I don't think that you can take MS and LC out of the equation because they made Bodie and Doyle who they are to us, and as "real" as characters can get. So two other agents (McCabe and Lucas) wouldn't work, unless MS and LC played them. Not that you might not like the pairing played by other actors, but in this case we're talking B&D. I don't see how you can erase the actor from the character as the actor brings their mannerisms, their brain power, their life experience, even their speech patterns and the way they scratch their noses into their character. So Starsky and Hutch are S&h because of DS and PMG. They are not free-standing units. And there is sort of proof. The remake of S&H. Did it work with other actors? For me, it was very, very mildly interesting, about a one on a scale of ten, but it was the S&H that I love. Which is why I would never want a Professionals movie made today with other actors. I shudder at the thought in any of my three fandoms!