Hill Street Blues
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| Hill Street Blues | |
|---|---|
 Main title card |
|
| Format | Police procedural |
| Created by | Steven Bochco Michael Kozoll |
| Starring | Daniel J. Travanti Joe Spano Michael Conrad Veronica Hamel René Enríquez Charles Haid James B. Sikking Barbara Bosson Ed Marinaro Michael Warren Betty Thomas Bruce Weitz Dennis Franz |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 146 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | January 15, 1981 – May 12, 1987 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Beverly Hills Buntz |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Hill Street Blues was a serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987.[1] It received high critical acclaim and its innovations proved highly influential on serious dramatic television series produced in North America. Its debut season was honored with eight Emmy awards, a debut season record surpassed only by The West Wing (also on NBC), and the show received a total of 98 Emmy Award nominations during its run.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
MTM Enterprises 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 features a number of intertwined storylines, some of which are resolved within the episode, with others developing over a number of episodes throughout a season.
- Much play is made of the conflicts between the work and private lives of the individuals. In the workplace there is also a strong focus on the struggle between doing "what was right" and "what worked" in situations.
- The camera is held close in, action cut rapidly between stories, and there is much use of overheard or off-screen dialogue, giving a "documentary" feel to the action.
- Rather than studio (floor) cameras, hand-held Arriflexes are used to add to the "documentary" feel.
- The show deals with "real-life" issues, and uses "real-life" language to a greater extent than had been seen before.
- Almost every episode began with a pre-credits sequence consisting of "roll call" at the beginning of the day shift. Many episodes are written to take place over the course of a single day, a concept later used in the NBC series L.A. Law.
Though filmed in Los Angeles (both on location and at CBS Studio Center in Studio City), the series is set in a generic location with a feel of a Northern urban center.
The program's focus on failure and those at the bottom of the social scale is 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 are accused of becoming formulaic (a shift that some believe to have begun after the death from cancer of Michael Conrad midway through the fourth season, which led to the replacement of the beloved Sgt. Esterhaus by Sgt. Stan Jablonski, 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 1982, St. Elsewhere was hyped as "Hill Street Blues" in a hospital." In fact the very concept of the modern 'ensemble' drama can probably be traced back to Hill Street Blues. The quality work done by MTM led to the appointment of Grant Tinker as NBC chairman in 1982.
In season seven, producers got scripts from acclaimed writers outside of television: Bob Woodward and David Mamet.
There is also a short-lived Dennis Franz spinoff called Beverly Hills Buntz, in which Franz' Det. Buntz character moves from the Hill to Los Angeles to become a private eye.
After struggling in syndicated reruns, the series had cable runs on TV Land, Bravo and currently, AmericanLife TV.
[edit] Production
- For a more detailed plot breakdown, see List of Hill Street Blues episodes.
Pilot: Brandon Tartikoff commissioned a series from MTM Productions, who assigned Bochco and Kozoll to the project. The pilot was produced in 1980, but was held back as a mid-season replacement so as not to get lost amongst the other programs debuting in the fall of 1980. Barbara Bosson, who was married to Bochco, had the idea to fashion the series into 4- or 5- episode story "arcs." Robert Butler directed the pilot, developing a look and style inspired by the 1977 documentary The Police Tapes, in which filmmakers used handheld cameras to follow police officers in the South Bronx.[2] Butler went on to direct the first four episodes of the series, and Bosson had hoped he would stay on permanently. However, he felt he was not being amply recognized for his contributions to the show's look and style, and left to pursue other projects. He would return to direct just one further episode ("The Second Oldest Profession" in season two).
Season 1: The pilot aired on Thursday, January 15, 1981 at 10 pm, which would be the show's time slot for nearly its entire run. Episode 2 aired two nights later; the next week followed a similar pattern (episode 3 on Thursday, 4 on Saturday). NBC had ordered 13 episodes, and the season was supposed to end on May 25 with a minor cliffhanger (the resolution of Sgt. Esterhaus' wedding). Instead, building critical acclaim prompted NBC to order an additional 4 episodes to air during May sweeps. Bocho and Kozoll fashioned this into a new story arc, which aired as two two-hour episodes to close the season. One new addition with these final 4 episodes was Ofc. Joe Coffey (played by Ed Marinaro) who originally had died in the first season finale's broadcast.
