Am I the only one that found it highly underwhelming as a series finale? And especially unsatisfactory from the angle of Norman Buntz, though it was about time somebody clobbered Daniels, he had that coming for 7 years.
shareNo you aren't alone. I haven't seen it in several years so I can't get into detail. But from what I remember it felt too much like a normal episode. Didn't feel like it was the end. Agree on Bunt hitting Daniels!!!
It seems more often than not I'm let down by series finales. If a bad finale has closure at least it has that going for it right?? From what I remember NYPD Blue also had an ending like that to some degree. Like a normal episode. I liked NYPD Blue but didn't watch it on a regular basis. If not mistaken David Milch was still involved with NYPD Blue when it ended and he also was still a creative force with Hill Street. Maybe it just the way Milch likes,to end his programs.
What would've been ironic would be after his suspension, Buntz wound up being in the right place at the right time to save Daniels' life, then he'd be eating his words about 'dirty cops'.
I don't know though, I think I prefer shows that DO end on an 'everyday episode' note, the goodbyes are hard, even so, I would've expected something a bit more than this.
In case you don't know, Buntz left and moved to the west coast--and Sid the Snitch went with him! Buntz became a private investigator.
This was shown in the spin-off series, Beverly Hills Buntz, which only lasted thirteen episodes. I remember liking it, altho I haven't seen it since it aired. I read that the showrunners couldn't decide if it was a comedy or a drama, and that this hurt its ratings.
I read that the showrunners couldn't decide if it was a comedy or a drama, and that this hurt its ratings.
I tend to prefer my comedy mixed into otherwise dramatic shows also, like Life, for instance. However, I think that's different from a show which is torn between two different directions, which is what people seem to be saying about Beverly Hills Buntz.
I'd love to watch it now and see what I thought of it.
It worked for me. The final episode, I mean. Maybe a modern Shakespeare could could have written the perfect closure for Hill Street, but neither he nor anyone with near his talent was available. Yet I wouldn't call that final episode "meh" or journeyman: the beat went on. Sort of; and that's just like life. The chief had it coming. Buntz deserved another chance. There were a lot of loose ends. Why should we expect the worst for the "ends" we're most familiar with? A Hill Street station house wouldn't be Hill Street if they let Buntz get taken out. I can see every single person, including non Buntz lovers, coming to his defense; saying, in effect, if he goes, we go. It would have been, from a realistic perspective nearly unbelievable, yet first rate TV series have been "saved", or characters in them, by unlikelier approaches. Logical response to all this: things like this don't happen in real life. Only on TV. Okay, on Hill Steet they could have pulled it off, thanks to its strong fanbase. Nah, the ending they did wasn't so bad. A lot of the much older guys survived. I mean literally, as characters, not on the Hill Street that didn't get another season. It's not like Tierney and Prosky got gunned down by teen hoods outside a diner somewhere. It didn't feel bad to me. Over, yes. That was sad, but it didn't suck. What sucked was that the Hill Street Blues we came to love was ending. Damn!
shareI'm partial to 'and the adventure continues' type endings... the fire makes a good 'Event'... but. If I had my druthers (as the old saying goes) I think
Furillo Retiring
Davenport returning to the DA's Office
Hill and/or Renko moving up to detective
Belker's Kid saying 'Hair ball' or Barking
would have all made nice Mile stones
*** Addendum
the finale has cycled through on H&I as I Type this and I'm seeing a lot of call backs to the series as a whole in the last 2-3 episodes... Furillo stepping up for Buntz is true to both of them... LaRue's near death in the penultimate episode worked for him...
If they didn't know this was the end, they did a good job of making it look like it...
I've always been disappointed by Hill Street's final episode. I'm not exactly sure how I wished for it to end, but wanted something more. The only really final moment came when Buntz punched Daniels. I guess the fire and Belker going though his mother's things were supposed to add some kind of closure. I would've at least liked the final four episodes, or more, to provide a story arc that would close out the show. Something along the lines of Daniels getting caught in a scandal, forced to resign, and Furillo getting promoted to Chief.
I was most puzzled by the Steven Keats character and the "Piano Wire Killer." Was this criminal mentioned before? This story line, for a final episode, lacked any juice.
I suppose a few story lines that occurred all during the last season were meant to add some closure. I think Furrilo's comment to Henry "did you have to make the Captain so bland" might have expressed his sentiments of what he felt his character had become.
But when the episode was over, you could easily see the series continuing. My sister summed up by saying, "It didn't end..." Maybe that was the point.
I would love a theatrical movie, like they did for "Miami Vice."
A feature film for Hill Street would have been nice; and it might have worked. Big Problem: they'd need talent as first rate as the TV series had, and from start to finish. No, not an over-hyped big screen reboot like the MI films; or feature film sequels like Star Trek TNG. No, the real HSB, same deal, different medium. A feature film now. There'd be problems, problems, problems. Put more emphasis on Calletano? Build up Lucy? More for Lindsay Crouse to do? Money issues would hurt things. Travanti, if he deigned to appear in such a movie series, might get twice the money as Haid, Weitz and Franz; and then what? Could all this have been ironed out? It would have taken an heroic effort. I'd say yes, but with great difficulty. If a feature or two succeeded, maybe some AWOL players and writers would return. Stranger things have happened.
shareIt was realistic I guess, life goes on and the beat goes on, nothing earth shattering happens.
It would have been nice as a fan to see some happy endings for some of the characters, Howard finally meeting his soul mate, Renko getting back with Daryl Ann etc. But from a creative point of view I think they were right in keeping it grounded in that nothing much had changed.
Buntz got a bad rap though, that left a sour taste.
The idea of the crew was to treat last episode as just another episode. No finale as such but the feeling life goes on on the hill after cameras stopped rolling. In keeping with the style of the shoe.
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