Appreciation for: NYPD Blue

 Considering this show lasted for 12 full seasons and ended well - ie, on its own terms, it should be clear that great writing and well formed characters made for a truly great series from start to finish.

That's not what I want to illustrate here. I want to draw attention - deserved attention to this series for another reason.

Rather, it is the modern representation of the community that stands the test of time. Not just the ordinary people - the full gamut that ranges from lawyers, police, employed adults, children, homeless people, students and financial moguls but also - drumroll please, the LGBTIQA+ community.

This series began in 1993 - right in the middle of the USA's policies of 'don't ask, don't tell', 'don't say gay', the AIDS crisis and a general ignorance by the rest of the country. Which meant that any other series on television at the time - if there was a character from the LGBTIQA+ community, either they were not in the series full stop, if they were - they were portrayed with harmful stereotypes, or  they didn't make it to the credits. 

NYPD Blue, by stark contrast, regularly features people from the complete spectrum of the LGBTIQA+ community. And while they're treated poorly by other random characters that might appear in the episodes, they are *always* treated with respect and dignity by the police squad members of the 15th precinct in the series. 

More than that, at a time when the harmful and derogatory stereotypes were rife, any LGBTIQA+ characters here are fully formed characters with hopes, dreams and a voice. The storylines are realistic - in that not every case is a happy ending but the characters retain their dignity. It is very impressive to see. There is a lesbian detective in the series, who as part of a couple, asks the character Detective Medavoy if he would be a sperm donor for them. There is no making a parade energy for this storyline - it is handled well and with real maturity for everyone involved. 

On top of which, we have the character of John Irvin - a gay man who works as as a valued member of the 15th precinct - as a PAA personnel administrative assistant, from season two episode 17 and he is there from then to the final episode. There are no stereotypes here either, he is gay, yes but like everyone else - that's not the only part of his character and here, he is portrayed as a well formed character with other wonderful qualities that shine bright. Not only that, when staying in the proverbial closet was usually par for the course, here, he is openly gay. He is portrayed beautifully by Bill Brochtrup.

The other characters respect him, his work and on one occasion when he is on holiday, he is very much missed by everyone in the office. He greets everyone who comes to the precinct voluntarily, whether to give evidence or in some other capacity, lets the detectives know who has returned and is generally the beating heart of the whole operation. There are some prejudices - but they are shed early on.

There is an episode where one of the other detectives - upon being told of Mr Irvin being assaulted by people paid by police officers in another precinct - confronts those detectives. It's an ugly scene, to be confronted with such blatant homophobia but it's strangely comforting to see it being called out and addressed by someone who is both in a position to do  something and not afraid to see it through. There is another episode where Mr Irvin sees another character - afraid to be himself and comforts him with his own experiences and that there is hope for him and his future self.

I'm not going to lie, both moments got me a little teary. 

Overall, this series stood be lauded on so many levels but more than that, held up as a standard in storytelling and also, how far we've come in the world and how our stories can and should be told.