It wasn't a "simpler time". Try living through 9/11 in NYC or the US starting not one but two wars. Or early 1990s when crime was pretty much at its worst in NYC or the second impeachment of a US president in history, or the domestic terrorist attacks in the 1990s with Timonth Mcveigh or Waco standoff etc etc. Only difference is there are more whiners today and yea this covid stuff is rough, but "simpler times"? Not a chance.
I wish Esai Morales never left the show. He's a great actor, they just rarely ever gave him a storyline. He just kind of walked around and shuffled papers....it was too bad.
That was his job... to set the table for the other cast members by being a strong boss character that let his people do their jobs, and led them the right way. He hit just the right notes, and really showed off his talents, because the role he had was NOT 'easy'... it took JUST the right touch to perform that role, and he absolutely knocked it out of the park.
I love the camera angle, where Fraker is lining up the killer shot, and you see Ortiz's hand suddenly come up and she fires. Everything about this show was completely different class.
They had me thinking at the time that it was Andy that shot Martens until the camera panned out and showed Rita. Side note, I wonder why everyone from downstairs didn't come running up when Martens shot Rodriguez but when Medevoy shot and killed the man in the precinct everyone came running up.
Ample evidence of Andy being the leader of the band here. A lovely shot at 3:22 with a cross-fade to include all eight members of NYPD Blue. What a cast! No comparisons needed. A stand-alone series for 12 years.
That is exactly the first impression I had, also, after watching this the first time. Rodriguez is the official squad leader, but it’s Sipowicz’ squad.
Tony's subordinates reacting as they did speaks volumes about the man. That piece of writing conveyed more than a half dozed episodes centered on him. This was a great show. From the writing to the acting, production, directing there are damn few that can match it. They went through a bunch of actors, losing some fan favorite and didn't suffer from it. Often when a favorite leaves a show that departure spells doom. When Dan Blocker died Bonanza was finished. And Dan wasn't the "big" star. This show, far more than most got people involved, almost feeling a part of it. How hard is THAT to do?
Dennis Franz / Andy Sipowicz was the anchor of this show, the one who held it together. His character arc over those twelve seasons was the story of NYPD Blue. The show probably would have survived had he left, but it wouldn't have been the same.
"You did real good." -- Andy Sipowicz I know this is just an (excellent) TV show but that statement should warm anyone's heart if you're wondering if you did the right thing.
You can tell a lot about the show just from the fact that Rodriguez is stable. That close to the end of the episode, pretty much every other show would have ended without saying so, leaving the audience wondering if Rodriguez will survive. And since the bosses of the 15th changed quite often, there was a real chance that the writers would let Rodriguez die; so this was not a case of, "of course he will survive, he is main cast". But this show was not about stuff like that, so they let the audience know that Rodriguez was stable. _
Ah, I forgot Esai Morales was on here. Wish he was in more dramatic parts on TV again. Playing on Titans doesn't count. If him and Jimmy Smits had been on this show at the same time... Man it would have won more emmys then it already had. Both way underrated imho.
I always wished Jimmy Smits and Esai Morales were on this together. I also wish they had given Morales better story lines. All he did was walk around and say "Anything on the canvas?". I wish he had stayed on the show 'til the end. If he had, I bet they would have had Fraker found guilty. They should have had him found guilty anyway, and had Rodriguez promoted to Captain. Then maybe he would have come back for a cameo every now and then.
Tony Rodriguez was a capable and likable replacement for Arthur fancy. However the show just didn't give his character good storylines thus why esai morales left since he grew bored with the role.
A bit surreal seeing Esai Morales as a good guy after Ozark season 1. But he's a good actor who did well as both a police lieutenant and a cartel boss.
Yea I never saw this episode either. I saw a clip of his trial testimony and then I had to search for this scene. He testified exactly like it happened.
They went on following season with a trial and brought back a bunch of previous storylines in the trial. Fraker was found not guilty and they brought up old stuff against lt. Rodriguez also. He ended up leaving the force to do private security. Next time we see fraker he’s off the force and tending bar. Andy goes to see him to see who took Theo for the car ride.
I still believe Clark Sr mailed out all that info about Fraker before he killed himself it was Fraker who turned Clark Sr into an informant over the prostitute. If Andy found out about Fraker an equal detective could find that out too. I can dream right.
Being a medic on the streets of st. Louis in 70's until 2007 and friends with many cops, medics, and firefighters this show is a real reflection of actual life on the streets when professionals were allowed to do their jobs.
