Peter Gerety Movies

Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) is fed up with the liberties taken by the homicide squad's FBI liaison -- never mind that his own son Mike (Giancarlo Esposito) is himself an FBI agent. Elsewhere, the detectives resent the preferential treatment afforded ADA Eleanor Burke (Haviland Morris), who intends to use Battered Spouse Syndrome to defend herself against charges of murdering her husband. Ballard (Callie Thorne) shames Lewis (Clark Johnson) into teaming with her to solve a barroom stabbing. And waitress Billie Lou (Ellen McElduff) receives an unexpected -- and very inebriated -- wedding proposal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

All her life, Josephine Pitt (Brooke Smith) has been told that she was responsible for the death of her brother in 1972, when she was only three years old. Now she wants to know for certain -- and to do that, she appeals to Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto), who handled the original case. Meanwhile, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Ballard (Callie Thorne) investigate the case of a junkie who was shot after dying of a drug overdose. Both detectives are weighed down by their personal travails -- especially Bayliss, who is tired of being ridiculed for his sexual preferences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A woman is found dead at the bottom of a cliff the day before her wedding. It is up to Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) to determine if the woman killed herself, or if she was murdered. In another investigation, Sheppard (Michael Michele) and Mike (Giancarlo Esposioto) find themselves with no shortage of suspects when a loud and obnoxious film fan is murdered in a movie theater. And on the domestic front, Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) learns that he is about to become a grandfather. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The hit-and-run death of a Vietnam veteran prompts Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety) to once again flash back to his own wartime experiences. Fed up with Gharty's ramblings, Munch (Richard Belzer) tells his colleagues that he has serious doubts about Stuart's war record. Ultimately, the two men have a heated confrontation at the Waterfront Bar -- yielding a "casualty" in the form of waitress Billie Lou (Ellen McElduff). And back at the precinct station, Lewis (Clark Johnson) expresses discomfort when Sheppard (Michael Michele) is placed back in rotation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A riot erupts in the Little Jamaica section of Baltimore when a white bus driver strikes a black pedestrian. In the ensuing fracas, both the driver and a Jamaican man are killed -- and without credible witnesses, it looks as if the killings were racially motivated. Mike Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito) doesn't buy this and opens what promises to be a very long and controversial investigation. By episode's end, a seriously injured Detective Rene Sheppard (Michael Michele) is ordered to turn in her gun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Luke Ryland (Benjamin Busch), the demented "Internet killer" first seen on the previous episode "Homicide.com," is freed from prosecution on a technicality -- sending arresting officer Bayliss (Kyle Secor) off the deep end. Meanwhile, Giardello's (Yaphet Kotto) daughter Teresa (Audra McDonald) unexpectedly shows up in Baltimore to help her dad celebrate his promotion to captain -- and her brother Mike's (Giancarlo Esposito) long-overdue resignation from the FBI. Several last-minute revelations, apologies, and surprises occur in this, the 122nd and final episode of Homicide: Life on the Street -- which, in its terminal moments, neatly brings the entire series "full circle." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There's quite a shakeup at Baltimore PD's homicide division as Homicide: Life on the Street begins its sixth season. Detective Kay Howard and videographer J.H. Brodie are gone, while the others are rotated. Paul Falsone (Jon Seda) has moved to homicide from auto-theft, and former beat cop Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety) has been promoted to detective. Also new to the force is Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne), a homicide detective from Seattle. And gone beyond recall is former squad member Beau Felton, whose headless body has been discovered. The season's first story arc involves the ethical dilemma faced by Lt. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) when he is obliged to probe a murder involving highly respected community activist Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones). Other plot threads involve the investigation into Det. Kellerman's (Reed Diamond) highly suspicious shooting of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, which also sparks a long campaign of vengeance masterminded by Mahoney's grim and unforgiving sister Georgia Rae (Hazelle Goodman); and Falsone's seemingly endless court battle over the custody of his son. Individual episodes of note include "Baby It's You," the conclusion of a rape case that began on the NBC series Law & Order; "Mercy," in which Alfre Woodard recreates her St. Elsewhere role as Dr. Roxanne Turner; and "Subway," a tour de force for guest star Vincent D'Onofrio, which inspired a behind-the-scenes special on PBS. Season six ends with the tragic consequences of the Luther Mahoney affair: an all-out bloodbath between Luther's sister and the detectives which leaves three of the principal characters seriously wounded. ~ All Movie Guide

Patti D'Arbanville guest stars as Darlene Everett, who shows up at the squad room with a videotape that "proves" that her husband, a bestselling author of espionage thrillers, was killed by his agent. Trouble is, there's no corpse -- and for the moment at least, it looks like there was no crime. In another case, an old woman is found dead after a break-in at her home -- but was she murdered? And on the romantic scene, Munch (Richard Belzer) pursues waitress Bille Lou (Ellen McElduff), while Falsone (Jon Seda) pursues fellow detective Ballard (Callie Thorne). Austin Pendleton makes his first appearance as eccentric Baltimore coroner Dr. Griscom. ~ 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

In the conclusion of Homicide: Life on the Street's two-part season six finale, the Baltimore police declares all-out war against the Mahoney drug operation after a shoot-out in the homicide unit's interrogation chamber which left detectives Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Gharty (Peter Gerety) serious wounded. In the course of the ensuing battle, Stivers (Toni Lewis) finally reveals the whole truth about the shooting of Georgia Rae Mahoney's brother Luther to Giardello (Yaphet Kotto); and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) takes a bullet meant for Pembleton (Andre Braugher) in the climactic assault against the fugitive Georgia Rae. Typically, this cliffhanger finale leaves several loose plot ends dangling, including the possible resignations of two of the series' most prominent characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's two-part season six finale, Judge Gibbons, who presided over the Mahoney wrongful-death suit, is found murdered -- and before long, three cops are killed in drive-bys that may be related to Gibbons' death. The FBI joins the homicide unit to crack the case, with all evidence pointing back to the drug-dealing empire of Georgia Mae Mahoney, which is now self-destructing in a deadly turf war. As Kellerman (Reed Diamond) broods over the likelihood that his public chastisement of Gibbons may have brought about the man's death, Georgia Rae's son Junior Bunk (Mekhi Phifer) is brought in for questioning -- whereupon Junior grabs a gun and begins firing, seriously wounding two of the series' main characters! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two prominent members of the same exclusive country club have apparently committed suicide. Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Munch (Richard Belzer) investigate one of the deaths, while Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Andre Braugher) investigate the other -- whereupon both teams unearth evidence of a blackmail-murder plot. Meanwhile, Lewis (Clark Johnson) is off suspension and back on duty; another member of the Mahoney crime operation turns up dead; and even though the civil suit against the police is dismissed, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) can't leave well enough alone, launching into a public tirade that may very well seal the doom of one of the key players in the suit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide