NYPD Blue

Great acting, excellent character development, etc. I particularly liked the Jimmy Smits years, but all of them were great.

One of the bet shows ever on TV---lasted 12 seasons---but only the first 5 are available on DVD.

Does anyone know why? Is there some sort of contract problem or lawsuit? Are they scheduled to be released at some time in the future? I would like to know----the first 5 seasons came out quite some time ago (8 years?) and then nothing! You would think that a show with the kind of legs this one had and the audience to keep it on the air for 12 seasons would represent excellent potential for the DVD sales. SO---what's up with that? Anybody know?

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.

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.

This is one of the best cop dramas of all time. Gritty, raw in your face. Sad, violent and addicting.

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.