Hill Street Blues

"I will carry this flag for the rest of my life: Hill Street Blues created modern television. There is no Breaking Bad without Hill Street Blues. There is no Sopranos without Hill Street Blues. There is no St. Elsewhere without Hill Street Blues. There is no any show you like now in any genre without Hill Street Blues." - Greg Weisman, Voices from the Eyrie, 2024. [1]

Hill Street Blues was a police procedural on NBC that premiered on from January 15, 1981 and concluded on May 12, 1987. It was created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll.

Greg Weisman has often credited the series for having a significant influence in the development of Gargoyles. While the Disney Afternoon action-adventure was always structured as an ensemble, it was presented through the prism of its main character. According to Weisman, "Goliath was my Frank Furillo. Everyone would get their own stories, but Goliath carried the weight." [2] [3] He also noted how Hill Street Blues was his model for serialization and continuity, with "One clean story per episode. Multiple storyLINES in play." [4] In addition, the Previously on Gargoyles . . . that became routine in the second season was also modeled from Hill Street Blues. [5]

Greg Weisman and his brother Jon met with and interviewed showrunner Steven Bochco while researching for a book about Hill Street Blues, but the production of Gargoyles ultimately pushed the project aside. [6]

Cast Members

Jonathan Frakes appeared as a Drug Dealer in the Hill Street Blues episode, "Of Mouse and Man".

References to Hill Street Blues in Gargoyles

In "Outfoxed", Elisa Maza tells Goliath to "be careful out there", quoting Sgt. Phil Esterhaus's advice given at the end of every episode's roll call.

Officer Morgan's partner, Phil Travanti, is named in "Invitation Only", sharing the same last name as the actor who plays Captain Frank Furillo, Daniel J. Travanti.

See Also

• Hill Street Blues at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
• Hill Street Blues at the Internet Movie Database