I just watched all the clips of the trial of Fraker. NO mention was made at all of Fraker going to put a finishing shot into Rodriguez, when Rita put him down. "Shot in the back" as he testified. IMHO that would have made all the difference in the verdict.
So who can remember their favorite episode. ? I know it was a long time ago but give it a shot. One that popped into my head was when Andy found that missing girl when he was looking for a car for his son.
Season 5 i believe, with the kid that was missing then found murdered/raped, and simone and sipowicz knew it was the dad from the start but they were pretending to be eyeballing the black mute homeless guy. Those 2 or 3 episodes were gold.
Fraker being found not guilty was the jump the shark moment of this show. If they were going to go to that route he should have been on more than just one more episode after he was found not guilty.
Unfortunately, that's the way it works sometimes. "The court doesn't exist to give them justice. The court exist to give them a CHANCE at justice." - Frank Galvin (Paul Newman), "The Verdict" (1982)
@@skwisgarskwigelf7191 And let's face it, Fraker still lost in the sense that even though he was acquitted of the attempted murder charges, the revelations about his indiscretions meant his career was in tatters and he was reduced to bartending at a very sleazy place. Whereas Rodriguez, who lost a promotion to captain due to Fraker's actions, got to retire to a very cushy gig in private security.
People are now misusing and overusing the term “Jumped the Shark”; they think it means something other that it originally did, or they apply to something where the term is utterly irrelevant.
This is a real great show to watch now. A lot of stuff on the networks not worth watching. Some of these shows(like this one) really hold up and are fun to watch.
Wish he hadn't left the series. I also wish they had given him better story lines. I think if he stayed, the last two years would have been a lot better.
@@chrispeplinski7306 he would have left the police force because there may have been some jealous people who did not like him because of what they thought he did to fraker.
For anyone who watches both shows, does Fraker remind anyone of Hoytsman from Brooklyn Nine Nine? Chris Parnell's character who screwed up his own life big time, takes no responsibility, blames everyone else and jumped right to attempted murder while under the influence?
Jacqueline Obradors was in the final season of Bosch in decent sized role playing a police officer. She still looks great! My favorite character in the show's history!
Vega was introduced in the fifth season of _Bosch,_ (when she transferred to Hollywood Homicide to become Pierce's new partner) and although treated like a guest star, she might as well have been a main character since she was in almost every episode from her introduction through to the series finale of the main show.
Possible symbolism at the end with the transparent images of the squad members. I wonder if the writers/directors were going for some sort of guardian angels imagery there.
I wish they had given Esai Morales another way out too. Fraker should have been found guilty and Tony Rodriguez should have been promoted to Captain. After all, he was a legend in undercover narcotics, right? And he supposedly got the medal of honor. How easily they forget. If David Milch had still been around, Fraker would have been a much better villain.
Caruso was the absolute pits. Schroeder should have been excellent, but his character was written into absurdity ( example the no chemistry, incoherent affair with Diane). Smits and Gosselaar were fine.
LOL, I never watched this show, but I had to laugh at this happening! So surprised! I remember a guy getting fired for beating up a captain (true NYPD story), but a captain shooting a lieutenant?? LOL, didn't see that comin' !!
@@attiepollard7847 Ummmm....not really following u. My comment was about seeing this show where an intox captain shoots a lieutenant. Man, was I surprised to see that, and yeah, I laughed at it a little (it's tv, not reality). Didn't expect to see that!
This was the beginning of end of NYPD Blue being great. I didn’t like the aftermath of Clark Sr.’s suicide and I never found Andy and Connie as a couple interesting but there was still good energy to the show. This is where the quality started going downhill.
So true. I think if Esai Morales had stayed, it would have been much better. Gibson and Bale were horrible. I didn't think Andy and Connie belonged together at all. I never got the feeling they belonged together like I did with Andy and Sylvia. It was a shame Sharon Lawerence wanted off the show.
and there goes going home for the night and lots and lots of paperwork and now she needs to call it in. Oh and there is no way that she would be at the hospital after what happened, nope she would be sitting in a room with other detectives from a different squad and with IAD going over and over what happened. Since this is about a police captain shooting a police lieutenant and then a detective shooting the police captain. Something like that would have every single major police brass there looking for answers.
Oh. My. Wow. I quit watching when Rick Schroder came on, and I've been trying to catch up, but I've never seen this before. Talk about a mind bender. Geez...
