Homicide: Life On The Street-The Complete Series

"I am not Montel Williams!"

See Richard Belzer as John Munch before SVU defanged him. Marvel at Andre Braugher's performance as one of the all time great tv assholes, nay, one of the all time great characters, Detective Frank Pembleton. (Is it a coincidence that series creator Paul Attastansio and writer David Shore are both now responsible for "House"? I think not.) Get your ass kicked seven ways to Sunday by "Three Men and Adena", a serious contender for the greatest television episode of all time.

We just launched that big West Wing retrospective, but I would say that Homicide is just as great--if not, at times, better--than the Sorkin show.

You get 35 discs and seven seasons of some of the best goddamn television ever made, plus the "Law and Order" crossovers AND the TV movie that wraps it all up--still, for my money, the best finale ever.

If you've never seen this show before and you've got some dough to drop--although it's cheaper at DeepDiscountDVD--you owe to yourself to check this series out. Buy now, thank me later.

This, West Wing, Six Feet--it's going to be one short Christmas list.

I seem to remember Buffy being in that price range when it first came out, and it had a first season which was comparable to Homicide's first and second; 13 for Buffy S1, I think 16-17 for H1 & 2 together.

With anything, the price should go down. Took me a year to buy the Buffy box.

I'm going to make a really stupid comparison for the sake of time: To go into H: LOTS comparing it to "The Wire" is like going into "Prison Break" expecting to see authentic "Oz" conditions--to do so does a disservice to each show.

What makes H:LOTS is that it's just as thematically rich and complex as "The Wire," and it's being done a good eight years before the release of "Wire." I've just gotten into "The Wire," and the thing that I've realized about it is that it really builds on what Homicide did on NBC. In that way, I'd say that "Wire" is the darker, more sprawling sequel to "Homicide."

And both are about, in their own way, how one becomes tied to an institution, and how that institution fails us.

I wouldn't dream of calling any of the minds behind Homicide inexperienced.

First of all, in addition to David Simon, it's Tom Fontana, who was one of the masterminds behind St. Elsewhere and later went on to do "Oz." It's Barry Levinson, who, despite what you may think of some of his work, is at his best when he's telling stories about Baltimore--and like "The Wire", Homicide was shot on location in Baltimore with local actors as guest stars--something that cost them dearly, dearly, dearly, when it came time for the Emmys.

That's behind the camera. On screen, you have Ned Beatty, Jon Polito, and Yaphet Kotto--none of them spring chickens during H: LOTS's first season and many television and film credits behind them already. Andre Braugher, who was probally best known for "Glory," but also a respected actor at that point. Daniel Baldwin, the least known of the Baldwin clan. Melissa Leo. The great, great, great Clark Johnson--who later went on to become a director (helming the "Shield" and "Wire" pilots, among others). Belzer, a stand-up at that point but who was able to create this fantastic character that has become so defanged by his multiple appearances across television that it's kind of sad--although any Munch is better than no Munch. And of course, Kyle Secor, whose complete lack of recognition by the Academy is a crying shame.

In addition, as others have mentioned, a number of great guest stars--from Buscemi to Robin Williams to the mighty Chin, Bruce Campbell and even John Waters appeared on the show. Directors like Ted Demme and others got their start directing episodes of "Homicide." And David Simon has said that he learned so much about writing and making television--that he would later go on to use on "The Wire"--from Fontana and this show.

And for its time--NBC in the mid-90s--"Homicide" was an incredibly gritty and realistic show. Some of the depictions of the aftermath of the crimes are just cringe-inducing, there's even some nudity, and it's just as thematically dark as the great HBO shows. I mean, come on, the first story arc of the season involves the sexual assault and murder of a nine year old girl.

My proposal to you is this: If you've got Netflix or whatever, rent the first two seasons. It's only about eighteen episodes total--a little bit longer than the first season of an HBO series. If you're not hooked by then, say no more. But if "Three Men and Adena" doesn't blow you away, I'll...I don't know, I'll do something terribly embarrassing.

I leave you with this, and you'll know it when you see it: "There. You have a desk. Now, I wanna see lightning."