HILL STREET BLUES: A HAIR OF THE DOG (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.
In this episode, Esterhaus welcomes a group of rookie cops to the force and reminds everyone to be on their best behavior for the governor's upcoming visit. He also mentions "the phantom," a mysterious sewer-dweller infamous for his strange crimes. LaRue and Washington go undercover and arrest Bubba Edwards for the Castaneta homicide, while elsewhere two of the newbies attempt to break up a brawl stemming from a fender-bender. Furillo meets the governor and his wife, and Eddie Gregg asks Belker to let him be a snitch despite the danger of the task. LaRue and Washington visit the coroner, Nydorf, in search of the Castaneta autopsy report, but the overworked and exasperated man protests that he does not yet have it. Bates makes a date with a basketball player, and Davenport arrives to represent Edwards, who states that he is innocent, though does not have much hope for his case. The governor's wife's dog is then kidnapped and his security team orders Furillo to put a large number of cops on the case, explaining that it is important for his "image."
Furillo then learns that Fay is in jail for contempt because of a traffic violation, and she refuses to apologize to the police, sure that she has been wronged. Two of the rookie cops are called in to break up a fight at a bar, and Crawford freezes and fails to intervene when his partner, Hernandez, is nearly stabbed. The judge on Fay's case is amused by her theatrical defiance and lets her off. Furillo approaches Nydorf about the report, telling him that he needs it by the end of the day. The cops receive a ransom call about the dog, and Furillo tells Goldblume to assemble the local gangs. Belker acts on a tip from Gregg and hangs out at Murray's pawn shop; when a would-be robber enters and proves Gregg's information correct, Belker decides that he should pay his new snitch after all. The gang members laugh off the suggestion that they are behind the dog-napping, though Furillo offers a reward for information and points out that they face serious jail time if they are found to be guilty. Gregg tells Belker that he has more information, clearly keen to meet up with him again, and Furillo confronts Nydorf about the autopsy report, saying that it is an inaccurate mess. He deduces that Nydorf lost the original file and quickly rewrote it from memory, and instructs him to do it over despite his protests about being understaffed.
At a going-away party for another cop, Renko annoys Teresa with his drunken antics and she makes a pass at Coffey, though he turns her down. The rookie cops discuss the "phantom" story, and Hernandez tells Crawford that he has requested a new partner, upset that he failed to cover him. Lucy's date finally arrives, stating that his game ran late, and Hill sneaks off with Nichols. At home, Furillo is exasperated by the lighthearted news reports about the missing dog, but he and Davenport soon find themselves joining in on the jokes. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 25, 1982 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:49:32
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:66872
- GENRE: Drama, police/detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/detective; LGBTQ+ Collection - Drama
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1981-1987
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Steven Bochco … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Gregory Hoblit … Co-Executive Producer, Director
- Anthony Yerkovich … Supervising Producer, Writer
- David Anspaugh … Producer
- Scott Brazil … Producer
- David Latt … Associate Producer
- Michael Kozoll … Created by
- Jeffrey Lewis … Writer
- Mike Post … Music by
- Daniel J. Travanti … Cast, Capt. Frank Furillo
- Michael Conrad … Cast, Sgt. Phil Esterhaus
- Michael Warren … Cast, Officer Bobby Hill
- Bruce Weitz … Cast, Sgt. Mick Belker
- James B. Sikking … Cast, Lt. Howard Hunter
- Joe Spano … Cast, Det. Henry Goldblume
- Barbara Bosson … Cast, Fay Furillo
- Taurean Blacque … Cast, Det. Neal Washington
- Kiel Martin … Cast, Officer J.D. LaRue
- René Enriquez … Cast, Lt. Ray Calletano
- Betty Thomas … Cast, Officer Lucy Bates
- Ed Marinaro … Cast, Officer Joe Coffey
- Charles Haid … Cast, Officer Andrew Renko
- Veronica Hamel … Cast, Joyce Davenport
- Pat Corley … Cast, Coroner Wally Nydorf
- Charles Levin … Cast, Eddie Gregg
- Helen Shaver … Cast, Teresa
- Donnelly Rhodes … Cast, Judge Paul Grogan
- Franklyn Seales … Cast, Nathaniel Crawford
- Jon Cypher … Cast, Chief Fletcher Daniels
- Trinidad Silva … Cast, Jesus Martinez
- Kenneth Kimmins … Cast, Anderson
- Lynne Moody … Cast, Marty Nichols
- Lisa Sutton … Cast, Robin Tataglia
- Fausto Bara … Cast, Tom Hernandez
- Ken Foree … Cast, Bubba Edwards
- Donald Carter … Cast, Governor Sandler
- Betty McGuire … Cast, Trudy Sandler
- Robert Hirschfeld … Cast, Leo
- Eric Whitman … Cast, Doug
- Peter Lowndes … Cast, Pete Dorsey
- Barry Cutler … Cast, Kosich
- Andy Goldberg … Cast, Gradsky
- Troy Curvey … Cast, Dudley
- Mace … Cast, Pagano
- David Caruso … Cast, Shamrock
- Charles Lanyer … Cast, Man with guitar
- Marco Rodriguez … Cast, Drug Addict
- Nick Savage … Cast, Pickpocket
- Martin Garner … Cast, Pawn Broker
- Will Gill Jr. … Cast, Car Owner
- Pat Benson … Cast, Woman Onlooker
- Julius J. Carry III … Cast, Customer
- Mimi Seton … Cast, Prisoner