Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about NYPD Blue ================================================ Created by David Chapman Updated by Alan Sepinwall Maintained by Jeff Knapp Welcome to the long version of the NYPD Blue FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list! This document should contain answers to virtually all your questions about the best damn show on TV. If you have a question that's not here, send me e-mail at director@gti.net and I'll try to find the answer and include it. Some props before we get to the questions. This list was originally created and maintained by Dave Chapman in the UK, who, alas, is no longer on the Net. Alan Sepinwall then took it over and really did a great job with it. He covered so much, I don't see myself doing much more than maintenance work. Alan is now a TV writer for the Star Ledger (formerly the Newark (NJ) Star Ledger), and though he occasionally makes changes (like this current HTML version), I've stepped up to lighten his load. We're forever in your debt, Alan. And now, I, Jeff Knapp, am steering the FAQ as NYPDB enters its fifth season. As with any FAQ, it is the product of many people; I prefer the term FAQ-keeper to FAQ-author; especially since at this moment, I haven't written a word except for this forward. This FAQ would be nothing without the help and suggestions of posters to alt.tv.nypd-blue. Here's the current list I have, which isn't quite as complete as it should be. If your name's not on this list, and you did contribute a question or answer, let me know. Here's the usual suspects: John Lavalie (fuddle@netcom.com); Howard M. Sklar (hmsklar@ix.netcom.com); Mike Craven (mpc@eee.eleceng.nottingham.ac.uk); SW (swooledge@hearst.com); Arthur L. Lortie (all@world.std.com); Paul Reiser (REISER@susim.nrl.navy.mil); Lynn Van Scoyoc (lmv@acpub.duke.edu); Frank Giarratana (giarrata@gdc.com); Pamela Pon (pon@crl.com); Ross Brown (ross@bnr.ca); Kendall Clark (kgclark@ix.netcom.com); Matt Messina (messina@umich.edu); Martin Jukovsky (martyj@yankeegroup.com); Ramaswamy (ramax@ultranet.com); Charles Corway (ccorway@calweb.com); (Pcwhyel@dp.net.com); David Lesher (wb8foz@netcom.com); Ray Normandeau & Rita Frazier Normandeau (ray.normandeau@factory.com); Jennie Van Heuit (jennie@dgi.com); Jason DeCesare (miles@nycsubway.org) This document is Copyright, Dave Chapman, 1994, Alan Sepinwall, 1995-97; Jeff Knapp 1997-8. It may be freely distributed unmodified as long as no charge is made beyond the cost of the media it is distributed on -- and as long as proper credit is given to the three creators. Contents of FAQ =============== 1. THE SHOW What exactly is NYPD Blue? 2. THE CHARACTERS Who are the regular characters on the show? Who are the recurring characters on the show? Who were the former characters on the show? 3. PLOT/CHARACTER QUESTIONS What is Simone's ethnic background? Can't anyone besides Sipowicz & Simone solve a murder? Is Andy Diane's AA sponsor? Is she his? Whose hands were those in the bathroom in the third season finale? Who shot Joey Salvo? What was Greg doing in the mirror in "Seminal Thinking"? Shouldn't The Job frown on Bobby and Diane's marriage? Where'd Martinez go for most of the fifth season? 4. THE ACTORS Is Jimmy Smits leaving the show? Is anyone else? Will Caruso return? Why did David Caruso leave the show? Why did Sherry Stringfield leave the show? Why did Amy Brenneman leave the show? Why did Gail O'Grady leave the show? Why didn't Upstairs John replace her? Why did Sharon Lawrence leave the show? Will she be coming back? Why did Justine Miceli leave the show? What happened to Lesniak? What films/TV series has XXXX been in? Who played XXXX in episode YYYY? Didn't I see XXXX in episode ZZZZ, too? Who is Nicholas Turturro related to? Which actors have appeared nude on the show? Are Kim Delaney and Dana Delany related? Did Ross from "Friends" used to be on NYPD Blue? What connections are there to other Steven Bochco shows? 5. BLUE ON THE INTERNET Is there a WWW site? Is there an Episode Guide? What is the name of the NYPD Blue newsgroup? Is there a mailing list? Is there a drinking game? Are there any scanned pictures? Help! I missed an episode! How do I find out what happened? Help! I missed an episode and want to see the tape! What do I do? 6. NYPD BLUE VS. THE REAL NYPD How realistic is the show? How come nobody ever asks for a lawyer? Where is the 15th Precinct? What the heck does "skel" mean? How about "PAA"? 7. STUFF TO BUY Are there any books about the show? Is there a soundtrack CD? 8. BEHIND THE SCENES Why so many reruns/preemptions? Is the show filmed in NY or LA? Do the cast and crew know about us? I really love XX and I want to send him/her a letter! What's the address? 9. MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS What's the deal with FX? What if my cable company doesn't carry it? Why is the camera always shaking? Where do you get the episode titles? What's a "spoiler" and why does it upset some people? 1. THE SHOW =========== What exactly is NYPD Blue? -------------------------- NYPD Blue is the latest contribution to the TV police drama genre by Emmy award-winning producer Steven Bochco and his frequent writing partner David Milch. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of the members of the detective's squad in the New York Police Department's 15th Precinct. Before it premiered in the fall of 1993, the series got a lot of publicity because of its daring use of nudity and profanity - men's buttocks, women's breasts, and the word "asshole" all appeared for the first time in an American prime-time series on NYPD Blue. However, people who actually bothered to watch the show (and not protest it blindly) discovered that there was a lot more to it than just tits, ass, and swear words. It's a dark, moving series about trying to hold onto your morals and ideals in a corrupt and evil world. 2. THE CHARACTERS ================= Who are the regular characters on the show? ------------------------------------------- The series currently features seven regular cast members. These seven characters are: DET. ANDY SIPOWICZ (Dennis Franz): Sipowicz is a recovering alcoholic who's just learning how to be a good cop and a good human being again after years of living in a bottle - years that cost him his marriage and nearly his badge. A big bear of a man, he's easily enraged by the horrors he sees on the job everyday, but underneath the coarse exterior is a kind, good-hearted man with very high morals and very low self-esteem. The only person who's managed to pierce that exterior is his wife, ADA Sylvia Costas, whom he loves more than life itself. Andy didn't take to new partner Bobby Simone at first, but after more than two years together, the two have moved past grudging professional admiration into close personal friendship (or, at least, as close as Andy gets). Just when Andy's life seemed close to perfection after the birth of his son Theo, Andy Sipowicz Jr., his adult son from a previous marriage, was shot and killed while trying to prevent a robbery. Andy fell off the wagon for a time and had to start all over in his sobriety and in finding happiness. Not helping matters was a lengthy bout with prostate cancer that appears, for now, to have ended. DET. BOBBY SIMONE (Jimmy Smits): Bobby's had a lot of pain in his life. He grew up in Brooklyn with a distant father, and his two best companions were an aged, punch-drunk boxer and a teenaged wiseguy wannabe. He grew up, got married, and joined the police force, and for a while was living a very happy life until his wife came home and told him that she had breast cancer. He spent a while chauffeuring the police commissioner around to have more time to spend with his wife, and later, to grieve her death. His assignment at the One-Five is the first detective tour he's had since. He and Sipowicz don't always see eye to eye on cases, largely because of their conflicting personalities -- Andy's loud and coarse, while Bobby's quiet and often introverted -- but Bobby's managed to show Andy what a dogged investigator he is. He's had an off-again, on-again (currently on) affair with fellow Det. Diane Russell, but even though they recently wed, their shaky history and her shakier personality makes the marriage far from secure. In fact, the only truly trustworthy thing Bobby has in his life are his racing home pigeons, which he raises on the roof of his apartment building. Bobby owns an apartment building in Brooklyn, inherited from the aunt of his late wife Maria, but running the place is proving more trouble than it's worth. LT. ARTHUR FANCY (James McDaniel): Fancy rose through the department ranks very rapidly, either (depending upon whom you ask) because or in spite of his being an African American. He's acutely aware of the scrutiny he's placed under by his superiors, and plays things close to the vest - though he does lose his temper on occasion. Despite the fact that he's younger than several