I had never seen NYPD Blue until the ninth season. Then I went back and watched all the reruns, starting from the first season. I have been hooked ever since. I taped all the the episodes and watched them every evening. Now I'm going back through the first season! As the stories unfolded, I found myself getting caught up in the stories and the lives of the characters. At the end of a hard day's work, I can always count on Andy Sipowicz to say something to make me laugh. What a great character! He runs the gamut of emotions and I find myself going there with him. I alternate between loving the guy and hating him! As an African-American, I sometimes rankle at his racist remarks. But I sometimes find myself agreeing with him when he makes remarks about other minorities, which has made me realize that I must be a racist too. I admire Andy because he is honest enough to voice his opinions and own up to his shortcomings. I have enjoyed each of Andy's partners. I feel that each one has brought something different to the show. But Jimmy Smits was my favorite and I was devastated when his character dies. But my favorite characters on the show are Greg Medavoy and John Irving, both underrated and underused on the show. One of my favorite episodes is "Israel", where a homeless deaf mute man was accused of killing a little boy. Andy was trying to find clues to the killing in the deaf man's Bible, but became so frustrated that he threw the Bible across the room. Later while trying to comfort the boy's mother, Andy picked the Bible up from the floor and started to read aloud from it. As he read over the hustle and bustle of the squadroom, a peace started to fall over all under the sound of his voice, himself included. It was a great moment,from a great scene from a great show.
