City Homicide

When I started watching this show I was very sceptical of what I was going to fine. I haven't watched virtually any Australian shows in recent years, as almost all that are touted as drama are soaps instead (e.g. All Saints, Blue Heelers).

By the end of the first episode I was in love with this show. Having grown up hearing stories about the police force from people who know, this show seems to represent the realism that is sorely lacking in most other cop shows.

The acting is terrific, the humour is spot on and the gore level is just right. The cases are interesting and the way they are presented are sometimes destined to break your heart. This show sticks to drama instead of swaying into melodrama.

This is a must watch.

Australian television series can be hit or miss but this one is a few grades above the rest. Buoyed by superior scripts and crisp direction, each episode unravels without the drawn-out emotional drama of other such shows. Yes, there are soap opera moments but they are brief and tightly written.

The acting, especially from Shane Bourne, Nadine Garner, Noni Hazlehurst and Marshall Napier, is top notch although the three actors playing the main male detectives tend to guilty of overacting (and bad coiffures), losing some credibility from this otherwise excellent show. Aaron Pedersen is almost almost laughable in his role: he has one expression (rage) and one tone of voice (bellowing).

That the show retains its edge and intelligence throughout is remarkable but the real beauty of this series is the wicked wit that alleviates the tension at the precise moment where it is needed. A wonderfully disciplined show.

Didn't expect to like it. Now I can't stop watching. Especially good plot lines and strong performances. Why haven't I ever heard of this show???

Hats off to the Aussies...!

I'm a big fan of Homicide life on the street and loved Detroit 187 and other shows like them. If you like those too you will live this. The first show almost lost me. It had really dorky music but a good story line so I watched a few more and fell in love.

This is a very real gritty cop drama. They only delve into the characters personal lives as proprietary. Like with Simon's intricate story line that plays out in a most impressive fashion at the end of season three through the begging of season 4.

The few Aussie shows I have watched before sucked. I thought this was British at first. This could have even done fine on USA TV. I've found it addicting.

Frankly, I'm an American watching this show "second hand" via the internet, 72 minutes at a time. This means my frame of comparison is typical American cop dramas.

I really like this show.

Unlike most US cop dramas, City Homicide is an actual ensemble show without a true "top billed" personality and a more realistic focus on the case, investigation, and legwork instead of the type of action real cops would call a SWAT team in for. Also, the plots suffer little in the way of "creep" towards outrageous plots like half of the CSI: Miami plots.

Another credit for City Homicide is the fact the actors don't come across like clothes models reading scripts. While most of the cast are attractive, they're believably so.

As far as characterization goes, City Homicide paints the characters as human with flaws that have to be lived with or worked around and not-- like many American shows--show up once out of the blue and are resolved in a single two-episode arc.

This is also a refreshing change.

If you like police dramas, give it a try. If you're an American and you somehow can watch this show, definitely give it a try.

(And don't worry, you'll pick up on the accent pretty quickly...)