of the detectives on his squad, Art commands everyone's respect and loyalty because he treats his squad the same way. The only detective he ever really clashes with is the bigoted Sipowicz, but Fancy recognizes Andy's detective skills, and is usually willing to overlook the unenlightened comments so long as Andy solves his cases. He's happily married with two daughters and a young son, Art Jr. His younger brother, Reggie, is a uniformed cop at another precinct, but the two don't get along very well. DET. JAMES MARTINEZ (Nicholas Turturro): Originally assigned to the detective's squad as a temporary fill-in after Sipowicz was shot a few years ago, Martinez demonstrated great enthusiasm for the job and willingness to learn, and quickly earned his detective's gold shield. His tenure on the job hasn't always been fun - he witnessed the OD death of his junkie brother, and watched his idol John Kelly get driven off the force. James is neither the brightest nor the most charismatic detective in the 15th squad, but he makes up for his occasional lack of savvy with a lot of heart and hard work. James serves as the union delegate for plainclothes officers in the One-Five, and is married to former squad administrative aide Gina Colon, with whom he fathered a child, James Jr. DET. GREG MEDAVOY (Gordon Clapp): Medavoy is a walking bundle of neuroses disguised as a police detective. Cursed with a sometimes uncontrollable stammer, an abundance of allergies and a knack for putting his foot in his mouth, Greg can often irritate the hell out of his co-workers. However, he's also a pretty good investigator, and you will not find a more compassionate cop on the force. Greg left his shrewish wife Marie to have an affair with Donna Abandando, but when she broke things off for good (due mostly to Greg's immaturity), he tried going back to his loveless marriage for the sake of his daughters. That didn't work; neither did a pursuit of attractive co-worker Abby Sullivan, who turned out to be a lesbian. Greg wound up fathering Abby's baby by artificial insemination, however, but becoming a father a third time hasn't improved his disposition much. DET. DIANE RUSSELL (Kim Delaney): Diane comes from an extremely dysfunctional family, and that warped upbringing, along with too many years spent working as an undercover cop, led to a lot of screwed up values on her part and may have caused her drinking problem. While working a case in tandem with Simone, they realized an attraction for one another and became lovers - a situation that became complicated when she got transferred to the 15th squad. Bobby broke up with her after realizing the extent of her alcoholism. After she spent several months in AA, she and Bobby resumed their romance, but roadblocks keep cropping up, particularly the emotional wallop Diane received after her mother shot and killed her abusive father. She and Bobby conceived a child, but she miscarried. After a few months to recover from yet another emotional setback, Diane finally married Bobby. DET. JILL KIRKENDALL (Andrea Thompson): The emotional rock to Diane's tower of Jell-O, Kirkendall is the most competent and confident cop in the precinct not named Sipowicz or Simone (and often tops them both). Jill's also a divorced mother of two, and has become something of a mother figure to Diane, as part of a friendship that grew even though Jill and Bobby briefly dated during one of Bobby and Diane's cooling-off periods. Who are the recurring characters on the show? --------------------------------------------- In addition to the regular cast members, the show features a number of other actors who appear on a semi-regular basis. In fact, Greg Medavoy, Sylvia Costas and Donna Abandando were all recurring characters in the first season who got added to the main cast in the second, just as Adrienne Lesniak and Diane Russell became regulars after several guest shots in season two. Jill Kirkendall made the leap from feature to regular cast as well. Some of the people listed below may or may not return to the show, but considering their characters' professions and relationships with the series regulars, the prospect is likely. ADA SYLVIA COSTAS (Sharon Lawrence): An elegant, beautiful assistant District Attorney and a balding, overweight, slovenly cop getting married? It's not an obvious match, to be sure, but Sylvia saw the decent, caring human being underneath Andy's gruff exterior and fell in love with him. She's been very supportive of his attempts to stay sober, which probably has something to do with the fact that half her family members appear to be alcoholics. She's very confident on the job, and has been known to wield an acid tongue when cops' procedural errors blow her cases. Sylvia was raped back in law school, which makes her (and Andy, once he found out) especially sensitive about rape cases. She took some time off from work to care for her newborn son Theo, but is back on the job now. ADA LEO COHEN (Michael Buchman Silver): The young-looking Cohen's not particularly popular with the 15th squad, in part because he was in charge of the aborted murder prosecution of Diane's mother, and in part because he tends to smirk on every third word. Tensions between Leo and the squad temporarily eased while he was having an affair with Kirkendall, but when that ended, so did Andy's good graces. INTERNAL AFFAIRS SGT. MARTENS (Scott Allan Campbell): Martens is no dummy; he knows that most cops (including the ones at the 15) can't stand him and the rest of "The Rat Squad." But he also can't help but get frustrated when he tries to do his best to keep a cop from getting into trouble and still gets ripped for it. Though his job requires him to bust dirty cops, he's overlooked at least one indiscretion by Simone. CAPT. CLIFFORD BASS (Larry Joshua) & INSPECTOR AIELLO (Andy Romano): When a case is big enough to require supervision from someone higher-ranking than Lt. Fancy, either Bass or Aiello (and sometimes both) will step in. Bass is Fancy's immediate superior, and is also the man to whom Arthur turns on personnel matters. Aiello is more likely to get involved if a case requires cooperation between the NYPD and other agencies, or between different divisions of the Department. MIKE ROBERTS (Michael Harney): Roberts was one of Fancy's detectives, but definitely not one of his favorites. He was forced to leave the NYPD after a scandal involving his informant (who later turned out to be his lover) dying of a drug overdose that Roberts neglected to report. Since quitting, Mike has started up his own private investigation / bodyguarding firm, occasionally doing side work for his ex-co-workers (and occasionally employing them), but is sleazier than ever - and his clients have a tendency to die in his care. OFFICER MIKE SHANNON (James McBride) & OFFICER MILLER (Billy Concha): Shannon and Miller are the two uniform cops most likely to be in charge of crime scenes when Sipowicz, Simone or any of the other detectives arrive. Shannon is also the union delegate for the precinct's uniform cops. DA MAURY ABRAMS (Charles Levin): The Manhattan District Attorney, Abrams generally only handles cases that he hopes will boost his would-be political career. (And has not done so since the start of the third season.) DETECTIVE STU MORRISSEY (Conor O'Farrell): Stu works the 4 to 12 shift in the 15th detective's squad, and often winds up turning to the day tour detectives for assistance on his cases. DET. VINCE GOTELLI (Carmine Caridi): Vince used to work the 4 to 12 with Morrissey, but after the 50-something cop suffered some heart difficulty, he had a mini-breakdown and stole a city bus. Fancy managed to cover up the incident on the condition that Vince, who was never much of a detective to begin with, take early retirement. He now works as an investigator for an insurance company, and his path occasionally still crosses his old co-workers'. DOC MONDZAC (Titus Welliver): A trauma surgeon at the Bellevue Hospital emergency room, Dr. Mondzac has treated detectives from the 15 on a number of occasions. He was the doctor on duty when the body of Andy Sipowicz Jr. has brought in, and the tragedy has created something of a bond between Mondzac and Andy Sr.; during Andy's cancer crisis, Mondzac was the only doctor whose presence kept the cop feeling secure. DET. NICK SAVINO (Steven Antin): Formerly a detective in Narcotics, Savino now works as a Homicide cop in Brooklyn. He first crossed paths with our heroes when he mistakenly arrested Andy Jr. for drug dealing, but he and Andy managed to rectify the situation. Later, he got Andy's help in solving a murder case at a candy store where Sipowicz had worked as a kid. He's also investigated several murders at Simone's apartment building. There is no truth to the rumor that Savino only works on days when acquaintances of the 15th squad are being arrested or killed. ABBY SULLIVAN (Paige Turco): Abby was the subject of Greg Medavoy's desires ever since she peeked