HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET: LA FAMIGLIA {SEVENTH SEASON PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The seventh season premiere in this dramatic police series about a department of reflective homicide detectives in Baltimore, Maryland. In this episode, Bayliss waxes philosophic about his near-death experience in the squad-room shooting of several months ago, though Munch begs off of being his new partner, sure that he himself is a "curse." Ballard ponders asking Falsone to the police lodge party, while Lewis sets his sights on attractive new detective Rene Sheppard, a former "Miss Congeniality." Three men – Angelo Faltisco, Leo Grimaldi, and Giardello's own cousin Mario – are found gruesomely murdered in their homes in what are clearly connected crimes, and a shaken Giardello is forced to tell his nonna the bad news. Ballard is embarrassed when Falsone obliviously rejects her invitation, and Munch grows exasperated with Bayliss' "Zen" talk as he continues pondering life and death. Sheppard informs Falsone that she wishes to be treated like a regular cop, not a beauty queen, and Giardello's estranged son Mike, an FBI agent, arrives and offers to assist with the case, saying that it is a matter of family honor.
Nonna Rosina reluctantly tells Mike to look into mobster Carlo Roletta, and Sheppard decides that, despite their clear mutual attraction, she and partner Lewis should "keep the relationship professional." The detectives find that Roletta, who tried to take over the dock workers' union of which Faltisco, Grimaldi and Giardello were members, is comatose after a cerebral hemorrhage, but Mike calls in a tip and says that Carlo's son Charlie was seen ditching a suspicious bag. Giardello is angered that Falsone has allowed Mike access to the case, but the tip pays off when the murder weapons are discovered in the bag. Charlie is quickly arrested, though the fingerprints on the items match only his sister, Mary Lynn. Danvers concludes that Charlie and Mary Lynn worked together to get revenge for their father, who served a long prison sentence for his crimes after Mario informed on him, though as Mario's DNA was not found on the weapons, his murder will go technically unsolved, much to Giardello's frustration.
Giardello skips the lodge party, and Sheppard and Ballard show up together, having decided not to date any of their male co-workers. Giardello and his son finally have a heart-to-heart, with Mike revealing that he is struggling with the news that Mario assisted Roletta in his crimes before having a change of heart and informing on him, and that Giardello arranged for him to avoid prison time because of his tips. Mike, to whom Mario left his home, decides to relocate to Baltimore, signaling his interest in repairing his relationship with his father. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: September 25, 1998 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:44:42
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:54307
- GENRE: Drama, police/detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/detective; Murder; Families
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1993-1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Barry Levinson … Executive Producer
- Jim Finnerty … Executive Producer
- Tom Fontana … Executive Producer, Writer
- James Yoshimura … Co-Executive Producer
- Julie Martin … Co-Executive Producer
- Eric Overmeyer … Supervising Producer
- David Simon … Producer, Based on the book by
- Anya Epstein … Consulting Producer
- Gail Mutrux … Consulting Producer
- Nick Gomez … Director
- Paul Attanasio … Created by
- Douglas J. Cuomo … Music by
- Lynn F. Kowal … Theme Music by
- Richard Belzer … Cast, Detective John Munch
- Giancarlo Esposito … Cast, Agent Mike Giardello
- Peter Gerety … Cast, Detective Stuart Gharty
- Clark Johnson … Cast, Detective Meldrick Lewis
- Yaphet Kotto … Cast, Lieutenant Al Giardello
- Toni Lewis … Cast, Detective Terri Stivers
- Michael Michele … Cast, Detective Rene Sheppard
- Kyle Secor … Cast, Detective Tim Bayliss
- Jon Seda … Cast, Detective Paul Falsone
- Callie Thorne … Cast, Detective Laura Ballard
- Zeljko Ivanek … Cast, ASA Ed Danvers
- Ellen McElduff … Cast, Billie Lou Hatfield
- Kristin Rohde … Cast, Sgt. Sally Rogers
- Irma St. Paule … Cast, Nonna Rosina Giardello
- Delaney Williams … Cast, Joey Grimaldi
- Victor Bevine … Cast, Officer Sanders
- Donna Marrazzo … Cast, Carol Aquino
- Barbara Samaras … Cast, Diane Panepento
- Dawn Spinella … Cast, Mary Lynn Roletta