david schwimmer

(S01E04) Since I started watching this show (I had never seen an episode before), I've been doing my best to avoid reading about the episodes on fan websites and places like IMDb. For whatever reason though, I went ahead and read something on this particular episode. That was stupid because I would have much rather preferred that the ending were a surprise. Some shows I don't care if I know stuff in advance but I like to be in the dark with NYPD Blue.

So here goes. David Schwimmer's guest stint has come to an end. Josh "4B" Goldstein was gunned down as he tried to stop some thug from stealing a lady's purse on the subway. Kelly made it to the hospital just in time to see 4B take his last breath. It was actually kind of sad. Schwimmer wasn't half bad in the dramatic role and it's too bad we probably won't see that side of him again now that he's typecast as that bumbling schmuck from Friends. Anyway, that's how the episode ended but there was plenty more in between.

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(S01E02) David Schwimmer is still around. I love it! Even better is that Kelly refuses to call Schwimmer by his character's name. Rather he keeps referring to the guy as his apartment number, 4B. Hilarious.

Back to the story though, we pick up right where the pilot episode left off. Sipowicz is in the hospital, but he's talking and seems to be recovering quite well. The only problem is that he has no recollection of who shot him. At least that's what he tells Kelly and Fancy. It becomes clear pretty quickly that Sipowicz wants Giardella for himself, so he's keeping his mouth shut.

One of the things I'm loving about this show are all the great cop show stereotypes that NYPD Blue adheres to. Good cop, bad cop. Seasoned veteran who's seen it all and the balanced partner. The compassionate hard-ass of a lieutenant. This show follows all the rules and then goes ahead and breaks them. It's interesting to watch though. It's like seeing a child being born because you can see things that have influenced other shows in the years that followed.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorite shows, in order, every week.

(S01E01) Ahh, the glory days. When men were men, gas was cheap(er), and David Caruso wasn't aging like a raisin while patrolling the beaches of Miami. Of course, I'm talking about NYPD Blue when Caruso (as Detective John Kelly) was scouring the streets of Manhattan with the best bad New York accent I've ever heard. The year was 1993 and Steven Bochco and David Milch's new ABC cop drama would ensure that television would never be the same. It was, after all, dubbed the first ever "R-Rated" TV series.

Last night, Jonathan wrote about a report that claimed the six main actors from Friends were going to reunite for a series of one-hour specials.  It also mentioned that the three male leads -- Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer -- were going to star in a spin-off. Readers responded by either getting their hopes up or cursing NBC for digging up the corpse of a series that died a year and a half ago.

Well, we've got more news for you: It ain't gonna happen, at least according to NBC.

Here's the update from Jonathan:

"Consider this rumor dead as most of us wisely assumed from the get go. Access Hollywood had this to say earlier today, with a direct quote from Jeff Zucker (CEO of NBC Universal's TV Group) squashing the rumors.

Also, many thanks to TV Squad's own Ryan j Budke, who spent numerous hours on the phone this morning with NBC's Media Relations Department, who had this to say: 'There are currently no plans to have any follow-up to Friends other than Joey, which is still a major part of our comedy line-up and we whole-heartedly support. The rumors started this weekend are just that; rumors. We wish the rest of the cast of Friends continued success in their careers, and would welcome them back at any time, but there are currently no plans for them to appear in their Friends roles.' "

Well I suppose this had to happen sooner or later... I was just expecting it to be later. Much later. But I figure a failed and unfunny spin-off (sorry Joey fans... if there are any of you) will get the gears in motion faster. Okay, here goes: just a little over a year and half since the airing of the series finale, all six principle cast members of the NBC hit sitcom Friends have agreed to star in four one hour specials. Wait, that's like eight regular episodes... I rule at math.

Writers are already blasting out the scripts and we can expect them to air sometime in 2007. So we've got a bit of a wait but in the meantime we can also continue to salivate at this: the potential for another Friends spin-off. This time, Perry, Schwimmer... and yes, LeBlanc would star in a new sitcom tentatively titled It's a Guy Thing. Executives have hinted at it, but nothing is set in stone. Can't say that I blame them though. With the nose dive NBC took this season, I'd be milking the Friends teat for all it's worth too. Granted, this could all be bogus because you never know with a story like this but fingers are crossed so take it for what it's worth.

[Thanks so much to Dave for bringing this to our attention.]

UPDATE (1/23): Consider this rumor dead as most of us wisely assumed from the get go. Access Hollywood had this to say earlier today, with a direct quote from Jeff Zucker (CEO of NBC Universal's TV Group) squashing the rumors.

Also, many thanks to TV Squad's own Ryan j Budke who spent numerous hours on the phone this morning with NBC's Media Relations Department, who had this to say: "There are currently no plans to have any follow-up to Friends other than Joey, which is still a major part of our comedy line-up and we whole-heartedly support. The rumors started this weekend are just that; rumors. We wish the rest of the cast of Friends continued success in their careers, and would welcome them back at any time, but there are currently no plans for them to appear in their Friends roles."

So there ya go folks. Sorry if we got your hopes up.