NYPD Blue

I started watching NYPD Blue when I was in Year Eight at high school after my legal studies teacher said it was a good show. Turns out, I tuned in just when Danny Sorensen (Rick Schroeder) joined the show, and I had no idea about John Kelly or Bobby Simone.

No doubt, Dennis Franz as Detective Andy Sipowicz is the star of NYPD Blue, and the heart of the ensemble show. His journey from a season one racist, homophobic drunk through to a stationhouse commander by the time the twelfth and final season is over was highly believable, and Sipowicz, who saw more tragedy than most, is now an iconic television character.

That said, Jimmy Smits as Bobby Simone was brilliant: the final episodes of Smits' run, where Detective Simone was dying were some of the best episodes of any TV show I have ever watched. Wish we'd seen more of David Caruso's John Kelly. Marc-Paul Goesselaar as the more youthful John Clark did a solid job after Rick Schroeder left the show.

And what of the supporting cast? All brilliant - particularly Kim Delaney as Diane Russell, Gordon Clapp as the delightfully awkward Greg Medavoy, Bill Brochtrup as PAA John Irvin, Nicholas Turturro as the youthful James Martinez, Jacqueline Obradors as Rita Ortiz and the two squad leaders, James McDaniel as Arthur Fancy and Esai Morales as Tong Rodrigues. Who else? Charlotte Ross as Connie McDowell, Sharon Lawrence as Sylvia Costas and Andrea Thompson as Jill Kirkendall. All great characters, all with so much (often tragic) depth.

Violent, brash, at times highly emotional and very controversial given the content and the era in which it aired (though definitely not by today's 'anything goes' standards!), we will never see the likes of NYPD Blue again.

Three things that keep this show in my top 5 of all time. One, is the language. The way the people talk is Shakespearean poetry. They re-invent the English language every episode. Magnificent.

Two, how emotionally real the show can get. The relationships between the people, between the races, between the sexes, between the cops, is beautifully done. Top drawer. Andy's speech about Bobby, how he never thought he'd ever have a friend again, just the best you'll ever see.

Three, the single best piece of film I've ever seen is the scene in the last season where Bobby's ghost comes back and has a short conversation with Sipowicz in the bathroom. Stunningly good scene, best ever.

But every minute of every episode is spectacular. No bad moments ever. How you keep a series on such a consistently high level is beyond me.

Show itself has its ups and downs... still is a great show. But the one thing that is constant is Andy Sipowitz. For me, the best character ever created in any tv show. So human and well acted. Only that is worth watching. His partners are not always great but some are prefect. Old school cop show that is well worth your time. Rating is way lower then it should be. One of the most underrated shows of all time i think. Its not modern, one case trough entire season kinda show but more of one episode one case. Ofcourse some cases go troguh entire season or even show and characters are build upon them perfectly. Hope u enjoy it.

I've almost never missed an episode of this show during it's entire run. I'm going to miss having a "normal" cop show on the air. Law and Order is too talky and the CSI procedural stuff is just too much of an okay thing. I must say that it's the tiny moments in "Blue" that have the biggest impact on me. The final picture-taking sequence in this week's episode just seemed like two actors (Franz and Clapp) really relishing the joy they've had working with one another all these years. Even though you can see where it seems to be going, I still look forward to spending time with the fictional 15th squad. Currie Graham was a great addition and some unsung players that never get press (Henry Simmons, anyone?)have just made this show so good--and so New York.

I just started watching some reruns of NYPD Blue on TV. Andy is the highlight of the show. His character is so unglamorous and anti- Hollywood stereotype that his character actually comes across as amusing. Let's face it. He's pretty darn fat, bald and ugly. But what makes his acting so funny are all the sneering looks and rude attitude he gives to the skanks and low lifes he has to confront on a daily basis. He's always brimming with condemnation and disgust. Every facial gesture screams it out loud!!! His attitude becomes so relentless and over the top that it's a hoot to watch. It becomes fun to call dirt bags - dirt bags!!! It's a great innovative show....not sure there are any other crime shows that are similar. If so, I haven't seen them.