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

Posted on August 30, 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! It can be viewed on Peacock.

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 5.13 “Have A Conscience”

Posted on June 14, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Luther Mahoney returns.

Episode 5.13 “Have A Conscience”

(Dir by Uli Edel, originally aired on January 17th, 1997)

Mike Kellerman is back on the job but he’s still angry. He’s angry that the U.S. Attorney didn’t officially announce that he had been cleared. He’s angry because he feels that his fellow detectives failed to support him when he was at his lowest. He’s angry because people like Roger Gaffney continue to assume that he’s guilty.

Given how angry Kellerman is, the last thing he needs to get stuck with another case involving the arrogant and apparently untouchable Luther Mahoney. However, that is exactly what Kellerman gets when an Asian shopkeeper is gunned down after trying to chase one of Mahoney’s crews off the corner. Everyone knows that Mahoney is behind the murder but, as always, there’s not enough evidence to take him down. Witnesses won’t talk. No one can connect Mahoney directly to the murder. While the smug Mahoney heads off to a fund raiser, a bitter Kellerman goes to his boat and considers suicide.

Fortunately, Lewis barges onto the boat and keeps Kellerman from shooting himself. This episode reveals a lot about Homicide’s less heralded pair of detectives. Kellerman is desperate for his father’s approval and he has a huge chip on his shoulder. Just the fact that anyone would even consider the idea that Kellerman would ever take a bribe is enough to set Kellerman off and Kellerman does not easily forgivce. Lewis, meanwhile, is still haunted by the death Crosetti.

The majority of this episode is just Lewis talking to Kellerman and Kellerman talking to Lewis. It’s not the most exciting episode of Homicide but it is wonderfully acted by both Clark Johnson and Reed Diamond. While Pembleton and Bayliss appear to be growing apart (with Bayliss spending most of this episode politely ignoring Pembleton while Pembleton solved one of his cold cases), Lewis and Kellerman are now even closer than they were before.

That’s a good thing. Luther Mahoney is still out there and, for whatever reason, Lewis and Kellerman seem to be the two detectives who always end up investigating Mahoney’s crimes. That’s a little hard to believe. With the number of people that Mahoney kills and the size of the Homicide division, you would think at least one Mahoney-directed murder would be investigated by either Munch or Pembleton. Regardless, Luther Mahoney is a great villain and I look forward to seeing where Kellerman’s obsession with taking him down is heading.

Finally, I hope this Pembleton/Bayliss estrangement won’t go on for too long. We just got Pembleton back and Pembleton was finally starting to accept that he could actually handle working with a partner. I get that Bayliss is upset but breaking up Pembleton and Bayliss just doesn’t feel right. They’re just meant to work together.

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.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 5.4 “Bad Medicine”

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, drug lord Luther Mahoney returns.

Episode 5.4 “Bad Medicine”

(Dir by Kenneth Fink, originally aired on October 25th, 1996)

Someone is selling bad heroin in Baltimore. This episode opens with a montage of dead junkies being discovered. Detective Munch explains to a uniformed cop why he has to stick around until it’s firmly established that the latest dead junkie died of an overdose and not something like a hit to the back of the head. Munch says that everything he knows, he learned from his ex-partner. Hey, Munch, Bolander’s not coming back! You have to accept it.

Things are looking grim for Giardello’s detectives. Megan Russert has run off to Europe. Bolander is retired. Felton is missing. Frank is recovering from his stroke and still needs to pass his firearms exam. And now, Kellerman has been accused of taking bribes while working as an arson investigator. Kellerman is given desk duty, which means that he can’t help Lewis pursue drug kingpin Luther Mahoney (Erik Todd Dellums).

Mahoney returns in this episode, dragged into the box and accused of murdering a rival dealer. Mahoney is his usual smug snake self but Lewis and his temporary partner, Narcotics Detective Terri Stivers (Toni Lewis), are convinced that they’ve finally got him where they want him. First off, there’s a junkie who has been bullied into informing on Luther. Plus, Luther slips up and reveals that he knew some facts about the murder that were not released to the press. Is Luther Mahoney going down!?

Well, don’t get too excited. Ed Danvers informs them that their evidence isn’t enough to get a conviction. Juries don’t trust junkies. Luther could have heard the details of the murder on the street. Everyone knows that Luther is guilty but no one can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Luther goes free and the informant ends up dead.

