NYPD Blue Summary/Review by Amanda Wilson aka Puedo01@aol.com
"Lenny Scissorhands"
Season 12, Episode 18
2/15/05
Teleplay by Keith Eisner
Story by Bill Clark & Keith Eisner
Directed by Rick Wallace

This feels like the longest goodbye ever.....let's begin the way we always 
do...with a stiff drink. And then, the....

Summary:

COP SHOT: Donatelli and Perez, two of Andy's uniforms, are chasing a bad 
guy who turns and shoots Donatelli in the leg. Rita and Murph catch the 
case. Still clinging to his old life with an iron grip, Andy pops upstairs 
to tell them that he noticed and then spoke with an old lady named 
Margaret who watches everything from her upstairs window. Margaret's 
version of the details differs from the that of the two cops. Rita and 
Murph press further and find that the two cops have both updated their 
story in exactly the same way with the same details. While Rita is 
pointing this odd fact out to Donatelli whom she pisses off, it becomes 
clear that Donatelli's wife may know a little about the facts.  The 
detectives find her alone later and ask. She tearfully admits that her 
young husband is dying of colon and liver cancer. She's not sure what that 
means in terms of the shooting, but she thinks its connected.  When Perez 
is confronted with all of this, he asks the detectives what they would do 
for each other, knowing that if one of them died or left the job under 
those circumstances, their family would get virtually nothing. Getting 
shot by a suspect means Donatelli can retire with a portion of his pay.  
Rita and Murph tell him to keep quiet for now, and they consult Andy. Andy 
says Donatelli can also retire with some pay if the shooting is 
accidental. He says he'll fix the paperwork and they'll hope that by the 
time anyone starts looking into it, Donatelli will be gone or so sick that 
they'll cut him a break.

ARRESTING DETECTIVES: Clark and Jones, the sexiest detective team in 
America, catches the murder of a woman who got bonked on the head in her 
house. A lot of her fine jewelry is missing. Her husband Barry is a 
jeweler who has recently decided to renew his devotion to religion.  He 
shows up to talk to the cops with his lawyer and doesn't want to talk to 
them at all about whether he's ever done anything illegal in his business. 
His partner tells the cops that he knows nothing of Barry's marriage and 
only that Barry was trying to be a good Jew. The partner's wife, however, 
has another story and is entirely unable to keep it from bubbling out of 
her mouth. Her husband tries shushing her in both Yiddish and English, but 
these attempts prove futile. She tells the detectives that Barry's wife, 
Debbie, was putting on a show of trying to be a good Jewish wife and that 
had she really meant it, she'd have cut ties with her trashy, little 
Italian friend Maxine.  Maxine was in the shop last week and got into some 
sort of argument with Debbie. Also, Maxine is a flirt and, by God, she 
should get locked up just for that, the cheap little slut. Clark and Jones 
know Maxine--she's the victim's best friend, the one who found her dead.  
They go talk to Maxine at her beauty salon. She says she and Debbie argued 
like sisters, no big deal. Debbie was going to bankroll her new salon in 
Manhattan.  Ever helpful, she gives them a tip about a Russian guy she and 
Debbie met while out clubbing, a guy who used to make a big deal out of 
Debbie's jewelry. The guy's name is Mike and he hangs out a place called 
Olga's.

Clark and Jones find Mike's apartment and they ask Greg and Bale to 
accompany them while they break down Mike's door.  The four of them and a 
few uniforms line up outside the door. Medavoy bangs loudly, but no one 
answers. They can hear something, though, so Clark and Medavoy break in 
the door and rush inside. Bale is the last one in, and as he begins to 
pass the doorway, a man pops out of another doorway down the hall, turns 
and shoots him in the gut. Bale collapses, clutching his belly and calling 
weakly that he's been hit. He ends up in the hospital in critical 
condition.

The chief of detectives is at the hospital when Andy arrives to find out 
what's happened. The chief orders Andy to take over the case. He's back in 
plain clothes for the time being and in charge.

He and Medavoy work on finding the Russian guy who shot Bale but don't get 
very far with it. Andy manages to get a name, but they have no luck 
finding the guy.

