Rating: 
Summary: Can't Wait For The Next Season
Review: I only began watching this wonderful police drama when it was in syndication and airing on Court TV--Now I Can't wait to own "every" season of this great show and be able to put it all together from "beginning to end". If you enjoy this type of show, it's a "must have" set in my view. I am eagerly awaiting my next installation of Season 4 and then will, no doubt, be just as excited to continue my collection with each and every season of this great TV show.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe the peak of the series
Review: I say maybe because I'm only now, in 2005, discovering this show and going through, season by season. Seasons 1 and 2 were obviously amazing, but I had a sense watching Season 3 that the creators and cast had hit their stride and I was probably watching the show's peak. I'm now on Season 4 and there was a noticible lag (though by midseason I would say it picked back up to Season 3's level).
I can't add much to some of the excellent consumer reviews in terms of detail. I can just say that I rarely like a television show. I can count them on one hand: NYPD BLUE, Twin Peaks, The Guardian, The Wire... and now I'm discovering this amazing TV series. I got into it through becoming a fan of the Wire and looking for past work of the show's creators. I thought NYPD Blue was the apex of the cop drama done artfully. And now I'm discovering that there was ANOTHER Cop drama airing COCURRENTLY that I had no idea of, that was actually BETTER. Why better? It simply reaches further. Blue's strength was its realism via understatement. Homicide LOTS could not be more different. There is nothing understated about this show. There is great overacting. Some of the moments from Pembleton, Giordello and Bayliss are so over the top in a wonderful way. This isn't realism to be illustrative of humanity. It's more like a play where the characters deliver wonderfully scripted lines that are ILLUMINATIVE of humanity in the way that few examples of this kind of writing do. It's also more creatively experimental. Blue found a look and a feel that was groundbreaking and fresh and stuck with it. On this show, though, I like that you can feel the constant change in directors and the non-stop tinkering with the form. And one thing that can't be overstated is how FUNNY this show is. The characters are all really grouchy and the interactions make some of the best dry humor I've ever seen.
This is a truly brilliant series and one of its best seasons.
Rating:
Summary: the best tv drama (cop or otherwise) ever
Review: I won't get many this review was helpfuls because I'm not going into any detail of plot and characters etc.. I'm simply saying for any fan of drama, comedy and pathos - this is simpley the best tv drama ever produced. I followed its' journey from beginning to end during its original broadcast - despite the time changes and interuptions in scheduling. You cannot buy better television at any price - buy them all and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Ah, the mid 90's...its all coming back. Plus one scolding.
Review: I'm not going to add much more to the terrific reviews of the series - it is the best show you never watched, and since I managed to watch most of them (and caught up on the rest!), it is a terrific blast from the past.I am going to add one scolding, and its the reason I gave this DVD set 4 stars instead of 5. Unlike several other reviewers, I thought that the commentary track ("The Gas Man") was rather thin. Yes, great, we got the writer and director of the show. But would it kill them to spend 47 minutes watching said show at least once before commenting on it? C'mon guys! You had a couple of interesting bits. Saying several times in essence "wow, this is so great, wish I would have seen this before, lets watch..."...well, I can do that. Study for the test, dudes!
Rating:
Summary: Best Show on TV - Ever
Review: It's so refreshing to be able to watch these shows now after NBC so rudely (and stupidly) took them off the air. Seeing these again, I remember what drew me to the show initially: the poetry. The screenplays after the first two short seasons just get better and better and you realize that you're getting to know these people for all their faults and weaknesses, and loving them for the wonderful things they do and say. Unfortunately I think this is what ultimately led to its demise; most TV watchers don't want to think or listen, and you can't appreciate the show unless you're willing to stop what you're doing and PAY ATTENTION. Although I am a life-long Law & Order fan because you get to see both sides, the police investigations and the trials, I think that Homicide succeeds on a higher level by showing what "truth" is as opposed to "justice". Frank Pembleton's struggle with this juxtaposition really comes alive in season 3 and it colors all the relationships in the squad room, not just his life. And what a shame that no one from the cast is appearing in a mainstream TV vehicle worthy of their talents. If you haven't seen the shows, or haven't seen season 3, get this set. It was definitely the most amazing show ever to be shown on television.
Rating:
Summary: Best Show on TV - Ever
Review: It's so refreshing to be able to watch these shows now after NBC so rudely (and stupidly) took them off the air. Seeing these again, I remember what drew me to the show initially: the poetry. The screenplays after the first two short seasons just get better and better and you realize that you're getting to know these people for all their faults and weaknesses, and loving them for the wonderful things they do and say. Unfortunately I think this is what ultimately led to its demise; most TV watchers don't want to think or listen, and you can't appreciate the show unless you're willing to stop what you're doing and PAY ATTENTION. Although I am a life-long Law & Order fan because you get to see both sides, the police investigations and the trials, I think that Homicide succeeds on a higher level by showing what "truth" is as opposed to "justice". Frank Pembleton's struggle with this juxtaposition really comes alive in season 3 and it colors all the relationships in the squad room, not just his life. And what a shame that no one from the cast is appearing in a mainstream TV vehicle worthy of their talents. If you haven't seen the shows, or haven't seen season 3, get this set. It was definitely the most amazing show ever to be shown on television.
