Blue Bloods feels like a cross between NYPD Blue and Brothers & Sisters. 

Everyone seems to end up at Dad’s a lot and not just for Sunday dinners.  Thankfully, Tom Selleck has the presence to pull off the patriarch role.  We see the crime of the week through the eyes of a cop family and not all of them see it the same way.

On "Samaritan," Danny is the lead detective on the train robbery case where a perp is shot and killed by Oliver, a good Samaritan with an illegal gun.  Grandpa thinks Oliver is a hero and should walk.  Danny is sympathetic to his plight and considers trying to throw the case.  Erin encourages him to let the law take its course and Frank reminds them that “we can’t choose which laws we enforce.” 

These family dinner scenes are the strongest moments of the show.  They have the best dialogue and tell us what these characters are thinking.

Erin coping with her strained relationship with her teenage daughter gave us the warm fuzzy moments of the night.  Frank had a touching connection with his only daughter.  He even dug out an old letter she wrote when she was eleven and ran away in order to remind Erin that all parents go through hard times and she can get through it.  As much as this is a cop show, I think Frank being the strong, loving father is what holds things together.

I did have a few issues with this episode.  Having both Oliver and Hanson reach out to reporter Kelly Davidson felt a little contrived, as though they were searching for a way to pull Frank’s girlfriend into the story.

Also, when the Police raid Hanson’s crew’s address, wouldn’t ESU go in first and not uniforms and detectives?  I’m no expert on police procedure, but this is a raid during a high profile case.  Isn’t that what ESU is for?

And did it feel like Danny ran down every suspect and made every arrest.  But I did love the camera work during the chase scene at the end using the subway turnstyle.  Very cool.

I like Jamie’s training officer calling out Danny for not following procedure when he tracked down Cranston’s body.  According to Sgt. Renzulli, Danny did three things Jamie should never do.  “Leave his partner.  Not tell anyone where he was going.  Not calling in the open subway hatch or the blood.”  Danny has a hero complex.  We’ll see what kind of trouble that brings him.

Speaking of Jamie, we barely saw him in this episode. Again, at the end, agents try to persuade him to join the investigation into the Blue Templar.  It’s the investigation that may have gotten his brother, Joe, killed.  If I were Jamie, I think I’d simply go to Dad (who happens to be the Police Commissioner) and ask him what he knows about this, but then I guess we wouldn’t have our big mystery if things were that simple.

So, what did you think of the second episode of Blue Bloods?  Is the show a keeper?  Does the family drama mesh with the crime stories or distract from them?

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.