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.

This week …. someone’s getting married!

Episode 4.20 “The Wedding”

(Dir by Alan Taylor, originally aired on May 10th, 1996)

Kevin Lungo, a Baltimore radio host, is found dead.  The previous day, he announced on his program that he was not only in favor of abortion but he was in favor of requiring any pregnant woman with an IQ of less than 100 to have one.  Did that comment lead to him being gunned down in a parking lot?

(When this episode aired, 100 was considered to be an “average” IQ.  Now, the average IQ is considered to be 90.  That’s not a good thing.)

We never really find out.  The case is handled by Giardello and Kay and, while Kay has never heard of Lungo, it turns out that Giardello used to enjoy listening to him.  (Hopefully, Giardello disagreed with Lungo’s pro-eugenics stance.)  When the radio station offers a $5,000 reward for any tips, someone calls in and give the name of the “killer.”  When Giardello and Kay follow-up on the tip, the suspect pulls a gun and is shot dead by Giardello.

Giardello feels guilty about the shooting.  He tells that Kay that, when he was younger, he was able to shoot well-enough that he could simply wound a suspect, instead of killing him.  Making it even worse is that the dead man has an alibi.  The call was just a practical joke between friends.  “Why did you have to kill him!?” the dead man’s friend wails.

Back at the squad room, Lewis shocks everyone by announcing that he’s getting married to a woman that they’ve never heard of.  While he doesn’t invite any of his co-workers to the wedding, he does ask them to attend a reception at the Belvedere Hotel.  He tells Pembleton to order and pay for the flowers.  He asks Russert to arrange for the band and an open bar and asks if she would be willing to cover the cost.  (“Until my next paycheck,” Lewis assures her.)  Munch assumes that Lewis is lying.  Most of the squad room suspects that Lewis is lying.  But they give him the benefit of the doubt and show up for the reception.

Also going to the reception is Carrie, the very glamorous sister of Kay Howard.  Carrie is visiting from Florence and soon, both Kellerman and Bayliss are shamelessly flirting with her.  An actress named “Margaret May” is credited as playing Carrie.  Of course, Margaret May is actually Melissa Leo.

With the exception of Giardello and Kay (who are still working the Lungo murder), all of Lewis’s colleagues show up at the ballroom.  Even the crusty forensics examiner, Scheiner (Ralph Tabakin), shows up.  “Do you want to dance?” he asks Russert’s daughter.  “NO!” she replies.

But where’s Lewis?  Lewis is missing.  Was Munch right?  Pembleton, who is there with his very pregnant wife, is not amused.  As Brodie films him, Pembleton announces that he is going to kill Lewis and he will never get caught because of his experience as a homicide detective….

Fortunately, Lewis shows up before Pembleton gets his gun.  And accompanying Lewis is his new wife, Barbara Shivers (Karen Williams)!  The reception is a huge success.  The band plays.  Kellerman and Bayliss both try to hold onto Carrie’s attention.  Scheiner watches as Russert’s daughter proceeds to dance with everyone but him.  Finally, Giardello and Kay show up.  Kay warns Bayliss that Carrie is dangerous.  Bayliss asks why.  Kay says that Carrie likes to play game and she just does whatever feels good.  Bayliss looks intrigued….

Mary Pembleton’s water breaks on the dance floor as she goes into labor!  (In a nice twist, Mary Pembleton was played by Andre Braugher’s real-life wife, Ami Brabson.)  As the episode ends, even Giardello smiles.  For all the ugliness in the world, there is still hope.

I loved this episode!  Homicide’s greatest strength was its ensemble and here, everyone gets a chance to show off.  Yaphet Kotto reminds us of what an imposing actor he truly was, though my favorite Giardello moments continue to be the times when he allows himself to get amused by the absurdity of it all.  What really made this episode was for me was that, even with the wedding reception and Mary going into labor, the episode never allowed itself to be sentimental.  For most of the episode, everyone is skeptical about Lewis getting married and, having watched Meldrick Lewis for four season, I was skeptical too!  In the end, the episode earned its right to emotionally satisfying through smart storytelling and good acting.