Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Sundays, I will be reviewing Homicide: Life On The Street, which aired from 1993 to 1999, on NBC! It can be viewed on Peacock.
Finally, it’s time for another Bayliss/Pembleton episode!
Episode 6.9 “Closet Cases”
(Dir by Leslie Libman and Larry Williams, originally aired on January 2nd, 1998)
Finally, we’ve got another Pembleton/Bayliss episode!
Well, don’t get too excited. It’s not perfect. We still have to sit through some scenes of Falsone arguing with his wife and complaining about not having custody of his kids. And the Georgia Rae Mahoney storyline is continuing to drag on. This week, she sends Kellerman a videotaped message in which she explains that there is no tape of Kellerman murdering Luther. She just told Kellerman that to see how he would react. And since Kellerman reacted like a murderer, Georgia has decided that she is going to eventually kill Kellerman. “You won’t see it coming!” she says. Whatever.
As for Bayliss and Pembleton, they investigate the murder of a gay businessmen who was left in dumpster, clad in lingerie. Gay nightclub owner Chris Rawls (Peter Gallagher) helps out with the investigation, introducing Pembleton and Bayliss to the community. What’s interesting about this storyline is that, for once, the roles of Pembleton and Bayliss are reversed. Bayliss is fascinated by Baltimore’s gay community while Pembleton is the one who keeps saying things like, “I don’t need to see two men dancing.” Usually, Pembleton is the open-minded one while Bayliss is the one who is uptight.
In fact, it’s such a role-reversal that it doesn’t always ring true. In the past, Bayliss has been so uncomfortable around any type of non-straight, non-missionary position sex that it feels very out of character for him to suddenly marvel about how how everyone at a gay bar is having a good time. To the show’s credit, Pembleton does mention this. Bayliss replies that he hasn’t been happy for a long time and he’s wondering if maybe he needs to change his outlook. He points out that the murder victim was in a relationship for 12 years. That’s longer than any relationship that Bayliss has ever had.
(This episode opens with Bayliss and Dr. Cox breaking up which — eh. I never bought them as a couple to begin with.)
The murderer turns out to be sociopathic male sex worker, who taunts Bayliss in the Box, saying that he can tell that Bayliss is attracted to him. Bayliss smirks. The suspect offers to confess if Bayliss tells him that he likes his ass. Bayliss slowly repeats the suspect’s words back at him. The suspect confesses. It’s an odd scene. I’m kind of preferred it when the detectives would actually have to put some effort into tricking their suspects into saying the wrong. So far, in season 6, everyone is just confessing.
At the end of the episode, Rawls asks Bayliss to come to a wine testing with him and Bayliss says yes. Pembleton is shocked and tells Bayliss that Chris was asking him on a date. Bayliss says he understands that. He adds, “I’m not gay” before then saying that he finds Chris Rawls to be witty and intelligent.
And here’s the thing. As always, Andre Braugher and Kyle Secor totally sell it. Even though Bayliss’s words and actions seem totally out-of-character after everything we’ve seen over the past five seasons, Kyle Secor makes it work. Bayliss deserves some happiness.
And I deserve some more Bayliss/Pembleton episodes. Seriously, this season has been so Falsone-centric that I was starting to forget just what a great team Andre Baugher and Kyle Secor truly were.
