Homicide: Life On The Street - General Discussion

[Stiggs]

I'm so glad this show is finally streaming! My sister and I loved this show so much we actually got into a hot water with a Baltimore cop when we visited in 1998. We saw a cop car, and idiot me (I was YOUNG, and an idiot.) sat on the car hood and told my sister to get a photo. She took a pic, and then a dude cop was like WHAT GET OFF MY CAR WHAT? He wound up taking a picture with us because he thought my sister was hot so no cuffs, lol. 

Anyway, I remember loving this show and remember elements to it (I mostly remember the characters and some of the crimes), but this is almost a new watch for me instead of a re-watch. The first 4 or so seasons are so damn good - I watched the first season like, wow, they let this grit on network TV? It's just SUCH a compelling show, and even the characters I don't like, I'm interested in. Frank Pembleton might be the most compelling cop ever on TV.   

The Law-and-Order-fication of the show was almost abrupt - I'm sure it didn't feel that way when I was taping episodes on my VCR once a week. The earlier seasons are definitely stronger, but I never minded Kellerman, and I was always a Falsone fan and wish he'd come along earlier. 

The first few seasons - we get Jon Waters twice, and I think I spotted every actor who was in Serial Mom by the end of season 3. So glad this is streaming!

[goldfish]

When I watched seasons 5 and 6 back in the day, I thought that Kellerman was justified in the Luther situation and that Stivers, Lewis, and Falsone were wrong in their condemnation of Kellerman for different reasons.  No almost 30 years later on rewatch, I am still on Kelleman's side, although some of his actions after the shooting are impossible to defend.

I remember thinking that season 7 was not as good as the first 6 when it originally aired and on rewatch, it is not as bad as I remember.  You can really see the NBC influence on the show in later seasons.  7 is almost like Homicide 90210 with all of the talk of who likes who drama

[arachne]

On 9/27/2024 at 10:48 AM, goldfish said:

7 is almost like Homicide 90210 with all of the talk of who likes who drama

I would tell a newcomer to the show that they could skip most of Season 7, except for "Homicide.com" and the finale, "Forgive Us Our Trespasses." The rest of the season, not all that memorable. But YMMV.

The other day I watched "A Many Splendored Thing" from Season 2. I heard Pembleton's monologue to Bayliss ("Virtue is not virtue until it slams up against vice") and the scenes with Bayliss and the leather jacket, and it jolted my memory: I thought, Aha! That's where it all started! 

[30 Helens]

Just finished watching the series on Peacock. As I had never seen it in its original run, it was all new to me.i would love to get into in-depth analysis, but here are some initial impressions.

1. Early seasons are the best. This will come as a surprise to no one. The constant cast turnover was disappointing, especially with the female leads. Melissa Leo gone… why? Michelle Forbes… great addition, but also gone too soon… why? It was clear the network wanted to attract younger viewers, because the cast also skewed younger each year. Some additions I didn’t mind (Kellerman, before he became a one-note vigilante), others were pointless (Ballard). But the overall move from gritty to pretty as the show shifted into procedural mode was not great.

2. The second version of the opening credits were too cheesy. “fingerprints! Suspects! Evidence!”! Yeah, we get it. It’s a cop show.

3.  I started watching after Andre Braugher died, so part of the appeal was seeing baby Andre in a role that he commandeered despite his youth. I knew him from Glory, from Men of a Certain Age (a wonderful show that ended way too soon and I’m still mad about it) and from Brooklyn 99.  I thought he was great in all these roles, but seeing him as Frank Pembleton added a new layer to my appreciation. Subway, in particular, was an amazing episode.

4. I’m kind of torn by the posthumous movie. While it was nice to see the return of so many exiled cast members, I thought the series had a good wrap up before that. The “evolution“ of Tim Bayliss from wide-eyed idealist to cynical killer was sad, but earned. Seeing him walk down the alley with his demons was a fitting end to the series. The movie didn’t negate that, exactly, but it did strip away some of the substance. 

Deficiencies aside, this was an awesome 7 seasons of television and I’m glad I got the chance to see it. 

Edited December 29, 2024 by 30 Helens

[arachne]

I'm in the middle of streaming Season 4 now, but I chose to skip "A Doll's Eyes." Many people rank this episode among their favorites, but I always found it overrated. If I wanted to see distraught people in a hospital, I'd watch House. 😒

[arachne]

Watched the S4 episode "For God and Country" last night. The cast included J.K. Simmons as a right-wing racist murder suspect. Watching Simmons' performance, I could see the beginning of his character from OZ a couple years later. 

Also, a nice crossover with Law & Order. Good comedy relief with Munch and a NYC detective talking about Munch's ex. 

 

[Linderhill]

I started my rewatch a couple of weeks ago, alternating between Homicide and ER.  I started listening to the Reed Diamond/Kyle Secor podcast, Homicide: Life on Repeat, and I'm getting big kick out of how enthusiastic they both are about the show, especially Reed.