Homicide: Life on the Street

As an aspiring writer, and a longtime local of Maryland, this series has continuously touched me and will probably always be in my memories.

Not much more can be said about "Homicide: Life on the Street" that hasn't already been said. Excellent writing, gripping messages, memorable characters...this is an example of the epitome of drama, this is a study of human behavior, and like the book that inspired it, this is a tribute to the brave men and women who strive to see that justice is served in real life.

In case you don't know the general idea, it's about a believable group of individuals tracking down killers--who are often portrayed as disturbed individuals themselves, not brawlers. The heart of the stories primarily takes place in two settings: The box, and the street--with humorous, often thought provoking intervals happening in the station and during car scenes.

The best season: Six, in my opinion. This season combined the series' great writing (stories like "Blood Ties", "The Subway", "Abduction", "Finnegan's Wake", "Fallen Heroes", etc.) with some general excitement throughout almost the entire run of episodes. Also, every character present has something interesting or likable about them (the poster for "Homicide: The Movie" features mostly the collective image of season six). "Homicide" didn't often focus on intimate relationships, but the main one towards the story's end was developed in a clever, truly romantic way.

Overall, as you've probably heard before, this is one of the best shows ever to air on television. It will always be regarded as such.

Like everybody before me told, this is THE best police story ever made.

The photography, the personages, the direction and last but not least the music. It's the first series where I noticed that a song was completely played, while all the actors kept moving, doing what they have to do, but without dialogues. If you are a scriptwriter it's a dream when you can accomplish this. The action counts. But then, as a cherry on a pie, the dialogues are perfect too.

Too bad we get this only once a week and then at a past midnight hour.

I was very surprised to learn this series originated from a book. Got that information from this web-site. I'm still full of praise but on the go for the Amazon book store. :-)

The reason this fine show was canceled was due to much of the public. Most people were unable to properly digest the great substance of this show. There is an extreme difference in reading a book of substance such as "In Cold Blood", by Truman Capote, and reading a frivolous, coffee table book such as "Sex" by Madonna. Likewise, there is a difference between watching a program like "Homicide" and watching a program like "The A-Team". The show was so deep, people didn't watch.

The characters were outstanding. It's always good to watch excellent drama in which characters have strengths and weaknesses. Their weaknesses were were emphasized greatly to show realism. Naturally, the stories were great.

Another thing I miss was the crossover between "Homicide" and "Law and Order". These shows retained their individual styles while bringing the characters together so nicely.

It's too bad that it's gone.

We all agree this was probably the best crime series ever made, despite NBC's reluctance to support and promote it. This was TV acting, scripting, and directing at it's best.

What the public could not accept, was that the stories did not have neat endings. Life, and crime stories are messy. The show reflected that. And I'm grateful for it's honesty.

On the other hand, I'm grateful they allowed the show to have a movie that ended several major story lines. At the end of it all, we needed closure, even it some of the endings weren't "happy endings". That in itself showed the quality - the truth of this show.

Fiction can be truthful, and "real". This was the best example . And NBC should hang it's head in shame for the way it treated it. I'm glad that "Munch" still lives on Law & Order SVU, but it's a shadow of a great character in a great show.

On TV you take what you get.

This show is an excellent drama of which you will rarely find on network TV(perhaps NYPD Blue in its first five or six years,St.Elsewhere,L.A.Law,Hill Street Blues might compare). This show,set in the Homicide division(of course) of the Baltimore Police Department and centered around the elite detectives of the precinct was an edgy,intense show which took some big-time chances(For example:One episode was set exclusively around two of the detectives grilling a suspect)and it's time slot,Friday nights at 10 eastern/9 central,made this a constant candidate for the cancellation blocks,but the loyal viewer-ship and the loud protestations of TV critics helped keep this show afloat for the six and a half years it ran. The acting and writing were by far some of the best on network t.v.,the characters fleshed out by Andre Braugher,Yaphett Kotto(As the chief),Ned Beatty,Melissa Leo,Isabella Hoffman,Clark Johnson,Daniel Baldwin,Kyle Secor,Reed Diamond and long-time stand-up comedian Richard Belzer,who has found his niche as a dramatic actor(and as the SAME character,Detective John Munch,in no fewer than five TV shows,now on Law and Order:Special Victims UNit)stand out maybe the most! I believe they could even revive this show someday in the future with some different characters in the roles and,with roughly the same writing and exactly the same kind of no-hold-barred risk-taking,could be at least half as good,if not equal.