Song Lyric of the Day:
I have seen you so often / I cry “where is my boy?” / Oh, have you all forgotten? / And in some kind of dream / Have I seen you before / Oh, have I seen you before? / Oh, where is my boy?
Faultline (featuring Chris Martin) / “Where Is My Boy?“
Lately I’ve caught some repeats of the best cop show ever, Homicide: Life on the Street. Watching those episodes, I was reminded of (1) how much I miss the show, (2) how Andre Braugher‘s Frank Pembleton and Kyle Secor‘s Tim Bayliss were the best cop partners ever, (3) how I want Santa (or the birthday fairy) to buy me the complete DVD set, and (4) how perfect the show’s title sequence was.
Like I wrote last year, TV title sequences are a dying breed. The one for Homicide reminded me of how great title sequences once were for TV cop dramas — not to mention the shows themselves. These are my favorites.
Boomtown
A great cop show cut down in its prime, Boomtown‘s opening credits played on its point-of-view concept, taking us through the history of Los Angeles while introducing us to the cast, set to Philip Giffin‘s beautiful, majestic
Third Watch
Seamlessly blending stories about New York City cops, paramedics, and firefighters, Third Watch was the little show that could, taking us through six seasons of exciting, emotional, and sometimes flat-out heart-wrenching stories (Bobby’s death, Doc’s post-9/11 breakdown). The opening credits captured all that pathos and drama perfectly. Bonus points for being a love letter to the city long before it was trendy and theme music by The Crystal Method.
NYPD Blue
The opening credits did a great job of capturing the essence of New York City, while maintaining the verite style that was to become the series’ signature. Another New York City-based procedural, featuring one of TV’s most memorable — and put-upon — characters ever, Dennis Franz‘s Andy Sipowicz. NYPD Blue laid the groundwork for cutting-edge dramas, introducing TV audiences to prime-time nudity and adult language. Today the most cutting-edge shows are primarily on pay or premium cable, but without NYPD Blue, we would never have seen series like The Shield, Rescue Me, and Damages, to name a few.
Homicide: Life on the Street
Taking us to the mean streets of Baltimore, Homicide brought a gritty reality to TV, coming across as more of a documentary than a fictional TV series. The original opening credits really captured that verite feel, while the later seasons’ title sequence added a bit more style without sacrificing the series’ substance. The verite style was only fitting since its source material was David Simon‘s non-fiction Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. Despite losing a few original cast members along the way, the show featured flawless performances by everyone on the show, and is one of the few series that can boast it brought everyone back for a two-hour movie to wrap up the series. Homicide was also the birthplace of the character John Munch (the amazing Richard Belzer), a character who went on to appear in six more TV shows — including Arrested Development and Homicide‘s successor, The Wire.
Hill Street Blues
There’s not a lot I can say to do Hill Street Blues justice. We were completely immersed in the lives and trials of characters including Frank Furillo, Mick Belker, and Joyce Davenport. The actors brought a grittiness to their characters that perfectly matched their setting. Another groundbreaking cop show, the series helped set the tone for all cop shows that followed. But few cop dramas have had the long-lasting impact that Hill Street Blues did, and still does. The opening credits can now be seen as a throwback to late ’70s and early ’80s TV-series style, but what mostly stands out is its simplicity, which is exactly why it’s a classic — iconic theme music included.
Miami Vice
Like the series itself, Miami Vice‘s opening credits took what TV audiences knew and loved about cop dramas up to that point and turned it on its ear. New setting, new style, new pastels, classic Jan Hammer theme song — no wonder we haven’t looked back since then.
