The Milch Studies - HILL STREET BLUES, The Wrap-Up

Even as a show on its last legs, Hill Street Blues opens Season Seven with a string of memorable episodes.  When Hill Street is at its best, the hallmarks of a David Milch cop drama are all present -- conflicted heroes, clashes between principled intellectuals and the men stuck in the trenches, and Dennis Franz stealing most of the scenes.  The middle stretch of episodes aren’t as good; many of the character subplots just aren’t that engaging, and the gimmick of placing a lead in jeopardy is overplayed (characters on Hill Street can be shot or even dismembered but still turn out okay within an episode or two).  Most of the major plotlines are still worthwhile, however, with Captain Furillo’s strained relationships with both Ray Calletano and Henry Goldblume becoming the focus for much of the year.

The Milch Studies - HILL STREET BLUES, Season Seven

After a seven-year run, and a move to Tuesdays at 9:00 (opposite the hot new series Moonlighting), the consensus amongst critics seemed to be that Hill Street Blues was entering its final days.  I’m not entirely certain when David Milch and company knew that the series was truly done, but apparently the final nail was star Daniel J. Travanti’s decision not to return for a hypothetical eighth season.  You’d think that the concluding episodes of the run would serve as a tender farewell to Travanti’s honorable cop boss, but the character of Frank Furillo actually spends the final days of the series with little to do.

The Milch Studies - Hill Street Blues, Season Six (Part Two)

Censor notes, recycled plots, and (just maybe) the secret origin of Shipwreck.

The Milch Studies - Hill Street Blues, Season Six (Part One)

After working on the show as a writer for three seasons, Milch was named co-executive producer of Hill Street Blues for the sixth season, following the dismissal of Steven Bochco.  (Jeffery Lewis is also credited as an executive producer this year, but Milch is consistently referred to as the showrunner by fans of the series until the end of its run.)

Bochco was allegedly fired for cost overruns, although the thought of David Milch being brought in to bring fiscal responsibility to an operation is at least slightly amusing.

The Milch Studies - HILL STREET BLUES, Part Two

“Trial by Fury” is David Milch’s first television script, written while he was still a Yale literature professor.  It’s also the third season premiere of Hill Street Blues, and regarded by some fans as the best episode of the series.  The plot involves the rape and murder of a nun and Captain Frank Furillo’s morally dubious attempt to close the case -- he conspires with the judge to have the two suspects released, knowing that a mob is forming outside the courthouse.  Exploiting their fear of the mob, Furillo convinces the two young drug addicts to confess to the murder.  His girlfriend, public defender Joyce Davenport, is horrified by Furillo’s actions and demands that they spend the night apart.  Furillo, burdened with grief, visits his priest for confession.

The Milch Studies: Hill Street Blues, Part One

Hill Street Blues is significant while reviewing the work of David Milch, not only as his first TV writing job, but also as the first series overseen by Milch as an executive producer.  Hill Street (created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll) was considered groundbreaking television at the time, with its focus on realism and episode-to-episode continuity, not to mention the dramatic break from traditional television camera work, as evidenced by the use of handheld cameras in place of studio (floor) cameras.