NYPD Blue (season 4)

Sipowicz and Simone catch the case of a dead man found in a trunk; evidence indicates the trunk had been dragged over precinct lines from the 13th. Greg and Andy, concerned over their expanding waistlines, declare a weight-loss contest, which Andy keeps postponing. Geri Turner is the new PAA. Bobby is surprised when he finds he has inherited an apartment building; he asks Diane to marry him and she says she is not ready for that. Notes

• First appearance of Gina Colon (played by Lourdes Benedicto), who eventually marries Martinez.

Sipowicz and Simone catch the case of an art burglary at the residence of an impoverished European prince and his well-to-do American wife. Her life hangs in the balance as the result of the beating she sustained at the hands of the burglars. James' first case as delegate is a sticky one when he has to deal with a detective who seems to have two wives. Diane gets an offer to return to OCCB work and reconnect with an arms dealer named Jimmy Liery who might have gone active again.

• Christopher Meloni guest stars as Jimmy Liery.
• Judy Reyes, who became well known for her later role in Scrubs, guest stars as Anna Ortiz.

Detective Jill Kirkendall joins the 15th and immediately picks up a case where a guy is being threatened unless he marries an overweight young woman her brother claims he impregnated. Andy tells Fancy that Geri's behavior is bothering him, and Fancy has Geri and Gina switch working locations inside the 15th. A limo driver's murder is connected to a closeted businessman and his bad taste in male prostitutes. Diane remains in her undercover role. Bobby finally leans hard enough on Henry to find out the truth about the murder in his building.

Note:

• First appearance of Andrea Thompson as Jill Kirkendall.

Fancy and his wife are pulled over in Bayside, Queens, by two uniformed officers on the basis of driving in an all-white neighborhood. Fancy angrily plans to transfer the senior officer Szymanski to a precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn as punishment for his profiling actions, before some criticism from Captain Bass leads to Officer Szymanski's arrival at the 15th. Andy begins having dreams where he see his dead son, Andy Jr., but he is confused and angry about the uneven and pointed nature of their conversations. The dreams play into Andy's psyche when he and Bobby investigate a real life string of bar robberies. They have to deal with a stolen .45 automatic, the involvement in one robbery of Vince Gotelli, and a too-eager cop who is trying to solve the case on his own before they get a break and make arrests. Diane and James come up with a plan to bust scam artists who are ripping off disabled women. Andy learns he will need to find a different outlet to see his dead son in the future.

• Tony Todd as Det. Eddie Hazell
• Pat Crawford Brown as Mrs. Klein
• Michael DeLuise as Andy Sipowicz, Jr.

Sipowicz and Simone catch the case of a woman's body found in an alley, strangled and apparently raped. They learn she was a Russian mail-order bride and focus on her old American husband and a young Russian man she was having an affair with to solve the case. Medavoy, on edge over a mystery dinner with Abby, is uncharacteristically violent as he and Martinez investigate a drive-by where the vehicle was a city bus. Sipowicz has a night job as a marshal, and his first assignment has him thrilled: baby-sitting drug mules until they pass the drugs.

• Robert Carradine guest stars as Gerard Salter

Simone and Sipowicz investigate the case of a young Latino shot on the street in front of his pregnant girlfriend. Nobody, including the girlfriend, is interested in being helpful; the likely reason develops when it turns out a local gang head honcho was involved. Medavoy and Martinez catch a shooting at an auto repair shop where the partner's son, who happened to be out of the shop at the time, acts hugely suspicious. The victim was a huge NYPD supporter and the top brass pushes Greg and James to use force to get a confession, but Greg has a different approach in mind and it succeeds. Russell and Kirkendall are assigned the case of a shaken Chinese baby who the doctor says isn't likely to make it. Greg, Abby, and Kathy finally have dinner together. Bobby and Diane see Jerry Maguire and Diane asks Bobby to show her...the engagement ring.

• Lucy Liu guest stars as Amy Chu.

A jumpy waiter leads Simone and Sipowicz to the killers of five Ecuadorians at a social club; a nervous Medavoy awaits Abby's ovulation and hampers Russell's interview strategy with a child molester; and Simone must withhold information from Sipowicz, who disapproves of his partner's undercover wardrobe.

• Currie Graham guest-stars as Frankie Lankersheim, seven years before playing Lt. Thomas Bale.

Bobby gets in trouble over the license plate he ran for Joey Salvo the previous week at the FBI's request when they will not stand up for him after IAB finds out about it, and he learns that the FBI suspects IAB of having someone on Salvo's payroll. Bobby's relationship with Andy gets worse as the secrecy about the case continues (though Andy learns Bobby has talked to Diane about it) and affects their investigation of a rape-assault. Andy tries to protect scared witness Steve Cameron, but indifference from ADA Leo Cohen and Bobby's focus being elsewhere leads to a horrible ending. The cops find out that Vince Gotelli hijacked a city bus while drunk and Fancy works to save Vince from jail time.

• Richard Schiff guest stars as Steve Cameron