Michael Salconi | Through the Shattered Lens

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.

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Sundays, Lisa will be reviewing Homicide: Life On The Street, which aired from 1993 to 1999, on NBC! It can be viewed on Peacock.

This week, Homicide explores the theory that, when it comes to twins, there’s always an evil one.

Episode 4.7 “Thrill of the Kill”

(Dir by Tim Hunter, originally aired on November 10th, 1995)

Pembleton and Bayliss are working with the FBI to try tack down Newton Dell (Jeffrey Donovan), a Florida man who the FBI believes has committed a series of murders up and down the interstate. He’s in Maryland now, driving a stolen truck. Pembleton and Bayliss are able to catch him, though not before three murders have been committed in their jurisdiction. However, in the Box, Newton insists that he was not the murderer. He says that the murderer was someone who was traveling with him but he refuses to give out the name. He says he can’t betray the murderer. Even when it’s pointed out that his fingerprints were found at the crime scenes, Newton insists that that the murderer wasn’t him.

Bayliss thinks that Newton is trying to set up a insanity defense. Pembleton doesn’t care. His job is to catch people who commit murder and, as far as he’s concerned, he’s done just that. Besides, Newton Dell’s story doesn’t make any sense. Why would his fingerprints be all over the crime scene if he wasn’t the killer? Why has every witness provided a description that roughly fits Newton Dell?

Strangely, neither man seems to remember that Munch earlier mentioned that Newton Dell has a twin brother.

Yes, you read that correctly. This week, Homicide — a show that started off as a very realistic and gritty crime drama — present us with a murderous twin!

Miles Dell calls the department and lets them know that he can’t let his brother go to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Soon, all of the cops are pulling up outside of a convenience store. Miles (also played by Jeffrey Donovan) is waiting for them. In the store, a dead clerk is sprawled out on the floor. So, that’s another murder that occurred because Pembleton and Bayliss somehow overlooked the evil twin theory!

The entire tone of this episode feels different from every episode that preceded it. With this episode, we hear the tortured inner thoughts of Miles Dell, we get some random slow motion, and we finally get an ending that is so over the top that it feels like a dry run for CSI or Criminal Minds. Yes, Bayliss and Pembleton do have their usual philosophical debates about the nature of evil. This is definitely a Homicide episode. However, it’s also a Homicide episode that shamelessly embraces the melodrama. There’s not a subtle moment to be found in this episode. It’s a weirdly entertaining episode but it’s still somewhat jarring to watch. This is one of those episodes that was obviously made to keep NBC happy. One need only compare it to something like Doll’s Eyes to see how different this episode was from what came before it.

Again, it’s an entertainingly trashy episode. Bayliss and Pembleton are enjoyable to listen to. Jeffrey Donovan was entertainingly over-the-top as both Newton and Miles. That said, I hope this episode was just a one-off and not a sign of what’s waiting for me over the rest of the season 4.