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From: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer)
Newsgroups: net.tv
Subject: Re: Hill Street Blues; Who's the best Co
Message-ID: <2565@colossus.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 6-Jan-86 16:18:38 EST
Article-I.D.: colossus.2565
Posted: Mon Jan  6 16:18:38 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Jan-86 04:55:30 EST
References: <228@boulder.UUCP> <96000011@haddock.UUCP>
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In article <96000011@haddock.UUCP> jimc@haddock.UUCP writes:
>> With this in mind, WHO IS THE BEST COP IN THE HILL STREET STATION, AND WHY?
>It certainly is not Lieutenant Buntz, who is the character portrayed
>by Dennis Franz.  I find his character so repulsive that I feel less
>inclined to watch Hill Street than in previous seasons, and believe me,
>it takes some doing to turn me off to this show.  

While I agree that Buntz in by no means the best cop in the precinct, I
don't find the character repulsive at all. In fact, I feel he's one of the
best things about this year's season.  Here is a character who is not a
"good cop" or a "bad cop" -- he is an interesting mixture of the two
(possibly being reformed by events on the Hill (his kidnapping) and the
people he works with (Henry)).  On one hand, he will forge evidence, use
excessive force (to the point of pushing a shoot-out with a punk -- however,
remember that Neil did the same thing with the murderer that was threatening
Joyce; rather interesting irony there), and be generally unpleasant (the
come-on to the khaki recruit).  At the same time, he can be phenomanally
effective (the hostage scene with the nutcase), and his and Henry's solution
to the fellow who had the virgin Mary on his apartment wall.  Buntz seems to
be a jaded cynic who we get to see loose a great deal of his cynacism at
points: his standing outside, trying to usher in customers for the guy with
the Holy Apartment (:-)), and his conversation (breaking their tenative
date) with the same khaki officer that he propisitioned, after the hostage
business.  Very self-contained.  Crude.  Not the kind of person *I'd* want
to have over for dinner; still, a good person when you're really between a
rock and a hard place.

                        "When in doubt, tell the truth."
                                                Mark Twain
                        "When in doubt, book 'em."
                                                Steve McGarret, Five-O

                                        Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
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