Line #10 Series/NYPDBlue


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12	''NYPD Blue'' is a CopShow with [[CrimeTimeSoap Soap Opera elements]] that ran on ABC from 1993 to 2005. Originally a star vehicle for Creator/DavidCaruso (who left after the first season to pursue a movie career), the show evolved into an ensemble, with Det. Andy Sipowicz (Creator/DennisFranz) as the focus character.
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14	The show courted controversy from the start with its [[TooSexyForThisTimeSlot liberal use of nudity]] (mostly sideboob and butts, with the occasional steamy love scene) and salty language (one of Sipowicz's first lines is calling A.D.A. Sylvia Costas a "pissy little bitch", and it was one of the first shows to use the word "shit" on network television). The [[MoralGuardians Parents Television Council]] was formed primarily because of this show. It was also noted for resurrecting the careers of those (besides Caruso) who played Andy's partners (Creator/JimmySmits, and former child stars [[Series/SilverSpoons Rick Schroder]] and Creator/MarkPaulGosselaar)
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16	The show was created by producer Creator/StevenBochco, and is considered the SpiritualSuccessor to his earlier, similarly ground-breaking ensemble cop show, ''Series/HillStreetBlues''.
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18	In October 2018, it was announced that a revival is under development. This revival is stated to feature a new generation of detectives, and the revival will center on Andy Sipowitz’s son Theo, as he will earn his detective shield so he can investigate his father's death. As of 2019, the revival idea is being stalled, but there are efforts to redo the pilot.
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20	----
21	!!This series provides examples of:
22
23	* TheAlcoholic:
24	** From the first episode, Sipowicz is established as an alcoholic, who goes to AA meetings and mostly manages to stay sober (though he does fall OffTheWagon two times). He also helps various colleagues with their drinking problems.
25	** Detective [[spoiler:Russell]] is later revealed also to have problems with alcohol; she was driven to drink by traumatic events in her past. She is always shown ordering soft drinks when others drink, but does not want to discuss the reason, which causes resentment with some people.
26	* AmicableExes: John Kelly and Laura Michael continue to have a good relationship even after their divorce.
27	* AmoralAttorney: James Sinclair is a brilliant lawyer who often defends high-profile criminals and mob bosses, and tends to get them acquitted. This doesn't make him too popular among the detectives, and he is a special nemesis to Sipowicz who sees him as not just amoral, but positively evil, and doesn't hesitate to tell him so to his face. Despite this, Det. Kelly hires him to defend one of their colleagues when she is on trial for murder.
28	* AndTheAdventureContinues: Although the final season features notable changes, like Medavoy retiring and Sipowicz being bumped up to the squad leader, the finale plays out pretty much like a regular episode, with new detectives being brought in as members of the staff, cases being explored, and everyone wishing Andy well as he remains at the office to finish up the paperwork for the night. Just another work day, with the implication that this will be the way things go tomorrow, and for a long while afterwards.
29	* AnyoneCanDie: Especially if they're connected to Sipowicz. [[spoiler:2 partners, his elder son, and a wife. And his boss, almost.]]
30	* AscendedExtra: Medavoy was originally just a random detective who had a few lines in one episode. Creator/GordonClapp was originally offered a one-shot guest character, but he recalls reading a line in the script about Medavoy "getting up from his desk" and deciding to read for him instead because "maybe someday we'll get to see his desk." His intuition paid off, as Medavoy's role was quickly expanded and Clapp remained for the entire run of the series.
31	* AshesToCrashes: a detective who used to work in the squad died and his widow wants the squad to store half of his ashes there, because that was the man's last wish. "Just put the urn in the back of a file cabinet or something, it wouldn't be any trouble." But the Lieutenant refuses on the grounds that it isn't regulation. Sipowitz manages to get the ashes stirred into the plaster being used to repair the bathroom, so he'll be there forever.
32	* AsHimself:
33	** Porn star Vanessa del Rio appeared once, filing a complaint against a fan who was harassing her.
34	** Police Commissioner Howard Safir appeared in "My Wild Irish Nose" to present Simone with his promotion to Detective First Grade.
35	%% * AspectMontage
36	%% * {{Auction}}
37	* BatmanGambit: Attempted in a multi-episode arc. [[spoiler:Hatcher]] carries out escalating acts of vengeance against Sipowicz to provoke him, ranging from slashing his tires to threatening Sipowicz's son, then carries a tape recorder, hoping Sipowicz will incriminate himself. Given their history, Sipowicz naturally suspects the guilty party and reacts more or less as hoped, and could have gotten into serious legal trouble. Unfortunately for the perp, the initial scheme involved so many distasteful crimes including multiple felonies easily traced to their source that even the local ObstructiveBureaucrat points out that Sipowicz would make a sympathetic defendant and the [[ItsAllAboutMe perp]] would get the book thrown at him.
38	* BerserkButton
39	** Andy Sipowicz was a veteran of UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. So ''please'', do not lie to him about having fought in that war if you weren't actually there.
40	** AmoralAttorney James Sinclair acts as a living BerserkButton to Sipowicz.
41	** Sipowicz and John Clark, Sr. tend to press each other's berserk buttons a lot. When Clark finds out that his son is partnering up with Sipowicz, he [[spoiler:packs his son's bags and throws him out of their apartment]].
