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NYPD Blue Summary/Review: Low Blow SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

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Amanda Wilson

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Apr 30, 2002, 7:19:15 PM4/30/02
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Before I post this, I want to make sure everyone has a chance to back out
before it's too late! Because of my new job and yadda yadda yadda I have to
post this really early, and I don't want to give it away for those who still
have hours and hours to go before the show. Believe me, it's worth watching.
And while I'm at it, I'll remind you that it's on at 10pm tonight. Have a good
evening!

SPOILER SPACE


NYPD Blue Summary/Review by Amanda Wilson
"Low Blow"
Season 9 Episode 19
4/30/02
Teleplay by Nicholas Wootton
Story by Bill Clark & Nicholas Wootton
Directed by Mark Tinker

This episode has so many gems, it oughta be insured for four million bucks!
If you were unlucky enough to miss it (for shame), here's a summary:

RAPE CASE: Andy and Junior catch a rape case. Lisa Griffin was walking home
from work when she was hauled into an alley and assaulted. She didn't get a
good look at the guy. She only knows he's white.
The boys get nowhere on canvas, but Connie comes up with a sex offender who
lives in the neighborhood. His name is Lloyd Rogers. Lloyd is kind of an
asshole and repeatedly says he was home reading that morning. Andy and Junior
don't believe him and decide to continue investigating when a DNA hit turns up
another guy.
The DNA from Lisa's rape kit matches that of a guy named Kevin Healy who
was collared for rape two years ago. His wife accused him of it and he ended up
pleading out to a charge of criminal trespassing.
Kevin is brought in and Andy and John J. learn he's with the FDNY and
works in a unit that lost some guys on 9/11. Kevin tells about his earlier
plea: he says his wife was just lying about the rape and trying to get him in
hot water because they were getting a divorce and he was trying to get a job on
the fire department. He says he pleaded to the lesser charge on the advice of
his attorney who said it was the best way to make it go away.
Andy and Jr. make sure he knows that there was a DNA match. Kevin is doubly
confused over this: he says he had not had sex with his wife for six months
before she accused of him rape and he says he never gave a DNA sample. The
detectives lock him up because the DNA is not likely to be wrong, but they also
think that maybe somehow Kevin isn't lying.
A chat with Kevin's ex-wife is order. Eileen Healy is brought in. She
says Kevin did rape her. When Andy and John J. push her on the topic and tell
her that if there's been some sort of game-playing on her part that she'll be
charged, Eileen admits the truth. She was having an affair with a guy named
Darryl and accused Kevin of raping her because she was mad at him. The DNA in
her rape kit was Darryl's. That never got sorted out because Kevin pleaded to
the lesser charge.
Before Andy and Junior can get downstairs to the cell where Kevin is on
ice, Kevin tries to take his own life. He uses some portion of his belt buckle
to slice a hole in his wrist and is taken to the hospital.
Andy and Junior find Darryl on the street. He's real cocky until they take
him down to the cell where Kevin's blood is still soaking the floor and bunk.
They handcuff him to the bars and tell him he's now in the "truth room." He
folds like Martha Stewart making a chocolate souffle.
Later, Andy goes to see him. Kevin wants an apology. Andy tells him he's
not going to get one because Andy was only doing his job.

MAN-GRO: A doctor is found shot to death in his car. Greg and Baldwin catch
the case. With the help of Tony, they discover that he's not really a doctor,
but a guy with a record for fraud who now runs a company called Man-Gro.
When they check his house, they find his girlfriend Jennifer there.
Jennifer tells them that the "doctor" had been getting some complaint calls
from his clients. Seems his product, Man-Gro, is a penis enlargement cream
and, to no one's surprise, provides the consumer with only temporary growth.
Greg and Baldwin head off to the doctor's office to meet his partner,
Joey. Joey tries to bolt out the window when the cops arrive but doesn't make
it. He explains that Jennifer is wrong about one thing: no one complains
about dick cream. The complaints were from another client: a man who visited
the doctor for some plastic surgery and was not happy with the result.
Greg and Baldwin ask for patient records. Baldwin turns down a tube of
Man-Gro saying confidently how he doesn't need it. Greg laughs knowingly and
then furtively slips the tube in his pocket.
Joey gives up the patient records and Antonio the former patient, who is
also a former man, is brought in. She likes to be called Falana after Lola
Falana, the woman she wishes she looked like.
Falana says how she went to the doc for breast enhancement and ended up
with some serious problems. She begins to lift her falsies when Baldwin
objects, but she does it anyway. The scars on her chest are shocking. She's
been mutilated. But her attitude is light. She says she called the office a
few times to try to get her money back but quit calling when the number was
disconnected.
Greg and Baldwin check the story out further and find that Falana was in
for more than a new chest. The surgery was a sex change. When confronted with
this information, Falana becomes deeply distressed and tells a horribly sad
story about how all she ever wanted was to feel beautiful. This doctor
mutilated not only her chest but her genitals. She said she confronted him
that morning to try to get her money back so that she could pay her huge
medical bills and that she snapped and shot him.

CONNIE AND ANDY: The on-again-off-again whateveritis between Andy and Connie
continues along its rocky path. Connie mentions to Andy that she wants to talk
about flights to Orlando. Andy pretty much flips when she says this because she
says it front of Junior.
She confronts Andy later about it saying Junior already knew, which is
true. Andy tries to blow her off but she won't let him. She finally says she's
not going to go to Orlando with him. He tells her that Theo will be so
disappointed, and it's clear that he will also be very disappointed. This
isn't enough for Connie, though, because she's convinced Andy is not completely
OK with the idea. Andy admits that the situation is complicated, but before
they can really talk about it, they are interrupted. Connie ends it all quickly
by telling him that she's not going to go and that it's all OK.
Andy doesn't seem too unsettled by this. Later, he finds a seat next to
her at a department event and they appear to be getting along like old pals.

THE SMOKER: The big charity boxing match between Junior and Laughlin is on
everyone's minds and lips. One of the uniforms comes upstairs in the morning
to tell Junior that there's been so much talk about how he and Laughlin are in
it to settle a personal score that the captain has decided to cancel the fight.
Junior is pissed off about this. The uniform says there's nothing anyone
can do about it. Junior tells him to make sure all the uniforms know that the
captain canceled and that he didn't back out. The uniform assures him everyone
knows.
While at the hospital on his rape case, Junior's hell begins. One of the
uniforms there says he knows Clark backed out. Junior tells him he didn't, but
the uniform doesn't believe him. When Junior walks away, the uniform begins
squawking like a chicken.
Junior grows more and more pissed off as the day wears on. Uniforms are
lurking everywhere and loud squawks can be heard echoing through the halls of
the station house. Unfortunately for Junior, the source of the squawks can't be
found.
The mystery of the Secret Squawker deepens when PAA John walks into the
coffee room to find a live chicken strutting around on the table. John slams
the door shut, but Junior is on his way over to see what's going on. Just as
the door is opened a second time, the chicken squawks loudly at Junior. The
point is further punctuated when a long stream of chicken shit shoots out its
hindquarters.
That's it. Junior storms downstairs and pulls Laughlin aside for a little
tete-a-tete. Junior tells him rather strongly that the score needs to be
settled, and all Laughlin has to do is name the time and place. Their meeting
is interrupted by the desk sergeant and just about every uniform in the place
who all hear Junior's demand for a fight.
Later, Junior and Laughlin are called in to see the captain. They play it
like brothers who've been clawing at each other all day but want to avoid a
spanking from dad. They're friends! It's all in fun! Heck, there's no grudge!
C'mon Cap'n, let us have some fun!
The captain doesn't buy it, of course, but he lets the smoker go on anyway,
perhaps figuring that it's better to have them duke it out in a controlled
environment that the street brawl that would surely have ensued if the match
were canceled.
So, the smoker begins. Everyone is gathered to see it, and Rita, whose
honor is on the line, has a front row seat. Our Hero is getting his fanny
busted early on, but after a few encouraging words from Greg and Baldwin, he
begins to wail away on poor ol' Laughlin. He's fighting so well, in fact, that
Laughlin has to do the only thing he knows how to do: fight dirty. He socks
Junior in the boys with a solid punch that doubles him over and makes him see
stars. PAA John, who's been showing an as yet un-revealed lust for violence,
screams at Laughlin to leave Junior's jewels alone. Greg and Baldwin rush in to
tell Junior to shake it off and get back in the game. He does, and Laughlin
goes down fast after that.
The fight ends with Junior on the brink of letting out a raspy cry
"Rita...Riiiitttaaaa." Thankfully, he only gives her a half-wink.
Back in his crib and nursing his bruises, Junior cracks open a beer and
lays an ice pack on his wounded ones. A knock is heard at the door. Thinking
it's Baldwin, Junior calls out that he's fine, dammit, leave him alone. More
knocking, only this time it's playful knocking. Junior hauls himself off the
couch and waddles over to the door with the icepack still down his pants. He
looks out the peephole and has a moment of panic. He dives into his pants,
grabs out the ice pack and then fumbles around to open the door. It's Rita, all
shy and coy. She's just wandered over from the celebration because, well, it
was too loud there and, gosh, she just wanted to say thanks, is all. Uh-huh.
Junior says how she didn't have to do that and she goes on to bat her eyelashes
up at him and tell him she just wanted to thank him for sticking up for her.
Then she plants a little, tiny kiss on his lips. He likes that. He plants a
bigger kiss back on her lips. Then he asks her if she wants to stick around
for a while. She does, and, soon they are both shirt free. Despite some
protestations from Junior's sore muscles, they wind up on the couch. She tells
him she'll be gentle and away they go to happy land.

RAPE CASE: How hard is it to make an old rape story seem fresh? Pretty hard, I
think, but this did it. The DNA angle was really solid. I do wish Kevin
hadn't been so likable the entire time, though. I realize he had to be
somewhat likable since he was a firefighter and since he was, after all,
innocent, but a little more of a shadow over the guy would have highlighted the
conflict a little more. Or if that couldn't be done, then maybe another round
of checking out that DNA to drive home the point to the audience that it was
the same in both kits and that no error was made. As it was, I never really
thought Kevin did it. I didn't want to think he did, and so I was really ready
to believe that there was some screw up somewhere.
What made it all good was the "Oh Wow" moment when we see a despondent
Kevin has sliced himself up. That was sort of shocking. I wonder if there was
debate amongst the creators about whether to have him succeed at suicide. That
would have packed a really powerful punch, but it may also have screwed up the
much lighter tone of the rest of the episode.

MAN-GRO: This may be the perfect NYPD Blue story. It made you laugh, it made
you cry, it was a goddamn sensation. The story was so funny right from the
start. I mean, guys, you had me at "man-gro." But did they stop there? No, God
Bless them. They had Greg offering it to Baldwin who said oh-so-casually that
he didn't need it. Greg laughs knowingly and then secretly pockets a tube.
They had this ditzy Jennifer going on about how she was going to be the
"spokesmodel" for the stuff when (I emphasize when) it goes on the Home
Shopping Network. They had one of the best all-time lines of the week when Joey
says "Nobody complains about dick cream, man!"
And the sad part: Poor Falana. Yeah, your first instinct is to make fun of
someone who wants a sex change, but hearing this poor creature say how all she
wanted was to feel beautiful was a killer. Those scars were another "Oh Wow"
moment. They had the desired effect on me: shock and disgust. I practically
wanted to kill the quack myself when I saw that. The scene where Falana
confesses is just aces. The guest actor, Daniel Escobar, was fantastic. And
Gordon and Henry were top-notch, too: they went from being really funny in this
story to being very compassionate with Falana. I loved it all around. Great,
great work.

