jimc@haddock.UUCP (10/27/84)
Having just gotten onto the network in July, I am unsure of whether
or not this question has been discussed before. Bear with me if it
has, network veterans!!
I know the TV program "Hill Street Blues" is set in an unnamed American
city, and for many good reasons. For example, I imagine that if the city
were named, there would be a lot of political problems, as the governor,
mayor, and high city officials are portrayed as not necessarily completely
honest people. Also, from a literary standpoint, an anonymous setting
gives a powerful sense of universality and allows anyone who lives in an
urban environment to feel more involved with it.
My question is this: where is this program filmed? I have a good friend
who has said that it is done in Chicago, but Buffalo street names are used
to maintain anonymity. (My friend also points out that Buffalo is Stephen
Bochco's hometown.) Anyway, I'm not so sure of his facts, because he made
the judgement about the filming location just by looking at one of the
highway route signs in the background of an outdoor scene.
Any comments? Feel free to mail me if you don't want to clog up the
network.
Jim Campbell
INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation
Boston Technical Officeron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (10/27/84)
Let's not start this again. We went through this last year. Everything you say is true. The city is a "generic" city. It has pieces of Pittsburg, Chicago, Detroit, and Buffalo in it's character. Some of the street scenes are actually shot in Chicago. Most are shot in studio lots in California, I would suspect. -Ron
rick@uwmacc.UUCP (the absurdist) (10/28/84)
["Book him, Danno: Line-eating in the first degree!" ]
Hill Street Blues isn't set anywhere, according to some interviews I've read,
and is set in a large city in the eastern half of the country, according to
others. Certainly there are no clues from the nature of the plots:
(1) Using a phony tavern to catch corrupt city inspectors happened
in Chicago (the Mirage Tavern scam was run by the Chicago Sun-Times)
(2) Jane Byrne moved into the Cabrini-Green Housing project when she
was Mayor of Chicago (not when she was a candidate)
(3) The child with the toy gun who got shot by a panicked cop happened
in Texas
(4) The cop who committed suicide after being hazed by his fellow cops
happened in California (I think)
etc.
Obviously, being from the area, I pick up on Chicago references faster,
and I prefer to think of Hill Street as being in Chicago, but there isn't any
"place" where it has to be. One refreshing thing about HSB is that it the
plots don't have "this is New York" or "this is Los Angeles" written all
over them, the way so many TV shows do. On HSB, people don't casually drop
into Elaine's for lunch; they go to a luncheon counter in "midtown".
The opening credits (cars rolling out of the garage into the snow) was
shot in Chicago; I don't know where they shoot the outdoor sequences for the
story.
--
"HELLO!?...Hi, Ma...no, I'm fine, Ma...look, I'm booking someone now..."
Rick Keir -- MicroComputer Information Center, MACC
1210 West Dayton St/U Wisconsin Madison/Mad WI 53706
{allegra, ihnp4, seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!rickwaynez@houxh.UUCP (W.ZAKARAS) (10/30/84)
FOR THE (hopefully) last time. HSB was filmed on a 20 X 20 foot plot in my back yard. Let's hope this answers the question. WayneZ...
/jj2/pst2/bin/user@pyuxjj.UUCP (/jj2/pst2/bin/user) (10/31/84)
All the allusions and opening scenes depict Chicago, but I'm sure it's all filmed (or almost all) in Hollywood. -jbd