History Main / BlueBloods

* A {{CBS}} CrimeAndPunishmentSeries (2010-?) titled ''Series/BlueBloods'', plural.

[[redirect:Series/BlueBloods]]

[[quoteright:275:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Watch-Blue-Bloods-Season-1-Episode-2-Online-275x300_7933.jpg]]

Think every family in the [[CrimeAndPunishmentSeries Crime And Punishment genre]] is on the [[TheMafia bad guys side]]? This family is different. The Reagan family is a cop family, not a robber family. A ''four-generational'' family with a retired Police Commissioner from YeGoodeOldeDays as the great-grandpa, current Police Commissioner Frank Reagan as ThePatriarch, his sons who are all cops and his daughter who is a DA. And ''their'' children (two of which have declared they are seriously considering joining the NYPD). They live together, quarrel but stick by each other. Because the family that arrests together stays together.

They have different personalities. Grandpa Henry is a hardbitten DaChief from the old days. Frank is an incorruptible patriarch and responsible leader, who knows how to keep peace between his children and how to encourage them without giving undue favoritism. Danny is a ruthless but competent cop who always catches the bad guys. Erin is a stickler for points of law but she can also manipulate the law to advantage when seeking a conviction. And Jamie is an idealist who feels a call to serve and protect. They are all loyal to each other and they all serve the cause of keeping order in the city of New York.

Not to be confused with the aristocracy, whose article is named BlueBlood.

----
!!This program provides examples of:

* TwentyPercentMoreAwesome: Rossellini promising Erin that he'll turn over a new leaf. "I'll change -- fifty percent."
* ActorAllusion: Frank's mention of being a Marine with service in Vietnam; during MagnumPI's run, Tom Selleck often wore a cap with the legend "VMO-2", which was a Marine Forward Air Control squadron out of Da Nang.
* TheAggressiveDrugDealer: Noble Sanfino trying to push some new party drug on Jamie, only to OD himself. He gets revenge by giving his dealer a near-fatal dose of his own product.
* AintTooProudToBeg: Roland Gates outed as an undercover cop.
-->'''Gates:''' I got two kids, man.\\
'''Shooter:''' Too bad for 'em.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Erin gets weak in the knees when she meets art aficionado "Frank Weller." And she gets even weaker when he turns out to be an art thief who is using a fake alias. Frank is less than thrilled, but Erin tells him to mind his business.
** Averted with almost every other major female, however. Any woman drawn to Jamie (Sydney, Laura, Bianca) or Frank (Kelly, Melanie) is almost surely ''not'' looking for a bad boy, and although Danny might have shades of being a bad boy, Linda clearly appriciates his very real husband / parenting skills.
* AlwaysGetsHisMan : Frank and Danny.
* AmoralAttorney: DA Rossellini has his eyes on the Mayorship, and is happy to manipulate Erin in order to get it. And if the Mayor goes, Erin's father goes.
* AncestralWeapon: Frank's Fitz Special revolver, which was handed down from his Grandfather to Henry, and then to him. Danny also uses Henry's old not-quite-authorized / not-quite-legal slapper (essentially a small blackjack).
* ArrangedMarriage: Sammy Khan wasn't shot because of his anti-terror credentials, but because [[spoiler:a traditionalist Muslim already had dibs on his wife]].
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In the 10/12/2012 episode Old Wounds, Erin Reagan prosecutes a case where her ex-husband is the Defense Attorney, when in reality that would never happen, because such would be a conflict of interests.
* AskAStupidQuestion: In "Leap of Faith", Danny thinks some small-town detectives could have been more thorough with the investigation of the ''first'' late Mrs. Bines.
-->'''Danny:''' And where was ''Mister'' Bines during all this?\\
'''Detective:''' Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. He was at the arsenic store.
* AssholeVictim: The son on of a Russian mob boss is shot at his own engagement party. ..While cheating on his fiancee in the wine cellar. No great loss.
** The victims in the above-mentioned Old Wounds are rapists.
** The victim in "Mercy" is revealed to be a pedophile with a taste for Ukrainian hookers.
** An off-duty Danny prevents the shooting of an unarmed man in "The Job"... only to realize the victim's a [[PedoHunt pedophile]], recently paroled.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Mobster Johnny Tesla.
