Recap / Homicide Life On The Street S 7 E 4 The Twenty Percent Solution

The Twenty-Percent Solution

Directed By: Clark Johnson

Written By: David Simon

Ballard and Gharty investigate the disappearance of L.P. Everett, a best-selling spy novelist, with the suspects including Jake Benedek (Joseph Urla), his agent, Darlene Everett (Patti D'Arbanville), his wife, Claudette Pinchot (Carla Bianchi), his mistress, and Grenville Rawlins (Tom Atkins), a former spy who served as a consultant to Everett. Bayliss and Munch get into a disagreement over whether an elderly woman's death during a burglary attempt is a murder or not, even though there was no signs of trauma.

This episode contains examples of:

• Cat Fight: Darlene and Claudette nearly get into one of them when they see each other, until Gharty breaks it up.
• Damned by Faint Praise: When Falsone claims Lewis isn't hip, Lewis ask Stivers to back him up and say he is hip. Stivers responds, "You have your moments."
• Department of Redundancy Department: Barnfather tells Ballard and Gharty, "The press will want to know we're doing everything possible, so do everything possible."
• Even Evil Has Standards: The burglar who broke into the elderly woman's house is a thief, but when he realized the woman had suffered a heart attack, he called 911 and did everything he could to make her comfortable. Munch decides to lie and tell the burglar the woman is fine, since he's already going to jail for burglary and it's not really a murder.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Russom's entire defense when Benedek and Rawlins are charged with Everett's murder is to point to the door in the back of the courtroom and tell the jury Everett not only is alive, he could be walking in that door in the next ten seconds, which to him is enough reasonable doubt for the jury to acquit Benedek and Rawlins, since Danvers really has no direct evidence the two committed murder, and there's no body. However, it's this stunt that makes one of the jury members notice everyone else in the courtroom was looking at the back door except for Benedek and Rawlins. Once that jury member reveals that fact to the other jurors, it doesn't take them long to find Benedek and Rawlins guilty.
• It's All About Me: Munch blames the dead elderly woman for ruining his planned weekend getaway with Billie Lou.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Gharty is a big fan not only of L.P. Everett, but his wife Darlene, who appeared in a movie version of one of his novels. He even takes time to compliment Darlene on her performance while Ballard rolls her eyes.
• Literary Allusion Title: To The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (also serves as a Terminology Title, since Benedek took 20% of what Everett made, when agents normally take 10%).
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: L.P. Everett is based on Tom Clancy, who also worked at a mundane job (Everett sold appliances, while Clancy was in insurance) before becoming a best-selling spy novelist.
• Obligatory Joke: When Falsone asks Ballard and Gharty if they've found the missing writer, and Ballard admits they haven't:
  Falsone: I guess the guy really knows how to write mysteries, huh?
  Ballard: Oh! You're a laugh riot, Falsone.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Ed Danvers, who usually is cautious about bringing any case to trial, wants to bring Everett's (alleged) murderers (Benedek and Rawlins) to trial, even with the lack of evidence - Giardello even lampshades this. Also, Danvers is so nervous about the verdict he smokes a cigarette for the first time.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: When Darlene Everett first walks into the Homicide Unit, and Falsone asks who she is, Munch, imitating Humphrey Bogart, jokes she's Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Falsone thinks Munch is referring to an old case.
• Pulling the Thread:
  • When Ballard and Gharty are looking in Everett's office again, Gharty realizes there's no chair, guesses there might be a bullet in there, and pulls the typewriter and cover off the desk to discover two bullet holes in the desk.
  • After the jury finds Benedek and Rawlins guilty, Danvers and Russom (the defense attorney), clearly in disbelief, asks the jury forewoman how they could come to that verdict. The forewoman tells them one of the other jury members pointed out when Russom pointed to the door and claimed Everett would be walking through the door within the next ten seconds, everyone turned around to look except for Benedek and Rawlins, which meant they knew Everett was dead.
• Seinfeldian Conversation: At the beginning of the episode, the squad debates a list of who's both Jewish and hip, including The Marx Brothers (yes), Lenny Bruce (yes), Sigmund Freud (used to be, but not anymore), Woody Allen (no), and Sammy Davis Jr. (yes).
• Shout-Out:
  • When Falsone claims Lewis isn't hip, Lewis responds, "What you talkin' bout, Willis?"
  • Rawlins claims he had material for Everett that would make John le Carré stand up and salute.
• Title Drop: In the tape Everett makes where he's claims Benedek would be responsible for his disappearance and/or murder, he says, "Call it the twenty-percent solution."
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Gharty thinks this about Everett and Darlene (not to mention Claudette). He even (awkwardly) tries to ask Darlene and Claudette about this, but they blow him off.