In early season 1 episodes, the opening theme has several clearly audible edits; this was quickly replaced by a longer, unedited version. The end credits for the pilot differed from the rest of the series, in that the background still shot of the station house was completely different; it was also copyrighted in 1980, instead of 1981.
The show became the lowest-rated program ever renewed for a second season. However, it was only renewed for ten episodes. A full order was picked up part way through the season.
Season 2: A writer strike pushed the start of the season forward to October 29, meaning that only nineteen episodes were completed that year. Kozoll was now listed as a consultant, signifying his diminished role in the show. He later stated he was already feeling burnt out, and in fact was relying more on car chases and action to fill the scripts.
A less muted version of the closing theme was played over the end credits.
Season 3: Michael Kozoll left the show at the end of season 2, replaced for the most part by Anthony Yerkovich and David Milch. Yerkovich later created Miami Vice after leaving Hill Street Blues at the end of this season. This was the show's most popular in terms of viewership, as it finished #21. This was also the birth of Must See TV, as the show was joined by Cheers, Taxi and Fame. The network deemed Thursdays "the best night of television on television." Michael Conrad was increasingly absent from the show due to his ongoing battle with cancer.
Season 4: Michael Conrad's final appearance was halfway through the season, as he had died in real life. His character was kept alive until February 1984, when he was sent off in a memorable episode, "Grace Under Pressure".
The show won its fourth and final Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series this season.
Season 5: The show changed drastically this season, entering a somewhat "soap operatic" period according to Bochco. New characters included Sgt. Stanislaus Jablonski (played by Robert Prosky), Det. Patsy Mayo (Mimi Kuzyk), and Det. Harry Garibaldi (Ken Olin), while Mrs. Furillo (Bosson) became a full-time member of the squad room. Bochco would be dismissed at season's end by then-MTM President Arthur Price. The firing was due to Bochco's cost overruns, coupled with the fact that the show had achieved the 100 episode milestone needed to successfully syndicate the program.
Betty Thomas would win an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress In a Drama Series this season. However, at the awards ceremony, an unidentified man rushed the stage ahead of Thomas and claimed she was unable to attend. He then claimed the award and left the stage, confusing viewers and robbing Thomas of her moment in the sun.
Season 6: Major changes occur as Joe Coffey, Patsy Mayo, Det. Harry Garibaldi, Lt. Ray Calletano (Rene Enriquez), Fay Furillo (Barbara Bosson) and Officer Leo Schnitz (Robert Hirschfeld) all leave the show. The sole addition is Lt. Norman Buntz, played by Dennis Franz. In a 1991 interview on Later with Bob Costas, Ken Olin explained that these characters were removed so that the new showrunners could add characters for which they would receive royalties.
The season premiere opened with a roll call filled with officers never before seen on the show, briefly fooling viewers into thinking the entire cast had been replaced. It was then revealed that this was, in fact, the night shift. The action then cut to the day shift pursuing their after-work activities. Another unique episode from this season explained through flashbacks how Furillo and Ms. Davenport met and fell in love.
This would be the first season that Travanti and Hamel were not nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress in a Drama Series.
Season 7: Officer Patrick Flaherty (played by Robert Clohessy) and Officer Tina Russo (Megan Gallagher) joined this season in an attempt to rekindle the Bates-Coffey relationship of years past. Stanislaus Jablonski became a secondary character part way through this season, and when Travanti announced he would not return the next year, the producers decided to end the show in 1987. The program was also moved to Tuesday nights after six years to make way for L.A. Law on Thursdays.
This would be the only season that Weitz was not nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. This was also the only season for which the show was not nominated for Outstanding Drama Series.
[edit] Setting
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 stated in the season one episode "Politics As Usual" (to his partner, Officer Hill) "Just drop that 'cowboy' stuff. I was born in New Jersey, (and) never been west of Chicago in my life" was one of many indications that the series took place in the Midwest or Northeast.
