Blood Ties (Homicide: Life on the Street)
Encyclopedia
"Blood Ties" is the three-episode sixth season
Homicide: Life on the Street (season 6)
The sixth season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from 1997-10-17 to 1998-05-08 and contained 23 episodes....

 premiere of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...

. The episodes constitute the 78th, 79th and 80th overall episodes of the series. They originally aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 on October 17, October 24 and October 31, 1997, respectively.

The teleplays were written by Anya Epstein and David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...

, based on a story by Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana is an American writer and producer.-TV career:Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as Oz , The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, Homicide: Life on the Street, St...

, Julie Martin
Julie Martin (writer)
Julie Martin is an American television writer and producer. She has worked on the NBC crime dramas Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She won a Humanitas Prize and was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for her work on Homicide...

 and James Yoshimura
James Yoshimura
James Yoshimura is a Japanese American writer and producer, best known for his screenwriting work on the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street and the short-lived Fox series The Jury, for which he served as a co-creator. He also co-wrote Homicide: The Movie, a made-for-television film that came...

. Directed by Alan Taylor
Alan Taylor (director)
Alan Taylor is an American television and film director, television producer, and screenwriter. Taylor has directed for numerous programs on both network television and premium cable, most notably on HBO...

, Nick Gomez
Nick Gomez
Nick Gomez is an American film director and actor. He has directed for a number of television and film studios. He has also acted in a few minor films...

 and Mark Pellington
Mark Pellington
-Life and career:Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He directed The Mothman Prophecies, a 2002 film starring Richard Gere dealing with mysterious deaths foretold by a strange red-eyed flying creature, Mothman, as well as Arlington Road in 1999 starring Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges....

, "Blood Ties" marked the first appearances of Peter Gerety
Peter Gerety
Peter Gerety is an American actor.Gerety began acting while a student at Boston University, participating in productions at the Charles Playhouse. In 1965, he joined the Trinity Square Repertory Company, a resident theater company in Providence, Rhode Island where he appeared in over 125...

, Jon Seda
Jon Seda
Jonathan Seda is an American actor, possibly best known for his role as Detective Paul Falsone on NBC's: Homicide: Life on the Street....

 and Callie Thorne
Callie Thorne
Calliope "Callie" Thorne is an American actress known for her current role as Dr. Dani Santino on the USA Network series Necessary Roughness...

 as regular cast members, replacing outgoing cast members Melissa Leo
Melissa Leo
Melissa Chessington Leo , is an American actress. After appearing on several television shows and films in the late '80s, her breakthrough role came in 1993 as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street for the show's first five seasons from 1993 – 1997...

 and Max Perlich
Max Perlich
-Biography:He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother was a teacher and his father, Martin Perlich, a writer and radio programming director and announcer, worked for a time with the Cleveland Orchestra. The Perlich family moved to Los Angeles, California when Max was four...

. Guest appearances were made by James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...

, Jeffrey Wright, Lynne Thigpen
Lynne Thigpen
Cherlynne Theresa “Lynne” Thigpen was an American stage and television actress, most famous as "The Chief" in the various Carmen Sandiego television series.-Early life:...

 and Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile...

.

The three episodes were tied together by the story of a murdered Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

an domestic worker
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...

 employed by wealthy philanthropist Felix Wilson, played by Jones. Protagonists Frank Pembleton
Frank Pembleton
Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton is a fictional homicide detective on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Emmy Award winning actor Andre Braugher. He is a primary character of the show through the first six seasons...

 and Al Giardello
Al Giardello
Alphonse Michael Giardello, Sr. is a fictional character from the television drama Homicide: Life on the Street. The character was played by Yaphet Kotto...

 initially refuse to properly investigate the Wilson family out of respect for their success and contributions to the African American community of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, which leads to tensions and accusations of discrimination within the police department. The storyline serves as a rumination and commentary on racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 and classism
Classism
Classism is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes and behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper classes at the expense of the lower classes...

, even though they come from the best of intentions.

