8.7/10157 votesLoading...#1 - Freedom's Last Stand
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 1/28/1982
Bates plays in the interdepartmental poker finals; Fuchs refuses to help out one of his own men caught forging prescriptions; Henry goes undercover on a smash-and-grab purse snatching detail; Delgado admits he's afraid of testifying before the commission; Joyce chides Furillo for being naive about his supposed innocence protecting him against the commission; the scam saloon closes down after a gun battle; and a furious Furillo testifies before the commission and offers his resignation to Chief Daniels.
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Writer: Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich, Michael I. Wagner
8.7/10138 votesLoading...#2 - Grace Under Pressure
Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 2/2/1984
Sergeant Esterhaus dies unexpectedly and the whole station house tries to deal with their grief as they eulogize the man. Meanwhile, Leo finds out his wife is cheating on him; Bates may get a unique promotion; Mrs. Furillo is mistakenly arrested for soliciting by a rookie; Sandy is raped.
Director: Rick Wallace
Writer: Michael I. Wagner, Mark Frost, Karen Hall
8.6/10168 votesLoading...#3 - The World According to Freedom
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 1/7/1982
Belker meets an eccentric calling himself ""Captain Freedom"" while on a stakeout; LaRue gets more than he bargained for as a cell plant when he overhears an arson suspect taunting an accused child molester; and Furillo issues an ultimatum to the gangs after a savage massacre in a local tavern.
Director: Jeff Bleckner
Writer: N/A
8.6/10119 votesLoading...#4 - Trial by Fury
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/1982
Furillo throws away the rule book when two young men rape and murder a nun during a church robbery; Belker befriends gay prostitute Eddie Gregg; Calletano faces a tax audit; and Joyce feels helpless as public opinion works to destroy her client.
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Writer: David Milch
8.6/10119 votesLoading...#5 - It Ain't Over Till It's Over
Season 7 Episode 22 - Aired 5/12/1987
Sid and Furillo work to find out who is setting up Buntz while Daniels publicly vilifies him; LaRue decides to beat a TV crew doing a live broadcast from a gangster's cellar to the punch; Bates agrees to go out with Sal the plumber; rumors are flying about what will happen to the station house after a three-alarm fire guts it.
Director: Stan Lathan
Writer: David Milch, John Romano
8.4/10190 votesLoading...#6 - Rites of Spring (2)
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 5/19/1981
Furillo and Neal go out of their way to help clear an obnoxious, racist narcotics detective accused of shooting an unarmed black man; LaRue's drinking gets really out of hand; and Hill and Renko try to help a young black woman accused of neglecting her children.
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Writer: Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich
8.4/10138 votesLoading...#7 - The Second Oldest Profession
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 11/19/1981
Bates loses a junkie prostitute through an error in judgement; Hudson beats up his lawyer after his release on bail; Furillo and Joyce reconsider their separation; and Esterhaus ends his friendship with Mac.
Director: Robert Butler
Writer: Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich
8.3/10370 votesLoading...#8 - Hill Street Station
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/15/1981
Precinct Captain Furillo tries to defuse a hostage situation despite the advice of his gung-ho Emergency Action Team leader and the temperament of a self-absorbed gang leader; public defender Joyce Davenport tries to find a client who has been lost in the bureaucratic maze; Detective LaRue gets a lapful of coffee; Sgt. Esterhaus confides to Fay about his teenage sweetheart; Officers Hill and Renko are shot in the line of duty.
Director: Robert Butler
Writer: Steven Bochco
8.3/10110 votesLoading...#9 - Eugene's Comedy Empire Strikes Back
Season 3 Episode 19 - Aired 3/3/1983
Bates poses as a bus driver; LaRue continues to groom Vic Hitler for his debut; Daniels is ready to sacrifice Coffey to quiet public opinion; and Furillo and Davenport take a major step in their lives.
Director: David Anspaugh
Writer: Anthony Yerkovich, David Milch
8.2/10123 votesLoading...#10 - The Last White Man on East Ferry Avenue
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 11/12/1981
Hill and Renko handle a domestic call involving an old man threatening his neighbors with a shotgun; Hudson looks for the informer in his gang; and Joyce asks Furillo for advice about the Downey case.
Director: David Anspaugh
Writer: Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich
8.2/10130 votesLoading...#11 - Requiem For a Hairbag
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/18/1982
LaRue and Washington open Maizel's safety deposit box and find evidence of his corruption; Bates and Coffey try to help an abused child with her baby; Belker ends his insurance scam investigation with a visit to Hill's doctor; and Daniels pressures Furillo to keep quiet about Maizel.
Director: Bob Kelljan
Writer: Mark Frost
8.2/10108 votesLoading...#12 - Moon Over Uranus: the Final Legacy
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 2/10/1983
The courts settle Daniels' crime operation; a jealous Furillo questions Joyce about her interview at the Justice Department; LaRue imports a surplus tank; Fay gets herself arrested so she can confront Judge Grogan about the paternity of her expected child; and Goldblume outthinks some gang members threatening a stand up young man who turned in their friends.