Many background exterior shots were filmed in Chicago — including the station house, which is the old Maxwell Street police station on Chicago's West Side (943 West Maxwell Street), and the current home of the University of Illinois at Chicago Police Department. The show's police cruisers are painted and marked almost exactly like Chicago police cars, the main difference being the red door lettering reading "METRO POLICE" rather than "CHICAGO POLICE" on the real thing. In addition, the opening credits clearly show a squad car with an Illinois "M" plate, which are used for municipal police cars. The series frequently used establishing shots, under the credits at the beginning of the first act, showing an Interstate 80 sign or commuter trains entering and leaving the old Chicago and North Western Railway Chicago terminal: the C&NW yellow and green livery was clearly evident.
Many of the street names used in the show, especially for identifying crime locations on police radio calls, are from Buffalo, New York. In the episode 'Rites of Spring Part I', Joyce Davenport announces that the Phillies baseball team are "in town," not "at home", indicating the city is not Philadelphia, which is coincidentally Veronica Hamel's hometown. A first-season episode features a modified armored personnel carrier (described as an "urban tank") enthusiastically used by Lieutenant Hunter for his SWAT team, which ended up stolen and dumped in the "East River", suggesting the setting is New York City or, less likely, Minnesota (at the time of the series, there was no inter-league play between the Minnesota Twins and the Phillies). There was a reference to the Lower East Side in the "Fecund Hand Rose" episode (Phil's attempted wedding to Cindy) in the first season about where Det. LaRue lived.
In the episode "Gung Ho", a woman mentions committing crimes in Santa Fe, New Mexico, York, Pennsylvania and Newark, New Jersey. If the show was set in one of those states, she probably would not have used both the city and state name when mentioning the locations, thus ruling out New Mexico, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
In another episode, a carjacked couple mention that they were on their way home to Buffalo after visiting relatives in Arizona. If so, they wouldn't have taken the much longer route through New York or Philadelphia, which pretty much rules out any east-coast cities. Additionally, in another episode, mention is made of a hired killer coming in from Detroit; Belker also gets knocked out in one episode and is thrown on to a bus headed for Springfield, (presumably Illinois?)
In the season 6 episode, "Hacked to Pieces", Mayor Cleveland's son, Lee, is desperate to get help for his addictions and wants to be sent to a special clinic in Rockford. Rockford, Illinois is located about 75 miles west of Chicago.
The name of the show is based on Pittsburgh's Hill District station. Chief writer Steven Bochco attended college at the nearby Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and used the always active Hill District Pittsburgh Police Zone 2 station as inspiration for naming the show.
Due to writer David Milch being from Buffalo, NY, many of the street names, intersections and once in awhile park names were placed within the Hill Street precinct.
Throughout the 146 episodes there are various references to the other police precincts in the city. They are specifically numbered in a series one episode by Commander Swanson, who states that he has "16 precincts" to take care of. Precincts which are named during the course of the various programmes include: Hill Street, Polk Avenue, Midtown, Von Steubben Avenue, North-East, St James's Park, and Jefferson Heights.
[edit] Command Structure
A number of characters changed rank during the seven years of production. The pilot episode presented a simple command structure. Captain Furillo had one Lieutenant (Ray Calletano), and they had three Sergeants, one in each of the three main areas of operations - Sgt Phil Esterhaus (uniform), Sgt Henry Goldblume (detective), Sgt Howard Hunter (EAT).
There was a process of evolution into a more complex command structure (more reflective of general real-life practice). In this 'evolved' structure Capt. Furillo has three Lieutenants - Calletano, plus Goldblume and Hunter, both promoted; Buntz replaced Calletano when the latter was promoted to Captain, and left the Precinct (though not the series).
