List of Hill Street Blues episodes

A hostage situation arises in Captain Furillo's precinct. Public defender Joyce Davenport is looking for her client, lost due to bureaucratic mismanagement. Officers Hill and Renko are shot in the line of duty. The audience is introduced to Belker's growling, and his mother. This episode was awarded an Edgar for Best Teleplay from a Series.

Chief Daniels praises Mizell^[1] at his funeral, for the sake of his family, while preparing to act on the evidence of Mizell's widespread corruption. Councilman Detweiler threatens to expose Mizell's corruption - and corruption in the police force in general - but, before he can act, he kills an old lady while driving drunk. Hill is naked on the doctor's table when his fellow officers burst in to arrest the doctor for fraud. LaRue abandons his attorney, Wachtel, moments before he too is arrested, on the same charge. Hunter proposes to his nurse girlfriend, but she (a Jewish woman) turns him down on grounds of religion. Fay Furillo's home is burgled. Bates and Coffey deal with a baby abandoned in the back of their patrol car.

Detective Arthur "Art" Bradley, a homosexual, but married with children, is the only surviving witness to a mass-murder in a gay bar; much of the episode revolves around attempts by Washington and LaRue to cover for him, and his eventual decision to come forward formally as a witness. Goldblume becomes Fay's partner in natural childbirth classes, the "Cisco Kid" (a horse-riding eccentric) causes problems, and Calletano finally passes a kidney stone (with a loud scream) during very hot weather, and a series of city-wide power cuts.

It is election day. Randolph Scripps, a late candidate, is creating more trouble than interest; Goldblume takes an interest. Daniels, expecting to win, offers to put Furillo forward as the next Chief. Deputy Chief Mahoney, overhearing, goes public with Daniels' and Furillo's roles in the failed Robson prosecution. Commander Ozzie Cleveland wins the election handily, and Goldblume narrowly prevents Scripps from stabbing the new mayor. Wachtel continues his comeback - still in women's clothes. Jimmy Robson's funeral takes place. Furillo spends time with Mike Perez Junior, the teenage son of Officer Mike Perez. Mike Junior has been bullied following Jimmy Robson's killing; Mike Senior remains in a psychiatric ward, traumatized by Jimmy Robson's death.

"Buck Naked" has his feature role as a witness against corrupt taxi operators. The judge unexpectedly overturns the decision of the jury, and Davenport implies to Furillo that she suspects the judge of corruption. An investigation into police corruption turns up evidence that, fourteen years prior, rookie patrolman Howard Hunter was coerced into being the "bagman" for two corrupt Midtown detectives. Furillo informs Hunter, who sinks immediately into depression, believing that he has disgraced himself and the police force. At home, he tidies his desk, arranges his photographs and medals, writes a last note, and holds a revolver to his head; an off-screen gunshot ends the episode. Also in this episode, Fay and Henry have a sexual encounter, Hill is victorious in a police boxing match, and Michael Conrad makes a short and shaky appearance at roll call, looking very drawn and unwell.

Three "Russians" (from what is now the independent Republic of Georgia, then part of the USSR) visit the Hill, where one attempts to defect. It transpires that he and the female delegate are in a relationship which has been complicated by the advances of the third delegate, a KGB officer. The matter is resolved without international incident. Belker goes undercover with an ambulance crew, and strikes up an unlikely relationship with the ambulance driver, arising at first out of a shared diet. A temporary freeze on promotions upsets Bates, who is still awaiting a vacant sergeant's post. A young man with mental instability who is shot by police leaves a dependent dog whom Bates adopts, ironically naming him "Sarge". Furillo spots Goldblume kissing Fay.

Sergeant Phil Esterhaus dies while making love with Grace Gardner, and Captain Furillo announces the death at Roll Call, shocking the officers. In a double blow for Leo, he discovers his wife to be having an affair. Belker is let down by his backup (Hill and Renko) on an undercover operation, and the city suffers multiple law suits in consequence. Coffey's girlfriend Susan is raped by a man recently released from prison as a non-violent offender. Jesus Martinez trades information for the release of two juvenile Diablos. Fay Furillo is arrested for prostitution by Officer Pfiezer, much to his embarrassment. Lucille Bates is offered promotion to sergeant, and the opportunity to take Esterhaus' job as Desk Sergeant - a thought which scares her.

Belker's recurring pickpocket is shot and killed - his real name finally emerging as James Logan. Belker reacts badly, and breaks up with Robin. Fay and Goldblume also break up. Deputy Chief Briscoe proves an annoyance to Furillo. Mayor Cleveland is an even greater annoyance, after Furillo is misquoted in the press over "Operation Stop and Cop", an operation Cleveland personally backed. The Mullins brothers appear - William is arrested and brother Timothy murders the key witness. Joyce Davenport witnesses this murder, but refuses to identify Mullins, fearing for her own life. Alan Wachtel becomes a judge, much to everyone's surprise. Bates is missing the streets - Furillo encourages her, and tells her it is time she put on her sergeant's stripes.

