S10.E02: Naughty or Nice

[wknt3]

Quote

Frank and Erin are at odds when Frank learns the D.A.'s office keeps a list of "unreliable" cops. Also, Danny and Baez recruit retired mobster Vincent Rella to assist in an investigation, and Jamie participates in a decoy operation to take down a predator posing as a ride-share driver.

Edited October 6, 2019 by wknt3

[Pabef]

Do Frank and his father live in the house Frank grew up in? They state this in one episode , but then they talk in another episode about Danny going to his old room.

[Katy M]

Danny: I'm always most bored by Danny's story.  I think it's because they have 3 or 4 stories going on in a 40 minute episode, so they're trying to cram a procedural into 10 or 15 minutes. It's not working.

Erin and Frank: I actually liked this story.  First of all, Garrett was 100% correct. The job of the police and the DA"s office is to protect the public and administer justice as best they can.  They shouldn't basically go on strike to fight with each other.  And, Anthony's strategy of getting the confession again seems an obvious choice that I'm surprised nobody else thought to try.

Jamie and Eddie:  I was mostly confused by a lot of details in this story.  I thought Eddie was working midnight to 8. I, therefore, am assuming that Jamie is working 8 to 4. So why is he just getting home when she's leaving for work?  Also, Sunday dinner, assuming that it's lunch after church, is now Eddie's "middle of the night."  

Time table aside, I'm not sure why Jamie was annoyed with Eddie for saving him.  I'm also not sure what kind of trouble she'll be in for shooting someone off-duty and following a cop on a case that she wasn't on.  And, I can' figure out why the heck Jamie thought that fight would be easier to have while driving as opposed to stopping.  I realize he probably wouldn't be able to put the car in park, but just slamming the brakes, probably would have done wonders for his ability to better control his situation.

Also, where did Eddie even come from.  That truck cut off the cops in the van.  Did she not start off near him?  Did she just luckily park a couple of blocks away in the direction he ended up driving?

[Magnumfangirl]

31 minutes ago, Katy M said:

And, I can't figure out why the heck Jamie thought that fight would be easier to have while driving as opposed to stopping. 

I was thinking the same thing.  Just stop the freaking car!  The entire Jamie/Eddie story was preposterous.  I can't stand these two together.  All they did when they were partners was argue about who's got who's back and now they are married and it's the same stupid arguments.  Get different jobs or STFU already.

36 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I think it's because they have 3 or 4 stories going on in a 40 minute episode, so they're trying to cram a procedural into 10 or 15 minutes. It's not working.

So true!  There's too much jumping around and it makes it hard to follow a detective story.

The description of the episode is wrong, it says the predator was posing as a ride share driver, but the predator was posing as a passenger to attack taxi drivers.  Plus the title is wrong; on the DirecTV guide the title was "Naughty or Nice."

[iwasish]

  No way would Eddies actions be acceptable. She was acting like his personal bodyguard. Love to see how internal affairs or whatever unit investigates officer involved shootings handles it. And Frank’s reaction.
 

The Erin/Frank showdowns are getting old. 

[Dr.OO7]

10 hours ago, Katy M said:

I'm also not sure what kind of trouble she'll be in for shooting someone off-duty and following a cop on a case that she wasn't on.

It's TV, so. . . nothing.

Real Life: A cop will have to make the decision to shoot someone maybe ONCE in his/her career. There's a thorough investigation by Internal Affairs while said cop is placed on desk duty and sent to talk to the department psychiatrist before he/she's cleared.

TV: A cop has to shoot someone literally every week or every other week and everyone just shrugs and carries on. The only time IA gets involved is if it turns out the suspect was unarmed and/or the circumstances were murky.

[Katy M]

6 minutes ago, Camille said:

The only time IA gets involved is if it turns out the suspect was unarmed and/or the circumstances were murky.

Or they need drama.  Or someone has a beef with the cop and are trying to get them in trouble. Or the guy that got shot was some kind of psychological genius and set the cop up to kill him just so the cop would get in trouble.

