Shared with you
First episode with no crime being committed and nobody in the squad actively investigating any cases. Detective Sipowicz Dennis Franz is trying to help out his ex-wife Debra Monk, who got a DWI 9 weeks ago. Since the "crime" happened over 2 months ago and Detective Sipowicz doesn't really need to do any "investigating", this is no crime episode. Note: This is applicable only to the 45-minute syndicated version. In the full version, running 66 minutes (not counting commercials), there is a case of a male complainant wanting to file assault charges against the landlord of his building. This case is handled by James Martinez and Greg Medavoy. All scenes related to this secondary story line are cut from the syndicated and streaming versions.
Jimmy Smits did not comment on his Season 6 departure from his role as Det. Bobby Simone, only saying "it was time to do something else" and agreeing to a five-episode story arc to properly let the character say goodbye. Speculation ran amok as to what was going on, but years later Smits told the whole story: he found series creator David Milch's creative and writing style so erratic and exhausting that he needed to take a break from both the show and acting altogether for a little while.
This episode originally aired in a 90-minute time-slot, with a running time of about 66 minutes, sans commercials. The syndicated version, running 45 minutes sans commercials, is nearly always the one aired in syndication and streaming. The full version is available on the DVD release of this season.