"The Wire" on HBO

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It seems that there are no threads on here for this show, which mortifies me since it also seems to be the best thing on American TV in years. The season finale is tomorrow night, let's get the ball rolling here! Spoilers to ensue, I presume. Unless none of you fuckas watch it. >:O!!

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Sunday, 24 August 2003 07:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I love the Wire. Haven't seen it in a year since I could no longer afford HBO. :(

― Texas Sam (thatgirl), Sunday, 24 August 2003 07:42 (twenty-two years ago)

I love this show too, but I missed the first 3/4 of the first season and there are still things happening on it that I find really hard to follow (mainly the machinations of the drug dealing characters; I have no idea who Omar is or what his deal is). I'm waiting for the first season to come out on DVD so I can figure out big chunks of the story. But yes, it is excellent, fills up the hole Homicide's cancellation left very well, although I kind of wish he could have working in Bayliss or something.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Sunday, 24 August 2003 15:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Best show on TV. I loved the season finale. I've loved everything about this show; I even prefer it to Homicide.

I love how high a level they're working on: this is a TV show where they don't have to condescend to the audience and where every single facet - the cast, the story, the locations, the care they put into every detail from the smallest local custom to the largest political issues - is uncompromising.

The DVD may come out next summer - HBO is notoriously slow about releasing those. They're usually two seasons behind, compared to Fox, who put out the 24 DVDs for one season right before the next one starts.

― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Monday, 25 August 2003 02:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I think the point where I knew this was the greatest TV show ever was last season when two of the detectives were restoring that crime scene in that apartment, and the only dialogue in the entire scene was the word "fuck." It was the ultimate "show don't tell": most shows whack you around with droning exposition upon exposition, but here they told the entire story through evidence photos and gestures - playing with the fridge door, comparing angles of the bullet going through the window - with no meaningful dialogue at all. Brilliant.

How'd people feel about the finale? Not as tight as last year's (since it was setting up Season 3), but I loved it.

― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Monday, 25 August 2003 02:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, it's one of those shows that you can't really jump into, which probably stunts its chances at getting a broad base of viewers. But it's sooooo worth it for anyone who chooses to follow it.

Anyway, the first season - yeah, that all centered on the Barksdale case, which didn't exactly take a backseat this season but was... less pronounced. Omar has always stood out on the show, which is usually a little more reserved about its characters - he's the superbadass gay stick-up kid whose boyfriend Brandon was brutally cut to pieces by Barksdale's crew in retaliation to Omar's unrelenting attacks on their stashes. Haha i was gonna continue but to try and recap all the ties and Byzantine dealings between the characters would take a few hours so uh yeah... wait for the DVD. :/ I was lucky enough to start catching the show earlier this year when they reran the first season in prep for the second.

Oh man, there's so much about this show that just gets me giddy though. The final sequence of shots, set to that song, were very fitting; building up and building up, the tension and dynamics of two huge cases built upon each other that still aren't really finished and all the people crammed into the power dynamic of it, and it all collides right on top of that last shot of Nicky Sobotka, completely trapped under the weight of human wreckage. Most of the show is about, and is most sympathetic to, some very deeply damaged human beings, but there's always compassion for them. This show loves its characters and loves its actors (the guy who played Frank Sobotka was brilliant), and I think that's probably one of the things that comes through best in all the episodes (along with the writing, which never misses a single damn beat...)

apparently Richard Price is gonna be writing for them next season too. oh mama.

also, lord, the usage of music is great on here. McNulty driving drunk to "Transmetropolitan" was a highlight; don't really buy Nicky being a Palace Music (!) fan, though..

aaaah someone shut me up already

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Monday, 25 August 2003 02:48 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, that "fuck" sequence made me say "fuck" quite a bit myself. I knew I was onto something amazing then too.

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Monday, 25 August 2003 02:50 (twenty-two years ago)

The finale was sharp, but you're right that it wasn't as tight - I think I would lend this to the fact that it has to touch on elements hanging from both the first and second seasons. And as you said, the level of detail is high, but they do an amazing job of relating a huge amount of information and subtlety to the audience in a pretty comprehensible fashion. Each episode seems to be worth seeing at least twice, just to catch all the little things...

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Monday, 25 August 2003 02:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Spend some time in Baltimore going to shows, and you'll believe Nicky could have dug Palace.

I loved this show the instant I tuned in and saw somebody from the Annapolis HC scene in a small credited role -- since he's gained more weight than I have since that time, I declare the Wire a classic.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Monday, 25 August 2003 09:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I was actually planning on going to a few Baltimore shows when I was in DC a couple weeks ago, but it didn't pan out. Still, point taken. And any show that so casually uses Johnny Cash and the Stooges is always OK in my book.

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Tuesday, 26 August 2003 04:25 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

this is still the greatest show ever ya know

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Monday, 18 October 2004 16:15 (twenty years ago)

yer right. i'm in an airport using my phone, so I'm not putting a detailed 'why I love...' together .. but I'm looking forward to catching up on the last 2 episodes tomorrow. I wish I could catch all of the dialog in this show .. If only I were hip enough to understand what crack dealers were saying .. but that genuousness is one of the reasons it's a great show. Also, that the dealers are humanized and you actually root for them sometimes...

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 18 October 2004 16:39 (twenty years ago)

damnit I need last week's and the previous week's (the wake episode, right?) from bitorrent or something, I missed them!

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 18 October 2004 16:40 (twenty years ago)

i've been writing a fair amount about this season on my blog, and right now i'm totally obsessed with the show, having bought season one on dvd and reading the wire book, which is really tremendous so far. i think i'm interviewing creator david simon soon! i'm psyched.

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Monday, 18 October 2004 16:47 (twenty years ago)

there's a book? a non-fictional one ala Homicide and the Corner, or something else?

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 18 October 2004 16:48 (twenty years ago)

It's still very good. Some of the plot machinations are starting to seem rotine (how many more times can we go through the "Dammit McNulty, bring me something by Friday or we're shutting down the wire!" bit?), but the characters, dialogue and layered storylines are all pretty great. I can't think of another show that takes politics -- local politics, no less -- so seriously, and that digs into how it works and its ramifications. Along with Deadwood, it's my current favorite show.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 18 October 2004 16:49 (twenty years ago)

a book accompanying the series, with essays on the show and episodes written by the show's writers and creator

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Monday, 18 October 2004 16:51 (twenty years ago)

It's damn good TV, for sure. Baltimore represent.

I was a little disappointed by the book, I have to say. Most of the episode guides (which is to say most of the book) is just plot summary; now that whole seasons of TV series are coming out on DVD, I don't see a lot of use for such info.

― Formerly Lee G (Formerly Lee G), Monday, 18 October 2004 17:17 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

So is it completely over now? It didn't end feeling as if there would be a season four.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 13:04 (twenty years ago)

It's arriving in the UK in January, finally, on FX, which I don't think I have ever watched.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 13:32 (twenty years ago)

dave225, I've heard they're working on a new angle for a new season, still in Baltimore but possibly involving the Baltimore public school system. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of that smarmy councilman or Major Daniels and his wife.

God I love this show.

― Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 05:19 (twenty years ago)

I thought the season wrapped up pretty well. [SPOILERS!!, you u.k. people] Sorry to see the end of Stringer, but it had a nice tragic arc, the past catching up to him, etc. Even the corniest bits (McNulty going back on the beat, the boxing gym) are grounded enough to escape cliche.

So how long 'til the next season?

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 12:24 (twenty years ago)

Oh, and I was glad Omar made it through another season intact. My favorite character on TV.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 12:25 (twenty years ago)

I wanted to see a showdown between McNulty and Stringer .. I guess that's what makes the show great - they never give you what you want.

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 13:00 (twenty years ago)

Argh I had to skim really carefully through this thread because I've only seen season one, but it was amazing, Sarah and I watched the whole thing in a couple of weeks and became totally overinvolved. What a great show.

― n/a (Nick A.), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 15:36 (twenty years ago)

well, david simon says hbo might not bring it back, which would be a fucking tragedy. this is my favorite show ever. i just rererererewatched seasons one and two on dvd (two comes out 1/25) yet again, and it's perfection. i might be interviewing simon and burns soon, and i can't think of a chat i've looked forward to more.

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 15:42 (twenty years ago)

Stanley Crouch:

One can never underestimate the human importance of the aesthetic contributions to television narrative that HBO continues to make. One easily recognizes the impetus for the late-night trash that it presents as a neon sop of barely soft-core pornography for the masses, but that would not explain all of the other things that this adventurous station offers. In aesthetic terms, I think this is especially true of The Wire, a dramatic series with much wider scope than The Sopranos, an unprecedented classic.

The human importance of The Wire is that it avoids the caricatures that we are too often given of black people in rap's pervasive minstrelsy and the other fast-food ethnic images of mass media. The Wire is the best crime show since Hill Street Blues, Law & Order, and NYPD Blue. Like its predecessors, the show has a breadth of human vision that moves us far beyond the stereotype and does the best that it can with the mysteries of human personality.

The Wire is set in Baltimore and does not back away from the monstrous elements of the black drug trade in American cities, but it also gives great variety to the criminal characters, from extremely stupid to extremely clever. Even more impressive than that already impressive achievement is the range of black people in law enforcement and the complex rendering of urban politics as played out along racial, sexual, and class lines. For one long stretch its focus was white ethnic crime on the Baltimore docks, and the series was as successful in creating complex scenarios, providing the viewer with maddening, flawed, corrupt, heroic, and tragic characters. Within the limits of its form (which seem to be no more than the width of the screen, since cable television is not, for good and for bad, held in check by censorship), The Wire is a masterpiece and will continue to be as long as it can maintain the depth of the standards it has set for itself.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 31 December 2004 16:44 (twenty years ago)

I've not seen this show yet (it hits the UK next week on channel FX), but that is an extraordinary piece of writing, in that it doesn't mention Homicide!

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 31 December 2004 17:04 (twenty years ago)

Haha.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 31 December 2004 17:05 (twenty years ago)

Crouch hits on one thing there, the range of black characters, that really sets it apart. Has there ever been a show with so many black lead and supporting characters -- good guys, bad guys, men, women, children, etc. etc.? And it deals with race head-on -- in politics, in the relationships between the characters -- but without pedantry or determinism or whatever. It has the most complex racial dynamics of any TV show ever, and I can't think of many movies that come close.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 31 December 2004 17:37 (twenty years ago)

That was why I cited Homicide - pending actually seeing The Wire, that is the drama show with the strongest and most prominent black characters that I've ever seen.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 31 December 2004 17:47 (twenty years ago)

Also, David Simon (who created The Wire) wrote the book that "Homicide" was based on, and also wrote and produced for the show. "The Wire" is basically a much more fully realized rendering of "Homicide," without all the constraints of network TV. (That's not to slight Homicide, which -- early on, anyway -- was a good show within those constraints.)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 31 December 2004 18:51 (twenty years ago)

has this been picked up for another season by HBO? I heard that they were thinking of passing, so if this season ended like there wouldn't be another one, that may be why.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 31 December 2004 21:16 (twenty years ago)

little known fact: I-dris who plays one of the main dons was the premier UK garage MC in New York c.2000-2001 (with Wikkid Crew)

― Paul (scifisoul), Friday, 31 December 2004 21:22 (twenty years ago)

This starts tomorrow night at 10 on FX in the UK - channel 289 if you have Sky. I'm kind of excited.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:58 (twenty years ago)

spread the word, martin!

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

did you watch it martin?

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Friday, 14 January 2005 17:28 (twenty years ago)

Yes, and I'm impressed. It obviously isn't going to overtake Homicide in my affections after one episode, but I certainly see why it's so loved.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 14 January 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

was it season one?

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Friday, 14 January 2005 18:06 (twenty years ago)

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/nyc-drugs0115,0,2492760.story?coll=ny-nynews-headlines

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 15 January 2005 19:25 (twenty years ago)

"A key break in the investigation occurred in August when police followed Ferguson to Las Vegas, where he was trying to drum up business for his line of urban wear."

― Whoever Posts Below This is Gay (Adrian Langston), Saturday, 15 January 2005 21:58 (twenty years ago)

"this is still the greatest show ever ya know"

yes. yes i do know. even though I missed most of this last season :[[[[ After not catching a bunch of eps in a row I basically gave up and decided to wait for the reruns, but the beginning of the third run wasn't quite as arresting as what came before, one had the sense that the show had found a groove and was settling into it (i think by tackling so many Big Ideas™ in the second season they ended up neutering themselves in terms of how far they could expand the scope of the story) (not necessarily a bad thing) but there was still quite a bit of interesting stuff going on. and I had no idea that Stringer bell was one of those rappin' limeys!! They should get Dizzee on there.

― Whoever Posts Below This is Gay (Adrian Langston), Saturday, 15 January 2005 22:16 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, as far as I could tell they were starting from the very beginning, so I know there is lots to come.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 13:23 (twenty years ago)

"The one woman charged in the case, Melissa Wakefield, 26, has an apparent infinity for high-end shoes, such as Prada and Gucci."

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 13:31 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

I'm obsessed with this show. I only discovered it late last year, on DVD, and am finishing the second season now. Blockbuster doesn't carry it in Baltimore. (Gee, I wonder why?) I'm also checking out George Pelecanos's books (he's one of the show's best writers).
http://www.georgepelecanos.com

Here's my review of Season One in City Pages:

THE WIRE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
HBO Home Video

Only some of The Wire's greatness can be measured by how thoroughly it demolishes the "realism" of other TV public dick shows and gangsta soaps. Every trick of television verisimilitude has a freshness date, and makes way for a new set of clichés (think of the shaky camerawork in the now rote Law & Order franchise). Even FX's The Shield, once the cutting edge of morally ambiguous cop heroes, demonstrates the diminishing returns of constantly defying viewer expectations. In the end, its extremism is about nothing but other cop shows.

HBO's The Wire, however, is about work. And the genre it subverts isn't just the crime one, but the nameless category of TV and film that might be labeled "people who are great at their jobs and work like maniacs." Most characters in this emergent genre of the overworked '90s and '00s are judged by how well they serve their institutions. Yet in The Wire, it's the institutions that are the problem--including the illegal ones. Running a housing project in West Baltimore like a death squad might run a food court, local gang members adhere to a demeaning organizational hierarchy. There's no Bonnie and Clyde fantasy of freedom to this murderous pecking order, which exists only to perpetuate itself. (In one poetic touch, the kingpin's right-hand man takes macroeconomics at the community college. At the core, he's a company man.)

The narcotics detectives have their own parts to play, and it doesn't seem remotely heroic when they buck authority. McNulty, the romantic lead among cops (he carries a liquor bottle and spits when he talks), admits at one point that he's pursuing the gang as an ego trip. If characters find dignity anywhere in the Sisyphean drug war, it's in their duties to each other, and in their craft.

Created by a former Baltimore Sun reporter (David Simon, who also gave us Homicide: Life on the Streets) and a former Baltimore Police detective (Ed Burns), The Wire is clearly a work of journalism. But it never pretends that the truth can set you free. --Peter S. Scholtes

http://www.citypages.com/databank/25/1253/article12754.asp

― Pete Scholtes, Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:24 (twenty years ago)

i can't wait to see this show

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:44 (twenty years ago)

I started from the beginning last week and I'm halfway through the first season right now, and I'm totally astonished by how good this show is. It's exactly the kind of show I want to see right now, at least in terms of realistic fiction.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 7 February 2005 01:44 (twenty years ago)

does it have all the "documentary" stylistic aspects of law and order? i.e. shaky camera and abrupt camera movements, ostentatiously overlapping dialogue etc.? or is it more reserved?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 7 February 2005 01:46 (twenty years ago)

I can't agree with the people who go for the "best tv show ever" thing though - I still think that Arrested Development and The Sopranos are better shows, though this is all very apples-and-oranges. It's definitely one of the best shows ever, though, and most certainly the finest show about cops and crime ever. (The Sopranos is more of a grand tragedy than a straight crime show.)

Amateurist, The Wire is the most naturalistic show I've ever seen on television. Yeah, some shaky camera etc but only when it suits the scene. It's not very stylized, most of the technical filmmaking stuff is pretty subtle.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 7 February 2005 01:50 (twenty years ago)

The style is more cinematic than documentary, which I think is all to the good. It's very well paced and edited, but not in a way that makes you notice -- it's all at the service of the story (or stories, actually), so that what seems good after two episodes seems great after four or six or eight as the various threads wind around each other and the characters get deeper and richer.

It allows itself occasional flashy touches (like Bunk and McNulty's great "Fuck" scene, where the dialogue consists entirely of "Fuck" said with a dozen or more different inflections), but those come as sort of welcome bonuses -- easter eggs for dedicated viewers or something.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 7 February 2005 01:55 (twenty years ago)

Also, I know this an obvious point, but the fact that characters in The Wire can say "Fuck" -- or anything else they want -- makes a lot of difference. Profanity has always been a glass ceiling on "realism" in TV drama, especially TV cop drama. Even NYPD Blue's alleged envelope-pushing -- "asshole," etc. -- just made obvious how restricted the show's writing still was by FCC codes.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 7 February 2005 01:58 (twenty years ago)

yeah the fuck scene probably does count as 'flash' for the wire and it's decidedly not that flashy!

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 7 February 2005 01:59 (twenty years ago)

And besides, it's not all "fuck." There's a lot of "motherfucker" and "fuck me" in that scene!

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 7 February 2005 02:03 (twenty years ago)

:-)

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 7 February 2005 02:45 (twenty years ago)

I'm also checking out George Pelecanos's books (he's one of the show's best writers).

Agreed. After I devoured the season one DVD set I picked up a stack of Pelecanos novels and fell in love with his work pretty much immediately. A Firing Offense, his first one, is pretty stiff, but King Suckerman and The Sweet Forever are genius -- lots of great music references and layered characters and observations about race. His work on The Wire is starting to inform his writing pretty obviously; I just finished an advance of his next book, Drama City, and it has a very Wire-y structure. There's less music stuff, but it's still good stuff. (Comes out in March.)

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Monday, 7 February 2005 03:07 (twenty years ago)

So good...just finished watching season two on DVD last night. The second season takes a lot longer to really get going, then it seems like it goes really fast for the last few episodes, but it was still really good. There are so many great characters in this show: Stringer Bell, D'Angelo, Frank Sobotka (the actor who plays him is INCREDIBLE, why the fuck isn't he everywhere?), and especially Omar.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 7 February 2005 16:40 (twenty years ago)

The level of moral fluidity on this show is pretty amazing for a cop show, there are really no "good" guys or "bad" guys at all.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 7 February 2005 16:43 (twenty years ago)

I think the show takes the entirely moral stand that this is what you get when you criminalize drug use. And the show is definitely not amoral when it comes to the choices made by these characters: D has some hope for redemption. Stringer is the devil as CEO.

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 7 February 2005 18:21 (twenty years ago)

you think stringer is the devil??? i think that cleary the writers have a palpable affection for stringer -- there's honor in his turning slinging into just another brick and mortar store. there are no devils on the wire, in large part because the writing team obviously LOVES every one of their creations, even rawls. don't forget that more than anything the wire is a show by and for writers.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 7 February 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

I haven't seen that far ahead, but I think that there's definitely a difference between the writers loving a character and that character also being irredeemably evil. From what I've seen, Stringer is obvs evil, but realistically so. The whole show is a big grey scale of morality, and Stringer is in the darkest end of the spectrum.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 7 February 2005 19:58 (twenty years ago)

how is stringer evil??? i seriously fail to see this. avon is far more violent. stringer is just cuthroat and smart.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 7 February 2005 19:59 (twenty years ago)

I agree with Yancey. I think Stringer is perceived as being "evil" just because he's less emotional, or less demonstrative in his emotions. It's easier to forgive Avon because he breaks down occasionally, but Avon does things that are a lot worse. Hell, if you want to take the perspective that the show is anti-drug-criminalization, then Stringer is essentially blameless.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

OK, that may be a bit of an exaggeration.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:05 (twenty years ago)

That's probably exactly why I percieve Stringer to be a worse person, though I think Avon is a pretty cruel bastard too. Again, I'm only 8 episodes into the show, plus a few episodes from season 3.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 7 February 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

within the frameworks of the wire, i don't think anyone we see could be called evil -- these are the people at the bottom of the power theory pyramids, and they are simply making do with the reality that they have been dealt. any accusation of "evil" should clearly be moved farther up the chain to people high in power who are willing to milk the lower class' lives and livelihood to maintain their source of strength, a la every hegemony theory ever.

but what makes the wire so great is that it never gauchely strikes out at the status quo (see: everything bad about michael moore); instead it accepts that it is reality and shows how people work within it: what they bend, what they break, how they cope, how they don't. and so all of the action that we are presented with are people bristling and bumping up against the limitations of life itself. that's where you get the hyper-realism. there are no master criminals or puppetmasters or cops. i mean, jimmy mcnulty is don quixote with a drinking problem and that's that. he's not special; he's smart and he's well trained.

and nick i'm with you that frank sobotka (he's currently on the espn poker show tilt) was a great character. i really can't think of a character that i didn't like. even prez gets his moments!

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:29 (twenty years ago)

(and for the record i have watched season 1 three times, season 2 three times and season three once. yes i should marry it.)

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:31 (twenty years ago)

(also i think i might have now passed like 50,000 words written about the show.)

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

The one character I can't stand: Ziggy. Yes, I understand he's supposed to be a fuck-up, and he has a couple of good tender moments, but overall I found him hard to sympathize with.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:34 (twenty years ago)

Yancey, you're the entire reason I'm into this show right now, so I'm glad that you've written so much about it.

I don't know, regardless of the societal reasons that lead people to do awful things, I have a hard time forgiving extreme cruelty, violence, and murder. It's easier for me to feel bad for guys like D'Angelo Barksdale, but not so much for powerful puppet masters like Stringer and Avon.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 7 February 2005 20:40 (twenty years ago)

i'm with you ziggy, nick. i think what keeps us from totally turning on him is that we all know someone like him.

and matthew i'm psyched to hear that! that's great.

if anyone's interested in a cheap copy of s2 ($60!), i may end up having two copies of it on dvd shortly. i bought it when it came out but i think i'm getting another copy from hbo cuz i reviewed it for blender. if it does arrive (i never count on these things) i'll post notice here.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

X-post

I think one of the many things that's great about the series is that it shows rather than tells in making its case. We hear about dumb Pollocks, then notice some of them being smarter than the characters using that phrase. Stringer and his boys call Omar a cocksucker and a faggot, but we see him having more heart (in every sense) than any of them. In season two, one of the young dock workers talks about project niggers, but ends up doing essentially the same business as them, but with less smarts.

Now, you could make the argument that there is "honor" in Stringer's taking an Econ class and attempting to invest drug money in "legitimate" stocks and other businesses, schooling his employees in the realities of capitalism that have to be faced before a gun is drawn. You can definitely make the argument that he's a great character, and the show's writers love him.

But to me, he's the essence of a soulless rational maximizer. He takes what he can get. He kills characters I like, because they might hurt him down the road as informants. Once you extend the idea of "honor" to self-preservation at all costs, you have adopted Michael Corleone's morality, my friend.

Plus, he doesn't like go-go music!

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 7 February 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)

OK little SPOILER alert for anyone who's not seen season 3, but I think Stringer is your basic Shakespearen tragic hero type. Or tragic antihero, maybe. Point being that he is undone by the same things that allow him to succeed -- ruthless pragmatism, eye on the bottom line, and a strong but imperfect grasp of how the world works. So I don't think he's evil, exactly; I think the writers are as fascinated by him as the audience is (and as the other characters in the show are, too -- McNulty's pursuit of him is as much out of curiosity as antagonism).

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)

(er, Shakespearean)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:51 (twenty years ago)

the most shakesperean character by far, i think, is lil ziggy. he's a tragedy wrapped in ugly-ass italian leather.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

bumping up against the limitations of life itself

Life itself? I think if you don't see a radical critique of the various systems on display in front of us, you're trying not to see it. Check out this interview with the show's creator:

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3336

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 7 February 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

pete of course there's a critique of the systems. but it's not spelled out nor does it take on the individuals in power. instead it shows how those policies and decisions affect people actually on the ground. show not tell and all that.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:59 (twenty years ago)

Poor Ziggy. The scene where he tries to get the dudes to take his coat as payment and they just make fun of it is one of the funniest and most pathetic in the whole series.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 7 February 2005 21:01 (twenty years ago)

The two good scenes with Ziggy: out on the docks with his dad late at night, smoking a cigarette together, and when his dad comes to see him in prison, and Ziggy leaves the interview room and is immediately engulfed in a crowd of huge scary prisoners.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 7 February 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

Sorry to be grumpy. Another great Ziggy scene: "Bad advice! You guys gave me bad advice!"

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 7 February 2005 23:35 (twenty years ago)

Huh. It's kinda weird to read this article after seeing The Wire. I mean...

At a review of crime statistics last week at the police headquarters, computerized maps flashed onto screens as ranking officers sharply questioned precinct commanders on crime trends. Forests of blue icons pinpointed drug-dealing hot spots, many accompanied by red X's to denote homicides.

Yet as the maps showed killings increasing in some places, they also showed that other reported crimes, including rape, robbery, aggravated assault and burglary, were down in most precincts.

"As I ride down the street, I'd have to say the city is safer," Acting Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm said.

Not everyone is so sure. Some criminologists have questioned the statistics, arguing that some precinct commanders may be downgrading serious crimes to lesser categories to make their districts look better.

And then there's this, which Simon's gotta be kicking himself for not thinking of first:

"Baltimore is actually a very safe city if you are not involved in the drug trade," Health Commissioner Peter Beilenson said.

And look at the photo -- it's Carcetti and Burrell!

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 06:28 (twenty years ago)

Okay I just finished Season One and I am completely in love with this show (although I think it may PALE ever so slightly next to the first three Prime Suspects--which is no insult as I consider those perhaps the finest television ever produced.) Is Season 2 as good? Is getting the "team" back together uber-contrived? The first Season ends so perfectly (the little closing codas--esp. Stringer's--are done so well) that it's a little hard to imagine a natural continuation from there.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 05:50 (twenty years ago)

I think Season 2's just as good as 1. They were smart to take a sort of left-turn away from just the drug ring. I would say there's a slight drop-off in Season 3 -- because some of the devices start to wear thin, and also because the tackling of "issues" is a little more transparent -- but only slight. All 3 seasons are completely worth watching.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 06:09 (twenty years ago)

I just started season 2, and I think the "getting the gang back together thing" is actually a little contrived, but that is more than made up for by the fact that the reason for the existence of the main investigations in the first place is one of the greatest pieces of plotting I have ever seen or read.

I've been telling lots of people that Season 1 was the best season of TV I have ever seen, and after giving that a lot of thought, I'm pretty sure I agree with myself. I think it's aided somewhat by being only 12 episodes, so there are no duds, but still. If you love THE NOVEL, you'll love The Wire. Season 1 is not only the best TV shows ever, it's also one of the best novels I've ever, uh, witnessed.

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 06:33 (twenty years ago)

Actually, if there is one thing about the show that is pervasively BULLSHIT (this after I just said it's the best show ever), it's the depiction of the Barksdale crew's lawyer. I realize that, for reasons owing generally to the public's ignorance and paranoia, we'll never see an even-handed or compassionate portrayal of a realistic criminal defense lawyer.

But do we really need any more of these evil, conspiratorial, slimy, and yes, JEWISH defense lawyers who seem to LOOOOOOOVE crime and misery? This "Maury Levy" (UGH) is the only real full on caruacature on the show. Give me a fucking break already with the smirking and the evil-ness.

Still the best show ever, though.

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 06:38 (twenty years ago)

caruacature? No, that's not a word. I meant it, like, with an "i."

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 06:40 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I agree with that. A drug dealer's lawyer could be a much more interesting character, and on that show should be, since everyone else is given way more than one dimension.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 07:06 (twenty years ago)

I mean, I have several friends who work as public defenders who sometimes get drug dealers off on technicalities, and they're not evil at all (even if the narcotics cops probably think they are).

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 07:10 (twenty years ago)

I'd just like to point out that Omar is in the "How We Do" video.

― yaydrian (PUNXSUTAWNEY PENIS), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 03:21 (twenty years ago)

I think that public defenders are a different breed from corporate lawyers who defend big time drug dealers though. That said, the evil Jewish lawyer stereotype is kind of tired (it really is the shows only weakness, but it's a minor one so I mostly overlook it. . . plus the Omar vs. Levy court scenes are so delicious.) I wish they had done something more interesting with his character.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 04:58 (twenty years ago)

every wire fan should read richard price's "samaritan" and david simon's "homicide" ok bye

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

Agreed. Those are both great books. In fact, I remember when I first saw the wire, I thought Simon finally had a show that captured the depth and complexities of his book in a way that the show "Homicide" never quite could (good as it was). I love how in the The Wire, the cops always drive out to the tracks in their cars and get shit-faced drunk, which was taken from the Homicide book.

Also, I would recommend all of Price's books. Wasn't that Richard Price as the literature teacher in the prison class in Season 2?

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 18:52 (twenty years ago)

that indeed was him. what's interesting is how the wire made clockers the film totally irrelevant.

i'm guessing that if season four of the wire happens with its supposed public school-focus, i bet some of the themes of samaritan figure in prominently.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 19:28 (twenty years ago)

I've read Pelecanos's Hell to Pay since I posted, and it was really good. Hard for me not to imagine actor Clarke Peters as Derek Strange, though.

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/clarke_peters.shtml

― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:31 (twenty years ago)

First episode did not really grip me, it just made me miss Homicide.

I KNEW McNulty was an English guy putting on an American accent as soon as he opened his mouth.

― just adam (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 15 March 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/img/hp/mainimg_s4comingsoon01.jpg

YES YES YES

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

Still don't like it.

― VIC MACKEY (nordicskilla), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:49 (twenty years ago)

He's actually Australian and Adam it's not much of prediction cuz I KNOW it sez it right on the description on the Neflix slipcase.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:51 (twenty years ago)

He was born in Sheffield, home of Pulp and Warp records. That's in England.

― VIC MACKEY (nordicskilla), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:53 (twenty years ago)

YAY

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:54 (twenty years ago)

Biography for
Dominic West
Height
6' (1.83 m)
Trivia
Has brown hair and brown eyes
Was one of seven children - five girls, two boys - born to George & Moya West - his parents divorced in 1996
His father owned a plastics-manufacturing plant and his mother was a homemaker who loved the theater.
Began appearing in community theater by age 9
Once spent four months as a cattle herder in Argentina in 1988 trying to be "different". Afterwards he enrolled at Dublin's Trinity College, graduating in 1993 with a B.A. in English literature.
Has never been married, but has a 3 year old daughter named Martha with former girlfriend Polly Astor

Graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1995.

I don't read the Netflix slipcases. This was no exception.

― VIC MACKEY (nordicskilla), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

Neflix lied to ME! Either way you are crazy for not being into this show.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:57 (twenty years ago)

It kicks the Shield's ass six ways from Saturday.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:57 (twenty years ago)

Now you are just being inflammatory for the sake of it.

― VIC MACKEY (nordicskilla), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)

(I've only seen two Wire episodes)

― VIC MACKEY (nordicskilla), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)

I think that The Wire's only peer is The Sopranos.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:10 (twenty years ago)

Me too.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:34 (twenty years ago)

Although the first season of Six Feet Under was pretty close.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 18 March 2005 22:41 (twenty years ago)

I don't know. I like Six Feet Under a lot, but it has a lot more flaws than The Wire or The Sopranos. It's not nearly as complex and thought-provoking as The Wire, that's for sure.

In a lot of ways I prefer the grand operatic story of The Sopranos, and I sure as hell think that everything from season 3 onward on that show is pretty much as good as it gets, but The Wire is so tight. There's no such thing as a weak episode in this show. Not a moment is wasted.

My personal favorite season of SFU is season 3, actually.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 19 March 2005 02:35 (twenty years ago)

the first two seasons of six feet under were mindblowingly great, it's suffered a bit by getting worse as it goes on (the sopronos got worse then got way better; the second season of the wire was really fascinating to me, but I missed the first one and the last one; I like it but, like I've said before, it's so fucking complicated if you miss any of it, you have no idea what is going on. The Sopronos is like this but it usually doesn't matter because the plot is secondary to the characters; the Wire is ALL plot).

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 19 March 2005 03:46 (twenty years ago)

i really should see if season three of the wire is on on-demand now and catch up

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 19 March 2005 03:48 (twenty years ago)

Though I agree that character is secondary to plot in The Wire, I think that it is important to note that the character writing on that show is essential, and there is no shortage of great characters on that show. McNulty, Stringer, Avon, Freamon, Bunk, Frank Sobotka, D'Angelo, Beadie, Prez, Omar - those are amazing characters.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 19 March 2005 05:18 (twenty years ago)

2006 is far away :[[[[

I don't think 6FU or the Sopranos really match up to the Wire at all. 6FU was really great starting out, but this last season turned into some bizarro homoerotic grand guignol. Which isn't HALF as awesome as it sounds. Sopranos was always wildly uneven, and for the last couple years the only good eps have been the ones in which important characters are killed. The cardboard hatefulness of the Sopranos pisses me off too, esp. in comparison to The Wire - even the sympathetic characters are monsters. which, yeah, is obviously the point, but it makes it hard to remain invested in the show when everyone drips venality and cruelty. The uneven writing makes it even harder, obv. Things definately did improve last season, but after all the meandering it's difficult to care about how things will conclude. (and for a show in which character comes first [wtf does that mean anyway], the people in it sure are fucking static)

― Cabaret Voltron (PUNXSUTAWNEY PENIS), Saturday, 19 March 2005 16:53 (twenty years ago)

No, the entire point of the Sopranos is that the characters never really change, that they only become more and more like themselves. It's a pretty fatalistic narrative. We always know these people are doomed to being themselves.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 19 March 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

"Character coming first" vs. "plot coming first" is just a reference to the emphasis of the narrative. On SFU and The Sopranos, the story is more about the core cast of characters and what happens to them, whereas in the Wire, it's about this larger system and following what happens in this macrostory. The characters are fleshed out, but the story isn't really about them so much as the system they are. The Sopranos is very clearly the story of Tony Soprano, with the b storyline being the story of Christopher Moltisanti. Six Feet Under is more of a soap opera, and has a more aimless narrative with some central themes that come up again and again.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 19 March 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, fair point about the narrative. Watching some reruns not long ago, I was struck by all the things I'd missed viewing the series first time around - there are some exceptionally well-executed episodes, whereas I'd sorta dismissed the whole affair as sloppy my first go through. Still doesn't excuse how many scenes there were in the last two seasons of characters WATCHING TV.

― Cabaret Voltron (PUNXSUTAWNEY PENIS), Saturday, 19 March 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)

But are there really any occasions when characters are watching television, and it doesn't either push the plot along or include some kind of meta comment on the narrative? It's never gratuitous. And people watch a lot of tv, so it's hardly unrealistic.

The only kinda gratuitous tv-watching that I can remember from the last two seasons was that bit in "Cold Cuts" when Tony is getting all freaked out by that 60 Minutes report on how easily terrorists could get stuff into US docks.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 19 March 2005 18:43 (twenty years ago)

i like the corner and oz.

― scg, Saturday, 19 March 2005 18:51 (twenty years ago)

'But are there really any occasions when characters are watching television, and it doesn't either push the plot along or include some kind of meta comment on the narrative? It's never gratuitous.'

I guess the only way I can refute this is by going back and looking at those eps, which sounds like a pain in the ass. I know that WHAT they're watching usually has some kind of thematic relevence, but I never felt like it enriched the narrative or contributed much? It also frequently came off as self-parody to me. I guess I just prefer more to be HAPPENING in my tv (cf. the Wire), and this particular trope always felt emblematic of the show's slothfulness.

(and yeah, not unrealistic, but it's hardly a documentary etc blah blah)

― Cabaret Voltron (PUNXSUTAWNEY PENIS), Saturday, 19 March 2005 18:57 (twenty years ago)

me and my friend were really really stoned watching the final episode of the corner, and when it got to the end and the guy interviewed the real family we totally spun out and was nearly sick. one of the darkest pieces of television i've ever watched.

― scg, Saturday, 19 March 2005 19:04 (twenty years ago)

I don't know, man. I love the Wire intensely, especially right now, but I think that the plot is waaaaaay more slothful than the Sopranos, which seems to move at a much quicker pace for the most part, even during the fourth season. (Which is extremely underrated.)

The Sopranos seasons: 3 > 5 > 4 > 1 > 2

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 08:26 (twenty years ago)

o that's crazy

1 > 2 > 5 > 3 > 4

― j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

Three is the worst season! The second episode of that season is also the worst SINGLE episode ever.

(Not seen Five):

But 1 > 2 > 4 > 3.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Sunday, 20 March 2005 18:01 (twenty years ago)

The Wire > Deadwood > Sopranos

― Chris Marx, Sunday, 20 March 2005 19:29 (twenty years ago)

Season 1 and 2 of The Sopranos have their up points and are generally pretty good, but all of the worst episodes of the series in those seasons. Especially season 2 - there's some major duds in there, plus way too much pointless selfawareness in the narrative. Definite softmore slump. Season 1 is mostly quite good, but then you have that lousy episode with the rappers that completely throw off the average. I understand why some people like season 1 the best - it has a lot of wish fulfillment in the narrative, but to me that's pretty boring compared to the slow dissolution of the Soprano family over the most recent three seasons. You can have Richie Aprile and Mikey Palmice, I'll have Ralph Ciferetto, Tony Blundetto, Johnny Sac, and Phil Leotardo, thanks.

Alex In SF, I can't believe that you really believe that "Proshai, Livushka" is the worst episode of the series. I'd easily place that one in the top ten or top fifteen. If you really think that duds like "Commendatori," "D-Girl," and "A Hit Is A Hit" are better, then hey, whatever. We're not going to see eye to eye on this!

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

Um, "sophomore slump."

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

"d-girl"'s great!

― j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

You rate an episode which has an awkward computer generated face superimposed on someone's body and feels like a desperate attempt to integrate someones real life death into the show's narrative? You're right we aren't going to see eye to eye on this.

Also "D-Girl" is great. The other two are just okay though.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

Season Three also has the Jackie Junior/Meadow melodrama which is probably one of my least favorite subplots.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

johnny sack > mikey palmice
richie aprile > ralph ciferetto
big pussy > tony blundetto

― j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:51 (twenty years ago)

All of them >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Jackie Jr

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:51 (twenty years ago)

it's all about the pine barrens, obv. and for the wire, it's all about the second (or third?) to last episode of season two. the one that starts with "i walk the line."

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Sunday, 20 March 2005 23:34 (twenty years ago)

You rate an episode which has an awkward computer generated face superimposed on someone's body and feels like a desperate attempt to integrate someones real life death into the show's narrative?

Well, what else were they supposed to do? Pretend the character never existed? Please be even a little bit realistic or sympathetic about this. That one scene isn't that big of a deal, but the rest of the episode is VERY strong. It was a great send off for that character, who had run her course either way.

Ralph Cifaretto > all other similar antagonist characters on the show combined, and has the best death episode of anyone in the five seasons to date.

I'm not that sour about Jackie Jr, but I do agree that it's not one of the best subplots in the series. A lot of the reason that I love season 3 is the stuff with Tony and Carmella, the introduction of Ralph, "Pine Barrens," and the Gloria Trillo storyline. I have a certain fondness for season 3 because it's the season where the show really comes together. Season 1 and season 2 are good, but there's some flailing in season 2 that makes me suspect that the writers weren't 100% sure where they were going with it, and were still reeling from the massive success of the first season.

I saw that Wire episode with "I Walk The Line" at the start of it (it's called "Storm Warnings") for the first time yesterday. I agree, it's exceptional. It's hard to pick stand-out episodes in the Wire because it's all so consistent, but yeah, that's on the shortlist for me.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 23:36 (twenty years ago)

actually was the jar jar lidia episode the same one with her wake? cuz her wake was fantastic

― j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

Oh hey, can anyone tell me where I might find season 3 of The Wire online? I'm too hooked right now to wait til the dvd, and HBO isn't rerunning it any time soon.

Yes, the "Jar Jar" Livia is the same episode as her wake. The wake is the majority of the episode, and that one scene with her is no more than two minutes.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 23:40 (twenty years ago)

See I feel like Season Three is the real "flailing" season for me. Season Two was very specifically tailored to be ultimately about Pussy and Tony and that season's final episode is maybe one of my favorite ones.

There are two or three really great individual episodes in Season Three (Pine Barrens is amazing, so is the first one--Mr Ruggiero's Neighborhood--with the FBI, also all the bits with Janice and the one legged lady are brilliant) but it's got a lot of the weakest subplots too (Charles S Dutton, Melfi's rape, I don't rate the Gloria subplot at all, and of course almost all of the Jackie Jr stuff.)

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 21 March 2005 00:54 (twenty years ago)

The Sopranos is just about a better subject: the subconscious. The Wire is about work, which is almost as great, but isn't going at you on as many levels...

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 21 March 2005 03:35 (twenty years ago)

I think you're wrong about Dominic West's accent on the show. I never would have guessed he was a Brit. And though I haven't met tons of Baltimore white folks, many of them do have a weird accent that can sound British, Southern, and Bostonian all at the same time...

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 21 March 2005 03:39 (twenty years ago)

Finished Pelecanos's Soul Circus not long ago, too. He's on an American book tour starting March 28, and any fans of The Wire should check it out:
http://www.twbookmark.com/features/georgepelecanos/tour.html

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 21 March 2005 03:43 (twenty years ago)

I was surprised to learn that Dominic West was not an American, and double surprised to learn that Idris "Stringer Bell" Elba is from England.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 05:05 (twenty years ago)

Spot-on accent or no, Elba's performance is just incredibly convincing. I don't think I paid as much attention to Stringer in the first season, but there's so much nuance in every scene he does in the second season. That scene with Brother Mouzone in the hospital and his last scene with Avon in episode 12 of season 2 really impressed me in particular.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 05:07 (twenty years ago)

Davey D's article on Elba (who's from Hackney, London, and is a DJ):

http://p076.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm34.showPrevMessage?topicID=1332.topic

From MTV news:
http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/092704/

Meeting Idris Elba is a straight bug-out. He's been in videos by Fat Joe and most recently Angie Stone, but he's best known as kingpin Russell "Stringer" Bell on HBO's "The Wire." So imagine how ill it is to holla at him for the first time and discover that he has a thick British accent and he's a DJ. "I've been collecting records since I was like 10," said Elba, who grew up in London. The actor, whose DJ name is Big Dris, began spinning around the age of 14. "I started out with my uncle," he remembered. "He had a sound system called Sound International back in London. He basically did weddings. I was the speaker boy. ... By the time I was 15, me and my men from around the way started our own little sound that was called the Social Affair Sound [and] we started doing local parties." Dris, who began putting it down behind the turntables in clubs by the time he was 19, has been living part-time in NYC for the last six years and actually started earning his living by spinning in the East Village and Alphabet City before landing a guest appearance on "Law and Order" in 2001. His stint on "The Wire" began in 2002. Dris said things are going to get ugly this season for his character, but in real life, Elba is straight. He's already put out a series of street CDs called Foot Fetish, and he's linking up with other DJs to put out collaborations. "I consider myself a blend DJ more than anything," he said. "Like my mixtapes, the way I want to see them grow, I basically want to see if I can get my mixtapes to showcase new talent. I can't compete with the big boys on getting the freestyles and all that, because I don't have the connects yet. Eventually, I'd like to get the new freestyles, but at the same time, I want to see the new cats that's coming up."

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 21 March 2005 07:37 (twenty years ago)

I hope to track down this book, too:

Hey Cabbie! by Thaddeus Logan

http://www.citypaper.com/bob/story.asp?id=174

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 21 March 2005 07:38 (twenty years ago)

hey matthew sorry i haven't responded to yr email. i'm not sure how to get season three, though supposedly it's coming out this summer. certainly you could get it via bittorrent i'm sure, and i bet some folks on the hbo wire message board could hook you up. that's all i gots.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 21 March 2005 14:05 (twenty years ago)

If it's coming out in the summer, I can probably hold out and netflix them. But oh man, I am dying to get on with the Stringer Bell/Omar/Brother Mouzone storyline.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:53 (twenty years ago)

SUMMMER SUMMMMMMER WANT WIRE PART THREE IN SUMMMMER!

― Frankenstein in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:54 (twenty years ago)

It's probably a wise move to wait a bit on season three if it's going to be at least 12 months til season 4 starts up. (The Sopranos will be on winter 06, so The Wire will probably start around March or April.)

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

Be quiet with your marketing REASONS! Want in SUMMER!

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

Actually, I think in terms of marketing, sooner is better. I was talking about myself there - it's better that I pace myself right now rather than have to wait a full year to get the next fix.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 17:32 (twenty years ago)

i was told by someone in the know a month or so back that because of the TREMENDOUS success of the wire on dvd, they were gonna get season three out sooner than you might expect. i've seen season three twice now (thanks on demand!). anyone saying it's a drop off is totally nuts.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 21 March 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

It's no big shock that The Wire would find its greatest success on dvd. That's the perfect format for the show. I know that I never would have gotten into the show if I didn't watch it on dvd in rapid succession. And now I'm hooked and I'll be a regular viewer. It's the only way to make converts, you can't just jump in on that show. I tried, and I was in way over my head.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)

I wish that the box sets weren't so expensive, though. I'd probably buy them if they were more like $30 or $40 instead of $100. I mean, I will probably buy them, just not any time soon on my current income.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 18:00 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I was very lucky to have someone send me half the first season on tape I managed to watch all of that in about two days and now I'm never getting rid of this monkey.

― Austin, Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 21 March 2005 18:02 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

Anyone know anywhere on the webs to pick up the third season? I can't WAIT.

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Thursday, 23 June 2005 18:17 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

You can find season 3 at Pirate Bay.

I really liked this show. A whole lot. But didn't anyone else think it was a little too, I don't, Tom Waitsy? Like they were trying to turn Baltimore into New Orleans, a super-colorful gothic place that's full of really colorful eccentrics. And sure, Baltimore is pretty interesting, but come on. I had exactly the same problem with Homicide.

McNulty accent was pretty awful too, especially compared to Stringer Bell's. Everytime he'd really try to put on a Baltimore accent (by saying "Bawmore" or whatever), I winced.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Thursday, 7 July 2005 23:51 (twenty years ago)

i'm finishing up season 2 right now and am kinda disappointed with it after loving season 1. it's funny though how many of the cop actors in "the wire" were previously playing junkies and crackheads in "the corner" mini-series (which i think might be superior to the wire, as far as being a slice of "baltimore reality" goes. but then it is based on true story...)

― Ô¿Ô (eman), Friday, 8 July 2005 01:08 (twenty years ago)

Season 3 is probably the worst of the three. Partly cause it's the whole Hamsterdam subplot is overtly political and a little hard to believe.

Oh yeah, and the sex scenes! WHY?! It's you're watching a nice, realistic drama then bam, cinemax style softcore.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 8 July 2005 04:27 (twenty years ago)

goddamit fuck. i'll still rent it though.

― Ô¿Ô (eman), Friday, 8 July 2005 04:44 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah, it's worth renting. No question.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 8 July 2005 04:53 (twenty years ago)

oh my god! i just realised prez is the elevator dude in hudsucker proxy!

that is so cool.

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Friday, 8 July 2005 05:11 (twenty years ago)

season 1 was OK at parts, kinda patchy i thought. but season 2 was great, although i didn't like it at all in the beginning. it definitely grew on me though and surpassed season 1.
i missed season 3 when it came out and am now following the weekly reruns on hbo2 (wed. nights). so far it is pretty yawny, but it seems they all start out that way. interested to see how it transpires each week ... or may lose patience and download the whole season 3 off bit-Torr.

omar is pretty SIC-WID-IT though.

― leonard (tk), Friday, 8 July 2005 05:15 (twenty years ago)

I've seen them all in a row up through midway through season 3 (currently being rerun on Wednesdays on HBO2) and seriously I have no complaints. There are maybe a couple inconcruous sex scenes, but I don't know, sometimes the show needs some bit of sexiness or levity because so much of everything else in it is pretty dead serious.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 8 July 2005 13:07 (twenty years ago)

Dude, I laugh a LOT while watching The Wire. The Moving the Desk scene, to take one brilliant example. Snot Boogie. Drunk Driving through the underpass...

I guess a lot of it happens in the pre credit sequence.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Saturday, 9 July 2005 01:54 (twenty years ago)

Okay, the sex scenes can be forgiven or explained away, but Lt. Daniels has his shirt off through half the third season, and he looks like a GI Joe man. Or D'Angelo in that video. He's absurdly ripped, and looks like he's done a 45 minute workout before filming the scenes. I dunno, it distracted me, that's all.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Saturday, 9 July 2005 02:29 (twenty years ago)

He's estranged from his wife, so he's gotta do something to work out that excess energy.

Actually, I find the softcore pretty distracting and not (usually) revelatory of any character or plot stuff, so I have a theory it's all just part of HBO's attempt to keep a minimum tits per hour average on their original shows.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Saturday, 9 July 2005 02:49 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I was kinda "whoa" when Daniels was topless - I figured he'd be skinny, not totally ripped.

Any time sex on the Wire borders on gratuitous, it's always McNulty. And it's usually funny.

