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The Worst Episodes of NYPD Blue

Every episode of NYPD Blue ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of NYPD Blue!

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Police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwined several plots involving an ensemble cast.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    NYPD Blue Season 4 Episode 19 - Bad Rap
    7.2/10(170 votes)

    S4:E19

    Rap star 'Daddy Kool' is shot but refuses to cooperate with the police, to catch the shooter. Lt. Fancy is accused, by a uniform cop, of setting him up to rob a drugs dealer. Medavoy gets a proposition.

    Director:Matthew Penn
    Writer:Thad Mumford

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  2. NYPD Blue Season 4 Episode 18 - I Love Lucy
    7.3/10(252 votes)

    S4:E18

    2 male transvestites, previous acquaintances of Russell's make a complaint against a boyfriend. The parents of an old school friend of Kirkendall's accuse their daughter of theft.

    Director:Kathy Bates
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 11 - Burnin' Love
    7.4/10(194 votes)

    S3:E11

    A girl's body is found, burned, in an abandoned basement. Information from the husband of the girl's best friend points to a Russian, who had tried to date her, but had been refused. Simone puts together a scenario, involving the husband and 2 of his associates. Medavoy gets some overtime, on bodyguard duty and gets lucky in the card school.

    Director:Perry Lang
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. NYPD Blue Season 4 Episode 16 - What a Dump!
    7.4/10(169 votes)

    S4:E16

    A dead woman, found in an alley appears to be another in a series of brutal rapes. Simone and Sipowicz investigate. The rest of the squad tries to find out why shots fired from a bus injured a woman and a child.

    Director:Perry Lang
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. NYPD Blue Season 6 Episode 14 - Raphael's Inferno
    7.4/10(146 votes)

    S6:E14

    A 9 year-old girl is found dead inside a locked basement, the supervisor is the only key-holder, but he has an alibi. Sipowicz and Sorenson have to solve the whodunit. Medavoy and Martinez help an old man to trace the person who swindled him out of 8000 dollars. Sorenson's sister comes to visit him. Dolores father turns up at the squad room.

    Director:Matthew Penn
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 13 - A Tushful of Dollars
    7.5/10(184 votes)

    S3:E13

    Russell gets a lawyer for her mother. Simone and Sipowicz investigate the shooting of a known mobster's son. Suspicion falls on his younger brother, but the father interferes with the search. Medavoy and Russell get a call to where a woman has been shot, while in bed. Her son tells Russell that he got a message, from his step-father, confessing to the shooting. His rich step-father's lawyer makes difficulties.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. NYPD Blue Season 4 Episode 8 - Unembraceable You
    7.5/10(171 votes)

    S4:E8

    Simone and Sipowicz investigate a street shooting when witnesses name a man who is supposed to be in jail. Macey, a young man who was previously in the care of Lt. Fancy, is caught carrying drugs. Medavoy meets with more disappointment.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. NYPD Blue Season 5 Episode 11 - You're Under a Rasta
    7.5/10(161 votes)

    S5:E11

    A drug-dealer's wife is found shot and their safe emptied. Simone and Sipowicz take the case. Russell and Kirkendall put themselves in the firing line. Meanwhile, Medavoy and Martinez get a call to investigate the body of a dead prostitute, found dumped in the garbage.

    Director:Robert J. Doherty
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. NYPD Blue Season 5 Episode 13 - Twin Petes
    7.5/10(165 votes)

    S5:E13

    A series of armed robberies at ATM Cashpoints leads Simone and Russell to a suspect. His mother knows where he is but refuses to help. Medavoy gets confused when a man blames his identical twin brother for a sex assault.

    Director:Matthew Penn
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. NYPD Blue Season 6 Episode 7 - Czech Bouncer
    7.5/10(168 votes)

    S6:E7

    Sipowicz and Sorenson are called to a robbery, where the aged shopkeepers have been beaten. The woman dies and Sorenson is affected. They hunt 2 black youths who were seen running away from the store. Russell and Kirkendall are sent to a 'Gentleman's Club' where a client has been killed. One of the girls implicates an ex staff member as the possible killer. Sgt. Dorning admits his doubts to Sipowicz, about an old case.

    Director:Paris Barclay
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. NYPD Blue Season 6 Episode 10 - Show and Tell
    7.5/10(153 votes)

    S6:E10

    Russell is still struggling with the loss of Simone and enlists Kirkendall's help. ADA Costas looks for ways to get Freddie Asuncion and clear Luis Suarez's name. The whole squad is involved when a supermarket is robbed and an off-duty cop is killed. When the FBI and Internal Affairs become involved, it opens old wounds for Sipowicz and Sorenson.

    Director:Marc Buckland
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. NYPD Blue Season 6 Episode 11 - Big Bang Theory
    7.5/10(156 votes)

    S6:E11

    A close friend of Sorenson's takes the law into his own hands when he confronts a groper on his bus route and puts his life in danger. A female tenant points the finger at a male tenant, when another female tenant is found strangled and beaten to death. Sorenson becomes her confidant in order to get to the truth.

