Reed Diamond Movies

The homicide unit investigates the whipping and lynching of a wealthy white advertising executive in a historic black section of Baltimore. It turns out that the killing may have been payback for race-related crimes committed by the dead man's ancestor, a Civil War-era slavery advocate. Elsewhere, neither Pembleton (Andre Braugher) nor Gharty (Peter Gerety) can figure out why Bayliss (Kyle Secor), who has implicitly announced his homosexuality, would be interested in Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Another Homicide: Life on the Street regular bids goodbye to the Baltimore PD homicide division as the series enters its fifth season: Megan Russert (Isabella Hofmann) has decided to leave for Europe to pursue a romance (though she will make a handful of return visits in subsequent episodes). In its typical revolving-door fashion, the series compensates for Russert's loss by promoting a former recurring career, police videographer Brodie (Max Perlich), to full regular status. Other additions to the cast roster include Michelle Forbes as abrasive, no-nonsense chief medical examiner Julianna Cox and Toni Lewis as transplanted downtown narcotics detective Terri Stivers. Stivers, in fact, is a principal player in the fifth season's most significant story arc, involving the pursuit of elusive drug kingpin Luther Mahoney (Erik Todd Dellums). Picking up a plot strand introduced in the previous season, Detective Pembleton (Andre Braugher) tries to return to duty, even though he has not fully recovered from his stroke; before long, Pembleton and his partner, Bayliss (Kyle Secor), will come to an acrimonious parting of the ways. Elsewhere, Brodie tentatively inaugurates a romance (or so he hopes) with Det. Kay Howard (Melissa Leo); Assistant DA Danvers (Zeljko Ivanek) rethinks his opposition to the death penalty when his fiancée is murdered; and arson detective Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond) is targeted by a federal grand jury's investigation of corruption within the arson unit. By the time the season has reached its climax, drug lord Luther Mahoney is killed under highly suspicious circumstances that will have wide-ranging and tragic ramifications in the future; and Jon Seda makes his first series appearance as Det. Paul Falsone, freshly arrived at Baltimore Homicide to investigate the reported suicide of former department member Beau Felton. ~ All Movie Guide

While investigating the possibility that an HIV-positive man was murdered by an embittered AIDs victim, Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Gharty (Peter Gerety) inadvertently dig up more information on the Luther Mahoney shooting. Elsewhere, the Waterfront Bar gears up for a big Christmas party, to which Bayliss (Kyle Secor) invites Cox (Michelle Forbes). And Munch (Richard Belzer) is unexpectedly reunited with his ex-wife, Gwen (Carol Kane), who is in town for the funeral of her mother, a much-despised literary agent. Author Peter Maas makes a cameo appearance as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode of Homicide: Life on the Street is the conclusion of a two-part story begun on its "sister" series Law & Order. The man accused of stalking Brittany Janaway (Rachel Jane Sacrey), a teenaged model who'd been raped in Baltimore before dying of toxic shock syndrome in New York City, insists that he witnessed her attack. This brings Law & Order detectives Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) and Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) to Baltimore, where they team with the Homicide sleuths to determine if Brittany's father (Tom Tammi) -- the same man who posted a 250,000-dollar reward for the capture of her rapist -- is actually the guilty party. In the ensuing jurisdictional battles both in and out of the courtroom, the facts of the case are all but sacrificed in the interests of a speedy conclusion. ~ 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

An armed murder suspect takes refuge in the headquarters of the African Revival Movement, a pro-social organization headed by a former Baltimore cop. In their investigation of the case, Munch (Richard Belzer) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) are roadblocked every inch of the way -- even though the killer's victim was an A.R.M. member. When the crisis threatens to erupt in full-scale violence, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) defies orders from his higher-ups and takes a hand in the matter. Meanwhile, Stivers (Toni Lewis) begins to question the circumstances surrounding the recent killing of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the final episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's fifth season, a grieving Howard (Melissa Leo) wants to be primary investigator of the death of her former colleague (and intimate) Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin), but Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) insists upon placing a more objective individual in charge. Elsewhere, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) and Cox (Michelle Forbes) are forced to confront their inner demons; Bayliss (Kyle Secor) continues appearing and disappearing from view without warning; and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) offers to give up his job for the sake of his marriage. As the episode ends, a number of radical changes are promised for the series' next season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Munch (Richard Belzer) is convinced that a student has committed suicide. Brodie (Max Perlich), however, thinks that the boy's death was caused by his drug-dealing classmate Alan Schack (a decidedly cast-against-type Neil Patrick Harris) -- and Brodie ends up risking his life to prove this theory. Elsewhere, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) suspect that two recent bombings are linked to their longtime nemesis, drug kingpin Luther Mahoney. And a marriage counseling session ends disastrously when Frank and Mary Pembleton (Andre Braugher, Ami Brabson) argue over the baptism of their baby daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Memories of his late colleague Steve Crosetti continue to haunt Lewis (Clark Johnson), as well as former cop Chris Thormann (Lee Tergesen), who was blinded by a gunman in one of Homicide's first-season story arcs. Thormann's agony intensifies when the man who robbed him of his sight comes up for parole, obliging Lewis to offer emotional support. Meanwhile, although they haven't yet settled their differences, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) team up to investigate a shooting in which the victim's daughter is a suspect -- thereby sparking more unpleasant childhood recollections for Bayliss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The battered body of a 12-year-old girl found beside highway I-95 opens a new case for Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) -- and also sparks a bitter quarrel between the two partners, centered around Bayliss' childhood memories of being sexually abused by an older relative. Elsewhere, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) doesn't quite follow instructions when testifying before the federal grand jury, an act of defiance which may well save his job (and his skin). And the still-homeless Brodie (Max Perlich) has found a new place to live, if only he can get along with his bizarre new roommate. ~ 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

The highlight of the homicide unit's New Year's party is the unreeling of "Back Page News," a documentary produced by the unit's in-house video photographer Brodie (Max Perlich). Some of the events covered by Brodie's camera prove to be embarrassing, especially when the identity of the infamous "lunch bandit" is revealed. And some of them are most amusing, notably the sequence in which Kellerman (Reed Diamond) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) chase a suspect right onto the set of a TV series titled "Homicide: Life on the Street," much to the consternation of director Barry Levinson (playing himself). Former series regular Isabella Hoffman makes a cameo appearance as Megan Russert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, a serial sniper is still at large -- and now there's a copycat killer on the loose. While the city is in full panic mode, the men and women of the homicide department work 24-hour shifts to track down the killers. Elsewhere, Howard (Melissa Leo) recovers from her wounds; Pembleton (Andre Braugher) agonizes over the well-being of his pregnant wife; and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) coerces the newly demoted Russert (Isabella Hoffman) to come out of her self-imposed exile. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide