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NBC, THE hit-starved network, was so high on "Homicide: Life on the Street" that it premiered the show right after the Super Bowl. Critics have compared it favorably to the NBC police drama hit of the '80s, "Hill Street Blues." But so far, viewers' verdicts seem mixed.
Produced by Barry Levinson and based on David Simon's non-fiction book about a Baltimore homicide squad, the new series has been widely praised for its realism. The post-Super Bowl premiere drew a 17.9 rating, one of NBC's few high marks this season. (Last week's rating in "Homicide's" regular Wednesday-at-9 p.m. time slot dropped to 10.2.) Tonight's third episode deals with the shooting of an officer, a serial killer who murders her husbands for the insurance and a divorced detective's new romance - with a forensic pathologist.
What do the experts on the streets of New York think of "Homicide"? We asked a few experienced homicide detectives to play TV critic. LT. PHIL PANZARELLA, Holtsville New York City cop for 27 years, detective for 21 years; commanding officer of Queens homicide squad for the last three. THE CASE HE CAN'T FORGET: "The {1988} murder of a witness in another murder case - it was very cold-blooded. Mildred Greene was killed waiting at a cab stand in South Jamaica. I was in on the apprehension of her killer."...