Created by the brainchild of Dick Wolf and Kevin Arkadie,this was one of the greatest cop shows ever to come out of the 1990's. Dick Wolf,whom at the time had a shining diamond from "Law and Order",struck gold again in the 1990's centering around the personal and professional lives of two New York cops. Realistic,gritty,very hip, and outrageously clever,"New York Undercover" was ahead of its time. This was a brilliant series in the way it showed a side of New York that never before existed,but this was a grand series that did so much for inner city minorities what "The Cosby Show" did for middle-class minorities in the mid-1980's and early 1990's in the way it depicted strong non-stereotypical characters living through the harsh realities of the stressful world and the situations they encounter. A gritty cop show that had a cinematic verite style about it that had viewers tuned in each week. This was a series that had a lot of pulsating jazz and Hispanic music not to mention a lot of rap music in the background as the cops tracked down the criminals and brought them to justice.
For the astounding four seasons that it ran on FOX,it was of the network's successful shows on its Thursday night line-up which consisted of the successful urban comedies "Martin"(aka "The Martin Lawrence Show")and "Living Single". During its run on the air it ran against NBC's Thursday night juggernaut powerhouse comedy line-up of "Seinfeld","Friends","Frasier",and the medical drama "ER",not to mention the CBS newsmagazine series "Eye to Eye with Connie Chung" which survive in the ratings during its brilliant first season. The series ran on FOX from September 8,1994 until June 25,1998 producing 108 episodes under the executive producer of the series Dick Wolf,under his production company Wolf Films and Universal Television.
Synopsis: Detectives Eddie Torres(Micheal DeLorenzo),and James "J. C." Williams(Malik Yoba)were two young undercover cops assigned to the fourth precinct in the Manhattan section of Harlem and other parts of the city. J. C. Had a son by a former girlfriend Chantal(Fatima Faloye)and maintain a close relationship with her because he wanted his son Gregory "G" Williams(George Gore II) to grow up straight. Sandra(Michael Michele),his current girlfriend was an attorney at law. His partner Eddie,who has never been married,dated a lot of women and had a romantic interest in the latter episodes. He and his sister Carmen(Lisa Vidal)tried to look over for their dad Mike(Jose Perez),a recovering drug addict and saxophone player. Their boss was Lt. Virginia Cooper(Patti D'Arbanville-Quinn)who was tough as nails and the person in charge of authority at the precinct to whom the guys were assigned their cases. Their cases ranged from solving crimes,which ran the gambit from drugs,corruption within the department,sex crimes,murders,kidnappers,and all of the above.
Guest stars that appear on this show,particularly musical guest stars,were the punch-line to almost every episode which was the icing on the cake. Natalie's was the jazz club where Eddie and J. C hung out when they were not on duty. Speaking of Natalie's--this was a showcase at the end of each episode,the club was the ultimate showplace for some of the biggest names in the business to show there talent. Names like Gladys Knight,B. B. King,and Al Green were seen in various episodes not to mention Notorious B. I. G.,Mary J. Blige, Boys II Men,and Take 6 & Blackstreet were seen at the club doing their latest smash hits which was the main highlight of the show. And speaking of the supporting characters,some who were cast regulars on "Law and Order","Homicide:Life on the Street",and "Oz" made their mark on this series.
Then the unthinkable happened. At the end of the show's third season,the May of 1995 season finale,Sandra,pregnant with J. C.'s child is gunned down in cold blood by a vengeful criminal on the day they she and J. C were to be married. In the climatic scene that followed,her murderer was killed by Eddie to keep him from stabbing a wounded J. C to death. What followed next,Eddie was killed in a explosion by one of the most diabolical criminals ever devised...the unpredictable and deliciously evil crime-mastermind Danny-Up,played brilliantly by actor-rapper Ice-T. His character was a more believable and more entertaining persona,and the storyline he brought to the show was not only incredible,but a masterpiece(its amazing how he went from villain to supercop on Dick Wolf's Law and Order:Special Victims Unit).
At the start of the show's four and final season,new characters were brought in along with a new focus and from there,the magic that made it brilliant in its first three seasons was gone. Even after this the show lost its edge and its audience disappeared. Great while it lasted. Thank you Dick Wolf,for doing something right.
For the astounding four seasons that it ran on FOX,it was of the network's successful shows on its Thursday night line-up which consisted of the successful urban comedies "Martin"(aka "The Martin Lawrence Show")and "Living Single". During its run on the air it ran against NBC's Thursday night juggernaut powerhouse comedy line-up of "Seinfeld","Friends","Frasier",and the medical drama "ER",not to mention the CBS newsmagazine series "Eye to Eye with Connie Chung" which survive in the ratings during its brilliant first season. The series ran on FOX from September 8,1994 until June 25,1998 producing 108 episodes under the executive producer of the series Dick Wolf,under his production company Wolf Films and Universal Television.
Synopsis: Detectives Eddie Torres(Micheal DeLorenzo),and James "J. C." Williams(Malik Yoba)were two young undercover cops assigned to the fourth precinct in the Manhattan section of Harlem and other parts of the city. J. C. Had a son by a former girlfriend Chantal(Fatima Faloye)and maintain a close relationship with her because he wanted his son Gregory "G" Williams(George Gore II) to grow up straight. Sandra(Michael Michele),his current girlfriend was an attorney at law. His partner Eddie,who has never been married,dated a lot of women and had a romantic interest in the latter episodes. He and his sister Carmen(Lisa Vidal)tried to look over for their dad Mike(Jose Perez),a recovering drug addict and saxophone player. Their boss was Lt. Virginia Cooper(Patti D'Arbanville-Quinn)who was tough as nails and the person in charge of authority at the precinct to whom the guys were assigned their cases. Their cases ranged from solving crimes,which ran the gambit from drugs,corruption within the department,sex crimes,murders,kidnappers,and all of the above.
Guest stars that appear on this show,particularly musical guest stars,were the punch-line to almost every episode which was the icing on the cake. Natalie's was the jazz club where Eddie and J. C hung out when they were not on duty. Speaking of Natalie's--this was a showcase at the end of each episode,the club was the ultimate showplace for some of the biggest names in the business to show there talent. Names like Gladys Knight,B. B. King,and Al Green were seen in various episodes not to mention Notorious B. I. G.,Mary J. Blige, Boys II Men,and Take 6 & Blackstreet were seen at the club doing their latest smash hits which was the main highlight of the show. And speaking of the supporting characters,some who were cast regulars on "Law and Order","Homicide:Life on the Street",and "Oz" made their mark on this series.
Then the unthinkable happened. At the end of the show's third season,the May of 1995 season finale,Sandra,pregnant with J. C.'s child is gunned down in cold blood by a vengeful criminal on the day they she and J. C were to be married. In the climatic scene that followed,her murderer was killed by Eddie to keep him from stabbing a wounded J. C to death. What followed next,Eddie was killed in a explosion by one of the most diabolical criminals ever devised...the unpredictable and deliciously evil crime-mastermind Danny-Up,played brilliantly by actor-rapper Ice-T. His character was a more believable and more entertaining persona,and the storyline he brought to the show was not only incredible,but a masterpiece(its amazing how he went from villain to supercop on Dick Wolf's Law and Order:Special Victims Unit).
At the start of the show's four and final season,new characters were brought in along with a new focus and from there,the magic that made it brilliant in its first three seasons was gone. Even after this the show lost its edge and its audience disappeared. Great while it lasted. Thank you Dick Wolf,for doing something right.