"Blood Ties" included several additional subplots, including murder attempts made against police officers in retaliation for the fatal police shooting of drug dealer Luther Mahoney in the fifth season
Homicide: Life on the Street (season 5)
The fifth season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from 1996-09-20 to 1997-05-16 and contained 22 episodes. A new opening sequence debuted with the start of this season, including elements of a police investigation and a growing chatter of...

. The second episode involves a murder at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland. Home field of the Baltimore Orioles, it is the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised. The park was...

 during a late-season baseball game. In the third episode, police investigate the execution-style slaying of a police informant. According to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...

 the first episode of "Blood Ties" was viewed by 7.94 million households, the second by 6.86 million households and the third by 6.27 million households. The episodes received generally positive reviews.

Part one

Pembleton
Frank Pembleton
Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton is a fictional homicide detective on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Emmy Award winning actor Andre Braugher. He is a primary character of the show through the first six seasons...

 (Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...

) and Bayliss
Tim Bayliss
Timothy Bayliss is a fictional detective on Homicide: Life on the Street. He was a primary character, and was played by Kyle Secor. He was loosely based on the real-life Det...

 (Kyle Secor
Kyle Secor
Kyle Ivan Secor is an American television and movie actor, best known for his role as Detective Tim Bayliss on the crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street.-Early years:...

) return to the homicide unit after a rotation in robbery, only to find the highest murder clearance rate in five years. A delighted Gee
Al Giardello
Alphonse Michael Giardello, Sr. is a fictional character from the television drama Homicide: Life on the Street. The character was played by Yaphet Kotto...

 (Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Frederick Kotto is an African-American actor, known for numerous film roles , and his starring role in the NBC television series Homicide: Life on the Street .-Early life:Kotto was born in New York City, the son of Gladys Marie, a...

) credits much of the success to the new detectives Stuart Gharty
Stuart Gharty
Stuart Gharty is a fictional character played by Peter Gerety in the television series Homicide: Life on the Street.He is introduced in the season four one-shot episode "Scene of the Crime", as a cowardly patrolman who allows two drug dealers to murder each other rather than venture into a housing...

 (Peter Gerety
Peter Gerety
Peter Gerety is an American actor.Gerety began acting while a student at Boston University, participating in productions at the Charles Playhouse. In 1965, he joined the Trinity Square Repertory Company, a resident theater company in Providence, Rhode Island where he appeared in over 125...

) and, particularly, Laura Ballard
Laura Ballard
Laura Ballard is a fictional police detective of the Baltimore Police Department on Homicide: Life on the Street. She was played by Callie Thorne. Ballard was born on November 20, 1968 and first appeared in Season 6 after changing police departments from Seattle...

 (Callie Thorne
Callie Thorne
Calliope "Callie" Thorne is an American actress known for her current role as Dr. Dani Santino on the USA Network series Necessary Roughness...

). Lewis
Meldrick Lewis
Meldrick Lewis is a fictional character on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street played by Clark Johnson. The character was in the series for its full run and had the very first and last lines of the series...

 (Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson , sometimes credited as Clark 'Slappy' Jackson, Clarque Johnson, and J. Clark Johnson, is an American actor and director who has worked in both television and film.-Early years:...

) asks Gee for a different partner, but dodges questions about problems with his old partner Kellerman
Mike Kellerman
Detective Michael Scott Kellerman is a fictional character on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Reed Diamond. He is a main character from seasons 4-6, 1995-1998.-Biography:...

 (Reed Diamond
Reed Diamond
Reed Edward Diamond is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Det. Mike Kellerman on Homicide: Life on the Street and the role of recurring character Laurence Dominic on Dollhouse...

); Gee assigns him to Falsone
Paul Falsone
Paul Falsone is a fictional police detective of the Baltimore Police Department on Homicide: Life on the Street. He was played by Jon Seda. Born on January 6, 1969, Falsone was introduced as a long-time member of the Auto Squad at the end of Season 5, where his natural talents proved useful in...

 (Jon Seda
Jon Seda
Jonathan Seda is an American actor, possibly best known for his role as Detective Paul Falsone on NBC's: Homicide: Life on the Street....

), one of the newer detectives, and Kellerman is partnered with Munch
John Munch
Sergeant John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Upon that series' cancellation, the character was transplanted to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the first spin-off of the Law & Order franchise...

