A Shot in the Dark (Homicide: Life on the Street)

"A Shot in the Dark"
Homicide: Life on the Street episode
Felton and Pembleton debate racism during a crime investigation
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 4
Directed by	Bruce Paltrow
Teleplay by	Jorge Zamacona
Story by	Tom Fontana
Cinematography by	Wayne Ewing
Production code	105
Original air date	February 24, 1993
Guest appearance(s)
Tim Caggiano as Orville Warren David DeBoy as Rufus Bond Edie Falco as Eva Thormann Mojo Gentry as Alfred Smith Jennifer Harmon as Alison Ashley Larry Hull as Charles Flavin Željko Ivanek as Ed Danvers Clayton LeBouef as George Barnfather Mary West Miller as Lydia Benson Richard Pelzman as Newton Stuart Anne Schanne as Julie Lauren Ralph Tabakin as Dr. Scheiner Lee Tergesen as Chris Thormann Sean Whitesell as Dr. Eli Devilbiss Sharon Ziman as Naomi
Episode chronology
← Previous "Son of a Gun" Next → "Three Men and Adena"
Homicide: Life on the Street (season 1) List of Homicide: Life on the Street episodes

"A Shot in the Dark" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on February 24, 1993. The teleplay was written Jorge Zamacona based on a story by executive producer Tom Fontana, and the episode was directed by Bruce Paltrow. In the episode, Crosetti focuses his investigation into the shooting of Officer Thormann (Lee Tergesen) on one suspect, while Lewis continues to investigate. Meanwhile, Pembleton and Bayliss pursue different leads in the murder case of 11-year-old Adena Watson.

The shooting of a police officer and the murder of young girl were both directly inspired by real-life events chronicled in David Simon's non-fiction book, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, on which the series was based. "A Shot in the Dark" continued a string of guest appearances by actress Edie Falco as Eva Thormann, the wife of Officer Thormann.

"A Shot in the Dark" was seen by 8.9 million households in its original broadcast. Although an improvement over the previous episode "Son of a Gun", the rating was considered a disappointment, continuing the show's downward trend in ratings. "A Shot in the Dark" suffered in particular due to direct competition from the 35th Grammy Awards. The episode, along with the rest of the first and second seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street was released on DVD in the United States on May 27, 2003.

After being shot in the head during the previous episode, Officer Thormann (Lee Tergesen) has had a miraculous recovery and will live, although doctors say he will be blind all his life. Crosetti (Jon Polito) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) question prime suspect Alfred Smith (Mojo Gentry), who was identified by eyewitness Charles Flavin (Larry Hull) as the shooter. Crosetti, a close personal friend of Thormann, is convinced Smith is the shooter, but Lewis insists on further investigation. Lewis later learns Flavin bragged about shooting a cop the day Thormann was shot. Crosetti confronts Flavin, who nonchalantly admits to shooting Thormann in frustration because Flavin was suffering a migraine. Although the police celebrate finding Thormann's shooter, Lewis comforts a guilt-stricken Crosetti, who feels he took the case too personally and almost let the true shooter go free.