Meanwhile, Frank Pambleton stops taking his medicine so that he can concentrate on passing his firearms exam. He still fails. Even though he was able to hit the target, he took too long reloading his gun. Pembleton starts to take his medicine again.

Finally, Brodie still doesn’t have anywhere to live. He stayed with Munch for one night and then voluntarily left. (The reasons why are left ambiguous but it’s suggested that Brodie came across Munch’s private drug stash and freaked out.) Brodie moves in with Bayliss and quickly makes things awkward by overanalyzing the Mighty Mouse cartoon that Bayliss is watching. Brodie explains that Mighty Mouse is an agent of chaos and Bayliss looks like he’s already realized this living arrangement is not going to work.

This was a properly cynical episode, one where the main theme seemed to be that our heroes are fighting a losing war. Giardello is running low on detectives. Kellerman is put on desk duty because of one weak accusation. Pembleton has to pass a firearms exam, despite rarely having to draw his gun. In the end, men like Luther Mahoney walk free while the addicts caught in-between end up dead in the street.

That’s life in Charm City.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 4.12 “The Hat”

Posted on October 26, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, incompetence reigns.

Episode 4.12 “The Hat”

(Dir by Peter Medak, originally aired on January 19th, 1996)

There’s a running theme in this week’s episode and that theme is incompetence.

With Russert having been demoted all the way back to detective, there is now a captain’s vacancy. The squad room is convinced that Giardello is going to get promoted. For that matter, Giardello is also convinced that he’s going to be promoted. Instead, the promotion goes to Roger Gaffney (Walt MacPherson), the racist martinet former homicide detective who nearly got into a fist fight with Pembleton during the white glove murder investigation.

(Giardello, for all of his strengths, has never played the political game as well as those around him.)

Munch thinks that a lawyer who he arrested for murder is going to be convicted. However, it turns out that the video that Brodie shot at the crime scene shows that a key piece of evidence was mishandled. Munch tells Brodie to erase the tape. Brodie refuses to tamper with evidence. (“It’s illegal,” he says.) As a result, the murderer walks free. And while it’s true that Brodie’s refusal to erase the tape did lead to an guilty man walking, it’s also true that it wouldn’t have been a problem if the cops on the scene hadn’t screwed up in the first place.

Finally, Lewis and Kellerman are sent to Pennsylvania to pick up Rose Halligan (Lily Tomlin), a woman suspected of murdering her husband in Baltimore. Lewis and Kellerman are supposed to go straight to Pennsylvania and then come right back to Maryland, without making any unnecessary stops. Instead, they screw up. Kellerman decides to stop off at a run-down amusement park that he remembers from his childhood. Later, Lewis and Kellerman stop off at a diner so they can get some dinner. When Rose excuses herself to go to the restroom, they not only remove her handcuffs but they also allow her to go unaccompanied. Needless to say, Rose escapes, makes her way back to Baltimore, and stabs her husband’s mistress to death before getting Lewis and Kellerman track her down.

Lily Tomlin was this episode’s big guest star, for better or worse. Sometimes, when a big name appears on a television show, it becomes obvious that there wasn’t anyone around who was willing to tell them that they were overacting just a bit and that would certainly seem to be the case here. Rose is a music teacher so this episode really tests one’s tolerance for Lily Tomlin singing opera. That said, Tomlin was quietly effective at the end of the episode, sitting out on a porch while her former friend lay dead in the house. Rose says she was returning her friend’s hate and, indeed, the dead woman in wearing the hat that Rose wore throughout almost the entire episode.

All said, I enjoyed this episode. Lewis and Kellerman may be incompetent but they’re still entertaining to watch. As for the hated Roger Gaffney getting the job that Giardello deserved …. well, isn’t that always the way?

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 3.9 “Nothing Personal”

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Felton again proves himself to be the most incompetent cop in Baltimore.

Episode 3.9 “Nothing Personal”

(Dir by Timothy Van Patten, originally aired on April 21st, 1995)

Woe be anyone whose murder is investigating by Detective Beau Felton.

