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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 12, 2011 3:25:18 GMT
Thanks to Jazz & Casimira who convinced me to watch this series. As far as I know, only Casimira & I are presently watching it. I hope others will join in this thread. Here is Wikipedia's list of the episodes: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Homicide:_Life_on_the_Street_episodesand IMDb's more complete rundown: www.imdb.com/title/tt0106028/It would be great if there were several people watching the same episodes at the same time. With that in mind, here is where I am in the series: I have watched up through Season 3, Episode 2, or Episode 15 of the whole series, if you prefer to count that way. (Season 2 only had four episodes.) I would be more than happy to either wait until others catch up to that point, or to double up on episodes to catch up with everyone else -- just say the word! Anyone with ideas on how to manage this thread is welcome to take control of it, please.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 16, 2011 4:56:16 GMT
Okay, I just watched Season 3, Episode 4 ~~ am I alone in this thread?
Some comments:
1. It seems Homicide always gets compared to The Wire, but the more I watch, the more I can't see any reason for comparing the two. I think they're both excellent in different ways & that people might prefer one to the other, but I don't see where one of them is better.
2. Homicide is one of, if not the most script-driven successful drama series ever to appear on tv. In fact, I wonder how they got away with so much dialogue & so few (if any) chase scenes or other traditional thrill-builders of tv cop shows. The seven seasons it ran, the fact that its fans still recall it so fondly, and the level of quality writing and acting argue for a large segment of the viewing public that always wanted better tv.
3. Homicide is taken from a non-fiction book. The lack of conventionally "dramatic" resolutions in many episodes does seem a great deal like real life. Are all the episodes based on fact?
4. At this point in the series, I'm torn between my admiration of Andre Braugher's depiction of Frank Pembleton, and a mild annoyance with the somewhat belabored tortuousness of the character.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2011 10:13:56 GMT
Okay, I just watched Season 3, Episode 4 ~~ am I alone in this thread? Some comments: 1. It seems Homicide always gets compared to The Wire, but the more I watch, the more I can't see any reason for comparing the two. I think they're both excellent in different ways & that people might prefer one to the other, but I don't see where one of them is better. 2. Homicide is one of, if not the most script-driven successful drama series ever to appear on tv. In fact, I wonder how they got away with so much dialogue & so few (if any) chase scenes or other traditional thrill-builders of tv cop shows. The seven seasons it ran, the fact that its fans still recall it so fondly, and the level of quality writing and acting argue for a large segment of the viewing public that always wanted better tv. 3. Homicide is taken from a non-fiction book. The lack of conventionally "dramatic" resolutions in many episodes does seem a great deal like real life. Are all the episodes based on fact? 4. At this point in the series, I'm torn between my admiration of Andre Braugher's depiction of Frank Pembleton, and a mild annoyance with the somewhat belabored tortuousness of the character. I just completed Season 2. Episode 1 of Season 3 is due here today. No.you are not alone in here Bixa. Thanks for jump starting the thread. I wasn't quite sure where to go with it and was waiting to follow your lead. I am more than thrilled to be able to banter about this TV series which riveted my attention back when it was being aired. I remember it used to air on Friday nights and I was hard pressed to do anything socially on those Friday nights lest I miss an episode. I do wish we had more people on here to compare notes with. With regard to your comments thus far; I do not see very many similarities to The Wire at all aside from the location (Baltimore). The 2 have been compared often and it escapes me completely as to why. I do think that many of the fans of Homicide became fans of The Wire as they were looking for a TV series that had highly comparable excellent writing,acting and direction. Something to fill the void after Homicide. Personally,I do think that Homicide was better. The script. Not enough can be said about the writing IMHO. Certain episodes stand out more to be sure. For me,the ones that do,have very much to do with the intensity of the dialogue between characters,the depth of the character development unfolding from the very start. Never have I seen on TV a more intense probing of the psyche than I have in this series. And,the fact that in some of these episodes there is very little 'action' so to speak. So much of it takes place either with the characters riding in the car together or in the interrogation room with one of the suspects. These are the 2 key places where writing really stands out. When street scenes are shot,they capture and highlight Baltimore and it's reputation for being both a city on the water,and one of the most crime ridden cities of that era. One is reminded each time the credits roll that it is based on a book by Paul Anastasio. I often wonder why I have never sought this book out to read given my rabid enthusiasm for the series. I do believe that most of the show is based on fact. At least two of the episodes that are coming up were based on real life stories here in New Orleans. These completely blew me away as they were well known cases,and,my husband had been one of the first to be on the scene in one of them. You can well imagine the emotion this stirred in me. ( the back ground music by the local band The Subdudes only intensified this for me). (The episodes while based on NOLA stories,take place in Baltimore in the series just so you are confused by this.) I'm going to hold off for now my comments regarding Andre Braugher's character Frank Pembleton. Having seen the series once already,it wouldn't be fair to do so. I do see what you are referring to though.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 16, 2011 23:27:03 GMT
Yaaaay!! Thanks, Casimira. I was afraid you couldn't get everything from Netflicks, so had to give up on reviewing your re-viewing.
I'll hold off watching for now, so we can be on the same episodes.
Your comments really gave me food for thought, especially:
Never have I seen on TV a more intense probing of the psyche than I have in this series.And,the fact that in some of these episodes there is very little 'action' so to speak. So much of it takes place either with the characters riding in the car together or in the interrogation room with one of the suspects. These are the 2 key places where writing really stands out.
After reading that in the morning, it must have been rolling around in back of my head. I say that because later in the day, while outside fooling with my plants, it occurred to me that the English language's most lauded writer, Shakespeare, is mostly about dialogue & soliloquy, not about sword fights, the car chases of that era. And really, much of the musing, almost declamatory "dialogue" in Homicide is actually soliloquy.
And that takes us right to what you say about the interrogation room, then to Frank's insistence that we're always looking at our own dark sides. Also, one measure of good acting is how well an actor can handle a play, with Shakespeare often considered the pinnacle of play-writing. Certainly many of the episodes in Homicide have more than a whiff of the stage about them, making what the actors do all the more impressive.
I'm just tossing these ideas around, and may be all wet. Still, it's amazing that something made for the small screen elicits so much emotion as we watch it, and so much mulling afterward.
Oh yeah -- thanks for the heads-up about the change of venue. I don't know that I'll recognize the incidents, but your background info will help if I do. And using the Subdudes as music in those episodes? Inspired!
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