The Kiss in the Alley Debate

Event
Event:	Kiss in the Alley Debate
Participants:
Date(s):	October 1980-May 1981
Type:	meta debate, fan theory
Fandom:	Starsky and Hutch
URL:	the scene in question can be viewed at 10:02 mark of The Fix: A Starsky and Hutch Review
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The very popular 1975 Starsky & Hutch episode, "The Fix," is full of angsty moments that lend themselves to smarm, hurt/comfort, and various slashy interpretations. In 1984, one fan commented that "The Fix" was "another bit that makes the internal organs wobble about."

A debate so heated, it got its own cartoon by Paula Smith!

"Great moments on the cutting room floor: THE KISS in the alley." -- art from S and H #21 (May 1981). It riffs on the musical group, Kiss, and portrays its four members as well as Starsky and Hutch. NOTE: the debate had nothing to do with rock music or Kiss!

"The Kiss in the Alley Debate" began in October 1980 and was mostly over by May 1981. In it, Starsky & Hutch fans argued heatedly at great length about the fan theory of whether Starsky and Hutch kissed in the iconic alley scene during the episode "The Fix" when Hutch comes down off the wall and falls into Starsky's arms.

The debated scene was broken down into seven frames which fans referred to as "Magnificent 7." These frames, when shown slowly and advanced one at at time, made it look like, to some fans, that the guys were kissing. One fan even created a helpful diagram and many comments that refuted the fan theory.

Discussions about the seven frames began and mainly occurred in several issues of S and H, the main letterzine of the time. There were some comments in the UK letterzine, APB, as well.

The main proponent of the theory was Penny Warren, an outspoken BNF. While fans mostly disagreed with her theory about Starsky and Hutch's alley kissing, they were also likely pushing back against Warren's long history of stating abrasive opinions about other topics in S and H and in other print zines. Since the letterzine tended to be a hotbed of strongly heated and combative comments, that's saying a lot!

All these speculations and theorizing was fueled by the technology of that new machine called the VCR which allowed fans to stop the motion, to study the scene more carefully, and for some fans, to manipulate it make it appear that the two's embrace included a kiss.

The debate included speculation about the characters' sexuality, what could and couldn't be shown on the screen, and suggestions that fans corner the actors and ask them point blank.

It is important to keep in mind that many of the fans who did not see the kiss as described were fans who believed in the Starsky/Hutch premise and were supportive of a sexual relationship between them, they just didn't see it as portrayed as Hutch fell off the wall into Starsky's arms. Many fans went out of their way to point out they would have like to see the kiss, but could not. From a fan in "I would have welcomed it. As I said it's right, it works. And I wish it had been there."

In 1982, a year after the main debate, fans Kendra Hunter, Terry and Diana Barbour created a very early songvid based on these seven frames. It was called Kiss You All Over, and it was shown at the second ZebraCon.

In 1987, a fan looked back and laughed:

OR - ah-ha - the episode, "The Fix," was really banned [in the UK] because of "THE KISS IN THE ALLEY" at the end! (Only teasing! - I'm not starting up that ancient argument again!)

A fan in 2006 wrote about her newbie days, and reminisced about how times, technology, and platforms had made major changes:

There was a letterzine. It came out every month, and had the kind of discussions which later moved to mailing lists and are now had on LJ. It even had flamewars. There was the infamous one about the Kiss in the Alley: did they or didn't they, with drawn diagrams (nobody had VCRs).

In 2002, there was another fandom controversy regarding kissing/not kissing footage, this time in the Beauty and the Beast fandom. See The Kiss That Does Not Exist.

The Context

It is important to understand the context, political and social climate, and the point in history this debate took place in.

For fans in early 1981, slash fiction was almost entirely underground, with only a handful of K/S printed in zines. .

A few months after the debate began, the first Code 7 was published, and due to fears about visibility and threats by anti-slash fans to send the zine to TPTB, it was issued with all the authors' names removed.

This debate, of course, wasn't just about the kiss itself, but about the tensions between fans who felt it demonstrated the reality of a homosexual relationship between the characters and those who did not believe in the premise. Sides were taken, turfs were protected, and tempers flared as some of the BNFs of the time charged into the arena.

Fans in the 1980s depended on telephone calls and letters and zines in the mail before the internet, and this meant discussions, cycles, and topics moved a lot slower before the internet.

To modern fans, this debate may seem fairly tame - but for fans at the time, simply discussing it openly with other fans was an act of courage and defiance.

Just seven years later, a fan wrote about the S & H letterzine and the heated debates therein:

I got out the box containing all the old l/z's — disinterred it, to be more precise/ from the mountain of boxes at present lurking in our spare bedroom—just to refresh my memory. And several hours later, I surfaced amazed. What a vast amount of subjects were covered—so many views aired (sometimes forcibly, sometimes acidly, sometimes even vitriolic), so many opinions, ideas, discussions, often on the mast trivial of subjects. Looking back, was The Kiss in the Alley (or lack of one) such a big deal? I suppose it was, at the time. And S/H, far from being the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name, nowadays rarely shuts up.

The Major Stances

No Kissing

I hate to tell you, but the kiss-in-the-alley is a figment of some of those vivid imaginations we've been talking about. It's not there, but if you want to join those who think it is, feel free. No extra charge. No law against fantasising, either!

The 'kiss' in the alley takes place at the end of THE FIX. Hutch slides down from the fence into Starsky's arms, and if you watch it frame-by-frame, it could be interpreted as a 'kiss'. But so can several other sequences, if watched in slo-mo. Another case of seeing what you want to see. Except, in this case, I can't see it. A loving, tender embrace—yes. No kiss. Sorry.

.., The Alley scene - a safe landing into a lovely hug, but I could not see a kiss, though I did try.

A quick peek inside the old can, okay? In FIX, just before the tag, there is a hug in the alley. It is a beauty of a hug, and there was a school of fandom who saw a kiss right in there with it. Me, I didn't. Unless smooching an earlobe can be thus construed. Our Noble Editor had it right when she told you you had missed nothing.

Yes Kissing

From Kendra H:

When I watched the alley scene from "The Fix" for the first time frame by frame, I was mesmerized. I saw two men who are in love and not afraid to express it. Of course the kiss between S&H was not a record-breaking exchange of saliva and germs. That would come later--in the privacy of their bedroom. The men are professional policemen and are always aware of the image they must maintain. But a brief touch of their lips, a promise from Starsky that he'll make it all better as soon as they get home, and a whispered "I love you" is enough to hold Hutch for the moment.

Who Cares? Stop Fighting!

Jean C:

I’m sick to death of the ‘is it or is it not a kiss’ brouhaha. I’ve seen the tape, too, and, I’ve formed my own opinion but have no intention of flinging it into the arena. I don’t give a good-goddamn about anyone else’s opinions, for or against. That does not mean that I’m going to say to the readership at large: ‘Drop the subject because I’m sick of it.’ If you pays yer money, folks, and sends in yer letter, yer gets it published. That is no guarantee that anyone is going to read your letter… There are some people whose letters consistently give me a swift pain, but you don’t hear me saying, ‘Stop writing to the letterzine, you’re making me sick,’ do you? Nope… I suffer in silence. Gag.

Melanie R:

I am sick of dreading the arrival of the Letterzine (instead of eagerly anticipating it), because I am sick of wondering who will be sniping at whom. I am sick of heroin and kisses and S/H vs S&H volleys and snide remarks and willful misunderstandings and all the crap we’ve forcing on each other for months now. If this Letterzine dies out after #25, it’s our own damned fault.

The Opening Remarks

Penny Warren vaguely alluded, but didn't elaborate:

... the only really overt can't-miss-it, hit-"em-over-the-head-with-it manifestations of sexuality between the two are in THE FIX and GILLIAN--and I suspect that a number of people nevertheless do miss them.... (Short pause for a reality check. How many of you Gentle Readers know what I'm talking about? Hint: the bed in Huggy's upstairs room has nothing to do with it!

Jan L responded:

The scene in question takes place just after Hutch slides down from the wall. Shown in slow motion — or caught by the camera, I have a slide of this somewhere — S&H are open-mouthed and appear to be in contact with each other. Yes, I'll grant that French kissing certainly would lead one to suspect sexual involvement...

BUT in this scene, one must remember something important, namely that we are seeing a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional event. That dimensional shorthand flattens the picture, making object A and object B appear to be moving on the same plane when in fact they are only a few degrees shewed -- the way two planes appear to be on a collision course when they're thousands of feet away. In other words, if S&H were doing what they appear in stop frame to be doing, they would've continued into a kiss or mashed each other's noses. Since they wound up on each other's shoulders, I kinda assume they were headed that way all along. Which illustrates the importance of keeping a clear perspective on things.