- Uniforms: There are likewise three uniformed Sergeants - Esterhaus, Bates (following promotion), and a third, elderly, unnamed, Sergeant who appeared in the background of almost every episode (from the final scene of episode 2 until the final episode 6 years later) without ever receiving any story-line; Jablonski replaced Esterhaus following the death of actor Michael Conrad. A further character to appear throughout all 7 seasons without ever being given a storyline was a middle-aged grey-haired officer with a mustache. He is named just once, by Fay Furillo, during the series 2 episode "Bloody Money", when she calls him either "Jock" or "Doc", and asks about his children. During the course of the programme Jock/Doc was promoted to Corporal. Although his appearance with two uniform stripes was never given a title in any episode, the existence of the 'corporal' rank in the Metro Police was demonstrated in an early episode of series 1 when Furillo visited Headquarters and during a conversation with Commander Swanson a list of names and ranks (including Corporal) was displayed on a blackboard in the background.
- Detectives: Amongst the detectives Alf Chesley was the detective Sergeant, until he was promoted to Lieutenant and left the show; this left undercover officer Mick Belker as the only notable Detective Sergeant. Walsh was also referred to as 'Sergeant' by Fay Furillo during the first series.
- Emergency Action Team: Strangely, after Hunter's promotion to Lieutenant no EAT Sergeant was ever depicted, although the role of 'right hand man' or effective 'second in command' was assumed by EAT Officer Jack Ballantine.
These various promotions are reflected in the ranks of the characters, as referenced in the following cast list.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Police Officers (listed by rank)
- Chief of Police Fletcher P. Daniels (historically, was Captain at 23rd Precinct) — Jon Cypher
- Commander (later Deputy Chief) David (Dave) Swanson — George Dickerson
- Captain Francis Xavier (Frank) Furillo — Daniel J. Travanti
- Captain Jerry Fuchs (1981-1984) — Vincent Lucchesi
- Lieutenant (later Captain) Ray Calletano — René Enríquez
- Lieutenant Norman Buntz (1985-1987) — Dennis Franz
- Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Howard Hunter (EAT commander) — James B. Sikking
- Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Henry Goldblume (Negotiator)(historically, was a patrol officer at Jefferson Heights) — Joe Spano
- Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Alf Chesley (Detective)(1981-1982) — Gerry Black
- Sergeant Philip Freemason (Phil) Esterhaus (1981-1984) — Michael Conrad
- Sergeant Michael (Mick) Belker (Undercover Detective) — Bruce Weitz
- Sergeant Stan Jablonski (1984-1987) — Robert Prosky
- Sergeant Ralph Macafee (Corrupt cop) — Dan Hedaya
- Officer (later Sergeant) Lucille (Lucy) Bates — Betty Thomas
- Officer Joe Coffey (Bates' partner) (1981-1986) — Ed Marinaro
- Officer Robert Eugene (Bobby) Hill (historically, was a patrol officer at Jefferson Heights) — Michael Warren
- Officer Andrew Jackson (Andy) Renko (Hill's partner) — Charles Haid
- Officer Patrick Flaherty (1986-1987) — Robert Clohessy
- Officer Tina Russo (1986-1987) — Megan Gallagher
- Officer Webster (EAT) (Hunter's assistant in early series) — Tom Babson
- Officer Jack Ballantine (EAT) (Hunter's assistant in later series) — Gary Miller
- Officer Leo Schnitz (1981-1985) — Robert Hirschfeld
- Officer Mike Perez (1981-1985) — Tony Perez
- Officer Robin Tataglia (1983-1987) — Lisa Sutton
- Officer Marvin Oliver (Marv) Box (1981) (Phone installing expert of series 1) — Actor unknown
- Officer Santini (series 1) — Jeff Seymour
- Officer Bernard (Bern) Harris (series 1) — Mark Metcalf
- Officer Cooper (Perez's partner in series 1) — Actor unknown
- Officer Gerald (Gerry) Nash (series 2)(historically, was a patrol officer at Jefferson Heights with Hill) — Stephen McHattie
- Officer Estella Sanchez (series 2) — Livia Genise
- Detective John (J. D.) LaRue — Kiel Martin
- Detective Neal Washington (LaRue's partner) — Taurean Blacque
