HILL STREET BLUES: THE RISE AND FALL OF PAUL THE WALL (TV)
Summary
One in this series of police dramas about the personal and professional lives of the officers of Hill Street Station, a precinct located in a run-down urban area. Mayo, Bates, and Garibaldi investigate a break-in at the apartment of an old woman named Mary Minot. She claims that a neighbor kid broke in and she shot and killed him in self-defense, but another neighbor, Raymond Cassiano, was a witness and believes that Minot deliberately engineered the entire situation in order to kill the kid. Renko and Hill arrest Paul "the Wall" Srignoli, a notorious alleged racketeer, for unpaid parking tickets and an attempt to bribe them out of it. They have difficulty transporting Srignoli due to his extreme obesity. Furillo discovers that Minot's son is city councilman Arnold Detweiler, and Garibalid brings Cassiano to him. Cassiano claims that Minot set a trap by placing her television near her open window during freezing temperatures and then waiting for the kid to arrive before shooting him with a twelve-gauge shotgun. Cassiano also says that Minot did something similar several years ago, and also says that he knew the boy who was killed; he was 14 years old. Detweiler arrives at the station and believes the police will be on his side. Garibaldi confirms Cassiano's claim about a previous similar incident and reveals to Furillo that there is evidence to suggest that the kid was shot while he was outside on the fire escape before Minot dragged him inside to make it appear that he had broken in. Srignoli's lawyer, Ed Greenglass, attempts to get him released, arguing that his current state of health makes in infeasible to keep him detained but Jablonski refuses to comply and they place him in a cell. Srignoli is indignant and vows to bring legal action against the police station. Meanwhile, Belker goes undercover as a homeless man to investigate a string of garbage fires. He soon finds himself in a violent confrontation with a group of bums, who manage to knock him unconscious. Bates and Coffey respond to a domestic dispute involving a man, identified only as Mr. Flowers, ranting and screaming. Flowers takes his own wife and son hostage and douses his apartment in gasoline, threatening to set it on fire. The only clue as to the subject of his rants is a Mr. Ortiz, manager of the supermarket which Flowers was fired from the previous week. Hunter is reluctant to send in his SWAT team for fear of accidentally setting the place ablaze, and attempts to negotiate with Flowers prove ineffectual. Belker is taken by the bums to an underground area where he is disarmed and chained to a pipe. The bums torment and strike Belker, trying to wear him down psychologically. They then start removing his clothes. On Garibaldi's advice, Furillo charges Minot with murder. She is indignant and demands to see a lawyer. Srignoli passes out in his cell and Jablonski tries to revive him. He is unsuccessful and Srignoli apparently dies. The police and fire department move in on Flowers' apartment, where he has ignited the gasoline in an attempt to burn his wife. They manage to stop the blaze and get Flowers and his son out of there, but are too late to save his wife. Flowers and his son are taken to the station and put into custody. Detweiler returns, furious that Furillo has arrested his mother. He mentions that the kid who broke into her house had a record of previous arrests and reveals that Cassiano has an outstanding charge for bail-jumping. Fay attempts to process Flowers' son Daniel into juvenile authority. When she tries to explain that his father is mentally unstable, Daniel becomes enraged and punches her in the face. He is restrained and his anger quickly subsides. Mr. Flowers speaks to Joyce in interrogation. He claims that Ortiz is "Satan" and that his actions are the result of demonic possession. Mr. Alva, father of the boy Minot shot, visits Furillo while at the station identifying his son's body. He points out that given the circumstances, it is unlikely that the court will rule against Minot, and he demands justice for the death of his son. Joyce interrogates Minot, who fully admits that her murder was premeditated. She says that she was robbed two weeks earlier and claims the police did nothing, so she decided to take matters into her own hands, refusing to leave the apartment she has inhabited for thirty years. Joyce warns her that she could go to jail, but Minot is confident that the jury will not only not convict her, but label her as heroic for her actions. Meanwhile, various officers attempt to move Srignoli's body out of his cell, but his