And yeah, there's a lot of wit in The Wire. Just not a lot of slapstick.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 9 July 2005 15:29 (twenty years ago)

Hey, imagine getting that memo: "Love the show, but please add more titties."

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 9 July 2005 15:30 (twenty years ago)

The rumors say there will be a lot less McNutty in S4. Whatsisname's movie career is getting big, and the character was busted back to beat cop anyway so he can't be working any big cases. He'll supposedly show up for a cameo in a few episodes, but not part of the main ensemble.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Saturday, 9 July 2005 15:58 (twenty years ago)

That could be a good thing. I like McNulty fine, but the renegade-cop shtick is one of the few gratuitous cliches on the show.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Saturday, 9 July 2005 16:36 (twenty years ago)

There should be more scenes with Carver and Herc! There's something very captivating about Carv, I dont know how to explain it. I just want to see more of him. Also, that scene(s) with him and Herc when they talk about what man, if they had to, they'd sleep with, is so very classic.

And it's essential they find a way to add Omar to the storyline for next season.

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Saturday, 9 July 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

They should subcontract Omar to other series and movies. He's such a great character, he could just kind of turn up here and there, do his thing, move on.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Saturday, 9 July 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

a friend thinks that bunk and lester should get their own show where they solve a new crime every week. amazing.

mcnulty might be the most cliched thing to you, gypsy, but he's also one of the most reality-based characters on the show! he's ed burns.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Saturday, 9 July 2005 21:54 (twenty years ago)

He might be reality-based, but his clashes with the brass started to seem kinda Dirty Harry-ish.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Saturday, 9 July 2005 22:06 (twenty years ago)

If I could make one request for season 4, it would be PLEASE MORE FREAMON AND PREZ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Sunday, 10 July 2005 00:44 (twenty years ago)

I think McNulty is a great character, but I think most all of them are great characters. Herc and Carver's old-married-couple routines are definitely a comic highlight of the show, though.

Personally, I hope they find some way to keep Cutty in the mix - that guy is fascinating. I'd like to see Zig and Nick and Horseface and the Greek and other guys from the docks come back, too, but I guess they've been pretty well dropped.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 10 July 2005 00:59 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

I just finished Season 3, and I have to say I think it leaves the other two seasons, good as they were, in the shade. There's just so much payoff. Long-term payoff. Arcs whose parabolas have taken three years to reach their zenith and then fall spiralling inevitably towards the flames. What's there left to do? Plenty, I guess. But to me the show's heart was always the Barksdale crew. The scene with Stringer (can words to justice to Elba's portrayal?), Avon (who to me bears an eerie resemblance to Brad Pitt; I think it's because he looks like he could smuggle rodents in his constantly flexing jaws) and Brianna (the incredible Michael Hyatt), where they discuss the circumstances of D'Angelo's death, plays deeper than anything else in the three seasons of the show, in part because it's had three season's worth of build-up to get to that point. The core of the crew is in the crucible there, you can see it in the picture made by the actors in the room, you can feel it in their performances, and you can see the results in every aspect of the plot thereafter.

The cops, on the other hand, have never seemed too serious to me. They've never had a scene like that. Sure, there have been steely-eyed threats, hurled recriminations, long friendships put at risk, but the "game" is something the cops can dip out of -- to the extent that they turn off their cell phones -- any time they want. Even to the most "natural police," as the show puts it, their jobs, and the relationships in their jobs, matter, but only so much. Which probably reflects reality, to an extent. Bayliss and Pembleton cared so much they almost drove themselves off the deep end; these police seem a little more balanced. But less interesting.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 03:59 (nineteen years ago)

the "game" is something the cops can dip out of -- to the extent that they turn off their cell phones -- any time they want

You're giving pretty short shrift to a McNulty who recruits his own kids for subject surveillance!

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 05:41 (nineteen years ago)

Which isn't a slam on the actors. The cop roles just don't seem like they have the same stakes to them. DRINKING GAME: Every shit-eating grin out of McNulty one drink; every seen-it-all shrug from Kima one drink (with eye-roll, drink from the bottle); every exasperated sigh from Kima's partner... well, okay, the stakes were always pretty high with her. Too high. But she wasn't a cop! The theory holds!

xpost haha yeah, but McNulty caught hell for it, cause he's an outrageous dick.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 05:52 (nineteen years ago)

Why the hell am I so stilted writing about this show??

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:06 (nineteen years ago)

awesome tracer! i'm impressed that you watched season three in like three days! the avon/stringer/briana scene was amazing, as was avon and stringer on the balcony overlooking the harbor.

and prez. poor poor prez.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:14 (nineteen years ago)

and CUTTY!!! so cute!

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:14 (nineteen years ago)

What do y'all think about the City Hall dimension of the show, which has gotten more significant every year, the council and mayoral politics, etc? I'm of two minds about it because on the one hand it's sort of amazing to find a TV show taking that stuff seriously and showing some level of sophistication about it, but on the other hand the show (which I guess means the writers) seem a little less sure-footed there than on the street. The political consultant dragon lady, e.g., doesn't really convince me.

I'd like to see a City Hall show written by someone who knows City Hall as well as Simon knows cops and robbers. But maybe I'd be the only one who watched it.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:28 (nineteen years ago)

Also, did anyone see the NYT article a while back about how Baltimore's new police chief has a stepdaughter who's a junkie prostitute? It was a really sad story, and sounded exactly like a "Wire" storyline.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:30 (nineteen years ago)

i love that aspect of the show, especially as it expounds on the wire's obvious power theory obsession. unfortunately i cannot say how realistic it is, but based on homicide (the book) and the articles i've read about city government, it seems fairly on point. supposedly the fourth season will focus on the city government and its relationship to the schools.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:34 (nineteen years ago)

I think it gets the broad strokes right, the way the power relationships work and everything, it's just that the details seem a little less convincing than the details of the police work and the gangs. The characters are a little more stock, and their motivations are less complex. But that could be because they've been relatively minor characters so far, maybe in a season that focuses more on the bureaucracy, we'll get more interesting bureaucrats.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

(and I think focusing on the school system is a great idea)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:40 (nineteen years ago)

I didn't see that article. The show has been threatening to follow the money since Season 1, and you're right, it definitely seems to be headed that way. They even added a totally gratuitous meeting between Cutty/Dennis and Daniels' wife in what I hope is a sprinkling of the chess pieces around the board for an epic corruption showdown in Season 4. Does anybody even remember now how the hell they got together? Dennis even asks Burrell -- why are you doing this? -- and see, now I can't remember. That's what happens when you totally pig out on like three episodes a night, I guess. Stuff falls through the cracks.

xpost to jamz -- yeah! The black councilman is running for mayor on an education platform, and the white councilman is running on crime, right? The white councilman is a great character, you never quite know where he's coming from. He seems like he's got real decency under there, but there are ominous signs... the moral triage of politics comes a little too naturally to him, and his vanity is well-documented. The revelation of Hamsterdam was a moment of moral choice for him and he wrestles with it -- use it to his campaign's advantage, or follow his conscience? He's told: "You've been dealt a winning hand and it's like you forgot how to play!" but he remembers how to play at the end, and I wonder if it's the first step down a long, venal road.

The other big indicator that 4 will be all about the money, or at least the politics, as that Clay Davis remains unconscionably un-comeuppanced.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

p.s. I wonder if Simon knows George Somerby, the man who writes The Daily Howler? Somerby taught in Baltimore for years and has long excoriated everyone whose lapels he can grab about how they've failed kids in city schools.. to the point where he's now explicitly changing the mission of the Howler to focus on education

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 16:47 (nineteen years ago)

BUNNY COLVIN!!! How awesome a character was he?

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 17:26 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, he's one of the cops to whom things actually mean something other than ego or advancement or lack of anything else to do. And what a face!!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 20:18 (nineteen years ago)

Lt. Daniels has his shirt off through half the third season, and he looks like a GI Joe man

Lance Reddick rules. He ruled on Oz too.

I saw him running at the dog park a few weeks back. Intimidating! But sporting the tall man's tell-tale knee braces.

And, in the hidden indicators department, he's done time in Rochester. Eastman School on his resume.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 21:24 (nineteen years ago)

Apparently the 'arc' narrative of the fourth season is going to be following four middle school students through a school year. I forget where I read that, but it was linked from a Televisiowithoutpity.com forum. Sounds good to me. I'd like to hear back (somehow) from the Sobotka family or otherwise somehow get back to the docks. Vondas is still supplying Proposition Joe, right? That could do it.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 26 October 2005 22:02 (nineteen years ago)

two months pass...

First off, this Ed Burns interview about season four is amazing, and shows how aware the creators are of the power theory/class questions of the Wire. (Of course they are but it was nice to hear them spelled out.)

Secondly, last week thanks to the transit strike and me spending Christmas in New York, I rewatched the first season and am mid-way through the second. Just so so good. So many things I had forgotten, and some little tidbits in the early going that showed the uncertainty that it began with. Things like:

1) Omar curses in the first episode
2) Stringer SMOKING in the first episode (no way would he ever smoke)
3) McNulty's British accent is sooooo apparent in the earlygoing

Anyway, I'm just convinced more and more everyday how genius this show is/was.

Also, has anyone else seen Cutty in those Cheerios commercials? And last night I saw D'Angelo's mom in an episode of West Wing!

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 18:03 (nineteen years ago)

Secondly, last week thanks to the transit strike and me spending Christmas in New York, I rewatched the first season and am mid-way through the second.

This sentence is true of me as well. Yancey, are you me?

― Paul Eater (eater), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 19:05 (nineteen years ago)

if only i could be so lucky!

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 19:12 (nineteen years ago)

Ha!

On the second viewing, I found myself more impressed by the skillful long-arc structuring, but slightly more annoyed by the couple of actors for whom I can't quite suspend disbelief. Frank Sobotka in particular makes me picture the script, and the camera, and the audition, and generally the actor trotting around the Upper West Side with a latte and a copy of Backstage.

― Paul Eater (eater), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 19:29 (nineteen years ago)

I thought the guy playing Sobotka was very believable!

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 19:32 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I realize that I'm in the minority. Kima is the only other one who bugs me a little.

― Paul Eater (eater), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 19:38 (nineteen years ago)

I love all the Sobotkas.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKERS GAVE ME BAD ADVICE!"

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 22:47 (nineteen years ago)

Kima is somewhat unbelievable at times, and sometimes Omar is a little over the top, but Sobotka was totally real to me.

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 22:50 (nineteen years ago)

Omar's over-the-top-ness is what makes him so fun.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 23:26 (nineteen years ago)

Secondly, last week thanks to the transit strike and me spending Christmas in New York, I rewatched the first season and am mid-way through the second.
This sentence is true of me as well. Yancey, are you me?

Hey you guys are me wtf cut it out I'm me

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 27 December 2005 23:58 (nineteen years ago)

wait, is Season 3 out on DVD yet (didn't find anything on amazon.com)?

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 15:36 (nineteen years ago)

season three comes out this summer, apparently. which means season four will start in august or september. i bought a burned copy of season three online for about $10. sucks to pay someone for piracy, but i couldn't stand not being able to rewatch it...

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 15:42 (nineteen years ago)

Bring it over to my house! I don't have HBO, I haven't seen any of season 2, and summer is too far away. I need it NOW.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

Season 3 is just starting again on HBO Zone, if you've got a good HBO package.

Yeah, season 4 is debuting in the fall of 06.

HBO for 06:

March - May: The Sopranos / Big Love

July - September: Deadwood / Entourage

September - November: The Wire

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 16:51 (nineteen years ago)

I'm interviewing writer-producer George P. Pelecanos on MLK Day in D.C. Anyone have any questions for him?

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Thursday, 29 December 2005 23:03 (nineteen years ago)

You can smell Sobotka's armpits thru the tv screen. I like that.

My favorite is Bunk.

― [use of street parade as pivotal set piece] (nordicskilla), Thursday, 29 December 2005 23:07 (nineteen years ago)

The Deadwood/Wire combo will keep me happy for almost half the year, then. 2006 is looking up.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Thursday, 29 December 2005 23:10 (nineteen years ago)

I never finished the third season, ironically. I've been hoping for a longass time that the DVDs would just come out, but I'm thinking of downloading them shits as time goes on.

― I GUARONTEE ::cajun voice:: (Adrian Langston), Thursday, 29 December 2005 23:20 (nineteen years ago)

I meant I hadn't seen any of season 3. Sheesh. No small-motor control.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Thursday, 29 December 2005 23:26 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

just finished watching season one. best tv show ever.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 24 February 2006 16:49 (nineteen years ago)

agreed. i've only watched to the end of season 2, via netflix, and it gets better and better. complete pwnage of all other tv, in my opinion.

― tobo (tobo), Friday, 24 February 2006 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

only things:

1. it woulda been cool if d'angelo's mom was introduced a little bit earlier, but oh well.
2. beginning of last episode - scene with lt. daniels and mcnulty in the hospital is, aside from daniels' closing lines, pretty terrible.

starting season 2 next week!

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 24 February 2006 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

SPOT ON. The fuck did I do?

For all the seriousness, this show gets hilarious in a "jokes between friends" sort of a way. See Omar and McNutty clothes shopping. "Well...It's a look." "No it ain't."

I don't really have anything to add to what everyone else has said except OOOH. I had no idea Dominic West was English, but I knew Idris was. I've seen him on the telly. He was great in that show with Miles (Jack Davenport, I mean) that was about vampires except it wasn't.

Oh, inDEED. I am desperate to get season 3, having only watched the first two. I'm downloading it, but only at speeds I haven't witnessed since the 90s.

This show makes me want to drink. Always.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Friday, 17 March 2006 02:03 (nineteen years ago)

I just dled S3 myself. I'm still seeding, too!

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 17 March 2006 02:20 (nineteen years ago)

Did it take you 50 days? Ha.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Friday, 17 March 2006 02:33 (nineteen years ago)

About four, but it was aa 4 gig file!

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 17 March 2006 02:34 (nineteen years ago)

So when is this supposed to be on again, anyway? I swear I saw some teaser last year that said "March 2006" but I guess not.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 17 March 2006 02:35 (nineteen years ago)

argh - website sez "Production is about to begin on THE WIRE's next season. Stay tuned for more updates about the upcoming season four."

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 17 March 2006 02:40 (nineteen years ago)

tracer deadwood's next season is after sopranos takes it's break so my guess is around august/september which since it's focusing on the schools next season makes nice timing. still haven't seen s3 yet - i missed the first month and it's not a show you can just pick up on in the middle really.

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 17 March 2006 02:54 (nineteen years ago)

FIE. I'm jealous of your not having watched S3. (I liked it a lot better than 2.)

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 17 March 2006 03:32 (nineteen years ago)

I am Ned now, apparently.

― Tracer Hand ;) (tracerhand), Friday, 17 March 2006 03:50 (nineteen years ago)

"still haven't seen s3 yet - i missed the first month and it's not a show you can just pick up on in the middle really."

pretty much the same for me, i caught the first few eps and then missed one or two, which was enough for me to write it off until i could see the whole thing at once. which still hasn't happened.

also it really embarasses me whenever this thread is bumped :'(

― Milhouse is not a meme. But 'Milhouse is not a meme' IS a meme. (Adrian Langston, Friday, 17 March 2006 06:56 (nineteen years ago)

I literally just finished watching Season 3 about three minutes ago and now a thread pops up. Weird.

I started watching this show about a month ago on DVD and picked up season 3 on bittorrent. Now I've watched all three seasons over the course of the month.

I really didn't like the first six episodes or so of season 1. The dialogue seemed like forced, hardboiled verite bullshit. But the last half of season 1 and then season 2 and 3 were so goddamned brilliant. I'm really glad I stuck through it because I personally believe this is one of the best shows in the history of television.

I mean, all you can really ask of art is that it change the way you think a bit and make you reconsider your perspective on the shape of the world, and it might sound corny but this show has been a big deal for me.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 17 March 2006 09:01 (nineteen years ago)

Maybe I just need torrent advice. I dunno. I can't seem to use anything without sucking up all the broadband power we have, and it still doesn't dl very fast...

Nyagh.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Friday, 17 March 2006 12:22 (nineteen years ago)

All three seasons begin slowly, and then you feel them kick into high gear about halfway through (the drunk driving/Pogues moment in Season 2, the establishment of "Amsterdam" in Season 3), and they usually have Pelecanos write that episode.

I think this series has a lot to say about what's going on in Iraq, especially Season 3.

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Saturday, 18 March 2006 01:28 (nineteen years ago)

I'm almost dying to see Season 3! I didn't feel this at the end of the first season, but there seems to be some inevitable things set up at the end of the second and I need to see that shit happen (Stringer's gonna get GOT).

I'm going to leave my computer on for a month if I have to.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Saturday, 18 March 2006 01:33 (nineteen years ago)

I also can't stop laughing, and wanting to say, "them shits" in every sentence.

"I wiped them shits down" "I need to hear them shits" "nah, fuck those shits"

It's just so much funnier in plural.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Saturday, 18 March 2006 01:54 (nineteen years ago)

Just started the third Season and I don't know if it was the withdrawal (rented Season 1 and 2 back-to-back last summer), but my mind is blown and every crap show I've watched in the past months is gone from my head. Not too sure I'm keen on the new version of the theme, though.

I'm about 5 eps in, but I love the storyline involving that old dude that just got out of jail. I have no idea where this is heading, but fuckin' superb. Councilman Carcetti is also a great addition.

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

I just watched the 3rd series! I think downloading it all at once spoilt me and I really need to watch through again though, at a slower pace (ie, not in one day and an evening).

I had trouble with Carcetti, because I kept thinking he'd just slip back in to being the dude from Queer Is Folk, like it was a secret he was hiding. Ha.

Knowing the next series is about the school system, it's interesting to see (what I think might be) them setting up characters I imagine will be involved in that (Cutty and the boxing gym, very young kids in seemingly prominent positions on Marlos crew, the kid with Bubbs at the end?). I know there's been those sorts of characters throughout, but I kept thinking these were the main angles that would be taken for that next season. I wouldn't be surprised if I was completely wrong, though.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:23 (nineteen years ago)

There's also the principal from the gymnasium.

Is there ever going to be a season that doesn't end with a montage of pictures being removed from the pinboard?

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:30 (nineteen years ago)

I hope not.

I saw Peter Geraty (the judge) in "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" on Sunday night at the Atlantic Theater, playing a roaring bastard of an alcoholic father.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:07 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Zsiggy Sobatka prevents a rape.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 21 April 2006 13:03 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/img/90x94/characters/theport/franksobotka.jpg

you done good zig.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Friday, 21 April 2006 13:18 (nineteen years ago)

Ziggy's duck is so sad.

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Friday, 21 April 2006 13:49 (nineteen years ago)

FOR GREAT JUSTICE

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 21 April 2006 14:34 (nineteen years ago)

What was up with the "pretending to pull out the gun" part, though? That's not really explained.

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 21 April 2006 14:36 (nineteen years ago)

i met him, recently. good for zig.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 21 April 2006 14:43 (nineteen years ago)

Goddamn it, when is season 3 coming out on DVD?

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Friday, 21 April 2006 14:55 (nineteen years ago)

i've got it in my netflix queue (sp?), but they don't provide a release date. not sure where else to look. anyone?

― tobo (tobo), Friday, 21 April 2006 14:59 (nineteen years ago)

It's stories like this that remind me not all celebrities live in their own fantasy world. For every Britney Spears and Sharon Stone, there's a James Ransone who chases down criminals and excessively beats them with metal bars.

Previous Entries
» Kevin Federline and Kidd Kraddick Dance Off
» Sharon Stone is the best mom ever
» Britney Spears still really attractive
» Nicole Kidman wants a Catholic wedding
» Britney Spears pisses off little people

― dave's good arm (facsimile) (dave225.3), Friday, 21 April 2006 15:01 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.torrentz.com/search_the-wire

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Friday, 21 April 2006 15:01 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Television taught me to be cynical about street-level arrests.

― Paul Eater (eater), Friday, 12 May 2006 13:37 (nineteen years ago)

It turns out I work for the woman who made all those impossible Wire quizzes on the HBO site! I told her she was cruel. She said she just did it because she hated her job and wanted to lash out.

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:19 (nineteen years ago)

That is crazy, though, Paul. It echoes Season 3 to a T. You have to wonder about the bigger fish this bust put out of reach.

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:21 (nineteen years ago)

That is a bummer to read. Any possibility the dealers were actually inspired by the show?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:29 (nineteen years ago)

Is anyone in the UK watching this? It's on cable channel FX (Fox sci-fi and drama) but I haven't seen it yet. Charlie Brooker called it the best programme ever made, and he is not the sort to exaggerate, much.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:36 (nineteen years ago)

Any idea which season they're showing over there, Konal M?

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:39 (nineteen years ago)

no but it can be found out i expect. are they up to season three now? didn't hear about it until recently. Brooker (on his BBC4 show) spoiled things a bit by talking about what's happened up to this point but brief enough to make watching still worthwhile i'm sure.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:41 (nineteen years ago)

Season 3 ended around 17 months ago. Season 4 kicks up in the fall, I think.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:47 (nineteen years ago)

COMMISSIONER: Ladies and gentlemen, what you see on the table in front of you represents our department's answer to a culture of death and drugs. And when an officer falls in this war, others stand ready and carry the fight to the very doorstep of those responsible. Now this is only the beginning, I can assure you. But today, a message has been sent. And believe me, this message is being heard loud and clear, by all those who seek profit and power in the importation and sale of illegal drugs.

― Paul Eater (eater), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:48 (nineteen years ago)

Cue Bunk and McNulty cursing and throwing their casefiles across the room.

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 12 May 2006 14:57 (nineteen years ago)

"A Guided Tour Of The Wire's East Baltimore"

http://www.citypaper.com/special/story.asp?id=11846

The other day I rode the bus that cuts up north on Gay St. and goes by that American Brewery Bldg and marveled at how insane that building is, it's really beautiful. Had no idea that was the sniper location in Homicide

(as a sidenote, the bus I was on had Blood and Crip graffiti, like "6 poppin 5 droppin" and "Crips 4 Life" and that was all x'd out with Blood stuff and B with an arrow up and C with an arrow down and "5 poppin 6 droppin." The strangest one was a five-pointed star with B-L-O-O-D at each point, and there was also a six-pointed star with a 6 in the middle. I guess Bloods are 5 and Crips are 6? Looked like weird occult stuff almost.)

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Wednesday, 24 May 2006 21:54 (nineteen years ago)

Really interesting article, just kind of silly in its hand-wringing over "tourism." Exploring poor and unfamiliar neighborhoods is part of being alive and loving cities. And is there a single actual former or current resident of the Lower 9th Ward who resents people going there to see the disaster? These strike me as news editors' conceits.

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Thursday, 25 May 2006 18:45 (nineteen years ago)

Goddamn it, when is season 3 coming out on DVD?

-- Scott CE (sceldre...), April 21st, 2006 11:55 AM. (Scott CE)

^^^^^^^???!!!

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Friday, 26 May 2006 01:18 (nineteen years ago)

hexagram = gangsta disciples/folks (rock blue + mix with crips) + pitchfork/three fingers. don't you listen to rap?

― 333333333333 (33333), Friday, 26 May 2006 02:40 (nineteen years ago)

six stars and they shine so bright
disrespect my organization and you dyin tonight
take flight to chicago and visit the wild 100s
murders, dopedealin, kidnappins, we done done it
set larry hoover free, that's on a g, my nigga
six poppin, five droppin
we some brothers of the struggle.

― 333333333333 (33333), Friday, 26 May 2006 02:41 (nineteen years ago)

now we gon start with the southside
where gds and bds and blackstones don't coincide
so, let me be your tour guide
so, when you in a certain area you will know what that hood ride
now let's start with the vulture
where folks throw up the fork sign to niggas they know they close to
at 49th and state some mingle
but just a few buildings north you got bds throwin three fingers
they call that the low
but back on 53rd and state them mcs be running the whole

― 333333333333 (33333), Friday, 26 May 2006 02:43 (nineteen years ago)

is rap still alive?

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:40 (nineteen years ago)

Goddamn it, when is season 3 coming out on DVD?
-- Scott CE (sceldre...), April 21st, 2006 11:55 AM. (Scott CE)

I would like to reiterate this question, though I would like to add a "the fuck" after "when" and a "motherfucking" after "is."

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:44 (nineteen years ago)

dk thats dope that you know DA Smart. Those Chi Bangin CDs are classic.

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:50 (nineteen years ago)

I met this dude a couple months ago who was a friend of william upski wimsatt, the cat who wrote 'bomb the suburbs' and 'no more prisons.' He was telling me about how when Upski went through his 'jew power' phase or whatever he would wear this chain with a star of david around his neck, and he was visiting this guy and he was flipping out, like "William, you can't wear that shit around here!"

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:53 (nineteen years ago)

You know Jiggs & Cheeks? (off topic)

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:55 (nineteen years ago)

lol Scott

in answer to dk, if not having the foggiest idea what those lyrics are from = not a rap listener, then guilty as charged

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:57 (nineteen years ago)

the first one i had to google and DK's blog came up...its some obscure Z-Ro track. The second one is D.A. Smart, who's from Chicago.

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:58 (nineteen years ago)

(Wild 100s is the far south side, as in 100th street - the El stops running at 79th so its the farrrr south side. I have a friend from down there who i barely ever see.)

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:59 (nineteen years ago)

i thought Z-Ro was Houston, not Chicago

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Friday, 26 May 2006 04:24 (nineteen years ago)

that's the only d.a. smart track i know! that's a great song, though. i put it on a cd i made for ethan.

and it was mr 3-2, not z-ro! z-ro is nominally a crip, mostly out of affil with s.l.a.b. and all the old s.u.c. dudes.

― 333333333333 (33333), Friday, 26 May 2006 04:32 (nineteen years ago)

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y272/govtnames/ro1.jpg

totally bizarre, ro claiming 5-2 hoover and everyhting but being famous for rollin one deep/can't trust nobody/i'm my own gang raps!

― 333333333333 (33333), Friday, 26 May 2006 04:34 (nineteen years ago)

i put my trust is no man, only my motherfuckin block
cause she ain't never let me down before
fuck a gang, i follow my bitch cause she be bustin rounds for ro
unlike my homies cause they phony than a motherfucker
even my broad cause she might be fuckin another brother

damn

― 333333333333 (33333), Friday, 26 May 2006 04:35 (nineteen years ago)

ME AND MY NIGGAS USED TO BE THICKER THAN SAUCE
NOW THEY DON'T EVEN COME TO THE HOUSE
I'M DROWNIN IN PAIN, FEELIN THE PAIN
AND I REALLY DO MISS MY KIN
BUT A MOTHERFUCKER LIKE ME GOTTA FEED MY FAMILY
ONE DEEP I BRING THE PAIN

― 333333333333 (33333), Friday, 26 May 2006 04:39 (nineteen years ago)

oh and i want to mention da vinci's inquest here cause i love it and i just watched the last episode. it works with the same sort of ideas the same way, especially the last few seasons, municipal politics + a failed community + focusing on the people pitted against each other.

― 333333333333 (33333), Friday, 26 May 2006 04:43 (nineteen years ago)

Goddamn it, when is season 3 coming out on DVD?

http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3323309

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Friday, 26 May 2006 11:41 (nineteen years ago)

0 seeds in 0 peers

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Friday, 26 May 2006 12:14 (nineteen years ago)

The DVDs are coming out first week in August, I think. I worked on the DVD production, and they've been done for a long while-- HBO's been sitting on them until now, for whatever reason.

― antexit (antexit), Friday, 26 May 2006 13:03 (nineteen years ago)

Well, Deadwood 2 DVD is just coming out now, only a couple weeks before Deadwood 3 starts airing. So, take that as a hint.

― Keywords: revenge, knife, granddaughter, demonic-possession, rock-star, eel (Aus, Friday, 26 May 2006 13:43 (nineteen years ago)

they've been done for a long while-- HBO's been sitting on them until now, for whatever reason.

i knew it! i guess season 4 airs soon after, is that why they are waiting? otherwise wtffffff

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Friday, 26 May 2006 22:04 (nineteen years ago)

and that is dope btw antexit, i envy your job

also this is worth linking to:

Darkroom Productions Takes Baltimore Hip-Hop From Hamsterdam To Hollywood

http://www.citypaper.com/music/review.asp?rid=10233

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Friday, 26 May 2006 22:08 (nineteen years ago)

SEASON 3 NOW SEEDING!!!

(are these going to be mpeg files or what? probably some format that can't play on my comp.)

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Friday, 26 May 2006 22:14 (nineteen years ago)

when I dled s3 it was divx.

― Keywords: revenge, knife, granddaughter, demonic-possession, rock-star, eel (Aus, Friday, 26 May 2006 22:34 (nineteen years ago)

yeah season 4 starts in September and I think the season 3 DVDs will be out around the same time, shooting just wrapped a couple weeks ago. I'm finally just about caught up with every past episode, so I'm pretty hyped about the new season, also because I know a ton of people (including Darkroom) who either did music for the new season or have small acting roles in it.

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Saturday, 27 May 2006 01:18 (nineteen years ago)

would dimensions in music have that hamsterdam mix for sale? or mondawmin mall?

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Saturday, 27 May 2006 01:38 (nineteen years ago)

I dunno, I haven't seen it in either of those places. you can get it from Darkroom's site, though:
http://www.darkroominc.com/Store.htm

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Saturday, 27 May 2006 04:10 (nineteen years ago)

(are these going to be mpeg files or what? probably some format that can't play on my comp.)

http://www.videolan.org/vlc

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Saturday, 27 May 2006 12:41 (nineteen years ago)

tried that, there was no sound and the picture was messed up

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Saturday, 27 May 2006 17:46 (nineteen years ago)

it it completely downloaded? apologies if you know this already, but torrents can't be watched if they're only partially downloaded.

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 27 May 2006 18:51 (nineteen years ago)

last night i bro'd down with ziggy. as weird a guy as he seemed on the show.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Saturday, 27 May 2006 20:25 (nineteen years ago)

shit i'll try it again - xpost

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Saturday, 27 May 2006 23:18 (nineteen years ago)

good 2 go, tnx doods! way waaay better than season 2 so far

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Monday, 29 May 2006 22:43 (nineteen years ago)

I'm quite new to The Wire, having gone out on a limb and bought seasons one and two on dvd in April and completely pigging out on them. I'm now absolutely obsessed with it and find myself urging people to watch it and scoffing at their ignorance of what has to be the finest television series if not ever, at least this century so far. I'm a massive Sopranos fan too, but I have to say that this has it beat.

I'm currently watching the re-runs of season three on FX and I'm two episodes away from the end. Fuck knows what I'm going to do without it! I love the way that even the smallest, most peripheral characters (Butchie, Landsman, Clay Davis) are so well fleshed out and even though you know very little about them, their motivations are so clear and believable.

Each scene is a work of genius (maybe I'm piling on the hyperbole, but hey, fuck it), but if I had to pick a favourite, it's Omar in court in season two ("I shot the boy Mike-Mike in his hindparts") when he completely turns the cross-examination on Levy. Priceless. Also, in season three when Cutty is telling Avon that he's leaving the game brought a lump to my throat.

Just wanted to get that off my chest.

― yer mam! (yer mam!), Sunday, 11 June 2006 12:52 (nineteen years ago)

> if I had to pick a favourite, it's Omar in court in season two

I also love the aftermath of that scene.

McNulty: "You really see Bird shoot that man?"

Omar: "You really asking?"

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 11 June 2006 13:07 (nineteen years ago)

Cutty is so awesome in a Jerome Bettis kinda way.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Sunday, 11 June 2006 16:07 (nineteen years ago)

i'm starting to watch season 3 a second time, its my favorite so far. i like the guy marlow and the dudes under him, their characters are really understated and believable. how is season 4 gonna top this?

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Sunday, 11 June 2006 17:00 (nineteen years ago)

OTM about Marlo. That scene where the girl that Avon's sent is coming on to him is brilliant. The level of paranoia that's in his head really comes through in the guy's performance. Scary stuff.

― yer mam! (yer mam!), Sunday, 11 June 2006 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

Just noticed that the season 3 opening theme is by the Neville Brothers. the end credits music is dope, I never really get tired of hearing it.

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Monday, 12 June 2006 01:51 (nineteen years ago)

"got that WMD right chea, right chea"

― Q('.'Q) (eman), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 01:49 (nineteen years ago)

Back in SEPTEMBER?!?!?

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Friday, 23 June 2006 12:47 (nineteen years ago)

"this..is bullllllllshit."

http://www.nndb.com/people/191/000057020/lance_reddick_sized.jpg

― XD (eman), Saturday, 24 June 2006 00:08 (nineteen years ago)

If Prez is back, does that mean they're going to find a (logical) way to shoehorn McNulty in, as well? I certainly hope so.

I'm gonna go re-read Savage Inequalities and get myself pumped up for this season. I think it might just piss me off as much as it entertains me.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Saturday, 24 June 2006 02:11 (nineteen years ago)

just seeing this thread gets me amped.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Saturday, 24 June 2006 06:28 (nineteen years ago)

Wouldn't McNulty being on the beat in the Western put him right in the middle of Marlo's operation?

I just want to be sure that Bodie is back. I see Herc is now on Entourage, so I guess he isn't.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Saturday, 24 June 2006 08:12 (nineteen years ago)

Why wouldn't he be?

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Saturday, 24 June 2006 10:43 (nineteen years ago)

Fuck! I'm in the UK and I'm completely obsessed with The Wire. Anyone have any idea when we're going to get it over here. I'd venture to say it will probably be about January.

― yer mam! (yer mam!), Saturday, 24 June 2006 11:41 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.bittorrent.com

― theantmustdance (theantmustdance), Saturday, 24 June 2006 11:42 (nineteen years ago)

I prefer Azureus, but yeah.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Saturday, 24 June 2006 11:43 (nineteen years ago)

Cheers, but my computer doesn't seem to like torrents. Gonna have to wait.

― yer mam! (yer mam!), Saturday, 24 June 2006 11:49 (nineteen years ago)

Season 4, Episode 1: Boys of Summer
????
Season 4, Episode 2: Soft Eyes
????
Season 4, Episode 3: Episode #4.3
????
Season 4, Episode 4: Refugees
10 September 2006
Season 4, Episode 5: Alliances
????
Season 4, Episode 6: Episode #4.6
????
Season 4, Episode 7: Unto Others
November 2006
Season 4, Episode 8: Corner Boys
????
Season 4, Episode 9: Know Your Place
????
Season 4, Episode 10: Misgivings
2006
Season 4, Episode 11: A New Day
????
Season 4, Episode 12: That's Got His Own
????
Season 4, Episode 13: Final Grades
????

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Saturday, 24 June 2006 11:54 (nineteen years ago)

The nice folks at HBO sent out the first six episodes of "The Wire" season four (back in September!),

is this true? someone should really leak those episodes right now.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Saturday, 24 June 2006 14:48 (nineteen years ago)

the wire forum on hbo's site is kinda crazy

― XD (eman), Saturday, 24 June 2006 14:56 (nineteen years ago)

there's threads with david simon from the end of each season - definitely worth reading.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Saturday, 24 June 2006 14:59 (nineteen years ago)

I just want to be sure that Bodie is back. I see Herc is now on Entourage, so I guess he isn't.

I don't know about Bodie but Herc is supposedly seen in the Season 4 teaser

― XD (eman), Saturday, 24 June 2006 15:00 (nineteen years ago)

13 episodes? That's really unlikely - HBO does 12 episode seasons now.

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Saturday, 24 June 2006 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

Also, there's no way those episodes could have been season 4 - it didn't start shooting until 2006.

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Saturday, 24 June 2006 15:27 (nineteen years ago)

Okay, I'm slightly wrong, but mainly right: it began shooting in late 05, but there's little chance that they had anything remotely completely in September 05.

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Saturday, 24 June 2006 15:32 (nineteen years ago)

I think he meant that it's back on tv in September, not that he received them in September '05. That's how I read it anyway.

― yer mam! (yer mam!), Saturday, 24 June 2006 15:37 (nineteen years ago)

one thing i never get about this show--and i say this as a complete and total fan--is how people bend over backwards saying how "realisitic" it is. i mean, it is, comparatively, with almost everything else on tv. but plenty of the scenes and set-ups are totally contrived, the acting can be hammy, there's more speechifying than ever goes on in real life, and whoever upthread was way on the money when they said there was a certain "no chief, YOU'RE out of order" quality about mcnulty.

that said, best show on tv.

― Bea Arthur - Lost COmic GEnius ? (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 24 June 2006 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

and of course, it means much more to me now. "aw look, that junkie is leaning on a city paper box."

we were petitioning my boss for a while to buy the orange couch in a charity auction but he wouldnt go for it.

― Bea Arthur - Lost COmic GEnius ? (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 24 June 2006 15:55 (nineteen years ago)

xpost

Perpetua, are you referring to the episode list? I knicked it off IMDB, and it says 2006, when they're meant to be airing (the ones they have dates for).

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Saturday, 24 June 2006 16:34 (nineteen years ago)

From HBO: With the Barksdale investigation concluded, the fourth season of THE WIRE will expand its focus to include a look at the role of the educational system in an urban environment.

― Eazy (Eazy), Saturday, 24 June 2006 16:42 (nineteen years ago)

Perpetua is misreading like a mofo, just ignore him

but plenty of the scenes and set-ups are totally contrived, the acting can be hammy, there's more speechifying than ever goes on in real life, and whoever upthread was way on the money when they said there was a certain "no chief, YOU'RE out of order" quality about mcnulty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgiGVhhXLak

― XD (eman), Saturday, 24 June 2006 17:26 (nineteen years ago)

i also interviewed the music director for a story i'm working on and got MAD SEASON 4 SPOILERS but i was sworn to secrecy.

― Bea Arthur - Lost COmic GEnius ? (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 24 June 2006 20:09 (nineteen years ago)

omar gets pregnant?

― XD (eman), Sunday, 25 June 2006 00:47 (nineteen years ago)

that youtube parody sucked. And what's up with the taunting by saying The Wire is a hit show?

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 25 June 2006 01:00 (nineteen years ago)

xpost

Music director? So who is doing "Way Down in the Hole" this year?

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Sunday, 25 June 2006 08:47 (nineteen years ago)

It's got to be the Compulsive Gamblers version. That's the only other version I know of anyway.

― yer mam! (yer mam!), Sunday, 25 June 2006 11:34 (nineteen years ago)

Wow, that youtube thing is awful. The only remotely funny thing in it is that wtf? Stipe gag.

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Sunday, 25 June 2006 15:33 (nineteen years ago)

I HAVE WNBA SEASON TICKETS

― gbx (skowly), Sunday, 25 June 2006 15:52 (nineteen years ago)

youtube parody is a hit on the wire / hbo forum

I have no speakers AND THAT WAS FUNNY!

???

― XD (eman), Sunday, 25 June 2006 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, it was maybe a notch or two below Mad TV in terms of quality. Which is about as damning a condemnation of "comedy" as I can come up with.

Except for the Omar part. That was hilarious. And so dead-on and perceptive. It was almost like they'd actually encountered one of those mythical "homosensuals" at one point or another.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Sunday, 25 June 2006 17:13 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

So who is doing "Way Down in the Hole" this year?

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Monday, 10 July 2006 17:29 (nineteen years ago)

Devo 2.0

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Monday, 10 July 2006 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

The Pogues?

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Monday, 10 July 2006 17:42 (nineteen years ago)

Lily Allen?

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 10 July 2006 17:53 (nineteen years ago)

DMX

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 10 July 2006 18:08 (nineteen years ago)

spank rock lol

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 10 July 2006 18:09 (nineteen years ago)

hbo site says dru hill feat. sisqo

― XD (eman), Monday, 10 July 2006 20:03 (nineteen years ago)

"Ten Thousand Bullets" interview with George Pelecanos
http://citypages.com/databank/27/1337/article14551.asp

with much more Q&A about 'The Wire' here:
http://blogs.citypages.com/pscholtes/2006/07/george_pelecano.asp

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Wednesday, 19 July 2006 13:51 (nineteen years ago)

nicely done, pete!

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 19 July 2006 15:51 (nineteen years ago)

great interview, thanks.

i find his real guy stance a little off-putting, like i'm the one who shows people what they need to see, that's why they hate me so. but i guess that's how he motivates himself to make such delightful things. or at least the wire is delightfull. which of his books is good?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 19 July 2006 19:10 (nineteen years ago)

Thanks. I think Drama City is his best, with Hell to Pay a close second. But I never regret anything I read of his: Shoedog, Shame the Devil, Soul Circus, Right as Rain, Hard Revolution, and The Sweet Forever so far. He got me into devouring fiction again. I like the ones set in the present day best--more immediate, less explanatory--but they all have a naturalism in the talk and in the characters that sucks you in.

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Wednesday, 19 July 2006 22:33 (nineteen years ago)

nice one. didn't know that about slim charles being in backyard, he is def. one of the best new characters in season 3

― lmaoborghini (eman), Wednesday, 19 July 2006 23:35 (nineteen years ago)

and shot twice on stage - holy shit

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 20 July 2006 13:00 (nineteen years ago)

soooooooooo who wants spoilers?

― david allen grier (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 20 July 2006 13:11 (nineteen years ago)

this is the only time i will ever have something cool before anyone else.

― david allen grier (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 20 July 2006 13:12 (nineteen years ago)

Give us, just, like, a LITTLE one. Not like, who dies, or anything. Just a taste.

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Thursday, 20 July 2006 14:06 (nineteen years ago)

i'm feeling v conflicted

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 20 July 2006 17:29 (nineteen years ago)

how many episodes in til mcnulty is demoted to crossing guard?

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 20 July 2006 19:14 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

season 3 dvd is out next tuesday ˚_˚

pls tell me they kill off carcetti in 1st ep. of season 4, that guy sux

― Lmaoborghini (eman), Friday, 4 August 2006 01:23 (nineteen years ago)

ziggy sucked at first too though

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Friday, 4 August 2006 01:33 (nineteen years ago)

I picked up Samaritan on the suggestion of y'all and couldn't stop reading. The scenes with kids are so good in that, and I'm hoping that bodes well for Season 4...

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Friday, 4 August 2006 12:49 (nineteen years ago)

I love Carcetti!

By the way, I bought the DVD for the first two seasons of Homicide, and so many things in it remind me of The Wire. The Baltimore-specific language, the themes relating to ethnicity, the multi-episode case arcs,... it's just terrific. I remember liking the show, but I like it much more the second time around. If you're hankering for more Wire, it's a great salve.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 4 August 2006 21:20 (nineteen years ago)

HBO's press release for season for s4, courtesy Fat Harry.

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=24077

Not too spoilery, though, at least until you get about halfway in, and they start summarizing the first four episodes. I stopped reading when I saw that.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Saturday, 5 August 2006 01:18 (nineteen years ago)

i read the summaries, it doesn't really give that much away, just the general outline. and it's only the first 3 episodes

i love this cover:

http://ec3.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000FTCLSU.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V64948018_.jpg

― Lmaoborghini (eman), Saturday, 5 August 2006 02:35 (nineteen years ago)

I’ve become obsessed with how tightly written this show is. I love how each an every episode builds on another like a piece of architecture. Everything matters in The Wire, even the seemingly insignificant. In the first Season Two episode, McNulty and his partner tow a stalled party boat into Baltimore harbor. Ironically, the boat is named “Capital Gains.” With those carefully chosen words the writers have cleverly outlined the main themes of season two - how money, economic dislocation, and politics affect everyday life. The pay-off comes later in Sobotka’s bitter speech; “We used to build shit in the country. Make shit. Now all we do is take money out of each other pockets.” Such scathing critiques of early 21st century capitalism are something that no other television program has the skill or wit to do nowadays. Without a doubt, The Wire is the most politically astute show on American television,

― Ice Cream Electric (Ice Cream Electric), Sunday, 6 August 2006 06:04 (nineteen years ago)

...

(okay, one spoiler: you will see omar go out to buy cereal in his pajamas.)

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 6 August 2006 11:05 (nineteen years ago)

(from Royal Farms®)

― =[[ (eman), Sunday, 6 August 2006 13:40 (nineteen years ago)

royal farms!! where one is curiously unable to buy beer??

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Sunday, 6 August 2006 14:30 (nineteen years ago)

Yes, but will Omar buy crabcakes in his underwear?

― Ice Cream Electric (Ice Cream Electric), Sunday, 6 August 2006 16:40 (nineteen years ago)

Article about the Wire. It contains mild spoilers and a handy introduction to what's what in season 4.

http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/sepinwall/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1154887068280380.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Monday, 7 August 2006 14:27 (nineteen years ago)

HBO boss Chris Albrecht suggested that renewal for a fifth and final season -- which Simon had in mind when he left certain season four story threads unresolved -- will depend largely on critical reaction to the new episodes

wait, season 4 might be the last, wtf?

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Monday, 7 August 2006 14:56 (nineteen years ago)

yeah i thought season 4 was definitely the last one, already determined as such. the idea of a season 5 has me psyched tho!

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 7 August 2006 19:00 (nineteen years ago)

I think every show on HBO should be considering itself on its last legs the way they're giving the chop over there. The good news for the Wire is that it wins awards (though not Emmys) and it's also quite cheap to make compared to most other HBO hour-longs.

It was originally conceived as a five season show, so I hope it works out.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Monday, 7 August 2006 19:47 (nineteen years ago)

David Simon Interview (with minor spoilers)

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Thursday, 17 August 2006 20:51 (nineteen years ago)

I saw this for the first time the other night. It was terrible!

― Danny Aioli (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 17 August 2006 20:56 (nineteen years ago)

Start from the beginning. With this show, even more than most other serials it is the ONLY way.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Thursday, 17 August 2006 21:07 (nineteen years ago)

Plot convolutions aside, it was just packed with bad acting. Sub-Efrem-Zimbalist-Jr. at best.

― Danny Aioli (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 17 August 2006 21:22 (nineteen years ago)

I thought the show was pretty bad for the first five or six episodes of Season 1, and then I changed my mind.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Thursday, 17 August 2006 21:43 (nineteen years ago)

> bad acting

We're just not going to agree on this.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Thursday, 17 August 2006 22:09 (nineteen years ago)

Charlie Brooker did a nice segment on how amazing the Wire is on Screen Wipe this evening. Say what you will about that man, but he's always tried to spread the word on the show.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Thursday, 17 August 2006 23:58 (nineteen years ago)

i walked 29 blocks to buy the season 3 dvd's tonight and they didn't have them >:-{

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:30 (nineteen years ago)

oh i also know who does way down in teh hole this year but i think if i reveal it i get fired

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:31 (nineteen years ago)

royal farms!! where one is curiously unable to buy beer??

-- Euai Kapaui (tracerhan...) (webmail), August 6th, 2006 11:30 AM. (tracerhand)

i know of at least one that sells beer but locks it at midnight (and sundays of course)

xpost - simon reveals it in that interview i thought. local choir kids?

― =[[ (eman), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:35 (nineteen years ago)

oh did he? haha we got scooped

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:35 (nineteen years ago)

I'm going to take credit for that, btw. About a year ago - maybe longer - I was posting on television without pity's The Wire thread and suggested a children's chorus could do a great version of the theme song, plus it would fit in nicely with the education motif. I've heard they troll interforums for feedback, so...

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:40 (nineteen years ago)

Q: What about "Way Down In The Hole" for season 4? Did you get someone to newly-record the song or did you pick a previously-recorded version? [Glen in Pennsylvania]
A: In keeping with the theme of the season, we sought out voices of middle-school-aged students from Baltimore. Rather than seek out a particular recording artist this year, we tried for the essential voice of our adolescent characters.
Beyond the musical choice, I think it works emotionally.
Specifically, our theme was arranged and produced by Doreen Vail, Maurette Brown-Clark and J.B. Wilkins. The young voices featured are those of Ivan Ashford, Markel Steele, Cameron Brown, Tariq Al-Sabir and Avery Bargasse. The musicians are Ronald Lindsey and Thomas Crosson. Mike Potter engineered the session.

All of the boys are from Baltimore and Tony Small, who directs a boys choir locally, found them for us.

― =[[ (eman), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:45 (nineteen years ago)

i missed season 3 first time around, have been catching the reruns before deadwood but last night impatience took me over so i watched the final two on-demand (where if i'm not mistaken you'll be able to watch the new episodes starting the monday before the premiere - is this right?): omg so awesome. what's everyone's take on carcetti? btw his consultant is incredibly hot, mcnulty was never served more poorly by his principles.

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:45 (nineteen years ago)

scooped by a aol member in a wire beef!

― =[[ (eman), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:47 (nineteen years ago)

(where if i'm not mistaken you'll be able to watch the new episodes starting the monday before the premiere - is this right?)

yup. now whats the deal with on-demand? specifically how much is it?

― =[[ (eman), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:49 (nineteen years ago)

i thought it was free with digi cable (provided you already gots hbo)

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:50 (nineteen years ago)

so its free w/ comcast?? oh shit! i dont have it but i know someone that does

― =[[ (eman), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:52 (nineteen years ago)

i thought it was! i havent had cable for a while

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 00:54 (nineteen years ago)

yeah it's free w/ digital cable or whatever. i can get why they don't have every sopranos/sex&thecity/curb etc up there all the time but i wish they'd put/keep larry sanders on there since it's not really on dvd.

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:03 (nineteen years ago)

wot no arli$$

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:05 (nineteen years ago)

haha my dad always bizarrely brings up arli$$ immediately whenever talk turns to 'great hbo shows' the same way he always brings up the doobie brothers whenever talk turns to the rnr hall of fame (dude has a very strong point here) or 'rock legends' or top 100 whatever of rock bs. doobies >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> arli$$ obv.

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:15 (nineteen years ago)

is DREAM ON on dvd yet?

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:18 (nineteen years ago)

5 dvd set of just rich hall's sniglets segments from not neccessarily the news due in october

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:20 (nineteen years ago)

i'm tempted to see if fraggle rock is on dvd but i know that in five hours i'm gonna come home drunk and end up throwing that shit in my netflix queue.

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:21 (nineteen years ago)

haha it is

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:21 (nineteen years ago)

sez the dude who has boy meets world lurking in his netflix queue

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:22 (nineteen years ago)

larry sanders is dope. i caught a late-night marathon of it last year on some network channel (wb? fox?). commercials were thrown in per usual but it was uncensored, wtf? i watched a couple hours of it. saw the one w/ chris elliott!

― =[[ (eman), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:25 (nineteen years ago)

i think bravo was showing reruns but i think it was 'formatted due to time considerations' or something.

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:30 (nineteen years ago)

ha this wasn't even basic cable though. like some disgruntled dude at the station got sick of putting in the same midnite-televangelist tape and decided to play larry sanders back to back for hours

― =[[ (eman), Friday, 18 August 2006 01:41 (nineteen years ago)

okay, now that i've seen the whole thing, this show be straight fuckin with you

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 27 August 2006 23:22 (nineteen years ago)

also there HAS TO be a season five or it's gonna be like chopping the last 200 pages out of a novel

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 27 August 2006 23:23 (nineteen years ago)

man when is the new season premiering

― SLUTSPIRIA (Adrian Langston), Sunday, 27 August 2006 23:40 (nineteen years ago)

As a Deadwood fan, let me assure you HBO won't take that into consideration.

― Chris L (Chris L), Sunday, 27 August 2006 23:42 (nineteen years ago)

haha i'm butchering this paraphrase but david simon from an interview we're running this week: "I don't care if it doesn't get renewed. I gotta finish it. I'll write a book or make a movie or go stand on Charles St. and perform it all myself if I have to."

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Monday, 28 August 2006 00:01 (nineteen years ago)

> man when is the new season premiering

I believe it's two weeks from right this very minute!

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Monday, 28 August 2006 00:06 (nineteen years ago)

I think it is on HBO On Demand a week or so earlier. I hope someone uploads it on some dastardly internet site, as I can't wait.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Monday, 28 August 2006 02:43 (nineteen years ago)

it's killing me that the entire season is in the hands of the media yet unavalible to me.

LEAK IT U FUCKS

(please)

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 28 August 2006 12:55 (nineteen years ago)

i've got some catching up to do -- i've only seen the first three episodes of the first season.

― gbx (skowly), Monday, 28 August 2006 13:15 (nineteen years ago)

just watched first ep. of season 4 on demand ^__^

― señor citizen (eman), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 03:05 (nineteen years ago)

is it up on the ondemand menu? i looked earlier 2nite and didn't see it. it's ok, i think i need another week to make the transition from deadwood.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 05:28 (nineteen years ago)

probably depends on the cable company but i would think it would be on there for everyone by now

one complaint: TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME GIVEN TO CARCETTI, FUCK THSAT GUY

― señor citizen (eman), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 21:59 (nineteen years ago)

b_tt_rr_nt?

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 00:48 (nineteen years ago)

one complaint: TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME GIVEN TO CARCETTI, FUCK THSAT GUY

haha get used to that

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 01:59 (nineteen years ago)

the biggest difference about this season is that, like, the cops are hardly in it.

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 02:00 (nineteen years ago)

where is the torrent i am freaking out over here

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 03:10 (nineteen years ago)

oh man. i forgot how much i missed this show until i watched the new episode. i loved the idiotic power-point presentations to the teachers and the cops. carcetti's a prick, but i like simon's sense of politics as the dirtiest racket of all. hope bubbles and omar turn up soon.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:29 (nineteen years ago)

he actually wanted to spin the whole carcetti storyline into a separate show--joanie loves chachi to wire's happy days i guess--but shockingly enough hbo said no.

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:32 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, i could see that. maybe send him off to congress -- simon would do interesting things with d.c.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:35 (nineteen years ago)

the character is pretty well based on b-more's current mayor (italian instead of irish but basically the same thing, white dude doing the longshot thing in majority black city)--who is currently running for MD governor for '08. so if he wins, or even if he doesn't, i think simon's got a readymade plotline.

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

Carcetti is a good character but I think that actor is one of the weakest they have had on the Wire. He plays up the HERE IS MY SLIMY, CONNIVING STARE thing way too much. You can see that the character is written with some subtelty, in that he DOES really care about the city and he wants to do the right thing, but I feel like the actor emphasizes the sleaziness and the egotism too much. Although this is partly the direction as well (CLOSEUP ON CARCETTI WHILE HE FLASHES HIS FUCK ME EYES).

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:46 (nineteen years ago)

xpost:

yeah, o'malley showed up in nyc recently on a local npr panel about "what have we learned from sept. 11." the only reason i could figure for him being here was to raise his profile for future endeavors.

carcetti might be too pretty. otoh, here's the o'malley clan:

[img src="http://www.martinomalley.com/images/71.jpg"]

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:48 (nineteen years ago)

oops, i mean...

http://www.martinomalley.com/images/71.jpg

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:49 (nineteen years ago)

carcetti's bare ass humping away last season kind scarred me - they could've left that out or filmed it from a different angle or something.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:56 (nineteen years ago)

haha another good thing about this season: MUCH LESS ONSCREEN SEXING

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

i am not minding kima's lesbian philandering so much

where is that interview mentioned a little way upthread?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 16:59 (nineteen years ago)

I am so glad that I have a friend with HBO now. Waiting years for Season 3 to make it to DVD was awful.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 17:30 (nineteen years ago)

too true Alex

my beef isn't with carcetti the character, but the actor playing him. the 4 kids are cast perfectly, so i can tell this season is gonna be good, if not great. chris from marlowe's gang is genuinely pretty scary to watch in his calm cold-bloodedness.

i love how former bmore mayor kurt schmoke made a cameo in season 3 during the legalization debating scene at the mayors office, as he actually did bring that up during his term in office and caught all kinds of hell for it.

― señor citizen (eman), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 18:05 (nineteen years ago)

yeah the sex scenes have always been groanworthy but i ain't saying i mind them! definitely wouldn't mind some certain ones this season as that one carcetti advisor is the first white woman on this show i'd fuck like crazy. loved that the first episode this season really didn't provide much of a jump-on for people new to the show.

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

it might be an optical illusion but that female carcetti advisor has plumped up nicely this season. (no nude scenes.)

― PARTYMAN (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 18:42 (nineteen years ago)

DISAPPOINTING

She's actually the worst actor of the bunch actually. Carcetti is just poorly directed IMO.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 19:32 (nineteen years ago)

BELIEVE

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 21:33 (nineteen years ago)

a night out with bubbles

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 21:43 (nineteen years ago)

i just finished season 3!! amazing. what a spectacular slow burn... best show on tv.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 6 September 2006 23:33 (nineteen years ago)

Tim Goodman's recent paean to 'The Wire'

― M. White (Miguelito), Thursday, 7 September 2006 17:38 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=12201

― señor citizen (eman), Thursday, 7 September 2006 21:30 (nineteen years ago)

aw hell these kids are gonna make my heart hurt, i can just tell.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 11 September 2006 12:46 (nineteen years ago)

― señor citizen (eman), Monday, 11 September 2006 16:14 (nineteen years ago)

i watched episode one a 2nd time and carcetti has grown on me some

― señor citizen (eman), Monday, 11 September 2006 16:29 (nineteen years ago)

Obv Carcetti's supposed to be annoying to a degree but i don't have a problem w/ his character's role in the series (at least as of season 3) and find him less abrasive than ziggy (who was also fine).

I wish I had HBO. I can tell waiting for this to come out on dvd is just going to be murder.

― deej.. (deej..), Monday, 11 September 2006 16:34 (nineteen years ago)

dude the internet srsly

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 11 September 2006 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

i like carcetti pitching a fit and getting laughed at by his staff and leaving his shoe on his lawn then having a terse sarcastic exchange w/his wife while heading for the car the next morning stopping turning you think he's gonna go back and give her a kiss instead he just throws her the shoe and she catches it and she's not mad - they're both tough.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 11 September 2006 16:46 (nineteen years ago)

chris actually scares me, but i'm in love w/his little bad girl sidekick - the exchange in the home depot was a brilliant microcosm (although the cgi hardware barn sign was ass.)

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 11 September 2006 16:52 (nineteen years ago)

avon and stringer look like complete dufus amateurs compared to marlo and chris.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 11 September 2006 16:55 (nineteen years ago)

favorite scene in season 3: kids playing w/ the computer face program
"make his ears stick out"
"why?"
"cuz i fucking told you so"

― señor citizen (eman), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 03:31 (nineteen years ago)

also, anyone else notice lt. rawls in the background of the gay bar when brother muzone's dude is leaving? some sort of weird in-joke or wtf

― señor citizen (eman), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 03:35 (nineteen years ago)

i should take a screenshot of it, its fucking hilarious

― señor citizen (eman), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 03:35 (nineteen years ago)

yeah i noticed that, i caught up on season 3 this past week.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 03:36 (nineteen years ago)

I WANT MCNULTY ON HIS KNEES DOWN BY THE DOCKS AT... SAY, 10ISH 2NITE!!!

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 13:18 (nineteen years ago)

Watched the new episode last night and I am pumped for the new season.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 16:19 (nineteen years ago)

I am Lovable and Capable!

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

hahahah nice rawls shot.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

haa beat me to it

http://static.flickr.com/92/241674397_a69b4d22de_o.jpg

"You're just having a laugh, aren't you, Bunny? You got the real stats and projections somewhere else. Someone's just outside the door with them, right? A stripper, maybe? That would be nice. He comes in, flashes a little nut, gives us a whiff of that ass and delivers my fucking stat sheets with a reduction that matches just what we promised the Mayor. That would be beautiful. That would be creme fucking brulee."

― señor citizen (eman), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 16:54 (nineteen years ago)

Ha, I forgot about that motivational presentation! I love that shit, it's always so baffling that people in life persist with it.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 17:03 (nineteen years ago)

W00T!

xpost

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 17:10 (nineteen years ago)

hows pres gonna handle the kids? just roll w/it cause he's seen worse? or maybe snap and kill one of em? stay up all night examining their permanent records?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 12 September 2006 17:12 (nineteen years ago)

The Wire has been renewed for its fifth and final season. Awesome.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 09:08 (nineteen years ago)

HELL MOTHERFUCKING YEAH!

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 09:44 (nineteen years ago)

BIG UPS TO HBO!

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 11:28 (nineteen years ago)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 11:40 (nineteen years ago)

ok look it's a new wire blog, it has one post! http://heavenandhere.wordpress.com

linked to from freedarko, likely the same people more or less - which sounds kinda... i'm not sure.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 12:09 (nineteen years ago)

:D kinda figured they would as they have ads everywhere for season 4. they finally stepped up their promotion of it

― señor citizen (eman), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:20 (nineteen years ago)

yeah and it's getting lotsa this is the best thing ever on tv love from teh media

first weeks numbers must've been good too

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

it probably helps that it's probably not that expensive a show to produce (only cheaper fiction ones i can think of on hbo are lucky louie and maybe curb yr enthusiasm though i suspect larry david's earning a hefty enough penny on that to maybe push it past the wire) and with sopranos/deadwood/rome ending the schedule's pretty light.

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:36 (nineteen years ago)

actual sunday night ratings were only 1.5 mil, which is only slightly better than the 1.3 mil averaged by season 3.

that doesn't take into account the weekly repeats on various hbo channels, or more importantly, On Demand. I'm surprised they renewed it so early.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:37 (nineteen years ago)

haha i was really hoping homorawls would figure into season four but alas

― john cougar thornton melloncamp (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:46 (nineteen years ago)

with sopranos/deadwood/rome ending the schedule's pretty light.

they've still got Big Love, and David Milch's surf detective thing, something about vampires, and one more drama in the works for next year. i can't imagine any of those being breakout hits, though.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:47 (nineteen years ago)

haha i was really hoping homorawls would figure into season four but alas

In episode 4, he moves up to a small town in New Hampshire and meets a charming coffee shop owner who is also a volunteer fireman.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:49 (nineteen years ago)

i do hope it's actually called "something about vampires"

― john cougar thornton melloncamp (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:52 (nineteen years ago)

d'oh. my poor use of conjunctions rears its ugly head again.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

i was thinking of something about the vampires actually.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 15:59 (nineteen years ago)

"interview or something with a vampire"

― señor citizen (eman), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 16:25 (nineteen years ago)

I thought they renewed Rome. Not that it's any great shakes.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 16:26 (nineteen years ago)

rome blows

deadwood was supposed to be about rome but hbo was all we already got one of those so the deadwood guy goes well i could put it in the old west or something

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

I like Rome. But I'm a nerd.

It was renewed, but only for one more season. The second season will be its last.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 16:47 (nineteen years ago)

haha i was really hoping homorawls would figure into season four but alas

In episode 4, he moves up to a small town in New Hampshire and meets a charming coffee shop owner who is also a volunteer fireman.

-- The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar2...) (webmail), September 13th, 2006 12:49 PM. (lokar)

season 5 crossover w/ Six Feet Under

― señor citizen (eman), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 17:46 (nineteen years ago)

season 6 he becomes hank kingsley's new assistant

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 13 September 2006 19:58 (nineteen years ago)

anwan "big g" glover (slim charles) with backyard band:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk_Y4AKSP20

― señor citizen (eman), Thursday, 14 September 2006 03:45 (nineteen years ago)

Good article:

http://www.slate.com/id/2149566

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Thursday, 14 September 2006 22:11 (nineteen years ago)

holy shit episode 2 was amazing

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 16 September 2006 00:37 (nineteen years ago)

so OTM, a lot of the dialogue is well written but not really realistic at all, the "thin line 'tween heaven and here" type highfalutin Shakespeare lines and chess metaphors always make me roll my eyes. and I already ranted on my blog last week about how scarcely Baltimore accents are represented on the show. other than that though super psyched about season 4 so far and the news of renewal. also OTM about D'Agostino's hotness and her unexplained plumpness this season, her first scene in episode 1 i kept waiting for some reference to her being pregnant or something.

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Sunday, 17 September 2006 22:43 (nineteen years ago)

how scarcely Baltimore accents are represented on the show

mcnulty's is laughable but since having recently heard him interviewed in his heavy brit accent i give him credit for whatever american accent he's managed thus far.

― señor citizen (eman), Monday, 18 September 2006 00:47 (eighteen years ago)

wire:snoop::deadwood:richardson

― milo z (mlp), Monday, 18 September 2006 04:12 (eighteen years ago)

I missed out on the first three seasons (I kept getting it confused with every other generic cop show), but this is crazy. So tense - I want to go out and have a smoke after each episode just to unwind.

― milo z (mlp), Monday, 18 September 2006 04:14 (eighteen years ago)

having had bad boston accents ruin movies for me i agree w/their decision to let the native speakers do it and then everyone else just more or less talks american. love the baltimore accent - completely left field culture clash.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 18 September 2006 04:22 (eighteen years ago)

i'm kinda sad i'm not getting to experience this week to week in a way

― katie quirk (dubplatestyle), Monday, 18 September 2006 04:24 (eighteen years ago)

if you want to send me the season i'll be happy feel yr pain

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 18 September 2006 05:49 (eighteen years ago)

where the hell is the 4.2 t@rrent????? this is the highlight of my week, and i've been waiting for 12 hours for it to turn up. i know that says a lot about my life, but give me a break.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Monday, 18 September 2006 21:13 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/461596/4830354

been up since thurs - dude claims he's gonna post 4.3 today.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 18 September 2006 21:23 (eighteen years ago)

you are my new god.

is there some sort of registration required for this site for later use? e-mail me if so.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Monday, 18 September 2006 21:33 (eighteen years ago)

yeah thx!! let us know when 3 is up :D

― señor citizen (eman), Monday, 18 September 2006 21:39 (eighteen years ago)

Wow. I fucking love this show and had no idea it had started back up. And I even knew it was going to.

I plead combination of Deadwood hangover, start of football season, and 6-day workweeks.

Thank the lord for HBO on demand...

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Monday, 18 September 2006 21:44 (eighteen years ago)

Oooh thank you thank you! was also wondering where this had got to...

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Monday, 18 September 2006 23:25 (eighteen years ago)

Good!

- cool Lester Smooth
- Prez still using Ring of Fire as his "getting shit done song".
- Cutty! Positive and popular (as he deserves)
- Platinum club! Ha. Good one Avon.
- Wee Bay's spoilt son!

I know there was more.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 11:09 (eighteen years ago)

- rawls, pearlman and daniels all marveling @ cool lester smooth: rawls - he's got game; pearlman - like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth; daniels - i'm just glad he's doing it to someone else.
- kima and sydnor enjoying the shit out of ruining their careers.
- the kids: my god, i don''t know what to say.
- cutty taking his pick of the ladies.
- last season corner boy spider saved by cutty.
- weebay always on the grind, morality obliterated by work ethic.
- clay davis' twice uttered shhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiit (especially the 1st time).
- carver and herc maturing, hilarious! uh yr not really dressed for chasing down little kids and beating the shit out of them and i've got some stuff to take care of - let's just call it in.
- bodie always incredulous, always rolling eyes - love that guy.
- snoop
- what's up w/marlo losing his composure at a little kid?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 14:13 (eighteen years ago)

4.3 is up

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 14:30 (eighteen years ago)

- cutty taking his pick of the ladies.

yeah, this is a funny riff that also gets at, you know, "deeper underlying issues" (the dearth of eligible black men of a certain age in inner-city neighborhoods). that's when the show's at its best i think, wrapping social observations in offhanded moments.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 14:42 (eighteen years ago)

exactly!

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 14:45 (eighteen years ago)

Damn, I forgot the shhhiiiiiiiiiite!

I'm especially fond of the Cutty thing, because he plays it so well too. He seems so innocent and almost unaware, and you can totally see why all the ladies love him. And it's a nice turnaround from last season where I always felt he was getting hard done by. So it's all going to go wrong, right?

I always think I really like Bodie, then I'm all "But you killed Wallace in a really mean way! Poor Wallace." but then Bodie has a funny scene with Carver and I'm all "awww, you guys!".

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 14:59 (eighteen years ago)

I always think I really like Bodie, then I'm all "But you killed Wallace in a really mean way! Poor Wallace." but then Bodie has a funny scene with Carver and I'm all "awww, you guys!".

yeah they're totally fucking w/us.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 15:03 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, I def have the feeling bad things are going to happen. sad

― dar1a g (daria g), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 15:23 (eighteen years ago)

think u guys are forgetting some things:

- MAYORAL BONER (WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF)
- TARGET PRACTICE
- MICHAEL

- clay davis' twice uttered shhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiit (especially the 1st time).

OTM

- what's up w/marlo losing his composure at a little kid?

That was odd at first but i thought it became apparent that he was just trying to get a rise out of Michael. When he makes that face, Marlo kinda laughs and lets him go on his way.

― señor citizen (eman), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 15:53 (eighteen years ago)

it was also that the whole point of the exercise was marlo building up his legend (avon did this shit like crazy) and some nobody punk kid calling bullshit on it. marlo and cutty both saw 'this kid's got something' (haha 'he's got the goods'). my fave moment was bugs and prez running into each other in the principal's office.

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 16:52 (eighteen years ago)

i'm wondering if michael doesn't have some sort of history with marlo's organization that marlo doesn't know about - he ovb doesn't have a problem w/the drug trade.

i don't think ignoring the situation would've made marlo look weak - everyone knows he's deadly already. if anything it was lame to show that he cared at all - seems like he has a lot to learn about wearing the crown.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 17:34 (eighteen years ago)

i'm really sorry about this dudes:

michael - john
namond - paul
dukie - george
randy - paul

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 18:02 (eighteen years ago)

Um Ringo?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 18:03 (eighteen years ago)

uh, randy - ringo

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 18:04 (eighteen years ago)

the second paul is paul schaffer

― katie quirk (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 18:05 (eighteen years ago)

having said that i'm gonna watch the 3rd episode now.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 18:05 (eighteen years ago)

kid who stole the car - pete best

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 18:06 (eighteen years ago)

kid who stole the car - awesome

― señor citizen (eman), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 00:23 (eighteen years ago)

> 4.3 is up

LINK MOTHERFUCKER LINK!

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 03:07 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/466936/4651332/

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 03:10 (eighteen years ago)

I loved it, as always, but...

I did kinda feel like they leaned a little hard on the 'mirror' thing this week - Clay and Randy both saying "I don't care where the money is from as long as it's free" and Bubs and Cutty's boss both talking about doubling territory.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 03:20 (eighteen years ago)

(okay, one spoiler: you will see omar go out to buy cereal in his pajamas.)

-- PARTYMAN (wt...) (webmail), August 6th, 2006 8:05 AM. (dubplatestyle)

and I thought this was a joke

― señor citizen (eman), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 04:08 (eighteen years ago)

prez's reaction to the carving on the student's desk was priceless

― señor citizen (eman), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 04:10 (eighteen years ago)

4.2 was an EXCELLENT episode for all the reasons previously described and more. I love how both Cutty and Namond turned off politics on the television to do something else. I love that when Marlo was giving the candy to the kids there were a ton of political campaign posters in the background. Yeah guys, we get it. Parallelism. Gotcha.

It's so nice to see all the characters I missed in 4.1, finally weaving their way back into the plot.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 06:00 (eighteen years ago)

so very good, so dense, so tightly edited.
I can't imagine what someone who hasn't seen the first three seasons must think of this, tho'. There's no expository for the characters; there's just not time.

The look between Pryz and Bubbles slayed me.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 06:23 (eighteen years ago)

"Like lambs to the slaughter here. So, what did you do before you decided to teach?"

"I was a police, in the city."

"And why did you quit that."

"I was fired for killing a co-worker. Oh, and one time I beat a kid's eye out cause I was drunk and he sassed me."

Yeah, this isn't going to end well...

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 09:34 (eighteen years ago)

I can't imagine what someone who hasn't seen the first three seasons must think of this, tho'. There's no expository for the characters; there's just not time.
Never seen another episode, and I'm really enjoying that element. I wish TV shows would be more opaque sometimes.

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 11:33 (eighteen years ago)

> 4.3 is up
LINK MOTHERFUCKER LINK!
-- 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (austin.swinbur...), September 20th, 2006.

http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/466936/4651332/
-- 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (austin.swinbur...), September 20th, 2006.

see you did it all by yr self!

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 14:30 (eighteen years ago)

If you build a man a fire, he's warm for the evening; but if you set a man on fire, he's warm for the rest of his life.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 14:35 (eighteen years ago)

A club girl who took up years earlier with Wee-Bey, fathering his son and taking his name, Delonda soon found herself one of many in Wee-Bey's stable of molls. And it had been years since Bey had lived with anyone save for his tropical fish. But in the wake of his life imprisonment, she has shown her loyalty, visiting on weekends and bringing Namond to the visiting room to be schooled by his father. In return, Delonda's loyalty is rewarded with financial security that accrues from Wee-Beys standing in what is left of the Barksdale organization.

hbo.com has info not provided on the show (at least not yet). i was wondering if that basement aquarium that weebay took d'angelo to was in delonda house.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 14:42 (eighteen years ago)

of course it still could be...

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 14:44 (eighteen years ago)

http://static.flickr.com/81/248645153_7669d5e4a3_o.jpg

― señor citizen (eman), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 23:46 (eighteen years ago)

obviously this means two things:

and

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9360/harblyp6.jpg

and also possib;y that I'm about to be banned from imageshack

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Thursday, 21 September 2006 00:19 (eighteen years ago)

entrepreneurial randy so classic

girl getting cut was maybe the most painful scene yet, although it did allow an opening for dukie to show himself a bodhisattva roaming the animal realms. wonder if we'll discover the origins of the beef. the antagonism starts ordinarily enough then almost immediately escalates to assault w/a deadly weapon - they're telling us something here.

omar in it for the sport roffle

gotta think the other shoe's gonna drop with the suponas and give carcietti the election.

rawls acknowleging lester's brilliance was kinda tender.

marlo eyeing michael - creepy.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 25 September 2006 14:33 (eighteen years ago)

if there is a shoe to drop it might be the discovery of all the bodies marlo's crew has stashed. It might be the reason to get lester and kima back on the major case unit.

― wwweb (jbweb), Tuesday, 26 September 2006 05:15 (eighteen years ago)

what is up with kricjek (sp?) not running with the blowjob thing??? he doesn't exactly seem like the honorable type - i mean yeah, it would bury herc permanently but what the fuck does k. care?? odd

this is best season so far by a long shot says me (altho/and the actual "wire" part of the show feels vestigial/outgrown/underloved whereas it was the whole game before; i guess i'm saying it would be nice to see a little more policework but that may come - and i also may be stubbornly clinging to a mode the show's moved on from)

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 22:51 (eighteen years ago)

Is Ep4 up anywhere?

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 22:58 (eighteen years ago)

Well, obviously a major part of this season will be the fruits of the labor on the wiretap, especially the political records. But given the events of episode 3, the way it manifests will be very different than in previous seasons.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 22:59 (eighteen years ago)

oh wait a minute i get it - he HAS run with the blowjob thing, off-camera - it was him on the phone, derrrrr - (nice shot of the mayor's crotch as line 1 lights up)

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

On the phone with Carcetti you mean? That wasn't about the blowjob, it was about the dead witness - Sarge tipped him off after talking to the detective.

The Slate reviewer (Weisberg?) has a bizarro article on the show talking about difficult the slang is to penetrate - he apparently took three or four episodes to come to terms with "yo" and "feel me."

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 23:03 (eighteen years ago)

"There is also the challenge of following the localized black dialect that the program tries to represent as faithfully as it does its other details. In the Baltimore ghetto, yo is both a salutation and the third-person singular pronoun; "feel me," means "listen to what I'm telling you"; and the ubiquitous use of bitch has mostly replaced the N-word."

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 23:05 (eighteen years ago)

the classroom scenes are pretty gripping. i used to be neutral on prez but he's really great this time around

where is ep. 4444?$$??$??$#

marlo eyeing michael - creepy.

heh there's a couple shots of cutty grinning and staring at michael throwing punches that were kinda creepy, esp. when a chick is trying to talk to him

― am0n (am0n), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 23:13 (eighteen years ago)

I found an mp4 of Ep 4 on mininova, but it was completely useless. In quicktime it was literally a screen full of static, and it wouldn't play in wmp or divx at all.

I want my AVI!

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 23:26 (eighteen years ago)

vlc?

milo hm OK, i guess i wasn't paying attention

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 27 September 2006 23:56 (eighteen years ago)

plays in vlc kinda - i had to restart it a couple times

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 28 September 2006 00:30 (eighteen years ago)

The Slate reviewer (Weisberg?) has a bizarro article on the show talking about difficult the slang is to penetrate - he apparently took three or four episodes to come to terms with "yo" and "feel me."

in his defense, Baltimore is the only place I've ever been where "yo" is used as a pronoun, it's not really the normal usage. I didn't think "feel me" was so much of a Bmore thing, though (although "carry it" definitely is). I kinda wish The Wire would go all out with the local slang, down the hill, half-n-half, chicken boxes, get your life, ayyurp, etc.

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Thursday, 28 September 2006 00:32 (eighteen years ago)

i particularly like "yoette"

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Thursday, 28 September 2006 13:20 (eighteen years ago)

DUDES PLEASE STOP POSTING NON-WORKSAFE PICS OF MAYORS GETTING KNOBS GOBBLED ON THREADS ABOUT TV SHOWS

― antexit (antexit), Thursday, 28 September 2006 14:08 (eighteen years ago)

lol i took the pic down

also *pssst*

― am0n (am0n), Thursday, 28 September 2006 23:56 (eighteen years ago)

I am teh sorry. I will take teh pic down, too.

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Friday, 29 September 2006 00:22 (eighteen years ago)

Quicktime doesn't like that MP4, but it seems to work OK in VLC.

― milo z (mlp), Friday, 29 September 2006 00:30 (eighteen years ago)

This thread (and it's demonoid side tracks) are A+++

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Friday, 29 September 2006 00:42 (eighteen years ago)

milo there's a note at that link:

Rename the mp4 extension to avi fixes the issues that this torrent has. it will get a little pixelated at the 2 bad spots but it will play though

― am0n (am0n), Friday, 29 September 2006 01:09 (eighteen years ago)

haha, I r 2 lazy to read

― milo z (mlp), Friday, 29 September 2006 01:14 (eighteen years ago)

oh man, best one yet

― am0n (am0n), Friday, 29 September 2006 03:45 (eighteen years ago)

I kinda wish The Wire would go all out with the local slang, down the hill, half-n-half, chicken boxes, get your life, ayyurp, etc.

-- Alex in Baltimore (shipley.a...), September 27th, 2006 9:32 PM. (Alex in Baltimore)

i think snoop does an ayyurp in ep4

― am0n (am0n), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 02:38 (eighteen years ago)

ok i just saw an episode of this finally and maybe it grows on you but i was pretty taken aback by the sort of dippy romanticism it seemed to be dripping with -- way more than most network cop dramas even. hbo shows in generally tend to be sappy and just oozing from the pores with signifiers of "meaning."

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 04:03 (eighteen years ago)

Haven't seen the new season yet, but just noticed that Dennis Lehane and Richard Price have both written episodes.

― Eazy (Eazy), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 05:43 (eighteen years ago)

isn't there supposed to be a new ep? can't find it

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 14:41 (eighteen years ago)

I have never wanted OnDemand more than I do right now. If the amount of spoiler-text elsewhere is to be believed, shit hits the fan in Ep5.

― milo z (mlp), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 18:26 (eighteen years ago)

nah, it's about the same ratio of shit to fan-hitting. a little more, maybe. great episode, though

― lemin (lemin), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 18:49 (eighteen years ago)

yeah it's still building i'd say. marlo's one evil fucker, the uh thing w/ the vender this week took my breath. fucker's smart too. pete best helping pryzbo into his car was pretty great. i was sorta wary when i heard the school angle but it's been really great so far. i think i like carcetti now too.

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 02:20 (eighteen years ago)

Somebody needs to get some Carcetti for Mayor bumper stickers up on CafePress.

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 04:21 (eighteen years ago)

Things are building at a good pace, I think. I reckon some real police work is in the cards very soon. Still 8 episodes to go!

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 11:24 (eighteen years ago)

*********WEEK 5 SPOILERS DUDES********

marlo seems intractable and doom laden then he pulls a 108 admits prop joe outsmarted him and joins the collective - kid is a cypher.

wondering if they just totally forgot abt the video cameras in fat man's store when pulling the omar set up - probably not, but the show did make a big deal out of them twice and then ignored them.

***************END****************************

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 11:47 (eighteen years ago)

oh and that blog i mentioned upthread heavenandhere.wordpress.com is fun, some good conversations in the comments - david simon even dropped by to take my side in an argument (kinda).

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 11:50 (eighteen years ago)

and this too http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/bja/gang/pfv.html ed burns' drug gang fighting tactics.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 11:51 (eighteen years ago)

holy shit Prez killed an undercover!?!?

― milo z (mlp), Thursday, 5 October 2006 01:40 (eighteen years ago)

Welcome to winter, 2004.

― The Ultimate Conclusion (lokar), Thursday, 5 October 2006 15:08 (eighteen years ago)

Oh shit, they shot Kima!

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Thursday, 5 October 2006 15:26 (eighteen years ago)

the cameras were pointing straight down at the ground, though, weren't they? and kima gives her little disgusted pout when she sees them. of course she's never NOT giving her little disgusted pout.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Thursday, 5 October 2006 15:36 (eighteen years ago)

o i think i can remember one scene where she wasn't giving her little disgusted pout

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 5 October 2006 16:52 (eighteen years ago)

james you disgust me, and i love it.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Thursday, 5 October 2006 17:02 (eighteen years ago)

kima really deserved that action - wonder what ever happened to her terrible girlfriend

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 5 October 2006 17:06 (eighteen years ago)

dunno but kima's a hell of a lot more femme these days!

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Thursday, 5 October 2006 17:11 (eighteen years ago)

scroll down to the comments for a nice surprise ;)

― am0n (am0n), Monday, 9 October 2006 21:48 (eighteen years ago)

I may not watch Heroes tonight after all...

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Monday, 9 October 2006 22:15 (eighteen years ago)

FileFront is sloooooow. But one day is better than a full week, I suppose.

― milo z (mlp), Monday, 9 October 2006 22:20 (eighteen years ago)

I think the whole lot has leaked now.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:15 (eighteen years ago)

oh do tell - i've got 1-9, and 11 (orig labeled as 10). in the piratebay 10 (really 11) comments there's links to the other episodes but all the download slots are full and someone said they not work so good any way.

i had 4 hour sweet wire marathon last night.

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:19 (eighteen years ago)

HOLY CRAP

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 13:56 (eighteen years ago)

through ep8 now - new teachers are fine.

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 16:51 (eighteen years ago)

I watch 6 last night and was a little bit disappointed with how much they hammered home the whole Cutty/Namond-don't-care-about-politics thing, but otherwise it was a great episode as usual.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 16:55 (eighteen years ago)

but the cutty jogging scene was spectacular! i think the wire has only done two music montages ever -- that one and the "walk the line" from episode nine i think of season one. two of my favorite wire moments.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:00 (eighteen years ago)

That's true, it was pretty outstanding.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:05 (eighteen years ago)

I wonder who's gonna get the ring next.

― Paul Eater (eater), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:16 (eighteen years ago)

i think cutty (on the show) could do with a look through this thread - Girls - What Does "Romance" Mean To You?

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:23 (eighteen years ago)

Loved the Cutty jogging scene. I caved and watched up to episode 9; the scene where Chris and Snoop use Marc Clarke and the Big Phat Morning Show as an indicator of who is and isn't from Baltimore was hilarious. "Maybe I should ask the questions from now on."

― govern yourself accordingly (dayan), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 17:24 (eighteen years ago)

cutty jogging scene = http://www.breakplay.com/gameimages/gamescreen41e2fa1b74694-game.jpg

― am0n (am0n), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 18:11 (eighteen years ago)

nah, isn't there a montage in every season finale?

funny that there's a Big Phat Morning Show reference in an episode that'll air just a few weeks after they re-tooled the show and canned everyone but Marc Clarke. .

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Thursday, 12 October 2006 01:28 (eighteen years ago)

they've been having a lot of cast members on the morning show lately, too (Prez, Omar, I think some of hte kids), but i keep sleeping in or forgetting to listen.

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Thursday, 12 October 2006 01:29 (eighteen years ago)

the other scene that bugged me so far is when prop joe does those voices on the phone

― am0n (am0n), Thursday, 12 October 2006 02:53 (eighteen years ago)

so i've watched them all now and i don't really know what to say - it's like that.

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Thursday, 12 October 2006 11:04 (eighteen years ago)

Me too, I became embroiled in this show for two days or something because I couldn't resist! (I'd only seen the same ones you had before, btw)

I'm gonna have to rewatch this whole thing sometime soon. I'm very excited for the last season, it's all set up nicely... very nicely.

Yeah I also don't know what to say. And I don't want to spoil anyone.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Thursday, 12 October 2006 11:31 (eighteen years ago)

were the last few eps you got .rm files? not really into watching it on realplayer

― am0n (am0n), Thursday, 12 October 2006 12:05 (eighteen years ago)

Are eps 10 and 11 still mistakenly ID'd on torrent sites? i don't wanna get crossed up

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Thursday, 12 October 2006 12:07 (eighteen years ago)

I finished up at three in the morning and couldn't sleep afterwards. Fuck a impulse control and all, but I have no regrets. Aren't they supposedly either combining episodes 9 + 10 or adding a bunch of new footage to ep. 10 or something?

xxpost - yeah, the .rm rips were really low quality, but at that point it hardly mattered. That said, the Divx torrent of ep. 13 I downloaded had the LAST 20 MINUTES CUT OFF.

― govern yourself accordingly (dayan), Thursday, 12 October 2006 12:10 (eighteen years ago)

The only Ep 10 out is the nigh-unwatchable .rm version. I just got Ep 11, but I'm holding off to see if 10 pops up soon.

This seasons just becomes FUCKING EPIC at Ep9, doesn't it? All those weeks building and building and maybe a little slow and then whoa. Best season since the first.

― milo z (mlp), Friday, 13 October 2006 03:20 (eighteen years ago)

is this some kind of precendent, whole season leaking before it's even aired?

― am0n (am0n), Friday, 13 October 2006 03:29 (eighteen years ago)

I'm wondering who's going to get fired. I've only seen two screener IDs, so there can't be a long list of people responsible.

― milo z (mlp), Friday, 13 October 2006 03:35 (eighteen years ago)

home taping is killing serial drama

― shabba ranks (dubplatestyle), Friday, 13 October 2006 04:08 (eighteen years ago)

It sucks that this thread is now way way ahead of the broadcasts.

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Friday, 13 October 2006 14:13 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, I am afraid to view it even though I'm two episodes ahead of the broadcasts!

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 13 October 2006 21:18 (eighteen years ago)

10 and 12 are totally watchable. i mean, not very good quality, but watchable. 13 on the other hand has a very noticeable audio sync problem.

having seen everything, i'm still thinking season 2 is the best, but they all are very unique in amazing ways. this one ... just ... ugh. it's hard to think about.

― lemin (lemin), Friday, 13 October 2006 22:21 (eighteen years ago)

2 >>> 4 >>> 1 >>> 3

!!!!

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Friday, 13 October 2006 22:24 (eighteen years ago)

2 = 3 > 1

Not ready to judge 4 yet.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 13 October 2006 22:25 (eighteen years ago)

That's just personal preference, like. I mean, they're like chapters of a novel. A really fucking good novel. That is on telly.

I love this show.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Friday, 13 October 2006 22:39 (eighteen years ago)

I was just looking at the cast page on the hbo site and was blown away by how many characters they have listed, but also how many characters that I know and love who didn't make the website cut. This show has got to have the most regular cast members of any show in history. Am I wrong?

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 13 October 2006 23:16 (eighteen years ago)

Also, the actress who plays Snoop has the same name as her character, which leads me to believe that she isn't acting.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Saturday, 14 October 2006 00:41 (eighteen years ago)

I saw an interview with Felicia Pearson (it's on the HBO video podcast page), she said she got lucked up at fourteen (for something unnamed) and only got out at 20.

― milo z (mlp), Saturday, 14 October 2006 00:45 (eighteen years ago)

2 >>> 4 >>> 1 >>> 3

!!!!

-- Suedey (mincingspoo...), October 13th, 2006 7:24 PM. (John Cei Douglas)

wtf hell no. 3 + 4 are like some kind of television coup

― am0n (am0n), Saturday, 14 October 2006 01:01 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, but so were 1 + 2. If 2 had delved deeper into the union (like 4 with schools), it might have been inconceivably good, like 'best 12 hours of television ever' good.

― milo z (mlp), Saturday, 14 October 2006 01:08 (eighteen years ago)

The emphasis on the school system in this season makes it a frontrunner for my favorite season yet, mostly because I think it is unbelievably ballsy television and well executed at the same time.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Saturday, 14 October 2006 03:45 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.hbo.com/music/index.html

Bubbles makes a mix tape 4u!

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Saturday, 21 October 2006 21:40 (eighteen years ago)

It sucks that this thread is now way way ahead of the broadcasts.

-- Scott CE (sceldre...), October 13th, 2006 11:13 AM. (Scott CE)

lol @ technology

― am0n (am0n), Saturday, 21 October 2006 23:32 (eighteen years ago)

Dookie's mix tape >>>> Bubbbles's.

― milo z (mlp), Saturday, 21 October 2006 23:37 (eighteen years ago)

has anyone else had trouble this week getting the next episode (44) On Demand early? for some reason my menu still won't go past 43. I mean, it's coming on tomorrow night so I shouldn't bitch, but I like to stay a little ahead.

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Saturday, 21 October 2006 23:38 (eighteen years ago)

speaking of which, I don't think there's anything better this season than Dookie's progression from silent outcast to functioning member of the group with computer skillz.

― milo z (mlp), Saturday, 21 October 2006 23:38 (eighteen years ago)

xpost - i heard that hbo took the week off, as in no episode last sunday, so it might have affected the on demand as well

― am0n (am0n), Saturday, 21 October 2006 23:51 (eighteen years ago)

or maybe its this sunday they're not showing an episode. i forget

― am0n (am0n), Saturday, 21 October 2006 23:53 (eighteen years ago)

IN THE NEXT EPISODE DOOKIE GETS KILLED

― bo janglin (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 22 October 2006 00:05 (eighteen years ago)

j/k

― bo janglin (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 22 October 2006 00:06 (eighteen years ago)

I can't believe that Snoop's baby is half cylon! And since Carcetti is the dad, you know what that means...

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 22 October 2006 00:07 (eighteen years ago)

PREZBO + OMAR HOTT SEXXX EP 12

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Sunday, 22 October 2006 00:08 (eighteen years ago)

Griggs isn't gay; she's one of The Others. Fish Biscuits for everybody!

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Sunday, 22 October 2006 05:41 (eighteen years ago)

can anybody tell me what is the story with pigeons in this show/baltimore?? i r being confused

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Sunday, 22 October 2006 13:00 (eighteen years ago)

I just finished the season. Y'know, in early episodes I thought they were repeating themselves a bit too much what with Fuzzy Dunlop redux, Kima doing the first season "kitchen duet" solo in an alley and Bunny being all rogue again. But now...now I think it's eclipsed even season 2 in my heart. I nearly burst into tears about 30 times in that last 80 minutes. Even for fucking Landsman. LANDSMAN!

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 22 October 2006 14:56 (eighteen years ago)

I really hate that the season leaked on the internet cos now I have absolutely no one to talk about the show with without fear of getting spoilers.

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Sunday, 22 October 2006 15:37 (eighteen years ago)

so let's talk about the pigeons instead!!

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Sunday, 22 October 2006 16:39 (eighteen years ago)

the only thing i could find was this, a free excerpt from an article in the baltimore sun, oct. 18, 1998, by carl schoettler -

Pondering the great homing pigeon panic
Is it microwaves? Cell phones? Pigeon lovers' minds are racing over just what might be causing their formerly unerring birds to fly the coop.
The Hamilton racing pigeon flyers have lost plenty of pigeons this year. But they're not alone. The whole country began hearing about roaming homing pigeons a few weeks back, when Philadelphia area clubs suffered the sensational and mysterious loss of some 1,600 of 2,200 racing pigeons launched in Virginia and western Pennsylvania.
[John] Butler's big rumble theory is no more far-fetched than most of the theories as to why the pigeons' usually precise homing systems are going awry. Butler, a retired printer who's been racing pigeons since he was a boy, thinks the birds may be telling us something, their erratic behavior a kind of early warning system.
Sleek racing pigeons should not be confused with the scruffy "rats with wings" that beg for food in the street. These are elegant, intelligent, highly trained and conditioned, and sometimes quite expensive birds. Not long ago a Taiwanese syndicate paid $1 million for a single male bird, according to Tom Erskine, a Hamilton club flyer who is chief copy editor for the nationally prestigious Racing Pigeon Digest. The million-dollar pigeon won't be racing anymore, but he'll get a $5,000 stud fee each time he mates.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Sunday, 22 October 2006 16:45 (eighteen years ago)

NEW BREED PIGEON SUPPLY

415 NORTH PACA ST
21201 BALTIMORE
MD UNITED STATES

Phone. 001 (410) 962-0330
Fax 001 (508) 992-9398

― am0n (am0n), Sunday, 22 October 2006 17:01 (eighteen years ago)

i finished the season too and kinda find the whole Dookie getting hired by CompUSA a bit corny

― am0n (am0n), Sunday, 22 October 2006 17:04 (eighteen years ago)

Yabbut Carver getting Randy work as a croupier in Atlantic City was genius.

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 22 October 2006 17:24 (eighteen years ago)

i found the bubbles cleans up and opens 50,000 sq ft "Bubble's Depo" story-line a bit implausible, if inspiring.

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Sunday, 22 October 2006 17:47 (eighteen years ago)

OK guys but i'm serious about the pigeons.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Sunday, 22 October 2006 21:55 (eighteen years ago)

i always want to stop into new breed pigeon supply on my lunch break

― bo janglin (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 22 October 2006 22:11 (eighteen years ago)

SCHPOILARZ!

Who did that version of "Walk on Gilded Splinters"? I was thinking maybe Steve Earle since he was hanging around for the finale, but don't find it at Allmusic. The likeliest candidate I see there is Duane Allman, does anyone know if that's correct?

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 22 October 2006 22:37 (eighteen years ago)

haha the fake spoilers are freaking me out so much that I think I just decided not to read this thread for the next 2 months

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Sunday, 22 October 2006 22:45 (eighteen years ago)

Fake spoilers?

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 22 October 2006 22:57 (eighteen years ago)

things I've learned today: Bunny's second-in-command was Tom Pellegrini, one of the cops Simon followed for Homicide. That's almost as cool as the Deacon being a former drug kingpin.

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:26 (eighteen years ago)

not Pellegrini, Jay Landsman, the detective-sergeant

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:26 (eighteen years ago)

Why are the kids trying to catch pigeons in the beginning? Why does Marlow keep pigeons?

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:29 (eighteen years ago)

Are you serious?

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:33 (eighteen years ago)

(psst 'Marlo')

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:33 (eighteen years ago)

YES I'M SERIOUS OK MAYBE I NODDED OFF DURING ONE OR TWO EPISODES

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:35 (eighteen years ago)

it's a hobby people do it all over

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:37 (eighteen years ago)

And some pigeons are valuable to those who keep and breed them - pure-white, I guess? Or those descended from homing pigeons.

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:39 (eighteen years ago)

Marlo keeps pigeons because that is the only way to communicate with Ghost Dog.

― Paul Eater (eater), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:40 (eighteen years ago)

i almost said that

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:47 (eighteen years ago)

me three

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:48 (eighteen years ago)

Sergeant Jay Landsman Played By Delaney Williams

Lieutenant Dennis Mello Played By Jay Landsman

is this what yr takling abt milo

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:52 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah. Landsman #2 is the detective-sarge you meet in the opening pages of Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets.

ps don't buy the mass-market paperback of Homicide, the printing runs too close to the binding (like a lot of mass-markets). I'm going to shell out $15 for the new trade paperback tonight.

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:56 (eighteen years ago)

wtf why you make me so fat!
uh, sorry... wanna be on the show?

...ok

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 20:57 (eighteen years ago)

and Detective Ed Norris (tall, bald guy often eating donuts) is a former Deputy Ops and Commissioner for Balt. City Police.

― milo z (mlp), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 21:02 (eighteen years ago)

theres a Gov. Bob Ehrlich cameo too

― am0n (am0n), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 21:05 (eighteen years ago)

Detective Edward Norris Played By Ed Norris

and that public health advocate who was in the meetings with the mayor et al, after they found out about bunny's dastardly plan, was the former mayor of baltimore who got slapped for his flirtations with decriminalization (the most dangerous man in america!).

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 21:08 (eighteen years ago)

xxpost - dude thats right! iirc ed norris is the guy that got nailed awhile back for corruption and did time for it

― am0n (am0n), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 21:10 (eighteen years ago)

Former Baltimore police commissioner Ed Norris, who was convicted in 2004 on federal tax and public corruption charges, plans to seek a presidential pardon that would allow him to work in law enforcement again.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=938577&sidelines=1

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 21:11 (eighteen years ago)

he's got a radio show but i've never heard it

― am0n (am0n), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 21:13 (eighteen years ago)

Giving Sonny Perdue a run for his money, Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich has gone Hollywood. The Guv has a small role as a Statehouse security guard on an upcoming episode of the HBO series "The Wire"

http://governing.typepad.com/13thfloor/2006/07/ehrliching_the_.html

― jhoshea megafauna (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 21:15 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, I was gonna say, Norris is hardly "just an ex-cop," he's the disgraced former commissioner who has a radio show on the station HFS was moved to (I'm pretty sure he was on the 1st season of The Wire, before all that shit went down, and for some reason I think it's kind of cool that the show has stuck with him and actually given him a bigger role). his show is actually pretty decent, he's a good radio personality. I'm not sure if his co-hosts are still the morning zoo crew guys whose contracts hadn't expired yet when he was hired but that made for a weird dynamic.

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Thursday, 26 October 2006 00:15 (eighteen years ago)

i want to see the little kid that was going OFF on the 'chz faced bitch' when colvin walked back into the room get a storyline.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 26 October 2006 02:10 (eighteen years ago)

also that computer startup music and the look on dookie and prezbo's faces was beautiful, pure hallmark

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 26 October 2006 02:11 (eighteen years ago)

Am I the only one who thinks that they are missing the painfully obvious in not doing a music montage with Nina Simone's "Baltimore." Maybe they're saving it for the finale?

Also, not so much Pelecanos writing this season. Although, you can feel his influence. Later in the season?

― one six oh (one six oh), Thursday, 26 October 2006 04:06 (eighteen years ago)

Can't wait anymore; for those who are finished with the season and want to talk meet me in spoilerville

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Thursday, 26 October 2006 06:09 (eighteen years ago)

Am I the only one who hasn't fast-forwarded?

Snoop was in the Times

Snoop and Chris: television's cuddliest couple?

― Paul Eater (eater), Monday, 30 October 2006 16:27 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/061116

Black atheletes weigh in on the Wire in general and Omar in particular.

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Monday, 20 November 2006 16:22 (eighteen years ago)

one month passes...

holy shit

so good; SO SO good

― cozen (Cozen), Sunday, 7 January 2007 18:50 (eighteen years ago)

Is this show done? Like, was last season the final one or do we have more to look forward to?

― B.L.A.M. (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Sunday, 7 January 2007 19:24 (eighteen years ago)

One more season.

― milo z (mlp), Sunday, 7 January 2007 19:31 (eighteen years ago)

i want to see the little kid that was going OFF on the 'chz faced bitch' when colvin walked back into the room get a storyline.

hahahah

― am0n (am0n), Monday, 8 January 2007 04:28 (eighteen years ago)

have you just come to it, cozen?

― benrique (Enrique), Monday, 8 January 2007 09:14 (eighteen years ago)

That is good news indeed. This is easily my favorite show on television.

― B.L.A.M. (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Monday, 8 January 2007 14:03 (eighteen years ago)

yup; watched first series through, up to the finale, over the past weekend

am... not flabbergasted as to its quality, but certainly taken back... uncompromising is often an ill-judged way to describe a tv show but wd stake tht it fits here... the attention to, observance of, the formalities of policing and the legal requirements is stunning

a lot of the acting is stunning (w.poss exception of mcnulty who sometimes sounds a bit cereal-box american)

it is VERY good when for some reason I wasn't sure it would be

― cozen (Cozen), Monday, 8 January 2007 14:07 (eighteen years ago)

(w.poss exception of mcnulty who sometimes sounds a bit cereal-box american)

he is from sheffield!

i just got into it in the autumn, am up to end of s02. i sort of remember some noise when it came out but at that point i was dubious too, not sure why, probabyl similar reasons to tracey hand. david simon on the commentary is very... uh, high-minded, and i feel easier with, say, 'the shield'.

but mind is now blown and i join the chorus saying it's the best thing ever. i think watching one a week would be a difficult memory test -- seeing it on dvd quite quickly probably makes it 'easier'.

― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 10:33 (eighteen years ago)

It's arriving in the UK in January, finally, on FX, which I don't think I have ever watched.
-- Martin Skidmore (lonewolf.cu...), December 21st, 2004.

goddammn i didn't know it was so recent that it came o'er here.

― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 10:43 (eighteen years ago)

tomorrow is the start of rerun on BET here in the states. all the DC city buses have The Wire ads on them right now

― dar1a g (daria g), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 13:45 (eighteen years ago)

stringer is english??!!!!!????!!!!????

his mindboggling first role:

"2point4 Children" .... Parachute Instructor (1 episode, 1994)
- Fortuosity (1994) TV Episode .... Parachute Instructor

damn.

― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 10:54 (eighteen years ago)

yes, he is. I had no idea when I first started watching (early in s1 I could totally hear dominic west's accent).

oh, here, i knew i read this somewhere - from the new york times..
"Wherever I go the real hard-core dudes come up to me and confide in me," said Mr. Elba, who over the years has been approached by dozens of drug dealers identifying with Stringer. "I almost feel guilty turning around and saying: 'Hello, mate. My name's Idris and I'm from London.'" Mr. Elba burst into an exaggerated version of his cockney accent. "I don't want to break the illusion."

― dar1a g (daria g), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 12:05 (eighteen years ago)

Davey D's article on Elba (who's from Hackney, London, and is a DJ):
http://p076.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm34.showPrevMessage?topicID=1332.topic
From MTV news:
http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/092704/
Meeting Idris Elba is a straight bug-out. He's been in videos by Fat Joe and most recently Angie Stone, but he's best known as kingpin Russell "Stringer" Bell on HBO's "The Wire." So imagine how ill it is to holla at him for the first time and discover that he has a thick British accent and he's a DJ. "I've been collecting records since I was like 10," said Elba, who grew up in London. The actor, whose DJ name is Big Dris, began spinning around the age of 14. "I started out with my uncle," he remembered. "He had a sound system called Sound International back in London. He basically did weddings. I was the speaker boy. ... By the time I was 15, me and my men from around the way started our own little sound that was called the Social Affair Sound [and] we started doing local parties." Dris, who began putting it down behind the turntables in clubs by the time he was 19, has been living part-time in NYC for the last six years and actually started earning his living by spinning in the East Village and Alphabet City before landing a guest appearance on "Law and Order" in 2001. His stint on "The Wire" began in 2002. Dris said things are going to get ugly this season for his character, but in real life, Elba is straight. He's already put out a series of street CDs called Foot Fetish, and he's linking up with other DJs to put out collaborations. "I consider myself a blend DJ more than anything," he said. "Like my mixtapes, the way I want to see them grow, I basically want to see if I can get my mixtapes to showcase new talent. I can't compete with the big boys on getting the freestyles and all that, because I don't have the connects yet. Eventually, I'd like to get the new freestyles, but at the same time, I want to see the new cats that's coming up."

-- Pete Scholtes (pscholte...), March 21st, 2005.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 13:14 (eighteen years ago)

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/adam.frydland/ultraviolet/images/title.jpg

SEE Stringer kill Vampyrs, BBC style!

http://www.warnerbros.it/movies/rockstar/img/dominic.jpg

DONT see McNulty rawk his new 'do with Marky Mark!

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 14:02 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://www.livejournal.com/userpic/52516825/544703

― am0n (am0n), Sunday, 4 February 2007 07:48 (eighteen years ago)

More wire gifs please.
Also, no mention of Omar in Trapped in the Closet on this thread? Say it ain't so.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Sunday, 4 February 2007 19:15 (eighteen years ago)

wtf @ mcnulty w/stryper hair

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Sunday, 4 February 2007 19:58 (eighteen years ago)

i'd totally forgotten his stint in steel dragon

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Sunday, 4 February 2007 19:59 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Season Four to be the Dr Strangelove of Police Procedurals

Meanwhile Simon Burns and the rest are doing Generation Kill, an Iraq War miniseries for HBO

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 1 March 2007 23:38 (eighteen years ago)

'Man Blames Burrito For Paralysis'?

― fies, Thursday, 1 March 2007 23:53 (eighteen years ago)

Ah, sorry. That first link should be

Season Four to be the Dr Strangelove of police procedurals

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 1 March 2007 23:56 (eighteen years ago)

The as yet unannounced Season Six is where they will focus on the hopeless quagmire of burrito paralysis that plagues the American Urban Environment.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 1 March 2007 23:58 (eighteen years ago)

lol at paralysis burrito

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 2 March 2007 02:50 (eighteen years ago)

between re-reading Tim O'Brien's Vietnam memoir this week and watching Full Metal Jacket, I was just thinking how much I'd like to see a Wire-esque take on war movies/tv. This is close enough for me.

― milo z, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:00 (eighteen years ago)

I am watching season 1 rerun on BET. it's nice when all these characters are still alive.

― daria-g, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:09 (eighteen years ago)

I'm sayin', y'all. Between Generation Kill and John From Cincinatti, it looks like HBO has their hooks in me for the near future.

― Oilyrags, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:17 (eighteen years ago)

There's a good Chuck Stephens piece on the show in this month's Cinema-Scope.

― C0L1N B..., Saturday, 3 March 2007 23:43 (eighteen years ago)

i've never read this thread because i don't want to accidentally spoil anything, but...

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/img/90x94/characters/balt_pd/leandersydnor.jpg

this guy came in my restaurant today! i talked to him for like 15 minutes. dude was really nice, awesome guy! :D

― modestmickey, Sunday, 4 March 2007 03:18 (eighteen years ago)

He is very good at the fresh-faced recruit thing. The one time he really stepped out of that was great, too - when he came in to tell the mayor he was being indicted, knowing he was possibly committing career suicide by doing do - I love the the sheer oh-what-the-hell look on his face, the acceptance of what side he was, and the joy in that acceptance, all having to get conveyed through and around about three very understated lines.

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 4 March 2007 13:30 (eighteen years ago)

The Mayor? Nah. Clay Davis.

But yeah, hilarious scene.

― Oilyrags, Sunday, 4 March 2007 13:36 (eighteen years ago)

Oh yeah Clay! Sometimes I wonder if I even saw these shows at all.

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 4 March 2007 13:58 (eighteen years ago)

I can't read this thread, because I've only just got to season one episode five, but love it this far, esp the scene where they're in the kitchen trying to work out the murder scene, and the only dialogue is "fuck".

― .stet., Sunday, 4 March 2007 16:24 (eighteen years ago)

Isn't there a handyman or super or somebody hanging around in that scene, watching them piece everything together? It would have been great if it were him who got in the last word.

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 4 March 2007 16:31 (eighteen years ago)

stet otm, I just finished season 2 so I'm skimming very very cautiously.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 5 March 2007 00:08 (eighteen years ago)

http://www3.tivo.com/images/zap2it/20060913/marlosnoop_thewire.jpg

maybe season 5 torrents will leak as they're being filmed

― am0n, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:00 (eighteen years ago)

here's a still from upcoming season

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/warner_brothers/300/dominic_west/300b.jpg

― am0n, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:03 (eighteen years ago)

Okay, I knew he was going to be back in plainclothes, but...

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:04 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, i just finished season 2 so i can't read this thread like at all

― gbx, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:17 (eighteen years ago)

You are going to shit yourself at Brother Mouzone's sex change.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:20 (eighteen years ago)

I just watched the first disc of season 3 last night. If you haven't gotten to this point I am about to do some

*SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERS*

I kinda sensed the body language b/w Daniels & Pearlman was getting more intimate, but the sudden seduction was a total WTF. I guess Daniels left his wife between seasons? WHAT IS GOING ON

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:31 (eighteen years ago)

Det. McNulty follows the money trail all the way to a seedy after-hours "toga party" at Power Plant Live. There he learns that the nearby Discovery Zone is literally the "kid-powered museum", operating as a facade for a child-slavery ring.

― am0n, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:34 (eighteen years ago)

(many xposts)

― am0n, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:36 (eighteen years ago)

daniels and his wife were in separate bedrooms at least as early as s02.

― That one guy that quit, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 09:54 (eighteen years ago)

from what the actor i met told me, season 5 should be filming right now. but when the hell does season 4 come out on dvd? i can't find that info online anywhere

― modestmickey, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 14:05 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, season 5 supposedly starts filming this month, although I haven't heard anything concrete like those signs pointing to the set or cast member sightings yet. if it wasn't so rare that the show needed any white extras I'd look into casting calls (my dad got to be an extra on Homicide a couple times, though. Pembleton's house on the show was almost his house!).

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 14:48 (eighteen years ago)

i didn't meet an actor but it was in the newspaper that s05 was going to start lensing this month or next.

― That one guy that quit, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 14:49 (eighteen years ago)

"LENSING" ..!!!

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 14:51 (eighteen years ago)

i write for variety don't you know.

― That one guy that quit, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 14:53 (eighteen years ago)

it also says in article linked above filming won't finish until end of summer, post-prod. in october. they are doing generation kill simultaneously. s04 dvd will come out, like s03 did, right before the premiere.

― am0n, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 15:01 (eighteen years ago)

uh that last sentence is my own assumption :/

― am0n, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 15:10 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, plz to hurry it along hbo!

― That one guy that quit, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 15:11 (eighteen years ago)

i've been watching the wire at least once or twice a week for the past couple months. i'm dying now while waiting for s04 on dvd! what's up with boy marlow!

― modestmickey, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 21:02 (eighteen years ago)

Do you really want to know?

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 21:03 (eighteen years ago)

not yet :(

― modestmickey, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 21:17 (eighteen years ago)

[Removed Illegal Link]

[link http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/15/AR2007031501664.html]massive feature story on Snoop in today's Washington Post Style section![link]

― daria-g, Friday, 16 March 2007 15:44 (eighteen years ago)

GODDAMN can't this UI just give you a warning that the link syntax is bad instead of posting it and taking out the link!!!

WIRED blog on the Wee-Bey Theory of criminal justice

― daria-g, Friday, 16 March 2007 15:45 (eighteen years ago)

Snoop story

― daria-g, Friday, 16 March 2007 15:46 (eighteen years ago)

Hah! A couple friends of mine have noticed the similarites between Khalid Shayk Mohammed and Weebay, too.

― Oilyrags, Friday, 16 March 2007 15:53 (eighteen years ago)

i just finished season 4 and was practically hiding under the pillow by the end of the last episode. i love this show, but there's something almost masochistic about watching it. the wonderful performances from the kids really twisted the knife in.

― lauren, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 14:25 (eighteen years ago)

haha while reading that khalid story, the image of wee bey munching on chips, muttering, "oh yeah, and i killed him too" was the first thing that came to mind

― modestmickey, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 14:29 (eighteen years ago)

speaking of which, i missed wee bey and dee in season 3. they were so much more interesting than the new guys!

― modestmickey, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 14:30 (eighteen years ago)

i think i've said this before, but the "street" parts of season 4 were like a horror movie in many respects.

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 14:52 (eighteen years ago)

good point. right down to the zombie/vacant house thing and the fact that the romantic subplot (cutty and the nurse) was completely tacked on.

― lauren, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 14:59 (eighteen years ago)

Seriously, Dee was my DUDE!

xxxpost!

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 15:12 (eighteen years ago)

I can't read this thread, because I've only just got to season one episode five

Me too, exactly the same place. Does it stay good through season 2 +?

― Jordan, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 15:14 (eighteen years ago)

it gets BETTER. season 2 is sort of a "low point" but with a series like this that's a compliment. seasons 3+4 (especially 4) are every bit the equal of season 1.

― max, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 15:18 (eighteen years ago)

i think 3 & 4 are better than 1.

― lauren, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 15:19 (eighteen years ago)

I think season 4's a little overrated but 3's probably my favorite.

Last week I got to talk on the phone with Blake, the music supervisor for the show, and had to resist trying to ask a bunch of questions about season 5 (which he probably wouldn't have been able to answer anyway since I assume he does most of his work in post-production).

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 16:12 (eighteen years ago)

did you ask him who's doing the theme for season 5?

― max, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 16:13 (eighteen years ago)

no :(

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 16:15 (eighteen years ago)

there's a tom waits version of the theme song floating around somewhere i think. hmm.

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 17:09 (eighteen years ago)

that was season 2, wasn't it?

― lauren, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 17:10 (eighteen years ago)

i must have erased the memory from my mind. i can't stand that dude's style.

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 17:13 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah.

That Snoop article is great.

― jeff, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 17:14 (eighteen years ago)

tom waits wrote the theme song, it's not a tom waits "version"

― cutty, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 17:25 (eighteen years ago)

I think it's a Tom Waits original, actually... first season was the Blind Boys of Alabama, second was Waits, third was Aaron Neville and the fourth was some schoolkids, as I recall.

― max, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 17:26 (eighteen years ago)

Season 2 is great! You guys are crazy!

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 17:52 (eighteen years ago)

Seriously! I might even venture to say I prefer 2 to 3!

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 17:59 (eighteen years ago)

I can't find the thread where we ranked every single season of the Wire and the Sopranos, but I definitely prefer 2 to 3 now (I think.)

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:03 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, Season 2 may be my fave.

I found a Polish-language (At least it looks like Polish, but I could be wrong) version of the theme song on slsk.

― C0L1N B..., Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:18 (eighteen years ago)

Can anyone find that ranking HBO shows thread? GAH I hate the new search engine.

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:20 (eighteen years ago)

i love method man: "that shit was unseemly!'

also very happy to see the brief return of kimmie, though for her sake i hope she meant what she said about being retired.

― lauren, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:29 (eighteen years ago)

Seeing Frank Sobotka on the "Black Donnellys" hurts me deep. Also, that show sucks.

― jeff, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:35 (eighteen years ago)

Jeff on the scrilla.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:39 (eighteen years ago)

Man my heart leapt when McNulty thought he spotted Port Authority Cop whatshername in Season 3 and then it wasn't her. I was like "Seasonal Character Returns!! Yes!!" But then she didn't.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:44 (eighteen years ago)

you mean Beadie? you haven't watched Season 4 yet, have you? I won't spoil how she shows up again.

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:52 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah I'm stuck waiting on the DVDs. I guess I could just torrent it, but I've become obsessed with hearing everything over my newish speakers.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:53 (eighteen years ago)

season 2 lovers be preferring a whiter cast, lol

that snoop article is kinda sad, almost foreboding

― am0n, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:53 (eighteen years ago)

season 2 lovers be ~~preferring a whiter cast~~

obsessed with the politics of work and capitalism,

lol

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:57 (eighteen years ago)

ha the other seasons don't touch on that AT ALL

― am0n, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 18:59 (eighteen years ago)

</troll>

― am0n, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 19:01 (eighteen years ago)

you mean Beadie? you haven't watched Season 4 yet, have you? I won't spoil how she shows up again

Or the last ep. of season 3, even. I haven't seen 4 either.

Oilyrags OTM w/reasons for season 2 love. I think it also has to do with how effectively it metastasized and added nuance to the ideas of the first season. I loved the first season, but it wasn't until the middle of the second that I entered holy-shit-this-is-the-greatest-thing-that-has-ever-been-on-television mode.

Now (or after the third season at least) season 2 looks comparatively shoddy--the ideas and themes introduced are necessary to how the show functions, but adding a different milieu and set of characters who, as far as I've seen, are yet to reappear seems so much less graceful in light of season three (and the Barksdale and police investigation story-lines in season 2) where they're able to the same kind of brilliant expansion while dealing with a set of characters more narratively connected to the first season.

― C0L1N B..., Wednesday, 21 March 2007 19:12 (eighteen years ago)

Frankly, I'd feel differently about Season 2 if the dockworkers had showed up again at all, I think.

― max, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 21:12 (eighteen years ago)

what about the snoop article is foreboding? is she dead?

also, elements of season 2 pop up in the last episode in season 4

― cutty, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 21:20 (eighteen years ago)

Frankly, I'd feel differently about Season 2 if the dockworkers had showed up again at all, I think.

I agree! I'm not saying they should reappear but the season just kind of seems like this weird blemish in a show that otherwise doesn't have to look elsewhere to do what they need to thematically.

― C0L1N B..., Wednesday, 21 March 2007 21:24 (eighteen years ago)

Colin and Max have made some damn good points. I may have to reconsider my s2>>>s3 stance.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 21:28 (eighteen years ago)

"but adding a different milieu and set of characters who, as far as I've seen, are yet to reappear seems so much less graceful in light of season three"

Um the Greeks are still there. They are still providing Prop Joe with the drugs.

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 21:42 (eighteen years ago)

what about the snoop article is foreboding? is she dead?

seems negative about her future in acting, like everything is hinged upon it, chances are slim, etc.

― am0n, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 21:42 (eighteen years ago)

I have to say, when she claimed she could play "girly" roles, I was pretty dubious. But who knows?

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 21:54 (eighteen years ago)

nice race baiting amon

i think season 2 tends to be underrated. i often hear people complain that its the worst season but i found the intrigue behind the whole The Greek crime org. to be fascinating. Season 3 seemed tame in many ways - it was setting up the next season and finishing off the first season, or something.

― deej, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 22:00 (eighteen years ago)

I think season two is more uneven than the others. That being said the montage in the final episode is one of my favorite things ever. Also I can't think of too many programs about ethnic working class life that get it right. Season two does.

― leavethecapital, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 22:12 (eighteen years ago)

how do the drugs get in - da dox

who's more than willing to look the other way these days - da guys on da dox

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 22:18 (eighteen years ago)

Right, I understand why, even just practically, we need to know about the docks and that implicitly the Greeks are 'around' for the rest of the show. All I'm saying is that the shift from the second season revolving around the docks to their disappearance from the third seaons (unless you count the "re-elect Frank Sabotka" poster in the montage) is one of the few things on the show that wasn't handled seemlessly. This isn't a complaint or criticizism, I'm just mentioning in relation to ranking the seasons.

― C0L1N B..., Wednesday, 21 March 2007 22:35 (eighteen years ago)

haha for a second I thought you were saying that Baltimore's big drug connect went through Club Paradox (what people usually mean when they refer to "the dox" around here).

I'd love to know how fact-based the Season 2 storyline is, given how many head shops there are in Greektown.

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 22:36 (eighteen years ago)

Alex, have you read The Wire: Truth Be Told? It's written by Raphael Alvarez who writes for the show and grew up in a Baltimore steevedor family. I don't think it has quite what you're looking for (making this assumption from the "head shops in Greektown" line) but it has lot of other info on factual bases for events/characters/storylines from the show.

― C0L1N B..., Wednesday, 21 March 2007 22:47 (eighteen years ago)

those head shops (is there more than two?) are more highlandtown i thought

― am0n, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 23:06 (eighteen years ago)

karmic connection -> the "tibetan connection"??

― am0n, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 23:08 (eighteen years ago)

WHAT ABOUT PIMLICO

(i just like saying PIMLICO)

― cutty, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 23:15 (eighteen years ago)

yeah maybe it is more Highlandtown, I've only heard about them second-hand.

haven't read the Wire book, but I definitely want to. in the middle of Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets right now.

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 21 March 2007 23:42 (eighteen years ago)

regarding season 2: the dude i met from the cast told me that pretty much every one of the actors agrees that s2 was a big screw-up. cue drudge sirens!

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 03:04 (eighteen years ago)

I dunno if I'd put too much stock in the opinion of a group of actors who lost a bunch of screen-time in that season.

― C0L1N B..., Thursday, 22 March 2007 03:27 (eighteen years ago)

well, there was also the totally unrealistic magical reunion of the detail on the s2 case. i mean.. the stuff about the greeks and the dockworkers was important i just think they should've found another way to make a case out of it.. also spent more time on d'angelo, stringer, avon.. especially d'angelo, i miss him. and less time on ziggy, who is like about 20 kids i knew in college and hope to never cross paths with again..

― daria-g, Thursday, 22 March 2007 03:33 (eighteen years ago)

The reunion was obviously a little contrived, but they at least managed to do it in a way that fit the bosses' logic.

― C0L1N B..., Thursday, 22 March 2007 03:40 (eighteen years ago)

the homicide book is great. i think they mention the hit song that summer being "it takes two" which is funny in regards to b-more club

i liked s2 but it might as well have been its own show or a spinoff. maybe they'll find a way to tie it back in with s5

― am0n, Thursday, 22 March 2007 14:36 (eighteen years ago)

that chapter w/ "it takes two," with the prison riot and everything, is incredible
i love that book.

― deej, Thursday, 22 March 2007 15:20 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah I need to pick up The Corner at some point too.

― Alex in SF, Thursday, 22 March 2007 15:24 (eighteen years ago)

Be sure you have your antidepressant scrips all filled up when you do.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 22 March 2007 15:28 (eighteen years ago)

s2 seemed like it lacked focus. the whole introduction to the major criminal case was so contrived. i mean, a little church rivalry? get the fuck out of here. even if it doesn't seem forced, you have to admit that it's not nearly as intriguing as what we were used to be in s1. then, like said above, the detail's reunion is just absurd script writing magic. and the whole season switches between so many different stories, feeling the need to still have something move with stringer, avon, etc, although not focus on it, that there's not much that happens in any one of the plot lines. what's even weirder is by the time the detail is finally arranged and it's time to investigate the case, there's what, 3 episodes left? the majority of the case work is done in a fast-forward montage of clips with music playing since the writers realized they didn't actually have time for any of that anymore.

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 15:47 (eighteen years ago)

i think it's OK. and i loved the church rivalry thing. that is totally the way some horrible things get set in motion, they start with dumb childish grudges and move through one upmanship to something more serious. or less serious. the main thing i didn't like about s2 is that i just didn't want to spend that much time with ziggy and his perpetually pissed-off brother. characters in tv shows are like people that you're spending time with instead of spending time with actual friends and those two just didn't do it for me.

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 22 March 2007 15:53 (eighteen years ago)

I dunno, I liked the stained glass church window catalyst, it seemed like the kind of random thing that could actually happen (albeit more plausible a few decades ago when more of the police dept. brass were Catholic from European immigrant family types and the community was more church-based). I need to re-watch that season sometime but the way the old major crimes unit came back together in it didn't strike me as any more contrived or unlikely than a lot of other minor details in the show that bug me more than they should.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 22 March 2007 15:55 (eighteen years ago)

the wire is all about the dumb and childish or seemingly insignificant reasons that set horrible things in motion, though.

― lauren, Thursday, 22 March 2007 15:58 (eighteen years ago)

haha xpost, what Tracer said. Maybe some of this kind of thing is in the Alvarez book, but I think the one thing I'd be most interested to ask Simon or Burns or any of the other Wire writers if I ever interviewed them or something, is about the biggest continuity errors and plot contrivances that they've pulled off or regret not catching until it was too late. A show like that, where there's so much attention to detail to make its universe feel real and lived-in, I think it'd be pretty interesting to know what they've screwed up.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 22 March 2007 15:58 (eighteen years ago)

but yeah, s2 does feel caught by its affection for all of the characters and storylines. it's pulled in a bunch of different directions and seems to want to devote equal time to everything, and things end up being a bit confused.

― lauren, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:00 (eighteen years ago)

I really like season 2's expansiveness--not that the other seasons are myopic in their focus or anything, but season 2 just tries so hard to pull so much in and to me it mostly works.

― Alex in SF, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:03 (eighteen years ago)

I'm always kinda surprised that that's one of the stock complaints about Season 2, but not Season 4, where that seemed, to me, to be as much or more of a problem. Maybe it was just that the schoolkids were more popular new characters to introduce than the dockworkers, but I felt like as well as S4 pulled together all the divergent strands, it could've been done better. There were a couple episodes at a time where I was left wondering what happened to a character or if their storyline would be continued at all.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:04 (eighteen years ago)

The only season that's really focused is the first one actually.

― Alex in SF, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:08 (eighteen years ago)

i didn't feel that way at all. i thought that in general s4 was an example of expansiveness done right.

― lauren, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:09 (eighteen years ago)

Ziggy hate makes no sense to me at all. The Sobatkas in general just kill me. Nicky's "you're white, I'm white" speech to Frog? Man...

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:18 (eighteen years ago)

i like the perpetually pissed off brother, but how is anyone going to like ziggy?

― kenan, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:22 (eighteen years ago)

A show like that, where there's so much attention to detail to make its universe feel real and lived-in, I think it'd be pretty interesting to know what they've screwed up.

Alex in Baltimore on Thursday, March 22, 2007 11:58 AM (20 minutes ago)

i could be wrong about this, i'd have to re-watch, but... my friend who i'm watching this show with always jokes about how the dude i met in the show, the black cop whose name i can't remember, just kind of disappears for long stretches of time and then randomly pops back up. "what's up guys, how's this case going? oh, jump on some roof? word." i'm pretty sure when the studio magic of the detail reunion happens and everyone is sitting in one room together, he's not there at all - he's been completely forgotten. then later in the season he's magically back on the case doing stuff. haha

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:23 (eighteen years ago)

i don't 'like' ziggy but i don't like plenty of characters
i do KNOW ziggy tho, or have known people like him, which is why he resonates.

― deej, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:23 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, and he's insufferable

― kenan, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:24 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, I think Ziggy is an unloved element of S2 because his character is depressingly realistic, but not in the same way as, say, the destitute and drug-addicted characters. Not so much tragic as annoying. Like the person upthread who said they don't like because he's "like about 20 kids i knew in college and hope to never cross paths with again."

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:25 (eighteen years ago)

COLLEGE KIDS AIN'T SHIT

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:25 (eighteen years ago)

but i know what you mean

― kenan, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:25 (eighteen years ago)

that's sydnor. he gets pissed off about being forgotten and given lowly tasks, though.

― lauren, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:25 (eighteen years ago)

many xposts

also, isn't the pissed off brother actually the pissed off cousin? nicky and ziggy's fathers are brothers.

― lauren, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:26 (eighteen years ago)

yep, cousin. yep, sydnor.

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:27 (eighteen years ago)

it is his cousin... i just looked that up, actually, because it didn't sound right. :)

― kenan, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:30 (eighteen years ago)

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:34 (eighteen years ago)

speaking of dee: is it just me, or is it that when we are first introduced to him he seems like far more of a retard than he actually is? "huh huh, that was tight, yo, that was tight how you got that security lady to testify. haw hawwww tight yo hawww." contrast that to the chess scene.

I'd have to re-watch it, but it doesn't seem like a strech, those are to totally different contexts and of course he's going to act diffrently with Avon than with Bodie and Wallace. If I recally correctly, Dee does the same sort of mumbly, akward thing at the lunch with Weebay and some of the crew-chiefs a little later in the season.

― C0L1N B..., Thursday, 22 March 2007 16:57 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, dee tries to come off smarter than he is most of the time with bodie etc. Remember him lying about shooting the girl through the window.

― kenan, Thursday, 22 March 2007 17:01 (eighteen years ago)

tru, tru, u right

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 17:08 (eighteen years ago)

Yeh, I'm not saying I want a friend like Ziggy or anything like that. I'm saying watching him hurtle inevitably toward self destruction is compelling TV.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 22 March 2007 17:19 (eighteen years ago)

one thing about the wire that makes me love it so much is that i find it all really believable. not in any way to compare my experience with anybody in the show's, but it all just seems very credible to me. remember the letter trick that buck and the other cops pulled on dee after the witness shooting? fbi did the same thing to me. when they raided me, before i had access to any lawyers, they convinced me that my best chance is to write an on-the-spot letter to (ironically) mcn4ulty, the doj bureaucrat prosecuting my case, and plead for sympathy, explain the reasons for my crime, etc. i fell for it too. i am such a fucking douche.

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 17:32 (eighteen years ago)

That letter thing is straight out of Homocide IIRC.

― Alex in SF, Thursday, 22 March 2007 17:37 (eighteen years ago)

heh heh yeah, sorry mickey. it's good you can have that perspective on it. if there's one thing i learned from the homicide book it is if you are in trouble, DO NOT SAY A WORD TO THE COPS, EVER. it is very very hard to prove cases with no cooperation from the defendant.

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 22 March 2007 17:39 (eighteen years ago)

sigh, no kidding.

but point is, stuff in the movie seems really believable. lines from the probation office (forgot where this came in the series, but i noticed when it happened) are the same lines i had p.o. read to me, the stuff feds say, way they act, etc, is same as what i've seen, all the little hoppers act just like the hoppers i grew up around, etc. i think it's rare to find a tv show so believable.

― modestmickey, Thursday, 22 March 2007 17:41 (eighteen years ago)

this girl told me they were filming tonight at dougherty's pub so i went to see what was what but they already had the place closed off so i couldn't be an extra {Ò_Ó}. i took some crappy far away cellphone pics of some guy that might have been ed burns

― am0n, Friday, 23 March 2007 01:41 (eighteen years ago)

thereis a lot of great stuff in series two and it's got to be one of the more audacious moves in serial cop shows ever, to reorient so drastically. i wish they ccould have found a way of keeping some of the dock people in, but maybe they will return. don't forget that season brought in method man and the east side in general. prop joe is in s02 more than s03.

― That one guy that quit, Friday, 23 March 2007 09:40 (eighteen years ago)

The other day when I was leaving work I saw a couple big trailer type things next to my parking garage and thought nothing of it. Supposedly it was a hair and make-up trailer for The Wire, though, so I guess they're shooting in Mount Vernon right now. I dunno if Jess is on this thread but he works on the same block, maybe he can verify. I'm definitely gonna loiter a little if I see any more trailers, though.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 23 March 2007 12:49 (eighteen years ago)

this girl told me they were filming tonight at dougherty's pub

Is this the pub they always go to for a funeral?

*POSSIBLE SPOILER*

Season 2 is great, especially on repeat viewings. I'm not sure there is anybody left from the port story, aside from Beattie and Stavros/the Greek that can come back. The Sobotka storyline seemed more of an isolated incident, at least as far as the extent to which he was involved in a major crime racket. At any rate, it did an excellent job of expanding the city itself, at least for those of us who have never been to Baltimore (which sounds really glamorous at the moment, with all this talk of spotting the film crew).

― Gukbe, Friday, 23 March 2007 12:58 (eighteen years ago)

i was totally coming here this morning to say that i wandered into a wire shoot last night! i was leaving work around 12:30, noticed a ton of tractor trailers along reed street, rounded the corner to park ave. and there they were. (i wasn't 100% sure until i spotted david simon, that lovable leprechaun.) perhaps season five will feature a subplot with drug money being run through the deli where i get my lunch every day.

― strongohulkington, Friday, 23 March 2007 13:15 (eighteen years ago)

haha Piccadeli's? it's like Chris Rock's bit about Krispy Kremes, if you told me their Italian coldcut had crack in it, I would be like "I knew something was up."

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 23 March 2007 13:32 (eighteen years ago)

their french fries will be the death of me yet

― strongohulkington, Friday, 23 March 2007 13:39 (eighteen years ago)

Is this the pub they always go to for a funeral?

no i think that might actually be the sidebar made up to look "irish", judging from the outside shots of them puking in the street

― am0n, Friday, 23 March 2007 14:17 (eighteen years ago)

lol @ scene of marlo in brewer's art in season 3

― am0n, Friday, 23 March 2007 14:20 (eighteen years ago)

i want to buy a lollipop at the drug store where marlo met the security guard

― cutty, Friday, 23 March 2007 14:28 (eighteen years ago)

haha was that brewer's?? jesus h.

and yeah i always thought it was the sidebar too.

― strongohulkington, Friday, 23 March 2007 14:43 (eighteen years ago)

that's funny, it never occurred to me that it might be the Sidebar in disguise, I'll have to watch that scene again. my girlfriend asked me if I knew where that bar was and I was like, I have no idea.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 23 March 2007 15:21 (eighteen years ago)

major rawls in gay bar = awesome

― sean gramophone, Friday, 23 March 2007 15:23 (eighteen years ago)

uh spoiler alert ???!! ^^^^^

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 23 March 2007 15:25 (eighteen years ago)

yeah they made brewer's look like some vip dance club. should've just filmed at choices

― am0n, Friday, 23 March 2007 15:37 (eighteen years ago)

Hey, I avoided this thread (or browsed it very carefully) when I was waiting for HBO to air all the S4 episodes and a buncha folks here had downloaded them already. People who still have half the series on their netflix queue should know to read with caution. (xpost)

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 23 March 2007 15:51 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, it's just - that one's a doozy!

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 23 March 2007 15:54 (eighteen years ago)

sorry! it's the opposite of a major plot point if that's any consolation.

― sean gramophone, Saturday, 24 March 2007 11:41 (eighteen years ago)

that's true!

― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 24 March 2007 12:23 (eighteen years ago)

it's just 3 seconds where rawls pops his head out, strictly a wtf moment

― cutty, Saturday, 24 March 2007 14:38 (eighteen years ago)

less than 3 seconds even. totally saw it coming.

― modestmickey, Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:20 (eighteen years ago)

haha suuuuuuuuuure

― strongohulkington, Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:29 (eighteen years ago)

gaydar

― jeff, Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:42 (eighteen years ago)

how does one see that coming? you can't even remember the name of "the black guy" on the show

― cutty, Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:58 (eighteen years ago)

HAHAHA

― Alex in SF, Saturday, 24 March 2007 18:03 (eighteen years ago)

Hey if you sit around calling EVERYONE a fag well then you get to say you called it at least once in a while.

― Alex in SF, Saturday, 24 March 2007 18:04 (eighteen years ago)

He does have quite a penchant for anal metaphors in his speech.

― Oilyrags, Saturday, 24 March 2007 18:28 (eighteen years ago)

if anything bunk says and does more gay shit than rawls!

― cutty, Saturday, 24 March 2007 18:36 (eighteen years ago)

[bunk line about making lester bowlegged goes here]

― am0n, Saturday, 24 March 2007 19:04 (eighteen years ago)

Even so, Bunk talks more about pussy (or pussae, if you prefer) than he does gay stuff.

― Oilyrags, Saturday, 24 March 2007 19:16 (eighteen years ago)

PUSSAEEEEEE

― cutty, Saturday, 24 March 2007 19:22 (eighteen years ago)

wait a minute modestmickey was talking about bunk???

― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 24 March 2007 20:13 (eighteen years ago)

re spoilers -- the rawls in gay bar bit was in s03, so it's not really fair to call it a spoiler -- it happened two years ago! it's just that not many anglos here have got up to s04 yet.

― That one guy that quit, Saturday, 24 March 2007 20:18 (eighteen years ago)

"You know why I respect you? Because when it came time for you to fuck me... you were gentle."
"That's 'cause I wanted your first time to be special."

― milo z, Saturday, 24 March 2007 20:35 (eighteen years ago)

was that rawls vs burrell?

― cutty, Saturday, 24 March 2007 20:41 (eighteen years ago)

McNulty & Bunk

don't remember which detectives had a similar exchange in the Homicide book

― milo z, Saturday, 24 March 2007 20:47 (eighteen years ago)

you don't think rawls had anything gay about him? ok dude

― modestmickey, Sunday, 25 March 2007 03:33 (eighteen years ago)

tracer, no dude, i was talking about rawls, not bunk. here's one reason rawls was predictable. compare and contrast:
bunk: constant and repeated romantic trysts with various women. married. to a woman.
rawls: oddly absent any sort of mention of romantic life.

― modestmickey, Sunday, 25 March 2007 03:35 (eighteen years ago)

> oddly absent any sort of mention of romantic life.

To be fair, this describes me, too, and I'm not gay. I'm just beneath the notice of the entire female sex, and based on Rawls' personality, the same isn't too much of a stretch to apply to him.

― Oilyrags, Sunday, 25 March 2007 03:39 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, not trying to say that gaydarology is an exact science or anything, dude. just had a feeling and i was right.

― modestmickey, Sunday, 25 March 2007 03:47 (eighteen years ago)

Bunk has about ten times as much screen time as Rawls over the course of the series. We see him outside of work, hanging with the boys, etc.. Rawls exists (aside from the aforementioned shot) entirely as his job.

― milo z, Sunday, 25 March 2007 04:51 (eighteen years ago)

Just got through second-to-last ep of S3.

FUK U WIRE AHHHH

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 1 April 2007 05:50 (eighteen years ago)

The balcony scene is THE SHIT.

― Oilyrags, Sunday, 1 April 2007 06:04 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, balcony scene has some great shit going on. real nice character background, and amazingly fucked up psychological under-the-facade stuff, all awesomely acted out.

― modestmickey, Sunday, 1 April 2007 06:10 (eighteen years ago)

Did that episode have Avon's best line about how all the people at the warehouse shouldn't be "fuckin' around with all these guns and shit"?

― milo z, Sunday, 1 April 2007 06:12 (eighteen years ago)

Just got through second-to-last ep of S3.

oh hey mr. hoosteen. tell you what: watch the LAST ep of s3 before you think about posting. omg stfu etc

― kenan, Sunday, 1 April 2007 06:17 (eighteen years ago)

milo with the spoiler

― am0n, Sunday, 1 April 2007 18:33 (eighteen years ago)

Like hell he is. As pointed out upthread, that scene aired over two years ago.

― Oilyrags, Sunday, 1 April 2007 18:37 (eighteen years ago)

capt. save-a-show

― am0n, Sunday, 1 April 2007 18:40 (eighteen years ago)

SPIOLARZ!

Magwitch is Pip's sponsor.

― Oilyrags, Sunday, 1 April 2007 18:45 (eighteen years ago)

The balcony scene is THE SHIT.

-- Oilyrags, Sunday, April 1, 2007 1:04 AM

Yeah after I watched Final Ep (stfu kenan etc, "fuk u wire" reiterating popular sentiment that it was the 'most unwelcome event on tv since the fox news channel') I went back and re-watched the balcony scene. Sooo great. Time to do some mad torrenting for S4.

Did that episode have Avon's best line about how all the people at the warehouse shouldn't be "fuckin' around with all these guns and shit"?

-- milo z, Sunday, April 1, 2007 1:12 AM

haha nah that was last ep

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 1 April 2007 18:50 (eighteen years ago)

2nd-to-last ep. has the Day of the Jackalline, though.

― C0L1N B..., Sunday, 1 April 2007 18:57 (eighteen years ago)

i've broken and am torrenting s04.

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 1 April 2007 19:21 (eighteen years ago)

A wise decision that. I've finished s04 just minutes ago and it was, once again, amazing.

― Jibe, Sunday, 1 April 2007 19:24 (eighteen years ago)

please release dvd's before recidivism

― modestmickey, Sunday, 1 April 2007 20:15 (eighteen years ago)

aw dude, sorry!

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 1 April 2007 22:58 (eighteen years ago)

Best Buy has season one on sale for $24.99 today. Don't know how long the sale lasts.

― milo z, Monday, 2 April 2007 00:13 (eighteen years ago)

BOIOIOIOIOING!

― Oilyrags, Monday, 2 April 2007 02:28 (eighteen years ago)

I picked it up and had a $5 reward zone certificate. The Wire Season One for $20! Such a steal.

― Harpal, Monday, 2 April 2007 06:54 (eighteen years ago)

who up in this bitch has seen 'paid in full' w. wood harris?

― That one guy that quit, Thursday, 12 April 2007 19:36 (eighteen years ago)

SONOFABITCH

Just bought it 2 weeks ago for $50+. BASTARDOS. (Totally worth it, duh, but still.)

― David R., Thursday, 12 April 2007 19:39 (eighteen years ago)

Came into work this morning and once again The Wire crew was all set up on Read Street up the block from the office! I kinda circled the block to get a better look but didn't see any important cast/crew members. maybe if I go by on my lunch break or after work they'll still be there...

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 23 April 2007 12:52 (eighteen years ago)

walked by "detective sydnor" on charles st twice today.

― am0n, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 18:41 (eighteen years ago)

look who's starring in '28 days later'...

http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/photos/28weekslater/28weekslater5.gif

― Mike McGooney-gal, Monday, 30 April 2007 03:10 (eighteen years ago)

Ain't no special dead. There's just dead.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 30 April 2007 03:11 (eighteen years ago)

Just finished season 2. It's odd: Season 1 seemed meaty -- there was lots going on, and I could watch an episode and then leave it. Season 2 seemed to take ages to get itself set up, and almost as soon as it did, everybody was going to jail and it was winding down. I think it possibly just tried to do too much.

― stet, Monday, 30 April 2007 03:37 (eighteen years ago)

Just finished s2 last night as well. It was nice to see McNulty get fucked by someone besides Rawls.

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 13:16 (eighteen years ago)

Season two is the weakest in some ways, like stet says they didn't manage the pacing at all.

― 31g, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:27 (eighteen years ago)

frank sobotka

― RJG, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:41 (eighteen years ago)

season two is great.

― That one guy that quit, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:46 (eighteen years ago)

Oh boo! I shldn't have read that S2 might not be my thing. S1 is/was utter blissful orgasmic experience to sit through.

― stevienixed, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:22 (eighteen years ago)

I just finnished watching season one and yous guys have totally killed my excitment at checking out season two now :(

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:24 (eighteen years ago)

season two is essential... you can't just skip it.

― kenan, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:25 (eighteen years ago)

Hmm. I'll watch it either way. Even if it's just 1/10th as good, it'll be better than watching E! channel (what isn't ey?)

― stevienixed, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:28 (eighteen years ago)

season two is great

― RJG, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:29 (eighteen years ago)

I actually liked season 2 a little bit more than 3.

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:29 (eighteen years ago)

It seemed like season 3 was trying a little too hard to get things back to season 1 status quo (i.e. the old team going after the old gang), which is what I wanted to see but still.

(it still kicked ass)

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:31 (eighteen years ago)

Oh, aye, S2 is great stuff, it just didn't feel as chunky as season 1, somehow.

― stet, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:32 (eighteen years ago)

It seemed like season 3 was trying a little too hard to get things back to season 1 status quo (i.e. the old team going after the old gang), which is what I wanted to see but still.

Haha, I think that's why McNulty is still likeable in that season--he's wrong about refocusing on Barksdale/Bell acts obnoxiously, even for him, to get back on that case, but he's essentially arguing the viewers' position--who's going to watch the show if it's about Kintel Williamson?

― C0L1N B..., Monday, 30 April 2007 19:35 (eighteen years ago)

Also funny, in s3 McNulty keeps talking about what a smart police he is but he doesn't really do much proactive policework, besides manipulating people to get back on the case. I guess he pulled some shit to get the disposable phones, but that's it?

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:38 (eighteen years ago)

PUT SEASON 3 ON SALE PLEASE.

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 19:49 (eighteen years ago)

PUT SEASON 4 ON DVD PLS

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:50 (eighteen years ago)

THAT TOO

tho I cd, as a s3 remedy, just shit or get off the pot re: the NetFlix movies I've had since 2005.

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 19:50 (eighteen years ago)

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:53 (eighteen years ago)

what?

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 19:53 (eighteen years ago)

Two years of netflix defeat?

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 19:54 (eighteen years ago)

Only 23 months!

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 19:56 (eighteen years ago)

my one prob w. s03 is that the hamsterdam project does seem like a kind of 'what if' scenario, breaking from the (what i imagine to be!) realism (to use a shitty word) of the rest of it. although on the commentaries they say such things have been attempted.

― That one guy that quit, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:04 (eighteen years ago)

have to rerewatch w/ commentaries

― RJG, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:07 (eighteen years ago)

Solution for David:

DARK HORSE COMICS

MAR070018 THE WIRE SEASON 3 #1 $2.99

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:10 (eighteen years ago)

Ha, I watched that Q&A thing from season 3, and he said that to his knowledge nothing like Hamsterdamn has been attempted.

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:11 (eighteen years ago)

a) the 'what if' scenario of S3 is what's gr8 about it

b) lol "realism"

c) former mayor kurt schmoke (aka sir schmoke-a-lot...j/k) simply posed the idea of drug legalization

― am0n, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:23 (eighteen years ago)

oh yeah now i remember c)

don't get b) though. the show goes to great lengths to get details -- of municipal politics, the law, police procedure, and gang vernacular --right; or so i'm led to believe.

― That one guy that quit, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:30 (eighteen years ago)

This whole talk re: verisimilitude reminds me of the one WTF moment I had w/ s2: that out-of-the-blue fancy "I am tripping my balls off" camera move after Ziggy popped GG & the kid @ the store. As far as I can remember, directors have eschewed any showy camera crap, & just shot scenes as-is. (FWIW, the scene directly following, w/ Ziggy in the car & the radio on & his hand shaking, totally made up for that little lapse.)

Fucking Zig.

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 20:37 (eighteen years ago)

Oh HI DERE SEASON TWO SPOILERS in my last post.

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 20:39 (eighteen years ago)

it aired in 2003!!!! not rly spoilery.

btw kidz LEM BURNS THE MONEY

― That one guy that quit, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:41 (eighteen years ago)

noooooooooooooooooooooo

(someone find The Sheild thread plz because I R lzy & last week's episode with nu-Vic was AWESUM)

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 20:45 (eighteen years ago)

(fucking Lem)

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 20:48 (eighteen years ago)

Nick Sobotka's grillfiend = hot

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:49 (eighteen years ago)

haha the commentary w. omar and mcnutty on that is hilar. they are all zomg re. her tits.

― That one guy that quit, Monday, 30 April 2007 21:02 (eighteen years ago)

haha, why did I not listen to commentaries :(

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 21:04 (eighteen years ago)

Which eps do Omar and McNulty do commentaries on?

― milo z, Monday, 30 April 2007 21:06 (eighteen years ago)

What the hell is this about a comic book version of "The Wire"!??!

― Oilyrags, Monday, 30 April 2007 21:07 (eighteen years ago)

I've had the entirety of S4 on my girlfriend's laptop for about a month now, but I can't bring myself to watch it on that tiny screen with terrible speakers.

xpost WHAT

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 30 April 2007 21:07 (eighteen years ago)

I was just kidding Daver, relax ppl.

― Jordan, Monday, 30 April 2007 21:10 (eighteen years ago)

Man, I got trolled.

Script adaptation by James Kolchaka and Jim Starlin, art by Rob Leifeld.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 30 April 2007 21:17 (eighteen years ago)

Which eps do Omar and McNulty do commentaries on?

-- milo z, Tuesday, May 1, 2007 12:06 AM (11 minutes ago)

the one episode, on series two. the commentaries with david simon are just a little bit high-minded.

― That one guy that quit, Monday, 30 April 2007 21:19 (eighteen years ago)

herro Mcnulty's naked ass. although, when n. sobotka's gf's boobs popped on I also commented how nice they were. the wire has really nice round body parts going on.

― Yerac, Monday, 30 April 2007 22:02 (eighteen years ago)

The boobs on that one prostitute, tho, um, no.

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 23:29 (eighteen years ago)

Everyone on The Wire is beautiful in their own way. Even Horseface.

