Homicide: Life on the Street (season 2)
Encyclopedia
The second season of Homicide: Life on the Street
, an American police procedural
drama television series, originally aired in the United States between January 6 and January 27, 1994. Due to low Nielsen ratings
during the first season, NBC
executives decided to order only a four-episode season, after which they would evaluate the ratings and decide whether to renew the show. Homicide was moved to a new timeslot of Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST
, temporarily replacing the legal drama L.A. Law
. NBC requested several changes from the series, including fewer episode subplots and less camera movements and jump cut
s.
Almost the entire Homicide cast returned for the second season except for Wendy Hughes
. The uncertainty over Homicide' s future was stressful for the cast and crew, and the logistics of scheduling the filming around the actors' schedules was difficult. Daniel Baldwin
publicly criticized NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield
over the matter, and it was initially reported Ned Beatty
would not return at all. The second season was the last to include original cast member Jon Polito
, who was reportedly dismissed because NBC officials were unhappy with his physical appearance. Polito was publicly critical of the show after his dismissal.
The second season marked the debut of Jean de Segonzac
as director of photography and Chris Tergesen as music coordinator. The season premiere, "Bop Gun
", was the last of the four episodes filmed, but it was the first to be broadcast due to a guest appearance by Robin Williams
, which NBC hoped would lead to improved ratings. "Bop Gun" differed from other Homicide episodes because it focused entirely on one story: the murder of a tourist and its impact on her husband, played by Williams. The episodes "See No Evil
" and "Black and Blue
" featured a suspected police shooting, which was based on a real life incident in David Simon
's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
.
In addition to Williams, several actors made guest appearances throughout the second season, including Julianna Margulies
, Wilford Brimley
, Isaiah Washington
, Adrienne Shelly
and a 13-year-old Jake Gyllenhaal
. Homicide received generally positive reviews during the season, and the show received one Emmy
nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
for Williams. The "Bop Gun" script won a Writers Guild of America Award
. Homicide was often compared to the ABC
police drama series NYPD Blue
, which Baldwin called "the knockoff of Homicide". While ratings improved during the second season, NBC still demanded further changes to the show before committing to a third season
. The first and second seasons of Homicide were released together in a four-DVD
box-set on May 27, 2003.
for Homicide: Life on the Street had gradually declined throughout the first season, leaving the show at high risk of cancellation by the time the season concluded. NBC executives asked for several refinements – including fewer episode subplots and less camera movements and jump cuts – before approving a second season. Executive producer Tom Fontana
said he was willing "to do anything to keep NBC from forgetting us", although executive producer Barry Levinson
said the show would maintain its realistic visual style, claiming, "We want a camera that's almost a participant in the show." Homicide was ultimately renewed, but the producers slightly toned down the show's bleak visual style and hand-held photography motif, and focused more strongly on single stories rather than multiple subplots. Fontana said, "We were experimenting with our first nine episodes. Whenever you try something new, you tend to err on the side of breaking ground. But we'd rather have more people watching, so the colors and lighting are slightly brighter, and the camera movements are not as jarring." However, both Levinson and Fontana insisted the changes were not entirely due to network pressure, but rather were evolutionary developments for the series.
NBC ordered a four-episode second season, which would be broadcast in January 1994 as a mid-year replacement. A decision about whether to renew the show for a third season
would then be made based on how those four episodes performed in the ratings. David P. Kalat, author of Homicide: Life on the Street – The Unofficial Companion, credited NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield
with that move, although Levinson claimed NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer
was behind the decision. Ohlmeyer said he believed a better timeslot, less dense stories and less hand-held photography would attract more viewers and help the show succeed better: "For it to succeed long-term, there's a humanity that needs to be brought to the characters. There's more here than there was last year." Littlefield said of Homicide, "It's a show we think has tremendous potential that was not fully realized in the first nine episodes. And that's why we want to make more."
Homicide was moved from its previous timeslot of Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST
to a new time on Thursdays at 10 p.m. Levinson and the other series producers considered this an extremely positive move for the show, as Homicide suffered greatly in the ratings on Wednesdays due to competition from the highly-rated ABC
comedy block featuring Home Improvement and Coach
. Even during the first season, Levinson often said the series was truly designed for a 10 p.m. timeslot. Homicide took the timeslot previously held by the legal drama L.A. Law
, which was placed on a six-week hiatus from December 23 until early February. With some critics claiming L.A. Law had declined in quality, the hiatus led to speculation that it would be canceled and Homicide would replace it. This led to some tension during an NBC reception when L.A. Law star Corbin Bernsen
approached Homicide actor Richard Belzer
and shouted expletives at him, yelling, "You stole our timeslot!"
The producers of Homicide said the decision to evaluate the series after a four-episode season placed tremendous pressure on the staff of the show. Fontana said one-hour dramas need time to fully develop and allow audiences to become familiar with the characters. Fontana expressed frustration with NBC in some news interviews, claiming the networks seemed to lack the courage to either cancel or renew it: "They will run it in a 10 p.m. time period for a month and then they'll kiss us goodbye. ... I'm used to this kind of treatment from NBC. I'm a little surprised they'd treat Barry Levinson the same way they'd treat me." In other interviews, however, Fontana said he saw the decision as a sign of support: "This is not just a casual action on NBC's part. It's a real statement to me that we have a possibility to return." Levinson said he believed "four shots are better than nothing", adding:
during the first season. However, Reeves Entertainment went out of business after the first season concluded, so NBC bought into the show and formally became a co-producer, which gave the network more latitude to demand creative changes. The second season marked the debut of Jean de Segonzac
as director of photography. He replaced Wayne Ewing, who Levinson felt was too inexperienced and did not trust with the responsibility of managing the show's cinematography. Among Segonzac's film credits was Laws of Gravity (1992), which was directed by Nick Gomez
, who directed the Homicide first season episode "Son of a Gun
".
Season premiere "Bop Gun" was directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal
, a feature director then-best known for such films as Waterland
(1992) and A Dangerous Woman
(1993). Chris Menaul directed the back-to-back episodes "See No Evil" and "Black and Blue", while the season finale, "A Many Splendored Thing", was directed by John McNaughton
, who previously directed Homicide star Belzer in the film Mad Dog and Glory
(1993). The second season included much of the same crew as the first: in addition to executive producers Levinson and Fontana, Jim Finnerty
returned as supervising producer, Debbie Sarjeant worked as associate supervisor and screenwriter James Yoshimura became story editor starting with the second season, with Bonnie Mark
as a staff writer and Chris Friel as a script supervisor. Other crew included Cindy Mollo as editor, Vincent Peranio
as production designer, Susan Kessel as set decorator, Roland Berman as costume designer, Ivan Fonseca as post-production coordinator, Bruce Litkey as sound mixer and Louis DiGiaimo and Pat Moran as casting directors. Ted Zachary and Allan Chaflin worked as the executives in charge of production.
