Hill Street Blues (Complete First Season) (1981)

"Let's be careful out there." So ends each roll call session at the Hill Street station house. As the cops and detectives head out to the streets, Captain Frank Furillo begins the delicate balancing act of providing enough protection for the law-abiding citizens without inciting the neighborhood gangs andilocal criminal elements who are openly hostile towards any police presence. Yet as dangerous as his inner city precinct can be, Furillo's biggest battles often involve protecting his own cops from the Public Defender's office, self-serving bureaucrats, and even each other.

Includes all 17 season one episodes.
 


Editor's Note

This groundbreaking crime drama from super-producer Stephen Bochco aired from 1981 to 1986, and followed one of the first ensemble casts on TV. Set in a fictional town based on Chicago, the action centered on a chaotic police precinct and provided a very realistic view of the private and work lives of characters who occupied every rung of the hierarchical ladder. The first season starts the action with a bang and doesn't let up, as Precinct Captain Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti) has to defuse a hostage crisis. The rest of the season keeps up the pace, as Officer Larue (Kiel Martin) battles a drinking problem, Sgt. Esterhaus (Michael Conrad) questions his upcoming marriage, and Furillo finds his chances for promotion compromised by a city councilman's involvement in a murder.