MovieChat Forums > Hill Street Blues (1981) Discussion > Never watched this before, just started ...

Never watched this before, just started season one.

posted 8 years ago by residentevil6901
6 replies | jump to latest

I remember my parents watching this when I was little, the theme song reminds me of them having it on while I was playing my Atari in the other room. I was too young to watch it then but have recently wanted to go back and watch them since I liked NYPD Blue and this was made by the same guys. I've only made it to episode 10 Gatorbait, but man that fake alligator prank had me in stitches. Lol

I'm looking forward to more episodes, my question to you all is do the seasons get better and better? I know with many shows the first season is the actors kind of finding their groove and then the show gets a smooth flow to it. Does that happen with season two & three and so on? I'm going to watch them either way but just curious what every ones opinions are of the later seasons.

[–] DrZaat 8 years ago

I liked it all the way to the end, but a lot of people think it began to falter after season five. Personally, some of my favorite episodes are in the last two seasons, but you may disagree.

At least, I think you'll be guaranteed five excellent seasons of viewing.

[–] mpoconnor7 8 years ago

The first three and a half seasons were unparalleled in my opinion to any other dramatic series I have ever seen in TV history as far as the writing and the acting. There was a real-life event that impacted the series early in the fourth season which I will not divulge since you have not seen the series before, from which the series was never quite the same, but the rest of the season was still outstanding. This was among the greatest TV series ever produced.

[–] PurpleProseOfCairo 8 years ago

I think it was great from start to finish - nothing is perfect and some of the slapstick (Belker's various guises) is silly, but over the seasons, as some characters, once thought irreplaceable, leave, they are replaced by people whom you grow to love just as much. It's no spoiler that Dennis Franz appears in the later episodes as a character that comes to dominate the show (in my eyes) - hence NYPD Blue. I think it had the perfect arc, from those much-loved characters at the start to Franz et al at the end.

[–] residentevil6901 8 years ago

Cool, I'm now up to season 3, been great so far. I have to say that Fay can really get on my nerves though. Lol

[–] angel_pin 8 years ago

I don't know what happened to my memory here. I remember watching HS each week and really enjoying it. My husband and I have finished 9 seasons of NYPD Blues and decided to buy the 7 seasons of HS Blues - another trip down memory lane. We started watching season 1 last night. What an incredible disappointment for us. The acting is terrible - the story lines are hokey and the music is cringe worthy. I don't remember it being this bad. I don't know if I can watch anymore episodes.

[–] telegonus (728) 4 years ago

Funny about that. Or ironic. Now, after almost 35 years, Hill Street Blues plays better than ever for me. They're showing it on a digital channel (Heroes & Icons, I think), and while in his final seasons, it still plays well. There were things that bothered me about the show when it was first run: the "white jazz" theme music, overused, I thought; no issue now; what I felt at the time was "schtick" often used in place of good character development, which was maybe somewhat true, but they improved and delivered long term. It was a show that evolved and improved over time.

Belker was more than a growling guy; Hunter a better human being than he seemed in the early seasons. La Rue, more professional; Lucy and Joyce also growing, in their competence at work, and in their personal lives; and the excellent storytelling, nice and, thankfully, intelligent use of a soap operaish format to keep the viewer watching and paying attention. Also, strong emotions in most episodes, as well as emotionality, almost never overdone. At its best, Hill Street Blue was a finely made, adult, and much of the time deeply felt TV series. First class. Time has been exceedingly kind to it in my humble opinion.