Sid and Buntz wrestle with 80 lbs of cocaine found in a suitcase at the site of a small plane crash; Goldblume looks into a suspected case of aspirin tampering; Belker goes under to look into a hotel owner scamming city housing chits from vagrants; and Hill and Renko handle a domestic call concerning a woman abusing her invalid grandparents.
b: 2 Oct 86 pc: 6420 w: David Milch, John Romano s: David Milch, John Romano, Darrell Vienna d: Stan LathanOn his way to work, Hunter shoots a boy robbing a convenience store; Jablonski refuses to follow his doctor's orders about heart surgery ; the P.D.'s go on strike over job cuts by the city council; Belker struggles to protect senior citizens victimized by a violent mugger; and LaRue and Washington stake out a luscious young woman suspected of being a fence.
b: 9 Oct 86 pc: 6411 w: Terry Curtis Fox d: Scott BrazilChaos reigns as the P.D.'s job action continues; Hunter faces his demotion and takes over as roll call sergeant for the ailing Jablonski; the detective LaRue tried to bust as a fence transfers to the Hill; Flaherty and Bates try to defuse a man who promises to blow himself up for money; and Joyce walks a tightrope as she tries to end the job action and cut a deal for her client that would put away the violent mugger.
b: 16 Oct 86 pc: 6412 w: Steve Bello, Robert Ward s: Steve Bello, Robert Ward, Jonathan Lemkin d: John PattersonGoldblume is visited by an old friend, who is mugged and rejected by a publisher; Bernstein saves Joyce from an escaped prisoner and confesses he has a tremendous crush on her; Daniels warns Furillo that Calletano's station house is on the edge of a racial meltdown; and Russo loses an arrest in her undercover assignment because she slept with the subject.
b: 30 Oct 86 pc: 6413 w: Jeffrey Lewis d: Ben BoltGoldblume's friend freaks out and shoots a mugger and a cop; Calletano loses his command and threatens to take his story to the press; Sid moves in with Buntz for protection; and a premature vice cop spoils a massage parlor sweep.
b: 6 Nov 86 pc: 6414 w: David Milch d: Don WeisBuntz is in charge of efforts to protect a convicted mobster on his way to jail from a killer hired by his nephew; Russo's undercover places her in another sexually fraught position; LaRue and Washington bust a guy who confesses to several unsolved murders; Jablonski helps Belker bust a bus bandit; and Calletano resigns from the force.
b: 13 Nov 86 pc: 6408 w: John Romano d: Gabrielle BeaumontCouncilman Wade spends the day exposing and exploiting the crack problem on the Hill; Grace Gardiner returns as Sister Charity and recruits Flaherty; Belker goes under in a seafood joint serving soul food to locate drug traffickers; Goldblume receives an offer to publish Steve Merkur's book; and the manpower shortage delays Buntz' loan shark arrest and costs him part of his finger.
b: 27 Nov 86 pc: 6416 w: Robert Ward s: David Milch, Robert Ward d: Don WeisDaniels pushes Furillo to drop the Wade investigation; a literary agent offers Goldblume a chance to write his memoirs; Sister Charity works her old magic on Flaherty; and Buntz ties up his loan sharking sting by busting the shylock that cut off his finger.
b: 2 Dec 86 pc: 6418 w: Terry Curtis Fox d: Dale WhiteFurillo faces a moral and emotional dilemma when his father is shot; LaRue sics the health department on a restaurant owner; Belker has nightmares about nuclear destruction and helps a father find his child; and a cemetery plot salesman solicits business at the station.
b: 9 Dec 86 pc: 6417 w: Jeffrey Lewis s: Jeffrey Lewis, Jerry Patrick Brown d: Ed SherinRacial tensions rise again when a white undercover officer shoots his black partner; a temporarily blind Buntz goes undercover with Belker as a beggar; Hill and Renko find several skinned bodies; and Joyce tries to defend a shopkeeper who has adapted Nazi paraphernalia as a deterrent against robbers.
b: 23 Dec 86 pc: 6405 w: David Black d: Dale WhiteBelker wrecks a car belonging to LaRue's brother-in-law; a new public defender asks Washington for a date; and a dissatisfied client takes Davenport as a hostage.
