what went before it to inspire it. Having loved the David Simon book on which 'Homicide' was based*, and discovering the DVD (which confusingly seems to actually comprise Seasons One and Two) available for just over a tenner, would it be one option to fill the Bunk-sized void caused by the end of the Wire? Some similarities emerge immediately. The gallows humour of the detectives in the Baltimore Police Department Homicide Unit as they go about their work and their depression at the seemingly unsolvable problem of drug-led poverty in the city have clear parallels in Simon's later creation. Certain devices - the whiteboard with victims in red or white depending on whether the crime has been solved or not and the occasional use of the photocopier as lie detector for the more simple of offenders - are more than familiar. Some of the themes that came to be fully examined in The Wire; the short-term philosophy of the upper ranks, the ability of the media to affect policing strategy and the pressure from the local government to deliver 'more for less' are also introduced. It is far more of a standard procedural police affair than the novel-like Wire, but this should not be taken as a criticism, as it is still streets ahead of the equivalents we are force-fed in the UK. It's not perfect, aside from the running theme of the murder of a little girl there is a feeling that the investigation will always be wrapped up within the episode. Regardless, the likes of Yaphet Kotto (Al Giardello) and Andre Braugher (Frank Pembleton) are very watchable and the writing is for the most part as sharp as many of the different US series that have followed it.
While later seasons apparently started to become more sensationalist and graphic in order to chase ratings, this DVD is more than worth a look in its own right as a rounded piece of entertainment, as well as being recommended for anyone interested in the provenance of the best series ever made.
*anyone enjoying the book should try and get hold of a copy of Homicide Special: A Year with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit by Miles Corwin, which is written in a similarly entertaining manner.