in on him while he was working out... at least she was until she revealed that she is gay. After introducing Greg to her lover, Abby asked Greg to be a sperm donor so they could have a baby. After much chest-beating, Greg agreed. What resulted was possibly one of the worst storylines the show has ever tackled. Abby's lover was later murdered, and she gave birth off-camera (largely because Paige is also a recurring player on "Party of Five"). UPSTAIRS JOHN (Bill Brochtrup): Openly gay and extremely efficient, John Irvin made such a favorable impression on Lt. Fancy during a temporary stint as a Police Administrative Aide that he wound up with a permanent job in the precinct's \Anti-Crime unit -- which earned him the nickname "Upstairs John" from members of the second-floor detective's squad. Though his kind spirit endeared John to all in the precinct, he eventually transferred out, first to One Police Plaza, then to a mercifully brief stint with a Public Morals squad (on the mercifully short-lived sitcom of the same name). He's recently started up his own computer graphics firm in the same neighborhood as the 15th stationhouse. GINA COLON (Lourdes Benedicto): The lovely Ms. Colon came over from Borough Command to replace Upstairs John in Anti-Crime, and quickly began flirting with Det. Martinez. Shortly after they started dating, she was transferred downstairs to the detective's squad after her predecessor, Geri Turner, had difficulty getting along with Sipowicz. After James got Gina in a family way, they married, but her pregnancy was so rough that she had to leave her job to care for their baby. NAOMI REYNOLDS (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick): When Gina left the squad, relentlessly polite Naomi was brought in to replace her. It turned out that Naomi was actually an illegal immigrant from Australia, posing as a Southerner so she could realize her dream of becoming an American cop. INS found her out, and she left her job, but apparently things worked out well enough that she was able to get a job in private security -- at least she gets to wear a uniform. DOLORES MAYO (Lola Glaudini): After Namoi's departure, the next member of the revolving door of squad administrative aides was Dolores, a chain-smoker and would-be dancer who, so far, has avoided sleeping with anyone in the squad. OFFICER REGGIE FANCY (Michael Jai White): Imagine Arthur Fancy without the incredible self-restraint and you have his kid brother Reggie, a uniformed cop with a world-class chip on his shoulder. He's a loudmouth who sees racism in every white man he works with, whether it's there or not. Reggie's often right (his sergeant, for example, was a major bigot), but his bluster and hot temper usually make him look like the bad guy. Though he and Art don't get along too well, Lt. Fancy still looks out for him. MARIE MEDAVOY (Deborah Taylor): The shrewish, crass Marie would be hard to get along with for just about anyone - Greg probably only stayed with her for that long out of some sense of masochism. She was just as responsible for the break-up as him, because while Greg was sleeping with Donna, Marie was cheating on him herself. SERGEANT VINNIE AGOSTINI (Vincent Guastaferro): Formerly the desk sergeant on the dayshift at the One-Five, Agostini now apparently works for the Police Commissioner (and is therefore not on the show much). CAPT. HAVERILL (James Handy): Haverill was forced to retire from the Job after getting caught on tape making racist remarks about Lt. Fancy to Fancy's snitch, Vinny Greco. Haverill appeared to be a bad cop, due to his presence at a mob rubout; a tidbit that Sipowicz held over him the first time Haverill was gunning for Fancy. After retiring, Haverill took a job as a paid consultant to the FBI in its dealings with organized crime figures, especially Joey Salvo. He hasn't been seen on the show since he resigned in the 11th episode of Season Two ("Vishy Vashy Vinny"), but is still included in this FAQ because his name was invoked during the Salvo storyline that stretched across Seasons Four and Five. Who were the former characters on the show? ------------------------------------------- Three of the original six cast members have since left the series, and several regulars and semi-regulars have left since. The characters they played were: DET. JOHN KELLY (David Caruso): John's father, John Kelly Sr., was a heavily decorated detective back in the days when the Irish still ran the department, but he was killed in the line of duty when John Jr. was only 11. Kelly spent much of the rest of his life trying to meet the approval of his late father, joining the force and holding himself to an almost impossibly high standard. Unfortunately, while John's tightly-wound nature made him a great detective, it also distanced himself from the people he loved, including his ex-wife Laura, who divorced him because he didn't give her enough space. Shortly after the divorce, John got involved with Officer Janice Licalsi, but his efforts to clean up after a murder she committed eventually led to him getting drummed off the force. When last mentioned, John was making a living as a professional bodyguard and security expert. DONNA ABANDANDO (Gail O'Grady): The first thing you needed to know about the lovely Miss Abandando is that she holds a special place in her heart for the NY Rangers, which means she loves lost causes (which the Rangers were until they finally won the Stanley Cup in 1994 after a 50-year curse). That also explains why she agreed to take a relatively thankless job as the receptionist (or, in NYPD parlance, "PAA") for the 15th detective's squad, and why she fell for nebbishy Greg Medavoy. Their affair was complicated by his marriage, her trampy sister Dana, and an old flame of Donna's who used to play for the Rangers. Eventually, the stress of it all proved too much, and she broke things off with Greg. A year or so later, she received a job offer from Apple Computer that was too good to pass up, and the Queens gal moved out to Silicon Valley. DET. JANICE LICALSI (Amy Brenneman): Licalsi was a uniformed cop who had barely been at the 15th Precinct for a week before she was approached by Mafia kingpin Angelo Marino, who ordered her to murder John Kelly - or else he would turn in Licalsi's policeman father, who had been on Marino's payroll for years. Janice reluctantly agreed, but as she got close to John, she fell in love with him, and instead of killing him, she killed Marino and his chauffeur. The guilt of her crime ate away at her until she finally confessed to it months later. Kelly hired her a slick mob lawyer, and Janice got off with only a 2-year sentence for manslaughter. Since she was eligible for parole in six months, we can assume that she's already out, but she hasn't shown up at the One-Five since. LAURA KELLY (Sherry Stringfield): The match between Laura, a high-powered yuppie attorney, and John, a blue-collar cop, didn't last very long once Laura realized what an incredible control freak John could be. She bounced around several jobs after her divorce, eventually settling in with the Manhattan DA's office. She worked as a riding DA in the 15th Precinct for a while before transferring out, probably to put some distance between herself and John. DET. ADRIENNE LESNIAK (Justine Miceli): A beautiful but no-nonsense detective, Lesniak was transferred to the 15 after an office romance in a Bronx precinct went public. That experience - and her ex-lover's subsequent descent into stalker territory - soured her on relationships with fellow detectives, so when Martinez expressed interest, she politely brushed him off. After he was shot, she expressed quite a bit of maternal concern, which James and Greg mistook for romantic interest. Eventually, their badgering of her got to the point where Adrienne claimed to be a lesbian - a lie which, on further consideration, had her questioning her own sexuality. She eventually realized that she isn't gay, but all her previous failed relationships made her unable to deal with the notion that James was a decent guy, and she turned into a bitchy, over-possessive shrew. James had to break things off with her, leading Adrienne to feel more depressed than ever over the prospect of finding happiness. 