- Detective Sal Benedetto (1983) — Dennis Franz
- Detective Patsy Mayo (1984-1985) — Mimi Kuzyk
- Detective Harry Garibaldi (1984-1985) — Ken Olin
- Detective John Walsh (1981-1982) — John Brandon
- Detective Ben Lambert (1981-1982) — Charles Guardino
- Detective Virgil Pattison Brooks (1981-1982)(Belker's fellow undercover cop, murdered in episode 20) — Nathan Cook
[edit] Other characters
- Fay Furillo (Capt Furillo's ex-wife) (1981-1986) — Barbara Bosson
- Joyce Davenport (Public Defender) — Veronica Hamel
- Mayor Ozzie Cleveland (1982-1985) — J. A. Preston
- Grace Gardner (1981-1985) — Barbara Babcock
- Asst. D.A. Irwin Bernstein (1982-1987) — George Wyner
- Sidney (Sid the Snitch) Thurston (Belker's informant; later Buntz's paid informant) (1985-1987) — Peter Jurasik
- Jesus Martinez (Gang leader-turned community activist) — Trinidad Silva
- Judge Alan Wachtel — Jeffrey Tambor
- Celeste Patterson (1985-1986) — Judith Hansen
- Eddie Gregg (1982-1986) — Charles Levin
- James Logan (the bald pickpocket, his real name is only discovered in his final appearance) — Nick Savage
- Rosa Calletano (Ray Calletano's wife) — Irena Du Barry
- Rachel Goldblume (Henry Goldblume's wife) — Rosanna Huffman
- Harvey (Fay Furillo's new boyfriend) — Philip G Schultz
- Debbie Kaplan (Belker's girlfriend in early series) — Gela Jacobson
- Cindy Spooner (Esterhaus's fiancee) — Lisa Lindgren
[edit] Cast notes
- The producers did not intend Officers Renko and Hill to be ongoing characters - Renko was not supposed to survive their shooting in the pilot episode. NBC was sufficiently impressed with the chemistry between Charles Haid and Michael Warren that they insisted that Renko survive and become series regulars. Similarly, Coffey was "resurrected" after being killed at the end of the first season. In reruns, the scene was replaced and Coffey was said to be only wounded. Ed Marinaro joined the series as a regular the next season only to be shot down fatally again in season 6.
- Barbara Bosson had been cast, having been Bochco's wife at the time. NBC president Fred Silverman noticed her and requested that she appear regularly in the series.
- Dennis Franz appears as dirty cop Sal Benedetto in a memorable 3rd season story arc before taking on the role of Lt. Norman Buntz. Franz and Ken Olin also starred in the 1983 Bochco series, Bay City Blues.
- Daniel J. Travanti and Charles Haid appeared on a 1974 episode of Gunsmoke together, playing a pair of criminals looking to rob a bank.
- Haid and Michael Conrad were regulars on the Steven Bochco series Delvecchio. Michael Warren and Kiel Martin each appeared in an episode, as well.
- Patrick Clohessy appears as a uniformed cop in the fifth-season finale of St. Elsewhere as a wrecking ball strikes St. Eligius Hospital.
- As actors contracts were due to expire at the end of season seven, there was talk that if the show survived for season eight, Buntz would become the precinct's commanding officer.
- James B. Sikking appears as Hunter in an episode of 1990 Bochco series Cop Rock.
- Marinaro, Spano, Weitz, Warren and Blacque appear as police officers in the HBO sitcom Dream On in 1994.
- Travanti rarely wishes to discuss the series in interviews, and often will not refer to it by name. In a 1989 episode of Later with Bob Costas, he compares it to referring to an estranged ex-wife. He and Veronica Hamel were reunited in 2002 at the NBC 75th Anniversary Special.
- One minor recurring character was a flasher who would shout "I'm buck naked!" whenever he exposed himself. In one episode, the desk sergeant entered "Buck Naked" as the suspect's name in the arrest logs. The character was also billed as "Buck Naked" in the credits, and later reappeared in NYPD Blue.
- In 2004-2005 Charles Haid played C. T. Finney, a New York Police Captain on the sixth season of the NBC show Third Watch. Veronica Hamel also guest-starred as the mother of New York firefighter Alex Taylor as part of the NBC 75th Anniversary programming in May 2002, along with Marinaro and Weitz.
- Entertainment Tonight did a one-hour retrospective to the series in 2000.
