Tom Selleck’s favorite episode of “Blue Bloods” is one of the most moving of the series – and its 13 seasons to date…
As an actor, choosing your favorite episode in the series you star in is not easy. Especially if it has been running for more than 10 years, as is the case with the police drama Blue Bloods – which will bow out with a 14th and final season this year.
The star of the show, Tom Selleck, however, has one: it is the episode “Where were you on 9/11?” (season 2, episode 12, “The Job” of its original title), an episode which demanded a lot from the actor in terms of emotion.
The plot here revolves around Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) who is attacked with his family by an unknown gunman. However, the emotion is based on the experiences of his father Frank (Tom Selleck) who must digest the death of an ex-partner who fell seriously ill following his heroic work at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Tom Selleck raised the subject in an interview with TV Insider: “The one that will always be my favorite is “Where were you on 9/11?” in which you discovered that Frank was in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11.
It was quite moving because September 11 was still fresh in people’s minds. It was hard for me to be strong as an actor, to not fall apart because Frank is stronger than that. […]
The episode ends with people getting sick from being there at that time. We were the first series allowed to show the World Trade Center Memorial, right after its completion.”
CBS
The episode indeed deals with the meaning of September 11 in the memory of those who witnessed it, like Frank in the series. As the plot reveals, he was in one of the Word Trade Center towers on the day of the attacks and suffers from something called survivor’s guilt syndrome.
With so much emotional depth, it’s no wonder this is my favorite episode of Tom Selleck.
Before the series returns for a final season 14, Blue Bloods can be seen streaming again on Paramount+.