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Subway (Homicide: Life on the Street)
Encyclopedia
"Subway" is the seventh episode of the sixth season
of the American police television drama Homicide: Life on the Street
, and the 84th episode overall. It first aired on NBC
in the United States on December 5, 1997.
In the episode, John Lange (Vincent D'Onofrio
) becomes pinned between a subway train and the station platform. The Baltimore homicide department is informed that Lange will be dead within an hour and Pembleton
tries to solve the case, while comforting Lange in his final minutes. "Subway" featured guest star Bruce MacVittie as a man suspected of pushing Lange into the train's path. The episode was written by James Yoshimura
, who co-produced with David Simon
. It was directed by Gary Fleder
and was the only episode of Homicide: Life on the Street helmed by the feature film director.
Yoshimura based "Subway" on an episode of the HBO hidden-camera documentary show Taxicab Confessions
, in which a New York City
detective described a real-life instance of a man trapped between a subway train and platform. "Subway" was filmed on location in a Baltimore Metropolitan Transit Authority
station. Fleder included cinematic elements that were uncommon in the traditionally naturalistic show. This led to conflicts between Fleder and director of photography Alex Zakrzewski
.
"Subway" received overwhelmingly positive reviews but ranked number three in its time-slot during its original broadcast, capturing 10.3 million viewers but falling behind ABC
's 20/20 and CBS
's Nash Bridges
. The episode won a Peabody Award
for excellence in television broadcasting and was nominated for two Emmy Award
s, one for Yoshimura's script and one for D'Onofrio's guest performance. "Subway" was the subject of a two-hour PBS
television documentary, Anatomy of a "Homicide: Life on the Street", which originally aired on the network on November 4, 1998.
) falls against a moving train and is pinned between a subway car and the platform wall. Detectives Pembleton
(Andre Braugher
) and Bayliss
(Kyle Secor
) arrive to investigate and are told the man's spinal cord
is severed. Although Lange is not feeling much pain, emergency personnel tell the detectives he has less than an hour to live and will die as soon as he is moved. Bayliss questions Larry Biedron (Bruce MacVittie), who was involved with the altercation that led to Lange's fall. Biedron says he was bumped from behind with Lange, but witnesses give conflicting reports: some say Biedron pushed Lange, some that Lange pushed Biedron, and others say it was an accident. Pembleton tries to talk to Lange, who becomes uncooperative and angry when told he will die.
Lange says his girlfriend, Sarah Flannigan (Laura MacDonald
), is jogging by the harbor, so Pembleton sends detectives Lewis
(Clark Johnson
) and Falsone (Jon Seda
) to look for her. Lewis and Falsone talk about the nature of death while questioning random joggers; their search effort proves fruitless. Lange tries to convince EMT
Joy Tolson (Wendee Pratt) to give him painkillers, but she refuses because it will reduce their chances of saving his life, even while she insists he cannot be saved. Pembleton keeps Lange company, despite his initial annoyance at Lange's bullying and mean-spirited attitude. The emergency personnel plan to use airbag
s to push the subway train away from the platform, then pull Lange free and rush him to the hospital.
Pembleton and Lange grow closer; Lange experiences more pain as time passes and switches among remorse, anger, and casual small talk during their conversations. Later, Pembleton holds Lange's hand to comfort him and confides about his recent stroke. Bayliss grows suspicious when Biedron says he cannot recall his last place of work or when he moved to Baltimore
. Biedron eventually admits he had been criminally charged and placed into a psychiatric ward for pushing a man in front of a Chicago
subway train for no reason. Biedron is arrested and Bayliss confirms to Pembleton that Lange was pushed; Pembleton decides not to tell Lange because he does not think it will comfort him, but Lange figures it out for himself by observing their conversation. Lange experiences greater pain and starts to lose consciousness. After saying "I'm OK" to Pembleton, Lange falls unconscious and the EMTs push the train with the airbags. Lange dies immediately after he is removed. A shocked and disoriented Pembleton leaves the subway and, after staring at Biedron in the back of a police squad car, drives away with Bayliss. The episode ends with Flannigan jogging past the subway station.
, one of the Homicide: Life on the Street
writers and supervising producers, first conceived the story for "Subway" after watching an episode of the HBO series Taxicab Confessions
, which features hidden-camera footage of taxi passengers discussing their lives with the drivers. In the episode he saw, a New York Police Department detective discussed an experience in which a man was pushed and trapped between a subway train and station platform. Although the man was initially still alive, the homicide department was called in to investigate because emergency officials said they knew he would eventually die. The detective said the incident was the most upsetting thing he ever saw. He likened the twisting of the body to that of a plastic bag being spun around quickly and turning like a corkscrew, and said when the train was removed and the body was twisted back, "All your guts fall down and in less than a minute, you're dead."
Yoshimura first pitched the show to the Homicide: Life on the Street production team in May 1997 at the San Francisco production center of executive producer Barry Levinson
. The episode was discussed and well received during a round-table discussion involving Levinson, executive producer Tom Fontana
, producer David Simon
, supervising producer Julie Martin, and consulting producer Gail Mutrux. During that meeting, Markin suggested that the transit authority should pressure the police to resolve the homicide case quickly and get the trains moving again, an element which Yoshimura eventually added to the script. Levinson suggested ending the episode with the detectives walking back to the surface, then feeling the hum and vibration of the train starting back up under their feet. This suggestion, however, did not appear in the final episode.
Distressed from a long stretch of poor ratings, NBC
executives placed pressure on Homicide: Life on the Street producers to improve its viewership and become more popular than its higher-rated time-slot competitor, Nash Bridges
. Yoshimura and the other producers, however, decided to continue pushing the envelope with "Subway" because they felt the series needed to maintain its quality and survive. "Subway" had to be greenlight
ed by NBC before a script could be written and Yoshimura anticipated backlash about the episode. He said, "Every episode, we have trouble with NBC, so this is no different. We've fought that battle, we've had five years of that, so it doesn't matter to us." However, the executives were surprisingly enthusiastic about the premise. Warren Littlefield
, then-president of NBC Entertainment, said his first reaction was "the classic response of a network programmer: 'Oh my God, this is scary'", but that he quickly came around to the idea and greenlighted the project.
Yoshimura wanted Braugher to treat D'Onofrio like he was "bad luck" and try to keep his distance at first, but gradually come to view him as a person and form a close bond with him by the end of the episode. A New York City firefighter
, Tim Brown, was a consultant for most of the technical information in the episode. In addition to helping Yoshimura with the dialogue from medical staff characters, Brown advised Yoshimura on the method of using air bags to push the subway train forward and remove Lange's body. Yoshimura included conflicting reports from witnesses about how the incident took place, which the writer described as a "Rashomon
thing", in reference to the 1950 Japan
ese film in which several characters offer differing descriptions of the same murder. "Subway" continued a sixth season trend in which the detectives became more personally involved with the victims, and thus becoming more emotionally drained at their deaths. For example, in the sixth season episode "Birthday", Falsone interviewed a victim who eventually died at the conclusion of the episode. It was the first television script Attanasio ever wrote.
Yoshimura included a B story
of Lewis and Falsone looking for Lange's girlfriend to provide comic relief
and so that the entire episode would not be confined to the subway platform location. Yoshimura wanted the two detectives to also discuss the nature of mortality and death, but deliberately included black humor in their dialogue and made sure the characters did not act "teary-eyed [or] philosophical", because he believed it would be cliched and an inaccurate depiction of how real detectives would behave. Some viewers were offended or startled by the flippant nature of the discussions about death between the two characters. Lange's girlfriend jogged behind Lewis and Falsone during a scene in which the two detectives were distracted in a discussion. Yoshimura deliberately included this in the episode to create a moment of irony. The line by Falsone to a jogger, "Are you sure you're not Sarah?", and Lewis' mocking reaction to the question, were both ad-libbed
by the actors.
