Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 6.11 “Shaggy Dog, City Goat”

Posted on November 8, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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!

This week, the tyranny of the new detectives continues.

Episode 6.11 “Shaggy Dog, City Goat”

(Dir by Kyle Secor, originally aired on January 16th, 1998)

If Homicide were currently airing, this is the type of episode that I would refuse to review. This is the type of episode that would force me to take a stand and announce, “NBC, what the hell are you doing!?” However, since Homicide has been off the air for nearly 30 years, there’s nothing to be gained by boycotting.

Neither Pembleton nor Bayliss is in this episode. Now, in all fairness, I should mention that Kyle Secor directed this episode, so it makes sense that Bayliss wouldn’t be a part of the main action. And who knows? Maybe Andre Braugher was doing a movie or something. In the past, the show could have survived an episode without Pembleton and Bayliss. Some of the Lewis/Kellerman episodes are my favorites of seasons 4 and 5. Munch and Howard were always a good combination as well. But this is season 6. Kay Howard is gone. Lewis and Kellerman are barely speaking. And we’ve got new detectives to deal with!

Ballard and Gharty, for instance, investigate the death of a drug dealer from Appalachia. Apparently, in Baltimore, hillbillies are known as city goats. Gharty is familiar with them. Ballard, being from Seattle, is not. Personally, I like Ballard and Gharty as partners. I appreciate the fact that Gharty is a deeply flawed man who still tries to do a good job and who wants to be a better person. (That makes him more interesting than a certain other new Homicide detective.) But the whole City Goat thing just fell flat. This is the type of loose storyline that Lewis and Kellerman could have done wonders with because both of them are firmly established characters with their own unique rhythm. I like Ballard and Gharty, but they still haven’t reached that point.

Meanwhile, Falsone is preparing to go to court to get custody of his children and… you know what? I don’t care about Falsone and his kids. We already went through this storyline with Beau Felton, and it wasn’t that interesting the first time.

Georgia Rae Mahoney files a wrongful death lawsuit against the Homicide Department. WHO CARES!? Seriously, this Mahoney stuff is so boring. Lewis confronts Georgia and makes the mistake of striking her. Georgia laughs and laughs. It’s so cartoonish that I felt embarrassed for everyone involved. Lewis gets suspended. Well, great. I guess that will mean cases for Falsone to mumble his way through.

Finally, Dr. Cox told her fellow MEs a story about a man who jumped off a roof and then got shot as he passed his parents’ window. Now, I did enjoy this part of the episode, even if the whole storyline was just a retelling of a familiar urban legend. Kellerman and Munch worked the suicide-that-might-be-a-homicide. Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows both overacted as the parents of the deceased, but at least they didn’t break into Georgia Mahoney-style mad laughter. But Munch, Kellerman, and Cox made for a good team.

I’m really not sure what NBC was thinking sidelining the most popular characters on the show in favor of Jon Seda’s Falsone. From what I’ve read, Falsone was supposed to be the cool, sexy cop who would bring in younger viewers, but the character is so boring and Seda’s performance is so bland that my mind starts to wander whenever he shows up in an episode. The sixth season has felt like the Falsone show, and it annoys me that I can’t write to NBC to complain.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 6.9 “Closet Cases”

Posted on October 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 6.6 “Birthday”

Posted on October 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s yet another Falsone episode.

Episode 6.6 “Birthday”

(Dir by Alison MacLean, originally aired on November 7th, 1997)

This episode is an example of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good part of the episode is that Mary Pembleton finally goes into labor and gives birth to a son. Andre Braugher was so intense on this show that it was always nice to see an episode where Frank could just be happy.

The bad is that Georgia Rae Mahoney has surveillance camera footage of Kellerman killing Luther Mahoney. The Mahoney stuff is just getting dragged out. As Luther Mahoney, Erik Todd Dellums was a magnificent villain. Hazelle Goodman is considerably less compelling as Georgia Rae but, then again, the writers aren’t doing her any favor by having Georgia Rae always talk like a comic book villain.

The ugly is that the main storyline is yet another Falsone story. This time, Falsone, Lewis, and Stivers investigate the rape and violent assault of a woman named Grace Riviera (Allison Folland). As you might expect, Falsone takes the case — wait for it — PERSONALLY! When one suspect doesn’t give Falsone the answers that he wants in the box, Falsone beats him up. He guarantees Giardello that he will close the case. Giardello responds that he likes Falsone. Well, good for Giardello, I guess.

