science

NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NYPD Blue rather than just read about it. In short: NYPD Blue is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble cast.

Key takeaways

NYPD Blue belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NYPD Blue to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NYPD Blue from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NYPD Blue is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble cast. The show was created by Steven Bochco and David Milch, and was inspired by Milch's relationship with Bill Clark, a former member of the New York City Police Department, who eventually became one of the show's producers. The series was produced by Steven Bochco Productions and 20th Century Fox Television and originally broadcast by ABC from September 21, 1993‚ to March 1, 2005. It was ABC's longest-running primetime one-hour drama series until Grey's Anatomy surpassed it in 2016. NYPD Blue was met with critical acclaim, praised for its grittiness and realistic portrayal of the cast's personal and professional lives. However, the show garnered controversy for its depictions of nudity and alcoholism. In 1997, "True Confessions" (season one, episode four), written by Art Monterastelli and directed by Charles Haid, was ranked number 36 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". In 1998, "Hearts and Souls" (season six, episode five), Jimmy Smits' final episode as a main cast member, ranked 30th on TV Guide's "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time".

Main cast

Production and crew Produced by 20th Century Fox and Steven Bochco Productions, film production primarily took place in the greater Los Angeles area. The show did film in New York, but only for exterior shots that used New York landmarks. In the final season, the show was filmed only in Los Angeles to save money. The series was shot on film and framed for a 16:9 ratio from the first episode, though it was not natively broadcast in HD until season 9. In 2016, the first eight seasons were remastered into a 2K resolution HD image for use in future syndication and streaming releases. The 90-minute versions of "Lost Israel, Part 2", "Honeymoon at Viagra Falls", and "Hearts and Souls" were not included in this project and are available only on the DVD releases, as standard definition 4:3 episodes. The streaming remastered editions use the 60-minute versions of those episodes. Exterior shots of the 15th Precinct used the 9th Precinct building on East 5th Street in New York City, also used for Kojak.

The show was initially a vehicle for David Caruso. John Kelly was the main character, and the first season revolved around him and his professional and personal lives. Promotional shots for the show depicted Caruso in the foreground and other first-season characters set off behind him. Season two had the departure of John Kelly, and the show was thereafter built around an ensemble cast. Dennis Franz, as Andy Sipowicz, a veteran New York City Police detective, evolved into the show's lead character, who increasingly assumed a mentorship role to other characters as the series progressed. His co-stars included (season two and beyond) Jimmy Smits as Det. Bobby Simone (1994–1998), Rick Schroder as Det. Danny Sorenson (1998–2001), and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Det. John Clark, Jr. (2001–2005).

Music

The show used an instrumental theme by prolific TV composer Mike Post, which did not change throughout the run of the series. The theme begins with a percussion arrangement reminiscent of the sound of a New York City subway train departing a station and then proceeds to an oboe-dominated melody influenced by the Irish-American music used at NYPD ceremonies. Each episode had a cold open scene followed by the full-length theme song over the opening credits. The cold open and scene transitions used short instrumental breaks reminiscent of the main theme. As the series progressed, the musical start of the cold opens grew longer. By season seven, each episode began with a fast-paced montage of typical Manhattan street scenes unrelated to the show's characters, scored with an increasingly complex combination of scat singing and instrumental music riffing on the main theme. The specific variations were original to each episode and were not reused. Some especially dramatic or dialogue-free scenes were scored during particular episodes, but otherwise the main body of scenes used only limited diegetic music. A section of the main theme played again over the closing credits.

Plot

Season 1

John Kelly and Andy Sipowicz are detectives in the 15th squad. Sipowicz is the elder partner, but is an alcoholic who drinks on the job, as well as off duty, and his behavior causes doubt that the partnership will last much longer. Kelly has a genuine affection for his partner, but becomes increasingly exasperated by Sipowicz's behavior. In addition to his alcoholism, Sipowicz is a deeply negative, misogynist, homophobic man. In the pilot, Sipowicz is shot by a suspect he had attacked and humiliated earlier. This leads to his decision to sober up and save his job. While Sipowicz is recuperating, the squad's lieutenant, Arthur Fancy, teams Kelly with a young cop from Anticrime, James Martinez. Kelly's personal life is as frenetic as his professional life. He is reluctantly going through a divorce from his wife, Laura, and is embarking on an affair with a uniformed cop, Janice Licalsi. To complicate matters further, Licalsi's police-officer father is on the payroll of mob boss Angelo Marino. Licalsi, in an attempt to protect her father, has been ordered to do a "hit" on Kelly. Instead, Licalsi murders Marino, and the repercussions come back to haunt both Kelly and her. Sipowicz, meanwhile, sobers up and begins a relationship with ADA Sylvia Costas. The other detective in the squad, Greg Medavoy, a married man, embarks on an affair with the squad's new administrative aide, Donna Abandando.

Season 2

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

NYPD Blue: Main police cast of season three of NYPD Blue, l-r Turturro, Smits, Delaney, McDaniel, Miceli, Clapp, Franz — Main police cast of season three of NYPD Blue, l-r Turturro, Smits, Delaney, McDaniel, Miceli, Clapp, Franz

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NYPD Blue

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NYPD Blue claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NYPD Blue before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NYPD Blue ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NYPD Blue

In research: NYPD Blue appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NYPD Blue in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NYPD Blue is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1990s American crime drama television series, 1990s American mystery television series, 1990s American police procedural television series, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NYPD Blue outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NYPD Blue in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NYPD Blue means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NYPD Blue out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NYPD Blue in simple terms?

Why does NYPD Blue matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NYPD Blue?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NYPD Blue.