NYPD Blue - Last episode thread

[ProudVet77]

Was just watching the special for the last episode. Pretty potent stuff.
A thread to share your thoughts.

[cmsgop]

I have never seen an Episode. Is/Was it good?

[X-FID]

I wonder who will to show their bare a$$ in the finale, it's only fitting they all drop their drawers at once and moon us.

[FreePaul]

I watched about a half hour of it waiting for an "episode" to start. Then I noticed that they called it "tribute" so I turned it off.

[ProudVet77]

Having grown up in the City and having many friends on the job it was pretty good series. A bit too much with the guns, but overall a well written drama series.

[ProudVet77]

Actually the "tribute" dealt with it dropping pants. But that is actually ancient history in the series. The last several years have gotten much better. Much more character work.

[X-FID]

Yeah it was pretty good the first couple of years I watched it, but I can't watch anything for much longer than that.

[X-FID]

I know, but I only really watched it in the beginning, it was pretty good.

[Onelifetogive]

As a guy who is a bit too fat, a bit too bald and a really poor dresser, I can really connect with Sipowitz.....

[swmobuffalo]

I have watched very few series from first episode to last and this was one of them, Hill Street Blues being another. I thought it was great from beginning to end. Without Sipowitz, this drama would never have lasted. There's a big hole on Tuesday evenings now.

[jocon307]

I love this show and watched it religiously for years. For a major series its "finality" has been pretty low-key. That, plus the way it ended, makes me wonder if it might not return, maybe in a slightly different form, at a later date.

But if tonight was it, it went out well.

Possibly the greatest NYC TV show of all time. Except for the Odd Couple, of course! And, oh, Kojak, I've got a soft spot for that one too.

Thanks for putting this thread up, I'm really pretty emotional about this whole thing!

[Bella_Bru]

I stopped watching it for the most part after they offed Jimmy Smits' character. But I still will miss it.

Homicide was my favorite show.

[ProudVet77]

My best friend growing up was NYPD. His father was NYPD (plus USMC Iwo Jima). His brother is NYPD (deputy inspector now, Vietnam with the USMC). My best friend's son is on the job now.
The thing that made NYPD blue is that it was gritty, and the truth is that cops often have to be gritty. They bring it home. I remember talking Bob down a few times after he had a bad day in Harlem.
These guys do not have it easy. Sipowitz was a great composite. A tough cop with his own problems. Lots of cops drink too much. They are like combat vets. If they can talk to someone it helps. As was said in a movie at some point, "when your husband goes to a business meeting what are the odds he will die. My husband, a cop, goes to work, he might die". It's a rough quote but the facts are real. My friend is most like the cop on 3rd shift. Not that fat, but he carried a 6 shooter, as autos will stop firing if a round misfires.
Nuff said about this subject. But Kojak was a joke. (no offense meant).

[cvq3842]

What a great show! Yes, it was past its prime. (Then again, Gunsmoke went on for 20 years!) But I still thought it was better than most other shows on TV, even now. (I don't watch much TV, so I may be wrong.)

The Dennis Franz character held his own against "stars" David Caruso and Jimmy Smits, and came to be the absolute center of the series. (I doubt it was planned that way when the show was first created.) The show had its excesses, faults, etc. (sometimes gratuitous "shock value" and repetitive plot lines over the years), but at its best (which was frequently) it was really worthwhile.

I thought the detailed character portrayals were what drove the show. I read a review once that said that Sipowitz (sp?) was the only character you could "smell" on television - he was that real. I thought the most gripping episodes were where his son was killed and he hit bottom. Strong stuff!

To me, the ending left too many things kind of "unresolved." But the creator said that they did not want to go out with a bang. I think his (almost) exact words were that life in the precinct goes on, but we just don't get to visit every week. It's interesting to me how the series both started and ended sort of showing "stories in progress" at the precinct, yet in each case giving a good idea of what came before and would follow later in the lives and careers of the characters.

Of course, it's just a TV show, so there ARE no lives or careers out there to think about. It goes without saying! But the fact that I even think that way shows that the show "got to me" - it was a good show. I will miss it!

To each his own, but I really enjoyed this show. Thanks for starting the thread!

[ProudVet77]

My pleasure.
The ending left me wanting more. I'd love to see how Sipowitz would have lead the squad. But in the end it was a nice low key, classy ending. I had almost wished Sipowitz had retired, I kind of feel sorry for him staying on the job, but it also was part of his growth as a character. I'm going to miss it because it reminds me of what I gather now will always be my home. Last night there was a brief flash of a road sign for Woodhaven Blvd. Know it well.

[cvq3842]

I know what you mean about the ending. I am certain, as certain as I can be, that there will be NO continuation in any form of the show, as one or two posts suggested. I guess we just have to assume he will keep on fighting it out with his superiors, training the new guys (I was almost resentful they got so much screen time!), etc. Life goes on. Maybe the best ending there could be - no ending! A retirement would have been fitting, but I suppose the Sgt. ceremony was Sipowicz's "valedictory" moment. Medavoy's brief visit to the precinct, and his observation that he was indeed gone, was also good. I guess he represents life after the Squad.

Also, some ads I saw promoting the last episode had a couple of short sound bites which weren't in the show, if I'm not mistaken. One of the Chief calling Sipowicz "lieutenant" and one (in another ad) of Sipowitz "kissing goodbye." Maybe they were in the first hour, which I taped but didn't see yet. Maybe they were "red herrings" of some sort. Maybe they were still editing the episode to the last minute. Maybe I am just wrong.

All in all, a great deal of thought put into "just a TV show" on my part. Must seem pretty silly to those who did not see, or did not like, the show. What can I say? :)