Hill Street Station
"Hill Street Station" | |
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Nick Savage as bald-headed pickpocket as Jesus MartinezJonathan Dasteel as Lamonica Ron Godines as Contreras Paul Michael as proprietor Heshimu Cumbuku as pimp Luisa Leschin as street kid Don Cervantes as street kid Richard Wright as killer junkie Chris Doyle as angel dust junkie Andy Garcia as street kid in booking Steven Bauer as Fuentes (as Rocky Echevarria) Veronica Redd as Alena Eleanor McCoy as Jonette Vernon Washington as William Andy Arthur as street kid Gerry Black as Det. Alf Chesley Robert Hirschfeld as Officer Leo Schnitz Trinidad Silva | |
"Hill Street Station" is the first episode of the
Unlike other high-profile debuts from the 1980–81 network television season that had two- and three-hour premieres, such as Dynasty and Flamingo Road, this premiere episode debuted by itself as a one-hour offering. That season, even some holdovers, such as B. J. and the Bear and Buck Rogers, had multi-hour season premieres. The main storyline involves a hostage situation that arose from an attempted armed robbery. The episode also introduces a host of unique characters. At the time of the debut, Robert McLean described the cast as a "cast of unknowns".
Plot
Background
The episode introduces the audience to a precinct station and the challenges that its police officers face in a setting of urban decay in a large anonymous city.[1] Although anonymous, the city could easily represent the South Bronx in New York City, Watts in Los Angeles, or Central District in Miami.[2] The episode also presents the precinct's captain by demonstrating the wide variety of forces that challenge him continually, including superiors, gangs, an ex-wife, defense counsel and strongminded men.[1] In an article published in The Miami News, Tom Jicha compares him to the title character in Barney Miller,[2] and The New York Times's Tom Buckley compares the show to Barney Miller and Kojak.[3] The episode's storylines take five episodes to unravel cleanly.[2]
Details
Hill Street precinct captain Frank Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti) deals with law enforcement issues while juggling personal crises. His precinct responds to a hostage situation at a local liquor store that becomes difficult when it evolves into a media circus, complicated by an aggressive SWAT team leader, Howard Hunter (James B. Sikking), who encounters nervous young gang members. Furillo attempts to negotiate with their gang leader. His secret lover, public defender Joyce Davenport (Veronica Hamel), appears to be his nemesis as she hounds him about a client who is the lost victim of police bureaucracy. Furillo's ex-wife, Fay (Barbara Bosson), publicly demeans him in response to his bounced child-support check.
Detective J.D. LaRue (
Production
Regular cast
- Captain Frank Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti)
- Joyce Davenport (Veronica Hamel)
- Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (Michael Conrad)
- Detective Mick Belker (Bruce Weitz)
- Sgt. Henry Goldblume (Joe Spano)
- Officer Andy Renko (Charles Haid)
- Officer Bobby Hill (Michael Warren)
- Sgt. Howard Hunter (James B. Sikking)
- Officer Lucille Bates (Betty Thomas)
- Detective J.D. LaRue (Kiel Martin)
- Detective Neal Washington (Taurean Blacque)
- Lt. Ray Calletano (Rene Enriquez)
- Fay Furillo (Barbara Bosson)
Details
The episode was directed by Butler and written by Kozoll and Bochco. Kozoll and Bochco previously developed Quincy, M.E., McMillan & Wife and Columbo.[4] The pilot was produced by Mary Tyler Moore's MTM Productions, which had produced Lou Grant and The White Shadow.[5] That season NBC was attempting to gain ground on the other two major networks (CBS and ABC) after having moved to "within striking distance" the prior year according to Brandon Tartikoff.[6] At the time of the debut, Robert McLean described the cast as a "cast of unknowns".[6]
The series' January 15, 1981 debut, which was announced on October 22, 1980,[7] occurred amid the industry's recovery from the 1980 Actors strike and NBC's recovery from the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott.[8][6] The show debuted on a night when both competing networks were airing reruns.[9] Unlike other high-profile debuts from the 1980–81 network television season that had two- and three-hour premieres, such as Dynasty and Flamingo Road, this premiere episode debuted by itself as a one-hour offering. That season, even some holdovers, such as B. J. and the Bear and Buck Rogers, had multi-hour season premieres.[4]
The show was marketed as being "grittier than the average cop show" according to
Reception
"Hill Street Station" originally aired in the United States on NBC on Thursday January 15, 1981, at 10:00 pm Eastern Time as part of a two-week five-episode limited-run pilot airing on Thursdays and Saturdays.[3]
Critical review
Schwartz wrote in August 1980 that "...the pilot episode manages to stuff nearly every imaginable aspect of low life into its first hour:
Accolades
Butler won the
Notes
- ^ a b c "Hill Street Blues". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. January 10, 1981. p. 10. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Jicha, Tom (January 15, 1981). "'Hill Street Blues' Sung By TV Cops on a Banana Beat". The Miami News. p. 8A. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Buckley, Tom (January 17, 1981). "TV: 'Hill Street Blues,' New NBC Police Series". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ a b Copps, Earl (January 15, 1981). "Copp's Beat". The Free Lance–Star. p. 26. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- ^ a b Henry, William A., III (July 30, 1980). "White Shadow' episode weaves comedy, sociology, re...". The Boston Globe.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c McLean, Robert. "NBC'S New Fall Lineup". The Boston Globe. p. 1980-05-09.
- ^ "NBC Announces Series Of Program Premieres". The New York Times. October 22, 1980. p. C30.
- ^ Funt, Peter (January 18, 1981). "The Second Season- Fierce Battle Over "Safe Formats". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "The Second Season- Fierce Battle Over 'Safe' Formats". The New York Times. January 18, 1981.
NBC's Hill Street Blues, a comedy-drama about police work, had its premiere last Thursday at 10 pm, when neither of the other two networks were introducing any new programming.
- ^ a b Schwartz, Tony. "TV: An Ironic Bonus". The New York Times. p. A1.
- ^ Thomas, Jack (January 13, 1981). "A Good Show Doomed To Fail? [First Edition]". The Boston Globe.
- ^ a b c Henry, William A., III (July 25, 1980). "NBC's Peacock Not So Proud; Last of Three Articles: [First Edition]". The Boston Globe.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Laughton, Bud (January 11, 1981). "Watch It!". The Boston Globe.
- The Evening Independent. p. 1–B. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- ^ a b Henry, William A., III (September 7, 1980). "NBC: Loud, Vulgar, and Sexy'". The Boston Globe.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "DGA Awards History". Directors Guild of America. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ "The Writers Guild Foundation Library Catalog". Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ "TV's Big Night: Emmy Awards". Lodi News-Sentinel. September 14, 1981. p. 7. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
- ^ "Emmy Awards, The 33rd Annual (TV)". Paley Center for Media. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
- ^ "Nominees/winners: Hill Street Blues". Emmys.com. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
External links
- Full episode at Hulu (available in the U.S. only)
- Hill Street Station at IMDb.com
- Hill Street Station at Allmovie.com