CONNIE AND ANDY: Well, another week and we get no where with these two, and
that's just fine with me! I like it this way. It means they aren't together,
and that's cool. I really like how Andy turns into a quivering mass of
humility when Connie wants to talk, and I like how straightforward Connie is
about things. Now there's a chick who doesn't play games. Good for her.
Now, if only she'd drop this damn crush and move on......

THE SMOKER: Yeah, it was kind of cheesy, but hey, I have to admit that I ended
up liking it. Oh God! I feel so free now! I can also admit that yes, dammit, I
liked Grease, too! This sort of reminds me of that, in all honesty.
With Bobby and Diane, we had smoldering sex appeal and steamy chemistry
all laced with serious, grown-up problems. Junior and Rita, on the other hand,
seem like a couple of sweet kids. We all have our preferences, but I think
it's safe to say both work. At least for now. I can't imagine high drama with
these two, but we'll see.
The chicken thing was loads of fun. I did find myself wishing a few times
that at least one person in the squad would have cracked a smile over it,
though. It was pretty funny. Doesn't anyone upstairs have enough of a sense of
humor to have at least admitted that the live chicken was funny? I think Josh
would have been perfect for this job. He could have mirrored the audience (I'm
sure all million zillion of us were laughing) and then taken the wrath of the
pissed off detectives who were so necessarily bent on defending their honor.
But you won't get any real complaints out of me on this one. That live
chicken was our third (count 'em THREE) "Oh Wow" moment in this episode.
Seriously, Mark Tinker must be living right: what director could be so lucky as
to have that thing squawk and crap simultaneously as the actor opens the door?
And MPG! My God, how he didn't simply burst into a gale of laughter at that
moment is a mystery to us non-actors and is the single reason we sit in
stuttering awe of real live professionals like him. I simply *must* have that
man's autograph or something. Honestly, he's part of what makes this show like
M*A*S*H: every new guy is amazingly better than the last in one way or
another, and when you look at them as a whole, they're all equally fantastic.
Let me end on this note (one of my favorite rants): If you feel the urge
to bitch about another office romance, get over it. It's TV. It's a one-hour
show about a bunch of people who work as cops. The minute you start dragging
doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs into the mix, you're diluting the main focus
of the show and wasting time. No, there surely aren't that many office
romances in a *real* NYPD squad, but hey, they don't solve cases in an hour in
a real squad either. I'm not all that happy with the pairings they've chosen,
but the fact that they're all in the same happy family is A-OK with me.

QUICK HITS:
*Bill Brochtrup shows us again why he's such an asset to the show. He's
branching out, showing some range (and some free range), and it's all good. He
was great with his usual understated flair for comedy. He's got great timing.

*Speaking of great timing: Gordon Clapp nailed that thing with the Man Gro
cream, no? Perfect.

*Ok, so Kevin the fireman said he'd just gotten remarried six months ago. Why,
then, was his evil ex-wife who tried to get him sent away for rape standing by
him at his hospital bed? Rather, why did he allow that?

*Who *is* that chicken wrangler? Nominate that person for whatever award goes
to people who can get chickens to crap on cue. They have awards for
everything, don't they?

*I liked the sign in one of those quick cutaway shots which read
"Any Haircut 7 cents." Is that per hair?

*Hank!

*How cool was it that so many scenes were in other places tonight? Answer: Very
cool. It hardly seemed like we were ever in the pokey room. We were on the
street, in the cells, downstairs, back on the street, in the gym, in Junior's
new pad, at the New York headquarters of Man Gro International....lots of new,
different things to look at.

*Rita has a pink bra. Could she *be* more girly? This was a nice touch in
light of the way this whole story was drawn. It added a little more sweet to
the whole thing.

*Did Rita win her 50 bucks? What color bra will she buy with it?

*I wonder how PAA John's boyfriend Ray would have reacted to his outbursts at
the fights?

*I hope no one forgets that we need a little update on Eddie and James Killick
before times runs out. I'll settle for a little mention next season if it's
too late.

*Guest of the week: As always, hard to pick, but my vote goes to Daniel
Escobar who played Falana with such depth.

CAST LEGACIES:
Previously on NYPD Blue: Anthony Mangano as Laughlin, James McBride as
Shannon, Jack McGee as the desk Sgt., Philip Angelotti and Mike Sabatino as
uniforms, Henry Murph as Hank.

Jack McGee (the desk sgt.)--He's a retired NYC firefighter with a list of 67
movie credits. He's been on Blue two times before and was on Bochco's Brooklyn
South as well.

Daniel Escobar (Falana)--In addition to this outstanding performance, he was on
Blue in 93 and in Bochco's Total Security. His movie credits include Blow and
The Mexican. And he was on Saved By The Bell: The New Class!

Raymond O'Keefe (Captain)--He did Blue in 96. He's also been on Brooklyn South.

Geoffery Rivas (Joey)--He was on LA Law and Brooklyn South. He's also done a
recurring role on CSI.

Neil Flynn (Kevin)--He was the janitor on Scrubs. He's also done CSI and Boston
Public.

Jimmy Palumbo (Hackett)--He was on Philly once. He's also done ER and Friends.

Pat Skipper (Llyod)--He's been on LA Law, ER and had a recurring role on
XFiles. He was also in the movie Erin Brokovich.

Victor Brandt (Ben Tyrell)--He was on The Practice and Saved By The Bell: New
Class. A while back, he played Corp. Jensen on Gomer Pyle.

Rounding out the cast: Gabrielle Carteris as Lisa the rape victim, Michael
Patrick McGill as the clucking uniform, Rebecca McFarland as Jennifer, Kathleen
Gati as Eileen Healy and Robert Camiletti as the Ref.

LINES OF THE WEEK:
Nick Wootton must be a deeply disturbed man. There are too many good ones to
pick...here are a few:

Joey of Man Gro Inc. "Nobody complains about dick cream, man!"

Daryl the idiot confessing his rape while handcuffed face into the bars in the
blood-soaked truth room: "I got frustrations! I don't know how to deal with
them!"
Junior: "So do we."

PAA John after Ed's dirty hit in the boxing match: "Back off his jewels,
Laughlin!"

And PAA John had another one just before that one that was lost in the audio
for me. Franz walked in front of the camera and I lost some of the words, the
rest seemed to fade into the din. Anyone catch this? It was after Andy asked
what he'd missed. Something about "two guys I could take...."

And I know there were more...

NEXT WEEK: Looks like another one not to be missed: Andy is taken hostage, and
we meet Greg's daughter Katie all grown up.

REMINDER: The shows are airing at 10pm now until the end of the season. May 7
and 14 (the next two Tuesdays) are at 10. The season finale airs May 21 and
it's a two-hour show, so that means it will start at 9pm. Mark your calendars,
alert your personal assistants, program your palm pilots, and don't forget to
visit us at Alan Sepinwall's NYPD Blue Homepage:
http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~sepinwal/nypd.html

Don't be a strangler,
Amanda Wilson




Alan Tignanelli

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Apr 30, 2002, 11:05:11 PM4/30/02
to
Amanda Wilson wrote:

> *Ok, so Kevin the fireman said he'd just gotten remarried six months ago. Why,
> then, was his evil ex-wife who tried to get him sent away for rape standing by
> him at his hospital bed? Rather, why did he allow that?

Sorry, dear, but I have to question you on this one (and I should know better than
to question the expert!). I thought the woman was his new wife. Seemed a little
softer than the hard-ass they had in the squad. I'd check the tape, but I just
erased it for The Shield. Maybe I'll tape the west coast feed and check again.

> And PAA John had another one just before that one that was lost in the audio
> for me. Franz walked in front of the camera and I lost some of the words, the
> rest seemed to fade into the din. Anyone catch this? It was after Andy asked
> what he'd missed. Something about "two guys I could take...."

Again, I'd have to go to the tape, but I believe the quote was (as close as I
remember), "Two guys from anti-crime who couldn't fight their way out of a paper
bag, and two middleweights that I could take."

My choice for LOTW - Baldwin's simple, "Don't need it."

Alan T.

David Lesher

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Apr 30, 2002, 11:04:12 PM4/30/02
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pue...@aol.comnojunk (Amanda Wilson) writes:

> The DNA from Lisa's rape kit matches that of a guy named Kevin Healy who
>was collared for rape two years ago. His wife accused him of it and he ended up
>pleading out to a charge of criminal trespassing.

It takes DAYS to do a DNA test, best case. I just read that NYC rape kits
are backed up several YEARS.

And if it was so zippy-fast, then how come they didn't just test Healy?

Story credibility, zero.

LRod

unread,
Apr 30, 2002, 11:10:24 PM4/30/02
to
On 30 Apr 2002 23:19:15 GMT, pue...@aol.comnojunk (Amanda Wilson)
wrote:


> And PAA John had another one just before that one that was lost in the audio
> for me. Franz walked in front of the camera and I lost some of the words, the
> rest seemed to fade into the din. Anyone catch this? It was after Andy asked
> what he'd missed. Something about "two guys I could take...."

Andy asked if he missed anything and John said something I didn't
catch about the first fight and described the second matchup as, "two
transit guys I could take."

Absolutely the LOTW, even though "don't need it" was pretty good.

LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Bard7696

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Apr 30, 2002, 11:20:25 PM4/30/02
to
>
>Sorry, dear, but I have to question you on this one (and I should know better
>than
>to question the expert!). I thought the woman was his new wife.

I agree. I taped "The Shield" and watched Blue untaped, so I can't go back to
verify, but I was positive they were different women.


Rick James

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Apr 30, 2002, 11:55:10 PM4/30/02
to
Just to add.. my favorite line that I found amusing was when Greg was
giving Junior advice and Baldwin called him Burgess Meredith... it was
funny.. :)

Rick

Elaine

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May 1, 2002, 12:16:57 AM5/1/02
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Amanda Wilson wrote:

Another excellent review!

> RAPE CASE: How hard is it to make an old rape story seem fresh? Pretty hard, I
> think, but this did it.

Sure did. But I don't know why Kevin didn't demand a lawyer immediately. Unless
we were supposed to think he was just too unbalanced to cope. But, he seemed
pretty on top of things - understood all the ins and outs of his previous plea.
And he was just married. Had the job he wanted. I'm guessing we were supposed to
see it as part of post-traumatic stress - of 9/11. And I got that but I think
they're sure having trouble figuring out how to handle that. They either hit it
too hard - like in the first episode of the season - or not hard enough - like
tonight. Although I think they did pretty well in "Baby Love" with the Arab-owned
store being burned and "Mom's Away" - with the murdered woman who was supposed to
have died in the Towers but didn't.

> MAN-GRO: <snip> The guest actor, Daniel Escobar, was fantastic.

Worth repeating - fantastic.

> CONNIE AND ANDY: Well, another week and we get no where with these two, and
> that's just fine with me! I like it this way. It means they aren't together,
> and that's cool. I really like how Andy turns into a quivering mass of
> humility when Connie wants to talk, and I like how straightforward Connie is
> about things. Now there's a chick who doesn't play games. Good for her.
> Now, if only she'd drop this damn crush and move on......

Hey, I'm not rising to this bait anymore. At least they got to be in the same room
and have some dialogue. And I LOVE how straightforward Connie is about things. I
wish I'd had that kind of a role model when I was younger. Heck, I'm taking
lessons now. She just says what she means and doesn't let Andy get away with
anything. I especially like how she always manages to make him talk to her when
he's trying to weasle out of it.

> THE SMOKER: Yeah, it was kind of cheesy, but hey, I have to admit that I ended
> up liking it. Oh God! I feel so free now! I can also admit that yes, dammit, I
> liked Grease, too! This sort of reminds me of that, in all honesty.