Executive producers Barry Levinson
and Tom Fontana
reviewed the script after it was finished and made minor suggestions for changes. In the original script, Yoshimura made Pembleton more confrontational with the firefighters and emergency personnel, but this aspect of the script was changed when Fontana suggested it was too distracting. NBC executives indicated they would have preferred Lewis and Falsone find Lange's girlfriend and bring her back to the subway station before Lange died, but Yoshimura described that scenario as a "typical TV ending" and was vehemently opposed to any such change. Fontana also defended the original ending because he said Pembleton ends up filling the role that Lange's girlfriend would have filled.
On August 18, 1997, four days before shooting on the episode began, NBC censors provided 17 pages of notes to Yoshimura requiring changes regarding violence and language. A typical Homicide: Life on the Street episode usually results in only three or four pages. Yoshimura made several modifications with the help of his writing assistant Joy Lusco
, a future writer on Simon's HBO series The Wire
. The changes included removing several instances of the words "ass" and "bitch" from the script. Lange's line, "Why am I even saying the son of a bitch's name?" was changed to "Why am I even saying the twerp's name?", and his line, "Go find another train and throw your miserable stupid ass in front of it" was changed to "throw yourself in front of it".
to direct "Subway" because she believed he would provide visually engaging direction without distracting from the story in the script. Other Homicide: Life on the Street producers were not familiar with Fleder. When Mutrux told them the name of one of his previous films, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
, Yoshimura became concerned Fleder was "one of these indie kind of guys [who is] going to come in and try to reinvent our show", a problem he had experienced with other directors in the past. After watching Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, however, Yoshimura believed Fleder would be perfect to direct "Subway" because he felt Fleder could provide strong visuals to a story that took place in one location, and prevent the script from becoming too static and boring. Upon being offered the job, Fleder thought it would be a challenge due to most of the action being confined to a single set, but accepted the director position based on the strength of Yoshimura's script:, "The script was terrific. And for me, the big issue from day one was, 'How do I not screw it up?'" Yoshimura said feature directors often struggle with Homicide: Life on the Street because they are used to working at a slower and more deliberate pace than the typical eight-day filming period of a single episode. Additionally, Yoshimura said, they have little time to adjust to the regular cast and crew, which he described as a "closed community [who are] used to shooting or working a certain way on this show, and then have their rhythms and their patterns and their habits".
Casting director Brett Goldstein contacted Vincent D'Onofrio's agent about playing the part of John Lange, but the agent said D'Onofrio would never work in television and refused to even suggest the part to the actor. Goldstein remained convinced the actor was right for the role, and mailed the script directly to D'Onofrio. The actor liked the script and agreed to play the part. The agent later contacted Goldstein a second time and they got into a dispute over how much money D'Onofrio would be paid. Yoshimura said D'Onofrio was not the kind of actor he originally envisioned for the part, although he later praised his performance. D'Onofrio said he was attracted to the part based on the strength of the script and the reputation of Homicide: Life on the Street, although he had never seen the show himself. Fleder, D'Onofrio and Andre Braugher had only between two and three hours to read the script, discuss the characters and rehearse the material. Braugher said his first reaction to the episode premise was that it was a "horrifying idea" because he thought it would be sensational and end with a clichéd moral, which Braugher said "frankly, nauseated me, the idea of that". But Braugher said he was extremely satisfied with Yoshimura's final script.
Bruce MacVittie auditioned for the role of Larry Biedron by mailing a tape of himself performing to the show's producers. Yoshimura had previously seen MacVittie perform on the New York City stage and thought he was a "wonderful, wonderful actor". After watching his rehearsal tape, Yoshimura settled on MacVittie for the part not only based on his acting, but on his short physical stature. Yoshimura said, "I'm watching this tape and I'm thinking, 'Yeah, this little guy! Who would suspect this little guy to have these murderous kinds of tendencies.'" Laura MacDonald was also cast as Lange's girlfriend Sarah Flannigan based on an audition tape she sent to the show. Wendee Pratt was cast as emergency medical technician Joy Tolson, who works to help Lange throughout the episode but does not get along with him. Yoshimura said he particularly enjoyed Pratt's performance "because she's not playing at all sympathetic. This guy's a pain in her ass." Shari Elliker
, a WBAL (AM)
disc jockey from the Baltimore area, made a cameo appearance as a witness in the subway.
station, but the authority was initially hesitant to allow filming for a script that portrayed their train as the source of a fatal accident. Since it was too late to build a set, co-executive producer Jim Finnerty
told Yoshimura to wait before writing the script because of the strong possibility the episode could never be filmed. When Yoshimura insisted on continuing anyway, Finnerty angrily stormed out of the meeting. However, Finnerty was eventually able to convince the authority to allow filming in one of their stations. Yoshimura also sought 300 extras to play firefighters, emergency medical personnel, transit workers and commuters. Finnerty authorized the use of more extras than an episode usually received, but refused to pay for 300 extras, forcing Yoshimura to make minor modifications to the script.
Seven days of pre-production began on August 15, 1997. On the first day, Fleder met with Yoshimura and Fontana to discuss the script and the director's vision for the episode. Fleder suggested modifying the prologue, and storyboard
ed the introduction that was included in the episode. The new prologue involved commuters coming down to the train station while a street band performed, leading up to the subway accident before the opening credits rolled. The song featured in this prologue, "Killing Time", was written by Lisa Matthews, the lead singer of the Baltimore-area band Love Riot. Matthews also had a brief cameo on "Subway" as one of the witnesses to Lange's fall. On August 16, the show creators scouted out the Johns Hopkins Hospital Metro Subway Station
, where the episode was to be filmed. At the request of the authority, the subway was renamed the fictional Inner Harbor station during filming. Fleder himself had only one hour to scout the location with his technical crew. Art director Vincent Peranio
created a dummy wall to place in the empty space between two subway cars, making it appear the two trains were one big car. Inside the dummy wall was a space where the actor could stand and appear cut. Stunt coordinator G.A. Aguilar also choreographed the accident that day, and Peranio simulated the accident itself by tying a dummy into the hole in the dummy wall. Peranio originally wanted a stuntman to fall against the moving train, spin and fall into the padded hole in the dummy wall, but the transit authority refused to allow it.
gave permission for filming to take place in one of their subways, but only allowed shooting to take place between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. when the trains were not running. The restrictive hours, short preparation time, confining shooting space and excessive heat due to lack of ventilation created additional stresses to the crew of more than 100 people during the filming of the episode. The tight schedule and lack of rehearsal time was difficult on the actors, but D'Onofrio said it added "a certain velocity and energy" to the shoot, which made the dialogue from the actors feel less rehearsed and more spontaneous. Yoshimura served as the on-set consulting editor during filming along with fellow producer David Simon
, who wrote the book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
, from which the series was adapted. The cast and crew shot between seven and nine pages of the script each of the seven production days. Fleder said he was impressed by this pace because he usually shoots between one and two pages per day during his movies, and he said the actors on Homicide: Life on the Street were better prepared and more cooperative than his usual film actors.
