Walt MacPherson Movies

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, Rovi

In this first episode of a two-part story, bounty hunters Knoll (Christopher Meloni) and Lichte (Vic Noto) descend upon Baltimore in search of fugitive killer Joe Errico -- and promptly shoot and kill the wrong man. Elsewhere, Al and Mike Giardello (Yaphet Kotto, Giancarlo Esposito) find themselves the reluctant subjects of a human-interest article in Baltimore Magazine; and Gharty (Peter Gerety) drives Munch (Richard Belzer) crazy with his vivid recollections of his war experiences in Vietnam. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, with a car carrying one of the bounty hunters and two of the detectives plowing into a vehicle driven by two senior citizens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Falsone (Jon Seda) is the primary investigator when a four-year-old boy is abducted from a merry-go-round right under his mother's nose. Before long, the precinct gets a call from a man claiming to be the kidnapper -- and another call from the publicity-conscious host of the crime-solving TV show "This Week's Wanted." The key to the solution of this case ends up in the hands of a professional hypnotist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's two-part season five finale, word comes through that former homicide detective Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) has committed suicide. As investigating detective Paul Falsone (Jon Seda, in his first series appearance) assembles the evidence, medical examiner Cox (Michelle Forbes) arrives at the conclusion that Felton was murdered, thereby sparking a series of flashbacks detailing what Beau had been doing since leaving the department. In other developments, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) pens a bitter letter indicting his higher-ups for past misdeeds; Bayliss (Kyle Secor) keeps mysteriously dropping out of sight when he is needed most; and Russert (Isabella Hoffman) returns from her romantic liaison in France. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the men killed while holding up an armored truck bears a distinctive tattoo of an eagle. This leads the detectives to a militant militia group, who declare themselves "prisoners of war" when rounded up by the police. One of the group's members (Denis O'Hare), appointing himself counsel for his comrades, demands that the jury enter a not guilty plea on the basis that the laws broken were "unjust" -- with surprising results. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

An attorney found floating in a swimming pool appears to have suffered a heart attack. Before long, however, a man confesses to killing the attorney, giving up himself and an incriminating videotape to homicide detectives Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor). Further complicating matters is the presence of the National Security Agency, who serve up a murder suspect of their own -- resulting in a major blowup by Bayliss. Meanwhile, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) is determined to find out who has been stealing lunches from the homicide unit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

As indicated by its opening caption, this episode was shown out of sequence with the rest of season three when it originally aired on April 21, 1995. While adjusting to the news that their former colleague Steve Crosetti committed suicide, the homicide detectives divvy up Steve's huge caseload. In the course of events, Felton (Daniel Baldwin) misplaces a valuable piece of evidence, with potentially disastrous consequences for Howard (Melissa Leo). Elsewhere, the detective's new bar proves to be a bottomless money pit, and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) briefly entertains romantic yearnings for Russert (Isabella Hoffman). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) is the perfect suburban housewife and mother. She likes to cook, her home is immaculately clean, she's always well-groomed and cheerful, and she loves her husband Eugene (Sam Waterston) and her two children, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard). There's just one problem with Beverly -- if you do anything to make someone in her family feel bad, you're dead meat on a stick. While she does a great job of hiding it, Beverly has a vicious and vengeful streak, and when she's not making obscene prank calls to the neighbors or bribing her garbagemen to save embarrassing items from her neighbors' trash, she's mowing down whoever would be so rude as to make her husband go into his office on a Saturday, break up with her daughter, or suggest that her son watches too many horror movies. Taking John Waters back to R-rated territory after the relatively sedate Hairspray and Cry Baby, Serial Mom captures a comfortable middle ground between Hollywood professionalism and Waters' subversive sense of humor, and Kathleen Turner has a field day as the sweet-on-the-outside, evil-on-the-inside Beverly. The supporting cast includes such Waters favorites as Patty Hearst, Traci Lords, Mink Stole, and Susan Lowe; Joan Rivers and Suzanne Somers appear as themselves, and all-female grunge-metal band L7 plays the all-female grunge-metal band Camel Toe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The one linking factor between three murders is a pair of white gloves found at the scene of each crime. This factor not only results in an error of judgment by Roger Gaffney (Walt MacPherson), forcing Pembleton (Andre Braugher) to take full charge of the case, but also arouses the interest of a ghoulish collector (Hugh Hodgin) of murder memorabilia. Meanwhile, Felton (Daniel Baldwin) continues experiencing domestic difficulties, Russert (Isabella Hoffman) has an uncomfortable confrontation with the Baltimore media, and the efforts by Munch (Richard Belzer) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) to acquire a liquor license for their new bar are hampered by a past incident in the life of their silent partner, Bayliss (Kyle Secor). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Giordello (Andre Braugher) is upset when neither he nor his detectives are forewarned of the arrival of an asbestos-removal team. To get vital evidence on a gang leader's murder -- and to find out why the victim waited several days after his beating to get medical help -- Bolander (Ned Beatty) and Munch (Richard Belzer) fake out a witness with the old "polygraph-by-copier" trick. Under duress, Howard (Melissa Leo) confesses her attraction to Assistant State's Attorney Danvers. And Felton (Daniel Baldwin) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) suffer mightily while their respective partners try to give up smoking. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi