Homicide: Life on the Street - The Complete Collection [DVD]

"Homicide: Life on the Street" (Jan, 1993 - May, 1999)

As far as I'm concerned, the aforementioned "Law and Order" crossover episodes (see below) not having been included doesn't bother me at all. To me, that series with its rather mundane script and dialogue is a par below "Homicide" anyway. Having said that, I concur that the omission of "H: The Movie", the great roundup of all the detectives and other characters that ever appeared in the seven-years-course of the series AND a worthy coda for this invaluable piece of recent TV history is indeed deplorable. So you'd better compare the prices of the US and the UK edition and decide for yourself.

In hindsight, a decade after watching the finale and having inevitably missed several (but not many) episodes, I can see the full scope of the series and its huge, if not always appreciated or even perceived by the general public, impact on contemporary TV entertainment. It's been called realistic, gritty, engrossing, moving, exciting. It's also as truthful as it gets, not only to the book, i.e. the first two seasons, but as a depiction of life in an American city and actual, non-glossy, yet intriguing police work in particular. In terms of realism, I'd rank it above "The Wire" (which IS excellent), the cast is terrific AND utterly believable, as the actors were either native Baltimoreans or rather unfamiliar faces, at least they were when the series originally aired, ideally suited to the characters they played. The idea of interspersing amateur actors, true originals from Baltimore, was indeed ingenious and adds considerably to the flavor, no phony accents and mimicking of street lingo here, it's the real McCoy, not to speak of the insightful script that makes this motley crew come to life so convincingly.

IMO, the first three seasons were the best, though the following three up to the weak and largely forgettable 7th season were excellent in their own right. I could have done without the guest appearances, as they more often than not rather detracted from the magnetic pull the regular "no-name" cast generated, yet many of them were undoubtedly great fun, so no complaint about that. Watching "Homicide" now on DVD after all these years, it's also astonishing to spot so many then unknown or unnoticed people, many of whom have become household names in the meantime. Just take the creators/writers. David Simon, creator of "The Wire", Tom Fontana ("Oz") or Paul Attanasio, who wrote the screenplay to "Donnie Brasco", one of the very best and -again - REALISTIC mob dramas ever. Anja Epstein has just recently joined the current "In Treatment"-series as executive producer, and Clark Johnson directed several episodes of "The Shield". The cross references seem almost infinite, they lay proof to the fact that "Homicide" is indeed the motherlode, the source from which the various direct or indirect offsprings have benefited.

Clark Johnson as Det. Meldrick Lewis
Richard Belzer as Sgt John Munch
Yaphet Kotto as Lt. Al Giardello
Kyle Secor as Det. Tim Bayliss
Andre Braugher as Det. Frank Pembleton
Michael Ahl as Officer Phatt
Melissa Leo as Sgt. Kay Howard
Reed Diamond as Det. Mike Kellerman
Ned Beatty as Det. Stanley 'The Big Man' Bolander (seasons 1 - 3)
Daniel Baldwin as Det. Beau Felton (seasons 1 - 3)
Jon Polito as Det. Steve Crosetti (seasons 1 - 2)

Season 1:
1. Gone for Goode - 2. A Ghost of a Chance - 3. Son of a Gun - 4. A Shot in the Dark - 5. Three Men and Adena - 6. Dog and Pony Show - 7. And the Rockets' Dead Glare - 8. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - 9. The Night of the Dead Living
Season 2:
10. Bop Gun - 11. See No Evil - 12. Black and Blue - 13. A Many Splendored Thing
Season 3:
14. Nearer My God to Thee - 15. Fits Like a Glove - 16. Extreme Unction - 17. A Model Citizen - 18. Happy to Be Here - 19. Crosetti - 20. The Last of the Watermen - 21. All Through the House - 22. Every Mother's Son - 23. Cradle to Grave - 24. Partners - 25. The City That Bleeds - 26. Dead End - 27. End Game - 28. Law and Disorder - 29. The Old and the Dead - 30. In Search of Crimes Past - 31. Nothing Personal - 32. Colors - 33. The Gas Man
Season 4:
34. Fire: Part 1 - 35. Fire: Part 2 - 36. Autofocus - 37. Thrill of the Kill - 38. Hate Crimes - 39. A Doll's Eyes - 40. Heartbeat - 41. Sniper: Part 1 - 42. Sniper: Part 2 - 43. The Hat - 44. I've Got a Secret - 45. For God and Country - 46. Justice: Part 1 - 47. Justice: Part 2 - 48. Stakeout - 49. Requiem for Adena - 50. Full Moon - 51. Scene of the Crime - 52. Map of the Heart - 53. The Damage Done - 54. The Wedding - 55. Work Related
Season 5:
56. Hostage: Part 1 - 57. Hostage: Part 2 - 58. Prison Riot - 59. Bad Medicine - 60. M.E., Myself and I - 61. White Lies - 62. The Heart of a Saturday Night - 63. The True Test - 64. Control - 65. Blood Wedding - 66. The Documentary - 67. Betrayal - 68. Have a Conscience -
69. Diener - 70. Wu's on First? - 71. Valentine's Day - 72. Kaddish - 73. Double Blind - 74. Deception - 75. Narcissus - 76. Partners and Other Strangers - 77. Strangers and Other Partners
Season 6:
78. Blood Ties: Part 1 - 79. Blood Ties: Part 2 - 80. Blood Ties: Part 3 - 81. Birthday - 82. Baby, It's You: Part 2 - 83. Saigon Rose - 84. Subway - 85. All Is Bright - 86. Closet Cases - 87. Sins of the Father - 88. Shaggy Dog, City Goat - 89. Something Sacred: Part 1 - 90. Something Sacred: Part 2 - 91. Lies and Other Truths - 92. Pit Bull Sessions - 93. Mercy - 94. Abduction - 95. Full Court Press - 96. Strangled, Not Stirred - 97. Secrets - 98. Finnegan's Wake - 99. Fallen Heroes: Part 1 - 100. Fallen Heroes: Part 2
Season 7:
101. La Famiglia - 102. Brotherly Love - 103. Just an Old Fashioned Love Song - 104. The Twenty Percent Solution - 105. Red, Red Wine - 106. Wanted Dead or Alive: Part 1 - 107. Wanted Dead or Alive: Part 2 - 108. Kellerman, P.I.: Part 1 - 109. Kellerman, P.I.: Part 2 -
110. Shades of Gray - 111. Bones of Contention - 112. The Same Coin - 113. Homicide.com -
114. A Case of Do or Die - 115. Sideshow: Part 2 - 116. Truth Will Out - 117. Zen and the Art of Murder - 118. Self Defense - 119. Identity Crisis - 120. Lines of Fire - 121. The Why Chromosome - 122. Forgive Us Our Trespasses

