Hill Street Blues changed television drama forever.
Running between 1981 and 1987, the series combined realism, humour, ensemble storytelling and emotional depth in a way television audiences had never experienced before. This last guide deals with the last series of the seven made
Episode summaries, guest appearances and production information have been preserved from the original archive wherever possible.
Just the one season left
This final guide covers the seventh and last season of the groundbreaking series.
The final season brought the story of Hill Street to a close with the same mixture of humour, chaos, humanity and realism that made the series legendary.
Broadcast during 1986–1987, Season Seven saw major changes both on and off the Hill as Furillo, Joyce, Goldblume, Belker and the remaining veterans faced corruption investigations, personal loss, political pressure and the growing sense that an era was coming to an end.
Although ratings had declined by the final year, the writing and performances remained ambitious and emotionally powerful, helping secure Hill Street Blues' reputation as one of the most influential television dramas ever produced.
A small plane crashes on the Hill and an enterprising looter tries to sell a suitcase full of drugs pulled from the wreckage.
Buntz and Sid get a line on the suitcase, but things become tricky when the thief decides to auction the drugs to the highest bidder.
Buntz must do some fast talking and quick thinking to save himself and his snitch.
Goldblume gets help from an FBI agent and a pharmaceutical company bean counter in his investigation into a suspected case of aspirin tampering that brings out all the nuts.
LaRue attends his old girlfriend's wedding and is forced to negotiate with the groom, who is distraught over her sexual past.
Belker goes undercover to investigate a hotel owner who is scamming city housing chits from vagrants and gets help from an INS agent in making the bust.
Hunter plans a surprise EATer inspection.
Swamped with cases, "The Ice Maiden" — Davenport — passes one of her cases to a struggling attorney.
When the subject is stabbed and killed at Michigan Avenue, she fears one of her other clients overheard her discussing his informant status.
Davenport's woes continue as a public defenders' strike looms.
She and the other PDs slow the judicial process by following the exact letter of the law.
Her antics anger Judge Wachtel, who cites her for contempt and then resorts to personal remarks.
She slaps him, lands in jail for battery, and Furillo and the Blues take up a collection to bail her out.
Her courtroom tactics interfere with Belker's attempts to protect senior citizens from a violent mugger.
When an elderly man dies in a mugging, Belker blames the already emotionally strung-out Davenport.
Hunter happens upon a robbery and is forced to shoot the young perpetrator in self-defence.
Briscoe smells blood when the kid's gun turns out to have malfunctioned and Hunter's weapon and ammunition were not department issue.
In hopes of saving Hunter's career, Furillo advises him to tell IAD he was off duty and puts Buntz on the case.
After staking out a beautiful young woman suspected of being a fence, LaRue and Washington get a major surprise.
Belker and LaRue investigate the elderly mugging victim's death and bust a man fencing the stolen cheques.
The fence withholds the mugger's name in hopes of cutting a deal.
Meanwhile, Davenport tries to end the PD job action — a task made more difficult by her loud-mouthed compatriot Danny Santana.
She walks a tightrope to unofficially help secure a deal for the fence and put away the mugger.
The city makes an offer to settle with the PDs and Joyce's cool-headed idealism persuades them to accept it.
With two wins in her column, Joyce and Frank celebrate with dinner and a night away from home.
Furillo recruits the newly demoted Hunter to take over as roll-call sergeant.
Jablonski undergoes bypass surgery and Belker and Tattaglia pay him a visit.
The cops cope with numerous bizarre incidents as the PD action lets chaos reign in the precinct.
Hill and Renko encounter a man sticking bananas in his ears while on foot patrol.
Bates and newly transferred officers Flaherty and Russo try to defuse a man threatening to blow himself up for money.
Buntz and Goldblume round up accidentally released felons and have a little fun with some drug dealers.
Goldblume gets the runaround from Chief Daniels while trying to secure money for a new task force.
With Calletano's station house on the edge of racial meltdown, Chief Daniels asks Furillo to help avert the crisis.
