November 01, 2003 - 1:41 AM

Homicide Is Better Than Halloween

The Halloween party I went to tonight was strange. It started off feeling like a High School dance, where everyone sticks to the friends that they came with in little clumps as the DJ spins tunes to keep them all bobbing in nervous time. Everyone scans the crowd with desperate indifference, trying to find some other people they know while not LOOKING like they're trying to find anyone in particular. But this was made even more disconcerting, with costumes replacing suits and dresses, so, in addition to scoping the crowd for friendlies, people were also checking out and grading each others' get ups. You have to be drunk or completely un-self conscious in order to feel comfortable in such a setting, where judging is a constant and there are go-go dancers on platforms. Really. The studio that hosted the party had it in a wherehouse, and in the main room with the DJ's were a couple of raised platforms upon which danced several scantily clad girls. There was even a pole where a rotating squad of girls twirled in front of a drooling mass of buzzed guys.

Keep in mind that much of the attendance was made up of engineers and producers, which meant there were a lot of geeks and nerds. Yeah.

There were also a good number of musicians, rockers, punks, young turks, people who are "too cool", which made for a funny mix. And gaggles of really REALLY hot women.

After a while, the place became packed, with more people constantly streaming in. The liquor and beer was flowing, the dance floor was rolling, and the dense atmosphere of urgent sexuality was impossible to ignore. I couldn't deal with it all, on such a large scale. After a while of standing around, drink in hand, talking to a few co-workers, and getting jostled every few seconds, I thought "well, what's the fun in this?" I wasn't going to just strike up random conversations with people around me because that's not my style, especially when they're all costumed out; I wasn't going to attempt to conduct business because I wouldn't know where to start, and that would've been out of place anyways; and I sure as heck wasn't going to hit on any of the girls since I so can not do that, and, again, not my style.

So, I bowed out after an hour or so, and dropped by Nick's for some cookies and tv. So much more manageable.

Know what I found out today at work, when I picked up my paycheck? 4 guys got laid off, including one guy who had just been promoted to assistant (I was the last person to be promoted before him), and the company has pretty much all of our equipment for sale and has sold a bunch of gear already. The future is getting darker. There is a lot to weigh, and a decision is looming for me.

******

I watched the first episode of Homicide. And then I watched the second. Then the third. I was trying to hold back, and just watch one at a time, and report back to you with my thoughts on each individual one, but I couldn't. Why? Well, the first three eps were a story arc, and in order for me to explore the stories and themes, I needed to view the entire thing. Plus, I couldn't just let the cliffhanger endings of episodes one and two sit there, taunting me; it was so easy to hit MENU on the remote, then PLAY to find out what happened next. I'm weak.

With these three episodes, we get to see all the strengths and the faults of Frank Pembleton, the detective who provided the magnetic center for the show. His intelligence, his single-mindedness, his thoroughness, his belief in justice- these all made him a great detective. However, he had an ego to match his talents, which meant he didn't suffer ANYONE. He was charismatic, commanding, righteous, but he was also a prick and a bigot.

The interesting thread that plays out over the course of the story is Frank's battle with his lapsed faith (he was raised Catholic and attended a Jesuit High School) in the face of a killer who kills only Catholic women and leaves them in dumpsters behind churches. As always, Andre Braugher gives a spectacular performance as Pembleton, full of bravado and acid and outrage and anguish and confusion. His interrogation of the suspect in part 3 is amazing, but then, he always does brilliant work in the interrogation room. The scene that I really like is when he and his partner Tim Bayliss are canvassing the crime scene. While Tim talks, Frank looks at the side of the church; he frames it with his hands, like a film director, then proceeds to do a series of hand rotations that seem to say "ok, this is the scene...what can it tell me?...I don't see anything...is this IT?...God?" He walks along and looks up the brick wall, pointing with his finger as if he's reading for clues, then gives up, waving a dismissive hand at the gibberish that's up there. It's an exquisite bit of acting that shows Frank's dramatic nature, and let's us see his thought process externally, yet non-verbally.

There are two other stories that play out over the 3 episodes, one involving Beau Felton's marital problems, the other a comedic diversion wherein two of the detectives try to find a partner to help them buy a bar. Beau's story fleshes out his character with a little more complexity than we've seen before; the purchase of the Waterfront Bar let's Richard Belzer as Detective Munch and Clark Johnson as Meldrick Lewis slide out their comedy game faces.

The character development is the thing with Homicide, where everyday life and everyday work, whether it's extraordinary or humdrum, shows us who these detectives are. There's no action to speak of, but you are engrossed by the story, the drama, the suspense, the comedy. I rub this show.

Now Listening To : Jonatha Brooke-10 Cent Wings
Random Thought : Did you know that a paralogism is a false syllogism? Have you noticed the popularity of "syllogism" lately?

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