[MissLucas]

I take it that counter list was Garrett's idea? Not that anyone did mention it. Poor guy can't even win with the writers room.

The last scene with Erin and Frank was beautifully lit and shot. As for the actual plot: nothing new under the sun but I guess this is a set up for another major conflict further down the line. At least their final dialogue sounded that way.

As for the rest: meh. Though I must say Jaimie and Eddie's apartment looks cute.

[Dr.OO7]

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

Or they need drama.  Or someone has a beef with the cop and are trying to get them in trouble. Or the guy that got shot was some kind of psychological genius and set the cop up to kill him just so the cop would get in trouble.

Or if an innocent civilian gets hurt.

[AnnA]

I can't possibly say this enough.........I hate Erin!

[ctlady]

17 hours ago, Katy M said:

Also, where did Eddie even come from

I think she mentioned she was tracking Jamie's phone so she tracked him that way.

And the Janko-Regan nonsense is getting on my nerves - fast.  I never thought these two had chemistry and - even after marriage - they still don't.  Danny and Baez have more chemistry and there's nothing romantic between them.

1 hour ago, AnnA said:

I can't possibly say this enough.........I hate Erin!

I don't 'not' like Erin.  I do understand how the writers need to convey her DA ying to the PD yang.  She's all about the law and it makes her come across self-righteous a lot of times

[preeya]

17 hours ago, Magnumfangirl said:

I was thinking the same thing.  Just stop the freaking car!  The entire Jamie/Eddie story was preposterous.  I can't stand these two together.  All they did when they were partners was argue about who's got who's back and now they are married and it's the same stupid arguments.  Get different jobs or STFU already

ITA↑↑ 

Worst thing about this show are the lovebirds, and now it's really getting unbearable.

And as an aside: WRITERS/DIRECTORS:  where has any thought of realism gone?  That entire cab scene was an absolute abomination.

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

I think she mentioned she was tracking Jamie's phone so she tracked him that way.

I understood that, but I would have thought that when she was on her stakeout, she would have been parked somewhat close to Jamie.  Not close enough to be seen, of course.  So, how did she catch up so easily during that crazed driving and in NYC traffic.  Did she anticipate what he was going to do and thus go a different way so that truck that blocked the cop van didn't impede her?

[preeya]

3 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I understood that, but I would have thought that when she was on her stakeout, she would have been parked somewhat close to Jamie.  Not close enough to be seen, of course.  So, how did she catch up so easily during that crazed driving and in NYC traffic.  Did she anticipate what he was going to do and thus go a different way so that truck that blocked the cop van didn't impede her?

That entire scene was totally absurd.

[MissLucas]

17 minutes ago, Katy M said:

 Not close enough to be seen, of course.  So, how did she catch up so easily during that crazed driving and in NYC traffic.  

Interdimensional portal?

[AnnA]

3 hours ago, ctlady said:

I don't 'not' like Erin.  I do understand how the writers need to convey her DA ying to the PD yang.  She's all about the law and it makes her come across self-righteous a lot of times

IMHO Erin doesn't  just come across as self-righteous; she is self-righteous all the time.   

[Rambler]

Is this really the title of the episode? If so, I find it hilarious given the current news, but I am scratching my head trying to figure out how it would relate to the story.

[Katy M]

40 minutes ago, Rambler said:

Is this really the title of the episode? If so, I find it hilarious given the current news, but I am scratching my head trying to figure out how it would relate to the story.

The title was actually Naughty vs. Nice.

[wknt3]

12 hours ago, AnnA said:

IMHO Erin doesn't  just come across as self-righteous; she is self-righteous all the time.   

Of course she is. She's a Reagan, that's like their whole thing.
 

12 hours ago, Rambler said:

Is this really the title of the episode? If so, I find it hilarious given the current news, but I am scratching my head trying to figure out how it would relate to the story.

11 hours ago, Katy M said:

The title was actually Naughty vs. Nice.

