BLAST FROM THE PAST... 1981

HILL STREET BLUES

PIONEERING COPS

One of the most influential cop dramas of all time, this US show from the 1980s rewrote the book on how to tell crime stories from the point of view of the police. It was gritty and realistic, but it also built its characters carefully so that we knew that these were cops that had to take the job home with them. Many episodes in its seven-season run started and ended the same way – with a briefing from the desk sergeant (in seasons one to four that was Phil Esterhaus, played by Michael Conrad), and with Cpt. Frank Furillo (Daniel J Travanti, right) talking about his day. What happened in between was pure TV magic from which almost every cop show since – from Line Of

Duty to The Rookie – has taken its cue. All4