As I’ve said before, there’s several problems with Falsone’s character. The biggest one is that Falsone doesn’t really have much depth, especially when compared to characters like Pemblton, Bayliss, or even Lewis. He’s a collection of cop show cliches. He’s the epitome of everything that Homicide was supposed to be against. Jon Seda’s one-note performance is jarring when compared to the rest of the cast. Callie Thorne’s Laura Ballard may not be a particularly interesting addition to the ensemble but at least Thorne can show a hint of emotion.

The biggest problem with Falsone is the way that this season keeps trying to force him on the viewer. If a viewer wants to watch Pembelton, Bayliss, Munch, or any of other other detective solve a murder, they’re out of luck. It’s the Falsone show!

This episode ends with Falsone going to the hospital to tell Grace that he’s arrested the man who attacked her, just to discover that Grace died. It’s not the shocking moment that the show meant it to be. And emotionally, it falls flat because it’s a Falsone moment.

Homicide is the series that I want to review. I have no interest in The Falsone Show.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 6.3 “Blood Ties, Part 3”

Posted on September 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the Wilson case is finally resolved.

Episode 6.3 “Blood Ties, Part 3”

(Dir by Mark Pellington, originally aired on October 31st, 1997)

“Yo, Frank!” Detective Ballard yells at Pembleton at the start of this episode and I have to admit that I immediately cringed at the sound of it. The man’s name is “Detective Pembleton.” Ballard has done nothing so far to give her the right to address Homicide’s best character as “Yo, Frank!”

Of course, the main theme of this episode seemed to be all the detective who have been with the show since the beginning suck and that the new arrivals can do no wrong.

Take Falsone, for instance! After a drug dealer is murdered, Falsone proves himself to be the only one who can talk to the dealer’s traumatized child. Lewis is a buffoon in this episode, gloating over the dead dealer and traumatizing the kid while trying to lead him through the police station. But Falsone? He knows exactly what to say and, with his gentle prodding, the kid identifies the murderer of his parent as being a narcotics detective who is on the Mahoney payroll. When Lewis asks Falsone why he’s so awesome, Falsone explains that he’s divorced and he misses his own kids….

OH MY GOD! He’s a young detective who gets results and he’s divorced! For a show that previously avoided stereotypes, Homicide is going out of his way to promote a big one in the form of Detective Falsone.

Meanwhile, the Wilson case is resolved. It turns out that Ballard was totally correct and Pembleton was totally wrong. Melia was killed by a member of the Wilson family and, to the surprise of absolutely no, the murderer turns out to be Hal Wilson (Jeffrey Wright, giving perhaps the worst performance of his distinguished career), the twitchy son of Felix. Hal was obsessed with Melia and flew into a rage when he found out she was sleeping with his father. Pembleton even gets Hal to admit it but –– Law & Order plot twist time! — Felix and Hal were only willing to talk to Pembleton on the condition that they weren’t Mirandized so the confession is inadmissible. (That doesn’t seem like something that the normally meticulous Pembleton would agree to but whatever.) Felix, Hal, and the entire family leave Baltimore for San Diego.

Afterwards, Ballard track Pembleton down and tells him that she’s going to be a Baltimore homicide detective whether he likes it or not. Pembleton admits that he was wrong. Watching the scene, one gets the feeling that the show is telling us, “Who needs Pembleton and Bayliss and all those boring cops when we’ve got new cop who are young and sexy and infallible?”

And here’s the thing. There’s nothing wrong with bringing in new characters. There’s nothing wrong casting attractive actors in those roles. There is something wrong with pushing the characters to whom we’ve grown attached aside and insisting that we instead embrace new characters that we barely know.

This was a disappointing ending for the first three-parter of the series. The season has just started and I’m already sick of Falsone trying to prove that the Luther Mahoney shooting wasn’t justified. I’m sick of everyone talking about George Rae Mahoney as if she’s some total badass as opposed to a plot device. And I’m tired of my favorites being pushed to the side.

We are not off to a good start.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 6.2 “Blood Ties, Part Two”

Posted on September 6, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the investigation into Melia’s murder continues.

