Dottie and Brandi Thorson
Created by Pamela Norris

The Huntress is USA network series about the allegedly true exploits of DOTTIE AND BRANDI THORSON, a mother and daughter bounty hunting team who operate in LA.

Remember the 1981 film The Hunter starring Steve McQueen as Ralph "Papa" Thorson? The pregnant wife who was kidnapped by the psycho stalker? Now suppose the same lady, twenty years later, takes over the family business after Ralph is killed, leaving her and their 20-something year old daughter mired in debt.

I cannot attest to the truthfulness of the show, but I cannot help but like it.

First and foremost, Dottie is played by the always-watchable Annette O'Toole, who has a good character to work with. Her Dottie is a soft-hearted, occasionally bumbling neophyte who is still waking up to her husband's gritty world after twenty years as a sheltered, suburban housewife. Regardless of her lack of experience, she always manages to come on top.

In contrast to Dottie's naivete, Brandi (played by an appealing, husky voiced actress named Jordana Spiro -- Aleksa Palladino in the pilot) is a kick-ass take charge, tough-guy type. The contrast and chemistry between the two leads is very humorous and very watchable.

Granted, this series is no Homicide. The plots are a bit simplistic and predictable (but they are getting better) and the production values aren't the best (what else do you excpect from the USA Network?). Also, don't expect any heavy-duty angst or dark explorations into the human condition. The Huntress is fairly light-hearted, given the gritty subject matter.

Still, though far from perfect, I think this show is a fairly solid, entertaining PI show that deserves some support from people who would like to see a halfway-decent TV foray in the genre. I like it, anyway.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Actually, from what I can gather, the premise is accurate...up to a point. Evidently Dottie and Brandi are indeed bounty hunters. In fact, after Ralph's death, Dottie contacted Christopher Kean, who had written the original book about her husband that had become the McQueen fiilm, The Hunter, claiming she wanted to tell "her" story. The result was the 1996 book The Huntress (recently reprinted as a mass market paperback), which in turn inspired this TV series.

TELEVISION

• THE HUNTRESS
  (2000, USA Network)
  Two-hour pilot
  Based on the book "The Huntress" by Christopher Keane and Dottie Thorson
  Screenplay by Pamela Norris
  Music by Jon Spencer and Russell Simins of The Jon Spencer Blues, and Jamey Staub,
  Starring Annette O'Toole as DOTTIE THORSON
  and Aleksa Palladino as BRANDI THORSON
  with an appearance by Craig T. Nelson as RALPH THORSON
  Also starring Alanna Ubach, Matthew Glave, Vicki Lewis, James Remar, Luis Guzman, Michael Bowen
  .
• THE HUNTRESS
  (2000-01, USA Network)
  Debut: March 7, 2000
  15 60-minute episodes (and counting)
  Writers: Pamela Norris 
  Directors: Joshua Butler, Larry Carroll, Ryan Haidarian, Adam Nimoy, Terrence O'Hara, Jeffrey Reiner, Sandy Smolan  
  Consulting producer: Bruno Heller
  Associate producer: Pam Fitzgerald
  Producer: Scott White  
  Co-executive producer: Gerry Conway
  Executive producer: Pamela Norris
  Filmed by C.C. Lyons Prods. Inc. and Chelsey Avenue Prods. in association with USA Cable Entertainment
  Original music by Frankie Blue  
  Starring Annette O'Toole as DOTTIE THORSON
  and Jordana Spiro as BRANDI THORSON
  with Luis Antonio Ramos as Ricky Guzman
  James Remar as Warren "Tiny" Bellows
  and Michael Muhney as Mark Farrell
  Guest stars: Gary Busey, Rosanna Arquette, Jim Hanna, Cindy Picket, Michael Muhney
  ..

• 1st season
• "What Ralph Left Behind" (July 26, 2000)
• "The Kid" (August 2, 2000)
• "Springin"g Tiny" (August 9, 2000)
• "Scattered (August 16, 2000)
• "Surprise Party" (August 23, 2000)
• "Bad Boys & Why We Love Them" (September 13, 2000)
• "Kidnapped" (September 20, 2000)
• "Partners" (September 27, 2000)
• "Black Widow" (January 7, 2001)
• "The Two Mr. Thorsons, Part 1" (January 14, 2001)
• "The Two Mr. Thorsons, Part 2" (January 21, 2001)
• "Smartest Guy in the World" (February 4, 2001)
• "Run Ricky Run" (February 11, 2001)
• "Generations" (February 18, 2001)
• "Who Are You?" (February 25, 2001)
• "Ah, Wilderness" (June 10, 2001

BOOKS

• The Huntress: The True Saga of Dottie and Brandi Thorson (1996, by Dottie Thorson and Christopher Keane)...Buy this book

Respectfully submitted by Bryan English.