New Cop on ‘NYPD Blue’ Beat Deserves to Be Given a Chance

It was too much to hope that “NYPD Blue” would soar tonight as it did last week when it had Det. Bobby Simone fall victim to his bad ticker as a way of writing Jimmy Smits out of the ABC series that he had decided to leave. And it doesn’t.

The post-Smits era begins nearer to Earth, with Bobby’s successor, Danny Sorenson, arriving in the person of Rick Schroder, a former kid actor who some predicted wouldn’t have the juice for the job.

They were wrong. For if the episode is sort of mid-level “NYPD Blue”--still surpassing nearly all other series--Schroder fits fine as the new partner of Dennis Franz’s neurotic Andy Sipowicz, whom viewers last saw going to pieces over the prospect of Bobby’s death.

It figured that Sorenson would meet resistance from the close-knit detective squad he’s transferred to. And he does, from Bobby’s resentful widow, Det. Diane Russell (Kim Delaney), and from Sipowicz, as the new partners spend much of the episode coexisting tenuously while investigating a drive-by shooting and double homicide.

“NYPD Blue” is best tonight when Sipowicz’s reputation for racism haunts him during a chat with a black sergeant, and when he flashes rare glints of humor, as when, for instance, titling his deceptively boyish new partner “the 14-year-old.” In striking contrast to Bobby, meanwhile, Sorenson is a glory-seeking, kick-ass detective who appears able to match Sipowicz rough edge for rough edge.

Will he be able to erase the memory of the beloved cop he’s succeeding? Probably not, but like his new colleagues, we’ll reserve judgment.

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* “NYPD Blue” airs at 10 tonight on ABC.