[edit] Gang Culture
The violent portrayal of gang culture was a constant feature across all seven seasons. At the time it was a relatively unknown concept in some countries where the programme was aired. Many storylines relate to features of gang life, and also the very different approach of officers like Furillo and Goldblume compared with others such as Hunter. The constantly recurring gangs included the Gypsies, the Shamrocks, the Black Arrows, the Blood, the Dragon, and Los Diablos.
[edit] Before they were famous
Many famous actors and actresses appeared on the show before they gained fame elsewhere:
- Michael Biehn, The Terminator, as an obnoxious trainee cop (Ep. 82).
- David Caruso , CSI Miami, NYPD Blue made regular appearances as a leader of the Shamrock Gang in seasons 1-3.
- Don Cheadle, Crash, Hotel Rwanda. (Ep. 143)
- Hector Elizondo, as a Detective (Ep.85)
- Lawrence Fishburne, The Matrix as a pimp. (Ep.112)
- Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker) and Brent Spiner (Data) in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Frakes played a drug dealer, Spiner an unscrupulous small-time movie director (Ep. 98).
- Andy Garcia, as a hot-headed member of the Diablo gang. (Ep. 1 and Ep. 77)
- Crispin Glover, Back to the Future, as a drug addict. (Ep. 66)
- Danny Glover, as a vicious gangster of The Black Arrows masquerading as a community leader. (Ep. 18-21)
- Cuba Gooding Jr, as a gang member (Ep. 125 and Ep. 143)
- Linda Hamilton of The Terminator, played Joe Coffey's girlfriend in several episodes in Season 4.
- Michael Ironside, Total Recall, Starship Troopers. (Ep. 65)
- Bruno Kirby, City Slickers and The Godfather: Part II, played a paramedic
- Terry Kiser, Weekend at Bernie's in a memorable role as the narcoleptic comedian Vic Hitler
- Yaphet Kotto, Homicide: Life on the Street as a militant leader. (Ep. 103)
- Frances McDormand, Fargo, as a lawyer in season 5.
- Edward James Olmos, later of Miami Vice and Battlestar Galactica, played two roles as a harassed tenant (Ep.29-30) and a judge. (Ep. 73) ("Blues" writer Anthony Yerkovich created "Vice.")
- Joe Pantoliano, The Sopranos, played a crook forced to help catch corrupt cops. (Ep. 68-69)
- John Ratzenberger, Cliff Claven the postman in Cheers, played a con-man posing as a vice-cop.
- Michael Richards, Seinfeld played a con man in one episode.
- Tim Robbins, as a trainee cop who commits suicide after a hazing led by Biehn's character. (Ep. 82)
- Mimi Rogers, as a night school teacher who had a relationship with Renko.(Ep. 14-17)
- Saul Rubinek, a citizen involved in a fight over a stolen lottery ticket.(Ep. 87)
- Dwight Schultz, Murdock in The A-Team played a cop
- Ally Sheedy, was a teenage schoolgirl who attracted the attentions of J.D. La Rue (Ep. 52-53)
- Ron Silver, The West Wing, played a lawyer representing Joe Coffey in an investigation. (Ep. 53-54)
- Jeffrey Tambor , The Larry Sanders Show another regular throughout the run of the show, as lawyer Alan Wachtel,later becoming a judge.
- Lawrence Tierney, Reservoir Dogs, as the nightshift sergeant.
- Meg Tilly and Jennifer Tilly both appeared, the former as a prostitute (Ep. 32), the latter as a gangster's wife who has a relationship with Lt. Goldblume after her husband 'Paul the Wall' dies. (Ep. 96-100)
- Keenan Ivory Wayans, Scary Movie.(Ep. 144)
- Forest Whitaker, appeared in one episode as a sociopathic teenager released from juvenile incarceration.(Ep. 86)
- Christopher Noth appeared in a seventh-season episode as a cop before being cast in Law & Order.
[edit] Awards
- The one-hour pilot episode, "Hill Street Station," was awarded an Edgar for Best Teleplay from a Series.