, who previously played medical examiner Carol Blythe; her absence was never explained on-screen. While the rest of the cast was contractually obligated to return, many of them had offers for other films, television shows or plays, and the logistics of arranging their schedules so all of them could return for the show was difficult. In an interview, Fontana claimed the cast was contractually entitled to be paid for 13 episodes, but they all agreed to take less money and come back for the shortened-season. The uncertainty over whether Homicide would be renewed or not created a great deal of stress for some cast members. Polito said of the feeling, "Where is limbo
? It's in Baltimore." Baldwin in particular expressed frustration with NBC for failing to renew the show for a full season, and said he feared the uncertainty could hurt his film career:
Likewise, Beatty said he enjoyed the actual filming of the episodes but hated the television business end of it, claiming, "I can't think of anything I would less rather do than television at this moment." He said the process left him "pretty much burnt" and said his enthusiasm for the show had "eroded as time goes on". It was initially reported that Beatty would not return for the second Homicide season at all because he had accepted a starring role in The Boys, a CBS
comedy series also featuring Christopher Meloni
. Polito said he did not believe Beatty's departure would hurt the show because of the ensemble nature of the cast: "I love Ned's work, but the show won't fall apart because of one character." Beatty ended up appearing in both shows, and The Boys was canceled after six episodes.
Although Belzer said he and the rest of the cast returned to filming with "guarded emotions", he credited his role as John Munch with giving him credibility as an actor. While he previously had to vigorously pursue roles, he was receiving unsolicited offers by the time of the second season, including a recurring role in the ABC television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
. Polito, however, was terminated from the cast after the second season ended, reportedly because NBC officials were unhappy with his weight and physical appearance and did not believe he appealed to audiences. After his dismissal, Polito became publicly critical of the direction Homicide had recently taken, saying it changed to a "parody of itself" and claiming he had repeatedly voiced problems with the show's recent scripts to Fontana and Chris Menaul. Polito said:
Several notable actors made guest appearances throughout the second season of Homicide. Robin Williams appeared in "Bop Gun" as Robert Ellison, the husband of a slain woman tourist. Levinson previously directed Williams in the films Good Morning, Vietnam
(1987) and Toys (1992). Although Williams was primarily known for his comedic work, the Homicide producers and Williams himself consciously decided to remain true to the original script, rejecting the idea of adding humor or jokes to the episode. "Bop Gun" also featured a 13-year-old Jake Gyllenhaal
, son of the episode's director Stephen, in one of his earliest acting performances; he played Matt, the young son of Robert Ellison. Wilford Brimley portrayed the bed-ridden and suicidal Harry Prentice in "See No Evil", Isaiah Washington played murder suspect Lane Staily in "Black and Blue", and Adrienne Shelly
portrayed S&M fashion store owner Tanya Quinn in "A Many Splendored Thing". Julianna Margulies appeared in the last two episodes of the season as Linda, a waitress who starts dating Bolander. Fontana was so impressed with Margulies that he offered her a recurring role on Homicide, but she turned it down in favor of the medical drama series ER
.
"Bop Gun" was written by David Mills and David Simon
, the later of whom wrote the 1991 non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
, from which the television series was adapted. It was the first television script written by Mills, who previously worked as a reporter and became friends with Simon while studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park
. Writing the script inspired Mills to quit journalism and start writing for television full-time. Simon felt the script's dialogue was faithful to reality, especially the detectives' use of dark humor as a coping mechanism for dealing with the horrors of the homicide unit. This was particularly embodied by a scene in which the murdered tourist's husband becomes angry after overhearing detectives talk about how much overtime they would get from the case, which Simon claimed was a conversation real-life detectives would really have.
"See No Evil" was written by series creator Paul Attanasio
, who had not penned a Homicide script since the series premiere "Gone for Goode
". Attanasio deliberately wrote the "See No Evil" script so that it would be morally questionable whether the police handling of both main subplots — the assisted suicide
and the suspected police shooting — were done in an ethically correct way. "Black and Blue" was written by James Yoshimura, who continued working on Homicide throughout the entire life of the show, but considered that episode his favorite script. A story arc in "See No Evil" and "Black and Blue" featured Pembleton investigating a suspected police-related shooting. This was based on a real-life 1988 shooting and subsequent investigation by Baltimore Police Department
Detective Donald Worden
featured in David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. Several members of the Baltimore Police Department publicly criticized Homicide for its negative portrayal of the police in the storyline, and 22 detectives wrote a formal letter of protest to Levinson over the matter.
"A Many Splendored Thing" was written by Noel Behn, who became consulting producer with the series. That episode featured a subplot about a man who killed another man over a pen, which was inspired by a real-life murder in Anne Arundel County
, Maryland
, in which a 23-year-old man shot another man 10 times in a doughnut shop when the victim refused to sell the shooter his pen. Since NBC had not decided on whether to renew Homicide until after the four episodes aired, the screenwriters did not start working on any scripts for the third season until after the second season concluded. As a result, once NBC was committed to renewal, the scripts had to be written later and the Homicide producers were not able to turn around new shows until the fall. Additionally, Fontana was working on other projects, including Philly Heat, an ABC miniseries about members of the Philadelphia Fire Department
. Some media outlets criticized NBC for not commissioning Fontana and Levinson to write back-up scripts, which prevented Homicide from starting earlier once the show was renewed. Alan Pergament of The Buffalo News
wrote, "Understandably, Fontana didn't sit by idly and wait for NBC to make its decision on Homicide."
for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the script of first season episode "Three Men and Adena
". Like the first season, they were filmed on location in Baltimore. Levinson was not present for the filming and development of the episodes because he was in Los Angeles
shooting Jimmy Hollywood
(1994), a comedy film starring Joe Pesci
and Christian Slater
. Fontana said Levinson remained involved in the development of scripts and the production of the shows.
Among the visual changes during Homicide' s second season were brighter colors. While colorist Drexel Williams previously drained footage of color value to create a gritty style, cinematographer Jean de Segonzac directed Williams to make the colors less muted and more lively. Segonzac also sought a more restrained visual style, as he believed the previous cinematographer Wayne Ewing tended to "get a little too wild, and someone could complain they got a little dizzy". Levinson praised what he described as a subtler and more effective style under Segonzac. "Bop Gun" was originally meant to serve as the second season finale, but NBC decided to make it the season premiere with the hopes of getting increased ratings from Williams' guest appearance. The scenes with Williams were filmed over three days; Fontana said of the shooting, "[Williams] worked like a dog. It was quite a special event for all of us. It's very intense."
and Adamski
over a brief montage of images just before a murder took place. In that same episode, the Buddy Guy
blues song "Feels Like Rain" plays just after Howard speaks with a suspect in jail. Other songs were integrated into the show itself: one suspect listens to the Public Enemy song "Gett off My Back" on headphones just before he was arrested. Various songs are featured in other second season episodes, including the Gerry Goffin
and Carole King
song "Up on the Roof
" in "Black and Blue", and the Soul Asylum
song "Whoa" and Donna Summer
song "Bad Girls
" in "A Many Splendored Thing". "Black and Blue" ended with Bolander and Linda, on cello and violin respectively, performing a movement of "Passacaglia", a classical music piece composed by George Frideric Handel
. Cellist Zuill Bailey
served as a body double for Beatty in the scenes with Bolander playing cello.
