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• May 20, 1999 8:17:13 PM CDT

  1st, and Homicide

  by serv

  Entirely expected. Only a few good ep's this season, the two involving Bayliss, the mafia one, the one with Giardello and the child murder and the one with Little G and the Hostages.

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  Content Entirely expected. Only a few good ep's this season, the two involving Bayliss, the mafia one, the one with Giardello and the child murder and the one with Little G and the Hostages.

• May 20, 1999 9:10:40 PM CDT

  Homicide: Gone, but never forgotten

  by bryguy1

  We are gathered here today to celebrate and mourn the passing of the best drama ever to be aired on television, Homicide, Life on the Street. From the pen of David Smon of the Baltimore Sun, to the brains of Barry Levinson and David Attanasio,to the direction and writing of Tom Fontana and Jim Yoshimura, we had seven glorious years of a true-to-life cop drama. We thank these men and the legions of fans who supported this show from its inception until its ultimate defeat by the hand of that damned Don Johnson. We weathered the storms of cast changes, of Pembleton's departure, of Bayliss' metamorphosis into a yen-guru, and have only to have our hearts finally broken by those greedy bastards at NBC who never realized what they had. We will miss the banter between the detectives, the sneers of Gaffney and Barnfather, the protection and compasion of Giardello, the conspiracies of Munch, and those after-shift drinks at The Waterfront. And yes, this year was rough at the beginning, but just as a new generation of fans has begun to catch onto this show thanks to CourtTV, NBC pulls the rug out from all of us. We always expected it, but now that it is here, it still hurts. Never let NBC forget what they have done, and always remember that ratings have nothing to do with quality. Greedy NBC Executives 1, Fans of Good TV, 0. Way to go, Nash Bridges.

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  Content We are gathered here today to celebrate and mourn the passing of the best drama ever to be aired on television, Homicide, Life on the Street. From the pen of David Smon of the Baltimore Sun, to the brains of Barry Levinson and David Attanasio,to the direction and writing of Tom Fontana and Jim Yoshimura, we had seven glorious years of a true-to-life cop drama. We thank these men and the legions of fans who supported this show from its inception until its ultimate defeat by the hand of that damned Don Johnson. We weathered the storms of cast changes, of Pembleton's departure, of Bayliss' metamorphosis into a yen-guru, and have only to have our hearts finally broken by those greedy bastards at NBC who never realized what they had. We will miss the banter between the detectives, the sneers of Gaffney and Barnfather, the protection and compasion of Giardello, the conspiracies of Munch, and those after-shift drinks at The Waterfront. And yes, this year was rough at the beginning, but just as a new generation of fans has begun to catch onto this show thanks to CourtTV, NBC pulls the rug out from all of us. We always expected it, but now that it is here, it still hurts. Never let NBC forget what they have done, and always remember that ratings have nothing to do with quality. Greedy NBC Executives 1, Fans of Good TV, 0. Way to go, Nash Bridges.

• May 21, 1999 5:41:43 AM CDT

  Homicide

  by aktor!

  Homicide was NOT done in by Nash Bridges, but by a show from NBC's own network, on Homicide's own night...remember "Providence" when you catch Homicide's replacement by mistake on Friday nights at 10! The precious Providence's numbers were apparently sooooooo impressive that the suits at NBC decided they NEEDED more "women's" shows. *retches at the thought* And if I hear one more person quote the figure of "seven seasons", I'm going to scream! It was NOT seven complete seasons for "Homicide:Life on the Street". 122 episodes do NOT 7 seasons make...usually there are 22 episodes in a season, 7x22=154!!!
  We didn't even get SIX complete seasons! Homicide's numbers have been stacked against it from the beginning, didn't the show only have four or so episodes in its so-called first season?
  I am sad for all the fans and for all the cast and crew (counting myself in that last group). The city of Baltimore and the entire metro Baltimore/DC area has lost a valued memeber of the community. We can only hope that "Hollywood" will remember where "Homicide" was made...not in Burbank, not on some sound lot (like NYPD Blue), but on the real streets of a real city, Charm City. I have been thinking about going to the Waterfront tonight, but maybe I'll just stay home and toast the "best damn show on television" and thank the show business gods that I was blessed enough to have been a part of it.

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  Content Homicide was NOT done in by Nash Bridges, but by a show from NBC's own network, on Homicide's own night...remember "Providence" when you catch Homicide's replacement by mistake on Friday nights at 10! The precious Providence's numbers were apparently sooooooo impressive that the suits at NBC decided they NEEDED more "women's" shows. *retches at the thought* And if I hear one more person quote the figure of "seven seasons", I'm going to scream! It was NOT seven complete seasons for "Homicide:Life on the Street". 122 episodes do NOT 7 seasons make...usually there are 22 episodes in a season, 7x22=154!!! We didn't even get SIX complete seasons! Homicide's numbers have been stacked against it from the beginning, didn't the show only have four or so episodes in its so-called first season? I am sad for all the fans and for all the cast and crew (counting myself in that last group). The city of Baltimore and the entire metro Baltimore/DC area has lost a valued memeber of the community. We can only hope that "Hollywood" will remember where "Homicide" was made...not in Burbank, not on some sound lot (like NYPD Blue), but on the real streets of a real city, Charm City. I have been thinking about going to the Waterfront tonight, but maybe I'll just stay home and toast the "best damn show on television" and thank the show business gods that I was blessed enough to have been a part of it.

