[net.tv] Hill Street Blues; Who's the best Co

jimc@haddock.UUCP (12/20/85)

> Hill Street Blues has a wealth of characters and personalities.
> The new lieutenant played by Dennis Franz is a good example of
> a complex, flawed cop, with some really good police skills.
> 
> With this in mind, WHO IS THE BEST COP IN THE HILL STREET STATION, AND WHY?
> 

It certainly is not Lieutenant Buntz, who is the character portrayed
by Dennis Franz.  I find his character so repulsive that I feel less
inclined to watch Hill Street than in previous seasons, and believe me,
it takes some doing to turn me off to this show.  Personally, I think
the best cops are (of course), Captain Frank Furillo and Lieutenant
Henry Goldblum.  In the former's case, I don't believe there has ever
been a better authoritative character in any television series.  
He is a modern-day leader who has no gimmicks, not particularly good
looks, no glamor.  He, unlike his television predecessors like Captain
James T. Kirk or Kojak, is a three-dimensional, well-developed character who
I find so convincing that it is hard to separate him from the man who portrays
him (excellently), Daniel J. Travanti.

Henry Goldblum, less mature than Frank, is naturally not as good a cop
as his captain, but is a man who I have come to respect.  Yes, he
has made bad decisions (such as stalking his ex-wife's assailant),
but he is a generally fair-minded law enforcer who admits his faults and
seems to be aiming continually to make himself a better person.

Anyway, that's where I stand.  I don't mean to say that I think less
of some other characters.  Robert Prosky as Sergeant Stan Jablonsky
is absolutely phenomenal, as is Bruce Weitz as Belker.  I have never
really thought of James B. Sikking's Howard Hunter as anything but a
sterotypical "Hunter S. Thompson" or "Duke" character, but every now
and then the script writers give him some depth (though not often enough).

______________________________
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krantz@csd2.UUCP (Michaelntz) (12/25/85)

/* csd2:net.tv / jimc@haddock.UUCP / 12:10 pm  Dec 20, 1985 */

Hello out there.

jimc@haddock writes, in brief:

> ...WHO IS THE BEST COP IN THE HILL STREET STATION, AND WHY?
> 

It certainly is not Lieutenant Buntz, who is the character portrayed
by Dennis Franz.  I find his character so repulsive that I feel less
inclined to watch Hill Street than in previous seasons
                                            Personally, I think
the best cops are (of course), Captain Frank Furillo and Lieutenant
Henry Goldblum. 


As a longtime "Hill Street" freak:

First, as regards Lieutenant Buntz.  Don't you think it's time 
that we had a cop on the Hill whom we really disliked?  Buntz
is hardly an angel; in fact he's probably a criminal - or will
be, soon.  Let's recall that in a previous incarnation on the
show, he played an utter scum with a badge, who eventually died 
in a blaze of red-handedness.  He's cute, though, and thus far
passably moral (Note in this season's Xmas episode how he ended
up on the sidewalk collecting passersby to see the water-stain/
Virgin Mary Miracle in a down-and-outer's apartment because the
guy needed the donations to make rent?  Right?  So ease up on
him.  We'll see what the writers decide next year.

Furillo is a Captain, and thus, I think, not really eligible
for "Best Cop" nominations.  At any rate, he's also an alcoholic,
though in remission, and that might to some minds disqualify him
as well.

Goldblum, though I'm prejudiced in his favor since he's Jewish,
is kind of neurotic and very prone to freaking out, as we all
know.  Not a chance for him.

Belker?  Charming and skilled, but too weird to win, though
         his wife, whose name I forget, has to be the cutest
         woman in the force.

Hunter?  No way.

J.D.  Ditto.

Renko or Hill, Bates or Coffee?  All too inexperienced still.

In summation (harrumph, harrumph), I'd have to say that Neil
Washington is the best cop on the Hill.  Completely together,
very sharp, very canny, quite ethical, cucumber-cool in the
clutch.   