b: 6 Jan 87 pc: 6406 w: Marjorie David d: Christian I. Nyby IIBuntz reassures Officer McBride about her shooting of an armed robber; Goldblume is kidnapped while trying to start a short vacation; and Hill, Renko, and Jablonski take a disaster-prone hunting trip.
b: 13 Jan 87 pc: 6401 w: David Mamet d: John PattersonHill almost starts a riot at a drug kingpin's funeral; Russo and Flaherty try to deal with an angry old deaf man; LaRue and Washington pass Sid off a chemist to keep a cocaine case from being dismissed; and Hunter gets back into action when Ballantine takes a hostage
b: 20 Jan 87 pc: 6422 w: Peter Silverman d: Don WeisBuntz worries over the state of Furillo's marriage; LaRue and Washington get lots of help in their quest for a prize winning cockroach; Belker chases down a purse snatching dog; and Goldblume continues to buck the system when he releases a felon in direct contradiction of city council guidelines.
b: 3 Feb 87 pc: 6423 w: Christian Williams, Bob Woodward d: Christian I. Nyby IIDuring his day in station command, Buntz mounts a campaign to confiscate $130,000 worth of illegal drugs; Belker busts a tough kid who bites and runs drugs; Scapizzi pushes Buntz to make time for his interior decorator girl friend; Russo and Flaherty bust a disowned snitch.
b: 10 Feb 87 pc: 6425 w: Steve Bello s: Steve Bello, Neil Eglash, Jonathan Lemkin, Michael Wagner d: Dale WhiteGoldblume and Furillo clash over using a former gang member to obtain evidence against a gang leader in a murder case; Renko's mounting family problems affect his work; Bates, Flaherty and Joyce try to reconcile a Latin gigolo with his lady friend.
b: 3 Mar 87 pc: 6402 w: Ron Koertge d: Christian I. Nyby IIRenko erupts in jealousy over Daryl Ann's business partner; Flaherty allows his feelings for Russo to interfere in a bust; Calletano returns to Hill Street when a Spanish speaking citizen is shot by a cop unable to understand him; and Kate McBride relives her father's death at an awards ceremony.
b: 10 Mar 87 pc: 6426 w: Robert Ward d: John PattersonBuntz tracks down Belker's snitch as the whole station house works to find out who shot Mick; Renko is forced to be honest with Daryl Ann by a blackmailing hooker; and Russo and Flaherty stalk a reported lion.
b: 17 Mar 87 pc: 6428 w: George Goldsmith, Jeff Melvoin s: George Goldsmith, Jeff Melvoin, Jerome Portman d: Christian I. Nyby IIA radio promotion spawns trouble for everyone; Hill and Renko are assigned to a computerized patrol car; Buntz helps Sid get out of an arm-breaking assignment for a shylock; Hunter's return to action as the EATer commander fizzles; and LaRue, Washington and Joyce work on opposite sides to protect the rights of a mentally disturbed young man and his frightened mother and sister.
b: 31 Mar 87 pc: 6430 w: John Litvack s: John Litvack, David Black d: John PattersonA football star gets caught in a Hill Street hooker sweep; Prunella returns to look for the missing Hunter; Furillo's brother asks for a loan; Belker has a rocky return to duty; and LaRue sets up a syndicate to bet on the departmental firearms competition.
b: 7 Apr 87 pc: 6403 w: Jody Taylor-Worth d: Ken LavetThe Hill faces renewed gang violence when Jesus' sister is apparently kidnapped on the eve of her wedding to a Gypsy Boy; LaRue experiences emotional highs and lows when a perp's gun misfires three times in his face; Hunter is found, but his survival came at a high cost; and IAD pursues a case against Buntz concerning a missing kilo of cocaine.
b: 5 May 87 pc: 6429 w: Christian Williams d: Don WeisSid 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; and rumors fly about what will happen to the station house after a major fire guts it.
b: 12 May 87 pc: 6431 w: Jeffrey Lewis, David Milch, John Romano d: Stan Lathan NOTE: Of course the series didn't technically end here, the following television saw Dennis Franz and Peter Jurasik keep their characters alive, only this time they traded Chicago for Beverly Hills in the short-lived series Beverly Hills Buntz.Editor's Note (3/98): I am saddened to report that Donna died unexpectedly last month. Joel W. Tscherne has agreed to step in and provide updates for this guide going forward.