Hill Street Blues: The Complete First Season

A quarter-century after its 1981 debut to glowing reviews—and instantaneous viewer acceptance—this groundbreaking series might not seem as impressive today, but that's just because its innovations have become so thoroughly ingrained not only in other cop shows but also in most hour-long TV dramas. Before Hill Street Blues, police procedurals (as they were called within the industry) had a handful of principals, a few recurring characters, and followed a predictable pattern: crime, detection, pursuit, apprehension; one crime per episode, few digressions. Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll changed all that with Hill Street Blues by incorporating daytime soap-opera plotting techniques, with more than a dozen principal characters, nearly as many minor ones, and perhaps a half-dozen plot threads woven into a large, colorful tapestry. Launched as a midseason replacement, the 17-episode first season got off to an eye-popping start when two of its regulars, Officers Bobby Hill (Michael Warren) and Andy Renko (Charles Haid), were shot by drug dealers. The pilot also found precinct captain Frank Furillo (series star Daniel J. Travanti) trying to defuse a hostage situation while his gung-ho SWAT team leader (James B. Sikking) agitated for decisive action. Additionally, the opening episode introduced various detectives and officers who would shortly prove integral to the show's success, and they weren't all stalwart, iron-willed do-gooders, either: perpetually broke detective Johnny LaRue (Kiel Martin), for example, had a drinking problem. He was the first of many shady cops that would pass through the Hill Street precinct, as well as the fictional 15th Precinct of New York, created later by Bochco for NYPD Blue. DVD extras include audio commentaries for selected episodes, as well as a “Roll Call” retrospective featurette. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)