New Category for Nominations:  Best Exchange Between 2 Characters.


The chubby receptionist, after an altercation with Howard Hunter
in which he calls her, among other things, `porcine', locks
herself in the Men's Room and starts yelling.  Goldblum comes
up to the door to see what the noise is about, and Hunter says:

"My God, Henry, the woman's barricaded herself."

Henry, amused by the parallel to situations he and Howard have
faced in the past (psychotic gunmen holed up in apartment dwellings,
etc.), looks at Howard (who is, recall, in charge of SWAT-team
decisions) and says with mock gravity, a wry grin on his face:

"What do you say, Howard?  Should we take her out of the game?"

Hunter ponders a moment, then completes the joke: Seems premature."


So when do we get net.hillstreet?

Michael Krantz Courant Institute 251 Mercer St New York, NY 10012


- - - - -

"The text reveals the process of its own production"

john@cisden.UUCP (John Woolley) (12/27/85)

In article <4040001@csd2.UUCP> krantz@csd2.UUCP (Michaelntz) writes:
>> ...WHO IS THE BEST COP IN THE HILL STREET STATION, AND WHY?
>As a longtime "Hill Street" freak:
>
>First, as regards Lieutenant Buntz.  Don't you think it's time 
>that we had a cop on the Hill whom we really disliked?  Buntz
>is hardly an angel; in fact he's probably a criminal - or will
>be, soon.  
>                                        Right?  So ease up on
>him.  We'll see what the writers decide next year.

I absolutely agree.  With any luck here, we'll go on getting some
treatment of the inherent conflict between being a good guy (Furillo,
Goldblum) and an effective cop.  How many of us down underneath were
cheering for Buntz to waste that scum Joyce got let out a few weeks
ago?  Most of us, I'd bet.  And I thought he was absolutely terrific
in the episode where he and the other guy were being held by a crazed
murderer.  Scared to death, but controlling it -- pretty well.

>In summation (harrumph, harrumph), I'd have to say that Neil
>Washington is the best cop on the Hill.  Completely together,
>very sharp, very canny, quite ethical, cucumber-cool in the
>clutch.   

More absolute agreement.  I've been saying for years that the greatest
tragedy in television-land is that a guy like Washington is so loyal to
his old friend that he's bound to get his own career destroyed by J.D.
One of these days, J.D. will sell Neil to a slaver, or something.

Does anyone but me miss Patsy Mayo?  I thought she was great -- pretty,
smart, polite, tough.

Does anyone but me get totally tired of Joyce?  I mean, really...
-- 
				Peace and Good!,
				      Fr. John Woolley
"The heart has its reasons that the mind does not know." -- Blaise Pascal

evan@pedsgo.UUCP (Evan Marcus) (12/29/85)

Organization : Concurrent Computer Corp. (a P-E subsidiary), Tinton Falls, NJ
Keywords: 

In article <348@cisden.UUCP> john@cisden.UUCP (John Woolley) writes:
>In article <4040001@csd2.UUCP> krantz@csd2.UUCP (Michaelntz) writes:
>>> ...WHO IS THE BEST COP IN THE HILL STREET STATION, AND WHY?
>>As a longtime "Hill Street" freak:
>>
>>First, as regards Lieutenant Buntz.  Don't you think it's time 
>>that we had a cop on the Hill whom we really disliked?  Buntz
>>is hardly an angel; in fact he's probably a criminal - or will
>>be, soon.   Right?  So ease up on
>>him.  We'll see what the writers decide next year.
>
>I absolutely agree.  With any luck here, we'll go on getting some
>treatment of the inherent conflict between being a good guy (Furillo,
>Goldblum) and an effective cop.  How many of us down underneath were
>cheering for Buntz to waste that scum Joyce got let out a few weeks
>ago?  Most of us, I'd bet.  And I thought he was absolutely terrific
>in the episode where he and the other guy were being held by a crazed
>murderer.  Scared to death, but controlling it -- pretty well.