* BadNewsIrrelevantNews: Danny and Jackie explain to a perp that they found his gun; he's headed for death row. The good news? "We decided to drop the credit fraud charges."
* BadassFamily: Very much so. The best example of this is when Danny's wife is kidnapped by a drug lord: the family bands together and figures out where she is, allowing Danny and ESU to be BigDamnHeroes, and Erin finds the mole in the DA's office.
** Lampshaded when Danny's son asks fearfully if a burglar could target them.
-->'''Grandpa Henry:''' Are you kiddin'? He'll get one look at this table and run the other way.
* BadassMustache: Probably goes without saying since Frank is played by [[MagnumPI Tom Selleck]].
* BeamMeUpScotty: Danny's reaction to his son asking if he's "[[PerpSweating sweating]]" a perp "in the box."
-->'''Jackie''': You've been [[YouWatchTooMuchX playing those video games again]], haven't you?
* BestServedCold: The Phantom arriving in town to exact revenge on [[OperationBlank Task Force Apache]], the cadre of cops and informants who sent him to jail.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: [[spoiler:Sonny Malevski]].
** The kidnapper in "My Little Valentine" leaps to his death rather than surrender to police.
** Billy Flood attempts to draw a sniper's fire in "Critical Condition." Danny [[AvertedTrope thwarts it]] by pushing him away.
** The Phantom pulls the old "YouWouldntShootMe" trick. He ends up pancaked [[CarCushion on top of a car]].
* BigBrotherMentor: Ironically enough, not Danny, Jamie's actual brother; but Sergeant Renzulli, his training officer.
* BigNo: Danny, when a fellow officer and family friend is shot. ("The Life We Chose")
* BittersweetEnding: ''Innocence''. The wrong man was convicted of rape; while he's exonerated 18 years of his life are gone. Meanwhile the real rapist can't be prosecuted due to the 5-year statue of limitations, and has raped again... but this time, he's on Frank's radar.
--> I'll be watching you. And so will the thirty five thousand police officers in this city.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: The undercover cop in "The Life We Chose."
* {{Black Widow}}er: "Leap of Faith."
* BlingOfWar : NYPD uniforms.
** In a small subversion, the most prominent decoration is a simple black bar, with the letters "WTC", awarded to 9/11 first responders.
* BluntYes: A suburban detective, chafing at Danny's questions.
-->"[[SarcasmMode Since you're New york City Police Detectives, and I'm just a hick cop whose job consists of chasing drug dealers off he golf course.]]"\\
'''Danny:''' That sounds about right to me.
* BloodSpatteredInnocents: In "Whistle Blower", the titular informant in shot in front of his wife.
* BookDumb: Renzulli. "'Rhetoric?' I'm [[ExpospeakGag not familiar with the vernacular]]."
* ByTheBookCop: The father, Frank Reagan.
** Jamie is even more so.
* CallBack: Frank and Jamie's conversation while fishing in Episode 1 of Season 2, a callback to the pilot.
* TheCameo: Frank grudgingly attending a performance by Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood. (To promote Bennett's second duet album)
* CassandraTruth: In "Hall of Mirrors," a woman with [[SuperOCD OCD]] is convinced that a prowler keeps nudging her furniture around.
** A literal one in "Leap of Faith," wherein God "speaks" to the sister of the murder victim.
* ChristianityIsCatholic: Justified. At least ''some'' are after all. They're also Irish.
* ClintSquint: How Danny sizes criminals up.
* CombatPragmatist: Jamie's new partner, Luisa Sosa. When facing a guy bigger than her, she doesn't engage in GoodOldFisticuffs like Jamie: she pulls out a collapsible steel baton and hits him. Hard.
* ConflictingLoyalty: Jamie is asked by the FBI to spy on a secret society for them that might include Danny.
* TheConsigliere: DCPI Garrett Moore.
* ConverseWithTheUnconscious: Frank and his [[OldFriend old squadmate]], John [=McKenna=], just as he's taken off of life support.
* CoolShades: Frank Reagan sports these.