Director: David Anspaugh
Writer: Anthony Yerkovich, Michael I. Wagner, David Milch
8.2/10105 votesLoading...#13 - A Hill of Beans
Season 3 Episode 22 - Aired 5/12/1983
Belker and LaRue learn that Washington was set up by someone in the station house; the long overdue cash payroll is hijacked; Joyce meets a really nice purse snatcher; and Furillo finds Jesus Martinez behind bars.
Director: Rick Wallace
Writer: Anthony Yerkovich, Mark Frost, David Milch
8.2/10109 votesLoading...#14 - Doris in Wonderland
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 11/10/1983
Commander Ozzie Cleveland enters the mayoral race; Officer Perez accidentally shoots a little boy; Daniels begins ""Operation Tenderloin"" out of a sexual cafeteria; and Mahoney tries to make political capitol for Daniels out of a shooting.
Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman
Writer: N/A
8.2/10104 votesLoading...#15 - Midway to What?
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 12/1/1983
Bates and Coffey clean up ""Buck Naked"" for a court appearance; a busted bookie turns over several tapes incriminating cops on the take, including a rookie Hunter; Belker pursues a paraplegic who spray painted his car; and Hill boxes for the precinct.
Director: Thomas Carter
Writer: Michael I. Wagner, Mark Frost, Karen Hall
8.2/1097 votesLoading...#16 - The End of Logan's Run
Season 4 Episode 17 - Aired 3/1/1984
Belker has a final run in with his bald headed pickpocket with many names; Joyce defends a man whose brother plans to threaten the prosecution witness into silence; and Operation Stop 'N Cop begins.
Director: Christian I. Nyby II
Writer: Mark Frost, David Milch
8.2/10124 votesLoading...#17 - What Are Friends For?
Season 6 Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/1985
Belker goes to the dogs working undercover at the pound; Furillo chases down the reason he's been denied mortgage insurance; LaRue and Washington bust a former baseball star for drunken driving; and Buntz is held hostage by a vicious parolee.
Director: John Patterson
Writer: Dick Wolf
8.1/10183 votesLoading...#18 - Double Jeopardy
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 1/31/1981
Neal continues to investigate Macafee's life as a way of clearing LaRue; Belker and several others go undercover dressed as women to catch a rapist; Esterhaus broods over his two women; and Goldblume questions his ability after losing a jumper.
Director: Robert Butler
Writer: Steven Bochco
8.1/10146 votesLoading...#19 - Rites of Spring (1)
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 5/19/1981
Furillo and Neal go out of their way to help clear an obnoxious, racist narcotics detective accused of shooting an unarmed black man; LaRue's drinking gets really out of hand; and Hill and Renko try to help a young black woman accused of neglecting her children.
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Writer: Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich
8.1/10124 votesLoading...#20 - Fruits of the Poisonous Tree
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 12/3/1981
Night court interferes with ""Monday Night Football"" as LaRue and Washington are accused of entrapping a mugger; Bates and Coffey look for gang members responsible for the drive-by shooting of a child; Fay announces that she's getting married again.
Director: Rod Holcomb
Writer: N/A
8.1/10136 votesLoading...#21 - Cranky Streets
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 12/10/1981
Hill covers for an old friend with personal problems who uses excessive force on an arrest; Coffey arrests an old family friend during a visit to his old neighborhood; Fay introduces her fiance; and negotiations breakdown between the police union and the city.
Director: Randa Haines
Writer: Robert Crais
8.1/10119 votesLoading...#22 - Chipped Beef
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 12/17/1981
Furillo pushes Hill about his support of Nash; Belker goes under to catch a gang preying on automatic bank tellers; Fay's engagement ends abruptly; and a good samaritan faces arrest on old out of town warrants.
Director: Georg Stanford Brown
Writer: N/A
8.1/10104 votesLoading...#23 - The Shooter
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 5/6/1982
Belker tries to renew his expired driver's license; Renko tries to take his father home from the hospital; LaRue rehabilitates himself with Furillo; and everyone follows the trail of the gun used to kill two officers during a burglary.
Director: Thomas Carter
Writer: Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich
8.1/1099 votesLoading...#24 - Invasion of the Third World Body Snatchers
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 5/13/1982
Renko's father takes a final trip around the city; Belker goes undercover to find out who has been knifing winos; and Joyce finds her faith restored as she defends a nice young man accused of rape whose alibi is reluctant to testify.
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Writer: Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich
8.1/10101 votesLoading...#25 - Domestic Beef
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/1982
Belker forgets his mother's birthday; Hill and Renko look into urban cattle rustling; LaRue and Washington apply for jobs in the Bahamas; and Furillo sits on a board of rights for a fellow captain accused of neglecting his duties.
Director: Jeff Bleckner
Writer: Anthony Yerkovich
The Best Episodes of Hill Street Blues
Every episode of Hill Street Blues ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Hill Street Blues!
A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.
Genres:DramaCrime
Network:NBC
Best Episodes Summary
"Freedom's Last Stand" is the best rated episode of "Hill Street Blues". It scored 8.7/10 based on 157 votes. Directed by Gregory Hoblit and written by Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich, Michael I. Wagner, it aired on 1/28/1982. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Grace Under Pressure".