3. PLOT/CHARACTER QUESTIONS =========================== What is Simone's ethnic background? ----------------------------------- French-Portuguese, revealed when he invited Sipowicz to "kiss my French-Portuguese ass" during the second season episode "Double Abandando." Can't anyone besides Sipowicz & Simone solve a murder? ------------------------------------------------------ Well, yeah. But whether we "hard-core" fans want to admit it or not, most of the show's viewers tune in to watch Jimmy Smits and Dennis Franz, and they'd be annoyed if they tuned in to an hour of the Gordon Clapp Show. Some of Steven Bochco's series (Hill Street Blues, LA Law) have been ensembles; others (Doogie Howser, Civil Wars, Hooperman) have been vehicles for one or two performers. NYPD Blue happens to be the latter. You may not always like it (and, as a fan of James McDaniel & Co., I (and Alan, too!) don't), but it's a situation that's not likely to change anytime soon. Is Andy Diane's AA sponsor? Is she his? --------------------------------------- In "Heavin' Can Wait," the episode about the fall-out from Diane's fall off the wagon, Andy gets upset because Diane called Bobby instead of him. He tells Bobby, "I'm her sponsor." This turned into a fairly hot topic for discussion among fans for a while. Some claim that AA frowns in the extreme on opposite gender sponsors, as well as sponsoring someone that you work with. Others say that while sponsor/sponsee arrangements like this aren't the norm, they do exist, and can be very successful. As far as we've been told, Andy hasn't taken on a new sponsor since Dan Breen was killed in the middle of season two. But whether or not he does have a new sponsor, it's highly unlikely that Diane would be filling that role, even if she did act as the "voice of AA" when Andy fell off the wagon after Andy Jr.'s death. Whose hands were those in the bathroom in the fourth season finale? ------------------------------------------------------------------- A lot of people seemed to think that there was a mysterious third person in the bathroom when Bobby and Diane had sex near the end of the fourth season finale "A Draining Experience." For the confused, those mystery hands peeking over the stall actually belonged to Diane; various folks have dissected the scene enough in slo-mo to assume that for her hands to be in that position, Bobby would have to be making a rear entry of some kind. I'll leave the rest up to your imaginations. :) Who shot Joey Salvo? -------------------- The fifth season opener has revealed the shooter to be Lt. Shannon of the IAB. >From Alan's summary review of the season five opener: Having Shannon be the shooter makes perfect sense and explains his motivation for suspending Bobby: he realized that someone was on to his extracurricular activities, and the only way to cover his tracks was to 1)Suspend Simone (which any clean IAB cop would do if a cop refused to cooperate to the extent Bobby did), and 2)Take out Salvo so he couldn't cut a deal at a later date to give away Shannon. Shannon later tried to cover his tracks by trying to lure Andy alone with a phony phone tip so he could whack him in solitude (a cough-and-you'll-miss-it line during the Gerald/Frankie bust that seemed to have been added in postproduction), and when that didn't work, he panicked and made the dumb move Simone and Sipowicz were hoping for. As for why Andy behaved so strangely during the cliffhanger at the end of season four, try not to think about it so hard; some might say the writers didn't. :) What was Greg doing in the mirror in "Seminal Thinking"? --------------------------------------------------------- One of the most fiercely-debated moments on the show in recent fandom history was a scene towards the end of "Seminal Thinking," the next-to-last episode of the fifth season. As you may remember, a subplot of the show involved Medavoy impressing everyone with his skillful bluffs in interrogation of a perverted murderer. After receiving kudos from everyone in the squad and the mention of a possible commendation from Lt. Fancy, Greg went into the locker room and started studying himself in the mirror. He also started doing some sort of odd gesture with his sleeve, which was interpreted by Internet fans as either A)Pinching himself to see if this was all real; B)Imagining what his uniform sleeve would look like with the commendation; or C)Touching himself to see if he was hot (James had joked earlier that he was afraid to touch Greg, because he was so hot in interrogation). The official answer is A), according to Gordon Clapp, who ought to know -- he plays Medavoy. He also admits that they did a number of takes of that scene, and that the one used in the episode was not the most clear. Shouldn't The Job frown on Bobby and Diane's marriage? ------------------------------------------------------ Not as long as The Job doesn't know about it. While romantic relationships between cops who work in the same precinct are strictly taboo -- Which is why Lesniak was transferred to the One-Five, remember? -- the show has danced around that issue ever since Bobby and Diane hooked up. The main approach of the writers is that they're keeping the affair a secret, but it's also been made clear in recent years that Fancy, ever astute, knows about them, but has chosen to ignore it -- even though Bobby's occasionally irrational behavior about Diane has impeded investigations. Things likely won't change now that they're married, but with Jimmy Smits' impending departure, the point will soon be moot. As for why Andy's marriage to Sylvia and James' marriage to Gina (who was squad PAA at the time of the wedding) are apparently kosher, the distinction seems to be that romance between fellow cops is a no-no, but not between cops and DAs or cops and administrative aides. Where'd Martinez go for most of the fifth season? ------------------------------------------------- Nick Turturro was given an offer he couldn't refuse to join the mob, when NBC cast him as noted mob snitch Sammy "The Bull" Gravano in a miniseries. To play the part, he had to take a considerable amount of time off from NYPD Blue, but since not much had been done with his character in recent months, he -- and we -- probably didn't miss out on much. Martinez's temporary absence on the show was explained by having him throw out his back. 4. THE ACTORS ============= Is Jimmy Smits leaving the show? Is anyone else? Will Caruso return? -------------------------------------------------------------------- As you probably know by now, Jimmy Smits' contract comes up at the end oft his season, and he decided it was time to move on. He will return for somewhere between four and six episodes next year so David Milch can figure out a way to write Simone out gracefully (and provide a plausible reason for Diane Russell's continued presence, as Kim Delaney is still under contract). Jimmy's departure is infinitely more amicable than David Caruso's, and the reasons are different. Caruso wanted more money and time off to do movies; Smits just felt it was time to move on, and the fact that Dennis Franz continually gets more to do on the show likely led to that decision. No replacement has been cast yet, but they will be looking for a new actor. As I alluded to above, Kim Delaney will still be around, as will Dennis Franz and, presumably, everyone else. Sharon Lawrence may even return on a full-time basis, as Fired Up is canceled in every sense but the official one. As for the comments from certain fans that they'd like to see David Caruso come back, it's never going to happen for two reasons: 1)Storywise, Kelly quit the force in disgrace and would not be allowed to simply return at his former rank and position; and more importantly, 2)Everyone on the set hated working with Caruso, and executive producer David Milch wrote in his autobiography that he personally blames Caruso for a couple of his heart attacks. Speaking of Caruso... Why did David Caruso leave the show? ------------------------------------ Caruso asked for a major-league raise in pay for the second season, asking for $100,000 an episode (as opposed to the $20,000 per episode he was paid in the first season). The producers refused to go higher than $80,000 for fear of upsetting the rest of the cast, and eventually, a compromise was worked out. Caruso agreed to appear in the first four episodes of the second season to allow the writers to give John Kelly a graceful exit, at which point he would be freed from his contract to do films. Caruso's decision was not a particularly wise one. His first film as a leading man, "Kiss of Death," received good reviews for his performance, but did lousy at the box office. His second film, "Jade," didn't even get the good reviews. Add that to his reportedly difficult behavior, and he quickly found the well of leading roles dry. He was offered a role on a new legal drama in development for CBS, but had to plead with Steven Bochco to let him out of the agreement he signed when he quit "Blue" which said he couldn't work in television until his original contract ran out. That show, "Michael Hayes," was canceled by CBS after only one season. On the plus side for Caruso, his mostly humble behavior on and off the set of the show went a long way towards rehabilitating his image within the industry -- though he'll still never work for Bochco and Milch again. Why did Sherry Stringfield leave the show? ------------------------------------------ According to a section of "True Blue," the writers quickly ran out of room for the character of Laura Kelly, especially once they realized the chemistry between Dennis Franz and Sharon Lawrence and began writing more scenes for Sylvia Costas. Sherry was a good sport about it, and went to Bochco and Milch with the suggestion that letting her out of her contract might be the best for everyone. They did so, and Sherry got a job as Dr. Susan Lewis on NBC's mega-hit "ER." Sherry left "Blue" because she didn't have enough to do; two and a half years later, she would leave "ER" because she had too much to do, and wanted to settle down and have a normal life again. Why did Amy Brenneman leave the show? ------------------------------------- A quote from an interview with Amy in the December, 1995 issue of GQ: "I'd like to say I planned [to quit], but I was fired. My character demanded so much attention, and without David Caruso what *was* I? They tried putting Janice behind a desk. But she's a *mob* chick. So they wrote me off the show." However, since then she's found a modest amount of success in films. She played Matthew Modine's ex-wife in "Bye Bye, Love," Robert DeNiro's girlfriend in "Heat," and co-stars with Sylvester Stallone in "Daylight." She also has a split-second cameo in "City of Angels," directed by her husband (and occasional NYPD Blue director) Bradley Silberling. Why did Gail O'Grady leave the show? Why didn't Upstairs John replace her? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- There's not a lot you can write about the squad secretary, and once Greg and Donna broke up, Gail's role on the show shrank so much that sometimes weeks would go by without her saying anything. Fox offered her own sitcom -- she made a pilot, but it didn't get picked up -- and she decided it was time to move on. She's been working in movies lately, most recently in "That Old Feeling" with Bette Midler. As for Upstairs John, Bill Brochtrup had taken the character over to Steven Bochco's sitcom "Public Morals," which got canceled after only one week. He then moved to Bochco's dramedy "Total Security," which didn't last much longer. David Milch decided to bring Upstairs John back where he belonged, but despite a lot of talk, Brochtrup only made one brief appearance during the fifth season. Why did Sharon Lawrence leave the show? Will she be coming back? ---------------------------------------------------------------- In Lawrence's estimation, the show's writers lost interest in Sylvia once she and Andy got married. She started doing some extra-curricular work, including a guest turn on "Caroline in the City" that was so well-received that NBC decided to try to build a sitcom around her. Realizing that her role on "Blue" was going to remain limited, she decided to take the gig at "Fired Up." Though she had promised Bochco and Milch that she would return whenever a script called for Sylvia, she was largely absent from the series for almost all of the 1997 calendar year. When "Fired Up" was canceled, Sharon returned to the Blue fold as a semi-regular, a status she will apparently maintain next season. Why did Justine Miceli leave the show? What happened to Lesniak? ---------------------------------------------------------------- No one knows for sure, but it's not hard to extrapolate that she wasn't happy with the mess that was made of her character in the third season. Some rumors have floated that she was difficult to work with; others claim the producers just wanted to rid themselves of a character they'd written into a corner. Whatever the truth may be, Lesniak's departure remains equally mysterious, with no on-screen mention of her departure (and only one overall reference in two years, to her feigned lesbianism). As for Justine Miceli, she's been working steadily as a TV guest star since, most notably as George's girlfriend in the backwards-moving episode of "Seinfeld." She's also done a number of commercials, including one for shampoo, and another for nicotine gum. What films/TV series has XXXX been in? -------------------------------------- There used to be a list of credits for the cast, but that became unwieldy. If you're reading the HTML version of this FAQ, simply scroll to the character biography section and click on the names of the actors to get to their bios on the Internet Movie Database. If you're reading the text-only version, you can find the HTML version at http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~sepinwal/faq.html Who played XXXX in episode YYYY? Didn't I see XXXX in episode ZZZZ, too? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please refer to the episode guide for full cast listings for each episode. You will also notice, while you're checking the episode guide, that some actors keep turning up in various roles. That's because the casting people at Bochco Productions have certain personal favorites, who they like to bring back from time to time, hoping that the year or two that's passed since their last role will mean most fans won't notice the recycling. If you don't like this practice, bear in mind that without it, Dennis Franz never would've played Norm Buntz on Hill Street Blues, and likely never would have been cast as Sipowicz. Who is Nicholas Turturro related to? ------------------------------------ His brother is John Turturro. John co-starred with John Goodman in "Barton Fink", and has appeared in many other films, including his recent turn as Herb Stempel in "Quiz Show." John and Nick appeared together in Spike Lee's "Mo' Better Blues" and "Jungle Fever", as well as "Men of Respect," and the John Turturro-directed "Mac." Their cousin Aida also acts. She recently co-starred as Geena Davis's best friend Tina in "Angie". She and Nicholas both appeared in 1994's independent film "Men Lie." Which actors have appeared nude on the show? -------------------------------------------- A better question might be, which haven't? Here's the rundown of regulars and semi-regulars who have appeared in the buff at least once: David Caruso, Sherry Stringfield, Amy Brenneman, Dennis Franz, Jimmy Smits, Sharon Lawrence, Gail O'Grady, Kim Delaney, Justine Miceli and Andrea Thompson. The only cast members to have never dropped trou are James McDaniel, Nicholas Turturro, and Gordon Clapp. Guest stars who have appeared naked include Debrah Farentino, Melina Kanakeredes and John Wesley Shipp. Are Kim Delaney and Dana Delany related? ---------------------------------------- Well, the fact that their last names are spelled differently ought to be all the answer you need. No, they are not related, though people occasionally confuse the two because of the similar last name and the fact that both appeared on TV shows about Vietnam at roughly the same time (Kim on "Tour of Duty" and Dana on "China Beach"). Did Ross from "Friends" used to be on NYPD Blue? ------------------------------------------------ Sort of. David Schwimmer, who plays the neurotic Ross, appeared on the first four episodes of NYPD Blue's first season as Josh "4B" Goldstein, a lawyer with a crush on Laura Kelly who attempted to become a vigilante after he was mugged in his building's laundry room. 4B was shot and killed while attempting to break up a mugging on the subway. What connections are there to other Steven Bochco shows? -------------------------------------------------------- Steven Bochco has produced dozens of series over the years, and writers and performers from his previous shows often turn up on NYPD Blue, and several of the cast of Blue came from other Bochco shows. Dennis Franz played two different roles on Hill Street Blues. In the third season of the show, he appeared in a number of episodes as Sal Benedetto, a crooked, mean-spirited detective. Highlights of Benedetto's tenure on the Hill included beating up Renko for giving him a parking ticket (and subsequently being beaten up by Bobby Hill), attempting to hold up a bank, and, when Howard Hunter's EATers foiled the robbery, killing himself. Franz became a regular cast member at the start of season 6, playing Lt. Norman Buntz, an obnoxious, violent, but ultimately moral cop who clashed with everybody on the Hill except his snitch, Sidney Thurston. After HSB was canceled, Franz and Peter Jurasick (who played Sid) co-starred in a short-lived "dramedy" called Beverly Hills Buntz in which Buntz (who was kicked off the force in the HSB finale) and Sid moved to Beverly Hills to start a private investigation service. Franz also appeared in the debut episode of Bochco's short-lived legal series Civil Wars as a man whose Elvis fixation drove his wife to divorce. David Caruso guest starred in some early episodes of HSB (including the one where the President was supposed to visit the Hill) as Tommy Mann, the leader of the Shamrocks (the Irish gang). Jimmy Smits played attorney Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law. James McDaniel guest-starred as a militant black patrolman in a seventh-season episode of HSB. By then, Bochco had left the show (David Milch was running it), but McDaniel got cast as one of the singing cops on Bochco's short-lived musical drama "Cop Rock." Kim Delaney appeared in several