<P> Unlike the remainder of the series, the pilot was shot on film at CBS Studio Center, where the sets of the 12th Precinct and the Miller apartment were originally built . When the show went into regular production in late 1974, it was recorded on videotape . The sets were moved to the ABC Television Center in Hollywood, where they remained until production ended in 1982 . </P> <P> The pilot was never broadcast in syndication . It was released in 2011 as part of Shout Factory's complete series set on DVD . </P> <P> The show's instrumental jazz fusion theme music, written by Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson, opens with a distinctive bass line performed by studio musician Chuck Berghofer . The bass line was improvised by Berghofer at the request of producer Dominik Hauser: "Can you do something on the bass? This guy is a cop in New York . Can we just start it out with the bass?" The theme song was ranked #23 and #27, respectively, by Complex and Paste magazines, in their lists of "best TV theme songs". </P> <P> The theme plays over the Manhattan skyline, followed by shots of the characters and opening credits . Season 1 opened and closed with a shot of Midtown Manhattan as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey . Season 2 onward opened with a shot of Lower Manhattan as seen from Brooklyn Heights, with a barge being towed in the foreground, and closed with a shot of the Midtown Manhattan skyline as seen from Long Island City . Several versions of the theme were used during different seasons, with minor variations in composition and performance . </P>

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