* CowboyCop: Danny Reagan.
** Great-Grandpa Henry seems to indicate that he was a CowboyCop in his time. Of course back then there was more "flexibility" in what was allowed anyway.
** Surprisingly, [[ByTheBookCop Frank]] led a unit of cowboy cops some 15 years ago. One of them, Billy Flood, [[{{DeconstructedTrope}} snapped under the stress]] and was sent off to the loony bin, later resurfacing [[TragicVillain as a criminal]].
* CrazyJealousGuy: When Bianca hits on Jamie, he suddenly finds himself afoul of her jealous ex ''and'' her mobster brother.
* CrimeTimeSoap
* CutHimselfShaving: In "Family Ties", a Russian gangster blows off a finger injury. "Slammed it in a door."
* DaChief: Frank.
** Frank is constantly directing thousands of cops on city-wide manhunts making him a sort of FourStarBadass DaChief.
** Sarge Gormley runs Danny's department, a job which harries him to no end..
* DatingCatwoman: Erin has a habit of this.
* [[DeadLittleSister Dead Big Brother]]: Jamie was motivated to join the force partly because his brother Joe died in the line of duty.
* DeathByOriginStory / PosthumousCharacter: Joe Reagan.
* DiabolicalMastermind: The Phantom.
* DinnerAndAShow: What the family meals sometimes turn into.
* DirtyCop: Danny discovers that one of the would-be bank robbers is an ex-cop, Billy Flood.
* DirtyHarriet: Jackie going undercover to catch a killer with a predilection for webgirls.
* DonutMessWithACop: Danny gets competitive with another parent at his son's school.
-->'''Father:''' Cop, huh? [[DeadpanSnarker I bet your dad likes donuts]].\\
'''Sean''': He LOVES donuts!
* DudeWheresMyRespect: When Jamies rescues a baby from a burning building, Renzulli is hailed as the hero to protect the undercover sting.
* EngineeredPublicConfession: The killer in "Hall of Mirrors." One wiretap later, and he's toast.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The theme of the episode ''Brothers'',
* EvenEvilHasStandards: According to Henry, in the good old days even mobsters would help in the hunt for cop killers.
* EvilMatriarch: The murder in "Family Ties" was a coordinated hit by the bride-to-be's mother. Having married into the Mafiya, she wanted her daughter to [[TheyWereHoldingYouBack have no part of it]].
** A gang banger's mom in "The Life We Chose."
-->'''Ms. Hernandez:''' [to Danny] Some cops got shot? Too bad. What you call -- "hazards of the occupation"?
* ExternalCombustion: The fate of a Russian florist who [[HeKnowsTooMuch knew too much]].
* FanserviceWithASmile: In her teens, Erin worked as a roller-bunny at a cocktail bar (specifically Roxy's). Frank was apparently aware of it (his mustache twitches in amusement at the memory) but he let it slide.
* AFatherToHisMen : Do you have to ask?
-->'''Frank:''' 271 line of duty deaths since I joined the force.
* FencePainting: In "The Uniform," Jamie is stuck doing this to pay for his student loans. Renzulli gamely grabs a brush to help him. "I don't see enough of your mug already?"
* FightingIrish: Danny.
* FoodSlap: Danny gets a caesar salad to the face while cornering a perp at his day job -- a short order kitchen.
* FriendlyEnemy: Henry and Happy Jack, a retired mobster; in the GoodOldDays they considered each other as {{Worthy Opponent}}s.
** Frank paying a condolence call on a grief-stricken mafioso who [[NotSoDifferent lost his son]].
* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: What the Reagan children are for.
* TheFundamentalist: The culprits in "Lonely Hearts Club", who are actually the [[spoiler:mother and sibling of one of the victims]], who were interviewed at the start.
** [[spoiler: Though from the way they acted, the son seemed have talked his mother into it, and he seemed to be in it ForTheEvulz.]]
* GentlemanThief: Jacob Krystal, though [[JustLikeRobinHood he claims to be liberating stolen art]].
* GetOut: Guilt-stricken Erin tries to pays a call to her informant's widow, and is sent packing. Rather than feel even guiltier, Erin zeroes in on [[spoiler:the wife's total lack of interest in the case]].