, and the Star Tribune
called Williams' performance one of the ten best guest star moments in television history. The performance of Andre Braugher was also particularly praised, especially for his scene in "Black and Blue", in which Pembleton persuades a suspect to confess to a murder he did not commit. Gail Pennington of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
said the second season was an improvement over the first, which she said was excellent but "tended to demand an awful lot from viewers". Pennington said the toned down visual style and stronger emphasis on single stories better focused the show, adding: "Homicide is great TV, and NBC believes in it enough to give it what may be the network's best time slot." Bob Langford of The News & Observer
called Homicide "absolutely brilliant" and praised it for focusing not on the crimes but on the effects of it, as well as the realistic themes regarding race, such as concerns in "Bop Gun" that the murder would deter white tourists from visiting Baltimore. Langford said it was occasionally preachy, but said, "Sometimes, a good sermon is what we need. Amazing that one this powerful can come from a TV show."
Rick Kogan, television critic with the Chicago Tribune
, called the show "wholly original" and an example of how good television entertainment can be. He praised the ensemble cast and interesting characters, and said the show would be renewed "if there's any justice in TV". Ray Richmond of the Los Angeles Daily News
praised NBC for giving Homicide a second chance, comparing it to the days when NBC stuck with the comedy series Cheers even though it ranked last in the ratings during its first season. Richmond said of Homicide: "This is also one of the final opportunities to see a television network stick with a struggling show for no better reason than it deserves to be stuck with. In the bottom line-driven 1990s, that's become as rare as quality itself. " Steven Cole Smith with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
said of the evaluation period during Homicide' s second season: "If you don't watch it, you may lose your right to complain that there's never anything good on TV." He called it "a gritty, atmospheric police series" and complimented it for showing not only gratuitous violence but the consequences of it.
Robert Bianco of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
praised the show and said the decision to focus on fewer subplots might help. Bianco said, "Let's hope the changes work, because Homicide is too good to lose, and its vision of civilization is too troubling to shunt aside." The Washington Post
television reviewer Tom Shales called Homicide "achingly, even painfully, brilliant. The best cop show I have ever seen." David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun called it the best police drama ever made for television besides Hill Street Blues. Baltimore Sun reporter David Bianculli praised the show's writers for being willing to place their characters in ethically questionable positions, adding: "Please watch this series; it's so good, I don't mind pleading." Tom Jicha of South Florida Sun-Sentinel called it "an hour about as fine as there is on the tube" with great writing and camera-work. Jicha said, "It would be a senseless act of violence against superb TV for those who claim to appreciate fine drama to kill this show by turning the dial." Hal Boedeker, television critic with The Miami Herald
, strongly praised the series, particularly "Bop Gun", which he called "the highest order for network TV". Boedeker called the writing, direction and acting "first-rate" and declared Homicide it the better choice over NYPD Blue because it did not resort to gimmicks like the nudity featured in the latter show.
, an ABC
police drama series that had debuted in September 1993. It received a large amount of publicity and better ratings than Homicide, which some reviewers attributed to the violence and nudity featured in the show. Like Homicide, NYPD Blue featured an ensemble cast and intertwined subplots, and commentators suggested its success may have encouraged NBC to support Homicide. Levinson said he was not deterred by comparisons to NYPD Blue because Homicide debuted before that series. In a news article, Fontana quoted a friend who described NYPD Blue as "the television version of Homicide". Baldwin was even more critical of the show, and said in an interview: "The ultimate compliment that can ever be paid [is] to be mimicked by someone else. So, thank you, NYPD Blue, because it's the knockoff of Homicide." NYPD Blue co-creator Steven Bochco
took exception to that characterization, saying he believed his reputation and experience in television proved he was capable of conceiving his own material. Bochco said: I don't think it's a knock-off. It was conceived as its own show. I wish Homicide the best – and they should be so lucky as to do as well as we're doing right now."
Pete Schulberg of The Oregonian
wrote, "Forget all the commotion about NYPD Blue. Homicide delivers without the lewd language and skin shots. It depicts violence in a most compelling way: You don't see it. You just feel it." Bob Wisehart of The Sacramento Bee
said, "The bottom line is that while NYPD Blue is a fine show – it was on my 10-best list for 1993 – Homicide is better. There's been nothing like it since the heyday of Hill Street Blues." Elaine Liner, television critic with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times
, who called Homicide "as rewarding an hour of serious, quality television as you could ask for", praised it for highlighting quality writing rather than gimmicks like the nudity from NYPD Blue, and praised it for fleshing out not only the detectives and victims, but the suspects too, like in "Bop Gun". Ed Siegel of The Boston Globe
wrote, "If [the nudity] is what it took to get you to watch NYPD Blue and you decided to stay because it was grittier, better written, directed and acted than any other drama on TV, be advised that Homicide is so far superior to NYPD Blue in all those categories that if you're not [watching it], you're missing the best hour of episodic television since Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere left the air."
and a 28 share, the highest rating for a 10 p.m. drama series since January 1992. The rating placed Homicide among the top ten network television Nielsen ratings for the week, and outperformed the ratings of L.A. Law
, which normally filled the 10 p.m. Thursday timeslot. Warren Littlefield said the ratings "far exceeded expectations", and said he expected the series to return for a third season if the viewership remained strong. Littlefield said of the Homicide ratings:
The other three episodes of the season did not match the viewership of "Bop Gun", but they were nevertheless considered strong ratings for the show, better than past Homicide episodes and the average rating for L.A. Law. Homicide' s improved ratings in the Thursday night timeslot fueled speculation that L.A. Law might be canceled and Homicide would take its place. Warren Littlefield denied such claims, believing the success of one series did not necessarily have to mean the cancellation of the other. Despite Homicide' s improvement in the ratings, NBC did not immediately commit to a third season until the producers agreed to even more changes, including more prominent guest stars, more women in the cast and more life-affirming storylines. Outgoing cast member Polito publicly decried these changes, claiming the show was going to change from a drama into a "soap opera".
