Homicide: Life on the Street season 4

Homicide: Life on the Street
Season 4
Season 4 U.S. DVD Cover
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	October 20, 1995 – May 17, 1996
Season chronology

The fourth season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from October 20, 1995 to May 17, 1996 and contained 22 episodes.

The fourth season marked the debut of two characters: Detective Mike Kellerman (portrayed by Reed Diamond), who transfers from Arson to Homicide; and J. H. Brodie (portrayed by Max Perlich), a news cameraman who is hired as the unit's videographer. The season was also the last to feature Captain/Detective Megan Russert (portrayed by Isabella Hofmann) as a regular. Drug kingpin Luther Mahoney (portrayed by Erik Dellums) also makes his first appearance. Stuart Gharty (portrayed by Peter Gerety) also debuts in a guest appearance.

Guest stars include Lily Tomlin, Jeffrey Donovan, Bruce Campbell, Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt, Jill Hennessy, Chris Rock, Marcia Gay Harden and Jay Leno.

The DVD box set of season 4 was released for Region 1 on March 30, 2004. The set includes all 22 season 4 episodes on six discs.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	US viewers (millions)
34	1	"Fire, Part 1"	Tim Hunter	Story by : Tom Fontana & Henry Bromell Teleplay by : Julie Martin	October 20, 1995 (1995-10-20)	401	13.00
35	2	"Fire, Part 2"	Nick Gomez	Story by : Henry Bromell and Tom Fontana Teleplay by : Jack Behr	October 27, 1995 (1995-10-27)	402	14.10
36	3	"Autofocus"	Alan Taylor	Story by : Tom Fontana & Henry Bromell Teleplay by : Bonnie Mark	November 3, 1995 (1995-11-03)	403	12.90
37	4	"Thrill of the Kill"	Tim Hunter	Story by : Tom Fontana & Henry Bromell Teleplay by : Jorge Zamacona	November 10, 1995 (1995-11-10)	407	13.00
38	5	"Hate Crimes"	Peter Weller	James Yoshimura and Tom Fontana	November 17, 1995 (1995-11-17)	406	12.70
39	6	"A Doll's Eyes"	Kenneth Fink	Story by : Tom Fontana & Henry Bromell Teleplay by : James Yoshimura	December 1, 1995 (1995-12-01)	404	13.90
40	7	"Heartbeat"	Bruno Kirby	Story by : Henry Bromell and Tom Fontana Teleplay by : Kevin Arkadie	December 8, 1995 (1995-12-08)	405	12.80
41	8	"Sniper, Part 1"	Jean de Segonzac	Story by : Henry Bromell & Tom Fontana Teleplay by : Jean Gennis & Phyliss Murphy	January 5, 1996 (1996-01-05)	408	13.40
42	9	"Sniper, Part 2"	Darnell Martin	Story by : Henry Bromell & Tom Fontana Teleplay by : Edward Gold	January 12, 1996 (1996-01-12)	409	14.10
43	10	"The Hat"	Peter Medak	Story by : Henry Bromell & Trish Soodik and Tom Fontana Teleplay by : Anya Epstein	January 19, 1996 (1996-01-19)	412	13.80
44	11	"I've Got a Secret"	Gwen Arner	Story by : Tom Fontana & Henry Bromell Teleplay by : D. Maria Legaspi	February 2, 1996 (1996-02-02)	413	14.50
45	12	"For God and Country"	Ed Sherin	Jorge Zamacona & Michael S. Chernuchin	February 9, 1996 (1996-02-09)	411	16.70
46	13	"Justice, Part 1"	Michael Radford	Story by : Tom Fontana & Henry Bromell Teleplay by : David Rupel	February 16, 1996 (1996-02-16)	414	13.30
47	14	"Justice, Part 2"	Peter Medak	Story by : Tom Fontana & Henry Bromell Teleplay by : David Simon	February 23, 1996 (1996-02-23)	415	13.40
48	15	"Stakeout"	John McNaughton	Story by : Tom Fontana & Noel Behn Teleplay by : Noel Behn	March 15, 1996 (1996-03-15)	416	13.90
49	16	"Requiem for Adena"	Lee Bonner	Julie Martin	March 29, 1996 (1996-03-29)	418	11.80
50	17	"Full Moon"	Leslie Libman & Larry Williams	Story by : Tom Fontana & Henry Bromell & Eric Overmeyer Teleplay by : Eric Overmeyer	April 5, 1996 (1996-04-05)	410	11.40
51	18	"Scene of the Crime"	Kathy Bates	Story by : Henry Bromell & Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana Teleplay by : Anya Epstein & David Simon	April 12, 1996 (1996-04-12)	421	9.70
52	19	"Map of the Heart"	Clark Johnson	Story by : Michael Whaley & James Yoshimura Teleplay by : Michael Whaley	April 26, 1996 (1996-04-26)	417	10.20
53	20	"The Damage Done"	Jace Alexander	Story by : Henry Bromell and Tom Fontana Teleplay by : Jorge Zamacona	May 3, 1996 (1996-05-03)	419	11.20
54	21	"The Wedding"	Alan Taylor	Henry Bromell	May 10, 1996 (1996-05-10)	420	11.50
55	22	"Work Related"	Jean de Segonzac	Tom Fontana	May 17, 1996 (1996-05-17)	422	13.00

