After The Role: Bleary Bender Wrap-up

Colors, Narcissus, Law & Disorder, Prison Riot.

Those were the last four episodes I watched on Sunday evening.
Narcissus being the rare one I couldn’t get through.

Which I find interesting. Having watched myself over and over…

I’ll say this—Homicide was quite the show.

It often felt like I was watching these episodes for the first time, with only shadowy memories of the stories, people, and places.

I was often blown away by the performances and the stylistic choices. Surprised by some of the memories that were unlocked.

My wife watched a few with me, and I got a sprinkle of love every episode. Even my daughter and some of her friends joined us on the couch and watched a few minutes, taking quick looks back and forth between 1990s Kyle and 2026 Kyle.

They were shocked by some of the racial under- and overtones, and cracked up at the off-the-cuff dark humor.

I felt a bit of that glow that comes with being rediscovered (by your own family!). Very much a Late Fame weekend.

Here’s my grouse. Not really a grouse, but close enough:

Watching all of these back to back to back was more than I bargained for. Not that I didn’t appreciate the viewing experience.

They were very much of their time in one particular way: they were made for weekly release.

Seeing me or Andre yelling and carrying on for hours on end made me a little dizzy.

I started this Substack two years ago, just a few months before Homicide found its way back onto television. I had no idea then how much of this space would become about the show—or what would grow out of writing about it.

I’m glad I did this. I’m glad all of you who joined in were out there watching your favorite episodes and rediscovering ones you’d forgotten.

I have a feeling I’ll always write about Homicide when something calls me back to it.

But I also have a feeling I’ve said most of what I needed to say about the show for now.

Which feels pretty good.

There’s other stuff rattling around in there .

Now, give me your HLOTS Top 5. And the one or two you can’t bear to watch!