen wilson. The revamped version was the most easy-going of the different themes for the series, reflecting the last season's increased "buddy cop" feel. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures Television in the United States and, originally, Metromedia Producers Corporation and later on 20th Television in Canada and some other parts of the world. The original pilot-movie cars had the bottom horizontal edge of the stripe about an inch or so above the mid-body character line that ran along the car, which was apparently done so that the section of the stripe that passes above the front wheel opening would not be cut off by the wheel opening, but for the first-season cars, the bottom horizontal edge of the stripe was lowered until directly on the crease, which gave a more cohesive look to the design of the stripe. the dan band puts out another great performance in starsky and hutch That car. Here's where they feature in the films. In characteristic contrast, Hutch's vehicle was a battered tan 1973 Ford Galaxie 500. The first season of the show had a dark and ominous theme written by Lalo Schifrin that seemed to fit the hard action and violence of the season; the main title version was edited down from the chase climax cue of his score for the pilot episode (the climax contains the shot of Hutch leaping off a fire escape and landing on his car which appears in the opening titles of all subsequent episodes). The series also inspired a theatrical film and a video game. Film adaptation of the 1970s television series of the same name follows the crime-busting adventures of two buddy cops. It also appears on the title screen of the Nintendo Entertainment System game Treasure Master, covered by Tim Follin. He made a name for himself in the entertainment industry as one half of the classic crime fighting duo Starsky & Hutch in the 1970s.. And David Soul … The final episode, "Sweet Revenge" (which has Starsky fighting for his life after being gunned down), originally had its co-lead dying in the early drafts. Dan Finnerty has also appeared as an actor in movies and shows like Lost Souls, Rock Of Ages and King Of The Hill. This time, Starsky's wayward younger brother Nick (John Herzfeld) was introduced, in the episode "Starsky's Brother". The actor was responding to stories about a modern reboot from James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), subsequently cancelled. After Starsky and Hutch, he starred in three other series (1983’s Casablanca and The Yellow Rose and 1989’s Unsub), made nearly 20 TV movies, … A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. They each had body-side mouldings along with a black interior with vinyl bench seats. This is a group of all the people who have seen the television series "Starsky and Hutch" and fell in love with it. Dezer sold Torino #1 in a private auction in January 2015 to a Texas collector; at the time, it was mostly unrestored and somewhat battered due to wear and tear from TV show filming and subsequent ownership. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. Ultimately, Officer Baylor only appeared in one episode (alongside both Starsky and Hutch): the Play Misty for Me–inspired episode, "Fatal Charm". [3] Soul verified this statement in a 1999 cast reunion interview in the United Kingdom.[4]. It was intended that if Glaser was to quit, that the reformed Nick would take David's place on the police force (and allow the series to avoid a title change). He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns. At least one of the second-season cars was known to have a Dymo label prominently attached to the dashboard which read "DO NOT EXCEED 50 MPH"; this was probably due to the fact that the revised gearing would cause the engine RPM to go to a higher level, possibly leading to engine damage. One of the pilot cars had the luxury remote-control chrome mirrors installed, while the other pilot car had the cheaper, entry-level manual chrome mirrors installed; in editing the film, Starsky and Hutch are shown to be driving around in each of the two cars at different times during the film. Secondly, the idea that two undercover cops would drive around in a car with such an outlandish appearance seemed ludicrous, and lastly, he does not like Ford products (although in a picture that was printed in an issue of the National Enquirer, Glaser is shown on the side of a California freeway with a flat-tired Ford Explorer). He followed up with Old School, which became a word of mouth hit and helped turn Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn into movie stars. While likely "normal" by American social standards since the 1990s, such body language conflicted with 1970s norms of (emotionally restrained) masculinity. The end credits featured a similar piece of ominous music. The iconic buddy cop show set in California starred Paul Michael Glaser as Starsky and David Soul as Hutch. Starsky & Hutch is an American action television series, which consisted of a 70-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. [10] In the summer of 2012 during the introduction to the "Las Vegas Car Stars 2012" charity event, Glaser drove up in a S&H Torino replica; after being introduced by the master of ceremonies, he got out of the Torino and was cheered by the crowd. That Huggy Bear. Part of the joke of Todd Phillips' big-screen version of Starsky & Hutch is that it's set in the '70s, and it plays with pop culture of the decade with affection. The sequel is unlikely to include The Dan Band, who weaved a Nick Fury-like thread through most of Phillips' comedies. These new cars for the first-season were factory ordered in the bright red color (Ford paint code: 2B), which was a regular production color for 1975 Torinos. Starsky and Hutch has a rating of 7 out of 10 on IMDb and score of 8.8 out of 10 on TV.com. A theatrical film produced by Weed Road Pictures and Red Hour Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Dimension Films was released in