Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!
This week, Hunter and McCall are assigned to keep an important witness from dying. Of course, they fail.
Episode 2.9 “The Big Fall”
(Dir by James Whitmore, Jr, originally aired on November 23rd, 1985)
Hunter and McCall have been assigned to babysit Gustav Fabro (Vic Polizos), an obnoxious witness against a mobster. Working with them are Detectives Gary Krewson (Jonathan Banks, youngish and with hair) and Ray Longmire (Mills Watson). Guarding Fabro is no one’s first concern. Longmire is an alcoholic who desperately wants a drink. McCall is thinking about leaving the police force so that she can start a family. Hunter is realizing that he’s attracted to McCall. And Krewson is more concerned with throwing Fabro out of a window. When Longmire is out getting a drink and Hunter is busy talking to McCall in a separate hotel room, Krewson sends Fabro flying.
Because Hunter was the one who was supposed to be watching Fabro, he finds himself suspended. Captain Wyler assures Hunter that everyone knows Fabro committed suicide and that the suspension is only temporary. Hunter, however, thinks that Krewson murdered Fabro, and he’s right. And, it must be said, it really doesn’t take much effort to get Krewson to confess. He just has to hold Krewson out of a window. Krewson is so scared of being dropped that he confesses to not only killing Fabro but also killing Longmire. Personally, I think it would have been smarter for Krewson to just let Hunter drop him. Now he’s going to be an ex-cop on death row.
This episode felt pretty minor. The story was nothing special. It was really just a chance to do more will-they-won’t-they with McCall and Hunter, but if they had done anything, it would have thrown off the show’s tone. Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer definitely have chemistry, but so far at least, it feels more like really good friend chemistry than anything else.
And there’s nothing wrong with that! Friends are important.
