Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 22, 1995 TAG: 9507250007
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID ZURAWIK THE BALTIMORE SUN
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Just as the critically acclaimed series finally won a measure of security in May with its first full order of 22 episodes from the network, it was announced that Ned Beatty and Daniel Baldwin were leaving the show.
Beatty said he wanted to return to feature films. Baldwin said he wanted to try features, too.
But Baldwin also said he was leaving because he didn't see much growth for his character. This led to speculation that ``Homicide,'' which begins shooting in Baltimore for the new season Monday, was changing from an ensemble show into more of a star vehicle for Braugher, whom TV Guide anointed ``the best actor on television'' in a feature story in May.
Producers Tom Fontana and Henry Bromell, along with Braugher and his fellow actors Richard Belzer and Kyle Secor, met with television critics here, and they talked about the changes.
Yes, there is going to be more of Braugher's Frank Pembleton this season, they said. But, no, they don't think ``Homicide'' will be any less an ensemble show - the loss of Beatty and Baldwin notwithstanding.
Bromell said part of the slack left by the departures will be picked up by Reed Diamond, who will play Detective Mike Kellerman. Kellerman will appear in the season opener as an arson investigator butting heads with Pembleton and Bayliss (Secor) on a major investigation. Kellerman will wind up as the new partner of Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson).
Some other character developments for the season, as described by Fontana and Bromell: John Munch (Belzer) and Kay Howard (Melissa Leo) both take the sergeant's exam, but only one will pass. (A grimace from Belzer suggests it isn't he.) There's also big career trouble ahead for Capt. Megan Russert (Isabella Hofmann, Baldwin's real-life fiancee). And, yes, the Fells Point bar owned by Lewis and Munch will stay open.
What the audience of critics seemed most interested in knowing about was Braugher and his complicated, Jesuit-educated, angst-saturated character.
One of the first questioners asked Braugher how he feels about being known as ``the best actor on television.''
``It's like an albatross you wear around your neck,'' he said in the serious tones of Pembleton. Then, after a pause to set up the punch line: ``And I have it taped right over my mirror where I can see it every morning.''
Braugher did talk seriously about his future with the show and his climb from playing a one-dimensional assistant for Telly Savalas in ``Kojak'' to his present acclaim in ``Homicide.''
``I go back to the `Kojak' series, where I played the sidekick who always runs off and does things for Telly Savalas,'' Braugher said. ``And now, instead of those cliches, I am working with scripts that deal with the frustration, the despair, disbelief and the sorrow of crime-solving. They deal intelligently with age, class, sex and race.''
The scripts for ``Homicide'' deal with things that are fundamentally human, he said. There is simply no comparison. ``You say, `I don't want to do that, I want to do this. And I want to do this for as long as this can go on.'''
Referring to Beatty and Baldwin, Braugher added, ``The business is the business. And Dan and Ned go on to pursue [feature film] careers. But I'll be here as long as the thing that drew me to the show is here - great writing.''
Braugher got more serious when asked about race, and the praise ``Homicide'' has received - mostly from white critics - for its handling of racial issues.
``Some [episodes about race] are better than others,'' he said. ``Race and race relations are not pretty. And you can't talk on TV about what people actually talk about.
``So we talk around it, we talk above it, we talk about it. We do a lot of things - we illustrate it, and blah, blah, blah. But a long, complex, in-depth discussion about how race and racism affect detectives in Baltimore is not within the scope of our show. ... We do the best that we can.''
Bromell also addressed the issue of Braugher's star status. He said the ensemble dynamic built during the last three years might be affected when the cast and crew return to Baltimore. ``To be honest, it could be a problem. I'm sure it's hard sometimes for the other actors. But, on the other hand, we have and we will continue to make every effort to treat this as an ensemble showcase. And Andre knows that and approves of that, because that's the heart of the show.''
``Homicide'' airs Friday nights at 10 on WSLS-Channel 10.
by CNB