Hunter (I) (1984–1991) User Reviews (37)

Worked for him and me !

[janus-20 · 8/10 · 1 December 2011]

Just recently finished revisiting this show on DVD, i say revisiting, what i actually meant was watching the whole seven seasons on the all inclusive box set.

To set the picture, i had only seen upto the end of season two back in 87/88 when the ITV here in the UK suddenly decided that they didn't like American action/drama shows anymore and stopped showing them or shuffled them off to the wee hours of post midnight television. A few episodes of season three did pop up sporadically and then it went over to SKY TV for its seventh and final season.

This was the turning point where ITV and i parted company, gone were the days of The A team, Knight Rider, The Fall Guy, Airwolf, TJ Hooker, The Greatest American Hero, The Equalizer etc and of course, Hunter. In came shows with all the entertainment value of picking your nose and on it goes to this day with X factor, anyway, Hunter.

Now i've finally seen all the episodes, i can say that Hunter has to be one of the all time great American cop shows, what started, admittedly as a "homage" to the Dirty Harry movies, fought through that to establish its own relevant and unique persona.

Yes, the action was toned down post season two, but after watching the entire run now, it seems clear that this move is what guaranteed the show its seven season run, if it had relied on purely shoot outs and car flips, it would have folded much sooner.

It became more layered as it progressed, the characters became more three dimensional and even "issues" were tackled within the story lines. Effort such as this, at that time, is the beginning of the evolution to the cop shows of today, to move beyond being subservient to property destruction.

That said, the new Hawaii Five 0 seems to be back in this old vein and Justified is very much "old school" in its approach and consequently both a firm faves of mine.

Fred Dryer, considering he was a professional sportsman at the beginning of his career, managed to take Rick Hunter beyond being just an imposing presence against the scum he had to deal with and made him laconic, witty and even warmly human on occasion. Likewise Stepfanie Kramer, over the course of the shows run, made Dee Dee McCall a fully formed, professional law enforcement officer.

As with Hunter's character, it was revealed she had thoughts and feelings and was far more than just an attractive foil to Hunter and could crack skulls just as well as he could. Again, these efforts made at that time are what has helped to round out the TV tecs of today.

In summation, i was truly surprised and impressed by Hunter when i finally got to see all of them recently, yes a few episodes go clunk, but the ones that really work easily surpass them.

I recommend this show unreservedly, if you like good cop shows, you'll like this.

Cliche in many ways, but still good.

[cwade22 · 8/10 · 30 April 2018]

As it progresses, you'll see many typical cliches about cops and justice system and corruption in Los Angeles, but It still will compel you to watch. One thing that keeps happening, DeeDee keeps picking the most corrupt District attorney/prosecutors who only care about career and prosecuting anybody, even innocent people. It's very obvious to me when I see Her two ex boyfriends, but lawyers. But why can't She see these obvious corrupt and greedy and spineless traits? Is Her character oblivious to the obvious or is She supposed to be dumb regarding dating? Both males She picked were exposed as being either very power hungry and/or very corrupt in ignoring the truth and just prosecuting anybody. I'm disappointed in Her for picking these cowardly males who have no integrity and should never be alllwed to practice law, let alone prosecute, as they keep prosecuting innocent people. That specific detail aside, the show is great. It makes me see some of what LAPD goes through. Oh! Another thing, How does LAPD have jurisdiction in some of the places that are outskirts of Los Angeles county? They get cases outside of la county and it doesn't make sense. Maybe jurisdiction didn't matter back then, but I saw at least 3 episodes where it made no sense that they were investigating cases outside of L A county. Anyway, I pay attention to details. Good show.

Great 80s cop show!

[muveeluvr2000 · 8/10 · 18 May 2020]

I didn't get to watch Hunter when it first aired because it went up against Dallas, which was my favorite show at the time. But later, I saw a few episodes in seasons 5 and 6 and really enjoyed it. Fred Dryer as the lead character of Sergeant/Lt. Rick Hunter was very believable as the hardnosed, rule bending cop who always got his man, mostly by a one or two shot gun blast. His gun sounded like a cannon every week. Now that streaming services are plentiful, I saw all seasons from the very beginning and I enjoyed it! It was exciting to see the car chases, blowups, action, etc. I didn't like the character of Sergeant Dee Dee McCall portrayed by Stepfanie Kramer at first because she was so unrealistic. Her small frame, globs of makeup, wearing flashy clothed. running after bad guys in high heels and always carrying a purse that obviously looked like there was nothing in it, was just too far fetched. But as the show changed, I loved them together. The chemistry, banter, jokes and sexual tension between them was great!