Meanwhile, Clark and Jones get a visit from Barry who arrives without his 
lawyer. His Rabbi has told him to be honest, so he tells the cops that he 
laundered some money for a guy named Lenny, then he went straight and 
tried to make his life right. More details about Lenny turn up the fact 
that he's a friend of Maxine's and that they wanted Barry to set them up 
in a new salon.

Lenny is hauled in and made to admit that Maxine gave him a key to 
Debbie's place and told him when to go there and where to find her 
jewelry. Debbie surprised him, though, so he cracked her on the noggin.  
Later, Maxine tries to deny her involvement but soon finds she's up to her 
eyeballs in it. She admits her role and she admits to being jealous that 
her friend married rich, but says she had no idea Lenny would kill Debbie.

MEDAVOYAGE: Greg's last day in the 15th.  Before getting involved in 
trying to solve Bale's shooting, he spends the day snapping farewell 
photos of his co-workers.  Andy--typically surly where Greg's feelings are 
concerned--refuses him rather roughly.  PJ, of course, is keen to indulge 
Greg. Bale walks in during the photo shoot, though, and gives Greg a 
withering glance before sternly demanding to know what's going on. Greg 
tells him he's taking souvenir photos. Bale stares at him for a moment, 
unmoved, then declares that's a good idea. He walks away leaving Greg a 
little surprised. PJ then motions to Greg that he should take a photo of 
Bale, so Greg asks if he can. Bale turns and stands perfectly still while 
Greg snaps away. After the photo is taken, Bale shakes off the flash like 
a bad chill.

At the end of the trying and busy day, Greg walks alone into the locker 
room. Only PJ notices, and he mentions to everyone that it's Greg's last 
day. They all feel rotten that they didn't do anything for him, even 
though they are planning a pretty big racket later on. Andy goes into the 
locker room to apologize. Greg admits he's feeling pretty funny about 
leaving while Bale's shooter is still on the loose.  Andy tells him that 
bad things are always going to happen, and that the cops in the 15th are 
always going to be dealing with those things whether Greg is leaving or 
Andy is leaving or any of them. Greg says yeah, but he's the one who's 
leaving and it just doesn't feel right. Andy reminds him that he's got 
something good to go to, and that there's no sense waiting to go. The 
thought of his new life with Brigid makes him smile again, and Greg turns 
and asks Andy one more time for a photo. Andy walks away, opens the door 
and asks Junior to come in.  He asks Junior to take a picture of him and 
Greg together. The two men who've worked together longer than any two in 
the 15th clap arms around each other and mug for the camera.

Review:
Since Bale isn't likely to recover from a critical injury in just two 
short weeks, it seems only natural now that Andy will be in charge of the 
squad, at least for the last episode of the show.  Either that, or Fancy 
will return to fill in for a while, though I've not heard any buzz that 
would lead me to believe that.  It would be fitting for Andy to be the 
boss at the end, even it's not permanent.

It's hard to focus at this late stage of the show on the cop stories, but 
I found the story of Debbie's murder engaging. I don't feel much like 
dwelling on it, though, because I'm still a little misty over the last 
shot of Greg and Andy, and how good it is to have Greg exit on such a 
solid note.  It's not the last we'll see of Gordon Clapp, but it is the 
end of Medavoy's career at the 15th squad.

I thought Greg's day was a neat little capsule of his tenure in the squad. 
He was sweetly goofy: the pictures. He was put upon: the encounters with 
photography Andy and Bale. He was involved in some serious detective work: 
going through doors.

Over the years, and much to the chagrin of Alan (who nearly stopped 
watching for good during Medavoy's sperm donor arc) and myself (who felt 
always that Clapp's talent wasn't tapped enough), Medavoy spent more time 
than not being goofy. The clown routine the writers put him and Martinez 
through ad nauseam helped to seal the end of the Martinez character.  
Fortunately, Medavoy survived and got to have some really good moments 
beyond his comedic partnership with James.

