Reportage NYPD Blue Part1

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

 

By Carole Lowe

 

                                   

 Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Lisa Marie Jabboury on the Set of NYPD Blue

 

 


'This police drama contains adult language and scenes with partial nudity. Viewer discretion is advised.'  It was with those words, on the evening of September 21, 1993, that I anxiously watched the debut of a new ground-breaking television – NYPD Blue.

 

I remember it well, unlike many things from 12 years ago which have since kind of blurred with time.  I was living in Los Angeles and working in the entertainment industry as the manager of a product placement agency - securing placement of brand name products such as VISA, Hershey’s, Toyota and Lexus, in television shows and feature films.  Part of my job was to be on the lookout for new television shows which would be a good venue for our products and to work to arrange their on-screen placement.

I had been aware of NYPD Blue for several months, while it was in production and before it began to air on the ABC Network.  There was an incredible buzz surrounding the show.  Words like gritty and violent were being used, alongside innovative and revolutionary, to describe the show.  Some ABC affiliates were refusing to air the series. .  You have to remember, this was a time before television shows like The Sopranos and Janet Jackson and wardrobe malfunctions.  So, on the evening of September 21, 1993, I joined a few friends to watch the show’s debut.  It was innovative, it was gritty and it was good – very good.

 

Over the years, I worked on hundreds of Los Angeles based television shows.  But when I would visit the Stage 9 on the Twentieth Century Fox Studios lot, where the NYPD Blue filmed, there was always a certain camaraderie that didn’t exist on most of the other shows.

 

Recently I had the opportunity to return to Stage 9 for one last visit before Blue signs off for the last time on March 1, after twelve seasons and an astounding 82 Emmy nominations.

 

Dennis Franz, the tortured heart and soul of the show, was one of the first people I ran into on my visit.  Franz, winner of 4 of the individual Emmy statuettes, is a genuinely very nice guy – almost the polar opposite of his character of Andy Sipowicz.  Even his voice is different; softer, almost gentle in comparison to the fictional role he portrays.

“These 12 seasons have been an amazing journey for Andy Sipowicz,” Franz stated.  “You know, after playing 27 cop roles over the years I wasn’t sure I wanted to do this again.  But when (series creator) Steven Bochco called and later sent me the script, I was thrilled to death with the character.”

 

Now 60, Franz is looking forward to a well deserved rest and travel with his wife and family.

 

“I might never have an experience like this again.  The memories I take away from here (motioning around the show’s soundstage) and the camaraderie I’ve had with these people over the past twelve years has been a gift – a true gift.”

Over my days on the shows set I noticed cast members seemed to be savoring every moment they shared with the knowledge that this would be their final season.

 

Jacqueline Obradors, Blue’s Detective Rita Oritz, reflected a warm inner happiness as told of how much she has enjoyed working on the series. “This has been such a terrific group of people to work with, such a giving group of gifted people.”

 

 Jacqueline Obradors and Carole Lowe on the NYPD Blue Set

Dernière mise à jour de cette page le 18/11/2005

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