Season One

Season One - Winter 1981
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Episode No./Title

1. "Hill Street Station"

The series gets off to a powerful start as stalwart Hill Street Precinct Capt. Frank Furillo endures a string of personal and professional crises. Furillo tries to defuse a powder-keg hostage situation in a liquor store despite a media circus, his overzealous Emergency Action Team leader and a pair of nervous gang kids and their leader. His secret lover, public defender Joyce Davenport, hounds him about a client who has been lost. And his ex-wife, Fay, berates him after his child-support check bounces.
Det. J.D. LaRue tries to pick up Davenport after sending her on a wild goose chase and receives a lapful of hot coffee in return. Belker busts a bald-headed pickpocket, the first of several encounters to come. Sgt. Phil Esterhaus tells Fay about his teen-age sweetheart, Cindy. And, after handling a domestic situation, Hill and Renko find their police unit has been stolen and are shot when they walk into a building to call in the theft.

guest stars: Panchito Gomez (Hector Ruiz), Gary Grubbs (Earps), Gary Van Orman (Sneed), Nick Savage (bald-headed pickpocket), Jonathan Dasteel (Lamonica), Ron Godines (Contreras), Paul Michael (proprietor), Heshimu Cumbuku (pimp), Luisa Leschin (street kid), Don Cervantes (street kid), Richard Wright (killer junkie), Chris Doyle (angel dust junkie), Andy Garcia (street kid in booking), Veronica Redd (Alena), Eleanor McCoy (Jonette), Vernon Washington (William), Andy Arthur (street kid)
writer: Michael Kozoll & Steven Bochco; director: Robert Butler

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2. "Presidential Fever"

Furillo is again on the rack as Fay makes a spectacle at the station with her demands for more money. Division alerts him to prepare for a presidential visit to the Hill, a task he does not relish. The news prompts a summit with gang leaders that nearly turns sour thanks to the smug presidential press secretary. And to top it all off, he endures a personal clash with Davenport.
Emotions run high as Hill and Renko meet for the first time since they were shot. The new police decorator, Grace Gardner, tries Esterhaus' patience. A pair of transfer officers roust the wrong people and find trouble. Belker pursues rapists in the park.

guest stars: Barbara Babcock (Grace Gardner), Mark Metcalf (Harris), Charles Seaverns (Parker), David Caruso (Shamrock leader), Bobby Ellerbee (Blood leader), Danny Mora (bail bondsman Huerta), Jonathan Dasteel (Lamonica), Gary Van Orman (Sneed), George Dickerson (Divisional Cmdr. Dave Swanson), Merritt Butrick (rapist), Richard Marion (Browning), Jake Mitchell (Hingle), Sal Lopez (Puerto Rican #1), Anthony Pena (Puerto Rican #2), Guillermo San Juan (Gypsy Boy), Paul Michael (merchant), Lydia Fernandez (rape victim), Rocky Echevarria (unknown), Eric Helland (felon)
writer: Michael Kozoll & Steven Bochco; director: Robert Butler

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3. "Politics as Usual"

Furillo and his officers run themselves ragged preparing for the impending presidential visit to the Hill - Goldblume helps work out a secure route and Calletano and the captain bargain with Shamrock and Blood gang leaders to ensure a peaceful tour.
Frank consults Joyce after Fay - in a letter from her attorney - threatens to garnish his wages for more child support. A dirty cop involved in a drug buy offers the troubled LaRue a bribe - then frames him when he attempts to return the money. Emotional fallout from their shooting prompts Hill and Renko to briefly consider splitting up. Belker agrees to a blind date at his mother's urging, proving a source of amusement to his collar, the bald pickpocket. Phil interrupts Frank's evening with Joyce after Fay is arrested at a friend's hot tub party.

guest stars: Dan Hedaya (Ralph Macafee), David Caruso (Shamrock), Bobby Ellerbee (Blood), Art Evans (driver #2), David Moody (driver #1), Nick Savage (bald-headed pickpocket), Jonathan Dasteel (Lamonica), Gary Van Orman (Sneed), John Brandon (Lt. John Walsh), Bob Harders (Unger), Alma Beltran (tenant), Joe Rosario (Puerto Rican suspect), Julia Calderon (abused woman), Lou Joffred (Dicostanza)
writer: Michael Kozoll & Steven Bochco; director: Robert Butler

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4. "Can World War III Be an Attitude?"

