'Hawaiian Heat': TV's latest trip to fantasyland

Remember ''Starsky and Hutch''? Well now there is Mac and Andy. Hawaiian Heat (ABC, Friday, Sept. 14, 9-11 p.m.; thereafter Fridays, 9-10 p.m.) is ABC's newest rip-off of itself. The premise of the show is all laid out for viewers in this pilot episode: Two Chicago cops on the beat turn in the cold and windy city for detective jobs on the Honolulu police force amid the lush, tropical breezes of Hawaii.

There's lots of complex crime plotting, but even more complex is the potentially Freudian interpretation of the Mac and Andy relationship, a la Starsky and Hutch. Andy, played skillfully by Jeff McCracken, is about to get married in Chicago when Mac, overplayed nervously by Robert Ginty, saves him from dull marital bliss by ''Shanghai-ing'' him to Honolulu. There, they both meet up with gorgeous Hawaiian women and live out a fantasy dating life as well as a fantasy career.

''Hawaiian Heat''' throws in everything that sells action-adventure television - car chases and crashes, excessive violence and gunplay, helicopter sequences, sexual titillation, beautiful women, and even more beautiful locations.

There's also a bit of deep thinking: ''There's nothing like a close call to reconfirm your own mortality,'' says Mac, completely out of character.

Then, our heroes walk off together along the beach into the sunset, contemplating their swinging new life in sun-swept Hawaii. Chicago - and life, as a matter of fact - was never like this.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to 'Hawaiian Heat': TV's latest trip to fantasyland
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0913/091311.html
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe