Q: Big Apple doesn’t sound like the name of a rough-and-tumble cop show. A: It’s the fruit of the tree of knowledge. It’s about three different cultures – the NYPD, the FBI, and the criminal world. Each deals with the exile from the garden, the loss of innocence. Q: Does the city represent that loss of innocence? A: We show New York as the embodied human experiment. One of the characters says, “It’s open 24 hours a day – finding out what you’re ready for.” Q: Have you liked shooting here? A: It sucks. I’ve got a wife and three kids in L.A. They’ve each come to visit me in rotation. Q: You’re going up against ER – how psyched are you? A: I’m not. I’m appalled at the prospect of all the work I have to do. Q: How’s a cop show different from, say, a hospital drama? A: You know the Stockholm Syndrome? People like to sympathize with their captors, and viewers need to idealize institutions – whether it’s a hospital or a police station – that give them uneasiness. Other shows stay at that level, presenting idealized characters. But the challenge is to move past that. Q: You went to Yale with George W. Bush. Was he more like Sipowicz or Rick Schroder? A: He was a nice enough guy, but I’m not the best witness – I was drunk most of the time.