* GoingCommando: Linda in "Night on the Town".
* TheGoodChancellor: Frank Reagan is this in spades, behaving like an [[{{Cincinnatus}} idealized Roman magistrate]]. He is completely incorruptible, loyal to his position, and never plays favorites even when it comes to his own family.
* GoodCopBadCop: Danny and Jackie lampshade this in "The Life We Chose".
* GoodGunsBadGuns: An Uzi-toting biker performing a drive-by in "Hall of Mirrors."
* GroinKick: Danny gets grouchy when he has to chase people.
-->'''Joey Sava:''' [[YouWouldntShootMe What're you gonna do?]]\\
'''Danny:''' What am I gonna do? ''This''. [POW]
* GuileHero: If Frank can't shoot them himself or put other cops in a position to shoot them, he's perfectly willing to outwit the bad guys instead. He even ran ThePlan on a foreign ambassador whose son was a rapist in "Privilege".
** Both Danny and Erin have a little bit of this in them too.
* HeManWomanHater: A smug rapist who got off scot-free, and isn't shy about voicing his gender political views. After a heated meeting with Erin, he intones, "She lies. They ''all'' lie."
* HelloAttorney: Erin Reagan-Boyle. And Charles Rossellini, to be honest (Hey, it's Bobby Cannavale).
* HollywoodHeartAttack: Poor Henry is hit with one on Thanksgiving. You think that's going to stop Henry Reagan from [[{{Determinator}} having dinner with his family?]] Ha!
* HollywoodLaw: In "Lonely Hearts Club," Jackie goes undercover as a hooker and arrests everyone who answers her ad.
** She didn't arrest everyone who answered; they were searched and sent on their way. She ''wanted'' to arrest them- especially the senator since he preached "family values"- but Danny forcefully reminded her to focus on the SerialKiller they were trying to catch.
** In "To Tell the Truth", Danny and Erin have difficulty convincing an eyewitness to testify against a gangster. To remedy this, the cops leak his location to the underworld, then [[WeWait wait for the gangsters to strike]] before swooping in to "rescue" him.
** Jamie and his new partner, Sosa, stake out a park bench and wait for someone to take a bag of stolen goods ("Critical Condition"). Jamie squirms over what he views as "borderline entrapment."
* HoneyTrap: The victim in "Family Ties" was supposed to be photographed kissing a hired blonde. The [[spoiler:mother of the bride]] decided to cut out the middleman and shoot him instead.
* HostageSituation: A trio of {{Bank Robber|y}}s get more than they bargained for in "Critical Condition." Danny gets the obligatory reference to ''DogDayAfternoon.''
* HotBlooded: Danny.
* IHaveYourWife: In "My Funny Valentine," a teenager fakes her kidnapping to spite her wealthy dad. The plan goes awry when a co-conspirator decides to [[CryingWolf ransom her for real]].
** "In the Life We Chose", The Phantom takes Barber's family hostage to get him to show himself.
* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: Thief extraordinaire Jacob admits he's pursuing Erin because he "loves a challenge."
* IWillShowYouX: "Hey, I got a good 'shared sacrifice.' How about we outsource 911 to Bangalore?"
* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: A shifty-looking ''Auxiliary'' Officer with an itchy trigger finger ("The Uniform").
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Jamie has shades of this.
* InformedAttribute: In "Black and White", Frank blackmails the Mayor, insults an activist preacher to his face, and leaks a taped confession to the press. At the end, Frank's lawyer praises him for his political savvy (!) and urges to run for Mayor.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: Nicky browbeating Erin into letting her stay out until 11:00 (Grandpa Henry: "[[WhenIWasYourAge I was out on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific]] at her age!"). Frank wryly observes that she "made a very convincing argument."
* ItsPersonal: In "Officer Down", a cop dies in the line of duty. It becomes personal for every single cop in New York.
** "Hall of Mirrors": an undercover cop is shot.
** And of course, "Dedication", in which Frank is shot.
** Frank considers the death of ''any'' cop a personal grievance. ("The Life We Chose")
** "Silver Star" is personal for both Frank and Danny, as both were Marine vets, and so was the victim.
* IvyLeagueForEveryone: Jamie is a Harvard boy. Deconstructed in that it's mentioned a couple times he's having money problems due to his student loans.
