This 1981-87 NBC cop show would have been given a DVD Seal of Approval a long time ago except it’s never been released in its entirety until now. Hill Street Blues made MTM Productions as important to TV drama as its flagship sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, had been to TV comedy. The large ensemble cast, overlapping stories, and expert and unexpected mixture of comedy and drama – it’s all here, as the prototype DNA for every quality TV drama series that’s come since. Listen to, or read, my full review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross – then order the Hill Street Blues box set, and dive on in. Any serious list of the most influential series in TV history has to include this, and fairly near the top.– David Bianculli