Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

We’re back in the precinct again, finally.

Disc transfer and story quality
NYPD Blue transferred to disc quite nicely, sans commercials. The only thing about that is the slight lag where you expect a commercial to show up, in fact anticipate it - don’t miss it though - smile. I don’t know why Season 3 used so many discs, several of them only had two segments. Previous seasons were distributed on six discs whereas this one is on eight.

Continuity of characters and story line is always a huge bonus, although there is often a segment or two between the story beginning and conclusion. But, hey, life isn’t all served up in one day either. I hold great admiration for the writers of this series which always kept it fresh and interesting, considering its long run. They touched on current subjects and all manner of criminal infractions.

Yes, I know they are actors playing a part and I know it is just a television series, but you become friends with the players on NYPD. You feel their pain and laugh with them. You don't always like what they do, but they are doing a job and in the end, you respect the choice they have to make.

Season 3 highlights
Diane finally accepts her addiction to alcohol and starts going to meetings with Sips as her sponsor. Sips relents, after a period of time, and pulls Bobby & Diane back together. However, Diane’s family doesn’t make it easy for her - her father is an abusive drunk which finally culminates in his death. Although her brother confesses to the shooting, the truth eventually comes out.

Medavoy, on the other hand, continues the song and dance of moving in and out of his marriage home. His wife finally confronts Donna, in the stationhouse, and then she confronts Medavoy in a nasty black teddy. Poor Medavoy!

Martinez gets shot in a robbery investigation and Lesniak becomes his temporary nurse. When things look like they are getting too heavy, Lesniak drops the bomb that she is gay. Although it is just a front to keep Martinez at bay, she soon starts to doubt her sexuality.

Sips’ son, Andy Jr., has to leave the military for medical reasons and joins his father wearing the proud colors of the NYPD Blue. Sips is torn about this, both proud and fearful of his part on the streets. He spends a good deal of time coaching his son on life in the streets.

Bobby has to come to the realization that his mentor, an aging fighter, is losing touch with reality and Sips and Lt. Fancy come to heads over a racial slur that drops from Sips often big mouth.

Sylvia drops the biggest bomb of all.

Overall
One of the things I admire about NYPD Blue is the fact that they don’t win every case. The bad guy isn’t always caught, or, if caught, isn‘t always brought to justice. I also like the fact that we see the major players outside of the work environment, which fleshes them out even more. We also see the frustration the police must surely face when they realize all their hard work goes to naught over some technicality, usually their own rash judgment to catch the bad guy. The characters aren’t snowy white; they are rude, insulting, lie like dogs. They also cry when they see a body discarded like so much trash or find a small body lying in a dumpster, wrapped in a blanket.

They are dedicated to a cause that those outside their small circle don’t always see. They set their sights on catching the perp and bringing the victim some closure to their circumstance. We watch them butt heads with authority and each other. We watch them stand over their own child’s crib and offer a small smile of gratitude that their family made it through another day.

They don’t always let a character just walk away from the job, like Det. Kelly did in the first season, but sometimes kill them off, as happens in real life police work. Their detectives get injured, shot, and drunk, just like real people do and they also get married and have families. They get divorced, lose family members to suicide, lose family members to the job.

They get dirty, smelly, and sexy. The bathroom at the 15th is a nightmare on its own but a lot of scenes are shot in that bathroom and a lot of secrets shared in there. You believe in this group of characters because they just seem like real people. They have good days and bad days, just like we do. Their lives don’t run a perfect course. They don’t live in fancy high-rises or drive flashy cars. They are the common working man, scratching out a living and facing things no human should ever have to face, on a daily basis.

We watch them in pain and sorrow, in laughter and happiness. We watch them live life like it really is and not like some trumped up glory show thinks we want to see police work, all neat and tidy. NYPD Blue taught me to always refer to policemen[people] as policemen and not cops, which I equate to the derogative term ‘pigs’. Just my own personal feeling. I learned to respect their position and admire it and it is my own small way of showing them admiration and respect, which they deserve.

NYPD Blue isn’t afraid to cross boundaries and investigate all avenues of life and death. They are known for their risqué shows and attitudes. I guess that is what made the show a success for so long and kept it fresh and alive.

Season 3 covers the following shows:
Disc 1: “ER“, “Torah, Torah, Torah“, “One Big Happy Family“, “Heavin Can Wait”
Disc 2: “Dirty Laundry”, “Curt Russell”
Disc 3: “Aging Bull“, “Cold Heaters”, “Sorry Wong Suspect”, “The Backboard Jungle”
Disc 4: “Burnin Love”, ‘These Old Bones”
Disc 5: “A Tushful of Dollars”, “The Nutty Confessor”, “Head Case”, “Girl Talk”
Disc 6: “Hollie and the Blowfish”, “We Was Robbed”
Disc 7: “Auntie Maimed”, “A Death in the Family”
Disc 8: “Closing Time”, “He’s Not Guilty, He’s My Brother”

“How’s it going?” [in the 15th squad this is a form of acknowledging someone or simply a way of saying 'hello']

In typical Sipowicz fashion, a conversation between him and Sylvia goes this way:
Andy - “How’s it going?”
Sylvia - “Andy, I’m late”
Andy - “Huh? Late for what?”

Sylvia makes him promise to keep it a secret for a while. He does, for about 5 minutes and then ‘secretly’ tells everyone individually in the department, all the while smirking like a fool. When Sylvia confronts him, his response is “Do you want me to move out for a while? I’m going to drive you crazy.” I love Andy.


Thanks,
Susi

Related reviews:

NYPD Blue: Season 1
NYPD Blue: Season 2
NYPD Blue, Season 3
NYPD Blue, Season 4



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD