The Grey matter

ABC is on a hot streak. After a couple of season where they couldn't pay someone to watch their shows, their latest launch, "Grey's Anatomy," on Sunday nights after "Desperate Housewives" is a winner.

After only one episode, it's easy to tell that the writing is good, the characters are strong and the actors -- Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo and Isaiah Washington -- are all quite solid here.

Certainly, the world doesn't need another medical drama but "Grey" on ABC and "House" on Fox are proving there's always room for quality.

The Apple bites back

Back from a week in New York. Had a great time doing all the tourist-stuff: Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tours, a pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli, the Broadway show "Wicked," a Knicks game and about 1,001 slices of pizza and half-dozen pretzels from street vendors.

If you're looking for some exercise and don't want to join a gym, all you need to do is hit the streets of Manhattan. For dinner one night we walked 45 blocks and on Sunday afternoon we trudged from NYU down to Ground Zero. The distances may be far but it never seems a difficult trek as you're constantly beseiged by all the visual stimulation and not worried about how far you're going.

Our hotel was the Roosevelt and it was a real coup. On the corner of Madison and 45th, it was just around the corner from Grand Central and a perfect location as a starting point for any excursion. Catching a subway at Grand Central was easy amid the chaos there. Rush hour at Grand Central is something that shouldn't be missed. Thousands of people all in a hurry to get somewhere, all laser-like in their focus to make their train back home.

March is a great time to spend in the city as you can catch the beauty of both winter and spring in a matter of hours. On Tuesday, it was a glorious 55 degrees and blue skies. The next day it was raining in the morning and by 5 p.m. the snow was falling hard.

New York's a great town. Not sure I'd want to live in the city but living in the burbs and coming to Gotham by train wouldn't be the worst way to spend your working life.

Looking a little Paley

For TV fans in the L.A. area, the William Paley Festival -- sponsored by the Museum of TV and Radio -- has for the past 22 years a great way to meet and greet the people behind your favorite shows.

For 2 weeks every March, the casts and crews of current TV shows and past great ones have come to the festival, held at the Directors Guild on Sunset, and talk about the process behind the show.

I went to two this year, which were actually the opening and closing night. The opener was NYPD Blue and last night's was Deadwood, which, I don't have to tell you, is the best show on TV.

Unfortunately, I'm preaching to the choir on Deadwood for those of you who already watch. You know how great it is. And for those who don't, you're either not watching because the language offends you or you can't get into it mid-stream. Both understandable but don't let the language throw you. It's almost poetic that way those curses come off their tongues. Many have called the David Milch's writing Shakespearean and I think that's accurate.

Anyway, I digress from the fest. The place was sold out with hardcore Deadwood supporters and the biggest cheers for Robin Weigert, and her portrayal of foul-mouthed Calamity Jane, and Ian McShane as Gem Saloon owner Al Swearengen. Variety's own Brian Lowry did a marvelous job as moderator.

Watch for McShane to pick up the Emmy this September for best drama actor. You heard it here first.

Cold as ice

Went to see the Disney movie "Ice Princess" and I have to say I dug it, even though the cliches were flying a mile a minute and you could've seen the ending coming from 3,000 miles away. No originality, per se, but these movies often tend to connect with me -- a grizzled, sarcastic movie watcher -- more than they should.

Anyway, as I was watching I was thinking that while the Miracle on Ice game of 1980 -- when the U.S. beat the Russians -- is generally considered the gold standard of Olympic moments, it's not that all emotional. Sure, the U.S. was a huge underdog and it made a big dent in the Cold War but nobody wells up and starts bawling when we win.

I couldn't care less about figure skating but every time I see Sarah Hughes' flawless gold medal performance from the 2000 (?) Games I get choked up. It's when she starts smiling at the end and her coach starts smiling and the audience and announcers are cheering that gets me every time.

Hostage

Hostage opens this weekend and the commercials don't do it justice. It's a well-done thriller that's reminsicent of Bruce Willis's best stuff.

For all the drek that Willis makes these days -- The Whole Nine Yards and it's awful sequel, The Last Ten Yards, Hart's War -- he still can make some good stuff and this one was, for the most part, pretty entertaining.

