Rating: 
Summary: Homicide: The Best in the Cop Genre
Review: Homicide: Life on the Street is one of the very few cop shows that is character-driven, combined with great storytelling and superb acting all around. Others have mentioned the fine camera work and visuals and I agree that the gritty images lend themselves to this dark drama. The bonus materials are few and I must admit that the commentary on the pilot, "Gone for Good" was not as rewarding as I had hoped. Still, I bought this DVD set for the episodes themselves and I certainly wasn't disappointed. It is nice to watch the original uncut programs and the sound and picture are superior to the reruns shown on cable. Homicide is not a whodunit mystery program. Often, we know who the killer is early in the show. The conflict comes as we watch these hardened Baltimore detectives
struggle to obtain evidence, confessions and occasionally deal with the morality and immorality of man's inhumanity to man. Nor is Homicide a cut-and-dried affair where the cops always catch the bad guys in the end. Often the murderer will escape justice, as best proven by Tim Bayliss's tracking of the murderer
of Adena Watson. This is a major plot thread throughout the first season and will reappear as the series goes on. There is no graphic violence on this show, save the occasional sight of blood or glimpse of a dead body. Nor do we find any sex; no bare bottoms or breasts to help hype the ratings.
One of the strengths of Homicide is it's ability to deal with racial issues in a realistic manner that isn't too preachy. Tokenism isn't one of
this show's failings. There are several strong black characters in the show and as we come to know and respect them, it is easy for us to look past their
race and appreciate their unique characteristics. The true star of the show is Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) who rightfully won an Emmy for his performance at the time of his departure after the sixth season. His abilities are best demonstrated when Pembleton forces a confession from a man who is innocent in "Black and Blue." None of these characters are perfect. Some of the detectives are lazy, others are arrogant and others are just burned out. Yet, we can all appreciate them in spite of their weaknesses.
The most powerful episode of the series is contained in the first season, "Three Men and Adena,"
in which Pembleton and Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) spend 12 hours interrogating a suspect in the murder of an 11-year-old girl. Other standout episodes include "Bop Gun," in which Robin Williams plays a grieving father angry with himself and the process after he watches his wife shot down during a botched robbery. Also, "See No Evil," "Son of a Gun," and the series premier, "Gone for Good." There are times when the plot moves too slowly and we get bogged down in the small details as evidenced by the episode, "Night of the Dead Living," but this problem is cleared up by the second season.
In these first two seasons, we come to know and
love characters who won't last through the entire series run, including Steve Crosetti (Jon Polito), Kay Howard (Melissa Leo), Stan Bolander (Ned Beatty)
and Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin.) We also meet other characters who will remain as solid staples of the show including John Munch (Richard Belzer), Al
Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson.) With this top-notch cast, combined with authentic police stories and unique visuals, Homicide
is truly a groundbreaking series. Any fan that respects the genre should own this DVD set, for it is human drama television at its finest.
Episode List:
*Gone for Good (Series pilot/premiere)
*A Ghost of a Chance
*Night of the Dead Living
*Son of a Gun (Guest star Edie Falco)
*A Shot in the Dark
*Three Men and Adena (Guest star Moses Gunn)
*A Dog and Pony Show
*And the Rockets Dead Glare
*Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
*See No Evil (Guest star Wilford Brimley)
*Black and Blue
*A Many Splendored Thing (Guest star Julianna Margulies)
*Bop Gun (Guest star Robin Williams)
Rating:
Summary: I wonder what it was like when it first came out....
Review: Having been far too young to watch the first seasons as a kid (I had to pick my battles and the X-Files was at the time on the top of my I have to watch this list) I missed the first three seasons of this groundbreaking series. I watched a lot of cop dramas in my house and growing up in NY, it was easy to see that NYPD Blue was not shot on location but Law&Order was. I never really liked NYPD Blue though it in theory probably paved the way for this series to make it to the small screen at all. Which segways hopefully into the awesomeness that is Homicide Life on the Streets, shot entirely on location in Baltimore...and hopefully doing justice to the feeling of that city as well.
Based on David Simon's excellent novel Homicide: A year on the Killing Streets (also recommended), the series follows the cops of the Baltimore homicide unit as they solve crimes and live their lives.
A few noteworthy things which set this series apart from many of the rest...the first two seasons were shot entirely in 16mm film and retain a gorgeous quality I somewhat missed in the later seasons. The jump cut idea is introduced here, and while jarring at first, lends a uniqueness to the series as well. And most importantly...because this is based on a book, which was based on true experience, the cliche's are almost totally out the window. Utterly refreshing. There's no "black cop" episode, no "black and white partner" episode in fact there are none of those typical "cop" archetypes in any episode. The issue is brought up, and dealt with time and again throughout the series, but is never the focus of an episode. That sets this apart.
