It doesn't really matter if Tom Selleck isn't the best of actors, but he somehow holds together a motley crew of a family of cops in Blue Bloods, the very apt title for a show of NYC cops (and a lawyer daughter who turned to law rather than order), which has become something of a TV royalty.
Selleck isn't given big parts, but he plays a very big role as the staid patriarch. During his officer duties, we see him arguing with his assistant, giving advice to his law and order family at the weekly Sunday dinners in his New Jersey home, warding off blood thirsty reporters at press conferences who could ruin an investigation with one article, and generally trying to right wrong from his lofty position. But it is his volatile cop son Danny (from the former boy-band New Kids on the Block - he has come a long way), and his elegant lawyer daughter Erin (played by Bridget Moynahan) who do the legwork, and take on gritty cases. The show, like all New York shows, is a backdrop for the city, which means going into all the borough, and not only the Manhattan that has become synonymous with the city. . Last week it was in Brooklyn investigating a Hasidic Jewish murder. Before that it was at Battery Park with views of the Statue of Liberty. This week it was in the Bronx.
We are always taken down to City Hall with its beautiful rotunda, and of course the New York County Court House in Foley Square.
Somehow in this episode, Danny ends up in Rockaway, Long Island, showing us the effects of hurricane Sandy.
In the end, good (according to CBS - the channel which airs the show) always wins, even if it means if Chief Commissioner Reagan has to also make sure that social justice also gets its due. As the black actor who wanted to revive a cold case said to Erin, who told him that maybe he needed to forgive: "I prefer justice." His justice was to give due justice to the father of his daughter's boyfriend who was white, for killing his daughter for going out with his son.
The quote on the frieze: "The True Administration of Justice is the Firmest Pillar of Good Government"
is attributed to George Washington
The New York County Courthouse (or the Manhattan Supreme Court), in Foley Square
The pediment on the New York County Courthouse:
Fourteen pediment figures: female figure of Justice (center), male figure of Courage (on her right), and male figure of Wisdom, (on her left). Courage holds sword of justice and a shield as protection against the forces of evil, represented by three figures to his right. Wisdom is represented by a winged female figure lending Justice the torch of wisdom. To her left are three figures representing forces of light, including figure of Philosophy, a figure who bears the robes of Authority, and a youthful figure bearing garlands. At either end of the pediment there is a group guarding the Record of the Law. On top of the pediment is a figure of Law represented by a male figure dressed in Roman robes. He holds a book in his proper left hand and his proper right hand rests on a fasces, the Roman symbol of authority. A bald eagle is by his proper left foot. On top of the right end of the pediment is the figure of Truth represented by a female figure who holds a bouquet of flowers in her proper left hand. On top of the left end of the pediment is the figure of Equity represented by a female figure who holds a book in her proper right hand and a small disc in her proper left hand. [Source]
New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, played by Tom Selleck
N.Y. Assistant D.A. Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) getting ready for a case
Det. Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) in Rockaway Beach, at Hurricane Sandy site
Frank Reagan's Brooklyn Home
Sunday Family Dinner
New York City, City Hall
New York City, City Hall: Vestibule Ceiling
New York City, City Hall Subway
(although not functioning, it is open for viewing)
New York City, City Hall: Mural of New York Harbor in Jury Room 452
From the Historical Society of the New York Courts
The show was apparently slated to be filmed in Toronto. Thank God the New York City Film Commission film managed to salvage that. I'm getting really tired of trying to identify what Toronto building or neighborhood is being passed off as in NYC. This time, it is the real thing.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat