Let's be realistic.

Lack of good storyline.

Absolutely Fantastic

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I loved this show when I was in high school. Hunter was a kick-ass, take-no-prisoners kind of cop, even in the first 3 seasons where only a few suspects were actually killed when confronted by Hunter & McCall. In the last few seasons more and more of the suspects Hunter tried to arrest for murder pulled weapons on him and ended up dead. That made it a little tiresome although I never tired of seeing Hunter confront criminals.The idiotic, bleeding-heart approach to law enforcement - especially the 'warning-shot' policy issued by Hunter's captain (Michael Cavanaugh) in the pilot episode - really annoyed me in the first two seasons. John Amos was somewhat likable as Hunter's captain save for his hatred of Hunter's methods and what seemed to be his personal mission to get rid of Hunter. The character of Sgt. Terwillegar (James Whitmore, Jr) was as dumb as they come; a blustering buffoon who appeared more suited to teaching at a university than as a homicide detective. Commander Cain (Arthur Rosenberg) was even more loathsome; he was a man who was a politician first and a policeman second. Captain Devane (the late Charles Hallahan) was probably the most likable of all of their superiors, though he was a strictly by-the-book cop. Some of Hunter's earlier superiors reminded me of Dirty Harry's superior, Captain Briggs (Bradford Dillman of 'The Enforcer & 'Sudden Impact') who was on a single-minded crusade to get rid of Harry.Most of the stories centered around Hunter & McCall's cases - usually homicides; one episode that made my skin crawl was one that appeared in Season 2 where McCall is raped by the son or a foreign diplomat, who then insists his psychopathic son is a saint and shields his son from answering for his criminal behavior behind diplomatic immunity. That particular one made me sick. I am hoping that Seasons 3 & 4 will be released on DVD - these were the ones that I thought were the best times for the show. Captain Devane was in charge, Hunter & McCall were strictly working homicides, and there was no subplot about the nefarious plans of Hunter's superiors to can him - except in a couple of episodes featuring Cmdr. Cain (Rosenberg).Bring on Seasons 3 & 4!!

Hunter was a good action packed show that I enjoyed in my youth. I really started enjoying the show in later years when the LAPD actually started backing the show, the so-called transfer to Metro. For me thats when the show started getting realistic. Of course because the show started focusing more on story and less on action people lost interest and the show was canceled. However it was on the air for six years and that is a commendable run for any TV program. I still watch the show every once in a while on TVland and my eyes are stilled glued to the show just like they were when I was a kid and watched the show for the first time.

This was a great show when it first aired in the 80's and it still is a great show in re-runs and on DVD. It says something about a series when it is still being aired 20 years after its original date. The production value for this show with all its action and stunt sequences was incredible. Of course, the chemistry between Fred Dryer and Stephanie Kramer was what really made this show. You were always thinking, "Are they ever going to date?" LOL - good memories. It's too bad that Stephanie Kramer had to quit the show because of health issues (kept spraining/breaking her ankle because of all the stunt work involved - surprising, considering she was a former female wrestler). Unlike the A-Team in that it had lots of hard stories, murder, blood, and violence. But very exciting to watch!

'Hunter' was such a great show - even despite having several cast changes throughout the course of it's 7 year run, the chemistry between characters was inspiring - most definitely the relationship between Hunter and McCall, and the captain between the two themselves (Charles Hallahan was the best captain, in my opinion, of the 3 captains that starred throughout the course of the show)....Direction, writing, acting, and the associated music (have I left anything out?) were the main components that undoubtedly led to the success of the show...If you get a chance to watch 'Hunter,' watch it!