From Penny Warren:

On the scene in THE FIX — first off, do you suppose we could avoid the false analogy? Two aircraft which appear to be on a collision course when one is much higher than the other are part of a trompe l'oeil effect created by a lack of reference points. A flat empty blue sky — or a starfield — offers no shadows or means of gauging relative size and distance. Without them, there is no perception of visual depth, or perspective. Hence the illusion of impending disaster.

Obviously, these conditions don't obtain in the alley scene. If you'll actually look at your slide, instead of (forgive me, Gentle Readers, I just can't resist it) blithering off the top of your head, you'll see that shadows, the position of Hutch's hand and the angle of both men's heads establish pretty clearly what is in which relationship to what else. We do not have 747's passing in the night.

Connie F wrote she had studied the “kiss in the alley” in the episode “The Fix” and that despite the fact fans would like to see one, platonic or sexual, as an artist with much experience in rendering three-dimensional objects to two dimensions, the kiss just isn’t there:

I read with some dismay the ex cathedra statements Penny Warren made in the last issue regarding the supposed kiss in the final scene of Act IV of THE FIX. The judgment Penny made is based on visual interpretation., not on literary or symbolic interpretation, of the scene. I wouldn't argue Penny's superior education in the latter areas, but when it comes to visuals, I frankly believe that my own years of experience in the realms of two-and three-dimensional art put me in somewhat of a more expert position to comment on the scene.

I examined the scene, frame by frame, a number of times. The tape I watched is Kendra's and Diana's — possibly the same, ostensibly uncut tape that Penny viewed. Actually, I was hoping there would be a kiss, because whether a person prefers an S/H or a platonic perspective on the men's relationship, a kiss belonged there. It would have been, dramatically speaking, right for the tension/relief of the reunion. (And whether the kiss was on the lips, the cheeks, the ear, or any other place convenient to the men's positions wouldn't matter.)

But. . . I saw no kiss. I can easily see how one could imagine seeing one, especially wanting to, badly enough. No, I don't need a new eyeglass prescription. No, I'm not trying to make Penny or anyone else look like a fool. I'm simply pointing out that I have a good bit of experience converting three-dimensional images to two dimensions in my artwork and photography, and that based on that experience, I feel that the shadows, porportional sizes of the two profiles, sequence of movement from one frame to the next, and timing of the movements wouldn't allow even for so much as a quick buss on the end of Hutch's nose, let alone a nice, satisfying smooch. At best, what we got was a suggestion; a very pleasant one, true, but not even enough to qualify as a genuine subliminal.

[...]

I felt motivated to comment on this because I hope that someone with earned expertise in the matter might lend an opinion and, with luck, defuse an argument that could readily degenerate into name-calling. There's enough bullshit being composted in the Letterzine without that, too.

The Influence of the VCR

While the first video cassette recorders (VCRs) were available in the early 1970s, the first machines were extremely expensive and very few fans could afford them.

Fans did not yet have access to Starsky & Hutch on professionally sold tapes, and wouldn't for a long, long time. But for fans who did have access to a VCR, they could tape a rerun of a show. Being able to record, and then watch, shows over and over again — something modern fans take for granted — was an amazing and powerful new superpower.

While the quality of these fan-recorded tapes were often not very good (especially if they were second, third, fourth or more generation), it allowed them to see details in the background, to dwell on certain scenes both visually and audibly, and it gained them a whole new level of information.

Fans were at the mercy of reruns and the arbitrary hacking that individual television stations did to episodes to fit in more commercials: Kay A wrote:

I would be fascinated to see a videotape which shows it, because I have the original and complete print of FIX on the moviola machine at Spelling/Goldberg's editing department brought up from the storage in the vaults, and I have seen it again on the flat-bed editor at KTLA, and what we see in that scene In all there ever was. This master print shows the entire first juicing scene in the show, which was excised in part after the first airing on ABC, and it shows details we can't see on our own tv sets because of the lower resolution of the tv screen, and because the edges of the picture are lost on the tv screen. The film shows that when Hutch explodes at Starsky for not letting him get out of the room, for instance, Soul slammed his hand into the flat (the wall of the set) so hard that the flat separated an inch or two at the seam. That's lost off the edge of the screen on tv. If a kiss in the alley existed, it would be on that film, and it is not.

The suspicion that these careless, or ON PURPOSE cuts, had somehow snipped out original material that skewed the meaning of shows, even slightly, made many fans very suspicious that what they were shown was not "the truth". Penny Warren fueled some speculation:

I have to assume that the tape from which your snap was made had been expurgated at some point. Some stations did let the kiss — because kiss it unequivocally is — remain. Others put their scissors squad to work. If you could possibly refrain from proclaiming that she's stupid, deluded or mendacious, perhaps someone who has a full set of the frames would be willing to share them with you.

