"HILL STREET BLUES: SEASON TWO"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Daniel J. Travanti as CAPT. FRANK FURILLO Michael Conrad as SGT. PHIL ESTERHAUS Michael Warren as OFFICER BOBBY HILL Bruce Weitz as SGT. MICK BELKER James B. Sikking as LT. HOWARD HUNTER Joe Spano as SGT. HENRY GOLDBLUM Barbara Bosson as FAY FURILLO Taurean Blacque as DET. NEAL WASHINGTON Kiel Martin as OFFICER J.D. LARUE René Enríquez as LT. RAY CALLETANO Betty Thomas as OFFICER LUCY BATES Ed Marinaro as OFFICER JOE COFFEY Charles Haid as OFFICER ANDY RENKO Veronica Hamel as JOYCE DAVENPORT Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Created by: Michael Kozoll and Stephen Bochco Back to DVD Review Home |  |
There are those out there that think Stephen Bochco could do no wrong when it came to television series. Of course, he can. Remember, this was the guy who gave us “Cop Rock.”
However, back in the 1980s and 1990s, Bochco put together such a long string of high-profile successes that he became a television guru. The show that many people remember him for, the one that changed the face of television, was “Hill Street Blues.”
I remember when “Hill Street Blues” aired, but I was pretty young – just turning 10 when the show premiered. I don’t remember what shows it was scheduled with, but there was something I watched directly before it. Subsequently, I saw a couple episodes as a kid. However, I just wasn’t old enough to understand the show.
I hadn’t watched “Hill Street Blues” in any form since then, so in viewing the second season on DVD, I’m coming at it from a totally different angle. I remember what an impactful show it was, and I’ve met people throughout my life that still worship it, I don’t have any personal love for it.
Looking at the quintessential cop show from the 80s with a fresh eye, 25 years after it was in its heyday, I found it still to be quality television. There are some differences to it from today’s television. First, it’s not as continuous as the series are today. Back during its run, there were very few personal VCRs, and no one had even heard of TiVo. Viewers had to wait week to week in order to see the next step in these people’s lives.
Unlike shows of today (specifically something like “Lost”), “Hill Street Blues” was forced by the structure of television scheduling to self contain each episode. There were continuing storylines, of course, but these were not the lynchpin of the show. In other words, you can start watching in the middle of the season and catch on pretty quick.
However, unlike the shows today, “Hill Street Blues” had a noticeably slower pace. Things moved slower back then. MTV was just getting started, so our attention spans held a little longer. This gave “Hill Street Blues” a little more breathing room to develop their characters and have the audience get to know everyone again.
The second season comes in with the characters already introduced. Some I remembered from watching it in the 80s – like Daniel J. Travanti as Captain Furillo and Bruce Weitz as Belker the Biter. Others I had to be reminded of. And I did remember correctly that Veronica Hamel as public defender Joyce Davenport was one of the sexiest women on television that year.
The DVD comes with a nice spread of special features, including selected commentaries on the episodes in the Captain Freedom storyline (a hilarious and touching subplot). There’s also several featurettes spread over the three double-sided discs about the creation of the show, the character of Belker and Renko and the development of Captain Freedom.
“Hill Street Blues” lets us look back to the 80s and see what police were facing then. Sadly, their troubles are not that far removed from the problems of today. That makes this show as viewable now as it was 25 years ago, but it also says something sad about our society.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Mono Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). French and Spanish language tracks. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
