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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!

The Best Episodes of Hill Street Blues

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

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  1. 8.7/10(141 votes)

    #1 - Grace Under Pressure

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    S4:E14

    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.

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  2. 8.6/10(160 votes)

    #2 - Freedom's Last Stand

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    S2:E11

    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.

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  3. 8.5/10(172 votes)

    #3 - The World According to Freedom

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    S2:E8

    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.

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    Director:Jeff Bleckner
    Writer:N/A
  4. 8.5/10(123 votes)

    #4 - Trial by Fury

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    S3:E1

    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.

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  5. 8.5/10(122 votes)

    #5 - It Ain't Over Till It's Over

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    S7:E22

    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.

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  6. 8.3/10(194 votes)

    #6 - Rites of Spring (2)

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    S1:E15

    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.

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Hill Street Blues

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  8. 8.3/10(142 votes)

    #7 - The Second Oldest Profession

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    S2:E4

    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.

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  9. 8.2/10(378 votes)

    #8 - Hill Street Station

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    S1:E1

    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.

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  10. 8.2/10(133 votes)

    #9 - Requiem For a Hairbag

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    S3:E8

    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.

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    Director:Bob Kelljan
    Writer:Mark Frost
  11. 8.2/10(113 votes)

    #10 - Eugene's Comedy Empire Strikes Back

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    S3:E19

    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.

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  12. 8.2/10(123 votes)

    #11 - What Are Friends For?

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    S6:E9

    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.

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    Writer:Dick Wolf
  13. 8.1/10(189 votes)

    #12 - Double Jeopardy

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    S1:E5

    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.

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  14. 8.1/10(150 votes)

    #13 - Rites of Spring (1)

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    S1:E14

    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.

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  15. 8.1/10(126 votes)

    #14 - The Last White Man on East Ferry Avenue

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    S2:E3

    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.

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  16. 8.1/10(107 votes)

    #15 - The Shooter

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    S2:E17

    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.

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  17. 8.1/10(111 votes)

    #16 - Moon Over Uranus: the Final Legacy

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    S3:E16

    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.

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  18. 8.1/10(108 votes)

    #17 - A Hill of Beans

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    S3:E22

    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.

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  19. 8.1/10(113 votes)

    #18 - Doris in Wonderland

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    S4:E5

    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.

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    Writer:N/A
  20. 8.1/10(108 votes)

    #19 - Midway to What?

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    S4:E8

    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.

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  21. 8.1/10(101 votes)

    #20 - The End of Logan's Run

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    S4:E17

    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.

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  22. 8.0/10(158 votes)

    #21 - Life, Death, Eternity

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    S1:E11

    Furillo's chances for promotion are threatened when a city councilman is implicated in the murder of the teenage prostitute; LaRue continues to look for money for his ""saloondramat""; Fay's obscene caller breaks into her home; and Belker confronts an anti-Semitic cop just transferred to the Hill.

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    Director:Jack Starrett
    Writer:N/A
  23. 8.0/10(127 votes)

    #22 - Fruits of the Poisonous Tree

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    S2:E5

    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.

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    Director:Rod Holcomb
    Writer:N/A
  24. 8.0/10(139 votes)

    #23 - Cranky Streets

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    S2:E6

    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.

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    Director:Randa Haines
  25. 8.0/10(122 votes)

    #24 - Chipped Beef

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    S2:E7

    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.

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    Writer:N/A
  26. 8.0/10(102 votes)

    #25 - Invasion of the Third World Body Snatchers

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    S2:E18

    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.

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Best Episodes Summary

"Grace Under Pressure" is the best rated episode of "Hill Street Blues". It scored 8.7/10 based on 141 votes. Directed by Rick Wallace and written by Mark Frost, Michael I. Wagner, Karen Hall, it aired on 2/2/1984. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Freedom's Last Stand".