Edie Falco

‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ Commentary on ‘A Shot in the Dark’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Recently, “Homicide: Life on the Street” has undergone a major renaissance of sorts. The show is now finally available to stream on Peacock, and we have two new podcasts dedicated to the acclaimed series. First, there is “Homicide: Life on the Set” which is hosted by filmmaker and podcaster Chris Carr and Susan C. Ingram who worked as a union camera assistant on “Homicide,” and they have interviewed actors, writers, directors and technicians who worked behind the scenes and have made unforgettable stories to tell. Then there is “Homicide: Life on Repeat” which has actors Reed Diamond and Kyle Secor reviewing each episode of the show from start to finish, and that’s regardless of whether they are in said episode or not. With all this going on, “Homicide” looks to be gaining a new generation of fans and may even become a bigger hit with viewers than ever before.

With this “Homicide” commentary, I focus on the fifth episode of the first season entitled “A Shot in the Dark.” Directed by Bruce Paltrow and written by Jorge Zamacona, it follows multiple plot threads back when the show could get away with that. Stanley Bolander (Ned Beatty) and John Munch investigate the double shooting of a drug dealer, Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) join forces reluctantly to look into a theory regarding Adena Watson’s murder, Tim Bayliss remains convinced that the arabber Risley Tucker murdered Adena and wants to bring him in for questioning, and Steve Crosetti (Jon Polito) and Clark Johnson continue to look into the shooting of Chris Thormann (Lee Tergesen) who has miraculously survived his nearly fatal wounds. It’s amazing just how much the writers got into one single episode!

In the midst of all this, Bolander seems unable to deal with the aftermath of his date with Dr. Blythe (Wendy Hughes), Felton and Pembleton battle with one another over how they see things, and Bayliss gets revenge at Captain Barnfather for releasing information he shouldn’t have released. Of course, Bayliss still pays a price for going after a superior officer. And Munch? Well, let’s just say he steals the show at the very end.

Please check out the commentary below. “Homicide: Life on the Street” is now available to stream on Peacock, and the entire show is still available on DVD through Shout Factory.

‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ Commentary on ‘Son of a Gun’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

It has been a bit, but I am now back with another “Homicide: Life on the Street” commentary track. This time it is for “Son of a Gun,” the fourth episode of the first season. This episode contains several plot threads as the detectives furiously investigate the shooting of Officer Chris Thormann (Lee Tergesen), Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) continue to investigate the murder of Adena Watson, Stanley Bolander (Ned Beatty) goes out on a date with Doctor Carol Blythe (Wendy Hughes), and there is also the case of Calpurnia Church (Mary Jefferson) who has murdered many people for the insurance money. This is a lot for any hour-long drama to handle, but everyone involved seems to find the right balance to where nothing feels superfluous.

“Son of a Gun” was directed by Nick Gomez who helmed a couple of indie crime dramas back in the 1990’s: “Laws of Gravity” and “New Jersey Drive.” It marked the first appearances of Sean Whitesell who portrays Dr. Eli Devilbiss, Edie Falco who portrays Chris Thormann’s wife, Eva, and Walt McPherson who plays an patrolman who may or may not be Roger Gaffney, the most odious and bitter character in the “Homicide” series.

This episode was the first thing I ever saw Edie Falco in, and she previously appeared in Gomez’s “Laws of Gravity.” From here, Falco would go on to play a role in Tom Fontana’s HBO prison drama “Oz,” and she would eventually make her breakthrough a few years later on “The Sopranos.”

There are also other memorable performances to be found in this episode. The great Luis Guzman appears as Bolander’s next door neighbor, Lorenzo “Larry” Molera, who has quite the love for wood. Then there is the late Wendy Hughes who plays a potential girlfriend to Bolander in Carol Blythe, and seeing her and Beatty together provides this episode with the series’ more intimate moments.

Check out the commentary below. The complete series of “Homicide: Life on the Street” is currently available to purchase from Shout Factory. To this date, it is still not available to stream on any service. This is likely due to music rights.

‘OZ’ Audio Commentary on ‘The Routine’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Continuing on with my series of audio commentaries, I have decided to take a break from “Homicide: Life on the Street” and do one on another show, the infamous HBO prison drama “OZ.” I became aware of this show when I found out that, like “Homicide,” it was executive produced by Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson. It was created by Fontana who originally sought to create a show about a minimum-security prison which he would have called “Club Med,” but he opted instead to do one on a maximum-security penitentiary once he got permission to do so from the head of HBO Original Programming.

It needs to be noted that “OZ” was the first hour-long drama ever produced by HBO. Most people forget this as “The Sopranos” came on a year or two later and quickly upstaged this groundbreaking show. Like “Homicide,” “OZ” never got much love from the Emmys or other major awards show, but it laid a solid path for the hour-long drama to exist on HBO. Shows like “The Sopranos” and “Game of Thrones” would possibly never have existed without the success of this show.

This commentary is on the premiere episode of “OZ” which is entitled “The Routine.” Written by Fontana and directed by Darnell Martin (“I Like It Like That”), it perfectly sets up the visual style which would quickly define the show and introduced us to a plethora of actors and actresses including Edie Falco, J.K. Simmons, Eamonn Walker, Harold Perrineau, and Kirk Acevedo. This episode also demonstrates quite dramatically how not a single character we see here will ever be safe. Anyone could die at any time, and this continually filled me with endless anxiety as a viewer.

Please check out the audio commentary below. “OZ” is available to stream on Max (formerly HBO Max) and to own and rent on DVD.