Almost a decade before The Wire became the most lauded and talked about TV cop show in recent years, its creator, David Simon, was similarly responsible for one of the most critically acclaimed shows in US television history, Homicide: Life On The Street. Now, for those suffering from Wire withdrawal, the complete series of Simon's original, tough, gritty and groundbreaking show is coming to DVD as a 33-disc collection featuring all sevens seasons of the multi-award-winning Baltimore cop saga.

The winner of multiple accolades, including four Emmy Awards, two Writer's Guild of America Awards, six Television Critics' Association Awards and three prestigious Peabody Awards, Homicide: Life On The Street "has claim to being the most influential TV series of modern times... without it, The Wire wouldn't exist" (The Guardian).

The show concentrated on capturing the gritty realities of life for a team of homicide detectives working on the front line of crime fighting, and focused on the gruelling task of solving murders rather than portraying an endless succession of bloody felonies and car chases. During its course, and unusually for television, the series attracted the talents of a host of big name film directors including Oscar winner Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and recent Oscar nominee Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), along with the likes of Martin Campbell (Edge Of Darkness; Casino Royale), Peter Medak (Romeo Is Bleeding; The Krays), John McNaughton (Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer), Uli Edel (Last Exit To Brooklyn), Tim Hunter (River's Edge, Twin Peaks) and Ted Demme (Blow).

Equally impressive was the show's ensemble cast which included names such as Andre Braugher (The Mist; Glory), Richard Belzer (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Yaphet Kotto (Alien), Ned Beatty (In The Electric Mist; Charlie Wilson's War), Daniel Baldwin (Cold Case), Michelle Forbes (True Blood), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie; The Sopranos), Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order; The Cleaner), Mekhi Phifer (Lie To Me; ER), James Earl Jones (Star Wars) and Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife; ER) and featured guest roles for Hollywood stars Robin Williams, Steve Buscemi, Elijah Wood, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Giamatti and Bruce Campbell amongst others.

Homicide: Life On The Street – The Complete Series (cert. 15) will be released 33-disc DVD by Fremantle Media Enterprises on 29th March 2010 at the RRP of £79.99. We've been unable to confirm as yet whether the set will include Homicide: The Movie or what extras will be on board, if any.

You can read our extensive review of Seies 1 & 2 here.