― David R., Monday, 30 April 2007 23:31 (eighteen years ago)

yeah i luvved the commentaries w/omar and mcnulty - it's all so very fly-on-the-wall pragmatic and luvvie and "oh you know she worked with [director x] afterwards" "oh really?" "whoa you remember THAT shot?" "yeah i could barely stop laughin"

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 30 April 2007 23:38 (eighteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

SPOTTED: lt./major daniels

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:06 (eighteen years ago)

looking just as intense walking down the street as he does banging the d.a.

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:06 (eighteen years ago)

NOTE TO SELF: QUEUE UP S3 ASAP

That shot of shirtless Lt. Daniels in S2 = WHOA

― David R., Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:09 (eighteen years ago)

How come only McNulty looks like he's enjoying himself during sex?

I just deleted Season 4 off the hard drive without having watched it. I can't sit on the computer for an hour without getting distracted by other shit.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:09 (eighteen years ago)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/499856535_72ff833e43.jpg?v=0

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:09 (eighteen years ago)

that is to tell teh extras where to find teh drugs

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:10 (eighteen years ago)

are they shooting that far downtown or is the arrow pointing to somewhere way up north?

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:12 (eighteen years ago)

they were shooting around where the post office is, i think

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:13 (eighteen years ago)

the sequel to Bunny Colvin taking the kids to Ruth's Chris: Omar spends the afternoon at ESPN Zone. (xpost)

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:13 (eighteen years ago)

i wonder how baltimore's most wire-happy alternative weekly will fit into this season's plot about THE MEDIAS

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:14 (eighteen years ago)

That shot of shirtless Lt. Daniels in S2 = WHOA

S3 will make you a happy man, then.

― Jordan, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:59 (eighteen years ago)

i wonder how baltimore's most wire-happy alternative weekly will fit into this season's plot about THE MEDIAS

I've been wondering about this myself. Simon really tries to avoid painting things in black and white, but CP's been such an champion for the show. It'll be interesting to see how he handles it.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 20:10 (eighteen years ago)

i kinda assumed it would be all about The Sun (or some fictional stand-in paper) and maybe the local network affiliates' evening news. maybe there could be a scene of one of the higher-ups in City Hall reading Murder Ink and getting all pissed off?

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 20:16 (eighteen years ago)

I've been out of MD for a few years, but as I remember it, City Paper was actually pretty decent when it came to things like, oh say, actual journalism. Is that a fair assessment or am I just being nostalgic?

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 20:17 (eighteen years ago)

That shot of shirtless Lt. Daniels in S2 = WHOA
S3 will make you a happy man, then.

Phwoar! Now I definitely can't wait! We just finished S2 THIS EVENING and I absolutely loved every single minute of it. I'd definitely rate it as high as S1. That said, I didn't notice S3 at the video store. boohoo. :-(

― stevienixed, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 22:20 (eighteen years ago)

BTW D'Angelo was in fucking TREES LOUNGE. I mean, the actor, not the character duh.

― stevienixed, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 22:21 (eighteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

More random Wire-related sightings as an excuse to revive this thread: Herc goes to my gym! In the 2 seconds it took me to think hey, that guy looks like someone on a TV show, and realize that show is The Wire and it must really be him, he looked up and I averted my eyes. I've heard they're shooting 'til August. Or maybe that's when they'll be done editing and everything?

Weird tidbit that I didn't realize until I read it on Wikipedia: apparently Herc is the only character who's been in every episode of the show so far. I don't expect that'll stay that way in Season 5, considering that he looked on the verge of losing his job in the last episode, but who knows.

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 14:11 (eighteen years ago)

i think were gearing up for some sweet herc is a security guard now action

― jhøshea, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 15:03 (eighteen years ago)

I love the scene where him and Carver are at the movies on a double date and they bump into Bodie and Poot doing the same. But how much sweeter if Herc was tearing tickets at the box office?

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 15:14 (eighteen years ago)

I just started watching season 3, and my favorite moment is when Clay Davis quotes Namond Brice word-for-word: "I'll take money from any motherfucker who's giving it away for free." I lol'ed.

― kenan, Saturday, 9 June 2007 21:57 (eighteen years ago)

And clapped a little, iirc.

― kenan, Saturday, 9 June 2007 21:57 (eighteen years ago)

sorry, season 4

― kenan, Saturday, 9 June 2007 22:02 (eighteen years ago)

according to this week's new yorker, steve earle is doing the theme for the new season

― max, Saturday, 9 June 2007 22:06 (eighteen years ago)

ok, srsly, stop it with the theme. It was the original Waits version in season 2, you had the rights to it, stick with it. I hate with a passion every version but that one, and I know I am not alone. I saw all of this on dvd, and the Waits version is the only one that didn't make me reach for the FF button like I was suddenly watching a CBS comedy.

― kenan, Saturday, 9 June 2007 22:18 (eighteen years ago)

i liked the neville bros one!

― max, Saturday, 9 June 2007 22:19 (eighteen years ago)

which one is that?

oh, nevermind, i don't care, i hate it.

― kenan, Saturday, 9 June 2007 22:21 (eighteen years ago)

neville bros is s03.

― That one guy that quit, Saturday, 9 June 2007 22:27 (eighteen years ago)

racist

― cutty, Saturday, 9 June 2007 22:28 (eighteen years ago)

Really? I thought I was the only one who didn't like the Season 4 version. I actually love the Blind Boys version. Waits' version is definitive. But Season 3 sounds like dad-rock on painkillers. I just plain ol' didn't like the Season 4 intro (haven't seen the shows yet). And now Steve Earle, huh? Awright "Waylon," show us you got soul.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Saturday, 9 June 2007 22:34 (eighteen years ago)

i saw bunk on 6th ave yesterday! he was wearing a suit and posing for a cameraphone photie with a clearly enamored fan. it actually took a bit of willpower not to hammer him with questions about season 5.

― ^@^, Saturday, 9 June 2007 23:08 (eighteen years ago)

Goddamn you HBO with your not-putting-out-DVDs-til-show-premiere!

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 9 June 2007 23:09 (eighteen years ago)

I love the scene where him and Carver are at the movies on a double date and they bump into Bodie and Poot doing the same.

A+ Yes

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 9 June 2007 23:09 (eighteen years ago)

Goddamn you HBO with your not-putting-out-DVDs-til-show-premiere!

i goddamn them a little bit as well, but apparently it helps drive up viewership. Critically acclaimed shows need that sometimes.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Saturday, 9 June 2007 23:17 (eighteen years ago)

I can't remember, what movie theater was that scene shot in? maybe Loews White Marsh? I mean I'm assuming, since there are practically zero modern movie theaters in Baltimore city limits anymore (RIP the United Artists on Pratt St.).

on Thursday there was all sorts of Wire shooting business out on Guilford Ave. next to the shopping center w/ 5 Seasons and the Dunkin Donuts I stop at before work. I hate having to drive by too fast to be able to ID anybody. also I found out that some girls I work with used to work at a hotel where JD Williams (Bodie) used to stay and had some funny stories about him.

― Alex in Baltimore, Saturday, 9 June 2007 23:22 (eighteen years ago)

Coming to HBO: 'The Wire' at The Post

Making a rare screen appearance as itself: The Washington Post. A crew from HBO's "The Wire" spent more than six hours filming in our very own offices Sunday, the first time in anyone's recent memory that a movie or TV show has been allowed to shoot here. (Even "All the President's Men" had to re-create the newsroom on a sound stage, and that one was all about us. Word is that some bosses here are big fans of the gritty Baltimore crime drama.)

The plot of the fifth season (set to air early next year) focuses on the media, with some scenes filmed at the Baltimore Sun; Sunday's shoot involved a reporter interviewing for a job at The Post. Style chief Deb Heard's office played the office of a fictional Post Metro editor. (Note to hard-core fans: Apparently it was all new characters, so, no -- McNulty, Avon and Omar weren't here.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/04/AR2007060402111.html

― jhøshea, Saturday, 9 June 2007 23:25 (eighteen years ago)

tell funny bodie stories plz alex thx

― jhøshea, Saturday, 9 June 2007 23:25 (eighteen years ago)

I forget Avon's still around. The ending of Season 3 fucked me up!

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 9 June 2007 23:28 (eighteen years ago)

oh, i dunno if i could re-tell the stories out of context in any entertaining way. mainly they were about his hotel room smelling like weed and him telling the black girl I work with that he'd date her if she wasn't "the wrong color"(?).

the promised return of Avon is a big part of my anticipation for the last season.

― Alex in Baltimore, Sunday, 10 June 2007 01:48 (eighteen years ago)

i keep thinking Bodie's still around! one of the random extra HBOs we get was showing a season 4 episode very late last night. the one where snoop & chris are asking new york dudes who is young leek.. namond is esp. funny. "Ma, let me build!"

― daria-g, Sunday, 10 June 2007 16:03 (eighteen years ago)

I'm still holding out hope that season 5 will include some kind of absurd fantasy reunion of all of the show's deceased characters like the last episode of Homicide. Bodie and Stringer and D'Angelo (and Snot Boogie!) bullshitting up in heaven.

― Alex in Baltimore, Sunday, 10 June 2007 16:11 (eighteen years ago)

Let's not get carried away - I'm still hoping that doesn't happen on the Sopranos tonight. Ugh. Shoot one of Phil's lackeys. Just one.

― B.L.A.M., Sunday, 10 June 2007 17:33 (eighteen years ago)

watching s07 of homicide right so thanks for the SPOILER. so far its the worst season, like jump-the-great-white bad

― am0n, Sunday, 10 June 2007 19:47 (eighteen years ago)

right *now

― am0n, Sunday, 10 June 2007 19:47 (eighteen years ago)

ugh kenan totally off tm, the tom waits version is decent but is totally outshined by seasons one and three

― deej, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:45 (eighteen years ago)

season 4 weirdo gospel version is so teh best duh

― jhøshea, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:47 (eighteen years ago)

I am a Tom Waits loyalist, apparently. ;)

― kenan, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:49 (eighteen years ago)

s1 is best fareal. that shit still drifts into my head at like 3 in the morning.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:58 (eighteen years ago)

i haven't seen season 4 so i dont know it

― deej, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:01 (eighteen years ago)

I'm now 5 eps into it, and all I can say is, yannow, ask a friend with pirating skills. It's probably my favorite season, so far.

― kenan, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:12 (eighteen years ago)

yeah pretty amazing

― jhøshea, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:13 (eighteen years ago)

dere it is http://www.torrentportal.com/torrents-details.php?id=750930

― jhøshea, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:16 (eighteen years ago)

oh cool, thanks

― kenan, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:21 (eighteen years ago)

s4 theme suuuuucked. actually, i like the themes in the exact order they aired (although 1 and 2 are kinda equal to me), so i hope i don't hate the Steve Earle one. I really kicked myself for not asking about or suggesting s5 theme possibilities to the show's music supervisor when I spoke to him briefly a few months ago.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:24 (eighteen years ago)

didn't like 4 theme

― RJG, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:30 (eighteen years ago)

lots anyway

― RJG, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:30 (eighteen years ago)

I like all the themes.

I watched When the Levees Broke before the Wire, so I had this huge flash of recognition when someone recently mentioned to me that Bunk was one of the guys interviewed a ton in WtLB (with no mention of his role on the Wire).

― Jordan, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:31 (eighteen years ago)

Bodie and Stringer and D'Angelo (and Snot Boogie!) bullshitting up in heaven.

this should be animated in an airbrushed t-shirt style

― strongohulkington, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:12 (eighteen years ago)

fanfic t-shirt

― cutty, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:22 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.itsablackthang.com/images/Kolongi/HipHopHeaven-by-kolongi.jpg

i think we can fit em in above big pun here

― am0n, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:40 (eighteen years ago)

has Boondocks ever referenced The Wire (strip or show)?

― milo z, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:42 (eighteen years ago)

my friend rode the subway with andre royo this morning! he's kind of little (5'4"ish).

― lauren, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:42 (eighteen years ago)

I ate the same restaurant as Andre Royo and KEITH from Six Feet Under this weekend!

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:50 (eighteen years ago)

andre is getting around lately.

― lauren, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:50 (eighteen years ago)

Apparently the restaurant is co-owned by Royo's wife so all the people there were like "yeah it's Bubbles so what" haha while I'm like sitting there trying to evesdrop on his conversations.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:53 (eighteen years ago)

According to his myspace page he's 5'8" but I'm not so sure.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:56 (eighteen years ago)

Haha and he sez the restaurant is HIS new restaurant so whatever.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:57 (eighteen years ago)

Someone should have invited Adebisi.

― milo z, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:58 (eighteen years ago)

Haha if Adebisi had been their I would probably have been too nervous to eat.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:59 (eighteen years ago)

andre is getting around lately.

-- lauren, Tuesday, June 12, 2007 6:50 PM

OK, my mind is so preoccupied with wondering what's going to happen in Season 5 that this comment instantly led me to wonder whether he's been shooting scenes where Bubbles gets clean and experiences the weight gain of a recovering addict.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:01 (eighteen years ago)

i read an interview w/him where he was all yeah i do sometimes wish they had chosen a different name aka not that cool to have people always yelling bubbles at you from across the street

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:02 (eighteen years ago)

well maybe mcnulty doesn't like being called mcnutty either

― cutty, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:04 (eighteen years ago)

I named a squirrel that kept looking for food on my patio mcnutty.

― mh, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:08 (eighteen years ago)

also there was a real bubbles

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:11 (eighteen years ago)

I am so excited for Season 5. Season 4 was my favorite season (next to 2, actually) and I hope they don't shift focus totally away from the kids.

― filthy dylan, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:26 (eighteen years ago)

It seemed like they were setting up Michael to be a major character in future eps, which is too bad, cause I thought he was the least interesting of any of the kids. It's Randy that I really want to see more of.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 19:29 (eighteen years ago)

Still watching s4, almost done, but I have to say, Chris killing Michael's stepdad was maybe the most balls-out BRUTAL killing I've ever seen, certainly on television, possibly anywhere. The way Chris gets INTO it. Gives me a shiver.

― kenan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 14:21 (eighteen years ago)

isn't there a judy blume book where one of the characters decides they want to be called "bubbles"? (but no one does)

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 14:40 (eighteen years ago)

other "bubbles" of note:

http://www.hula-la.com/girl_images/bubblesmug.jpg

http://slantmouth.com/articles/smoothCriminal/images/bubbles.jpg

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 14:48 (eighteen years ago)

anyways - i'm a little over half way through the 4th season and am enjoying it but not even close to how much i enjoyed the 1st and 3rd seasons.

dear season 5: less children, more wires!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 14:50 (eighteen years ago)

the fourth is really great

― RJG, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 16:41 (eighteen years ago)

brutal but great

― bnw, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 17:12 (eighteen years ago)

the kids are what make season 4 the best!

― max, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 17:12 (eighteen years ago)

I really missed watching The Wire when I was in Japan. Now that I'm back, I'll probably go'n' rent season 3 tomorrow.

― stevienixed, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 17:14 (eighteen years ago)

srsly (xp re kids being awesome)

― jeff, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 17:15 (eighteen years ago)

Agreed. They're all such impressive actors, too.

And, as I kinda said earlier, Snoop and Chris are just soooo frightening. I loved the way that the beating Chris delivers calls back to all the times he was all reassuring before killing someone -- "Don't worry, I got you, I'll make it quick" etc. Now we see what happens when he does not got you. Goddamn.

― kenan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 17:17 (eighteen years ago)

All muscle needs to be crazy, I guess, but Chris is lung-eating crazy.

― kenan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 17:18 (eighteen years ago)

Can't wait until season 4 is on dvd, I have to stop reading this thread now.

― Jordan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 17:19 (eighteen years ago)

s4 haters: u mad

― am0n, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 18:35 (eighteen years ago)

perhaps. but for me season three felt like the natural conclusion to the whole thing.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 18:55 (eighteen years ago)

not... really. Seeing as how s2 was a digression in its entirety from the Barksdale plot, why would you think the show was just about that one story?

― kenan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:09 (eighteen years ago)

ok not in its entirety, but in its mostliness.

― kenan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:15 (eighteen years ago)

i saw brother mouzone on saturday.

― hstencil, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:17 (eighteen years ago)

I felt like s3 came to a pretty decent conclusion for the series, not so much because of the Barksdale gang getting pretty definitively busted up, but more the combination of McNulty's decision to return to community policing and Bell's death. They were sort of the Holmes and Moriarty of the show, and each of them had reached a satisfying conclusion to their arc.

That said, I think the angle they put out for S4 worked out great and am really looking forward to the angle they've got for s5. I'd even like to see that slightly hinted-at s6 about migrant labor communities.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:21 (eighteen years ago)

was he reading harper's? get me my harper's

xpost

― cutty, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:21 (eighteen years ago)

season five is the last season, pal

― cutty, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:22 (eighteen years ago)

I remember getting told S3 was the end of the line, too.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:23 (eighteen years ago)

that was obviously not the case considering the rise of marlo stanfield in season 3

― cutty, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:24 (eighteen years ago)

thanks for puttin that better than i could oilyrags!

with season two it felt like filler - there to just consume space between the 1st and 3rd season (that's not to say i didn't like it or anything).

woah xpostin'

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:24 (eighteen years ago)

xpost or carcetti

― kenan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:24 (eighteen years ago)

The rise of Marlo wasn't neccesarily setting up anything but the futility of taking down any particular crime org instead of fighting root causes. If you think the point of the Wire is 'winning' the case, you need to watch closer.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:26 (eighteen years ago)

what would make an appropiate end of the line then, if not Bell getting got and McNutty siting back? The end of all drug dealing in baltimore forever and everyone making major?

they could just keep going with side stories forever (which would be fine believe me) but the end of season 3 just felt like a really good end.

xpost

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:28 (eighteen years ago)

One and three I liked, especially for every second I could have with Omar or Stringer but there was way too much fucking McNulty, and personally I don't really care that much about the technical stuff of having a wire. Seasons 2 and 4 had the best personal dramas, I thought. You couldn't have ended with Season 3, because it was Season 4 that really got into the heart of what's so tragic about the drug trade.

Another interesting aspect of season 4 was how everything early in the season was getting us to believe Namond would get in to the game and Michael was the one with the head on his shoulders, which didn't turn out to be the case at all. I like that the show never relies on easy psychology, and how different characters are able to radically surprise you without ever seeming unbelievable.

― filthy dylan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:28 (eighteen years ago)

Carcetti also had a complete arc in S3. It was extended nicely, but I could certainly have lived with it stopping where it did. Ditto Bunny, since someone will bring him up next, I'm sure.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:28 (eighteen years ago)

yes, but season 4 reveals just how carefully and for how long that had been planning and setting up another season. When s3 was rumored to be the last, Simon wasn't done yet.

― kenan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:28 (eighteen years ago)

he wasn't reading a harper's, unfortunately. did you know that his ass't who was told to get the harper's was the kid from "the corner?" as in, the actual kid the book is about, not an actor?

― hstencil, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:29 (eighteen years ago)

If you think the point of the Wire is 'winning' the case, you need to watch closer.

don't you fucking tell me how to watch the wire

― cutty, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:30 (eighteen years ago)

haha

― kenan, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:30 (eighteen years ago)

i'll fix your clock like prop joe

― cutty, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:30 (eighteen years ago)

eat a lollipop like mar-lo

― cutty, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:31 (eighteen years ago)

Actually, the end of Deadwood at S3 is a pretty good reflection of The Wire at the end of S3. Sure, there's plenty more you CAN do. But important conclusions have been reached, and on the whole, its quite satisfying as it stands.

That said, sure, I'd LOVE to have some more Deadwood.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:31 (eighteen years ago)

"don't you fucking tell me how to watch the wire"

I recommend using both eyes, and the organ behind them.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:32 (eighteen years ago)

wtf organ is behind the eyes?

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:34 (eighteen years ago)

freak!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:35 (eighteen years ago)

http://medweb.bham.ac.uk/research/toescu/Resources/Homepage/HumBrainProfile%202.gif

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:36 (eighteen years ago)

my brain is a muscle

― cutty, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:37 (eighteen years ago)

i was under the impression the brian was not an organ. but i have now been wikiducated and will now go get one.
morans.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:40 (eighteen years ago)

Sometimes I think my brain is a clavinet, actually.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:41 (eighteen years ago)

there's a few of the wire kids in that decent movie "half nelson".

― bnw, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:42 (eighteen years ago)

It's got the "Fresh" kid in it too, right? Man, that was a good movie. He was good on "The Corner" too, to take it back to David Simon.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 13 June 2007 19:43 (eighteen years ago)

Bodie was on Oz but that show is ballz

did you know that his ass't who was told to get the harper's was the kid from "the corner?" as in, the actual kid the book is about, not an actor?

-- hstencil, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 3:29 PM (8 hours ago)

thats awesome, totally didn't recognize him. what's that mouzone line? "your homophobia.. is so visceral"

― am0n, Thursday, 14 June 2007 04:38 (eighteen years ago)

ok, now I've seen all of it that you have. At long last. I'm still watching s4 episodes twice, and still catching more. Like that Michael was sexually abused by his stepfather. I did not get that the first time, because Michael hates him, but wtf he's an 8th grader, maybe he's he's being crazy irrational and just wants control of the house. But the scene when he rushes home and finds his stepdad with Bug all cradled-like, and Michael orders Bug over, and Bug follows, and stepdad says nothing even though it's his own son... it took two viewings, but I finally got it. And it adds up all down the line. Michael is distrustful of Cutty because Cutty is... on one level, having sex, which makes Michael uncomfortable enough, and on another level, having sex that is kind of illicit, at least in Michael's mind.

Aaaaaanyway. I could go on and on. But instead I will go to bed.

― kenan, Friday, 15 June 2007 04:13 (eighteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

We just finished S3. I ab-so-lu-te-ly adore this show. We'll have to wait a few months till we can rent S4 tho. :-(

― nathalie, Monday, 2 July 2007 12:55 (eighteen years ago)

no no... download it!

― kenan, Monday, 2 July 2007 13:02 (eighteen years ago)

coming back from my jog today i came across the familiar line of haddad's trucks. followed them to the outside set where i watched them film a few takes of clay davis coming down the court steps and making some sort of victory speech after apparently winning some case against him xD xD

― am0n, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 01:36 (eighteen years ago)

I still have S4 sitting on my hard drive unwatched. AHHH

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 01:55 (eighteen years ago)

Sheeeeeit, more Clay Davis! (xpost)

A while back I was talking to a mutual friend of the local rapper Ammo, who had a recurring role as "Spider" on seasons 3 and 4, and they said that he's been "caught up in the streets" to focus on music full-time, which is a pretty depressing real-life parallel with when Spider kinda blows off Cutty and stops coming to the gym.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 01:55 (eighteen years ago)

Commuted Sentence, got that Commuted Sentence, 3 for 10...

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 4 July 2007 15:54 (eighteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

uk fans, there is a charlie brooker doc abt 'the wire' on uknova. it was on fx the other night.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 19 July 2007 13:33 (eighteen years ago)

charlie brooker is about the last person i would want to hear talking about this show

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 19 July 2007 13:35 (eighteen years ago)

i'll watch it tonight and see. kind of know what you mean, but british television criticism is the shame of the nation and brooker is better than the others. i don't know who i'd pick in the uk to do it. well, other than penman, but i say that about everything.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 19 July 2007 13:37 (eighteen years ago)

ok i'm halfway through. it's bad. if brooker ain't the right guy to present, his UK interviewees are more wtf. nick hornby ffs. a lot of it is brooker talking to two random guys about life in b'more, seven y.o.s with aks and whatnot...

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 19 July 2007 19:16 (eighteen years ago)

ugh! way to pollute the wire for me

― czn, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:47 (eighteen years ago)

they were all fucking idiots with absolutely nothing to bring except they were just about famous and liked 'the wire'. but they didn't have a single thing to say about it except "it's better than other cop shows". which is always a big cop-out (PUN). it was brooker on autopilot too.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 19 July 2007 22:20 (eighteen years ago)

roffle/smh @ the wire getting no emmy nods to studio 60 getting 5.

― methanietanner, Thursday, 19 July 2007 22:29 (eighteen years ago)

RAPPER Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, who plays a vicious drug dealer on HBO's "The Wire," once served time in the shooting death of a teenager and made ends meet in jail by selling homemade sex toys. In her upcoming autobiography, "Grace After Midnight," Pearson writes, "It ain't like setting up a Starbucks in the mall . . . I crafted them in four sizes. Made them as real-life as possible. I knew my workmanship had to be solid or I'd get complaints." She was paid with cans of soup, packs of cookies, candy and, once, a joint.

― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 21 July 2007 07:30 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.midheaven.com/fi/Images/Kids-4color3.jpeg

top right - johnny the junkie

― am0n, Monday, 23 July 2007 14:57 (eighteen years ago)

Whoa holy shit @ Snoop: crafter of fine prison dildos.

― kenan, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:00 (eighteen years ago)

It took me two eps to figure out she was a girl, but she god oddly cuter throughout the season. Or maybe that's just me.

― kenan, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:00 (eighteen years ago)

she GOT oddly

― kenan, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:01 (eighteen years ago)

Watching episodes with her after reading the article where her past was spelled out made her character just that much more creepy.

― mh, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:12 (eighteen years ago)

More than creepy: frightening.

― kenan, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:37 (eighteen years ago)

laugh track

― hstencil, Tuesday, 24 July 2007 02:31 (eighteen years ago)

Unfair and lame. That scene's funny without a laugh track.

― kenan, Tuesday, 24 July 2007 02:46 (eighteen years ago)

I just finished the first season of "The Wire" yesterday and had to rewatch select parts of the episodes over again. This show is poetic. This show is epic. Man, once I watched that chess scene between D'Angelo, Wallace (R.I.P.) and Bodie I was sold: "The king stay the king". This show is so quotable.

― youcangoyourownway, Monday, 30 July 2007 15:27 (eighteen years ago)

What's poetic about that scene is how wrong Bodie is. :)

― kenan, Monday, 30 July 2007 15:28 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/us/09baltimore.html?ex=1344312000&en=70424f792e2f754f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

― hstencil, Thursday, 9 August 2007 19:33 (eighteen years ago)

not gay enough

― kenan, Thursday, 9 August 2007 19:35 (eighteen years ago)

actually, xpost to myself, i meant d'angelo, not bodie, but you knew that

― kenan, Thursday, 9 August 2007 19:36 (eighteen years ago)

Munch! Munch! Munch!

― carson dial, Friday, 10 August 2007 11:47 (eighteen years ago)

Finally got around to this show - I'm up to episode 5 tonight if I get my other shit done.

― Hurting 2, Monday, 20 August 2007 23:58 (eighteen years ago)

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/tfr/399463929.html

Hurry and you can be in it!

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 00:38 (eighteen years ago)

That's for the finale - a big musical number.

― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 00:46 (eighteen years ago)

IS SEASON 4 OUT ON DVDS YET

― river wolf, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 00:48 (eighteen years ago)

no, if hbo hews to their old strategy, it will probably come out when season 5 airs.

can someone with a torrent burn it to dvd for me? that would kinda rule tho.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 01:03 (eighteen years ago)

check yr e-mail

― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 01:07 (eighteen years ago)

fuk, I'm already through episode 8. Wire why you take over life?

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 22 August 2007 04:59 (eighteen years ago)

thanks hurting, unfortunately i don't have the plugin to watch, and my computer is muy slow.

― hstencil, Wednesday, 22 August 2007 06:03 (eighteen years ago)

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/tfr/399463929.html

Hurry and you can be in it!

-- Oilyrags, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 00:38 (Yesterday)

thx for the tip! got the call today, shoot is tomorrow (tentative)

― am0n, Wednesday, 22 August 2007 23:00 (eighteen years ago)

if my am0n gets in the wire i will be so happy

― cutty, Wednesday, 22 August 2007 23:12 (eighteen years ago)

i hope i get in the wire

― jeff, Wednesday, 22 August 2007 23:19 (eighteen years ago)

good interviews
http://www.thefader.com/blog/articles/2006/12/05/listening-in-part-i
http://www.thefader.com/blog/articles/2006/12/06/listening-in-part-ii
http://www.thefader.com/blog/articles/2006/12/07/listening-in-part-iii

― luriqua, Wednesday, 22 August 2007 23:46 (eighteen years ago)

dag I totally should've responded as soon as i saw that ad, hesitated and waited :(

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 22 August 2007 23:47 (eighteen years ago)

you could probably still respond. i think the ad said they were filming up to the end of august

― am0n, Thursday, 23 August 2007 00:10 (eighteen years ago)

LOLZ at hurting gettin' wire hooked.
I've got 3 and 4 on DVD fer computer, hit me up.

― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 23 August 2007 02:29 (eighteen years ago)

From what I've read, it seems that the season 4 dvd set will be out around Christmas, a couple months before season 5 begins.

― Mr. Perpetua, Thursday, 23 August 2007 13:01 (eighteen years ago)

that is so awesome that bunny's deputy is the real life jay landsman. in homicide, landsman was just amazing -- the funniest fucker there was.

― YGS, Thursday, 23 August 2007 15:45 (eighteen years ago)

am0n maybe email me w/ the text of the ad before it got taken down if you have it, i only procrastinated because i don't have many photos i can submit but i'm sure i can dig something up.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 23 August 2007 15:48 (eighteen years ago)

i don't have the ad but check yr email

― am0n, Thursday, 23 August 2007 16:40 (eighteen years ago)

One thing that strikes me about a show is the degree of respect with which the drug business is treated - like finally someone recognizes that this is sophisticated organized crime and not just a bunch of dudes in skullcaps looking menacing on a corner.

I know that's a strange way to put it, but I always felt there was a huge disparity between the excessive respect lavished on the mafia and the condescension to black gangs.

― Hurting 2, Thursday, 23 August 2007 21:54 (eighteen years ago)

Just read in the current Esquire that Steve Earle has a role this upcoming season.

― Eazy, Friday, 24 August 2007 04:26 (eighteen years ago)

he's been in it before, as a drug counselor

― max, Friday, 24 August 2007 04:27 (eighteen years ago)

o whoa, he's *Waylon* - I knew that dude looked familiar

― Hurting 2, Friday, 24 August 2007 11:08 (eighteen years ago)

Did anyone see that Lance "Lt. Daniels" Reddick is going to have a recurring role as a villain on the next season of Lost? Kinda rad, especially since Lost and The Wire are going to be on more or less simultaneously, thus giving us a double dose of that guy.

― Mr. Perpetua, Friday, 24 August 2007 12:38 (eighteen years ago)

i didn't realize that was earle. makes sense i guess since he was a notorious addict iirc

― am0n, Friday, 24 August 2007 13:38 (eighteen years ago)

I think this was mentioned on the thread already but Earle recorded "Way Down In The Hole" for the Season 5 theme, too.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 24 August 2007 13:41 (eighteen years ago)

lance reddick as a villain sounds amazing

― cutty, Friday, 24 August 2007 23:21 (eighteen years ago)

he was kinda the bad guy in "The Corner"

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 24 August 2007 23:29 (eighteen years ago)

as long as there are no sex scenes a la wire season three we'll be ok

― cutty, Friday, 24 August 2007 23:43 (eighteen years ago)

u know u loved it

http://www.lancereddick.com/actor/images_photos/Lance_Reddick_06.jpg

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 24 August 2007 23:47 (eighteen years ago)

chronicles of reddick

― am0n, Friday, 24 August 2007 23:49 (eighteen years ago)

2002 - appeared as the lead police officer in the music video for "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" by Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé Knowles.

― am0n, Saturday, 25 August 2007 00:01 (eighteen years ago)

ok alex i like you again after that

― cutty, Saturday, 25 August 2007 00:36 (eighteen years ago)

I'm through 11 now. Wake up Griggs! ;_;

― Hurting 2, Saturday, 25 August 2007 04:59 (eighteen years ago)

Season 1 finished. 1am. Fuk. Should I start season 2?

― Hurting 2, Sunday, 26 August 2007 04:56 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn6tq6IS3jg

― am0n, Sunday, 26 August 2007 06:10 (eighteen years ago)

reddick is a cop or fed in basically everything he's done.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Sunday, 26 August 2007 08:41 (eighteen years ago)

except in oz, where he is a convicted criminal

― cutty, Sunday, 26 August 2007 11:43 (eighteen years ago)

oh shit, he was undercover on oz!

― cutty, Sunday, 26 August 2007 11:45 (eighteen years ago)

uh:

Having achieved notable success as an actor Lance is ready to make available to the public for the first time his musical offerings. To preview audio samples of Lances songs please click here.

― cutty, Sunday, 26 August 2007 11:47 (eighteen years ago)

This EP is a collection of smooth soothing vocals, sophisticated vocal stylings and intriguing lyrics that paint pictures in your mind. With this CD Lance Reddick accomplishes taking you out of your world and into the lives of the people in the stories he is singing about.
When listening to these songs you are just poised to do nothing but sit there and enjoy this stunning musical offering.. The quality of Lance's performance combined with the smooth beautiful jazz instrumentation puts the songs on this EP over the top.
These are songs you will want to listen to over and over again. If you’re a connoisseur of quality music, this is a must have for your collection.

― cutty, Sunday, 26 August 2007 11:48 (eighteen years ago)

well i AM a connoisseur of quality music

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 26 August 2007 13:26 (eighteen years ago)

here's hoping second album called "reddickulous" with jay-z guest spot

― cutty, Sunday, 26 August 2007 15:33 (eighteen years ago)

idris elba on the decks

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Sunday, 26 August 2007 15:57 (eighteen years ago)

OMG Bodie listening to Garrison Keilor on the radio in Philly - ROFFLE

― Hurting 2, Sunday, 26 August 2007 16:09 (eighteen years ago)

Daniels' music is terrible. :(

― polyphonic, Sunday, 26 August 2007 16:44 (eighteen years ago)

tick tock the clock is ticking ding ding

― am0n, Sunday, 26 August 2007 18:08 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.lancereddick.com/musician/images-photos/photos_08.jpg

― am0n, Sunday, 26 August 2007 18:13 (eighteen years ago)

wow, nazi reddick

― cutty, Sunday, 26 August 2007 19:04 (eighteen years ago)

omg

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Sunday, 26 August 2007 19:09 (eighteen years ago)

Dancin' swastikas.

― polyphonic, Sunday, 26 August 2007 19:46 (eighteen years ago)

Teaser for an interview in this month's Believer:

AUGUST 2007
David Simon
[CREATOR-WRITER-PRODUCER OF HBO’S THE WIRE]
“MY STANDARD FOR VERISIMILITUDE IS SIMPLE AND I CAME TO IT WHEN I STARTED TO WRITE PROSE NARRATIVE: FUCK THE AVERAGE READER.”
Some things television is good for:
Catharsis
Depicting the “other” America
Pissing off the mayor
Three or four years ago, I got an email from a friend in which he described The Wire as the best thing he’d ever seen on TV, “apart from Abigail’s Party.” Here was a recommendation designed to get anybody’s attention. No mention of The West Wing, or The Sopranos, or Curb Your Enthusiasm, or any of the other shibboleths of contemporary TV criticism; just a smart-aleck nod to Mike Leigh’s classic 1977 BBC play. It reeled me in, anyway, and I went out and bought a box set of the first series.

I’d never heard of the show. It’s not widely known or shown here in the U.K., although whenever a new season starts, you can always find a piece in a broadsheet paper calling it “the best programme you’ve never heard of,” and I didn’t know what to expect. What I got was something that bore no resemblance to Abigail’s Party, predictably, and very little resemblance to any other cop show. At one stage I was simultaneously hooked on The Wire and the BBC’s brilliant adaptation of Bleak House, and it struck me that Dickens serves as a useful point of comparison; David Simon and his team of writers (including George Pelecanos, Richard Price, Dennis Lehane) swoop from high to low, from the mayor’s office to the street corner—and the street-corner dealers are shown more empathy and compassion than anyone has mustered before. The hapless Bubbles, forever dragging behind him his shopping trolley full of stolen goods, is Baltimore’s answer to Joe the Crossing Sweeper.

We talked via email. A couple of weeks later, we met in London—David Simon is making a show about the war in Iraq with my next-door neighbor. (Really. He’s really making a show about the war in Iraq, and the producer literally lives next door.) We talked a lot about sports and music.

—Nick Hornby

NICK HORNBY: Every time I think, Man, I’d love to write for The Wire, I quickly realize that I wouldn’t know my True dats from my narcos. Did you know all that before you started? Do you get input from those who might be more familiar with the idiom?

DAVID SIMON: My standard for verisimilitude is simple and I came to it when I started to write prose narrative: fuck the average reader. I was always told to write for the average reader in my newspaper life. The average reader, as they meant it, was some suburban white subscriber with two-point-whatever kids and three-point-whatever cars and a dog and a cat and lawn furniture. He knows nothing and he needs everything explained to him right away, so that exposition becomes this incredible, story-killing burden. Fuck him. Fuck him to hell.

Beginning with Homicide, the book, I decided to write for the people living the event, the people in that very world. I would reserve some of the exposition, assuming the reader/viewer knew more than he did, or could, with a sensible amount of effort, hang around long enough to figure it out. I also realized—and this was more important to me—that I would consider the book or film a failure if people in these worlds took in my story and felt that I did not get their existence, that I had not captured their world in any way that they would respect.

Make no mistake—with journalism, this doesn’t mean I want the subjects to agree with every page. Sometimes the adversarial nature of what I am saying requires that I write what the subjects will not like, in terms of content. But in terms of dialogue, vernacular, description, tone—I want a homicide detective, or a drug slinger, or a longshoreman, or a politician anywhere in America to sit up and say, Whoa, that’s how my day is. That’s my goal. It derives not from pride or ambition or any writerly vanity, but from fear. Absolute fear. Like many writers, I live every day with the vague nightmare that at some point, someone more knowledgeable than myself is going to sit up and pen a massive screed indicating exactly where my work is shallow and fraudulent and rooted in lame, half-assed assumptions. I see myself labeled a writer, and I get good reviews, and I have the same doubts buried, latent, even after my successes. I suspect many, many writers feel this way. I think it is rooted in the absolute arrogance that comes with standing up at the community campfire and declaring, essentially, that we have the best story that ought to be told next and that people should fucking listen. Storytelling and storytellers are rooted in pay-attention-to-me onanism. Listen to this! I’m from Baltimore and I’ve got some shit you fucking need to see, people! Put down that CSI shit and pay some heed, motherfuckers! I’m gonna tell it best, and most authentic, and coolest, and… I mean, presenting yourself as the village griot is done, for me, with no more writerly credential than a dozen years as a police reporter in Baltimore and a C-average bachelor’s degree in general studies from a large state university. On paper, why me? But I have a feeling every good writer, regardless of background, doubts his own voice just a little, and his own right to have that voice heard. It’s the simple effrontery of the thing. Who died and made me Storyteller?

― Hurting 2, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:34 (eighteen years ago)

oh fucking nick hornby! he was on a tv show here talking about his love for 'the wire'... only he wasn't. ALL he came up with was that other cop shows are formulaic and 'the wire' isn't.

nick hornby writing for 'the wire' would be the funniest and worst shit ever.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:38 (eighteen years ago)

which is especially stupid because The Wire *is* kind of formulaic, but in the best sense - I mean it does break with the typical pattern of police shows, but it also relies on a lot of tried and true dramatic devices and its plot moves in a very systematic way that's not exactly a complete reinvention.

But who cares about Hornby, David Simon is great in that bit of interview.

― Hurting 2, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:48 (eighteen years ago)

Every time I think, Man, I’d love to write for The Wire, I quickly realize that I wouldn’t know my True dats from my narcos.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:51 (eighteen years ago)

yeah exactly. t. s. eliot said that, or something like it -- the best stuff kind of builds on traditions, it doesn't just come from nowhere, genre can be an enriching thing. and with all the 'homicide: lots' connections...

xpost

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:52 (eighteen years ago)

My standard for verisimilitude is simple and I came to it when I started to write prose narrative: fuck the average reader.

― Hurting 2, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:53 (eighteen years ago)

That statement alone is a triumphant moment for humanity.

― Hurting 2, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:54 (eighteen years ago)

A TRUE DAT IS WHEN YOU AGREE A NARCO IS A DRUG POLICE THERE NOW GO WRITE 4 WIRE

― jhøshea, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:54 (eighteen years ago)

Fuck him. Fuck him to hell.

LULZ

― jhøshea, Monday, 27 August 2007 14:55 (eighteen years ago)

the funny thing about that quote is that he's basically talking about hornby

― deej, Monday, 27 August 2007 20:31 (eighteen years ago)

Admittedly he's also buttering up his fans who DO get the show - making them feel extra smart, like any good cult show does. I did feel sort of proud of myself for being able to explain the redevelopment zone scheme to an otherwise very bright friend who didn't get it.

― Hurting 2, Monday, 27 August 2007 20:48 (eighteen years ago)

i so do not get The Believer's affection for hornby. ug.

― sean gramophone, Monday, 27 August 2007 20:55 (eighteen years ago)

I'm up to Season 2 episode 5, btw. I think that makes 17 episodes in about 10 days.

― Hurting 2, Monday, 27 August 2007 20:55 (eighteen years ago)

u slow

― deej, Monday, 27 August 2007 21:04 (eighteen years ago)

please refrain from the periodic hurting updates

― cutty, Monday, 27 August 2007 21:21 (eighteen years ago)

the fuck do you care

I'm not feeling season two as much as of about halfway through but there's enough to keep me interested. My main problem is that the dockworkers are just not as engaging as Barksdale's people. I don't know if it's just a function of the fact that they're a bunch of depressed, sporadically employed drunks, or whether the writers just don't have as much affection for them, although I feel like it's the latter. The whole "back together again" police detail plot is also a bit contrived. Still better than watching anything else.

― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 04:33 (eighteen years ago)

the "getting the band back together" bit of season 2 was the lowpoint of the series, but also necessary, since season 1 was basically an extended pilot. they've sort of had to end each season like it was the last, you know?

― river wolf, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 04:52 (eighteen years ago)

I wish they brought back Mahoney and Hightower. That jerk Mauser just won't let go.

― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 05:00 (eighteen years ago)

ziggy sobotka is engaging

― cutty, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 10:14 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, he's a good character. His son is unwatchably annoying, even though I know he's supposed to be annoying on some level. The nephew also leaves me a bit cold. The port cop is likeable - she's obviously going to be the surprise "real police after all" character.

― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:22 (eighteen years ago)

ziggy is the son. frank is the father.

― lauren, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:24 (eighteen years ago)

ah fuk. Pre-coffee posting.

― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:31 (eighteen years ago)

she's obviously going to be the surprise "real police after all" character

watch the show, smart guy

― kenan, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:32 (eighteen years ago)

"I don't know if it's just a function of the fact that they're a bunch of depressed, sporadically employed drunks, or whether the writers just don't have as much affection for them, although I feel like it's the latter."

I thought they were really engaging and I think the writers have a lot of affection and sympathy for them!

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:50 (eighteen years ago)

yeah i still dont get why people are so down on season 2 or the dock workers in general

― deej, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:56 (eighteen years ago)

I wasn't into the dock characters at first just because it was so different, but I ended up loving season 2 (agreed re: the getting the old team back together thing, it almost felt like a comic book-style reset).

― Jordan, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:58 (eighteen years ago)

I like season 2 but I think they could've done some slightly more interesting things to address Baltimore's depressed post-industrial workforce. I mean, I think the decline of Bethlehem Steel had a bigger impact on Baltimore's working class than the docks, but that'd probably be harder to work into a show about cops and criminals.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:00 (eighteen years ago)

Simon said in an interview I heard that he thought about other aspect's of Baltimore industry but went with the docks partly for aesthetic reasons.

I don't mean to be overly down on the dock workers or S2 - I like them fine but it's just a slight letdown from S1.

― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:07 (eighteen years ago)

ziggy actor is going to be one of the leads in 'generation kill'

― am0n, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:10 (eighteen years ago)

I think someone said it upthread a ways, but season two really is just a big ol' tangent. Which is audacious, I think. I mean, you do get some big picture stuff, you meet Prop Joe, that kind of thing, but by and large it's ott.

― kenan, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:21 (eighteen years ago)

ott???

― deej, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:24 (eighteen years ago)

off the topic

― kenan, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:25 (eighteen years ago)

the topic is baltimore

― cutty, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:33 (eighteen years ago)

saw ziggy on 2nd ave last nite

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:47 (eighteen years ago)

there was an awesome bit on gawker a while back about ziggy not only preventing a rape from happening in his bldg's vestibule but chasing the rapist down and beating him with a 2'x4' or something because he hates people who disrespect women.

― lauren, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:51 (eighteen years ago)

yeah so awes. i think theres an article linked ot or excerpted upthread. almost makes up for the auto-erotic asphyxiation in that larry clark shitbomb.

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:54 (eighteen years ago)

ott doesn't mean off the topic

― RJG, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:54 (eighteen years ago)

i reaaally wish i hadnt seen that scene

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:55 (eighteen years ago)

OTT = OVER THE TOP JERKIES

― cutty, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:57 (eighteen years ago)

I DONT KNOW MY OTT FROM MY TRU DATS

― max, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 15:59 (eighteen years ago)

I've been using it to mean off the topic for a long time. I'm surprised no one called me on it. I must have been writing some weird sentences.

― kenan, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 16:00 (eighteen years ago)

IT STANDS FOR OMGLOLWTF JERX

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 16:00 (eighteen years ago)

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 16:31 (eighteen years ago)

PITCHFORK'S OTT

― am0n, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 17:02 (eighteen years ago)

I think that season two kind of was a tangent (the dockworker stuff, anyway), at least insofar as it isn't that deeply intertwined with the rest of the series as a whole. It would be a different story if, for instance, we were still following characters within the Polish community and we saw how their lives were affected by the events that make up the main thrust of the series. I guess that one could argue that the tangential nature was intentional, depending on how segregated Baltimore really is and how little interaction there generally is between those communities.

― Deric W. Haircare, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 20:09 (eighteen years ago)

Season 2 is crucial if only for "did it have any hands or feet? Then it wasn't me!"

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 20:26 (eighteen years ago)

season 2 also spread out their universe which i think was necessary for balance

― deej, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 20:33 (eighteen years ago)

Oh, and another thing about Season 2 is that a homicide division (or subbranch thereof) is going to have to investigate crimes other than those about the main plotline of the show, but you still learn about Prop Joe, Cheese, Beadie, the Greek and his guys (who factor in later with Marlo), the rise of Carcetti, the kingmaking power/spite of Valchek, ...

Also, it was fun to get a glimpse of life working a boat detail, or working in records, or etc.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 20:33 (eighteen years ago)

sure the stevedores didnt reappear after their season but they did provide important context. like why is this society like this? amongst other things there are no working class jobs anymore. so, not tangential - each season's shown a piece of the puzzle.

1 drug war
2 working man
3 city hall
4 education
5 media

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 20:37 (eighteen years ago)

i hope we get more vondas in season 5

― cutty, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 20:57 (eighteen years ago)

I thought Carcetti showed up in season 3?

― kenan, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:02 (eighteen years ago)

Season 2 is only a letdown in that S1 is basically the best 12 hours of TV ever. I don't think the show ever equalled the novel-like vision of the first season - after that it became more like a TV show (still utterly fantastic but different).

― milo z, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:04 (eighteen years ago)

You mighta nailed it, milo. I really want to watch the series all the way through again, at which point I may very well be convinced that season 2 is more crucial than I'd previously believed.

― Deric W. Haircare, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:37 (eighteen years ago)

i still like 2 more than 3

― deej, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:41 (eighteen years ago)

4 is still my favorite

― kenan, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:42 (eighteen years ago)

1-2-4-3

― milo z, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:43 (eighteen years ago)

12342534231234234235135135435153

― am0n, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:45 (eighteen years ago)

1 is still my least favorite season by far, but maybe I should rewatch it.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:55 (eighteen years ago)

I thought Carcetti showed up in season 3?

Maybe (don't remember), but I think all S2 stuff put in motion a lot of events that led to Carcetti's rise.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:58 (eighteen years ago)

I thought that possibly at the end of S4 where Marlo was getting paranoid and started asking questions about the greek guy that we were going to come back to that storyline in S5. S2 was fucking brilliant - as was said upthread it was a tangent but a no other show would have followed it through so far or so well.

― tpp, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 21:58 (eighteen years ago)

1 • 3 • 4 • 2

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 00:59 (eighteen years ago)

4 IS TEH NUTZ

― jhøshea, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 01:35 (eighteen years ago)

i think s2 is great. frankie sobotka is a great tragic character.

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 02:13 (eighteen years ago)

yah sobotka is brilliant

― jhøshea, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 02:14 (eighteen years ago)

Notice how no Wire fan has said that any season is dull or not worth bothering with. Because it's all good. I like 4 especially maybe because it's especially... gritty. Because Chris and Snoop are some of my favorite villians of all time.

― kenan, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 02:26 (eighteen years ago)

I think there's a reference to this also - iirc Spiros points across the water when talking to Frank and says "They used to make steel there, no?"

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 03:08 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, how are the docks not related to steel?

― kenan, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 03:59 (eighteen years ago)

Gary, Indiana suffered the same and worse fate... they used to make steel, and the raw materials needed to do that were so heavy that they were cheaper and easier to ship over water. As the stteel industry collapsed, mostly in the 80's, the cities that steel built shrank, and eventually even shipping ordinary goods to those places became less appealing.

