A Eulogy for NYPD Blue [Spoilers for Final Episode]

[ragboy]

Dunno if anyone else watched tonight's final episode, but I did and enjoyed it. It was kind of sad. Even though I know the show is past its prime and needs to retire, I'm still gonna miss it.

I've watched it throughout its 12 year run, but for the last 5 years (weirdly enough, the season after Bobby died), I've been a devoted viewer. The thing that has always struck me as important about the show is that there aren't explosions, crazed serial killers or any of the other TV cruft on every show (like Law&Order/CSI/etc). It's normal homicides with little character twists, equal focus on crime solving and interpersonal relationships, and a handful of 'big events' per season (usually involving someone Sipowitz cares about getting offed).

Overall, I really liked the clash of personalities and then where they meshed. It was a great character study of people just doing their jobs against the chaos of their personal lives and the weirdness of their careers.

And hell, even Ricky Schroeder was good.

I can't remember where I saw this documentary, but there was one about the making of the show, and for several years, the writer/producer was a total junkie, and he would come in at the beginning of the week with no script and a headful of wild junky ideas. So, for an entire season, they basically winged it. This is one of the reasons that Delaney and a couple of others left the show when they did. Just got too crazy. Anyone see/remember what I'm remembering?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I can't remember where I saw this documentary, but there was one about the making of the show, and for several years, the writer/producer was a total junkie, and he would come in at the beginning of the week with no script and a headful of wild junky ideas. So, for an entire season, they basically winged it. This is one of the reasons that Delaney and a couple of others left the show when they did. Just got too crazy. Anyone see/remember what I'm remembering?

The hour-long special that aired before the final episode touched upon this. They'd basically come to work without scripts, and stand around with paper and pen writing down their lines as they were thought up by the creator/exec producer. They actually had footage of the guy coming up with something while all the actors sat around the set scribbling.

 

[Mark]

The hour-long special that aired before the final episode touched upon this. They'd basically come to work without scripts, and stand around with paper and pen writing down their lines as they were thought up by the creator/exec producer. They actually had footage of the guy coming up with something while all the actors sat around the set scribbling.

Furthermore, it's been years since Milch (he's the one responsible for that working method and left NYPD Blue soon after those others) overcame his addictions (in recovery, I suppose) and he still works in this method (on his current successful HBO series, Deadwood).