Talk:Hill Street Station

Single or double episode
The episode aired as a single one-hour premier. According to this non-RS there is confusion because Hulu presents the first two episodes together as a single episode. IMDb also presents episode cast credits including characters from the second episode as well.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 20:01, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Assuming this is a single episode pilot and that the second episode aired on the 17th, there are a couple proquest articles that I ran across with content for the second episode:
 * 1) TELEVISION / BY JACK THOMAS; A GOOD SHOW DOOMED TO FAIL?: [FIRST EDITION], Thomas, Jack. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext) [Boston, Mass] 13 Jan 1981: 1.
 * A lot of detail about the episode storylines.
 * 1) TELEVISION / BY WILLIAM A. HENRY 3D; ; NBC'S PEACOCK NOT SO PROUD; LAST OF THREE ARTICLES: [FIRST EDITION], WILLIAM A. HENRY 3d. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext) [Boston, Mass] 25 July 1980: 1.
 * A little detail about how the original shooting had one officer die, but that it would be re-edited so that both officers could return for the 2nd episode and thereafter.
 * 1) NBC-TV WILL INTRODUCE 5 PROGRAMS NEXT MONTH, Fraser, C GeraldView Profile. New York Times [New York, N.Y] 27 Dec 1980: 2.42.
 * Schedule of first five episodes.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 21:01, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Uniqueness of characters
This is probably too picky to be worth thinking about too much, but here's some commentary on the uniqueness of the characters, the idea that the "episode also introduces a host of unique characters". That characters were original compared to most crime dramas.The NYT review said, "A good ol' boy patrolman wears cowboy boots and a string tie with his uniform. His radio-car partner, inevitably, is a young, well-educated black. The precinct sergeant behaves like a house mother, the captain's alimony checks bounce and the leader of the city's Swat team thinks he's George C. Scott playing Patton." (emphasis mine) Or a "fairly standard mix of types", from another NYT review..I always thought Bobby HIll's character was a typecast Sidney  Poitier "flawless negro" meant to counteract negative stereotypes by being utterly professional and a gentleman to an absurd degree, but lacking in humanity and believability. Lt. Howard Hunter, besides recalling Patton, was a classic take on Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel William "Bill" Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. Henry Goldblume is a stereotypical bleeding heart liberal. Renko is your typical Archie Bunker/Chief Gillespie "racist who learns a thing or two". Fay Furillo is the shrewish ex. Joyce Davenport, Career Girl.The show was unique in several ways, and over time the characters broke from their stereotyped origins, but not in the first episodes. Some reliable sources might have found the characters unique, but there was not agreement on that. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 03:53, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

Ankle biting
Is this: "Belker's proclivity for biting the ankles of perpetrators redeems itself in this episode." really what the sources say, or is it really "reveals itself", i.e., "is also introduced"? I didn't see the pilot, so I left this alone, but if it is indeed "redeemed," how? Does he prevent him from running out the door with the iron grip of his teeth? Yngvadottir (talk) 16:24, 16 April 2012 (UTC)
 * At first, Belker's biting is just disturbing and weird, but later Belker, who is rather short, uses the, uh, "talent" to advantage, physically subduing a much larger and stronger man who had shook off the other cops in a rampage through the station. It's highly contrived and meant as comic relief, but in a nutshell, that's Hill Street Blues for you. In later episodes they still make fun of Belker's biting, but he also gets more respect. The later, more formulaic seasons would repeat the Belker-stops-a-giant-by-biting-him trope, and it would be less and less amusing each go around. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 17:32, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

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