"Hill Street Blues"

-created by stephen bochco and michael kozoll
1981-1987
Bates and coffey.
Hill and renko.
Davenport and furillo lip-locked at the end (or boink-blocked by that damn pager).
Hm...the show's greatest characterizations seem to come in twos. Except of course, the sgt. esterhaus roll call.
HILL STREET BLUES - one of the worst-previewed pilots ever picked up (it's not that test audiences hated it, but rather that their confused silence was thunderous). The lowest-rated show to ever not be canceled after its first season...just before taking in a record emmy haul and going on to seven seasons, with an influence that reverberates across television to this day.
The show broke much ground, but towers above all for the humanization of people whom we had only ever seen as two-dimensional functionaries living just to "get their guy". Suddenly, all the weaknesses and foibles of real people (ego, drugs, greed, lust, divorce...) were on conspicuous display. The show enjoyed an unprecedented level of independence from the studio - a case study in the proposition that if you leave writers and artists alone, something brilliant might happen.
And it all happened only because NBC's roster was so pathetic in 1981 that they had nothing with which to replace it.
It felt so real in part because of the production - the handheld camera work, the unprecedented density of interior background actors in continuous dynamic motion, the soft cuts - instead of going to commercial after some contrived climax, you often had silent fade-outs of people simply taking it in. The serial-episodic writing was new, with plot lines interwoven over the course of many episodes (and like life itself, things often didn't "resolve"). The bad guys, and the efforts to thwart them, were still there, but almost incidental. And even the bad guys got humanized.
Ultimately though, the brilliance of the show began and ended with the dialogue...and perhaps never in the history of television has it been more obvious on whose shoulders that rested, for when stephen bochco (L.A. LAW, NYPD BLUE) left, the final two seasons became so flat and unfamiliar it was jarring. The cast and talented writing staff soldiered on, but the results are almost painful. Aside from his humanistic insight, bochco employed a brilliant ironic touch - as one cast member described it, he had a way of "going sideways" when least expected.
The earliest episodes could be ridiculously unrealistic, as the writing style took a while to gel. But once they found their groove, they set a standard that's seldom been matched (the show's successors, even the good ones, usually feel too slick and "produced"). An episode guide is perhaps superfluous, because of the interwoven plots and a level of excellence that almost never deviated. So here then, a tribute to the characters, and the actors who made them real.
capt. frank furillo (144 episodes)
-daniel j. travanti (MILLENIUM, MISSING PERSONS)
Anchoring this bursting ensemble with sympathetic humanism wrapped in no-nonsense morality, travanti embodied the kind of leader we might wish really existed. Yet he also struggled with the demons of alcoholism and emotional repression. Never less than wonderful...and if you're looking for a reason to re-visit LOST IN SPACE, apparently he plays a space hippie.
officer/sgt. lucy bates (144)
-betty thomas (TROOP BEVERLY HILLS, CPO SHARKEY)
Trying to maintain some dignity in a world that caters only to barbie dolls, betty was relentlessly real...and one of the few characters the writers didn't know how to write, early on. Her humor and goodness never dimmed, the respect of her male peers was never in question, and we never stopped rooting for her. She went on to a fine career as a director (PRIVATE PARTS, THE LATE SHIFT). Casting her instead of some runway refugee was the most credible choice the producers made.
officer bobby hill (144)
-michael warren (CITY OF ANGELS, PARIS)
Michael injected endless humility and dignity into hill, making him the other moral center of the show. Women wanted him, men wanted to be him. Not bad for a flatfoot.
officer andrew renko (144)
-charles haid (ALTERED STATES, THE GREAT ESCAPE II)
Haid rendered such sweet believability to the manchild renko, that we all fell in love with someone few of us might like in real life.
det. neal washington (144)
-taurean blacque (ROCKY II, SAVANNAH)
Taurean never once misplayed a scene, imbuing the smooth washington with full depth. His acceptance of his abrasive, damaged partner j.d. challenged us all to be so forgiving.
joyce davenport (144)
-veronica hamel (A NEW LIFE, HERE COME THE MUNSTERS)
Her triumphs and tribulations as public defender made us all a bit disgusted with the system. She accomplished what few (if any) female television characters ever had...thriving in a man's world without sacrificing one ounce of femininity.
