DRAMA NYPD BLUE

TOP COPS

After Hill Street Blues, Steven Bochco co-created another brilliantly authentic police drama. NYPD Blue hit the airwaves in 1993, and it’s

as good as anything that came along in the feted HBO era, five years or so later (Oz,

The Sopranos etc). That’s especially impressive when you consider it was made for a US broadcast network, with all the taste restrictions that entails. David Caruso was its star, until he left the show on unpleasant terms – Bochco called him ‘cancerous’ – but its real beating heart is Dennis Franz as Detective Sipowicz, a layered character with many demons. Franz was also in Hill Street Blues, which is on All4 (see page 17).

From Wednesday