Against all odds, Furillo supports LaRue in the bribery case brought against him by Macafee. The captain also petitions Davenport to help his troubled detective.
Esterhaus assuages Bates' hurt feelings after an encounter with the tactless Hunter. Hill and Renko arrest a car thief whose mechanical genius proves both valuable and troublesome at the station. Furillo scrambles to salvage credibility with the gangs after the president's tour of the Hill is canceled. When the streets erupt in violence in response to the news, anxious officers fear revenge and barricade themselves in the station house - the "crisis" causes Esterhaus to see Grace in a new light.

guest stars: Barbara Babcock (Grace Gardner), Dan Hedaya (Ralph Macafee), Louis Giambalvo (Rob Nelson), Charles Seaverns (Parker), Charles Fleischer (Malibu), David Caruso (Shamrock), Bobby Ellerbee (Blood), Jake Mitchell (Hingle), Gary Van Orman (Sneed), Jonathan Dasteel (Lamonica), Jorge Cevera Jr. (pimp), Robert Doqui (Mullenex), Mace (Pagano), Lynn Whitfield (Jill Thomas), Adam Wade (Internal Affairs officer), Lou Joffred (Dicostanza), Guillermo San Juan (Gypsy Boy), Roma Alverez (Spanish merchant)
writer: Michael Kozoll & Steven Bochco; director: Robert Butler

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5. "Double Jeopardy (a.k.a. Dressed to Kill)"

Furillo and Washington investigate Macafee in hopes of clearing LaRue - they discover more than a few interesting things. At Frank's request, Joyce tries to round up legal representation for the troubled detective.
As part of "Operation: Duckling," Belker and several others reluctantly don women's clothing to lure out a rapist. Esterhaus broods over Grace and Cindy. Goldblume is plagued by self-doubts after he loses a jumper.

guest stars: Barbara Babcock (Grace Gardner), Dan Hedaya (Ralph Macafee), Louis Giambalvo (Rob Nelson), A.C. Weary (unknown), Tony Perez (Officer Mike Perez), Jonathan Dasteel (Lamonica), Gary Van Orman (Sneed), Gela Jacobson (Debbie Kaplan), Gilmer McCormick (Maureen Macafee), Darwyn Carson (black sister), Barbara Iley (black customer), Jake Mitchell (Hingle), Patricia Gaul (thin woman), Ezekiel Moss (black youth #1), Reginald T. Dorsey (black youth #2), Marilyn Tokuda (Mrs. Macafee)
writer: Michael Kozoll & Steven Bochco; director: Robert Butler

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6. "Film at Eleven"

While busting a petty thief, LaRue and Washington find the gun used in the Hill-Renko shooting and trace it back to junkie Eddie Hoban. The discovery leads to tension between the patrolmen.
TV reporter Cynthia Chase invades the precinct to document "what the station house is all about" and joins Hill and Renko on patrol. Hunter's weapon demonstration has hilarious results. Belker busts Kevin Herman Dracula for biting a prostitute and the mental out-patient's subsequent suicide in the station's new holding cell sends Joyce to Frank for comfort.

guest stars: Andrea Marcovicci (Cynthia Chase), Mark Metcalf (Harris), Robert Bryan Berger (Eddie Hoban), Karole Selmon (Billie), Joseph R. Sicari (unknown), Tony Plana (Kevin Herman Dracula), Luisa Leschin (Rita), Donna LaBrie (Wilma), Esther Sutherland (Haitian woman), Gregory Norman Cruz (Chico), Jake Mitchell (Hingle), Kent Williams (Bernard), Jeff Seymour (Santini)
writer: Anthony Yerkovich; director: Georg Stanford Brown

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7. "Choice Cut"

It's deja vu for Furillo as he reaches out to Hector Ruiz who has again taken hostages, this time in a grocery store meat locker - Hunter wants to freeze them out and TV reporter Cynthia Chase utilizes the scene to incense the Dekker Avenue merchants. A side of beef shot up during the hostage crisis is a quickly sized up by scheming officers as more than "evidence." LaRue and Washington continue their attempts to tie the gun from the Hill-Renko shooting to Hoban.
Belker busts the bald-headed pickpocket again. Fay momentarily finds herself in the crosshairs of Furillo's officers when she pulls out a toy gun in the station house. The funding for Grace's decorating project is cut, upsetting Esterhaus, who already is having trouble getting someone to pick up the body of "Freddie the Wino" who died in a holding cell. A perceptive Fay picks up on Frank and Joyce's relationship.