episodes of L.A. Law as a prospective associate at McKenzie, Brackman who seduced Arnie Becker to help research a book she was writing about high-powered attorneys. "Buck Naked" was a quasi-recurring character on Hill Street. He was an old vagrant who kept on flashing everyone while screaming "I'm Buck Naked!" He has appeared twice on NYPD Blue, but only said his trademark catchphrase the first time. Charles Haid, who played Andy Renko on HSB, guest-starred on NYPD Blue as John Kelly's alcoholic rich buddy Charlie Lear in a first season episode. Haid also directed several episodes of Blue, as well as Murder One (and Cop Rock), before going off to run his own cop show, High Incident. Robert Clohessy, who played beefy uniformed cop Patrick Flaherty in HSB's final season, guest-starred in the third season as retarded murder suspect Frankie Wuthrich. Bruce Weitz, growling undercover cop Mick Belker on Hill Street, appeared in the fourth season as murder witness Lawrence Curry. Barbara Bosson, Bochco's former wife, has appeared on virtually all his series, including her regular roles on Hill Street (as Faye Furillo), Hooperman (as Capt. Stern), and Murder One (District Attorney Miriam Grasso), plus guest spots on most of the other shows. She appeared on Blue in the second season as Mrs. Davis, the wife of a man who was molesting their teenage daughter. Three other former Hooperman castmembers all turned up on Blue during the first season: Clarence Felder, who played a corrections officer filing assault charges against a friend of Kelly's; Felton Perry, who played the angry father of a murdered teen; and Debrah Farentino, who had a recurring role as Kelly's friend and subsequent lover Robin Wirkus. Louis Giambalvo, who appeared frequently on HSB as JD LaRue's sleazy used-car salesman brother-in-law, played a used-car salesman of a different sort in the first season of Blue: grief-stricken Dom Bucci, whose daughter had been missing for years before Andy found her. Dan Hedaya, who was nominated for his guest turn as Lou the Werewolf in a first season episode of Blue, appeared several times in HSB's first season as a cop on the take named Phil Macaffee. Hedaya appeared again in the middle of HSB's run as a homeless man who beat up Belker, stole his clothes, badge, and gun, and left him handcuffed in the basement of a condemned building. Markus Redmond, who played a gangmember turned orderly on "Doogie Howser, M.D.," appeared frequently during the first season as uniformed Officer Lucas. Larry Joshua, who plays Captain Bass, was on "Cop Rock." Andy Romano, AKA Inspector Aiello, was a semi-regular on HSB as the deputy police commissioner. One connection that may or may not be intentional is that the two current main characters on NYPD Blue are named Andy (Sipowicz) and Bobby (Simone), which were also the first names of two of HSB's more notable. characters, uniformed partners Andy Renko and Bobby Hill. 5. BLUE ON THE INTERNET ======================= Is there a WWW site? -------------------- There are several. Alan maintains the one where this FAQ was born, at http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~sepinwal/nypd.html In addition to the FAQ, it also contains links to all the other websites, plus the episode guide, as well as summaries and/or reviews of nearly every episode since the first season. There's a website in England at http://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/public/media/tv/collections/tardis/us/drama/NYPDBlue/ Unfortunately, it was set up by the enigmatic Dave Chapman, who vanished from the Internet ether back in the spring of 1995, which left all the sites he maintained dormant; everything is way out of date. There are two recently-created websites, at http://members.tripod.com/~BDaddyCool/index.html and http://www.geocities.com/~thebrid/nypd-blue/ Is there an Episode Guide? -------------------------- Yes. Dennis Kytasaari maintains an html-ized episode guide that's the most up to date (it features each new episode the night it airs). It's located at: http://www.xnet.com/~djk/NYPDBlue_1.shtml What is the name of the NYPD Blue newsgroup? -------------------------------------------- It is called alt.tv.nypd-blue and was created on Feb. 9, 1994. Note however, that many sites don't carry the full range of alt.* newsgroups, so you may be unlucky and not be able to receive it. If you can't access it, you could try politely asking the person in charge of news at your site to try and get it. If that doesn't work, you can also access discussion by going to http://www.dejanews.com/ There is also a small amount of NYPD Blue discussion on rec.arts.tv. Is there a mailing list? ------------------------ No. To my knowledge there is no mailing list devoted to NYPD Blue. Is there a drinking game? ------------------------- Yes. With suggestions from a lot of people on alt.tv.nypd-blue and rec.arts.tv, Alan Sepinwall came up with the NYPD Blue Drinking Game, which is now up to the relatively new version 3.1 To check it out and make contributions, try http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~sepinwal/drink.html Are there any scanned pictures? ------------------------------- Yes, but for now, they're unavailable. Alan used to carry over 35 megabytes worth of pictures on his site -- both scanned publicity stills and pictures video-captured from actual episodes. However, recent disk space cutbacks at his webserver meant he had to remove them from the web. He still has the pictures, though, and if you're interested in hosting a new picture page, e-mail him at sepinwal@force.stwing.upenn.edu (Don't e-mail him to ask for individual pictures; he doesn't have time for that.) There's a small amount of pictures to be found at the other websites. Help! I missed an episode! How do I find out what happened? ----------------------------------------------------------- Alan Sepinwall used to write a detailed summary/review of every single new episode of the show, which were posted to the newsgroup and archived on the website. However, due to time constraints brought upon by home and work, he has retired from that role. All the summaries he's already written (which includes half of season one, all of seasons two, three and four, and the premiere of season five) will continue to be available on the website. Update: Alan can't get rid of that pesky bug. He has still been doing reviews and such, though the level of detail has lessened a lot since he became Alan Sepinwall, cub reporter. Happily, others in the group have picked up the detail slack, most notably Amanda Puedo (puedo01@aol.com). You can catch her reviews by checking for posts titled "Thoughts on..." Old reviews can be found by searching through DejaNews. Help! I missed an episode and want to see the tape! What do I do? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Post a message to the newsgroup asking if someone has the tape and is willing to loan it to you. Shipping costs, even with Priority mail, is only $3 each way. Please do *not* e-mail Alan or Jeff; while we both have nearly complete collection, we don't have the time to either loan out tapes or make copies of them. 6. NYPD BLUE VS. THE REAL NYPD ============================== How realistic is the show? -------------------------- Bill Clark, a retired NYPD detective, serves as the show's technical advisor to make sure that Milch & Co. "get things right." If you ever see Clark's name in the "Story by" credits of a given episode (a more or less regular occurrence these days), then one or more of the cases in that show are based on a real-life event. While Clark is a real stickler for detail, he also understands the demands of TV storytelling, which is why the events on the show often seem time-compressed. Cases that are solved in the traditional two-day span of an episode often took weeks or months to play out in reality, even if all the incidents portrayed in the show happened in real life. (For example, the story about James getting shot in "E.R." actually happened, with Clark in the Bobby role as the man who blew the whistle on the DA's deal with the shooter, but the whole thing took place over several months.) How come nobody ever asks for a lawyer? --------------------------------------- This one comes up a lot, though, ironically, it's Steven Bochco's own fault that viewers complain so much about it. On Hill Street Blues, every single suspect brought into the station was quickly rushed into the protection of noble public defender Joyce Davenport, leading all TV cop show fans to assume that all suspects automatically made use of their Miranda rights to counsel. According to NYPD Blue producer and former real-life NYPD homicide detective Bill Clark (see above), in real life, suspects understand their rights, but often choose not to exercise them out of naive optimism. They figure that if they ask for a lawyer, they'll be stuck in the legal system (and therefore in lock-up) for at least 48 hours, and if they weren't