Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

JohnLeeT This is a superb television show and one of the most memorable ever presented by a network. Intelligent, fascinating, and powerful, Homicide had characters of substance portrayed by some of the best actors to ever work in the medium. The writing is stellar and many of the episodes are literally unforgettable. Episodes such as the subway one with guest actor Vincent D'Noffrio (forgive my spelling of the actors' names in this review) and another titled All Is Bright with Kathryn Erbe as an AIDS victim (before their Criminal Intent success) are deeply moving and beautifully done. With the exception of one season, when abominably untalented and intensely unlikeable actress Michael "I got my gun took!" Michelle almost single handedly sank the program with performances so horrible they were beyond comprehension, the high level of quality was maintained for the entire run of the series. For all involved with this show, this was a remarkable accomplishment and their work (with the exception of Michelle and her irritating, bizarre, and invasive "contribution", one which I feared would be repeated when she appeared in two episodes of House. Fortunately, House fired her for being stupid and inept, a judgment that surely could be applied to her acting abilities, and something that caused millions of viewers to cheer jubilantly in relief until their throats were raw) represents the finest television has ever presented. One star is deducted from what should be a ten star rating due to the catastrophic decision to inflict Michelle upon loyal viewers and turn an entire season into garbage by giving her character an unforgivable amount of screen time with a plot about her being beaten up and relieved of her gun. It was painful to watch something so badly done and such truly terrible acting. What were they thinking? She was nice to look at but even her personality was repellent. No one had ever heard of her before and little is seen of her since but tragically, her unrealistic image as a whining, wailing detective is burned into memories because nothing so horrifically awful had ever been part of such an excellent program before. When she suddenly showed up on the superb series, House, viewers felt their blood run cold and stomachs turn as she threatened to curse another fantastic show with her presence, as short lived as her presence was after an unprecedented outcry from viewers alerted creative forces to the senseless and potentially disastrous mistake made! It is a blessing that since she is older, her looks can not get her many roles and those she gets are on programs no one watches, so when she destroys them no one really notices. However, that one star must be deducted for the reason her casting was so egregious an error that it can never be forgiven and will remain one of the most inexplicable and downright brainless creative choices in television history. If the producers wanted an African American female as part of the detective force, many great actresses were overlooked, talented women who would have made a very positive addition to the series and deserved the role. A dozen come to mind, yet the beauty of Michelle seem to have blinded the producers to her complete and utter lack of talent and the terrifically negative impact her casting would make. It is sad to think of all the truly gifted black actresses turned away in favor of someone who is more a vapid model than an actual actor with any skill at all. Otherwise, those nine stars are well deserved indeed.

Tss5078 Back in the day, networks stood behind the shows they picked up. They believed in them, they advertised them, they pushed them to do whatever they could to get ratings. Unfortunately, things are much different today, as a new show is given 13 episodes to crack the top 50 on the Nielsen charts, and if they fail, they're gone before they even got started. If this had always been the policy, shows like Cheers, The X-Files, Law & Order, & Homicide: Life On The Street never would have gotten started.NBC took a real chance on this show, the cast was all unknowns, except for Ned Beatty, and the rating for the first season were in the toilet. NBC saw the potential though, they realized they had a special cast full of future award winners, and a terrific writing staff, so they made the show more intense. Regular characters could be killed off or added every week, they got big name guest stars, and even had crossover episodes with highly successful shows like Law & Order and The X-Files. With the network behind it, the series soared, completing 7 seasons, winning 4 Emmy's, and it was even turned into a full length feature film.Homicide: Life On The Street, follows a unit of Homicide Detectives in one of the worst areas of Baltimore, which at the time, had one of the highest murder rates in the country. We follow the investigation, similar to the way they do in Law & Order, but what's different here, is that Homicide is more character based. The audience gets to intimately know the Detectives, their families, and their lives, but even that wasn't the real strength of the show. What made Homicide unique, an Emmy winner, and the launching point for almost a dozen big named actors was "The box" A.K.A. the interrogation room. Homicide takes us into the interrogation room in a way that has never been done before, showing all the emotion, stress, and everything that comes with the process.What I really love about this show is that everyone is used equally and no one is a star! Every member of the cast is important and even the opening credits are in alphabetical order, giving no one top billing. That was how the show was designed, but the truth is that Andre Braugher moved beyond that and become a legend.Playing the very complex Detective, Frank Pembelton, Andre Braugher made a name for himself by captivating audiences. Everything that happened was so deep and personal to him, and he put the emotion into everything he did, not only making him the best detective in the squad, but also the best character to watch.Homicide takes you inside the interrogation room, but also inside the lives of Homicide Detectives the way that no other show has done before or since. It's a one of a kind show that survived, only because someone important at the network actually watched it and saw how amazing it is. If you're looking for a great show to get into, there are 7 seasons and over 100 episodes, and take my word for it, this show is as addicting as anything I've ever seen!

