Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 14, 1994 TAG: 9409150008
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By FRAZIER MOORE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
But, really, howya doon? You all right?
I mean, last year they were firing at you and your series pretty good, that handful of people who'd never seen ``NYPD Blue'' and wanted everybody else not to see it too.
And now, just when you're ready to settle into your second season as demon-beset Detective Andy Sipowicz, why, your co-star, what's-his-face with the red hair, up and dumps you and the series. To go make movies! Gidowdahere!
In the words of his character, Detective John Kelly ... hey, Dennis, you OK?
Listen up, everybody: Dennis Franz is plenty OK.
He's OK with that imminent personnel change on ``NYPD Blue,'' which will usher out Kelly in episode four and, the following week, introduce Jimmy Smits (``L.A. Law'') playing Sipowicz's new partner.
``It's going to present a nice opportunity,'' Franz predicts. ``Sipowicz's world is fragile enough as it is, and he won't necessarily react too well to Kelly's replacement. It's going to really stir the pot.''
Franz is also OK with his career outside the series. During summer hiatus he starred in not one, but two TV films. Look for him later this season as lawyer Richard ``Racehorse'' Haynes in an ABC docudrama, ``Texas Justice.'' And tonight at 8 on WSLS-Channel 10, he plays a hapless newspaper reporter in ``Moment of Truth: Caught in the Crossfire.''
So things are A-OK. Even a couple of weeks before winning the best dramatic actor Emmy (beating out his soon-to-be-former castmate David Caruso), Franz, meeting with a reporter, shines with a 100-watt smile. His eyes twinkle. Nothing less than America's Sweetheart, Franz proves as easygoing as his creation, Sipowicz, is tormented and twitchy. No wonder the Emmy.
Of course, fans may not be so OK with ``NYPD Blue's'' continued absence from the airwaves (it doesn't return until the season premiere Oct. 11).
But you can see Franz tonight in ``Caught in the Crossfire,'' a fact-based drama not about a tough cop, but an ordinary Joe who becomes a victim of both his dreams and his government after agreeing to act as an FBI informant.
``It seemed like a nice departure for me, to play an average guy with not a lot of baggage and attitude,'' Franz says. ``That was my main goal, something that wasn't Cop Role No. 29.''
As he talks, he is in his third week before the ``NYPD Blue'' cameras, battling crime and the bottle in the cop role he happily calls ``my payoff for the first 27.''
``It's great to be back,'' says Franz, while conceding to ``confusion on the set regarding David. It was a little nervous the first day.
``I haven't had one single conversation with David Caruso regarding any of this,'' he volunteers. ``I haven't wanted to interfere. It's a business decision, and it's his business.
``When he leaves, we will introduce a new character, and life will go on.''
Yeah, Dennis, but aren't you just a little browned off? Here you had a great show, instant chemistry between you and your co-star, everything cooking. Then Caruso rocks the boat - or, just maybe, torpedoes it.
``Oh, gosh, there's, umm, a concern,'' Franz says gently. ``You always think, if something ain't broke, don't fix it, and here's this thing that was indeed working nicely. You think, gosh, is this change going to break it?
``But I really don't believe it's going to. I don't think this show was ever about any one particular character. The stars of `NYPD Blue' are the writers.
``I am very aware that David Caruso has a legion of fans out there who will miss him personally. But I think the fans of the show are exactly that: fans of the show, and of each and every character. That's not going to change.
``In fact, I've tried to think of a hit show in the past that suffered from the departure of a single character. I can't come up with one. Can you?''
by CNB