contrerassherry My husband & I always watch this show. It is interesting but can be depressing when the victim is just an innocent person in the wrong place at the wrong time - also when they have small children, which is usually the case. It is heartbreaking to see the grief of the relatives when they are informed of their loved one's death.I like watching the suspects get interviewed. They almost always lie and often the detectives can break them down. Some of the perps show remorse, others feel no guilt.The only thing I don't like is how two different cases are covered in the same episode and they jump back and forth, back and forth. They're in Miami, now they're in Harris County, TX, now they're back in Miami....The episodes that focus on one case are easier to follow.

celr This is just about my all-time favorite TV show. It follows real homicide detectives as they work to solve actual cases. You get to ride along with them and see how they put together the clues and catch their suspects. You get to see the devastating effects these homicides have on the families of the victims. You can see how the detectives interview actual suspects and how they handle the strain this rather grim and arduous work which often pulls them out of bed in the middle of the night to go to some miserable crime scene to examine a dead guy who was alive only an hour or so before. These detectives are admirable, heroic, stoic and dedicated to do the work they do and they're not without a sense of humor. This sense of humor isn't the breezy, wisecracking sort you get on the fictional cop shows, but a genuine dark humor which comes from an all-too-real appreciation of the tragic nature of their work and the absurdities of the situations they have to deal with. For example, a suspect is being interrogated by a female officer. The suspect is saying how he was friends with the victim and would never hurt him. However, it's looking more and more obvious he did it. "I knew him since grammar school, he's like a brother to me," the suspect pleads, "I love him to death." The detective replies: "I hope nobody ever loves me that much."The vast majority of these murders occur in minority neighborhoods. This is a fact of life that many people have a hard time getting their heads around. Why this is may be a complex question. There seems to be a feeling of resignation among the residents of these 'hoods. They are very often reluctant to give information to the police even though they are the ones suffering most from the crimes around them, and though cooperating with the cops would be the surest way to mitigate the crime problem which is making their lives a living hell. You can observe several salient things watching "The First 48." First, the housing in these high crime neighborhoods isn't really so bad. Second, people appear to be well-fed and possess TVs, cellphone, iPods and all kinds of consumer items including pretty good cars and nice clothes. You are far more likely to see obese people than starving people. The third thing that impresses is the absolutely deadpan, casual, mindless and cold-blooded way these killers usually commit their murders. Most of them appear to be sleepwalking. They kill on impulse, not from passion or even for some economic gain. They kill innocent bystanders as easily as they kill intended targets. They hardly appear to know how to aim their guns. It seems you have generations of young thugs who appear to be just too dumb to think of anything else to do than to go out and shoot their friends and neighbors for...well, it doesn't even seem like sport, it's more like just something to relive the boredom. I don't know the reason for this, but it is the most absolutely remarkable thing you come to know from watching this series or just reading the stories in the newspapers. It is profoundly shocking to realize that a large cohort of young men, often in their late teens and early 20s have such little regard for human life, and little regard for anything else either. Often the young killers appear stunned, zombielike, when they find themselves in police custody, like they have no idea why they're there and wondering when they can go home. This show is beautifully produced, visually and structurally, with a very real sense of compassion for the families and friends of the victims. Though the killers seem to be emotionally detached, the families of the victims feel the loss of a loved one very deeply indeed. "The First 48" touches on so many subjects, sociology, criminology, old-fashioned detective work, spirituality, psychology and forensics. It is just about the best 'reality' show on TV today.

John Wilkes Booth The First 48 is police work as it is, without the high production values (light filters, Massive Attack tunes, and clean crime labs) and professional writing staffs. The documentary style brings the viewer right into the investigations and presents the Job better than Dennis Leary ever could.Each episode, as far as I can tell, is divided into two separate story lines that follows the course of two cases in different cities. Dallas, Phoenix, Kansas City, Detroit, Memphis and Miami tend to dominate the series. It would do the show well to expand to other cities, yet to be CSIed like Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Buffalo, Houston, New Haven, and Montreal even. These cases are not always resolved in the critical first two days of an investigation, and this lets the public audience in on the life of Homicide detectives.The life entails long shifts without sleep, spent following leads and witnesses that often times don't have anything to offer the investigation. When the cases are brought to trial, the evidence and the story tends to present itself serendipitously and when the cases go nowhere the show remains resolved. Homicide Detectives invest their lives into those of the Dead, and it becomes clear how important their work truly is for safety and protection of the rest of us.The better fictional police shows on Network Television, Cable and HBO, like CSI, the Closer, the Wire and the Helen Mirren PrimeSuspect series follow the precepts of the First 48. Bad things can happen and cases become cold and forgotten, buried underneath new homicides. Despite this, the First 48 is refreshing because it shows the Police as human beings, subject to the imperfections that most Television shows fail to recognize or portray as more than caricatures, artificial dialogue devices and empty.The series is well-edited and paced. It has pleasant time-lapse photography of cityscapes to serve as transitions to contain the 'action' within an hour-long show, and the separate cases breaks up the monotony. If you are looking for non-stop action, thrilling car cases, and low-cut sweaters; this show is not for you.Its real. Its boring, but its Real. A&E has another terrific show to compliment its catalogue and its a lot less preachy than Dog: The Bounty Hunter.

arica434 I absolutely LOVE this show! So much so that I record it on my DVR if I think I'm going to miss a portion b/c you gotta watch it from the very beginning to the absolute end. These guys work hard and even though I love shoes like C.S.I., they tend to glamorize the work of actual C.S.I.'s. But the detectives on this show are great!!! I especially love when they are in Miami. Of course it's a bummer when a case isn't solved but then again, it's reality. And it goes to show you that not all cases are solved in a day. If someone is interested in a career in law enforcement, this would be the show to watch to see if that is really something you want to do. I hope this show continues for many seasons to come.