No doubt, the most realistic police show ever made.Mean we all saw a lot of cop-shows in our life, most unrealistic, but this one is entirely different. Great characters, great acting, its more intellectual then all the rest.no car chases, no gun-firing all the timeand, no high-tech computers.cause that doesn't exist in real life.and yet the show is still entertaining.the difference is this show is not really about the murders. well it also is, but most of the characters are psycho-log. very deep. all with their own personal problems. the writing is fantastic, cause the dialogs, they just talk ass we all do - day by day.

In my opinion, Homicide: Life On The Streets is the best TV show ever. Frank Pembleton in the box is as compelling as TV gets. David Simon wrote over 100 episodes of Homicide before creating The Wire, my other favorite show. The acting of the cast is superb, especially Andre Braugher, Kyle Secor and Clark Johnson. I liked the first few seasons the best because they featured Pembleton and Bayliss the most. The last few seasons, which featured Gharty, Falsone and Ballard more, were still excellent television. As good as NYPD Blue, Law & Order and CSI are, they never hit me emotionally like Homicide did. Try to catch the reruns on WGN and the Sleuth network.

While I think the series taken as a whole would certainly rank among the best ever put on television, a few things make it the absolute best. One is the cast. From Braugher to Kotto to Beatty to Johnson to Belzer to... the actors were (are) just phenomenal. Another is the writing. No smart-alec CSI hot shot zingers. True conversation from sophisticated adults. The last but not the least are the story lines, the greatest of all being the Mahoney story. Wow...! I dare say Shakespearean. The angst, elation, tragedy, morality (and lack thereof), vengeance, pain, and desperation throughout that saga has to be seen to be believed. What a great great risk they took by not taking the easy way out. The contrast in the scene at the park from the vengeful glee felt one minute to the totally unexpected tragedy the next was one of the great moments in the history of television and will never be equaled.

Oh my gosh, and only because not enough people watched this show or appreciate GOOD ART on television do I take the time to totally gush over the incredible piece of work this show was. This truly was THE TOP show of (I'll be modest and say this common era) I mean every episode was like watching a play, a piece of theater. I just recently by the grace of God caught the beginning of its syndication on Superstation WGN here in Florida, like I just happened to be in the hospital and the very first episode of Homicide comes on. I'm like its a miracle. Faithfully I turned on the TV for the next few days at 11am sharp to contentedly and thoroughly enjoy this beautiful show. I missed this show. I wish I could write the producers and say thank you for having the courage to do something good on TV. Thank you for blessing us with this gift. I do not have TVO but I do have a VCR and now that I have to return to work next week, I will definitely tape this show and cherish it.