To cut down on costs, the network also pressured Levinson to relocate filming to California rather than Baltimore, which would reduce costs for travel, lodging and meals. Maryland Governor
William Donald Schaefer
sent a telegram to Levinson encouraging him to remain in the city: "I wanted you to know that we are proud of having this exceptional series shot in your native state and stand ready to help toward a positive decision for additional production of the series." Levinson and Fontana considered leaving Baltimore not only for the cost savings, but also because of the letters of outrage by the city's detectives over "See No Evil," as well as a report in the Associated Press
that the show was giving Baltimore a bad image by drawing attention to its murder rate. Ultimately, however, Levinson decided to remain in Baltimore. On February 15, 1994, the day the options of the cast contracts expired, NBC decided at midnight to sign for a third season, but ordered only 13 episodes instead of a full 22-episode season, opting to wait and see how the ratings performed before committing to the final nine.
nomination for Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role in "Bop Gun". It was the only Emmy nomination Homicide: Life on the Street received in the 46th Primetime Emmy Awards
; the series received four nominations the previous year. Williams lost the Emmy to Richard Kiley for his performance in the CBS
drama series Picket Fences
. "Bop Gun" won a Writers Guild of America Award
for Best Screenplay of an Episodic Drama
. It defeated competing episodes of Northern Exposure
and NYPD Blue
, as well as another second season Homicide episode, "A Many Splendored Thing".
box-set "Homicide: Life on the Street: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2", which was released by A&E Home Video
on May 27, 2003 for $69.95. The set included an audio commentary by Levinson and Fontana for the first season premiere, "Gone for Goode", as well as a collection of the commercials that advertised the episode during the Super Bowl
.
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...
, an American police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
drama television series, originally aired in the United States between January 6 and January 27, 1994. Due to low 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...
during the first season, 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...
executives decided to order only a four-episode season, after which they would evaluate the ratings and decide whether to renew the show. Homicide was moved to a new timeslot of Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
, temporarily replacing the legal drama L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
. NBC requested several changes from the series, including fewer episode subplots and less camera movements and jump cut
Jump cut
A jump cut is a cut in film editing and vloging in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. This type of edit causes the subject of the shots to appear to "jump" position in a discontinuous way...
s.
Almost the entire Homicide cast returned for the second season except for Wendy Hughes
Wendy Hughes
-Career:Hughes began her career on television in the early 1970s with appearances in Homicide, Number 96, Matlock Police and in 1976, ABC Mini-Series, Power Without Glory...
. The uncertainty over Homicide
Daniel Baldwin
Daniel Leroy Baldwin is an American actor, producer and director. He is the second oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. Daniel Baldwin is known for his role as Detective Beau Felton in the popular NBC TV series Homicide: Life on the Street...
publicly criticized NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield
Warren Littlefield
Warren W. Littlefield is an American former television executive.A protégé of Brandon Tartikoff, Littlefield developed Cheers, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls as senior and executive vice president of NBC Entertainment under Tartikoff...
over the matter, and it was initially reported Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
would not return at all. The second season was the last to include original cast member Jon Polito
Jon Polito
Jon Polito is an American actor and voice artist, who is known for working with the Coen Brothers, most notably in the major supporting role of Italian gangster Johnny Caspar in Miller's Crossing. He also appeared in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and on the first season of...
, who was reportedly dismissed because NBC officials were unhappy with his physical appearance. Polito was publicly critical of the show after his dismissal.
The second season marked the debut of Jean de Segonzac
Jean de Segonzac
Jean R. B. de Segonzac is a director, screenwriter and cinematographer who has worked in documentaries and television programs...
as director of photography and Chris Tergesen as music coordinator. The season premiere, "Bop Gun
Bop Gun (Homicide: Life on the Street)
"Bop Gun" is the second season premiere of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street, and the tenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 6, 1994...
", was the last of the four episodes filmed, but it was the first to be broadcast due to a guest appearance by Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, which NBC hoped would lead to improved ratings. "Bop Gun" differed from other Homicide episodes because it focused entirely on one story: the murder of a tourist and its impact on her husband, played by Williams. The episodes "See No Evil
See No Evil (Homicide: Life on the Street)
"See No Evil" is the second episode of the second season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street, and the eleventh overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 13, 1994. In the episode, Felton's friend kills his father...
" and "Black and Blue
Black and Blue (Homicide: Life on the Street)
"Black and Blue" is the third episode of the second season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street, and the twelfth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 20, 1994. In the episode, Pembleton aggressively...
" featured a suspected police shooting, which was based on a real life incident in 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...
's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is a 1991 book written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon describing a year spent with detectives from the Baltimore Police Department homicide squad...
.
In addition to Williams, several actors made guest appearances throughout the second season, including Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
, Wilford Brimley
Wilford Brimley
Allen Wilford Brimley is an American actor. He has appeared in such films as The China Syndrome, Cocoon, The Thing and The Firm. He had a recurring role on the 1970s television series The Waltons...
, Isaiah Washington
Isaiah Washington
Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor. A veteran of several Spike Lee films, Washington is best known for his role as Dr. Preston Burke on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2007.-Personal life:...
, Adrienne Shelly
Adrienne Shelly
Adrienne Shelly , was an American actress, director and screenwriter. Making her name in independent films such as 1989's The Unbelievable Truth and 1990's Trust, Shelly transitioned to a writing and directing career in subsequent years...
and a 13-year-old Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
. Homicide received generally positive reviews during the season, and the show received one Emmy
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...
nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Guest Supporting Actor.-Award winners:1970s*1975: Patrick McGoohan – Columbo: By Dawn's Early Light...
for Williams. The "Bop Gun" script won a Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
. Homicide was often compared to the 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...
police drama series 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...
, which Baldwin called "the knockoff of Homicide". While ratings improved during the second season, NBC still demanded further changes to the show before committing to a third season
Homicide: Life on the Street (season 3)
The third season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from 1994-10-14 to 1995-05-05 and contained 20 episodes. It was the first full season of episodes.The third season marked the debut of character Lt...
. The first and second seasons of Homicide were released together in a four-DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
box-set on May 27, 2003.
Episodes
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Renewal
Nielsen ratingsNielsen 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...
for Homicide: Life on the Street had gradually declined throughout the first season, leaving the show at high risk of cancellation by the time the season concluded. NBC executives asked for several refinements – including fewer episode subplots and less camera movements and jump cuts – before approving a second season. 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 was willing "to do anything to keep NBC from forgetting us", although executive producer Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
said the show would maintain its realistic visual style, claiming, "We want a camera that's almost a participant in the show." Homicide was ultimately renewed, but the producers slightly toned down the show's bleak visual style and hand-held photography motif, and focused more strongly on single stories rather than multiple subplots. Fontana said, "We were experimenting with our first nine episodes. Whenever you try something new, you tend to err on the side of breaking ground. But we'd rather have more people watching, so the colors and lighting are slightly brighter, and the camera movements are not as jarring." However, both Levinson and Fontana insisted the changes were not entirely due to network pressure, but rather were evolutionary developments for the series.
