More streamlined and downbeat than its predecessor, Hill Street Blues (also created by Steven Bochco), NYPD Blue continued second time around to mix near-the-knuckle detective work to foil New York's scummiest with more character- and relationship-based drama. Although it's regrettable that its ethnic minority characters, such as Lieutenant Fancy, are increasingly marginalized here, the series is more comfortable--and even has fun--with regular characters such as the nervy Detective Medavoy and his on-off paramour Donna Abandando. Andy Sipowicz's simmering, tough-nosed recovering alcoholic is increasingly and amusingly put to the test in a number of situations, including: a murder investigation in a gay bar; being sung to at his own wedding by Nic Turturro's Detective Martinez; and a love scene in the shower in which we experience the dubious pleasure of seeing his bare rear.

New female introductions, such as the strong but sympathetic Detective Lesniak, also helped to shake up the series with a much-needed estrogen boost. There's also fun to be had in spotting a number of guest appearances by up-and-coming actors destined to make it in their own right such as Richard Schiff and Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) and Debra Messing (Will & Grace).

The DVD set contains a number of extras, primarily a one-hour documentary in which the cast and crew discuss the series episode by episode, the self-congratulatory mood broken only by some subtle digs at departing star David Caruso (apparently, he walked straight off the set following his final take into a waiting limo without any farewells). There's also a small piece paying tribute to the music of theme-writer Mike Post and an item covering the relationship between Sipowicz and Assistant DA Sylvia Costas, in whose marriage this series culminates. --David Stubbs

NYPD Blue's writers skillfully navigate both single-episode criminal cases (ranging from tense procedural sequences like Kelly slowly drawing a confession out of a man who killed a cab driver, to lighter cases like a stolen Oscar statuette) and storylines that stretch dizzily across the entire season. These sustained plots are the real meat of the show: Kelly's hardline ethics are humanized by watching him clumsily come to a professional relationship with his ex-wife Laura (Sherry Stringfield) and work through an affair with Officer Janice Licalsi (Amy Brenneman), who is herself entangled with mobsters; while Sipowicz's near-death in the pilot has repercussions that crop up throughout the series, threatening his sobriety and his developing relationship with a lawyer (Sharon Lawrence)--and then there's his tense relationship with African American Lt. Fancy (James McDaniel), which affords some trenchant looks at racism inside and outside the department. The writing, directing, and acting only gets more subtle and complex as the show goes on, making this set a must for any fan. --Bret Fetzer