Reply #40: poor Benchley [View All]

[iverglas]

Homicide has been running non-stop on one cable/digital station or another in Canada ever since it was in about its 3rd season on network. It first ran on our Bravo, "TV too good for TV", the popular wisdom about Homicide.

That's how I saw it -- didn't watch it first-run, got the bad flu in Sept. a few years ago and started watching every night at midnight. Missed the first two episodes. Never did know who Edina Watson was til about a year later.

I imagine it's one of those shows, like Law&Order and West Wing, that is/was more popular (i.e. gets larger audience shares) in Canada than in the US. I adored it for its variety of styles -- particularly that one that took place one night in a motel on the outside of town, just like a Tennessee Williams play or some such thing. And the music.

Of course, Homicide followed the rule for successful US teevee shows: a Canadian in one of the leads. Claire in L&O (after whose departure it went downhill), Meldrick in Homicide, Gil Bellows in Ally McBeal, half the cast (the good half) of SNL, Michael J. Fox in Family Ties, etc. etc.

I'd lend you my complete tapes of the series -- but you can buy seasons 1-3, so far, it seems. Did you follow Due South at all? We were never sure whether our neighbours got the jokes. That self-deprecating Cdn humour and all.

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