 In its original American broadcast on January 6 , 1994 , " Bop Gun " was seen by 16 @.@ 3 million viewers , a higher @-@ than @-@ usual Homicide : Life on the Street rating in large part to interest in Williams ' appearance . It received a 17 @.@ 3 Nielsen rating and a 28 share , the highest rating for a 10 p.m. drama series since January 1992 . The rating placed Homicide among the top ten network television Nielsen ratings for the week , and outperformed the ratings of L.A. Law , which normally filled the 10 p.m. Thursday timeslot . NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield said the ratings " far exceeded expectations " , and said he expected the series to return for a third season if the viewership remained strong . Littlefield said of the Homicide ratings : 