42	* BigRottenApple: Along with the early seasons of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' this was one of the last pieces of popular media to present UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity as a squalid and dangerous hotbed of crime before plummeting street crime and spiraling rents promoted the image of "nice place to live [[FriendsRentControl if you can afford it]]."
43	* TheBoxingEpisode: In season nine, Det. Clarke agrees to settle a personal quarrel with one of the uniformed cops, Laughlin, by boxing against him at a precinct charity event. When rumour gets out that it is a grudge match, the captain stops the match. Laughlin puts intense pressure on Clark, pointing him out as a coward. Finally both combatants agree to hide their enmity and pretend the match is just for fun, which leads the captain to reinstate it.
44	* BreakoutCharacter: Sipowicz, who started out second banana to John Kelly and ended up as one of the most famous TV detectives of all time. (Dennis Franz's ''four'' Emmys for the role certainly didn't hurt.)
45	-->'''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Marge]]:''' Homer, I don't think you should wear a short-sleeved shirt with a tie.
46	-->'''Homer:''' But Sipowicz does it.
47	-->'''Marge:''' If Detective Sipowicz jumped off a cliff, would you do that too?
48	-->'''Homer:''' Ohh... wish I was Sipowicz.
49	* TheBusCameBack: After departing near the end of Season 8, Diane Russell returned for a one-off guest appearance in Season 10, and then a four-episode arc in Season 11.
50	* ButICantBePregnant: Connie's Season 11 pregnancy, when she'd previously been stated to be infertile due to complications with a pregnancy when she was a teenager. But then Creator/CharlotteRoss got pregnant in real life. In the end, the writers were able to use the rather mild retcon of Connie's doctors telling her it would be ''almost'' impossible for her to get pregnant[[note]]TruthInTelevision, "infertile" basically means "extremely small chance of being able to conceive" (as in a one or two percent chance; essentially indistinguishable from the chances of someone properly using birth control), not "cannot become pregnant ''at all''"; that would be "sterile"[[/note]].
51	* ButtMonkey: Medavoy
52	** Medavoy usually gets the "odd" case of the week. He doesn't usually suffer any major setbacks, but has a lot of bad luck, sometimes falls for scams, and tends to end up in situations where he's slightly out of his element.
53	** He sometimes makes a rather naive impression and has a talent for stating the obvious, which often elicits snide comments from Sipowicz.
54	** Subverted in the episode where he's fueled by disgust for the sexually motivated murder case he catches, does a great job investigating it and interrogating the perpetrator, and gets a commendation.
55	** Also subverted by the circumstances of his retirement at the end of the series: when he takes romantic interest in a beautiful woman who is a successful real-estate agent, and she offers him work helping her with sales, Medavoy seems set up for another disappointment. However, everything turns out absolutely perfect this time around, and Medavoy can retire a happy man.
56	* ByTheBookCop:
57	** Lt. Thomas Bale, who takes over command of the squad in the first episode of season 12, has been transferred from InternalAffairs with orders to bring what some superiors apparently perceive as a CowboyCop precinct into line. He insists that all official procedures be followed to the letter, even when the detectives (especially Sipowicz) don't think this is the optimal course of action.
58	** John Clarke, Sr., is one as well. He adamantly believes in never beating suspects and always reading them Miranda. He's not wild about his son working with Sipowicz because he knows Sipowicz is ''not'' a by-the-book cop and doesn't want his son learning the wrong lessons.
59	* CaptainObvious: Medavoy, who sometimes gets snide comments from Sipowicz for stating what Sipowicz thinks is the obvious.
60	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: It can be a little strange, after watching the later seasons, to look back at season one and behold a Sipowicz who frequents prostitutes and strip joints. He even ''smiles'', which later on seems to nearly [[PerpetualFrowner break his face]].
61	* CheatedDeathDiedAnyway: Inverted in a post-9/11 episode. A woman's body is found buried in concrete. It turns out she worked at the World Trade Center and was missing/presumed dead from that, but she was actually killed by her lover earlier that day.
62	* ChillyReception
63	** When Simone replaces Kelly, Sipowicz gives him an extremely cold reception. This was intentionally [[BatmanGambit engineered]] by the writers -- they figured that if Sipowicz took an immediate, irrational dislike to Simone, it would leave the audience saying "Come on, Andy, give the guy a ''chance''." It worked.
64	** And when Simone in turn is replaced by Sorenson, Russel's initial reaction to him is outright hostile. Justified since Russel is [[spoiler:in grief over Simone's death]], and Sorenson is a bit less than diplomatic his first day on the job. Their relationship improves considerably with time.
65	** After serving under Lt. Fancy for over seven years, Sipowicz is extremely suspicious of Lt. Rodriguez, interpreting everything he says or does in the worst possible light and even taking an irrational dislike of his non-regulation beard. After Sipowicz confronts Rodriguez about interfering with his interrogation, and Rodriguez backs off and agrees to let him do things his way, Sipowicz starts warming up to him.
66	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome:
67	** Most of the other detectives in the squad, mostly GhostExtras with an occasional line or two, disappear once the main cast of detectives gets fleshed out to more than just Sipowicz and Kelly. Medavoy gets PromotedToOpeningTitles but the rest are dropped.
68	** Andy adopts a murder victim's dog, which appears one or two more times before disappearing without explanation by the time he moves in with Sylvia.
