Bayliss and Bolander and Munch, oh my!

So I've temporarily (or maybe not so temporarily) relocated to Los Angeles. Needless to say, it's weird. Being that I had to pack my entire life in two 50 lb suitcases, I had to leave a lot of my DVDs at home. I only brought 8 with me, and it makes me kinda sad. One of the things I had to leave at home was the 7 season box set of Homicide: Life on the Street, which I got for Christmas. It makes me really sad because over break I was well on my way to not watching any movies until I got through all 7 seasons of Homicide (and the movie).

Ok, that's a lie, because I did take a break to watch both Munich and some vintage first season SNL. But it would also be a lie to say that I didn't immensely enjoy Homicide. It is easily the best show that you (or I) never watched while it aired from 1993 to 1999. Homicide is different from L&O or CSI in that it is the complete opposite of a procedural. There's no formula; no "the special guest star did it," and often no closure. The detectives' personal lives were sometimes more important to the story than the crime committed. Probably because of its unique, gritty approach, Homicide was criminally underwatched during its 7 season run (I'm sensing a trend here in my TV loves - Homicide, The Ben Stiller Show, Mr. Show, Sports Night, Arrested Development), but that only seems to make it better, knowing you were one of a small, select group that got to experience this phenomenal show.

One of the things that set Homicide aside from the rest of the cop shows on the air was its excellent use of music. It didn't do the end of episode/heartfelt tune montage that House pretty much does weekly. Whoever was in charge of selecting music for the series did so with care and attention to something other than the pop charts. A 4th season episode has Munch (yes, Richard Belzer's John Munch of Law & Order: SVU originated on Homicide) listening to Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," which is quite possibly the best artist ever for Munch to be listening to.

Anyway, the point of this all is to say if you have not seen Homicide: Life on the Streets, I implore you to check it out. You'll be rewarded with one of the best series of the 1990s, and you'll find yourself wondering: "Why didn't I watch this when it was on?"

Completely unrelated, I burned my elbow on the oven yesterday and now it is painful to lean on. I'm a spaz.