NBC ordered a four-episode second season, which would be broadcast in January 1994 as a mid-year replacement. A decision about whether to renew the show for a third season
Homicide: Life on the Street (season 3)
The third season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from 1994-10-14 to 1995-05-05 and contained 20 episodes. It was the first full season of episodes.The third season marked the debut of character Lt...
would then be made based on how those four episodes performed in the ratings. David P. Kalat, author of Homicide: Life on the Street – The Unofficial Companion, credited NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield
Warren Littlefield
Warren W. Littlefield is an American former television executive.A protégé of Brandon Tartikoff, Littlefield developed Cheers, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls as senior and executive vice president of NBC Entertainment under Tartikoff...
with that move, although Levinson claimed NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer
Don Ohlmeyer
Don Ohlmeyer is an American television producer and former president of the NBC network's West Coast division. Currently, Don Ohlmeyer is a Professor of Television Communications at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California...
was behind the decision. Ohlmeyer said he believed a better timeslot, less dense stories and less hand-held photography would attract more viewers and help the show succeed better: "For it to succeed long-term, there's a humanity that needs to be brought to the characters. There's more here than there was last year." Littlefield said of Homicide, "It's a show we think has tremendous potential that was not fully realized in the first nine episodes. And that's why we want to make more."
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
to a new time on Thursdays at 10 p.m. Levinson and the other series producers considered this an extremely positive move for the show, as Homicide suffered greatly in the ratings on Wednesdays due to competition from the highly-rated 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...
comedy block featuring Home Improvement and Coach
Coach (TV series)
Coach is an American television sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1997. The series starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team, the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles...
. Even during the first season, Levinson often said the series was truly designed for a 10 p.m. timeslot. Homicide took the timeslot previously held by the legal drama L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
, which was placed on a six-week hiatus from December 23 until early February. With some critics claiming L.A. Law had declined in quality, the hiatus led to speculation that it would be canceled and Homicide would replace it. This led to some tension during an NBC reception when L.A. Law star Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
approached Homicide actor 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...
and shouted expletives at him, yelling, "You stole our timeslot!"
The producers of Homicide said the decision to evaluate the series after a four-episode season placed tremendous pressure on the staff of the show. Fontana said one-hour dramas need time to fully develop and allow audiences to become familiar with the characters. Fontana expressed frustration with NBC in some news interviews, claiming the networks seemed to lack the courage to either cancel or renew it: "They will run it in a 10 p.m. time period for a month and then they'll kiss us goodbye. ... I'm used to this kind of treatment from NBC. I'm a little surprised they'd treat Barry Levinson the same way they'd treat me." In other interviews, however, Fontana said he saw the decision as a sign of support: "This is not just a casual action on NBC's part. It's a real statement to me that we have a possibility to return." Levinson said he believed "four shots are better than nothing", adding:
"What I learned is that it is very hard for a network to make a real commitment. A hit-and-run sensibility is prevalent. ... In all fairness to NBC, this is a tougher kind of show than any other show they carry. It is different, and no one is going to endorse different in this world, no one celebrates different."
Crew
Homicide was produced by Levinson's company Baltimore Pictures, which had partnered with Reeves EntertainmentAlan Landsburg Productions
Alan Landsburg Productions was an independent TV production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company had huge successes with In Search of... and That's Incredible!, which were two early examples of reality television long before the name even existed...
during the first season. However, Reeves Entertainment went out of business after the first season concluded, so NBC bought into the show and formally became a co-producer, which gave the network more latitude to demand creative changes. The second season marked the debut of Jean de Segonzac
Jean de Segonzac
Jean R. B. de Segonzac is a director, screenwriter and cinematographer who has worked in documentaries and television programs...
as director of photography. He replaced Wayne Ewing, who Levinson felt was too inexperienced and did not trust with the responsibility of managing the show's cinematography. Among Segonzac's film credits was Laws of Gravity (1992), which was directed by 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...
, who directed the Homicide first season episode "Son of a Gun
Son of a Gun (Homicide: Life on the Street)
"Son of a Gun" is the third episode of the first season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on February 10, 1993. The teleplay was written by James Yoshimura based on a story by executive director Tom Fontana,...
".
Season premiere "Bop Gun" was directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal
Stephen Gyllenhaal
-Personal life:Gyllenhaal was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Virginia Lowrie and Hugh Anders Gyllenhaal. The Gyllenhaal family is a descendant of the cavalry officer Nils Gunnesson Haal, who was ennobled in 1652 when Queen Christina of Sweden conferred upon him the crest and family name,...
, a feature director then-best known for such films as Waterland
Waterland (film)
Waterland is a 1992 film directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Graham Swift. The film starred Jeremy Irons, Sinéad Cusack, Ethan Hawke, and John Heard.-Plot:...
(1992) and A Dangerous Woman
A Dangerous Woman (1993 film)
A Dangerous Woman is a 1993 film from Amblin Entertainment and Gramercy Pictures directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and written for the screen by his then wife Naomi Foner...
(1993). Chris Menaul directed the back-to-back episodes "See No Evil" and "Black and Blue", while the season finale, "A Many Splendored Thing", was directed by John McNaughton
John McNaughton
John McNaughton is an American film and television director, originally from Chicago, Illinois.-Biography:His first feature film, made in 1986, was Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, a film McNaughton directed, co-wrote, and co-produced. Numerous complications plagued the controversial film,...
, who previously directed Homicide star Belzer in the film Mad Dog and Glory
Mad Dog and Glory
Mad Dog and Glory is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by John McNaughton and starring Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman and Bill Murray.-Plot:...
(1993). The second season included much of the same crew as the first: in addition to executive producers Levinson and Fontana, Jim Finnerty
Jim Finnerty
Jim Finnerty is an award-winning American television producer. He worked on all seven seasons of the Peabody Award Winning NBC police drama Homicide: Life on the Street. He often works with Homicide executive producer Tom Fontana.-Biography:...
returned as supervising producer, Debbie Sarjeant worked as associate supervisor and screenwriter James Yoshimura became story editor starting with the second season, with Bonnie Mark
Bonnie Mark
Bonnie Mark is an American television writer and producer. She has worked on the ABC crime drama NYPD Blue and the NBC crime dramas Third Watch and Homicide: Life on the Street...
as a staff writer and Chris Friel as a script supervisor. Other crew included Cindy Mollo as editor, Vincent Peranio
Vincent Peranio
Vincent Peranio is an American film and television production designer, art director, set designer, and actor.Peranio began his career designing film sets for John Waters...
as production designer, Susan Kessel as set decorator, Roland Berman as costume designer, Ivan Fonseca as post-production coordinator, Bruce Litkey as sound mixer and Louis DiGiaimo and Pat Moran as casting directors. Ted Zachary and Allan Chaflin worked as the executives in charge of production.
Cast
Almost the entire original cast from season one returned for the second season, including Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, Clark Johnson, Yaphet Kotto, Melissa Leo, Jon Polito and Kyle Secor. The only permanent cast member not to return was Wendy HughesWendy Hughes
-Career:Hughes began her career on television in the early 1970s with appearances in Homicide, Number 96, Matlock Police and in 1976, ABC Mini-Series, Power Without Glory...
, who previously played medical examiner Carol Blythe; her absence was never explained on-screen. While the rest of the cast was contractually obligated to return, many of them had offers for other films, television shows or plays, and the logistics of arranging their schedules so all of them could return for the show was difficult. In an interview, Fontana claimed the cast was contractually entitled to be paid for 13 episodes, but they all agreed to take less money and come back for the shortened-season. The uncertainty over whether Homicide would be renewed or not created a great deal of stress for some cast members. Polito said of the feeling, "Where is limbo
Limbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
? It's in Baltimore." Baldwin in particular expressed frustration with NBC for failing to renew the show for a full season, and said he feared the uncertainty could hurt his film career:
"For two years now, I've been walking around thinking, 'Why did I do this? Why did I subject myself to this nonsense?' I will never, ever do another series. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. There is no justice in television. ... Where's the confidence? Why aren't I here talking about being picked up for 22 episodes? I want to say to Warren Littlefield: Can you read? Can you read? I've never seen this kind of critical response to a show before."
Likewise, Beatty said he enjoyed the actual filming of the episodes but hated the television business end of it, claiming, "I can't think of anything I would less rather do than television at this moment." He said the process left him "pretty much burnt" and said his enthusiasm for the show had "eroded as time goes on". It was initially reported that Beatty would not return for the second Homicide season at all because he had accepted a starring role in The Boys, a 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...
comedy series also featuring Christopher Meloni
Christopher Meloni
Christopher Peter Meloni is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz.-Early life:Meloni was born the youngest of three children in...
. Polito said he did not believe Beatty's departure would hurt the show because of the ensemble nature of the cast: "I love Ned's work, but the show won't fall apart because of one character." Beatty ended up appearing in both shows, and The Boys was canceled after six episodes.
Although Belzer said he and the rest of the cast returned to filming with "guarded emotions", he credited his role as John Munch with giving him credibility as an actor. While he previously had to vigorously pursue roles, he was receiving unsolicited offers by the time of the second season, including a recurring role in the ABC television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action American television series based on the Superman comic books...
. Polito, however, was terminated from the cast after the second season ended, reportedly because NBC officials were unhappy with his weight and physical appearance and did not believe he appealed to audiences. After his dismissal, Polito became publicly critical of the direction Homicide had recently taken, saying it changed to a "parody of itself" and claiming he had repeatedly voiced problems with the show's recent scripts to Fontana and Chris Menaul. Polito said:
"It would have killed me to come back. The show went from art to mediocrity. I'm relieved that they've freed me legally. I didn't want to go back to another six months of indecision and hurt. I'm shocked that the other actors re-signed. ... The brilliance of the show under Levinson was lost this season. It's like watching the sinking of the Titanic. The problem is that the iceberg is the guys who built the ship – the producers. You can never trust producers. They would have said to van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
: 'Nice painting. A little lighter on the colors and we can sell it.'"
Several notable actors made guest appearances throughout the second season of Homicide. Robin Williams appeared in "Bop Gun" as Robert Ellison, the husband of a slain woman tourist. Levinson previously directed Williams in the films Good Morning, Vietnam
Good Morning, Vietnam
Good Morning, Vietnam is a 1987 American comedy-drama film set in Saigon during the Vietnam War, based on the career of Adrian Cronauer, a disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio Service , who proves hugely popular with the troops serving in South Vietnam, but infuriates his superiors with what they call...
(1987) and Toys (1992). Although Williams was primarily known for his comedic work, the Homicide producers and Williams himself consciously decided to remain true to the original script, rejecting the idea of adding humor or jokes to the episode. "Bop Gun" also featured a 13-year-old Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
, son of the episode's director Stephen, in one of his earliest acting performances; he played Matt, the young son of Robert Ellison. Wilford Brimley portrayed the bed-ridden and suicidal Harry Prentice in "See No Evil", Isaiah Washington played murder suspect Lane Staily in "Black and Blue", and Adrienne Shelly
Adrienne Shelly
Adrienne Shelly , was an American actress, director and screenwriter. Making her name in independent films such as 1989's The Unbelievable Truth and 1990's Trust, Shelly transitioned to a writing and directing career in subsequent years...
portrayed S&M fashion store owner Tanya Quinn in "A Many Splendored Thing". Julianna Margulies appeared in the last two episodes of the season as Linda, a waitress who starts dating Bolander. Fontana was so impressed with Margulies that he offered her a recurring role on Homicide, but she turned it down in favor of the medical drama series ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.
Writing
By the first time the season ended, four additional scripts for the second season had already been written, but before approving the second season, NBC asked for refinements in both the visual style and the scripts. From a screenwriting perspective, NBC asked that the scripts place more emphasis on single storylines, rather than multiple subplots; during the first season, some episodes included as many as four separate storylines. The season premiere, "Bop Gun", was the first Homicide episode to revolve entirely around a single plot: the murder of a tourist and its aftermath. Fontana said by focusing on one story, he believed it allows the show to tell that story better, adding, "In some places, there wasn't enough time for the story. The "Bop Gun" script also differed from previous Homicide episodes by focusing more strongly on a murder victim, rather than on the detectives. The other three episodes of the season continued to focus on multiple stories, but switched from four different subplots to three.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 later of whom wrote the 1991 non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is a 1991 book written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon describing a year spent with detectives from the Baltimore Police Department homicide squad...
, from which the television series was adapted. It was the first television script written by Mills, who previously worked as a reporter and became friends with Simon while studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. Writing the script inspired Mills to quit journalism and start writing for television full-time. Simon felt the script's dialogue was faithful to reality, especially the detectives' use of dark humor as a coping mechanism for dealing with the horrors of the homicide unit. This was particularly embodied by a scene in which the murdered tourist's husband becomes angry after overhearing detectives talk about how much overtime they would get from the case, which Simon claimed was a conversation real-life detectives would really have.
"See No Evil" was written by series creator Paul Attanasio
Paul Attanasio
Paul Albert Attanasio is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television, who is currently an executive producer on the television series House.-Life and career:...
, who had not penned a Homicide script since the series premiere "Gone for Goode
Gone for Goode
"Gone for Goode" is the first episode of the first season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 31, 1993, immediately following Super Bowl XXVII. The episode was written by series creator Paul...
". Attanasio deliberately wrote the "See No Evil" script so that it would be morally questionable whether the police handling of both main subplots — the assisted suicide
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
and the suspected police shooting — were done in an ethically correct way. "Black and Blue" was written by James Yoshimura, who continued working on Homicide throughout the entire life of the show, but considered that episode his favorite script. A story arc in "See No Evil" and "Black and Blue" featured Pembleton investigating a suspected police-related shooting. This was based on a real-life 1988 shooting and subsequent investigation by Baltimore Police Department
Baltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department provides police services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland and was officially established by the Maryland Legislature on March 16, 1853...