Uh-huh - it was a lot like the hot rod race. Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. But fun.

> With Bobby and Diane, we had smoldering sex appeal and steamy chemistry
> all laced with serious, grown-up problems. Junior and Rita, on the other hand,
> seem like a couple of sweet kids.

Only thing is that the last two episodes I have been really aware of Junior seeming
really young. Initially, he seemed more grounded than Danny - which made him seem
older - but now he's taken on a 'gee, shucks, golly, gosh' kind of quality and I
kept expecting somebody's parents to walk in on them.

> Seriously, Mark Tinker must be living right: what director could be so lucky as
> to have that thing squawk and crap simultaneously as the actor opens the door?

Could have been luck -- or the magic of chromakey.

> *Ok, so Kevin the fireman said he'd just gotten remarried six months ago. Why,
> then, was his evil ex-wife who tried to get him sent away for rape standing by
> him at his hospital bed? Rather, why did he allow that?

I gotta agree with David - I think that was his new wife. He must keep going for
the same general physical type.

> *I liked the sign in one of those quick cutaway shots which read
> "Any Haircut 7 cents." Is that per hair?

I missed that!

> *How cool was it that so many scenes were in other places tonight? Answer: Very
> cool. It hardly seemed like we were ever in the pokey room. We were on the
> street, in the cells, downstairs, back on the street, in the gym, in Junior's
> new pad, at the New York headquarters of Man Gro International....lots of new,
> different things to look at.

I like that most of the apartments really look like New York apartments. Most
shows that are supposedly set in New York have these set ups that no real people
could afford. Now if they could just capture the quality of the light - or lack of
it - when you're walking around under tall buildings. Of course, they get away
with it because where the precinct supposedly is located is outside of the grand
canyons. But does anybody notice that it hasn't rained or snowed in years. And
it's never bone-chillingly cold or stiflingly hot.

> *Rita has a pink bra. Could she *be* more girly? This was a nice touch in
> light of the way this whole story was drawn. It added a little more sweet to
> the whole thing.

Not only pink but pretty wholesome in style. And there's Connie with her black
lace and can't get a date to Disney World. Must be the Disney dress code.

> Don't be a strangler,
> Amanda Wilson

LOL.

Glad you're back! "Thou shalt have five thousand welcomes" - just to include you
in the Shakespeare game.

Elaine

LRod

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May 1, 2002, 12:32:52 AM5/1/02
to
On 30 Apr 2002 23:19:15 GMT, pue...@aol.comnojunk (Amanda Wilson)
wrote:

> *I liked the sign in one of those quick cutaway shots which read

> "Any Haircut 7 cents." Is that per hair?

I forgot to comment; did it really say "7 cents?" As I saw it, $7
registered in my mind, which would still be pretty cheap. I didn't
tape it, so I can't go back and check. Any chance you misread it, or
did I?

Chris Lawrence

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May 1, 2002, 2:41:38 AM5/1/02
to
In <20020430191915...@mb-mr.aol.com> (on Tue, 30 Apr 2002

18:19:15 -0500), "Amanda Wilson" <pue...@aol.comnojunk> wrote:

> PAA John after Ed's dirty hit in the boxing match: "Back off his jewels,
> Laughlin!"

Coupled with the stunned double-take from T-Rod, it was definitely the
line of the night.



> And PAA John had another one just before that one that was lost in the
> audio for me. Franz walked in front of the camera and I lost some of the
> words, the rest seemed to fade into the din. Anyone catch this? It was
> after Andy asked what he'd missed. Something about "two guys I could
> take...."

"Two middleweights from anticrime who couldn't fight their way out of a
wet paper bag and a pair of guys from transit I could take."

Another highlight: Greg going over the ropes at the end of the fight.


Chris
--
Chris Lawrence <ch...@lordsutch.com> - http://www.lordsutch.com/chris/

cjday...@cox.net

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May 1, 2002, 5:40:52 AM5/1/02
to

Another funny moment was when Greg took the tube of Mangro.
Chip

--
-------------------- http://NewsReader.Com/ --------------------
Usenet Newsgroup Service

Alan Tignanelli

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May 1, 2002, 6:23:46 AM5/1/02
to
Bard7696 wrote:

Just watched the tape this morning (well, just selected portions). The woman at
the hospital was definitely NOT the same woman in the squad, unless she popped out
for some plastic surgery and a perm in between. Straight blonde hair on the woman
at the squad, curly hair on the one at the hospital. And the hospital woman
appeared to be a bit younger.

And, even though it's been posted elsewhere, John's quote at the fight was "Two
middleweights from anti-crime who couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag
and a pair of guys from transit I could take." I taped the feed, got ready for
work in a hurry so I'd have time to watch the tape, so I'm damn well going to post
it.

And I'll admit, I did a double-take when I read Amanda's review and saw Gabrielle
Carteris's name, but I thought I must have been remembering wrong. I sure as hell
didn't recognize her.

Alan

userb3

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May 1, 2002, 10:01:58 AM5/1/02
to
On 30 Apr 2002 23:19:15 GMT, Amanda Wilson wrote:

> The fight ends with Junior on the brink of letting out a raspy cry
>"Rita...Riiiitttaaaa."

Once again, Amanda gets my nod for line of the week!

>MAN-GRO: This may be the perfect NYPD Blue story. It made you laugh, it made
>you cry, it was a goddamn sensation.

Oh, tell the truth - you just liked to see some guy talk to Baldwin
about "dick cream".

> And the sad part: Poor Falana. Yeah, your first instinct is to make fun of
>someone who wants a sex change, but hearing this poor creature say how all she
>wanted was to feel beautiful was a killer. Those scars were another "Oh Wow"
>moment. They had the desired effect on me: shock and disgust. I practically
>wanted to kill the quack myself when I saw that. The scene where Falana
>confesses is just aces. The guest actor, Daniel Escobar, was fantastic. And
>Gordon and Henry were top-notch, too: they went from being really funny in this
>story to being very compassionate with Falana. I loved it all around. Great,
>great work.

I agree - While we've seen a thousand sympathetic killers, they really
pulled us into this one. I found myself wondering if there wasn't some
way they could kick Falana loose. Ah well, maybe prison health care
will spring for some cosmetic work on all those scars.

>THE SMOKER: Yeah, it was kind of cheesy,

KIND OF cheesy? Hell, Green Bay fans were calling in to say enough is
enough! I've seen fondue that wasn't that cheesy. Cheeze whiz doesn't
even come close.

> The chicken thing was loads of fun. I did find myself wishing a few times
>that at least one person in the squad would have cracked a smile over it,
>though. It was pretty funny. Doesn't anyone upstairs have enough of a sense of
>humor to have at least admitted that the live chicken was funny?

They knew that whoever laughed first was going to have to clean up the
coffee room!

> Honestly, he's part of what makes this show like
>M*A*S*H: every new guy is amazingly better than the last in one way or
>another, and when you look at them as a whole, they're all equally fantastic.

Careful, Amanda, you're gushing.

>*Ok, so Kevin the fireman said he'd just gotten remarried six months ago. Why,
>then, was his evil ex-wife who tried to get him sent away for rape standing by
>him at his hospital bed? Rather, why did he allow that?

She was there begging forgiveness and trying to patch things up so he
wouldn't sue her for a half a zillion bucks.

>*Rita has a pink bra. Could she *be* more girly? This was a nice touch in
>light of the way this whole story was drawn. It added a little more sweet to
>the whole thing.

"Oh, Junior, you're so keen!" "Aw heck, Rita <looks down, kicks dust>
It wasn't anything."

>*I wonder how PAA John's boyfriend Ray would have reacted to his outbursts at
>the fights?

Are they still together?

>And PAA John had another one just before that one that was lost in the audio
>for me. Franz walked in front of the camera and I lost some of the words, the
>rest seemed to fade into the din. Anyone catch this? It was after Andy asked
>what he'd missed. Something about "two guys I could take...."

Andy - "What'd I miss"
PAA John "Two guys from Transit that I could've taken."


--
userb3
Music and art education produce better mathematicians, better scientists, better historians, and even better athletes.
Support arts education today.


Jeff Miller

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May 1, 2002, 10:49:58 AM5/1/02
to
Once again, I want to say how much I appreciate you doing the
summaries Amanda, they are great to read, I sometimes miss something
the first time around. (Have you sensed the "big but" coming yet? heh
heh)

I have found, I consistently disagree with almost everything you say
in your reviews. I have read some of the old reviews of the episodes
that have been running on TNT that aired during the big gap of my
checking out this newsgroup on a regular basis, and sure enough, we
disagreed on everything back then too. ;)

I think what I find the most irritating about many of your reviews, is
not just that I disagree with your opinion, but that you often seem to
speak for other people and make assumptions that everyone else who
watches NYPD Blue shares your views. The difference in Alan's reviews
was that he always used "I" and made it clear, "this is my view, I
don't speak for anyone else." In your reviews, one word makes a big
difference, as you say "we" and "our hero" and things like that that
attach your view to many other people, whether they agree or not.

I thought last night's episode was incredibly lame (though it was a
slight improvement over the 4/16 episode because that one didn't even
have any funny parts.) As I was preparing to read Amanda's review, I
was saying "I'm looking forward to reading what snide comments she has
to say about this one. No, wait, my goodness, what if she liked it?
She's like the anti-me. It's actually possible. Man, if she says
this episode was good, I'm going to scream." And sure enough, you
didn't disappoint. ;)

The rape case was quite predictable, yes, it was nice to have a crime
where it wasn't the second guy they brought in that did it, it was the
third guy, but the problem was they telegraphed this one so obviously
all the way, that the scene in the jail lost its shock value to me. I
did feel for the guy, but it still didn't make the story compelling.

The only good part of the "Smoker" storyline was John Irvin's behavior
was funny. Other than that, it seemed like the script was short, so
they just filled it up with boxing. (By the way, it doesn't help that
I hate boxing, 2 guys hitting each other is not a sport.)

I didn't feel the least bit sorry for the guy who had a botched sex
change. How dumb do you have to be to know that this guy's not a
legit doctor? I think being a "tranny" is disgusting in its own
right, and then you go and commit murder, and blame that on that you
wanted to be beautiful by having a sex change? Everybody in that
storyline was a creep, in my opinion. Sick stuff. But it wasn't the
sickest thing in this episode..nope, they saved that for last.

I find myself digging up one of those "valley girl" expressions, but
all I could think of in watching that horrible last scene with Clark
and Rita was "Gag me with a spoon!" First, I still haven't been given
a reason in the world to care about this Rita character. She started
out boring, and she went from boring to annoying real fast with her
"i'm so hot" flirting with Clark. I guess this scene was certainly in
the tradition of NYPD Blue's "F--k first and get to know each other
later" attitude shared by almost all the characters over the years,
but it still seemed even more cartoonishly ridiculous after Clark had
just had a boxing match. I guess they were trying to get across the
"guys won't say no unless they're in a coma" message, but that's been
done to death by sitcoms. I found it annoying, disgusting, lame, and
annoying. Did I mention it was annoying?

I watched this one "live" since I was taping something for someone
else, but as I watch future episodes on tape, I may have to fast
forward through Clark/Ortiz scenes. Something I haven't had to do
since the Greg/Abby scenes back in the 5th season I believe it was.

