Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401080012
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Tom Shales
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The best cop show I have ever seen.
Like many another quality shows, ``Homicide'' has had a rocky history. Last year NBC gave it a weak timeslot and little support. Now the network is bringing ``Homicide'' back but only for a four-week run, Thursdays in the ``L.A. Law'' timeslot, as of tonight.
One should be grateful for even four hours of good drama on TV these days, and ``Homicide'' delivers that. Set in the homicide squad of the Baltimore police department, co-produced by Baltimore-born Barry Levinson, the show intermingles the lives of the cops with the cases they must solve, cases that always begin with a violent death.
Impressively enough, there is almost no violence shown in the program. The re-premiere tonight, ``Bop Gun,'' guest-stars Robin Williams as a tourist from Iowa whose wife is gunned down in a mugging. The shooting itself is not shown on screen, however, and seems perhaps even more horrific for that.
We see the tragedy of a senseless death in the anguish of the survivors. The husband grieves not only for his loss, but over his own inability to prevent it. Williams gives a performance good and subtle enough to make you forget that it's Robin Williams.
This is not the best of the four new episodes to be shown, however. For one thing, the writers try to build a case for the three punks responsible for the shooting; the young man who pulled the trigger sang in the church choir, came from a broken home, had an addict for a mother, and so on.
Still, there are very powerful moments, as when the Williams character describes himself as a member of a club no one joins willingly: survivors of violent crimes. ``It's not `Why me?' any more,'' he says, ``it's `When me?'''
One reason the first episode lacks impact is that Andre Braugher, the finest actor in the extraordinary ensemble cast, appears only briefly. He returns in full force in the second and third episodes, Jan. 13 and 20, as Det. Pembleton, assigned to investigate the fatal shooting of a small-time drug dealer. A fellow cop is a suspect.
Braugher manages to be utterly compelling whether slamming doors and throwing chairs, reducing a murder suspect to quivering tears, having furious arguments with Lt. Giardello (rock-solid Yaphet Kotto) or simply lurking about. Pembleton, a black officer with a cynical streak, is teamed with Kyle Secor as Bayliss, a naive WASP. It's an inspired parlay.
While Pembleton tries to solve his case, the lives, or near-lives, of fellow detectives go on. Stanley Bolander, the lovable aging schmoe played exquisitely by lumpy Ned Beatty, falls for a 26-year-old waitress named Linda who plays the violin. Stanley gets his cello out from underneath the bed. They make semi-beautiful music together.
Bolander's partner, Det. Munch, is played to cranky perfection by comic Richard Belzer. A dark cloud hangs over Munch wherever he goes; he's a mass of Jewish angst and wry misanthropy. ``What I wouldn't do for a Viking funeral right now to cheer me up,'' he moans.
Misery does indeed love company, and Bolander's new-found happiness drives Munch crazy. Munch's craziness threatens to drive Bolander crazy. The relationship between the two men is beautifully delineated.
Others on the force include Melissa Leo as Det. Howard, the only woman in the group and a strong contributor; Clark Johnson as no-nonsense Det. Lewis; and Daniel Baldwin as Det. Felton, who in one episode must deal with a friend whose elderly, terminally ill father asks to be assisted in suicide.
In the fourth show (Jan. 27), a man is found shot dead in a library, and it evolves that he was killed in an argument over a $1.49 ballpoint pen. Sound insane? It is. And true. A similar shooting occurred in August, not far from Baltimore, though in a doughnut shop rather than a library.
``Homicide'' is more than a superb cop show; it's a helpful guide on dealing with the madness of the modern world. It's Attention Television - a program that grips one's attention and rewards it. Attention must finally be paid to such a show.
Washington Post Writers Group
by CNB