John T. Ryan Ever since first encountering this Series, its title has held a certain fascination for this writer. First of all we have HOMICIDE, now that makes perfect sense. We've all heard that term used in countless Feature Films, Radio Dramas, TV Series, Pulp Magazines, Detective Novels, etc.Then we have the second part of the Title, "Life on the Streets", the Sub-Title if you will. This is also a very descriptive, loaded phrase. The discussion of being "on the Street" is certainly an authentic phrase, used by the "Real Police" as much as by any authors.But try putting the two together, as has been done here in this series and in the book that proceeded it, and what do you get? "HOMICIDE:Life On The Streets", is our answer but of course. But this is one Title that appears to be an instant oxymoron, for the juxtaposition of the two elements just doesn't blend. It would be much like blending Fire and Water, this Homicide & Life.And yet, we do see what the Series creator Paul Attinsano is driving at. Either term by itself would not be adequate. It's just another case of the sum of the parts equaling more than the total.Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's start off by saying that there has never been a dramatic series that has started out to have such a high quality of story line and writing, and maintained the same as did Producer Barry Levinson's Baltimore Cop Show.Starting off with the Cast, there was a certain vigilance observed to insure that there would be no 2 dimensional, stereotype cops and robbers situations. he actors charged with this task would all have to be first rate and selfless, as the series wasn't afraid to portray characters with "warts". You know, we see the thorns, as well as the roses.Starting at the top, we have Unit Commander, Al Giardello(Yaphett Kotto), the product of a bi-racial marriage, having had an Italian Father and a Black Mother; Al navigates through the lexicons and cultural pools of either. Detective Steve Crosetti(John Polito) a truly grizzled veteran Cop/Detective. He would not move 2 feet if 1 1/2 feet would suffice. Very and obviously an Italian Ethnic, he is sometimes taken to be Lt. Giardello, as in the 1st episode. Det. John Munch(Richard Belzer), a guy who has wanted to be a Detective ever since he was a kid, though this would seemingly fly in the face of his Jewish heritage and upbringing. Being that he is well educated, extremely intelligent and street smart, he is doing this Detective business because he wants it, not because he failed at something else.* Others of the original Duty Roster are: Det. Frank Pembleton(Andre Braugher), a Black Guy who both grew up in the inner-city, but also can boast of being very well educated, by the Jesuits, yet. A manic when it comes to work, which is to a point to which he almost destroys his own health. Det. Tim Bayliss(Kyle Secor), new to the Detective Division. Smart, eager to learn he gets teamed with Pembleton. Formerly had some (Empty Holster)job in the Commissioner's Office. Melissa Leo as Det., a status seeker, works, slaves and studies hard to become a Detective/Sgt. of Police. Captain Megan Russert(Isabella Hoffman-Woo, woo, woo, woo!)now get this, she is a fictional cousin of NBC Newsman & Moderator of "MEET THE PRESS", Tim Russert(honest, that's what the series says!) Rounding out the original "work sheets" are:Det. Stan Bolander(Ned Beatty)seemingly a sort of "dull blade', the blue collar guy found a great interest in classical music, even learning to play the Cello!Det. Meldrick Lewis(Clark Johnson)grew up in the Public Housing Project, Street Smart, Easy Going, Get's along with anybody and can work with anyone. My personal favourite Characterization.**ASA Ed Danvers(Zeliko Ivanek)excellent portrayal of Prosecutor and their relationship with "The Fuzz!" (Remember, in some States and the Federal Court System it's ADA(Assistant District Attorney), whereas such States as Maryland & my own Illinois use Assistant States' Attorney( ASA ).Like so many series that last for any length of time, there were many, many changes in the line-up, more than most. Look it up! No more space will be allotted here! "HOMICIDE" truly dared to be different, and remained so through the course of its run. It made use of some multi-shot repeating fade-ins, all seen from slightly different angles,donned with accompanying sound of a short, blunt musical queue. (It has to be seen & heard).Also, each and every "HOMICIDE" episode is much like a feature film. That is, each is able to stand on its own. And yes, there are a lot of continued story lines and ideas that carry from week to week, and it is better to follow the series week to week, but it's not necessary.And it has the quality of sets, cinematography and really great, haunting music, both in theme and incidental music by Douglas J. Cuomo and Jeff Rona.The whole story was neatly wrapped up with the 2 hour Made for TV HOMICIDE: The Movie(2000), which maintained the flavor of the series, yet still dared to be different.NOTE: * Richard Belzer re-prised Det.Munch for "LAW & ORDER: Special Victims Unit. Munch has many 'crossover' appearances on the various other "LAW & ORDER" 'offspring'. NOTE: ** In this author's 35 years on the Chicago Police Dept.,I met and worked with a lot of guys like 'Meldrick', but this was in my own "series"(my life on the streets!).

lostonu First off, I'd like to say that is/was one of my all-time favorite TV programs. I know that many, who have commented, feel pretty much the same (or close to it), so I won't make my comments long, and drawn out. I cannot praise this show enough. Never, not even once, did I see a false moment in any episode. That last statement, by all accounts, describes perfection… that is not a place to go carelessly. I try to watch movies, TV shows, or even small productions of college plays with an extremely discerning eye, and every moment was an exercise in character truthfulness. The entire cast, whether you liked all of them or not (another subject, for another time), was excellent ensemble cohesiveness.My (then) girlfriend, and I could not wait to see what G's hair-style/do would look like from episode to episode; we always made comparison's based on the previous week's look. My personal favorite, in the cast, was Andre Braugher's "Frank Pembleton". "Frank" appeared to be (inwardly) driven to perfection, while at the same time trying not to make it look that way – his co-workers knew him too well, to be fooled by his outward demeanor.This was one of television's finest moments. In the history of television, I cannot find a better show… some, many may argue, may have been just as good… I'm not sure that there were any better.