im sure i seen an episode were buntz finally loses the plot and eventually kills himself its an episode were a robot that has a camera on it films buntz killin himself so if that happened then how come buntz is still alive in the final episode were he puches the head of the police
shareSame actor, different character. Dennis Franz initially played "Sal Benedetto," a corrupt cop who ends up committing suicide. Later, Bochco brought Franz back to play "Buntz."
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Sal, the bad detective, was such a success, that he was effectively brought back as a character who was "bad" but basically good. Till Buntz, the characters were mainly a little too wholesome to be true - even JD LaRue's escapades were quite harmless, though Furillo treated him with distrust - but Sal's abrasive character traits really leavened the show with something a bit more gritty. Buntz was eyed with similar suspicion by Furillo and others but they knew he was essentially honest, he was just quicker to bend the rules than they were.
Awight we're The Daamned we're a punk baand and this is called Carn't Be Appy T'day!
i knew i wasnt going mad lol
ok here is were i have a major gripe
now lots of soap operas over the years have used the same actor for 2 different roles but i find it crazy to have franz play 2 big roles in the same soap as different characters and it makes the viewing audience feel cheated if u know what i mean
First of all, it doesn't bother me at all, and, given the quality of Dennis Franz's performances, I certainly didn't feel cheated.
Additionally, when HSB originally aired, there were no DVDs or bit torrents. You watched the show when it aired, with a week between episodes. From Benedetto's death to the first appearance of Buntz was about a year and a half. I bet the less perceptive viewers didn't even realize that they were played by the same actor, given the long gap between them.
In the past, it was quite common for actors to appear in different episodes of the same show as different characters. When it comes down to it, if the fact that he played two different characters in HSB takes you out of the show, it's not really any different than seeing him play a film director in Body Double one day and a tough guy in Popeye the next. I guess in the end, we all know that "it's just a show, we should really just relax."
p.s. Many people, myself included, would take issue with your categorizing HSB as a "soap opera."
Yeah, also in the early 80s I don't think IMDB was around so it wasn't that easy to check an actor's credits. But we did have great music back then, like WHAM and Dexy's Midnight Runner.
shareBesides, if this was a problem back then, Barney Miller would have run out of actors by the end of the first season.
I am the white Urkel!
Hill Street Blues is a "soap"?
Did you ever actually watch an episode when you weren't stoned?
Plenty of actors returned to many projects in different Roles
I think the notable things about Franz on HSB is that 'Buntz' ended up being a 3-4 Season character, while his first run as 'Sal' was a arc...
-- Most 're-casting' is done with people doing 1-2 episodes ore less
and if you're binge watching (either via DVD or a Vintage channel like H&I) is that those episodes come a lot closer together than they were intended (May 83 to Sept. 85)
-- both being "Morally fluid" this makes it easier to conflate them
Franz just looks so 'Franz-like'
-- even if they Tried, how exactly do you alter his look to make him distinct... heck even 5+ years later as Sipowicz on NYPD Blue save for his lack of '80s hair' he looked much the same
I concur - and I feel that the " Buntz " character was a precursor to the " Sipowicz" character on NYPD Blue.
Plus , Franz did a phenomenal job in portraying these characters.
And I think everyone who DID remember him was glad to have him back - I know I was. Sal was a great character, but he had to go in order to chime with the show's rule of bad behaviour (by cops) being seen to be punished.
Awight we're The Daamned we're a punk baand and this is called Carn't Be Appy T'day!
Today, they would have built an entire SERIES around Sal Benedetto. My, how the times have changed. And yes, Franz was great as BOTH characters.
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stevenkickstart
"im sure i seen an episode were buntz finally loses the plot and eventually kills himself its an episode were a robot that has a camera on it films buntz killin himself so if that happened then how come buntz is still alive in the final episode were he puches the head of the police"
So that's your level of English and grammar? Wow, that's just sad. Do you have a clue of how many errors there are in that brief statement?
It's alarming.
Maybe English is a 2nd language. Sure hope so.
Your level of trolling is even more alarming.
The book says, "We might be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us."
David Milch who was a writer on Hill Street later did the same thing on Deadwood by bringing an actor back after his character was killed to play another. I wasn't bothered by either
shareIf someone is bothered by Franz playing two characters, I hope they never watch either version of DRAGNET. Jack Webb constantly reused his stock company, so watching an entire season can make you dizzy seeing the likes of Vic Perrin, Virginia Christie, Peggy Webber, Herb Ellis, Stacy Harris, Same Edwards, Harry Bartell, Don Dubbins, et al, turn up as different characters every three or four episodes.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
Star Trek did it, The Big Valley did it, Bonanza did it, Kung fu did it, geezz I cannot think of single show over 4 years run that did not resuse some major or minor actors.
Even the Dirty Harry movies reused Albert Popwell 4 different characters in 4 different Dirty Harry movies movies !
Dirty Harry (1971)- Bank Robber "I gots to know."
Magnum Force (1973)- Pimp
The Enforcer (1976)- Mustapha
Sudden Impact (1983)- Horace King
A lot of these actors being rehashed had a lot to do with friendships! I think Bochco loved having Franz on the show and Clint Eastwood had to be friends with Albert!
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