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, the guest stars take over.

Episode 5.15 “Wu’s On First?”

(Dir by Tim McCann, originally aired on Feberuary 7th, 1997)

When a cop is shot and killed, the new Baltimore Sun crime reporter, Elizabeth Wu (Joan Chen), writes up a story about what a great guy the cop was.  She is soon contacted by an informant who reveals that the cop was shot while buying drugs.  Eventually, the informant reveals that he was the one who shot the cop but he claims it was self-defense.  Wu gives up her informant to the police and when Col. Barnfather (who was embarrassed by the revelation that the victim was a dirty cop and who wants to get Wu off of the crime beat) makes a point of thanking her at the press conference, it leads to Wu being exiled from Baltimore and sent to cover the news in “the sticks.”

Meanwhile, Kellerman’s obnoxious brothers (Eric Stoltz and Tate Donovan) show up and try to convince him to move to Miami with them.  Kellerman is tempted but, when it turns out that his brothers have stolen Babe Ruth’s uniform, Kellerman remembers why he left home in the first place.  This episode features Kellerman getting arrested, though Lewis and Dr. Cox both show up to bail him out of jail.  (And don’t worry about his brothers.  They eventually get freed as well.)  In the end, Kellerman stays in Baltimore.  He does, however, give his brothers $155 to help them set things up in Miami.

This episode suffered from the guest star syndrome.  The regulars are all present but, for the most part, they take a back seat to Elizabeth Wu and Kellerman’s brothers.  Joan Chen, Eric Stoltz, and Tate Donovan are all talented but they’re not the reason why anyone would want to watch Homicide.  In Elizabeth Wu’s case, the story really does feel like fan fiction.  A new character shows up out of nowhere, all of the characters talk about how talented she is, and Giardello takes a liking to her.  This episode was co-written by David Simon (who, of course, wrote the book that the entire series was based on) and, much like the final season of The Wire, it makes the mistake of thinking that everyone else would be as interested in Simon settling old scores with The Baltimore Sun as Simon obviously was.

As I watched this episode, I wondered if maybe it was meant to be a backdoor pilot.  Actually, I guess it would count as two backdoor pilots in one.  It’s easy to imagine a show about Elizabeth Wu covering the news in small town Maryland.  It’s also easy to imagine a show about Kellerman’s brothers getting into trouble in Florida.

As it is, this episode doesn’t really feel like Homicide.  It’s a rare misfire.