Characters We Love

What a great cast of characters: conspiracy theorists, the
chronically depressed and the always angry. And those were the
good guys, the cop stars of "Homicide: Life On the Street" for
seven seasons.

The key players:

ANDRE BRAUGHER
Character: Det. Frank Pembleton
Characterization: Ruthless interrogator,
intimidating presence, God's avenging angel.
Seasons: 1-6
Left squad when: Probe of the Luther Mahoney murder case
revealed the killer was one of his fellow cops, a revelation that
convinced him to quit the department.

YAPHET KOTTO
Character: Lt. Al Giar-dello
Characterization: Fearless leader, morally
righteous but wise in the ways of power.
Seasons: 1-7

RICHARD BELZER
Character: Det. John Munch
Characterization: Cynical, wiseacre conspiracy
theorist. But what a way he had with the women.
Seasons: 1-7

CLARK JOHNSON
Character: Det. Meldrick Lewis
Characterization: A breakthrough character as one
of the first black men on TV allowed to be just an
average guy.
Seasons: 1-7

MELISSA LEO
Character: Sgt. Kay Howard
Characterization: Tough cookie. NBC executives
wondered why she had to "dress like a man and wear
her hair that way."
Seasons: 1-5
Left squad when: She was rotated to another detail.

KYLE SECOR
Character: Det. Tim Bayliss
Characterization: Conflicted cop, tried to jibe his
Buddhist-inspired beliefs with his job. Oh, yeah, and
then there was the matter of his bisexuality. But
the boy did look good in leather.
Seasons: 1-7

The rest of the squad:

DANIEL BALDWIN
Character: Det. Beau Felton
Characterization: Tough guy with a troubled marriage and a
thing for his female supervisor.
Seasons: 3
Left the squad: When he and Det. Bolander were suspended
for reportedly running nude through a hotel lobby during a police
convention. (A season later, was killed off-camera.)

NED BEATTY
Character: Det. Stanley Bolander
Characterization: "The Big Man," tough but lovable, existential
in loneliness after divorce.
Seasons: 1-3
Left the squad: When he made the big run with Felton and
retired.

REED DIAMOND
Character: Det. Mike Kellerman
Characterization: Flawed cop who struggles (often
unsuccessfully) to do the right thing. Working-class chip on his
shoulder.
Left the squad: When revealed as the killer of drug czar
Luther Mahoney, offered the option of either leaving the force
quietly or facing trial; chose the former.

GIANCARLO ESPOSITO
Character: FBI agent Mike Giardello
Characterization: Prodigal son of Lt. Al Giardello
Season: 7

MICHELLE FORBES
Character: Chief Medical Examiner Julianna Cox
Seasons: 5-6
Departed the show: Fired for refusing to lie on an autopsy
report that could prove costly to her superiors; last seen
literally driving off into the sunset in her Mustang. Drank a lot
and loved Kellerman foolishly.

PETER GERETY
Character: Det. Stuart Gharty
Characterization: Veteran cop struggling with age and jaded
outlook.
Seasons: 5-7

ISABELLA HOFMANN
Character: Lt. Megan Russert
Characterization: The modern woman trying to make captain
and be a single mother (and have an affair with Felton). Winds
up promoted and then demoted after crashing into glass ceiling.
Seasons: 2-5
Left the squad: To run off to Parisian romance, but returned
temporarily to help find Felton's killer.

WENDY HUGHES
Character: Medical Examiner Dr. Carol Blythe
Characterization: Love interest for Bolander
Season: 1
Left the squad: Mysteriously. A character who just
disappeared without reference or explanation.

TONI LEWIS
Character: Det. Terri Stivers
Characterization: Competent, concerned professional who had
to earn every sliver of respect she got after joining the squad.
Seasons: 5-7

MICHAEL MICHELE
Character: Det. Rene Sheppard
Characterization: Former Miss Anne Arundel County,
struggling to live it down.
Season: 7

MAX PERLICH
Character: Videographer J.H. Brodie
Characterization: Artiste, vid kid, gave directors even more
opportunities to use shaky hand-held camera shots.
Seasons: 4-5
Left squad when: He found a better offer elsewhere.

JON POLITO
Character: Det. Steve Crosetti
Characterization: Obsessed with the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln. Hey, you forget how quirky this series could be.
Seasons: 1-2
Left the squad: By killing himself.

JON SEDA
Character: Det. Paul Falsone
Characterization: Streetwise and trying to come to terms
with life after divorce as absentee father.
Seasons: 6-7

CALLIE THORNE
Character: Det. Laura Ballard
Characterization: Seattle transplant, looking for excitement
and love in a few wrong places
Seasons: 6-7

Originally published on May 14 1999
Source: Baltimore Sunspot : Homicide Post Mortem

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