Detective Donald Worden
Donald Worden
Donald Worden is a retired Baltimore Police Department detective who was featured in David Simon's non-fiction book about the homicide unit, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets....
featured in David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. Several members of the Baltimore Police Department publicly criticized Homicide for its negative portrayal of the police in the storyline, and 22 detectives wrote a formal letter of protest to Levinson over the matter.
"A Many Splendored Thing" was written by Noel Behn, who became consulting producer with the series. That episode featured a subplot about a man who killed another man over a pen, which was inspired by a real-life murder in Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
, 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...
, in which a 23-year-old man shot another man 10 times in a doughnut shop when the victim refused to sell the shooter his pen. Since NBC had not decided on whether to renew Homicide until after the four episodes aired, the screenwriters did not start working on any scripts for the third season until after the second season concluded. As a result, once NBC was committed to renewal, the scripts had to be written later and the Homicide producers were not able to turn around new shows until the fall. Additionally, Fontana was working on other projects, including Philly Heat, an ABC miniseries about members of the Philadelphia Fire Department
Philadelphia Fire Department
The Philadelphia Fire Department provides firefighting and Emergency Medical Services within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
. Some media outlets criticized NBC for not commissioning Fontana and Levinson to write back-up scripts, which prevented Homicide from starting earlier once the show was renewed. 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:...
wrote, "Understandably, Fontana didn't sit by idly and wait for NBC to make its decision on Homicide."
Filming
The four second season episodes were filmed during the summer of 1993. The last of them, "Bop Gun", was filmed in late September 1993, with Fontana just having returned from accepting an Emmy AwardEmmy 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...
for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the script of first season episode "Three Men and Adena
Three Men and Adena
"Three Men and Adena" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 3, 1993. The episode was written by executive producer Tom Fontana and directed by Martin Campbell...
". Like the first season, they were filmed on location in Baltimore. Levinson was not present for the filming and development of the episodes because he was in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
shooting Jimmy Hollywood
Jimmy Hollywood
Jimmy Hollywood is an American comedy film written and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Joe Pesci and Christian Slater.- Plot :Jimmy Alto is a failing actor living in Los Angeles. After increasing frustration with crime in the city Jimmy, along with his 'spaced-out' best friend William ,...
(1994), a comedy film starring Joe Pesci
Joe Pesci
Joseph Frank "Joe" Pesci is an American actor, comedian, and musician.He is known for playing a variety of different roles, from violent mobsters to comedic leads to quirky sidekicks...
and Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
. Fontana said Levinson remained involved in the development of scripts and the production of the shows.
Among the visual changes during Homicide
Music
Chris Tergesen became music coordinator during the second season, and more music is featured than in the previous episodes as a result. The first scene of "Bop Gun", for example, featured the song "Killer" by SealSeal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
and Adamski
Adamski
Adamski is an English dance music producer, prominent at the time of acid house for his tracks "N-R-G" and "Killer" .-Career:...
over a brief montage of images just before a murder took place. In that same episode, the Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
blues song "Feels Like Rain" plays just after Howard speaks with a suspect in jail. Other songs were integrated into the show itself: one suspect listens to the Public Enemy song "Gett off My Back" on headphones just before he was arrested. Various songs are featured in other second season episodes, including the Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...
and Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
song "Up on the Roof
Up on the Roof (song)
"Up on the Roof" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded in 1962 by The Drifters. Released at the tail end of that year, the song became a big hit in early 1963, reaching number five on the U.S. pop singles chart and number 4 on the U.S...
" in "Black and Blue", and the Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983.The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dan Murphy, Dave Pirner, Karl Mueller and Pat Morley. The latter was replaced by Grant Young in...
song "Whoa" and Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
song "Bad Girls
Bad Girls (song)
"Bad Girls" is a 1979 single released by American singer Donna Summer, co-written by Summer and the Brooklyn Dreams. The inspiration for her to write the song came after one of her assistants was offended by a police officer who thought she was a street prostitute.A rough version of the song had...
" in "A Many Splendored Thing". "Black and Blue" ended with Bolander and Linda, on cello and violin respectively, performing a movement of "Passacaglia", a classical music piece composed by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
. Cellist Zuill Bailey
Zuill Bailey
Zuill Bailey , Alexandria, Virginia, is an American cellist. A Juilliard graduate, he has appeared with a number of major orchestras internationally, and has an exclusive international recording contract with the Telarc label...
served as a body double for Beatty in the scenes with Bolander playing cello.
Reviews
The second season received generally positive reviews. "Bop Gun" was particularly acclaimed; it was named one of the ten best episodes of the series by The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
, and the Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
called Williams' performance one of the ten best guest star moments in television history. The performance of Andre Braugher was also particularly praised, especially for his scene in "Black and Blue", in which Pembleton persuades a suspect to confess to a murder he did not commit. Gail Pennington of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
said the second season was an improvement over the first, which she said was excellent but "tended to demand an awful lot from viewers". Pennington said the toned down visual style and stronger emphasis on single stories better focused the show, adding: "Homicide is great TV, and NBC believes in it enough to give it what may be the network's best time slot." Bob Langford of The News & Observer
The News & Observer
The News & Observer is the regional daily newspaper of the Research Triangle area of the U.S. State of North Carolina. The N&O, as it is popularly called, is based in Raleigh and also covers Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill. The paper also has substantial readership in most of the state east of...
called Homicide "absolutely brilliant" and praised it for focusing not on the crimes but on the effects of it, as well as the realistic themes regarding race, such as concerns in "Bop Gun" that the murder would deter white tourists from visiting Baltimore. Langford said it was occasionally preachy, but said, "Sometimes, a good sermon is what we need. Amazing that one this powerful can come from a TV show."
Rick Kogan, television critic with the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, called the show "wholly original" and an example of how good television entertainment can be. He praised the ensemble cast and interesting characters, and said the show would be renewed "if there's any justice in TV". Ray Richmond of the Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News
The Los Angeles Daily News is the second-largest circulating daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a branch of Colorado-based MediaNews Group....
praised NBC for giving Homicide a second chance, comparing it to the days when NBC stuck with the comedy series Cheers even though it ranked last in the ratings during its first season. Richmond said of Homicide: "This is also one of the final opportunities to see a television network stick with a struggling show for no better reason than it deserves to be stuck with. In the bottom line-driven 1990s, that's become as rare as quality itself. " Steven Cole Smith with the 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...
said of the evaluation period during Homicide
Robert Bianco 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 show and said the decision to focus on fewer subplots might help. Bianco said, "Let's hope the changes work, because Homicide is too good to lose, and its vision of civilization is too troubling to shunt aside." The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
television reviewer Tom Shales called Homicide "achingly, even painfully, brilliant. The best cop show I have ever seen." David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun called it the best police drama ever made for television besides Hill Street Blues. Baltimore Sun reporter David Bianculli praised the show's writers for being willing to place their characters in ethically questionable positions, adding: "Please watch this series; it's so good, I don't mind pleading." Tom Jicha of South Florida Sun-Sentinel called it "an hour about as fine as there is on the tube" with great writing and camera-work. Jicha said, "It would be a senseless act of violence against superb TV for those who claim to appreciate fine drama to kill this show by turning the dial." Hal Boedeker, television critic with The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
, strongly praised the series, particularly "Bop Gun", which he called "the highest order for network TV". Boedeker called the writing, direction and acting "first-rate" and declared Homicide it the better choice over NYPD Blue because it did not resort to gimmicks like the nudity featured in the latter show.