Felton (played by Daniel Baldwin) shambles his way through this episode, his hair a greasy mess and his eyes bloodshot. The episode takes place over the course of several days and Felton doesn’t change his clothes once. Just looking at him, one can smell the pungent mix of sweat, cigarettes, and booze. Felton is searching for his wife and his son. In this episode, his mother-in-law tells him that his wife is planning on coming home, just for her to change her mind at the last moment. On the one hand, I do feel a bit bad for Felton, even if he was an absolutely terrible husband. On the other hand, he’s got an important job and, right now, he sucks at it. His decision to go back to Megan Russert’s place after he talks to his mother-in-law definitely does not make him in any way extra sympathetic.

Poor Kay! She has been just been assigned the Chilton murder, which was one of Crosetti’s unsolved cases and now her 100% clearance rate is threatened. The case is considered to be unsolvable. Someone strangled Erica Chilton. Her husband (Dean Winters) gives Kay and Felton a stack of letters that were sent by Erica’s secret lover. Alcoholic Felton loses the letters. The episode ends with Kay reluctantly accepting that she might never solve the case. Personally, I think Kay should consider that the victim’s husband is played by Dean Winters. With the exception of Law & Order: SVU, I have never seen Dean Winters appear on a show like this without eventually turning out to be the murderer and the fact that he had a huge stack of letters from Erica’s boyfriend would give him a motive. See, Kay? I solved your case for you!

Meanwhile, Giardello goes out to lunch with Megan Russert and one of her friends. Russert wants to set them up. Giardello is interested but Russert’s friend isn’t. Giardello, in a wonderfully performed moment (all hail Yaphet Kotto), tells Russert that he feels that light-skinned black women always reject him because he’s “too black.” Russert says that’s ridiculous, just for Giardello to reply that, as a “white woman,” she wouldn’t understand. Giardello spends the rest of the episode depressed. It’s always interesting whenever Giardello, who is usually so imposing, let’s down his guard a bit and reveals his emotions. Kotto always did a great job playing Giardello, regardless of whether Giardello was ordering Pembleton to work with Bayliss or just trying to avoid doing his laundry with Munch.

Speaking of Munch, the Waterfront Bar continues to be a headache. Lewis, Bayliss, and Munch have finally purchased their bar but it turns out that the former owner is not allowed to leave behind any of the liquor that she previously had at the bar. So, the three partners are going to have to pay for all their liquor themselves. The Waterfront Bar storyline has been dragged out a bit but it is a storyline that shows just how difficult it is to start a business in an overregulated state. So, it appeals to be my libertarian side.

There were a lot of good moments in this episode, even if I am getting a bit tired of Felton and his incompetence. One thing that I’ve really enjoyed about this season is how much Kay and Russert seem to sincerely dislike each other. This episode featured Russet calling Kay out for obsessing over her perfect clearance rate and Kay’s barely pent up irritation was entertaining to watch. Still, I do find myself wondering why Russet is always at the station, even though her shift is over. Seriously, Russert, spend some time with your child and tell Felton to get off your damn couch! There’s murders that need to be solved.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life on the Street 3.2 “Fits Like A Glove”

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the investigation into the Catherine Goodrich murder continues.

Episode 3.2 “Fits Like A Glove”

(Dir by Ted Demme, originally aired on October 21st, 1994)

Last week’s episode ended with Bayliss and Pembleton discovering that a supply shed had been broken into near the Goodrich scene. This episode opens with Bayliss and Pembleton talking to the groundskeeper, who explains that he came across the shed earlier. He reported that the shed had been broken into to the primary on the case, Detective Gaffney. Gaffney never bothered to follow-up and the shed has since been cleaned up.

That’s it for Gaffney! Lt. Russert calls him into the office and tells him he’s no longer heading up the investigation. She tells him to take a few days off and then to transfer to another department. She promises him a “fair recommendation.” Gaffney replies that Russert only get her job because of her sex. He goes as far as to compare her to a statue of a woman on a boat, except she’s not a mermaid. “You’ve got legs,” he says. It’s an odd bit of dialogue and I kind of wish that Gaffney had delivered it Al Pacino style. “You’ve …. GOT …. LEGGGGGS!”

