(S02E04) Originally aired on January 6, 1994
It's been named one of the top 100 shows of all time by Time. You can't have a conversation about cop shows without mentioning it. Stacked up against other classics such as Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, the Law & Order franchise, The Shield, and The Wire, it often meets and sometimes exceeds. It's arguably one of the top three police dramas ever made. And this was the episode where people really started to talk about Homicide: Life on the Street.
You might notice that I listed the episode number as S02E04 and be wondering, "wasn't it the season two premiere?" Well... yeah it was. But it wasn't supposed to be. After a critically acclaimed nine episode first season, hopes weren't very high since ratings wise, the show tanked. Then it won two Emmys. Worth another season? Yeah, probably, but NBC execs were still cautious. Much like Seinfeld's first season pick-up, Homicide: LotS only got a four episode renewal. It helped that Robin Williams had signed on to guest star in an episode, which ultimately ended up being penned by the source material's author. Perhaps you've heard of him: David Simon. Despite the producers' intention of the episode serving as the season finale, NBC pushed it to air as the premiere.
This wasn't uncommon for NBC though. They shuffled around much of the first season and eventually made a ginormous blunder early on in season three when we found out that Jon Polito's Detective Crosetti had died (via a comment made by another character) before Polito's final episode aired. All because they switched around the intended episode order. I think they learned their lesson with that one.
Alrighty, back to "Bop Gun." It's hands down the best episode of the first two seasons and dictates renewal all by itself. Unlike the previous twelve episodes which drew from the larger, more exciting stories of Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, "Bop Gun" was different. Simon focused on his book and instead picked out smaller details. Stuff he never got to elaborate on in the novel. The death of a tourist. The nonchalant attitude seasoned homicide detectives often take with their cases. The thing you have to remember is that all the previous episodes had just been ideas adapted by TV writers. This one was written by a guy who had spent a year of his life hanging out with homicide detectives. By default, it should be better. And it was.
Robin Williams guest starred (in an Emmy nominated role) as Robert Ellison, a husband and father, who took his family on vacation to visit Baltimore. The show also featured a young Jake Gyllenhaal, as Williams' son Matt. While strolling the streets of Charm City, the family was accosted by three "yos" and Mrs. Ellison was shot and killed for not giving up her jewelry to the thugs. Because of the bad press that a dead tourist creates for the city, the case instantly became a red ball. This was only the second one the series tackled, the first red ball being Bayliss' Adena Watson case from season one.
From there, we witnessed Ellison as he deteriorated into a man possessed with rage, juxtaposed with Daniel Baldwin's unsympathetic Det. Felton. Despite the fact that the whole team played a role in cracking the case, the episode featured very little of Worden, Munch, Pembleton, Lewis, Crosetti, Bayliss, and Giardello. The bulk of the case was handled by Felton and his partner, Kay Howard (Melissa Leo). It was interesting though, because it was the first time we really saw partners divided on different sides of a case. Felton just wanted it to go down, regardless of who took the rap. Howard wanted to figure out who actually did it even if it alienated her partner.
You can see how Homicide: LotS inspired Simon to eventually create The Wire. He went on to write and produce numerous episodes of this show, but it started with this one. Little things stood out. The interrogation scene was superbly done, a classic prisoner's dilemma and a plot device that Simon used countless times in his later creation. For those that were quick enough to catch it, the episode even featured a quick cameo by former Baltimore detective Gary D'Adarrio. He went on to guest star in later seasons of Homicide: LotS as Lt. Jasper and The Wire as Gary DiPasquale. But that's nothing special. Numerous actors/former cops made the jump from one show to the other, most recently (and unexpectedly) John Munch.
"Bop Gun" started a trend though. From there on out, every episode was good in its own right. You never felt dissatisfied, like you had deprived yourself of a Friday night out on the town by staying in and watching Homicide: LotS. It was good. It still is. Got any other episodes that ranked up there for you? Besides this one, I can really remember my jaw hitting the floor the first time I saw the season five ep "Prison Riot." Now that was an amazing hour of television.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-19-2008 @ 9:10PM
Drew said...