69	** Detective Lesniak just stopped appearing after season 3, with no explanation given (although her tumultuous relationship with Martinez can be assumed to have played a part).
70	** The same thing happens with Detective Kelly Ronson, who replaces [=McDowell=] when she goes on maternity leave towards the end of season 11. In the first episode of season 12 she is not there anymore and no mention is ever made of her leaving the precinct.
71	* ClothingDamage: Connie [=McDowell=] gets her shirt almost completely torn off during a struggle to arrest a criminal, exposing her black bra.
72	* CopsNeedTheVigilante: In one episode a civilian comes to the cops with evidence that another man is an active pedophile. They met while in an "ageplay" online group and the civilian pretended to be a little girl interested in sex. To get the other guy hot, our civilian sent him some child porn. The cops tell the civilian that not only was that planting evidence, he just confessed to the cops that he had child porn to send to someone else.
73	* CreepyCrossdresser: In the season 11 episode "Andy Appleseed", the detectives go to the apartment of a murdered woman because they think the suspected murderer may be there. They find him in her closet, trying on her bras and panties.
74	* CrimeAndPunishmentSeries: As a PoliceProcedural with a good mixture of relationship drama it fits into the genre.
75	* DeadpanSnarker: Det. Sipowicz -- when he's in a good mood.
76	* DeadPersonConversation: In one season 12 episode, Sipowicz is experiencing a crisis after being forcefully reminded of his mortality (in the previous episode, he's shot in the shoulder, and then he narrowly escapes being shot by a perp whose gun misfires). In his agitated state he first thinks he sees his late ex-partner Simone lying in a hospital bed that then turns out to be empty; a bit later Simone again appears to Sipowitz, and now carries out a whole conversation, talking about life and death and encouraging him to be a father figure to his new partner.
77	* DeusAngstMachina: Sipowicz has had a dead wife, a dead son, two dead partners (and a third resigning in disgrace), and TWO cancer scares (his own and his youngest son's).
78	* DiplomaticImpunity: In the series final (s 12 ep 20), a Japanese diplomat is bribed to sign a statement where he admits to the murder of a call girl, and then leaves the country. This admission is taken at face value by the FBI and the top brass of the NYPD (but not by Sipowicz). Even though the police officials have reasons to be happy to close the case, nobody even has a thought of requesting the help from the Japanese authorities to remove his diplomatic immunity, or even have him interrogated by Japanese police, and it is quietly assumed that the self-confessed murderer will face no investigation when returning home.
79	* DirtyCop: Harry Denby, who is first seen as the detective investigating Jill Kirkendall's ex-husband for drug-running. He comes across as a JerkAss with a drinking problem who comes on to Russell and tries to use her loyalty to Kirkendall as leverage. Later he is discovered actually to be working with the criminals he is investigating. After he is suspended and waiting for indictment he tries to take over the drug operation himself. Like all his endeavours, it fails tragically. [[spoiler:He more or less forces Jill to shoot him.]]
80	* DirtyHarriet:
81	** In the sixth-season epsiode ''Mister Roberts'', Jill Kirkendall goes undercover as a call girl to get evidence against a suspected murderer. The operation is pictured as unusual and highly dangerous.
82	** [=McDowell=] impersonates a prostitute in order to get past a drug dealer's henchmen and into his apartment. This is not a real undercover operation, since as soon as she is inside, the other detectives burst in and make the arrest. Doubly played for FanService: not only is she wearing quite revealing clothes, but her shirt gets ripped off during the fight that follows.
83	** Discussed by Det. Rita Ortiz in the ninth season: one of the reasons she transferred from Vice into the squad is that she was tired of the clothes she had to wear while undercover. We later learn that her jealous husband was very frustrated about this.
84	** In the season 10 premiere, [=McDowell=] and Ortiz pretend to be prostitutes to get into a heavily guarded drug stash house. They drop the pretense as soon as the guard has opened the door.
85	* DislikesTheNewGuy: When Bobby Simone joins the squad his new partner Andy Sipowicz dislikes him as of his first line. This is specifically done to make the audience sympathetic to Simone, who replaces the very popular John Kelly. Andy warms up to Simone eventually, even having him be the best man at his wedding.
86	* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Det. Sorenson]] is murdered off-screen by [[spoiler:his stripper girlfriend's ex]].
87	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Season 1 is more serialized with heavier focus on the characters' personal lives compared to the police work before the second season comes and the show transitions to more of a PoliceProcedural where half of the show was more about the weekly case while the other half focused on their character's lives. The first season also features more car chases and action sequences before settling down into its own style.
88	* EarnYourHappyEnding: Whilst the final episode makes it very clear that life and work will go on as usual for Andy Sipowicz, he is not only far better off at the end than he was at the beginning (both professionally and in his personal life), but also a better person.
89	* {{Expy}}: Creator/DavidSimon wrote one episode of NYPD Blue, "Hollie and the Blowfish," which introduced Ferdinand Hollie, an independent criminal based on the real Donnie Andrews who sticks up drug dealers, has no problems working with the police to achieve his ends, and may be gay (he has AIDS, how he got it is not specified). Simon didn't have to change much about the character when he was [[Characters/TheWireOmarAndAssociates renamed and re-used later]].
90	* FairCop:
91	** All the female detectives on the squad are very good-looking and often wear tight clothes. Most of them have at least one scene in the nude or in their underwear.
