Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site tekig3.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!hao!hplabs!tektronix!tekig3!stevenh From: stevenh@tekig3.UUCP (Steven C. Herring) Newsgroups: net.tv Subject: Hill Street Blues Message-ID: <100@tekig3.UUCP> Date: Mon, 25-Mar-85 19:08:06 EST Article-I.D.: tekig3.100 Posted: Mon Mar 25 19:08:06 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 28-Mar-85 02:00:24 EST Distribution: net Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR Lines: 92 Some VERY disturbing news: The following article is buy Monica Collins and appeared in the March 21st issue of USA Today: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There's trouble on the Hill. The man who created and controlled Hill Street Blues, TV's highly praised drama, was asked to leave the force Wednesday. And several of Hill Street's major characters have been given a death sentence. Steven Bochco, the ground-breaking drama's guiding hand, admitted he was "invited to leave" MTM Enterprises, which produces Hill Street for NBC. Bochco's abrupt departure from prestigious MTM (he will stay only to finish out the remaining two episodes of this season) raises many questions. Why was such a talent being let loose by MTM? What about the fate of the show which, since its premiere five years ago, has consistently been praised as of the best on television? And what about the fate of Bochco, the talented producer and father figure to the Hill Street family. "I love this show, always," says Bochco, who is expecting to join another studio and produce shows for NBC. "I would never leave it out of boredom or a feeling that I had nothing to offer." Yet, he refused to say why. Late Wednesday, MTM issued a carefully worded statement - OK'd by attorneys for all parties - severing its ties with Bochco and naming two of his proteges, Jeffrey Lewis and David Milch, as executive producers. Insiders at NBC say that the differences that separated Bochco and MTM had nothing to do with creative control. It was his inability to keep down costs for producing Hill Street. Cost for each episode tops $1 million. Milch says Hill Street, whose ratings peaked last season, will take drastic steps in the fall - strongly implying that a few of the familiar characters will die early on. "We'll be telling stories that involve important changes and crises," says Milch. Will Bochco continue to watch? "It's sad. But of course I'll watch it. ... God knows, this show still has an enormous amount of life in it." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That last line may be the most ironic line in a long time. I am taking this article to mean that they're going to kill somebody(s) off. And at the very least, it probably means that they're only going to concentrate on a select few characters and the rest of the characters will be given nothing to do. In other words, a lot of character development that we've seen over the years is going to be wasted. I particularly don't like the phrases "drastic steps" and "important changes and crises." What happens once they take all these drastic steps? They'll shock us with all these changes and then what? More drastic steps? There comes a point when you have to quit killing people off. Or maybe they'll have everyone get a divorce or turn out to be gay. I was depressed for a week when Frank and Joyce separated. That kind of drastic change I can take maybe once a season, maybe. Why can't they just go back to basic stories about cops? I don't watch the show because I want to be shocked or because I want to be depressed. I watch it for entertainment. I quit watching MASH when it became too serious all the time. A lot of people will quit watching Hill Street if it becomes too serious and depressing. If Renko discovers a new sexual orientation or if they kill off Joyce Davenport, I'll throw my TV out the window. Or better yet, I'll drop it from a helicopter onto MTM Enterprises. :-) I can't believe they've asked Bochco to leave. That's like asking Gene Roddenberry to resign from Star Trek. I hope that this decision doesn't jeopardize the character of Fay Furillo. The actress that plays her is Barbara Bosson (Bochco's wife). I'm sure they wouldn't do that for that reason but this situation can't help the home life of the Bochco's. Do they really think that killing people off will improve the ratings? Remember when M*A*S*H killed off Henry Blake? A lot of people were very upset and quit watching for awhile. Hill Street is already too depressing for some people. I just can't imagine them killing off any of the original characters. They might be able to get away with killing Detective's Harry Garibaldi and Patsy Mayo since this is their first season but I like these new characters and I'm sure a lot of other people do too. This article really makes me worry about the future of Hill Street. When the show first came out it had low ratings but NBC stuck with it, mostly because of the critical acclaim the show received. Well what's the problem now? So what if the ratings aren't maintaining their peak? The critical acclaim is still there. Of course there is the money problem but if the quality of the show goes down then they are going to lose what dedicated viewers they have. And then there'll be no show at all. There are some things in life that are simply worth it and Hill Street is one of those things. I remember reading somewhere that NBC liked being known as the network that had the "quality" shows. If that's really true then they won't let anything happen to the quality of Hill Street. I guess we'll just have to wait until next season to see if that's true. OR... we can write to NBC at "30 Rockefeller Plaza; New York, NY 10020" and let them know how concerned we are that Hill Street remains at the same level in quality. And we could ask them what show is the most popular syndicated show today and remind them that Star Trek was cancelled by NBC because of low ratings. And part of the reason for Star Trek's low ratings was because of budget cuts and therefore a lesser quality third season. I hope NBC doesn't repeat this mistake. If you read this entire ramblin' article, congratulations. You're a real Hill Street Blues fan. Steve Herring USENET: .. !tektronix!tekig1!stevenh