 (Richard Belzer
Richard Belzer
Richard Jay Belzer is an American stand-up comedian, author, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as John Munch, which he has portrayed as a regular cast member on the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as in guest...

). That evening, Gee attends a black-tie dinner honoring his friend Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...

), a wealthy businessman and respected Baltimore philanthropist. In that same hotel, a woman is found beaten to death in the men's bathroom, and Pembleton and Bayliss are called to investigate. Felix and his wife Regina (Lynne Thigpen
Lynne Thigpen
Cherlynne Theresa “Lynne” Thigpen was an American stage and television actress, most famous as "The Chief" in the various Carmen Sandiego television series.-Early life:...

) see the body and identify her as Melia Brierre, a Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

an expatriate working as one of their domestic workers. The Wilsons leave after only brief interviews, and Pembleton becomes agitated when Bayliss asks whether Pembleton went easy on them because of his respect for Wilson's contributions to the African American community.

Meanwhile, a motorcyclist fires shots at the moving car of Lewis and Falsone; the two narrowly avoid injury and the motorcyclist escapes. Almost immediately afterward, Lewis and Falsone are called to investigate the shooting death of a woman on a nearby street. At the scene they find Stivers
Terri Stivers
Terri Stivers is a fictional police detective of the Baltimore Police Department on Homicide: Life on the Street. She was played by actress Toni Lewis....

 (Toni Lewis
Toni Lewis
Toni Lewis is an actress best known for playing Terri Stivers on Homicide: Life on the Street. The role led to her receiving a nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series...

), who was speaking to the woman when she was shot; police later conclude Stivers was the real target. While Munch and Kellerman are leaving the hotel, somebody opens fire on them and shoots Kellerman in the arm. Falsone suggests the shooter is targeting the detectives who were involved in the previous fatal shooting of drug dealer Luther Mahoney. Kellerman becomes angry when Falsone questions the report of Mahoney's death, which indicates Kellerman shot Mahoney to save Lewis; Falsone said autopsy reports indicate Mahoney was beaten badly.

After questioning several of Mahoney's former associates, drug supplier Wilkie Collins (Robert F. Chew
Robert F. Chew
Robert F. Chew is an American actor from Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in the HBO television drama series The Wire as manipulative drug kingpin Proposition Joe on all five seasons of the show...

) is pressured into telling Lewis and Falsone the shooter was Mahoney's nephew, Junior Bunk (Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile...

). They arrest Junior Bunk and find the matching gun, prompting Bunk to admit he shot at the police to "send a message" from his mother, Georgia Rae Mahoney (Hazelle Goodman), over the death of her brother, Luther. Georgia is arrested trying to flee in a jet to the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...

, where she used to handle Luther's drug money. Meanwhile, following Brierre's autopsy, Cox
Julianna Cox
Julianna Cox is a fictional chief medical examiner in the TV show Homicide: Life on the Street for seasons 5-6, played by actress Michelle Forbes....

 (Michelle Forbes
Michelle Forbes
Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo , known professionally as Michelle Forbes, is an American actress who has built a career of work in television and independent film and has acted in productions in both the United States and in the United Kingdom...

) finds somebody had consensual sex with the victim before her death. Pembleton and Bayliss learn from Felix Wilson's daughter Thea (Ellen Bethea
Ellen Bethea
Ellen Bethea is an American actress, best known for her role as Rachel Gannon on One Life to Live, which she originally played from 1992 to 1995. She returned to the role for two days in May 2005 when her on-screen mother Hillary B. Smith married Mark Dobies' character.-External links:...

) that Brierre had a vicious and abusive ex-boyfriend named Kaja. Pembleton and Gee declare Kaja the primary suspect, despite protests from Ballard that the lead is thin and that they have not properly questioned Felix Wilson. The episode ends with an imprisoned Georgia Rae Mahoney stating Kellerman will hear from her soon.