The scene with Andy and Connie wasn't bad, but nothing really much
intresting happened either. I kept waiting for something exciting or
good to happen in this episode but it never did. Just a few weeks
ago, I had such high hopes for the end of this season. I thought that
the Tony vs. Fraker thing would be a longer-lasting arc, and there
were other prospects for good stories too, but if the last 2 episodes
are indication, things are going downhill fast. I can only hope that
the next few will be different. I worry whenever a show hypes its
next episode as the "best ever" as I'm almost sure to disagree with
that, but we'll see. Certainly, the episode will be already 1000
times better if there are no Clark/Ortiz scenes (or Ortiz scenes
period for that matter, I hope they get rid of this character) or
creeps that we are supposed to feel sorry for.

Oh, and I didn't see the chicken take a crap. Did I just blink and
miss that or was my local affiliate doing some censorship? When i
watched it, there was only a split second shot of the chicken before
Clark slammed the door, not enough time to see anything the chicken
was doing, other than just that it was there.

Oh, and since you didn't mention it in the cast legacies, I thought I
would add that Gabrielle Carteris' best known role was as Andrea
(that's AHN-drea ;)) on Beverly Hills, 90210. Carteris is even older
than Luke Perry and she was playing a 16-year-old too when she was
like 31.

later,

Jeffster :)

Cat N The Hat 29

unread,
May 1, 2002, 11:01:43 AM5/1/02
to
I loved this show! Im so glad Blue is Back. I may go through some serious
withdrawal when the season ends.

I really liked the rape case. It was different somehow than the usual and the
story didn't get tiring. The whole guy in the jail trying to off himself at
first set with me wrong, but the conversation at the end between him and Andy
was so interesting that I (being somewhat slow on the uptake) understood why it
happened. It was a stand out scene for me.

I love Connie and Andy! Say what you want but watching Connie stand up to
Andy why hand hem-hauls around (southern term Im sure) is so much fun for me
and watching this little cat & mouse-- we're friends, and unsure of this
attraction thing is entertaining. It's not rushing through it and you
genuinely get to enjoy their exchanges. Andy's being true to character and
Connie is too. She hasn't turned into a whiney hanger-oner (again my term).
Say what you want about office romances I'm practically there with you but I'd
rather watch Andy and Connie together discussing their grocery list and who has
to buy the fish sticks any day of the week over the painful icky romances of
Baldwin and
her-who-shall-never-have-her-name-mentioned-in-case-it-puts-her-in-another
-episode, and Do NOT even get me started on Clark and Ortiz ::Shudder::

The smoker part... yanno I really liked this part of the story. I know it was
Velveeta and all but I really liked it. What's more when Jr got his jewels
punched I winced, I giggled, and then I "owed" and giggled some more. It made
the cheese worth it. When Ortiz came to his house I wanted to just scream. I
like JR. The character is growing on me and he's so much more normal than
Danny was. I could even like Ortiz more than I did Kirkendall, but together it
made me grit my teeth and shudder and say "ew" I don't care if they're teen
agery making love or not. I didn't particularly enjoy the scene. It was
almost as painful as watching Russell and Danny fall into bed. ALMOST.

I have a slim hope that after their "night" together they realize there's
nothing there it was just lonely people seeking comfort kinda thing, and they
END IT. I realize Im grasping at straws but what can a girl say.

No more office romance, unless of course it involves a Connie/Rodriguez/Andy
Triange with Andy's jealousy bleeding over. (got to have conflict you
understand)

My favorite line of the week had to be Baldwin's

I don't need it.

While Greg put a pack of the gro-cream in his pocket. (Im waiting for Greg to
come to work next week with this strange rash.....)

Then it was the "jewels" line lol.

FlyByKnight

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May 1, 2002, 11:36:40 AM5/1/02
to
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is Greg going ass over teakettle
jumping into the ring after Jr's victory. I immediately laughed, then
thought the better of it, after having read all the stuff in this group
about how Medavoy is turning into a comic relief tool. Then, after
reflection, I felt that it was totally in character for Medavoy. He was
excited. He was in a hurry. He tripped. He looked around to make sure no one
saw.

Coulda happened to anyone.

Great ep!

FlyByKnight

Message has been deleted

Amanda Wilson

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May 1, 2002, 4:03:10 PM5/1/02
to
Alan T. wrote:

>Sorry, dear, but I have to question you on this one (and I should know better
>than
>to question the expert!). I thought the woman was his new wife.

You are correct, sir. I have no excuse, but I can make up a few if anyone's
interested....
It WAS his new wife.

Amanda

topcat

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May 1, 2002, 3:58:29 PM5/1/02
to

Amanda wrote:
>
> You are correct, sir. I have no excuse, but I can make up a few if
anyone's
> interested....
> It WAS his new wife.
>

I don't know what surprises me more, Amanda being wrong or Amanda admitting
it. ;-)

TC

Amanda Wilson

unread,
May 1, 2002, 4:10:06 PM5/1/02
to
I wrote:
>> Seriously, Mark Tinker must be living right: what director could be so
>lucky as
>> to have that thing squawk and crap simultaneously as the actor opens the
>door?

Then Elaine wrote:

>Could have been luck -- or the magic of chromakey.

Actually, I've since heard from someone very close to the chicken that it was
indeed luck. It just happened. And I hear that MPG *did* break up laughing a
second or two later (who could have kept a straight face?) In fact, everyone on
the set broke up, and they did a separate shot to finish the reaction. Fun!

>Glad you're back! "Thou shalt have five thousand welcomes" - just to
>include you
>in the Shakespeare game.

Aw, thanks Lainey! I don't what the Shakespeare game is, but I'm damn proud to
be part of it.
But soft...what light through yonder window breaks? Homerrrro, Oh
Homerrro....

Amandiette


Amanda Wilson

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May 1, 2002, 4:10:50 PM5/1/02
to
> forgot to comment; did it really say "7 cents?" As I saw it, $7
>registered in my mind, which would still be pretty cheap. I didn't
>tape it, so I can't go back and check. Any chance you misread it, or
>did I?

There's a big chance I misread it. I didn't notice the difference between
Kevin's wives, after all....

Amanda

Amanda Wilson

unread,
May 1, 2002, 4:14:43 PM5/1/02
to
Userb wrote:

>Amanda wrote:
>> The fight ends with Junior on the brink of letting out a raspy cry
>>"Rita...Riiiitttaaaa."
>
>Once again, Amanda gets my nod for line of the week!

Aw, Gee B! You're just swell!

>>MAN-GRO: This may be the perfect NYPD Blue story. It made you laugh, it
>made
>>you cry, it was a goddamn sensation.
>
>Oh, tell the truth - you just liked to see some guy talk to Baldwin
>about "dick cream".

Ahem....ahem....aaaahem.

>
>>THE SMOKER: Yeah, it was kind of cheesy,
>
>KIND OF cheesy? Hell, Green Bay fans were calling in to say enough is
>enough! I've seen fondue that wasn't that cheesy. Cheeze whiz doesn't
>even come close.

Cheese in a spray can?

>> Honestly, he's part of what makes this show like
>>M*A*S*H: every new guy is amazingly better than the last in one way or
>>another, and when you look at them as a whole, they're all equally
>fantastic.
>
>Careful, Amanda, you're gushing.

Now you're pushing it, B....

>>*I wonder how PAA John's boyfriend Ray would have reacted to his outbursts
>at
>>the fights?
>
>Are they still together?

Far as I know.

Amanda

Amanda Wilson

unread,
May 1, 2002, 4:18:20 PM5/1/02
to
Jeff Miller, The Anti-Me, wrote:

>Once again, I want to say how much I appreciate you doing the
>summaries Amanda, they are great to read,

Jeff, you're the BEST!!!!

>I have found, I consistently disagree with almost everything you say
>in your reviews.

Jeff, get lost!!!!
Kidding. :)

>In your reviews, one word makes a big
>difference, as you say "we" and "our hero" and things like that that
>attach your view to many other people, whether they agree or not.

Well, I'm speaking only for myself and those who agree with me, of course!

> Man, if she says
>this episode was good, I'm going to scream." And sure enough, you
>didn't disappoint. ;)
>

So, how loud did you scream?

I think can safely say that "we" all appreciate different opinions. That's
what it's all about, babe! Write on...

Amanda, The Anti-Jeff

Amanda Wilson

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May 1, 2002, 4:22:23 PM5/1/02
to
catnthehat wrote:

>>Andy why hand hem-hauls

I think the term is actually "hem-haws around", but hem-hauls would likely be
the southern pronunciation. :)

>Baldwin and
>her-who-shall-never-have-her-name-mentioned-in-case-it-puts-her-in-another
>-episode,

Cute!

> It was
>almost as painful as watching Russell and Danny fall into bed. ALMOST

Oh God...nothing could be worse than that. Except when he got snot on her
sweater.

Amanda

Amanda Wilson

unread,
May 1, 2002, 4:24:22 PM5/1/02
to
Flyby wrote:

>One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is Greg going ass over teakettle
>jumping into the ring after Jr's victory. I

Yes! Thanks for bringing it up. I meant to mention it but didn't do a very
good review of my notes. That was a really good moment.
Medavoy has been much more of a clown than he is now. It's far better than
it used to be. You're right, the occassional Medavoy stunt works. It's a steady
diet of it that gets old.

Amanda

Amanda

Amanda Wilson

unread,
May 1, 2002, 5:24:50 PM5/1/02
to
>I don't know what surprises me more, Amanda being wrong or Amanda admitting
>it. ;-)
>

Certainly it's me being wrong because, well, I'm so damn near perfect.
But me admitting I'm wrong? Allllll the time, when I am. :)

Amanda

userb3

unread,
May 1, 2002, 5:31:55 PM5/1/02
to
On 01 May 2002 20:14:43 GMT, Amanda Wilson wrote:

>Aw, Gee B! You're just swell!

Shucks. It weren't nuthin....

Alan Tignanelli

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May 1, 2002, 5:46:33 PM5/1/02
to

topcat wrote:

I'm surprised Amanda called me sir!

If that's the kind of treatment I'm going to get around here, maybe this isn't
the place for me. ;-)

Alan T.

Elaine

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May 1, 2002, 7:33:02 PM5/1/02
to
Amanda Wilson wrote:

> I don't what the Shakespeare game is, but I'm damn proud to
> be part of it.
> But soft...what light through yonder window breaks? Homerrrro, Oh
> Homerrro....
>
> Amandiette
>

LOL!

Mostly Eric and I tossing out quotes and challenging each other to identify them.
I like your adaptation.

Elaine

homerr..2k2

unread,
May 1, 2002, 7:57:58 PM5/1/02
to

Amanda Wilson wrote in message
<20020501161006...@mb-fm.aol.com>...

>Aw, thanks Lainey! I don't what the Shakespeare game is, but I'm damn
proud to
>be part of it.
> But soft...what light through yonder window breaks? Homerrrro, Oh
>Homerrro....
>
>Amandiette


Eye's ratcheer.. mandy!!


"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast". - (Act II, Scene III).

"Not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty". - (Act IV, Scene II).

"Tempt not a desperate man". - (Act V, Scene III).

"For you and I are past our dancing days" . - (Act I, Scene V).

"It is the east, and Amanderr.. is the sun" . - (Act II, Scene II).

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell
as sweet". - (Act II, Scene II).

"O! she doth teach the torches to burn bright". - (Act I, Scene V).

"It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an
Ethiope's ear" . - (Act I, Scene V).

"See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that
hand, that I might touch that cheek!". - (Act II, Scene II).

"Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good
night till it be morrow." - (Act II, Scene II).

romeomerr...