* JustifiedCriminal: Billy Flood's motive for robbing the bank: [[spoiler:paying for him 8-year old daughter' heart transplant]].
* KnightInShiningArmor: Jamie.
* KnightInSourArmor: Danny.
* LawEnforcementInc: A shady private security outfit has approached Henry with a job offer. So far, he's turned them down.
* LetMeTellYouAStory: [insert Grandpa Henry moment of badassery here]
* LoanShark: Sgt. Renzulli gets in deep from betting on horses. Frank bails him out, with the explicit proviso that it's one-time only.
* LoopholeAbuse: In "The Job", Danny nails a suspect by casing his house until the garbage truck arrives. Trash doesn't require a warrant!
* LoveCannotOvercome: Jamie's girlfriend left him because she couldn't stand loving a cop with ChronicHeroSyndrome.
** Linda seems to have finally had enough when her son witnesses a shooting.
-->"I'm tired of playing second fiddle to the NYPD."
* TheMafia: Jamie going undercover to befriend a hotshot mafioso. In Season 2, he poses as a stockbroker to gain access to the mob's investment firm.
* TheMafiya: "Family Ties."
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Perp not talking, huh? Hey, let Danny have a look at that cool katana on the wall, would ya?
-->'''Danny:''' Okay. Here's how my testimony's gonna go. The suspect grabbed a sword down the wall, I ordered him to drop the sword, he failed to comply, [[BlahBlahBlah bladda bladda bladda]], I feared for my life, so no had ''no choice'' but to fire my service weapon striking him [[CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon several times in the chest and face]]."
* MalcolmXerox: Rev. Darnell Potter.
* ManlyTears: Frank gets choked up while recounting 9/11 in "The Job."
* MarriedToTheJob: Danny, to Linda's resentment.
* TheMatchmaker: Nicky is interested in pairing her mom off with her boss, DA Rossalini. She also lobbyied for Erin to date the art thief.
* MayorPain: Hand-wringing, mincing Frank Russo is a Type B. Fortunately, he seems to hold little to no authority over his Commissioner.
-->'''Reagan:''' [[ParentheticalSwearing I have to take this call]], Your Honor.
** Subverted by his successor, Mayor Poole.
* MeaningfulEcho: "Where were you on 9-11?" ("The Job")
* MeaningfulName: Tom Selleck is known to be a staunch Republican in RealLife. Three guesses who the family's last name was inspired by.
* MouthyKid: Nicky has her moments.
* TheMentor: Sergeant Renzulli, Jamie's training officer.
* MistakenForCheating: Garrett interprets Frank's strange absences (at the psychiatrist's office) for hiding a new girlfriend. He even offers to help cover for him!
-->'''Garrett:''' Too young? Too old?\\
'''Frank:''' More like the type that [[HalfTruth asks too many questions.]]
* MostWritersAreAdults: The show's idea of a realistic message posted by a teenager on a [[FictionalCounterpart Facebook-type networking site]] is "B-T-W homes that video made me L-M-A-O"
* MysteriousPast : Both Danny and Grandpa Henry.
* MythArc : Jamie and The Blue Templars. Started out as the main thrust of the series but was quickly shoved to the back burner, appearing mainly in BookEnds in the episodes where it's mentioned at all.
* {{Nepotism}} : ZigZagged . The Reagan clan is ''encouraged'' by family tradition. However there is no string pulling for them per se and they all become competent at their work.
* NewMeat: Jamie. He's slowly leveling his badass and becoming street smart under Renzulli's mentoring.
* NewYorkCityCops: The obvious focus of the series.
* NiceToTheWaiter: Frank to an apologetic cleaning lady who broke a cup. Of course, it was [[ItsAllJunk a gift from the Mayor]], so...
* NotSoDifferent: Between Danny and the victim of the week in "Silver Star", as he sees it.
* OnceAnEpisode: The Reagan family holds a conference over dinner.
** A variation in "Thanksgiving": When Henry is in the hospital, the family brings the dinner to ''him''. And the seating arrangement is the same.