Episode 6.2 “Blood Ties: Part 2”

(Dir by Nick Gomez, originally aired on October 24th, 1997)

Detectives Munch and Kellerman investigate a murder at Camden Yards, where the Orioles are playing the A’s and also where someone beat a loudmouth New Yorker to death in the stairwell. Munch and Kellerman’s investigation is hindered by the fact that there’s a baseball game going on and every single witness would rather watch the action on the field then discuss the murder. In fact, most of them don’t even consider it a crime to kill a Yankees fan. Eventually, even Kellerman decides that he’d rather just watch the game.

In the end, though, Kellerman and Munch do make an arrest. The murderer turns out to be another Yankees fan who was upset because he thought the Yankees were going to be playing the Orioles. He’s even willing to sign a confession as long as he’s allowed to watch the end of the game.

Meanwhile, Pembleton and Bayliss continue to investigate the murder of Felix Wilson’s maid, Melia. While Ballard and Gharty think that Pembleton should be looking at the Wilsons (and Gharty specifically feels that Pembleton is biased because the Wilsons are black and rich), Pembleton theorizes that the maid was killed by her abusive ex-boyfriend. However, when it turns out that the boyfriend is still in prison in Haiti, Pembleton finally calls in Felix Wilson.

In the Box, Pembleton tells Felix that Melia had sex before she was murdered and that he needs a blood and hair sample so that both Felix and his son Hal (Jeffrey Wright) can be eliminated as suspects. “I had sex with her,” Felix says. Felix goes on to say that he didn’t kill her. Later, Felix’s attorney shows up at the station and announces that Felix has not only exercised his right to legal counsel but he will also not be submitting either his blood or his hair without a court order. Both Pembleton and Giardello are left shaken. Could Felix Wilson, a man admired by both of them, be a murderer?

This episode was an improvement on last week’s episode. Munch and Kellerman got a decent, non-Luther Mahoney storyline. The Wilson storyline is bringing out the best in both Yaphet Kotto and Andre Braugher and the great James Earl Jones is perfectly cast as Felix Wilson. Ballard and Gharty held their own against Pembleton and Bayliss and, as opposed to last week, both of them seemed like they actually belonged in the Homicide Unit. There was a great breakroom confrontation between the four detectives. Even better, there was a genuinely funny scene in which Bayless called in his junior high French teacher to talk to the police in Haiti.

And yet, we still had to sit through a bunch of nonsense with Detective Falsone. Falsone is still investigating the Luther Mahoney shooting, even though no one has asked him to do and all of the detectives involved were cleared of any wrongdoing. Why, Falsone, why? Why is Falsone so determined to prove that Lewis and Kellerman did something wrong in the shooting? Why are we expected to sympathize with a character like Falsone? This episode even features Falsone having a chance meeting with Dr. Cox and flirting with her. Hey, Falsone — that’s Kellerman’s routine! What the Hell!?

This would be a fine episode if not for Falsone and his vendetta against his fellow cops. The show is really determined to try to make me like Falsone but …. I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 6.1 “Blood Ties, Part One”

Posted on August 30, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we start season 6.

Episode 6.1 “Blood Ties: Part 1”

(Dir by Alan Taylor, originally aired on October 17th, 1997)

It’s a new season of Homicide and, while Pembleton and Bayliss have been off working in the robbery division, some changes have occurred. Sgt. Howard has left Homicide to work in another division. Brodie’s documentary won an Emmy and he’s moved to Los Angeles. Melissa Leo and Max Perlich are no longer a part of the cast.

Instead, we have three new detectives. Gharty and Falsone (ugh!) are now full-time members of the squad. Joining them is Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne), a recent transfer from Seattle. When Pembleton and Bayliss return to Homicide, the first that they see is Ballard and Gharty being given a commendation for solving “the Rico case.” Meanwhile, Falsone is walking around the squad room like he owns the place. Giardello praises the new detectives and basically acts as if Pembelton and Bayliss are useless.

