From car chase to credits, ‘Third Watch’ is taut drama

NBC’s gritty drama “Third Watch” closes out its season with a bang tonight. Or did we hear two? Could it have been three?

In shades of the cliffhanging “Dallas” episode that had everyone wondering “Who Shot J.R.?” lo those many years ago, this one will leave you wondering “Who Shot Whom?” The tantalizingly taut showdown scene in tonight’s episode, “The Price of Nobility” (9 p.m.), is the perfect capper to an action-packed hour that sends the fourth-year show into its hiatus in style. The opening car chase scene alone is worth the price of admission.

The series, which follows the interaction of the police, fire and paramedic personnel who fill the 3 to 11 p.m. shift in New York City, is concluding not only its season tonight but also a four-episode arc guest-starring Tom Berenger (“Platoon”) as jaded journalist Aaron Noble.

Noble’s drug culture story research has been a little too in-depth for his own good, and his walk on the seamy side has drawn the interest of New York police Sgt. Maritza Cruz (Tia Texada), who is tracking her sister’s killer and thinks Noble is the key to finding him.

But her methods of getting what she wants are every bit as rule-bending as Noble’s, and her partner, Sgt. Maurice “Bosco” Boscorelli (Jason Wiles), discovers to his growing horror that she doesn’t mind who else gets dirty in the process.

Although elements of that plot line will survive into next year, we learn early on tonight that there’s at least one familiar face in the “Third Watch” cast who won’t be along for the ride. It’s a jungle out there.