guest stars: Andrea Marcovicci (Cynthia Chase), Panchito Gomez (Hector Ruiz), Dana Gladstone (Marv O. Box), Kent Williams (Bernard), Donna LaBrie (Wilma), Linda Shayne (Sherry Marie), Bob Tzudiker (Irv Kresky), Ilka Tanya Payan (Teresa), Karole Selmon (Billie), Nick Savage (bald-headed pickpocket), Kent Williams (Bernard), Charlene Jones (Lily), Al Stevenson (car owner), Keith Davis (car owner), Gene Ryals (Margot Guy), Jay Moreno (Juan)
writer: Lee David Zlotoff; director: Arnold Laven

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8. "Up in Arms (a.k.a. Clap Trap)"

Division orders Furillo to deal with the Dekker Avenue merchants, who are bent on taking law enforcement into their own hands. Frank enlists Joyce and Fay in his efforts to help Hector Ruiz.
Hunter seeks volunteer counselors for to help with "Camp Guadalcanal." Goldblume is outraged by the recruiting drive. A cleaner's fire claims Furillo's suits. Esterhaus braces himself for a showdown with an old adversary who's now back on the streets. The deadly black van spells trouble for officers Harris and Santini. Inconclusive results in Hoban's lie detector test throw a kink into the Hill-Renko shooting investigation.

guest stars: Andrea Marcovicci (Cynthia Chase), Mark Metcalf (Harris), Kent Williams (Bernard), Jeff Seymour (Santini), Gela Jacobson (Debbie Kaplan), George Dickerson (Divisional Cmdr. Dave Swanson), Ron Feinberg (unknown), Luis Avalos (Mr. Viatoro), David Byrd (Krinsky), Juliana McCarthy (Dr. Davis), Dottie Adkins (hooker), Paul Michael (Mr. Arcanian), Clayton Rohner (juvenile), Constance Caufield (Daphne), Dharvi Darrelle (Mrs. Miles)
writer: Michael Kozoll, Steven Bochco & Anthony Yerkovich; director: Georg Stanford Brown

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9. "Your Kind, My Kind, Humankind"

Renko stews after Hoban's release and makes a spectacle with two hookers at a nice restaurant, increasing the tension with Hill. Back on the street, Hoban finds himself out in the cold and eventually confesses.
A confused Santini gets some career advice from Furillo. LaRue starts drinking on the job after he invites TV reporter Cynthia Chase along on a quiet stakeout that suddenly heats up. The Dekker Avenue merchants continued "help" results in tragedy. Belker is turned off by his girlfriend's violent sexual advances. Everyone's efforts to help Hector hit a dead end and Frank and Joyce must break the news.

guest stars: Andrea Marcovicci (Cynthia Chase), Robert Bryan Berger (Eddie Hoban), Jeff Seymour (Santini), Panchito Gomez (Hector Ruiz), Kent Williams (Bernard), Luis Avalos (Mr. Viatoro), Gela Jacobson (Debbie Kaplan), Paul Michael (Mr. Arcanian), Charlene Jones (Rena), Odette Mitchell (Billy), Michael O'Guinne (Walter), Preston Hanson (escort), Mark Cassella (Marty)
writer: Michael Kozoll, Steven Bochco & Anthony Yerkovich; director: Arnold Laven

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10. "Gatorbait"

Renko pouts after a Division homicide detective belittles his attempt to find out who murdered a 15-year-old hooker. The officer later raises suspicions about the investigation and Furillo begins to take notice. Speculations buzz around the station house after Furillo finds out he's in the running for a promotion to commander.
Hunter gets a surprise - courtesy of LaRue and Washington - while on the annual search of the city sewers for alligators. His hunt is complicated by an animal activist. A persistent obscene phone caller sends Fay to Furillo for help.

guest stars: Dolph Sweet (Lt. Emil Schneider), Carl Weintraub (Dewey Bromfield), George Dickerson (Divisional Cmdr. Dave Swanson), Dana Gladstone (Marv O. Box), Jordan Charney (Ed Chapel), Don Cervantes (Nemo Rodriguez), Lawrence Benedict (Frank Alexander), Jim Tartan (Metzger), Timothy Daly (Dann)
writer: E. Jack Kaplan; director: Georg Stanford Brown

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11. "Life, Death, Eternity"

Davenport's client, Nemo Rodriguez, implicates a city councilman in the slaying of a young prostitute. Furillo decides to launch his own investigation into the murder - a move which endangers his chances for promotion. Furillo is left holding the bag after evidence is found linking the councilman to the girl and his publicity machine springs into action . Fearing rumors of collusion, Joyce tells Frank they should separate for a while.
Chief Daniels chokes during breakfast meeting and Furillo saves his life. Hunter wins Police Association's Mental Health Award and unveils model of "urban tank" to Furillo. Everyone's maudlin after Bates finds officer Marv Box dead in the squad room. LaRue rounds up investors for his "saloondramat." Grace and Esterhaus plan a visit to a nudist retreat. Furillo sends Fay and Frank Jr. to his home after the obscene phone caller breaks into her house and goes through her things. An anti-semitic cop incites Belker. In anticipation of Furillo's promotion, apprehensive Hill Street officers apply for transfer in droves - 28 uniforms, 17 plain clothes and one possible retirement.

guest stars: Barbara Babcock (Grace Gardner), Dolph Sweet (Lt. Emil Schneider), Dwight Schultz (Carmichael), Dana Gladstone (Marv Box), Jordan Charney (Ed Chapel), George McDaniel (Ludwig), Dennis Holahan (unknown), George Dickerson (Divisional Cmdr. Dave Swanson), Don Cervantes (Nemo Rodriguez), Seth Allen (suspect), Barbara Worthington (reporter), Jake Mitchell (Hingle)
writer: Gregory Hoblit & Lee David Zlotoff; director: Jacob Starrett

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12. "I Never Promised You a Rose, Marvin"

Joyce feels Rodriguez is being railroaded in prostitute's murder in attempt to protect McCauley. Frank relinquishes his chances for promotion to forge ahead with his investigation of the councilman and confronts Swanson and Schneider about the cover-up.
Marv's ashes "lie in state" next to squad room coffee machine. Furillo's possible promotion leaves him buried with transfer requests, including Belker, who wants to transfer to narcotics because there's "a better chance of getting killed." Esterhaus reveals his desire to have children with Cindy. Fay's obscene phone caller is caught and revealed to be one of Harvey's patients. Furillo promptly takes Harvey to task and convinces Fay to press charges. After a test-run down "sniper alley," Hunter's "urban tank" is stolen and dumped in the river, much to Furillo's amusement. LaRue's business dream crumbles, literally. There is joy on the Hill as Furillo stays.

guest stars: Dolph Sweet (Lt. Emil Schneider), Philip G. Schultz (Harvey), Dwight Schultz (Carmichael), George McDaniel (Ludwig), Don Cervantes (Nemo Rodriguez), Dennis Holahan (unknown), Jordan Charney (Ed Chapel), George Dickerson (Divisional Cmdr. Dave Swanson), Robert Kino (Mr. O'Kino), Tom Babson (Webster), Jerry Loo (Mifune)
writer: Anthony Yerkovich; director: Robert C. Thompson

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13. "Fecund Hand Rose"

Furillo bristles at having to protect Macafee, who's turned state's witness. He becomes incensed when his men are endangered during an attempted hit that he believes was orchestrated to give Macafee's testimony more credibility.
Violence erupts in Jefferson Heights Precinct and Hill Street officers help out. Belker arrests an entertaining professional cat burglar who the cops been trying to catch for several years. Esterhaus sweats bullets as his wedding day to Cindy arrives and is compounded when Grace shows him what he will be giving up. Everyone rushes to get ready for nuptials. And Frank and Joyce make use of the intended honeymoon suite, after Esterhaus faints at the alter.

guest stars: Barbara Babcock (Grace Gardner), Lisa Lindgren (Cindy Spooner), Dan Hedaya (Ralph Macafee), Michael Tucker (cat burglar, Mr. Heidel), George Dickerson (Divisional Cmdr. Dave Swanson), Gela Jacobson (Debbie Kaplan), Thomas Callaway (Skip Fitzgerald), Allen Case (Mr. Spooner), Peter White (minister), Irene Du Barry (Rosa Calletano), Lynn Whitfield (Jill Thomas), John Brandon (Det. John Walsh), Philip G. Schultz (Harvey)
writer: Alan Rachins; director: Gregory Hoblit

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14. "Rites of Spring I"

After several junkies are found dead from tainted drugs, Goldblume clashes with obnoxious, racist narcotics detective Charlie Weeks over procedure. Weeks is angered when Midtown solves his case and a brutalizes a witness.
Bates gets a new partner, Joe Coffey. Hunter and Esterhaus discuss the women in their lives. LaRue's drinking gets out of hand, endangering Belker who goes undercover to catch a robber hitting city buses. Frank and Joyce clash when she assumes his officers brutalized her rapist client. Goldblume's son, Josh, undergoes medical tests for a mysterious ailment. Hill and Renko take pains to aid a young black mother who is accused of neglecting her kids. Weeks shoots a black man in an alley.