And listen, as much as I dislike Falsone and Jon Seda’s mumbling performance in the role, I do think that Peter Gerety is well-cast as Gharty. And Callie Thorne seems like she’ll do a good job as Ballard, even if this episode does spend a bit too much time trying to convince us that she’s the greatest detective since Frank Pembleton. But, when it comes to Homicide, I want to follow detectives like Munch, Lewis, Pembleton, and Bayliss. I want to watch as Kellerman battles his demons and Giardello battles his superiors. My point is that I don’t care about these new people. I don’t care that Ballard is a hotshot detective. I don’t care that Gharty is a blue-collar guy who is looking to prove himself. I can’t stand Falsone. I don’t want any of these people to be the new lead characters on the show. I want Melissa Leo with her weird accent. What are we even doing here, Homicide?

This episode, however, seemed to be determined to force the new characters on me. For instance, Georgia Mahoney (Hazel Goodman) is in town, looking to get revenge for the death of her brother Luther. She’s got people shooting at Lewis, Kellerman, and Terri Stivers. Needless to see, Lewis and Kellerman get involved in tracking down and arresting not only Georgia but also Junior Bunk (Mekhi Phifer), Luther’s incompetent nephew. However, Falsone gets involved too. This means that we have to sit through an entire scene of Falsone attempting to interrogate Kellerman about the Mahoney shooting and the inconsistencies in the statements given by Lewis, Stivers, and Kellerman.. Hey, Falsone — YOU’RE THE NEW GUY! WE LIKE KELLERMAN! LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU MUMBLING DOUCHEBAG!

Meanwhile, at a banquet honoring distinguished businessman and civil right activist Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones), a young Haitian woman is found beaten to death in the men’s room. Her name is Melia and she worked for the Wilsons. Now, in this case, Pembleton and Bayliss are the primaries but Ballard and Gharty still come along to provide support and soon, Ballard and Pembleton are arguing about the best way to handle the investigation. Ballard thinks that Pembleton is going easy on Felix Wilson because of Wilson’s standing in the black community. Pembleton thinks that Ballard should remember who the primary investigator is. And myself, I’m wondering why Pembleton and Ballard are having the type of conversations that Pembleton used to have with Bayliss. Whenever Pembleton and Bayliss debate prejudice, it works because we know who Pembleton is and we know how Bayliss is. We don’t know enough about Ballard for her debate with Pembleton to really mean anything.

Apparently, Homicide was nearly cancelled after the end of season 5. When it was renewed, it was done on the condition that had to improve its rating and win its time slot. This episode feature a lot of action. A man on a motorcycle fires at Falsone and Lewis. A sniper hits Kellerman in the arm. The cops stop Georgia’s private plane from taking off and arrest her. Visually, this episode is brightly lit and there’s none of the odd camera angles that dominated the previous few seasons. Comparing this episode to the episodes that came before it creates a tonal whiplash that can only be compared to going from the Steve Carell-led Office to the Ed Helms version. It’s not necessarily bad but it just doesn’t feel right.

This episode ends with Georgia in jail and Pembleton still investigating the death of Melia. Season 6 is off to a start and I’m not really happy about how it’s going so far but we’ll see what happens.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 5.21 “Partners And Other Strangers”

Posted on August 16, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we discover that Daniel Baldwin will not be returning to Homicide.

Episode 5.21 “Partners and Other Strangers”

(Dir by Leslie Libman and Larry Williams, originally aired on May 9th, 1997)

A call to investigate what appears to be a suicide leads Pembleton and Brodie to an isolated house in Baltimore. The dead man has been found with a shotgun in his hands and his face blown apart. It’s not until Pembleton looks at the dead man’s ID that he discovers that the man is former Detective Beau Felton.

Played by Daniel Baldwin, Felton was originally a major character on Homicide. He was the cynical, sweaty detective who had an affair with Megan Russert, a partnership with Kay Howard, and a marriage with a crazy woman who wouldn’t let him see his kids. Felton is the one who Robin Williams yelled at for being an insensitive ass in the Bop Gun episode. As the series progressed and the focus shifted from characters like Felton and Bolander to Pembleton and Bayliss, Felton was given less and less too. Daniel Baldwin was fired from the series at the end of season 3. Felton was said to have been suspended for his rowdy behavior at a convention.