* OrderVersusChaos: A subtle theme throughout the series, with [[ByTheBookCop Frank and Jamie]] disagreeing with CowboyCop Danny.
* OurFounder: Frank is a fan of President (and former NYC Police Commissioner) TeddyRoosevelt. A big picture of TR hangs in his office.
* [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent Our Mayors Are Different]]: Season two's Carter Poole is a Mayor Personable/Mayor Minority twofer.
* PapaWolf / FourStarBadass : In one episode Frank [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome personally shoots a serial killer]] who is attempting to [[StuffedIntoTheFridge rape and kill]] Erin.
** Henry certainly applies. When Frank was shot, the entire family was in the waiting room. After revealing that has a gun, Henry sits in front and the show proceeds to time skip a few hour. You don't think much of it, until you realize that Henry is the only one who's relatively alert. Meaning that he was guarding his family, as the only way to get to them was to go through him.
** And then there was the time Henry pulled a gun on an EMT to save his son from meningitis.
** It's also discussed earlier, as when Jamie is under an Internal Affairs investigation, Frank resists the temptation to tell IA to let him slide. Henry helps out by letting him know that the same thing happened to Frank when he was Commissioner, but he let IA go through because he knew Frank would be cleared. He was, and so was Jamie.
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: Danny and Linda's marital strife spills over into a family dinner during grace. Danny compliments his wife's prayer, "especially that part about ''making good decisions''."
-->'''Linda:''' I was saying grace.\\
'''Danny:''' Yeah, and [[AndImTheQueenOfSheba Erin's spinach]] [[FeminineWomenCanCook isn't soggy]].\\
[Erin [[ImStandingRightHere glares at him]]]
* PatrickStewartSpeech: Grandpa Reagan in "The Job." He knows God has a plan.
* PassedOverInheritance: An obsessive compulsive woman is convinced there's a rapist creeping around her apartment. Turns out it's just her deadbeat brother, hoping to inherit her cash.
* ThePatriarch: Frank.
* PluckyComicRelief: Renzulli.
* PoliceBrutality: Danny has a [[WhatTheHellHero somewhat shocking]] tendency toward this and sometimes the audience can't tell how far he will go. Given that it's usually towards quite despicable criminals, it comes off as PayEvilUntoEvil.
** In "Whistle Blower", an incriminating video of a cop assaulting an old man [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYoutube goes viral]].
-->'''Garrett''': There's even a music video version now. Set to "[[{{Queen}} Another One Bites the Dust]]." Wanna see it?
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: A crooked developer rants about "union bloodsuckers."
-->'''Danny:''' [[ImStandingRightHere We're in a union]].\\
'''Parker:''' [[SarcasmMode And I'm happy for you]].
** In "The Job", a suburbanite father is waging a one-man war against "halfway house dirtbags."
** A pair of junkies holding up an immigrant family ("Parenthood"). "I know you '''people''' don't use banks. Where's the money, ''chica?''"
* PrinciplesZealot: Erin, the daughter is an assistant DA and always getting in arguments with the other members of the family about the tension between legal protection, and law enforcement efficiency. An old problem that will always remain and is well handled in the show.
* ProtectThisHouse: A father shoots dead the burglar who attacked his family, which is good enough for Danny. Not so much for the law, however, because a) the suspect was shot ''outside'' of the home, and b) the shooter is an illegal immigrant.
* PromotedToOpeningTitles: Jackie in mid-Season 1; Linda and Nicky in Season 2.
* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Billy Flood, one of the finest officers in Frank's unit.
* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: Reed tries on Frank, holding Erin's hostage. Frank's response is to [[NoNonsenseNemesis just shoot him]].
** A perp in Season 2 gets the drop on Jackie and tries to invoke this on Danny, who acts as if he's going to play this straight... and then Jackie slips out of the perp's grasp, grabs her gun back, and Danny's gun is back on target.
* RealityEnsues: In the pilot, Danny [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique beats the shit out of a]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil child molester]] to find a kidnapped girl. The child molester slides because his lawyer successfully argues that his confession admitted under torture be thrown out, forcing Danny to find other evidence to put him away.
