Homicide: The Movie

To be sure, Homicide (the series) deserved a TV-movie after it's unsatisfying series finale, which was admittedly rushed (NBC cancelled the series only a few weeks prior to the end of the 1999 season). Indeed, viewers were left hanging as many storylines were left unanswered, and "Homicide: The Movie" does work as a coda for the series. However, it seems like a series finale elongated to fill 90 minutes.

The premise is extremely promising (for those who don't know): Lt. Giardello is the front-running Baltimore mayoral candidate, whose primary issue is the decriminalization of drugs. During a campaign stop, he is shot (but not killed) by an unknown assailant. This event brings every regular character (and I mean everyone) back to investigate the crime and visit Giardello in the hospital. [This brilliant premise is also frustrating to me as a long-time fan. If NBC had given the show one more full season (and let the producers know it would be the last) there could have been some intriguing episodes leading to the campaign.]

As a fan it's satisfying in sense to see all the regular characters again, but it's also a tremendous burden on the film. Several scenes do nothing to enhance the story: Shepherd and Ballard repeatedly watch videotape of the shooting in an an attempt to find a lead; Mike Giardello and Kellerman roust everyone who might have a grudge; Med. examiners discuss medical advancements at Gee's bedside. These and a few other scenes only serve to give some members of the bloated cast a reason to make an appearance. What probably would have worked brilliantly as a 40-minute series finale just doesn't cut it as a full-length film.

Fortunately, this substantial shortcoming is largely redeemed by the film's conclusion, which is set-up perfectly by the writers. The final twist is a complete and devastating surprise that's entirely believable and satisfying in the spirit of the original series. Even if "Homicide: The Movie" is more than a bit diluted, it works as an appropriately bitter-sweet coda for one of the best shows in the history of television.

In the UK Channel 4 used to show Homicide but gave up on the whole project about four years ago and never showed series 7 or the movie. Now, thanks to the Hallmark Channel, UK viewers have had a chance to see the whole series from beginning to end and the final movie.

To me, the movie doesn't really work. The story is just an excuse to bring the characters back together and frankly misfires a little, having one of the show's best, Giardello, out cold for most of its length and unable to interact with anyone. I was also a little uncomfortable with the appearance of Adina Watson, given that the case was based on a real life tragedy. Still, it was nice to see Jon Polito and Daniel Baldwin back from the dead.

Season 7 turned out to be far better than I was expecting, having read some fairly awful things about it on the internet. The final episode wrapped things up beautifully, mirroring and reversing the events of the very first as Tim Bayliss packed his things and quietly walked out of the Unit. The movie just wasn't needed.

Out on the campaign trail for Mayor, Giardello gets shot twice and taken to hospital. His shooting could be enemies from his previous post or could be drug related as he pledged to legalise drugs to take it off the streets. The shooting brings the homicide detectives out in force – both present and past to try and piece together the clues and find out who it was and why.

Thanks to the UK's Channel 4's policy of not knowing a good thing when they've bought the rights to it, I have not seen the last series of H:LOTS, simply because they decided that it wasn't getting enough viewers and dropped it. So I don't know how directly this follows on from the TV series in terms of time but I know that it does tie in quite well and close some open questions. The plot is quite simple and lacks the class of the tv series but still works well for what it has to do. Some of the plot is a jump too far but it still works on the whole. The side issues are as interesting as the main plot and the close of the film is actually a lot more moving than I expected it to be.

The main problem the film has is that `every detective is back'. The result of this is that fans get to see characters they haven't seen for years, but the downside is that they are mostly just clutter – wheeled in to say a few lines and then disappear. The film is at it's strongest when it focuses on good subplots with the strongest characters – hence it is at it's best when Pembleton and Bayliss are the focus. It is still good to see all the faces but at times you wonder why they bothered and why they didn't sacrifice some characters to make for a tighter narrative.

The cast all do well, with Braugher and Secor standing out due to the amount of time and material the film allows them to have. The cameos (although a lot of the cast could be called cameos) are mixed. Priestley and Begley Jnr are a bit of a waste of space but Oz's Walker gives a delicate performance and shows his skill in this media yet again.

Overall I had no great hopes for this film as it is basically a TVM, but I did enjoy it more than I thought. The revolving door of old characters does drag a little at times but the film works and the focus on a group of main characters (Pembleton and Bayliss in particular) works to it's strength and produces a film that, while not comparable to the series in terms of quality, will satisfy many of it's fans.

I became a fan of the TV series `Homicide: Life on the Street' late in the show's run, but became a fan very quickly. It was a cop show unlike any other: visually different in its use of hand-held cameras, taking the viewer everywhere, with its multiethnic and mutiracial cast and their varying and fascinating personalities, and that it covered all of the good and bad of a police department, including the corruption and personality clashes that bubble up to the surface.

Homicide: The Movie, the reunion follow-up to the series, is as good as a made-for-television film can be. After Lt. Giardello (Yaphet Kotto), now a candidate for mayor of Baltimore, is shot, the series' cast members are back to help find the killer. In addition, the cast members who left the force and those who died, also manage to have their place in the film. The intensity and fire that marked the series return, and the script bristles with the same fire that marked the series. All in all, a terrific TV movie.

Vote: 9

Homicide:The Movie reunites the principal leads of the original show eight years after the events of the last episode occurred. The story revolves around former Homicide Captain Al "G" Giardello, who is running for mayor, and who is shot at a political rally. The next two hours involves the search for the assailant and it has some interesting moments, such as a brilliant scene between Bayliss and Pembleton, along with great acting and directing. The only real flaw here is the script, which brings back all these characters, but hardly gives most of them anything to do. The show's more interesting characters, such as Munch and Lewis, are given minimal screen time, while the supporting characters are given even less. However, if you enjoyed this show when it aired, you might want to take a look at Homicide:The Movie.