HILL STREET BLUES: A POUND OF FLESH (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, Hunter is rescued from his basement after a grueling eleven days, and Goldblume warns the others of an escalation in gang violence due to an upcoming marriage between one of the Gypsy Boys and a sister of a Diablo. Renko is annoyed to spot a possible version of himself in Goldblume's recently published short story, and as Sal the plumber continues work on the ladies' room, Buntz is furious to learn that Benedict has "stolen" his informant, Sid the Snitch. Jesus Martinez invites a skeptical Furillo to his sister's nuptials, and IAD Shipman tells Furillo that Buntz is being investigated for possibly stealing a large quantity of cocaine. LaRue has a shocking near-death experience when a criminal's gun misfires. Flaherty, obsessing over Hunter's frightening experience, accompanies Bates to break up a gang fight, where an enraged Jesus declares that the Shamrocks have kidnapped his sister Lola to prevent her wedding.

Grace Gardner visits Furillo and announces that, rather than becoming a nun, she has become a safe-sex advocate and intends to install a condom machine in the precinct. Buntz learns from Sid that the cops are searching his home, and Flaherty and Bates visit Hunter in the hospital, where they are soon joined by Prunella. LaRue, experiencing a revelatory new outlook on life, easily calms a manic Leroy Sherman, who is convinced a cat is sending him "messages." Daniels tells Furillo that medical evidence proves that Hunter consumed part of his dead friend Palmer while trapped in the basement, fearing that the unseemly news will reflect badly on the department. Furillo sternly lays down the law with the warring gangs and demands Lola's safe return; when Buntz demands answers about the search, Shipman reveals that an unexplained $17,000 in cash has been found in his apartment. Furillo tactfully questions Hunter about the "public-relations problem," and Hunter readily admits to taking the necessary "survivalist" actions and objects when Furillo pleads with him to fudge the truth to the press.

LaRue panics when his would-be killer is released on a technicality, and Jesus is stunned to find that Lola is in fact secretly in love with a Shamrock, Tommy O'Donald. He demands that she go through with her marriage to her Gypsy Boy fiancé, but Lola tearfully declares that he cannot force her to go against her true feelings; he soon gives in. Buntz refuses to explain about the money to his IAB representative, and when Prunella is also shocked by Hunter's choice of "nutrients," he rethinks his intentions to tell the papers the truth. Mary Franken visits the precinct and swears that the $17,000 was given to her by the late Tommy and that Buntz was merely holding it for her, though Shipman and Furillo are doubtful. Washington checks in on LaRue, who finally breaks down from the trauma of his near miss, and Belker praises Goldblume's literary efforts. Furillo and Davenport attend the wedding, where Jesus soon starts a fight with a rival gang member. Gardner makes a romantic connection with Flaherty after agreeing that they are both "searchers." Sid visits Buntz, promising that he is through with Benedict, but a dejected Buntz reveals that he has been suspended. Commercials deleted.

Details

• NETWORK: NBC
• DATE: May 5, 1987 10:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:49:09
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: B:67328
• GENRE: Drama, police/detective
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/detective; Gangs; Cannibalism
• SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1981-1987
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Jeffrey Lewis … Executive Producer
• David Milch … Executive Producer
• Jeff Melvoin … Co-Executive Producer
• John Litvack … Co-Executive Producer
• Michael Vittes … Supervising Producer
• Penny Adams … Producer
• Robert Ward … Co-Producer
• James C. Hart … Associate Producer
• Don Weis … Director
• Michael Kozoll … Created by
• Steven Bochco … Created by
• Christian Williams … Writer
• Mike Post … Music by
• Travanti, Daniel J. (See also: Travanty, Dan) … Cast, Captain Frank Furillo
• Michael Warren … Cast, Officer Bobby Hill
• Bruce Weitz … Cast, Detective Mick Belker
• Betty Thomas … Cast, Sergeant Lucille Bates
• James B. Sikking … Cast, Lt. Howard Hunter
• Joe Spano … Cast, Lt. Henry Goldblume
• Taurean Blacque … Cast, Detective Neal Washington
• Kiel Martin … Cast, Detective J.D. LaRue
• Robert Clohessy … Cast, Officer Patrick Flaherty
• Dennis Franz … Cast, Lt. Norman Buntz
• Megan Gallagher … Cast, Officer Tina Russo
• Charles Haid … Cast, Officer Andy Renko
• Veronica Hamel … Cast, Joyce Davenport
• Jon Cypher … Cast, Chief Fletcher Daniels
• Barbara Babcock … Cast, Grace Gardner
• Arthur Taxier … Cast, IAD Shipman
• Peter Jurasik … Cast, Sid the Snitch
• Trinidad Silva … Cast, Jesus Martinez
• Elizabeth Huddle … Cast, Prunella Ashton-Wilkes
• Nora Heflin … Cast, Mary Franken
• Lawrence Tierney … Cast, Sergeant Jenkins
• Jack Andreozzi … Cast, Sal Benaci
• Kamala Lopez … Cast, Lola Martinez
• Joseph R. Sicari … Cast, Mr. Glass
• Gerald Castillo … Cast, Det. Michael Benedict
• Michael Flanagan … Cast, Tommy O'Donald
• Juan Fernandez … Cast, Leroy Sherman
• Randy Kovitz … Cast, Officer Martin
• Ennalls Berl … Cast, Tommy Mooney
• David Selburg … Cast, Raymond
• Ernesto Hernandez … Cast, Tippi Mocha
• Thomas Webb … Cast, Harold White
• Ricardo Gutierrez … Cast, Pepe
• Henry K. Bal … Cast, Luis
• Rose Mary Campos … Cast, Juanita
• Harvey Shain … Cast, Det. Artelli
• Donald V. Allen … Cast, Officer Myers
• George Ceres … Cast, Officer Rowe
• Bryan Cranston … Cast, Counsellor
• Jeff Marshall … Cast, Shamrock Leader
• Mario Gardner … Cast, Mau Mau Leader
• Francois Chau … Cast, Emperor Leader
• Jesus Ontiveros … Cast, Enrique Solas
• Jessee L. Rush … Cast, Blood Leader
• Bee-Be Smith … Cast, Nurse
• William Kerr … Cast, Fireman
• Lahmard J. Tate … Cast, Kid in Crowd
• J.N. Houck … Cast, Conventioneer
• Philip Adams … Cast, Uniform #2