For me, the series became a must watch with the first season episode "Three Men and Adena". I believe that most of the hour was one long interrogation scene between Bayliss, Pembeleton and the Araber who was suspected in the Adena Watson killing. The tension, the mind games, the acting, and the eventual defeat of the detectives was masterful. One of the problems I had with the later seasons (I never watched anything past 5x02 I believe, so this might have changed) was that the detectives always solved their cases. The first season did a very good job of capturing the tone of Simon's book, which included the fact that sometimes cases just didn't go black. That's what separated it from cop shows of today, the CSIs and the SVUs, was that there was a certain gritty realism to the show that made it possible for a monster to go free after raping and murdering a young girl.
An honourable mention also goes to the other season 1 episode "The Night of the Dead Living". It wasn't just a run of the mill "murder-du-jour" episode, it dealt exclusively with the characters themselves and their mentality surrounding being murder police. It also has one of my favourite exchanges:
Felton: Someone lights this candle every night.
Gee: You're a detective. Solve it.
Felton: I'm a homicide detective. If the candle killed someone, I'd close the case.
Ah, this post has brought back good memories of that show.
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3-19-2008 @ 9:11PM
kenm said...
There was a great episode in the later years in which Vincent D'Onofrio guest starred as a guy who gets caught between subway cars.
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3-19-2008 @ 9:11PM
scottrc said...
I netflix'ed the entire series last summer after being a longtime fan of "The Wire." For anyone who's into cop dramas. Go Get This Now at all costs. The only bad thing about it is that the DVDs are in 4:3 Standard-Def.
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3-30-2008 @ 7:41PM
heinlein said...
They are 4:3 because that's the way they were originally filmed in, like most older shows. It was shot on 16 mm film in order to get a more grainy and "real" feeling (and it was probably easier to do the handheld shots with 16mm camera).
3-19-2008 @ 9:11PM
Jackie Schnoop said...
An excellent episode, for sure. My personal favorite was the one with Lily Tomlin. Homicide: Life on the Street was my top favorite police-related drama until The Wire came along. Go figure.
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3-19-2008 @ 9:11PM
SJ said...
Even though I am a HUGE fan of The Wire, I have never seen Homicide. I really want to now that The Wire is done.
Something interesting: The writer who wrote this episode along with Simon is David Mills, who also wrote for The Wire. He has a very interesting blog which he updates very regularly:
http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com
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3-29-2008 @ 10:27PM
melvia jackson said...
Who remembers the episode where a man pushed a passenger onto the train tracks,and Pemberton talked to the victem as they waited to see if the man would survive when they moved the train. The man kept talking until he died? That was one very suspensful episode to me.
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3-19-2008 @ 9:59PM
melvia jackson said...
Don't forget the reruns on WGN at lease they are here in Las Cruses in the mornings.
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3-19-2008 @ 9:59PM
Mandy said...
This is definitely one of my top three episodes. The other two also involve big guest stars -- "Subway" with Vincent D'Onofrio and "A Doll's Eyes" with Marcia Gay Harden.
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3-20-2008 @ 8:32AM
itsy said...
"Subway", "Three Men and Adena", "Night of the Living Dead", "Sniper", "Kaddish"....there are way too many great episodes of this show.
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3-20-2008 @ 8:33AM
MPC said...
Det. Meldrick Lewis:: New rule. If we have a suspect in custody, it's murder. And if the suspect is unknown, it's the worst case of suicide I've ever seen. Huh? That's my new rule. I think it's going to make us all very happy.
Det. Meldrick Lewis: We're talking about sacred freedoms here - notably, your Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Hey, if it was good enough for Ollie North and Mark Furhman, who the hell are you to incriminate yourself at the first opportunity?
Det. Meldrick Lewis:: Murderers lie cuz they got to, witnesses lie because they think they got to, and everyone else lies for the sheer joy of it.
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3-20-2008 @ 8:33AM
MPC said...
Bayliss: Frank, I work with you, not for you.
Pembleton: Excuse me?
Bayliss: You never say please, you never say thank you.
Pembleton: Please don't be an idiot. Thank you.
Det. John Munch: You're saving your really good lies for some smarter cop, is that it? I'm just a donut in the on-deck circle. Wait until the real guy gets here. Wait until that big guy comes back. I'm probably just his secretary. I'm just Montel Williams. You want to talk to Larry King.
Bernard: I'm telling you the truth.
