The episode never portrays Medavoy's actions as glamorous or heroic, but rather as awkward as he stumbles through his tough guy act. The portrayal of his behavior is quite realistic, painted in real life shades of gray. This program reaches a level of dramatic quality usually found only in the best feature films. Thus, it is not surprising to find such complex themes and characters as one does in this show. The result, in terms of violence, is a program which approaches the violence of urban America with sensitivity and truth, dealing far more with the consequences and impact of violence than with its graphic and gory details.
Homicide contains few scenes of violence.
Some episodes contain none at all. Frequently scenes contain no violence other than a dead body that is the basis of a subsequent homicide investigation. Thus, the show is often a murder mystery that does not even depict the murder. The focus of the program is typically the investigation and psychological dimensions of the crime, rather than the graphic and exciting nature of the violent act itself. Like NYPD Blue, Homicide presents a world in which violence and conflict are prevalent in urban life.