92	** Most other female cops are as well, such as Mary Franco (who was dating Sorenson in season 7).
93	** Baldwin Jones is the main male example (though Sipowicz's partners were generally good-looking, too). He is also very tall, athletic and well-toned. He has many shirtless scenes to show off his abs.
94	** Sometimes used to their advantage by the detectives: many male suspects will lower their guards when talking to a good-looking woman, and Baldwin Jones has the same effect on most female suspects and witnesses (sometimes he is too successful when a female witness gets so DistractedByTheSexy that they can't concentrate on their statement).
95	* FakeAmerican: InUniverse. Naomi, one of the [=PAAs=] that pass through during the run, is an Australian who fakes a South Carolina accent in order to pass as American. It's been her dream to be a police officer in New York since she was a little girl living in Australia.
96	* FanDisservice: The nudity and sex is frequently a double-edged sword, especially in the early seasons where it seems to be used for shock value. The later seasons tone down the nudity and tend to use it more for straight FanService than for disservice.
97	* FanService: The show often pushed the boundaries of how much skin (or sexuality) you could show on network TV. We see most of the main characters in underwear or completely nude.
98	* FanserviceExtra: A number of them, considering the detectives frequently go into strip clubs, brothels, etc. during their investigations. Notable is Andy Jr's GoldDigger fiancee, who is having sex with another man when Andy Sr. barges into the room.
99	* FeedbackRule: At Sipowicz's bachelor party, held at a bar with a Karaoke machine, when Maritnez steps up to the mic there's feedback as he says "IsThisThingOn" (even though someone else just got done singing) before launching an off-key rendition of "My Way."
100	* FollowingInRelativesFootsteps:
101	** At the start of the series Andy is estranged from his son Andy Jr., but after Andy cleans himself up they become close, and Andy Jr. eventually decides to join the police force following his father's footsteps. This doesn't work out so well for Jr. since he gets killed trying to stop a couple of robbers as they were attacking a waitress.
102	** Andy's final partner John Clark is actually John Clark Jr., his father being a NYPD detective who has had bad blood with Andy in the past.
103	* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse:
104	** The murderer in "Lost Israel" confides to Bobby, soon before he confesses, that he was molested by a camp counselor as a child. This revelation does ''not'' make Bobby sympathize with him in the slightest, considering that he raped and murdered his own son.
105	** Bobby makes clear to Andy that he's not interested in his excuses for his racial prejudice - including a Black man attacking and blinding his father, or Andy's time serving undercover with a Black Panther-type radical group in the '70s - explaining that he still needs to work on his bigotry in the present.
106	* GangstaStyle: Simone holds his gun this way in "We Was Robbed" when he and Sipowicz, discovered in the act of planting a bug in a mobsters' hangout, [[IndyPloy decide to pretend to be burglars]].
107	* GayConservative: John Irvin acts stereotypically sometimes (swishy mannerisms, interest in art and personal grooming) but is also a very devoted Christian and strongly supports the police.
108	* {{Gayngster}}: Jimmy Del Marco in "A Tushful of Dollars."
109	* GeodesicCast: Andy and his current partner, Medavoy and his, often a third female duo.
110	* TheGhost: After Connie takes maternity leave to have her baby she, her son with Andy, and her adopted daughter are never seen again but are referred to several times since Andy is still married to her. She calls in to the squad once in a while, or Andy will call home, but we [[NewhartPhonecall only hear Andy's half of the conversations]].
111	* GreenEyedMonster: Rita Ortiz's husband is jealous to the point of paranoia, even asking Lt. Rodriguez to keep an eye on her (which Rodriguez refuses to do).
112	* IconicOutfit: Sipowicz's famous short-sleeved shirt and tie combo.
113	* TheILoveYouStigma: A heartbreaking example when Mary Franco says "I love you" to Danny, only for him to pause before responding "Thanks." She holds herself together until he leaves the room, then breaks down crying at the knowledge that he doesn't love her back.
114	* InappropriatelyCloseComrades: One VictimOfTheWeek is a Marine Corps recruiter who is having an affair with his married partner. Though she's married to a recently retired General.
115	* InMediasRes: The series is famous for having NoEnding, but it doesn't really have a beginning either. The first episode opens during the trial of a mobster that Sipowicz has been dealing with for some time, and he and Kelly are established partners, unlike his future co-stars.
116	* ItsPersonal: The conflict between Sipowicz and Fancy is rooted in their mutual dislike for each other (Fancy is offended by Sipowicz's barely-concealed racism, and Sipowicz despises Fancy interfering in his cases). While working a case where two Black undercover cops were involved in a shooting, this mutual resentment finally boils over and they start to beat the shit out of each other in the bathroom until Sorenson breaks it up and gives them both a WhatTheHellHero speech. By the end of the episode, they're [[BlackComedy joking with each other about the punches they threw]], and when Fancy retires a few years later, Sipowicz shakes his hand and says it was an honor to work under him.
117	-->'''Lieutenant Fancy:''' Detective Sipowicz doesn't look to hurt other cops.\
118	'''Undercover Detective:''' (''looking at the bruises on Fancy's face'') [[DeadpanSnarker I can see that.]]\
119	'''Lieutenant Fancy:''' ''He doesn't.'' This was personal.
120	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
121	** Sipowicz. He can be very abrasive even to people he respects and likes, but he is a loyal friend and willing to help people in need.
