So last night was, of course, the series finale of NYPD Blue. I think it may take some time for that to sink in. I mean, the show ran for twelve years, and I watched it all the way through, from the first episode to the last. Okay, I may have missed the occasional episode here and there, but that's different from, say, drifting away completely, as I did with Law & Order, or joining partway through, like Stargate SG-1, or even leaving and coming back, like ER and Judging Amy. In fact, I think the only show I watched so faithfully for so long has been Doctor Who. Funny how one leaves the air mere weeks before the other comes back...

Anyway, it was the perfect conclusion to the series. Andy Sipowicz--the only character to stick around through the whole series--has entered a new phase of his life and career, so there was a sense of completion and closure. But there's also the sense that life, and the world, goes on. For the most part, the story was just another episode, with very little to distinguish it from the rest, and that's the way it ought to be. Only at the end, when all the characters, one by one, stopped by Andy's new office to say goodnight, did it feel like something was coming to an end.

And the whole thing was preceded by a retrospective hosted by former cast member Jimmy Smits (who almost makes me want to watch The West Wing this year, but not quite). It reminded me of how much I had consistently enjoyed the show for the past 12 years, and how much I'll miss it. The first two seasons have been released on DVD, and, of course, I own them. (I own freaking One Tree Hill, Wonder Woman and The Greatest American Hero on DVD; you think I'm not going to buy my favorite show?) And when I watch those early episodes, I am reminded of how groundbreaking and different the show was when it premiered and, although quite honestly, as time passed, it did grow to look more like the rest of what was on TV, it remained very good right up until the end. I hope, hope, hope, the remaining ten seasons get released on DVD, because it's a series I don't want to let go of.

Of course, last night also saw the premiere of The Amazing Race 7. It appears to be off to a great start, although I already hate Survivor vets Rob & Amber. They're just so freaking smug, and they really don't need to be on another show like this. (And they're using their fame to get the advantage, which just sucks.) I was sorry to see that the first team to be eliminated was the redneck friends, because I would have liked to have seen if they were more than the stereotype. Teams I already don't like: the really annoying gay couple, and the on-again, off-again couple. I do like the mother-son team (although she's already showing some irritating traits), and I like the war "hero"/beauty queen couple. In a lot of ways, they remind me of the previous race's Jon & Kris, who almost won by remaining calm and competent throughout, and only lost through sheer dumb luck. This couple seems similarly nice, only they're not as bright, and they're letting other teams walk all over them. I'd really like to see them grow a spine and start taking charge.

Oh, and my stupid DVR, which has been giving me my share of problems lately (the other week, it deleted a bunch of WB shows for no apparent reason) failed to record the first two episodes of the new Gordon Ramsey series, [B]Boiling Point[/b], and I didn't realize it until it was too late.