being looked at hard as a suspect before, the cops are really going to bear down on them now. If, on the other hand, they try to speak for themselves, they figure maybe they can come up with some kind of plausible excuse/alibi and get away scot free. Whether Clark is exaggerating the truth a bit in order to make the show seem more plausible is unknown, but that's their story and they're sticking to it. Where is the 15th Precinct? --------------------------- NYPD Blue is set (of course) in New York City, New York, U.S.A. The detectives work in the (fictional) 15th precinct, which covers an area larger than your average real NYPD precinct, including parts of Chinatown, Little Italy, the East Village and Alphabet City (for the non-New Yorkers, all these neighborhoods are on the lower east side of Manhattan). The NYPD stationhouse exterior for the 15th Precinct is really the 9th Precinct house at 321 East 5th St. between 1st & 2nd Ave., which is the same one that was used on the 70s cop series Kojak and is a real precinct house in New York City. Note that former series producer and writer Burton Armus worked as a producer on Kojak. What the heck does "skel" mean? How about "PAA"? ------------------------------------------------ The show features a lot of police slang and terminology that may be confusing to the average citizen. So, to make your viewing experience easier and more informative, here's a brief glossary of police slang. Some of it was compiled by me, but the bulk of it (everything from "Boss" on) comes from the book "NYPD: On the streets with the New York City Police Department's Emergency Services Unit," by Samuel L. Katz. (ISBN 0-7603-0186-7, Motorbooks International, Osceola, Wisconsin. $19.95) NOTE: Some of these terms haven't showed up yet on the show, but I'm including them in case they do. Skel: 1. Short-hand for "skeleton"; i.e., what most drug-users wind up looking like. A derogatory term used to describe low-life junkies. Also refers to homeless vagrants. 2. From the book "The City in Slang, New York Life and Popular S peech," by Irving Lewis Allen (1993): The New York police today call the most vagrant of the male homeless skels. William Safire informs us that "it is a shortening of skellum meaning a rascal or thief, akin to a skelder, 'to beg on the streets,' first us ed in print by Ben Johnson in 1599, just after the playwright got out of jail for killing a man in a duel; it is possible he picked up the word from cellmate's argot." The word popped up about 1935 in the short form skell, suggesting that skellum/skell ha d underground oral use for centuries. Skell is now in popular speech to denote the homeless that are so visible throughout the city. PAA: Principal Administrative Assistant; also Police Administrative Assistant IAB: Internal Affairs Bureau, the branch of the police that investigates other cops DOA: Traditionally means "dead on arrival"; here it's used to refer to just about any dead person, murdered or otherwise BCI: Bureau of Criminal Information; the place where fingerprints are checked against criminal records. Hump: 1. Your ass; "He's gotta bust my hump over this petty crap?"; 2. A moron; "That stupid hump scratched my car!" Juice: Influence; i.e., veteran cops like Sipowicz and Simone have lots of juice at other precincts when their friends get in trouble Reaching Out: Can mean anything from just contacting someone to trying to convince them to help the cops to seeing if they need help Lawyering Up: A suspect's decision to stop answering questions and ask for legal counsel. The House: Shorthand term for the stationhouse Up/Catching: Baseball metaphors used to describe the system by which cases are assigned; e.g., Simone caught that murder in Chinatown because he was up Riding DA: The Assistant District Attorney assigned to a particular precinct; Sylvia is usually the Riding DA at the 15, but her pregnancy has caused her to cut back on her work, and ADA Cohen has filled in on occasion. Boss: Term for senior officers, from lieutenant (in certain units) to captain, deputy inspector, inspector and commissioner. Bus: ambulance CCRB: Civilian Complaint Review Board Central: Central Dispatch CSU: Crime Scene Unit Dee Wee: Phonetic for DWI (Driving While Intoxicated). DT: Street slang for a Detective. EDP: Emotionally Disturbed Person, the politically-correct way to what was once referred as a "psycho". EMS: Emergency Medical Services, which technicians, often overworked, underpaid and unappreciated sometimes dub "Every Minute Sucks". ESU: Emergency Services Unit; the NYPD SWAT team. FAT: NYPD's Fugitive Apprehension Team. Five-O: Street slang for police (obviously influenced by a now-defunct TV cop show). Flying; to fly: Leaving the confines of one's usual precinct in order to fill in for a shortage of manpower in another precinct or location. Go down, to: Getting arrested. Good people: All-purpose NYPD compliment meaning 'kosher', nice, reliable, etc., irrespective of race, religion or sexual orientation. Gun run: Search for a weapon reported sighted in the hands of a "perp". Hit: Tactical assault on a criminal location. Job: Service in the NYPD, as in "I've been on the job five years." Lou, Loo, Lieu: Affectionate slang for 'lieutenant' MOS: Member of the Service (police officer); used on the radio. Mope: Unauthorized term for "perp". Mutt: Unauthorized term for "perp". OC: Organized Crime One PP: One Police Plaza, NYPD Headquarters in downtown Manhattan. Open carrier: Police officer or vehicle with an open radio. - Package: Escorted prisoner or VIP. Paying the rent: For police officers, the handing out of a certain number of traffic summonses and moving violations. Perp: Perpetrator, criminal Puzzle Palace: Police Officer's term for One Police Plaza. Rabbi: An individual's guide and guardian angel in the department. Rat squad: Officers and detectives assigned to Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB). Red Menace: Unofficial term for members of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), also known as "Rubbermen", a term of affection and respect for those members. Rip: Loss in pay due to a disciplinary infraction, such as unauthorized moonlighting. RMP: Radio Mobile Patrol, the NYPD blue and white 'sector' car Sector: Subdivision within a precinct, which covers several blocks. A sector car is assigned to patrol the area (see RMP above). SNAG: Special Narcotics and Guns Unit. SNEU: Special Narcotics Enforcement Unit. SOD: Special Operations Division. Squad: Short for 'detective squad', attached to the specific precinct. TARU: Technical and Research Unit Tunnel Rats: NYPD Transit Bureau (the subway cops). White Shirts: Term for lieutenants and above, who wear white uniform shirts. 7. STUFF TO BUY =============== Are there any books about the show? ----------------------------------- There are three books about Blue currently in print - one non-fiction, two fiction, with more of the latter possibly on the way. "True Blue: the Real Stories Behind NYPD Blue" is a non-fiction book written by NYPD Blue co-creator David Milch. He shares author's credit with Bill Clark, a former NYPD detective who now serves as the show's technical advisor. The book essentially tells two different stories: 1)The history of the show, including the initial controversy over the nudity and language, the difficulty of working with David Caruso, etc., and 2)Bill Clark's career as a detective, including lengthy descriptions (told in his voice) about the cases he worked, most of which were turned into plotlines on NYPD Blue. It's a good read if you're a true crime fan or a fan of the show, though it helps to be both. The ISBN number for the softcover edition, which contains extra material not found in the original hardcover (including Bill Clark's thoughts on the O.J. Simpson case, plus Milch's thoughts on the death of Andy Jr. arc), is 0-380-72505-3. "NYPD Blue: Blue Beginning," on the other hand, is a novel by noted mystery author Max Allan Collins. A prequel to the series, it essentially functions as "the episode *before* the first episode," following Kelly and Sipowicz around in the weeks before the first episode of the series took place. It also features Laura in a far more prominent role than any episode of the show ever did, and has brief appearances by Fancy, Martinez, and Medavoy. It's very entertaining - Collins has the characters down pat, so much so that you'll be able to hear Dennis Franz's voice everytime Sipowicz utters one of his pithy comebacks. But, let the buyer beware: the book assumes the reader is familiar with the events of the early episodes of the first season, and doesn't end with much closure, so if you don't know the final fate of Angelo Marino, Alphonse Giardello, John & Laura's marriage, etc., you'll probably feel rather disappointed until you see those episodes. The ISBN number for "Blue Beginning" is 0-451-18391-6 Collins second "Blue" novel, "Blue Blood" was published in September of 1997. It was originally going to feature Simone and Kelly meeting, but is now a solely Andy and Bobby affair, set shortly after Andy's wedding. The ISBN for "Blue Blood" (according to amazon.com) is 0-451-18392-4. Sales on "Blue Beginning" weren't all that high, so this new book could be the last one. So go out and buy it, okay? Is there a soundtrack CD? ------------------------- Yes. The CD is entitled "Inventions from the Blue Line", it's by Mike Post and is published by American Gramaphone, 9130 Mormon Bridge Road, Omaha, NE 68152. The catalog number is AGCD 450 for the CD, and AGC 450 for the cassette. It contains the NYPD Blue theme, 5 other NYPD Blue tracks and 4 other Mike Post themes - Law & Order, Silk Stalkings, Renegade and Cop Files. In the US it should be available at any large record store. It has probably now got a UK distributor as it has been spotted for sale in various large stores in London without an "Import" sticker on it. Any large record shop anywhere in the world (or on the Web) should be able to order it for you from the US if you give them the above information. 