122	** ADA Leo Cohen is presented as perhaps an even bigger JerkAss than Sipowicz, and seems to constantly look for opportunities to show how much smarter than the detectives he is. But there are occasional glimpses of his honesty and integrity, he does care about justice as much as anyone else, and his behaviour seems to be caused more by poor social skills than real meanness. He also displays his softer side when he starts dating Det. Kirkendall; unfortunately for him, his social skills aren't enough to make the relationship last.
123	* JobTitle: The '''PD''' in the title of this show about cops stands for Police Department.
124	* JurisdictionFriction:
125	** Any time the FBI shows up, expect Sipowicz to hate them. He seems to have good reason, as they are generally portrayed as useless at handling street crime, but good at taking the credit for solved cases.
126	** The one exception is with Mike Francis (Creator/MarkBlum) in "We Was Robbed." He's initially friendly and cooperative on Sipowizc's and Simone's murder investigation, then becomes a nervous wreck as the investigation takes some odd turns, then finally, after everything turns out okay, tells them he'd be happy to work with them again.
127	* KissOfDeath: In "Cold Heaters," Simone's childhood friend, Ray [=DiSalvo=], contacts him from prison with information on a murder, hoping to get an early release. (He was in jail because he refused to heed a warning from Simone in an earlier episode.) The information pans out, but Simone later learns that [=DiSalvo=] had, in a previous attempt to commute his sentence, tried to sell a misdeed of Simone's to InternalAffairs. Simone finally realizes what kind of man [=DiSalvo=] really is. At their last meeting, he pulls [=DiSalvo=] into a fiercely emotional hug, tells him that when he gets out, he doesn't want to see him ever again, and then walks out, leaving [=DiSalvo=] in tears.
128	* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: The series finale introduces a new pair of detectives, Ray Quinn and Joe Slova, who get assigned to the squad in order to fill the void left by Medavoy retiring and Sipowicz being made squad commander.
129	* LingerieScene:
130	** More or less the entire female cast has one or more of these, sometimes leading up to a sex scene, sometimes as a result of ClothingDamage.
131	** In "Peeping Tommy", Det. Connie [=McDowell's=] is investigating a crime at a bar when a patron spills a drink over her. She goes to the rest room, takes off her jacket and shirt, and washes the shirt in the sink. While she's washing it, she discovers an [[spoiler:hidden camera]] on the ceiling and, without putting her shirt on again, proceeds to investigate it and tear it down. Throughout the scene she's wearing just a lacy black bra on her upper body.
132	** In a later episode, [=McDowell=] gets a brief one during a struggle to arrest some criminals, when her top gets almost completely torn off, exposing her bra.
133	* LiterallyLaughableQuestion: In "NYPD Lou", Alphonse Giardella hits on the female D.A. who is assigned to his case. She tries to be polite about it, but excuses herself to go to the bathroom, where she breaks up laughing over the whole thing. Giardella's enemies take this moment to kill him.
134	* LongBusTrip:
135	** Though it is never followed up, David Caruso's departure from the series is certainly open-ended enough that for a couple of seasons afterwards it wouldn't have been unexpected to have seen Detective Kelly walk right back through those doors.
136	** Particularly strange in-story is his complete non-appearance at Sipowicz's wedding. Apparently the writing staff were tempted to [[PutOnABusToHell put John Kelly on a bus to hell]] following the way Caruso had treated them, as a TakeThat to the actor. But ultimately they felt that whatever problems they had to deal with as far as the actor was concerned, the ''character'' of Detective John Kelly deserved more respect than that, so they allowed him to have a dignified departure with no repercussions.
137	* LyingToThePerp: A technique often used by the detectives when interviewing suspects.
138	* MediaWatchdog: one of their go-to targets.
139	* TheMobBossIsScarier: PoliceProcedural shows like this one utilize this trope a lot when dealing with organized crime. [[TheMafiya Russian mobsters]] are portrayed as being especially intimidating, with a willingness to wipe out employees, witnesses, and families of same.
140	* NearRapeExperience: When Diane goes undercover to investigate violent psychopath Jimmy Liery, he slips a pill into her drink. She gets dizzy and he carries her out of the bar, after which she wakes up naked in bed with him with no memory of how she got there. When she confronts him (armed), he admits he drugged her with the intention of raping her, but he couldn't go through with the latter part.
141	* NegativeContinuity: With regard to scheduling at the 15th precinct. Do all the main characters come to work Monday through Friday at 8 AM, or do some of them work a 4 to 12 shift or on weekends? Is the squad room a 24-hour operation with a separate group of night shift detectives whose cases might overlap with the main cast, or does everyone go home and turn the lights off at 5pm every day? The answers to these questions change from season to season and episode to episode depending on the needs of the plot, with no attempt made to explain the in-universe reasons.
142	* NobleBigotWithABadge: Sipowicz, though this is toned down in the later seasons. This is shown as character development: he comes to realize that his dislike of African-Americans is based on a traumatic incident in his past and manages to re-direct his anger at the actual bad guy rather than into general racism.
143	* NoEnding: Done deliberately. Though Medavoy ends his police career on a happy note by moving on to a new job and a new relationship, and Sipowicz gets promoted to command the squad, the last episode ends just as any other episode. It is obvious that life in the precinct will continue just as usual the next morning.
