Some final miscellaneous thoughts and a wrap-up...

-On continuing plotlines: This is always one of my big pet peeves, but to 
be fair, I can think of only two instances all year where the writers 
dropped the ball on a potential on-going story. James' shooting had no 
repercussions, and neither did Andy's use of the N-word to Brother Kwasi. 
And both of those events were major enough that there should have been 
some kind of fallout in later episodes.

But other than that, events that needed follow-up got it. Every 
character, with the surprising exception of Bobby and the 
not-so-surprising exceptions of Lt. Fancy and Donna, had at least one 
plotline that went on for most of the year. Diane had her difficulties 
with her family and with staying sober. Greg finally left Marie once and 
for all and wound up stuck in the "crib" for months. James pursued 
Adrianne; she resisted, but eventually they got together, and then that 
turned into a disaster. Sylvia got pregnant and gave birth. Andy tried to 
deal with being a dad again, then got close to his other son, then lost 
him and hit bottom before bouncing back.

Now, some might debate the relative merits of some of these stories -- I 
know I'm not the only one who cringed during most of the James/Adrianne 
storyline -- but at least there was more of a feel of continuity this 
year than last, where little carried over from show to show. I do wish, 
that we would on occasion see an ongoing story that was entirely 
work-related: Andy being put through the media ringer of the Kwasi 
incident for a number of episodes, or James struggling to get back on the 
ball again after getting shot would have both made great stories, in my 
opinion. 

Still, this is no longer as big a problem as I thought it was a few 
months back.

-On the female characters: Well, Diane made a big quantum leap in my 
estimation over the course of the year, from a character and actor I 
really didn't like at all to someone I enjoy and appreciate every week.
Sylvia was also well-used for the most part whenever Sharon Lawrence was 
around, even if I do wish we could see more of her on the job. And while 
Donna didn't really do anything until her final three episodes, I've 
realized that there were mitigating factors involved (see the section on 
characters). 

But the step forward taken with Diane seems contradicted by the two steps 
back taken by Lesniak, who not only turned into a harpie at mid-season, 
but also became an appendage of Martinez. Only once all year did Adrianne 
have a storyline that wasn't really connected to James ("Curt Russell") 
and even there she was discussing whether or not she was a lesbian. She 
never really got a chance to develop into her own person on the show, and 
now that Justine Miceli's leaving, I guess she'll never get the chance 
to. C'est la vie.

-On the season as a whole: I have a confession to make. I don't remember 
the first season all that well. Yes, I watched every episode at the time, 
and in reruns. But I wasn't paying nearly as much attention then as I 
have the last two, when I've been writing these weekly reviews. So it's 
hard for me to say honestly how this year stacks up against year one. 

I can say, however, that it's got year two beat all to hell. For example, 
every Best Drama Emmy nominee has to submit eight episodes as being 
representative of the season. Just for the heck of it, I tried to figure 
out which my eight would be, and I had a really hard time. There were at 
least a dozen episodes that I thought were terrific, and a bunch more 
that I also liked, though not as much. With the second season, I'd be 
hard pressed to come up with more than five or six real standouts, and 
that's including the episodes with Caruso. 

So many great moments stand out from this year. Mr. Medavoy's Wild Ride 
from the season premiere. Bobby releasing his pigeons at the end of 
"Heavin' Can Wait." The beeper going off at the end of "Dirty Laundry." 
Bobby talking about his dad in "Aging Bull." Sgt. Martens putting Bobby 
in his place in "Cold Heaters." Andy playing a psycho in lock-up in "The 
Nutty Confessor." Andy's lessons to Andy Jr. Giancarlo Espito's 
performance in "Hollie and the Blowfish." The two brothers talking in the 
season finale. The hug at the end of "Auntie Maimed." And every last 
minute of "The Backboard Jungle," "A Death in the Family," and "Closing 
Time."

I could go on, but you get the idea. It was a great year for the show, 
and I really had a blast doing these reviews.