Rating:
Summary: The best 60 minutes of television
Review: Thank you Tom Fontana for creating simply brilliant television. And finally sharing it with us on DVD. It's like a long-awaited family reunion. Worth EVERY penny of the price to reconnect with the squad we can't get enough ofÑLewis (and Crosetti), Munch, Bolander, Felton, Howard, Pembleton, Bayliss and G.
Rating:
Summary: Homicide, The Best Gets Better
Review: The first two seasons of Homicide were great television. The third season surpassed the first two and cemented this police drama as one of the best ever on network television. Although NBC buried it in the Friday night graveyard and ratings were always low, we were still given superior writing, acting and production quality on a consistent basis. This dvd set contains a season of the same character-driven stories that makes Homicide what it is, but the plotting became a bit more tightly woven as compared to the previous seasons. The show starts out with the addition of LT. Megan Russert (Isabella Hofmann) as a new shift commander who must deal with a series of murders after only a week on the job. The White Glove Murders would be the first of two three-part stories during the season. They would also test Frank Pembleton's faith in God and humanity; a theme that would recur throughout the rest of his time on the series. We're treated to some touching and heartbreaking moments as well in such episodes as "Every Mother's Son," and "All Through the House." Racial tensions flair in, "Colors," as Pembleton and Bayliss clash when Tim's cousin shoots a Turkish exchange student on his front porch. The best example comes when we watch Meldrick Lewis struggle to accept the death of his partner in, "Crosetti." Many fans note the final scene of this episode as their all-time favorite from the series. The other major three-part story involves the shooting of Kay Howard, Beau Felton and Stan Bolander. The chase to track down the shooter is riveting and the final confrontation between Pembleton and a suspect in The Box is classic Homicide at its best. Other story lines running throughout the season include Beau Felton's troubled marriage and the efforts of three of the detectives to buy and open the Waterfront Bar. The original cast remains intact for this season, except for the departure of Jon Polito (Crosetti.) Unfortunately, this would be the last season for Ned Beatty (Bolander) and Daniel Baldwin (Beau Felton) until their reappearance in the Homicide movie. As is the case with the previous dvd set, the sound is superior to that of the TV reruns and the picture quality is excellent. The commentary on the episode, "The Gas Man," is interesting and the bonus documentary was fun to watch for those of us who are diehard fans. The music lists and visuals of the board are also nice bonuses. One gets the feeling that the people putting this package together did some internet research along the way. Its nice to see that the episodes are placed in the correct story order so that events would flow smoothly. NBC wasn't so considerate when they aired the original series. I was disappointed to find no "play all" feature and unlike the last season, chapter breaks are not available between episodes. I'm also disappointed to find that A&E didn't include the previouslies at the beginning of each episode. Still, this is an excellent package and well worth the price. Episode List:
*Nearer My God to Thee 1
*Fits Like a Glove 2
*Extreme Unction 3
*Crosetti
*The Last of the Watermen
*A Model Citizen
*Happy to be Here
*All Through the House
*Nothing Personal
*Every Mother's Son
*Cradle to Grave
*Partners
*The City That Bleeds 1
*Dead End 2
*End Game 3 (Guest star Steve Buscemi
*Law and Disorder
*The Old and the Dead
*In Search of Crimes Past
*Colors
*The Gas Man (Guest star Bruno Kirby)
Rating:
Summary: Learn more about this oft-overlooked gem of a series
Review: The police drama has always depended on the solve-the-story-in-a-hour formula. With the rise of CSI and Law & Order, the characters have faded even more in favor of the plot. Cable series, such as The Shield and The Wire, try to fill that void by rubbing our face in the seedy underbelly of the cop world. During the nineties, though, Homicide: Life on the Street struck a balance between the law enforcement process and the human aftermath of vicious crimes. Rarely were cops dirty; instead the detectives lived full lives within their little universe, struggling daily against rage and sorrow and apathy. This series includes some of the greatest TV ever made.
The show is set in Baltimore, during a time when herion and drug gangs hit the city hard. Unsolved murders and stray bullets hitting children are common. Sometimes, the detectives get the murderer. Just as often, they don't, or they find him but don't have enough to charge the guy. Intense interrogation sessions in "the box" top anything NYPD Blue gives you, and on Homicide they are much less likely to resort to physical force. When Pembelton and Bayliss team up on a suspect, it's all psychological.
The directing in this series broke new ground in television at the time: use of handheld cameras, obvious and jarring editing, lighting that flattered a brick wall more than a star's face. The casting is revolutionary even, due to the lack of any actor there simply for looks. No one could be faulted for mistaking them for really Baltimore Police. (And that IS Baltimore in the background- everything is shot on location, even the soundstage scenes.) But their lack of traditional Hollywood glamour shouldn't detract from the talent this cast exudes, including Andre Braughner, Ned Beatty, Melissa Leo, Yaphet Kotto, and Richard Beltzer.
NBC didn't promote the series so well, and stuck it on Friday night, so most people have never even heard of Homicide. But cops say it's the most realistic police drama they've ever seen. So spring for the DVD set, any season. It's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Best show you didn't watch
Review: This is by far the best show that was on television. Very overlooked, very underrated. I give this DVD an A+++++++.
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