144	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Dennis Franz's Chicago accent coming from Brooklyn boy Sipowicz.
145	* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: Sgt. Gibson's obnoxious parrot. (Made more obnoxious by Andy secretly training it to say nothing but "douchebag")
146	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Captain Haverhill in the first two seasons, who constantly tries to undermine Lt. Fancy and his squad seemingly out of spite or [[ForTheEvulz personal enjoyment]]. It gets to the point where, after he tries to humiliate Fancy by feeding him a false tip about an arms deal, Fancy decides to blackmail him into retiring.
147	* OffTheWagon: This happens twice to Sipowicz. Russel also has an episode. Both times they get back on the wagon, with some help from friends and colleagues.
148	* OlderThanTheyLook: The character Anthony in "Lucky Luciano," played by Mario Bosco, looked like a teenager but was actually twenty-seven. (Bosco has pan-hypopituitarism, limiting his growth.)
149	* OneSteveLimit: Averted.
150	** Two of Andy's four partners in the show share the first name "John" (Detectives Kelly and Clark, Jr.), as does the eventual police administrative aide John Irvin. Downplayed somewhat in that Kelly left the precinct before the other two arrived and both detective characters are often referred to by their surnames.
151	** This is probably the only reason that John Irvin tolerates being referred to as "Gay John." They have to specify which John they're talking about ''somehow''.
152	** Two main characters have the first name "Laura" - A.D.A. Laura Michaels Kelly (present only in the first season) and Detective Laura Murphy (the last main character introduced in the show who appears solely in the final season).
153	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: InUniverse with civilian aide Naomi Reynolds, who claims to be from South Carolina but is actually Australian (as is her actress, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick). When she's upset her natural accent slips through, which is how she gets found out.
154	* OutOfCharacter: John Irvin, previously established as a devout Christian, seems to have no problem certifying as a "minister" with a fake online religion in order to perform Andy and Connie's wedding ceremony. Even as a favor to his friend, this seems like something he would have a problem with - why wouldn't he just get a real pastor he knows to do the service?
155	* PetHomosexual: John, the CampGay civilian aide, may seem like this in the beginning, but this turns into a subversion in that he is portrayed quite respectfully and seriously. Initially he has some difficulty being accepted by some of the detectives, most notably Sipowicz, but ends up being a good friend of everybody in the squad.
156	* PlotArchaeology: In season 4, Sylvia discusses being assigned the high-profile "Eddie Suarez case" with Andy, though we hear nothing more of it outside of one scene. Three years later, there is a multi-episode arc about exonerating Luis Suarez, whose case's particulars exactly match the earlier conversation - season 4 mentions that Suarez was a patsy in need of money for his family who was paid to take the rap for high-profile gang members, that Sylvia prosecuted the case, and that everyone knew Suarez was the fall guy but couldn't get out of prosecuting him since he confessed, all of which comes to light again in season 7. It can be justifiably assumed that this is the same character (perhaps his full name is "Eduardo Luis Suarez").
157	* ThePlace: The '''NY''' in the title stands for New York. The 15th squad's jurisdiction is Manhattan (mainly the lower east side around Chinatown and the East Village, though fictionalized to include a wider range of possible New York settings than one precinct would really contain). Simone lives in Brooklyn and Clark lives in the Bronx, and characters often visit the rest of the city in the course of their work, but going further afield is rare. Infrequent trips to New Jersey or upstate on police business are the only departures shown; no [[VacationEpisode]]s here.
158	* PlausibleDeniability: In a couple of episodes (such as "Lucky Luciano"), killers were maneuvered into their crimes by others, but the others managed to avoid responsibility by not actually, technically, conspiring with them. The detectives even tried to get them to lie, knowing that the other parties had moral responsibility, but it didn't work.
159	* PointyHairedBoss: Blatantly unqualified Sgt. Gibson, though it is made clear that his appointment is a stop-gap measure, due to a shortage of qualified lieutenants. And perhaps his being golf buddies with the Chief of Detectives played a small part in it as well.
160	* PoliceBrutality:
161	** There's rarely an episode that passes without a suspect getting "tuned up". Sometimes it's as minor as a [[DopeSlap slap upside the head]]. Sometimes it gets pretty bad (and the suspect gets off because of it), especially early in the series.
162	** Even when he doesn't actually use physical force, Sipowicz often threaten suspects with violence to intimidate them.
163	** Sorenson is suspended after beating up a murder suspect during interrogation, making his confession inadmissible in court.
164	* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Sipowicz and Sorenson run into this several times. In one episode Danny references [[Film/AustinPowers Dr. Evil]]; Andy's response makes it clear that he thinks that Danny is talking about UsefulNotes/EvelKnievel. Another time Danny didn't know who [[Film/{{Psycho}} Norman Bates]] was. Another time, Andy, making a comparison to good-looking men, fruitlessly runs through Creator/TyronePower, Creator/WilliamHolden, and Randolph Scott before giving up.
165	* PreviouslyOn: Often used not so much to recapitulate the previous episode, but to refresh the viewer's memory of what happened several months ago. Played more straight in the later seasons.
166	* PrimalScene: Non-sex example; when Connie and Andy move in together, this happens to her and Theo, who walks in to the bathroom just as she's dropped her robe to get in the shower. They both freeze for several moments before Connie tries to cover her nudity with her hands and Theo quickly exits the room with an embarrassed "Sorry!" Poked fun at when Connie later asks Andy if he got Theo to school.
