I have to work some evening hours the next few weeks, so I find myself at home in the afternoon without much to do. I stumbled across some NYPD Blue re-runs and got me thinking about my all-time fav cop shows. Here's my list.

1st - The Wire - some of the best writing and story telling I've ever enjoyed on TV. Maybe part of the attraction to me is that it's set in Baltimore.
2nd - The Shield - comes in at a very close second. The main character is a good cop that does terrible things. The dichotomy of the character's two sides just shocks your conscience at times. Never a dull moment.
3rd - NYPD Blue - my favorite episodes were the Rick Shroeder years. I also like when Zach from Saved By the Bell was Sipowicz' partner.

1. NYPD Blue... never missed an episode
2. Homicide, Life on the Streets (been a couple yrs, but about the Homicide Det's in Baltimore)
3. Barney Miller

Cops, of course.

I also like CSI, Law & Order (all spinoffs) but there's nothing quite like seeing cops run down criminals and put a knee in the back of their neck.

I always wanted to be a police officer and work my way up to being a detective or some sort of forensics analyst.

I liked Homicide and own the first few seasons on DVD. I just wasn't feeling it the last few years it was on. My favorite episode was the one with Robin Williams as a tourist whose wife gets murdered while visiting B-more. It was the first time I had ever seen Robin Williams in a dramatic role.

Does Law & Order qualify? I love most of those.

I have to agree with you on all three of these...
My father, who was a NYC Homicide Detective, absolutely loved Barney Miller.... he said the characters were more real than any of the drama police stories. It was not until I really got to meet the men and women he worked with that I realized how true the statement was.

A slight hijack, but the book that Homicide was based on, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, is one of my all-time favorite books. A Sun reporter spent a year covering the BPD's homicide unit and wrote a book about it.

CSI- Vegas
NYPD BLUE
24

I had an autographed copy of the book, made out to me. Interesting anecdote, when Simon was researching the book, he spent a lot of time in police headquarters, and with the Homicide detectives. He was a regular fixture in the building and everyone knew him. Nice guy. As soon as the book was published, he was forever banned from entering any police department buildings; though some of the detectives would often sneak him into the building after hours.

A lot of the characters in the book were loosely based on the actual detectives that worked Homicide. It was fun trying to pick out the characters and pair them with their real counterparts.

Miami Vice

Agree on all three, have to add Hill Street Blues back in the 80's. Loved ...oh I can't remember the character, he was the cowboy cop...........someone help me.
Love the Shiled, love Vic. Gets the job done his way. You're right, his character will jump up and smack the sh!t out of you, it is shocking at times. But again, gets the job done.

What no TJ Hooker fans?!

I love cop shows and PI shows, but the ones I watched were years ago. (After reading on this forum, I am tempted to turn the tv on more and watch some of these shows)

My oldies but goodie cop shows:

Andy Griffith
Adam 12
Hawaii Five O
Columbo
Loved Miami Vice, too
Mod Squad
Mannix (I think he was a PI, like Magnum....does that count??)



Mr. Mayor, are you talking about Texas Ranger...Chuck whatsisname??

My favorite is NYPD Blue for sure.
Very Action Pack.

How could I forget Miami Vice??? It was a Friday night fixture when I was younger. Cops shooting people and never doing a sheet of paperwork, driving Ferraris, and living on a yacht. What's not to like?

Cops!

Cops is my favorite too...

Reality show at it's best! Stupid criminals

X2

Oh my goodness, I can't believe I forgot one of my favorite all time shows!!! I loved Don Johnson

A PI show, but this reminded me of my "other" favorite!!! MAGNUM PI!!!!!! awwwww Tom Selleck was supposed to marry me!!!

Ha ha, I know you guys love to hear about that!!

Yeah, and Hill Street Blues was a good one too.