From Becky H brought up VCRs again and focused on film speed, now in the hands of fans:

... if you think the alley scene in THE FIX is definitely a kiss, you've never french kissed anybody human in your life. There simply wasn't time for it. Examine the slide/slides all you want (stop action does make it seem like a collision course) but run the film regular speed and the... .uh... .encounter takes a millisecond and moves on. No one - not even Speedy Gonzales - can get in a good affectionate kiss in anywhere near that time.

From Terri B, who also based her opinion on a VCR tape:

... saw that alley-scene from THE FIX frame by frame last weekend, courtesy of my partner's video and a good friend's tape - and I don't regard that as much of a kiss. Let's take our time with these things.

Kay A wrote about the ability to manipulate footage was now afoot, and how this did not represent "real things" that had happened. She cited the Starsky & Hutch blooper tape

At the risk of becoming known as The One Who Doesn't See Kisses, I don't think your "the blooper out-takes included several kisses" is accurate. It's a gag reel, and as such it's full of gags, most created (unlike the Star Trek ones, which are predominantly blown lines and mishaps during filming) one way or another. No one's lips meet any portion of anyone's anatomy... there are hammy smackings at mid-air, there are incriminating-looking situations created in the optical printer by repeatedly printing a single freeze-frame or running a loop back and forth (the same way the Purina Cat Chow cat is made to cha-cha) and so on. As several people have pointed out, freeze-frames can show all sorts of hilarious or Significant things that don't exist.

VCRs Led to a Diagram

Connie F addressed the topic; she cited timing, her visual expertise, and the assistance of the VCR.

She included a diagram of the seven scenes, "The Magnificent 7," that occurred in "The Fix":

A helpful diagram made by a fan to prove her point, printed in the letterzine, S and H #19.

... don't argue semantics with me, either. I may not be the lettered neo-Joyce, but I know what the word "suggestion"" means. Let me explain to you, in little words and simple sentence structure, what I mean by "suggestion of a kiss" in "The Fix." In fact, I'll even give you diagrams so you can follow along.

Take profile S (Starsky) and stand it one root away from profile H (Hutch). This is diagram 1. In diagram 2, the heads are moving closer. In diagram 3, the heads appear to have come together.

There is a suggestion of a kiss — that is, it might seem to be a kiss, if we didn't know that diagram 4 follows next. Diagram 4 shows us that profile H has moved in front of profile S. What does this mean? It means that in approximately 1/30th of a second between the frames represented by diagram 3 and diagram 4, profile H has moved past profile S. What does this mean? It means that given the split-second in which the profile moved, profile H must have always been on a trajectory in front of and to the side of profile S. Indeed, profile H has always been on a trajectory towards the shoulder of profile S. H was headed, from the start (with only 7/30ths of a second being covered in seven frames from the start of the un-kiss to the hug that every one will agree happened -- we all saw that one), into an embrace. Unless he moves at extra-human speed, he could not have kissed or been kissed by Starsky. The frame (diagram 3) where the suggestion of a kiss occurs does seem, on its own, to have the lips touching, yes, yes, it does indeed. But time does not permit it, and subsequent movement shows the faces were never on a trajectory for each other. Finally, I might add that the relative size of profile H in diagram 3 is such that, by examining the shadows and proportions, it can be seen that profile H is closer to the viewer than profiles. Again, no trajectory for each other's face, but for each other's shoulders.

*Sigh*

It will probably do little good for me to repeat, even AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS, that a kiss right there would have been dramatically "right"--satisfying, beautiful, poetic, and emotionally consistent with the story. No, I don't believe that S&H were sexually involved with each other at that point in their lives, but that's purely opinion — how I see the series, how I might write of it. Even so, I was fascinated when first told of the existence of this subliminal (not in a strict sense) kiss, and did indeed want to see a kiss there. Probably, I would have interpreted it as a (don't gag) brotherly kiss, an "oh thank ghod we're both alive and back together, it's been a horrible week," but I would have welcomed it. As I said it's right, it works. And I wish it had been there.

But when I saw the tape (and when I saw it again later and scrutinized it much more carefully), it was clear to me that the timing, proportions, and shadows disallowed a kiss. An illusion was created in a short set of frames (represented by diagrams 1 through 3). I wrote to the letterzine because I was dismayed that people were pinning "proof positive" on such an ephemeral illusion. There is no proof!