Starbuk12

unread,
May 1, 2002, 8:07:18 PM5/1/02
to
<<<THE SMOKER:
So, the smoker begins. Everyone is gathered to see it, and Rita, whose
honor is on the line, has a front row seat. Our Hero is getting his fanny
busted early on, but after a few encouraging words from Greg and Baldwin, he
begins to wail away on poor ol' Laughlin. He's fighting so well, in fact, that
Laughlin has to do the only thing he knows how to do: fight dirty. He socks
Junior in the boys with a solid punch that doubles him over and makes him see
stars. PAA John, who's been showing an as yet un-revealed lust for violence,
screams at Laughlin to leave Junior's jewels alone. Greg and Baldwin rush in to
tell Junior to shake it off and get back in the game. He does, and Laughlin
goes down fast after that.
The fight ends with Junior on the brink of letting out a raspy cry
"Rita...Riiiitttaaaa." Thankfully, he only gives her a half-wink.
Back in his crib and nursing his bruises, Junior cracks open a beer and
lays an ice pack on his wounded ones. A knock is heard at the door. Thinking
it's Baldwin, Junior calls out that he's fine, dammit, leave him alone. More
knocking, only this time it's playful knocking. Junior hauls himself off the
couch and waddles over to the door with the icepack still down his pants. He
looks out the peephole and has a moment of panic. He dives into his pants,
grabs out the ice pack and then fumbles around to open the door. It's Rita, all
shy and coy. She's just wandered over from the celebration because, well, it
was too loud there and, gosh, she just wanted to say thanks, is all. Uh-huh.
Junior says how she didn't have to do that and she goes on to bat her eyelashes
up at him and tell him she just wanted to thank him for sticking up for her.
Then she plants a little, tiny kiss on his lips. He likes that. He plants a
bigger kiss back on her lips. Then he asks her if she wants to stick around
for a while. She does, and, soon they are both shirt free. Despite some
protestations from Junior's sore muscles, they wind up on the couch. She tells
him she'll be gentle and away they go to happy land.>>>>>>


I thought Amanda's review of this week's episode was right on! Nevermind all
the nay-sayers (is that even a word?) No matter what you do, you can never
make everyone happy. I'm going to say it without shame or a disclaimer....I
LOVED THIS EPISODE! I LOVED THE SMOKER! It's nice to see such an eternally
dark show like NYPD lighten up once in a while. In fact, I think it's
necessary. Every show needs a shot of romance now and then, and that's what
the smoker was an example of- a purely indulgent romanctic story-arc...NYPD
style, of course. I gotta say, at first I thought it was strange, but now the
John/Rita thing makes perfect sense to me. Break it down- John's a GUY. And a
sweet guy at that. He sees an attractive woman come into the squuad and a
chance to impress her (men like to do that on occasion) and goes for it. I
don't think his motivation was any deeper and the writers didn't try to mask
that. And why wouldn't Rita be all over him after the jerk-off of an ex she
had to deal with for so long? A man (a good-looking one at that) goes out of
his way to show her kindness and respect, which she obviously isn't used to,
and I think she reacted the way most women would. Hell, I would've jumped his
bones WAY before she did. But anyway, I'm just taking their "thing" for what
it's worth and I think Amanda nailed it- it's very sweet and wholesome and
that's all it's supposed to be. I mean, did anyone really think they WEREN'T
going to shag after the fight? I just think we got ripped out of a REALLY good
Blue love scene. I guess we should be happy SOMEONE, ANYONE on the show is
getting some! Sometimes the only way you come to care about a certain
character on a show is through another character. I think that will happen
with Rita Ortiz, if people give it a chance. We all, for the most part, care
about the character of John, Jr. And through that, if his relationship with
Rita continues on this path, we might be able to care about her simply because
he does. The ONLY way I came to give a rat's ass about Diane was through her
relationship with Bobby. I can see the same happening here, if it's done
right. All in all, NYPD is still one of if not the best show on the tube. I'm
trying to trust that our writers will not let us down now. And as far as
office romances go, I would much rather see two characters I have to watch
every week get involved with EACH OTHER than watch one of them have some
extraneous relationship that comes and goes when the storyline calls for it. I
think it's so much more fun to watch the many levels of tension (professional
and personal) while they work. As long as it doesn't completely take over the
show, it can only add to it. So that's JMHO.

My vote for best line has to go to John Irvin: "Two middleweights who couldn't
fight their way out of a paper bag and two transit guys I could take."

Runners up: Baldwin to Junior after he got nailed in the nuts.
Junior: "Am I supposed to see stars?"
Baldwin: "Pretty much after you get punched in the dick."

And I loved Rita's 3 words to the cop behind her at the fight:
Cop: "Hey, Ortiz, what's your boy dancing away from?"
Rita: "Shut your YAP!"

Gotta love it when the ladies get loud! That's itl. Best to all!

Elaine

unread,
May 1, 2002, 8:20:58 PM5/1/02
to
> Amanda Wilson wrote:
>
> > CONNIE AND ANDY: Well, another week and we get no where with these two, and
> > that's just fine with me! I like it this way. It means they aren't together,
> > and that's cool. I really like how Andy turns into a quivering mass of
> > humility when Connie wants to talk, and I like how straightforward Connie is
> > about things. Now there's a chick who doesn't play games. Good for her.
> > Now, if only she'd drop this damn crush and move on......

and I wrote:

> Hey, I'm not rising to this bait anymore.

But, you know, after thinking about it off and on today - because, after all, who
really wants to work? -- I can't resist. As the self-appointed, unofficial head of the
Connie and Andy Defense League (with Donna as capable co-chairperson), I object to the
word "crush." This is not how a person with a crush behaves. A person with a crush
doesn't say, "I'm not going to Orlando." A person with a crush says, "Okay, if he
wants me to shut up around the office, I'll shut up around the office. Whatever it
takes to sit next to him on the plane--and maybe he'll hold my hand on Space Mountain!"

Rita and Johnny are having a crush -- and, apparently some moderately uncomfortable
sex. I'll be surprised if they last to the end of the season as a couple.

Connie and Andy are having an adult relationship--or one of them is--and the jury is
still out on where it's headed. But, it looks to me, like the complete opposite of a
crush. It looks like two people who are attracted to each other and enjoy each other's
company and both of them have been doing a lot of thinking about it. Seems like
Connie's thinking has led her to decide she wants to explore the possibility of taking
it further and Andy's thinking has led him to get himself all tied up in knots as he is
so beautifully capable of doing. There's a level of honesty and intelligence in
Connie's character that doesn't allow for the kind of self-deception a crush entails.
You get a crush on the gorgeous men; it takes a different kind of perception to fall
for the Andy's of the world.

It's just hard to accept because we're so used to seeing two physically beautiful
fictional characters become infatuated with each other and spend the whole movie trying
to get to that final big kiss. How many of them do you really think would be together
ten minutes after he discovers she cracks her knuckles and she discovers he throws his
underwear on the floor? Most of them have no more glue than the fact that they like
the way each other looks -- which is okay for a start but isn't enough for the long
haul and doesn't last anyway. There's this enormous divorce rate because we've all
been brainwashed to believe that Happily Ever After doesn't take anything more than the
orchestra swelling and a slow fade out as we ride off into the sunset.

I like seeing these two try to figure out if it makes sense to be together. And I'd
like to see them try it because there is a scarcity of real relationships on television
(and in life, for that matter). The only TV one I can think of right now is Mary Beth
and Harvey Lacey on "Cagney & Lacey." I think Andy and Connie would be fascinating to
watch as they tried to build something. I think they're fascinating to watch now. I
want to see more -- not less.

Okay - end of Elaine's weekly rant :-)

Elaine - I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't let it go

Cat N The Hat 29

unread,
May 1, 2002, 8:48:10 PM5/1/02
to
>I think the term is actually "hem-haws around", but hem-hauls would likely be
>the southern pronunciation. :)

I knew we did things special here in the south... hmm I bet it's really not

overhauls either is it? <wink>>


>Oh God...nothing could be worse than that. Except when he got snot on her
>sweater.

Ewww Lord I forgot that one.. How anyone could like the two of them after
that was beyond me. Maybe Russell can come back and lead Baldwin on... (OKAY
SO I JUST WANT TO SEE BALDWIN NAKED Lol)

irishpolarbear

unread,
May 1, 2002, 9:13:34 PM5/1/02
to

Elaine <esm...@writetrack-nyc.com> wrote regarding Andy & Connie as a
couple:

>
>
> >I like seeing these two try to figure out if it makes sense to be
together. And I'd
> >like to see them try it because there is a scarcity of real relationships
on television
> >(and in life, for that matter). The only TV one I can think of right now
is Mary Beth
> >and Harvey Lacey on "Cagney & Lacey."

I think Faith & Fred Yokas on Third Watch are a pretty good example of a
real couple; they have been through a lot & work really hard to stay
together because they love each other. He is in recovery from a drinking
problem that included him hitting a bus stop while driving intoxicated on
his way to picking up his children from school & Faith's subsequent throwing
him out of the house. He quit drinking & got treatment; they reconciled.
Daily, he deals with her being a cop & not always knowing if she is ok. They
have also dealt with her breast cancer & treatments. That's just some of
what they have been through as a couple; then there is the fact that they
are not 2 exceptionally beautiful people - they look like a real couple.


Amanda Wilson

unread,
May 1, 2002, 9:14:26 PM5/1/02
to
>Elaine - I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't let it go

Gotcha!!!! <evil laugh>
Crush, crush, crush, crush!!!

Amanda

homerr..2k2

unread,
May 1, 2002, 9:26:57 PM5/1/02
to

homerr..2k2 wrote in message ...
>
>romeomerr...


Help!! Why does seeing that in print [pixels?] make me think of the ditty...

Romeomerr.. in the clover..
Romeomerr, tie me up and do it again.

This'll keep me up all night.. [not that there's anything wrong with that]

homerr..

Elaine

unread,
May 1, 2002, 10:26:59 PM5/1/02
to
"homerr..2k2" wrote:

<Oh, so many Shakespeare quotes>

Good job, Colonel!

" take a soldier, take a king."

Elaine

Elaine

unread,
May 1, 2002, 10:32:30 PM5/1/02
to

Eric Dreher wrote:

> A most excellent analysis.

Thank you. I knew there was a reason I like you!

And I wrote:

> The only TV one I can think of right now is Mary Beth
> >and Harvey Lacey on "Cagney & Lacey."

And Eric wrote:

> 'Twas a mediocre show mostly, but you're dead-on about the couple.
> Real life placed on the small screen.

Well, I liked it - partly because up until then it seemed like all dramatic TV shows had
only one woman regular per series, if that -- as if one woman represented all women and they
were all interchangeable anyway. C&L changed that by giving us two women with vastly
different viewpoints.


Elaine

Elaine

unread,
May 1, 2002, 10:37:28 PM5/1/02
to
irishpolarbear wrote:

> I think Faith & Fred Yokas on Third Watch are a pretty good example of a
> real couple; they have been through a lot & work really hard to stay
> together because they love each other. He is in recovery from a drinking
> problem that included him hitting a bus stop while driving intoxicated on
> his way to picking up his children from school & Faith's subsequent throwing
> him out of the house. He quit drinking & got treatment; they reconciled.
> Daily, he deals with her being a cop & not always knowing if she is ok. They
> have also dealt with her breast cancer & treatments. That's just some of
> what they have been through as a couple; then there is the fact that they
> are not 2 exceptionally beautiful people - they look like a real couple.

I've never watched Third Watch - trying desparately to cut down on TV viewing
time by not getting hooked on any new series in the last two seasons.
Unfortunately, that was about when Blue started being on four times a day.

