Yaphet Kotto Movies

Russert (Isabella Hoffman) suspects that her new partner is at the end of his rope -- and is abusing his wife as a result of his frustration. In other developments, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) try to talk Pembleton (Andre Braugher) out of resigning; Lewis (Clark Johnson) surprises Bayliss during a wild ride to a crime scene; and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) catches up with his kids. And after innumerable setbacks, the detectives' after-hours bar is on the verge of opening to the public. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) investigate the killing of a 14-year-old boy, the mother of the victim has an unexpected meeting with the mother of the killer. The plans drawn up by Bayliss, Munch (Richard Belzer), and Lewis (Clark Johnson) to renovate their new bar are stymied by a bureaucratic glitch -- not to mention an unwelcome visit from the IRS. And Felton (Daniel Baldwin) gets a line on the location where his estranged wife has taken their kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Investigating the highly suspicious death of the person suspected of ambushing three of his fellow homicide detectives, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) runs up against a wall of departmental silence. Meanwhile, wounded detective Felton (Daniel Baldwin) returns to work, though he hasn't recovered emotionally from his ordeal -- nor is he prepared for the hostility attending his return. Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) have a falling out during the seemingly random killing of a white woman in a black neighborhood. And Munch (Richard Belzer) discovers that he has been used as the "model" for a painting hanging in an art gallery exhibit. Chris Noth makes a cameo appearance in his Law & Order role as Detective Mike Logan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of a three-part story arc, the detectives continue tracking down the pedophile who may or may not have seriously wounded Bolander (Ned Beatty), Howard (Melissa Leo), and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) in a bloody ambush. Meanwhile, Felton begins to recover from his wounds, but his colleagues may not be so lucky. And it looks as though Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) will be forced to take the rap for the clerical error that led to the shooting -- and that Russert (Isabella Hoffman) will be the one who hangs Giardello out to dry. Real-life Baltimore homicide cop (Gary D'Addario), the series' technical advisor and the prototype for the Giardello character, appears as Col. Granger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first full season of Homicide: Life on the Street (in its third year on the ABC prime-time schedule) features a new addition to the Baltimore PD homicide unit: night-shift commander Megan Russert (Isabella Hofmann), whose blunt manner rubs everyone -- especially her day-shift counterpart, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) -- the wrong way. Among the season's various story arcs: Det. Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) and his wife separate, whereupon she takes the kids and goes into hiding; detectives Munch (Richard Belzer) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) decide to open their own bar, with some behind-the-scenes help (and hindrance) from their young colleague Bayliss (Kyle Secor); and the entire division goes on an all-out search for the elusive "white glove killer." In other developments, the cops find out what happened to their former co-worker Crossetti, who had completely vanished from sight at the end of season two; Det. Pembleton (Andre Braugher) considers resigning when he thinks he has been made the patsy in a high-profile coverup; and Felton, Howard (Melissa Leo), and Bolander (Ned Beatty) are seriously injured in a botched arrest -- for which Giardello may have to take the fall. Additionally, several guest stars dot the Baltimore landscape, including NBC newsman Tim Russert, and, in a crossover with the NBC series Law & Order, Chris Noth in his familiar role as NYPD detective Mike Logan. As the season draws to a close, Russert is suddenly and unexpectedly promoted, and Pembleton's family is placed in jeopardy by a vengeance-seeking psycho. ~ All Movie Guide

Hoping to make Bolander (Ned Beatty) less self-conscious about their first date, Linda (Melissa Leo) agrees to double-date with Howard (Melissa Leo) and Danvers (Zeljko Ivanek) -- but the jealous Munch (Richard Belzer) messes things up. Back on the job, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) investigates when a phone-sex operator is found strangled, clutching a note that seems to point directly to her killer. And Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Crocetti (Jon Polito) look into a murder at the library, committed by an "ink-pen fetishist." This was the final episode of Homicide's very brief second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A childhood friend of Detective Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) plans to assist in the suicide of his terminally ill father. When Felton hides his knowledge of this action, he runs afoul of investigating detectives Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Crosetti (Jon Polito). Elsewhere, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) looks into the fatal shooting of a drug dealer and uncovers a possible instance of police brutality. And Bolander (Ned Beatty) defies Giordello's (Yaphet Kotto) order to attend a sensitivity-training session. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this police drama, a police detective must wear the badge previously owned by a deceased colleague. Following a terrifying shoot-out, the shaken gumshoe begins investigating the circumstances surrounding the slain officer's demise. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Season three of Homicide: Life on the Street finds the day and night shifts of the Baltimore homicide squad uneasily working in tandem to solve the murder of the winner of the city's Samaritan of the Year award. The case is particularly irksome for Detective Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher), whose new desk mate is an unregenerate racist. As for Lt. Giardello (Yaphet Kotto), he has to smooth out the differences between his staff and new night-shift commander Lt. Megan Russert (Isabella Hoffman, making her series debut). Elsewhere, Kay Howard (Melissa Leo) finds herself stuck in the middle of domestic warfare when Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) and his wife, Beth (Mary B. Ward), separate; and a fascinating new subplot is introduced when Munch (Richard Belzer) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) formulate plans to purchase a bar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The homicide department is besieged by demands that details of the three "white glove" murders be made public. Complicating matters is the possibility that prime suspect Mary Maude Wiggs (Lucinda Jenney), who suffers from multiple-personality disorder, may very well beat the rap. And in other developments, the relationship between Felton (Daniel Baldwin) and his wife continues to deteriorate, and silent partner Bayliss (Kyle Secor) becomes more vocal concerning the new bar being purchased by Munch (Richard Belzer) and Lewis (Clark Johnson). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Giardello's (Yaphet Kotto) activist friend Sam Thorne (Joe Morton) is shot down after blowing the whistle on a high-scale cocaine operation. The squad searches for the husband of a woman who is still receiving fresh flowers every day, even though she's been dead for two weeks. Munch's (Richard Belzer) business partners desert him over a squabble concerning their new bar. Bayliss (Kyle Secor) is driven to desperation after getting too involved in the private life of a kooky artist. And Felton (Daniel Baldwin) launches a search for his missing children. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Depressed by the unsavory aspects of her most recent murder case, Kay Howard (Melissa Leo) takes a leave of absence and returns to her home town -- only to be promptly swept up into the investigation of a local environmentalist's death. Making things uncomfortably personal is the fact that Kay's former lover Chick (John Dossett) and her own brother Chris (Gareth Williams) are among the suspects. Back in Baltimore, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) reluctantly team up to solve the murder that sent Kay packing, and Munch's (Richard Belzer) obstinacy puts another crimp in his purchase of the after-hours bar. Harlee McBride, real-life wife of series regular Richard Belzer, appears as Dr. Alyssa Dyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Enjoying critical success but only so-so ratings during its nine-episode inaugural season in 1993, Homicide: Life on the Street tentatively returned to the airwaves for four additional episodes in January of 1994. The opener features a poignant guest-star turn by Robin Williams as a tourist whose wife has been gunned down in a shoot-out on the streets of Baltimore. In other developments, the homicide squad's head honcho Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) goes to great lengths to "tame" the unit's loosest cannon, Stanley Bolander (Ned Beatty), who in turn unexpectedly develops an artistic streak while squiring an attractive waitress (Julianna Margulies); and hotheaded Detective Crossetti (Jon Polito) completely, and mysteriously, drops out of sight. ~ All Movie Guide