Part two

Two days after Brierre's death, the detectives have made little progress on their lead about Kaja, the victim's abusive ex-boyfriend. Ballard and Gharty suggest they look more closely at Felix Wilson and his son, Hal (Jeffrey Wright), because Brierre had sex before her death and knew few men socially besides them. Pembleton and Gee, who are both very respectful of Felix Wilson's contributions to the African American community, dismiss the suggestion; Gee refuses to even ask the Wilsons to submit a blood and hair sample. The next day's Baltimore Sun runs a story about the investigation into Kaja, which Pembleton believes was leaked to the press by Gee in order to distance the Wilsons from the crime. Ballard and Gharty question Hal, who denies having sex with Brierre after tough questions from Gharty. After the interview, Gharty tells Ballard that Pembleton and Gee are obstructing the investigation to protect a rich and respected black family.

During their investigation, Pembleton and Bayliss learn Kaja has been in a Haitian prison for four months, eliminating him as a lead. Gee announces the Baltimore Sun is running a story that Kaja has been cleared as a suspect, leaked from the police. Pembleton accuses Ballard and Gharty of leaking the story, while Gharty accuses Pembleton of going easy on Felix Wilson because he is a successful black man. The discussion prompts a heated argument with accusations of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 from both sides. Pembleton agrees to interview Felix Wilson alone because he believes it will clear him. When Pembleton tells Wilson he needs a blood test from him and his son, Wilson admits that he had consensual sex with Brierre the night of the murder, but said he does not kill her. Later, a devastated Pembleton and Gee still insist he should not necessarily be treated as a suspect, much to the disbelief of Ballard and Gharty. The detectives are interrupted by Wilson's attorney, who says the family will not submit to a blood and hair test without a court order.

Meanwhile, Munch and Kellerman investigate a murder at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland. Home field of the Baltimore Orioles, it is the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised. The park was...

 during a late-season baseball game, leaving 48,000 possible suspects. The Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 man, presumably a Yankees fan, is found beaten to death on the stairs of the stadium, and the governor of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 pressures the police department to solve the murder before the game ends so that millions in tourism dollars and ticket revenues will not be jeopardized. After several fruitless interviews, Munch and Kellerman question Scott Russell (Brian Tarantina), a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

er who attended the game with the victim. Russell admits he killed the victim because he said the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 were a better team than the Yankees. He agrees to confess to the murder if they let him watch the rest of the game. Back at the police department, Falsone continues questioning detectives about the Luther Mahoney shooting. Stivers expresses concern to Lewis that their covering for Kellerman's role in the shooting could bring both of them down if Falsone continues his questioning.

Part three

The Baltimore Sun runs a front-page story accusing the homicide unit of fumbling the investigation and protecting the Wilsons based on their race. Under pressure form his superiors, Gee demands they solve the murder immediately. Pembleton admits privately to his wife Mary (Ami Brabson) that he let his personal feelings of respect for Felix Wilson get in the way of the investigation; he agrees to make them a central part of the investigation. After searching the Wilson house, the detectives find love letters written by Hal Wilson to Brierre. Pembleton questions Felix and Hal, who agree to talk only if their statements are not admissible in court. Pembleton confronts the Wilsons with the love letters, which Hal said he never had the courage to give to Brierre. Felix said he would not have had sex with Brierre if he had known, which Hal said he does not believe. Felix demands the truth from Hal, who admits to killing Brierre in a jealous rage upon learning of her affair with his father.

When Pembleton begins to read Hal his rights, Felix stops him and refuses to let him arrest his son. Later, prosecuting attorney Ed Danvers
Ed Danvers
Ed Danvers is a fictional character played by Željko Ivanek in the television series Homicide: Life on the Street.-Character profile:A recurring character, Danvers is usually shown only in his professional capacity as an Assistant State's Attorney , although the series did delve into his personal...

 (Željko Ivanek
Željko Ivanek
Željko Ivanek is an Emmy award-winning Slovenian American actor best known for his role as Ray Fiske on Damages. He is also known for playing Blake Sterling on short-lived NBC series The Event and Emile Danko on Heroes....

