AllMovie

The premiere episode of Streets of San Francisco follows veteran SFPD detective lieutenant Mike Stone (Karl Malden) in his grim search for the killer of his old friend Officer Gus Charnovski (Edmond O'Brien), who was shot three days before his retirement after 30 years on the force. Stone's obsession takes a toll not only on his job performance, but also his relationship with his 28-year-old partner Steve Keller (Michael Douglas). Eileen Heckert contributes a poignant performance as Gus' widow Stella. Like all future episodes, this one is filmed completely on location, making good use of the tunnels then being constructed for the new San Francisco rapid-transit system.