And then I joined this newsgroup "And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make
defence"

Elaine

Elaine

unread,
May 1, 2002, 10:38:00 PM5/1/02
to
Eric Dreher wrote:

> Considering some interesting developments as of late:
>
> "Time’s glory is to calm contending kings,
> To unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light."
>
> Eric - being quite cryptic at times
>

Quite cryptic - but you can't fool me with that a second time - The Rape of Lucrece.

Elaine

Elaine

unread,
May 1, 2002, 10:43:53 PM5/1/02
to
Amanda Wilson wrote:

"Approach, ye Furies fell!
O Fates, come, come,
Cut thread and thrum;
Quail, crush, conclude, and quell!"

Amanda's picking on me! :-)

Elaine

Cyra

unread,
May 1, 2002, 10:47:34 PM5/1/02
to

"Amanda Wilson" <pue...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20020501161006...@mb-fm.aol.com...

> I wrote:
> >> Seriously, Mark Tinker must be living right: what director could be so
> >lucky as
> >> to have that thing squawk and crap simultaneously as the actor opens
the
> >door?
>
> Then Elaine wrote:
>
> >Could have been luck -- or the magic of chromakey.
>
> Actually, I've since heard from someone very close to the chicken that it
was
> indeed luck. It just happened. And I hear that MPG *did* break up
laughing a
> second or two later (who could have kept a straight face?) In fact,
everyone on
> the set broke up, and they did a separate shot to finish the reaction.
Fun!


God - if it had been me there would have had to be a change in wardrobe!


D :)


h.h.m.

unread,
May 2, 2002, 12:22:43 AM5/2/02
to
Enjoyed the summary and the review.

Cutting to Junior's apartment after the fight was a sure sign that
Rita would show up. For good measure the writers threw in the cliche
of having Junior think that it was someone else at the door. Just for
a second I thought the writers would swerve us and have Baldwin
knocking on the door. If they wanted to take the show in a bold new
direction it would have been Phone John stopping by to check on the
condition of Junior's jewels.


hhm

homerr..2k2

unread,
May 2, 2002, 12:45:55 AM5/2/02
to

Elaine wrote in message <3CD0A56E...@writetrack-nyc.com>...


Take an Empire.. [I think]

homerr..

homerr..2k2

unread,
May 2, 2002, 12:53:16 AM5/2/02
to

h.h.m. wrote in message <7ff22c28.02050...@posting.google.com>...


Great observation.. if only the writer's would visit us once in awhile, eh??

Personally, I thought the firefighters suicide attempt was a little over the
top. If he didn't rape his xwife.. and didn't rape the woman in the alley..
why in the hell was he so psychologically damaged as to attempt suicide even
before any charges were placed?? He and Andy could have had the same "I
want an apology - I was only doin' my job" conversation as he was let out of
the cell.. even though they would have had to make a 'minor' change to the
perp-in-the-cell confession. It would have been just as terrorizing to the
perp to be locked in the cell with 2 detectives and the jailer leaving the
hallway.

PJ droppin' by... LOL.

homerr..


Rich Rostrom

unread,
May 2, 2002, 1:32:44 AM5/2/02
to
pue...@aol.comnojunk (Amanda Wilson) wrote:

>*I wonder how PAA John's boyfriend Ray would have reacted to
>his outbursts at the fights?

It would have been a good touch to have Ray at the smoker.

The smoker is a fundraiser, Ray is well-heeled if not rich,
Ray is grateful to the squad for getting his stolen dogs
back - he seems a natural to buy a ticket.

And of course to be with John. It's not like anyone in the
precinct doesn't know John is homosexual. There may be some
who are annoyed about it, but not likely enough to make a
problem.

Abbie (the uniform cop who had Medavoy's baby by artificial
insemination) was openly lesbian, and didn't seem to have
any major problems. (When Medavoy rousted a gangbanger for
calling her a dyke, she just pointed out it was no secret.)

But the producers probably wouldn't have popped for the
actor's fee.
--
Never consume legumes before transacting whatsoever | Rich Rostrom
even in the outermost courtyard of a descendant of |
Timur the Terrible. | rrostrom@dummy
--- Avram Davidson, _Dr. Bhumbo Singh_ | 21stcentury.net

Amanda Wilson

unread,
May 2, 2002, 2:32:40 AM5/2/02
to
>"Approach, ye Furies fell!
> O Fates, come, come,
> Cut thread and thrum;
> Quail, crush, conclude, and quell!"
>
>Amanda's picking on me! :-)
>

Oh woe is you, babycakes.

Amanda

Kats

unread,
May 2, 2002, 5:17:29 AM5/2/02
to
"Chris Lawrence" <ch...@lordsutch.com> wrote in message
news:pan.2002.05.01.06...@lordsutch.com...
> In <20020430191915...@mb-mr.aol.com> (on Tue, 30 Apr 2002
> 18:19:15 -0500), "Amanda Wilson" <pue...@aol.comnojunk> wrote:
>
> > PAA John after Ed's dirty hit in the boxing match: "Back off his jewels,
> > Laughlin!"
>
> Coupled with the stunned double-take from T-Rod, it was definitely the
> line of the night.

The double-take cracked me up eve more than the line.
>
> > And PAA John had another one just before that one that was lost in the
> > audio for me. Franz walked in front of the camera and I lost some of the
> > words, the rest seemed to fade into the din. Anyone catch this? It was
> > after Andy asked what he'd missed. Something about "two guys I could
> > take...."
>
> "Two middleweights from anticrime who couldn't fight their way out of a
> wet paper bag and a pair of guys from transit I could take."
>
> Another highlight: Greg going over the ropes at the end of the fight.

Over, under, and through. Rather like a Muppets song my
kids used to sing!

Kats


Elaine

unread,
May 2, 2002, 6:53:31 AM5/2/02
to
"homerr..2k2" wrote:

Not sure. But I'll take one if you're giving them away.

Elaine

Elaine

unread,
May 2, 2002, 6:53:53 AM5/2/02
to
Eric Dreher wrote:

> That said, more than once I wanted to kick Cagney's butt over
> her choice in men.
>
> Eric - she picked wienies

No argument there!

Elaine

Elaine

unread,
May 2, 2002, 6:55:36 AM5/2/02
to
"homerr..2k2" wrote:

> Personally, I thought the firefighters suicide attempt was a little over the
> top. If he didn't rape his xwife.. and didn't rape the woman in the alley..
> why in the hell was he so psychologically damaged as to attempt suicide even
> before any charges were placed??

I think it was supposed to be a reference to the effects of 9/11 trauma.

Elaine

Elaine

unread,
May 2, 2002, 6:58:29 AM5/2/02
to
Rich Rostrom wrote:

> But the producers probably wouldn't have popped for the
> actor's fee.

There you go. Ever notice how when actors go on strike there's all this
press about spoiled egomaniacs - when actors' salaries are less than 2%
of production budgets and 80% of all members of the actors' unions make
less than $2000 a year at their chosen profession?

(userb3 is gonna smack me for citing statistics -- but I have first-hand
experience with these.)

Elaine

Elaine

unread,
May 2, 2002, 7:03:33 AM5/2/02
to
Amanda Wilson wrote:

I've got a fire extinguisher!

--and a thesaurus.

Elaine -- just hold on while I look up something appropriate.

Amanda Wilson

unread,
May 2, 2002, 12:57:47 PM5/2/02
to
Elaine said:

>I've got a fire extinguisher!
>
>--and a thesaurus.

I think they can treat that non-surgically now.

Amanda :)

Chicago Mike

unread,
May 3, 2002, 10:03:46 PM5/3/02
to
> Certainly it's me being wrong because, well, I'm so damn near perfect.
> But me admitting I'm wrong? Allllll the time, when I am. :)
>
> Amanda

Really? Both times?

-----------------
Chicago Mike


Chicago Mike

unread,
May 3, 2002, 10:13:22 PM5/3/02
to
> >KIND OF cheesy? Hell, Green Bay fans were calling in to say enough is
> >enough! I've seen fondue that wasn't that cheesy. Cheeze whiz doesn't
> >even come close.
>
> Cheese in a spray can?

As a native Wisconsinite I can tell you that those products are not cheese.
They are cheese products. Go Packers.

> >> Honestly, he's part of what makes this show like
> >>M*A*S*H: every new guy is amazingly better than the last in one way or
> >>another, and when you look at them as a whole, they're all equally
> >fantastic.

Eek. I have always felt that M*A*S*H is the classic example of a show that
got progressivly worse as the seasons went on. I always assumed this was a
universal feeling. Learn something new every day I guess.