Sorry about that. Don't know what happened there - the site I usually copy and paste the topics from had the wrong title somehow. At least the synopsis was correct with the exception of the ride share driver vs. taxi passenger thing (I guess the CBS PR department is only half watching these episodes just like us) . I guess that I will be added to the list of unreliable witnesses and we can all be giant jackasses to each other now?

[mojito]

Quote

And as an aside: WRITERS/DIRECTORS:  where has any thought of realism gone? 

How about Danny's heroics? He tells Pauly that he'd been following him, yet Pauly had enough time to break into the apartment, threaten one girl, then two girls, then both of them at the same time, all the while pointing a gun at them. And then Danny comes flying in for a tackle. I would think he would have been justified to shoot Pauly, and it would have been considered the best option. 

Jamie's struggle with the passenger, and Eddie's heroics...I accept super hero heroics in shows like 9-1-1 and The Rookie because at least there's a little excitement involved, and the writers make the attempt to create unusual dangerous scenarios, but this stuff is 1970s cop show flat. I agree, @Katy M, slamming on the breaks would've made more sense and not have endangered so many other motorists. 

[jaimesommers]

A question and an observation:

1. Is it common for older NYC apartment buildings to still have landline phones? I saw one on the wall in Jamie & Eddie’s apartment. 

2. When Eddie walks in to where Jamie is watching the football game on TV, there’s a crew member walking around in the room behind her. Sloppy work, show people - we deserve better than that!

[Brian Cronin]

Not only was the cab sequence over the top and silly, it also makes Jamie look like an absolute moron. Once he disarmed the perp, what was the worst thing the perp could do at that point? You just stop the car and hold your gun on him. Instead, Jamie tries to keep his gun on him WHILE DRIVING? 

Then, he seemed wholly unprepared for the fact that the perp was thrown into the front of the cab right next to the gun. "Whoops, that's not good." 

I know they wanted Eddie to be able to save Jamie as a role reversal thing, but holy shit, they handled it about as poorly as they possibly could (the rest of the detail look like incompetent fools, as well, of course). 

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, jaimesommers said:

1. Is it common for older NYC apartment buildings to still have landline phones? I saw one on the wall in Jamie & Eddie’s apartment. 

I don't think it matters what the building is, it matters if someone pays for a landline phone. Up until 2 years ago, my brother-in-law was required to have a landline for work in case of an emergency that made the cell towers go down. So, I can see cops having a similar requirement. 

Or, some people just still have landlines. I do.  My boss does.  A friend of mine does.  My parents do, but of course they're old.

[Brian Cronin]

When my wife and I finally moved out of the city and bought a house, we did pay for a landline under the general, "What if we can't get a cell signal?" concept...but we haven't actually gotten a phone yet. 

But yes, people still do do it! My brother has one at his house. They're so cheap nowadays.

[TV Diva Queen]

On 10/5/2019 at 4:11 PM, preeya said:

ITA↑↑ 

Worst thing about this show are the lovebirds, and now it's really getting unbearable.

And as an aside: WRITERS/DIRECTORS:  where has any thought of realism gone?  That entire cab scene was an absolute abomination.

my favorite was when the perp had the gun outside of the backseat driver side window and Jamie turned his body left and grabbed the gun through his own open window.  (I hope that make sense)

12 hours ago, jaimesommers said:

A question and an observation:

1. Is it common for older NYC apartment buildings to still have landline phones? I saw one on the wall in Jamie & Eddie’s apartment. 

2. When Eddie walks in to where Jamie is watching the football game on TV, there’s a crew member walking around in the room behind her. Sloppy work, show people - we deserve better than that!

I don't understand what you mean?  I'm certain that all older NYC building are wired for landlines.  

[Katy M]

46 minutes ago, TV Diva Queen said:

my favorite was when the perp had the gun outside of the backseat driver side window and Jamie turned his body left and grabbed the gun through his own open window.  (I hope that make sense)

While driving.  Without crashing.

