User Reviews

Throughout the course of the series, we've seen Greg Medavoy stumble and bumble his way. A few episode ago, Sipowicz had it right when he states that Medavoy's acting like a woman. Medavoy fluctuates between being a woman and an immature teenage boy. He's a good guy, and he's actually a pretty good detective, but there are times when you wish someone would just smack him, and in this episode, you REALLY wish that someone would have smacked him!

Medavoy does the unthinkable-and something he should have at least gotten a RIP for. He fails to search a suspect which ends up with Andy being held hostage by a mentally unstable man with a gun pointed at his head.

Now, we understand that Medavoy's got a lot on his mind. Hell, Medavoy ALWAYS has a lot on his mind. His daughter tells him that his ex-wife doesn't want him at his daughter's wedding. First of all, nobody has the right to dictate who goes/doesn't go to a wedding except the bride and groom. Fortunately, Katie Medavoy gets a brain by the end of the episode. Then again, Medavoy has always been the hen-pecked husband, the insecure boyfriend, the insecure friend (gets upset with Baldwin because he confided in John Clark first about Valerie's pregnancy-just like a woman!), and the guy who tends to ramble on about nothing and make inappropriate long-winded comments.

By Season 9, Andy has come a long way. He can still fly off the handle, but he's reached a point in his life where he has much more to live for. His son Theo, and his budding romance with Connie. The old Sipowicz may very well have tried something rash to get out of the situation. Instead, he wisely talks the guy off the ledge and saves his own skin in the process.

This is a tense episode with Andy stuck in the Pokey with the unstable suspect, and Connie struggling to remain calm, after seeing Andy in danger. The scene at the end when Andy takes her hand while she sheds tears of relief is touching, and it also reinforces the fact that Connie is the perfect woman for Andy. Frankly, I never thought anyone could come close to Sylvia, but Connie certainly does!

This episode is utterly brilliant. NYPD Blue is consistently good, but this particular one is up with the best of them. The hostage drama is played brilliant by both Dave Burgess and Andy Sipowicz and the suspense is there. We have no idea how it's going to end. And it ends perfectly.

As a tough, no nonsense cop, Dennis Franz has also played Sipowicz well, all through his alcoholism, the numerous tragedies he has had to endure and having to bring up his young son alone. But the vulnerability of the man was shown brilliantly. We can sense the worry and stress Sipowicz is going through. I do love this show!