Intelligent writing, intense characters, a dark sense of humor, innovative editing, and complex plots-- Homicide: Life on the Street has raised the caliber of television police drama Homicide: Life on the Street is addictive television. Each week we watch to see who Detective Pembleton will spar with in "the Box," or what conspiracy theories Detective Munch will be espousing as the truth, but more than anything we tune in to see the gritty reality that makes this show the best police drama to ever grace the small screen. There aren't any car chases, rarely any shootouts, and sometimes the cases don't get solved. Instead, these detectives keep their clothes on, have a relentlessly morbid sense of humor, and catch the criminals because they have brains, not necessarily brawn. In other words, they're real. Homicide: Life on the Street, The Unofficial Companion by David P. Kalat--the first and only full-length guide to this Emmy Award-winning and three-time Peabody Award-winning television series--brilliantly captures the essence of this groundbreaking show. You'll Learn About: famed filmmaker Barry Levinson's decision to bring Homicide to television instead of making a film of David Simon's novel Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets the behind-the-scenes anecdotes about cast regulars, including the onscreen clutches that led to offscreen romances the producers' many battles with the network suits over poor placement in the schedule, and the series' repeated trips to the land