Pembleton is now the primary and not a moment too soon because another murdered woman has been found, again left in a dumpster outside a Catholic church and only wearing long white gloves. Pembleton theorizes that the killer hates Catholics. (So …. Matin Luther, maybe?) Pembleton continues the investigation but clues are hard to come by and smarmy reporter Matt Rhoades (Tony Todd) keeps threatening to reveal that the killer puts gloves on the victims. At one point, a murder memorabilia collector (Hugh Hodgin) shows up and claims that the murders are connected to a nationwide crime spree. The collector turns out to be a flake, exactly the type of person who Russert believes would be driven to give false evidence if the news about the gloves got out.

Meanwhile, Kay finds herself being used as a messenger service by both Beau and his estranged wife. Beau’s wife, Beth (Mary B. Ward), wants to surprise Beau with a romantic dinner so she asks Kay to tell Beau that Beth wants him to come by and see the kids. Beau tells Kay to tell Beth that their son needs to tighten the laces on his baseball glove. (Poor Kay!) Beau goes to the house to see the kids, just to discover that Beth lied and sent them away so she could make Beau dinner. Beau gets mad and leaves. Mary feeds Beau’s dinner to the dog.

Bayliss, Munch, and Lewis put in for a liquor license for the bar. Lewis interrogates Munch as to whether or not he was ever arrested in the 60s but — surprise! — Bayliss is the one with the criminal record, an arrest and conviction for misdemeanor gambling while Bayliss was in college. Bayliss, you never cease to surprise me!

This episode was a bit frustrating because Pembleton doesn’t seem to be any closer to solving the murders. As well, Felton’s domestic drama would be a bit more compelling if Felton himself was a more likable character. But, I still liked this episode. The season 3 ensemble is amazing and just the pleasure of watching actors like Andre Braugher, Melissa Leo, Yaphet Kotto, Ned Beatty, Clark Johnson, Kyle Secor, and yes, even Daniel Baldwin all on the same show is more than enough of a reason to watch. Everyone was at the top of their game in this episode.

Will Pembleton catch the killer next week? I have faith and, judging by the way Pembleton crossed himself when looking at the second victim, so does he.

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 3.1 “Nearer My God To Thee”

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we begin the third season!

Episode 3.1 “Nearer My God To Thee”

(Dir by Tim Hunter, originally aired on October 14th, 1994)

The third season of Homicide opens with a disgusted Stan Bolander watching a relatively tame soap opera in the breakroom. He’s offended by the fact that two of the show’s characters are shown in bed. To Bolander, that’s the equivalent of pornography on network television. Lewis points out that television execs force showrunners to add sex in order to bring in ratings. Munch mentions that it’s strange that television is allowed to show sex but not nudity. Munch then goes on to predict that there will soon be hundreds of channels, a channel for every interest. There will be channels about animals and religion and politics and soon, anything you want to see will be at your finger tips and it will lead to people becoming dull and lazy. John Munch, super prophet!

Hmmm …. do you think maybe Tom Fontana, who wrote this script and was one of Homicide’s executive producers, was maybe venting some of his own frustration over the demands that NBC was making in return for giving a third season to the critically acclaimed but low-rated Homicide? Because the third season premiere of Homicide is a bit different from the previous two seasons. For one thing, Jon Polito is no longer in the cast. (Lewis mentions that Crosetti is on vacation in Atlantic City.) Isabelle Hofman, who is certainly more attractive than anyone who has previously appeared on the show, has joined the cast as Lt. Megan Russert, the second shift commander. And this episode features its share of nudity and sex.

At the same time, it’s still an excellent episode of Homicide. Isabelle Hofman gives a tough and no-nonsense performance as Russert and, by the end of the episode, she seems as if she belongs in the ensemble as much as her less glamorous castmates. And this episode has its share of sex and nudity but it’s all essential to the plot. This episode lets us know that, for now, Homicide is a show that can adjust without losing its integrity.