The episode fills us in on what happened to Felton after his suspension. He apparently retired from the force and then stopped returning phone calls. He disappeared and everyone else moved on. At first, the squad room wonders if they could have done anything to prevent Felton’s suicide. Howard and Lewis (who lost his previous partner to suicide and who nearly lost Kellerman to the same thing) are especially hit hard. We get several flashbacks to the episodes that featured Felton and we’re reminded of just how much Daniel Baldwin used to sweat when he was on the show.

Dr. Cox takes a look at the skull fragments and the blood splatter and she realizes that Felton didn’t kill himself. He was shot in the back of the head and then someone tried to make it look like he committed suicide. Pembleton, Howard, and Bayliss are now investigating the murder of Beau Felton and they’re getting some help.

Megan Russert flies in from France to offer up her skills as an investigator. If I remember correctly, Russert was never that good of a detective but it’s nice that she showed up.

Detective Paul Falsone (Jon Seda), from the auto theft squad, says that Felton was working with a notorious group of car thieves. Falsone wants to help the investigation for …. reasons, I guess.

Finally, Detective Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety) shows up. When we last saw Gharty, he was a decorated cop who was too scared to enter an apartment building to help out one of his fellow officers. Now, Gharty is working for Internal Affairs. He reveals to Giardello that Felton was working undercover and he was helping to uncover a crooked cop in the department. Colonel Barnfather announces that Gharty is going to work with Homicide on the Felton case.

Even if I didn’t already know that Falsone and Gharty are going to become regular characters during season six, it would be obvious from the introductions they’re given in this episode. Peter Gerety, who later played a sympathetic judge on The Wire, is fine in the role of Gharty. But I can already tell that Falsone is going to annoy me. Some of it is because his character is the type of cliche that Homicide has, to this point, avoided. He’s a young rebel who gets results …. HIS WAY! From the minute he shows up, he’s telling Howard and Pembleton how they should conduct their investigation and it’s kind of annoying. I mean, who the Hell is this jerk? As played by Jon Seda, Falsone mumbles the majority of his dialogue and he just doesn’t seem like he belongs on Homicide.

This is a two-parter so we’ll see how the investigation wraps up (or doesn’t) next week. Oddly, I have to admit that Felton’s death didn’t really have the type of emotional impact that the show seemed to think that it would. Unlike the lovably eccentric Crosetti, Felton was never really that interesting of a character. Far more impactful than the squadroom thinking about all of the times Felton acted like a jerk was the scene where Pembleton followed Bayliss to his uncle’s home. Later, Pembleton told Bayliss that he now understood why Bayliss has been missing work. In the past, this would have led to a fight between the two of them but both Bayliss and Pembleton have grown over the season. Pembleton apologizes for following Bayliss. (“I’m a detective. It’s what I do.”) Bayliss opens up about how he’s struggling with the concept of forgiveness. As always, the show’s heart is with Bayliss and Pembleton.

Next week, season 5 comes to an end!

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 5.20 “Narcissus”

Posted on August 9, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week’s episode was written by none other than Yaphet Kotto!

Episode 5.20 “Narcissus”

(Dir by Jean de Segonzac, originally aired on May 2nd, 1997)

A shooting at four in the morning leads to a group of white patrolmen chasing a black suspect across West Baltimore until he ducks into a building that they’ve been told not to enter. The building is the headquarters of the African Revival Moment, a militant group that is led by a former cop who goes by the name of Burundi Robinson (Roger Robinson). Robinson is one of the most powerful men in West Baltimore, a hero to the community and also someone who has connections to Baltimore’s police commissioner, James Harris.

As Robinson explains to Lt. Giardello, he and Harris were once partners. When he and Harris busted a heroin dealer, Harris sold the drugs back to the dealer for $10,000. When it was discovered that the drugs were missing from the evidence lock-up, Harris and Robinson flipped a coin with the understanding that the loser would resign from the force and take the fall. Robinson lost the coin toss. Robinson went on to start ARM and Harris became the police commissioner.

At first, Harris (who doesn’t appear in this episode but instead is simply a background figure of menace) protects Robinson and sends Col. Barnfather to the scene to order Detectives Pembleton and Munch to back off. However, when a member of ARM comes forward to say that Robinson ordered the shooting because the victim was going to expose Robinson’s history of taking sexual improprieties with his followers, Harris suddenly starts ordering the police to get more aggressive with Robinson and ARM. Harris does this with the full knowledge that the police raiding ARM headquarters and attempting to arrest Robinson will lead to a violent confrontation. When the police eventually do bust into the headquarters, they discover that Robinson and all of his followers have committed suicide. Giardello understands that was Harris’s hope all along. He was willing to risk a riot just to silence the one man who could prove his corruption.

