Homicide: Life on the Street
Son of a Gun
TV Flash files “Son of a Gun” as hour 3 of 122 in the TV Flash guide — Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) on NBC, season 1, episode 3, aired 1993-02-10, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E03: listed hour 3 of 122 in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide, hour 3 of 9 in season 1. It aired 1993-02-10 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Ghost of a Chance” (S01E02). Next is “A Shot in the Dark” (S01E04).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
When fellow officer Chris Thormann (Lee Tergesen) is shot in the line of duty, his friend Crosetti takes it personally and presses a reluctant Giardello to assign him the case. A man (Larry E. Hull) claims to have witnessed the shooting and says he will testify in court. Meanwhile, Bayliss and Pembleton continue their investigation into the murder of Adena Watson, and the two become frustrated with each other when nothing new develops. Pembleton requests a new partner, but Giardello refuses. Elsewhere, as Bolander prepares for a date with Blythe, he strikes up an unusual friendship with his neighbor (Luis Guzmán), a lonely Latino cabinetmaker who has built a coffin in his apartment. Meanwhile, Howard, Felton and Lewis uncover information that helps advance several outstanding homicide cases, including that of Calpunia Church, the elderly woman suspected of killing her husbands for insurance money.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Son of a Gun sit in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide?
S01E03 is listed hour 3 of 122 — hour 3 of 9 in season 1, season 1 episode 3.
When did Homicide: Life on the Street S01E03 air?
Son of a Gun aired 1993-02-10 and is listed at 60 minutes.
What is it based on?
David Simon's nonfiction book about a year with Baltimore homicide detectives — reporting texture, not cop-show candy.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Baltimore detectives, handheld grit, and cases that refuse to tidy up for sweeps. Paul Attanasio developed David Simon's reporting into literary cop TV: Andre Braugher's Pembleton turning interrogation into theater, a red/black board, and moral ambiguity as house style. The missing link between Hill Street and The Wire — network crime that reads like a novel.
The useful first thing *Homicide: Life on the Street* does is refuse catharsis. Baltimore detectives work murders with handheld grit, a red/black name board, and moral ambiguity that will not tidy up for sweeps. Paul Attanasio developed David Simon's nonfiction *Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets* into NBC drama (1993–1999). Andre Braugher's Frank Pembleton turns interrogation rooms into theaters of intellect and rage. Yaphet Kotto, Kyle Secor, Richard Belzer, Clark Johnson, Melissa Leo: the unit as a city…
Open the Homicide: Life on the Street package · Season 1 hub
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- Kyle Secor as Tim Bayliss
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