(NOTE: This column originally ran in The Star-Ledger of NJ on Feb. 27,
2005.)
Farewell to NYPD Blue: Best Blue Nude
Scenes
By Alan Sepinwall
(With links to the original reviews or summaries where
available.)
- "Pilot" (9/21/93): Behold,
the first naked woman on network television, Amy Brenneman. Compared to
some of the later Simone/Russell stuff and what you see on HBO, Kelly and
Licalsi's bedroom contortions seem surprisingly tame, but they had a
nation freeze-framing each shot back in 1993 to see exactly what they
could and couldn't see.
- "Abandando Abandoned"
(1/11/94): To the surprise of everyone, especially himself, Medavoy
gets lucky with stunning receptionist Donna Abandando, who drops her fuzzy
purple bathrobe in front of him, prompting Greg to stammer out "Oh, oh, oh
boy."
- "Steroid Roy" (2/8/94): Licalsi turns down romantic
overtures from overbearing, bodybuilding Anti-Crime cop Roy Larson, who
assumes Kelly was responsible and sets out to intimidate the skinny
Irishman by dropping a towel and showing off his full, unclothed physique.
As Sipowicz puts it, "You've gotta admit: he's got a helluva muscular
ass."
- "The Final
Adjustment" (11/22/94): The first, and mercifully only, shot of
Dennis Franz's naked rear, this shower scene between Andy and Sylvia is
also one of the show's most tender moments, and ends with the perfect
kicker line: "That's sure gonna be clean."
- "As Flies to Wanton Boys Are
We to the Gods" (9/30/97): The steamiest of all the Simone/Russell
love scenes takes place, appropriately enough, in a bathtub. Diane,
wondering when Bobby might get around to proposing marriage, puts her foot
in his crotch; faced with such a vulnerable position, he suggests she name
a time and place and he'll be there. "Right here, for the rest of my
life," she says, then releases him from her clutches and dives in for
more.