Sad state of sitcoms

Jake in Progress premieres this weekend and the results aren't half bad. Jake, aka Full House star and recently separated John Stamos, is a New York City publicist with a list of demanding clients taking up too much of his time. He's also trying to be a buddy to his male friends and find a girlfriend. Some people may call it a male equivalent of Sex and the City. I think that might be a stretch -- especially considering Sex and the City was on HBO and this is ABC.

Stamos has a certain charm that should go a long way. In TV, casting is about 80%-90% of a show's success, so having the right person in the right part can make all the difference. If you think of your favorite shows and can't imagine another person in that role, than you realize the importance of good casting.

Anyway, the reason I mention that Jake may be a success is that sitcoms -- in the traditional sense -- are in a bad way right now. Everybody Loves Raymond, one of my favorites is leaving in May, and the funniest shows out there right now are HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and Fox's Arrested Development, both of which aren't shot in front of an audience.

Jake also isn't show in front of an audience and, with Raymond departing -- and Friends and Frasier leaving last year -- the traditional 3-camera, studio audience sitcom may be coming to an end.

And maybe that's a good thing. TV, like everything else, changes with the times. It'll be interesting to see if another Friends, Frasier or Raymond ever comes around again.

Baseball in D.C.

No, it's got nothing to do with the Nationals playing in the Washington again after a long absence. It's the hardball being played on Capitol Hill, where a bunch of politicians with nothing better to do are gonna ask present and former major leaguer whether they've taken steroids or not.

As a fan, I'm curious to what McGwire and others are going to say when they're pressed on the issue but... as an American... don't our politicians have enough to do with making our country a better place to live than deal with this? Could there be any other reason — besides wanting to have their face on SportsCenter — to do this?

A game of chicken

Now I know what's it like to be in the center of an angry mob.

Went to Costco to pick up a few things -- and I really did it. Costco is usually a $100 store. Walk in for some grapes and walk out $100 later with 200 razors and 6 lbs. of cooking oil.

But I was only going in for four items and I walked out with four indeed. Not a single one more.

Anyway, went to pick up the famous $4.99 whole chicken that could feed a family of 6. Problem was, they were out, and cooking furiously in the back to get more birds out there.

Shoppers started to gather round, waiting for the chickens to come flying out the window, like they were $20 from an ATM. The mile-wide shopping carts started blocking the aisles, people started shoving each other and it seemed only a matter of moments until the fire marshal came and closed the whole store.

Before bedlam officially set in, the chickens appeared, customers were happy and the normal Costco experience ensued.

Now back to the 10-lb. crate of oranges and 80 water bottles...

HBO night

Went to the premiere for the second season of HBO's finest show "Deadwood" last night at the Chinese. (I'll pontificate on the greatness of "Deadwood" in another blog. But, needless to say, if you're not watching, you should be. First episode of season 2 begins Sunday, March 6 and will repeated several times during the week.)

Party was fun, with chock full of the cast from the show -- Tim Olyphant, Ian McShane, etc. -- and a surprise appearance by Jimmy Smits and his longtime girlfriend Wanda DeJesus. Smits was there by way of "Deadwood" creator David Milch, who was a co-creator of "NYPD Blue," which starred... Jimmy Smits. Hollywood is so incestual.

Anyway, since there's lots of gambling that takes place in Deadwood, HBO brought in a faux casino to bring some authenticity to the party and I won $230 shooting craps. Of course, if I was playing for real money and not tickets, I would've dropped $50 but it was a fun time indeed.

Went with my friend Jay, aka the Angry Driver, who is friendly with Milch. He gave raves to the mini-cheeseburgers and the roast beef. And he especially liked the girl in the really, really short skirt.

Sir Lance-alot

Attended a function in support of the Women's Cancer Research Fund, where they honored 6-time Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong for his support and courage.

I don't know much about the guy -- except that he could probably outpedal me on the bike path between Venice and Marina del Rey -- but he came off as very genuine and sincere. I hope all the allegations about his taking steroids isn't true.

Tom Hanks hosted the event and, at one point, started an auction for a non-descript bike that Lance would sign and -- this is the fun part -- you get to ride bikes with Lance and Robin Williams around town. My $100 bid didn't quite cover it as the winner's bid was an astounding $70,000.

Lance's current flame Sheryl Crow played a few numbers for the crowd before we left and picked up our goodie bags on the way out. Priscilla tells me there was some good stuff in there -- Tiffany pin, Bulova clock, perfumes, hand cream and a couple of shirts.

