Seems Like a Mighty Long Time

Or, Adventures in TV Land, Part 2.

After reading Malcolm Gladwell’s recent New Yorker story about pit bulls and profiling, I had a hankering to see an old Homicide episode in which Paul Giamatti guest-stars as a freakish dogfight enthusiast. Besides the pit-bull plotline, it also had a recurring scene with a bunch of cops sitting around swapping stories about stupid suspects.

It’s called “Pit Bull Sessions,” and it was even better than I remembered. In fact, seven years after Homicide left the air, watching this felt like receiving a transmission from some alternate universe, one where cop shows are actually interesting instead of just watchable. I’ve seen my share of Law & Orders and CSIs, and they strike me as blandly efficient narrative machines, with every cog & gear polished and in place, smoothly servicing the formula. (I know, I know, I’m not exactly breaking hot news here.) But “Pit Bull Sessions” is a beautiful mess. It’s full of offhand digressions & narrative cul-de-sacs, weird shifts of mood & sympathy, and bits both funny & sad that have nothing to do with anything – often you’re not sure what you’re supposed to be thinking or feeling. Where CSI & Order ticks along like a metronome, Homicide at its best feels syncopated & improvised. That’s entertainment.

Anyway.

Homicide also spotlighted a lot of great songs over the years. There weren’t any in “Pit Bull Sessions,” but from another episode, here’s a stoned soul purr that’s one of my faves.

• Barbara Lewis, “Hello Stranger”