NYPD Blue
The second season of Homicide drew several comparisons to NYPD BlueNYPD 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...
, an 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...
police drama series that had debuted in September 1993. It received a large amount of publicity and better ratings than Homicide, which some reviewers attributed to the violence and nudity featured in the show. Like Homicide, NYPD Blue featured an ensemble cast and intertwined subplots, and commentators suggested its success may have encouraged NBC to support Homicide. Levinson said he was not deterred by comparisons to NYPD Blue because Homicide debuted before that series. In a news article, Fontana quoted a friend who described NYPD Blue as "the television version of Homicide". Baldwin was even more critical of the show, and said in an interview: "The ultimate compliment that can ever be paid [is] to be mimicked by someone else. So, thank you, NYPD Blue, because it's the knockoff of Homicide." NYPD Blue co-creator Steven Bochco
Steven Bochco
Steven Ronald Bochco is a US television producer and writer. He has developed a number of popular television hits including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue, as well as some notable flops such as Cop Rock....
took exception to that characterization, saying he believed his reputation and experience in television proved he was capable of conceiving his own material. Bochco said: I don't think it's a knock-off. It was conceived as its own show. I wish Homicide the best – and they should be so lucky as to do as well as we're doing right now."
Pete Schulberg of The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
wrote, "Forget all the commotion about NYPD Blue. Homicide delivers without the lewd language and skin shots. It depicts violence in a most compelling way: You don't see it. You just feel it." Bob Wisehart of The Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its creation in 1857, the Bee has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S...
said, "The bottom line is that while NYPD Blue is a fine show – it was on my 10-best list for 1993 – Homicide is better. There's been nothing like it since the heyday of Hill Street Blues." Elaine Liner, television critic with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times is the newspaper of record for Corpus Christi, Texas.-Brief history:There has been a newspaper in Corpus Christi for almost as long as there has been a town. In 1883, the Caller was started in a frame building at 310 North Chaparral, now the site of Green's Jewelers....
, who called Homicide "as rewarding an hour of serious, quality television as you could ask for", praised it for highlighting quality writing rather than gimmicks like the nudity from NYPD Blue, and praised it for fleshing out not only the detectives and victims, but the suspects too, like in "Bop Gun". Ed Siegel of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
wrote, "If [the nudity] is what it took to get you to watch NYPD Blue and you decided to stay because it was grittier, better written, directed and acted than any other drama on TV, be advised that Homicide is so far superior to NYPD Blue in all those categories that if you're not [watching it], you're missing the best hour of episodic television since Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere left the air."
Ratings
NBC heavily advertised the second season, especially the guest appearance by Williams in the season premiere, "Bop Gun". Levinson, Baldwin, Belzer and Fontana all participated in multiple media interviews about the show. "Bop Gun" was seen by 16.3 million viewers, a higher-than-usual Homicide: Life on the Street rating in large part to interest in Williams' appearance. It received an 17.3 Nielsen ratingNielsen 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...
and a 28 share, the highest rating for a 10 p.m. drama series since January 1992. The rating placed Homicide among the top ten network television Nielsen ratings for the week, and outperformed the ratings of L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
, which normally filled the 10 p.m. Thursday timeslot. Warren Littlefield said the ratings "far exceeded expectations", and said he expected the series to return for a third season if the viewership remained strong. Littlefield said of the Homicide ratings:
"These are outstanding numbers for a dramatic television series. If we can keep a reasonable level of audience, we believe in the work, we believe in the creative team we think we have, perhaps the most outstanding ensemble cast in all of television. We just would like to see continued signs of life."
The other three episodes of the season did not match the viewership of "Bop Gun", but they were nevertheless considered strong ratings for the show, better than past Homicide episodes and the average rating for L.A. Law. Homicide
To cut down on costs, the network also pressured Levinson to relocate filming to California rather than Baltimore, which would reduce costs for travel, lodging and meals. Maryland Governor
Governor of Maryland
The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...
William Donald Schaefer
William Donald Schaefer
William Donald Schaefer was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. A Democrat, he was mayor of Baltimore from 1971 to 1987, the 58th Governor of Maryland from January 21, 1987 to January 18, 1995, and the Comptroller of...
sent a telegram to Levinson encouraging him to remain in the city: "I wanted you to know that we are proud of having this exceptional series shot in your native state and stand ready to help toward a positive decision for additional production of the series." Levinson and Fontana considered leaving Baltimore not only for the cost savings, but also because of the letters of outrage by the city's detectives over "See No Evil," as well as a report in the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that the show was giving Baltimore a bad image by drawing attention to its murder rate. Ultimately, however, Levinson decided to remain in Baltimore. On February 15, 1994, the day the options of the cast contracts expired, NBC decided at midnight to sign for a third season, but ordered only 13 episodes instead of a full 22-episode season, opting to wait and see how the ratings performed before committing to the final nine.
Awards
Robin Williams received an Emmy AwardEmmy 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...
nomination for Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role in "Bop Gun". It was the only Emmy nomination Homicide: Life on the Street received in the 46th Primetime Emmy Awards
46th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday, September 11, 1994. The awards show was hosted by Patricia Richardson and Ellen DeGeneres. It was broadcast on ABC...
; the series received four nominations the previous year. Williams lost the Emmy to Richard Kiley for his performance in the 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...
drama series Picket Fences
Picket Fences
Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...
. "Bop Gun" won a Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
for Best Screenplay of an Episodic Drama
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay - Episodic Drama
This is the list of winners and nominees of the WGA Television Award for Best Writing for Drama Series - Episodic.-2000s:2000: The West Wing - Rick Cleveland/Aaron Sorkin for "In Excelsis Deo"...
. It defeated competing episodes of Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes.-Overview:The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a...
and 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...
, as well as another second season Homicide episode, "A Many Splendored Thing".
DVD release
The first and second seasons of Homicide were released together in a four-DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
box-set "Homicide: Life on the Street: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2", 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 May 27, 2003 for $69.95. The set included an audio commentary by Levinson and Fontana for the first season premiere, "Gone for Goode", as well as a collection of the commercials that advertised the episode during the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
.