My summary refers to the fact that in the first three seasons of HOMICIDE we were used to Detectives Beau Felton and Stanley Bolander (Daniel Baldwin and Ned Beatty) who were so far my favourite characters. Then season 3 came to an end and they left the unit, and now we are introduced to Arson squad detective Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond) and as you might have guessed, for followers of the show it might be some sort of frustration.
When the episode begins we see Howard and Munch on a rooftop discussing of when during a police convention some police officers ran amok in the hotel after becoming drunk and subsequently Felton and Bolander were suspended for 22 weeks. As they talk they notice a fire distance, and when they arrive they witness firemen finding a charred body and calling the homicide unit. Once there Pembleton and Bayliss meet arson investigator Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond) that ends up clashing with their assumptions. Captain Barnfather pressures Megan Russert to improve the unit's clearance rate and hopes to replace Giardello for his inability of controlling detectives and hold Russert responsible for Giardello's screw-ups. Soon they find out that the charred body belongs to a young man that dated a younger woman and had the habit of going in that place with her. Fingerprint evidence lead to Calvin Jones that proves to be a confessor with no real connection to the crime, and then for calming Pembleton, Bayliss reveals that his wife is pregnant. Just as the episode is about to end we hear the news of another arson attack.
A good beginning of season tho it was a bit sad seeing the historical characters of Bolander and Felton no more in the unit. But seeing Pembleton and Bayliss clash with Kellerman's views was one of the highlights in the episode, and the second part will be better.