Buntz is definitely a more realistic cop than some of the goody-two-shoes
we have seen before (i.e. Goldblum).  While I certainly like most of them,
it is definitely good to see someone who is not perfect!  Though I must 
admit a little disappointment; the advance press said that Buntz would be
a 'thorn in Furillo's paw'.  I disagree.  He may not have been perfect, but
he really hasn't been so bad so far.  And I have agreed with several of the
things he has done (see above).

>Does anyone but me miss Patsy Mayo?  I thought she was great -- pretty,
>smart, polite, tough.

God, NO!  She was terrible!  How can you believe a cop named Patsy?  They
are much better off without her!  Polite?  So what?  Yeah, she was pretty,
but she was about the most unbelievable cop I have seen on TV.  Now I do
miss Harry Garibaldi, but that's another story.
>
>Does anyone but me get totally tired of Joyce?  I mean, really...
As a matter of fact, no, I like Joyce.

What I *DO* miss, though, is the three-part episode.  Every show begins 
with a reasonably good setup, but they try to make it seem like all of the
problems are ongoing ones, when we all know better.  Everything is getting
wrapped up in 1 episode.  Some of the personal problems linger some, but
the crime stuff just doesn't carry on.  I really miss that.

I also think that they shouldn't have killed Mrs. Belker.  She was great 
for comic relief.
>-- 
>				Peace and Good!,
>				      Fr. John Woolley
>"The heart has its reasons that the mind does not know." -- Blaise Pascal
-- 
NAME:   Evan L. Marcus
UUCP:   ...vax135!petsd!pedsgd!pedsgo!evan
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karn@petrus.UUCP (Phil R. Karn) (01/05/86)

Another strong vote for Neil Washington. If you restrict the running to
uniformed beat cops, though, it would have to be Bobby Hill.

I too am getting just a bit tired of Joyce. She's nice to look at, yes, but
she MUST have some skeletons in her closet somewhere! So far the only thing
she's done is to steal cable TV service. Big deal. Other than that, she's
such a squeaky clean prig that she's boring. Maybe they can have her sleep
with Chief Daniels.

Phil

moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (01/07/86)

In article <96000011@haddock.UUCP> jimc@haddock.UUCP writes:
>> With this in mind, WHO IS THE BEST COP IN THE HILL STREET STATION, AND WHY?
>It certainly is not Lieutenant Buntz, who is the character portrayed
>by Dennis Franz.  I find his character so repulsive that I feel less
>inclined to watch Hill Street than in previous seasons, and believe me,
>it takes some doing to turn me off to this show.  

While I agree that Buntz in by no means the best cop in the precinct, I
don't find the character repulsive at all. In fact, I feel he's one of the
best things about this year's season.  Here is a character who is not a
"good cop" or a "bad cop" -- he is an interesting mixture of the two
(possibly being reformed by events on the Hill (his kidnapping) and the
people he works with (Henry)).  On one hand, he will forge evidence, use
excessive force (to the point of pushing a shoot-out with a punk -- however,
remember that Neil did the same thing with the murderer that was threatening
Joyce; rather interesting irony there), and be generally unpleasant (the
come-on to the khaki recruit).  At the same time, he can be phenomanally
effective (the hostage scene with the nutcase), and his and Henry's solution
to the fellow who had the virgin Mary on his apartment wall.  Buntz seems to
be a jaded cynic who we get to see loose a great deal of his cynacism at
points: his standing outside, trying to usher in customers for the guy with
the Holy Apartment (:-)), and his conversation (breaking their tenative
date) with the same khaki officer that he propisitioned, after the hostage
business.  Very self-contained.  Crude.  Not the kind of person *I'd* want
to have over for dinner; still, a good person when you're really between a
rock and a hard place.

                        "When in doubt, tell the truth."
                                                Mark Twain
                        "When in doubt, book 'em."
                                                Steve McGarret, Five-O

                                        Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
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