"Homicide - Life on the Street" Seasons 1 and 2

When the book by David Simon first came out, I was living in Baltimore and working in the area in which the book, and later this TV series, takes place. The book was the result of a years work by the author, riding with the Homicide Unit, seeing the bodies, feeling the streets, and hearing the anguish that had become Southwest Baltimore in the face of the growing drug epidemic of the late 1980's and early 90's. And you know what? It paid off.

This is one of the best of the TV drama series concerning police work. It is also the show which set the standard for all the other series; shows such as “Law and Order”, “NYPD Blue”, and even “The Shield”. It was also one of the first shows where the cops didn’t just joke around while solving cases. These officers, between solving murders, also delved into their own problems and demons, as well as some of the more pressing issues of the day.

With a roster of actors ranging from Richard Belzer, Melissa Leo, Ned Beatty, Yaphet Kotto, Kyle Secor and all the rest, the cast of this series is one of the best ever assembled. Newcomer Andre Braugher is in fine form as the “loner” of the group who finds himself suddenly partnered with another detective. Daniel Baldwin plays his beleaguered partner.

Together, these detectives track down, and hopefully solve, the homicides which seemingly pour into their precinct, located at the end of the tugboat piers in Fell’s Point. Many people have asked me if that was really the police station in real life. I am happy to report that it was. It was also the home to the tugboats of the Moran family business out of New York at the time. The Fell’s Point area is the music and entertainment district in Baltimore which is situated just east of Harborplace. It caters to the college crowd, featuring music and bars with a flavor unique to “Baltimore”.

Directed by Barry Levinson, himself a native of Baltimore and veteran of such films as “Diner”, the show really feels like the city. And, being filmed there, it even has the gritty feel that still lingers from the day when it was a home to shipyards such as Bethlehem Steel. It is, decidedly, a blue collar town.

What I love the most about this series, aside from the writing; which by the way, the whole cast contributed to at one time or another during the series iconic 7 year run; is being able to see the streets where I worked, and even in some cases lived, during my 18 years in that city. At one point, the show became so connected to the city’s image in fighting crime, that on two occasions, criminals who were fleeing the police surrendered to the TV cast when they rounded the corner onto Howard Street where the show was being filmed that day. Talk about realistic…

I was born in Brooklyn, New York but I came of age in Baltimore, where I found myself living while going to school after I got out of the Navy. I met my wife there, and it’s where my daughter was born. More than other city on earth, it contains the essence of who I really am. Perhaps that is why I am so drawn to this show. And that reminds me of an old country song, written by by Tompall Glaser and Harlan Howard in 1966, but best performed by Bobby Bare, about Baltimore. It's used to be on just about every jukebox in the city. Remember, it was, and still is, a decidedly blue collar town;

 

"The Wire" - Any Season

This is the explosive, street level drama that takes place in the neighborhood where I used to work in Baltimore during the 17 years in which I lived there. It is so realistic and factual in its portrayal of life in that neighborhood, that I have no doubt as to the veracity of the plots, or of the writing. It's shown exactly as I remember it.

Speaking of the writing, Ed Burns and David Simon are the two award winning fellows who brought you "Homicide:Life on the Street", the Emmy Award winning TV show, and the prize winning book "The Corner", which was later produced by PBS as a series, prior to this one. The lives depicted in this series are identical to the real lives portrayed in the pages of that book.

This is the main area of the action in "The Wire." The west side of Baltimore, from Martin Luther King Blvd to Monroe Street is a daily battleground between law enforcement and the street level drug trade. Stopping for a red light in this area produces all sorts of people coming up to the car window; prostitutes, drug dealers, rip off artists, you name it - they got it. And it goes on 24/7. In the daytime, the police are on top of things, but at night it's a different story, as the drug dealers and their customers steal, shoot and beat their way to the evenings "high". This usually involves at least one shooting and an assorted number of overdoses.

This series is well produced, and has an excellent theme song, which was re-recorded each year by a new group. Season 4 is my favorite version, which was arranged by Doreen Vail and recorded by the members of a Baltimore Boys Choir.

As usual, I'm about 5 years behind the rest of the world in watching this realistic and cutting edge show. The only excuse I have is that I was probably catching up on something else at the time, no doubt something which was 5 years old then. Like the neighborhood depicted in "The Wire", somethings never change.