) says because the confession is inadmissible, they have no evidence to arrest Hal, and he refuses to issue an arrest warrant against a member of a prominent family without a solid case. The Wilsons decide to move to San Diego, and Felix tells Pembleton he will do everything he can to continue protecting his son. Pembleton and Ballard make a reluctant peace and, although Pembleton remains cold with her, he admits he was wrong about the Wilsons and that Ballard's instincts about the case were correct. Gee tells Pembleton he too let his personal feelings cloud his judgment, and the two agree they will bring Hal back to Baltimore when they get enough evidence against him.

Meanwhile, Lewis and Falsone investigate the execution-style shootings of Wilkie Collins and his wife, presumably in retaliation for Collins cooperating with police in the investigation and incarceration of Georgia Rae Mahoney, Luther's sister. They find Collins' young son Jack (Marc John Jefferies
Marc John Jefferies
Marc John Jefferies is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Derrick Mitchell on the NBC sitcom The Tracy Morgan Show, and as Darius on Treme, the HBO drama series set in post-Katrina New Orleans.-Career:Jefferies debuted as the title character "Isaiah",...

) hiding in a closet at the house, but he is too terrified to answer any of their questions. Falsone takes the Jack to a park, where they bond over their mutual love of cars, and Falsone teaches him how to hotwire
Hotwiring
Hot-wiring is the process of bypassing an automobile's ignition interlock and thus starting it without the key. A vehicle owner or thief may implement this process.-Methods:...

 a vehicle. More comfortable with the police, Jack tells Falsone that a man identifying himself as Robert on Collins' answering machine has the same voice as the killer. A distrurbed Stivers recognizes the voice as belonging to Detective Robert Castleman (Lance Lewman). After Jack identifies Castleman in a lineup, Lewis and Falsone confront him with the evidence during questioning, pressuring Castleman to confess to the murder. Castleman said Georgia Rae Mahoney blackmailed him into killing Collins by threatening to reveal Castleman had been on Luther Mahoney's payroll.

Production

The story from "Blood Ties" was conceived by executive director Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana is an American writer and producer.-TV career:Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as Oz , The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, Homicide: Life on the Street, St...

, and supervising producers James Yoshimura
James Yoshimura
James Yoshimura is a Japanese American writer and producer, best known for his screenwriting work on the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street and the short-lived Fox series The Jury, for which he served as a co-creator. He also co-wrote Homicide: The Movie, a made-for-television film that came...

 and Julie Martin
Julie Martin (writer)
Julie Martin is an American television writer and producer. She has worked on the NBC crime dramas Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She won a Humanitas Prize and was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for her work on Homicide...

. The first and third episode teleplays were written by producer Anya Epstein, with the second penned by producer David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...

. The three episodes were each directed by Alan Taylor
Alan Taylor (director)
Alan Taylor is an American television and film director, television producer, and screenwriter. Taylor has directed for numerous programs on both network television and premium cable, most notably on HBO...

, Nick Gomez
Nick Gomez
Nick Gomez is an American film director and actor. He has directed for a number of television and film studios. He has also acted in a few minor films...

 and Mark Pellington
Mark Pellington
-Life and career:Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He directed The Mothman Prophecies, a 2002 film starring Richard Gere dealing with mysterious deaths foretold by a strange red-eyed flying creature, Mothman, as well as Arlington Road in 1999 starring Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges....

, respectively. "Blood Ties" originally premiered in October 1997, about one month later than originally planned, which angered fans of the show. The delay is indicated by the regular-season baseball game prominently featured in the second episode of the arc, despite the fact that the 1997 Baltimore Orioles season
1997 Baltimore Orioles season
The Baltimore Orioles season saw the Orioles finishing 1st in the American League East with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses. They met the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS, and beat them in 4 games. However, in the ALCS, they would play the Cleveland Indians, where they would fall in 6 games...

 ended in September.

"Blood Ties" featured the first appearances of Peter Gerety, Jon Seda and Callie Thorne as regular cast members on Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...