A genial census worker is taken hostage and murdered, much to the dismay of his bodyguards, Hill and Renko, who were called away to back up other officers on the order of Deputy Chief Briscoe. Joyce Davenport agrees to testify against Timothy Mullins, but both brothers issue death threats against her. Furillo, most in need of his command to defend her, is relieved of duties by Chief Daniels on the orders of Mayor Cleveland. Cleveland is unhappy with Furillo's apology concerning his comments about "Operation Stop and Cop", and he reassigns Furillo to command a task force at Division. Joyce accuses Furillo of failing to protect her, resulting in recovering alcoholic Furillo purchasing a fifth of Scotch whisky. In the personal storylines, Renko's girlfriend is pregnant, and Hunter dates both Bates and Fay Furillo, while looking for a partner - both turn him down.

In a packed episode, "Operation Stop and Cop" continues to claim victims as Pilsky is shot and killed by a fleeing suspect; her delay in returning fire was caused by her "officer-involved" shooting the previous day. Later, Bates and Briscoe argue publicly when the Deputy Chief denies that he ordered Pilsky to be deployed again; her death also affects Hunter, who had planned a date with Pilsky. Washington surrenders a video tape to Calletano showing Chief Daniels having sex with a prostitute (see Episode 72 above). Calletano uses the tape as leverage with Daniels to facilitate Furillo's return to his command at Hill Street. Washington - with Garabaldi and Belker, and with Goldblume's approval - follows William Mullins all day until he slips up: when he refuses to surrender after committing an armed robbery, he is shot dead by the detectives. Renko proposes to Daryl Ann. Jesus Martinez marries his pregnant girlfriend (avoiding a conviction for her, as she had threatened him with a gun). Furillo, narrowly avoiding drinking the alcohol he has bought, seeks out his AA sponsor - only to discover that the sponsor has returned to hard drink himself and is in denial about the consequences. The episode title comes from a minor storyline about a legal battle between a man whose genitals became caught in a whirlpool drain and the distraught therapist who didn't release the power switch until he was punched.

The title comes from Judge Wachtel's wig as he wears a wire to help the DA's office convict a group of Mafia-connected loan sharks. The Hill Street precinct are also targeting them (with Belker, Renko, and Hill undercover), as is the State Liquor Authority, leading to considerable confusion and a SLA bust that nearly collapses the entire operation. Garibaldi does some unofficial investigation to avoid being sued after he crashed without insurance - Washington assists him, successfully. Marcus Peabody, a former gang member, proves corrupt and embarrasses his new employer, the Mayor, who fires him. Natalie continues to admire Leo, and discourages his attempts to regain the affections of his wife. Hunter's proposed "Equine Rapid Development Force" is rejected under budget cuts, even though he had bought his own horse (Apollo) to save the city money. The Furillos separate, at Joyce's suggestion.

Lieutenant Calletano appears on TV game show "Lucky Ducks" and does very well until he freezes on the question that would have guaranteed his winnings; he loses everything. Peabody, in charge of the Blood and seeking quick money to finance a gang war, approaches the group of Mafia-connected loan sharks which Belker has infiltrated. Peabody becomes too aggressive with the loan sharks, and they arrange to have him killed, leading to their arrests. Renko tries to marshal his wedding attendants - Hill (Best Man), Washington, Coffey, and Davis. At the rehearsal dinner, Darryl Ann's father is belittling of his daughter, the police, and especially Hill, who he addresses by the epithet "boy". Lieutenant Hunter is increasingly worried about Apollo, his horse, who is seriously ill; the episode ends with Hunter settling down to a night in the stable with Apollo.