Furillo is reluctant at first, but a visit to his old friend at Polk Avenue produces enough evidence to convince him.
Calletano does not react well initially, but eventually submits to Furillo's advice.
The Hill Street captain later watches the situation explode when two white officers fail to back up a pair of black officers in a confrontation that turns deadly.
Hill becomes the hero of the hour after catching a baby falling from a third-floor window.
Russo's undercover arrest is jeopardised when the suspect's lawyer claims she slept with him.
Goldblume is visited by old friend and writer Steve Merkur, who is mugged and rejected by a publisher.
Bernstein saves Davenport from an escaped prisoner and shocks her by confessing that he has had a tremendous crush on her for years.
A fire at the dry cleaners destroys Furillo's wardrobe.
Buntz tries to allay IAD suspicion after several of his former collars have their homes burglarised while they are in jail.
During the investigation, Sid's informant status is exposed and he moves in with Buntz for protection.
In the wake of the racial meltdown, Stan Williams is put in command of Polk Avenue and Calletano is made an adviser to Chief Daniels.
Calletano feels betrayed when he learns Furillo voted to relieve him of command and threatens to take his story to the press.
Daniels is aggravated with the high-strung lieutenant and Furillo tries to help his friend by urging the newspaper not to print the story.
Hill is wounded and officer James Sanders, recently transferred from Polk Avenue, is killed by Goldblume's writer friend Steve Merkur, who panics when nearly mugged a second time.
Bernstein reassures Davenport after confessing his feelings for her.
Jablonski wants to return to work.
LaRue, Washington, Belker and Russo's massage parlour bust is ruined by a premature vice squad raid.
Buntz uses Bates and Flaherty to try frightening off the man threatening Sid, but things do not go according to plan.
Bates also finds herself refereeing between Buntz and Flaherty.
Renko is unsure what to do when his car is stolen as part of an insurance scam.
His problems worsen when the car returns after he has already collected the insurance cheque.
Buntz heads efforts to protect convicted mobster John Petruzzi on his way to jail from a killer hired by his nephew.
Bates and Flaherty work backup, while Flaherty gets his jollies poking fun at the gangsters.
Russo finds herself in another sexually fraught position as she poses as the nephew's girlfriend in hopes of learning specifics about the hit.
Things become complicated when a nervous young man with a gun takes Petruzzi hostage.
An alleged gypsy puts a curse on Renko and the patrol officer becomes convinced it is real after he is stung on the nose by a bee.
LaRue sees dollar signs after he and Washington bust a man who confesses to several unsolved murders.
Jablonski helps Belker nab a bus bandit.
Calletano resigns from the force after consulting with Furillo.
Goldblume discusses his old school pal on The Don Chesler Show and meets a nice lady.
Frank and Joyce discuss Goldblume's apparent unhappiness.
Furillo faces off with City Councilman William Wade during a session of the Committee on Drug Abuse.
Wade later spends the day exposing and exploiting the crack problem on the Hill, foiling a meticulously planned sweep in the process.
Furillo is furious and clashes with Chief Daniels.
Things become even more complicated when Wade guns down a drug dealer and claims self-defence.
Grace Gardner returns to the Hill as Sister Chastity and recruits officer Flaherty.
LaRue vents his frustration over new restrictions on making copies and later mediates a dispute between his sister and brother-in-law.
Jablonski makes the front page after helping nab a bus bandit, but later suffers another heart scare.
Goldblume receives an offer to publish Steve Merkur's book and later begins a new relationship.
Belker goes undercover at a seafood restaurant serving soul food in order to locate drug traffickers.
A manpower shortage delays Buntz's arrest of a loan shark, costing him a finger.
Chief Daniels pressures Furillo to drop the investigation into Councilman Wade, who continues claiming self-defence.
As the probe progresses, Wade makes a major mistake when he attempts to smear Furillo and Washington by exposing details from Washington's personnel file.
Furillo discovers who leaked the file and lays a trap for the crafty councilman and his assistant.
Hill and Renko have repeated run-ins with an obnoxious shirt salesman.