    Director:Jake Paltrow
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. NYPD Blue Season 7 Episode 3 - The Man with Two Right Shoes
    7.5/10(134 votes)

    S7:E3

    Andy is finding Theo a challenge. A man is found dead in a hotel bath-tub, minus a part of his anatomy and some personal effects. A mother brings her son into the house because she thinks he's been stealing.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. NYPD Blue Season 11 Episode 4 - Porn Free
    7.5/10(132 votes)

    S11:E4

    The detectives investigate the strangulation death of a former porn star; a thirteen-year-old boy holds the key in implicating his father in his mother's murder; and the jury reaches a verdict in the Captain Fraker trial.

    Director:Dennis Dugan
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. NYPD Blue Season 2 Episode 1 - Trials & Tribulations
    7.6/10(245 votes)

    S2:E1

    Licalsi tries to plea bargain his case and only get six years in prison for the murder, but Kelly is greatly opposed to the bargain after realizing he's in love with Janice. After learning that Kelly still has feelings for Janice, Robin ends their relationship. Meanwhile, Sipowicz and Kelly go on a stakeout of an apartment complex that have been the target of several robberies.

    Director:Gregory Hoblit
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. NYPD Blue Season 2 Episode 3 - Cop Suey
    7.6/10(230 votes)

    S2:E3

    Kelly investigates the death of an undercover cop in Chinatown, and to do so he must accept help from a prominent Chinese gang leader. Meanwhile, Sipowicz finds out that a former abuse case he had worked on has escalated into homicide; and Medavoy and Donna's relationship is revealed after Lt. Fancy catches them in the act, leading to Fancy warning the precinct against interoffice relationships.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writers:Charles H. Eglee, Channing Gibson

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  17. NYPD Blue Season 2 Episode 8 - You Bet Your Life
    7.6/10(235 votes)

    S2:E8

    Sipowicz and Simone are assigned to the case of a pregnant woman who was murdered and the only charred remnants remain, which means there are few clues for the detectives to go by. Meanwhile, Sipowicz grows increasingly concerned when a close friend, Dan Breen, is badly beaten by his mentally handicapped son, Danny.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. NYPD Blue Season 2 Episode 9 - Don We Now Our Gay Apparel
    7.6/10(232 votes)

    S2:E9

    Simone and Sipowicz investigate the murder of a gay bar proprietor and have transsexual Candace La Rue as a material witness. Dan Breen decides to visit his mentally disturbed son, Danny, despite Sipowicz warning him not to do so. Elsewhere, Medavoy investigates a fortune telling scam after a woman is conned out of her life savings; and Lt. Fancy's wife goes into labor.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. NYPD Blue Season 2 Episode 19 - Boxer Rebellion
    7.6/10(212 votes)

    S2:E19

    Simone becomes attracted to an undercover cop, Diane Russell, as they work together to capture an arsonist. Sipowicz becomes personally involved in a case after a woman he convinced to testify in a case is murdered. Martinez and Lt. Fancy square off at the annual department boxing tournament.

    Director:Jorge Montesi
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 2 - Torah! Torah! Torah!
    7.6/10(219 votes)

    S3:E2

    An ill man is accused of killing his sister, but Simone suspects otherwise. Meanwhile, Medavoy and Sipowicz go under cover to recover a stolen Jewish icon. Sipowicz struggles to keep a secret.

    Director:Donna Deitch
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 6 - Curt Russell
    7.6/10(202 votes)

    S3:E6

    Simone and Sipowicz investigate the murder of an Indian woman, found strangled in her locked car. Medavoy and Martinez arrest a man acting strangely and find he's involved in a credit card scam. Lesniak and Russell team up to trap a gun dealer. Simone gets over-protective and makes Russell angry.

    Director:Jim Charleston
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 9 - Sorry, Wong Suspect
    7.6/10(193 votes)

    S3:E9

    A young girl is found stabbed, in Chinatown. Suspicion falls on the ex-boyfriend. Simone & Sipowicz Investigate. Martinez & Lezniak have to investigate a robbery, together, despite the bad feeling between them. Medavoy moves into the bunk-room.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 14 - The Nutty Confessor
    7.6/10(189 votes)

    S3:E14

    Martinez and Lezniak's relationship takes a step forward. Simone and Sipowicz are called to a bloody murder scene with satanistic overtones. A doctor is mugged and shot on a visit to his secretary's apartment. Russell and Medavoy feel the wrath of his wife's anger.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. NYPD Blue Season 5 Episode 7 - Sheedy Dealings
    7.6/10(164 votes)

    S5:E7

    2 working girls are raped and strangled in their shared apartment. Simone and Sipowicz hunt the killers. Medavoy and Martinez get information that a contract killing is being arranged. Russell and Kirkendall search for a necklace which was given away by mistake.

    Director:Dennis Dugan
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. NYPD Blue Season 6 Episode 15 - I Have a Dream
    7.6/10(146 votes)

    S6:E15

    Sipowicz has a nightmare about his father and Officer Dorning. A Police Officer shoots a drug dealer but can't prove that the dealer was armed. Sorenson and Sipowicz use all their resources to help him. Russell and Kirkendall try to settle a dispute between a convicted mobster and his Polish neighbour.

    Director:Marc Buckland
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Bad Rap" is the worst rated episode of "NYPD Blue". It scored 7.2/10 based on 170 votes. Directed by Matthew Penn and written by Thad Mumford, it aired on 4/29/1997. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "I Love Lucy".