In a busy pre-titles opening sequence, the viewer is introduced to Sergeant Stan Jablonski (Robert Prosky), a 22-year veteran from the Polk Avenue Precinct; he has transferred after an altercation with female Lieutenant Vera Horvath (Sharon Barr), in which the latter was struck a blow, alleged by Jablonski to have been self-defence. Sergeant Bates returns to motor patrol as a street sergeant, explained by Jablosnski as being an extra sergeant post created by "adding the Jefferson renewal to the Hill Street Precinct". The new Sergeant's catchphrase is heard for the first time: "Let's do it to them, before they do it to us". The sequence ends with Jablonski being knocked down by his nemesis from Polk Avenue, she having turned up at Hill street, despite being subject to psychological assessment and treatment. In the rest of the episode: Celestine Grey (Juney Smith) is to be executed for raping and murdering a nun (which he denies), resulting in much consternation; Goldblume's opposition is reported in the press. An all-night ordeal of robbery and torture leads to a war hero, Mr. Parsons, dying in hospital, while police comfort his widow. Belker is undercover at a seedy hotel. Fay Furillo starts full time at the station as a Victim Aid Counselor (also covering the Polk Avenue Precinct). An unfortunate couple from New York (Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry) are repeatedly robbed, but rescued by Bates and Coffey. An unusual man stealing ice is found to be preserving the body of his dead mother. Detective Mayo goes on a date with Furillo, though he turns down a proposed night together - luckily, as Joyce Davenport elects to return after their four-month separation. Laura Ann Renko (Andrew Renko's daughter) is born.

At roll call, the entire cast appears to have been replaced; it is revealed that this is roll call of the night shift, while the program then follows the nocturnal activities of the day shift officers. Henry Goldblume, while trying to mediate a dispute with militant group S.O.I.L., is taken captive at the command of their leader; tensions quickly mount until the leader is killed by a EAT sharpshooter. Renko bets LaRue that he has a better driving route to the stationhouse, but the race ends in a "no contest" when Renko disables his car driving through a flooded underpass and LaRue is ticketed for speeding. Renko also meets his favorite musician, Bobby Angel, but then must arrange Angel's arrest for narcotics possession. Belker spends the night in a dumpster while undercover, but his stakeout ends when his mother dies of heart failure at the age of 84. Joyce and Frank enjoy a crazy dinner party, while Jablonski spends the night at home alone (except for his dog).

Lieutenant Calletano is nominated to be Captain of the Polk Avenue Precinct; Lieutenant Buntz is transferred from the Heights to take his place, and he facilitates the departure of the current Captain at Polk Avenue to ensure he keeps his position. Furillo must mediate between Mayor Cleveland and his wife when their son is arrested on a narcotics charge, and is also placed in charge of a special corruption taskforce by Chief Daniels. Hill and Renko try to mediate tensions between a Korean storeowner and his Black clientele. Belker's car is destroyed by a car bomb on the day his girlfriend, Robin Tataglia, discovers that she's pregnant. Garibaldi, deep in debt to a loan shark, considers going bad to cover his debts; he decides not to do the bidding of his new loan shark and is fatally stabbed.

Hunter is demoted to Sergeant as a result of the Internal Affairs investigation; Furillo convinces him to take over the Desk Sergeant position. With the public defenders on strike, the officers must use discretion in making borderline arrests as the station overflows with suspects. Belker finds the storeowner cashing the checks of the mugged senior citizens; while Belker tries to get the name of the criminal from the shopowner, LaRue reopens the store - acting as the storeowner - and catches the criminal when he comes in to cash another stolen check. The public defenders return to work after the cuts are rescinded. Jablonski undergoes successful bypass surgery.

Chief Daniels asks Furillo to intervene at the Polk Avenue Precinct, where racial tensions are simmering and Captain Calletano - derisively nicknamed "Captain Taco" by his officers - has been unable to control the tensions. Calletano denies there is a problem and vehemently resists help; Furillo looks on sadly as a brawl between white and black Polk Avenue officers erupts after a black officer is shot, and Calletano is unable to stop it. Internal Affairs is investigating Buntz after several people he has arrested have been burglarized while in custody; Buntz traces the burglaries to the man feeding names to Sid the Snitch, who has been forwarding those names to Buntz for arrest. Hill becomes a minor celebrity after catching a baby thrown from a fourth-story window.

Captain Calletano loses command of Polk Avenue and is reassigned to Division; he threatens to go to the press. Several Polk Avenue officers are fired outright or reassigned; Officer James Sanders is transferred to Hill Street and is treated as a pariah. A college friend of Goldblume turns vigilante, with fatal consequences for criminals, police, and ultimately himself. Renko's damaged car is stolen by a hood who offers to get him full replacement cost from his insurance; Renko backs out, and the hood returns his car. Buntz explains his hostility for Flaherty - Flaherty turned in his partner, an old friend of Buntz's. A hit man attempts to kill Sid; Buntz kills the hit man instead. Jablonski asks to return to the police force.

A renowned mobster, Uncle John Petruzzi, is expected to be assassinated prior to going to jail; Russo is beaten and raped by her mobster "boyfriend" while trying to discover the location and time of the hit. Belker counsels Russo on how to be an undercover cop. LaRue and Washington arrest a purse snatcher who then confesses to several high-profile murders; further research reveals that he has not committed the crimes. Furillo has to intervene to help Ray Calletano, who is testing Chief Daniels' patience to the limit; Calletano decides to resign. Jablonski assists Belker on an arrest.

