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'Homicide' to lose its intense soulBy ERIC DEGGANS © St. Petersburg Times, published May 8, 1998 The time has come to mourn the passing of TV's most challenging, complex, engaging character: homicide Detective Frank Pembleton. Given an intense, layered life by master actor Andre Braugher, Pembleton walks into the figurative sunset tonight, on a milestone episode of Homicide: Life on the Street that marks both the season finale and the series' 100th installment. For Johnny-come-lately fans, this departure may seem like any other. After all, the series has weathered sayonaras from Deliverance star Ned Beatty (gone after four seasons), Baldwin brother Daniel and ex-Star Trek actor Michelle Forbes, who drove into the sunset herself this season. Tonight's moment isn't even Pembleton's alone; Reed Diamond's petulantly cynical Detective Mike Kellerman also jumps ship tonight, bringing a brutal conclusion to the ongoing gang war among minions of drug pushing queen Georgia Ray Mahoney. But those who remember the early days -- when Braugher's masterful turns as Pembleton turned interrogation scenes into volcanic drama -- will understand. More than any other character on Homicide, save perhaps Richard Belzer's sardonic John Munch or Yaphet Kotto's steely commander, Lt. Al Giardello, Pembleton stands as the vibrant heart of the series. Introduced to viewers as the efficient loner cop with the fewest open cases and an aversion to teamwork, Pembleton proved the most engaging character right from the start. Unlike the loner policemen found in Lethal Weapon movies, Pembleton showed a method in his misanthropy -- revealing aborted ambitions to become a cleric and a strong belief in God's presence, even as he remains disillusioned with the depravity of events He allows in this world. "Do you remember what happened after the verdict?" Pembleton asked Bayliss after a grand jury refused to indict his partner's cousin in the fatal shooting of a Turkish high school student that he felt was racially motivated. "Those law abiding citizens (in the courtroom) . . . applauded the death of a child," he added, with trademark intensity. "If he was an American, if he would have been white . . . do you think anyone would have cheered?" Such hard-driving intensity can take a toll, and with Pembleton, the costs were many: a stroke that closed the show's fourth season; a rift with his wife (played by Braugher's real-life spouse, Ami Brabson) that nearly ended their marriage; a rift with partner Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) that almost cost him his best -- okay, only -- friend. But adversity for Pembleton became a golden opportunity for Braugher, who took almost an entire season to rebuild the detective's abilities after his stroke. And the actor's Shakespeare-trained voice, honed in major productions of Richard II and Othello, wraps itself around Homicide's intricate dialogue with expert flair. Still, those challenges weren't enough for Braugher, who told TV Guide that, after six seasons in Pembleton's convoluted skin, "I've been that detective for so many years, that I really need something new." List the reasons Homicide works, and you'll uncover a lengthy tally: an excellent ensemble cast; hand-held cameras that provide a jumpy, intense energy; brainy stories that take the viewers' intelligence for granted (in the episode on the Turkish student, writers used the color knob on a TV set to imply Bayliss' racist cousin might even see color differently). Still, we Pembleton fans can't help wondering whether our guy was the lynchpin -- the one character that embodied the series' dedication to artistic truth and challenging viewers. And if that's the true, the more important question remains: What will happen now that he's gone?
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ust for a moment, forget about Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Ellen, Larry Sanders and all the other series or roles that shall soon fall into the great void this season.
