Today, let’s see the first installment of “Let’s Be Careful In Here,” a retrospective look at Hill Street Blues.
Hill Street Blues was an excellent TV series than ran seven seasons between 1981-1987. Its first FOUR seasons all won Best Drama Series at the Emmys, and that was at a time when there was some SERIOUS competition on network TV, including St. Elsewhere, which was basically the medical drama equivalent of Hill Street Blue, the later seasons of Lou Grant (which was the reigning Best Drama on TV before Hill Street Blues), and Cagney and Lacey (which took over the award from Hill Street Blues eventually).
Here’s my video look at the first episode, “Hill Street Station,” which debuted in January 1981.
First, a look at the background of the show’s creation, and where the show’s director, Robert Butler, got the idea for the specific way that he filmed the first episode…
Next, a bit about the iconic theme song…
Next, we’ll look at how Kiel Martin’s J.D. Larue was BIZARRELY creepy in this episode…
Next, we’ll look at the introduction of a number of major characters…
Next, more first introductions of major characters…
Next, we look at a very controversial scene where Bobby Hill’s doles out his own “law” for a family that involves telling a teenage girl not to turn on her stepfather too much (plus a discussion of the weird subplot of Phil dating a high school senior)…
Next, I look at Frank’s superhero moment in the pilot…
Next, I look at the twist involving Hill and Renko…
Finally, I look at the twist involving Furillo and Davenport…
There ya go! A lot for this episode. Any future installments will have a LOT fewer videos than this (if I ever even DO a second installment).
If you have any Hill Street Blues thoughts, feel free to post in the comments or e-mail me at brian@poprefs.com
Thanks! One of my all time favorite shows. I wish it was posted on YouTube in its entirety…
The pilot really set the standard for modern ensemble television dramas. That cliffhanger with Hill and Renko was such an incredible shocker for 1981 network TV! Really hope you decide to do a second installment of this series.
That pilot episode truly changed the landscape of television drama forever. The chaotic station energy and the documentary-style camerawork still hold up remarkably well today. I really hope you end up doing more installments of this retrospective!
Hill Street Blues really changed television forever with that gritty, documentary-style camera work. The pilot definitely has a few moments that haven’t aged well, but the Hill and Renko twist at the end was unforgettable. Really hope you decide to continue this retrospective series!
That pilot really changed television forever, especially with how chaotic and documentary-style the precinct felt right from the start. That shocking cliffhanger with Hill and Renko at the end was such a gut punch for 1981 network TV. I hope you continue this retrospective series!
The pilot really changed the game for ensemble TV dramas, even if a few of those early character moments definitely haven’t aged the best. That shocking cliffhanger with Hill and Renko was unforgettable for its time—hope you decide to keep this retrospective series going!
Hill Street Blues really changed television drama forever, and that pilot set such an incredible, chaotic tone. That twist with Hill and Renko at the end still holds up so well—really hope you decide to continue this retrospective series!
Hill Street Blues truly changed television forever, and that pilot episode set a whole new standard for gritty ensemble dramas. The shocking cliffhanger with Hill and Renko at the end still packs a punch all these years later!
That pilot really changed television drama forever. I had forgotten just how wild and raw some of those early character moments were, but that Hill and Renko cliffhanger still hits hard after all these years. Really hope you continue with this retrospective series!
Hill Street Blues completely changed the landscape of television drama, and that pilot was so gritty and chaotic compared to anything else on network TV at the time. Some of those early character moments definitely aged like milk, but it’s still such a masterclass in ensemble storytelling. Really hope you continue with this retrospective series!
The pilot of Hill Street Blues really changed television forever with its gritty camera work and overlapping dialogue. I hope you do end up making a second installment, because this retrospective was a great walk down memory lane!
The pilot really changed television drama forever, especially that gritty, chaotic style Robert Butler brought to the precinct. That shocking cliffhanger with Hill and Renko still holds up so well—definitely hoping you continue this retrospective series!
Hill Street Blues really changed television drama forever with that pilot. The gritty, overlapping dialogue and chaotic energy were groundbreaking for its time. I definitely hope you decide to do more installments in this retrospective series!
That pilot really changed television forever—the handheld camera style and overlapping dialogue were so ahead of their time. The shock ending with Hill and Renko still gets me even on rewatch. I really hope you decide to keep this retrospective series going!
That pilot truly changed television forever with its gritty, documentary-style camera work and overlapping dialogue. Some of those character subplots definitely feel bizarre looking back now, but it’s still an incredible masterclass in ensemble storytelling. I really hope you keep this retrospective series going!
It’s wild looking back at the pilot and seeing just how groundbreaking that chaotic shooting style was for the early ’80s. Some of those character beats definitely aged weirdly, but the Hill and Renko twist at the end is still incredible. Really hope you decide to do a second installment!
That pilot truly revolutionized television drama; the documentary-style camera work and overlapping dialogue set a brand new standard for police procedurals. That shock cliffhanger with Hill and Renko still packs a punch all these years later!
That pilot episode really changed television forever. The Hill and Renko twist at the end was so shocking for its time, especially since network TV rarely put main characters in that kind of danger right out of the gate. Really hope you keep this retrospective series going!
Hill Street Blues completely changed the landscape of network television dramas. That pilot was so gritty and chaotic compared to anything else on TV back then—I really hope you end up continuing this retrospective series!
Hill Street Blues truly changed the landscape of television dramas forever. That pilot episode packed so much grit and complexity into an hour, especially with that shocking twist involving Hill and Renko. Really hope you decide to do a second installment!
The pilot really changed the game for network television dramas, especially that shocking twist with Hill and Renko at the end. Great breakdown of all the early character dynamics—I definitely hope you do more installments!
That pilot was so groundbreaking for its time, especially the chaotic, documentary-style camera work Robert Butler brought to network TV. That ending twist with Hill and Renko still packs a serious punch!
That pilot really changed television forever, especially with that shocking cliffhanger involving Hill and Renko at the end. Really hope you end up doing more installments of this retrospective!
The pilot really set the gold standard for modern ensemble dramas. Looking back at it now, some of those early character moments definitely aged weirdly, but that ending twist with Hill and Renko was absolutely shocking for its time.
That pilot really changed television drama forever. The chaotic precinct atmosphere and that shocking cliffhanger with Hill and Renko were so bold for network TV back in 1981. I really hope you end up continuing this retrospective series!
That pilot really changed television forever—the handheld camera work and overlapping dialogue felt so revolutionary at the time. Really hope you continue this retrospective series, there is so much great stuff to unpack from those early seasons!