Oz meta, also Homicide meta
Mar. 27th, 2016 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mazephoenixUnder the cut.
I was watching Homicide in full for the first time in forever when it struck me: Tom Fontana has themes. Homicide was as much Barry Levinson and David Simon's baby. It was based on Simon's nonfiction book, and he was involved with the later seasons.
But well..some actors overlap, Catholic clergy are sympathetic, people get buried alive, people with the initials TB are woobies.
Tim Bayliss has his first same-sex liaison with a dude called Chris. Toby has his Chris.
Bayliss is abused by his uncle as a child, Toby gets raped by Vern.
Tim has a tense goodbye with Frank, and might commit suicide, Chris kills himself after a last rejection by Toby. The goodbyes between Tim/Frank and Chris/Toby are so parallel.
Chris wants Toby to forgive him, and be lovers again, Tim seeks an almost religious absolution from Frank for his murder of serial killer Luke Ryland. Frank can't absolve Tim, and Toby can't forgive Chris.
Frank wants to give Tim an out for his murder by saying: You didn't mean it, you were out of control..Tim refuses to give an excuse. He did it and he had to do it, but he can't live with the guilt. In the end Frank weeps and Tim is broken. And we never know if Frank turns him in, or if he dies.
By contrast Mike Kellerman kills Luther Mahoney and while he has a hard time, he gets a redemption arc, and works as a PI in the end. Tim gives him the forgiveness he needs too when none one else does. Not even his partner Lewis.
Chris kills himself after Toby's "you are death" speech, and Toby breaks down in Murphy's arms.
The two central relationships of both shows die when the shows do.
Frank has his wife and his kids, and Tim nothing.
Toby is left alone, maybe facing the death penalty. Chris is dead while betraying Toby for the last time.
No wonder fans write fluffier endings.
Both shows are dear to me, and both are so bleak. I'm not going to analyze that. Great art breaks your heart?
I was watching Homicide in full for the first time in forever when it struck me: Tom Fontana has themes. Homicide was as much Barry Levinson and David Simon's baby. It was based on Simon's nonfiction book, and he was involved with the later seasons.
But well..some actors overlap, Catholic clergy are sympathetic, people get buried alive, people with the initials TB are woobies.
Tim Bayliss has his first same-sex liaison with a dude called Chris. Toby has his Chris.
Bayliss is abused by his uncle as a child, Toby gets raped by Vern.
Tim has a tense goodbye with Frank, and might commit suicide, Chris kills himself after a last rejection by Toby. The goodbyes between Tim/Frank and Chris/Toby are so parallel.
Chris wants Toby to forgive him, and be lovers again, Tim seeks an almost religious absolution from Frank for his murder of serial killer Luke Ryland. Frank can't absolve Tim, and Toby can't forgive Chris.
Frank wants to give Tim an out for his murder by saying: You didn't mean it, you were out of control..Tim refuses to give an excuse. He did it and he had to do it, but he can't live with the guilt. In the end Frank weeps and Tim is broken. And we never know if Frank turns him in, or if he dies.
By contrast Mike Kellerman kills Luther Mahoney and while he has a hard time, he gets a redemption arc, and works as a PI in the end. Tim gives him the forgiveness he needs too when none one else does. Not even his partner Lewis.
Chris kills himself after Toby's "you are death" speech, and Toby breaks down in Murphy's arms.
The two central relationships of both shows die when the shows do.
Frank has his wife and his kids, and Tim nothing.
Toby is left alone, maybe facing the death penalty. Chris is dead while betraying Toby for the last time.
No wonder fans write fluffier endings.
Both shows are dear to me, and both are so bleak. I'm not going to analyze that. Great art breaks your heart?
no subject
Date: 2016-04-06 05:31 pm (UTC)I was watching an old episode of Law & Order on TV recently when Richard Belzer and Jon Seda showed up, and I realized they were doing a Homicide crossover. Unfortunately, I never saw the "Part 2" to the story, because apparently the Homicide half wasn't part of the syndication deal! It's a shame that Homicide isn't readily available for viewing. (I looked at the DVDs on Amazon at one point, and they were ridiculously expensive. No great deals on eBay, either.)
no subject
Date: 2016-04-06 06:21 pm (UTC)I know..it's a shame the dvds are so pricey..and I wish they'd make the show avaible streaming..
Tim Bayliss remains the wooobie of my heart..he had so much bad stuff happen to him.. Oh, Fontana..