Another display of network TV originality - NYPD Blue reboot

Cafe Society
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Demonstrating once again that network TV executives seem bereft of new ideas, ABC had apparently greenlighted a reboot (of sorts) of its 1990s/2000s hit NYPD Blue.

I say a reboot of sorts, because they’re not starting over in true reboot fashion, pretending that the original show never existed. Instead, they’re moving forward in time, picking up New York’s 15th precinct years after the end of the original show, with a new cast, but with connections to the old show.

Apparently, the central plot device at the start of the new show is that Andy Sipowicz, the central character of the original series, has been murdered, and his son Theo is a cop who is trying to get his detective’s shield so he can work on solving his father’s murder.

Pretty great, huh? How could this fail to produce an outstanding show? :rolleyes:

Let me get one thing out of the way: I’m a HUGE fan of NYPD Blue. I own all 12 seasons, and I’ve probably watched the whole thing three or four times, and some seasons and episodes far more than that. It was groundbreaking TV when it was introduced, and it remained outstanding for at least the first six years of its run, and very good for much of the rest, even if some of the character plotlines got a bit silly in the latter seasons.

I assume that it’s people like me that the folks at ABC are hoping to lure in with this new show. And you know what? I’m not even going to bother watching the first episode to see what it’s like. That’s partly because I’m not interested in rewarding this sort of lazy approach to content, but it’s mainly because I’m just not interested. I’ve moved on. The show ended, and it ended fine, with Sgt. Sipowicz sitting at the desk, ready to lead the detective squad that he had been a part of for so long.

Also, there IS no NYPD Blue without Andy Sipowicz. For much of its run, we WAS the show. Sure, David Caruso and Jimmy Smits got top billing in their roles as John Kelly and Bobby Simone, and Jimmy Smits was a true primetime leading man who did a great job. But it was Dennis Franz’s Sipowicz that really kept me coming back, with all of his prejudices and contradictions and complications and his working-class big-heartedness. They can call it NYPD Blue, but it can never be that without Sipowicz. I’m not saying they should have brought back Dennis Franz—by all accounts, he’s happily retired, and he’s 74 years old now—I’m saying they should just let it go.

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I totally agree. My wife had never seen the series, and Audience ran it from start to finish (they’ve actually gone through it a couple of times). We’d watch an episode every weeknight. From the beginning, I told her the show was Sipowicz’s story, the story of his redemption.

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So, it’s NYPD Blue: The Next Generation?

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+1 <like> retweet upvote

Wot he said.

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NYPD Indigo. If this is successful, there will be a prequel series, NYPD Green.

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I really liked the show and will watch the reboot to see how it is. I read that Franz was offered a role but I assume that was just a courtesy they did not expect him to accept .

Austin Majors who played Theo is 23 now so he could still play Theo although he has not acted since 2009.

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The only way I’d watch is if they revived the nude scenes from the first few seasons of the original series.

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First Andy Jr gets murdered, then Sylvia gets murdered, then Danny gets murdered, now Andy himself gets murdered? Ok then.

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The current trend is for a whole bunch of hi-octane action cop shows. I guess this fits somewhere in amongst them, but may be a bit too late to make any impact, especially if the nostalgia factor fails to work.

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l Bobby was not murdered :slight_smile:

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This. You’d think Theo would want to steer clear of law enforcement, and maybe move to Mayberry or something…

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I wonder if they bring back Andy’s 3rd wife/Theo’s stepmother Connie. Charlotte Ross has not had a lot of roles since the show ended in 2005 so I would think she would be up for it.

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Bringing back one former cast member as a connection to the original series would make a lot of sense.

Charlotte Ross had a guest role on “Law and Order” as an obnoxious political pundit, and she was really good. I wouldn’t mind seeing her again.

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I thought it was nice after all his painful episodes they decided to make Andy boss and give him a sexy younger wife. Also I liked the episode where they brought back Bobby as a ghost to talk to Andy , they only did that 1 time and did not over do it.

Charlotte Ross played a different role earlier in the show, she played the wife of a copy who was abusing her.

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An NYPD Blue reboot might not be the worst thing in the world. But starting it with the murder of Andy Sipowicz would be taking a giant shit on the original series and its fans.
Make the show if you must, but leave Andy alone. He’s retired and living out his life in peace.

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Gradually, the franchise will lose all intensity.