Fleder dedicated a great deal of focus to establishing the correct chemistry between Braugher and D'Onofrio. Fleder said, "The energy between them had to be [strong] because they're carrying the episode. The audience is centered on them and if either of them falters, the whole episode kind of falls apart." The first day of shooting had to take place outside the subway station, so all outside scenes were shot first. As a result, the final scenes of the film were shot on the first day. Among those scenes were Pembleton leaving the subway in a daze following Lange's death; Yoshimura deeply regretted that this was one of the first scenes shot because he felt the performance would have been more moving if Braugher had some previous dramatic interaction with D'Onofrio.
The stunt simulating Lange's fall into the subway train was filmed on August 27, the second production day, and Yoshimura said it was the most challenging part of the shoot. D'Onofrio and MacVittie had to arrive at the platform just as the subway train was approaching, and their scene had to be reshot several times because the train did not pass the actors on time. The crew also filmed shots of a dummy dressed as Lange being dragged by the train inside the dummy wall, but most of those scenes were not used in the final cut. The remaining five filming days focused primarily on the scenes between Braugher and D'Onofrio, which Yoshimura and Fleder felt were the most crucial element of the episode. During the filming of the climactic scene with Pembleton and Lange which ends with Lange's death, several members of the crew reacted emotionally, something Yoshimura said is extremely rare since the crew members typically look at their work as a job and do not become emotionally invested in the story they are filming.
While shooting the first subway scenes, D'Onofrio's performance was over-the-top and bombastic. Yoshimura asked him to act a little calmer during the earlier scenes and save the energy for the later scenes, because "if he did go up right away, there was nowhere else for him to go after that". D'Onofrio agreed and modified his performance accordingly. Fleder also clashed with MacVittie over his portrayal of the Biedron character. Fleder felt the character appeared too crazy in earlier scenes, and the actor was telegraphing
the twist in which MacVittie would turn out to be a murderer. MacVittie approached Yoshimura about the criticism, but Yoshimura agreed with Fleder's interpretation. After MacVittie toned down the character's behavior, Fleder said he was extremely pleased with the end result.
Many of the firefighters appearing as extras in "Subway" were Baltimore firefighters. Yoshimura said the firefighters who appeared to be running in the episode were actors, while the real firefighters walked slowly because, based on their real-life experience, they knew there would be no need to rush in a situation involving a fatality. Although power on the railings were turned off during shooting, the crew and producers were not aware that some residual electricity continues to run through the cars even after the tracks have been shut down. At one point during the shooting, D'Onofrio felt a charge of that electricity run through him and said, "I'm really feeling something strange here." The crew initially believed D'Onofrio to be ad-libbing a line of dialogue in character, but eventually realized he was being electrified. When the Baltimore Metropolitan Transit Authority explained about the residual electricity, the crew installed rubber insulation so D'Onofrio would not touch the metal of the train and experience any electricity. Fleder was impressed that D'Onofrio continued with the shoot, and said, "Most actors I worked with would've left the set at that point."
, the series' regular director of photography. The episode was staged so that Pembleton is initially keeping his distance from Lange, but gradually moves closer and closer as they begin to bond, and by the end he is sitting next to him and holding his hand. Accordingly, the initial scenes included wider shots with Braugher and D'Onofrio on the outer edges of the frame, but later scenes included more close-ups of the two sitting together. Although Homicide: Life on the Street typically employs a number of back-and-forth whip pan
-style cuts, Fleder asked that the style be modified for this episode. In earlier scenes, Fleder asked for wider long shot
s to create a sense of setting within the subway station, and as the episode progressed and the story became more intense, he then allowed more close-ups and whip pans. This led to disagreements on the set between Fleder and Zakrzewski, who felt Fleder was trying to being too disruptive and difficult. Fleder said of his behavior, "I have to admit, I'm not the most charming guy on the set. I'm just not. When I'm on the set, I'm very focused and my humor goes away and I become not so charming." After the episode was complete, Fleder said he and Zakrzewski settled their differences and were both happy with the final result.
Fleder also asked for stylistic touches on the episode which were inconsistent with the show's typical emphasis on documentary-style realism. For example, he arranged for red scrim lighting
to reflect on the subway car to add an artistic visual touch, even though there was nothing in particular in the subway station that reflected such a light. Upon hearing of the technique, Yoshimura was initially concerned, saying "Oh, he's getting artsy fartsy with me." Just before Lange's death, Fleder included a close-up with Braugher looking directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall
in a way typically forbidden on the show. During an outdoor dialogue scene between Johnson and Seda while the characters were driving in a car, Fleder filmed it by placing the camera outside the car's front windshield and panning back and forth between the two actors. Unbeknownst to Fleder, all car shots on Homicide: Life on the Street are only allowed to be filmed from inside the car to keep the scene more realistic. As a result of Fleder's car scene, a memo was circulated to the cast and crew reminding them of this policy and threatening to fire anybody who allowed a scene to be shot through the windshield again.
NBC facility, with consultation at various times by Fleder, Yoshimura and Tom Fontana. Rabinowitz edited the episode for several days alone, then worked with Fleder for four days, making hundreds of edits to the episode. Yoshimura worked with the editor next and was disappointed with the first cut of the episode that he saw, claiming it needed to be "a lot more frenetic and chaotics at the end, and not so artsy". Yoshimura also told Rabinowitz the final cut of the episode should place strong emphasis on Braugher because he felt the story is experienced "through his eyes". During the editing process, Yoshimura originally removed a scene featuring a silhouette of Pembleton riding the escalator out of the subway station after Lange died. Yoshimura felt the shot was too sentimental, but Levinson personally had it placed it back in the episode after Fleder claimed to have "begged" for it to be included. When Fontana first watched the episode, he felt the prologue was too confusing because it was difficult to tell what happened during the accident scene. It was edited so that rather focusing on medium shots of D'Onofrio and MacVittie, it included a wider shot to establish the presence of a subway train before the accident so viewers would not be so confused.
Audio tracks were mixed with recorded sounds from real subway cars, as well as PA system announcements, to make the episode sound more authentic. In the original episode, Pembleton grabbed Biedron by the collar of his shirt while Biedron sat in the back of a squad car during one of the final scenes. The scene was modified so that Pembleton only looked at Biedron because Yoshimura felt the scene was just as effective without him grabbing Biedron. During the last scene of the episode, in which Lange's girlfriend jogs by the subway station and ignores the emergency vehicles, Rabinowitz was originally instructed to include a musical score. He tried many different types of music, including rock music, Irish music, classical music, jazz, and piano riffs. When none of the music worked, Fontana suggested including no music at all, and it was agreed the silence was the most effective solution. Fontana said after watching the episode repeatedly during the editing process, he said he liked the final product but doubted he would watch it again for a long time because it was "too emotionally draining".
", prompted NBC to move its broadcast date to December 5 and heavily promote it. The strategy also gave the press more time to preview it and generate reviews. Warren Littlefield said, "The feeling was let's get out of the insanity of the sweeps and say, 'This is a little different'—hopefully we'll bring more people to this episode." During this time, the episode was renamed "The Accident" in some advertising materials.
When all the Nielsen ratings
markets were accounted for, "Subway" was listed as having been seen by 10.3 million households. It was the third-highest ranked show in its time-slot, behind ABC
's 20/20, which was seen by 17.7 million households, and CBS
's Nash Bridges
, which was seen by 11.9 million. NBC executives had hoped that the extensive promotion and press coverage of "Subway" would help it outperform Nash Bridges and so lift Homicide: Life on the Street above its usual third place in the rankings. When it did not, "Subway" was considered a commercial failure, and helped fuel already existing discussions within NBC on whether to cancel the show.
