I Was A TV Baby: Homicide: Life on the Street

HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET (1993-1999)

I just finished watching the very good 2008 film "Frozen River" featuring the actress Melissa Leo, who was on NBC's classic TV show "Homicide: Life on The Street" for about four years as Det. Kay Howard, until she was unceremoniously booted from the show for not conforming to Hollywood's standards of female beauty. Why this would matter when Melissa and the show were so kickass, I have no idea. But I could not let my memory of such a moving and exciting show go by without a mention here on Damn The Man.

Kay Howard was, for a time, the only female detective on this cop show (such a show now holds the fancy-dance name of "police procedural") set in Baltimore, which was in keeping with the show's source: David Simon's 1991 true crime book, "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets." David Simon would later go on to create one of the most critically acclaimed cable shows ever, "The Wire," a show that I also admire that continued Homicide's legacy of hard-hitting, uncompromising storytelling. It only helped that film director Barry Levinson served as executive producer (I love "Diner" to little bitty pieces).


This was a show so good that although it aired on Friday nights after the second season, and I was teenager at the time, my bum was glued to my seat in front of that screen every week. What made it different from other cop shows, and nearly every other show in general, was how gritty and no-nonsense it was. Then and now, these types of network shows tend to have a plastic veneer on them, a cheesiness that's both off-putting and superficial. "Homicide: Life on the Street" sought to give a true picture of what the Baltimnore streets were like for criminals, cops and civilians alike. The naturalistic documentary-style filmmaking helped to contribute to this air of authenticity.

The diverse cast was also a big draw of the show, including the aforementioned Leo, Andre Braugher as Det. Frank Pembleton, Kyle Secor as Det. Tim Bayliss, Yaphet Kotto as Lt. Al Giardello, Richard Belzer as Det. John Munch, Ned Beatty as Det. Stanley Bolander, and Daniel Baldwin as Det. Beau Felton. While the whole cast was impressive, and grew ever more expansive as the show went on, it was really Dets. Pembleton and Bayliss that ensured that viewers came back each week. Pembleton and Bayliss are truly one of TV's great duos; their intense questioning of suspects was the emotional Molotov cocktail that is missing from today's "procedurals." The rest of the cast and each week's stories kind of revolved around these mooring scenes, and the effect was hypnotizing.

I love this show. I know alot of folks missed out on this show because of its scheduling back then. I encourage you to pick up its DVD sets if you like "Dexter" or "The Wire." This precursor to these shows is only rivaled by, possibly, "Hill Street Blues." Possibly.

Please enjoy some clips from the show here. Prolific 90's music video director Mark Pellington (Pearl Jam's "Jeremy") co-directed an early opening credit sequence for the show. A very young Jake Gyllenhaal and Robin Williams are in the second one:





Pembleton and Bayliss!!!



Here are a few clips of the fifth episode of Season 1 called "Three Men and Adena." Check out the video Bayliss is watching in the first clip...very 90's:







They sometimes did crossovers with "Law and Order"...Check out Baltimore filmmaker John Waters! OMFG!! I love their NYC vs. Baltimore dialogue here:




Please check out the trailer for "Frozen River" featuring Melissa Leo of "Homicide":