“Hunter: Return
to Justice”
Tomorrow night at 9 on WNBC/Ch. 4
PEOPLE have asked me many things about TV over the years, including untold numbers of questions about past shows.
They want to know why they were cancelled, whatever happened to the stars and what are the chances they’ll get back together for a reunion special.
And in all those years, not one single person has ever inquired about “Hunter.”
“Simon & Simon” maybe. But “Hunter”? Not a peep.
So, along comes a made-for- TV “Hunter” movie – and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.
Has there been some sort of groundswell of nostalgia for “Hunter” lately that I’ve missed? If so, please feel free to clue me in.
The original “Hunter” was popular enough to last seven seasons on NBC (1984-1991).
But the series – starring ex-football great Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer (whose spelling of “Stephanie” always bugged me) – was never more than an ordinary, cliched cop show.
In tomorrow night’s movie – titled “Hunter: Return to Justice” – LAPD Det. Rick Hunter (Dryer) is a bit grayer, but still lean enough to run down back alleys in pursuit of perps. In fact, in this movie, he kills six bad guys without breaking a sweat.
On a trip to San Diego for a little R&R and a visit with his old partner, Dee Dee McCall (Kramer), Hunter faces off against a gang of Russian thugs who are somehow mixed up with a wealthy mayoral candidate who just happens to be engaged to Dee Dee.
Mayhem ensues and – yada, yada, yada – Hunter triumphs and, at movie’s end, seems poised to join the SDPD, where one assumes he would partner up with Dee Dee once again in future movies.
My advice: Turn Hunter into Dirty Harry and you might have something here. Otherwise, why bother?