Reviews were overwhelmingly positive for "Subway". It was identified by The Baltimore Sun
as one of the ten best episodes of the series, with Sun writer Chris Kaltenbach declaring, "Dramas don't come any better than this." Kinney Littlefield of The Orange County Register
said it was "perhaps the best Homicide episode ever" and praised D'Onofrio's performance. USA Today
gave the episode its highest rating of four stars. Tom Shales of The Washington Post
called it, "a tour de force for D'Onofrio and Braugher". Entertainment Weekly
writer Bruce Fretts said, "This is as gripping an hour of television as you're ever likely to see." Television and literary critic John Leonard said "Subway" was "an artistic experience that is as genuine and accomplished and crafted as you will get anywhere". David P. Kalat, author of Homicide: Life on the Street: The Unofficial Companion, said of the episode, "Writer James Yoshimura proves that he has not lost his touch, with yet another truly grueling screenplay."
for excellence in television broadcasting. The episode also received two Emmy Award
nominations during the 50th Primetime Emmy Awards
season. James Yoshimura was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for the episode's script, and Vincent D'Onofrio received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. It lost both nominations; NYPD Blue
won the best writing Emmy for the fifth season episode "Lost Israel", and John Larroquette
won the guest actor award for his appearance in "Betrayal", a second season episode of The Practice
. However, Jay Rabinowitz and Wayne Hyde won an International Monitor Award
for best editing in a film-oriented television series.
, a Boston
-based Public Broadcasting Service
station, produced a 75-minute television documentary about the episode "Subway" called Anatomy of a "Homicide: Life on the Street". The documentary was written, produced and directed by filmmaker Theodore Bogosian, and was originally broadcast on November 4, 1998 at 9 p.m. on PBS. The film focused predominantly on James Yoshimura, beginning with his conception of the script and ending with his reaction to the episode's television broadcast and the ratings numbers. The documentary included a brief featurette about Homicide: Life on the Street and its history of both critical acclaim and low ratings. It also focused on the balance between art and business, with Yoshimura and the other producers trying to produce an intelligent, high quality episode while also capturing high ratings.
The documentary crew put wireless microphone
s on several of the actors and crew and followed them through the conception, pre-production, filming, editing, screening and reception of "Subway". Many people involved with the show found the process extremely disruptive. In particular, Fleder said he hates to be photographed and found the camera crew distracting and stressful. Fleder, who agreed to interviews for the documentary but refused to wear a microphone on the set, said of the crew, "To pull off a show like this, a seven-day shoot with this much dialogue and this many shots per day, you have to be really, really focused, and for me the thing with the documentary crew kept pulling away from the focus."
Rob Owen
, television editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
, said the documentary provided an interesting, entertaining and detailed look behind the scenes of the show. Owen said this was "rare, because TV doesn't usually reveal details about itself. It's nice to see PBS pulling back the curtain on its competition, and I wish it happened more often." Manuel Mendoza of The Dallas Morning News
praised it, calling it "a documentary as rare to public TV as Homicide is to commercial television", but said it "falls short of being definitive" because it cannot address all elements of the series due to its brief running time. Several commentators praised the humorous scene in the documentary where Yoshimura goes line-by-line through his script and replaces curse words based on orders from NBC censors.
Homicide: Life on the Street (season 6)
The sixth season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from 1997-10-17 to 1998-05-08 and contained 23 episodes....
of the American police television drama Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
, and the 84th episode overall. It first aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the United States on December 5, 1997.
In the episode, John Lange (Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
) becomes pinned between a subway train and the station platform. The Baltimore homicide department is informed that Lange will be dead within an hour and Pembleton
Frank Pembleton
Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton is a fictional homicide detective on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Emmy Award winning actor Andre Braugher. He is a primary character of the show through the first six seasons...
tries to solve the case, while comforting Lange in his final minutes. "Subway" featured guest star Bruce MacVittie as a man suspected of pushing Lange into the train's path. The episode was written by James Yoshimura
James Yoshimura
James Yoshimura is a Japanese American writer and producer, best known for his screenwriting work on the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street and the short-lived Fox series The Jury, for which he served as a co-creator. He also co-wrote Homicide: The Movie, a made-for-television film that came...
, who co-produced with David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
. It was directed by Gary Fleder
Gary Fleder
Gary Fleder is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His most recently completed film, The Express, is based on the true story of football player Ernie Davis, and was released by Universal Pictures in October 2008....
and was the only episode of Homicide: Life on the Street helmed by the feature film director.
Yoshimura based "Subway" on an episode of the HBO hidden-camera documentary show Taxicab Confessions
Taxicab Confessions
Taxicab Confessions is a television series of hidden camera documentaries that have aired on HBO since January 1995. In segments taped in New York City and Las Vegas, the taxi drivers are also producers who steer both the vehicle and the conversations with passengers.When passengers enter the cab,...
, in which a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
detective described a real-life instance of a man trapped between a subway train and platform. "Subway" was filmed on location in a Baltimore Metropolitan Transit Authority
Maryland Transit Administration
The Maryland Transit Administration is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. It is better known as MTA Maryland to avoid confusion with other cities' transit agencies who share the initials MTA. The MTA operates a...
station. Fleder included cinematic elements that were uncommon in the traditionally naturalistic show. This led to conflicts between Fleder and director of photography Alex Zakrzewski
Alex Zakrzewski
Alexander "Alex" Zakrzewski is an American television director and cinematographer. He has directed episodes of The Wire, Numb3rs, Cold Case, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He has worked on several Tom Fontana produced shows including Oz, Homicide: Life on the...
.
"Subway" received overwhelmingly positive reviews but ranked number three in its time-slot during its original broadcast, capturing 10.3 million viewers but falling behind ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 20/20 and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges is an American television police drama created by Carlton Cuse. The show starred Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. The show ran for six seasons on CBS from March 29, 1996 to May 4, 2001 with a total of...
. The episode won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for excellence in television broadcasting and was nominated for two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s, one for Yoshimura's script and one for D'Onofrio's guest performance. "Subway" was the subject of a two-hour PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
television documentary, Anatomy of a "Homicide: Life on the Street", which originally aired on the network on November 4, 1998.
Synopsis
During an altercation on a crowded subway platform, John Lange (Vincent D'OnofrioVincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
) falls against a moving train and is pinned between a subway car and the platform wall. Detectives Pembleton
Frank Pembleton
Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton is a fictional homicide detective on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Emmy Award winning actor Andre Braugher. He is a primary character of the show through the first six seasons...
(Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
) and Bayliss
Tim Bayliss
Timothy Bayliss is a fictional detective on Homicide: Life on the Street. He was a primary character, and was played by Kyle Secor. He was loosely based on the real-life Det...
(Kyle Secor
Kyle Secor
Kyle Ivan Secor is an American television and movie actor, best known for his role as Detective Tim Bayliss on the crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street.-Early years:...
) arrive to investigate and are told the man's spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
is severed. Although Lange is not feeling much pain, emergency personnel tell the detectives he has less than an hour to live and will die as soon as he is moved. Bayliss questions Larry Biedron (Bruce MacVittie), who was involved with the altercation that led to Lange's fall. Biedron says he was bumped from behind with Lange, but witnesses give conflicting reports: some say Biedron pushed Lange, some that Lange pushed Biedron, and others say it was an accident. Pembleton tries to talk to Lange, who becomes uncooperative and angry when told he will die.
