Babe, okay - Caruso wasn't that bad on NYPD Blue (One of my fav all time shows-BTW) The thing was that Jimmy Smits was so much better and the show continued on an upswing after Caruso and his ego left. Never saw a full episode of Miami...I guess I should see it before laying down a judgement.

How opposite I must be. I never was an NYPD Blue fan, mostly because I didn't like Caruso. I wouldn't watch CSI Miami because of him as well (he didn't appeal to me). Now, though not a regular viewer of CSI Miami, he grew on me an I like the show and his Horatio character. Go figure.


TIS

I have heard that from some people I work with...Caruso grew on them and now they love him. CSI:Miami is their fav show.

Anybody remember Caruso from "First Blood" with Sly?
How very young he looked. Just a kid.



TIS

I do! He was the smartest deputy in the station. He tried to tell them all that Rambo was a "bit different". He tried...

Btw, I've always wondered, is Caruso Italian? Cause he sure doesn't look it, but by the name......Could be half Italian I suppose. Like DeNiro, half Italian, half Irish, yet looking at DeNiro he totally looks Italian; looking at Caruso, he totally looks Irish (or whatever his other half may be). Talk about oppostie. Then again, I hear Northern Italy has many blonde Italians and maybe that's his bloodline. Just curious

TIS

Here's da scoop...Caruso was born and raised in Forest Hills, Queens, NY in 1956 to an Italian dad and Irish mom. He attended the same Catholic school system as Ray Romano and Pia Zadora. His first part in film was "An Officer and a Gentleman". We can all agree that he looks like mom?

Gee thanks Mark. I now know where to get the scoop. Isn't it funny how he and DeNiro are the same nationality and yet one looks totally Italian and the other totally Irish.

Btw, did you know that Susan Lucci is half Italian & Irish as well?

Nice talking to you Mark. I have to go to work now (12 days anc counting)


TIS

Mr. Babe was born a redhead, so maybe I just feel something for Caruso. He also just bought himself an H3, so my brother now calls him "H".

I really, really liked Caruso in NYPD Blue, one of my favorites, too. I loved the way that he took Turturro's character under his wing. There was also one episode that I loved which involved the death of another officer. Caruso went home with the officer's wife, who was also a cop, and helped her talk to the children. Although it was years ago, his interaction with those children, and how well he acted in that episode, has stayed with me all these years.

Yes, Smits was excellent. So was the last guy (who is now in "Raising The Bar"). The only actor that I felt did poorly in that show was Rick Schroeder. I especially liked Esai Morales as the Lieutenant.

And, naturally, nobody could touch Dennis Franz. He was just amazing as Andy. I feel like the show jumped the shark, though, when they killed off his son, his partner and his wife! Then the little kid got leukemia or something. I would have started to drink again, too.

Babe, I agree with your post. Franz, a Chicagoan, was great...in fact, when Smits' character died (that episode made me cry like a baby) Franz tried to get his fellow Chicago buddy, Joe Mantegna to come on board but Joe was wrapped up in another project and could not commit. That would have been great! Mantegna is one of my favs - only behind De Niro. Instead we got Schroeder IMO, there has not been a cop show that touches "Blue" since.

Mantegna is one of the reasons that I watch "Criminal Minds". I originally started watching because of Mandy Patinkin, a performer that I love, but when he left, I was happy to hear that Mantegna was taking over.

My dad was all Italian and he had red hair. Two of my nephews and one niece who are half Italian have red hair.

I have the first season of NYPD BLUE on dvd. And as much as I don't care for Caruso (I think he's a GIANT "ham"), I have to admit, he was awesome on that show.

If you watch the first few episodes, watch out for David Schwimmer as "4B," an intellectual type who gets mugged, plays vigilante, and meets an untimely end. He has pretty good dramatic acting skills (I think he's a comic GENIUS). Also watch out for another FRIENDS alum, Robert Costanza, as stoolie gangster Alphonse Giardella. He played Joey's father on several episodes of FRIENDS.

A GREAT New York City tv show. They filmed "exteriors" here, usually in July and August. I used to see the film crew on the lower east side near Stuyvesant Town quite a bit.

"Yeah, huh?"...One of my favorite lines they used to say on "Blue"...also "I'll hold a good thought" and "Reaching Out." Best cop show in history (IMO). I remember Giardella...when he was in witness protection held up in a hotel with feds, Sipowicz put a dog turd in his lasagna from room service! Gotta love it!

"I'm just squeezing your shoes" was another great "NYPD Blue" expression. The scripts, the acting, it was all great. I'm always torn between "NYPD Blue" and "Hill Street Blues" for greatest cop show. They were both so very good.

Good one, Babe. I forgot about that one. Another good phrase was "I'm gonna jamb you up!"

FX is showing "Snakes On A Plane". Unprobable, if not impossible story for sure, but I like the movie. Good thing I saw it first on HBO because they massacre Samuel L. Jacksons "MFing Snakes On A Plane" rant. This is a fun movie to watch IMHO.


TIS

Samuel Jackson is fantastic. How many actors can make a B movie like "Snakes" that enjoyable?

Slightly off topic: About 10 or 12 years ago, when I first read that Jackson was going to be in the STAR WARS prequels, I was honestly expecting the movie posters to read: May the force be with you, Mother*****r.

I think my favorite of Samuel L. Jackson's roles was in "Unbreakable". He was all kinds of crazy in that movie.

Samuel L. Jackson will always be "Stacks" from Goodfellas...I love it when Joe Pesci says; "You got one of your bitches in here?" before he shoots Stacks.

Wasn't he in one of the Die Hard movies?

pulp fiction is what i consider one of his best...he truely was a bad ass mother fucker.

'WISEGUY'
I see Don Cardi and some others have mentioned this in this thread. But I have only just seen this today in a store on DVD!

The TV series of 'Wiseguy'?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiseguy
Is it any good? Is it worth $50?

I don't know if it's worth that much, but it was a very good and innovative series and the writing was superb. It would have continued if its star had not been injured in a motorcycle accident.

Hey, Sicilian Babe & all the other NYPD Blue lover's...remember "Upstairs John"? He was the gay PA in the squad upstairs who eventually came down after Medavoy frightened Miss Abbandando into retirement! However, John kept her fuzzy troll top pencils! What a great character!

Lonesome Dove with Robert Duvall & Tommy Lee Jones is on now. What a great movie.

My brother just got me hooked on the three guys with "Top Gear" after a YouTube clip marathon of their crazy car challenges! I was wondering if any of our British members watch the show, as I think it's on the BBC?

They're so funny and cause such destruction...

Videos

Has anyone seen the Transformers sequel? Any good?

THE SEINFELD CHRONICLES, which was the pilot episode of SEINFELD, aired 20 years ago today.

SEINFELD wouldn't air as we know it (with Elaine) until May of 1990. And even then, it wasn't picked up for a full season until the fall of 1991. They came thisclose to giving up on it like 5 different times. Lucky for us they didn't!

Still, I can't believe it's been 20 years!

No and no.