All episodes Season 1 S01E06 1993-03-10 60 min 1990s NBC

Homicide: Life on the Street

A Dog and Pony Show

TV Flash files “A Dog and Pony Show” as hour 6 of 122 in the TV Flash guide — Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) on NBC, season 1, episode 6, aired 1993-03-10, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S01E06: listed hour 6 of 122 in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide, hour 6 of 9 in season 1. It aired 1993-03-10 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Three Men and Adena” (S01E05). Next is “And the Rockets' Dead Glare” (S01E07).

Homicide: Life on the Street — A Dog and Pony Show (S01E06)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

Giardello orders Bayliss and Pembleton to move on from the Adena Watson murder and take on new cases. They are assigned to solve the murder of a police dog, which Bayliss finds a waste of time, but Pembleton decides to take seriously. Meanwhile, Howard and Felton are determined to bust drug dealer "Pony" Johnson (Geoffrey Ewing) for the torture and murder of a young woman, and eventually elicit a confession from another drug pusher (Larry Gilliard, Jr.) whose mother was also murdered by Johnson. Crosetti provides encouragement to a recovering Thormann, who feels he should have died in the hospital and is discouraged to learn his wife (Edie Falco) is pregnant. Bolander meets his girlfriend Blythe's outrageous teenage son (Stivi Paskoski) and, despite his best efforts, cannot bond with him. Giardello attends a retirement party of a retired fellow shift commander (Michael Constantine), who tells Giardello he was forced out of the job.

Viewer FAQ

Where does A Dog and Pony Show sit in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide?

S01E06 is listed hour 6 of 122 — hour 6 of 9 in season 1, season 1 episode 6.

When did Homicide: Life on the Street S01E06 air?

A Dog and Pony Show aired 1993-03-10 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…

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Filed against

Also in season 1

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