"Hill Street Blues" remains one of network television's most exciting and innovative shows, 36 years after the NBC series ended.
I've been rewatching the ground-breaking police drama/comedy on Hulu, which also offers "NYPD Blue" and other classics from the 1980s.
When Michael Post's dreamy piano theme begins the show and the police cars scramble down the street of the gritty, unnamed city, I'm transported to a small, complex world of human frailty, kindness, heroism and despair.
The series' themes of racism, poverty and criminal justice inequities still roil the nation.
Originally broadcast from 1981-1987 on NBC, "Hill Street Blues" revived the moribund network. After a slow start, the show grew into a ratings sensation, and won numerous Emmy awards.
Daniel J. Travanti's Capt. Frank Furillo commands the Hill Street precinct with judicious wisdom, treating his officers and the neighborhood's ethnic minorities with kindness and respect. He cooly handles the myriad crises that beset the precinct. Too bad more American police officers aren't like him.
Furillo's torrid affair with public defender Joyce Davenport, portrayed by the sultry Veronica Hamel, smolders with an eroticism unmatched by cable television's more explicit shows. Their teasing love scenes, heightened by partial, sheet-covered nudity, say a naughty good-night to each episode.
The precinct's police officers are a microcosm of humanity, like characters in a complex novel. Unlike with other network shows of the era, their storylines continue from episode to episode.
Michael Conrad's Sgt. Phil Esterhaus is the precinct's caring avuncular foundation. Conrad, who died of cancer after four years on the show, portrayed Esterhaus with experience-rich masculine authority, leavened by understanding humor.
Esterhaus' morning roll call, which he closed with the plea "let's be careful out there," opened each episode's new day.
Bruce Weitz's Mick Belker, Michael Warren's Bobby Hill, Charles Haid's Andy Renko, James B. Sikking's Howard Hunter, Betty Thomas' Lucy Bates, Kiel Martin's J.D. LaRue and Taurean Blacque's Taurean Blacque displayed a full range of emotions.
With all of their flaws, the officers carry out their police work with diligence, compassion and courage. Despite their good intentions, urban conflicts erupt into shocking violence.
NBC's then young chief Brandon Tartikoff eommissioned the series from MTM Projections. Developed by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, the show's frenetic pace, gauzy visuals, overheard off-screen dialogue and theatrical character interactions gave it the cinematic authenticity of a Robert Altman movie.
Tartikoff took a chance on the show because NBC had sunk to the bottom of the ratings. The series fueled NBC's resurgence, leading to hits like "The Cosby Show," "Cheers," "NYPD Blue," "L.A. Law" and "Family Ties."
For my money, "Hill Street Blues" equals or surpasses lauded HBO's shows like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire."
"Hill Street Blues" remains the exemplar of "quality television."