- Over its seven seasons, the show earned 98 Emmy Award nominations. That averages out to 14 nominations every year.
- The series shares the Emmy Award record for most acting nominations by regular cast members (excluding the guest performer category) for a single series in one year. (Both L. A. Law and The West Wing also hold that record). For the 1981-1982 season nine cast members were nominated for Emmys. Daniel J. Travanti and Michael Conrad were the only ones to win (for Lead Actor and Supporting Actor respectively). The others nominated were Veronica Hamel (for Lead Actress), Taurean Blacque, Michael Warren, Bruce Weitz, and Charles Haid (for Supporting Actor), and Barbara Bosson and Betty Thomas (for Supporting Actress). Also that year, for the first and only time in Emmy Award history all five nominees in an acting category (in this case, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series) were from a single series.
- In 2007, Channel 4 (UK) ranked Hill Street Blues #19 on their list of the "50 Greatest TV Dramas."[1]
[edit] Ratings
| Season | Ranking |
|---|---|
| 1980-81 | #?? |
| 1981-82 | #27 |
| 1982-83 | #22 |
| 1983-84 | #?? |
| 1984-85 | #28 |
| 1985-86 | #?? |
| 1986-87 | #?? |
[edit] Theme and music
The distinctive theme tune was written by Mike Post and was popular enough to reach #10 on Billboard's Hot 100. In 2008, the theme tune was sampled in Mariah Carey's third single "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time," from her eleventh studio album, E=MC².
In 2006, The Who wrote a song called "Mike Post Theme", and songwriter Pete Townshend has confirmed that he took inspiration from the theme for Hill Street Blues.
In 2004, the rapper Cam'ron sampled the theme of Hill Street Blues for the song "Harlem Streets" in his album entitled Purple Haze.
The series is mentioned in the song "TV Party" by the punk-hardcore band Black Flag.
[edit] DVD releases
20th Century Fox has released the first two seasons of Hill Street Blues on DVD in Region 1. In Region 2, Season 1 & 2 have been released by Channel 4 DVD. Season 1 can also be found on hulu.com.
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | January 31, 2006 | March 6, 2006 (R2 has different cover art) |
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| Season 2 | May 16, 2006 | June 12, 2006 (R2 has different cover art) |
|
NB: R2 DVD releases extras: R2 series 1 contains two commentaries (pilot and episode 11) and 51 minute "roll call" featurette with cast members only.
There are no extras on the R2 series 2 release.
[edit] Downloadable video release
The first three seasons are available for download.
[edit] Computer game
Hill Street Blues was also the name of a computer game that was based on the TV show released in 1991 by Krisalis. The game placed the player in charge of Hill Street Station and its surrounding neighborhood with the aim being to promptly dispatch officers to reported crimes, apprehending criminals and making them testify at court. If certain areas had less serious crimes unresolved, such as bag-snatching, they would soon escalate to more serious ones such as murder in broad daylight.
[edit] In Popular Culture
A 1984 edition of The Lenny Henry Show featured a single-sketch parody of the show, including a roll-call sequence and opening credits where the actors' billings (Lenworth J. Henry, Jane J. Bertish Jnr) clearly referenced the show's star, Daniel J. Travanti.
A 1982 episode of SCTV parodied how the large cast swarmed the stage for the show's 1981 Best Drama Emmy. In the parody, a mob rushed the stage and trampled Herve Villechaize, played by John Candy.
A 1990 episode of Bochco's Cop Rock parodied the roll call with an original song, "Let's Be Careful Out There."
NBC did a memorable promo campaign that aired during the Super Bowl in 1986 with animated scenes of the cast ala rock band a-ha's music video, "Take on Me." The slogan: "America, You'll Never Be Over The Hill."
[edit] References
- ^ "Hill Street Blues" (1981)
- ^ Fetherston, Drew. "Last Call for the Cop Show That Broke All the Rules", Newsday, May 10, 1987, pp. 11.
[edit] External links
- Hill Street Blues at the Internet Movie Database
- Encyclopedia of Television
- The Hill Street Blues DVDs Web Site
- The Hill Street Blues Fans website
- The Hill Street Blues Egroup
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