Homicide: Life on the Street
Something Sacred, Part 1
TV Flash files “Something Sacred, Part 1” as hour 89 of 122 in the TV Flash guide — Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) on NBC, season 6, episode 12, aired 1998-01-30, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S06E12: listed hour 89 of 122 in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide, hour 12 of 23 in season 6. It aired 1998-01-30 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Shaggy Dog, City Goat” (S06E11). Next is “Something Sacred, Part 2” (S06E13).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The stabbing death of a priest in his own rectory becomes a red ball, with Ballard and Gharty in charge. Allegations of sexual abuse complicate the case, and the unit searches for two Guatemalan refugees who were living at the rectory. The detectives find the pair and take them into custody as material witnesses, sparking an outcry from the city's Catholics, and Barnfather overrides Gee and releases them. A potential lead on a suspect dries up, and Pembleton and Stivers - who has rotated into homicide from sex crimes - are called to the scene of a second priest's murder as the refugees go missing again.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Something Sacred, Part 1 sit in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide?
S06E12 is listed hour 89 of 122 — hour 12 of 23 in season 6, season 6 episode 12.
When did Homicide: Life on the Street S06E12 air?
Something Sacred, Part 1 aired 1998-01-30 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 6 hub
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