Television, Philadelphia Style

Philadelphia is a rich setting for prime time television shows. Angie aired on ABC in the late 1970s.  Donna Pescow starred in the title role, a working class waitress who falls in love with a doctor, played by Robert Hays of Airplane fame.  Doris Roberts, perhaps...

The Good Old 1-2

Many a cop has said that Barney Miller is the most realist cop show of all time.  Not Hill Street Blues.  Not Naked City.  Not Delvecchio.  Not Dragnet.  Not NYPD Blue.  Not even any of the shows in the Law & Order family. On an episode of Jon Favreau’s...

The Many Faces of Dennis Franz

Dennis Franz stayed with NYPD Blue for its entire run on ABC from 1993 to 2005.  But before he won Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Detective Andy Sipowicz, Franz starred in several television series.  Some may be long forgotten. In 1982, NBC debuted Chicago Story an...

NYPD TV

The NYPD is a staple of television programming. Naked City.  NYPD Blue.  Law & Order.  Eischeid.  NYPD.  Cagney & Lacey.  Brooklyn South.  Barney Miller.  Car 54, Where Are You?  Blue Bloods.  Kojak.  McCloud.  Law & Order: SVU.  New York Undercover....

Attorney, Cop, President

Jimmy Smits was a cornerstone on prime time television in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. In the 1980s, Smits played Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law, working in the Public Defender’s office before Michael Kuzak recruits him to the private sector, specifically, the law...