Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Station
Season 1, Episode 1 · Aired 1981-01-15
Synopsis
Precinct Captain Furillo tries to defuse a hostage situation despite the advice of his gung-ho Emergency Action Team leader and the temperament of a self-absorbed gang leader; public defender Joyce Davenport tries to find a client who has been lost in the bureaucratic maze; Detective LaRue gets a lapful of coffee; Sgt. Esterhaus confides to Fay about his teenage sweetheart; Officers Hill and Renko are shot in the line of duty.
From the desk: Hill Street Blues opens its catalog run with “Hill Street Station” (1981-01-15). Serialized ensemble drama language for everything from ER to The Wire's cousins. Network fights over tone and the 'too real' panic of early seasons.
In the series
This episode is part of Hill Street Blues (1981–1987) on NBC.
Messy, overlapping, human — the police drama grew up here.
Key cast
- Daniel J. Travanti as Capt. Frank Furillo
- Veronica Hamel as Joyce Davenport
- Michael Conrad as Sgt. Phil Esterhaus
- Bruce Weitz as Det. Mick Belker
- Betty Thomas as Lucy Bates
- Joe Spano as Lt. Henry Goldblume