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Subject: "Why Is Homicide: Life on the Street So Underappreciated? (Vulture swipe)" Previous topic | Next topic
CherNic
Member since Aug 18th 2005
37156 posts
Sun Sep-07-14 12:34 PM

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"Why Is Homicide: Life on the Street So Underappreciated? (Vulture swipe)"


  

          

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.

  

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Why Is Homicide: Life on the Street So Underappreciated? (Vulture swipe) [View all] , CherNic, Sun Sep-07-14 12:34 PM
 
Subject Author Message Date ID
I don't even have to read this
Sep 07th 2014
1
Make that two of us
Sep 07th 2014
2
Co-Sign
Sep 08th 2014
3
      I disagree about Luther Mahoney
Sep 08th 2014
4
      Don't get me started on that last season....
Sep 08th 2014
6
      Don't get me started on Antoine Mitchell
Sep 10th 2014
8
           You and me are >< right here.
Sep 10th 2014
9
                *daps*
Sep 12th 2014
12
      The only thing that makes up for the last season
Sep 08th 2014
7
It was one of the best shows on TV at the time
Sep 08th 2014
5
Still my favorite cop show
Sep 12th 2014
10
one of my favorite shows of all time, hands down
Sep 12th 2014
11
i got the dvd from netflix for the and watch the first 3 EPs
Sep 20th 2014
13
It get's so much better by S3
Sep 20th 2014
15
its not, not by me anyways...
Sep 20th 2014
14
Graphic Novel (2 volumes)
Jul 26th 2023
16

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