Thursday, February 15, 2007

Join with me, if you will, in mourning the passing of a dear friend who comforted me over many years, and has now gone to a better place.

Yesterday, I saw the final episode of NYPD Blue. I can barely begin to imagine what life will be like without it.

The substitutes will just not do. Waking the Dead seems to be the best the Brits can offer at the moment, passable, even though it has the unbearably smug git Trevor Eve in the lead, and is unnecessarily silly at times.

I will have to hope that the fourth series of the Wire, which began this week, will live up to the quality of the other three. It is small comfort.

I saw NYPD Blue from the beginning, and despite the best efforts of moronic schedulers on channel 4, saw most episodes, I guess. I survived the early episodes which had that even smugger git David Caruso in them. We were even subjected to his naked body on screen, but I persevered, and eventually it became clear that there was no alternative but to let Dennis Franz become the star of the show. He out-acted all of the others, including Jimmy Smits. The show was controversial early on because of the amount of nudity. I had no particular opinion about this, but if pressed would have explored the possibility of Kim Delaney appearing nude in all of her scenes as an experiment in modern television.

And now there is to be no more.

Please support me in these days of sadness.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

(((((Vicus))))))

Anonymous said...

Does that mean he's vibrating?

Dave said...

Let's be careful out there.

Vicus Scurra said...

Richard. Always.
Dave. That was Hill Street Blues. No catchphrases that I remember from NYPD Blue, although Sipowicz did have a unique way of saying "Watch the door doesn't bang into your ass on the way out".

Dave said...

I knew Blue was in the title somewhere. Hill Street I did used to watch; NYPD I think maust have passed me by.

Kindness said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zig said...

I take it Life on Mars is not reaching the parts other beer cannot reach then?

Vicus Scurra said...

Yes, indeed Ziggi, you can take it.
I watch it - but it isn't quite in the same league as the best of them.
Strangers. Do any of you remember that? Don Henderson and Mark McManus. Bloody brilliant.

Unknown said...

Did you see the episode where Dennis Franz showed us all his tushie? Brilliant. Simply...er....brilliant.

Vicus Scurra said...

Pamela, thank you, yes I did, and had been trying to remove that image from my memory for some time.
On balance, I think that I preferred Kim Delaney's tits.
Are you happy now that you have reduced this diatribe on fine drama to something sordid and trivial?

tom909 said...

Well, I dont watch much telly so I am not familiar with the drama you are discussing, but I am pleased to see that Pammy has at least nudged the thread somewhere towards something I can join in on.

Vicus Scurra said...

Yes, Tom, you have highlighted the distress that Pamela caused.

Geoff said...

Dennis Franz is the sort of man my mum fancies. Sweaty, bald, moustachioed.

Not necessarily moustachioed as she liked Kojak, too.

Please don't tell me NYPD Blue was as good as The Wire and The Shield - I've already spent enough money on the DVDs for those shows.

Vicus Scurra said...

Geoff. NYPD Blue was as good as those too, and is my all time favourite. Almost entirely because of Dennis Franz, although, unlike your mum, Pamela and Tom, I do not fancy him. Even when he gets his kit off.
There were 261 episodes of NYPD Blue. If you took the right drugs you could get through that in 10 days, but even if you took breaks for eating, sleeping and were not watching it while sitting on the bog, you could get through it in a month, no problems.
Ask yourself, what else are you going to do?

Rog said...

I find it best to refer to Trevor Eve as Trevor "Eddie Shoestring" Eve which really gets up his thespian nose.

FirstNations said...

i join you in your time of sorrow and add some wailing and gnashing of my own. nypd blue was the best thing on television and dennis franz the best thing about it. console yourself with the knowlege that the entire thing will be available for rental soon.

Divian said...

Although I never watched the show, (Law and Order fanatic here) I will certainly offer a comforting shoulder to lean on during this difficult time.

Rol said...

Hi there - I noticed you're in mourning for the Blue too (I wrote a similar obit on my own blog). Andy Sipowicz was my hero... what *are* we going to do without him?

Anonymous said...

A gift for those in mourning. It's CSI Miami, but it's still David Caruso. Best I could do on such short notice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceHnUrUAbho

Vicus Scurra said...

Raincoaster, that was horrible.