-------------------
Chicago Mike

Hunter

unread,
May 4, 2002, 10:35:54 PM5/4/02
to
pue...@aol.comnojunk (Amanda Wilson) wrote in message news:<20020430191915...@mb-mr.aol.com>...
> Before I post this, I want to make sure everyone has a chance to back out
> before it's too late! Because of my new job and yadda yadda yadda I have to
> post this really early, and I don't want to give it away for those who still
> have hours and hours to go before the show. Believe me, it's worth watching.
> And while I'm at it, I'll remind you that it's on at 10pm tonight. Have a good
> evening!
>
> SPOILER SPACE
>
>
> NYPD Blue Summary/Review by Amanda Wilson
> "Low Blow"
> Season 9 Episode 19
> 4/30/02
> Teleplay by Nicholas Wootton
> Story by Bill Clark & Nicholas Wootton
> Directed by Mark Tinker
>
> This episode has so many gems, it oughta be insured for four million bucks!
> If you were unlucky enough to miss it (for shame), here's a summary:
>
> RAPE CASE: Andy and Junior catch a rape case. Lisa Griffin was walking home
> from work when she was hauled into an alley and assaulted. She didn't get a
> good look at the guy. She only knows he's white.
> The boys get nowhere on canvas, but Connie comes up with a sex offender who
> lives in the neighborhood. His name is Lloyd Rogers. Lloyd is kind of an
> asshole and repeatedly says he was home reading that morning. Andy and Junior
> don't believe him and decide to continue investigating when a DNA hit turns up
> another guy.
> The DNA from Lisa's rape kit matches that of a guy named Kevin Healy who
> was collared for rape two years ago. His wife accused him of it and he ended up
> pleading out to a charge of criminal trespassing.
-----
She should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Faking a rape
charge for any reason should be treated as seriously as a rape. You can
ruin lives that way. The poor firefighter almost comitted suicide in
despair because of his character-raping ex wife.
> Kevin is brought in and Andy and John J. learn he's with the FDNY and
> works in a unit that lost some guys on 9/11. Kevin tells about his earlier
> plea: he says his wife was just lying about the rape and trying to get him in
> hot water because they were getting a divorce and he was trying to get a job on
> the fire department. He says he pleaded to the lesser charge on the advice of
> his attorney who said it was the best way to make it go away.
----
A lot of perfectly innocent people plead out because they just don't have
the money or the stamina to fight a bogus charge, even, perhaps
especially, something as ugly as a rape charge.
>
> Andy and Jr. make sure he knows that there was a DNA match. Kevin is doubly
> confused over this: he says he had not had sex with his wife for six months
> before she accused of him rape and he says he never gave a DNA sample. The
> detectives lock him up because the DNA is not likely to be wrong, but they also
> think that maybe somehow Kevin isn't lying.
> A chat with Kevin's ex-wife is order. Eileen Healy is brought in. She
> says Kevin did rape her. When Andy and John J. push her on the topic and tell
> her that if there's been some sort of game-playing on her part that she'll be
> charged, Eileen admits the truth. She was having an affair with a guy named
> Darryl and accused Kevin of raping her because she was mad at him. The DNA in
> her rape kit was Darryl's. That never got sorted out because Kevin pleaded to
> the lesser charge.
----
As I said above, she should have the book thrown at her. Her ex husband
should sue her for the clothes on her back.
>
> Before Andy and Junior can get downstairs to the cell where Kevin is on
> ice, Kevin tries to take his own life. He uses some portion of his belt buckle
> to slice a hole in his wrist and is taken to the hospital.
> Andy and Junior find Darryl on the street. He's real cocky until they take
> him down to the cell where Kevin's blood is still soaking the floor and bunk.
> They handcuff him to the bars and tell him he's now in the "truth room." He
> folds like Martha Stewart making a chocolate souffle.
> Later, Andy goes to see him. Kevin wants an apology. Andy tells him he's
> not going to get one because Andy was only doing his job.
----
Yes he was doing his job and he did it well; that does not mean he
doesn't owe Kevin an apology on a human level. A lot of cops just don't
see that a simple heartfelt apology could go a long way to mending
wounds. Again yes, Andy did his job, and he was not overly malicious
toward Kevin, and it was not Andy's fault, but that does not mean Kevin
was not put through hell. A simple acknowledgement of wrong was in order.
What is so hard about that?
>
> MAN-GRO: A doctor is found shot to death in his car. Greg and Baldwin catch
> the case. With the help of Tony, they discover that he's not really a doctor,
> but a guy with a record for fraud who now runs a company called Man-Gro.
> When they check his house, they find his girlfriend Jennifer there.
> Jennifer tells them that the "doctor" had been getting some complaint calls
> from his clients. Seems his product, Man-Gro, is a penis enlargement cream
> and, to no one's surprise, provides the consumer with only temporary growth.
> Greg and Baldwin head off to the doctor's office to meet his partner,
> Joey. Joey tries to bolt out the window when the cops arrive but doesn't make
> it. He explains that Jennifer is wrong about one thing: no one complains
> about dick cream. The complaints were from another client: a man who visited
> the doctor for some plastic surgery and was not happy with the result.
> Greg and Baldwin ask for patient records. Baldwin turns down a tube of
> Man-Gro saying confidently how he doesn't need it. Greg laughs knowingly and
> then furtively slips the tube in his pocket.
-----
Just proves that even cops can be gullible. Of course, that scence took
avangtage of two racial stereotypes about blacks and the Irish.....I'll
leave it at that. ;-)
>
> Joey gives up the patient records and Antonio the former patient, who is
> also a former man, is brought in. She likes to be called Falana after Lola
> Falana, the woman she wishes she looked like.
> Falana says how she went to the doc for breast enhancement and ended up
> with some serious problems. She begins to lift her falsies when Baldwin
> objects, but she does it anyway. The scars on her chest are shocking. She's
> been mutilated. But her attitude is light. She says she called the office a
> few times to try to get her money back but quit calling when the number was
> disconnected.
> Greg and Baldwin check the story out further and find that Falana was in
> for more than a new chest. The surgery was a sex change. When confronted with
> this information, Falana becomes deeply distressed and tells a horribly sad
> story about how all she ever wanted was to feel beautiful. This doctor
> mutilated not only her chest but her genitals. She said she confronted him
> that morning to try to get her money back so that she could pay her huge
> medical bills and that she snapped and shot him.
-----
Unless "she" can prove that she carried a gun nearly at all times and to
nearly all places, I think it will be hard to argue "snapped". That said,
maybe she can rely on a sympathetic jury and judge. I would be.
>
> CONNIE AND ANDY: The on-again-off-again whateveritis between Andy and Connie
> continues along its rocky path. Connie mentions to Andy that she wants to talk
> about flights to Orlando. Andy pretty much flips when she says this because she
> says it front of Junior.
> She confronts Andy later about it saying Junior already knew, which is
> true. Andy tries to blow her off but she won't let him. She finally says she's
> not going to go to Orlando with him. He tells her that Theo will be so
> disappointed, and it's clear that he will also be very disappointed. This
> isn't enough for Connie, though, because she's convinced Andy is not completely
> OK with the idea. Andy admits that the situation is complicated, but before
> they can really talk about it, they are interrupted. Connie ends it all quickly
> by telling him that she's not going to go and that it's all OK.
-----
Which is good for her. I understand that Andy is gunshy but enough with
the adolescent games.
>
> Andy doesn't seem too unsettled by this. Later, he finds a seat next to
> her at a department event and they appear to be getting along like old pals.
----
He knows that she was put in a difficult situation.
>
> THE SMOKER: The big charity boxing match between Junior and Laughlin is on
> everyone's minds and lips. One of the uniforms comes upstairs in the morning
> to tell Junior that there's been so much talk about how he and Laughlin are in
> it to settle a personal score that the captain has decided to cancel the fight.
> Junior is pissed off about this. The uniform says there's nothing anyone
> can do about it. Junior tells him to make sure all the uniforms know that the
> captain canceled and that he didn't back out. The uniform assures him everyone
> knows.
> While at the hospital on his rape case, Junior's hell begins. One of the
> uniforms there says he knows Clark backed out. Junior tells him he didn't, but
> the uniform doesn't believe him. When Junior walks away, the uniform begins
> squawking like a chicken.
-----
Hillarious! (sp?) One cluck was enough to get me rolling.
> Junior grows more and more pissed off as the day wears on. Uniforms are
> lurking everywhere and loud squawks can be heard echoing through the halls of
> the station house. Unfortunately for Junior, the source of the squawks can't be
> found.
-----
Another belly laugh on my point. The cowardly uniform did not stick
around to own up to it didn't he?
>
> The mystery of the Secret Squawker deepens when PAA John walks into the
> coffee room to find a live chicken strutting around on the table. John slams
> the door shut, but Junior is on his way over to see what's going on. Just as
> the door is opened a second time, the chicken squawks loudly at Junior. The
> point is further punctuated when a long stream of chicken shit shoots out its
> hindquarters.
------
I lost it! Both in the juvenille humor of it and in shock that ABC would
allow a shot like that to be shown on broadcast TV in a show other than
in a nature show of some sort. Had a good five minute laugh. Are we going
to see two dogs humping in the street next season?
>
> That's it. Junior storms downstairs and pulls Laughlin aside for a little
> tete-a-tete. Junior tells him rather strongly that the score needs to be
> settled, and all Laughlin has to do is name the time and place. Their meeting
> is interrupted by the desk sergeant and just about every uniform in the place
> who all hear Junior's demand for a fight.
> Later, Junior and Laughlin are called in to see the captain. They play it
> like brothers who've been clawing at each other all day but want to avoid a
> spanking from dad. They're friends! It's all in fun! Heck, there's no grudge!
> C'mon Cap'n, let us have some fun!
-----
Never snitch to the Bosses.
>
> The captain doesn't buy it, of course, but he lets the smoker go on anyway,
> perhaps figuring that it's better to have them duke it out in a controlled
> environment that the street brawl that would surely have ensued if the match
> were canceled.
----
Good move. At least the smoker was a controlled enviorment.
>
> So, the smoker begins. Everyone is gathered to see it, and Rita, whose
> honor is on the line, has a front row seat. Our Hero is getting his fanny
> busted early on, but after a few encouraging words from Greg and Baldwin, he
> begins to wail away on poor ol' Laughlin. He's fighting so well, in fact, that
> Laughlin has to do the only thing he knows how to do: fight dirty. He socks
> Junior in the boys with a solid punch that doubles him over and makes him see
> stars. PAA John, who's been showing an as yet un-revealed lust for violence,
> screams at Laughlin to leave Junior's jewels alone.
----
Unrequited love? ;-)
>
> Greg and Baldwin rush in to tell Junior to shake it off and get back in the game.
> He does, and Laughlin goes down fast after that.
-----
Don't forget Baldwin's Bergess Meredith (sp?) line.
>
> The fight ends with Junior on the brink of letting out a raspy cry
> "Rita...Riiiitttaaaa." Thankfully, he only gives her a half-wink.
> Back in his crib and nursing his bruises, Junior cracks open a beer and
> lays an ice pack on his wounded ones. A knock is heard at the door. Thinking
> it's Baldwin, Junior calls out that he's fine, dammit, leave him alone. More
> knocking, only this time it's playful knocking. Junior hauls himself off the
> couch and waddles over to the door with the icepack still down his pants. He
> looks out the peephole and has a moment of panic. He dives into his pants,
> grabs out the ice pack and then fumbles around to open the door. It's Rita, all
> shy and coy. She's just wandered over from the celebration because, well, it
> was too loud there and, gosh, she just wanted to say thanks, is all. Uh-huh.
> Junior says how she didn't have to do that and she goes on to bat her eyelashes
> up at him and tell him she just wanted to thank him for sticking up for her.
> Then she plants a little, tiny kiss on his lips. He likes that. He plants a
> bigger kiss back on her lips. Then he asks her if she wants to stick around
> for a while. She does, and, soon they are both shirt free. Despite some
> protestations from Junior's sore muscles, they wind up on the couch. She tells
> him she'll be gentle and away they go to happy land.
-----
And the hero gets the girl!
>
> RAPE CASE: How hard is it to make an old rape story seem fresh? Pretty hard, I
> think, but this did it. The DNA angle was really solid. I do wish Kevin
> hadn't been so likable the entire time, though. I realize he had to be
> somewhat likable since he was a firefighter and since he was, after all,
> innocent, but a little more of a shadow over the guy would have highlighted the
> conflict a little more. Or if that couldn't be done, then maybe another round
> of checking out that DNA to drive home the point to the audience that it was
> the same in both kits and that no error was made. As it was, I never really
> thought Kevin did it. I didn't want to think he did, and so I was really ready
> to believe that there was some screw up somewhere.
-----
Maybe they should have made him more hostile of cops and the criminal
justice system for make him plead out to a crime he didn't commit during
his divorce. Short of like how that cab driver who had a giant chip on
his shoulder acted because of the unjust fine he had to pay (he later
killed a man who did not pay his fare). Some righteous indignation for it
would had been understandable and it would had added some spice to the
plot. Instead, he acted like how a totally innocent man who had never
been accused of such a sick crime before. Totally befuddled and desperate
to prove his innocence. His one slip was that he forgot that he went out
to get the paper for 10 minutes. That made him a liar to the detectives.
>
> What made it all good was the "Oh Wow" moment when we see a despondent
> Kevin has sliced himself up. That was sort of shocking. I wonder if there was
> debate amongst the creators about whether to have him succeed at suicide. That
> would have packed a really powerful punch, but it may also have screwed up the
> much lighter tone of the rest of the episode.
-----
Innocent people commit or attempt to commit suicide every day, although
many people would had said that was proof that he was guilty. As to it
detracting form the light heartedness from the ep, I don't think so. I
think they delt with a lot worse and still had a good time out at end of
shift.
>
> MAN-GRO: This may be the perfect NYPD Blue story. It made you laugh, it made
> you cry, it was a goddamn sensation. The story was so funny right from the
> start. I mean, guys, you had me at "man-gro." But did they stop there? No, God
> Bless them. They had Greg offering it to Baldwin who said oh-so-casually that
> he didn't need it. Greg laughs knowingly and then secretly pockets a tube.
> They had this ditzy Jennifer going on about how she was going to be the
> "spokesmodel" for the stuff when (I emphasize when) it goes on the Home
> Shopping Network. They had one of the best all-time lines of the week when Joey
> says "Nobody complains about dick cream, man!"
> And the sad part: Poor Falana. Yeah, your first instinct is to make fun of
> someone who wants a sex change, but hearing this poor creature say how all she
> wanted was to feel beautiful was a killer. Those scars were another "Oh Wow"
> moment. They had the desired effect on me: shock and disgust. I practically
> wanted to kill the quack myself when I saw that. The scene where Falana
> confesses is just aces. The guest actor, Daniel Escobar, was fantastic. And
> Gordon and Henry were top-notch, too: they went from being really funny in this
> story to being very compassionate with Falana. I loved it all around. Great,
> great work.
----
If I closed my eyes I would had swore she was a real woman! A little
husky in voice but plenty of natural borne women have even huskier
voices. Bea Arthur (Maude) for instance. I did had her pegged as a
transvestite at least. Transvestites/sexuals, IMHO, overcompensate at act
TOO feminine.