Belker goes undercover to bust a chop shop.
A literary agent offers Goldblume the chance to write his memoirs.
After scouting facilities for an outreach centre, Sister Chastity succumbs to "the lure of the flesh" and works her old magic on Flaherty, who quickly retreats.
Buntz wraps up his loan-sharking sting by arresting the man who cut off his finger, though events do not go exactly as planned.
Grace, also known as Sister Chastity, bids farewell to the Hill.
The day is filled with nasty surprises for Furillo after his father is shot during a reported break-in.
Frank and Joyce arrive at the hospital in time to learn of the elder Furillo's death.
Frank goes from devastated to furious when he discovers that everyone but him knew his father was terminally ill.
The downward spiral continues when the police investigation uncovers no evidence supporting the burglary story.
Frank must soon choose between family and the law after deducing that his father committed suicide and his mother covered it up.
Joyce tries to comfort a battered and exhausted Frank after an emotionally draining day.
LaRue siccs the health department on a restaurant owner who had his car towed.
Belker suffers nightmares about nuclear destruction and helps a father locate his missing child.
A cemetery plot salesman attempts to drum up business on the Hill.
Racial tensions run high among the Hill Street Blues when a white officer kills his black partner.
Chief Daniels informs Furillo about a corruption ring involving both officers.
Tensions worsen when Furillo temporarily removes LaRue and Washington from the case to avoid jeopardising Division's planned bust.
The Black Officers Coalition suspects a cover-up.
Furillo and Washington lose face when the bust turns into a complete failure.
Furillo becomes even more angered when he learns Daniels' actions may have been motivated by personal troubles.
He pressures Daniels to apologise to his black officers.
A group of news photographers spends the day at the precinct for a special "Day in the Life" feature.
A temporarily blind Buntz goes undercover as a beggar while Belker works backup.
Hill and Renko discover several skinned bodies of questionable origin.
Davenport tries to defend a shopkeeper who displays Nazi paraphernalia to deter robbers.
Public defender Sharon Fein's first day on the Hill spells trouble.
Davenport assigns Fein one of her cases after the client discovers Joyce is married to Frank and believes he has been betrayed.
An error by the frightened PD allows the dissatisfied client to take Davenport hostage at gunpoint.
After escaping the station house, the young man and his hostage are cornered in a neighbourhood shop.
Goldblume negotiates for Joyce's safe return with an anxious Frank at his side.
As if that were not enough, the undaunted Fein asks Washington out on a date in order to impress and shock her parents.
While taking a test drive, Belker wrecks a car belonging to LaRue's brother-in-law, and Flaherty's stolen car radio turns up inside it.
Hill and Renko track down a child molester.
A planned hunting trip involving Jablonski, Hill, Renko and Goldblume appears doomed from the outset.
Goldblume cannot seem to escape the station house, delayed first by Scouts and then by a nutty woman, but when he finally does leave he is taken hostage.
The other three officers encounter troubles of their own.
First, they are stopped by deputies for looking "suspicious."
Next, they break into the wrong cabin.
Then Hill steps on a nail while sighting a deer.
Buntz reassures Officer McBride after her shooting of an armed robber.
A garbage workers strike creates chaos on the Hill as the cops are forced to collect rubbish themselves.
Hill and Renko ride with hauler Earl Phillips, and trouble erupts when their route collides with the funeral procession of a drug kingpin.
Hill nearly starts a riot, leading to death threats, Furillo's displeasure, a police raid on the kingpin's gang and, ultimately, Phillips' murder.
"Officer Gracie Allen," a cat, finds both a home and work at the station house.
Hunter returns to EATer action when Ballantine takes a hostage.
Russo and Flaherty attempt to deal with an angry old man who later meets a tragic end.
LaRue and Washington's efforts to pass off Sid as a chemist in order to keep a cocaine case alive are undermined by Davenport.
Russo and Flaherty's relationship becomes more serious.
After overhearing gossip at the Public Defender's office, Buntz becomes convinced Joyce is having an affair and tries to help what he believes is a troubled marriage.
