Julie Martin Movies

An "ensemble drama" along the lines of The O.C. -- but with characters who wore more clothes and stayed indoors more often -- the WB network's weekly, hour-long Bedford Diaries was set at fictional Bedford college, a liberal-arts establishment somewhere in Manhattan (the series was lensed on-location at Barnard College).The focus of the drama was "Sex and the Human Condition," a seminar presided over by Kinsey-like professor Jack Macklin. Heading the cast was onetime Gilmore Girls co-star Milo Ventimiglia as Richard Thorne III, a wealthy student and recovering alcoholic, who was rather sweet on straight-A student Sarah Gregory (Tiffany DuPont) -- who in turn was having an affair with one of the teachers. Owen Gregory (Penn Badgley), Sarah's brother, was dating the resident (and self-proclaimed) "nutcase," Natalie Dykstra (Corri English). Other enrollees included freshman Lee Rasmussen (Ernest Waddell), torn between his high-school sweetheart and classroom seductress Zoe Lopez (Victoria Cartagena); Macklin's assistant, Prof. Carla Bonatella (Audra McDonald); and Harold Harper (Peter Gerety), Bedford's dean. Originally slated to debut in February 2006, Bedford Diaries did not make its WB bow until March 29 of that year, due to its producers' trepidations over presenting such raw, uninhibited material in an era of heavy FCC fines (virtually all of the episodes dealt with a particularly lurid aspect of contemporary sexuality, albeit always stressing personal responsibility over the antiquated "if it feels good, do it" attitude). However, the series was telecast uncut in Canada, and was likewise uncensored on the WB's Internet web stream. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While investigating the beating death of a Buddhist monk, Lewis (Clark Johnson) worries that his born-again-Buddhist partner, Bayliss (Kyle Secor), will not be able to remain objective -- thus Lewis teams with the prickly Munch (Richard Belzer). In another case, a street shooting investigated by Gharty (Peter Gerety) and Ballard (Callie Throne) is complicated by three wildly contradictory "eyewitness" recollections. And on a personal note, Ballard comes to a crossroads in her relationship with Falsone (Jon Seda). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The twin brother of a murder victim insists that the dead man's girlfriend is responsible, but the men and women of Homicide have their doubts. Elsewhere, several of the male detectives are moonstruck by attractive new arrival Rene Sheppard (Michael Michele); Mike Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito) has requested a transfer to the FBI's Baltimore bureau, but hasn't yet picked the right time to tell his father, Al (Yaphet Kotto); and Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Gharty (Peter Gerety) find themselves tied up in a jurisdictional boondoggle when a teenager found shot in Baltimore turns out to have been killed in Washington, D.C., following a bungled drug deal. Anthony Joseph Perry of Aerosmith guest stars as D.C. narcotics detective Joe Landrewsky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Gharty (Peter Gerety) run up against a wall of confusion as they investigate the murders of two women who were felled by a stun gun and strangled after accepting drinks from a kinky married couple. Things get more and more curious when one of the suspects makes a full confession -- which turns out to be a lie from start to finish. Meanwhile, Lewis (Clark Johnson) turns over important information relating to the Mahoney drug shootings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The department swings into action when an old man is apparently killed by his grandson's three pit bulls -- who are now on the loose. Kellerman (Reed Diamond) smells something fishy when the judge presiding over Georgia Rae Mahoney's wrongful-death suit insists that the case go before a jury. And with all of this occurring, the detectives still find time to go to the Watefront Bar to swap "stupid criminal" stories. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After spending the night with Cox (Michelle Forbes), Bayliss (Kyle Secor) returns her earrings -- just as she's arrived at the scene of a murder in which the victim's body was deposited in a restaurant dumpster. This murder may be tied in with a case being worked by Munch (Richard Belzer), wherein several wealthy and prominent gay men have met untimely ends. Meanwhile, Lewis (Clark Johnson) uses the likely existence of an incriminating videotape to chastise his fellow detectives for their handling of the volatile Georgia Rae Mahoney situation, and Falsone (Jon Seda) and his ex-wife clash bitterly over custody of their son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a three-part story arc, civic leader Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones) goes on TV to offer a reward for information pertaining to the murder of the Wilson family's maid -- never mind that both Felix and his son Hal (Jeffrey Wright) are prime suspects. An embarrassed Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef) demands that the homicide unit solve the murder immediately, forcing a reluctant Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) to amass damaging evidence against their longtime friend