MovieChat Forums > Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) Discussion > Anybody else find this show too depressi...

Anybody else find this show too depressing?

posted 10 years ago by filmtvwatcher
11 replies | jump to latest

After seeing the first few seasons of Homicide, I have to know if I'm alone in feeling this way. I like the characters, the acting, the dialogue. I recognise the show is good. But the whole show just feels so depressing I don't look forward to watching it. From the miserable theme tune onwards. Anybody else feel this way?

(For the record, I love the Wire and plenty of other gritty dramas. So I don't think I have a problem with dark or depressing themes.)

Actually another thought just occurred. I think Homicide also has a problem of being aimless. The Wire had a clear theme/story arc for each season. Homicide just seems to meander about. I think that makes it drag. Shows with a strong story arc are more likely to pull me in.

Any thoughts anybody?

[–] novastar_6 10 years ago

It IS largely depressing, because they made it real, at least realer than Law and Order ever did, I think it's also depressing having Frank Pembleton around because with few exceptions you just know he's going to be an assho1e to everyone for no reason, but especially to Tim who doesn't deserve it.

[–] filmtvwatcher 10 years ago

I never considered Frank might be a depressing factor. Maybe.

I don't think the realism's what makes the show depressing. At least not just that. The Wire is better researched and more real, but I happily watch many episodes of it in a sitting. Whereas I have to force myself to watch Homicide.

[–] agracier-574-436194 9 years ago

Frank Pembelton is probably the most honest character on the show - he is logical and straightforward and doesn't seem to hold many illusions.

Anyway, I used to love the show when it aired, but when watching it again (for a short while) some months ago, I too found it depressing. Not because of the characters or stories, but because how in this series, police violence and suspicion and the notion of 'guilty till beating the rap' seems to be so pervasive.

After seeing so many real videos of incidents of unwarranted police violence and killings the past year or two, there is nothing entertaining anymore about seeing the same on TV, even if it is fictional ... too much police violence is just too much ...

[–] Noir-It-All 9 years ago

For me, the show validates feelings and processes them. I am sure many, many viewers feel like you.

[–] peteyob 9 years ago

Having worked in criminal justice, and spending a lot of time in Baltimore, it seems like one of the most realistic portrayals I have seen about police. And that is depressing, unfortunately. If this seems bad, don't ever watch Seven (Se7en?)!

[–] greenegg 9 years ago

Homicide was my favorite show while during its original airing and remains one of my all-time favorite programs twenty (gulp!) years later. I own the complete boxed set, so I watch the entire series about once a year.

I usually found the series disturbing, but I also found it cathartic. I still sob during certain episodes, which seems a mark of a good production. I never found the series depressing, though. I found much of it moving, as it seemed to capture the toll violence takes upon everyone.

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[–] sleepingtiger (712) 7 years ago

Loved the hell out of Homicide when it came on, but it was switched over to a different look, I think, to try and compete with the other popular cop show at the time--can recall the name, but it was on ABC for years. I need to get the boxed set---at least the first two seasons,which were excellent. Apparently, even thought it was critically acclaimed with a marvelous cast, it struggled in the ratings at one point (back in those days, a program was actually given time to find its feet and its audience, instead of being kicked to the curb after barely half a season like some shows are today,or have been) and I read somewhere that it was suggested the reason that it wasn't doing well was because at least two or three of the main characters were black, or some such nonsense like that. Can't recall when I read that from. That said, this was one of the best crime drama shows ever, and pretty much a precursor to the Wire in some cases.

[–] gasmaskproductionsbooks 8 years ago

Depressing, but not in a bad way. The way I see it, any show that can evoke emotion like that from its viewers is very powerful stuff.

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[–] pistrix 8 years ago

Of course it is depressing, look at the title. These detectives work a thankless job, in a thankless city and have to deal with dead people and see what humans will do to other humans. Put yourself in their shoes, it is why they have to develop dark humor. The show was phenomenal because it was more realistic than any other cop drama.

No Homicide was not aimless. The Wire and Homicide are two completely different shoes. The only same thing between them is Baltimore. Otherwise Homicide is pretty much the day in the life of the Homicide detectives and the death on the streets. That is the point.

If Homicide is aimless, so is Law and Order, NYPDBlue, and CSI and any other drama like that. Yes the Wire had a theme in each of the 5 seasons, but the Wire is not Homicide. Don't compare the two.

((Damn the remakes, Save the originals.))

[–] dav3id-2 8 years ago

The Wire and H:LOTS also have a common source: David Simon.

[–] WildFire78 (59) 4 years ago

Well, considering the subject matter, it's going to be depressing unless you are a complete psychopath.

But it has it's moments. The episode where they have to move across the street to a bank because of a gas leak is particularly entertaining.