David CarusoNYPD Blue - Season 1 [DVD]

One of the best shows on television.Every episode brings such a punch.Really do miss quality shows.Thank goodness for Prime. 😊

Too many Hollywood sets dilute quality with inaccurate depictions of New York streets and buildings.This series should have been shot entirely on location for authenticity's sake.And with more New York actors.

NYPD Blue is as relevant today as it was in 1993 to 2005. The series powerfully portrays realistic characters and has an ensemble cast of exceptional actors. Each episode intertwines several plots which keeps it very interesting. I am so happy to have found this drama series on Amazon Prime.

I never watched this show when it was broadcast on network TV, which has become a very good thing. I just finished watching "The Wire" and "Homicide: Life on the Street" and I was eager for more of the same. I gave this a try, in spite of my reservations about David Caruso, since I was not fond of him as the lead in "CSI:Miami." On the other hand, I always liked Dennis Franz on "Hill Street Blues"You are all familiar with the fact that there is a lot of profanity and nudity. That did not affect my decision in either direction, but it did tend to increase the sense of reality. I believed how these cops acted, which I cannot say about most other cop shows, especially the CSI franchise.As I watched the first few episodes, I was dismayed at the characterization of Detective Sipowicz by by Dennis Franz, and the screenwriters. Usually, a character begins a series on an even keel, and story arcs may drop the character into a hole from which they must either work themselves out of, or drop from the series Sipowicz was starting at the bottom of the hole.But, and this is the good part, by the middle of the season, Sipowicz is back on an even keel, and we see him as the good cop he is and was for most of his career. I feel a bit shortchanged by the fact that aside from Kelly and Sipowicz (Caruso and Franz) none of the regular characters are tremendously interesting, although several guest stars, such as Peter Boyle and Bradley Whitford (I'm a Bradley Whitford fan. Go figure.) add a lot of interest.This is one of the weaknesses of "Law and Order Criminal Intent" until they brought Chris Noth in to alternate with Vincent D'Onofrio. Unlike "Criminal Intent", NYPD Blue is far less cerebral, but it's made up by the fact that the characters are more real. The answer to my question of whether I will buy additional seasons is "Absolutely".

Too busy with work and family to watch when this show first aired. Really enjoying going through the series now though. Upon reading some background material on the program it is noted that the producers were looking to compete with cable TV... thus the nudity. Somewhere the claim was made that the show's nudie scenes were not gratuitous. In fact, you can see where the writers attempted to make the sex lives of the squad members an organic extension of the characters. They took us deep inside the souls of the members of the 15th precinct, so why not have access behind the bedroom door as well? It's part of who they were.But guess what? At the end of the day the bare butts we routinely were exposed to were nothing *butt* gratuitous. The performers were naked for one reason; to make us look. Hind site informs us of this. My personal reaction to the nudity in NYPD Blue.... boring! I just fast forward through. The show is too good, even today, to have the episode's exposition impeded by bare-assed actors running around the set when their clothed performances were so darned good.The acting is the glue that held this series together for 12 seasons. And not just the regular cast. The weekly guest stars playing the various perps and victims were highly believable. If convincing emotion had not emanated from the cons being grilled in interview rooms 1 and 2 the show would have been laughable. Fortunately everyone had great stories to tell and great lines to utter. The brilliant writing by Bochco, Milch, and the others was the deep substrate the show stood proudly on. That's why 20+ years later this is still a riveting series to take in.

"NYPD Blue" was probably the most realistic portrayal of the New York City Police Department since....."Barney Miller" (and that's not a joke!). The subtleties of the Squad Room and on the streets are left that way..."subtle"....even within the show, leaving it up to the viewer to catch them (much like real life).The one drawback of Season 1 for me was, unfortunately, David Caruso's "Det. John Kelly" overplaying his predictable part as the laid-back cop playing off the the more "outgoing" Andy Sipowitz (Dennis Franz). Caruso only lasted the one season, more or less (I believe at his own request), and the part of Andy's partner was then magnificently played by a true New Yorker, Jimmy Smits, who moved the part into an easily believable portrayal, including his own New York "subtleties."Some (much?) credit should be given to Gordon Clapp for his performance as the somewhat less-than-self-confident "Detective Greg Medavoy" who, despite that, rises to the mandates of the police situations presented to him, to the point where Sipowitz in a later episode calls Medavoy a "good cop," a true compliment coming from a seasoned officer. Nice job Gordon.While certainly not a "to be continued" type of show, keep in mind that many of the episodes' story lines (but not all) are continued or referred to in the next episodes (much like real police work), and if you purchase a full season you'll find yourself not watching only one episode, but the next one following. And the one after that. It can get addictive...!As we look at what passes for "entertainment" on television today ("Gator Boys," "Jersey Shore," etc), having all the seasons of this great show readily available is really a God-send. Thank you, Amazon!

What amazes me is just how far this season feels from the later seasons of this show. Obviously it ran for a very long time, twelve years, but it still feels so far removed and makes you appreciate just how well they did to maintain the interest and the drama.Where it all began of course. The episodes in this for me are still great after repeated viewings, (I have lost count of how many times I have seen some episodes, but hey who's counting!), and my favourites are still the pilot, which blew me away and made me know this was something special and which was not afraid to break all the rules, always a good thing, and later episodes, which has some great payback. No spoilers, no more to say than that.I still find it hard to believe though that 20th Century Fox could not see fit to release all seasons of this outstanding show on dvd, only up to season 4, which is ludicrous, and they only stopped further releases because of what they saw as poor sales. That's just plain dumb and greedy. But they missed out, since Medium Rare did the job for them, from seasons 5 on and did great job. Granted, no extra features on the Medium Rare releases but the fact that they released them is to be commended. Now it's NYPD Blue all over again and what a great show it remained nearly up to the end of its phenomenal run.

it's ok

Like this series a lot, but have never been able to find the first season to an affordable price. Took a chance on this used product and I am very happy with it. It looks and plays as brand new. Reasonably priced too.

Another benchmark for gritty cop dramas. Remember every episode from when it was first aired on TV and now enjoying it all again. Detested Caruso's character but could not switch him off and his partner was the opposite of everything a cop should be but you want him to do well and prosper.

It's an ok cop series. The crusty old cop and young side kick are interesting but the amount of "family angst" detracts too much.