There doesn't need to be proof, f'chrissakes. The people who love S/H will write it that way, the people who don't, won't, and those of us who like to read it but aren't deeply "into" it will happily suspend our disbelief and read and enjoy it. If you want to do something for gay rights, something that will count, there are any number of more practical ways (political, economic) to help than to crusade--or pontificate — to a bunch of Starsky & Hutch fans, most of whom are already at least sympathetic to the movement. You're not going to affect hardcore homophobes, those people don't even read your letters, and it's unlikely that they'll read your stories, either.

Penny Warren responded at great length about the diagram, scolded Connie for various perceived infractions, and responded to a accusations that Warren said something in the letterzine that was intended to be in confidence :

First — would you mind sticking to the point? Your artwork, your taste in erotica, your current writing and putative repression have nothing to do with the case. The issue at hand — the only issue at hand — is the degree to which a conviction that the aired series does not support the S/H premise would be likely to influence a viewer's perception of the alley scene in "The Fix." Now. unless a number of our mutual friends are mendacious or possibly pixilated, you've said quite publicly, at cons and other gatherings, that the series contains no evidence for S/H. You've said it again, quite publicly, on p. 13 of S&H 19. Quote: "There is no proof" Change? None. If you had not made such statements, quite publicly, I would not of course have referred to your correspondence, which is the documented source to which I have direct access. Please note that I did not cite any letter in detail or quote from it, indicating only the general drift. Under the circumstances, that's no more invasion of privacy than is your allusion to my political activities. Which, incidentally, I have never discussed publicly, quite or in any other degree. What's sauce for one goose, sweets, is sauce for the other. If you have trouble remembering that, make yourself a sign and tack it up over your desk. Second—manifestly, frame 3 of your schematic does not represent a kiss. To the best of my knowledge, no one has argued that it does. The frame that does show the kiss is substantially different. And since I don't draw, I'm going to describe it. Starsky is on the left, Hutch is on the right- Neither man is in profile. (Profile here meaning the view of Lincoln found on a penny. Don't tell me next month it can mean anything from full-face to the back of the subject's hairdo. Even the neo-Rosemary Rogers should know better than that.) Alors. Starsky's head is turned about 30° to his own right, so that, were his whole face visible, we would have something just less than a three-quarters view. Something very like [Jean C's] Hutch on the cover of S&H 19, if you want a pictorial reference. The portion of his face that we do see would be below and to the right (Starsky's right, viewer's left) of a line drawn from the left corner of his mouth to his right temple, at a point just beyond his right eye. We don't see the rest of his face because it's obscured by Hutch's head. What does this mean? It means that Hutch is indeed closer to the camera. Point of agreement. It also means that Hutch's head is at a position intermediate between your frames 3 and 4. Point of disagreement. Now, Hutch's head is turned a few degrees to his own right. Not as much as Starsky's, maybe 10°. What does this mean? It means that Starsky's and Hutch's faces are turned toward each other. And their lips are touching. Just. What does all the above mean? It means that your frames 1-4 are not an accurate representation of what's on that film. And what does that mean? There are a couple of possibilities. I'm not going to speculate. You tell us.

The diagram had its own fanbase! A fan in the UK who had heard about Connie's diagram was eager to get a hold of it, and asked in the letterzine, APB:

By the way, I am looking for US L/Z No 21 (I think with the ’kiss in the alley sketch. If nobody wants to sell one, then maybe some kind person would lend me one? I would guard and protect it with my life, pay postage and return it in a few short days.

From another UK fan:

I do hope someone does tell you what 'the kiss in the alley' is — cos I'm another one who's dying to find out!!!

The UK fans' hopes are dashed!:

To all who put us at rest about The Kiss In The Alley a big thankyou! Sincere apologies to any of you who were having palpitations at the thought of it all! I didn't mean to be so cruel, you know, I honestly thought someone had drawn a sketch of a kiss, although I didn't think there was a kiss anywhere in the episodes. Sorry you've all been disappointed, but I am too!! Never mind, keep dreaming.

Visibility: Should We Ask the Actors?

Starsky & Hutch's contemporaries, the showrunners and actors of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Blake's 7 were very active in fandom. Those show's actors and production people had a strong presence at conventions, sitting on panels, going to room parties, judging costume contests, and more.

Aside from official mainstream fan publicity, and some activity in a couple of fan clubs, Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky) and David Soul (Hutch) had almost no interaction with the fanwork side of fandom. There were also no conventions for the show; the fans and the actors stayed far apart. While most fans interacting in fan-run zines and cons probably wouldn't have passed on an opportunity to "meet" the actors, most were happy to keep the line between the actors and the characters very solid.

