Homicide: Life on the
Best Damn Set on Television
Set Visit - November 12, 1998
Part 3
by Susan M. Garrett
"Bones of Contention" aired
January 15th, NBC, 10:00 PM (EST)
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They started filming more of the schoom type camera work--the quick, blurred pans from one reaction to another. There's a moment when Gharty and Falsone end an argument sitting at their respective desk and, instinctively, they gave each other the finger simultaneously. Everyone broke up and the director lamented the fact that it would never make it past the censors--it was a perfect shot!
The tracks I'd seen earlier were brought out and placed on the floor in the shape of a rectangle--they're metal pipes that fit together with rubber inserts. A wooden box was brought out. The skate wheels on the bottom of the box fit on the tracks, allowing the box to slide back and forth smoothly. On top of the box is a wooden double circle like a lazy susan, so that someone sitting on it could turn 360 degrees smoothly. Put a camera man on that and he can point the camera in any direction instantly and do a smooth transition just by giving himself a push in a direction.
Ain't technology grand?
They then moved back to Gee's office for a bit more filming, but held everybody there for background. Ed reminded me to watch the clock--those union rules were strict about when people could and couldn't work and when they got paid overtime. More horseplay ensued--one of the extras rode a bicycle through the entire precinct. One of the production crew said that it was a good idea to keep for another script for a light moment. Jon Seda and some of the others started throwing this purple football from desk to desk--one of the extras misjudged a throw and it took out Jon's pencil cup. The thing was a plastic neo-modern nightmare and Jon spent several minutes trying to put it together. Toni Lewis attempted to help him, just when Jon decided that he really didn't need a pencil holder anyway . . . . Eventually, they got the thing more or less back together again.
Jon also showed us this trick he'd 'perfected'--he could throw his holster up in the air, turn around with his hands up, and have it land on his shoulders. It took him about four tries, but he eventually got it to work. Someone said they should get it on film sometime. One of the AD's noted that it might be considered a little too dangerous and Jon laughed, saying there'd be a news report 'actor concusses himself with rubber gun, film at eleven.'
Eventually, they started letting the lead actors go. Jon Seda was gone like a shot. Yaphet Kotto was being held, so he came to the door and called in his Gee voice "Seda?"
Toni Lewis, who was picking up her stuff, answered, "Gone?"
"Stivers?"
"Going," she answered, on her way out the door.
"Anyone?" he asked, sounding desperate.
Xan answered that he was still there.
We said good-bye to Ed and Bill and Val and were invited down to the extras' trailer--I really wish we could have gone--but we said we had to get under way. I asked if I could take some photos of the set while the lights were still up and they said yeah--which is why I got so few and they're not all that great. Miles came up to us and handed us a map to the location shoot. "Are you going?" he asked.
Sharon and I looked at one another. "Sure, if you'll let us."
"Great. See you there."
Another crew member offered to take a picture of us with the day's shooting slate, which was really cool. Then it was time to leave the set, head downstairs, and take a couple of pictures outside. I dropped my coat and scarf off at wardrobe and Sharon ran in and picked up my regular coat from the office. As I was repacking my bag, Clark Johnson and Richard Belzer pulled up.
"Are you still here?" asked Clark. "You coming to the location shoot?"
We said yes and showed him that we had a map--we could find it. He said they'd see us there and off he went.
The location shoot that night was off North Avenue, which I've since found out was probably not a great place to get lost. As it was, the map was fantastic and we managed to get to the location shoot with only one wrong turn.
They were rehearsing as we pulled up--it was getting dark pretty quickly. We parked in the designated parking area and walked over with a couple of the evening extras, some 'upscale pedestrians.' We kind of hung around a bit until a crew member grabbed up and put us over by video city, telling us we'd get a good view there. Crew people kept wandering over and chatting with us, amazed not only that we'd made it through the day, but that we'd made it out to the location, too.
Our reaction--are you KIDDING? This was a once in a lifetime shot, after all. There was no way we were going to miss any of this.
Lee Bigelow was there, checking on the continuity. I believe it was the unit director who loaned us a headset, so we could listen while they filmed, but often we were close enough to the action that we could hear the actors as they said their lines.
