True Blue. This item is unavailable.True Blue

The creator of NYPD Blue teams up with the cop who inspired the series to reveal the real-life stories that form the basis for the popular series and to provide a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the creation of a weekly police drama. Reprint.

The real stories are twofold: the sicko/crackhead crimes on which the popular cop drama is based and backstage politics. The latter featured the departure of prima donna actor David Caruso, to the regret of no one, apparently, but to the profit of the tabs that blared the snit-fit at the checkout line. That publicity is the rough analog for the interest that libraries can expect for this testimonial from the show's chief scriptwriter, David Milch, and "creative consultant," real NYPD detective Bill Clark, who raw-jaws the cases behind the televised episodes. Viewers and readers will quickly connect Clark's war stories with particular programs and Clark himself with the character of Andy Sipowicz, whose profanity, creative I'll-bust-your-face interrogation methods, and crypto-racism often tighten and spring the drama's tensions. Fans also hear Milch's reaction to attacks on his show by family-values groups, and his defense of an ill-received lecture he gave on why there are so few black screenwriters in Hollywood. Discursively organized, yet fans will still zoom through this inside dope. Gilbert Taylor