THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 23, 1995 TAG: 9510210046
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
WHEN ``NYPD Blue'' returns to ABC Tuesday night at 10, detectives Martinez and Medavoy shoot it out in an alley with gunmen who leave Martinez bleeding and partially paralyzed.
The scumbags!
Later in the show, assistant district attorney Sylvia Costas tells her husband, Detective Andy Sipowicz, that she thinks she's pregnant.
And the surprises don't stop there.
The lovely Donna Abandando admits that she has the hots for Detective Bobby Simone, and asks for a date right there in the 15th Precinct squad room - while they are having coffee.
Welcome back, ``NYPD Blue.''
As the third season of TV's best cop series ever opens, Simone (Jimmy Smits) is also pursued by the detective who is a recovering alcoholic. And there are still sparks between Simone and the reporter he once romanced.
When does that man find time to feed his pigeons?
Kim Delany, who plays Detective Russell, the recovering alcoholic in Simone's squad room, becomes a regular on ``NYPD Blue'' this season.
So does Justine Miceli, who plays Detective Lesniak, the brunette in the pantsuits who works closely with Martinez but doesn't want their relationship to extend beyond the precinct. Martinez wants more, and after he is shot and lying in a hospital bed, wondering if he'll walk again, Miceli finds herself in an awkward position.
How can she show sympathy and support for a fallen comrade without suggesting it is more than that?
The relationship between Martinez and Lesniak will be played out to a conclusion within a few weeks, Miceli said when we chatted a few days ago.
The cast and crew were in Manhattan recently for a few days to film what the producers call the ``atmosphere'' of New York City.
Less than four years ago, Miceli was working as an extra on ``Law & Order,'' an NBC cop show that is filmed entirely in New York City. No cheating there. Then she graduated to stand-in. Then she landed the Lesniak role on ``NYPD Blue'' while working on a soap opera.
Last year, she was in four episodes. This year, she's on the payroll every week. Behind her are years in the theater. She has paid her dues. ``I'm ready for this.''
Miceli, a native New Yorker who grew up in Queens, should be thrilled to be in the cast of a drama that wins Emmys by the carload. And she is, but the actress wonders. . . will ``NYPD Blue'' always be a guys show?
The series is written and produced by men. It revolves around detectives who are male. The women on the show, until now, have been portrayed as dependent on men. They've been victims of abusive husbands, subject to random violence at the hands of men.
Detective Russell attends AA meetings to please Simone. Abandando feels guilty because during her fling with Medavoy, she became a homewrecker. Detective Lesniak isn't given much to do except to walk around with her hands in her pockets.
``I'd like to see the women blossom,'' said Miceli. ``They need to be more visible.''
No complaints from Gail O'Grady, who plays Abandando.
``I love being on a guy show. More care is given to our characters than would be the case if this were an ensemble cast of women,'' she told members of the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles recently.
No complaints about the guy thing from Sharon Lawrence, the North Carolinian who plays Costas. ``As actors on the set, we are women in a man's world because that is the reality of this piece.''
So, ``NYPD Blue'' isn't the perfect situation for an actress. Sherry Stringfield said so when, after being cast as David Caruso's wife-in-the-background in season No. 1, quit to join the cast of ``ER.''
But how could any actor or actress not accept a role on ``NYPD Blue'' when offered, even if the parts are small and go nowhere in the character development department? Nobody turns down a chance to work with producer Steven Bochco, certainly not waiting-for-a-big-break Justine Miceli, the Italian-Catholic girl from Sunnyside, Queens, who can face the cameras without worrying if she sounds too much New York.
Filming a hit TV series on the streets of New York? ``Wow,'' said Miceli. ``The recognition that comes to an actor in this situation is incredible.''
She's not TV famous yet. Give her a year. ILLUSTRATION: Dennis Franz (left) and Jimmy Smits return Tuesday in "NYPD
Blue". by CNB