A Revelation about Homicide: Life On The Street

I've been addicted these past couple of months to the old show Homicide: Life On The Street. Not only is it the precursor to the show The Wire, but it is also the show where the character of John Munch, played so well by Richard Belzer, debuted. It's an absolutely brilliant show, with the ensemble being superb (it may be the overall best ensemble acting job I've ever seen on TV) but also the writing being as good as it gets. The writing is particularly incredible in the first season of the show, but I'm midway through the third season and the writing is still extremely good; there honestly hasn't been a bad or even mediocre episode yet. I can't recommend the show enough, and amazingly, it's all available on DVD, including the movie and the crossover episodes with Law And Order.

Ever since I started watching the show, I've been trying to figure out why I enjoy watching the characters on the show interact so much. Tonight, I figured it out. The characters interact as if they're doing theatrical improv. Being exhausted, quirky homicide detectives, they often say completely inane or crazy things which are usually personal and the kinds of things that you and I would ignore if someone else said it to us or just brush them off as weird; for example, one character in the first season is obsessed with Lincoln's assassination being a conspiracy, and brings it up as much as possible.

But on this show, the characters listen intently to each other and try anything out or respond in kind to what the other is saying. Anything and everything is fair game; nothing is brushed aside as stupid or pointless. It's both immediately refreshing and compelling to watch, because the characters, even though they are as cynical and jaded as characters can be, still deeply care about each other and entertain anything. Just like professional improv, the characters never say no to each other's crazy thoughts or ideas, but listen. They may strongly disagree, they may be mean or callous, but they always listen and respond.

I guess in a way I wish life was more like that, where everyone would at least listen to everything someone they cared about said and try to thoughtfully respond. But at least we have Homicide: Life On The Street to show us what a world like that could be like. Kudos to the writing staff and the actors for pulling it off.