#Hill street blues series#

But another series Haid was relying on didnвЂ™t get picked up, and NBC claimed Renko tested too well for him to meet an early end. RENKO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE IN THE FIRST EPISODE, AND COFFEY WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE AT THE END OF THE FIRST SEASON.Д¬harles Haid had other projects lined up, so he agreed to take the part of Renko, a man destined to die almost immediately. There was too much chaos in the station house, again reflecting that the police were incapable of maintaining control even on their home ground.' NBC picked it up anyway. 'Hill Street' did not come off as a real police station. THE PILOT TESTED POORLY.ДЄccording to a network memo, among the many problems test audiences noted were that 'the main characters were perceived as being not capable and having flawed personalities. Post also spent four to five hours writing five minutes of new music for eachВ episode of Hill Street Blues.

Post wanted to add more orchestration to the piano piece Bochco disagreed. The composer-who also wrote the themes for The Greatest American Hero, Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, NYPD Blue, and Law & Order-was instructed by Bochco to write something вЂњ antitheticalвЂќ to the visuals. IT TOOK MIKE POST TWO HOURS TO WRITE THE ICONIC THEME SONG. But when Silverman watched the episode, he asked, вЂњSheвЂ™s going to be a regular, right?вЂќ 6. BARBARA BOSSON WAS BOCHCOвЂ™S WIFE, BUT WASNвЂ™T PLANNING ON BEING A SERIES REGULAR.Д«arbara Bosson played Fay, Captain Frank FurilloвЂ™s ex-wife, who was only supposed to appear in the first episode in order to вЂњcontextualizeвЂќ the captain, according to Bochco. You donвЂ™t play into the bow tie-you fight against it.' 5. 'I thought it was a stereotypical thing to do. Spano also wasn't a fan of his character's penchant for bow ties, which he claimed was Michael Kozoll's idea. вЂњI was always disappointed that I didnвЂ™t end up playing Renko,вЂќ Spano told Playboy in 1983. Joe Spano auditioned for the role of Officer Andrew Renko, but ended up playing Lieutenant Henry Goldblume. NBC agreed, and the two wrote the pilot script in 10 days. Law and NYPD Blue) and Michael Kozoll (co-writer of First Blood) agreed to do it-as long as the network left them вЂњcompletely alone to do whatever we want,вЂќ according to Bochco. MTM Enterprises was specifically hired by NBC to create a cop show, so Steven Bochco (who later co-created L.A. STEVEN BOCHCO AND MICHAEL KOZOLL CREATED IT, DESPITE NOT WANTING TO DO ANOTHER COP SHOW. Here are 15 facts about the groundbreaking series. The drama that chronicled the lives of the men and women working the Hill Street police station beat has been credited with changing television ever since its debut in 1981.ДЄmong Hill Street Blues's innovations are the use of handheld cameras, a large ensemble cast, multi-episode story arcs, and a mix ofВ high drama and comedy-elements which still permeate the small screen today. Until the impressive record was surpassed by The West Wing in 2000, Hill Street Blues held the title of most Emmy-awarded freshman series, with eight trophies for its debut season alone (despite its basement-level ratings).

Hill street blues