167	-->'''Andy:''' Took him to "Hooters" instead. He insisted.
168	* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Several of the eventual members of the main cast started out as recurring characters who would get bumped up during a succeeding episode or season. These included Creator/SharonLawrence, Gordon Clapp, Creator/GailOGrady, Bill Brochtrup, Creator/KimDelaney, Justine Miceli, Creator/AndreaThompson, John F. O'Donohue, Garcelle Beauvais, Charlotte Ross, and Creator/EsaiMorales. Of the lot, Morales took the shortest amount of time, as he was introduced the episode before he was added. Brochtrup and O'Donohue took the longest, with the former debuting late in Season 2 and not being put in the main titles until the middle of Season 6 while the latter first popped up in early Season 7 and wasn't added until the middle of Season 11.
169	* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: John Kelly absolutely did do exactly what his bosses and the media accuse him of (destroy evidence in order to obstruct the investigation of his girlfriend for a murder charge). We see it on screen. His subsequent forcing out from his police job is depicted as some sort of grave injustice.
170	* PsychoLesbian: Medavoy has a lesbian friend on the force, Abby Sullivan, and donates sperm so she and her girlfriend Kathy can conceive. In "Three Girls and a Baby," Abby's ex-girlfriend kills Kathy so she and Abby can get back together. Abby has no intention of doing so, and the ex-girlfriend is obviously insane. Abby does, however, tell Medavoy that she can understand the loneliness her ex felt, having gone through it herself (the implication being that trying to make a life as a homosexual can be challenging due to societal rejection, and it's hard to predict the effect that can have on a person).
171	* PunBasedTitle: Most of the individual episodes, like "Curt Russell" and "Hollie and the Blowfish."
172	* PutOnABus: Charlotte Ross opted not to return for season 12 due to her pregnancy, leaving the possibility of coming back for future seasons in the air. Season 12 turned out to be the show's last. The character of Connie was given an in-universe maternity leave and occasionally alluded to as an unheard counterpart of phone calls with Andy, with an episode about 2/3 of the way through season 11 ultimately being her last on-screen appearance, to no fanfare. This also meant that Andy and Connie's two infant children couldn't be shown on screen without unfeasible gimmicks. All the domestic drama exclusively involved older child Theo and took place outside of the home, and the younger children also never appeared after season 11.
173	* PyrrhicVictory: Internal Affairs Captain Pat Fraker, in regards to his feud with Lieutenant Tony Rodriguez. Said feud started years back when Rodriguez submitted a report which contained no officer's names that exposed multiple corrupt cops, including Fraker's partner in the Narcotics Unit. Fraker, a rookie at the time, was blamed for being TheRat since he knew of the corruption but didn't participate, and he wound up stuck in Internal Affairs as a result, as it was the only unit he could work in without being harassed. Bitterly blaming Rodriguez for how his career turned out, Fraker attempts to sabotage Rodriguez's career and the 15th Precinct's detective squad, which eventually ends after Andy obtains details about Fraker's multiple corrupt actions, including an affair with a subordinate, and threatens to tell Fraker's wife and supervisor. However, Fraker's secrets are later exposed by someone else, which leads him to being passed over for promotion to deputy inspector and his wife leaving him. Once again blaming Rodriguez, Fraker gets drunk, confronts him in his office and shoots him, only to be then shot himself by Detective Rita Ortiz. Rodriguez and Fraker both survive, but Fraker is left permanently disabled. He is shockingly then acquitted at trial after an unsavory defense by shady attorney James Sinclair; the acquittal leads to Rodriguez being passed over for promotion to captain and losing any other chance at promotion, then retiring. Despite this though, the shooting, Fraker's injuries, and the prior revelations of his indiscretions leave him ineligible for further promotion too, thus forcing him to either resign or retire as well. So in the end, Fraker succeeds in wrecking Rodriguez's career, but at the cost of his own at the same time. And for more LaserGuidedKarma, where they both land afterward differs greatly: Rodriguez goes on to take a very lucrative private security job, while Fraker is left to take a bartender job at a sleazy dive bar.
174	* RabidCop: Sipowicz. He learns to control his aggressiveness over the course of the series, but woe those suspects who talk back at him.
175	* RapeAsBackstory:
176	** Sylvia, though it's not really an ongoing trauma.
177	** [[spoiler:Diane's]] undercover operation with [[spoiler:Jimmy Liery (see above)]] sends her into a serious mental tailspin, causing her to [[spoiler:finally confront the fact that her father molested her when she was twelve.]]
178	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: When Detective Martinez's girlfriend is raped, the squad find a street thug who she can identify as the assailant. She doesn't want to go through a trial, though. Fancy, who normally views reigning in Andy's brutality as part of his job, expertly makes it known that Andy should do [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique do whatever is necessary]] to get a confession so that a guilty plea will be entered without publicity.
179	* RealStitchesForFakeSnitches: When gunrunner Jimmy Liery gets into Russell's head while she's working an undercover detail on him, Sipowicz and Simone get rid of him by planting a rumor that he's cooperating with the police.
180	* RecoveredAddict: Andy Sipowicz, who as of the first episode is a rude, racist alcoholic and borderline drug addict. Early in the first season he stops drinking, but later falls off the wagon. After he joins AA he remains sober - even going so far as to initially refuse pain medication during a surgery - and generally becomes a much nicer person. He even helps a few others stop drinking.