Sal the plumber's loose tongue spreads Buntz's suspicions throughout the Hill.
The rumours simultaneously shock and amuse Frank and Joyce.
LaRue and Washington search the city for a prize-winning cockroach.
Belker chases down a purse-snatching dog.
Public outrage erupts after pedestrians are run down by a felon recently released by the police.
Goldblume is suspended after an investigation reveals he knowingly released the man in violation of city council guidelines.
Outraged by the unfair rules, Goldblume takes his opinions to the airwaves.
Buntz's first day in station command proves eventful.
He and the blues launch a campaign to seize $130,000 worth of illegal drugs in an effort to restore overtime pay.
LaRue and Washington's antics create friction with a Division detective.
The large number of "hummer" busts prompts Davenport to seek an injunction against the operation.
Sid comes to the rescue, along with a disowned snitch arrested by Russo, Flaherty and Bates.
To cap off the day, Buntz clashes with Scapizi's interior decorator girlfriend.
Furillo and Goldblume sit on an oral examination board for prospective lieutenants.
Belker busts a tough kid who bites and runs drugs.
Renko recovers his stolen motorcycle.
Flaherty and Russo's relationship intensifies.
A family is slaughtered in their sleep and a single witness implicates a gang.
LaRue and Washington work the scene and canvas the neighbourhood, but to no avail.
Buntz and Goldblume recruit former gang member Alfred Williams to wear a wire in order to obtain evidence against the gang leader.
Meanwhile, Belker and Russo's bust leads the police to the killers.
Goldblume and Furillo clash over the use of Williams after the young man fears he has been exposed.
The two friends later lament the growing distance in their friendship to their respective ladies.
The evening is shattered when they learn Williams has killed the gang leader.
Russo "turns on" both Flaherty and a voice-activated vending machine.
A woman struggles with her Latin gigolo, and Bates, Flaherty and Davenport attempt to help.
Hill and Renko make a bust outside a methadone clinic, revive a choking drunk and deliver a baby.
Calletano returns to the Hill as a representative of the Latin American Coalition after an innocent Spanish-speaking man is shot by an officer who could not understand him.
He clashes with Chief Daniels and threatens legal action against the department, unaware that Furillo — not Daniels — would ultimately take the blame.
Joyce advises Frank to tell Calletano the truth.
Flaherty's preoccupation with Russo results in Bates being injured while attempting to arrest the Sutton Street Slasher.
Kate McBride relives memories of her father's death during an awards ceremony.
Goldblume is forced to kill Alfred Williams.
Belker copes with a smart-mouthed thief.
LaRue embarrasses himself with a group of cheerleaders who were shot at.
Hill and Renko mediate a dispute between a restaurant owner and his neighbour over a noisy marketing gimmick.
A jealous Renko suspects Daryl Ann is having an affair and considers one of his own.
Belker begins investigating a stolen credit card racket and is shot.
Jablonski and Robin keep a bedside vigil as Belker fights for his life.
Buntz spearheads efforts to find the shooter, though his rough treatment of a snitch nearly lands him in trouble.
Davenport attempts to help a young woman caught in the middle of the investigation.
Furillo blames himself for the detective's shooting and receives encouragement from Goldblume.
Russo and Flaherty stalk reports of a lion with humorous results.
After a blackmailing hooker forces Renko to confess his infidelity to Daryl Ann, he and Hill turn the tables on her.
Hunter anxiously faces the review board a day earlier than expected, but is reinstated to his lieutenancy.
LaRue, Washington and Davenport work opposite sides of a case involving a mentally disturbed young man and his frightened family.
Everyone is put through an emotional ordeal when the family conflict ends in tragedy.
A radio contest brings out the eccentrics, including a man attempting to fly using weather balloons, a trio of gang kids who lose a pig in the station house, and an older couple arrested for having sex in a public park whom LaRue tries to enter into the competition.
Buntz arrests a Russian-born shylock fencing stolen goods and later helps Sid avoid carrying out an arm-breaking assignment.