Later on as the seasons continued, it lost something. The stories were good, but predictable. They got away from the things that made this show great...more drama, less action. I always thought it was a Dirty Harry tipoff, but the show held its own. Unfortunately, I lost interest in it as a cop show and only looked forward to the scenes with the leading co-stars! Loved it when they finally showed them kiss in the episode Unfinished Business in season 6!

All in all, the show is good for entertainment purposes even now. I watch it often, except season 7. I didn't bother to watch..It was dismal without Hunter's sidekick, McCall. Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer were great together as my favorite cop team on tv!

Rick Hunter

[Kirpianuscus · 16 July 2018]

The basic virtue - the proposition of an old fashion hero. Man of law , out of law metodes, angry, charming, in a non - stop revenge, more hunter than cop, it is one of beautiful characters from a large and noble family. From music to plot, from action scenes to romanticism, an impecable serie. And a great hero.

Often Silly But Always Entertaining

[zombiemockingbird · 7/10 · 1 September 2019]

I watched these back in the day and recently started re-watching on Hulu. I still enjoy them, but I notice things now I didn't 35 years ago. My favorite thing is the fact that every time they shoot at a car, it flips into the air and usually explodes. I also enjoy watching Stepfanie Kramer run around with her perfect hair and makeup, often wearing a dress and heels, and never breaking a nail. I enjoy Fred Dryer even with his overuse of "it works for me". One thing that started toward the end of the first season was the "music video" format for shows. They would play a song while showing the story taking place. Maybe they got tired of writing dialog? Sometimes it works, but usually it's some lame song that I end up muting, and it just gets old and tiresome. I'm just finishing Season 1 so I may change my mind, but overall the stories are pretty good, and regardless of its faults it's enjoyable.

Solid, Entertaining Action Crime Drama.

[nonnisitedomine · 7/10 · 15 August 2021]

The chemistry between Fred Dryer and Stephanie Kramer made the series. Charles Hallahan was the best cast addition in later seasons. Although the series became a stronger procedural as the seasons went on, I preferred the earlier episodes where Hunter and McCall worked more closely together and we saw more of their relationship off duty. I also prefer the earlier tone, when they lived up to their tough reputations. Less realistic as a police drama, but more entertaining for my taste. Rick Hunter became dryer (no pun intended) as the series progressed, losing some edge. I missed the presence of Kramer when she moved on, but Dryer carried the show well mostly on his own. I don't think the series was truly tired at the end, but that the loss of Kramer cost it viewers. It was a series that wouldn't die, though, with three movies following it's cancellation and an order for a series reboot in 2003 with Dryer and Kramer back together. NBC dropped the ball royally on the reboot, not promoting it sufficiently and cancelling it after just a few episodes. No respect for a series that had so much staying power. I can't help myself, I have to say it: Hunter "works for me!".

One of the better detective shows despite a plethora of gaffes.

[rhagel-67443 · 6/10 · 21 February 2019]

Why did everyone sound like they can from NYC when it was set in LA? Why was the Italian mob active in LA? Why did so many cars explode when shot or when wrecking? How do tires squeal on dirt and gravel? So many questions but despite all of the inconsistencies, this show was fun to watch and entertaining.

works for me!

[lfowden84 · 9/10 · 5 October 2006]

Enjoyed the series when shown on TV first time around.I have purchased season one to three (as available) and I am wondering when further seasons will be released.I enjoyed Fred Dryer's laid back acting(I know he was replacing Clint Eastwwod persons on TV) but the cast was so right for the show,except maybe the "Captain', until the arrival of the actor who finally settled in the role.I seem to have forgotten the name of whoever played the captain. But I enjoyed James Whitmore Jr and his by the book policing, Didi Mccall (Stephanie Kramer)stunningly beautiful yet so handy with her gun,although I must admit she looked too frail to be a real cop.All in all a good series to add to one's library.Cannot wait for future season releases to buy. Millie

Why the disco lady partner?

[qormi · 6/10 · 16 December 2019]

Stephanie Kramer as McCall just about ruined the show. This tiny lady with the layered makeup that was applied by a mortician, along with her dyed jet black frizzy eighties hair, looked like she stepped out of a beauty parlor between takes and her character was completely unnecessary.

Fun action cop show for the first five seasons

[johnw52001 · 9/10 · 11 January 2019]

Hunter was a great fun action cop show with Fred Dryer and Stephanie Kramer. It was produced in the mid-eighties so none of that politically correct garbage and in fact being PC was made fun of in the form of one of the internal affairs officer who always had a corn cob up his rear end and gave Hunter a hard time for not following procedures.

There is always a little sexual tension between Hunter and DD, as she was a very attractive lady, and their banter back and forth and insults to each other made the show. In the last two seasons they remove that sexual tension, first with an attractive officer who did not have a strong personality in the six season and no witty banter with Hunter. The 7th season saw a partner officer who looked more like an anorexic man than a woman and there was no sexual tension and no innuendo banter at all. So the lack of chemistry between Hunter and his female partner in the 6th and 7th seasons is what really killed Hunter. Watch the first five seasons throw out the rest ;-)

Back when Saturday Had TV There

[shelbythuylinh · 7/10 · 18 December 2021]

This was in the 1980's and that Fred Dryer the former NFL Rams player starred as Rick Hunter a vegetarian tough cop who bended the rules to get the job done.

Stephanie Kramer as his calm and level headed partner Sgt. McCall there. Who has to reign him in there. But later on both softened and toned down their attitudes to become more likable.

While being tough on crime.

Best TV detective series ever

[dnwalker · 10/10 · 8 December 1999]

The earliest episodes with John Amos as the captain were silly. His continuing bad attitude toward them in the face of their success was unrealistic. Beyond that, however, the entire series was great. It suffered some after Stepfanie Kramer left, but it was still good.

No. Don't do it.

[davidmorgan-85301 · 1/10 · 20 January 2021]

Former NFL star Fred Dryer (Yes, his name is a home appliance.) is told somewhere down the line, "Gosh, Fred, you'd be a great actor", and he freaking believed them. The end result is this soft Stephen Cannell-produced cop show that managed to run for what felt like an eternity on NBC Saturdays.

The show spends literally years trying to convince you the lead character - Hunter, clever that - is Dirty Harry, but on television, so not as dirty, but oooh, he's dirty enough. But no, he's not.

Inexplicable chemistry between Dryer and his sidekick/partner played by Stepfanie Kramer, who apparently never properly learned to spell her name, manages to carry this show for SEVEN SEASONS AND A REUNION MOVIE.

Seriously, this is the longest-running worst crime drama of the 1980s to early 90s. If you're looking for some of that gritty Hallmark Channel "intensity", keep changing channels because you're bound to eventually hit "Matlock" instead.

my favorite cop show from the 80s

[MichaelM24 · 12 April 2002]

My favorite cop show of the 80s was HUNTER. Fred Dryer was awesome as Rick Hunter, a shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later Dirty Harry-type, which is actually what the show started out as, but the character was toned down a little afterwards. Stephanie Kramer, as D.D. McCall, was the best of his three female partners, as was Charles Hallahan as the third of three different captains. It was like a small-screen action movie, with plenty of car chases and gun fights. Dryer and Kramer had great chemistry, which especially came across in the episodes featuring personal stories for the two, such as the first season two-parter in which Hunter defies orders and goes to Mexico to look for a guy who had attacked McCall and hid behind his diplomatic immunity. It was an episode that allowed Hunter to display the depth of his friendship to McCall and showed just how much the characters cared for one another. I don't remember too much about the later years (in which Hunter went through two new partners), but I recall a lot of the earlier ones, with many standout episodes. I would definitely love to have this great series on DVD.

This is Good

[Wiedinger-283-953843 · 8/10 · 14 October 2018]

Never watched this until recent run on MeTV. This is a great show with top chenistry between the leads and inventive plots.

"It (still) works for me!"

[daydriver2010 · 10/10 · 4 August 2015]

'Hunter' was a great show, for the first 5 seasons, despite having several cast changes throughout the course of its 7 year run, the chemistry between the two lead characters was perfect. The relationship between Hunter and McCall made you believe that BOTH of them really had the hots for one another! You wanted to see some of the sizzle but (to my knowledge) it never happened either on the show or during their personal lives either. Had it happened it would NOT have been the worst pairing in Hollywood.

Of course, Stepfanie Kramer, a beautiful, sexy cream-puff of a girl, portrays Hunter's partner Dee Dee. The woman was so gorgeous, so soft, so feminine, that it was often comical watching her play a hard-nosed police officer... even when she was shooting at bad guys (and hitting them) you had an irresistible urge to hug and squeeze her. Ms. Kramer evidently tried to counter her natural lovable squishiness by POINTING at things or suspects when she was trying to express real anger or determination. She even pointed fellow officers, pictures in a file folder, etc. After she quit the show in early 1990 Dryer (the star and executive producer) continued right along with at least 3 different female partners whose names or character names are totally forgotten...as were their performances in the show... and those episodes just dragged along for me.