>
> CONNIE AND ANDY: Well, another week and we get no where with these two, and
> that's just fine with me! I like it this way. It means they aren't together,
> and that's cool. I really like how Andy turns into a quivering mass of
> humility when Connie wants to talk, and I like how straightforward Connie is
> about things. Now there's a chick who doesn't play games. Good for her.
> Now, if only she'd drop this damn crush and move on......
----
Big bad detective Andy is acting like a school boy.
>
> THE SMOKER: Yeah, it was kind of cheesy, but hey, I have to admit that I ended
> up liking it. Oh God! I feel so free now! I can also admit that yes, dammit, I
> liked Grease, too! This sort of reminds me of that, in all honesty.
> With Bobby and Diane, we had smoldering sex appeal and steamy chemistry
> all laced with serious, grown-up problems. Junior and Rita, on the other hand,
> seem like a couple of sweet kids. We all have our preferences, but I think
> it's safe to say both work. At least for now. I can't imagine high drama with
> these two, but we'll see.
> The chicken thing was loads of fun. I did find myself wishing a few times
> that at least one person in the squad would have cracked a smile over it,
> though. It was pretty funny. Doesn't anyone upstairs have enough of a sense of
> humor to have at least admitted that the live chicken was funny? I think Josh
> would have been perfect for this job. He could have mirrored the audience (I'm
> sure all million zillion of us were laughing) and then taken the wrath of the
> pissed off detectives who were so necessarily bent on defending their honor.
----
I was sadistically laughing at the chicken gags. Medevoy was right
though, some thing like that can ruin you. Then you end up trying to
prove yourself everyday, It affects your cases and before you know it you
end up with and unjustifiable shooting do to you over egarness.
>
> But you won't get any real complaints out of me on this one. That live
> chicken was our third (count 'em THREE) "Oh Wow" moment in this episode.

> Seriously, Mark Tinker must be living right: what director could be so lucky as
> to have that thing squawk and crap simultaneously as the actor opens the door?
> And MPG! My God, how he didn't simply burst into a gale of laughter at that
> moment is a mystery to us non-actors and is the single reason we sit in
> stuttering awe of real live professionals like him. I simply *must* have that
> man's autograph or something. Honestly, he's part of what makes this show like

> M*A*S*H: every new guy is amazingly better than the last in one way or
> another, and when you look at them as a whole, they're all equally fantastic.
> Let me end on this note (one of my favorite rants): If you feel the urge
> to bitch about another office romance, get over it. It's TV. It's a one-hour
> show about a bunch of people who work as cops. The minute you start dragging
> doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs into the mix, you're diluting the main focus
> of the show and wasting time. No, there surely aren't that many office
> romances in a *real* NYPD squad, but hey, they don't solve cases in an hour in
> a real squad either. I'm not all that happy with the pairings they've chosen,
> but the fact that they're all in the same happy family is A-OK with me.
----
well to be fair they don't really solve cases in an hour, more like an
afternoon. ;-)
>
> QUICK HITS:
> *Bill Brochtrup shows us again why he's such an asset to the show. He's
> branching out, showing some range (and some free range), and it's all good. He
> was great with his usual understated flair for comedy. He's got great timing.
>
> *Speaking of great timing: Gordon Clapp nailed that thing with the Man Gro
> cream, no? Perfect.
----
That and trying to vault the ring ropes.
>
> *Ok, so Kevin the fireman said he'd just gotten remarried six months ago. Why,
> then, was his evil ex-wife who tried to get him sent away for rape standing by
> him at his hospital bed? Rather, why did he allow that?
-----
That wasn't his ex wife, but his current one. He has a cirtain taste for
women in terms of looks.
>
> *Who *is* that chicken wrangler? Nominate that person for whatever award goes
> to people who can get chickens to crap on cue. They have awards for
> everything, don't they?
-----
That was probably some short of squirting device strapped to the blind
side.
>
> *I liked the sign in one of those quick cutaway shots which read
> "Any Haircut 7 cents." Is that per hair?
>
> *Hank!
>
> *How cool was it that so many scenes were in other places tonight? Answer: Very
> cool. It hardly seemed like we were ever in the pokey room. We were on the
> street, in the cells, downstairs, back on the street, in the gym, in Junior's
> new pad, at the New York headquarters of Man Gro International....lots of new,
> different things to look at.
>
> *Rita has a pink bra. Could she *be* more girly? This was a nice touch in
> light of the way this whole story was drawn. It added a little more sweet to
> the whole thing.
>
> *Did Rita win her 50 bucks? What color bra will she buy with it?

>
> *I wonder how PAA John's boyfriend Ray would have reacted to his outbursts at
> the fights?
>
> *I hope no one forgets that we need a little update on Eddie and James Killick
> before times runs out. I'll settle for a little mention next season if it's
> too late.
>
> *Guest of the week: As always, hard to pick, but my vote goes to Daniel
> Escobar who played Falana with such depth.
>
> CAST LEGACIES:
> Previously on NYPD Blue: Anthony Mangano as Laughlin, James McBride as
> Shannon, Jack McGee as the desk Sgt., Philip Angelotti and Mike Sabatino as
> uniforms, Henry Murph as Hank.
>
> Jack McGee (the desk sgt.)--He's a retired NYC firefighter with a list of 67
> movie credits. He's been on Blue two times before and was on Bochco's Brooklyn
> South as well.
>
> Daniel Escobar (Falana)--In addition to this outstanding performance, he was on
> Blue in 93 and in Bochco's Total Security. His movie credits include Blow and
> The Mexican. And he was on Saved By The Bell: The New Class!
>
> Raymond O'Keefe (Captain)--He did Blue in 96. He's also been on Brooklyn South.
>
> Geoffery Rivas (Joey)--He was on LA Law and Brooklyn South. He's also done a
> recurring role on CSI.
>
> Neil Flynn (Kevin)--He was the janitor on Scrubs. He's also done CSI and Boston
> Public.
>
> Jimmy Palumbo (Hackett)--He was on Philly once. He's also done ER and Friends.
>
> Pat Skipper (Llyod)--He's been on LA Law, ER and had a recurring role on
> XFiles. He was also in the movie Erin Brokovich.
>
> Victor Brandt (Ben Tyrell)--He was on The Practice and Saved By The Bell: New
> Class. A while back, he played Corp. Jensen on Gomer Pyle.
>
> Rounding out the cast: Gabrielle Carteris as Lisa the rape victim, Michael
> Patrick McGill as the clucking uniform, Rebecca McFarland as Jennifer, Kathleen
> Gati as Eileen Healy and Robert Camiletti as the Ref.
>
> LINES OF THE WEEK:
> Nick Wootton must be a deeply disturbed man. There are too many good ones to
> pick...here are a few:
>
> Joey of Man Gro Inc. "Nobody complains about dick cream, man!"
>
> Daryl the idiot confessing his rape while handcuffed face into the bars in the
> blood-soaked truth room: "I got frustrations! I don't know how to deal with
> them!"
> Junior: "So do we."

>
> PAA John after Ed's dirty hit in the boxing match: "Back off his jewels,
> Laughlin!"
>
> And PAA John had another one just before that one that was lost in the audio
> for me. Franz walked in front of the camera and I lost some of the words, the
> rest seemed to fade into the din. Anyone catch this? It was after Andy asked
> what he'd missed. Something about "two guys I could take...."
>
> And I know there were more...
>
> NEXT WEEK: Looks like another one not to be missed: Andy is taken hostage, and
> we meet Greg's daughter Katie all grown up.
>
> REMINDER: The shows are airing at 10pm now until the end of the season. May 7
> and 14 (the next two Tuesdays) are at 10. The season finale airs May 21 and
> it's a two-hour show, so that means it will start at 9pm. Mark your calendars,
> alert your personal assistants, program your palm pilots, and don't forget to
> visit us at Alan Sepinwall's NYPD Blue Homepage:
> http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~sepinwal/nypd.html
>
> Don't be a strangler,
> Amanda Wilson
>
--------
And program your VCRs and TiVOs. Nice review. Very detailed.

---->Hunter

Alison

unread,
May 5, 2002, 11:34:30 AM5/5/02
to
On 4 May 2002 19:35:54 -0700, buffh...@my-deja.com (Hunter) wrote:

>pue...@aol.comnojunk (Amanda Wilson) wrote in message news:<20020430191915...@mb-mr.aol.com>...

S

P

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I

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R
>> MAN-GRO: <snip> Greg and Baldwin ask for patient records. Baldwin turns down a tube of


>> Man-Gro saying confidently how he doesn't need it. Greg laughs knowingly and
>> then furtively slips the tube in his pocket.
>-----
>Just proves that even cops can be gullible. Of course, that scence took
>avangtage of two racial stereotypes about blacks and the Irish.....I'll
>leave it at that. ;-)

Irish? I thought Medavoy was Czech??

Alison

Jeff Knapp

unread,
May 5, 2002, 12:12:10 PM5/5/02
to
pue...@aol.comnojunk (Amanda Wilson) wrote in
news:20020430191915...@mb-mr.aol.com:

> What made it all good was the "Oh Wow" moment when we see a despondent
> Kevin has sliced himself up. That was sort of shocking. I wonder if
> there was debate amongst the creators about whether to have him
> succeed at suicide. That would have packed a really powerful punch,
> but it may also have screwed up the much lighter tone of the rest of
> the episode.

The only thing it did was remind me that we already had a guy off himself
in the holding cells downstairs this season. I called this a "been there,
done that" moment -- John runs up: "Something terrible's happened." The
detectives meander downstairs (no big hurry) and we see he bloodied suspect
-- alive. All we missed was the handheld shot of Andy and Jr. walking out
of the holiding area to fully complete the Connie/Rita nod...

Past that... I enojyed the show and there were far too many good LOTW to
count...

Jeff

Hunter

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May 5, 2002, 6:31:17 PM5/5/02
to
Alison <ali...@vabish.com> wrote in message news:<d1DVPFdvkUFUd9...@4ax.com>...
-------
C'mon, We all know that all Irish have red hair. <g> ;-)

---->Hunter

Dave Marron

unread,
May 7, 2002, 1:34:42 PM5/7/02
to
>> *Speaking of great timing: Gordon Clapp nailed that thing with the Man Gro
>> cream, no? Perfect.

I had to go back and watch it. I completely misinterpreted it - I thought
Baldwin had said, "YOU don't need it." I thought that was an even funnier line,
and a decent thing for a partner to say to his lacking-in-self-esteem partner.

>> *I liked the sign in one of those quick cutaway shots which read
>> "Any Haircut 7 cents." Is that per hair?

The $ is in the lower left-hand corner of the sign, and VERY faint, but it's
there. I had to freeze-frame it to see it.

Next week - I'm hoping Laughlin gets seen for the absolute prick he is. To
(mis)quote from "The Godfather": "Some people walk around this Earth just
BEGGING to be killed."

Dave Marron
(Remove name of my favorite band to reply - check them out at
http://www.blackvinyl.com/3shoes.htm)

"A lawyer is someone who writes an eighty-page document and calls it a
'brief'."
- Alfred E. Neuman

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