There are technical issues with the DVD, most noteably the lack of closed captioning...so if that is an issue...it might be hard to follow the story. Otherwise I would highly recommend this unconventional cop series.
Rating: 
Summary: You want THE SHIELD -- you DO NOT want THIS ONE
Review: Police dramas are a hobby of mine, both British and American. So many of them over the years have been anywhere from outstanding to poor, and this one is nothing but a yawner and money lost. The Sheild had something to say and a talented cast saying it, to the extent I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. With Homicide, by contrast, I couldn't take my eyes off the DVD player's time reader, to determine whether I had seen enough to make a fair judgment. We might be friends now, because I just saved you $200. Avoid Ned Beatty's Homicide series. Consider instead The Sheild, A Touch of Frost (British) and Foyle's War (British) which I have also reviewed. Cheers.
Rating:
Summary: Arguably the best cop show ever made
Review: This was a great series, and it was at top form in its first two years, so this is the box set to get. While not the first cop shows to get under the skin of its protagonists (remember Hill Street Blues?) it had a style all its own, with a literary flair that made this one of the most heady shows on television. Like Hill Street Blues, Homicide had characters that played extremely well off each other -- Pembleton and Bayliss for example. One got an intimate sense of the street, and each episode was fraught with tension without devolving into standard pot-boilers which was all too often the case with TV cop shows. The characters evolved, coming and going over the life of the series. The most important thing that can be said for Homicide is that it was never static.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best shows on television
Review: Now don't get me wrong I love Law & Order but Homicide is the one for me. These are working class people who claw for every inch of ground they get. I know everyone laments on the lack of Closed Captioning but still since this series is not on the air anywhere this is the best we will get (except for third generation VCR tapes that are on their last legs).
Rating: 
Summary: A universe of talent in Baltimore
Review: The technical complaints about the "Homicide: Seasons 1 & 2" DVD box set are 100% accurate. The typos on the package, and the lack of English captioning (for one of the most dialogue-intensive shows on TV), betray a lack of planning behind this long-awaited (and relatively expensive) release. However, watching the first 13 episodes of the series removes all other qualms about the set. It's important just to get these shows on DVD and put them back into the public eye. Here's a cop show with no gunfights and no car chases. Although "Law & Order" mostly followed the same rules, here the cops themselves are the attraction, played by a terrific ensemble cast of character actors. Obviously there's Richard Belzer, whose Detective Munch has been used everywhere else from two "Law & Order" series, "The X-Files", and the film epic "A Very Brady Sequel" (!). And Munch is just a minor character in this box set. More prominent cast members (who sadly didn't make it to the show's later, full-season runs) include Ned Beatty as the worn-out Stan Bolander, Daniel Baldwin as good-old-boy Beau Felton, and Jon Polito's Lincoln assassination conspiracy theorist Frank Crosetti. You may remember Polito from his current role as California lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante. A good way to judge the quality of a TV show is to scan the cast and production credits and see what became of the team a decade later. Apart from big-name directors Barry Levinson and Bruce Paltrow, two Season 1 episodes were directed by Martin Campbell, who revived the James Bond franchise with "GoldenEye" a few years later. Familiar names in the guest cast include Edie Falco (recurring as the wife of an injured patrolman), Julianna Margulies (as Bolander's second-season love interest), the always welcome Luis Guzman as a doomed coffin maker, and Jake Gyllenhaal, playing Robin Williams' kid in the second-season opener. The glue that holds the show together is the Season 1 story arc revolving around the murder of schoolgirl Adena Watson. We trace the investigation through the eyes of nervous rookie detective Tim Bayliss (the underrated Kyle Secor) and his partner Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher, given to mesmerizing fits of Shakespearean fury). Yaphet Kotto ("Koto", as per the box) takes the cliched role of the minority squad leader and turns in a joyful, fiery performance that equals Braugher's at every turn. Also standing out is the episode with Williams, which deftly turns from an examination of victim's rage to a (somewhat sympathetic) look at the killer's mind. By definition, most other cop shows don't go within a thousand miles of that approach. The commentary by Levinson and Tom Fontana on the pilot episode is above average; however, that's all we get. There's a useless episode from some A&E true crime series; however, the song list, episode trailers, and casting featurette are decent additions. Season 3 is on its way, and none too soon. In the meantime, watch these episodes again.
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