Lange says his girlfriend, Sarah Flannigan (Laura MacDonald
Laura Macdonald
Laura Margaret Macdonald is a Scottish alto and soprano saxophonist, composer and teacher, specialising in jazz.She attended Prestwick Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, before moving to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. She began to play the saxophone at the...
), is jogging by the harbor, so Pembleton sends detectives Lewis
Meldrick Lewis
Meldrick Lewis is a fictional character on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street played by Clark Johnson. The character was in the series for its full run and had the very first and last lines of the series...
(Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson , sometimes credited as Clark 'Slappy' Jackson, Clarque Johnson, and J. Clark Johnson, is an American actor and director who has worked in both television and film.-Early years:...
) and Falsone (Jon Seda
Jon Seda
Jonathan Seda is an American actor, possibly best known for his role as Detective Paul Falsone on NBC's: Homicide: Life on the Street....
) to look for her. Lewis and Falsone talk about the nature of death while questioning random joggers; their search effort proves fruitless. Lange tries to convince EMT
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
Joy Tolson (Wendee Pratt) to give him painkillers, but she refuses because it will reduce their chances of saving his life, even while she insists he cannot be saved. Pembleton keeps Lange company, despite his initial annoyance at Lange's bullying and mean-spirited attitude. The emergency personnel plan to use airbag
Airbag
An Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window...
s to push the subway train away from the platform, then pull Lange free and rush him to the hospital.
Pembleton and Lange grow closer; Lange experiences more pain as time passes and switches among remorse, anger, and casual small talk during their conversations. Later, Pembleton holds Lange's hand to comfort him and confides about his recent stroke. Bayliss grows suspicious when Biedron says he cannot recall his last place of work or when he moved to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. Biedron eventually admits he had been criminally charged and placed into a psychiatric ward for pushing a man in front of a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
subway train for no reason. Biedron is arrested and Bayliss confirms to Pembleton that Lange was pushed; Pembleton decides not to tell Lange because he does not think it will comfort him, but Lange figures it out for himself by observing their conversation. Lange experiences greater pain and starts to lose consciousness. After saying "I'm OK" to Pembleton, Lange falls unconscious and the EMTs push the train with the airbags. Lange dies immediately after he is removed. A shocked and disoriented Pembleton leaves the subway and, after staring at Biedron in the back of a police squad car, drives away with Bayliss. The episode ends with Flannigan jogging past the subway station.
Conception
James YoshimuraJames Yoshimura
James Yoshimura is a Japanese American writer and producer, best known for his screenwriting work on the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street and the short-lived Fox series The Jury, for which he served as a co-creator. He also co-wrote Homicide: The Movie, a made-for-television film that came...
, one of the Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
writers and supervising producers, first conceived the story for "Subway" after watching an episode of the HBO series Taxicab Confessions
Taxicab Confessions
Taxicab Confessions is a television series of hidden camera documentaries that have aired on HBO since January 1995. In segments taped in New York City and Las Vegas, the taxi drivers are also producers who steer both the vehicle and the conversations with passengers.When passengers enter the cab,...
, which features hidden-camera footage of taxi passengers discussing their lives with the drivers. In the episode he saw, a New York Police Department detective discussed an experience in which a man was pushed and trapped between a subway train and station platform. Although the man was initially still alive, the homicide department was called in to investigate because emergency officials said they knew he would eventually die. The detective said the incident was the most upsetting thing he ever saw. He likened the twisting of the body to that of a plastic bag being spun around quickly and turning like a corkscrew, and said when the train was removed and the body was twisted back, "All your guts fall down and in less than a minute, you're dead."
Yoshimura first pitched the show to the Homicide: Life on the Street production team in May 1997 at the San Francisco production center of executive producer Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
. The episode was discussed and well received during a round-table discussion involving Levinson, executive producer Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana is an American writer and producer.-TV career:Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as Oz , The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, Homicide: Life on the Street, St...
, producer David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
, supervising producer Julie Martin, and consulting producer Gail Mutrux. During that meeting, Markin suggested that the transit authority should pressure the police to resolve the homicide case quickly and get the trains moving again, an element which Yoshimura eventually added to the script. Levinson suggested ending the episode with the detectives walking back to the surface, then feeling the hum and vibration of the train starting back up under their feet. This suggestion, however, did not appear in the final episode.
Distressed from a long stretch of poor ratings, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
executives placed pressure on Homicide: Life on the Street producers to improve its viewership and become more popular than its higher-rated time-slot competitor, Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges is an American television police drama created by Carlton Cuse. The show starred Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. The show ran for six seasons on CBS from March 29, 1996 to May 4, 2001 with a total of...
. Yoshimura and the other producers, however, decided to continue pushing the envelope with "Subway" because they felt the series needed to maintain its quality and survive. "Subway" had to be greenlight
Greenlight
To green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
ed by NBC before a script could be written and Yoshimura anticipated backlash about the episode. He said, "Every episode, we have trouble with NBC, so this is no different. We've fought that battle, we've had five years of that, so it doesn't matter to us." However, the executives were surprisingly enthusiastic about the premise. Warren Littlefield
Warren Littlefield
Warren W. Littlefield is an American former television executive.A protégé of Brandon Tartikoff, Littlefield developed Cheers, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls as senior and executive vice president of NBC Entertainment under Tartikoff...
, then-president of NBC Entertainment, said his first reaction was "the classic response of a network programmer: 'Oh my God, this is scary'", but that he quickly came around to the idea and greenlighted the project.
Writing
In writing the script for "Subway", Yoshimura wanted the Pembleton character to be confronted with his own mortality, a theme that had continued from the previous season where the character suffered a stroke. Although Pembleton does not typically discuss his own feelings, Yoshimura wanted him to be placed in a situation where he not only discussed death, but where the unique circumstance of Lange's subway incident would cause Pembleton to confide his stroke experience to an almost complete stranger. From the beginning of the writing process, Yoshimura specifically wanted the Lange character to be mean and unpleasant, rather than the nice and innocent victim more typically portrayed in such television episodes: "Tragedy can happen to jerky people too and I think it'd be much more interesting to see how that kind of character's circumstances transcends the typical cliched TV kind of victim."Yoshimura wanted Braugher to treat D'Onofrio like he was "bad luck" and try to keep his distance at first, but gradually come to view him as a person and form a close bond with him by the end of the episode. A New York City firefighter
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...
, Tim Brown, was a consultant for most of the technical information in the episode. In addition to helping Yoshimura with the dialogue from medical staff characters, Brown advised Yoshimura on the method of using air bags to push the subway train forward and remove Lange's body. Yoshimura included conflicting reports from witnesses about how the incident took place, which the writer described as a "Rashomon
Rashomon (film)
The bandit's storyTajōmaru, a notorious brigand , claims that he tricked the samurai to step off the mountain trail with him and look at a cache of ancient swords he discovered. In the grove he tied the samurai to a tree, then brought the woman there. She initially tried to defend herself with a...
thing", in reference to the 1950 Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese film in which several characters offer differing descriptions of the same murder. "Subway" continued a sixth season trend in which the detectives became more personally involved with the victims, and thus becoming more emotionally drained at their deaths. For example, in the sixth season episode "Birthday", Falsone interviewed a victim who eventually died at the conclusion of the episode. It was the first television script Attanasio ever wrote.
Yoshimura included a B story
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
of Lewis and Falsone looking for Lange's girlfriend to provide comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
and so that the entire episode would not be confined to the subway platform location. Yoshimura wanted the two detectives to also discuss the nature of mortality and death, but deliberately included black humor in their dialogue and made sure the characters did not act "teary-eyed [or] philosophical", because he believed it would be cliched and an inaccurate depiction of how real detectives would behave. Some viewers were offended or startled by the flippant nature of the discussions about death between the two characters. Lange's girlfriend jogged behind Lewis and Falsone during a scene in which the two detectives were distracted in a discussion. Yoshimura deliberately included this in the episode to create a moment of irony. The line by Falsone to a jogger, "Are you sure you're not Sarah?", and Lewis' mocking reaction to the question, were both ad-libbed
Ad libitum
Ad libitum is Latin for "at one's pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" or "ad-lib"...
by the actors.
Executive producers Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
and Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana is an American writer and producer.-TV career:Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as Oz , The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, Homicide: Life on the Street, St...
reviewed the script after it was finished and made minor suggestions for changes. In the original script, Yoshimura made Pembleton more confrontational with the firefighters and emergency personnel, but this aspect of the script was changed when Fontana suggested it was too distracting. NBC executives indicated they would have preferred Lewis and Falsone find Lange's girlfriend and bring her back to the subway station before Lange died, but Yoshimura described that scenario as a "typical TV ending" and was vehemently opposed to any such change. Fontana also defended the original ending because he said Pembleton ends up filling the role that Lange's girlfriend would have filled.
On August 18, 1997, four days before shooting on the episode began, NBC censors provided 17 pages of notes to Yoshimura requiring changes regarding violence and language. A typical Homicide: Life on the Street episode usually results in only three or four pages. Yoshimura made several modifications with the help of his writing assistant Joy Lusco
Joy Lusco
Joy Lusco, also known as Joy Kecken and Joy Lusco Kecken, is an American film and television director and writer. She often works with her husband, Scott Kecken. She has worked on the HBO drama series The Wire as a writer on the show's first three seasons....
, a future writer on Simon's HBO series The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. The changes included removing several instances of the words "ass" and "bitch" from the script. Lange's line, "Why am I even saying the son of a bitch's name?" was changed to "Why am I even saying the twerp's name?", and his line, "Go find another train and throw your miserable stupid ass in front of it" was changed to "throw yourself in front of it".
Casting and director hiring
Consulting producer Gail Mutrux recommended feature film director Gary FlederGary Fleder
Gary Fleder is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His most recently completed film, The Express, is based on the true story of football player Ernie Davis, and was released by Universal Pictures in October 2008....
to direct "Subway" because she believed he would provide visually engaging direction without distracting from the story in the script. Other Homicide: Life on the Street producers were not familiar with Fleder. When Mutrux told them the name of one of his previous films, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is a 1995 crime film directed by Gary Fleder from a screenplay written by Scott Rosenberg. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Andy García, Christopher Lloyd, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Fairuza Balk, and Gabrielle Anwar.The film's title...
, Yoshimura became concerned Fleder was "one of these indie kind of guys [who is] going to come in and try to reinvent our show", a problem he had experienced with other directors in the past. After watching Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, however, Yoshimura believed Fleder would be perfect to direct "Subway" because he felt Fleder could provide strong visuals to a story that took place in one location, and prevent the script from becoming too static and boring. Upon being offered the job, Fleder thought it would be a challenge due to most of the action being confined to a single set, but accepted the director position based on the strength of Yoshimura's script:, "The script was terrific. And for me, the big issue from day one was, 'How do I not screw it up?'" Yoshimura said feature directors often struggle with Homicide: Life on the Street because they are used to working at a slower and more deliberate pace than the typical eight-day filming period of a single episode. Additionally, Yoshimura said, they have little time to adjust to the regular cast and crew, which he described as a "closed community [who are] used to shooting or working a certain way on this show, and then have their rhythms and their patterns and their habits".
Bruce MacVittie auditioned for the role of Larry Biedron by mailing a tape of himself performing to the show's producers. Yoshimura had previously seen MacVittie perform on the New York City stage and thought he was a "wonderful, wonderful actor". After watching his rehearsal tape, Yoshimura settled on MacVittie for the part not only based on his acting, but on his short physical stature. Yoshimura said, "I'm watching this tape and I'm thinking, 'Yeah, this little guy! Who would suspect this little guy to have these murderous kinds of tendencies.'" Laura MacDonald was also cast as Lange's girlfriend Sarah Flannigan based on an audition tape she sent to the show. Wendee Pratt was cast as emergency medical technician Joy Tolson, who works to help Lange throughout the episode but does not get along with him. Yoshimura said he particularly enjoyed Pratt's performance "because she's not playing at all sympathetic. This guy's a pain in her ass." Shari Elliker
Shari Elliker
Shari Elliker is an American radio personality who has worked on a number of radio stations, primarily in the Washington/Baltimore metropolitan area....
, a WBAL (AM)
WBAL (AM)
WBAL is a news-talk radio station located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. WBAL broadcasts on a clear channel frequency with 50 kilowatts of power. Owned by the Hearst Corporation, WBAL's tri-mast transmitters are located in Randallstown, Maryland...
disc jockey from the Baltimore area, made a cameo appearance as a witness in the subway.
Preparation
NBC sought permission to film "Subway" in a Baltimore Metropolitan Transit AuthorityMaryland Transit Administration
The Maryland Transit Administration is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. It is better known as MTA Maryland to avoid confusion with other cities' transit agencies who share the initials MTA. The MTA operates a...
station, but the authority was initially hesitant to allow filming for a script that portrayed their train as the source of a fatal accident. Since it was too late to build a set, co-executive producer Jim Finnerty
Jim Finnerty
Jim Finnerty is an award-winning American television producer. He worked on all seven seasons of the Peabody Award Winning NBC police drama Homicide: Life on the Street. He often works with Homicide executive producer Tom Fontana.-Biography:...
told Yoshimura to wait before writing the script because of the strong possibility the episode could never be filmed. When Yoshimura insisted on continuing anyway, Finnerty angrily stormed out of the meeting. However, Finnerty was eventually able to convince the authority to allow filming in one of their stations. Yoshimura also sought 300 extras to play firefighters, emergency medical personnel, transit workers and commuters. Finnerty authorized the use of more extras than an episode usually received, but refused to pay for 300 extras, forcing Yoshimura to make minor modifications to the script.
Seven days of pre-production began on August 15, 1997. On the first day, Fleder met with Yoshimura and Fontana to discuss the script and the director's vision for the episode. Fleder suggested modifying the prologue, and storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
ed the introduction that was included in the episode. The new prologue involved commuters coming down to the train station while a street band performed, leading up to the subway accident before the opening credits rolled. The song featured in this prologue, "Killing Time", was written by Lisa Matthews, the lead singer of the Baltimore-area band Love Riot. Matthews also had a brief cameo on "Subway" as one of the witnesses to Lange's fall. On August 16, the show creators scouted out the Johns Hopkins Hospital Metro Subway Station
Johns Hopkins Hospital (Metro Subway station)
The Johns Hopkins Hospital Metro Subway Station is the final of 14 stops along the Baltimore Metro Subway line. It is identified as "Johns Hopkins Hospital" as opposed to simply "Johns Hopkins" to distinguish the location from the many other locations in Baltimore associated with Johns Hopkins...