Det. John Munch: I've been in murder police for ten years. If you're going to lie to me, you lie to me with respect. What is it? Is it my shoes? Is it my haircut? Got a problem with my haircut? Don't you ever lie to me like I'm Montel Williams. I am not Montel Williams. I am not Montel Williams.
Bernard: Who's Montel Williams?
Det. John Munch: I'm not Montel Williams.
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3-20-2008 @ 8:33AM
MPC said...
Det. Frank Pembleton: You know, every day I get out of bed and drag myself to the next cup of coffee. I take a sip and the caffeine kicks in. I can focus my eyes again. My brain starts to order the day. I'm up, I'm alive. I'm ready to rock. But the time is coming when I wake up and decide that I'm not getting out of bed. Not for coffee, or food or sex. If it comes to me, fine. If it won't, fine. No more expectations. The longer I live, the less I know. I should know more. I should know the coffee's killing me. You're suspicious of your suspicions? I'm jealous, Kay; I'm so jealous. You still have the heart to have doubts. Me? I'm going to lock up a 14-year-old kid for what could be the rest of his natural life. I got to do this. This is my job. This is the deal. This is the law. This is my day. I have no doubts or suspicions about it. Heart has nothing to do with it any more. It's all in the caffeine.
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3-20-2008 @ 8:32AM
Joey Macht said...
I agree with everyone. I fell in love with the first season
(I own a DVD rental store in Switzerland) and then found by
chance a company in the U.S. that sold me all seven years
of the show. I just finished watching all of them, straight
through. They are addictive and I am pushing my customers to rent them.
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3-20-2008 @ 8:33AM
MPC said...
Bop Gun, The Last of the Waterman, Every Mother’s Son, The Gas Man, The Hat, Justice, New Moon, The Documentary, Double Blind, The Subway, Fallen Hero’s, Kellerman P.I.
I guess "Every Mother's Son" is my Favorite Episode of H:LOTS. It kills me every time I see the two mothers talking in the fishbowl, and I know what is going to happen, but for some reason, I just want it to be different, but I know they can just never be friends.
Det. Frank Pembleton: You know now, don't you? You got the fear, now. Don't you? Son, I don't usually find myself giving advice, especially to 14 year old killers, but please, please listen to me. Just this one time. Keep your ass to the wall. Don't trust anybody, don't believe anybody, don't help anybody, don't ask anybody for anything. Do you understand?
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3-20-2008 @ 11:57AM
jun said...
"For those that were quick enough to catch it, the episode even featured a quick cameo by former Baltimore detective Gary D'Adarrio."
D'Addario was actually the Lieutenant, and it's partly him who Giardello is based on, with the supportive attitude and championing his staff against the pressures of the brass. (They called D'Addario D, just like the G from the show.) I think Giardello is also based some on Roger Nolan, one of the real sergeants in the department.
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3-20-2008 @ 11:57AM
Gino said...
Gary D'Addario is my uncle!
I can still remember him taking me down to the Homicide set in Baltimore as a kid. Despite watching the show every week, I hadn't figured much out, other than my uncle was technical advisor, and Kyle Secor was the coolest guy on set.
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3-22-2008 @ 9:43AM
Lorraine said...
So many great episodes, I can't choose. But I must say that I loved almost every scene that took place in "the box". Those scenes contain probably the best dialogue ever written for tv.
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3-20-2008 @ 4:15PM
obadiah spittle said...
I forgot how much I loved this show. I watched it on Canada's version of Bravo! every night eight years ago, and devoured the show religiously. In fact, it was watching this show that had me rethink how good television could be. The writing was crisp, confronted real issues, and the acting was first-rate. I don't know any of the titles of any of the shows, but I think it's high-time I go back and watch the show from the beginning.
For me, though, I have all of the Wire to watch. Netflix to the rescue!
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3-26-2008 @ 3:38PM
Jaclyn said...
"Three Men & Adena", "Night of the Dead Living", "Crosetti", "Colors", "Stakeout", and "Requiem for Adena" are a few episodes I can list off-hand that I believe are better than "Bop Gun".
But yeah, this show was amazing. At its best from seasons 1-4 (though several episodes of season 5 and 6 were terrific as well, but the seasons were more inconsistent in terms of quality).
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