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Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets (book that inspired The Wire)

Thread title fail...it inspired a TV Series of the same name, The Wire was an evolution of Homicide: Life on the Streets and contains some familiar storylines albeit with longer arcs.

The Wire was largely inspired by the events depicted by David Simon in the book, so I don't think there's anything wrong with the thread title.
 
Thread title fail...it inspired a TV Series of the same name, The Wire was an evolution of Homicide: Life on the Streets and contains some familiar storylines albeit with longer arcs.

Pedantry fail...

I think one could successfully argue that it was also the inspiration behind much of The Wire without also denying it directly inspired the show of the same name.

I also had no idea whether the average Urbanite was interested in or had watched Homicide the TV show, so in the interest of mass appeal I mentioned the board hivemind's favourite show to ensure that the book got the attention it deserves.

:mad:
 
Funnily enough, I'm pretty sure everyone thought The Wire was created in a vacuum by a man with no antecedents at all.
 
It was great fun for Homicide fans to watch the Wire and spot all the old Homicide actors turn up.

And Im really glad Munch got a cameo appearance in the final season :cool:
 
Interesting, I've never watched Homicide. Simon has a good go at it at the back of the book for being unrealistic. I am have to watch it just for her though.

One fo the best Police procedurals ever made, far better than NYPD Blue which got all the ratings at that time.
 
I'm about halfway through this book - it's my current toilet read - and I can only describe it as a How To in getting away with murder :D
 
Anyway, it's a great book.

I've struggled with The Corner though, and I'm not sure why.

The Corner is excellent IMO. What I thought was great was that a couple of the people in The Corner ended up working on The Wire.
 
made me laugh rewatching Season 5 of The Wire recently to see Det Munch from the TV show Homicide sat at a bar telling the barman about the bar he used to run.

it's a blink and you'll miss it job
 
The Corner is excellent IMO. What I thought was great was that a couple of the people in The Corner ended up working on The Wire.

It is, but for some reason I put it down about a third of the way through and never went back to it. Perhaps I was all Baltimored out or something.

I'll have to have another crack at it. The mini-series was absolutely brilliant.
 
I've just started watching the series, and my favourite characters are Munch and then Pembleton :cool:

Both great characters but Pembleton edges it for me.

frankpembleton.jpg
 
made me laugh rewatching Season 5 of The Wire recently to see Det Munch from the TV show Homicide sat at a bar telling the barman about the bar he used to run.

it's a blink and you'll miss it job

A real nod to the fans that was :D

I thought Bayliss and Pembleton were bloody brilliant alongside each other in the show. When Pembleton had his 'moment' - wow, just wow.

There are a lot of wow moments in that programme.
 
David Simon was offered the job of writing the pilot episode (it obviously being all based on his book) episode but turned it down for lack of experience/self-belief. He got the hang of things a little more by S2 and by S4 was working on it fulltime. Don't know what happened to him after that . ..
 
I'd just like to give a shout out to myself for having started a Homicide thread back in 2004.

I liked it before it was cool to like it. Etc.
 
A real nod to the fans that was :D

I thought Bayliss and Pembleton were bloody brilliant alongside each other in the show. When Pembleton had his 'moment' - wow, just wow.

There are a lot of wow moments in that programme.

Agreed. Only decent cop show on these days is Law and Order SVU... with Munch, naturally
 
Yeah, but Munch is never given the freedom to fly these days. His rants about black helicopters are very few and far between. He could be utilized far better.
 
I'm about halfway through Homicide right now. Very good book. Impeccably researched, well written, pulls no punches. Really, really good book.
 
Got this yesterday, it has leapfrogged to the top of my reading queue. I'm hoping it's one of those books you can't put down, I haven't read a decent book for quite a while now. I'm glad it's non-fiction, I seem to be favoring true life stories / autobiographies of late.

Nice and fat too.
 
Got this yesterday, it has leapfrogged to the top of my reading queue. I'm hoping it's one of those books you can't put down, I haven't read a decent book for quite a while now. I'm glad it's non-fiction, I seem to be favoring true life stories / autobiographies of late.

Nice and fat too.

It certainly was for me.
 
Ah, good. I will get onto it right after the library book I just got out. I can finish that other one I have on the go on the toilet.
 
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