det. mick belker (144)
-bruce weitz (ANYTHING BUT LOVE, DEATH OF A CENTERFOLD: THE DOROTHY STRATTEN STORY)
Giving depth to a character so over-the-top with the growling and biting, bruce endured and prevailed.
det. j.d. larue (144)
-kiel martin (THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK, SECOND CHANCE)
Kiel brought the ugly reality of a self-centered charmer to life - in essence, larue was han solo without the rosy lucas lenses. The real life parallels were a bit eerie, as kiel was a high-functioning alcoholic who was apparently never sober during the first couple seasons, but never again drunk after that.
sgt./lt. henry goldblume (144)
-joe spano (AMERICAN GRAFFITI, NYPD BLUE)
Joe brought hope and pathos to an idealistic, non-violent cop in the city's most violent precinct. Yet i'm not sure the writers ever knew exactly what to do with him.
lt./sgt./lt. howard hunter (144)
-james sikking (STAR TREK III, DOOGIE HOWSER M.D.)
HILL STREET's frank burns...and like larry linville, perhaps the greatest acting challenge and achievement of the show.
lt./capt. ray calletano (109)
-rene enriquez (BANANAS, HARRY AND TONTO)
A thread of chemistry without which the show's tapestry wouldn't have been so american. His promotion and semi-departure from the show (like the last two seasons in general) were clumsy at best.
officer joe coffey (104)
-ed marinaro (LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, SISTERS)
The friendship between coffey and bates gave us all just a little hope for humanity. He escaped the sinking ship after season six...in retrospect, would that they had all thus gone. Is there any other iconic character from an iconic show who was there neither at the beginning, nor the end?
fay furillo (103)
-barbara bosson (HOOPERMAN, COP ROCK)
Barbara turned a shrill, thankless part into a reminder of the destructive inhumanity of marriage, and that in real life, problems don't just magically go away. Perhaps the writers were never quite able to do her justice...in fact, we didn't even notice when she disappeared in the sixth season. Yet the show would have been shallower without her, and her part might have been catastrophic in less capable hands.
leo schnitz (94)
-robert hirschfeld (ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ, MORE AMERICAN GRAFITTI)
Khaki officer schnitz plugged away with one or two lines per show, eventually injecting his own poignant humanity into a couple meatier storylines.
chief fletcher daniels (73)
-john cypher (MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, MAJOR DAD)
John was irrepressibly oily as the political, self-serving chief.
sgt. phil esterhaus (71)
-michael conrad (THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?, THE LONGEST YARD)
The erudite esterhaus was in many ways the heart of the show...michael's sudden death during season four was perhaps the most heartbreaking, resonant death of a series star that television has ever known. What does it say about how frightening this world is, that we so embraced this gruff, rock-solid man who just wanted us to be careful?
irwin bernstein (58)
-george wyner (SPACEBALLS, FLETCH 1-2)
Plugging away in a mostly thankless supporting district attorney role for years, george finally had a moment to shine (and show his naked humanity), in season seven's "Bald Ambition".
sgt. stan jablonski (54)
-robert prosky (THE NATURAL, GREMLINS 2)
An actor asked to do the impossible, replace michael conrad. Amazingly, he kind of pulled it off, as we took the stodgy stan to our hearts.
lt. norman buntz (44)
-dennis franz (BAY CITY BLUES, NYPD BLUE)
Plus five episodes as det. sal benedetto, and thirteen in the doomed spin-off BEVERLY HILLS BUNTZ. Talk about kissing your sister - you do a five-episode run as a scumbag cop in the glory years, and just as the show asks you to become a regular in a more interesting part, bochco up and leaves. Yet life is funny, as franz would ultimately go on to log more bochco hours than any actor ever. And as the hard-edged buntz, he outimpossibled prosky by almost making the last two seasons watchable.
officer robin tataglia (37)
-lisa sutton (THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE, 28 DAYS)
The recurring robin, as mick's love and eventual mother to his child, was never less than perfect. It's a shame they didn't make her a regular.
jesus martinez (29)
-trinidad silva (THE JERK, UHF)
No other actor had as much pop-per-screen-second as this lazy-eyed, nobody's-fool gang leader.