. Thorne portrayed Laura Ballard, a former Seattle homicide unit detective, marking the character's first appearance in the series. Gerety and Seda each previously played their respective characters in guest appearances on the show; Seda's character Paul Falsone first appeared in the two-part fifth-season
Homicide: Life on the Street (season 5)
The fifth season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from 1996-09-20 to 1997-05-16 and contained 22 episodes. A new opening sequence debuted with the start of this season, including elements of a police investigation and a growing chatter of...

 finale. Stuart Gharty, Gerety's character, is described as a transplant from the department's internal affairs
Internal affairs (law enforcement)
The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...

 department. Executive producer Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana is an American writer and producer.-TV career:Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as Oz , The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, Homicide: Life on the Street, St...

 said he thought the new cast additions would create drama and tension between the characters: "It's stimulating to add new people, because you're not feeling like you're writing or acting the same scene for the thousandth time, and I think all three of them are very different than any other characters we've had on the show."

During her audition for the show, Thorne read the lines from the Pembleton character in a previous episode. She said of her audition, "I said, 'So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to be a female Pembleton?' And they were like, 'Well we don't want to say that but that's sort of the idea." Thorne said the producers were looking for "a certain type in terms of a strong woman who could keep up with all the men" and that they incorporated elements of Thorne's own personality into the character, such as the strong amount of trust she has in her instincts. Thorne also said she was treated well by the cast, but upon starting, "I was very aware of the fact that it's predominantly men, and I have no problem saying that as a small, dark woman I was terrified. I thought I was going to be put through the ringer." Gerety, when asked about his experience joining the show, said only, "It's interesting. It's really interesting."

The new regular characters replaced outgoing cast members Melissa Leo
Melissa Leo
Melissa Chessington Leo , is an American actress. After appearing on several television shows and films in the late '80s, her breakthrough role came in 1993 as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street for the show's first five seasons from 1993 – 1997...

 and Max Perlich
Max Perlich
-Biography:He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother was a teacher and his father, Martin Perlich, a writer and radio programming director and announcer, worked for a time with the Cleveland Orchestra. The Perlich family moved to Los Angeles, California when Max was four...

, who did not return for the sixth season. In the episode, Leo's character Kay Howard
Kay Howard
Kay Howard is a fictional homicide detective from Homicide: Life on the Street. She was played by actress Melissa Leo. In the first two seasons of the show her character was the only female detective or member of the main cast. This was in keeping with the book and the actual Homicide unit in...

 was said to be working full-time with the department's fugitive unit; actress Leo reportedly left the show so she could devote more time to her family. Perlich was allegedly fired from the series, and within the episode his character J. H. Brodie
J. H. Brodie
J.H. Brodie is a fictional character in the television series Homicide: Life on the Street. He appeared in a recurring role in the show's fourth season and was a regular in the show's fifth season, after becoming an official crime scene recorder....

 was said to have left police work after a documentary he filmed was aired on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 and won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

. Commentators said the Emmy mention, and a joke by Munch that "they give those things to anybody", were references to the show's failure to secure a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, since its institution in 1951. The award is often cited as one of the "main awards" at the Emmys ceremonies, and has changed names many times in its history. It was first called Best Dramatic Show...

 during its first five seasons. Armando Benítez
Armando Benítez
Armando Germán Benítez is a relief pitcher who is currently a free agent.-Baltimore Orioles:...

 and Scott Erickson
Scott Erickson
Scott Gavin Erickson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.-Career:Erickson was born in Long Beach, California, and began his professional career, after being drafted by the NY Mets in 1986, Houston Astros in 1987, and Toronto Blue Jays in 1988, in when he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins...

, then pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

s with the Baltimore Orioles, make cameo appearances as themselves in the second "Blood Ties" episode.

The Wilson murder is a "red ball", a police case involving an innocent victim, widely-known suspects or a combination of the two. Red ball cases tend to draw attention from the media, the public and high-ranking police brass, and often result in additional detectives being added to the case. Fontana thought these elements of the red ball case would help produce a strong season premiere and tension among the veteran characters who resent the meddling of the new detectives. Julie Martin, one of the show's writers and supervising producers, said "Blood Ties" marked a deliberate change in the series, focusing on darker story lines that are "a little messier and unresolved" and more interpersonal relationships: "The show's been on for six seasons, and it absolutely has to change. We can't keep doing the same show." Media outlets noted that "Blood Ties" included more action-oriented elements such as car chases and a chase sequence involving helicopters at an airport. Fontana denied allegations of tampering from NBC executives and said any such changes would have come from him: "I don't want us to have a style every week that we feel we have to conform to. ... I want people not to know what to expect when they tune in every week. We're not formulaic."