I still watch them on a local cable channel almost 5 evenings a week even though I tune out if it is one of the 20 or so episodes near the end of the series that Stepfanie Kramer was not co-starring in. Dryer just could have never made the show a network hit without Kramer! Her nickname "the brass cupcake" truly fit the talent she brought to the program.

If she had continued working they could have had at least another 5 years on network TV! This was a great show when it first aired in the 80's and it still is a great show in reruns. It says something about a crime drama series when it is still being aired on television 21 years after its original premiere date.

One of my favorite TV shows as a teenager

[medic249a2 · 8/10 · 30 December 2005]

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!!

The stupidest, most unremarkable 80s show with dull and unpretty leads!

[imdb-25288 · 2/10 · 28 December 2022]

The stupidest, most unremarkable 80s show with dull and unpretty leads!

The male lead with the bald pattern maleness (or whatev'!) is has the personality of toilet paper. Except toilet paper serves a purpose. This, an actor? Huh! It's even more boring and idiotic than Hart to Hart. In fact, this makes me beg "WTF? Thought it was H2H now?" Because with Hart to Hart, you're watching 2 real life killers who pretend to be amateur sleuths. That takes balls! And their sh! T show is so bad it's good: at least you can make fun of their vomit inducing idiocy, the "darlings", Stephanie Powers standing there like a bump on a log, watching the bad guys kick the crap outta Natalie Wood's assassin. These 2 cold hearted bastards at least are good looking, have a nice house, clothes and there's the dog Freeway and Max. I hate it, but it's fun to hate.

This crap? Watchu looking at!? I can't believe there's fools rating this a 10/10. Are you relatives of these 2 useless actors? Did they ever do anything worthwhile with their careers after this shlock? The most astute review here complained that it lasted 7 seasons. HFS! (First word "holy", 2nd: F word, 3rd poop!) I had even less channels back then! No wonder I carry the resentment here, LOL!

The 2 leads are baldy with as much charisma as the underside of my truck and he's as exciting as the proverbial cliche of watching paint dry. The woman? Horrible to look at. Ok, so not everyone can be Jaclyn Smith, right? And I don't mind so much the big hair, it's actually prettier than today's "plastered on your forehead with grease" hair a la godforsaken KK reality fam, but that makeup! Applied with a spackle, caked on, in Los Angeles, bleeding grease in 10 min, the make up woman must have become a millionaire by working overtime, here.

Anyway, I can't tell you what the stories are about, because this puts me to sleep. WHY watch this? Inept directors, dull actors, bad clothes, impotent dark cinematography and on and on. The music is so boring you can't even notice it, as if it weren't there.

There goes baldy now running like a crippled girl. Seriously, he thinks that's how a cop runs towards an emergency, a woman in distress? WHO watches this besides the drunk and the drugged up? Cos only those can't tell a good show from a bad one.

Why leave a review when you hate it, you ask? (First I don't hate it, there's much worse out there. (I was gonna give it a 4/10 but it's already way overrated because people like me have long forgotten about this and probably don't get annoyed by the poor choices GET TV makes, like when they decided to air this garbage.) Because dumb fans need put in place! This ain't a fansite and, when you've got like 3 viewable channels out dozens useless ones (sports, foreign languages, news, politics, standard with woke garbage, etc.) and you don't feel like watching PBS and that slow guy paint, well, there is nothing to watch, you're bored out of your brains and you go "Hunter?? That crap show, unwatchable nonsense from the 80s? Sighs. Ok, I'll give it a go!"

Only to suffer the consequences which is mind numbing torture, here. We so many fun shows that only lasted 1 season and crap like this resurfaces and refuses to die. GET TV should air the fun shows, the one seasoners and put 4 back to back and loop them, instead of this unwatchable junk! Why no TV channel ever airs the greatest TV series EVER made, aka Zorro with Guy Williams?! It baffles the mind!

Tl;dr: I have no idea what this crap show is about cos I can't past 1 scene, so distracted I am by the stupid spackled on makeup of a "cop" and the boring leads. This is in the same league as Silk Stalkings. I can't believe I'm begging for utter (but less worse) garbage like Hart to Hart to come back, LOL!

It certainly works for me...

[Robert_W · 28 May 2000]

'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!

Trigger happy

[youngkaren-25330 · 10/10 · 13 November 2020]

Rick hunter is a cop who shoot's first then ask's question's later

So glad that this is on Prime!

