Written By James Yoshimura
Directed by Nick Gomez
` Jon Polito got a raw deal from the writers
of Homicide. No doubt the veteran
character actor thought that appearing in a critically acclaimed network drama
would help provide a boost to his
career. Instead, he got the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Of all the detectives
who would work in Homicide during the shows seven-year run, Steve Crosetti
would never get to work a murder as a primary.
Crosetti and Lewis would investigate four cases during the shows first
two seasons, but the names always got written under Lewis’s name. Therefore, we
never really saw how he worked as a detective. Adding insult to injury, the
writers would dump Polito under the demands of NBC executives who found this
overweight, bald man unappealing. And
though his death would lead to one of the most memorable images in the series,
he never got a chance to sign off on it or even make an appearance in his last
episode. (The final touch came when the episode was aired out of sequence,
undercutting the revelation of his death)
Therefore, the only
chance that Polito would be able to demonstrate his dramatic range as Crosetti
in the sequence of episodes surrounding the Chris Thorman’s shooting. It is a
great pity because in this episode and the next one, Polito would demonstrate a
great deal of the range and emotion that he could have demonstrated.
Like most of the events in the shows
first two seasons, the shooting of officer Chris Thorman was pulled from Simon’s book. Based on the events surrounding
the shooting of patrolman Gene Cassidy
and the action of Sergeant Terry McLarney (on whom Crosetti gets some of his
character) we bare witness to something that the writers of Homicide would do rather frequently;
expose the detectives on the show to the same kind of pain and anguish that
they see happen to others frequently on the job. In the book, McLarney and
Cassidy were acquaintances; in the TV series, Thormann is an old friend of
Crosetti. Because of this catching the
man who shot him takes on a deeper significance than had it been another cop.
But even if the relationship between
Crosetti and Thormann had not been established, this incident would retain
dramatic power nevertheless. The viewer met
Chris Thormann a week earlier and the fact that someone we have seen
alive is now on the brink of death, is fairly shocking. It is not uncommon from
a television show to kill off a minor character early in its run, but we don’t
normally see it in such a fashion. We never actually see Thormann’s shooting ,
only the aftermath.
Furthermore, on most police dramas the
shooting of a policeman would be the main business. But just as in ‘Ghost of a
Chance’, we find the squad dealing with
business as usual. The Adena Watson
investigation takes on a new angle (though it would turn out that it wasn’t as
new as we thought) and the other detectives are work on even older cases with
Felton and Howard eventually dealing with an investigation started in the Pilot
involving an old woman and her unlikely string of murders. The episode also
continues to balance the fine line between tragedy and comedy. The first humor
comes when we learn why Lawrence Hepner died (over an argument involving Spiro
Agnew, of all things) and then we meet the unlikely ’black widow’ that seems to
have cast a spell of stupidity around those who she would try to wed and
murder. This, too, has it origins in reality which makes it more amusing.
We
also get more insight into the characters of the detectives. Bayliss and
Pembleton’s relationship becomes more involved. Pembleton continues to disdain
Bayliss’ efforts only now he does it to his face. In one of the more memorable
bones of contention, Frank tells Bayliss that Tim will never make a good murder
police because he doesn’t have a killers mind--- something that will stick in
Bayliss’ craw for a long time. Bayliss only seems marginally more in the game
in this episode then the last one. He still seems aimless and it Is very clear
that the sight of Adena’s body still haunts him. But he remains determined to
close this case--- which is ironic considering what we will find out in a few
more episodes.
Bolander continues to change as a character.
For the first time we get a sense of the fog of depression that seems to
surround him. Part of this is the job, part of it is the state of his marriage,
and part of it his own neuroses. He gets several good lines, including one in
which he sees murder suspects everywhere and his own fear of death--- which is no doubt amplified by the fact that
his next door neighbor turns up dead in a coffin that he built. He is looking
for love (in his pursuit of Dr. Blythe) but we wonder if it is likely given his
job and his attitude. Ned Beatty does a great job of realizing the complexities
of Bolander.
But
it is Crosetti who we see in the greatest detail. In addition to his anger in
the shooting we see two of his greatest passions---- his Catholicism and his
love of jazz. The former is a pillar to him when he I at his lowest point in
the investigation; the latter helps him get through sitting at Thormann’s
bedside. We see the things that, like his belief in uncovering the truth about
the Lincoln
James
Yoshimura would bring some of the most searing and difficult images that Homicide would ever produce. In his
first script for the show, he doesn’t quite bring out any memorable images, but
he does a fine job creating some
memorable characters. The most notable is Lorenzo (or Larry), a woodworker who
seems perfectly content and calm when we see him--- but who appears to commit
suicide at the episodes end. This is the first time we get a sense of the
fragility of the average life in
Homicide. This won’t be a recurring theme but it will matter nevertheless.
Also
notable is the first time that music is
used to give some kind of background. In this case it is the jazz of Miles
Davis that Crosetti and Thormann know so well. Though not as elaborate as some
of the music that the show would use later, it still provides a feeling of
synchrony with some of the problems of the job
‘Son
of a Gun’ fits in so well with what we have seen that it is jarring to learn
that while it was the third episode aired, it was the fourth episode shot..
This would lead to some errors in continuity especially since that episode
would not be seen until the season end. There would be several occasions that
the powers that be would pull this kind of stunt. However this would be one of
the few occasions where one doesn’t really miss what happened in the previous
episode. The episode isn’t as excellent as the first two, but it does give
several actors in the cast a chance to really shine.
My score: 4.25 stars.
Compared to any episode in the later seasons, it's a 10 out of 5.
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