Hill Street Blues.pilot.intro 

There's just something about those images of the cars setting out on a cold wet morning combined with that VERY unexpected calm and slow theme music... magic.

Michael Conrad's "Lets be careful out there" applies today in 2022 for everyone big time.

As soon as the theme music starts it hits you on the old heart strings.........😮‍💨😮‍💨😀😀

I had a science teacher in junior high school from 1982-1983 who would end class with "Hey, let's be careful out there!" Must've been a fan of this show.

There would be no NYPD Blue, Homicide: Life on the Street, Cagney & Lacey, Law & Order, etc., without Hill Street Blues......greatest show!!

I watched this with my Dad👍 Miss you Dad😥

I watched this as kid in the UK (12 or 13) when it came out. My mum let me watch it although it was on late. She made toast and I sat and laughed and cried at the stories and characters. It was very well done. I'm now 53 and retired as a Police sergeant after 29 years. This program means a lot to me in many ways. Being in the UK (Scotland) means there's a lot of differences but lots of things are the same. Special stuff. I particularly remember the episode when the cop shot the kid by mistake and how the actor bawled his eyes out after it. Heartbreaking. Really struck me even at a young age. That theme takes my breath away still to this day. The best Police drama? Yep. This is it. Pure gold.

When Michael Conrad died during season 4 of hill street blues the show wasn’t the same without him he will be truly missed

You can feel how ahead of it’s time this show was. A beginning of the modern age of TV dramas we’re in now.

10 PM Thursday, January 15, 1981 the pilot episode of Hill Street Blues was first broadcast. I think most people who saw that broadcast remember their shock and awe at the stunning realism presented on their tv screen. They either hated the show or like me immediately became dedicated fans.

HSB got even better with the introduction of Andrew Sipowicz. I'm a Brit and tbh no fan of American TV but Hill Street Blues was a one off, a true gem.

I grew up watching this tv classic as a kid ,I was fortunate enough to experience the good old days growing up in the 80'🙂s.

Michael Conrad was magnificent

My all time favourite Police series.

The Best police series ever. Nobody could get as high as them

Those opening piano notes in that theme music! They instantly conjure up memories of the early 1980's that leave my soul longing for the past. Why does it feel so good to miss the past so much? I believe, my friends, that they call it nostalgia.

One of the BEST shows at the time !

LET'S BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!.🚔🌹✊🕊️🙏🇬🇧💎😎👍

"They had some ugly people on Hill Street Blues, that's how you know it was real."

In honour of the late Michael Conrad let’s be careful out there

The show was a masterpiece. The characters were so vividly drawn.

Thursday night in the UK. A make sure your home, never miss a show, kind of show. Thanks for some wonderful memories.

Those doors opening, those cars racing out into the grey, the first notes of the piano. Pure magic.

Happy Memories Of Watching This With My Dad when I was 12 He Passed 1984 Loved this Show

Truly a great show and cast of characters….

"Let's be careful out there" To this day I often use that line as a kind of light hearted farewell, few people know my inspiration for saying it, I'm showing my age I suppose.

Everyone pulling out their illegal weapons was hilarious and even better that the Sarge didn't care.... for a series drama in it's opening scenes, I thought it was a good touch to elict a chuckle

This was a big deal back in the day. I wouldn't miss an episode... While I didn't like all of the story lines in the show, it was very well written and acted.

I was in high school and would always rush home so I would not miss this show. I think it came on on Thursday nights. I miss those times in life, no cell phones or internet. Growing up in rural America it gave me insight of big city life. Now in 2020 I'm still not impressed with the big cities but this show was really cool.

Great show, lives in memory

Part of NBCs powerhouse Thursday night line up in the 80s.

It's crazy how that intro just zaps you right back to way back when and awakens long dormant memories. Music must be the language of God, how could it not be?

I watched this in the 1980’s with my husband. At that time he wanted to be a cop. The power of music! It took me way back! ❤️

Michael Conrad was phenomenal in this role! What an epic TV show !

One of the best shows ever. Showed police officers as human beings with regular personal challenges just like other Americans. Today especially, the public forgets that the police are members of the public. Contrary to popular belief, the police don’t have answers to a lifetime of bad decisions by politicians and individuals.

