Hill Street Blues

1 9 8 1 - 1 9 8 7 (USA)
146 x 60 minute episodes

Hill Street Blues was a combination of drama and comedy about imperfect heroes who tried (and often failed) to uphold the law and hold their messy lives together. With gritty realism and an open-ended narrative style that wove storylines together, Hill Street paved the way for dramas like NYPD Blue and ER.

Brought out by a fine troupe of actors, the continuing story lines of the show blended the drama and humour of life at Hill Street Station (located in the ghetto area of a large, unnamed East Coast US city) from 7:00 am roll call until the late night news.

Captain Frank Furillo was the cool-headed commanding officer of the precinct who eventually married his girlfriend, Public Defender Joyce Davenport, in March 1983. Frank had to cope with police bureaucracy and a chaotic personal life. Fay, his ex-wife, was constantly hounding him for more alimony. 

Among others in this popular cast were Officers Bobby Hill and Arnold Renko (originally meant to be killed off after the first episode) and officer Betty Thomas (played by Lucy Bates of Second City).

Belker was a scruffy undercover detective who sometimes bit offenders and barked at startled dogs. To criminals, he was a terror ("Would you like to sit down, hairball or would you prefer internal bleeding?"). Henry Goldblume was the dedicated and idealistic community affairs officer who sometimes took the brutality he saw around him too serious. Howard Hunter was the trigger-happy leader of the precinct's S.W.A.T. team, ready to blast away at a moments notice.

Tall, fatherly Phil Esterhaus, the head sergeant, provided a haven of calm in the storm. He ended each roll call with the same words, "And, hey - let's be careful out there." 

Esterhaus was killed off in 1983 (following the real-life death of actor Michael Conrad). He had been having a passionate affair with Grace Gardner, the middle-aged widow of a fellow officer, and according to the story, he suffered a heart attack while making love to her.

In its second season, Hill Street won a record eight Emmy's. The theme, written by Mike Post, went to number 10 on the US charts.

Hill Street Blues was a most unusual mixture of drama and comedy, fast-paced and deliberately choppy, as was life at the station house. Although the city in which the series took place was never mentioned, the real-life station house seen in exterior shots was the Maxwell Street Precinct in Chicago.

Dennis Franz, whose character of Norman Buntz quit the police force in the final episode of Hill Street Blues, moved to a spin-off sitcom called Beverly Hill Buntz, with Norman becoming a Private Detective in LA.