The New York Yankees baseball team refused to give Homicide: Life on the Street permission to use the Yankees logo in the episode, which Fontana said angered the writers and inspired them to portray Yankees fans in a particularly negative light. Fontana, a New York native himself, was later apologetic about this portrayal and said, "I kept telling the guys they were being a little harsh on the Yankees". The names "Stringfield" and "Doherty" can be seen under Ballard's case list on the white board. The names were purposely inserted as an inside joke to Homicide fans as a reference to online rumors that cast member Melissa Leo was to be replaced by actors Shannon Doherty or Sherry Stringfield
Sherry Stringfield
Sherry Lea Stringfield is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Dr. Susan Lewis on the medical television drama ER, a role for which she received three Emmy Award nominations. Stringfield was a member of ER's original cast, but she quit the show during its third season,...

. The false rumors were actually leaked by Tom Fontana himself to keep fans guessing.

"Blood Ties" and the rest of the sixth season episodes were included in the six-DVD box-set Homicide: Life on the Street: The Complete Season 6, which was released by A&E Home Video
A&E Television Networks
A&E Television Networks is a U.S. media company that owns a group of television channels available via cable & satellite in the US and abroad...

 on January 25, 2005 for $99.95.

Themes

In portraying black members of the police department ignoring legitimate evidence to protect a prominent member of Baltimore's African American community, "Blood Ties" touches simultaneously on themes of police misconduct
Police misconduct
Police misconduct refers to inappropriate actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Police misconduct can lead to a miscarriage of justice and sometimes involves discrimination...

 and racism, however inadvertent, from the characters of Pembleton and Gee. Because the episode involves discrimination among black characters, "Blood Ties" has been described as an example of "reverse racism
Reverse discrimination
Reverse discrimination is a controversial term referring to discrimination against members of a dominant or majority group, including the city or state, or in favor of members of a minority or historically disadvantaged group such as African Americans being slaves. Groups may be defined in terms of...

", even though the majority of Baltimore's population is black. The episode also includes elements of classism
Classism
Classism is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes and behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper classes at the expense of the lower classes...

, since Pembleton and Gee treat Felix Wilson differently than they would another black suspect based on his financial success and charitable contributions to the city and African American community.

Most of these themes are most overtly addressed during a climatic argument between Pembleton, Ballard and Gharty in the "Blood Ties" arc's second episode. When Ballard and Gharty suggest questioning Felix and Hal Wilson because the murder victim had sex the night she was killed, Pembleton accuses them of reverting to old stereotypes about black male sexuality, namely "that black men can't control themselves when it comes to blue shoes and tight pants". When Gharty describes Baltimore as a black-run town that protects its own, Pembleton points out similar practices were carried out in Baltimore history by the Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...

s and Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...

s when they primarily controlled the city; in particular, Pembleton says, "How many favors have been called in in the name of the Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....

 or the St. Michael's Society, huh?"

Roger Wilkins, a history professor at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...

 who studies race in the United States, said "Blood Ties" provided "insightful, wonderful explorations on the complexities of many levels of race." He also said the show "really does understand how we're all caught in this culture, and we're all struggling with it. And we all bring to this jagged enterprise the limited understanding of where we came from and who we are. Being fully alive requires us to struggle with these realities. That's what the show does." In his journal article about the portrayal of African American men in Homicide: Life on the Street, documentary historian Thomas A. Mascaro said the presentation of light-skinned black villains like Luther Mahoney and dark-skinned actors like the one played by James Earl Jones in "Blood Ties", "dispels the notion that black skin color is uniform or determinative with regard to character". Some media outlets described the Watson subplot as a racial spin on the 1996 murder of six-year-old child beauty pageant queen JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty pageant contestant who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found in the basement of the family home nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. She had been struck on the head and strangled...

, although Tom Fontana said any similarities were not intended.

