What ever happened to Dennis Franz? His portrayal of Detective Norman Butz in “Hill Street Blues” is etched so deeply into my cerebral cortex that I was stunned to learn that his character appeared in only 16 episodes. (Earlier in the series, he played dirty cop Sal Bendetto in a few episodes but I barely recall Frantz in that role.)

Veronica Hamel as Joyce Davenport and Daniel Travanti as Capt. Frank Furillo were certainly memorable, but they starred in 98 and 99 of the 146 episodes to lodge themselves into my memory. Franz takes up more space in my brain, and he did it with many fewer minutes onscreen.

In a largely unanticipated move for television,  Steve Bochco was given creative freedom that allowed him to push the envelope. With the series’ debut in 1981 (it ran through 1987) they let him experiment with each episode, the series almost resembled a portfolio:

• A story arc that covered anything from several episodes to several seasons
• A grittier more realistic feel than previous cop dramas
• The use of hand-held cameras that gave the show a documentary feel
• The language used was more “real” and seemed less “scripted” than what he had been used to before
• Episode takes place over a single day, anticipating “24” and other later shows

The dialogue was so crisp, I wasn’t surprised to learn that one of America’s premier playwrights, David Mamet, wrote some episodes. I want to go back and watch the show again after writing this. It was a true “disruptive” bit of programming. There would have been no “NYPD Blue” (also a Bochco project), “Homicide,” or even “ER” without the earlier popularity of HSB. I t may be just about the right time to get to where it all began.