[lindasue-50133 · 8/10 · 6 July 2022]

I loved this show back in the day, and I was debating watching it for fear it might not live up to my memories. I still love it! The stories are interesting, the two lead actors/characters are fantastic.

It's really nice to go back and see these productions that were just a simple crime story, no over-the-top violence, no foul language or nudity (I'm not a prude I don't I'm not bothered by either of those but it's nice to see a show like this without it). It's also nice to see people not being dominated by cell phones like we are today.

All-round good action crime stories.

PS - the thing I like about streaming services, is that it compels me to purchase a lot of these DVDs which I'm happy to have in my library. Upon watching the first couple of episodes I went to check them out on that "online retailer" (.ca), but they are way out of my budget, which is a drag. :/ We actually have a DVD store in this city so I will contact them to see if they can get a hold of it for less.

Classic

[bradleybosscher · 9/10 · 4 June 2022]

Old school television programing when it was coming to it's fruition. Stephen Cannel writing great plots with bold 80's one-liners and innuendos. Pure entertainment at it's finest.

A weak,cheesy and cheap copy of much-better cop-tv shows !

[ronnybee2112 · 3/10 · 2 May 2023]

In theory and on paper,this tv series should be a sure-fire success. It has most of the very-same basic ingredients as are to be found in most of the good and successful cop-themed tv shows of the time.

Most of the the stories and plots on this show are reasonably decent and have been seen many times before on other cop tv shows.

All of the important ingredients are here for sure.

The devil here is in the details. That is what kills this show. If you don't look too closely,the show has many reasonably-passable aspects here,there,and throughout,but under any closer inspection the show quickly cracks.

For just one example, sure,there are car chases,but look at the slow and lame cars they drive !

Yet,we are supposed to believe that somehow they are getting NASCAR performance out of a crappy and slow,dodge-mitsubishi 2.2L turbo junkheap!

Anyone that has driven even the very-best and fastest,'hot',souped-up version of this car will laugh out loud spontaneously if you ask them if this car is fast. It's not a fast car,which drags down the realism of the show. You'd never catch anybody with that car,period.

They may as well be driving Ford escorts !

(Give the guy a decent car for heaven's sake!)

Next,we have main characters here that are generic,plastic and phony-seeming.

The acting is wooden,the dialog is often stilted and silly.

As bad as all of this is,the show did have some potential.

I can think of more than a few other,long-running cop tv shows that also started out pretty-weak but managed to improve and became pretty-good shows for many more years ahead. It is possible !

I also think that if nothing else,even a marginally-talented group of actors would surely improve after working together over time as they got to know each other. The actors and crew almost cannot help but improve as a group over time if they are even somewhat serious. It seems nearly inevitable.

Well,this show bucks the odds in that regard !

Somehow, unfortunately,this show here never really improved enough to make much of a difference. It ended as it began,a mediocre show that really never quite clicked. 3/10.

Good show that got better.

[manosdelfuego1 · 24 August 2005]

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.

Your prototype cop (Fred Dryer AKA Detective Sergeant Rick Hunter) and the attractive (Stepfanie Kramer AKA Detective Sergeant Dee Dee McCall) make for one of the best cop shows in TV history and that's good

[Brian-272 · 28 October 2000]

This past week I viewed an episode of the hit drama cop series "Hunter" which now can be seen on TBS during the weekdays. In fact over the last few months I have viewed a couple episodes of "Hunter" and the viewings just reminded me just what a great show it was! I remember as a youngster on Saturday night "Hunter" occupied the NBC schedule and during that time period of the mid 1980's it's popularity was unmatched and I can see why. With every episode I watched from my days as a child and even now on TBS you can notice not only are the scripts well crafted but the characters are really what made this show. Especially notice the chemistry between Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer they are able to play partners to perfection. Dryer a former professional football player a defensive end to be exact is tailor made for the part of Detective Sergeant Rick Hunter his own physical appearance combined with the attitude of a kick ass style cop make him a perfect fit and that made the show more interesting to watch. Stepfanie Kramer handles her job as Sergeant Dee Dee McCall just wonderful. Hey what happened to Stepfanie Kramer? What kind of logic are the TV networks and executives using? I tell you Stepfanie is a real cutesie. She definitely needs to be back once again in front of a TV camera her beauty must be noticed. "Hunter" ranks as one of the best cop shows of all-time due to the reasons I mentioned. Finally do yourself a favor and watch the reruns on TBS if you have the time believe me you will be pleased.