This talk, by one of television’s most dark-minded auteurs, may inspire some viewers to upgrade their cable service to HBO, or at least to rent DVDs of his classic police dramas. David Milch, in the flesh, proves as provocative as some of his finest creations.
In the course of a conversation with David Thorburn, (a former Yale colleague), Milch touches on previous works, like NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues, delves into Deadwood, his new, alternative Western series, and reveals astonishing pieces of his own biography.
Prodded to reflect on some of his twisted but charismatic TV characters, Milch says, “My old man used to beat me pretty good. And I adored him. He wound up taking his own life.” That’s for starters. Milch goes on to describe his surgeon father’s gangland relatives; his father’s suicide; and where he’d learned that his father had died (at a “pitch” meeting). It should not surprise, then, that Milch deeply understands “the torment some souls are exposed to.” He has suffered bouts of heroin and alcohol addiction, and describes himself as an obsessive-compulsive who doesn’t let his hands touch anything while writing, and so dictates his TV scripts.
In 1987, he created Beverly Hills Buntz, and in 1989, Milch served as Executive Producer of the ABC series Capital News, starring Lloyd Bridges. In 1992, Milch co-created the history-making police drama NYPD Blue. Milch took home Emmys for Best Writing in a Drama for the 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 seasons. Milch created another police drama, Brooklyn South, co-authored, along with NYPD Blue producer Bill Clark, True Blue: The Real Stories Behind NYPD Blue, and served as creative consultant for Steven Bochco's Murder One and Total Security. Since forming Redboard Productions, Milch co-created Big Apple, a one-hour drama set in New York City's FBI field office.
This conversation was recorded at MIT on April 20, 2006. Runs about 90 minutes.
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