Hill Street Blues was a serial police drama that first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. It received high critical acclaim and while audience figures were never more than acceptable, its innovations proved highly influential on serious dramatic television series produced in North America. Its debut season set a record by winning eight Emmy awards.
Overview
MTM Enterprises (home of Mary Tyler Moore and Lou Grant) developed the series on behalf of NBC, appointing Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll as series writers. The writers were allowed considerable creative freedom, and created a series which brought together for the first time a number of emerging ideas in TV drama.
- Each episode featured a number of intertwined storylines, some of which were resolved within the episode, with others developing over a number of episodes.
- Much play was made of the conflicts between the work and private lives of the individuals. In the workplace there was also a strong focus on the struggle between doing "what was right" and "what worked."
- The camera was held close in, action cut rapidly between stories, and there was lots of use of overheard, or off-screen dialogue, giving a "documentary" feel to the action.
- Rather than studio (floor) cameras, hand-held Arriflexes were used to add to the "documentary" feel.
- The show dealt with "real-life" issues, and used "real-life" language to a greater extent than had been seen before.
Much drama was created through the pairing of opposites, including:
- White, Southern Officer Andrew J. ("Cowboy") Renko and Black, urban Officer Bobby Hill.
- Pacifist Lt. Henry Goldblum and militaristic SWAT team leader Lt. Howard Hunter.
- Calm, articulate veteran Desk Sergeant Phil Esterhaus and high-strung, grubby undercover Detective Mick Belker.
- Alcoholic Det. J.D. LaRue and recovering narcotics addict Det. Neal Washington.
- Strong, silent Officer Lucy Bates, who wants to be more feminine, and partner Officer Joe Coffey, always macho.
- Champion of the oppressed Precinct Captain Frank Furillo and political gadfly Police Chief Fletcher Daniels.
- Even-tempered Captain Francis X. Furillo ("Pizza Man") and high-strung defense attorney Joyce Davenport ("Counselor").
- Urbane, romantic Sgt. Esterhaus and bawdy nymphomaniac Grace Gardner.
Maxwell Precinct House June 2005
Though filmed in Los Angeles, the series was set in a generic location with a feel of a Northern urban centre, with many exterior shots being filmed in Chicago, including the station house, which was the old Maxwell Street police station on Chicago's West Side (943 West Maxwell Street). The show's police cars were painted and marked exactly like Chicago police cars.
The producers went to great lengths to avoid specifying where the series took place, even going so far as to obscure whether the call letters of local TV stations began with "W" (the FCC designation for stations east of the Mississippi) or "K" (signifying a station west of the Mississippi). However, Renko's claim in a season one episode that he had "never been west of Chicago" was one of many indications that the series took place in the Midwest or Northeast. Many of the street names used in the show, especially for identifying crime locations on police radio calls, were from Buffalo, NY.
The name of the show was based on Pittsburgh's Hill District. Chief writer Steven Bochco attended college at the nearby Carnegie Institute of Technology and used the downtrodden Hill District as inspiration for naming the show.
Hill Street Blues on the cover of
TV Guide magazine.
The distinctive theme tune was written by Mike Post. It was a popular enough theme that it peaked in the top 10 on the Billboard charts for pop singles.
The program's focus on failure and those at the bottom of the social scale was pronounced, and very much in contrast to Bochco's later project L.A. Law. It has been described as Barney Miller out of doors - the focus on the bitter realities of 1980s urban living was revolutionary for its time. Later seasons were accused of becoming formulaic (a shift that some believe to have begun after the death from cancer of Michael Conrad midway through the third season, which led to the replacement of the beloved Sgt. Esterhaus by Sgt. Stan Jablonksi, played by Robert Prosky) and the series that broke the established rules of television ultimately failed to break its own rules. Nonetheless it is a landmark piece of television programming, the influence of which is still seen in such series as NYPD Blue and ER. In fact the very concept of the modern 'ensemble' drama can probably be traced back to Hill Street Blues.
There was also a short lived Dennis Franz spinoff called Beverly Hills Buntz, in which the title character moves from the Hill to Los Angeles.
Main characters
DVD Release
The first season of Hill Street Blues was released on DVD (U.S.) by 20th Century Fox on 31st January 2006. The second season is currently scheduled for release on 16th May. The release is a well packaged three disc set, featuring all episodes of the first season and a 50 minute retrospective discussion between some original cast members (Ed Marinaro, Barbara Bosson, Joe Spano, Veronica Hamel, Michael Warren, James B. Sikking, Bruce Weitz and Charles Haid).
Two episodes, "Hill Street Station" and "I Never Promised You a Rose, Marvyn" feature an optional audio commentary by Steven Bochco, James B. Sikking and Joe Spano. (Comments based on Region 1 US/Canada release)
Hill Street Blues is also being released on DVD in the UK (Region 2). Season one will be released on 6th March, while the second season is currently scheduled for release on 12th June.
External links