Grace Gardner, a character from the early seasons who dated Sergeant Esterhaus, returns as a nun planning outreach work on the Hill; Flaherty is assigned as liaison. Councilman Wade, out for personal glory, repeatedly jeopardizes the precinct's battle against drugs; he ends up shooting an unarmed juvenile dealer, claiming self-defense, and is arrested by Washington. Belker and Buntz (separately) are working on drug busts; Buntz is forced to delay his bust due to a lack of supporting officers and has his finger cut off in retaliation by the loan shark who bankrolled his buy. Jablonski is hoping to return to police work, but experiences a flare of his chest pain and is not cleared by the police surgeon. Goldblume has a new lady in his life: the producer of a TV talk show.

Councilman Wade attempts to derail Furillo's investigation of his shooting by revealing details from Washington's personnel file to the press to discredit the detective. Furillo and Washington discover the conspiracy that allowed Wade access to Washington's file, and Wade is arrested for the conspiracy. Grace Gardner's vocation is challenged by her attraction to Flaherty. Buntz chooses to be the one who arrests the loan shark who clipped his finger; though he tries for a clean bust, the loan shark pulls a gun, and Buntz is forced to shoot him. A literary agent, unimpressed by the manuscript of Goldblume's deceased friend, offers Goldblume the chance to write his memoirs.

Captain Furillo is advised that his father was shot and killed during a robbery. Furillo investigates and discovers that his father had a brain tumor and killed himself due to the pain; for the sake of his mother, Furillo disposes of the suicide weapon and uses his pull with the police to avoid having the case classified as a suicide. Meanwhile, Belker - who has been suffering from nightmares regarding nuclear war - takes charge of an abandoned baby and then gets involved with the father's plight. A Korean restauranteur tows LaRue's car from his parking lot; LaRue retaliates by releasing rats in his restaurant and notifying the Board of Health.

Jablonski, Renko and Hill go on a deer-hunting weekend; after being accosted by state troopers, breaking into the wrong cabin, and recalling war-time experiences, the weekend is cut short when Hill steps on a spike during the hunt. Henry Goldblume, who had planned to join them, is sidetracked by a speech to the Boy Scouts, an unstable woman who accuses him of raping her in the Captain's office, and a lack of money; he is then kidnapped by a serial robber who, upon learning that Goldblume is a police officer, forces him to dig his own grave before leaving in Goldblume's car. Officer McBride voices uncertainty and regret after shooting an armed robber, until Buntz mentors her.

A jealous Renko confronts his wife about her relationship with her business partner in her cookie-making company; at the end of the episode, he sleeps with a classmate from night school. A Hill Street officer with limited fluency in Spanish shoots an innocent Hispanic when he doesn't understand what he's saying. Ray Calletano, now representing the Latin-American Coalition, threatens a lawsuit on the victim's behalf - until he finds out that Furillo would bear the blame. Flaherty's romantic involvement with Russo begins to interfere with work, resulting in Bates dressing down both of them after she is slashed due to Flaherty's inattentiveness. Goldblume finds his informant, who did indeed kill the head of the Blood, and is forced to kill him when he turns a gun on him. Belker, acting on a tip from a snitch, buys stolen credit cards, but is shot in his car in the final scene.

Belker survives the shooting and is rushed to the hospital with a bullet near his spine; after two complicated surgeries, the bullet is removed, and Belker is not paralyzed. Buntz brutalizes Belker's snitch to get the name of Belker's contact, who refuses to provide any information and is later found dead. Furillo, who is blaming himself for Belker's injury, takes Buntz off the case. Buntz continues investigating anyway and finds a District Attorney's investigator with connections to the stolen credit cards, Belker's contact, and Belker himself; the investigator kills himself when Buntz, LaRue, and Washington arrive to question him. Renko and his wife part company after he confesses to sleeping with another woman, and his wife responds by confessing her on-going affair with her business partner. Flaherty and Russo also part company after a drugged Russo calls for another man. Sergeant Hunter is restored to his former rank of Lieutenant, and resumes command of the EAT.

A famous American football player is arrested for soliciting, but his high-powered attorney and Chief Daniels intervene to reduce the charges and protect his reputation. Given 20-1 odds against beating the department's four-time marksmanship champion, LaRue's syndicate bets $400 on Buntz; Buntz loses by two points in the final round of competition. Furillo backs a loan for his brother, whose construction company is in debt after missing a completion date on a project. Fears grow as Lieutenant Hunter fails to report for duty; his paramour Prunella returns from Samoa to search for him.