Al Giardello
Alphonse Michael "Gee" Giardello Sr. | |
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Mike Giardello (son)Teresa (daughter) Charisse (daughter) | |
Relatives | Al (grandson) Mario (cousin) |
Alphonse Michael 'Gee' Giardello Sr. is a fictional character from the television drama
Biography
Al Giardello โ nicknamed "Gee" after the only thing he could say when called to his first murder scene as a rookie as well as a reference to his last name โ is the commander of the homicide unit shift followed by the series. Holding the rank of lieutenant, he encounters a number of opportunities for promotion during the series, only to have his hopes dashed by the political maneuvering of his superiors. At the end of the seventh season, Giardello is offered a promotion to Captain but turns it down, since the position would require him to transfer out of the homicide unit.
He is introduced early in the series as a widower of mixed
Gee enjoys cooking and is an excellent Hearts player, as revealed in the episode "All Through the House". As Bayliss tries (and fails) to hustle him out of some easy cash during a slow night, he learns from Munch that Gee put one of his three children through college by playing Hearts for money.
In the Season 6 episode "Lies and Other Truths", it is revealed that Gee has kept in touch with a former KGB agent who apparently held him captive at some earlier point in his life. The agent tried to brainwash Gee for four months, without success, and Gee eventually persuaded him to defect to the West with the help of a $300,000 bribe.
A physically imposing, highly articulate man, Giardello's cultural attitude stands in sharp contrast to both his Baltimore upbringing and many other officers in the Department. Despite his authoritative nature, Gee is essentially a humorous, good-natured man who seems to see himself as a mentor and father figure to his detectives, who are tremendously loyal to him. He also has a particular fondness for children, manifesting itself in marked outrage whenever children are murdered, an attribute shared by many other detectives.
Family
Gee is introduced as a widower whose wife has been dead for at least seven years prior to the first season. According to the Season 7 premiere "La Famiglia", he has three children: two daughters, Teresa and Charisse, and a son,
In "La Famiglia," Mike - an
As commander
Gee is generally supportive of his detectives and usually places their success or welfare over the desires of those above him. An early example of this concerned his discovery that his superiors were hiding the fact they were removing asbestos from the squad building. When someone under his command gets too far out of line, though, he can take them to task very sharply, at one point even forcing Bayliss to apologize to "the bosses" for making an angry phone call to them over a case. Curiously, at his most annoyed or angry, Gee expresses a kind of whimsical and "bubbly" attitude, but one that comes with threats or hints of menace. He is only rarely given to physical outbursts of rage, such as sweeping everything off his desk or attacking a storage cabinet with a baseball bat.
Gee is also in many respects "old school"; at times he expresses nostalgia for the Baltimore of his youth. Although he is critical of the abuses he endured in his early days on the police force, he expresses a grudging respect for what he feels the harder approach accomplished, including the fact that in the old days, cop-killers would not survive to face juries and trials. Giardello also possesses an intense belief in loyalty among fellow police officers as a "brotherhood"; in the episode "Black and Blue", he disagreed with Detective Frank Pembleton's suspicion that a cop had committed a shooting, and implied that loyalty to other cops is above loyalty to the citizenry, including the African-American citizenry. This was relevant, as the shooting occurred in a mostly black neighborhood and had become a racially charged issue. However, Gee's commitment to the truth above all was proven here: after Det. Pembleton's interrogation led a man they both knew was innocent to confess to the shooting, he told his detective to carry on with the case, and this led to the arrest of a police officer.
Giardello tends to allow his detectives to investigate murders in a manner that is more efficient but less discreet, very much unlike the preferred methods instructed by the department's upper command. Gee's command style allows for cases to be cleared and allows his subordinates a form of investigative freedom which may result in more negative press for the department than what the upper command wishes for.
Gee's leadership style and earned respect from his detectives mirrored the real-life dynamic with Lt. Gary D'Addario, who had a recurring role on the show as SWAT team commander Lt. Jasper.
Relationship with bosses
Much of Gee's time is spent fighting against "the bosses," which is a strong factor in his initial failures at advancement. Giardello is considered a renegade commander and a thorn in the bosses' side due to his tendency to alert the media about investigations and allow his officers to investigate in a way that, while effective, is not representative of the department's political objectives.
Early in the series, Giardello finds conflict with
Giardello finds most of his trouble throughout the department, however, with Deputy Commissioner James C. Harris. At one point in Giardello's career, Harris proved to be a useful ally whom Gee could turn to; that relationship, however, deteriorates with Gee's growing acts of command-oriented rebellion. Harris had asked Detective
Experiences with racism
According to Gee's childhood associate Felix Wilson, there were few Black policemen in Baltimore when they were growing up. Giardello joined the BPD in 1968 during a racially turbulent era and was subject to working under a predominantly White department in a largely
Gee had also found conflict by other
It is stated by his son
Near the end of the final season, Giardello is finally offered the Captaincy and he tentatively accepts. However, upon reflection he realizes that he would miss being a shift commander - overseeing cases and giving advice and direction to his detectives. As his promotion would result in him leaving Homicide, he simply doesn't show up for his promotion ceremony.
The Movie
In
References
- ^ Homicide: Life on the Street episode "A Case of Do or Die", originally aired February 12, 1999.
- from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
- ^ J Bobby. "The HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET Glossary".