Reception

The first episode of "Blood Ties" received an 8.1 Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...

, which constituted 7.94 million households at the time. The episode outperformed Homicide's time-slot competitor, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

's Nash Bridges, by about 588,000 households, although ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

's 20/20 beat both shows with 11.37 million households. The second and third episodes of "Blood Ties", however, finished behind both shows each week. The second episode received a 7.0 rating, which constituted 6.86 million households, compared to 7.94 million for Nash Bridges and 11.37 million for 20/20. The third episode received a 6.4 rating, which constituted 6.27 million views, compared to 7.94 million for Nash Bridges and 10.98 million for 20/20.
"Blood Ties" received generally positive reviews. Baltimore Sun television critic David Zurawik described it as "one of the most serious, frank and compelling discussions of race in any medium" since an episode of NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

from 1995, in which actor Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt...

 used the word "nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...

". Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...

described "Blood Ties" as "explosive (and) riveting", and wrote, "The smart, darkly humorous writing on Homicide is as strong as ever. So are the performances of a superb ensemble of actors." R.D. Heldenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Beacon Journal
The Akron Beacon Journal is a four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper places a strong emphasis on local news and business...

praised the episodes and called them "a complicated rumination on race and class". David Bianculli of the New York Daily News said the episode had an unpredictability that helped maintain the show's vitality, and said of the first two episodes, "Except for one moment in tonight's opener, I was on the edge of my seat for the entire two hours; at that moment, a surprise shooting shocked me right onto my feet." Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

writer Verne Gay described "Blood Ties" as "brilliant drama" and "a superb piece of work (that) appears to be a novel variation on reverse discrimination". Regarding the first of the three episodes, Dallas Morning News writer Ed Bark said Seda and Thorne had "solid first impressions" and that the episode arc "has all the makings of another killer story line". Virginia Rohan of The Record
The Record (Bergen County)
The Record is a newspaper in northern New Jersey. It has the second largest circulation of New Jersey's daily newspapers, behind The Star-Ledger. Owned by the Borg family since 1930, it is the flagship publication of the North Jersey Media Group. Stephen Borg is the publisher of The Record...

of Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, called the episode "gripping" and "another strong start for a terrific series".

Tony Norman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...

praised the episode, which he said "has wandered into the heart of Dostoyevsky territory with its storylines". He particularly praised the episode for going outside its normal conventions by portraying lead characters like Pembleton and Gee as being so reluctant to do the right thing. Alan Pergament of The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News is the primary newspaper of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and the area's only daily newspaper. It is the only newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway.-History:...

gave the episode four out of five stars; he particularly praised the performances of Thorne and Gerety, and said the show did an impressive job of introducing the new cast members. Michael Storey of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell...

said "Blood Ties" lived up to the high standards he said the show had set for itself. Ron Miller of Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...

praised "Blood Ties", although he said he does not always enjoy Homicide: Life on the Street. He said the episode "starts fast and gets better and more intense by the minute", and described the climactic argument in the second episode as "the most turbulent internal dispute we've ever seen among the detectives". Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News
The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...

writer Dusty Saunders praised the main story-line and said the subplots were well juxtaposed into the episode. He also said "Blood Ties" could serve as a good introduction to the series for new viewers. Alan Sepinwall, television critic for The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...

, criticized the addition of "silly" action-oriented scenes the traditionally more intelligent show, but praised "Blood Ties" and the addition of the new cast members. Sepinwall particularly praised the acting of Andre Braugher: "Pitted against a powerhouse like James Earl Jones, he not only holds his own, but at times is so dramatically forceful that the former voice of Darth Vader sounds intimidated." Not all reviews of "Blood Ties" were positive. Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...

said the series benefited from the new characters, but that the episode "asks viewers to believe rather too strongly in the inherent racism of certain characters we've come to know as heroes in seasons past". Ostrow also thought Pembleton's clashes with the new detectives was predictable.

External links

  • "Blood Ties: Part 1" at TV.com
    TV.com
    TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...

  • "Blood Ties: Part 2" at TV.com
    TV.com
    TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...

  • "Blood Ties: Part 3" at TV.com
    TV.com
    TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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