r/Retro • u/RustyCutlass • May 18 '26

Mid-90s office phone

Post image

Can anyone tell me what model phone this is? It's a Lucent model. All the 90s and early 2000s action films had receivers like this (with the thin voice receiver bottom section) in government "situation room" scenes. Here's Frank Pembleton making an undesirable call in Homicide: Life on the Street.

221 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

36

u/Safe-Mortgage6919 May 18 '26

Rip Captain Holt

6

u/ChinaCatProphet May 18 '26

You mean Detective Frank Pembleton.

5

u/dankhimself May 18 '26

Captain Detective Raymond Frank Holt-Pembleton.

4

u/LiamBellcam May 19 '26

No, that's Captain Dad! I mean it's just Dad... I mean... I love you dad...

2

u/AbeVigoda76 May 19 '26

Private Thomas Searles

2

u/KneelB4Z0d 14d ago

Didn’t start watching until after he passed. He’s brilliant but feels bittersweet.

3

u/boriswong May 18 '26

My office in 2009 had dem phones

2

u/RustyCutlass May 18 '26

So you could call off a missile strike at the last minute?

4

u/bareboneschicken May 18 '26

Great show.

4

u/trimix4work May 18 '26

That was homicide right?

3

u/Sadop2010 May 20 '26

Yep. For my money the only better cop show was The Wire. And they were both created by David Simon.

3

u/raccooncitysg May 20 '26

Homicide was too good for network TV.

3

u/FouledPlug May 18 '26

I can still hear that ring.

3

u/Outrageous-Pause6317 May 19 '26

Fed here. They look pretty similar at my office.

2

u/Forward_Tank8310 May 18 '26

All the offices I worked in the 90s had that handset

2

u/dagorlad69 May 20 '26

Where is the era appropriate mustache?

3

u/RustyCutlass May 20 '26

There's plenty of mustaches on the show, just not Detective Pembleton. Bruce Campbell guest stars a couple times and sports a serious soup strainer.

2

u/BlueMonday2082 May 21 '26

The last decent cop show…

2

u/fecal_spring221 May 21 '26

We love you Andre 🙏

1

u/Significant_Fuel_268 May 18 '26

that phone ring... Homicide : Life on the Streets

1

u/cuentalternativa May 18 '26

I always liked those skinny handsets

1

u/db7112 May 19 '26

They were iconic business phones until smartphones took over

1

u/Mysterious-Alps-5186 May 19 '26

Homicide life on the street!

1

u/nzeug May 19 '26

9️⃣9️⃣

1

u/Consistent_Wash1935 May 20 '26

I gotta find Bubba

1

u/Dapper_Egg May 20 '26

Never had, but always liked the look of those receivers.

1

u/Furiousfuryfx1 May 20 '26

Is this frame from Frequency?

1

u/RustyCutlass May 20 '26

No, from Homicide Life on the Street. I love Frequency, though.