NOT included (the tie-in episodes)
"Law & Order"
Charm City (Season 6, Episode 13)
Baby, It's You (Season 8, Episode 6)
Sideshow (Season 9, Episode 14)
and
Homicide: The Movie (2000) (aka "Another Homicide"), which aired 9 (!) months after the series finale.

Essential viewing for the discerning adult, definitely affordable price, good packaging of discs. The US box-set (35 discs) is even more recommendable, as it contains all the crossover episodes and the "Another Homicide" special. However, the missing material is no big deal, and fans of Lt. Giardello might want to skip the special anyway ;-).
Unconditionally recommended to anyone who liked "Hill Street Blues" or "The Wire" or is planning to watch these series on DVD.

33 DVDs (122 episodes)
Region 2
Language: English
Subtitles: English HoH
Run Time: 5694 minutes

Homicide: Life on the Street is a truly brilliant drama that has unfortunately maintained a low profile over the years. This is a shame, because it is undoubtedly the best show of it's kind, boasting wonderful writing, innovative directing, detailed character development, and a warm sense of humour. Here is a brief overview of each season:

Season 1&2: These two seasons are so short (9 and 4 episodes, respectively) that they are practically the same season (they were released as "Series One" here in the UK). These early episodes are probably the most realistic, as the events in them are mostly fictionalised versions of real events depicted in David Simon's excellent book "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets". The main storyline is Detective Tim Bayliss' investigation into the death of an 11-year old girl. Includes guest appearances from Robin Williams, Chris Rock, and a young Jake Gyllenhaal.
9.5/10

Season Three (20 episodes): Arguably the best season, filled with classic episodes and storylines. These include a serial killer who leaves white gloves on the victims, the suicide of one of the main characters, the shooting of three of the detectives and the subsequent hunt for the perpertrator. The show can be very harrowing, but here manages to balance this with humour and warmth, and makes the characters very human and easy to relate to.
10/10

Season Four (22 episodes): Still great, though not quite as good as the previous season. There is a notable reduction in the amount of story-arcs, meaning that most of the episodes are more sensational stand-alone episodes.
9/10

Season Five (22 episodes): A slight step down from the previous season, but still very good. This season delivers some very effective stories, including one concerning a member of the unit being framed for corruption, and acts as a sort of lead-in for the next season. Strong storylines and character development, particularly involving Detective Kellerman (Reed Diamond).
8/10

Season Six (22 episodes): The best season since season three, helped by a season long storyline that pits the detectives against a an enormous drug empire, and a great episode ("The Subway") about a man pinned between a subway train and the station platform.
10/10

Season Seven (22 episodes): The weakest season, though not bad by any means. It is hurt by a few misguided cast changes and the fact that the drama of the previous season simply could not be topped. The standard is still very high, however, especially in the final episode, the haunting and eerie "Forgive Us Our Trespasses".
7/10

Overall, a classic drama that simply cannot be passed over.

Great price for the complete collection of this series. I remember watching it back in the day on channel 4. A very groundbreaking series and great to see all of the seasons available over here.

If your a fan of The Wire you will love this as its based on the book written by David Simon (The Wire).

There are some amazing characters in it, like Bayliss, Munch and Pembleton. Some amazing lines in the series.

One thing though - its a shame as noted by the other reviewer that it doesn't have the features which the American version of the box-set does, like the movie and the cross-over episodes.

Other than this its a good buy, but might be worth checking out the America box set though first if you want any extras as this has no extras at all.