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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!

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.
Genres:DramaCrime
Network:NBC

Best Episodes Summary

"Grace Under Pressure" is the best rated episode of "Hill Street Blues". It scored 8.7/10 based on 140 votes. Directed by Rick Wallace and written by Michael I. Wagner, Mark Frost, Karen Hall, it aired on 2/2/1984. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The World According to Freedom".

  • Grace Under Pressure
    8.7/10140 votes
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    #1 - 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

  • The World According to Freedom
    8.6/10169 votes
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    #2 - 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

  • Freedom's Last Stand
    8.6/10158 votes
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    #3 - 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

  • Trial by Fury
    8.6/10120 votes
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    #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

  • It Ain't Over Till It's Over
    8.5/10120 votes
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    #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

  • Rites of Spring (2)
    8.4/10191 votes
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    #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

  • The Second Oldest Profession
    8.4/10139 votes
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    #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

  • Eugene's Comedy Empire Strikes Back
    8.3/10111 votes
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    #8 - 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

  • Hill Street Station
    8.2/10372 votes
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    #9 - 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

  • The Last White Man on East Ferry Avenue
    8.2/10124 votes
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    #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

  • Requiem For a Hairbag
    8.2/10131 votes
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    #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

  • A Hill of Beans
    8.2/10106 votes
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    #12 - 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

  • The End of Logan's Run
    8.2/1098 votes
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    #13 - 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

  • What Are Friends For?
    8.2/10125 votes
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    #14 - 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

  • Double Jeopardy
    8.1/10184 votes
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    #15 - 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

  • Rites of Spring (1)
    8.1/10147 votes
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    #16 - 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

  • Cranky Streets
    8.1/10137 votes
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    #17 - 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

  • The Shooter
    8.1/10105 votes
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    #18 - 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

  • Moon Over Uranus: the Final Legacy
    8.1/10109 votes
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    #19 - 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

  • Here's Adventure, Here's Romance
    8.1/10110 votes
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    #20 - Here's Adventure, Here's Romance

    Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 10/13/1983

    The only witness to a massacre in a gay bar is an off duty cop; the Cisco Kid ties up traffic; and Goldblume offers to be Fay's natural childbirth coach.

    Director: Christian I. Nyby II

    Writer: Michael I. Wagner, Mark Frost, David Milch

  • Doris in Wonderland
    8.1/10110 votes
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    #21 - 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

  • Goodbye, Mr. Scripps
    8.1/10100 votes
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    #22 - Goodbye, Mr. Scripps

    Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 11/24/1983

    On election day, Goldblume tries to keep a last minute candidate clear of the polling places; Mahoney turns on Daniels; Wachtel reports gangsters threatening to torch Murray's Wonderland; and Furillo tries to help Perez' family.

    Director: Corey Allen

    Writer: Mark Frost

  • Midway to What?
    8.1/10105 votes
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    #23 - 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

  • Nichols from Heaven
    8.1/1093 votes
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    #24 - Nichols from Heaven

    Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 1/19/1984

    The rats return; Esterhaus is hospitalized for tests; Bates, Coffey and Joyce try to protect a woman and her children from her abusive husband; the latest cop killing looks to be a hired gun copying the random killer; and the corruption investigation strikes close to Hill Street; Hill Street gets word of the murder of Marty Nichols.

    Director: Thomas Carter

    Writer: N/A

  • Can World War III Be An Attitude?
    8.0/10192 votes
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    #25 - Can World War III Be An Attitude?

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 1/24/1981

    Furillo backs LaRue in the bribery case brought by Macafee; Hill and Renko bust a car thief who's a mechanical whiz; and Esterhaus sees Grace in a new light when they share a crisis at the station house when the Presidential visit is cancelled and gang revenge is feared.

    Director: Robert Butler

    Writer: Steven Bochco