guest stars: Charles Hallahan (Charlie Weeks), James Remar (Beau Gregory), Van Nessa L. Clarke (Shirrett Anders), Mimi Rogers (Sandra Pauley), Freddye Chapman (Denise Thompson), Starletta Du Pois (2nd neighbor), Myrna White (1st neighbor), Marc Casella (Jay Driver), Tony Perez (Mike Perez)
writer: Michael Kozoll & Steven Bochco; director: Gregory Hoblit

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15. "Rites of Spring II"

A gut feeling leads Furillo and Washington to go out of their way to help clear Weeks who is accused of shooting an unarmed black man. Washington lambastes an ungrateful Weeks about his attitude.
Furillo confronts a harried LaRue about his drinking and money problems. Hill and Renko check on Shirrett Anders and her children. Belker and Leo donate blood. Hill, Renko, Coffey and Bates arrest a woman who's beating her husband. Belker joins a DEA fencing operation, which nets a surprise. Renko begins a relationship with his night school teacher. Frank and Joyce take a long lunch and make plans for a vacation. Fay gets mugged and Goldblume's ill son gets better.

guest stars: Charles Hallahan (Charlie Weeks), James Remar (Beau Gregory), Van Nessa L. Clarke (Shirrett Anders), Mimi Rogers (Sandra Pauley), Freddye Chapman (Denise Thompson), Sam Scarber (Dr. Otis Redman), Frantz Turner (Ralph Prentiss), Jim Tartan (Metzger), Neil Brooks Cunningham (John Harley), Jan Stratton (Dr. Rogatz), Jack Andreozzi (John Amico), Rony Clanton (main seller), Terry Alexander (Theo Monroe), Charles Weldon (unknown), Tony Perez (Mike Perez), Vincent Luchessi (Jerry Fuchs)
writer: Michael Kozoll, Steven Bochco & Anthony Yerkovich; director: Gregory Hoblit

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16. "Jungle Madness I"

Furillo and Washington push the Weeks investigation despite pressure from Chief Daniels to back off because of bad publicity and rising tensions on the street.
Esterhaus gets a birthday surprise during roll call. Fay considers a weekend jaunt with her black orthopedist. LaRue desperately tries to raise money to get himself out of a jam. Furillo later tells him to get help for his drinking problem or quit the force after he ruins a drug bust. A disappointed Hill discovers Shirrett Anders has left her children again. Bates' new partner, Joe Coffey, expresses feelings for her. Another vending machine falls prey to Hill Street mayhem. And Frank and Joyce's covert relationship is nearly exposed when they schedule dinner at a restaurant where Hill and Renko are dining.

guest stars: Charles Hallahan (Charlie Weeks), Van Nessa L. Clarke (Shirrett Anders), Mimi Rogers (Sandra Pauley), Eddie Barth (unknown), Tom Bower (unknown), Lenny Bari (unknown), Ray Oliver (Leon), Vincent Luchessi (Jerry Fuchs), Jack Andreozzi (Amico), Frantz Turner (Prentiss), Reginald Dorsey (1st black), Laurie Rose (belly dancer), Sarina C. Grant (1st woman), Luke Andreas (Busy Baker man), Chip Lucia (Lt. Digby), Starletta Du Pois (2nd woman), Ezekiel Moss (2nd black)
writer: Michael Kozoll, Steven Bochco & Anthony Yerkovich; director: Corey Allen

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17. "Jungle Madness II"

Washington and Goldblume take the Weeks investigation down to the wire. Meanwhile, Chief Daniels continues pressuring Furillo to drop the probe and tells him the department's "hanging Weeks out to dry."
After everyone declines to help him, LaRue hits bottom. After Furillo tells him to put in for a transfer, he makes a scene in the squad room. Shirrett Anders loses her kids. Hill breaks the ice with social worker Denise Thompson. A frightened Fay asks Furillo's advice after her black orthopedist's wife threatens to kill her. Renko's girlfriend deals a blow to his ego by terminating their relationship. LaRue takes the first step toward recovery and finds a familiar face in the crowd. Coffey is shot when he and Bates make a traffic stop.

guest stars: Charles Hallahan (Charlie Weeks), Van Nessa L. Clarke (Shirrett Anders), Freddye Chapman (Denise Thompson), Mimi Rogers (Sandra Pauley), Tony Carbone (George "Pinky" Reiner), Eddie Barth (Tanner), Jeanneta Arnette (Jennifer Cross), Lionel Smith (unknown), Susan Harney (Bee Gee), Eddie Ryder (wheelchair salesman), Terry Alexander (Monroe), Frantz Turner (Prentiss), Cliff Carnell (bartender), Opelene Bartley (Montel's mother)
writer: Michael Kozoll, Steven Bochco & Anthony Yerkovich; director: Corey Allen

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