• May 21, 1999 6:34:26 AM CDT

  Nash Bridges vs Providence

  by omarthesnake

  Sorry, Aktor, but the truth of the matter is that Nash Bridges killed Homicide. If it hadn't been around to damage the ratings of Homicide, NBC would have most likely been satisfied with Homicide's ratings, perhaps even considering it and Providence good companion pieces ("Okay, dear, I'll watch Providence with you and you can watch Homicide with me"). What did Homicide in is that it had been weakened for several seasons going in by Nash Bridges. Providence was an accomplice, certainly, but not the sole culprit. It was a one-two punch, and Nash Bridges punched first.
  As for seasons, quit barfin', the show lasted seven seasons. It doesnt matter if it's 22 episodes or four episodes (as the second season, not the first, was; after a first season of 12 eps and a second season of 4, Richard Belzer remarked something to the effect of "What are they gonna give us next year, 15 minutes?"). In the industry, and if you check around in any of the reference books (there are two for Homicide that i know of), a season is not based on how many episodes were made. Considering its bumpy start, and the fact that the show dared to be truly different, i'm grateful that we got to see as many seasons of Homicide as we did.
  I'll join you in watching tonight's finale, and wishing it weren't the end of one of the best series in recent TV history.

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  Content Sorry, Aktor, but the truth of the matter is that Nash Bridges killed Homicide. If it hadn't been around to damage the ratings of Homicide, NBC would have most likely been satisfied with Homicide's ratings, perhaps even considering it and Providence good companion pieces ("Okay, dear, I'll watch Providence with you and you can watch Homicide with me"). What did Homicide in is that it had been weakened for several seasons going in by Nash Bridges. Providence was an accomplice, certainly, but not the sole culprit. It was a one-two punch, and Nash Bridges punched first. As for seasons, quit barfin', the show lasted seven seasons. It doesnt matter if it's 22 episodes or four episodes (as the second season, not the first, was; after a first season of 12 eps and a second season of 4, Richard Belzer remarked something to the effect of "What are they gonna give us next year, 15 minutes?"). In the industry, and if you check around in any of the reference books (there are two for Homicide that i know of), a season is not based on how many episodes were made. Considering its bumpy start, and the fact that the show dared to be truly different, i'm grateful that we got to see as many seasons of Homicide as we did. I'll join you in watching tonight's finale, and wishing it weren't the end of one of the best series in recent TV history.

• May 21, 1999 9:53:10 AM CDT

  Ignorant and lazy I know

  by owatonna

  But does anyone know if the remainder of Homicide is ever going to get shown in the UK? No, thought not. Seasons come and go, but over here Luther Mahoney's blood is scarcely dry...

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  Content But does anyone know if the remainder of Homicide is ever going to get shown in the UK? No, thought not. Seasons come and go, but over here Luther Mahoney's blood is scarcely dry...

• May 21, 1999 10:05:18 AM CDT

  The Reason For the Axe

  by savant

  According to quotes from Tom Fontana that were in several newspapers, the real culprit in Homicide's demise was "cost". While ratings generally drop the longer a show is on (and Homicide's didn't drop THAT much), costs always go up. They felt they had enough shows to make a good, profitable syndication run for the producers.
  
  A new show doesn't cost as much. One of the articles quoted a $200 thousand per episode difference.
  
  If I recall, economic concerns were the reason ST:TNG packed it in after seven years also.

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  Content According to quotes from Tom Fontana that were in several newspapers, the real culprit in Homicide's demise was "cost". While ratings generally drop the longer a show is on (and Homicide's didn't drop THAT much), costs always go up. They felt they had enough shows to make a good, profitable syndication run for the producers. A new show doesn't cost as much. One of the articles quoted a $200 thousand per episode difference. If I recall, economic concerns were the reason ST:TNG packed it in after seven years also.

• May 24, 1999 11:36:55 AM CDT

  Falsone's Character Worked For Me

  by bingot

  I disagree with the above commentary that none of the new characters were anyone's favorite - I thought Falsone, although I hated him the first time he appeared as part of the Auto Theft detail, was a full flsehed out character and appealing guy to hang out with over a few beers. He had reasonable human flaws but a willingness to get to the bottom of things. Pembleton was my favorite of all, with the pre-molestation-discovery Bayliss in second, but Falsone ranks 1A in my book. Hopefully the actors behind these roles, especially Meldrick Lewis, can find other great work soon.

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  Content I disagree with the above commentary that none of the new characters were anyone's favorite - I thought Falsone, although I hated him the first time he appeared as part of the Auto Theft detail, was a full flsehed out character and appealing guy to hang out with over a few beers. He had reasonable human flaws but a willingness to get to the bottom of things. Pembleton was my favorite of all, with the pre-molestation-discovery Bayliss in second, but Falsone ranks 1A in my book. Hopefully the actors behind these roles, especially Meldrick Lewis, can find other great work soon.

• Jul 26, 2006 8:20:15 PM CDT

  The rest is silence.

  by wolfpack

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