Hill Street Blues, first broadcast in 1981 on NBC, was not an instant hit. The drama had an ensemble cast, it used hand-held cameras that gave the episodes a documentary feel, and the dialogue had a natural flow that was unusual for TV dramas at that time. Most episodic crime dramas were self-contained. Hill Street Blues featured “long-form” storylines that extended over several episodes, another unusual feature at that time. But after a couple of seasons and several Emmy Awards, the TV audience found Hill Street Blues and stayed with it for seven seasons. This box set of the complete series includes all 144 episodes. Special features include:
THE HISTORY OF HILL STREET: Steven Bocho and others talk about the creation of the show; INTERVIEWS WITH THE OFFICERS: Featuring cast members James B. Sikking, Dennis Franz, Bruce Weitz, Charles Haid and Dennis Dugan.
WRITERS ON THE HILL:A Discussion with Steven Bochco, Robert Crais, Jeffrey Lewis and Alan Rachins about writing for the show.
ROLL CALL: Looking back on HILL STREET BLUES
GAG REEL
FOUR EPISODE COMMENTARIES: Including Creator Steven Bochco, Actors James B. Sikking, Joe Spano, Bruce Weitz, Charles Haid and Dennis Dugan, Writer Jeffrey Lewis and Story Consultant Robert Crais.
Commemorative 24-page book.
GRADE: A+
Fantastic – I love this show – and they put Michael Conrad on the cover of season 1 – sounds perfect – I’d love to have this – thanks George.
Sergio, I love HILL STREET BLUES, too. This is a classic series. Worth every penny!
This set a high bar for what came after. Loved it.
Patti, you’re right about HILL STREET BLUES setting a high standard. Brilliant casting and great writing made it an iconic program.
We were huge fans from the beginning of this one and are definitely considering the set.
Jeff, Diane and I watched HILL STREET BLUES from the first episode to the last. Must-see TV! The Complete set is great!
I wonder if Jeff and Ann Smith have watched all the episodes yet. I never did figure out their system.
Bill, Diane and I watched all the episodes of HILL STREET BLUES as they were broadcast. This new box set is terrific.
When we saw them in New Orleans, I asked Jeff about where they were in the TV watching and they are definitely back in the last decade.
I tried an episode during the second year and it just didn’t make sense; too much assuming the viewer knew the character interactions and subplots, plus the episode ended up in the air. I didn’t bother with it again.
Rick, you might want to give HILL STREET BLUES another try.
I won’t get the set but I agree that this was a great show.
Bob, I loved the theme song to HILL STREET BLUES.
I must admit to having fallen slightly out f love with it before the end as I wasn’t too keen on some of the cast changes, but a great and in its way revolutionary show.
Sergio, I liked the early years better than the late years, too. But for it’s time HILL STREET BLUES was ground-breaking.
What was ground breaking about it? Plenty of other shows had ensemble casts, so that wasn’t it. It surely couldn’t have been the longer plot lines, could it? Seems that had been done before too.
Rick, it was the combination of the long-form story lines, the brilliant ensemble cast, the hand-held cameras, and the realistic action. HILL STREET BLUES was vastly superior to the bland network programming of the 1980s.