[preeya]

So today reality mimics television with these NY Post headlines:

Bronx DA names 75 NYPD members on ‘naughty list’ for shoddy police work

https://nypost.com/2019/10/07/bronx-da-names-75-nypd-members-on-naughty-list-for-shoddy-police-work/

[jaimesommers]

9 hours ago, TV Diva Queen said:

I don't understand what you mean?  I'm certain that all older NYC building are wired for landlines.  

Yeah, that was a big disconnect between my brain and my fingers. I think what I meant was that I was surprised to see one so prominently displayed and is that something you’d still typically see in apartments like that. But Katy M gave a good explanation of why it might be that way that I’d (obviously) not thought about. 

[Mars477]

5 hours ago, preeya said:

So today reality mimics television with these NY Post headlines:

Bronx DA names 75 NYPD members on ‘naughty list’ for shoddy police work

https://nypost.com/2019/10/07/bronx-da-names-75-nypd-members-on-naughty-list-for-shoddy-police-work/

Where's a network procedural to make the case that the poor little NYPD are the victims here?

[preeya]

1 hour ago, Mars477 said:

Where's a network procedural to make the case that the poor little NYPD are the victims here?

It was on this past Friday. Regan vs. Regan The Main Event

[JayDub]

Typical episode. Good way to kill an hour. I now watch this out of habit.

[AnnA]

On October 7, 2019 at 4:22 PM, preeya said:

So today reality mimics television with these NY Post headlines:

Bronx DA names 75 NYPD members on ‘naughty list’ for shoddy police work

https://nypost.com/2019/10/07/bronx-da-names-75-nypd-members-on-naughty-list-for-shoddy-police-work/

On October 7, 2019 at 9:41 PM, Mars477 said:

Where's a network procedural to make the case that the poor little NYPD are the victims here?

75 out of 38,422 is pretty good. (0.00195201)

[Rambler]

On 10/5/2019 at 6:31 PM, Katy M said:

The title was actually Naughty vs. Nice.

Well that explains that, but I am still scratching my head as to how that particular title relates to this episode. At least "Whistleblower" had the advantage of being kinda funny.

In other typical Blue Bloods silliness:

Eddie is supposed to be working nights, but she pulls up to the dead cab driver in the middle of the day. This split shift story line is off to a rousing start.

With the amount of cab rides in New York City on a given day, what are the odds that the killer is going to call the cab with the undercover cop in it? Must be like a gazillion to one.

The cab chase was stupidly directed. Once the backup cops hear the perp high jacking the cab, there is no reason for the radio to suddenly go dead. Whether the radio is on or off makes no difference to the plot at that point, and when the backup van gets stuck in traffic, it contributes to a Keystone Kops like feel to the scene.

What they might have done was have the perp enter the cab with some kind of cell phone jammer that blocked the radio signal. Then while the backup cops were confused and trying to figure out if he was the killer or not, an unaware Jamie drives off and they lose him in traffic. At least this way, they lessen the chance of the audience injuring themselves from excessive rolling of the eyes.

[Maverick]

53 minutes ago, Rambler said:

Well that explains that, but I am still scratching my head as to how that particular title relates to this episode. At least "Whistleblower" had the advantage of being kinda funny.

 It's a play on 'are you on Santa's naughty list'.

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Rambler said:

Eddie is supposed to be working nights, but she pulls up to the dead cab driver in the middle of the day. This split shift story line is off to a rousing start.

Or was it the end of her shift, so just before 8 a.m.  Light out because it was September still, maybe, and people out because they were just headed for work.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

1 hour ago, Rambler said:

With the amount of cab rides in New York City on a given day, what are the odds that the killer is going to call the cab with the undercover cop in it? Must be like a gazillion to one.

I was wondering that also.  I thought that maybe possibly they had done some kind of analysis to figure out where and when he was most likely to strike next. But, then I remembered that this isn't Numb3rs.

[wknt3]

On 10/9/2019 at 6:32 PM, Rambler said:

Eddie is supposed to be working nights, but she pulls up to the dead cab driver in the middle of the day. This split shift story line is off to a rousing start.

