The Streets of San Francisco: Season One, Volume One

It's interesting to revisit this early-1970s police series in light of David Fincher's recent film Zodiac, a police drama that re-creates the San Francisco of the same era. Actually shot extensively (and vividly) on the streets of San Francisco, this tough-minded Quinn Martin production captures a colorful, tourist-oriented city -- sordid North Beach strip clubs and beatnik bars, the now-demolished Embarcadero freeway, the demure modeling salon at the old City of Paris department store -- that has greatly changed and mutated over the decades. It also stars two of the best actors to appear in a cop show -- veteran Karl Malden as pugnacious Lt. Mike Stone; the handsome Michael Douglas as his boyish partner. While these 14 episodes from 1972-1973 have purplish dialogue and formulaic plot twists, they benefit by being able to use the city's reputation for weirdness as source material. There are hippie chicks, druggies, hammy poets and artists, street vendors and, yes, creepy serial killers. And Karl Malden can sure run fast! (Steven Rosen) Grade: B