― kenan, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 04:06 (eighteen years ago)

that's a HUGE simplification, obv. But docks and steel go together, sure they do.

― kenan, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 04:12 (eighteen years ago)

The British Geological Survey reports that in 2005, China was the top producer of steel with about one-third world share followed by Japan, Russia and the USA.

― kenan, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 04:14 (eighteen years ago)

Sure, and you could probably name dozens of other American cities with similar stories. Jersey City, where I live now, was a huge dock town. You know that rather bland skyline you see across the Hudson from lower Manhattan? It's all built on what used to be railroad and docks. (my understanding is that the city government practically gave the land to Samuel LeFrak for the original Newport development.)

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 04:17 (eighteen years ago)

I'm starting to think the main problem in Season 2 is just that the writing isn't as tight. Episode 7 is pretty weak - there are like five scenes that end with people laughing at something just said, the point of each scene is telegraphed, and there are a lot of moments that feel like watered-down rehashes of season 1.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 04:13 (eighteen years ago)

I did love the Omar testimony in episode 6 though.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 04:13 (eighteen years ago)

Really? I thought that felt really forced.

― kenan, Friday, 31 August 2007 04:16 (eighteen years ago)

I liked it, but all the "Gosh Omar, you so crazy!" stuff afterwards was groanworthy.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 04:18 (eighteen years ago)

A lot of somewhat redundant scenes too, or stuff that could have been done more efficiently. We don't need to see Cedric arguing Marla about his work on the case twice in the same episode, for example.

Also D'Angelo's funeral was one of the least effective funeral scenes I've ever watched, and I'm not even sure why.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 04:22 (eighteen years ago)

xpost I thought it made for an especially unrealistic court scene. Why would a lawyer of that caliber, good or bad, even bother to react to Omar? Surely he knows that he'll look better in court if he doesn't react.

― kenan, Friday, 31 August 2007 04:24 (eighteen years ago)

You may be right about that. I guess he's supposed to be caught off guard, but it's hard to believe a lawyer that good would just stop in his tracks and not come up with a recovery.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 04:34 (eighteen years ago)

For work earlier this month I came across this info on the largest steel mill in the country, near Baltimore:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparrows_Point

― Eazy, Friday, 31 August 2007 04:43 (eighteen years ago)

> all the "Gosh Omar, you so crazy!" stuff afterwards was groanworthy

ERROR!

"You really askin'?" is one of my favorite laugh lines in the series, up there with "Got to, this is America" "They got honeynut Cheerios?" and "I can't wait to go to jail."

― Oilyrags, Friday, 31 August 2007 15:38 (eighteen years ago)

series 2 is amazing. also there's a lot more to it than the stevedores. i suppose s01 is "two things": the cops, and the barksdale crew. s02 is "three things": the cops, the smuggling operation, the drug crews. it's not just an introduction to prop joe, it's stringer embarking on his ill-fated product > territory strategy.

also i think it's been funnier since s01? i'm not dissing the first series, but i think david simon has (been made to) declench(ed) a bit.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 31 August 2007 15:50 (eighteen years ago)

"Ey mista nugget - you da bomb! You got the bone all the way out the chicken. So I'm gonna write my clowny ass name on this fat ass check."

(I know that's not exactly it - I'm paraphrasing from memory)

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 16:38 (eighteen years ago)

I got a call from Blake Leyh yesterday asking for some help on getting music for season 5, got some cool tidbits about the montage they're shooting for the finale this week. This last year of the show is gonna be some awesome. [/ namedropping]

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 31 August 2007 16:44 (eighteen years ago)

some=so

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 31 August 2007 16:45 (eighteen years ago)

Suzy in Baltimore

― max, Friday, 31 August 2007 16:45 (eighteen years ago)

What I loved about season 1 was the way every moment demanded your attention (sometimes even repeated viewing) - season 2 doesn't have that intensity.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 16:47 (eighteen years ago)

mind you i only saw series 2 after series 3 had aired and 'the wire' looked safe. probably seemed more 'eh?' without that context.

frank sobotka
-- RJG, Monday, April 30, 2007 2:41 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Link

says it all really.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 31 August 2007 17:24 (eighteen years ago)

Enrique OTM re: Season 2. S1 is a little shaky: there's a lot more television-y exposition and they hadn't quite figured out the show's visual style--remember all those awkward surveillance cam shots?

― C0L1N B..., Friday, 31 August 2007 18:33 (eighteen years ago)

I like the surveillance cam shots, not to mention that they establish one of the primary themes of the show.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 18:36 (eighteen years ago)

the funny thing is that city-sanctioned surveillance, particularly the "blue light" cameras, really became way more pervasive after The Wire's first couple seasons when they actually addressed/included those things more. I hope the new season touches on developments in that are a little more.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 31 August 2007 18:42 (eighteen years ago)

I didn't know about the real life Baltimore context for it, which could certainly be used interestingly. As for S1, sure they "establish a primary theme", but it's an inelegant, white elephant-y way of going about it. (And actually, is surveillance itself really a primary theme of the show? I mean it's obviously an issue that's impossible to ignore, but it's certainly not something that keeps me occupied when I'm thinking about the show).

― C0L1N B..., Friday, 31 August 2007 19:03 (eighteen years ago)

The show is called "the wire," of course surveillance was, at the outset, a primary theme. How much it's strayed from that theme since season 1 doesn't really change that.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 31 August 2007 19:04 (eighteen years ago)

I just want to say that the part in Season 2 (I think?) when McNutty gets drunk and crashes his car into a pillar, and then goes to a diner and nails the waitress was one of the best things ever.

― polyphonic, Friday, 31 August 2007 19:19 (eighteen years ago)

agreed

― cutty, Friday, 31 August 2007 19:56 (eighteen years ago)

Surveillance is still big in Season 2 with the detail operation, the cloned computer, the high-end bug that gets crushed in the tennis ball, etc.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 20:16 (eighteen years ago)

i love how he crashes once then does drunken hand reenactment of crash the crashes again

― jhøshea, Friday, 31 August 2007 20:20 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, and as an investigative issue it remains important. But as a thematic element, it pretty much is a non starter. I haven't seen anything on the Wire that made me think Simon had any feelings one way or another about living in a panoptikon-style state of perpetual observation.

x-ie post-ie

― Oilyrags, Friday, 31 August 2007 20:21 (eighteen years ago)

I don't think he has a didactic point to make about it, but I do think he's trying to show that surveillance is already much more a part of the fabric of our lives than we realize

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 20:28 (eighteen years ago)

Er, actually I guess that would be kind of a didactic point to make.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 31 August 2007 20:29 (eighteen years ago)

> I do think he's trying to show that surveillance is already much more a part of the fabric of our lives than we realize

If so, the best scene is definitely the McNulty kids front-and-following Stringer at the market.

― Oilyrags, Friday, 31 August 2007 20:30 (eighteen years ago)

yeah that is a great scene.

if anything the show is *pro*-surveillance. it often pits herc & carver's instinct against "we make this case with a voice on a phone". the federales have all the great technology but it's the purpose they're put to that the show criticizes -- terrorism and union-busting -- rather than the fact of this stuff and the police's right to use it in itself. the fact they have to prove "exhaustion" in order to get up on a wire, and that they have to observe the suspect using the phone is treated as a chore.

but it isn't a big theme -- maybe it isn't pro-surveillance so much as pragmatically, "look, it takes this much effort to stay on people we know to look at, no government organization could process private communications even if it wanted to."

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 31 August 2007 23:16 (eighteen years ago)

A++:
Prez cold cocking Valcheck
Brother Mouzon bitching out his henchman for forgetting the new issue of Harpers

― Hurting 2, Sunday, 2 September 2007 04:26 (eighteen years ago)

also the scene where product has dried up, low rise projects actually look cleaner and happier - kids running around playing, etc., and Bodie: "Shit is fucked up!"

― Hurting 2, Sunday, 2 September 2007 04:38 (eighteen years ago)

they're having the s5 wrap-up party right now at eden's lounge. i can see the spotlights from my bldg. overheard some guy at the liquor store talking about it, apparently lots of ravens are there mixing it up with cast/crew

― am0n, Sunday, 2 September 2007 05:14 (eighteen years ago)

oh yeah, i heard about that when i was at eden's lounge a week or two back, but forgot it was tonight.

― Alex in Baltimore, Sunday, 2 September 2007 06:21 (eighteen years ago)

hope Ray Lewis doesn't get pissed and have his crew stab Prop Joe.

― milo z, Sunday, 2 September 2007 06:31 (eighteen years ago)

Down to 'The Wire': It's a Wrap for Gritty TV Series

― daria-g, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:27 (eighteen years ago)

Link doesn't work for me.

― aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:32 (eighteen years ago)

it requires a login. daria can you c&p please?

― ^@^, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:35 (eighteen years ago)

thirded

― Oilyrags, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:42 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/02/AR2007090201454.html

didn't need to log in for this

― RJG, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:43 (eighteen years ago)

do you?

― RJG, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:43 (eighteen years ago)

Nope, ta.

― aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:44 (eighteen years ago)

workin' fine, thanks.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:45 (eighteen years ago)

thx! that's weird, usually the new stories don't require login. sorry abt that.

― daria-g, Monday, 3 September 2007 15:07 (eighteen years ago)

I enjoyed the end of S2 and S3 seems to be a return to form. The Carcetti plot is looking like it's going to be great, and I like what I've seen of Marlo and the new meaner streets.

I'm a little confused about the police rank situation:

- Did Rawls move up when Burrell became acting commissioner?
- What happened to Daniels, exactly, in terms of rank, and what's the deal with it relating to his wife's campaign?
- What's the title/rank of the concerned, about-to-retire Eastern District guy, the one who gives the *paper bag* speech?

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:00 (eighteen years ago)

Did Rawls move up when Burrell became acting commissioner?

yeah he became deputy ops, replacing burrell

What happened to Daniels, exactly, in terms of rank, and what's the deal with it relating to his wife's campaign?

he was a lieutenant in narcotics, but now has his own major case unit. maybe still as a lieutenant, but it puts him in line to be a major. it looks good for his wife, being a cop, which is exactly why the mayor (royce) doesn't want to promote him. his wife is running against one of the mayor's friends (jeanetta perkins).

What's the title/rank of the concerned, about-to-retire Eastern District guy, the one who gives the *paper bag* speech?

major colvin, commander -- of the western, i think.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:05 (eighteen years ago)

rawls is deputy ops like burrell was
think daniels is still lt at your point because the mayor thinks his wife might challenge one of his pals?
major colvin

crosspost

― RJG, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:09 (eighteen years ago)

awes:

Question: How did you and Melvin Williams become friends?

David Simon:
This is amazing. True story:

In December 1984, Melvin Williams - a lgendary player in the Baltimore drug trade -- was arrested by Det. Edward Burns as a result of an investigation of more than a year that included cloned pagers, wiretaps, undercover reverse buys of drugs, etc. Because of Little Melvin's long history, I was assigned to write a longer piece on his life, a profile so to speak. Over two years, I gathered string on Melvin -- meeting and getting to know Detective Burns in the process -- and ultimately, I wrote a long, five-part series about Melvin that ran in January 1987. During the reporting for that series, I was able to talk at length with Melvin at Lewisburg Penitentiary.

Less than a year ago, after winning his release from federal custody on a parole, Melvin Williams, Ed Burns, myself and Norris Davis (who plays Vinson on the show and has a lot of street history of his own, I must say) met for lunch in Little Italy, enjoying each others company, reflecting on things past and possible futures. It was a remarkable lunch, one of the strangest and improbable gatherings to which I have ever been a party.

At one point, Melvin handed me a business card with his cell number and Ed, dry as dirt, looked up from his salad just long enough to say, "What I wouldn't have given for that twenty years ago." Melvin smiled at that, and later, he gave Ed -- the man who had run the wiretap that finally caught him talking furtively at city payphones, who had brought about his last conviction and longest incarceration -- a little tease back. Professing that he was now retired from the game, Melvin declared that he was grateful that he was now free, that he had some good years left and that he still had a little money to spend.
"We didn't find much of the money, did we?" said Ed.
"No," said Melvin, smiling slightly. "You didn't."
I genuinely admired the way these two guys handled that lunch. Like professionals. Nothing personal, just two men with a lot of shared history accepting each other on present terms.

Melvin is now very active in Bethel A.M.E. church and outspoken against the drug culture. It seemed perversely appropriate to cast him therefore as the Deacon. He seems real and credible to me in the role. Having paid his debt and served his sentence, I wish him well and look forward to getting an expensive lesson in billiards from him.

― ^@^, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:17 (eighteen years ago)

Ah ok - the competition between his wife and the mayor's friend did get mentioned in season 2, and it slipped my mind. Now I see it.

I think I got confused about Colvin b/c they refer to him as a commander but he's a major - I guess I thought commander was a rank. Duh.

So Colvin is the major in charge of Eastern, Valchek is in charge of Southeastern, Rawls was in charge of Western but got promoted, and I don't think at my point we've seen Rawls's replacement or who commands any other districts, right?

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:21 (eighteen years ago)

xpost NO WAI!

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:23 (eighteen years ago)

-- Hurting 2, Wednesday, September 5, 2007 2:21 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

nuh, rawls was head of homicide. colvin is head of the western. he was mcnulty's boss when mcnulty was a beat cop.

the commander of the eastern is the guy rawls roasts at comstat meetings and replaces. i don't think he figures much in this series.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:26 (eighteen years ago)

and hurley actually owns locke's company.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:29 (eighteen years ago)

I wish the HBO site would keep more past season cast profiles up on its site - Colvin's not even there anymore.

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 13:31 (eighteen years ago)

Just finished catching up fully. Season 4 totally devastated me and my share ratio!!!

Simon called the show a 66-hour movie. Since we've already had 50 episodes, does that mean next season is going to be 16?~ Stoked!

― Leee, Thursday, 13 September 2007 18:50 (eighteen years ago)

Actually, it's been trimmed back to 10, from what I hear.

I'm okay with it. Trim the fat!

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 13 September 2007 18:51 (eighteen years ago)

"I'm okay with it."

Haha, as if my opinion matters.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 13 September 2007 18:52 (eighteen years ago)

there is no fat on this show.

― hstencil, Thursday, 13 September 2007 22:26 (eighteen years ago)

landsmansbutt.jpg

― Leee, Thursday, 13 September 2007 22:26 (eighteen years ago)

That Williams story is 0_o

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 13 September 2007 23:03 (eighteen years ago)

> there is no fat on this show.

I love The Wire as much as anyone, but I don't see how you can say we needed to see another of Bubs' sidekicks self destruct.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 13 September 2007 23:14 (eighteen years ago)

I don't see how you can say we needed to see another of Bubs' sidekicks self destruct.

Does it really happen again in S4? Shit.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 13 September 2007 23:19 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.citypaper.com/bob/story.asp?id=14532

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 19 September 2007 04:51 (seventeen years ago)

12/4: http://www.amazon.com/Wire-Complete-Fourth-Season/dp/B000QXDJLI

― jeff, Thursday, 20 September 2007 04:28 (seventeen years ago)

u beat me to it

― am0n, Saturday, 22 September 2007 03:37 (seventeen years ago)

three weeks pass...

profile of the show in nyer

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 15 October 2007 16:13 (seventeen years ago)

Once, a man pressed a package of heroin into the hands of Andre Royo, the actor who plays the sympathetic junkie and police informant Bubbles, saying, “Man, you need a fix more than I do.” Royo refers to that moment as his “street Oscar.”

― am0n, Monday, 15 October 2007 17:15 (seventeen years ago)

lots of spoilers + fuck the new yorker.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Monday, 15 October 2007 17:20 (seventeen years ago)

Spoilers for season 5?

― Leee, Monday, 15 October 2007 17:25 (seventeen years ago)

yeah.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Monday, 15 October 2007 17:29 (seventeen years ago)

I don't even see the point of running a feature like that 2 and a half months before the season starts.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 15 October 2007 17:30 (seventeen years ago)

this part is pure b.s.:

Sometimes the fan base of “The Wire” seems like the demographics of many American cities—mainly the urban poor and the affluent élite, with the middle class hollowed out.

― am0n, Monday, 15 October 2007 17:31 (seventeen years ago)

> lay the pipe of plot.

Uh....

― Oilyrags, Monday, 15 October 2007 17:36 (seventeen years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFQVSvG5x54

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:29 (seventeen years ago)

OMG SO FN AMPED YAYA !!!!!!!!!

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:31 (seventeen years ago)

season 4 on dvd in less than a month...

― Jordan, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:34 (seventeen years ago)

I'm getting Season 4 as a belated b-day present. Psyched.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:37 (seventeen years ago)

u guys have seen season 4 tho right

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:39 (seventeen years ago)

nope, i'm torrent-challenged

― Jordan, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:39 (seventeen years ago)

nope, i'm torrent-challenged

-- Jordan, Friday, November 9, 2007 1:39 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

― deej, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:41 (seventeen years ago)

that teaser fucking stings because it feels like it's talking about actual local headlines as much as the show. i think the current murder rate is putting anything ever depicted in The Wire to shame.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:41 (seventeen years ago)

I just finished season 3, and I figured I'd just wait for the DVDs. Also my wife wants to catch up, and she just finished season 1.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:41 (seventeen years ago)

o u poor bastards (but on the other hand u have so much enjoyment to look forward to)

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:42 (seventeen years ago)

and uh learn torrents ffs

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:42 (seventeen years ago)

Nothing has outdone S1 for me so far, but I think that's partly just that you can't recapture that first thrill of "OMG I have never seen any show like this." Still, S3 was at times as good as S1. S2 was a slight letdown but still miles better than anything else.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:45 (seventeen years ago)

My wife is actually almost done reading The Corner, which from what she's told me is considerably grimmer and grittier than The Wire.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:45 (seventeen years ago)

they just took hbo offa my stolen cable so now im totes torrent dependent

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:45 (seventeen years ago)

season 4 was the best imo - but i kinda just love them all in their own way

the corner mini series is wicked sweet too - and yeah way more gritty/realistic

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:46 (seventeen years ago)

SPOILERS
POILERSS
OILERSSP
ILERSSPO
LERSSPOI
ERSSPOIL
RSSPOILE
SSPOILER

I don't know how I feel about the return of Jimmy Bustballs. :\

Picking a favorite season is like picking your favourite childe. Except season 1 is the adopted one.

― Leee, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:48 (seventeen years ago)

Anyone who doesn't think S1 is the best is nutty.

― milo z, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:50 (seventeen years ago)

I love the way in S1 every scene was "NEW INFORMATION! NEW INFORMATION! DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID? DID YOU SEE THAT? DID YOU CATCH THAT?"

― Hurting 2, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:51 (seventeen years ago)

mcnutty

xpost

― Jordan, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:51 (seventeen years ago)

yah i was happy to have dude fade away like ok i get it already right xp

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:51 (seventeen years ago)

s4 is the best cause the scope is the widest and the kids break a heart. s1 is so awes but basically just a cop show (plus there's some def growing pains there)

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:53 (seventeen years ago)

The sole factor in determining the quality of art is how many LOLs it has.

― Leee, Friday, 9 November 2007 19:53 (seventeen years ago)

I've missed this so much.

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:01 (seventeen years ago)

S3 was the conclusion to S1 tho, S3 > S1!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:10 (seventeen years ago)

guys this is seriously like the 80th time a debate about which season is best/worst has sprung up JUST ON THIS THREAD. start a poll or stfu already.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:15 (seventeen years ago)

and like anyone gives a fuck what your personal preference is as to best season

― cutty, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:16 (seventeen years ago)

and in any case, it's clearly the fourth.

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:18 (seventeen years ago)

i prefer s5

― jeff, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:19 (seventeen years ago)

lock thread, do not start new one until january.

― kenan, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:20 (seventeen years ago)

hmmm... poll...

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:23 (seventeen years ago)

no one cares abt cutty n kenans sandy vaginas

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:23 (seventeen years ago)

oh and alex's vagina too no one gives a fuck abt that

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:24 (seventeen years ago)

damn and heere i thought my vagina was omitted purposefully

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:26 (seventeen years ago)

he's right, I do kinda have that not-so-fresh feeling

― kenan, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:26 (seventeen years ago)

j/k guys i totally care abt yr vaginas even if theyre not in such great shape

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:28 (seventeen years ago)

― cutty, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:28 (seventeen years ago)

if you really love me you'll go fetch that red towel

― kenan, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:29 (seventeen years ago)

let me be the 1st to say: eeewwww

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:30 (seventeen years ago)

my work here is done

― kenan, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:32 (seventeen years ago)

"thread killin creepy kenan"

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:35 (seventeen years ago)

places where the word "vagina" doesn't magically become funnier and funnier every time you say it: Knocked Up, ILE

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:36 (seventeen years ago)

yeah well you probably have a slightly different perspective since you like have one and it is full up w/sand

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 20:40 (seventeen years ago)

hmmm... poll...

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 9 November 2007 21:04 (seventeen years ago)

woops...
erm... poll?

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 9 November 2007 21:05 (seventeen years ago)

Fuck. I've had season 4 saved for weeks. Was burning it for a friend and accidentally deleted episodes 11-13. Started retorrenting them this morning. Was 75% finished, and then Demonoid went down. Not a good day. None of the other torrents I can find seem active. Don't suppose anyone could hook me up with a sendspace link or something? Webmail if you can help.

― caek, Friday, 9 November 2007 21:11 (seventeen years ago)

Failing that, does anyone have a Youtube link to that scence in season 1 where they just say "shit" for like three minutes.

― caek, Friday, 9 November 2007 21:12 (seventeen years ago)

haha someone just sent that to me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbsnSVM1zM

ill sendspace those for you but not right now cause im out the door.

― jhøshea, Friday, 9 November 2007 21:31 (seventeen years ago)

Yo try tvt0rr3nts if you're not against upl0ading to d0wnl0ad.

― Leee, Friday, 9 November 2007 21:48 (seventeen years ago)

jhoshea u my hero xpost

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 9 November 2007 22:27 (seventeen years ago)

wait does s5 not start until next october?? did i miss that?

― daria-g, Friday, 9 November 2007 23:39 (seventeen years ago)

oh duh, january. sorry. !!! can not wait

― daria-g, Friday, 9 November 2007 23:42 (seventeen years ago)

they just took hbo offa my stolen cable

haha - ours, too. we're having a bit of a crisis over this.

― lauren, Saturday, 10 November 2007 00:12 (seventeen years ago)

i knoooow - channel 65 where u go wtf i miss u dan marino!

― jhøshea, Saturday, 10 November 2007 13:40 (seventeen years ago)

eh those shits are too big for sendspace - what site allows 300mb+ files?

― jhøshea, Saturday, 10 November 2007 13:44 (seventeen years ago)

megaupload.com. Thanks very much for even trying! It's not the end of the world if I have to wait for a DVD though, so don't waste hours over it. tvt0rr3nts has it, but it wants to bust my balls before I download anything.

― caek, Saturday, 10 November 2007 15:46 (seventeen years ago)

I've been sitting on this news for 2 months and it's been torture to have to keep it under wraps, but the official announcement is finally here:

Greetings, Wire Fans...

After years of anticipation, The Wire Soundtrack will finally be
released on January 8th, 2008, on Nonesuch Records. We are currently
in the very final stages of production of the record, and I can say
without reservation that the project is everything I always hoped it
would be. It turns out David Bither and Bob Hurwitz at Nonesuch are
huge Wire fans, and they have given us incredible support and creative
freedom to do the record the right way. It includes many of the
show's most important musical signatures, including several versions
of Way Down In The Hole, all of the season-end montage songs, a great
selection of Baltimore club and hip-hop, The Pogues, Stelios
Kazantzidis, a selection of dialog scenes from the show, and the theme
music "The Fall" which I composed and so many have asked for over the
years. It also includes a gigantic deluxe booklet stuffed with
photographs, and liner notes by David Simon, George Pelecanos and Jeff
Chang.

I will post more details and a full track list in the near future on
my blog, The Ten Thousand Things. Until then there's a bit more info
at the Nonesuch blog here:

http://journal.nonesuch.com/journal/2007/11/nonesuch-to-rel.html

I wanted to send this out directly, as so many people have asked me
for information about the music over the last few years. And in case
you were wondering, Season 5 is finished and continues the tradition
we have all come to expect from The Wire; the season premiere will be
Sunday January 6th.

Here's looking forward to January!

Cheers,

Blake Leyh
Music Supervisor, The Wire

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
bl✧✧✧@blakel✧✧✧.c✧✧
www.blakeleyh.com
www.tenthousand.org

And here is the announcement on the Nonesuch site:

Nonesuch to Release Music from Five Years of "The Wire"

Nonesuch is pleased to announce the January 8, 2008, release of the first soundtrack from the critically acclaimed, Peabody Award–winning HBO series The Wire. That's two days after the series kicks off its fifth season. It also marks the first time music from the David Simon–created show has ever been collected and released as an album.

The Wire: " ... and all the pieces matter" will include several versions of the show’s opening theme song—Tom Waits’s “Way Down in the Hole”—as performed by The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Neville Brothers, and DoMaJe, a group of Baltimore teenagers. To listen to DoMaJe's take on the song, click here.

The disc will also feature a number of tracks from the Baltimore club and hip-hop scene that have never appeared on a major label release, including Rod Lee’s “Dance My Pain Away,” Tyree Colion’s “Projects,” Diablo’s “Jail Flick,” Mullyman’s “The Life, the Hood, the Streetz,” and “What You Know About Baltimore?” by Ogun featuring Phathead.

Other songs include “Oh My God” by Michael Franti, “I Walk on Gilded Splinters” by Paul Weller, “The Body of an American” by The Pogues, “I Feel Alright” by Steve Earle (who also has an acting role on the series), Solomon Burke’s “Fast Train,” and the show’s closing theme, “The Fall,” composed by The Wire music supervisor Blake Leyh.

Some of the most memorable dialog from the program’s five years will also be included on the record. The CD booklet will feature essays by the author and series writer George Pelecanos and the noted hip-hop journalist Jeff Chang.

Over the course of four seasons, The Wire has developed a portrait of Baltimore through the themes of education, the war on drugs, the decline of the working class, and the role of political leadership in addressing urban problems. The Wire will use its fifth and final season to examine mass media’s impact on the city.

Slate has had this to say about the series:

... surely the best TV show ever broadcast in America ... No other program has ever done anything remotely like what this one does, namely to portray the social, political, and economic life of an American city with the scope, observational precision, and moral vision of great literature.

The first three seasons of The Wire are currently available on DVD; the fourth season will be available beginning December 4, 2007—a month before the fifth and final season’s premiere on HBO. You can pre-order Season Four now at the Shop at HBO.com.

For more information on the series, visit HBO.com.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 13 November 2007 14:05 (seventeen years ago)

Oh awesome. I might buy season 4 even though it's already on my hard drive, watched and rewatched. (This is the part where I would usually say that it's my favorite season, but I will refrain.)

― kenan, Tuesday, 13 November 2007 15:18 (seventeen years ago)

I'm waiting for the inevitable complete series boxset.

― Leee, Tuesday, 13 November 2007 17:24 (seventeen years ago)

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/news/story/0,,2209888,00.html

^ profile of bunk as he puts on "waiting for godot" in the 9th ward

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 14 November 2007 03:37 (seventeen years ago)

two weeks pass...

five new promos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVB-d7tWIII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPflEzVBSq0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uMd2HCcQ_c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIsYWcHbwLU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwhryZsvU6E

― antexit, Thursday, 29 November 2007 18:39 (seventeen years ago)

- *Barack Obama* tells *TV Guide* that his favorite TV character of
all time is *"SpongeBob SquarePants, because SpongeBob is the show I
watch with my daughters." ** *His favorite TV shows of all time are *
M*A*S*H* and *The Wire.*

if it wasnt already clear that we neeeeeeed this man to be president, well there it is.

― jhøshea, Thursday, 29 November 2007 18:41 (seventeen years ago)

man, that makes me smile for real.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 29 November 2007 18:48 (seventeen years ago)

LET MCNULTY BE MCNULTY

― milo z, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:08 (seventeen years ago)

oh this season is gonna run deep

(lol mcnulty leaning on the pay phone talking on his cell)

― jhøshea, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:18 (seventeen years ago)

omar explosions

― cutty, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:22 (seventeen years ago)

I just started watching season 3 on HBO on demand. Never seen it before. Two episodes in and I'm sold. I'm also pretty lost, but getting the hang of it. HBO's running seaon 4 on demand starting in december, so, oh shit, I guess I won't be able to watch all of season 3 by then!

― dan selzer, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:28 (seventeen years ago)

knuckle down -- it can be done.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:31 (seventeen years ago)

wau @ obama wire shoutout

― sleep, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:33 (seventeen years ago)

it can be done. easily.
i just rewatched the first season, for the hell of it, in a matter of days. i fucking love this show.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:36 (seventeen years ago)

last I checked S3 will be On Demand until December 10th (at least from my cable provider). i'm in the middle of rewatching S2 via Netflix, and will probably just rent S3 next too, since I want to hear the commentaries and other DVD stuff you can't get On Demand. i doubt i'll squeeze in the first four seasons before S5 starts, but i might try.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:36 (seventeen years ago)

can't do it! I'm working today, working all day tomorrow. Even if I start watching at 7pm fri, I could only get 3 or 4 episdoes further before they switch to season 4! MAYBE just maybe it'll be on demand a bit into december. I have to say, the recap at the beginning of season 3 was hilarious, so confusing.

― dan selzer, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:37 (seventeen years ago)

i watched 1-4 in about a month so you can definitely do all of 3 before 4 starts on demand, dan! i believe in you!

― tehresa, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:37 (seventeen years ago)

dan - are you planning on sleeping??? that's your problem, right there!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:39 (seventeen years ago)

the real problem here is: i don't have cable, much less hbo. how am i going to watch season 5!?

― tehresa, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:43 (seventeen years ago)

dan: dvds
tehresa: torrents

― jhøshea, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:51 (seventeen years ago)

and dan u should really start from the beginning - so much more rewarding

not to mention that if you get through season 3 you'll see some stuff that you wont want to have seen when watching season 1

― jhøshea, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:52 (seventeen years ago)

that's true, but at the same time, if you were going to pick up on the show at any point other than the beginning, S3 is probably the best place to start.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:54 (seventeen years ago)

haha, carcetti, you know he's about to do something really heinous

am i the only one who's sick of the constant 'mcnulty is a drunk asshole' stuff? that is by far my least favorite part of the show

― daria-g, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:58 (seventeen years ago)

otm i was psyched when mcnulty went away last season f mcnulty

― jhøshea, Thursday, 29 November 2007 20:59 (seventeen years ago)

Having Mcnulty around is worth is for the once-per-season utterance of "What? What the fuck did I do?"

― Simon H., Thursday, 29 November 2007 21:31 (seventeen years ago)

yeah i think i actually fast-forwarded through parts of season 2 that were all about him, and maybe season 3 as well, i mean, string, d'angelo were so much more interesting and then they keep spending time on mcnulty, drunk, AGAIN (and usually without bunk to at least make it funny)

― daria-g, Thursday, 29 November 2007 21:33 (seventeen years ago)

the time when he crashed his car twice was kinda funny tho

― jhøshea, Thursday, 29 November 2007 21:41 (seventeen years ago)

that was great

― sleep, Thursday, 29 November 2007 21:49 (seventeen years ago)

drunk assholes are very irritating but also true to life.

― polyphonic, Thursday, 29 November 2007 21:51 (seventeen years ago)

yah i guess he is supposed to be a douche and he is a douche soo...

but i get the impression that the writers find him charming

― jhøshea, Thursday, 29 November 2007 21:55 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgacB9NeQDE

warning warning first minute or two spoil the Omar promo up there

― milo z, Thursday, 29 November 2007 21:59 (seventeen years ago)

B-b-but the brothel bust! "Spot on it!" OMGz!

― Leee, Thursday, 29 November 2007 22:09 (seventeen years ago)

Season 4 out next week!!

― leavethecapital, Thursday, 29 November 2007 22:46 (seventeen years ago)

I got a letter last night saying mine had been mailed. TAKE THAT NOCKOES!

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 29 November 2007 23:16 (seventeen years ago)

u guys all mad, mcnulty rules though i do wish they'd cut back on the too-frequent MCNUTTY BE DRUNK & FUCKIN AGIN sequences. def hope nutty isn't out completely in s4 (which i haven't seen yet!)

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 30 November 2007 01:20 (seventeen years ago)

less McNulty than ever in S4, but there's at least some nice character development to his eternal fuckup archetype. i can see people liking him less than other characters or thinking he's too trad/cliche compared to the rest of the show, but fast-forwarding through all his scenes? what the fuck.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 30 November 2007 03:48 (seventeen years ago)

that's truly bizarre.

― s1ocki, Friday, 30 November 2007 16:47 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.amazon.com/Wire-Complete-Fourth-Season/dp/B000QXDJLI

three short "prequel videos"

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 20:44 (seventeen years ago)

season 4 out on dvd...today?

― Jordan, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 20:46 (seventeen years ago)

FYI for those that don't want to mess with torrents, I've been using a site called Tape It Off the Internet. They archive links to where shit is available for streaming online. I'm slowly getting through all of S4 that way.

It's actually pretty cool. The gf has a Wii, and I have it connected to our wireless network, and there's a browser on the Wii. So I just pull up TIOTI on the Wii browser and full-screen it, and voila, it's like having a slightly grainy DVD of my favorite show.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 21:43 (seventeen years ago)

I've only had time to watch like, one more episode of Season 3. I'm thinking of giving up and just starting w/ a DVD of season 1, maybe find it used or something, I don't belong to a vid store. Maybe somebody will lend to me.

― dan selzer, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 21:46 (seventeen years ago)

start @ beginning 100x enjoyment video store memberships are free homie the world is yrs

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 21:52 (seventeen years ago)

three short "prequel videos"

I hated the Prop Joe one, and to a lesser degree the Omar one. I'm sure there are traces of Prop Joe's future in his childhood, but I don't buy him as a hard-bargaining 10-yo business man, and I don't buy Omar as an infant high-moralled bad-ass.

That's what I liked so much about S4 ... it didn't make each kid's trajectory seem so inevitable. Just a twist here and a twist there and maybe things turn out differently for each of them.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 22:10 (seventeen years ago)

FYI for those that don't want to mess with torrents, I've been using a site called Tape It Off the Internet.

N4b0l1st3r, also (after un-g00gle-proofing of course).

― Leee, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 22:15 (seventeen years ago)

Totally.

Of the four, I might have predicted what happened to Michael and Randy...but probably not to any great degree of specificity.

I cannot WAIT for Season 5. This show just absolutely rules.

― B.L.A.M., Tuesday, 4 December 2007 22:21 (seventeen years ago)

I kind of agree with Poly, but I thought the kid in the Prop Joe one was just fantastic.

Anyway, they're pretty inessential. It'd be nice if they show up on DVD, but not a big deal if they don't.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 22:23 (seventeen years ago)

The kid was great, it's true. I especially love how he sweetly but forcefully pulls the teacher aside.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 22:25 (seventeen years ago)

I mentioned some stuff about the soundtrack album on this thread earlier, but I decided to give that stuff its own thread over on ILM: 2 official soundtracks to HBO's The Wire out in January

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 6 December 2007 03:01 (seventeen years ago)

Daniels spotted shilling for Cadillac.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 11 December 2007 04:58 (seventeen years ago)

Clay Davis was in Enchanted. Randy and...maybe Michael were in Cold Case.

― Gukbe, Tuesday, 11 December 2007 05:18 (seventeen years ago)

McNutty was pretty bad in 300.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 11 December 2007 06:30 (seventeen years ago)

heavenandhere.wordpress.com is being updated again.

― Gukbe, Tuesday, 11 December 2007 06:31 (seventeen years ago)

snoop on brian leher taling about her life and book

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2007/12/14

― jbsquared, Friday, 14 December 2007 16:12 (seventeen years ago)

Daniels obv got his unaccounted for $$$ by hawking Caddies, duh.

― Leee, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:01 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah whatever happened to the corruption in Daniels' past, did it ever come back and bite him in the ass? Was it all innuendo? Was I asleep during that part?

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:05 (seventeen years ago)

it kept getting mentioned, esp when he was trying to deal with higher ups, but it was like he always had something on them too, so everyone just kept hush hush, iirc. i could be completely wrong, though. it's been a while and it was not a huge plot point.

also: what about when rawls was in the gay bar???

― tehresa, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:22 (seventeen years ago)

the daniels innuendo (paging ludlum) was maybe a bit overplayed, as when mcnulty's federale friend tells him daniels is 'dirty'. he doesn't seem to be that dirty really. but i wouldn't be surprised if it came up in the fifth season, knowing how they do.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:25 (seventeen years ago)

I liked the way Daniels' past always loomed over him really ambiguously, because he is kind of a sympathetic character that you're never totally sure you trust him. also kinda gives some additional resonance to his speech in Season 2 to Carver about why he picked him for the team despite his betrayal in the past, because having some dirt on him meant he probably wouldn't try anything like that again.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:32 (seventeen years ago)

wait i dont' know if this has been spoken to before because i didn't watch until this fall, but the guy who plays lt. mello is named jay landsman???

― tehresa, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:35 (seventeen years ago)

hes the real one on whom the fat one is based!!

― max, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:37 (seventeen years ago)

yeah, he's the real jay landsman (an actual cop) who the character jay landsman is a bit based on.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:37 (seventeen years ago)

Basically: Jay Landsman = actual Baltimore cop who Burns worked with and Simon wrote about in the Homicide book. Simon based Richard Belzer's Munch character in the "Homicide" series (later crossed over to L&O universe) on Landsman, as well as the Jay Landsman character in "The Wire." The actual Landsman auditioned to play himself but didn't get the part, and later ended up with a different, smaller role as Mello. (xpost)

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:39 (seventeen years ago)

wow that is kind of incredible. thank you for humoring my ignorance. lol @ landsman not getting landsman. i kinda like mello though, which is funny, because he is nothing like "himself."

― tehresa, Friday, 14 December 2007 17:43 (seventeen years ago)

Daniels brings up his dirty past kind of tangentially in S1, when he's confronting Carver about his narcing off to Burrell, and explains why it's important to keep your integrity, esp. when you're in a position of authority (in ref. also to Carver's just announced promotion to Sgt.)

― Oilyrags, Friday, 14 December 2007 18:22 (seventeen years ago)

He also tells Marla "They know about the money" in S1

― Hurting 2, Friday, 14 December 2007 18:24 (seventeen years ago)

Here's the official trailer for the new season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7HoWd7mY8E

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 18:58 (seventeen years ago)

SO EXCITED

― max, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 19:01 (seventeen years ago)

OH SHIT EXCITEMENT LEVEL OFF THE CHARTS NOW

― milo z, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 19:05 (seventeen years ago)

tho what was with the shitty Duran Duran cover of "White Lines"?

― milo z, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 19:05 (seventeen years ago)

It's a metaphor for how powerful white yacht owners control the fates of the working class and poor.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 19:07 (seventeen years ago)

I HAS BONER

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 19:19 (seventeen years ago)

yeah are they trying to get the CSI audience with that music? YAAAOOOW

also LOL Clay Davis

― daria-g, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:19 (seventeen years ago)

SQUEEEEEEE !!!!!!

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:23 (seventeen years ago)

TS:: Clay Davis' "sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit" vs. Carcetti's "FAAAHK"

― n/a, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:26 (seventeen years ago)

dammit, not starting on HBO until January 2008 = not on DVD until like 2011 :( :( :(

― n/a, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:29 (seventeen years ago)

I wonder if all the kids from s4 are going to be in it? I saw Michael only..

Cutty was in the trailer too. yay

― daria-g, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:30 (seventeen years ago)

why do you think that? S4 came out on DVD almost exactly a year after the episodes finished airing, and I'm betting S5 will come out quicker than that (maybe late '08 or early '09) since it won't be pegged to help promote any seasons after that. (xpost)

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:31 (seventeen years ago)

daria, i think the new yorker piece mentioned dukie.

― lauren, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:32 (seventeen years ago)

dukie is in michael's crew

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:36 (seventeen years ago)

McNulty obsessed with catching Marlo even though major crimes is allegedly being shut down.. haven't we seen this one before

I think there are a few major spoilers in that if you watch very closely! not going to say more though.

― daria-g, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:37 (seventeen years ago)

HYPERBOLE

― n/a, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:39 (seventeen years ago)

even though major crimes is allegedly being shut down

i'm only on ep. 10 of season 4 but it seems pretty obvious at this point that carcetti is interested in major crimes

― deej, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:53 (seventeen years ago)

Are they going to keep closer tabs on screeners so it doesn't leak ahead of time?

― milo z, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:54 (seventeen years ago)

um, deej, watch the new trailer

― milo z, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:54 (seventeen years ago)

I believe that a ton of screeners of every episode of S4 in full were sent out way early largely because they were campaigning hard to get enough press for HBO to renew the show for one more year. Now that they've accomplished that and this is the last season, there don't seem to be screeners of the whole season out early this time around, or at least they're not as rampant as last time, which I'm kinda glad for. Everyone can experience the new episodes together, one at a time.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 20:59 (seventeen years ago)

I love that for a large portion of the LA crowd I know, this show represents the ENTIRETY of their understanding of the city of Baltimore.

SO skewed.

― B.L.A.M., Tuesday, 18 December 2007 21:37 (seventeen years ago)

um, deej, watch the new trailer

-- milo z, Tuesday, December 18, 2007 2:54 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

well yeah its also basically a dead unit where I am anyway so someone saying "they're shutting down major crimes!!!" or something in the middle of a trailer doesnt mean very much out of context

― deej, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 22:13 (seventeen years ago)

haha how many times has major crimes been setup/shutdown at this point?

― Jordan, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 22:24 (seventeen years ago)

Was that Avon in a couple of those quick cuts?

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 00:32 (seventeen years ago)

Was that Avon in a couple of those quick cuts?
yep

more info on who will be in season five
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wire_%28season_5%29#Cast

― jbsquared, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 01:57 (seventeen years ago)

Going back to S4, what did Cutty say to the Latino landscape workers? I assume something about fornicating with someone's mother?

― Leee, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 17:01 (seventeen years ago)

cutty looks a lot more, uh, CUT - i guess it's all that workin out at the gym

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 17:05 (seventeen years ago)

Bunny's back!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 19:38 (seventeen years ago)

chingo tu madre

― deej, Thursday, 20 December 2007 01:47 (seventeen years ago)

guessing i dont actually remember

― deej, Thursday, 20 December 2007 01:48 (seventeen years ago)

so excited.. bus stops in DC have the wire ads again..

Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty with a larger storyline than the fourth season
well, ok not for this part

― daria-g, Thursday, 20 December 2007 05:04 (seventeen years ago)

mcnulty is awesome

― deej, Thursday, 20 December 2007 05:28 (seventeen years ago)

There was an awesome documentary about Melvin Williams, the preacher guy who used to be a drug kingpin in real life, on BET tonight. Check it out if you can, it's pretty cool.

― polyphonic, Thursday, 20 December 2007 06:22 (seventeen years ago)

hating on mcnulty is bullshit.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 20 December 2007 08:54 (seventeen years ago)

I just watched all of season 1 in the space of like 48 hours. Very good! Are the other seasons as good as the first?

― Dan I., Thursday, 27 December 2007 12:01 (seventeen years ago)

Better, even.

― mh, Thursday, 27 December 2007 16:48 (seventeen years ago)

There was an awesome documentary about Melvin Williams, the preacher guy who used to be a drug kingpin in real life, on BET tonight.

AMERICAN GANGSTER THE BET SHOW ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN CRIMINAL MASTERMINDS

that show: soooo goooood!

― jhøshea, Thursday, 27 December 2007 16:51 (seventeen years ago)

I got my dad & stepmom the season 1 dvds. It was weird watching the first episode again. I was really conscious of there were a few "fucks" in every single line, couldn't tell if it was because I was watching with my folks or because it was a little gratuitous at first.

― Jordan, Thursday, 27 December 2007 17:29 (seventeen years ago)

i had that experience with 'bad santa'.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 27 December 2007 17:42 (seventeen years ago)

Did anyone watch the S5 preview special? I dled it but havent checked it out yet.

― jeff, Thursday, 27 December 2007 17:51 (seventeen years ago)

hating on mcnulty is bullshit.

SO otm.

― B.L.A.M., Thursday, 27 December 2007 17:52 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, I love McNutty.

― polyphonic, Thursday, 27 December 2007 18:11 (seventeen years ago)

captains-save-a-mcnutty

― jhøshea, Thursday, 27 December 2007 18:27 (seventeen years ago)

I have seen TWO S5 preview specials.

One included the line "he feared and hated me, I merely wanted him dead" which I'm sure is quoting something/someone but can't place it.

― milo z, Thursday, 27 December 2007 19:17 (seventeen years ago)

You talking about "The Last Word," jeff?

― Leee, Thursday, 27 December 2007 20:14 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah. It is full of spoilers or just a promo puff piece?

― jeff, Thursday, 27 December 2007 20:16 (seventeen years ago)

"Is it"

― jeff, Thursday, 27 December 2007 20:16 (seventeen years ago)

some spoilers, people talking about what they were aiming for w/ this season

― milo z, Thursday, 27 December 2007 20:18 (seventeen years ago)

Sis and bro-in-law brought first 3 discs of s4 home for xmas. Now I'm thinking of rewatching all 4 seasons during my winter break. Also: what's the best place to dl or torrent new episodes once they start airing?

― tehresa, Thursday, 27 December 2007 20:46 (seventeen years ago)

tvtorrents.com

― milo z, Thursday, 27 December 2007 20:52 (seventeen years ago)

TVT is fast and well-seeded, but you have to upload right off the bat to get a positive ratio to download.

― Leee, Thursday, 27 December 2007 20:59 (seventeen years ago)

eztv.it <- the best.

― s1ocki, Thursday, 27 December 2007 21:04 (seventeen years ago)

I like to stream stuff on TIOTI.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 27 December 2007 21:56 (seventeen years ago)

it's pretty lol that this is like my most enduring thread, and i haven't even seen season 4.

― cankles, Thursday, 27 December 2007 21:58 (seventeen years ago)

get together canky s4 is fire

― jhøshea, Thursday, 27 December 2007 22:00 (seventeen years ago)

it's hard to adapt in a post-demonoid world, thanks you guys

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 27 December 2007 22:07 (seventeen years ago)

tvrss.net + the azureus rss plugin!!

― max, Thursday, 27 December 2007 22:08 (seventeen years ago)

season 5 premiere on hbo on demand. it is very good.

the new orleans times-picayune had an article last year about david simon et al making an effort to use new orleans music on the wire--hence the s4 montage to (the shitty cover version of) "walk on gilded splinters." new ep has "mother-in-law." one more reason for wire love.

― adam, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:26 (seventeen years ago)

yeah, the guy who plays Bunk is from New Orleans and I believe he and the show have been involved in a number of post-Katrina fundraiser-type things.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:35 (seventeen years ago)

also lol @ baltimore sun tv critic guy bitching about criticism of baltimore sun on tv. nothing too spoilery

― adam, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:43 (seventeen years ago)

the first seven episodes made available for preview

ok, so they're previewing this season a little less than the last one, but not by much (especially since this season is the shortest yet, only 10 episodes).

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:48 (seventeen years ago)

bunk did a waiting for godot production in a fema park or something in n.o. i think.

xpost

― tehresa, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:48 (seventeen years ago)

yeah he did, in the lower 9th ward on a street corner. like 1200 people showed up (i was working, sadly) and everyone was raving about it for a while. whether that's because it was really good or because we are really starved for that kind of stuff right now i can't say. it was still an awesome idea.

― adam, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:52 (seventeen years ago)

Premiere already HBO On Demand apparently.

― Alex in SF, Monday, 31 December 2007 22:08 (seventeen years ago)

not in HD, i'll pass

― cutty, Monday, 31 December 2007 22:26 (seventeen years ago)

You can grab it off Usenet right now.

― Leee, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 18:31 (seventeen years ago)

ep 1 2 and uh 5 seem to be up on piratebay http://thepiratebay.org/search/wire/0/3/200

bunch of commenters claiming its fake w/o dl then people saying they watched - seems legit!

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 18:43 (seventeen years ago)

bunk did a waiting for godot production in a fema park or something in n.o. i think.

xpost

-- tehresa, Monday, December 31, 2007 8:48 PM

profile of the show in nyer

-- BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, October 15, 2007 4:13 PM

apparently contains spoilers for s5 that i didn't even notice?

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 22:04 (seventeen years ago)

not in HD, i'll pass

The Wire is not shot in HD. Waiting won't make any difference.

― Jouster, Tuesday, 1 January 2008 22:46 (seventeen years ago)

Yay Norman's back too. :)

― Leee, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 21:06 (seventeen years ago)

Thank you for this; I'm really looking forward to going home tonight.
6 and 7 appear to have leaked as well; once 3 and 4 hit, it's party time.

― forksclovetofu, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 21:37 (seventeen years ago)

I got all excited and started downloading eps 1&2 last night before remembering I haven't seen Season 4 yet.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 21:38 (seventeen years ago)

You have nothing to feel bad about. Season 4 is a revelation as to the potential of what television can be.