On 10/9/2019 at 7:50 PM, Katy M said:

Or was it the end of her shift, so just before 8 a.m.  Light out because it was September still, maybe, and people out because they were just headed for work.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I kind of figured that's what we were supposed to be assuming if they thought about it all. While she was finding the dead cab driver Jamie was at roll call telling the day shift "Be careful out there." Actually I would love to see more roll calls on the show - "Item 17. Be aware that the PC has had a conversation with someone who believes that there are more then 2 Amendments to the Constitution. We are expecting an assault on on officer no later than the third act..."

[NJRadioGuy]

All yellow cabs in NYC are required by the Taxi and Limousine Commission to have a Lexan partition between the driver and back seat, as well as a working video camera aimed at the passengers. All. Not optional, so a big fail. Also the medallion format is Number-Letter-Number-Number, not Number-Number-Letter-Number. But "TV" so yeah. Also, a young white male taxi driver in NYC would stick out like a sore thumb, let alone a hot blonde. In the hundreds of cab rides I've taken I don't think I've ever had a driver not of middle-eastern or Indian or similar descent. And yeah, the chances of being the cab that picked up the perp is one in a gazillion.

Bonus content: There really are numerous NYPD decoy cabs that are fully-wired-up undercover cars. You can see some of them parked outside of the 58th street shops in Maspeth. They are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing, except the medallion on the hood is not real and may have a regular series license plate rather than the typical cab medallion number. They have UHF radio antennas on them, where real cabs generally don't, or if they do, they're typically longer CB antennas. The decoys will never pick up fares, obviously, but are used for surveillance so they don't get spotted.

How many damned times does this stupid show need to screw up the "confession" bullshit. You do not need a confession to get a conviction. It's icing on the cake when you do, but hardly necessary. Physical evidence, forensic evidence, video/photographic evidence, cellphone location data (accurate to within about 3 feet with modern phones, incidentally), text messages to and from the perp's account, eyewitness and corroborating witness statements, etc. All of that is admissible and if you have more than one or two solid pieces that's more than enough to secure a conviction. I'd wager that more than half  to 70% of perps say nothing or lie like a rug. If the investigators have the other evidence they lay the charge regardless of what the perp says.

Interviews are recorded, and I don't care how skeevy the detective is, if his or her interview was legally sound, the perp properly mirandized and everything was above board then that tape gets played at trial.

And that is IF there's a trial, which there almost certainly wouldn't be in this case. If that dumb f--k actually confessed to everything but they didn't want to put the cop on the stand then the DA's office would plead him out, probably with the very legitimate excuse of not wanting to put the elderly, disabled victims through a trial. Offer him 20 to life if he pleads out, or risk 50 years if convicted by a jury. Problem solved.

Edited October 12, 2019 by NJRadioGuy

[Vegadnyce]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:48 PM, jaimesommers said:

A question and an observation:

1. Is it common for older NYC apartment buildings to still have landline phones? I saw one on the wall in Jamie & Eddie’s apartment. 

2. When Eddie walks in to where Jamie is watching the football game on TV, there’s a crew member walking around in the room behind her. Sloppy work, show people - we deserve better than that!

That phone was probably connected to the buzzer at the main door downstairs, so you can speak and see who it is before you buzz them in.

[GladysCravits]

I can’t believe that in reality, the Police Commissioner of New York runs the city of New York as portrayed by Tom  Selleck.  He doesn’t  even have to listen to the Mayor.  He apparently is all knowing.  The only other people intelligent enough to  help run the city, are apparently his family members.    Wondering how much input Tom Selleck has in the writing of the show.  I’m betting a lot.  

[Sarah 103]

My understanding is that it was Henry's house and then it became Frank's. Danny, Erin, and Jamie grew up in the same house thier father did. 

[yankydoodle]

I really like it that Erin is so tough. It is good to see. Job and personal feelings clash, but a woman standing her ground no matter what, and no matter who is at odds with her, that is really good to see.