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"Hill Street Station" is the first episode of the first season of the American serial
police drama The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...
''
Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
''. "Hill Street Station" originally aired in the United States on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
on Thursday January 15, 1981, at 10:00pm Eastern Time as part of a two-week five-episode limited-run pilot airing on Thursdays and Saturdays. The episode won numerous
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
s (Directing, Writing, Sound Editing, and Cinematography), a
Directors Guild of America Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Catego ...
, a
Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...
, and an
Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
as well as Emmy Award nominations for film editing, music composition, and art direction. The episode was directed by Robert Butler and written by Michael Kozoll and
Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco Masterson (December 16, 1943 – April 1, 2018) was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, including ''Hill Street Blues'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Cop Rock'' ...
. Unlike other high-profile debuts from the 1980–81 network television season that had two- and three-hour premieres, such as ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
'' 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 ''B.J. and the Bear'' is an American action comedy television series which aired on NBC from February 10, 1979, to May 9, 1981. Created by Glen A. Larson and Christopher Crowe, the series stars Greg Evigan. The series was produced when the CB ...
'' and ''
Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...
'', 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. Although anonymous, the city could easily represent the
South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
in New York City,
Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' *Watts family, six chara ...
in Los Angeles, or Central District in Miami. 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. In an article published in ''
The Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...
'', Tom Jicha compares him to the title character in ''
Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...
'', and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Tom Buckley compares the show to ''Barney Miller'' and ''
Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, it ...
''. The episode's storylines take five episodes to unravel cleanly.


Details

Hill Street precinct captain Frank Furillo (
Daniel J. Travanti Daniel J. Travanti (born Danielo Giovanni Travanti; March 7, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for playing police captain List of Hill Street Blues characters#Main characters, Frank Furillo in the television drama series ''Hill Stree ...
) 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 In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
team leader, Howard Hunter (
James B. Sikking James Barrie Sikking (born March 5, 1934) is a former American actor, most known for his role as Lt. Howard Hunter on the 1980s TV series ''Hill Street Blues''. Early years Sikking was born in Los Angeles on March 5, 1934 to Andy and Sue (né ...
), who encounters nervous young gang members. Furillo attempts to negotiate with their gang leader. His secret lover,
public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...
Joyce Davenport (
Veronica Hamel Veronica Hamel (born November 20, 1943) is an American actress and model. She was nominated five times for an Emmy Award for her role as attorney Joyce Davenport in the TV police drama ''Hill Street Blues''. Biography The daughter of a Philade ...
), 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 Barbara Bosson (born November 1, 1939) is a retired American actress. Her most notable role came in the television series ''Hill Street Blues'' (1981–1987), for which she was consecutively nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards. Biography ...
), publicly demeans him in response to his bounced child-support check. Detective J.D. LaRue (
Kiel Martin Kiel Urban Mueller (July 26, 1944 – December 28, 1990), known professionally as Kiel Martin, was an American actor best known for his role as Detective John "J.D." La Rue on the 1980s television drama ''Hill Street Blues.'' Early years Martin ...
) attempts to woo Davenport using less and less ethical means, eventually calling her back to the precinct to pick up her lost client even though he was never found. When she realizes his ruse, she pours a cup of hot coffee in his lap.
Undercover officer A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible deniability by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performe ...
Belker (
Bruce Weitz Bruce Peter Weitz (born May 27, 1943) is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Sgt. Michael "Mick" Belker in the TV series ''Hill Street Blues'', which ran from 1981 until 1987. Weitz won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
) arrests a bald-headed pickpocket at the hostage situation and processes him at the precinct. Belker's proclivity for biting the ankles of perpetrators redeems itself in this episode. Desk Sergeant Phil Esterhaus (
Michael Conrad Michael Conrad (October 16, 1925November 22, 1983) was an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of veteran cop Sgt. Phil Esterhaus on ''Hill Street Blues'', in which he ended the introductory roll call to each week's show with "Le ...
) confides in Fay about his teen-age sweetheart, Cindy. When officers Hill ( Michael Warren) and Renko (
Charles Haid Charles Maurice Haid III (born June 2, 1943) is an American actor and television director, with notable work in both movies and television. He is best known for his portrayal of Officer Andy Renko in ''Hill Street Blues''. Haid was born in San ...
) respond to a domestic situation, their police car is stolen, and they are shot after walking into a rundown building while trying to find a phone to call in the theft.