― forksclovetofu, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 21:53 (seventeen years ago)

friend watched 1 and said good -sets everything up for the season. i am getting so antsy!

― tehresa, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 21:54 (seventeen years ago)

Hit me up, Hoos.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 3 January 2008 00:20 (seventeen years ago)

what's the deal with 1,2 and then 5,6,7 getting leaked. WHAT HAPPENED TO 3 & 4?

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 3 January 2008 01:46 (seventeen years ago)

from the piratebay comments (grain of salt):

mpinphilly at 2008-01-03 00:28 CET:
First, major props to Warcloud on the massive re-up.
Second, peoples, from what I understand by reading other online fora, HBO gave Eps 1 and 2 (Eps 51 and 52 in the overall count of Wire Eps) on one screener DVD and Eps 5, 6, and 7 (55-57) on another. I.e., they didn't give out Eps 3 and 4 (53 and 54). Smart, arguably, but this means it's unlikely we'll see 3 and 4 until they air, or at least go "On Demand" the Monday prior to airing (they should be available On Demand Jan 14 and Jan 21). So all you peoples need to decide what to do. I'm waiting until I see 4 to move on to 5-7...

― jhøshea, Thursday, 3 January 2008 01:52 (seventeen years ago)

I'm waiting until I see 4 to move on to 5-7...

Doesn't this go without saying?

― Leee, Thursday, 3 January 2008 02:27 (seventeen years ago)

not if you're one of the many people seeding 5-7, i guess!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 3 January 2008 03:38 (seventeen years ago)

the sound quality on ep 01 is atrocious

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 3 January 2008 04:26 (seventeen years ago)

Freakonomics blogger watches episode 1 with real bangers:
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/what-do-real-thugs-think-of-the-wire/ spoilers obviously, with ep2 spoilers in the comments.

― Leee, Friday, 11 January 2008 20:55 (seventeen years ago)

there are spoilers for everything that's been leaked in the comments

― 31g, Friday, 11 January 2008 21:09 (seventeen years ago)

don't know if this ever got linked but here's the full interview
http://www.believermag.com/issues/200708/?read=interview_simon

― am0n, Saturday, 12 January 2008 19:56 (seventeen years ago)

yay another useless comparison to dickens.

― hstencil, Saturday, 12 January 2008 20:00 (seventeen years ago)

high fidelolity

― am0n, Saturday, 12 January 2008 20:50 (seventeen years ago)

I like this bit:

My standard for verisimilitude is simple and I came to it when I started to write prose narrative: fuck the average reader. I was always told to write for the average reader in my newspaper life. The average reader, as they meant it, was some suburban white subscriber with two-point-whatever kids and three-point-whatever cars and a dog and a cat and lawn furniture. He knows nothing and he needs everything explained to him right away, so that exposition becomes this incredible, story-killing burden. Fuck him. Fuck him to hell.

― caek, Saturday, 12 January 2008 20:56 (seventeen years ago)

I have a hard time taking Simon's 'the decline of journalism' as seriously as other topics covered by the show - when was this golden age of respectable newspaper coverage?

The tradition is more tied up in partisanship and yellow journalism and Wm. Randolph Hearst isn't it?

― milo z, Saturday, 12 January 2008 21:00 (seventeen years ago)

no, simon is describing modern journalism, aka the "tradition" of 20th century non-partisan journalism, eg. lippmann, dewey, etc.

― hstencil, Saturday, 12 January 2008 21:43 (seventeen years ago)

i dont know that its the absence of "nonpartisan" journalism--the hero editor at the wire's sun is pretty clearly partisan and wants his articles to reflect that--so much as it is the (apparent) shift of newspapers from defending the interests of "the public" against the gov't and corporations to defending the interests of those corporations and publishing weepy stories about kids in wheelchairs that is meant by "decline of journalism"

― max, Sunday, 13 January 2008 02:58 (seventeen years ago)

this isn't directly related to the wire, but it should ring a bell: sociology prof hangs out with charismatic leader of a crack-slinging gang for a year. sociology prof leads the gang for a day. pretty interesting.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 13 January 2008 10:05 (seventeen years ago)

talk version of that: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/29

― caek, Sunday, 13 January 2008 14:29 (seventeen years ago)

no fair dropping Freakonomics content without warning

― milo z, Sunday, 13 January 2008 17:13 (seventeen years ago)

yo could this be the thread where stick-the-mud week-by-week viewers of s05 convene? apparently the dedicated series five thread has been contaminated w. spoilerz?

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Sunday, 13 January 2008 17:22 (seventeen years ago)

^^^ That please.

― Mordy, Sunday, 13 January 2008 17:23 (seventeen years ago)

start of e01 wasn't really doing it -- they have to reintroduce everyone -- and also the pre-credits bit was taken directly from 'homicide: lots', only with added Cynicism About America. but then, probably when carcetti fronted on daniels and the states attorney, or whens sergei came up, it was back to awesomeness.

wtf with the fire huh. lost-esque.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Sunday, 13 January 2008 17:26 (seventeen years ago)

"puts the b in subtle" from herc = ha

― W i l l, Sunday, 13 January 2008 20:34 (seventeen years ago)

I'm on-board for keeping this a spoiler-free (ie, realtime, regular HBO schedule) feed. IE, we can talk about s05e02, which aired today.

Have to say, the stuff with McNulty at the end was really, really baffling and disappointing. Felt like such a dumb, unjustified, out-of-character act, and felt dangerously like a jump-the-shark moment (albeit v late in the series!)

― sean gramophone, Monday, 14 January 2008 05:08 (seventeen years ago)

goddamn, it's hard to watch Bubs now

― milo z, Monday, 14 January 2008 05:43 (seventeen years ago)

mcnulty's plan seems silly. maybe part of it is that he's drinking all the time. i guess hamsterdam was silly too

― daria-g, Monday, 14 January 2008 06:57 (seventeen years ago)

i think we should all applaud milo for being brave enough to share.

fuck xpost

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 14 January 2008 06:58 (seventeen years ago)

gramophone otm the mcnulty stuff is really bad.

― 31g, Monday, 14 January 2008 07:06 (seventeen years ago)

pretty lame - I suppose that's the setup for the big media frenzy. What a tangled web we weave, oooh.

Where's Omar?

― dave 2¼, Monday, 14 January 2008 14:02 (seventeen years ago)

mcnulty's all self-destructive and hates the system, his attempts at getting the case re-opened make sense in the context of his character. i figure he thinks he's smarter than everyone else though this will likely be the end of him. lol @ avon playing the west side 4 life card with marlo. i wonder if avon is setting up marlo somehow.

― omar little, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:09 (seventeen years ago)

I thought he was just being a sarcastic asshole to Marlo.

― Dan I., Monday, 14 January 2008 18:21 (seventeen years ago)

Nah, I think Avon is sincere with that "Fuck those Westside Bitches" line. Marlo showed up for his sentencing, after all, but not Prop Joe or even Slim Charles.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:26 (seventeen years ago)

im w/dan he was obv just fucking w/marlo (and getting paid)

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:27 (seventeen years ago)

he was being an asshole because he doesn't give a fuck but playing at bygones being bygones, i.e. "so what's new with you?" "the game is still the game". also lol @ marlo's non-reaction to the insults of "boris".

― omar little, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:28 (seventeen years ago)

it was pretty funny how marlo was being all smooth getting in touch w/serge then he shows up at the prison and gets nothing but grief

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:30 (seventeen years ago)

uh but marlo totally won that little exchange. (hundred grand notwithstanding.)

one of my friends pointed out that last time we saw avon, really, he was loading up tons of guns to kill Marlo. i am not sure that Avon is as harmless as he looks.

mcnulty's all self-destructive and hates the system, his attempts at getting the case re-opened make sense in the context of his character. i figure he thinks he's smarter than everyone else though this will likely be the end of him. l

uh but EVERY SEASON his "big case" gets shut down, and every season he just breaches the chain of command or does something clever and self-sacrificing (but NEVER anti-justice or "crooked") to ruffle feathers. but in this case he doesn't even TRY to talk to his pet judge, or the press, or anything, he instead puts in motion a vague "serial killer" plotline that may draw attention to the weathered police force but which has no relation to his personal marlo vendetta case, and just seems incompetent and FULL of flaws. i'm so used to lauding the Wire for being smarter than me - and its characters by and large make such canny, but self-interested, decisions. but here's a decision that seems obviously idiotic, and way below mcnulty. it doesn't help him in any specific way, and in the real world it so clearly wouldn't play out right.

― sean gramophone, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:35 (seventeen years ago)

uh but marlo totally won that little exchange. (hundred grand notwithstanding.)

sure but for someone who has a whole family killed cause he heard someone maybe said he sucked dik - getting shit on by avon and serge like that mustve been pretty unbearable

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:38 (seventeen years ago)

i don't think we're supposed to assume what mcnulty did is anything other than obviously stupid and reckless.

― omar little, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:42 (seventeen years ago)

this season has started with him in the middle of the lowest point we've seen him: fucking around on beadie, he can't even do po-lice work, drinking and drinking, etc. he thinks he's smart but he's overplaying his hand.

― omar little, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:44 (seventeen years ago)

i kinda think his plans gonna work ina lol lookit how fucked up this city is sort of way

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 January 2008 18:46 (seventeen years ago)

this ~~season~~ series has started with him in the middle of the lowest point we've seen him: fucking around on ~~beadie~~ his wife/girlfriend, he can't even do po-lice work, drinking and drinking, etc. he thinks he's smart but he's overplaying his hand.

― sean gramophone, Monday, 14 January 2008 19:51 (seventeen years ago)

oh i see what you did there

― omar little, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:07 (seventeen years ago)

anyway what i said is true, it's the lowest point because now we can't really even empathize with him as much. we know what he's tossing away after he seemed to finally figure shit out, and now he's lower because he's just an idiot.

― omar little, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:12 (seventeen years ago)

did you guys just turn off the tv before they show that "next on 'the wire'" teaser or what?

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:16 (seventeen years ago)

mcnulty's plan seems silly. maybe part of it is that he's drinking all the time. i guess hamsterdam was silly too

yeah hamsterdam to me is still the least "believable" thing the show has done. mcnulty's thing, yeah it seems like a dont-give-a-fuck breaking point, but otoh selling a serial killer story to the media ("we have 23 bodies and they dropped the investigation!") is not really a bad idea.

xpost -- i watch on demand, do they even show the teaser? i just stop it when it hits the credits.

― tipsy mothra, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:21 (seventeen years ago)

yeah hamsterdam to me is still the least "believable" thing the show has done.

ever hear of kurt shmoke?

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:23 (seventeen years ago)

also yes, the teaser is shown on demand as well, after the credits.

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:24 (seventeen years ago)

yeah but kurt shmoke didn't actually do it. it was the dramatization of it that seemed forced. was still interesting and all, but was the point in the series where i felt its sociological/political agenda most strongly.

― tipsy mothra, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:27 (seventeen years ago)

(i mean the agenda's always there, which is fine -- i am on board with the agenda -- but usually it's handled a little more subtly.)

― tipsy mothra, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:28 (seventeen years ago)

that dramatization on a dramatic show just didn't fit, sure.

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:32 (seventeen years ago)

i am sorry for thinking some parts of the wire are handled better than others. overall i think it's the best show on tv and at least in contention for best show ever. does that make you happier?

― tipsy mothra, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:41 (seventeen years ago)

relax. i just think people buy too much into the "it's gritty! it's realistic! it turns the cop procedural formula on its head!" conceit that david simon has rather successfully put out there. it's still a tv show, and despite it being better at depicting the "reality" of crime than most, it still has to have some dramatic elements to, y'know, actually be worth watching.

as much as i love the show, i think a lot of the response to it (on this thread, and elsewhere -- see also: nick fucking hornby) has been a little too trusting of the creator's public comments (as much as i like the dude, too). thankfully, the people involved in the show seem smart enough to have some fun with that -- without the people they sometimes mock on the show even seeming to get it (see also: the word "dickensian" showing up in season 5).

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:48 (seventeen years ago)

I don't watch previews of next week. I don't understand why anyone would, actually.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:51 (seventeen years ago)

no previews with torrents

― tehresa, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:52 (seventeen years ago)

i only watch them so as not to sound like an idiot on message boreds with speculation over whether jimmy mcnulty's gonna get in trouble or not.

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:52 (seventeen years ago)

is more fun to speculate! and i don't think watching previews can save anyone from eventually sounding like an idiot on a message board... it happens to the best of us!

― tehresa, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:53 (seventeen years ago)

ps omar should be showing up soon.

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:54 (seventeen years ago)

xposts

no i like a lot of the dramatics. e.g. omar's whole character is not "realistic" (composite of real people, i know, but i guess one of them was a ninja), but who wants the wire without omar? the scenes where they do the parallels between the cops and teachers, or cops and reporters or whatever, is all very plotted, but pretty smart about it. and the dickensian thing was funny too. it's just usually it's done well enough that i don't really notice the gears and wheels behind it, so when they occasionally become too noisy it's a little distracting.

― tipsy mothra, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:55 (seventeen years ago)

i like the show's tendency to have different characters say the same exact thing at a later date. mcnulty quoted bodie last night, yeah?

― omar little, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:57 (seventeen years ago)

sheeeeeeeit

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:57 (seventeen years ago)

at least with hamsterdam there was a build up to it - you saw the reasoning and logistics behind it's implementation. the mcnutty thing just came out of left field!

xpost ha ha

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 14 January 2008 20:58 (seventeen years ago)

it's not too left field, mcnutty's going straight and being happy was way more left field.

― hstencil, Monday, 14 January 2008 21:01 (seventeen years ago)

it was prefaced by that scene at the coroner's office, which felt like an obvious setup for something.

― tipsy mothra, Monday, 14 January 2008 21:02 (seventeen years ago)

i kinda liked the scene, really, because at first it's like he really has just lost his shit. but then you see he has a PLAN.

― tipsy mothra, Monday, 14 January 2008 21:03 (seventeen years ago)

lol at first i thought he was searching the corpse for booze ;_;

― omar little, Monday, 14 January 2008 21:04 (seventeen years ago)

i dunno. the happy thing - you saw coming. he had talked about wanting to go back to just walking a beat and settling down a few times before. i don't think he ever leaned back in his chair/bar stool and reflected upon how much he really wanted to violate a corpse and taint a crime scene!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 14 January 2008 21:17 (seventeen years ago)

this episode was so meta: 1) lester at the start selling how big the case is to sydnor and how everyone is somehow implicated (think he oversold this) and 2) the editor talking about narrative form vs CJ on hos it isn't just the schools but but but...

of course what mcnulty did was stupid, but within the episode and series it was plausible.

i was disappointed by the feds -- fifth series in a row, i would guess, where they bail on grounds everyone does counter-terrorism now.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:10 (seventeen years ago)

bailed on the grounds that Carcetti flipped the US Atty the bird, you mean

― milo z, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:13 (seventeen years ago)

there was that too.

funny that bit about stats for the port. is that going anywhere?

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:15 (seventeen years ago)

mcnulty's thing, yeah it seems like a dont-give-a-fuck breaking point, but otoh selling a serial killer story to the media ("we have 23 bodies and they dropped the investigation!") is not really a bad idea.

yeah, but that's not the angle. mcnulty's plan won't link marlo's 21 bodies -- he's created a separate serial killer pattern, a guy who kills junkies by strangling them and then puts them in a stupid ass-upward position.

again - it's not a plan to attract attention to McNulty's personal hero vendetta (i.e. marlo), which would be at least SORTA in character. it's a shitty plan to create the scare of an unrelated serial killer, thus spotlighting the underfunded police force, which has never been mcnulty's cause celebre, let alone to the detriment of already-open cases!

maybe the problem is that for me his intentions were telegraphed from the second he knocked over the jug or whatever. i didn't have any expectations flipped, i was just instantly like: what the fuck, who wrote this the practice bullshit?

― sean gramophone, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:28 (seventeen years ago)

mcnulty quoted bodie last night, yeah?
i think so - "this game is rigged" right?

Avon is totally f***ing with Marlo. I'm sure Marlo gets that..

― daria-g, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:50 (seventeen years ago)

i didn't like the way bunk just kinda stood around and didn't stop mcnulty. i feel like he would have restrained the fuck out of jimmy mcnulty right there - this would mean a real fight of some kind in order for mcnulty to pull what he pulls though and i guess they didn't wanna go there??

elsewhere i like how the editor's relationship with cj mirrors the tension that i imagine exists between simon, the newspaper guy, and screenwriters who really know how to structure things and tell a story in pictures (and keep a season on track); the difference, as we're probably going to find out, is that one's a fictional tv show and the other's supposed to be the news

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 01:15 (seventeen years ago)

tracer otm, the second bit.

fave line so far: "*everything's* thin"

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 14:46 (seventeen years ago)

also it was a wicked awesome surprise to see clark johnson in it. pembleton should be the finale's deus ex machina.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 14:58 (seventeen years ago)

Looking forward to seeing how they deal with McNulty pulling this at some other crime scenes.

― czn, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 15:05 (seventeen years ago)

it kind of requires that he gets called to a number of similarly dead dead guys! ie not gunshot/stab wounds etc.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 15:05 (seventeen years ago)

or that he starts killing junkies

― dave 2¼, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 17:17 (seventeen years ago)

Ep 3 finally "available"!

― Leee, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 20:48 (seventeen years ago)

i think we're doing this sunday by sunday y/n

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 21:11 (seventeen years ago)

I'm watching them as they become available.

― Leee, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 21:22 (seventeen years ago)

Then go to the non-real time thread!

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 21:24 (seventeen years ago)

SPOILERS: The Non-Realtime Wire Season 5 Thread

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 21:24 (seventeen years ago)

I'm in between the non-realtime and the real-time threads! Besides, non-realtime already is talking about ep 3, so announcing its availability is kind of redundant.

― Leee, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 21:56 (seventeen years ago)

so s05ee03?

worst Wire episode ever? maybe. my friend neale talks about the shittines of "stromfronts" or something on season 2/3 (i forget), but i don't remember what happens in that one. anyway, this blew. the performances were fine but my disappointment with the writers with this mcnulty/serial-killer plot remains unabated. and bringing Freeman on board? gah. this is the dude who wouldn't let operatives listen to the wiretap longer than the legally sanctioned limit, etc. such bullshit.

similarly: McNulty ignoring the article about Cedric/Burrell in the paper? wtf! or the total hackneyed/cardboard dumb-newspaper-owner and wise-newspaper-editor characters? and don't fucking get me started on the telegraphing/cliche of the Omar shit at the end. weeping as he hears the news. this show used to SURPRISE and OUTSMART me. there was almost nothing on screen tonight that made it any superior to the shield or whatever the fuck else.

― sean gramophone, Monday, 21 January 2008 06:55 (seventeen years ago)

McNulty hitting on Alma was aight.

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 06:58 (seventeen years ago)

lolz mcnulty the rake up to his old ways lolz

― sean gramophone, Monday, 21 January 2008 07:03 (seventeen years ago)

McNulty ignoring the article about Cedric/Burrell in the paper? wtf!

he didn't ignore it, he gave a kind of jaded shake of his head at it -- the top brass, musical chairs, who knows the politics of it? who cares? he had a more pressing issue that morning.

or the total hackneyed/cardboard dumb-newspaper-owner and wise-newspaper-editor characters

you mean mr. red suspenders, "my friend, who's the dean of the journalism school" dude? he's not the owner, he's the editor-in-chief. the owner is the tribune company in chicago; they're calling the shots.

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 10:58 (seventeen years ago)

McNulty ignoring the article about Cedric/Burrell in the paper? wtf!

he didn't ignore it, he gave a kind of jaded shake of his head at it -- the top brass, musical chairs, who knows the politics of it? who cares? he had a more pressing issue that morning.

Yeah, see I'd get this if it were a bullshit police show with a hackneyed, character-flaws-writ-overlarge lead, but this is an intelligent guy who sees in the paper that HIS FORMER BOSS, WHO MADE THE MARLO INVESTIGATION HAPPEN, remember MARLO, THE REASON HE'S DOING THIS SERIAL KILLER BS IN THE FIRST PLACE.... is going to become uh COMMISSIONER OF THE POLICE and he doesn't even fucking read the thing!? total plot contrivance bs.

you mean mr. red suspenders, "my friend, who's the dean of the journalism school" dude? he's not the owner, he's the editor-in-chief. the owner is the tribune company in chicago; they're calling the shots.

ah, thanks. i got the chicago thing, but didn't catch the editor's job title - assumed he was an MBA lackey for the brass.

― sean gramophone, Monday, 21 January 2008 13:56 (seventeen years ago)

ok, that's a good point about daniels

that said, mcnutty is completely off the rails and frankly his serial killer connivance seems less of a well-honed strategy and more of a giant game which has become its own justification

i feel you that people aren't behaving very rationally, but as i said on the other thread, this season is shaping up to be the elmore leonard season - everyone doing very dumb shit to try and break out of whatever situation they feel trapped by, and working through the consequences of it

this guy? - http://www.hbo.com/thewire/img/castcrew/character_season05/landing/jameswhiting_90.jpg

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 14:13 (seventeen years ago)

and lester freeman?

― sean gramophone, Monday, 21 January 2008 14:15 (seventeen years ago)

what I wanna know is what bar McNulty goes to that it's that easy to get laid

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 14:20 (seventeen years ago)

sean what about lester? you mean why is he down with mcnutty's plan? i dunno, maybe if you'd spent a decade and a half stuck behind a desk for doing the right thing only to finally get a shot at cracking a big case and then see it all go up in smoke just a week or two away from being able to close the whole thing -- maybe you'd resport to some crazy shit too

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 14:31 (seventeen years ago)

resport

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 14:32 (seventeen years ago)

oooor, in real life - maybe not!

again, Lester was so devoted to the rule of law that he wouldn't let people listen in on the wiretap after the federally mandated 45 seconds or whatever, even in the heat of the case. And besides, he seemed pretty fucking psyched about taking down Clay Davis. And even if Freeman would be tempted/amused by what McNulty's doing (if memory serves he's called McN a self-serving asshole before), Bunk was there in the room as a disapproving influence, and it's BS to think that Freeman would just automatically be sympathetic to McNulty's side.

The detention-room "gotcha!" of Freeman agreeing with McNulty was maybe fakest and most hyuk-teevee! moment of the whole episode (nay, the series?).

― sean gramophone, Monday, 21 January 2008 14:45 (seventeen years ago)

Lester was so devoted to the rule of law that he wouldn't let people listen in on the wiretap after the federally mandated 45 seconds or whatever, even in the heat of the case.

it's been awhile, but i don't remember lester insisting on this because of some abstract devotion to the rule of law -- it was practical: they simply couldn't use the evidence if it was beyond the 45 seconds, and if they started getting into changing the logs every time there was something interesting in order to make it seem like it was under the 45 seconds then the whole thing would be a compromised mess

i agree it was set up clumsily -- i feel like bunk has gotten a lot of disappointingly obvious/ham-handed lines so far this season. then again i've always felt the police end of things has always been the least "real" part of the show

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 14:52 (seventeen years ago)

i've always felt the police end of things has always been the least "real" part of the show

A friend of mine who worked as an attorney with the Baltimore Police Department (not a DA or States - sort of like a legal advisor, I'd say) has told me, on numerous occasions, that this show absolutely, 100% gets the Baltimore Police Department square between the eyes.

― B.L.A.M., Monday, 21 January 2008 15:32 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah if anything I think, given the time Burns spent on the BPD and Simon spent covering it upclose, that they depict the police work is more accurate than probably anything else (drug trade, city hall, the docks, etc.) in the show, where I tend to feel a little more suspension of disbelief.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:36 (seventeen years ago)

I mean, it definitely shows more sitting at a desk, or sweating about overtime or who picks up the next call, real garden variety shit that takes up 90% of any job, than any other show about police.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:37 (seventeen years ago)

haha oh well - B.L.A.M. got me trumped on insider info - i just feel like the actual characters are sort of cartoony - the wise old cop who carves miniature furniture, the young hotblooded maverick.. i like this, it's a classic sort of dirty dozen style cast of antiheroes, but the stakes feel lower for them than for everyone else. we don't really get a look at what makes them tick. if that means we don't have to endure any more scenes of kima's lovelife or jimmy going to his kids' soccer game i should be grateful though

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:49 (seventeen years ago)

he didn't ignore it, he gave a kind of jaded shake of his head at it -- the top brass, musical chairs, who knows the politics of it? who cares? he had a more pressing issue that morning.

McNulty was shaking his head at his serial killer story being relegated to the page 42.

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:51 (seventeen years ago)

HE SHOOK HIS HEAD TWICE OK, MAYBE THE FIRST TIME WASN'T ON CAMERA, LET'S MOVE ON

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:53 (seventeen years ago)

oh by the way, omar is in "gone baby gone" - as a POle-eece!

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:53 (seventeen years ago)

The worst thing, aside from bringing in Lester, was the way McNulty kept dropping serial killer hints and waving it in front of Landsman's nose. Yeah, that eagerness isn't going to make anyone suspicious, buddy.

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:56 (seventeen years ago)

wise old cop who carves miniature furniture, the young hotblooded maverick.. i like this, it's a classic sort of dirty dozen style cast of antiheroes

THIS stuff, I gotta believe is totally for the show. The interior politics, the worrying about OT and clearing bodies, etc...that's the stuff my buddy has verified for me.

Whether or not there's a hornball Irishman with a cirrhotic liver who probably just needs some Ritalin, a lesbian detictive who is going broke paying child support and a wizened old sage who made his loot carving doll furniture...all working to stop the 23 year old drug kingpin wunderkind...these are prolly just composites of careers spent in the BPD and at the Sun.

― B.L.A.M., Monday, 21 January 2008 15:57 (seventeen years ago)

Beadie is in Gone Baby Gone too.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:57 (seventeen years ago)

yeah!

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 15:58 (seventeen years ago)

McNulty is in the background at the bar near the end.

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:03 (seventeen years ago)

Lester was so devoted to the rule of law that he wouldn't let people listen in on the wiretap after the federally mandated 45 seconds or whatever, even in the heat of the case.

that was way the fuck back in s1 and by season 3 or whatever he was withholding subpoenas until election time came around. omg his character changed over time wtf

― am0n, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:23 (seventeen years ago)

n e way the best part about mcnulty looking at the newspaper which none of u grasped is that he doesn't pay for it. he makes the guy hold the box open for him and if you listen closely you'll hear the guy say "cheap motherfucker!" as he walks away

― am0n, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:26 (seventeen years ago)

lol people like mcnulty are the reason the sun's circulation is going down the tubes!

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:29 (seventeen years ago)

tru. also the world wide webs

― am0n, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:33 (seventeen years ago)

freamon does whatever is EFFECTIVE, that's why he's the man

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:34 (seventeen years ago)

yeah cool lester smooth is awesome.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:36 (seventeen years ago)

you'll hear the guy say "cheap motherfucker!" as he walks away

This was some of the funniest shit from this episode. Hungover, untucked, three-day-old shirt McNulty, cheaping a newspaper. Hilarious.

― B.L.A.M., Monday, 21 January 2008 16:39 (seventeen years ago)

I liked him riding the bus to the crime scene even better. (Was that Ep 2?)

― Oilyrags, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:51 (seventeen years ago)

yeah that was great

― am0n, Monday, 21 January 2008 16:55 (seventeen years ago)

uh yeah it's hilarious (and i laughed) but am i the only one who thinks these HILARIOUS MCNULTY HIJINKS are actually lame easy-out gags that avoid any deeper characterisation? where the fuck is beadie? or mcnulty's kids? as if he could be continuing down this road without any slapback - and as if he's in the same place emotionally as s1 where beadie getting enraged (or, as in s05e01, remaining there for him) wouldn't matter to him.

this whole episode was so hamfisted. ok, "cool lester smooth" - but that kind of 2-dimensionality is so boring to me. as if he'd have no reservations about this retarded plan. god.

i hold the Wire to a higher standard than fucking law and order or whatever. ha-larious mcnulty and wise-cool lester and badass omar do not something altogether exceptional make.

― sean gramophone, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:01 (seventeen years ago)

shit's hilarious this season. it's borderline satire.

mcnulty missing a story in the paper is no more ridiculous than the somewhat predictable thread from season 4 which saw randy's name get out on the street as soon as herc needed some leverage (saw that coming from a mile away). the serial killer thing is no more nuts than hamsterdam. actually, far LESS nuts. the newspaper stuff is pretty accurate from what i have heard. HQ in chicago just canned the l.a. times editor (third one in four years or something) because he refused to cut $4 million off the budget. one story i read sounded a lot like the editor's speech.

― omar little, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:28 (seventeen years ago)

i think this big emphasis on how "realistic" everything about this show is has always been sort of misplaced

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:31 (seventeen years ago)

where the fuck is beadie? or mcnulty's kids? as if he could be continuing down this road without any slapback

she was in a scene or two already, but yeah, could stand to be in there more (hopefully without a boilerplate been caught cheatin' confrontation). but goddamn you're hopping up and down a lot about these first 2 or 3 episodes, if The Wire has taught me nothing else it's that a lot of strands can seem to go nowhere or make no sense before coming together beautifully at the end of a season.

(xpost Tracer Hand OTM, there's a lot of big-d Dramatics in this show and plenty of contrivances, always has been)

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:33 (seventeen years ago)

I'm not concerned about realism, more consistency. Like, Hamsterdam and McNutty drinking and Herc being a massive fuck-up and getting some kid almost killed - different seasons! Not all piled together fighting for time.

Plus Saintly Editor and evil Editor-in-Chief going at it. (nb: the newspaper doesn't bother me - Burrell and co. have always been black-hat villains w/ no redeeming facets)

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:35 (seventeen years ago)

at this point I can't even tell if there are people who actually think his name is "McNutty" or what

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:37 (seventeen years ago)

as if he could be continuing down this road without any slapback

He's been hiding out at Homicide -- purposely avoiding his domestic life -- for the past three days!

as if he'd have no reservations about this retarded plan.

WTH? Freamon totally balked at McNutty's methodology -- can't just kill vagrants, right?

Face it gramophone, we can rationalize any wah-wah you drop! ^_^

― Leee, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:37 (seventeen years ago)

Burrell an unredeemable villain? wtf.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:37 (seventeen years ago)

I mean you could say that more about Rawls and even that's a stretch at times.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:38 (seventeen years ago)

The guy who plays the managing editor (I guess - not the old white dude w/ journalism dean buddy) is really good, actually. You can see where he's stuck in between the other two - trying to do a good job, but not an awards whore/lackey or willing to rock the boat too much.

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:38 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah Clark Johnson is awesome so far, every season has at least 1 really great addition to the cast and he's it this time.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:39 (seventeen years ago)

i'm mostly concerned about finding out who rawls was talking to in that gay bar in season 3 o_O

― omar little, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:39 (seventeen years ago)

argh see i think milo is talking about the MANAGING editor, not the old dude - we need to find out these guys' names

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:43 (seventeen years ago)

city editor: Clark J
managing editor: curly hair (Jewfro?)
editor-in-chief: old white dude

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:44 (seventeen years ago)

aha, hbo.com to the rescue

City Editor Augustus "Gus" Haynes
Managing Editor Thomas Klebanow
Executive Editor James C. Whiting III

nice of 'em to tack on 'the Third' for that guy

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:45 (seventeen years ago)

strangely, the hbo website says klebanow "has a weakness for attractive young female reporters with questionable writing skills" .. ?

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:47 (seventeen years ago)

can someone explain to me what exactly's going on with marlo, the greeks, prop joe's money, and the antilles? i thought marlo was going to the greeks to cut prop joe out of the action, but it's prop joe who's helping him come up with "clean" money? huh?

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:50 (seventeen years ago)

strangely, the hbo website says klebanow "has a weakness for attractive young female reporters with questionable writing skills" .. ?

-- Tracer Hand, Monday, January 21, 2008 12:47 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

This was alluded to in I think the very first scene at the Sun in episode 1, w/ the dudes outside bullshitting and having a smoke.

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:52 (seventeen years ago)

Does Prop Joe know why Marlo's asking for clean cash? The young'un could be sticking it to the fat man by getting him to tie his own noose.

― Leee, Monday, 21 January 2008 17:57 (seventeen years ago)

i think this big emphasis on how "realistic" everything about this show is has always been sort of misplaced

-- Tracer Hand, Monday, January 21, 2008 9:31 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

^^^^
this needs to be said again and again

― max, Monday, 21 January 2008 18:02 (seventeen years ago)

for the record, i don't give much of a shit about realism. what i admired in the wire was all the greyness, complexity and intelligence of its characters, even spread across their disparate personalities.

― sean gramophone, Monday, 21 January 2008 18:26 (seventeen years ago)

Like, Hamsterdam and McNutty drinking and Herc being a massive fuck-up and getting some kid almost killed - different seasons! Not all piled together fighting for time.

thats what i'm saying, i really think hbo's 10 episode cutback might be to blame for this

― am0n, Monday, 21 January 2008 18:38 (seventeen years ago)

they talk about Klebanow's perv streak during one of the bull sessions on the smoking dock

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 20:57 (seventeen years ago)

has every episode had an exchange between Alma and S. Glass about the Sun being a good paper vs. nuh-uh I wanna for the Times dammit?

― milo z, Monday, 21 January 2008 20:58 (seventeen years ago)

if not already posted, streaming episodes here

http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/television/The_Wire.html

― am0n, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 19:00 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.thefader.com/newsletters/wirebmore/thewire_bmore.jpg

i'm going to this tomorrow, hopefully will be able to afford to bring home some kind of cool memorabilia.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 19:08 (seventeen years ago)

pretty sure i saw sonja sohn getting out of the elevator i was about to get into this weekend.

― omar little, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 19:12 (seventeen years ago)

sean the wire is chock full of intelligent people doing dumb things! i agree that there's more of it this season so far, but that's fine by me

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 19:30 (seventeen years ago)

Fresh Air interview with Michael K Williams (Omar)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18299087

― dave 2¼, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 20:58 (seventeen years ago)

i'm mostly concerned about finding out who rawls was talking to in that gay bar in season 3 o_O

-- omar little, Monday, January 21, 2008 12:39 PM (Monday, January 21, 2008 12:39 PM) Bookmark Link

YESSSS this has been killing me!

― tehresa, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 21:04 (seventeen years ago)

some gay guy?

i was expecting his implied homosexuality to resurface at another point that season but it never did.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 21:19 (seventeen years ago)

stop with all the innuendo, guys, Jess didn't even move to Baltimore until later.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 21:23 (seventeen years ago)

kinda sad that the show has more exposure than ever, but the weakest start to a season. Hope new watchers aren't going "the fuck is with this serial killer bullshit?!" and not giving it a chance.

― milo z, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 22:10 (seventeen years ago)

Well if new viewers come from a cops/robbers procedural, the serial killer plot is going to be pretty standard convention, i.e. they won't know any better.

― Leee, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 22:16 (seventeen years ago)

lol Alex

― am0n, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 22:21 (seventeen years ago)

seriously; what are they going to think - "well it's ok - but it's no Nash Bridges."

even if omar turns out to be marlo's long lost brother, separated at birth - and episode 8 is done entirely as a musical it will still be 1000000000x better than any of the other garbage time cop shown polluting the airwaves!

xpost

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 22 January 2008 22:25 (seventeen years ago)

meta: One of the cops (the dude with the earlier homeless case) was reading 'Generation Kill' when McNulty was talking to him. (My stepbrother wrote that book. HBO series comes out in September, produced & screenwritten by Burns/Simon..)

― dave 2¼, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 00:22 (seventeen years ago)

dudes im worried about this season. the serial killer thing do not like.

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 15:20 (seventeen years ago)

here's what i think they should do. marlo and omar run into each other down tropical way. it's super-tense but then who do they run into but the detectives of the western, who are ALSO down there on vacation!!! then they all team up and go after clay davis, who is running a smuggling operation down there. mcnulty and marlo have to team up! eventually they learn how to work together and even earn some grudging respect for each other. and at the end of the season they have a big party at prop joe's carribbean villa. with some lovely ladies ;) last shot, mcnulty drinking rum, looking at the bottle and saying, "i could get used to this stuff." (maybe him and bunk open a bar on the beach after it's all over)

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 15:23 (seventeen years ago)

._.

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 15:54 (seventeen years ago)

and bubbles sings a song with the band!

― sean gramophone, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:08 (seventeen years ago)

do not read the spoiler thread, slocki. u will b sad.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:17 (seventeen years ago)

one of my friends put it really aptly (he, like me, has only seen to s05e03) -- so far this season feels like Wire fan-fic.

― sean gramophone, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:19 (seventeen years ago)

i don't necessarily disagree with you but i think i'm going to stop reading this thread for the rest of the season if you keep up this whining.

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:20 (seventeen years ago)

is that a threat?

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:22 (seventeen years ago)

THAT'S A PROMISE

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:24 (seventeen years ago)

haha yeah sorry that came out like a jaymc 'writing you off' thing but seriously

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:26 (seventeen years ago)

― sean gramophone, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:28 (seventeen years ago)

you better get to liking this season more sean, or alex is gonna have NO CHOICE.

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:34 (seventeen years ago)

well i mean i avoided this thread during s4 because there wasn't a seperate thread then for people with screeners and torrents of unaired episodes, so no biggie.

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:40 (seventeen years ago)

what you're saying is, you've done it before and you'll have no problem doing it again. you're basically putting us on notice.

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:42 (seventeen years ago)

great conversation, guys

― omar little, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:43 (seventeen years ago)

oh, you're going on the list now too, s1ocki.

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:44 (seventeen years ago)

now you know how some of us feel on M.I.A. threads ;(

― bnw, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:46 (seventeen years ago)

well some parades were meant to be rained on

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:48 (seventeen years ago)

MIA threads are so full of spoilers.

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 16:48 (seventeen years ago)

Has anyone found a torrent of episode 4 where the audio matches the visuals? The one streaming on that website is the same one I downloaded the other day ... it's worthless.

― polyphonic, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 17:15 (seventeen years ago)

the one i got on mininova was fine.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 17:17 (seventeen years ago)

Is the filename appended with 0nD3mand.r!p?

― Leee, Wednesday, 23 January 2008 17:32 (seventeen years ago)

main problem with the serial killer strand is it's taking too much time to set up, and because the cast is so big now we only get very limited facetime with eg herc, carver, daniels, beadie, avon... CUTTY. i was hoping it would just implode right quick so they could move on.

-- Tracer Hand, Monday, January 21, 2008 5:50 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Link

prop joe doesn't know why marlo wants bank-fresh money. this seemed a bit fucked-up, like maybe it would raise his suspicion. my feeling is prop joe has himself covered. it's not impossible the greeks told him about marlo's move either.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 24 January 2008 10:07 (seventeen years ago)

don't know if this has been linked before but.. OMAR SPEAKS:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18299087

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 24 January 2008 12:51 (seventeen years ago)

I saw on the HBO message board questions about how the Sun buyouts work. I know you guys don't need answers on how the streets work but if you are a Wire fan here's a some refence material.

Well my wife was at the Baltimore Sun when the first round of buyouts (creator David Simon was there as well) occurred and I was at the Sun through the last round of buyouts (2005 maybe?). You don't have to be a writer, newspapers (at least the Sun) have two types of employees unionized (guilded) and non-union (non-guilded).

The Sun (Tribune) reaches an agreement with the union on what's "fair" (lube/no lube). The first round of buyouts were way better than the last. I know of 30-40K/year employees getting maybe 200K if they agreed on a buyout, the amount is determined on salary and seniority. The terms of the last was like maybe 10K for every 2 years of service. Most of the people offered buyouts had been there 20+ years.

The biggest problem not just for the writers, but moreso the non-writers, is they had been performing a newspaper function for over 30 years, and their skillset was applicable only to the newspaper industry, and until recently Baltimore only had one major paper. So unless they relocated, which wasn't an option giving the industry failing everywhere, you have mid-lifers trying to learn new skills for employment.

The biggest issue is the newspapers are still profitable, yet they don't make the kajillions they used to, so the millions they make a year don't satisfy the shareholders. The more news you read online the less the paper sells on the street. The less it sells on the street, the less the paper can charge for advertising. You gotta figure Craigslist & Ebay alone killed the entire Classfied advertising business. Who the heck places a classified ad anymore, and the cost of the ad has bottomed out and they soon will be offered for free.

As far as retail advertising mergers and aquisitions put a ginormous dent in advertising revenue.

Here's an example (fake numbers):

AT&T - $1M a month
Cingular -$1M a month
Sprint- $1M a month
Nextel- $1M a month
Macy's- $1M a month
Goldsmiths- $1M a month

Add that up that's $6 Million a month in revenue. AT&T merges with Cingular, Sprint & Nextel merge, Macy's and Goldsmith's merge, now we have:

AT&T/Cingular- $1M a month
Sprint/Nextel- $1M a month
Macy's/Goldsmith's- $1M a month

Now we're making $3 million a month. Half of what we made per month last year. So over a year that's $36 million in losses. Revenue cut in half, workforce cut. There goes your buyout.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 24 January 2008 21:11 (seventeen years ago)

Dudes, Omar on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18299087

― jeff, Thursday, 24 January 2008 21:43 (seventeen years ago)

uhh

― tehresa, Thursday, 24 January 2008 21:48 (seventeen years ago)

so have any cast members been on NPR recently?

― am0n, Thursday, 24 January 2008 22:11 (seventeen years ago)

there's actually a quick dookie interview there, too... but hey did you guys hear that interview with omar?

check it out:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18299087

― tehresa, Thursday, 24 January 2008 22:19 (seventeen years ago)

this is interesting:

michael k. williams

― omar little, Thursday, 24 January 2008 22:33 (seventeen years ago)

c'mon, man, you're killin' me, you're killin' me, stop...this a Philly station?

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 25 January 2008 00:35 (seventeen years ago)

haha sorry dave 2¼!!

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 25 January 2008 01:02 (seventeen years ago)

Did anyone read the piece in The Atlantic?

― Hurting 2, Friday, 25 January 2008 06:12 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/bowden-wire

― Hurting 2, Friday, 25 January 2008 06:16 (seventeen years ago)

ep4 was great. only bad thing was beadie's stock confrontation scene. herc and carv's moment was just right. i was shocked by the ending, marlo moving sooner than i'd have thought.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Tuesday, 29 January 2008 23:50 (seventeen years ago)

the shit is getting good now! i don't want to read the non-realtime thread because some people have got the torrents and i just have on demand but i will say that episode 5 is great. and also really hilarious during a particular meeting at the newspaper.

― omar little, Tuesday, 29 January 2008 23:59 (seventeen years ago)

i like the idea of daniels's dirt, built up for five series, being dismissed by nareese like that, though i guess she's going to use it now to leverage daniels.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 30 January 2008 00:01 (seventeen years ago)

i am still a hater.

― sean gramophone, Wednesday, 30 January 2008 00:03 (seventeen years ago)

reminds me why I never pick up the Atlantic. "The Wire is a work of fiction. And the creator of the series is incredibly cynical." THX HOW MUCH DOCTOR

― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 30 January 2008 01:22 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, that's kind of how I felt as well, except that I think there's a slight danger of people taking the show without a necessary grain of salt because its realism is so far beyond anything else on TV that it sometimes comes off as "the way things are."

I did realize from the picture that Simon looks a bit like the guy they cast for Levy, which I thought was interesting since he's probably the most detestable character but also the one who *defends drug dealers*. It made me wonder if Simon wasn't making a subtle joke about himself with the casting.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 1 February 2008 00:45 (seventeen years ago)

I mean, ok, not THAT much alike:

http://www.theatlantic.com/images/issues/200801/wire.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0a/The_Wire_Levy.jpg/250px-The_Wire_Levy.jpg

but I still wonder

― Hurting 2, Friday, 1 February 2008 00:47 (seventeen years ago)

I suspect he has more in common with frank subotka.

― El Tomboto, Friday, 1 February 2008 00:59 (seventeen years ago)

I don't know about that.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 1 February 2008 01:03 (seventeen years ago)

there was bound to be a bald white guy in the show at some point.

fwiw Simon's one on-camera moment was as a reporter when Sobotka was arrested.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 1 February 2008 01:29 (seventeen years ago)

bald white jewish guy though

― Hurting 2, Friday, 1 February 2008 01:32 (seventeen years ago)

oh, then it's uncanny

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 1 February 2008 01:57 (seventeen years ago)

ugh i am so jealous my friend was like 'i started new internship and the first thing they did was put me in a cab to go have chris bauer sign a contract and i was like 'omg i am face to face with frank sobotka'' and now i hate her and i hate my job even more :(

― tehresa, Friday, 1 February 2008 06:36 (seventeen years ago)

did I mention I am a regular at the same bar as odell watkins

― El Tomboto, Friday, 1 February 2008 07:07 (seventeen years ago)

still trying to figure out how to hang with bunk tho

― El Tomboto, Friday, 1 February 2008 07:08 (seventeen years ago)

bring him one bathrobe???

― tehresa, Friday, 1 February 2008 07:11 (seventeen years ago)

and a cigar

― tehresa, Friday, 1 February 2008 07:11 (seventeen years ago)

well see it's more about finding which area bars they hang out at first
bathrobes and cigars I have plenty of

― El Tomboto, Friday, 1 February 2008 07:16 (seventeen years ago)

you pimp

― tehresa, Friday, 1 February 2008 07:18 (seventeen years ago)

i just finally watched the 4th episode and it was a lot better than the 3rd. the two obvious weak spots this season are the serial-killer thing (which i initially defended on one of these threads because i didn't fully appreciate the stupidity of it) and the fabricating reporter. but the rest of it's good. most of the newspaper stuff is right on -- like the federal courts guy saying "do you want one reporter covering two court systems?", i worked at a paper that did exactly that. (same paper made me cover an entire 50,000-student public school system AND a state university, because they'd cut the university reporter position.) but my favorite bits in the episode were small character moments: herc and carver talking in the parking lot; the grin daniels allows himself at rawls' desk; kima with elijah; michael with his mom. i think those are the payoffs you can get in a 5th season when you've put so much time into back stories and characters.

― tipsy mothra, Friday, 1 February 2008 08:50 (seventeen years ago)

also r.i.p. prop joe. one of my faves. sold out by method man.

― tipsy mothra, Friday, 1 February 2008 08:58 (seventeen years ago)

i don't know why i keep scanning this thread and risking/seeing major character death spoilers when i haven't even finished s4 yet.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 1 February 2008 09:10 (seventeen years ago)

just assume that everybody gets killed. that way you'll be surprised by the ones who don't.

― tipsy mothra, Friday, 1 February 2008 09:12 (seventeen years ago)

tipsy otm, I love the little moments in these episodes like Herc and Carver, etc.

the Wire auction I went to last week was a little disappointing, the stuff being auctioned wasn't as cool as what they had at the one my dad went to on one of the show's actual sets circa season 4, but some of that stuff is now part of an eBay auction too: http://stores.ebay.com/hbothewireauction
so you could possibly get a DVD set signed by the cast for as little as a hundred bucks

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 1 February 2008 15:06 (seventeen years ago)

looooool okay mcnulty in the newspaper office pretty much justifies the whole serial killer storyline.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Tuesday, 5 February 2008 23:42 (seventeen years ago)

RONG

― milo z, Wednesday, 6 February 2008 00:46 (seventeen years ago)

Has Bunk had any dialogue that didn't involve berating McNulty for being a fuck up?

― milo z, Wednesday, 6 February 2008 00:47 (seventeen years ago)

o yeah, in the bar about white chicks in Aruba

― milo z, Wednesday, 6 February 2008 00:49 (seventeen years ago)

When Homicide got the OT approval for a second detective, why was Greggs brought on instead of Freamon? Is it because Command didn't know Freamon was helping out McNutty?

― Leee, Thursday, 7 February 2008 18:09 (seventeen years ago)

ep6 was definitely the first time The Wire has mentioned O'Malley as a past mayor (I guess as a gesture of finally saying "Carcetti is not Wire-world O'Malley, dammit!"), but was that the first time the show's mentioned Schmoke?

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 7 February 2008 18:17 (seventeen years ago)

although acknowledging O'Malley's existence in the show's universe really kind of screws with all the season 3/4 talk about how Carcetti couldn't get elected because he's the "wrong color" when apparently all that time he could've cited O'M as a recent white mayor.

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 7 February 2008 18:23 (seventeen years ago)

wasn't Freamon supposed to be working the case against Davis?

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 7 February 2008 18:35 (seventeen years ago)

"Nevermind" MUST be the absolute coldest thing to say to someone before shooting him in the skull, right?

― Mike Dixn, Friday, 15 February 2008 09:03 (seventeen years ago)

Could somebody please tell me (without spoilers) if this season has gotten better since the end of ep 2? Thx.

― 31g, Friday, 15 February 2008 09:33 (seventeen years ago)

mike dxn i think that's from after s05 right? so stfu on this thread.

31g -- yes it does, but it's still the weakest series so far :(

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 15 February 2008 09:37 (seventeen years ago)

disagree

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 15 February 2008 10:54 (seventeen years ago)

it's smaller in scope but what do you expect with only 10 episodes

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 15 February 2008 10:54 (seventeen years ago)

that's only two fewer than series 2. if anything it's larger in scope, though! so it needs more space than it has to do what it needs to. hamsterdam was a big stretch, plasubility-wise, but they sold it well. although the consequences of what mcnulty's doing are convincing, and i respect it more than i did initially, i still find it really hard to get behing the fake serial killer story. i guess it's david simon's take on iraq, more than any previous series. (+ omar as osama bin laden anyone?)