The episode’s case is a red ball (which is a term used to indicate it’s a case that’s going to get media attention). Katharine Goodrich, the 30 year-old founder of a shelter for battered women, has been found dead in a dumpster, nude except for a pair of long white cotton gloves, the type of gloves that you might expect to see at a royal procession but not at a crime scene. Russert’s shift has picked up the case and, to everyone’s horror, the incompetent and racist Roger Gaffney (Walt MacPherson) is the primary detective. The brass ask Giardello to keep an eye on Russert because they feel she’s too inexperienced to handle the investigation. Giardello (and let’s take a moment to acknowledge just how wonderful Yaphet Kotto was in this role) calls in his own detectives to help out the second shift. As you might have guessed, the two shifts do not have much respect for each other. It’s chaos, especially when Gaffney and Pembleton nearly come to blows over Gaffney’s racism, Russert defuses the situation and the scene, to be honest, is a bit overwritten. From the first minute she appeared in the episode, Hofman has been credible as a detective and a lieutenant so writing one heavy-handed scene just so she can further prove herself feels almost an insult to the strength of her performance. Hofman (and Russert) has already proven herself without having to dare Pembleton to shoot Gaffney and throw his life away.

That said, this was a strong episode. Goodrich was a devout Catholic and Pembleton and Bayliss discuss their own views on religion. Bayliss has tried out all the Protestant denominations (even the — *snort* — Unitarians) and is a bit of a cynic. Pembleton was educated by Jesuits and says at one point that, “There are two types of Catholics. Devout and fallen. I fell.” It’s a scene that could have been awkward but Andre Braugher and Kyle Secor pull it off wonderfully. Secor, especially, has really come into his own. Bayliss is no longer the awkward and earnest rookie from the first season. In fact, Bayliss has so come into his own that he agrees to invest in a bar with Lewis and Munch. They’re burying the Waterfront!

(Before Bayliss offers to invest, there’s a humorous scene where Much and Lewis try to convince Bolander to not only invest but to also be the bar’s mascot. “A big man deserves a big meal,” Munch says. Bolander — who I’m happy to say is far less whiny in this episode than he was during the previous two seasons — is not interested. It’s kind of funny how Munch basically hero worships a guy who really seems like he wants nothing to do with him outside of work.)

Kay spends the episode taking calls from Felton’s wife, Beth (Mary B. Ward). Beth recently kicked Felton out of the house because she thought Felton was cheating on her. Felton admits to Kay that he is cheating on her. When Kay isn’t running interference for her partner, she’s defending Russert when the other detectives insinuate that Russert must be slept her way to the top. Kay lists all of Russert’s qualifications and commendations. Yay, Kay! You tell them! Later, Russert sees Kay looking exhausted and snaps at her to get to work. “Bitch,” Kay mutters. Ouch! Still, I laughed.

Felton breaks into his house to retrieve a suit, just to be confronted by Beth. An obviously unstable Beth proceeds to take a pair of scissors to Felton’s jacket before then stripping down to her underwear, getting in bed, and asking Felton to leave so she can get some sleep. (I’m going to guess that rather disturbing and deliberately anti-erotic scene was Fontana’s subversive answer to the NBC execs who asked him to sex up the show a little.) Later, Russert finally goes home to get some rest and check in on her daughter. Felton shows up at her front door and, after he tells her the one of his leads on the Goodrich murder went dry, she responds by passionately kissing him. Now, we know where Felton has been going whenever Beth kicks him out.

As for the Goodrich murder, it turns out that, despite what everyone assumed, she was not raped. After a nun tells Pembleton and Bayliss that Katherine never wore gloves, Pembleton deduces the gloves were put on her body after she was killed. Gaffney insists that Katherine’s murderer was probably the boyfriend of one of the women at the shelter but Pembleton disagrees. (This leads to the fight that I mentioned earlier.) While Russert wants to keep the gloves out of the news, a smarmy reporter (Tony Todd) threatens to reveal their existence unless she agrees to come to him first with any developments. As the episode ends, Pembleton and Bayliss are canvassing the crime scene and it’s hard not to notice that they are now the ones wearing white gloves, rubber in this case. Bayliss says its pointless to keep canvassing the crime scene. But then he and Pembleton spot a storage shed with a busted lock. As they open the door, the end credits begin.

To be continued!

What a great way start to season 3. Yes, I realize that this case is pretty much the exact opposite of the gritty, pointless murders that the first two seasons focused on but still, I am now very much wondering who killed Katherine Goodrich and why they put the gloves on her hands. I hope this won’t be another unsolvable Adena Watson case. Fortunately, I have total faith in Frank Pembleton.

I can’t wait to see what happens next week!