theatres on March 5, 2004. These newer cars can be identified by their silver sight shields (bumper filler panels) which Ford used on specially painted fleet-ordered cars. Many fans were attracted not just by the characters, but the quality of writing during the first two seasons (despite the fact that the majority of first-season stories were actually existing scripts that were merely adapted to fit the series). Back to Resume. [11] Manufactured at the Chicago plant, one of these code "PS 122" units was leased by Spelling-Goldberg from the middle of season two until the series' end as a second backup for the main cars and was known simply as "Unit 129". It seemed that he would not be returning for filming, so to fill the presumed void, the character "Officer Linda Baylor" (played by Roz Kelly) was created, and a number of alternative scripts featuring her instead of Starsky were written (whether the show's name would have remained the same is unknown). Next: 2019 Has Been Dominated By The People Who Made The Hangover. These new cars also featured the complete bumper protection group option, which included horizontal black rub-strips on both bumpers that were not included on the pilot cars. The rear ends were lifted by air shocks, and had Ansen Sprint 5-slot mag wheels added with larger rear tires. Directed by Ivan Dixon. The show has also been broadcast on Cozi TV and getTV. 's Canadian 1976 Limited Production "Starsky & Hutch"®Ford Gran Torino", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Starsky_%26_Hutch&oldid=1021103479, American Broadcasting Company original programming, 1970s American crime drama television series, Television series by Sony Pictures Television, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from December 2016, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The first season is frequently aired on the. Phillips has moved away from comedy in recent years, directing real-life drama War Dogs in 2016 and most recently Joker. While reviews for Joker have been mixed, its become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time - which isn't bad for a project that was deemed something of a risk. Todd Phillips launched his directing career with 2000 comedy Road Trip, which was an American Pie-style teen comedy. [citation needed]. While these were the biggest, most powerful engines available from Ford at the time, even with dual exhaust, they were still somewhat underpowered at 202 net horsepower. The second-season episode "Long Walk Down a Short Dirt Road", featured country star Lynn Anderson as a singer being stalked by a deranged person; it was based upon a real-life incident involving country music legend Dolly Parton. High performance engine sounds were dubbed over scenes during the show because California law forbade mechanically modifying the engines of new cars. One theory is that it was merely an in-joke, with the Torino's former iconic car status now being taken over by the Dukes' Dodge Charger car "The General Lee". After being granted more creative control over scripts, opportunities to direct episodes, and a per-episode pay raise (to $35,000, up from $5,000), Glaser returned to the show. While the tires were mounted so that only the black wall side would show, thus hiding any unauthorized brand-name display, in one first-season episode ("Kill Huggy Bear"), a close-up shot of the villain cutting the rear brake lines shows the letters on the inside-facing side of the tires to say Firestone. For the start of the second season, these were replaced by two 1976 Gran Torinos that had vinyl split-bench seats like the pilot episode cars. Performed by Barry Manilow. Under license from BMG Film & TV Music. Several episodes from the first two seasons can be viewed for free in Minisode and in regular format on Crackle. His television composing and conducting credits include the themes for Family Ties and Starsky & Hutch, background scores for Baretta, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Streets Of San Francisco, numerous T.V. The director saw The Dan Band - which is led by singer Dan Finnerty - and asked them to be the wedding singers in Old School. there were three main reasons why he instantly hated the car: First, in his opinion, it was big, ugly and childish-looking. Phillips soon became the go-to director for comedy projects, although his 2006 remake School for Scoundrels was a box-office flop. The vehicle of choice was Starsky's two-door Ford Gran Torino, which was bright red, with a large white vector stripe on both sides. Starsky & Hutch Soundtrack Music - Complete Song List | Tunefind Glaser remarked to Soul that he hated the car and that he was "going to destroy that car...burn it down every chance I get", and repeated the story in the 1999 "reunion" interview. In contrast to police characters on U.S. TV in prior years, Starsky and Hutch were open with physical gestures of friendly/brotherly affection toward one another, often declaring that they trusted only each other (in an "us against the world"–type sense). The duo made a cameo in the Starsky & Hutch remake back in 2004 with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. In Puerto Rico the show was aired on WKAQ TV, Channel 2 (Telemundo) during the mid to late 70s. Earlier shots had red wing mirrors, except the pilot which had silver mirrors, usually for long shots or footage used in later scenes, close ups and later episodes had silver wing mirrors. Although the show lost some of their viewers from the move from the Wednesday night time slot from the previous season, Starsky & Hutch held its own, finishing #34 with a 19.6 rating in the Nielsens. "Paul Michael Glaser: 'Our ability to love is our truest power, our greatest power as human beings. Joker is a dark, grounded reinvention of the famous comic book villain, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Huggy's immense popularity with viewers caused producers Spelling and Goldberg to consider giving actor Fargas his own TV series.