Complicating things was the social and political climate of the time, and for fans who produced and enjoyed slash fanworks, drawing attention to their creations was terrifying. Their zines, conversations, and interactions were not for the eyes of the actors, but for themselves.

So, when some fans suggested asking David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser about the "kiss in the alley" or, more broadly, about whether their characters (or the actors themselves) were gay, they were crossing a line that had to have made most fans far more comfortable than what the remarks below suggest.

From Terri B:

Your suggestion that someone should ask PMG or DS about That Kiss is on a par with belling the cat. I'd just love to be a fly on the wall. And if I had connections (if, if, if...) I wouldn't be the one to volunteer. I would also take whatever they said with a hefty pinch of salt — they are both ace kidders, if the chat-shows are anything to go by.

Kendra H:

I think asking Soul and/or Glaser about the kiss is a splendid idea. I vote we appoint you a committee of one to undertake the job. I'll even provide the dime. However, I'll be surprised if either man knew what you were talking about.

From Erica A:

You want to know the reactions of DS and PMG to the question of " The Kiss"? I have been wondering how those who believe they have seen S&H kiss (and take it as evidence of a sexual relationship) can ignore the response given by DS when the BBC interviewer asked him whether S&H are gay during the course of the "David Soul documentary." For the benefit of those who have not seen it, or cannot remember what David said, I quote:

"(much laughter) A sexual undercurrent? I don't like black-haired, curly Jews. I like blondes. Of course not. Ridiculous question. If you can think that way— if you want to think it's a homosexual relationship, think that's what it is. It's not. I guess first of all one has to decide what sexual means, and go from there. If you are thinking of it in a physical sense — absolutely not. If one is thinking of a relationship in a sexual sense, as it relates to a kind of unselfish giving or receiving from other human being, that is true."

He was on the spot, folks. He's still given you carte blanche to think what you like. I don't expect you S/H followers to be dissuaded from your beliefs, but he does say you're wrong to assume they were lovers whilst the show was still being produced.

What you make of the relationship from that point is up to you.

Why Did It Matter? Fan Theory

Whether or not a relationship has canon support matters to some fans and not others.

For fans who are very invested in a specific relationship between characters, having it validated "in real life" offers a proof of truth they desire. Other fans are satisfied with their own headcanon, and do not wish or require to see their pairing given an official stamp of approval.

Penny Warren, one of the main debaters, states early on:

The first is that the S/H premise is perfectly consistent with the canon. It does not require the deletion, rationalization or arcane reinterpretation of anything we saw or heard on the tube.

From Penny Warren:

Yes, a person who wants to see something badly enough, probably will. On the other hand, a person who wants badly enough not to see it, probably won't. Kay and Jan have both invested a great deal of time, effort and "face" in the view that the aired series does not, and cannot made be made to, support the S/H premise. In private, you haven't been exactly reticent on the subject yourself. Kay, you may remember, produced a spirited defense of the heterosexuality of the Starsky in "Any Major Dude"; Jan missed the point of "shadow-man" by a clean 180° — it's S/H as ever was, Hutch begging Starsky to take him to bed. It cuts both ways, you see.

In April 1980, Kay A cited the fairly raunchy Starsky & Hutch blooper tape, and how this did not represent "real things" that had happened.

There's also a great deal of quite blue sexual lampooning of the locker-room sort. Anyone who thinks the gag reel is a revealing glimpse into how things really are at the set is a bit naive. It's a joke, folks, not a National Enquirer expose.

Cited in a Con Skit

In 1981, "The Kiss in the Alley" was spoofed in the con skit by Paula Smith, Graven Mirages, which was in turn a spoof of Penny Warren and Connie Faddis' zine, Graven Images.

HUTCH: Oh, what does that matter now? Have you no sense of romance? There's no one around, the moon is full, and there's the smell of cordite in the air. Oh, Starsky, I can't take it any more! I love you! I must have you! (He falls forward into a freeze frame from the non-contact school of The Kiss in the Alley, i.e., STARSKY on left, HUTCH on right, heads lined up at lip level but not actually touching. Hold.)

STARSKY (disengaging himself): Hey, wait a minute, fella! You got the wrong guy! I'm straight as the drop thru Reagan's brain!

HUTCH: But — But — The hanky you carry in your back pocket!

STARSKY: I have a cold.

HUTCH: But it's blue!

STARSKY: So're my eyes.