#Hill street blues series#
The police cars shown in the series were painted in a manner very similar to Chicago police cars of the period, using the phrase "Metro Police" in the same style and size as "Chicago Police" on that city's cars.
Many episodes are written to take place over the course of a single day. From season three, it experimented with a "Previously on." montage of clips of up to six previous episodes before the roll call. Almost every episode begins with a pre-credit sequence consisting of (mission) briefing and roll call at the beginning of the day shift.The show deals with real-life issues, and employs commonly used language and slang to a greater extent than had been seen before.Rather than studio (floor) cameras, hand-held Arriflexes are used to add to the "documentary" feel.The camera is held close in and action cut rapidly between stories, and there is much use of overheard or off-screen dialogue, giving a " documentary" feel to the action.In the workplace, there is also a strong focus on the struggle between doing "what is right" and "what works" in situations. Much play is made of the conflicts between the work lives and private lives of the individual characters.Each episode features a number of intertwined storylines, some of which are resolved within the episode, with others developing over a number of episodes throughout a season.
#Hill street blues tv#
The writers were allowed considerable creative freedom, and created a series which brought together, for the first time, a number of emerging ideas in TV drama.
MTM Enterprises developed the series on behalf of NBC, appointing Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll as series writers. In 2002, Hill Street Blues was ranked number 14 on TV Guide 's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. When the list was revised in 2009, "Freedom's Last Stand" was ranked 57. In 1997, the episode "Grace Under Pressure" was ranked number 49 on TV Guide 's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. Its debut season was rewarded with eight Emmy awards, a debut season record surpassed only by The West Wing, and the show received a total of 98 Emmy Award nominations during its run. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations influenced many subsequent dramatic television series produced in North America.
#Hill street blues serial#
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Republic Studios, Los Angeles, California