, where the episode was to be filmed. At the request of the authority, the subway was renamed the fictional Inner Harbor station during filming. Fleder himself had only one hour to scout the location with his technical crew. Art director Vincent Peranio
Vincent Peranio
Vincent Peranio is an American film and television production designer, art director, set designer, and actor.Peranio began his career designing film sets for John Waters...
created a dummy wall to place in the empty space between two subway cars, making it appear the two trains were one big car. Inside the dummy wall was a space where the actor could stand and appear cut. Stunt coordinator G.A. Aguilar also choreographed the accident that day, and Peranio simulated the accident itself by tying a dummy into the hole in the dummy wall. Peranio originally wanted a stuntman to fall against the moving train, spin and fall into the padded hole in the dummy wall, but the transit authority refused to allow it.
Filming
The episode was filmed in seven days, starting on August 26, 1997. The Baltimore Metropolitan Transit AuthorityMaryland Transit Administration
The Maryland Transit Administration is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. It is better known as MTA Maryland to avoid confusion with other cities' transit agencies who share the initials MTA. The MTA operates a...
gave permission for filming to take place in one of their subways, but only allowed shooting to take place between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. when the trains were not running. The restrictive hours, short preparation time, confining shooting space and excessive heat due to lack of ventilation created additional stresses to the crew of more than 100 people during the filming of the episode. The tight schedule and lack of rehearsal time was difficult on the actors, but D'Onofrio said it added "a certain velocity and energy" to the shoot, which made the dialogue from the actors feel less rehearsed and more spontaneous. Yoshimura served as the on-set consulting editor during filming along with fellow producer David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
, who wrote the book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is a 1991 book written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon describing a year spent with detectives from the Baltimore Police Department homicide squad...
, from which the series was adapted. The cast and crew shot between seven and nine pages of the script each of the seven production days. Fleder said he was impressed by this pace because he usually shoots between one and two pages per day during his movies, and he said the actors on Homicide: Life on the Street were better prepared and more cooperative than his usual film actors.
Fleder dedicated a great deal of focus to establishing the correct chemistry between Braugher and D'Onofrio. Fleder said, "The energy between them had to be [strong] because they're carrying the episode. The audience is centered on them and if either of them falters, the whole episode kind of falls apart." The first day of shooting had to take place outside the subway station, so all outside scenes were shot first. As a result, the final scenes of the film were shot on the first day. Among those scenes were Pembleton leaving the subway in a daze following Lange's death; Yoshimura deeply regretted that this was one of the first scenes shot because he felt the performance would have been more moving if Braugher had some previous dramatic interaction with D'Onofrio.
The stunt simulating Lange's fall into the subway train was filmed on August 27, the second production day, and Yoshimura said it was the most challenging part of the shoot. D'Onofrio and MacVittie had to arrive at the platform just as the subway train was approaching, and their scene had to be reshot several times because the train did not pass the actors on time. The crew also filmed shots of a dummy dressed as Lange being dragged by the train inside the dummy wall, but most of those scenes were not used in the final cut. The remaining five filming days focused primarily on the scenes between Braugher and D'Onofrio, which Yoshimura and Fleder felt were the most crucial element of the episode. During the filming of the climactic scene with Pembleton and Lange which ends with Lange's death, several members of the crew reacted emotionally, something Yoshimura said is extremely rare since the crew members typically look at their work as a job and do not become emotionally invested in the story they are filming.
While shooting the first subway scenes, D'Onofrio's performance was over-the-top and bombastic. Yoshimura asked him to act a little calmer during the earlier scenes and save the energy for the later scenes, because "if he did go up right away, there was nowhere else for him to go after that". D'Onofrio agreed and modified his performance accordingly. Fleder also clashed with MacVittie over his portrayal of the Biedron character. Fleder felt the character appeared too crazy in earlier scenes, and the actor was telegraphing
Telegraphing (entertainment)
Telegraphing, in the creation or performance of creative works, is the undercutting of suspenseas by advance disclosure or extreme hinting of an element in a composition, narrative plot, or recitation...
the twist in which MacVittie would turn out to be a murderer. MacVittie approached Yoshimura about the criticism, but Yoshimura agreed with Fleder's interpretation. After MacVittie toned down the character's behavior, Fleder said he was extremely pleased with the end result.
Many of the firefighters appearing as extras in "Subway" were Baltimore firefighters. Yoshimura said the firefighters who appeared to be running in the episode were actors, while the real firefighters walked slowly because, based on their real-life experience, they knew there would be no need to rush in a situation involving a fatality. Although power on the railings were turned off during shooting, the crew and producers were not aware that some residual electricity continues to run through the cars even after the tracks have been shut down. At one point during the shooting, D'Onofrio felt a charge of that electricity run through him and said, "I'm really feeling something strange here." The crew initially believed D'Onofrio to be ad-libbing a line of dialogue in character, but eventually realized he was being electrified. When the Baltimore Metropolitan Transit Authority explained about the residual electricity, the crew installed rubber insulation so D'Onofrio would not touch the metal of the train and experience any electricity. Fleder was impressed that D'Onofrio continued with the shoot, and said, "Most actors I worked with would've left the set at that point."
Photography
"Subway" was shot by Alex ZakrzewskiAlex Zakrzewski
Alexander "Alex" Zakrzewski is an American television director and cinematographer. He has directed episodes of The Wire, Numb3rs, Cold Case, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He has worked on several Tom Fontana produced shows including Oz, Homicide: Life on the...
, the series' regular director of photography. The episode was staged so that Pembleton is initially keeping his distance from Lange, but gradually moves closer and closer as they begin to bond, and by the end he is sitting next to him and holding his hand. Accordingly, the initial scenes included wider shots with Braugher and D'Onofrio on the outer edges of the frame, but later scenes included more close-ups of the two sitting together. Although Homicide: Life on the Street typically employs a number of back-and-forth whip pan
Whip pan
A whip pan is a type of pan shot in which the camera moves sideways so quickly that the picture blurs into indistinct streaks. It is commonly used as a transition between shots, and can indicate the passage of time and/or a frenetic pace of action....
-style cuts, Fleder asked that the style be modified for this episode. In earlier scenes, Fleder asked for wider long shot
Long shot
In photography, filmmaking and video production, a long shot typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings...
s to create a sense of setting within the subway station, and as the episode progressed and the story became more intense, he then allowed more close-ups and whip pans. This led to disagreements on the set between Fleder and Zakrzewski, who felt Fleder was trying to being too disruptive and difficult. Fleder said of his behavior, "I have to admit, I'm not the most charming guy on the set. I'm just not. When I'm on the set, I'm very focused and my humor goes away and I become not so charming." After the episode was complete, Fleder said he and Zakrzewski settled their differences and were both happy with the final result.
Fleder also asked for stylistic touches on the episode which were inconsistent with the show's typical emphasis on documentary-style realism. For example, he arranged for red scrim lighting
Scrim (lighting)
A scrim is a device used in the film and television industries, as well as by photographers, to modify properties of light. There are a variations on types of scrim, depending upon its use, whether with natural light, or on man made light sources...
to reflect on the subway car to add an artistic visual touch, even though there was nothing in particular in the subway station that reflected such a light. Upon hearing of the technique, Yoshimura was initially concerned, saying "Oh, he's getting artsy fartsy with me." Just before Lange's death, Fleder included a close-up with Braugher looking directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
in a way typically forbidden on the show. During an outdoor dialogue scene between Johnson and Seda while the characters were driving in a car, Fleder filmed it by placing the camera outside the car's front windshield and panning back and forth between the two actors. Unbeknownst to Fleder, all car shots on Homicide: Life on the Street are only allowed to be filmed from inside the car to keep the scene more realistic. As a result of Fleder's car scene, a memo was circulated to the cast and crew reminding them of this policy and threatening to fire anybody who allowed a scene to be shot through the windshield again.
