Homicide: Life on the Street
The Gas Man
TV Flash files “The Gas Man” as the last listed hour of season 3 — Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) on NBC, season 3, episode 20, aired 1995-05-05, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E20: listed hour 33 of 122 in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide, last listed hour of season 3. It aired 1995-05-05 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Colors” (S03E19). Next is “Fire, Part 1” (S04E01).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Pembleton is oblivious to being relentlessly stalked by "The Gas Man," a man he sent to jail for negligence in a gas explosion that killed a whole family. The stalker steals evidence from a gruesome crime scene--the severed head of a Gypsy fortuneteller and a bloody knife. His plan is to force Pembleton to meet him alone and exact revenge.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Gas Man sit in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide?
S03E20 is listed hour 33 of 122 — last listed hour of season 3, season 3 episode 20.
When did Homicide: Life on the Street S03E20 air?
The Gas Man aired 1995-05-05 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 3 hub
Filed against
- Andre Braugher as Frank Pembleton
Andre Braugher’s Frank Pembleton turned Homicide: Life on the Street’s box into theater — 1990s catalog interrogation as literature, then Brooklyn Nine-Nine recasting the steel as Captain Holt’s deadpan excellence. TV Flash files him as…
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- Kyle Secor as Tim Bayliss
Kyle Secor's Tim Bayliss walked Homicide: Life on the Street through Baltimore cases that refused to tidy up for sweeps — Paul Attanasio from David Simon, handheld grit, interrogation as theater, a red/black board as house style. We file…
- Richard Belzer as John Munch
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- Clark Johnson as Meldrick Lewis
Clark Johnson played Meldrick Lewis on Homicide: Life on the Street — Baltimore detectives, handheld grit, cases that refuse to tidy up for sweeps. Paul Attanasio from David Simon's reporting: Andre Braugher's Pembleton turning…
- Melissa Leo as Kay Howard
Melissa Leo’s Kay Howard walked Homicide: Life on the Street like Baltimore would not tidy up for sweeps — 1990s literary cop TV, handheld grit, a red/black board, Paul Attanasio from David Simon’s reporting. Interrogation as theater. TV…