This episode was written by Yaphet Kotto and, not surprisingly, Giardello is at the center of the action. The lengthy scene where he meets with Robinson is the highlight of the episode as both Giardello and Robinson have a unique understanding of how things work in Baltimore. Giardello has had first-hand experience with Harris’s corruption and he’s not in the least bit surprised by either Robinson’s story or Harris’s heavy-handed attempts to control the investigation. In a bit of wonderful irony, when Harris initially tries to protect the African Revival Moment, he uses the racist Captain Gaffney to interfere with Munch and Pembleton’s investigation. Gaffney, one of the most loathsome characters on the show, is suddenly the one who is telling a suspect to demand a lawyer and leaking the name of the informant to Robinson.

This episode was a strong one all the way around, with Kotto, Andre Braugher, and Roger Robinson all playing proud men who each had their own unique view on how to best deal with the issue of race in Baltimore. (One thing that sets Homicide apart from so many other shows is not just the diversity of the cast but also the diversity of personalities and opinions.) The ending carries a punch. When Giardello says that there will be Hell to pay, you believe him.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 5.19 “Deception”

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the Luther Mahoney saga comes to an end.

Episode 5.19 “Deception”

(Dir by Peter Medak, originally aired on April 25th, 1997)

A Nigerian drug courier is found dead in a hotel room and, of course, that means that Kellerman, Lewis, and Stivers are going to get another chance to go after Luther Mahoney. After covering up the death of the actual courier, the police send in an undercover officer who delivers a batch of “bad” drugs to Mahoney’s middleman, Antonio Brookdale (Christopher Mann). When the drugs hit the street, it leads to a revolt amongst Mahoney’s customers. No one is buying from Mahoney and that causes Mahoney to lose his temper. Luther Mahoney can handle almost anything but he can’t handle losing money.

Mahoney demands that Antonio meet him at a public park. What Mahoney doesn’t know is that the police — including Kellerman, Stivers, and Lewis — have got the park staked out. When Mahoney, in a fit of rage, shoots both Brookdale and an innocent mother with her kids, the police rush to the scene. A panicked Mahoney jumps in his vehicle and drives away, leaving his crew behind to get arrested.

Lewis tracks Mahoney down to his apartment, where Mahoney is desperately packing up his money. The sight of Mahoney causes Lewis to lose control. He starts hitting Mahoney, demanding to know why Mahoney had to kill so many people when he could have just been content to sell drugs. Mahoney manages to grab Lewis’s gun. Kellerman and Stivers burst into the apartment with their own guns drawn. Seeing them, Mahoney lowers his gun and says, “What are you going to do? Read me my rights?”

“You have the right to remain silent….” Kellerman says, before shooting and killing Mahoney.

OH MY GOD, KELLERMAN JUST EXECUTED LUTHER MAHONEY!

Technically, you could argue that, as Mahoney was still holding the gun, the shooting was justified. Mahoney lowered the gun but he never dropped it. Nor did Mahoney ever say that he was surrendering. Instead, he laughed and mocked the cops. If Mahoney had raised the gun quickly enough, he probably could have gotten at least one shot in before Stivers and Kellerman had time to take action. Then again, Kellerman also never ordered Mahoney to drop the gun. Instead, he just shot him. After Mahoney falls, Kellerman asks Lewis and Stivers if either has a problem with what happened. “Nope,” Lewis says. Stivers, however, doesn’t look convinced that the shooting was justified.

It’s a shocking moment but it’s also a moment that feels somewhat inevitable. Kellerman has spent this entire season with people accusing him of being crooked. Even though he was never charged, even his fellow detectives assumed that he must have been doing something to get in trouble in the first place. Meanwhile, Mahoney killed numerous people and smirked every time that he got away with it. Kellerman snapped and probably committed a crime.