181	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Disgraced former detective Mike Roberts not only [[spoiler:turns down a contract from a millionaire with a grudge who wants P.A.A. John Irvin beaten and killed, but goes out of his way to warn John. Roberts is later thrown out of his office window to his death.]]
182	* RevolversAreJustBetter: Sipowicz carries his Smith & Wesson Model 36 throughout the series, befitting an old-school detective. Zig-zagged for Medavoy, who switches to the semi-auto Glock after he fumbles reloading and blames himself for letting the perps who shot [[spoiler:James Martinez]] get away.
183	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The main plot of "Roll Out The Barrel" is based on the murder of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Reyna_Marroquin Reyna Angelica Marroquin]], a crime discovered a few months before the episode aired.
184	* TheScottishTrope: In "Cold Heaters," an actor in the station house runs into John, who remembers seeing him as Banquo in "the Scottish play."
185	* ScunthorpeProblem: Watching the show with closed captioning on will of course result in xxxx (shit) and xxxxxxx (asshole), but also things like xxxxxy (spooky), xxxxy (spicy), dexxxxxable (despicable), etc.
186	* SeinfeldianConversation: In "The Truth Is Out There," Andy and Bobby repeatedly discuss the meaning of the nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel" after Andy mentions singing it to his son and suddenly worrying about what his son might learn from it. Neither of them can figure out what's meant by "pop." They mention it to several other people throughout the episode and no one can give them an answer. (And, indeed, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Goes_the_Weasel nobody really knows]].)
187	* SevenDirtyWords: Used four or five of them regularly.
188	* SexySecretary (though they're actually civilian aides, performing clerical and secretarial duties in the squad):
189	** Donna is very good-looking, quite busty, and [[SexySweaterGirl dresses to emphasize her body]]. As a result, she gets quite a lot of attention from male visitors.
190	** Dolores, who has a second job as a [[spoiler:stripper]].
191	** Subverted by Geri, who is personally very sex-positive but who doesn't follow the conventiosn of the trope: she is heavier than conventionally attractive women and openly a rubber fetishist.
192	* SexySweaterGirl:
193	** Donna's and Adrienne's usual look, with tight sweaters and push-up bras.
194	** Connie, Dianne and Rita also often wear tight sweaters which emphasize their breasts, though Dianne's tops are usually sleeveless, and Connie and Rita alternate with different outfits.
195	* ShoutOut: The third season premiere is titled "Series/{{ER}}", which (a) was beginning its second season at the time, (b) the show had just surprisingly beaten for the Best Drama Emmy, and (c) Sherry Stringfield (Laura Kelly) had left the show for a starring role on (Dr. Susan Lewis).
196	* ShowWithinAShow: In one episode the VictimOfTheWeek, private investigator Mike Roberts, has written a bad novel called ''The Cases of Mike Robertini'', and we see a few scenes acted out.
197	* SurprisePregnancy: Connie gets pregnant shortly after she and Andy get married, when they're ''already'' taking care of an infant (her murdered sister's daughter that they adopted). Even more of a shock because, as noted under ButICantBePregnant, Connie believed that complications from her teen pregnancy (she gave the baby up for adoption) meant she literally couldn't have any more kids of her own, with the implication that because of this, she and Andy weren't bothering to use contraception.
198	* TamerAndChaster: The series started as a very GrimAndGritty PoliceProcedural with nudity and swearing on broadcast TV. After the first year the nudity was toned down and eventually disappeared, and the swearing likewise dwindled during the course of the show, so that by the end of the run a viewer would be hard pressed to find anything out of the ordinary about it.
199	* TeamTitle: The '''PD''' in the title stands for Police Department. One of the show's premise is about the titular cops' dynamics.
200	* TemporaryScrappy: When Lt. Fancy leaves, his replacement --a former InternalAffairs officer-- manages to irritate every single squad member as soon as she shows up. Fancy, wanting to help out his loyal former subordinates, uses some pull with the higher-ups to get her replaced with Lt. Rodriguez.
201	* TrickedIntoEscaping: The cops have made an illegal arrest but they don't want to tell the arrestee that. So Sipowicz goes into the holding area where the perp is locked in a cage, opens it up to talk to him, then starts acting like a crazy bad cop and complaining about the heat. He opens the window along with the locked fence covering the window (ostensibly to get some air circulation), continues to yell at the perp, and then stalks out "forgetting" to close the window or locking him up again. The perp takes the opportunity to escape out the window, which is what they wanted him to do in order to get him out of the station!
202	* UglyGuyHotWife:
203	** Sipowicz. ''Twice'', with Sylvia and Connie. His first wife (ex-wife already when the series starts), while not bad-looking, looks more like you'd expect the wife of a middle-aged detective to look like. Not only are both Sylvia and Connie quite good-looking, but they are also considerably younger than Sipowicz. (Sharon Lawrence and Charlotte Ross are, respectively, 17 and 24 years younger than Dennis Franz).
204	** Greg's relationship with Donna is the beginning of this, though they break up before marriage is discussed.
205	%% * VanityPlate
206	* WhipPan: Used very frequently, to the extent that this, together with the use of shaky shots that looked like the camera was hand-held, became the trademark of the show.

Context Series / NYPDBlue