What did you all think of these episodes? I thought they were pretty intense. I read that the creators of the show got a lot of mail complaining about the precint being assigned to homicides only. I can just imagine... going from a season ending episode like "Fog", and starting out the following season with "Homicide"... I would have been concerned!

It was really sad to learn that Mr. Kotterman had been killed, and the mood that fell in the detective room was so bleak, with Barney particularly taking it pretty hard. What's amazing to me is that the makers of the show still managed to get comedy out there without ruining the mood (Insp. Luger coming into the room). This is commendable because they never attempted to make a drama out of the show, or never attempted to solve, or give answers to social problems or anything. They showed that the detectives went through and how they had no choice but to forge ahead. There's an episode coming up where someone ends up being a nazi criminal, yet the subtle comedy going on reminds us that the show IS a comedy.

If you guys remember, Mr. Kotterman and another merchant had shot a thief to death (without meaning to) in the episode where this other merchant is offering a $1000 reward to anyone who killed a thief while committing a robbery... related??? (probably not).

maclen

"Homicide" is one of the best episodes I've seen so far. I was completely caught off guard by Mr. Kotterman's death. I always liked his character, and his final scene leaving the Squad Room was also sad to me, and I didn't even know it was his swan song. I was thinking though, "Why doesn't Barney offer to call the 10th Precinct for him before he goes there so they can expect him and treat him right?"
Mr. Kotterman's death, preventable in all likelihood, under those circumstances, was a brave and bold move on the part of the writers. That's heady stuff for a sitcom. I'll admit that I cried.
The men were just devastated, particulary Barney. They were frozen and stunned by shock and disbelief. I know I was.
The scene was screaming for comic relief which came in the form of Inspector Luger and Harris finally accepting the pretty photographer's offer of a date.
As for a connection between Mr. Kotterman's death and his prior money-motivated killing--we never know what's going on in the minds of the writers. Could be a connection though--a karma thing. I personally don't think so, but we never really know.

Originally posted by Janice
As for a connection between Mr. Kotterman's death and his prior money-motivated killing--we never know what's going on in the minds of the writers. Could be a connection though--a karma thing. I personally don't think so, but we never really know.

When Kotterman and the jeweler (Mr. Rothman) shot a robber, it was an accident. There had been a power outtage and both merchants were protecting their respective establishments (the episode was #59, Goodbye Mr. Fish, Part I), and it so happened that Mr. (Bruno) Bender (the sporting goods store owner) had been putting up posters offering a $1000 reward for anyone who killed a robber in the act. Kotterman and Rothman felt extremely bad about it.

The Mr. Kotterman character was always shown in a very positive light. He once helped the detectives solve a protection ring case earlier in the show. He also refused to press charges against a guy who held up his store because he could have been killed in prison since he was under the witness protection program.

maclen

Originally posted by maclen


When Kotterman and the jeweler (Mr. Rothman) shot a robber, it was an accident. There had been a power outtage and both merchants were protecting their respective establishments (the episode was #59, Goodbye Mr. Fish, Part I), and it so happened that Mr. (Bruno) Bender (the sporting goods store owner) had been putting up posters offering a $1000 reward for anyone who killed a robber in the act. Kotterman and Rothman felt extremely bad about it.

The Mr. Kotterman character was always shown in a very positive light. He once helped the detectives solve a protection ring case earlier in the show. He also refused to press charges against a guy who held up his store because he could have been killed in prison since he was under the witness protection program.

maclen
I misunderstood your previous post. After reading this, I don't think there's any connection between the two episodes.
It's a wild thing that they killed him off. Very sad.

These "Homicide" episodes were a little weird for me to watch because I'm used to watching the show Homicide: Life on the Street. It's my all-time favorite show and I've seen all the episodes several times. To see a sitcom deal with the subject was odd, but I think they pulled it off pretty well.

My only complaint was that after Mr. Kotterman's death, they kinda went back to the comedy like nothing happened. Granted, there was a commercial break in between to help with the transition and it appeared that several days had passed (Harris's suspect had been caught), but I think it might have been better if they hadn't done that. On the other hand, as previously mentioned, they'd been dealing with heavier material lately, so I guess they were making a conscious effort to lighten the mood for the viewers.

Originally posted by egregiousgirl
My only complaint was that after Mr. Kotterman's death, they kinda went back to the comedy like nothing happened. Granted, there was a commercial break in between to help with the transition and it appeared that several days had passed (Harris's suspect had been caught), but I think it might have been better if they hadn't done that. On the other hand, as previously mentioned, they'd been dealing with heavier material lately, so I guess they were making a conscious effort to lighten the mood for the viewers.

I think it also has to do with TV Land's "creative editing". I remember watching this episode, unedited, in one of my Columbia House tapes and the flow seemed pretty seamless. Can't recall exactly what was edited out, but I also got the the feeling you got when I watched it a couple of nights ago; kind of like an abrupt bump!

TV Land slices off about 4 minutes off every episode. That's prety significant! A lot of the time, the bits they do away with are somewhat inconsequential, but sometimes they're pretty major, like last night, they edited out a pretty important Dietrich part during "Agent Orange" that would have made a comment towards the end make sense.

maclen

Speaking of Homicide, my favorite show (as mentioned earlier) is "Homicide: Life on the Street." The first two seasons of that show will be available on DVD on May 27. This is a blatant plug by me, but it also provides hope that "Barney Miller" may someday be released on DVD, too. I never thought "Homicide" would be released, so who knows, eh? Eh??

I saw Homicide Part one and two last night for the first time.
And I thought these two episodes were great, now I can see why I became a fan of the show.
;)