Delaney remains true ‘Blue’

Kim Delaney is back on the job in tonight’s “NYPD Blue” (10 p.m., ABC).

Delaney, who left the series in 2001 after six seasons, makes a return appearance as the tough, dedicated Det. Diane Russell in a potent episode written by Tom Szentgyorgyi and Bill Clark and directed by Carol Banker.

Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) “reaches out” to Russell, who now is working in the department’s Special Victims Unit, as the custody fight over Connie McDowell’s baby becomes increasingly desperate. Sipowicz asks Russell to encourage Adrian Caffee (Katy Selverstone) to come forth with damaging testimony against her parents, who are battling McDowell (Charlotte Ross) for the baby.

Russell’s troubled past gives her genuine empathy for the tormented Caffee, and her unabashed approach helps her get past Caffee’s wall of stubborn self-protection. Whether Caffee will have the courage to testify against the baby’s grandparents is another matter, however.

Meanwhile, the 15th squad’s other detectives investigate the bludgeoning death of a young woman apparently killed by her ex-boyfriend, Stan Diedrich (Ryan Alosio), a compulsive gambler in the throes of a binge. Under interrogation, Diedrich offers the kind of lowlife swagger and attitude that almost makes you want to excuse police abuse. In other words, he is one of the series’ classic “perps.”

Though Delaney’s disarmingly honest performance may strike some as a bittersweet reminder of the show’s prime, tonight’s episode features strong work by Selverstone and Alosio, and the crisp writing and directing that has enabled “NYPD Blue” to raise the standard for cop shows. Near the end of its 10th year, this series still has it.