Cast

Returning for the fourth season of Homicide were Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, Isabella Hofmann, Clark Johnson, Yaphet Kotto, Melissa Leo, and Kyle Secor. Daniel Baldwin and Ned Beatty did not return, as both were frustrated with the direction of the show. The characters of Beau Felton (Baldwin) and Stan Bolander (Beatty) were written out by engaging in drunken, inappropriate behavior while attending a policeman/firefighters convention in New York City; as a result both were suspended for 22 weeks (the length of the season). While they were only suspended for the duration of season 4, their departure from the series was not revealed until the next season.

Both Reed Diamond and Max Perlich joined the cast as Detective Mike Kellerman and J.H. Brodie, respectively. During the season, Diamond was credited as a main cast member while Perlich was a recurring cast member. The character of J.H. Brodie was supposedly based on David Simon. Season 4 also saw the debut of Peter Gerety as Stuart Gharty. The Gharty character would make a guest appearance once during the season as well as two guest appearances during the fifth season before becoming a main character in the final two seasons. The fourth season also saw the debut of Erik Dellums as drug kingpin Luther Mahoney. Despite only making one appearance during the season, the character would return many times during the fifth season serving as the main antagonist for the detectives.

Isabella Hofmann left the cast at the end of the season due to pregnancy with her and Daniel Baldwin's child, but would return for three guest appearances (two in person, one as a telephone voice) in the fifth season. Andre Braugher nearly left after the season, believing he had explored the Frank Pembleton character to its limit, but he decided to return after the producers agreed to give Pembleton a handicap by means of a stroke, portrayed at the end of season 4.

Celebrity guest appearances include Lily Tomlin as murder suspect Rose Halligan in "The Hat". Jeffrey Donovan played twins Newton and Miles Dell with one being a thrill-killer in "Thrill of the Kill". Bruce Campbell played grief-stricken detective Jake Rodzinski in the two part "Justice". Law & Order stars Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt, and Jill Hennessey played their characters Lennie Briscoe, Rey Curtis, and Claire Kincaid respectively in "For God and Country". Jay Leno played himself in a cameo appearance in "Sniper Part 1".

Reception

Ratings

Ratings for season 4 improved compared to season 3. Homicide ranked #66 and had an estimated audience of 8,900,000 a step up compared to Season 3 which ranked at #89 and had an estimated audience of 8,200,000.

Awards

Homicide would win two TCA Awards for "Outstanding Achievements In Drama" and "Program of the Year" as well as one Viewers for Quality Television award for "Best Quality Drama Series". Homicide was nominated for three Emmy Awards as Andre Brauger was nominated for Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Lily Tomlin was nominated for Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her guest appearance in the episode: "The Hat", and the show was nominated for Casting for a Drama Series. The show was also nominated for one Humanitas Prize for "60 Minute Category" as well as 3 NAACP Image Awards including "Outstanding Drama Series" while Brauger & Yaphet Kotto were both nominated for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series".

References

• "Awards for "Homicide: Life on the Street"". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
• "Episode list for "Homicide: Life on the Street"". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
• "Homicide: Life on the Street Episode Guide". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2008-05-25.