Stanley Bolander

Infobox character
name = Det. Stanley Bolander


caption = Det. Stanley Bolander
first = ""
last = ""
cause = Retired
gender = Male
age = Approx 50
born =
death =
family =
spouse = Margie Bolander (separated)
episode = 32 ("")
portrayer = Ned Beatty
creator = Tom Fontana

Stanley Bolander is a fictional character in the American crime drama / police procedural "". He is portrayed by Ned Beatty and appears in the first three seasons and "Homicide: The Movie".

Character overview

Throughout his time on the show, he is partnered with Det. John Munch. It is generally agreed that Bolander is based on the 's cigar-smoking detective Donald Worden, though Worden was not paired with Jay Landsman, the sergeant on whom John Munch was based. However, there are also parallels between real-life Baltimore Det. David Brown and Munch, most notably Brown's/Munch's relative inexperience compared to Worden/Bolander and the older detective's relentless prodding/hazing of his younger partner. In a case described in detail in the book that spawned a story in the pilot, the younger detective surprises the older one by cracking a stone-cold 'whodunit' case with pure police work; in both reality and fiction, the older detective was more respectful, if not necessarily warm and friendly, towards the younger detective afterwards.

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.

Not much is known of his early life, but in the episode "The Old and the Dead" he stated his father was a stevedore who occasionally took him to work so he could watch the boats. However since he told this bit of personal information to a young suspect, in "the Box", it is uncertain if it is true.

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.

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, but he also says his health has improved thanks to a no-salt diet which he loathes.

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