Production


Regular cast

*Captain Frank Furillo (
Daniel J. Travanti Daniel J. Travanti (born Danielo Giovanni Travanti; March 7, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for playing police captain List of Hill Street Blues characters#Main characters, Frank Furillo in the television drama series ''Hill Stree ...
) *Joyce Davenport (
Veronica Hamel Veronica Hamel (born November 20, 1943) is an American actress and model. She was nominated five times for an Emmy Award for her role as attorney Joyce Davenport in the TV police drama ''Hill Street Blues''. Biography The daughter of a Philade ...
) *Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (
Michael Conrad Michael Conrad (October 16, 1925November 22, 1983) was an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of veteran cop Sgt. Phil Esterhaus on ''Hill Street Blues'', in which he ended the introductory roll call to each week's show with "Le ...
) *Detective Mick Belker (
Bruce Weitz Bruce Peter Weitz (born May 27, 1943) is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Sgt. Michael "Mick" Belker in the TV series ''Hill Street Blues'', which ran from 1981 until 1987. Weitz won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
) *Sgt. Henry Goldblume (
Joe Spano Joseph Peter Spano (born July 7, 1946) is an American actor best known for his roles as Lt. Henry Goldblume on ''Hill Street Blues'' and FBI Special Agent Tobias C. Fornell on '' NCIS''. He also voiced the Chuck E. Cheese (at the time Chuck E. Che ...
) *Officer Andy Renko (
Charles Haid Charles Maurice Haid III (born June 2, 1943) is an American actor and television director, with notable work in both movies and television. He is best known for his portrayal of Officer Andy Renko in ''Hill Street Blues''. Haid was born in San ...
) *Officer Bobby Hill ( Michael Warren) *Sgt. Howard Hunter (
James B. Sikking James Barrie Sikking (born March 5, 1934) is a former American actor, most known for his role as Lt. Howard Hunter on the 1980s TV series ''Hill Street Blues''. Early years Sikking was born in Los Angeles on March 5, 1934 to Andy and Sue (né ...
) *Officer Lucille Bates (
Betty Thomas Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser; July 21, 1948) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series ''Hill Street Blues''. As of March 2018, Tho ...
) *Detective J.D. LaRue (
Kiel Martin Kiel Urban Mueller (July 26, 1944 – December 28, 1990), known professionally as Kiel Martin, was an American actor best known for his role as Detective John "J.D." La Rue on the 1980s television drama ''Hill Street Blues.'' Early years Martin ...
) *Detective Neal Washington (
Taurean Blacque Taurean Blacque (born Herbert Middleton Jr.; May 10, 1940 – July 21, 2022) was an American television and stage actor, best known for his role as Detective Neal Washington on the series ''Hill Street Blues''. He stated that he chose the name ...
) *Lt. Ray Calletano ( Rene Enriquez) *Fay Furillo (
Barbara Bosson Barbara Bosson (born November 1, 1939) is a retired American actress. Her most notable role came in the television series ''Hill Street Blues'' (1981–1987), for which she was consecutively nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards. Biography ...
)


Details

The episode was directed by Butler and written by Kozoll and Bochco. Kozoll and Bochco previously developed ''
Quincy, M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that aired on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles County med ...
'', ''
McMillan & Wife ''McMillan & Wife'' (known simply as ''McMillan'' from 1976–77) is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971, to April 24, 1977. Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in the title roles, the ...
'' and ''
Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...
''. The pilot was produced by
Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...
's MTM Productions, which had produced ''
Lou Grant Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character was ...
'' and '' The White Shadow''. That season NBC was attempting to gain ground on the other two major networks (
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
and
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
) after having moved to "within striking distance" the prior year according to
Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was the president of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as ''Hill Stre ...
. At the time of the debut, Robert McLean described the cast as a "cast of unknowns". The series' January 15, 1981 debut, which was announced on October 22, 1980, occurred amid the industry's recovery from the
1980 Actors strike The 1980 actors strike was a labor strike held in 1980 by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, two labor unions representing actors in the American film industry. The strike was caused by a breakd ...
and NBC's recovery from the
1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...
. The show debuted on a night when both competing networks were airing reruns. Unlike other high-profile debuts from the 1980–81 network television season that had two- and three-hour premieres, such as ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
'' 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 ''B.J. and the Bear'' is an American action comedy television series which aired on NBC from February 10, 1979, to May 9, 1981. Created by Glen A. Larson and Christopher Crowe, the series stars Greg Evigan. The series was produced when the CB ...
'' and ''
Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...
'', had multi-hour season premieres. The show was marketed as being "grittier than the average cop show" according to Tony Schwartz of ''The New York Times'', who described the setting as a San Francisco precinct. ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' Jack Thomas described the show's debut as the "newest effort to dramatize the danger and frustration of police work" and as being set in the Midwest.
William A. Henry III William Alfred Henry III (1950–1994) was an American cultural critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Career Henry lived in North Plainfield, New Jersey as a young man. He graduated from Yale in 1971 and began his career in journalism in ...
wrote in ''The Boston Globe'' that the show's marketing endured so much conflict and confusion that it would have been sufficient to keep most shows from ever being scheduled to air. With all the confusion, Henry's ''Globe'' colleague Bud Laughton described the pilot episodes and the series as "long-awaited, on-again, off-again". Henry noted that, "It is filmed to look like a documentary, with saturated color, a hand-held camera, quick cuts from scene to scene, high-decibel background noise, overlapping dialogue. The show creates atmosphere more than character. Like a documentary, it conveys a way of living more than a story." The original version of the pilot had one mortal wound, but Henry correctly predicted that it would be re-edited to reduce the violence and allow both officers to return to work.