Wilson. Meanwhile, Falsone (Jon Seda) still thinks that his fellow detectives are withholding the facts surrounding the death of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, while a recorded phone message leads Stivers (Toni Lewis) to believe that a crooked cop in the narcotics division is supplying inside information to Mahoney's henchmen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season six of Homicide: Life on the Street is marked by several changes in the Baltimore homicide unit, not least of which is the exit of two main characters, Sgt. Kay Howard (Melissa Leo) and videographer J.H. Brodie (Max Perlich). Several of the remaining unit members are still being rotated to other departments, though detectives Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) have been returned to the open arms of their longtime skipper, Lt. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto). New faces in the squad room include Detective Paul Falsone (Jon Seda), late of the auto-theft division; Detective Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety), formerly a uniformed officer; and Detective Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne), fresh from of tour of duty with the Seattle homicide department. All three of the newcomers face a hectic initation as they dodge the bullets of a sniper running wild in Baltimore. But the main story line in this first episode of the new season gets under way as Giardello attends a formal reception for his longtime friend, black businessman and community activist Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones) -- only to be swept into an unsettling murder investigation when the body of the Wilson family's maid is found in the men's room of the reception hall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When one of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney's "heroin mules" is found dead, Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) mount an elaborate sting operation to bring down Mahoney (Erik Todd Dellums) once and for all. Elsewhere, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) finally patches up his differences with Pembleton (Andre Braugher), then braces himself for a meeting with the relative who sexually abused him as a child. And Munch (Richard Belzer) is informed that the so-called victim in an old murder case may still be alive -- little realizing that he is being set up as a pawn for a vengeful gangster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Still shaken from his recent brush with federal investigators, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) takes time off to seek counseling. As for the others in the homicide unit, Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) investigate the murder of a wealthy woman, only to have their chief suspect accuse the cops of stealing the victim's diamonds in the autopsy room. This development prompts medical examiner Cox (Michelle Forbes) to reluctantly ask Brodie (Max Perlich) to spy on her staff. And on the domestic front, Pembleton's wife, Mary (Ami Brabson), is drawn into the growing animosity between her husband and his former partner Bayliss (Kyle Secor). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grumpy, chain-smoking prosecuting attorney Ingrid Maynard (Stockard Channing) hasn't accepted a case since the accident that left her confined to a wheelchair. But when the husband of assistant DA Rachel Simone (Michelle Forbes) is killed in a robbery, Ingrid decides to return to the courtroom to take over the investigation and ultimate prosecution of the culprit. Forced to work together, the embittered Ingrid and the dispirited Rachel don't always see eye to eye, but this does not compromise the value of their work. However, a major "conflict of interest" crisis threatens to slow the wheels of justice to a grinding halt. Made for the NBC network by the same team responsible for the series Homicide and Prime Suspect, The Prosecutors originally aired on December 2, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Both Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) have been exiled to desk duty -- Pembleton because he has not fully recovered from his stroke, and Kellerman because he is one of the targets of a federal grand jury's investigation of corruption in the arson unit. In other developments, Lewis (Clark Johnson) ends up being teamed with "downtown" narcotics detective Terri Stivers (Toni Lewis, in her first series appearance) while trailing a suspect in a series of homicides. A seemingly airtight case against elusive drug kingpin Luther Mahoney (Erik Todd Dellums) is dashed to bits. And the temporarily homeless Brodie (Max Perlich) moves in with Bayliss (Kyle Secor). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Homicide: Life on the Street's two-part season five opener, a tense hostage crisis at a Baltimore middle school enters the second day. It soon develops that the deranged man who is holding several teachers and students at gunpoint is connected to an earlier murder in which a pet pig was the only witness. Meanwhile, Munch (Richard Belzer) refuses to make things easy for Pembleton (Andre Braugher), who continues having trouble recovering from his stroke, both at work and at home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide