Homicide, Life on the Street

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.

It was a gloomy day when NBC cancelled this amazing show, but unfortunately, not enough viewers were watching. It can now be viewed in syndication - as of January 1999 it is shown on Court-TV weeknights. "Homicide" was an Emmy and Peabody-award-winning show. Because of its unique shooting style, magnificent writers, and terrific actors, it is the best show I ever watched. Other cop shows are no comparison. In fact, no other drama on network television had such a racially diverse cast. This is the only drama I have seen with African-American actors in leading roles. It is a sad fact that there aren't other shows like it out now.

This show truly did duck the "system" of other dramas, staying true to the source and portraying realistic characters. Anguish, joy, anger, humiliation, and respect are evident in the faces of the characters in assorted episodes. The first few seasons were the best, in my opinion, but the other seasons were still better than anything else on the networks. I shudder to think that "Nash Bridges" beat this amazing show in the ratings. If you are at all interested, try to find this show on television in your area. There is no middle ground with this show; you will either hate it or love it. All that I know have become addicted to it.

Simply, the most rewarding dramatic broadcast television show I have ever seen. HLOTS was consistently character driven, well written and beautifully shot and edited. The acting stands alone as a singular achievement in broadcast TV. An across the board gifted ensemble speaking emotionally provocative, unflinchingly honest and challenging words.

Two things kept this show from legendary status: First, for most of it's run, it suffered from a terrible schedule spot, Friday. Second, it was a challenging show. In no way is that a denigration, in fact, the opposite. The levels of meaning presented in the writing and reinforced by the camera style and acting required a level of attention that people normally bring with them to watch the theatre.

Regarding it's lack of very many Emmy's, it was produced outside of Hollywood, yet was made with substantive quality and artistic integrity. My guess is that it therefore lacked clout and engendered jealousy at the same time.

It's cliché, but HLOTS was ahead of it's time. Many shows on today echo much of the style and substance HLOTS pioneered. Look no farther than THE SHIELD, NIP TUCK or THE SOPRANOS for dramatic quality similar to what HLOTS was doing 10+ years ago.

There are other good dramas on TV today, but HLOTS connected so consistently on an emotional and aesthetically fulfilling level that I felt like I had lost a friend when it finished it's run. I can't say that about anything I've seen before or since.

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.

I have never been a big fan of police serials, but this is my all time favourite. I have nothing to add to the earlier comments, other than that in a time with complicated racial conflicts, poverty induced crime and the problems stemming from social inequality, this show tried to comment on the real problems facing the modern society.

And it was exciting too.