* RealMenLoveJesus: Like true Irish-Americans, the Reagans are good Catholics.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure : Frank Reagan would put {{Cincinnatus}} to shame:
--> ''(to the mayor)'' "I serve at your pleasure... but I ''work'' for the people of New York."
* ReformedCriminal: The barber from "The Life We Chose."
* RedOniBlueOni: Danny Reagan is {{red|Oni}} to his partner Jackie's (fairly subtle) {{blue|Oni}}.
** GoodCopBadCop also applies, in reverse order.
** Danny is also {{red|Oni}} to his sister Erin's {{blue|Oni}}. And to Jamie's {{blue|Oni}}, for that matter.
* RetiredBadass: [[BadassGrandpa Great-Grandpa Henry]].
* {{Retirony}}: Frank's friend John was leaving for a vacation when the World Trade Center was hit.
** Roland Gates is shot on the eve of his daughter's christening.
* RevolversAreJustBetter: Subverted by [[GoodOldDays Henry]], who points out that Frank would have more firepower with a Glock. Frank concedes the point, and states his reason why in a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming:
--> "I like carrying your gun, Pop."
** In the PapaWolf example above, Frank proved pretty conclusively he doesn't ''need'' a Glock. [[BoomHeadshot His .38 Special works just fine.]]
** ''Dedication'' reveals that despite his earlier advice to Frank, Henry carries a .357 Magnum revolver.
* {{Roofhopping}}: Danny vs. a hood in "The Uniform."
* RuleOfDrama: It's unlikely that a guy who despises politics (and politicians, and publicity, and reporters) as much as Frank Reagan would be appointed NYPD Commissioner.
* SaltAndPepper: Frank Reagan and Mayor Poole.
* SassyBlackWoman: Danny locks horns with a power-mad [[DoctorJerk nurse]] in "Leap of Faith."
* TheScapegoat: After Danny's wife Linda chews him out over not mowing the lawn, the ''world'' becomes this trope. Culminates in a still-agitated Danny gunning down a fellow cop. ("Friendly Fire")
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections:
** Inverted in "Parenthood," when the Mayor's daughter Ariel joins a protest and his caught up in the ensuring dragnet. Ariel doesn't demand special treatment, but her parents politely suggest, separately, that Frank had better let the matter drop.
** Averted with Jamie, of course. With his family connections, he could have made Detective by now.
** Played with when Jamie arrests the previous mayor's daughter for smoking pot. She tries to invoke this, but after a discussion with Erin her dad tells the judge:
---> "I would like to tell the court that my daughter is a wonderful young woman ... ''(beat)'' ... who needs to learn to respect the law."
** The bad guys don't have a monopoly on this. In "Warriors" the State Department refuses to grant political asylum to a Turkish cellist in danger of being the victim of an honor killing if she returns home (for having dated an American during the tour). [[spoiler:Frank talks a contact into getting the New York Philharmonic to hire her, and his opposite number at State expedites a work visa.]]
* SemperFi: Henry, Frank and Danny are all Marine veterans who've seen combat (Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, respectively).
* SerialKiller: One of Danny and Jackie's [[MonsterOfTheWeek Perps of the Week]] was a SerialKiller that preyed on call girls.
* SeriousBusiness: Danny recalls almost beating up another dad at a little league game.
* ShameIfSomethingHappened: As Jamie picks up his brother's old case, Sonny Malevski keeps reappearing to turn up the heat.
* ShootHimHeHasAWallet: Danny shoots a man who seems to be holding a gun. It turns out the guy was an off-duty police officer and was about to show them their badge. Danny is in serious trouble while Internal Affairs investigates whether it was an honest mistake or negligence.
* ShutUpHannibal: Erin delivers one to an AmoralAttorney in ''Innocence'.
--> "How does it feel to be defending a rapist?"
* SickbedSlaying: Narrowly averted with a counter-terror agent who survived his shooting.
* SlobsVersusSnobs: So far, there is recurring tension between the Reagans who 'did good' and their friends who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. In a toss-up, the underprivileged tend to side with criminals.
* SmugSnake: Sonny Malevski.