Medavoy began as a delightful contrast to the other members of the 15th 
squad. Kelly and Simone and the long, cool chicks of the precinct house 
were sophisticated and smooth. Andy, guys like Vince Gottelli and even 
Fancy brought intensity and anger to the mix. Young James was starry-eyed, 
and then there was Medavoy.  He was truly the Everyman at the start.  He 
was good enough at his job to earn a gold shield, but he was so obviously 
human. No one ever refers to him as St. Medavoy, right? You can say the 
same about Andy, but Andy's humanity came at first through his inability 
to deal with life; his drinking is what brought him down to earth. By 
contrast, Medavoy's real man qualities were far less dangerous; he was 
wheezy, nervous, stuttering, in a bad marriage, dealing with two kids and 
having a hard time making ends meet. There's something in that lineup 
everyone can relate to.

His reality and goodness were solidified in his unexpected relationship 
with Donna. That pairing seemed to be about more than just the shock value 
of seeing a bombshell hooked up with Mr. Normal--Donna's love for Greg 
made him OK. If she could see what was wonderful in Medavoy, then dammit, 
there must be something wonderful there.

Somewhere along the line, though, Medavoy got lost. It was probably the 
valuable pursuit of steamier relationships (Simone and Russell) and more 
gripping stories (the death of Andy, Jr.).  Certainly--and I believe I 
heard the actor himself say this recently--it's part of what happens to 
characters in ensemble shows.  Greg was never the main focus of the show, 
so he didn't get the attention the others did.  That's just the way it is.

His pairing with Jones, though, was something of a bonanza--the physical 
differences and the differences in temperament between the two added depth 
to both characters and, by extension, to the show.  Greg's worth blossomed 
again under Baldwin's friendship as it once did under Donna's adoration. A 
little less shiny, perhaps, but still fun to watch.  Tonight's show gave 
Greg the final stamp of approval: friendship and a good memory from Andy. 
I'm glad for that. There are plenty of actors out there--some have even 
had brief but starring roles on NYPD Blue--who play the same thing over 
and over again. They're good at that one thing, and obviously there's a 
place for that, but the actors I respect the most are the ones like Gordon 
Clapp (and many others on Blue--Currie Graham and Mark-Paul Gosselaar 
spring immediately to mind) who play different roles and who are able to 
add to their characters nuance, depth and personality beyond what's 
written in the script.

I've been yelling for years here that Greg should have a girlfriend and be 
happy, and I'm very happy to be able to think of him in the future living 
in a happy home with the stunning Brigid and making millions in Manhattan 
real estate.  Here's a nice guy finishing up pretty damn well, and I 
couldn't be happier for him, even if he isn't real.

As for the real man, Gordon Clapp, catch him on Broadway starting in May 
(he'll be in Glengarry Glen Ross alongside Alan Alda and Jeffery Tambor), 
and join me in my prayers that he'll one day end up a regular on my new 
favorite show, Deadwood. For his recollection of the last day of shooting, 
visit his most recent freelance article for the New York post at 
www.nypost.com/entertainment/21882.htm.

QUICK HITS:
*Hank!  God bless, ye.

*So, this nasty Russian crook is, because of his years in a Soviet prison, 
not a'scared of Andy beating the shit out of him but crumbles like Aunt 
Betty's pie crust at the mere thought of spending any time in an upstate 
New York prison with blacks and Puerto Ricans....

*Currie Graham's little moment of Bale shaking off that flash bulb was so 
good. It's another fun example of how an actor can speak volumes about his 
character without uttering a sound.

*Ditto Bill Brochtrup who had PJohn motion like a wildman for Medavoy to 
take Bale's picture.  God knows PJ wouldn't want anyone's feelings to be 
hurt.

*I loved the Yiddish. I didn't understand a word of it, but I didn't need 
to. It all made perfect sense.  Nice touch.

*The cop shooting story didn't do much for me.  It was nice to see Andy 
cutting the guys a break, but I didn't get any of the emotion that I think 
I was supposed to get from this one. If it had been able to deliver on 
that score, this story would have done much more to highlight Andy's 
natural ability to be a leader of cops. I think these final shows are 
exploring quite well the question Bale posed to Andy when he passed the 
Sergeant's exam: "Are you ready to be a boss?"  Maybe if there had been a 
little more emotion --perhaps in the scene with Rita, Murph and Perez--it 
would have provided a much stronger set up for Andy to make the call he 
did.

