Stanley Bolander

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Stanley Bolander is a fictional detective with the Homicide unit of the Baltimore Police Department in the American crime drama / police procedural Homicide: Life on the Street. He is portrayed by Ned Beatty and appears in the first three seasons and Homicide: The Movie. Throughout his time on the show, he is partnered with Det. John Munch. It is generally agreed that Bolander is based on the Homicide book's cigar-smoking detective Donald Worden, though Worden was not paired with Jay Landsman, the sergeant on whom John Munch was based.

[edit] Personality

Bolander is a seasoned detective - indeed, the most experienced (and almost certainly, the oldest) officer in Lt. Al Giardello's homicide squad. On the surface, he would seem to match the standard characterization of the tough old veteran detective; he is a gruff and taciturn man, quick to irritation and not particularly fond of expressing his feelings. This masks a certain degree of insecurity and vulnerability, however; at the beginning of the show, he had recently divorced from his wife and was still coming to terms with this change in his life, especially as his wife asked for the divorce on the advice of a therapist they were seeing, neither having consulted with him first.

He is also surprisingly artistic and gentle, displaying a fondness and ability for the cello. Certainly, in the infrequent occasions after his divorce when he is in love, he displays a remarkable joy and lust for life that not even the investigation into a suicide can dampen. His age and marital status would also seem to allow him to identify with his lieutenant more than the other, younger members of the squad, and vice versa.

[edit] John Munch

Bolander's most significant relationship in the squadroom, however, is with his partner, John Munch. The two share something of a love-hate relationship; being drastically different in temperament, the two manage to tolerate each other at best, and are frequently found bickering with each other for rather petty reasons. The more intellectual, liberal Munch is usually guaranteed to rub his surly, taciturn partner up the wrong way with his various eccentricities, philosophies and conspiracy theories. Numerous times during their partnership, however, Bolander indicates that he appreciates Munch more than he lets on, and at times would appear to have the younger detective's best interests at heart.

[edit] Retirement

Following a shooting incident in the third season in which he was wounded in the head, Bolander became even more withdrawn, melancholy and depressed; ordered to attend a police conference, he and fellow homicide detective Beau Felton caused an embarrassing disruptive event and were temporarily suspended. Bolander, however, chose not to return, and retired with his pension. He was next seen in Homicide: The Movie where it is implied that he had developed something of a drinking problem.

He returned to help catch Giardello's shooter and - much to his mortification - was once again paired with Munch.