Hill Street Police Station

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Television series
German title Hill Street Police Station
Original title Hill Street Blues
Country of production United States
original language English
Year (s) 1981-1987
length 46 minutes
Episodes 146 in 7 seasons
genre Drama , crime thriller
idea Steven Bochco
Michael Kozoll
music Mike Post
First broadcast Jan 15, 1981 (USA) on NBC
German-language
first broadcast		 May 29, 1985 on ZDF
occupation

Hill Street Police Station (Original Title: Hill Street Blues ) is an American police series of the 1980s.

The first broadcast took place in 1981. 146 episodes had been filmed by 1987 (first broadcast in Germany from 1985). Despite great critical acclaim and numerous awards, the audience ratings were never particularly high. Some of the innovative ideas of the series had a major impact on other North American television series such as New York Cops - NYPD Blue and Emergency Room - The emergency room , at the same time the series is considered one of the pioneering series of so-called Quality TV .

concept

The two authors Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll were given great artistic freedom, which they used to interplay newly emerging film concepts:

  • Each episode consisted of several interlinked story threads that were resolved within the episode or sometimes across multiple episodes.
  • An important motive was the conflict between work and private life of the individual actors. The policing conflict between “what is right” and “what works” was also a focus.
  • Close-ups, quick changes of plot and dialogues spoken outside the picture gave the films a “documentary” character.
  • The focus was on everyday cases, the characters used everyday language to an unfamiliar level

Much tension arose from opposing characters, for example through

  • the white southerners Andrew J. "Cowboy" Renko and the black townspeople Bobby Hill,
  • the pacifist Lt. Henry Goldblum and the military leader of the special unit Lt. Howard Hunter,
  • the calm, confident back office veteran Phil Esterhaus and the nervous, scruffy field detective Mick Belker,
  • the calm, strong and feminine police officer Lucy Bates and her macho strip partner Joe Coffey,
  • the relaxed and balanced district boss Frank Furillo and the crazy criminal defense attorney Joyce Davenport, with whom he had a (secret) love affair.

occupation

The first dubbed version of the series was created at Deutsche Synchron in Berlin, based on dialogue books by Michael Richter and directed by Edgar Ott . A second dubbed version was produced at Video + Sound in Hamburg , for which Thomas Kinne wrote the dubbing books.

Role name actor German dubbing voice
Capt. Francis X. (Frank) Furillo Daniel J. Travanti Horst Stark (1st version)

Henry König (2nd version)

Fay Furillo Barbara Bosson Uta Hallant (1st version)

Heidi Schaffrath (2nd version)

Sgt.Philip Freemason (Phil) Esterhaus Michael Conrad Arnold Marquis (1st version)

Lothar Grützner (2nd version)

Officer Robert Eugene (Bobby) Hill Michael Warren Uwe Paulsen
Officer Andrew Jackson (Andy) Renko Charles Haid Andreas Mannkopff (1st version)

Eckart Dux (2nd version)

Joyce Davenport Veronica Hamel Almut Eggert (1st version)

Gabriele Libbach (2nd version)

Det. Michael (Mick) Belker Bruce Weitz Frank Glaubrecht (1st version)

Manfred Reddemann (2nd version)

Lt. Ray Calletano Rene Enriquez Friedrich G. Beckhaus (1st version)

Harald Halgardt (2nd version)

Det.Johnny (JD) LaRue Kiel Martin Jürgen Kluckert (1st version)

Eberhard Haar (2nd version)

Det. Neal Washington Taurean Blaque Manfred Lehmann (1st version)

Achim Schülke (2nd version)

Lt. Howard Hunter James B. Sikking Heinz Petruo (1st version)

Holger Mahlich (2nd version)

Sgt./Lt. Henry Goldblum Joe Spano Wolfgang paragraph (1st version)

Andreas von der Meden (2nd version)

Officer / Sgt. Lucille (Lucy) Bates Betty Thomas Marianne Lutz (1st version)

Isabella Grothe (2nd version)

Officer Joe Coffey Ed Marinaro Sascha Draeger
Officer Leo Schnitz Robert Hirschfeld -
Sgt. Stan Jablonski Robert Prosky Gottfried Kramer
Lt. Norman Buntz Dennis Franz -
Det. Patsy Mayo Mimi Kuzyk -
Det. Harry Garibaldi Ken Olin -
Officer Patrick Flaherty Robert Clohessy Reent Reins
Officer Tina Russo Megan Gallagher -

criticism

"[...]" Hill Street Blues ", the first" modern "series. The characters were complex, they had a story, a memory, a private life. The imagery, rough and blurred, had something voyeuristic about it, and above all the story was no longer told in one episode as before, but in several episodes. Critics compared Bochco's nested, continuous storytelling technique to Charles Dickens ' novels. Despite chronically bad ratings, "Hill Street Blues" inspired great productions such as " Twin Peaks " or " Lost ". "

- NZZ Folio , October 2006

"[...] It shows everyday life and work in an American police station more honestly and realistically than a dozen well-known films with their clichés."

- Gong , issue 21 from May 17, 1985

Further information

The series was shot largely in Los Angeles, but is set in a northern US city. Many of the exterior shots were shot in Chicago and the police station is also the former Maxwell Street Police Station on Chicago's West Side. Likewise, the paintwork of the police cars indicates Chicago.

The name of the series was derived from the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with which author Steven Bochco had memories of his college days.

The series' theme tune was written by the successful television composer Mike Post and the Hill Street Blues , recorded with Larry Carlton , even reached number 10 on the US charts and number 22 in the UK.

Two actors in the series died during the production time: Michael Conrad died of cancer at the age of 58, Dominique Dunne was suffocated by her ex-boyfriend at the age of just 22.

Based on the storyline of the series, the software company Krisalis released a computer game of the same name in 1991 in which the player found himself in the role of the head of the police station. The tasks of the player included planning the patrols of the individual police officers in the catchment area of ​​the guard and thus reducing the crime rate . Crimes that took place had to be reported immediately, the perpetrator had to be arrested and then brought to court. If minor offenses such as pickpocketing remained unpunished, the situation in the relevant area quickly escalated to the point of murders in broad daylight and on the street.

swell

  1. ↑ Krogerus, Mikael: Der Serientäter , accessed on February 16, 2007

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