The main icons of HILL STREET BLUES early seasons: Michael Conrad as Sgt. Phil Esterhaus, Daniel J. Travanti as Captain Frank Furillo and Veronica Hamel as Public Defender Joyce Davenport.

Right from the start of its activation as a terrestrial TV station, the UK CHANNEL 4's then pledge for originality and excellence in innovative drama made it the perfect champion and home of the hit 1979/80's US TV series HILL STREET BLUES-one of the most important and influential shows of its time and the forerunner to the type of plot heavy, strong character dramas- both UK and US- being seen today. Though ITV had previously started screening the show irregularly across its stations in 1980-about the every day life and work-for good and for bad- of the police officers, lawyers and administrative people working in one of the toughest urban nightmare environments ever- it was 4 that put it in a regular networked slot for British viewers, where it quickly found an appreciative audience that liked its very human, very fallible characters (and who could ever forget James B. Sikking as the inept SWAT commander Howard Hunter, Veronica Hamel as the slick and beautiful District Attorney, Joyce Davenport, or Bruce Weitz as the occasionally unstable, criminal biting detective Mick Belker!!), its tragic drama and its often very black humour, leading to a firm recognition by critics, deservedly so, as a serious contribution to high quality drama. Prior to its UK success, it was already a mainstream hit in the US, starting off slowly with little audiences and few supporters, but soon gaining momentum, and constantly winning awards for its stars and production teams, and putting its creator, Steven Bochco, on an even surer footing in the Hollywood TV system.

Trailer: NBC PROMO - HILL STREET BLUES - YouTube

CHANNEL 4 is still showing HILL STREET BLUES which is great-one of the most expensive US series ever created and filmed (and one of the reasons why it eventually ended, and why its co-creator Bochco was relinquished from his duties at the end of Season Five by makers MTM)- but it acts more as late night, very late night, filler material. Despite this era of SKY PLUS, VIRGIN HD boxes and the like that we live in, making it easier and painless to record these long running classics, I still feel that the show deserves to be put on in a better time slot where it could, and would, gain a new following-how about midnight weekdays, or eleven p.m. Sundays? Either, I feel, would be a good time for the show and I think today's audiences would actually enjoy it and see the influence it has set on TV over the years. 4 has additionally handled the UK release of HSB on DVD but, with only seasons one and two out (minus the all important pilot episode-shame on you, 4!!), it doesn't look like any future releases of seasons three to seven will ever be on the cards. Surely, showing HSB earlier might even boost the DVD sales??

With more and more cheaper, junk television airing these days, it may be wise for 4 to re-evaluate this classic show and make the best use of one its strongest drama assets.


Seasons One and Two of HILL STREET BLUES are also available on DVD from Channel 4.