End of NYPD Blue

Tonight's the last episode. Here's what I wrote in today's Variety about the finale:


By STUART LEVINE
As it turns out, I’ve spent 15,840 minutes over the past 12 years watching "NYPD Blue."
It was time probably better spent bonding with the family, or maybe even cleaning around the house — as I’m sure my wife would attest — but I’m not so sure.

I have the Rev. Donald Wildmon to thank. When "Blue" launched, Wildmon — speaking on behalf of those around the country who supposedly weren’t prepared to hear some of the coarsest language on broadcast TV at that time or view David Caruso’s backside — said it was the beginning of the end of television. Which immediately attracted me to the show, just like millions of others.

But, truth be told, I was tuning in on Sept. 21, 1993, no matter who was telling me what I should or shouldn’t watch. Like a moviegoer who’ll see a Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese movie no matter the reviews, I’ve always been a dedicated Steven Bochco viewer and there was no way I’d miss out on "Blue" — especially as a follow-up to the Emmy-winning "Hill Street Blues."

Thursdays was "Hill Street" night (the beginning of NBC’s Must See TV era) and I was riveted every week. Maybe it was the mixed-race pairing and offbeat conversations between Michael Warren and Charles Haid that engaged me, or possibly Bruce Weitz’s Mick Belker, who would suddenly tune out his job at hand as a perp would wait at his desk while Belker would tell Mom on the phone that, yes, it was important that she make her doctor’s appointment even though she was feeling better now.

And it was on "Hill Street" where we met Dennis Franz as slimy Lt. Norman Buntz, cantering around the precinct as though he owned the joint.

Even the Bochco failures intrigued me. The ill-fated "Beverly Hills Buntz" and minor league baseball saga "Bay City Blues" both tried to use "Hill Street" as a template — complex ensembles where characters were flawed and morally strong men and women had their weaknesses. Few watched besides me, but even catching a handful of those episodes was worth much more than a whole season spent with "Remington Steele" or "Jake and the Fatman."

There was one minor aspect about "Hill Street" that bothered me, though. It was purposely never set in a real-life city. Certain scenes were reminiscent of L.A., others Chicago and New York but Bochco specifically wanted the show to be more about the people and not the place. In this case, location was not a defining character.

Maybe that’s what intrigued me so much about "Blue." It was all about New York, my hometown. Growing up in suburban Long Island, I rarely headed to the city — except maybe to catch a Rangers game at the Garden or spend a day with Dad at the office — but venturing on the Long Island Rail Road and being deposited at Penn Station was always a treat.

Never mind the good guys, I wanted to see the dark side of Gotham. Staying out of trouble and being a straight-laced kid throughout my teens years — my parents would say my darkest moment was playing football on Yom Kippur — I was always intrigued by the hoods, felons and good cops gone bad, all people who never crossed my path.

So right from the start of "NYPD Blue," I knew I’d be sticking around a long time.

That first episode was a doozy. Det. Andy Sipowicz was a drunken, womanizing mess on the edge of self-destruction who gets himself shot point blank (good thing his heart was as resolute as his stubbornness) and then, slowly over the 261 episodes, realizes he had more reasons to live than he could ever imagined at that point.

At a recent Q&A with the cast, Franz said the high point for him in the series was the five-episode arc that painstakingly drew out the tragic end of Jimmy Smits’ Bobby Simone. I realize he’s right, not only through recalling that remarkable "Hearts and Souls" episode and remembering those fateful last hours of Simone, but by seeing Smits back in the 15th Precinct again this season in a dream sequence that immediately brought chills to any serious "Blue" watcher.

Not that I need to watch any more TV than I already am, but there’s certainly enough storylines for season 13. Currie Graham’s Lt. Thomas Bale may be short on words but his mysterious personal side — which the writers hinted at halfway through this year — seems ripe for exploration.

But, understandably, it might be time to move on. If that’s true, however, how come every time I have nearly a dozen items to choose from in my Now Showing menu on Tivo, the first program I consistently find myself wanting to watch first is "Blue."

Not sure what I’ll do with that extra hour every week. Figure out better ways to save for my daughter’s college education, perhaps. Maybe even take a few handyman lessons at Home Depot.

Whatever it is, I’m not sure it’ll be as fulfilling.

Stuart Levine, a senior editor of Special Reports at Variety, watched every episode of "NYPD Blue" over its 12-season run.