I was at my childhood friend's house -- I was a kid of about 12 years old -- when this pilot episode came on the air and I watched the first five minutes or so...and thought WOOOWWW, SO COOLLLL!! My friend's parents saw it too and quickly turned off the TV to protect us kids from a warped brain, I suppose. Still, I knew when I saw it that this was something totally new and different for TV.

The greatest TV series ever made. You disagree? Bite me, dog-breath!

The late Steven Bochco and company put together and produced some great TV here. Not to mention this memorable opening tune for Hill Street Blues. This was a great serial drama cop show then, and now. The acting ensemble, the writing and the entire production was spot on. Not to mention the great instrumental intro. I used to watch and enjoy this TV series with my brother during those early years and we really liked it. I believe Hill Street Blues was set in an unnamed city and they never really mentioned what city this was. Though for some reason I always thought it was set in St Louis?? But it was more like Chicago. The show had a great cast including Daniel Travanti, Veronica Hamel, Dennis Franz and others. It had truly some great and interesting stories that gripped you. Somewhat complex characters all put together and made for some great television.I really wonder if a serial drama like this would work today. So many memories come to mind and are tied into this beautiful instrumental intro. I loved Hill Street Blues then and I still love it now. It was a different time and place. Thanks for posting!.....

And in this ten minutes, television changed forever

Loved it here in 🇬🇧,the most American tv series ever,it was on late but was allowed to stay up,theme tune still my favourite xxx

The 80's were a wild time to be an Officer. Nearly equal to the Wild West and this show nailed that feeling

Hill Street and Homicide Life on The Street changed cop dramas and dramas period for the rest of tv history! Without there never would've been St. Elsewhere, LA Law, NYPD Blue, The Sopranos, The Shield, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men etc. It all started with this show and the brilliance of Bochco and Kozoll.

That was such a good show, wow. Thank you for bringing it back to us!

This got me through the police academy. Every Thursday night, study group while watching HSB before Friday morning exam!

The best show ever.

Maybe the best intro to a tv series ever, and I have seen LOTS of tv series (I am 69 years old).

GREATEST cop show EVER ! 👍

Thus begins one of American Television's finest achievements. I know I bandy that phrase around a lot. But in this case, it ain't no hyperbole. HSB not only re-invented the police drama wheel -- Steve Bochco & Co. re-invented the thematic and character-driven wheels that drove prime-time television drama, PERIOD. Early morning precinct roll-call. Sgt. Esterhaus's admonishment to be careful out there. Up goeth the blue garage door. Out cometh the police cruiser with the siren going and the police radio on full blast --- and right INTO Television History.

I knew this show was a BIG HIT the first episode. I loved the show, and told everyone about it to spread the word so it wouldn't get canceled. After the first year, the viewing public finally got their shit together and it went on to be recognized as the hit it was. It was touch and go there for a while, and I think was almost canceled. It might have won awards that first season, which probably saved it.

If I close my eyes I feel like I'm sitting in the living room of the house I grew up in with my dad again and time has stood still!

The single greatest television drama ever produced..

Y'know I always thought it was NYPD Blue that started the whole shaky-camera-in-a-police-drama-to-make-it-look-rough-and-gritty style, but I'll be damned.....it started here.

This show made me realize cops were real people. Some good, some bad, but they all had real world issues just like the rest of us.

The memories this brings back are truly special. I remember watching this when there was nothing that got even close to the bar it set. A truly exceptional set of characters that you could identify with and feel their pain and humour.

Hill street blues was one of the best cop shows of the 80’s

2:12 - “Let’s Be Careful Out There.” - Michael Conrad (Sgt. Phil Esterhaus) (1925-1983)

Hearing this theme tune takes me back to being young and being with my late mam and dad.

It's hard to watch this show knowing Michael Conrad passed away so long ago. He was my favorite part of the show.

This is another one of those shows i was too young to watch during its airing. I really want to see the series now.

Fantastic series, one of the best cop shows to be made IMO. Always loved the music too:)

I was too young to watch this when it was on back in the 80s, but thankfully they're all on dvd. Just a terrific show. Belker's my favorite, but this is an amazing ensemble cast.

Man. One time my uncle who is a retired Chicago cop watched this scene and he just busted out laughing if he said yeah that's about what roll call was like on Wabash Avenue.

One of the best series of the generation ❤

This was the best cop show at the time and set the stage for NYPD Blue. Hill Streets cast was excellent and so was the writing !

Rest in peace Detective Neal Washington. Xx

This series was recommended by my professor in public management graduate school. In my career I often thought what Frank Furillo would do.

1981 this is a pretty diverse cast on TV.

One of the GREATEST Cop shows

Dear kids, this is how us Gen Xers got through our tough times watching these great shows

No matter what time ticks and ticks and seeing this warms my heart cause I loved this show and others, when tv was your baby sitter stuff.

Just hearing this intro brings me back to an era as a kid. I was 10 when this was first released and I can totally hear the tv while I was in bed. My Dad loved this show and as I got older, so did I.

Being a former police officer i loved it because for the first time it showed cops as human beings. Just a great show. That clip was awesome

Michael Conrad appeared in many of my favorite programs ("The Bob Newhart Show," "The Rockford Files," "Soap," and "Barney Miller") before landing his role as Sgt. Phil Esterhaus on "Hill Street Blues." The chemistry between Conrad and Barbara Babcock as his love interest, Grace Gardner, was palpable.

Goosebumps loved the show music Peace ✌️ 2024

Daniel J. Travanti! Wow! You just couldn't make that name up. So cool. Great show, great series, brilliant acting, incredible theme tune. Nothing today can touch it.

I was searching for the cop show my grandpa watched in the early 80's when I was a young kid. I thought it was Law & Order, but found that was a 90's show. A quick google search of 80's cop shows and I saw this...This was the show. ThaNKS

I love the theme song to hill street blues. It reminds me of my father when he was a police officer. I miss you dad😢.

Legendary

The opening shots were filmed at the old Maxwell St. District station house (Chicago has districts instead of Precincts) the building was later donated to the University Of Chicago (as I understand) and for years and years everyone called it "Hill St Building" or just "Hill Street" when referencing it. From what I was told U of C uses that building for it's campus security (or did at one point) parts of the Blues Brothers movie was filmed on Maxwell St. That was the epicenter of the Chicago blues scene.

One of the Great Casts of All Time.

"Lets be Careful out there!"...love it

This show was so much better than any of the police shows on today other than possibly Blue Bloods.

This was "must see" back in the 80's! Loved Belcher and the onions.

Best opening of tv show

I just had a fantastic weekend ever, Also I just got done watching a Hill Street blues Marathon on decades network. Oh yeah, they have been playing it all weekend long and I have to say it was great to see all these episodes of Hill Street blues again. Thank you very much decades for playing this Marathon. Oh yeah I enjoyed every minute of it while it lasted.

Man I love this opening!!!

Oh god - it's like seeing old friends after a long gap.

Three veteran actors died in shows that would never be the same without them. Michael Conrad, Nicholas Colosanto, and Dolph Sweet

Enjoyed this show in its heyday. Thank God for utube.

The greatest show ever ❤️

While not the first to use the "cold open" Hill Street Blues popularized and perfected it for later generations in both drama and comedy. Where, after all, would Richard Anthony Wolf be without the Cold Open?

Again just of memory when TV series came out for the people-

I used to stay up as a kid to watch this show. Good stuff

Wonderful, Wonderful Show!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Yours the best of all Douglas Thankyou....it was a wonderful time to be young

In the UK during the 80’s, one of our sergeants would say ”lets be careful out there” at the end of our shift briefing. Seems he was a fan of the show too:)

What a good show, still miss it

Nice. Perfect theme music.

‘Hill St. Blues’ along with the other great series of that time ‘Taxi’ both had memorable and quality theme tunes. Not always known by the public in general is that both those theme tunes had some of the most prolific and famous session musicians playing them. Larry Carlton - Guitar (Steely Dan, Joni Mithchell, Michael Jackson), Steve Gadd - Drums (S&G, Eric Clapton,James Taylor, Frank Sinatra), Eric Gale - Guitar, Gary King - Bass and more. Music was intertwined with all aspects of youth culture back then. Live music in every pub, club,How I miss those days …..

Also love the American police car's at the beginning