Still True ‘Blue’ in Its 10th Season

Summer is over but temperatures are still running high in the 15th Precinct, home of “NYPD Blue.”

Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) is marked for death after roughing up the girlfriend of a ruthless, drug-dealing pimp called Money T. Sipowicz’s partner, John Clark (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), becomes a suspect in a hooker’s murder when his name apparently is found in her appointment book and he lies to internal affairs to cover for his pop, John Clark Sr. (Joe Spano), who also is “on the job.”

As Sipowicz’s unlikely relationship with the younger and prettier Det. Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross) steams up, Clark’s evasiveness creates a rift in his romance with the squad’s Rita Ortiz (Jacqueline Obradors).

Meanwhile, a sadistic, misfit slacker (an eerie Laurence Cohen) takes out his rage on elderly women.

If the show doesn’t crackle with quite the same freshness that it had in its heyday under co-creator and producer David Milch, it’s still more intense and entertaining than almost anything in prime time. The series begins its 10th season tonight at 10 on ABC, preceded by an hourlong special, “Inside NYPD Blue: A Decade on the Job,” with host Joe Mantegna.

Those offended by the crude language and often-violent contempt for civil rights that have become hallmarks of this series will find no respite in tonight’s episode, not-so-sensitively titled “Ho Down.” But fans will appreciate the caustic wit of writers Nicholas Wootton and Bill Clark, and the gritty verve of director Mark Tinker, all veterans of the show.

As it was with the aging Clint Eastwood in this summer’s “Blood Work,” it’s reassuring to see the 15th squad back on the job.