If you are a fan of Peak TV, then you owe a big debt of gratitude to Steven Bochco, who passed away Sunday from leukemia at the age of 74.
Bochco, along with Michael Kozoll, created the ground-breaking NBC cop show "Hill Street Blues." Hill Street was unlike anything else on TV at the time, especially cop shows. With complicated multi-episode story arcs that often did not have a happy ending; a large talented ensemble cast, with flawed characters who don't always do the right thing; handheld edgy cinematography with moody lighting and a documentary feel; and a tone that combined comedy with dark emotional drama. It premiered in January 1981 to universal critical acclaim, and sadly very low ratings. NBC surprisingly stuck with the show, and even though the ratings were never very good, and it ran for 7 seasons.
To an impressionable Grade 11 high school student living in small town Ontario, it blew my mind.
As a historical piece, you can trace modern television back to this show. So if you enjoy Breaking Bad, True Detective, Boardwalk Empire, or any of the other numerous high quality TV series that now dominate the airwaves, it all started with Hill Street Blues. The lineage goes right back to January 1981.
I read an interview with Bochco a long time ago, and in it he gave a great piece of advice. When the writer asked him the secret to his artistic success, he simply said - I want to write what I want to see, what I would want to watch. That was it.
So raise your glass to toast the life of the father of modern television - Steven Bochco.