A location shoot is particularly difficult because of traffic--there were police on the scene to divert cars from turning down the street. Even with that, a taxi slipped in and started dropping people off in the middle of filming a scene. Not to mention the inevitable crowd that gathered across the street, including dog walkers and local inhabitants. One of the crew was sent over to ask people to leave, as they were turning up in the background of the wide shots. There was even one of the ubiquitous orange ladders there, as well as a number of people with boom mikes and lights--night lighting looked to be a complex issue. Part of the scene involved someone in the apartment building coming to the window, so some of the crew went upstairs--which meant interior lighting (no sound, though).
The evening's scene was quite short, starting at a public phone kiosk, going up the street to an apartment complex, then the actors returned to the car. There were a few missed lines, a couple of ad-libs. While they were waiting, Richard Belzer picked up the phone and said, "Hello, this is Mrs. Shecky Green--" Clark Lewis picked up the other phone and asked, "What are you wearing?"
Clark spotted us at one point and came over to save hello. Wardrobe people ran in to do touch-ups and make certain everything was okay. At one point we had a disaster--the film cartridge went bad and they had to get a replacement in the camera, but they seemed to save what was already on the cartridge.
It was COLD, and this was only November. I can well understand why Clark would have warned me about being a body in January. The actors can duck into a car between scenes, but the crew and extras are outside for all of the filming. There was hot soup and hot coffee to hand and a dinner truck had been set up a street or two away for the crew who had been at work all day, and everyone was too busy to really get cold, but I imagine that winter night shoots must be brutal.
At the end of the shoot, Clark came over again to say good-bye. He really IS a prince, a very nice guy. We watched people packing up for a bit, then scurried back to the relative warmth of my car. Instead of going home, we headed for the pier again and had dinner at Kooper's. When we entered, there were some crew there who said hello--they introduced us as "Clark's friends." I was very proud that we'd earned that particular title.
We were tired and ready for a nap after dinner, but we still had to get home. You must understand that I have driven to and through Baltimore at least a dozen times--and have gotten lost at least once each time. The fact that we had arrived on the set that morning on time and that we'd found not only the location shoot but our way BACK to the set meant that we were destined for a bad turn somewhere. That I knew generally where I was going (the bus station to drop off Sharon) did not console me in the least.
Sure enough, tragedy struck at the corner of Charles Street and Centre Street--we ran out of gas in front of the museum and university housing, on the upside of an incline. I'd been so excited about the set visit, I'd forgotten to get gas and we'd run the tank dry. Relatively brain dead by this time, I left Sharon with the car and called AAA from a pay phone in the bar down the block. When I returned, Sharon handed me her cell phone--we'd forgotten that she'd even had it on her, because she'd turned it off, not wanting it to ring while she was on set!
An hour later, AAA arrived with a gallon of gas and we were on our way again. It was an exciting way to end what had been one of the keenest days I've ever experienced.
XII - So, I'm on TV?
The episode, "Bones of Contention," airs Friday, January 29th, 10 PM (EST) on NBC (check your local area for listing). Sharon and I participated as extras for at least five hours, which means that if you'll blink you'll probably miss us. Keep an eye out for the green jacket and scarf and Sharon's leather coat in the following scenes:
- we're in the background behind Falsone and Ballard after they get out of the car and up until they enter the squad room
- we're on the left hand side of the room, behind Ballard and Gharty's desks during the conversation in the squad room, when Gharty makes a comment about Falsone and Ballard flirting in front of Gee
- we walk past the outside of Gee's office window when he calls Sheppard inside and speaks with her
Sharon and I would both like to extend our thanks to the cast and crew of HLotS, for making us feel welcome, for allowing us to share in their work day, and for giving us a taste of what it must be like to work under those hot lights day after day. Thanks particularly to our 'extra' friends, Ed, Val, and Bill for welcoming us into their work-a-day world; to Xan, Chris, and Miles and the rest of the crew for keeping an eye out for us and not making us feel like idiots for blowing that scene; to Jon Seda for being kind to us and putting us at our ease; to Richard Belzer for signing the photos we brought with us and for taking a moment to chat; and, most of all, to Clark Johnson, who went out of his way to make us feel like we were part of the team, even if it was only for the day--you are, sir, a most exceptionally kind and considerate man, as well as a talented actor and director.
We would also like to mention once more that the location visit and appearance on "Homicide: Life on the Street" was purchased at a charity auction, the money going to the White Ribbon Campaign: Men Working to End Men's Violence Against Women. HLotS has always been very honest in their portrayal of the effects of an act of violence and the manner in which it spirals outward from the victim and into the community. Please drop by their web site and take a look, if you have a moment, to offer your support for this important cause.
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