attorney/judge alan wachtel (29)
-jeffrey tambor (THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW, TRANSPARENT)
As a no-nonsense judge or maladjusted lawyer wearing a dress on the advice of his therapist, jeffrey never missed a moment.
det. harry garibaldi (29)
-ken olin (BAY CITY BLUES, THIRTYSOMETHING)
Ken was impeccable as a law school-attending detective getting by on looks and charm, and bound for self-imploding mortality.
det. patsy mayo (26)
-mimi kuzyk (THE CHRIS ISAAK SHOW, LOST AND DELIRIOUS)
At once vulnerable and hard-bitten, mimi was poignant as dedicated detective or furillo flirtation.
sid thurston (25)
-peter jurasik (BAY CITY BLUES, BEVERLY HILLS BUNTZ)
Pitch-perfect as two-cent hustler and snitch.
officer patrick flaherty (20)
-robert clohessy (OZ, BLUE BLOODS)
Through no fault of his own, robert was the poster child for the final two seasons...something you never expected to become regular, and never felt quite right.
officer tina russo (19)
-megan gallagher (CHINA BEACH, THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW)
Megan is surprisingly sexy to those who know only her later work, and quite compelling as an officer who has sex with a suspect while undercover, is raped while undercover, and only wants to use a fellow officer for sex. It's sad that another female character is defined almost solely by sex, but it also makes you long for what russo could have become in bochco's hands...
grace gardner (18)
-barbara babcock (DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN, SPACE COWBOYS)
Okay, if she's over forty, we'll accept a female character being defined by her sexuality. Rock on, grace.
officer ron garfield (9)
-mykelti williamson (BAY CITY BLUES, FORREST GUMP)
A fine turn as a rookie struggling to stay on the straight and narrow.
gina srignoli (8)
-jennifer tilly (THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS, BOUND)
No actor on the show was ever this sexy and funny. And her sister played a hooker.
gene scapizzi (8)
-marc alaimo (STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, THE NAKED GUN 33 1/3)
Memorable neck, forgettable role.
sgt. jenkins (7)
-lawrence tierney (RESERVOIR DOGS, THE NAKED GUN)
Tierney is so iconic that every time he briefly appeared you wondered whether you were dreaming. And to him fell the final line of the series.
shamrock (7)
-david caruso (FIRST BLOOD, NYPD BLUE)
Perfectly memorable as a pugnacious, snot-nosed gang leader.
connie chapman (6)
-frances mcdormand (SHORTS CUTS, FARGO)
Perfectly discomfiting as a brittle, drug-addicted public defender.
ralph macafee (4)
-dan hedaya (CHEERS, ALIEN: RESURRECTION)
He was actually more memorable in a one-off, as a bum who leads a gang rape of belker.
captain freedom (4)
-dennis dugan (RICHIE BROCKELMAN PRIVATE EYE, SAVING SILVERMAN)
As a would-be superhero who dons a costume, fights crime, and gets shot dead, no actor did more with less.
sandy valpariso (4)
-linda hamilton (THE TERMINATOR 1-2, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST)
She loved coffey, but couldn't get over her being raped. Joe, you're an idiot.
officer randall buttman (3)
-michael biehn (THE TERMINATOR, TOMBSTONE)
No, he and linda's episodes don't overlap...but he's absolutely brilliant as an amoral rookie.
officer harris (3)
-mark metcalf (ANIMAL HOUSE, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER)
As a smirking, dirty cop, mark proved he could do drama as skillfully as comedy. Just loathesome.
derelict (3)
-garrett morris (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, 2 BROKE GIRLS)
Delightful...even without captioning for the hearing impaired.
judge paul grogan (3)
-donnelly rhodes (SOAP, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA)
Dandy donnelly.
kristen (3)
-ally sheedy (THE BREAKFAST CLUB, WARGAMES)
Yes, larue has sex with a catholic school teenager. Would this one make the air today?
Plus one-offs by tim robbins, don cheadle, scatman crothers, brent spiner, jonathan frakes, dwight schulz, james cromwell, armin shimerman, merritt butrick, michael richards, laurence fishburne, tim daly, forest whitaker, john ratzenberger, and joaquin phoenix.
Let's be careful out there.