If that’s not bad enough, Munch is contacted by Punchy DeLeon (Lewis Black), a small-time mobster who has just spent ten years in prison on a murder charge. Punchy tells Munch that he knows that a criminal associate of his, Jimmy Pugliese, was murdered and buried in section C of the parking lot at the Plimco race track. With Munch and Brodie in attendance, the parking lot is dug up and …. nothing is found. Munch does some further investigating and discovers that Pugliese had a girlfriend named Fallon (Deborah Hazlett). When he drives out to see her, he discovers that Pugliese (Brian Hemmingsen) is still alive. Pugliese orders to Much to get off his front porch. Much leaves, not realizing that he’s been followed by Punchy.

Back at the office, Sgt. Howard tells Munch not to worry about it because there hasn’t been an actual homicide. However, then Fallon shows up and says that Pugliese has disappeared. Munch drives out to Plimco, where he finds Punch waiting for him in Lot C. Punchy explains that he took the fall for a murder the Pugliese committed. Because Pugliese didn’t keep his promise to take care of Punchy’s wife while Punchy was in prison, Punchy used Munch to track down Pugliese. And now, Pugliese really is buried under the parking lot. (It helped that the parking lot itself was already ripped up due to Munch searching for the body the first time.) Munch tells Punchy that he’s going back to prison. Punchy replies that he did ten years for a murder he didn’t commit and suggests that should allow him to commit one murder without punishment. It doesn’t work that way, which is kind of sad because Punchy was a likable guy.

Finally, Bayliss and Pembleton decide to be partners again. Good news! But Bayliss is also buying groceries for the uncle who molested him. What the Hell, Bayliss!?

Seriously, this episode got dark!

Well, dark or not, this was one of the better episodes of season 5. This was Homicide at its most cynical. Luther Mahoney is dead but someone else will inevitably take his place and now Kellerman really has committed a crime. (For all the cheering the cops do as they listen to Mahoney incriminate himself on tape, it’s not going to be much comfort to children of the innocent woman that he shot in the park.) For once, Munch actually does his job well and the end result is a man getting murdered and Punchy going back to prison.

One final note: I will miss the magnificently evil performance of Erik Dellums, who played Luther Mahoney with the right mix of arrogance, hubris, and ruthlessness. A good villain is hard to find!

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 5.11 “The Documentary”

Posted on May 24, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Brodie reveals his film!

Episode 5.11 “The Documentary”

(Dir by Barbara Kopple, originally aired on January 3rd, 1997)

On December 31st, the detectives are gathered in the squad room and waiting for the big ball to drop in New York. The phones have not rung all night but, as Munch keeps reminding everyone, that is soon going to change. Brodie comes in with a VHS tape and shows the detectives the documentary that he’s filmed about them. Finally, we learn why Brodie has been filming random corners of the station for the past few episodes.

I have to admit that I was expecting this to be a clip show and there is one lengthy montage that is made up of scenes taken from previous episodes. But, for the most part, the documentary is all new footage. We watch as Bayliss and Pembleton investigate a murder committed by a mortician who didn’t want people to learn that he was dressing up the dead and posing with them. (Yikes!) All of the detectives take a turn explaining how the Miranda rights work, with their dialogue lifted pretty much intact from the David Simon book that inspired the show. In a parody of Homicide’s signature visual style, the same clip of Lewis and Kellerman walking into a bar is shown three times in a row. At one point, Lewis, Kellerman, and Brodie chase a suspect and run into a Barry Levinson-led film crew that is filming a show called Homicide. “Real cops don’t yell ‘freeze,'” Brodie tells Levinson.

It’s a clever episode, made all the more so by the reactions of the detectives watching themselves on screen. Pembleton confesses to Bayliss that it’s hard for him to watch footage of himself before his stroke because Pembleton doesn’t recognize the young and angry detective that he used to be. All of the detectives object to footage of them joking about their job. As the documentary ends, Giardello asks for the original copy for “safe keeping.” Brodie reveals that he already sold the documentary to PBS. “You can’t show us joking about dead people!” Munch says. “It’s an invasion of privacy!” Bayliss says. Brodie starts to defend himself but then the ball drops, the new year begins, and the phones start ringing.

This was a good ensemble episode. If, for some reason, you only wanted to watch the later episodes of Homicide, this would be a good one to start with because the documentary re-introduces us to everyone. Funny, dramatic, and eventually quite emotional, this episode was Homicide at its best.