Reception

"Hill Street Station" originally aired in the United States on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
on Thursday January 15, 1981, at 10:00pm Eastern Time as part of a two-week five-episode limited-run pilot airing on Thursdays and Saturdays.


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:
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
, panhandling,
pickpocketing Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...
,
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
taking,
drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...
and, finally, the
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of two policemen." William Beamon of ''
The Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the ''St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Novem ...
'' noted that the opening episode introduces the audience to a vast array of characters masterfully intertwined in the storyline in a way that gives the series a "powerful start". A review in the ''
Spartanburg Herald-Journal The ''Spartanburg Herald-Journal'' is a daily newspaper, the primary newspaper for Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. History The origins of the paper lie with ''The Spartan'', a weekly paper reportedly first printed in about 1842†...
'' commented that public defender Davenport's role adds professional intrigue that heightens the provocative nature of their illicit romance. However, ''The Miami News'' Jicha speculates that the romance was contrived to make the police show enticing to audiences. Jicha notes that the attack upon the police depicts the uncertainty of the daily life in law enforcement, but that the introduction of Belker's persona shows the writers are a bit out of touch with reality. Buckley's review in ''The New York Times'' claimed the episode "veers back and forth between comic situations that aren't funny, serious matters that aren't that convincing and a romance that is merely silly" and stated that various lighting and acting techniques were unsuccessful. ''The Boston Globe'' Henry III wrote that "The redeeming virtue is a visual style reminiscent of documentaries – hand-held camera, saturated color, deliberately ragged editing." He also described the show as "a wacky, black-comic and frequently scary portrait of life in a big city police station". Buckley claimed that the show attempts to present an entire force of police officers with foibles that make them unfit for duty. Henry describes the shooting of the officers as an "appallingly realistic random shooting", but since they were not found for hours, he describes their survival and recovery in the next episode, "Presidential Fever", as miraculous.


Accolades

Butler won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series is presented to the best directing of a television drama series, usually for a particular episode.Though this category is the dominant one in which dramatic directing has been ...
at the
33rd Primetime Emmy Awards The 33rd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 13, 1981. The ceremony was broadcast on CBS. It was hosted by Shirley MacLaine and Edward Asner. For the third consecutive year, the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series went to ''Taxi ...
and the
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series is one of the annual Directors Guild of America Awards given by the Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertain ...
at the 34th Directors Guild of America Awards. Bochco and Kozoll won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at the 7th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, held in 1955 and it is given in ...
at the same Emmy ceremony, an Edgar Award for Best Television Episode as well as a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay – Episodic Drama at the Writers Guild of America Awards 1981. In addition, Sam Horta, Bob Cornett, Denise Horta and Eileen Horta won an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing and William Cronjager won an Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Series. Other Emmy nominations received included Ray Daniels and A. David Marshall for Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing for a Series, Mike Post for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) and Jeffrey L. Goldstein (art director) and Joseph A. Armetta (set decorator) for Outstanding Art Direction for a Series.


Notes


External links


Full episode
at
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(available in the U.S. only)
Hill Street Station
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Hill Street Station
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{{DirectorsGuildofAmericaOutstandingDirectingDramaSeries 1971–1989 1981 American television episodes American television series premieres