great girth proves to be a formidable obstacle. Jablonski sends Coffey to look for Belker, who has yet to report in. Gina Srignoli, Paul's widow, is brought into the station. Garibaldi offers his condolences to her, and it appears that there some mutual attraction between the two. Coffey and Bates drive around looking for Belker and find his car. They get a nearby bum to take him to where his fellow bums have hidden Belker. They find him naked, chained up, bruised, and semi-conscious. He is freed and clothed. Despite his weakened condition, Belker is determined to track down the bum who stole his badge and gun. Coffey and Bates are unable to stop him. Chief Daniels visits Furillo about the Minot case, telling him that pursuing it would be foolhardy. Furillo determines that Daniels was the one who told Detweiler about Cassiano. He is appalled that public opinion appears to be influencing the determination of the case, but Daniels believes that Furillo needs to re-evaluate his priorities. Renko slips a disk while carrying Srignoli's body out of the station, stymieing the officers' efforts to transport him. The court denies psychiatric treatment for Mr. Flowers and intends to prove him sane so that he may be convicted for his crimes. The judge pulls Furillo aside for the Minot case, and Furillo tries to argue against letting public perception alter the court's ruling. He points out that Flowers has been branded a villain by overlooking his obvious insanity, whereas Minot has been declared a hero by overlooking the obvious evidence stating otherwise. Despite this, the judge orders that she be released on recognizance. As she exits the courtroom surrounded by reporters, Alva sees her and screams that she is a murderer, demanding justice. Furillo pulls him away before the reporters can get to him. Gina talks to Garibaldi about her relationship with Srignoli while the officers attempt to use a pulley to lift him out of the station. She indicates that she had a genuine affection for him and appreciated his vast fortune as well. Suddenly Srignoli awakens, evidently not dead as they had presumed. Gina seems noticeably upset at this development, revealing her true feelings for Srignoli. Belker finds the bum who stole his gun and badge and beats him viciously until they are returned. The bum gloats, but Belker is content merely to take his gloves before walking off into the night. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: December 6, 1984 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:49:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:08290
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1981-1987
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Steven Bochco … Executive Producer, Created by
- Gregory Hoblit … Co-Executive Producer
- Scott Brazil … Supervising Producer
- Jeffrey Lewis … Producer
- David Milch … Co-Producer
- Ellen S. Pressman … Associate Producer
- Thomas Carter … Director
- Michael Kozoll … Created by
- Jacob Epstein … Writer
- Michael Wagner … Writer
- Mike Post … Music by
- Daniel J. Travanti … Cast, Captain Frank Furillo
- Michael Warren … Cast, Officer Bobby Hill
- Bruce Weitz … Cast, Sergeant Mick Belker
- Robert Prosky … Cast, Sergeant Stan Jablonski
- James B. Sikking … Cast, Lieutenant Howard Hunter
- Joe Spano … Cast, Detective Henry Goldblume
- Barbara Bosson … Cast, Fay Furillo
- Taurean Blacque … Cast, Detective Neal Washington
- Kiel Martin … Cast, Officer J. D. LaRue
- Rene Enriquez … Cast, Lieutenant Ray Calletano
- Robert Hirschfeld … Cast, Officer Leo Schnitz
- Betty Thomas … Cast, Sergeant Lucille Bates
- Ed Marinaro … Cast, Officer Joe Coffey
- Mimi Kuzyk … Cast, Detective Patsy Mayo
- Ken Olin … Cast, Detective Harry Garibaldi
- Charles Haid … Cast, Officer Andy Renko
- Veronica Hamel … Cast, Joyce Davenport
- Dan Hedaya … Cast, A Bum
- Fran Ryan … Cast, Mary Minot
- Jon Cypher … Cast, Chief Fletcher Daniels
- Jennifer Tilly … Cast, Gina Srignoli
- Michael Fairman … Cast, Arnold Detweiler
- Paul Lieber … Cast, Mr. Flowers
- George Wyner … Cast, Assistant District Attorney Irwin Bernstein
- Larry D. Mann … Cast, Judge Lee Oberman
- Pepe Serna … Cast, Raymond Cassiano
- Basil Hoffman … Cast, Ed Greenglass
- George Memmoli … Cast, Paul "the Wall" Srignoli
- Jack Murdock … Cast, Second Bum
- Jed Mills … Cast, Third Bum
- Hector Elias … Cast, Mr. Alva
- Ellen Blake … Cast, Natalie DeRoy
- John Roselius … Cast, Chauffeur
- Leaf Phoenix (See also: Joaquin Phoenix) … Cast, Daniel Flowers
- Garret Pearson … Cast, Reporter #1
- Lou Felder … Cast, Minot's Attorney
- Georgia Schmidt … Cast, Dorothy Fadden
- John Wyler … Cast, Coroner's Assistant