Heroes from the street

I love HSB. Not the organization. The series Hill Street Blues. As a kid, I loved watching role call in the early morning at the station. How sergeant Phil (Michael Conrad) always ended his brief with a, “Hey people, be careful out there”.

Hill Street Blues was probably the first documentary style television show ever. It used Sony’s then relatively new SteadyCam technology sparsely and could also let go and dig into the action if the script demanded it.

Capt. Frank Furillo and his fiancée, the beautiful district attorney Joyce Davenport, Belker and detective Sal Benedetto were so life like and their dialogue was natural and realistic. So unlike most series produced since then.

There was nothing wrong with enjoying Dallas, Falcon Crest or even Dynasty. But when HSB came on (I think it was it Tuesday nights), it was like getting a view into how a real police station worked. And I got a huge kick out of watching a less polished show. Why doesn’t SVT or one of the other channels show a season or two of HSB?