http://www.vulture.com/2014/09/why-is-homicide-so-underappreciated.html

9/5/2014 at 3:27 PM
Why Is Homicide: Life on the Street So Underappreciated?
By Margaret Lyons

When you write about television, lots and lots of people want to talk to you about The Wire. That's fine. An occupational perk. And after I listen to this engaged citizen rave on and on about David Simon's masterpiece, I ask: "Have you watched Homicide?" And god damn it, most people say no. Then it's my turn to launch into a hagiography. Homicide is the best. Homicide is arguably the best cop show of all time. Homicide is as dramatically intense and as emotionally nuanced as Mad Men. And yet, somehow, Homicide is often left out of "the canon."

I rewatched all of season three of Homicide in putting together my list of the 100 best episodes of the '94–'95 TV season. I could easily have included all 20 episodes. There's an enthralling serial-killer arc, and if you like True Detective's ruminations on the nature of good and evil and murderthoughts, well, you'll like these more since they are more interesting and surprising. There's terrific guest roles from Steve Buscemi and Bruno Kirby, among others. And there's a dark, cynical comedy that runs through the show, too. A few of our detectives go in on buying a pub together in season three, and when the woman from the bank tells them they've been approved for a loan, they're all happy but surprised. "We're homicide detectives," Munch (Richard Belzer) explains. "We never give people good news face-to-face unless, oh, it's someone who's thrilled to hear their spouse has been murdered." "Well, that's not never!" the bank lady responds brightly and weirdly. Ha? Ha. The characters themselves make jokes — Munch in particular — but one-off marginal characters have senses of humor, too. (For those not in the know: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's Detective Munch actually originated on Homicide. The shows, and OG L&O, had a few cross-over episodes, too. NBC synergy!)

You want riveting interrogations? We've got riveting interrogations. You want season-long arcs about police corruption? We've got season-long arcs about police corruption. You want villainous yet alluring drug lords? A commentary on the fractured state of American racial politics? Stories about working-class people? A fraught father-and-son relationship where they're both cops? Well! Have I got a show for you. As a bonus, said son is played by Breaking Bad's beloved Giancarlo Esposito. Some of us have enjoyed his work since far before Gus was a glimmer in anyone's meth eye.

NBC was not a particularly hospitable home to Homicide. The show faced out-of-order scheduling, was off for almost a year in between the nine-episode first season and the four-episode second season, and was frequently a bubble show when it came time for renewals. But Homicide eventually ran for seven seasons, with a total of 122 episodes, plus a made-for-TV movie. It wasn't a hit show, but critics sure loved it, and it won three Peabodys. It has that same "underappreciated in its time" vibe as The Wire, and yet David Simon's second project gets so much more love.

But I'm not pitting Homicide against The Wire. I'm pitting Homicide against No Homicide. My fondest wish is for the show to land on Netflix streaming, but until then it's widely available on DVD and through less savory means. Homicide needs to be widely embraced and venerated, and then the groundswell will start. People will begin chitter-chattering about it. The vast Internet will suddenly become filled with pro-Homicide propaganda. The tides will have turned. And then my other fondest wish can come true: Homicide reunion movie.

H:LOTS is always the GOAT to me. Ahead of its time and woefully under appreciated.

This rash of "Hey, this entertainment thing back in the day was really good!" articles gets very tiresome.


"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams

I always have and always will ride for this show. Except maybe the last season, which was ass.

Luther Mahoney was that dude

>Luther Mahoney was that dude

Luther Mahoney seemed to be a super-villian in an otherwise grounded show.

He slipped through the justice system way too easily, often, and wink-a-ly. And then when his sister took over it got even sillier.

I love the show, but it had it's ups and downs.

>I always have and always will ride for this show. Except
>maybe the last season, which was ass.

That isht was horrible! Shephard, Falsone, Ballard, Gharty. Not to mention shoehorning Mike (Al Jr.) Giardello into the last season. I get mad thinking about it.



>Luther Mahoney was that dude

I loved Luther. I hated how they didn't let the story end with his shooting. All the stuff about Junior Bunk and Luther's sister was just dumb. But his character was great and obviously the inspiration for Antoine Mitchell on "The Shield".

That shit pissed me off. AA did his thing with that role, but it was such an obvious copy that I couldn't enjoy it. But that's a whole other show worthy of a whole other topic (for the record, I really liked The Shield, but it was nowhere near as good as H:LOTS)

Anyway...

Yeah, the Georgia Brown and Junior Bunk shit got carried away. Best thing that came out of that was watching Pembleton take Kellerman down.

Favorite scene with Luther Mahoney was probably when he walked in the cop bar and Meldrick gave his speech.

>That shit pissed me off. AA did his thing with that role, but
>it was such an obvious copy that I couldn't enjoy it. But
>that's a whole other show worthy of a whole other topic (for
>the record, I really liked The Shield, but it was nowhere near
>as good as H:LOTS)

Antwoine Mitchell was a copy, but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the character. AA played him well, but I accepted it was a rip for Luther. Agreed, The Shield, was a great show, but H:LOTS had better writing and acting overall. I do think The Shield did a lot of things well and was served well with the 13 episode seasons. Not too much filler. H:LOTS had to deal with filler being a broadcast network show.


>
>Anyway...
>
>Yeah, the Georgia Brown and Junior Bunk shit got carried away.
>Best thing that came out of that was watching Pembleton take
>Kellerman down.
>
>Favorite scene with Luther Mahoney was probably when he walked
>in the cop bar and Meldrick gave his speech.

"You know me detective, you arrest me know, I'll be buying you a drink tonight." Luther was a beast.

Yeah, I dug The Shield. It did some of the things H:LOTS did (aside from cribbing Mahoney), but the focus was mainly on Vic (the anti hero), and how far off the edge he was going to go. Some of the story lines were there for shock value, and some didn't quite work out. Still, I watched until the end. Really wanted him to pop Shane in the shoulder when he admitted he offed Lem...

Another thread, another time

'You're on my corner...'
http://youtu.be/JiA0LZmTkQA

Is that the movie wasn't as bad.


"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams

Shame that it's not widely appreciated. I would love to revisit it on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon streaming.

hell the reason I even got excited for the wire in the first place was because I knew David Simon from Homicide.

strictly due to this post...enjoying it so far. thanks!

Enjoy the ride

its one of my all time favorites.
Andre Brauer? cmon...
the whole cast...

that show was just ahead of its time with how it did everything. Tv then just wasn't ready for it really...


i've been waiting for a blu-ray set to come out, but not sure if it'll ever happen...

Volume 1 released yesterday. Volume 2 in December-
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250624628/homicidethegraphicnovelpartone