X
- NBC
- Jan 31, 1993
- NBC
- Jan 31, 1993
Summary This series was the most reality-based police drama that has ever aired on television. It was shot entirely with handheld cameras on location in the Fells Point Community of Baltimore, MD. One of the series' executive producers, Barry Levinson, is a Baltimore native. He has written and directed at least three films that take place in ...
Created By: Paul Attanasio
- NBC
- Jan 31, 1993
- NBC
- Jan 31, 1993
Summary This series was the most reality-based police drama that has ever aired on television. It was shot entirely with handheld cameras on location in the Fells Point Community of Baltimore, MD. One of the series' executive producers, Barry Levinson, is a Baltimore native. He has written and directed at least three films that take place in ...
Created By: Paul Attanasio
Season Episodes
View All Seasons
7 Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
94
100% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
94
100% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The best ensemble cop drama since Hill Street Blues.
The quality of talent in front of the camera matches the high standards behind the scenes. As a cop ensemble, the Homicide squad has the spice, dry wit and ethnic diversity of the "Hill Street Blues" crew, with even more eccentricities and a heightened sense of realism. Like the New York partners in "Law & Order," the Baltimore detectives grind it out with street-tested police procedures. [29 Jan 1993, p.55]
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 27 User Ratings
8.8
93% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
4% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
4% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 27 User Ratings
8.8
93% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
4% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
4% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Comparisons to the Wire are unavoidable due to the shared link in Simon’s book, but this is a tonally different series with different writers. Some people (including me) find this better while some fans of the former find it inferior, but these opinions tend to be pointless anyway (no one wants to stoop to the level of the ‘best show ever’ ppl).
But in comparing, the clear differences between the two shows are Homicide’s approach to characterization, commentary, and music. It deals episodically (for the most part) with murder cases investigated by hardened, but well-meaning cops. Corruption is rarely a factor here (I read that it’s featured in Season 5 but I’m actually still on 4). The humor used is self-aware & sometimes dark, but it doesn’t go into the nihilistic & vulgar territories of the Wire. Drama is often punctuated by soft rock melodies & ambient instrumentals as it focuses on both the cases’ moral elements & the character’s personal lives.
It does have a soapy quality to it at times & some of the characters can get rather overheated & shouty, but these qualities combined with the uncompromising lack of ideal endings make a nice watch. (Btw, my opinion on the purported realism of the 2 shows is mixed. Homicide is more believable in depicting how a healthy police organization works (without exploring deeply on corruption issues) while the Wire (or at least the half I watched) focuses on a group of mostly dysfunctional, low-class cops surrounded by a crooked bureaucracy with hardly a morally-driven officer in sight. Maybe some middle ground for these 2 would be nice.
Report
SEASON 1
Among the most stimulating and entertaining series of the last 10 years and far and away the best new network show of the 1992-93 season.
Homicide is the best new television drama of the season. That's particularly surprising, considering it's yet another cop show. And even more surprising in that it's NBC - the loser network - which has come up with a winner teeming with unique characters, steaming with atmosphere and featuring writing as sharp as a stiletto. [31 Jan 1993, p.30]
It isn't as groundbreaking as it would have itself taken. However, in terms of presenting a strong portrayal of cop work out on the urban landscape, the project (inspired by David Simon's "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets") hits with compelling conviction. [29 Jan 1993]
Homicide is fast-paced but reasonably easy to follow. It is fragmentary at times, but somehow cohesive. It's impressionistic in style, yet driven by plot, enlivened by gallows humor and inhabited by intriguing, amusing, startlingly natural characters...You can think of Homicide as "Hill Street Blues" with more grit and less econo-socio-poli-psycho babble; "Law & Order" without the "order" half; "Twin Peaks" with intelligence and discipline as well as style. "Diner" with cops. [31 Jan 1993, p.7C]
In the end, however, Homicide doesn't stand out in bold enough relief from TV's background clutter. The characters are too pat, their conflicts too predictable.
Back in the day, networks stood behind the shows they picked up. They believed in them, they advertised them, they pushed them to do whatever they could to get ratings. Unfortunately, things are much different today, as a new show is given 13 episodes to crack the top 50 on the Nielsen charts, and if they fail, they're gone before they even got started. If this had always been the policy, shows like Cheers, The X-Files, Law & Order, & Homicide: Life On The Street never would have gotten started.
NBC took a real chance on this show, the cast was all unknowns, except for Ned Beatty, and the rating for the first season were in the toilet. NBC saw the potential though, they realized they had a special cast full of future award winners, and a terrific writing staff, so they made the show more intense. Regular characters could be killed off or added every week, they got big name guest stars, and even had crossover episodes with highly successful shows like Law & Order and The X-Files. With the network behind it, the series soared, completing 7 seasons, winning 4 Emmy's, and it was even turned into a full length feature film.
Homicide: Life On The Street, follows a unit of Homicide Detectives in one of the worst areas of Baltimore, which at the time, had one of the highest murder rates in the country. We follow the investigation, similar to the way they do in Law & Order, but what's different here, is that Homicide is more character based. The audience gets to intimately know the Detectives, their families, and their lives, but even that wasn't the real strength of the show. What made Homicide unique, an Emmy winner, and the launching point for almost a dozen big named actors was "The box" A.K.A. the interrogation room. Homicide takes us into the interrogation room in a way that has never been done before, showing all the emotion, stress, and everything that comes with the process.
What I really love about this show is that everyone is used equally and no one is a star! Every member of the cast is important and even the opening credits are in alphabetical order, giving no one top billing. That was how the show was designed, but the truth is that Andre Braugher moved beyond that and become a legend.
Playing the very complex Detective, Frank Pembelton, Andre Braugher made a name for himself by captivating audiences. Everything that happened was so deep and personal to him, and he put the emotion into everything he did, not only making him the best detective in the squad, but also the best character to watch.
Homicide takes you inside the interrogation room, but also inside the lives of Homicide Detectives the way that no other show has done before or since. It's a one of a kind show that survived, only because someone important at the network actually watched it and saw how amazing it is. If you're looking for a great show to get into, there are 7 seasons and over 100 episodes, and take my word for it, this show is as addicting as anything I've ever seen!
Report
SEASON 1
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
Report
SEASON 1