Hunter's return to EATer action fizzles when a hostage situation turns out to be non-existent.
Recovering from his injuries, Belker returns to the Hill for paperwork duty.
Renko and Hill test a new computerised patrol car, though their bad luck remains unchanged.
Jablonski's badge turns up during a hooker sweep and Belker discreetly handles the matter.
Renko and Daryl Ann's marital problems continue.
Hunter visits a friend who believes he has uncovered an Indian burial ground beneath his basement, and the pair become trapped in a cave-in.
A football star nearing the end of his career is caught in a hooker sweep after soliciting undercover officer Russo.
His high-powered lawyer negotiates a deal designed to protect the player's image while making the department look good.
Prunella returns to the Hill searching for the still-missing Hunter.
Belker experiences a rocky return to duty while working undercover at LaScali's Bakery.
LaRue forms a syndicate to back Buntz in the departmental firearms competition.
Frank and Joyce help Joe Furillo secure a loan to rescue his struggling construction business.
The brothers appear to strengthen their somewhat distant relationship in the process.
The Hill faces renewed gang violence when Jesus' sister is believed kidnapped on the eve of her wedding to a Gypsy Boy.
Furillo calls a gang summit and threatens a crackdown unless the girl is returned.
The family saga takes an unexpected turn when she reappears with a Shamrock whom she claims to love.
After emotional persuasion, the wedding proceeds — but with a different groom.
Frank and Joyce attend the reception, where further fireworks nearly erupt.
IAD investigates Buntz over a kilo of cocaine missing from evidence.
Furillo is informed of the investigation but ordered to keep it secret.
Buntz learns of the probe anyway after Sid sees officers searching his apartment and informs him.
The search uncovers a large amount of cash, and Buntz hesitates to explain its source.
IAD suspends him.
Buntz later brings in Mary Franken, girlfriend of his late former partner Tommy Donahue, to explain the origins of the money to Furillo.
Goldblume's first short story is published and receives mixed reviews from his colleagues.
LaRue rides an emotional rollercoaster after a suspect's gun misfires three times in his face.
After eleven days, Hunter is found, but the secret of his survival shocks Furillo, Chief Daniels and Prunella.
Grace returns to the Hill as a field representative for a condom manufacturer and soon rekindles her romance with Flaherty.
Sal the plumber renovates the ladies' room while continuing to pursue Bates.
The Hill Street blues attempt business as usual after an early-morning blaze damages the station house.
Rumours spread about what will become of the precinct.
While IAD continues its investigation into Buntz, he persuades Furillo to conduct an inquiry of his own.
Furillo and Sid uncover a conspiracy involving IAD's Shipman and Detective Benedict to frame the Hill Street lieutenant.
Buntz complicates matters when he confronts Shipman and prevents him from fleeing.
Meanwhile, Chief Daniels publicly vilifies Buntz, who retaliates by punching the chief in front of the press corps.
Joyce later comforts Frank, who blames himself for being unable to save his officer's career.
Hill encounters someone from his past and is troubled when he cannot remember where he knows her from.
Belker faces problems with the IRS.
Bernstein announces he is leaving the District Attorney's office for private practice in California.
Goldblume teams with an eccentric detective to capture the Piano Wire Killer, and Davenport provides a valuable lead in the investigation.
LaRue attempts to scoop a television crew broadcasting live from a gangster's cellar.
Bates finally agrees to go out with Sal the plumber.
First of all, we make no claim to its total accuracy. The information is here for the benefit of all Hill Street Blues fans, but it can only ever be a guide.
If you spot anything you believe to be incorrect, please feel free to contact the Webmaster.
The core information was published in 2001 on an anonymous GeoCities website and was used by many of us as the definitive episode guide.
Over the next few years, many attempts were made to contact the webmaster/webmistress without success. The assumption must be that they are no longer online.
With the closing of GeoCities in 2010, I took the decision to preserve the core data and re-use it here.
Although it has since been substantially modified, acknowledgement must be given to the unknown person who originally collected all the information and inspired this webmaster to continue the project.