* SoHappyTogether: The victim of "Whistle Blower" is shot on his anniversary.
* SoundtrackDissonance: The serial rapist obsessively plays a vinyl record of "Ave Maria."
* TheSouthpaw: Danny shoots left-handed.
* StopOrIShootMyself: In the Season One finale, [[spoiler:Sonny Malevski]], member of the Blue Templar and the guy who killed Joe pulls this when Frank shows up to arrest the Blue Templar. Frank's response?
--> "We all die, Sonny, it's just a question of when."
* StrappedToABomb: In one episode, an ex-con Danny put away takes his partner, Jackie, hostage and ties her to a bomb in order to draw Danny out.
* SwallowTheKey: Frank Reagan didn't raise no fools. When confronted by some mob brokers, Jamie gulps down the thumbdrive he used to hack their finances.
* TakingTheKids: Erin got Nikki after divorcing her husband, a defense attorney. To this day, Nikki is convinced on some deep level that defense lawyers are heroes and [=DAs=] are evil.
* TapOnTheHead: Oh, right -- Danny doesn't appreciate people pointing guns at Jackie, either.
-->'''Perp:''' I give up.\\
'''Danny''': Too late. [punches his lights out]
* ThatWasTheLastEntry: While listening to Joe's old [=iPod=], Jamie uncovers a recording of his late brother preparing to infiltrate the Blue Templar.
* TherapyIsForTheWeak: Frank sourly tells his shrink that Reagan men don't go for prescription drugs. Or shrinks, for that matter.
* ToyotaTripwire: A perp decides to rabbit and escapes on a scooter. He nearly mows down Danny, but doesn't quite clear Jackie's front bumper. Ouch.
* TheWarOnStraw: The show does not take a romanticized view of the NYPD Commissioner's office. Frank has butted heads with protesters and union reps. [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] in "Leap of Faith", which seems to portray the archdiocese as a standard CorruptChurch shielding a [[SinisterMinister anarchist priest]]. Though Frank initially opposes hs nomination for sainthood, after performing his own investigation, he decides things weren't so black and white in the Vietnam days. He even comes to the Priest's defense when the archbishops show signs of buyer's remorse.
* TheWarOnTerror: Mentioned from time to time. Frank was a 9/11 first responder and saw the towers go down; he suffers from SurvivorsGuilt as a result. He also has a [[BerserkButton peeve]] about people exploiting the tragedy to further their careers. Danny was a Marine who fought in Fallujah.
** In one early episode, the entire department goes on high alert for a bomb threat by ''homegrown'' Islamic terrorists.
** In "Hall of Mirrors" an undercover cop who infiltrated a terrorist cell is shot in a drive-by.
** In "Moonlighting", Frank broods over a quote from Donald Rumsfeld regarding the Iraq War ("the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_known_knowns known unknowns]]").
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Jackie and her high school friend, Anna, ended up on opposite sides of the law.
-->'''Jackie:''' What happened to you?\\
'''Anna:''' [icily] I grew up.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: An in-universe example. One weekend, while watching the twins, Henry and Frank have tickets to a Broadway play. It was about Christianity and bringing it to Africa, or so Henry heard. The name of the musical? ''Theatre/TheBookOfMormon''.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Nicky pushes this trope hard.
* YouAreNotAlone: Frank reminds Danny of this at the end of "Silver Star", when Danny muses on how he could have ended up just like the victim, a homeless vet.
* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead: The wife of a slain informant discovers that Erin was the one pulling his strings. "So because ''you'' suck at your job, ''I'm'' a widow and my kids don't have a father."[[spoiler: Of course, this is rendered moot when it turns out the wife was cheating on her man with someone he was investigating, who was the ''actual'' killer, and that it was ''the wife'' who blew his cover, if unintentionally, not Erin.]]
* YourCheatingHeart: In "Whistler Blower", Erin's informant is murdered while spying on a white-collar criminal -- the same criminal who is [[spoiler:sleeping with the informant's wife]]. So much for wearing a wire.
-->[[spoiler:Mrs. Milo]]: [to Erin] I don't know what fancy place you come from, but from where I come from, there is ''nothing'' worse than a [[TheInformant rat]]!
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