Editing
The episode was edited by series regular Jay Rabinowitz in a ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
NBC facility, with consultation at various times by Fleder, Yoshimura and Tom Fontana. Rabinowitz edited the episode for several days alone, then worked with Fleder for four days, making hundreds of edits to the episode. Yoshimura worked with the editor next and was disappointed with the first cut of the episode that he saw, claiming it needed to be "a lot more frenetic and chaotics at the end, and not so artsy". Yoshimura also told Rabinowitz the final cut of the episode should place strong emphasis on Braugher because he felt the story is experienced "through his eyes". During the editing process, Yoshimura originally removed a scene featuring a silhouette of Pembleton riding the escalator out of the subway station after Lange died. Yoshimura felt the shot was too sentimental, but Levinson personally had it placed it back in the episode after Fleder claimed to have "begged" for it to be included. When Fontana first watched the episode, he felt the prologue was too confusing because it was difficult to tell what happened during the accident scene. It was edited so that rather focusing on medium shots of D'Onofrio and MacVittie, it included a wider shot to establish the presence of a subway train before the accident so viewers would not be so confused.
Audio tracks were mixed with recorded sounds from real subway cars, as well as PA system announcements, to make the episode sound more authentic. In the original episode, Pembleton grabbed Biedron by the collar of his shirt while Biedron sat in the back of a squad car during one of the final scenes. The scene was modified so that Pembleton only looked at Biedron because Yoshimura felt the scene was just as effective without him grabbing Biedron. During the last scene of the episode, in which Lange's girlfriend jogs by the subway station and ignores the emergency vehicles, Rabinowitz was originally instructed to include a musical score. He tried many different types of music, including rock music, Irish music, classical music, jazz, and piano riffs. When none of the music worked, Fontana suggested including no music at all, and it was agreed the silence was the most effective solution. Fontana said after watching the episode repeatedly during the editing process, he said he liked the final product but doubted he would watch it again for a long time because it was "too emotionally draining".
Reviews and ratings
"Subway" was originally scheduled to air during the 1997 November sweeps season, but lower-than-expected ratings for the three-part sixth season premiere, "Blood TiesBlood Ties (Homicide: Life on the Street)
"Blood Ties" is the three-episode sixth season premiere of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. The episodes constitute the 78th, 79th and 80th overall episodes of the series...
", prompted NBC to move its broadcast date to December 5 and heavily promote it. The strategy also gave the press more time to preview it and generate reviews. Warren Littlefield said, "The feeling was let's get out of the insanity of the sweeps and say, 'This is a little different'—hopefully we'll bring more people to this episode." During this time, the episode was renamed "The Accident" in some advertising materials.
When all the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
markets were accounted for, "Subway" was listed as having been seen by 10.3 million households. It was the third-highest ranked show in its time-slot, behind ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 20/20, which was seen by 17.7 million households, and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges is an American television police drama created by Carlton Cuse. The show starred Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. The show ran for six seasons on CBS from March 29, 1996 to May 4, 2001 with a total of...
, which was seen by 11.9 million. NBC executives had hoped that the extensive promotion and press coverage of "Subway" would help it outperform Nash Bridges and so lift Homicide: Life on the Street above its usual third place in the rankings. When it did not, "Subway" was considered a commercial failure, and helped fuel already existing discussions within NBC on whether to cancel the show.
Reviews were overwhelmingly positive for "Subway". It was identified by The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
as one of the ten best episodes of the series, with Sun writer Chris Kaltenbach declaring, "Dramas don't come any better than this." Kinney Littlefield of The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register is a daily newspaper published in Santa Ana, California. The Register is the flagship publication of Freedom Communications, Inc., which publishes 28 daily newspapers, 23 weekly newspapers, Coast magazine, and several related Internet sites.The Register is notable for its...
said it was "perhaps the best Homicide episode ever" and praised D'Onofrio's performance. USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
gave the episode its highest rating of four stars. Tom Shales of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
called it, "a tour de force for D'Onofrio and Braugher". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
writer Bruce Fretts said, "This is as gripping an hour of television as you're ever likely to see." Television and literary critic John Leonard said "Subway" was "an artistic experience that is as genuine and accomplished and crafted as you will get anywhere". David P. Kalat, author of Homicide: Life on the Street: The Unofficial Companion, said of the episode, "Writer James Yoshimura proves that he has not lost his touch, with yet another truly grueling screenplay."
Awards and nominations
"Subway" won a 1998 Peabody AwardPeabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for excellence in television broadcasting. The episode also received two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations during the 50th Primetime Emmy Awards
50th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday, September 13, 1998. It was broadcast on NBC. Nominees and winners are listed below, winners are in bold.- Outstanding Comedy Series :*3rd Rock from the Sun, NBC*Ally McBeal, FOX...
season. James Yoshimura was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for the episode's script, and Vincent D'Onofrio received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. It lost both nominations; NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
won the best writing Emmy for the fifth season episode "Lost Israel", and John Larroquette
John Larroquette
John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
won the guest actor award for his appearance in "Betrayal", a second season episode of The Practice
The Practice
The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
. However, Jay Rabinowitz and Wayne Hyde won an International Monitor Award
Monitor Group
Monitor Group is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States and with 27 offices in 26 major cities around the world. It provides strategy consultation services to the senior management of organizations and governments...
for best editing in a film-oriented television series.
PBS Documentary "Anatomy of a 'Homicide: Life on the Street'"
WGBH-TVWGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
, a Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
-based Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
station, produced a 75-minute television documentary about the episode "Subway" called Anatomy of a "Homicide: Life on the Street". The documentary was written, produced and directed by filmmaker Theodore Bogosian, and was originally broadcast on November 4, 1998 at 9 p.m. on PBS. The film focused predominantly on James Yoshimura, beginning with his conception of the script and ending with his reaction to the episode's television broadcast and the ratings numbers. The documentary included a brief featurette about Homicide: Life on the Street and its history of both critical acclaim and low ratings. It also focused on the balance between art and business, with Yoshimura and the other producers trying to produce an intelligent, high quality episode while also capturing high ratings.
The documentary crew put wireless microphone
Wireless microphone
A wireless microphone, as the name implies, is a microphone without a physical cable connecting it directly to the sound recording or amplifying equipment with which it is associated...
s on several of the actors and crew and followed them through the conception, pre-production, filming, editing, screening and reception of "Subway". Many people involved with the show found the process extremely disruptive. In particular, Fleder said he hates to be photographed and found the camera crew distracting and stressful. Fleder, who agreed to interviews for the documentary but refused to wear a microphone on the set, said of the crew, "To pull off a show like this, a seven-day shoot with this much dialogue and this many shots per day, you have to be really, really focused, and for me the thing with the documentary crew kept pulling away from the focus."
Rob Owen
Rob Owen (journalist)
Rob Owen is an American journalist and newspaper editor.- Columnist and editor :Owen's career included stints as a radio and television columnist at the Albany Times Union in Albany, New York. He was also a features writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Virginia...
, television editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
, said the documentary provided an interesting, entertaining and detailed look behind the scenes of the show. Owen said this was "rare, because TV doesn't usually reveal details about itself. It's nice to see PBS pulling back the curtain on its competition, and I wish it happened more often." Manuel Mendoza of The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
praised it, calling it "a documentary as rare to public TV as Homicide is to commercial television", but said it "falls short of being definitive" because it cannot address all elements of the series due to its brief running time. Several commentators praised the humorous scene in the documentary where Yoshimura goes line-by-line through his script and replaces curse words based on orders from NBC censors.