Homicide differs from most crime shows out there because it doesn't conform to the usual drama that most others in the genre carry. There are no high-speed chases, no shock value love affairs, no extended action scenes, no nerdy book and film trivia scattered in for no reason. Homicide is as close to reality as fiction can get. The characters, not played by the usual glamorous celebrities, look and act like ordinary working joes dedicated to their grim job, "speaking for the dead" as they put it. And viewers connect with the characters, whether it's Giardello's speeches, Munch's cynical but well-placed comments, or Pembleton juggling work and family all at once. The show might've been dark, but it worked extremely well.Around Season 6, it began to decline noticeably. Kay Howard, the "woman doing a man's job", whom viewers come to admire, is out of the picture, replaced by two new detectives who have supermodel looks but nothing outstanding or memorable about them. Brodie, the geeky but ambitious young videographer, is sent away just as he starts to become part of the Homicide "family". Pembleton and Kellerman, major characters, resign and are replaced by Gharty, a watery-eyed, often-drunk, middle-aged detective who mostly just mopes around and makes passes at younger women. Munch, once a sardonic jerk but a great detective and a surprisingly kind person and great friend when he wants to be, becomes lazy, a gossip, overly crass and annoying and is hardly ever in Season 7 anymore, spending all his time working the Waterfront Bar with Billie Lou, an eccentric barmaid who looks more like his daughter than his girlfriend. Their relationship, which is supposed to appear comical and cute, just comes off as extremely creepy, as they frequently discuss their sex life in front of other characters. Watching them carry on that way just makes me cringe. It looks so weird! Billie Lou isn't exactly devoted either, as she often flirts with Gharty (Gharty is even older than Munch). The FBI arrives in later seasons, expanding the usual small Baltimore homicide unit unnecessarily and throwing in extra drama. Bayliss becomes a "zen detective" and starts reciting proverbs and claims to be bisexual, again throwing more drama into the mix. The trademark camera angles and 16mm film look of grainy browns and grays change to an unoriginal appearance with bright blue paint and a renovated office.The good thing about Homicide is that the first five seasons are something you can watch over and over again, while still being impressed every time. This show isn't afraid to leave questions unanswered and mysteries unsolved, just like real-life. What drove Crosetti to suicide? Did Munch turn vigilante and shoot Gordon Pratt in the night? Who killed Adena Watson? What makes Homicide unique is that sometimes, things aren't easy, things aren't cheerful, but hope still prevails even in the darkest times, and this show does an excellent job at portraying that. Personally I like it far more than The Wire or Law & Order, and I was really sad to see it go when it did, although, with the direction it was going, maybe it's for the best that it still got to die with dignity.

Yes even better than Law and Order and CSI. As it portrays really gritty and really violent. As also really in your face. With a one camera angle that would really open the door to several other shows like "The Office and Brooklyn Nine Nine that stars one of the actors on the show, the great Andre Braugher.It was shot on location in Baltimore MD. As the ensemble cast had witty Richard Belzer who would have his John Munch go on ten shows besides this and Law and Order SVU. Future Oscar winner Melissa Leo, Ned Beatty, Yaphett Kotto as the worried boss LT G.One gritty show and really well written and produced by the great director Barry Levinson! You don't see shows like this now a days!

HOMICIDE ran six seasons in the 1990s, documenting the solving of violent crime cases in Baltimore, and had a real who's who of a cast, including Andre Braugher, Yaphet Kotto, Ned Beatty and Richard Belzer. I am not clear on the show's relationship to LAW & ORDER, but characters kept crossing over for guest spots between the two. One character, Belzer's quirky Munch, eventually moved over to the L& O spin off, "Special Victims Unit." HOMICICDE was beautifully shot in one of the nation's grittiest, most colorful and crime-ridden cities, and the characters were for the most part low-key and believable within the limitations of the scripts, which unfortunately were never up to L&O quality. Worth a watch when you can't find an L&O or NYPD BLUE episode on.

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.