CAST LEGACIES BY J.L. Garner:


Previously on NYPD Blue...
Ron K. Collie as EMS, Joseph Carberry as uniform.

Previously on NYPD Blue as someone else...
--Carlos Gomez (Anthony Perez) -- he was in Season 6's "Big Bang Theory." 
He's also done episodes of "Family Law," "24," "West Wing," "CSI," and the 
movie "House of Sand and Fog"

--Alan Rosenberg (Barry Olshan) -- he was behind the camera, directing 
this season's episode "I Love My Wives, But Oh You Kid." He also played 
the role of Eli Levinson on "L.A. Law" and "Civil Wars," and was a cast 
member on "Chicago Hope" and "The Guardian," in addition to other guest 
roles and film work

--Ken Lerner (Norman Hanes) -- he appeared in Season 2's "Dirty Socks," 
and Season 5's "Honeymoon at Viagra Falls." He's also had roles on "The 
Practice," "Judging Amy," and "Ally McBeal"

--Boris Krutonog (Russian Mike) -- he was in Season 3's "Curt Russell." 
He's also had roles in movies like "Hunt for Red October," "Star Trek VI," 
"Air Force One," "Thirteen Days," and "The Italian Job"

--Michael Pasternak (Aaron Zell) -- was in Season 8's "Peeping Tommy." 
He's also done "American Dreams," "Life with Bonnie," and "Primetime 
Glick"

--Olga Vilner (Paulina) -- she was in Season 10's "Marine Life." She's 
also been on "The Handler," "Las Vegas," and "Angel"

Not previously on NYPD Blue...
--Craig Walker (Pat Donatelli) -- he's appeared on "L&O," "L&O: SVU," and 
"L&O: CI"

--Debi Mazur (Maxine Annunziato) -- she played Denise Iannello on "L.A. 
Law" and "Civil Wars." She's also done episodes of "CSI: Miami" and "7th 
Heaven," as well as roles in the films "Be Cool," "Collateral," "The 
Insider," "Empire Records," "Batman Forever," and "Malcolm X"

--Brady Rubin (Margaret Gregorek) -- her credits include episodes of "West 
Wing," "ER," and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century"

--Nealla Gordon (Esther Zell) -- you've seen her on "Desperate 
Housewives," "American Dreams," "Will & Grace," and "Philly"

--Jennifer Jostyn (Teresa Donatelli) -- she's been on "Drew Carey," "ER," 
"Gilmore Girls," and the movies "The Brothers McMullen" and "Deep Impact"

--Saverio Guerra (Lenny Russo) -- he's was on "Becker," and did guest 
roles on "Monk," "Buffy," "EZ Streets," "Homicide," and "Public Morals," 
as well as appearing in "Summer of Sam," "Blue Streak," 'Sleepers," and 
"Bad Boys"

-Alez Veadov (Sergei) -- other work includes guest parts on "Without a 
Trace," "The Shield," and "Alias," as well as the movies "Jackie Chan's 
First Strike," "Contact," "Air Force One," and "Thirteen Days"

--Joanne Rubino (Nucci) -- most of her work is as a producer, specifically 
on Lifetime's "Intimate Portrait" series. She's also acted on episodes of 
"ER," "Punk'd," and "The District"

--Serena Spencer (customer) -- she's appeared on "The Handler" and "The 
Practice"

--James Martin Kelly (Chief Duffy) -- you've seen him on "JAG," "Without a 
Trace," "Cold Case," "Joan of Arcadia," "Monk," "The Shield," and "Drew 
Carey"


LINE OF THE WEEK:

Clark to Lenny: I believe you're getting nervous right now.
Lenny: Why? Do I have that Nixon thing going on around the upper lip? 
Maybe I should go powder.

NEXT WEEK: Only two left...I know nothing about either one, except the 
final shot in the final episode is something outstanding. That's enough of 
a hook for me.  Alan and I are working on a final wrap up for posting here 
as well.

Keep those cards and letters coming...
Amanda Wilson