8. BEHIND THE SCENES ==================== Why so many reruns/preemptions? ------------------------------- There are 52 weeks in a year. There are 22 episodes in a season of NYPD Blue. Do the math. Even if the series were somehow run on 22 consecutive weeks (virtually impossible, given the stress of production), that would leave 30 weeks with a rerun or a preemption. Moreover, the television season runs from mid-September to late May, and the current network "sweeps" system means that new episodes have to be saved up for every week of November, February and May, leaving only 10 episodes to be spread out over late September, October, December, January, March and April. Moreover, reruns for the series perform so much worse than original episodes that ABC tries to avoid showing them during the regular season, meaning that most weeks when there's not a new episode, the show will be pre-empted for a news special or other special programming. (For six weeks in the spring of 1997, "The Practice" got to debut in the Blue timeslot.) Yes, it's irritating. Yes, it makes it hard to follow certain long-running subplots when the show is vanished for weeks at a time. Unfortunately, the economics of the industry mean that this is not going to change. Is the show filmed in NY or LA? ------------------------------- Both, actually. The bulk of the filming is done in Los Angeles, but the cast and crew fly out to the Big Apple a few weeks a season to shoot some exterior shots. While the exterior of the 15th stationhouse is actually a real building, a mock-up of it was built in LA to allow more outdoor scenes to be shot. Unless you see a recognizable landmark (the FDR Drive, Washington Square Park, the Flat-Iron building), assume that you're seeing footage filmed in LA. Do the cast and crew know about us? ----------------------------------- Some do, and some don't. Alan has visited the set of the show a couple of times, and some actors have more familiarity with the Internet than others (Gordon Clapp is apparently the biggest net-surfer among the cast). Several of the show's writers and producers (though not David Milch) scan the net from time to time to get audience feedback. David Mills, a former writer on the show ("The Backboard Jungle", "Twilight's Last Gleaming") has delurked on occasion and Paris Barclay, a (male) director on the show, has also delurked. I really love XX and I want to send him/her a letter! What's the address? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to send fan mail to your favorite castmember, the correct address is Cast Member's Name c/o Steven Bochco Productions 10201 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035. 9. MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS ========================== What's the deal with FX? What if my cable company doesn't carry it? ------------------------------------------------------------------- For those who don't know, the FX cable network has begun showing daily repeats of the first four seasons of the show, beginning with the shows from the first season (episode one aired August 19). These episodes are allegedly airing uncut, but some people who've been watching them closely report that every once in a while, a scene will start in mid-conversation. The episodes are supposed to air Monday through Friday at 9, and also Monday through Friday at midnight (the midnight episodes were originally repeats of the previous day's show, but now are apparently on a different cycle). To see which episode is airing when, check out the FX website at http://www.fxnetworks.com/ Since a lot of cable systems don't carry FX -- and since our friends in Canada can't get it at all (Blue repeats there are on the Canadian channel Bravo) -- your other recourse (barring a decision to letterbomb your cable carrier) is to watch the syndicated rerun package on the weekends, which air on various local stations throughout the country (check your local listings). Be warned: unlike the FX repeats, the weekend showings will be cut, not so much for content but to fit in room for more commercials. If you want uncut episodes -- or are impatient waiting for your favorite to show up at the much slower rate -- again, please *do not e-mail me to ask for tapes*. I don't have the time to make dubs. Once these repeats start airing nationwide, there will likely be dozens of fans who'd be more than happy to start dubbing episodes, so try posting to alt.tv.nypd-blue or rec.arts.tv with your specific requests. Why is the camera always shaking? --------------------------------- A lot of the show is shot with handheld cameras in an attempt to simulate a detective's point of view and to give episodes a cinema verite feel. Some people love it and some hate it, but it's an aspect that's not liable to change. Where do you get the episode titles? ------------------------------------ Every episodic television script has its own title, but only a few shows actually show those titles on-screen ("ER," to name just one). However, there are a number of other sources for fans who want to know what each episode is called. Some newspapers do print the episode titles in their TV listings, but a more reliable source is going on-line, either to ABC's official site (http://www.abc.com) or any of the numerous WWW TV listing sites (like, for instance, http://www.gist.com/). Also, the NYPD Blue episode guide, at http://www.xnet.com/~djk/NYPDBlue_1.shtml has the titles of every single episode. What's a "spoiler" and why does it upset some people? ----------------------------------------------------- Basically, a spoiler is any piece of information about an episode that would spoil a part of that episode for someone who hasn't seen it yet. Spoilers can be gleaned from watching commercials, reading TV Guide, rumors, or what have you. Some people like to know this stuff in advance, but a lot of other people like to go into an episode knowing nothing. At the start of the third season, ABC showed in their commercials for the season premiere that one of the characters would get shot. Not everybody on the group had seen the commercial, and one person started a thread entitled "(Character's name) gets shot!" which basically spoiled the surprise for everybody else. The same thing happened near the end of the third season, when several people found out from magazine articles that one of the recurring characters was going to be killed off, and put that information into the heading of their posts. Because some people don't mind knowing stuff in advance, it's okay to include spoilers in your posts, but there are a few basic guidelines to follow to avoid ticking people off: 1) Always insert the word "Spoiler" in your subject header, especially if you're following up to a thread that didn't originally have spoilers in it 2) NEVER put an actual spoiler ("I can't believe Medavoy is going to go to jail!", to make up an example) in your subject header. Even if you were to leave Medavoy's name out in that particular example, the mere knowledge that *any* of the characters is going to jail constitutes a spoiler for most people. A good example of a spoiler-safe header is something like "What I heard about the season premiere - Spoiler." And if somebody else inadvertently includes a spoiler in his/her header, and you want to follow up to that post, please delete the spoiler info from the subject line. 3) Try very hard to include a lot of blank lines in a post before the spoiler information, so that some unfortunate soul whose newsreader won't allow him/her to scan subject headers, won't unwittingly stumble across a spoiler. So, you may be asking, do we have to do this for every episode in perpetuity? No. The generally accepted Usenet rule is that once an episode airs, spoilers don't apply to it (and, since the majority of on-line fandom for the show is U.S.-based, that means once an episode airs in the States).