The Streets of San Francisco was created by Edward Hume and produced by Quinn Martin. The series stars Karl Malden, Michael Douglas, Richard Hatch and Darleen Carr.Filmed on location in San Francisco this series follows Lt Mike Stone (Karl Malden)the wise and decent older detective who's paired with the young and eager Inspector Steve Keller(Michael Douglas). The pair work well together and over the years become close friends too. The stories are interesting and there's lots of action too but the highlight of the series and the real key to it's success is the friendship between Stone and Keller.Malden and Douglas have great chemistry and you believe they like each other, which helps you believe the friendship between the pair. Stone and Keller are completely dedicated to the job but make time to have some fun to help them cope with the dangers and dark times they often face out on the streets. They regularly tease one another and bicker but always have each others back.The series ran from 1972 to 1977. Douglas left at the end of season 4 and went on to become as bigger star as his father Kirk. Season 5 saw Stone paired with another officer Inspector Dan Robbins(Richard Hatch). Hatch is good in the role and season 5 has some good stories,unfortunately the relationship between Stone and Robbins is nothing like the one between Stone and Keller and it feels like something is missing, the series ended after the fifth season.Many famous actors and future stars make guest appearances in this including Martin Sheen(Karl Malden guest stars in an episode of Sheen's series The West Wing), Edward Mulhare, Joanne Linville, Dean Stockwell, Brock Peters, Andrew Robinson and Leslie Nielsen.Darleen Carr made regular appearances as Stone's daughter Jeannie. The pair have an interesting relationship, Stone raised her on his own following her mothers death and Jeannie always calls him Mike instead of dad(she only calls him that when she's worried about him or something bad has happened).The pair are not just father and daughter but best friends too and Malden and Carr have lovely chemistry.The other star of the series is of course the city of San Francisco itself and there are many beautiful shots of the city and the bay. A great series that's highly recommended.

The Streets of San Francisco, as with most Quinn Martin series, is a standard crime drama. What makes the show better than most crime dramas is the father/son chemistry between Karl Malden as veteran Detective Lt. Mike Stone and Michael Douglas as the younger partner Inspector Steve Keller, the 70's, R&B-style theme music by Patrick Williams and the cool, pre-MTV opening credits.What really made this show better than most is the fact that Quinn Martin did spend the extra money and filmed the show entirely in San Francisco. In the 70s, most prime time TV shows were filmed in Los Angeles. I believe Hawaii Five-O was one of only a few prime-time dramas from the early 70s that was filmed on location.When Douglas left the series and Richard Hatch (from the original Battlestar Galactica, not the Richard Hatch from the first Survivor) replaced him, I quickly lost interest in the show. The chemistry between Malden and Douglas was very important to the show and Hatch had the thankless task of creating a character that in the long run was bland.Despite the show's final season, I'm certain that if I had the TV on and heard the drum beats of The Streets of San Francisco theme, I am very sure that I will probably spend the rest of the hour watching the show.

Republic Pictures' five released VHS videos which represent eight different episodes are, I hope, the first of a complete series release. In recent years, "Streets" has been relegated to the pre-dawn graveyard of Indie and cable television stations, edited down to allow for more ghastly, no-budget local ads (trade schools, lawyers, and the like). Nowadays, low self-esteem broadcasters plaster their logos and moving promo messages along the bottom of the as if the program is an interruption of their commercials. So, what a treat to see these classic episodes without all of these distractions. Although popular enough to run for five seasons, it never received the credit it deserved -- none of the hype of a "Charlie's Angels," for example. It's too bad that Michael Douglas didn't stick with the show. His performances in "Streets" and "The China Syndrome" are among his best. I'm crossing my fingers that he'll consider returning to a follow-up "Streets" later in his career, taking the senior detective's role that Malden held in the original. "Streets" always had tight scripts, good plotting, and interesting characters -- even if they pandered to stereotypes a little. Way ahead of its time, gay themes are treated with surprising tact and good taste. In the episode "Harem," guest star Rick Nelson plays a gay pimp for female prostitutes (a novel idea in and of itself). The word "gay" is never used, but Steve (Douglas) simply tells Mike (Malden) that, "he's not exactly what you'd call a ladies man."The two-hour special "Thrill Killers," is perhaps the most interesting release. Patty Duke Astin plays a not-too-thinly disguised Patty Hearst (a headline story at that time) who takes a whole jury hostage and begins killing them one by one. It's a relief not to have to wait a week to see part two. The least interesting of these releases is "Dead Air," starring Larry Hagman as a radio talk show host (reminiscent of Bill Balance's Feminine Forum, an innovative show at the time). The studio scenes are completely unrealistic and the killer can be guessed before the end of Act 1. Unfortunately, none of these eight releases includes an episode from "Streets" most famous director, Richard Donner ("The Omen" and "Lethal Weapon" series.) Maybe they'll release some of his episodes on DVD with a director's commentary? Also missing is what I consider to be the best episode of the series, "Mask of Death," which has an amazing performance by John Davidson as a female impersonator.

The headline says all I think about "The Streets of San Francisco". Great scene, great screenplays, great actors, great atmosphere. Michael Douglas shouldn't have left 1976... I would have loved to see two or three more seasons with the Stone/Keller team. SIMPLY THE BEST in any way! There have been only few "great" TV crime shows during the past 30 years; I would place Streets of San Francisco on top, followed by (in no particular order) Cannon, Petrocelli, Vega$, Magnum, Miami Vice, Jack and The Fatman, and Nash Bridges. These make watching TV a real pleasure.