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Friday, 15 February 2008 11:00 (seventeen years ago)

stupid serial killer shenanigans get stupider

― milo z, Monday, 18 February 2008 05:40 (seventeen years ago)

+ omar as osama bin laden anyone?

i would love to see a diagram of the inside of your mind sometime

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 18 February 2008 11:28 (seventeen years ago)

the series is pretty clearly an extended skit on the WoT; i don't think he's doing a direct one-for-one thing, it's not an allegory, but the extent to which marlo will fuck up his business to settle scores with omar... i think a case could be made. otoh the imaginary serial killer is osama too.

this ep was better, lol at munch cameo, powerhouse clay davis shit, but seriously this serial killer thing was a terrible idea.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Monday, 18 February 2008 23:54 (seventeen years ago)

this episode was great EXCEPT for the increasing absurdity of the serial killer plot. Handing out hours and help to everyone in homicide? This isn't going to be noticed? A serial killer abducts a victim, phones it in to the paper - and no one meets with the paper except for one homicide detective? A serial killer in Baltimore, images of the newest victim splashed all over the paper (and national news) - and no one working in the DC shelter is going to notice a striking resemblance to their newly arrived charge?

― milo z, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 00:42 (seventeen years ago)

The shelter was in Richmond VA, right? Still far-fetched.

― eater, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 01:16 (seventeen years ago)

I felt so bad for that hobo i wanted to puke.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 02:00 (seventeen years ago)

munch!

― adam, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 18:02 (seventeen years ago)

Also, doesn't Baltimore have street/traffic cameras everywhere? Mightn't somebody go look up the footage of the missing guy's corner and see the abduction? I think earlier seasons mostly stood up better to this kind of nitpicking.

― eater, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 18:30 (seventeen years ago)

im sure mcnulty would consider camera angles

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 18:32 (seventeen years ago)

how are they planning to bring the case in? won't they have to explain an illegal wiretap, etc?

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 18:33 (seventeen years ago)

naw they wait for marlo to be in the room w/lol hueg greek drug shipment then say they got a tip is all

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 18:34 (seventeen years ago)

Thank god for CIs.

― milo z, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 18:35 (seventeen years ago)

disappointed that Bubs isn't getting more time

― milo z, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 18:36 (seventeen years ago)

drugs on the table.

i want them to pull it off tbh.

but i guess it's a race for the prize w. omar.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 18:36 (seventeen years ago)

no they're not everywhere, they're very deliberately placed in mostly poor, non-white areas

― am0n, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 19:43 (seventeen years ago)

that was the first time omar broke Bunk's 'no more killing' pledge, t/f?

― bnw, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 20:31 (seventeen years ago)

Griggs putting together IKEA furniture is the closest they've gotten to anything resembling reality this season.

That said, I'm still kind of enjoying this.

― righteousmaelstrom, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 21:41 (seventeen years ago)

Omar killed one guy in the stash house, I think

― milo z, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 23:01 (seventeen years ago)

I forgot you won't be reading the non-realtime thread, NRQ, but I was calling you out over there - seems no-one else subscribes to your angling that the serial killer plot is Simon's skewiff take on the war on Iraq. Care to expand…?

― czn, Wednesday, 20 February 2008 09:34 (seventeen years ago)

srsly? well i think it is partly because of evidence that DS likes rubbish analogies. on the commentary for s03e01, at the start, when the towers are getting blown up, he says, "this show is about the collapse of the american empire... and it begins with towers getting blown up... that's all i'm going to say." i am paraphrasing, but, seriously, not very much.

sooooo when this series started with an overstated version of a scene in 'homicide' in which a guy is made to think a photocopier is a lie detector, and bunk says "the bigger the lie, the more people believe..." -- if DS reckons this show is about the collapse of the american empire, what possible subtext could be read into that scene, put at the very start of the series?

so from that the baltimore sun story is not unlike the judith miller saga at the NYT, right? it serves her interests to get a big story, it serves washington's interest too, or, in this case the BPD. and then of course money has to be diverted from more important thinks to fund the investigation/war.

i'm not saying this is a one-to-one mapping exercise, but i do think that's how DS thinks, and though obviously for dipshit english lit grads what DS thinks "doesn't matter", well, you know, maybe it kind of guides certain aspects of the show.

i don't think it's a skewiff take on the war, exactly, just sort of inappropriate and jarring. well, maybe i do: personally i don't think anyone in power really believed iraq posed a threat in 2002, whereas people believe in the serial killer.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 20 February 2008 22:13 (seventeen years ago)

wtf does "skewiff" mean?

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 21 February 2008 00:42 (seventeen years ago)

I dunno about 9/11, but I read the Barksdale-Marlo transition as Simon's commentary about contemporary American capitalism, with Marlo as the faceless, inhuman multinational that's destroying the community (which, yeah, Barksdale's drugs destroyed the community, but Marlo takes it to another level with his treatment of other dealers, etc.).

― milo z, Thursday, 21 February 2008 01:17 (seventeen years ago)

yeah this is true. but i think a lot of crime stories -- 'the godfather', 'goodfellas', 'casino', 'the sopranos', to take minor examples lol -- have been based on that kind of transition. i hadn't thought of marlo in that way before -- i had him more like a mergers-and-acquisitions kind of guy who doesn't play by old school corporatist rules.

one of the kids in s04 tells wee-bey (it's his son right?) "yeah yeah" when he says says there used to be a code -- also bodie (or poot?) says basically the same thing to herc and carv one time, that people are always saying the next generation is meaner and more cut-throat.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Thursday, 21 February 2008 09:31 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.wordreference.com/definition/skew-whiff

I am not really enjoying this season.

― caek, Thursday, 21 February 2008 14:54 (seventeen years ago)

liked e08 a lot better. clay davis golden as ever. "shameful shit". funny that in a programme mostly about the drug wars one of the least redeemable characters is a journalist.

cringed a bit at the obvious CSI zingage. WE GET IT.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Tuesday, 26 February 2008 15:45 (seventeen years ago)

huh. i missed that.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 26 February 2008 15:46 (seventeen years ago)

when mcnulty and kima go to the feds, one of them has been an advisor on mainstream cop shows. mcnutty says he's never seen CSI, kima says "most of our business is drug murders", not serials, crazies, etc.

― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Tuesday, 26 February 2008 15:48 (seventeen years ago)

I read the Barksdale-Marlo transition as Simon's commentary about contemporary American capitalism

makes an interesting contrast with no country for old men, which charts a similar rise of chaos but attributes it more to cultural (and/or racial) debasement than economic. the same kind of "we've never seen shit like this" line. except the cops in the wire haven't given up yet, and simon blames failed social institutions (because he's a liberal) where cormac mccarthy blames savage nature (because he's a reactionary). (and paul thomas anderson blames bad parenting, because he's paul thomas anderson.) a right-wing reading of the wire would see the parade of public-sector horrors as just confirmation of the failures of government. but that's obviously not simon's point. his heroes are also mostly public employees (aside from a few reporters and editors), and the private sector to the extent it exists at all is either brutal and corrupt (the drug trade) or just corrupt (developers who worm their way into public-private projects) and/or venal and dumb (corporate media).

― tipsy mothra, Tuesday, 26 February 2008 16:17 (seventeen years ago)

Oh my god.

― Leee, Monday, 3 March 2008 06:00 (seventeen years ago)

did some shit go down?

i wanna know

wait

i don't wanna know

ahhh

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 3 March 2008 06:03 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDJGjPMR0zo

― am0n, Monday, 3 March 2008 15:37 (seventeen years ago)

Just that episode 9 made this season completely worth it.

― Leee, Tuesday, 4 March 2008 03:40 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1719872,00.html

^^^^^^^ simon, lehane et al write an editorial in time about the fruitless drug war

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 8 March 2008 00:51 (seventeen years ago)

Four episodes into S1 for the first time since seeing the following seasons, interesting to see how the relatively minor characters were fleshed out and humanized over the course of the show. Bodie, Omar, Bubs, even Stringer, I think, all had a lot more depth written into them over the course of the series.

― milo z, Wednesday, 19 March 2008 00:47 (seventeen years ago)

Dear DMCA Agent:

We are writing this letter on behalf of Home Box Office, Inc. ("HBO").

We have received information leading us to believe that an individual has utilized the below-referenced IP address at the noted date and time to offer downloads of copyrighted television program(s) through a "peer-to-peer" service, including such title(s) as:

The Wire

lolirony

― bnw, Wednesday, 19 March 2008 02:40 (seventeen years ago)

Bodie, Omar, Bubs, even Stringer, I think, all had a lot more depth written into them over the course of the series.

a) You are king of the obvious.
b) I mean, really, one of the greatest character-driven dramas ever produced contains fleshed-out humanized characters.
c) Next you're going to tell me about the show's Dickensian aspects.
d) When you die, Stringer is going to make you his bitch.

― David R., Wednesday, 19 March 2008 05:05 (seventeen years ago)

lol

― Alex in Baltimore, Wednesday, 19 March 2008 06:23 (seventeen years ago)

badly phrased - I'm saying, they were all pretty flat for (at least) the first half of the season, and I'm starting to understand the nay-sayers of season one being the best

― milo z, Wednesday, 19 March 2008 06:45 (seventeen years ago)

Well, I'd have to rescreen (Soto RIP) S1 to really be sure, but I'd think the show was focused on fleshing out the "good guys" and establishing the character dynamics therein before going to work on the street.

― David R., Wednesday, 19 March 2008 13:30 (seventeen years ago)

BTW, sorry for being an obnoxious twunt earlier / last night, milo.

― David R., Wednesday, 19 March 2008 13:49 (seventeen years ago)

it's true, i remember season 1 being so awesome and fully-formed, but when i went back and watched the first couple episodes they seemed kind of awkward and embryonic.

― Jordan, Wednesday, 19 March 2008 21:27 (seventeen years ago)

it's true, i remember season 1 being so awesome and fully-formed, but when i went back and watched the first couple episodes they seemed kind of awkward and embryonic.

Kinda like the first couple of episodes of Knight Rider.

― B.L.A.M., Wednesday, 19 March 2008 21:40 (seventeen years ago)

wire seasons ranked by me:
4
2
1
3
5

― tipsy mothra, Wednesday, 19 March 2008 22:56 (seventeen years ago)

oh we on THAT again?

― Alex in Baltimore, Thursday, 20 March 2008 00:19 (seventeen years ago)

1
4
3
2
5

I started watching 1 again and it's just as good as I remembered. And it was pre all the contrivances of keeping favourite characters around/together so it wins for that too. 1,4 and 3 are all pretty close for me, though. 2 a fair bit back and 5 way behind.

― Alba, Thursday, 20 March 2008 00:34 (seventeen years ago)

3
1
4
5
2

i watched 1 again not long ago and thought it was still just as good

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 20 March 2008 01:09 (seventeen years ago)

4
3
1
2
5

4 and 3 neck and neck but head and shoulders over the others for me. 5 the weakest but i love them all.

― balls, Thursday, 20 March 2008 01:14 (seventeen years ago)

oh god what have I done

― milo z, Thursday, 20 March 2008 01:16 (seventeen years ago)

man i have to say also that when i watched that last episode and afterwards i was shook the rest of the night, not from any plot developments (it was basically as close to happy endings all around as we could've even dreamt of) but just that this is over. other shows i've loved for years, when they ended i might've been 'wow it's over' or 'man, what a great show' but with this, and this is corny as hell, but it was like losing a friend.

― balls, Thursday, 20 March 2008 01:18 (seventeen years ago)

i can't separate them, fuck this

― omar little, Thursday, 20 March 2008 01:18 (seventeen years ago)

3
1
2
4
5

― czn, Thursday, 20 March 2008 07:30 (seventeen years ago)

oh we on THAT again?

it keeps changing! 1 was my favorite for a long time. then 2 was, even after 4 was over. but 4's the one that stands out in my mind now. it's where i think the character development and plot complexities really paid off. it was the fullest portrait of life, partly because it's built on all these characters who've had a chance to change over time. and partly because the kids' perspective really fills in a lot about the background of the whole series.

― tipsy mothra, Thursday, 20 March 2008 07:44 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, even though 3 was excellent, when 4 started I realised that what I'd really been missing was getting to know a bunch of new characters hanging out together on their home turf. I loved the season 1 scenes with D'Angelo, Bodie, Wallace et al sitting on that sofa in the projects yard and the docks in season 2 gave some kind of new mileu. Season 3 didn't have that kind of scene setting so I was really pleased when Michael, Randy, Namond, Dukie and their piss balloons injected new life at the start of 4.

― Alba, Thursday, 20 March 2008 08:56 (seventeen years ago)

I spent the last week re-watching season 2, which I received as a x-mas present. It was the season I remembered least and I really enjoyed it. Now find myself wanting to watch the episodes of season 5 that deal with "the Greek" again. I really get the impression by the end of S2 that "the Greek" himself would never come back and do the same thing with the same pattern, so I'm a little confused about the scenes with he and Marlo and what they say about the competence of law enforcement.

For me, the seasons are all great. S1 is high on the list simply for being the first and the season I've watched the most.

4
1
3
2
5

― rockapads, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:09 (seventeen years ago)

ok, now I'm on that again:

3
4
2
1
5

― Alex in Baltimore, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:11 (seventeen years ago)

3
4
2
1
5

― banriquit, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:15 (seventeen years ago)

Its so nice to see all of the love for season 3. That was a damn good season.

― youcangoyourownway, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:25 (seventeen years ago)

the avon/stringer relationship makes season 3

― max, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:27 (seventeen years ago)

I haven't seen 5 but my favorite is still 2.
Timon of Athens yo

― El Tomboto, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:38 (seventeen years ago)

There are also so many amazing speeches that came out of the season:

Bunny Colvin's paper bag
40 degree day
The whole Sunday morning fiasco
Stringer trying to get Slim Charles to kill Senator Davis
Any and all scenes featuring Stringer and Avon
Slim Charle's "If it's a lie, then we fight on that lie, but we gotta fight"

― youcangoyourownway, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:38 (seventeen years ago)

dont forget everyones favorite cartoon gangsters omar and mouzone wild west style showdown

― jhøshea, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:42 (seventeen years ago)

i like season 3 because more than any other season its about spending 10 episodes watching decent people build rickety little lives on rationalizations and justifications and then having them all crash down in the final two episodes

― max, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:45 (seventeen years ago)

Isn't that every Wire season?

― David R., Monday, 24 March 2008 17:56 (seventeen years ago)

the season 1+2 punch still gives me waking nightmares of the there-but-for-the-grace-of-god variety; three and four don't seem as strong on the quiet desperation front, to me: cutty and namond want out, they get out, there's a lot of other terrible things happening but the simple suggestion of that as a viable choice (finally) dulls the edge a bit. 1+2 are 100% tragic america

― El Tomboto, Monday, 24 March 2008 17:56 (seventeen years ago)

Frank Sobotka's "we used to make things in this country" speech at the end of season 2 is one of the saddest things ever.

I am not playing your silly ranking games. I came here to say I finally caught up completely; finished season 5 at 4 am. The McNulty wake scene was amazingly successful in preserving that character for me a little, which I never would have thought possible.

― horseshoe, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:00 (seventeen years ago)

Namond being the only one of the kids that gets out in season 4 is a heartbreaker, though! I actually don't know if I'm ever going to be able to rewatch 4; I had the most intense nightmares while I was watching that season. fucking show.

― horseshoe, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:02 (seventeen years ago)

finished s5 last night, too. we were kind of trying to ration it out, but after watching the 2nd to last ep we had to see the finale. between the two, i cried 3 times (i'm a sap). i agree; seeing what happens to most of the kids is a complete heartbreaker, even if you could spot what was coming a mile off.

― lauren, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:09 (seventeen years ago)

i cried at the finale, too, including when Landsman tells McNulty he'd want him to investigate his own murder. which seems weird when i type it out. but the scenes that really killed me: Duquan shooting up in the finale and Michael saying goodbye to Bug and his aunt closing the door on Michael in the second-to-last episode. season 4 kids! will you never cease to haunt me??

― horseshoe, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:12 (seventeen years ago)

btw is that any kind of real thing, a (99% non-Irish) police department having wakes for officers and singing Pogues songs?

― Jordan, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:20 (seventeen years ago)

the bit when dukie looks back and the car is gone really tore me up.

i thought that prezbo might have tried to intervene more with dukie...? i know - it's not like everything was going to have a happy ending (and they only had 90 minutes), but based on how protective he was of d in s4 i thought that perhaps he might do more than look sad and drive away.

― lauren, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:23 (seventeen years ago)

xpost - ha, i've wondered that.

― lauren, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:23 (seventeen years ago)

i know. i think what we see of Prez in season 5 is sort of what Marcia Donnelly advised him about coming true. when she asks him in season 4 if he intends to adopt Dukie, I feel like that's directed at the viewer, too: as much as we want to see that, Prez's (impossible) job is to let go of his students each year so he can serve the new ones. it's totally unsatisfying and i think it's meant to be.

― horseshoe, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:28 (seventeen years ago)

HAVE ONLY WATCHED TWO SEASONS, CANNOT READ THIS THREAD. FUCK U AND UR SPOILERS

― Laurel, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:31 (seventeen years ago)

hon, every wire thread is one gigantic spoiler.

― lauren, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:32 (seventeen years ago)

I'm sorry, management cannot be held responsible. See the sign.

― kenan, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:32 (seventeen years ago)

I haven't read any threads up til now but I thought having just finished seas 2 maybe I could dip in. No.

― Laurel, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:34 (seventeen years ago)

don't worry, nothing big happens in the next 35 episodes

― omar little, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:36 (seventeen years ago)

the bit when dukie looks back and the car is gone really tore me up.

Freal. It also reminds me of the parallel scene in season four where Dukie walks Michael up to Marlo's spot right before he sells his soul.

― youcangoyourownway, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:38 (seventeen years ago)

michael as angel of death at the end of s4 was fucking amazing.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 24 March 2008 19:56 (seventeen years ago)

I really did think s3 was the best b/c of avon/string.. I agree with alex in baltimore if I was going to rank them.

― daria-g, Monday, 24 March 2008 23:12 (seventeen years ago)

yeah s3 awes

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 24 March 2008 23:24 (seventeen years ago)

argh just reading this thread is giving me major withdrawl!

― tehresa, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 00:17 (seventeen years ago)

major xpost, but I never considered The Wire to be character-driven at all. It's a completely story-driven show which happens to have some great characters.

― Jouster, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 04:38 (seventeen years ago)

silly

― banriquit, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 09:52 (seventeen years ago)

4
1
3
5
2

― ^@^, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 14:26 (seventeen years ago)

VOTE SOBOTKA

― David R., Tuesday, 25 March 2008 14:27 (seventeen years ago)

4
2
3
1
5

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 14:31 (seventeen years ago)

two weeks pass...

i'm not gonna read all this cz i'm in the middle of it, but the commentary on s2e6 is fkn great!!

― gff, Friday, 11 April 2008 03:21 (seventeen years ago)

That's McNulty & Omar talking shop, isn't it?

― David R., Friday, 11 April 2008 13:33 (seventeen years ago)

After season 5, I went and bought two, three, and four. I've been watching it straight through with small pauses between seasons to let them settle.

One thing that struck me about season four is how unglamorous Marlo is compared to B & B. With those guys we saw a lot of the money and girls, where as Marlo is kind of asexual and less glitzy. B&B owned clubs, brushed shoulders with senators, had super nice homes (which we allowed to see), but Marlo is more of a gritty mystery. So, with the focus on the neighborhood kids, the school, Cutty's gym, and Bodie's empty corner, season 4 reminds me more of The Corner with its unrelenting depressing environment. That's good, I think. Re-watching seasons 1 & 3 especially, Stringer and Avon almost seen cartoonish and lovable going backwards from Marlo. God the stuff with the kids is sad, too. Knowing how they all turn out just kills me going back and watching how their stories started out.

― rockapads, Friday, 11 April 2008 22:58 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bR3T1eThJU

― omar little, Friday, 11 April 2008 23:04 (seventeen years ago)

Great sight and sound article: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49447

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:05 (seventeen years ago)

that kermode quote, still sucking.

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:09 (seventeen years ago)

or more the reverence w. which KJ treats it.

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:09 (seventeen years ago)

I like that quote! (Although I think I prefer Simon's version of it "Fuck the average reader")

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:11 (seventeen years ago)

simon's quote sucks even harder.

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:11 (seventeen years ago)

The article is very over-written for such a declarative show, but he's pretty much OTM throughout.

xp, why?

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:12 (seventeen years ago)

it falsifies the show anyway -- it wouldn't be any good if it wasn't entertaining.

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:14 (seventeen years ago)

i said elsewhere that i think in context kermode's quote may mean something different -- ie the groundlings watching 'hamlet' were not the early jacobean equivalents of hbo subscribers.

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:15 (seventeen years ago)

xp: Of course, but assuming the audience is intelligent (and having 60 hours to play with) allows you to a different kind of entertaining, which is what they're getting at.

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:17 (seventeen years ago)

Has this article been discussed on another Wire thread?

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:17 (seventeen years ago)

"they're getting at" = "Simon is getting at"

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:18 (seventeen years ago)

it's a bit like arguments about dance music in rock mags where it's like such-and-such TRANSCENDS the genre... anyway i think that kind of discourse is a way of not actually talking about 'the wire', but slamming other shows; and i don't have faith that KJ has much knowledge of other shows really.

it is differently entertaining (though not by *that much*) from 'the shield', but he's saying it's different-as-in-for-better-people.

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:21 (seventeen years ago)

I do get the impression that Simon is an asshole (and not just from that quote), so I agree that that's probably his interpretation of his own quote. It's not mine though, which is why I really like it.

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:24 (seventeen years ago)

I still need to watch Homicide and The Shield.

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:25 (seventeen years ago)

ta-da. i have a theory KJ hasn't -- most film dudes are kind of resistant to TV, *especially* when it's touted as being 'as good as' the movies. they feel the need to defend their home medium or some shit. that's probably the first major s&s article on a tv show -- they did one on 'berlin alexanderplatz' but sort of treated it as a film. except that since the early 70s tv has funded loads of "films" -- derek jarman's, fassbinder's -- and tv has arguably been where most people have seen "british cinema".

so in terms of highbrow film mags' relation with TV, this was Kind Of A Big Deal.

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:30 (seventeen years ago)

the shield is good but also kind of impossible to take seriously

― omar little, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:31 (seventeen years ago)

yeah it's pretty mental

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:32 (seventeen years ago)

I am new to Sight and Sound. Only really started reading every issue a year or so ago and know nothing about the history of British film criticism, so perhaps I'm missing the upturned noses and backhanded compliments you detect in the article. xxp

― caek, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:34 (seventeen years ago)

Shield has its moments, but it is no way as good as the Wire. Nor was Homicide.

― Alex in SF, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:38 (seventeen years ago)

lol, no it's not like that. KJ is mostly associated w. film comment (in new york); i am only guessing that he's not a big TV guy, but this is the first time i've seen him engage with it. and it's not exactly about upturned noses* or british criticism -- don't think film comment does much, if any, tv crit either.

*it's kind of interesting that among famous showrunners, DS has the smallest connection with movies; at the same time, he has worked very hard to position himself and the show more seriously than practically any US filmmaker this decade.

xpost

i'm not about making direct shield-wire comparisons, they hit different notes, and do things the other one doesn't. ditto homicide -- it is more formulaic than the other two, but the characters/ensemble is mad strong.

― banriquit, Friday, 18 April 2008 23:43 (seventeen years ago)

Thrilling star sighting in the East Village the other day: The Greek!

― eater, Saturday, 19 April 2008 18:05 (seventeen years ago)

> When Michael finally turns on Namond and beats him to a pulp, we're witnessing much more than an explosion of adolescent anger: we're confronted with two characters at a spiritual crossroads, one moving into abasement, the other into regeneration.

I wonder how much better that article would be if he wasn't making shit up.

― Oilyrags, Saturday, 19 April 2008 18:39 (seventeen years ago)

Isn't he referring to the time when they got in a fight at Cutty's gym? But "bloody pulp" makes it sound like KJ is conflating that fight with Michael's beatdown of Kenard.

― Leee, Saturday, 19 April 2008 21:46 (seventeen years ago)

guys, i just got e-mailed an updated syllabus for something and one of the classes is called Negotiations: Tactical Maneuvers of a Dickensian Nature and all i could think about is the baltimore sun.

― tehresa, Thursday, 24 April 2008 20:36 (seventeen years ago)

I do get the impression that Simon is an asshole

Really? Just kidding, I thought this was a known fact. Don't get me wrong, I am forever grateful to the man for producing such a beautiful work of art, but damn, I saw him at a forum recently and he was straight up rude to some people asking questions. But I guess that bitterness and anger were necessary for such a biting piece social commentary as the wire.

― youcangoyourownway, Thursday, 24 April 2008 21:02 (seventeen years ago)

Has anybody posted this awesome CJR piece with Simon?
http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/secrets_of_the_city.php

― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 24 April 2008 21:07 (seventeen years ago)

Shield has its moments, but it is no way as good as the Wire. Nor was Homicide.

homicide comparison isn't fair imo, cable vs. network.

― am0n, Thursday, 24 April 2008 21:13 (seventeen years ago)

I have not watched these, but whatevs:
http://www.theatlantic.com/movies/wire.mhtml

― caek, Sunday, 27 April 2008 00:10 (seventeen years ago)

http://periscopestudio.com/?cat=23

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc275/thehousenextdoor/2008/Links%20for%20the%20Day/April%202008/April%2030%202008/wire03.jpg

― omar little, Wednesday, 30 April 2008 19:39 (seventeen years ago)

― gff, Wednesday, 30 April 2008 19:58 (seventeen years ago)

I finally started watching this a couple of weeks ago - the last disc of season one should be in the mail now. For some reason I was kind of oblivious to it forever, like I kept hearing about it but never imagined that I'd like it, not being a big fan of Law and Order, Homicide, or any other TV cop show. Holy shit was I wrong. It started kind of slow but I'm totally hooked now.

― joygoat, Wednesday, 30 April 2008 20:58 (seventeen years ago)

Holy shit at Wire/Simpsons

― forksclovetofu, Wednesday, 30 April 2008 21:01 (seventeen years ago)

two weeks pass...

sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Monday, 19 May 2008 18:51 (seventeen years ago)

http://periscopestudio.com/wp-content/uploads/wire01_web.jpg

― omar little, Monday, 19 May 2008 18:55 (seventeen years ago)

i cant seem to get clay davis' catchphrase out my head.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Monday, 19 May 2008 19:48 (seventeen years ago)

Is that supposed to be another Simpsonized thing? Cause it's pretty good, but not very Groening.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 19 May 2008 19:51 (seventeen years ago)

many lol/wtf posts in this thread

amazing show, seasons 2-3-4 are my favorite, and it sounds like 'sean gramaphone' was pretty much setting himself up to hate it from the first ep

― deej, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 17:35 (seventeen years ago)

to hate season 5 i mean

― deej, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 17:35 (seventeen years ago)

those cartoons give me the heebie jeebies more than Shitting_cumming_asian_dicknipples.jpg for some reason.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 17:39 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS7gAt7XkBk

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 21:23 (seventeen years ago)

i have sorta just tripped over this on late-night TV down here, it's around season 4 i think? so so so so good, i'm definitely gonna have to go back to the start.

― haitch, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 01:41 (seventeen years ago)

3 > 1 > 2. that's as far as i'm through in the past month. couldn't really get with the eastern european prostitute thing, as much as i loved frank sobotka as a character. bell + barksdale = epic, beautiful. can't wait for season 4 (torrent). i'm behind everything.

― strgn, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 12:19 (seventeen years ago)

ziggy was fun but i'm glad he got the time. maybe season 6?????????/

― strgn, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 12:20 (seventeen years ago)

I didn't think I'd be into the dockworker stuff but it seems they can thrown anything into the mix and write it so you start to like the characters and want to see what happens to them. Ziggy was an idiot, the Fredo of the Sobotka family. I have no idea if he's going to ever surface again.

I'm midway through season 3 now and I'm glad it's back to Stringer and Avon and Prop Joe and all that.

Maybe this is a stupid question but I've been wondering - why heroin? Doesn't anyone smoke crack in Baltimore, or is that a whole other unseen and equally big part of the problem going on off-screen?

― joygoat, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 14:53 (seventeen years ago)

I only finished Season Four two weeks ago. I've dipped periodically into this thread to sort out plot complications but have been too intimidated to post.

Without having seen Season Five I'd rate'em 3>4>1>2.

Favorite character: Prop Joe. Nothing this character (and this actor) does is predictable.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 14:57 (seventeen years ago)

2 is totally underrated by jerks

― deej, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 15:28 (seventeen years ago)

you think Ziggy would like Season 2?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 15:29 (seventeen years ago)

why heroin? Doesn't anyone smoke crack in Baltimore

of course they do but heroin is the #1 problem in the city. 'the corner' mini-series covered both equally iirc

― am0n, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 19:59 (seventeen years ago)

4 > 2 > 1 > 3 > 5

― abanana, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 20:04 (seventeen years ago)

4 > 2 > 1 > 3 > 5

-- abanana, Tuesday, June 10, 2008 3:04 PM (45 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

^^^^^^

― deej, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 20:05 (seventeen years ago)

I'm almost done with Season 3, should have it polished off by the weekend. I'm glad that the Barksdale organization is back in focus this season, although so far the dockworkers are more interesting to me than Carcetti and the whole city politics angle.

That's probably all I'll say for a while, though. I've been resisting even opening this thread every time it gets bumped.

― jaymc, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 20:06 (seventeen years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzTM6BiUoqo

― sleep, Thursday, 3 July 2008 04:32 (seventeen years ago)

looooooooooooooooooooooooooool

― max, Thursday, 3 July 2008 04:33 (seventeen years ago)

hooooly shit so much animated gif potential (xpost)

― some dude, Thursday, 3 July 2008 04:35 (seventeen years ago)

Take it from me, Jimmy McNulty...

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 3 July 2008 04:37 (seventeen years ago)

Gayer in this clip: Freamon or Colvin?

― Hurting 2, Thursday, 3 July 2008 04:39 (seventeen years ago)

what in the fuck

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 3 July 2008 05:00 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS9_wtekt8c

― jhøshea, Thursday, 3 July 2008 05:17 (seventeen years ago)

His next projects include a feature film about a true but unlikely romance between Donnie Andrews, a Baltimore holdup artist who robbed drug dealers (and inspired the character Omar Little on “The Wire”), and Fran Boyd, a crack addict who recovered with his help and married him last year (and was also a character in “The Corner”).

FEEL GOOD MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 8 July 2008 23:42 (seventeen years ago)

just one Emmy nomination for the Season 5, to match the other Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series nomination it lost in '05. kind of glad it turned out this way (even better if there was no nom at all), better for the show to go down as unjustly shut out of the awards than to get thrown a bone at the last possible minute for its weakest season.

― some dude, Thursday, 17 July 2008 17:10 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2008/0805.carey.html

― caek, Thursday, 17 July 2008 22:37 (seventeen years ago)

Seriously Vic: that is an important find.

― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 17 July 2008 22:55 (seventeen years ago)

that is a great article caek

― am0n, Friday, 18 July 2008 00:10 (seventeen years ago)

yeah, it's crazy.

for those of you who can't be bothered to click through:

On November 16, 2005, Willie “Bo” Mitchell and three co-defendants—Shelton “Little Rock” Harris, Shelly “Wayne” Martin, and Shawn Earl Gardner— appeared for a hearing in the modern federal courthouse in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The four African American men were facing federal charges of racketeering, weapons possession, drug dealing, and five counts of first-degree murder. For nearly two years the prosecutors had been methodically building their case, with the aim of putting the defendants to death. In Baltimore, which has a murder rate eight times higher than that of New York City, such cases are depressingly commonplace.
A few minutes after 10 a.m., United States District Court Judge Andre M. Davis took his seat and began his introductory remarks. Suddenly, the leader of the defendants, Willie Mitchell, a short, unremarkable looking twenty-eight-yearold with close-cropped hair, leapt from his chair, grabbed a microphone, and launched into a bizarre soliloquy.
“I am not a defendant,” Mitchell declared. “I do not have attorneys.” The court “lacks territorial jurisdiction over me,” he argued, to the amazement of his lawyers. To support these contentions, he cited decades-old acts of Congress involving the abandonment of the gold standard and the creation of the Federal Reserve. Judge Davis, a Baltimore-born African American in his late fifties, tried to interrupt. “I object,” Mitchell repeated robotically. Shelly Martin and Shelton Harris followed Mitchell to the microphone, giving the same speech verbatim. Their attorneys tried to intervene, but when Harris’s lawyer leaned over to speak to him, Harris shoved him away.

― caek, Friday, 18 July 2008 00:11 (seventeen years ago)

if Omar voted Ron Paul

― caek, Friday, 18 July 2008 00:12 (seventeen years ago)

man, that's some crazy convergence. an ex-ceo was just convicted here today of tax evasion. he got deep into this radical "common law" christian identity libertarian stuff. they're gonna get him on more i think, he kept talking about god wanting him to kill the judge...

― goole, Friday, 18 July 2008 00:17 (seventeen years ago)

there was an episode of law and order on yesterday w/ that, it was mostly lols as sam waterston kept yelling object

― max, Friday, 18 July 2008 00:18 (seventeen years ago)

heh

www.redemptionservice.com

Despite the United States Federal Reserve Bank asserting claim that "Washington, D.C." is over 8 Trillion Dollars in Debt to the Federal Reserve Bank, most Americans today fail to realize that the United States Federal Reserve "BANK" is a "PRIVATE" Bank! Fifty years ago this fact was common knowledge among many Americans. It was even taught in school as part of History class. Today, it is no longer even mentioned in school and most Americans are completely oblivious to this once common knowledge. So who owns the Federal Reserve Bank, you ask? No, NOT American Citizens! The Federal Reserve Bank was created through an Act of Congress and came into existence from the "Federal Reserve Act of December 23, 1913." Created from an Act of Congress; but more-or-less a "HYBRID" (Created through Legislation; but as a Corporation with privately held stock). Eighty-Five percent (85%) of the Stock is held entirely by European International Bankers. These foreign Shareholders/ Owners being entirely European Jewish families:
Rothschild Banks of London and Berlin
Lazard Brothers Bank of Paris
Israel Moses Sieff Banks of Italy
Warburg Bank of Hamburg and Amsterdam
Lehman Brothers Bank of New York
Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York
Chase Manhattan Bank of New York
Goldman Sachs Bank of New York
Click here for chart outline of the ownership of the Federal Reserve Bank

― am0n, Friday, 18 July 2008 00:31 (seventeen years ago)

http://bp2.blogger.com/_zD-zh2jtvZU/SIPhQsdr7DI/AAAAAAAAAlg/0jjFmxIPgU4/s400/Barksdale.JPG

― some dude, Monday, 21 July 2008 01:29 (seventeen years ago)

http://209.85.62.26/12257/100/emo/jewmoney.gif

― cankles, Monday, 21 July 2008 02:35 (seventeen years ago)

http://images.webster-dictionary.org/dict/110/041516-shylock.gif

― am0n, Monday, 21 July 2008 03:31 (seventeen years ago)

lol

― am0n, Monday, 21 July 2008 03:33 (seventeen years ago)

Soon, Shystyville CDs with titles like “Pure Shit” became evidence of not just the conspiracy but the crimes themselves, with prosecutors entering into the record lyrics like these:

I watch ya brains fly all over on the bitch next to you
Homeboy it’s up to you I could put this pup to you
Then to pumpin’ you up like a innertube
Send shots that’ll pump up the end of you
Leave you all fat and bloated you know I keep
the Mac loaded then I like ta clack rollin’
That’s why Bo and Weez on lock now and every day on lock down
Niggas getting shot down for runnin’ they mouth clown
Tell me how it feels with a gun in ya mouth now

Prosecutors alleged that the “bitch next to you” was Lisa Brown, who was sitting beside Oliver McCaffity when he was shot through the head, that a “pup” is slang for the largecaliber revolver used in the killing, that the “Bo” on “lock now” was the imprisoned Willie “Bo” Mitchell, and that the reference to “Niggas getting shot for runnin’ they mouth” amounted to witness intimidation. Faced with the prospect of an all-white jury hearing this music in the courtroom, the defense lawyers objected on the grounds that lots of songs have lyrics that “proudly refer to violent retaliation,” offering by way of example country star Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).”

― Jordan, Monday, 21 July 2008 03:59 (seventeen years ago)

recently saw Clockers for the first time...not only does it feel very Wire-y (wiry?) in retrospect, but bird and wee-bay are in there.

― Jordan, Tuesday, 22 July 2008 20:04 (seventeen years ago)

Richard Price cribbed a good amount of dialogue for the Wire from Clockers, mostly stuff that didn't get used in the film, like "big paws on a puppy."

― antexit, Tuesday, 22 July 2008 20:37 (seventeen years ago)

two weeks pass...

Not like this is official or anything, and I'm not getting my hopes up yet, but:

At the EMA (Entertainment Merchant Association) show this week, being held at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, HBO Video and Warner Home Video have announced that The Wire - The Complete Series is coming to DVD later this year.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Wire-The-Complete-Series/9915

― Leee, Sunday, 10 August 2008 02:27 (seventeen years ago)

I watched the first three episodes of Season Five (spoiler alert).

Although newsroom and City Hall politics are as well-drawn as usual, for the first time I sensed that Simon's cynicism was beginning to curdle his ideas. Bunk, the newspaper editor, McNulty – all utter some variation on the line "life sucks and we can't get shit done." And, so far, the guy who plays the executive editor is a buffoon.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 12:46 (seventeen years ago)

if you'd been through what they'd been through wouldn't you feel basically the same?

though i don't see gus as being very cynical. he's the fire under the butt of the reporters under him and he still wants to chase down good stories - in fact he still believes good work is possible to such an extent that he goes right up against the exec editor about it

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:10 (seventeen years ago)

the problem w/ Gus wasn't cynicism, it was his saintliness

― milo z, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:13 (seventeen years ago)

there are people like that, though!

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:14 (seventeen years ago)

Funny you mention this – not two minutes ago the interim associate dean of the journalism school left my office decrying the state of the industry and how we (Student Media) can help sharpen the kids' skills in the new world.

I don't have a problem with the conflicts – several friends have accepted buyouts or been laid off in the last two weeks as major newspaper conglomerates panic – but the obvious manner in which they've unfolded is disappointing.

Episodes 4-6 tomorrow.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:15 (seventeen years ago)

"executive editor is a buffoon" = Whiting, not Haynes, right?

― some dude, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:20 (seventeen years ago)

lol I am in a race with Alfred now to finish season 5, I just watched 1-3 myself last night

and btw y'all Regional Affairs Editor Rebecca Corbett played by Kara Quick got straight ROBBED in the wire babez poll yes i said ROBBED that woman was ROBBED

I think I'm going to like this season, it's got a lot more melodrama dominoes lining up, and nobody's learning any lessons. By the final episode I fully expect Baltimore to be razed to the ground. No spoilers please.

― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:26 (seventeen years ago)

I like the return of McNulty The Rake myself.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:27 (seventeen years ago)

there was a wire babez poll and i missed it??!!/ :(

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:43 (seventeen years ago)

going by some journalism people I know, Gus seems pretty realistic actually. I don't think he's saintly it's just there is a v strict code of ethics and if you take it seriously, you take it seriously. god knows what goes on in "newsrooms" for those talking heads pundit shows, though.

― daria-g, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:50 (seventeen years ago)

Will be getting the first two discs of S5 tomorrow. Excited.

― jaymc, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:51 (seventeen years ago)

WIRE BABEZ POLL
WIRE BABEZ POLL (dudes edition)

― some dude, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 15:52 (seventeen years ago)

I thought all the Sun stuff was pretty OTM actually. Particularly the speech about 'doing more with less', I have been on the receiving end of the exact same speech from more than one publishing bigwig in the last few years. LOVE Gus.

― Meg Busset, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 16:03 (seventeen years ago)

What's going on in South Florida

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 16:05 (seventeen years ago)

i imagine similar backroom conversations going on in the la weekly and l.a. times offices since those papers have gone from being reasonable to just about the most dire rags i've ever read.

― omar little, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 16:56 (seventeen years ago)

the Sun just did another round of buyouts a month or so back, i know some people over there that survived the cuts but are still pretty much on their toes because they know it could be them next year or the year after, etc.

― some dude, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 16:59 (seventeen years ago)

I'm sure there are a lot of Guses in the newspaper industry - but there are a lot of saintly, dedicated people in all the professions the Wire covered (except for drug dealers, presumably). But they were never portrayed in the same urgent "Love This Man" way as Gus.

Except maybe Lester ('til the last season), but he was always more jaded and less earnest.

― milo z, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:46 (seventeen years ago)

i think the compression hurt the fifth season more than the direct cynicism. cut two hours out of any other storyline and it would have seemed too broad and obvious too: mouzone vs omar, marlo's megalomania, the sobotkas and the greeks, the political campaigns, etc. streetwise old school-reporters vs. their clueless ivy-league neoliberal bosses is a bit romantic yes but not completely unreal.

― goole, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:54 (seventeen years ago)

hah wrong hyphen there

― goole, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:54 (seventeen years ago)

in his whole blog jihad a few months ago Simon aggressively argued against the perception that they had to cut anything out or shorten the storyline in season 5, that they were fine with the shorter order of episodes. it definitely feels too fast and too compressed to have 10 episodes instead of 12 or 13 like usual, though.

― some dude, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:58 (seventeen years ago)

hmm, well, the turn towards fakery (lol no spoilers) as a solution to the budget & morale crisis is so sudden and wholly uncharacteristic, maybe we all pin that turn on the shorter series when really it's just not entirely believable.

― goole, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:03 (seventeen years ago)

gah i'm totally incoherent: maybe simon is being defensive, but on the other hand ppl are blaming the fifth season's problems on the "rushed pace" when really they're just problems, period.

― goole, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:08 (seventeen years ago)

i have totally contradicted myself in the space of half an hour, jesus

― goole, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:14 (seventeen years ago)

It didn't help that the last 3 or so episodes were the best of the season, so there was kind of a bitter "aww it was just getting good" feeling when it all ended quicker than it usually does.

― some dude, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:16 (seventeen years ago)

The McNutty/bad reporter storylines are half-baked, but I basically loved everything else about S5.

― polyphonic, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:48 (seventeen years ago)

and btw y'all Regional Affairs Editor Rebecca Corbett played by Kara Quick got straight ROBBED in the wire babez poll yes i said ROBBED that woman was ROBBED

Not really since TITTAYS!!! but the overall thrust of your point stands.

Almost all of S5 felt hollow in some way -- could be that the McNutty/bad reporter thing rippled out through all the different INSTITUTIONS, as is the wont of the show.

― Leee, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 21:58 (seventeen years ago)

I finished S5. It ruled.
I don't understand anybody who complains about the wire except for the point that it should have lasted longer.

― El Tomboto, Friday, 15 August 2008 03:17 (seventeen years ago)

My only complaint about the Wire right now is that Netflix hasn't started to send me season 5 yet and tells me this instead:

IMPORTANT: Your DVD Shipments Have Likely Been Delayed
Click here to learn more

We’re sorry to report that since Tuesday we’ve been experiencing issues with our shipping system, so many of you have not received DVDs in a timely manner and many of you have not received emails letting you know we got a DVD back from you.

― joygoat, Friday, 15 August 2008 04:08 (seventeen years ago)

and btw y'all Regional Affairs Editor Rebecca Corbett played by Kara Quick got straight ROBBED in the wire babez poll yes i said ROBBED that woman was ROBBED

^^^ this is truth bomb supreme

except wait til you see the french girl who works at the bank

― goole, Friday, 15 August 2008 04:13 (seventeen years ago)

I got mine before the Netflix problem, joygoat.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 15 August 2008 12:49 (seventeen years ago)

(Possible spoilers if people are still watching the early seasons}
Can I just get something off my chest that never sat right with me, and had very far-reaching consequences? It just didn't make sense that Stringer would try to get rid of Mousone by telling Omar that he'd been responsible for torturing Brandon. Stringer is a smart man, surely he knew that Omar might check first? And why didn't he just put the word out rather than telling Omar face-to-face and thus making it really bloody easy for Mousone to find out that it was String who'd tried to set him up? It just seemed a really crass and cack-handed stunt to try to pull.

― Meg Busset, Friday, 15 August 2008 21:30 (seventeen years ago)

Smart people are rarely smart 100% of the time

― El Tomboto, Friday, 15 August 2008 21:37 (seventeen years ago)

I assumed that Stringer didn't know Omar that well and assumed he'd just kill Mouzone no matter what, like Stringer would have. Omar has his code and all that, which is why Bunk, who knew Omar better, realized he wasn't the one who killed the civilian delivery woman in the liquor store.

― joygoat, Friday, 15 August 2008 21:56 (seventeen years ago)

also FUCK YOU NETFLIX I should be watching S5 tonight.

― joygoat, Friday, 15 August 2008 21:57 (seventeen years ago)

he problem w/ Gus wasn't cynicism, it was his saintliness

-- milo z, Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:13 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Link

yeah, this was annoying, even if guys like him actually exist. seemed to typify simon's ur-reporter, and he wouldn't get off his jock.

also, the mcnulty/reporter storyline got so o_O at times that it pulled me out a little bit. still, <3 this show 4 life

― gbx, Friday, 15 August 2008 22:08 (seventeen years ago)

it was all worth it for the closed-door bit at the end when Jimmy confronts Templeton. "No, I'm a joke. And so are you."

― El Tomboto, Friday, 15 August 2008 22:10 (seventeen years ago)

i have never seen this show (more like consciously avoided it in case i got sucked in mid-run) and i'm just about to start marathon-ing. excited!

― Roz, Sunday, 17 August 2008 12:21 (seventeen years ago)

xp to Meg:

my feeling on that whole situation was that Stringer didn't necessarily think that Omar would take down Mouzone (who was a bad-ass hired hitman and all). Even if that was his plan (my memory is hazy on the specific scene), it couldn't have hurt to throw two people who were giving him problems up against each other. then combine that rationale with what joygoat said: Stringer and Avon always underestimated Omar and also didn't know anything about his code. I have some problems with certain scenes in the show, but that one was okay by me. although the whole Brother Mouzone character itself was a tad Tarantino, or something, to me.

― rockapads, Sunday, 17 August 2008 15:26 (seventeen years ago)

i own all the other seasons of the wire, but i am back and forth about whether or not I should buy S5. re-watching the whole McNulty thing seems really unappealing.

― rockapads, Sunday, 17 August 2008 15:27 (seventeen years ago)

lol yeah nevermind dookie and michael and marlo, watching mcnulty be a jerk and lie about stuff is just too much

― El Tomboto, Sunday, 17 August 2008 20:08 (seventeen years ago)

'Wire' actress 'Snoop' arrested on drug charges

By Justin Fenton | Sun reporter
3:56 PM EDT, August 21, 2008

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, who played a cold-blooded hit woman of the same name on the HBO series "The Wire," was arrested on minor drug charges today after police entered her home to serve a warrant related to her role as a witness in a murder trial.

Members of the homicide operation unit forced entry into the 28-year-old's Northeast Baltimore home this morning to serve a warrant allowing police to detain her until the Sept. 16 murder trial of Steven James Lashley.

Once inside the home, police found two cigars containing suspected marijuana in an upstairs bedroom, and "loose plant material" was recovered from the top of a kitchen cabinet. She was charged with one count of drug possession and was being held at the Central Booking and Intake Center.

Authorities say Pearson watched Lashley stab three men, killing one, after an argument that began outside New York Fried Chicken on The Block in the fall of 2005, and she is expected to be called as a witness during the trial.

Pearson's troubled past served as the basis for her recent memoir, Grace After Midnight. Born prematurely and addicted to crack, she fell in with some of East Baltimore's biggest drug runners before she hit her teens.

She pleaded guilty in 1996 to second-degree murder for fatally shooting Okia "Kia" Toomer during a fight in Baltimore and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Upon her release, she re-entered the world of drug dealing before being spotted in a nightclub and eventually cast on "The Wire," the gritty crime drama set in Baltimore.

She said the opportunity was the catalyst that helped turn her life around and has spoken about the difficulties of leaving her past behind, including a recent appearance on "Larry King Live" that was broadcast from the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women, where she served time.

"I'm tired of crying. God gave me this blessing for a reason, and I want to see what it is," said Pearson during an appearance at the Stoop Storytelling series. "Hopefully, I can give somebody else some hope, like 'The Wire' gave me hope."

― am0n, Thursday, 21 August 2008 20:53 (seventeen years ago)

I bet her hair looked good.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 21 August 2008 20:55 (seventeen years ago)

This makes me sad...

― leavethecapital, Thursday, 21 August 2008 21:00 (seventeen years ago)

Oh, so I finished Season Five last night! Pretty good ending.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 21 August 2008 21:04 (seventeen years ago)

'Wire' actress arrested on minor drug charge

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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 22, 2008

Filed at 11:00 a.m. ET

BALTIMORE (AP) -- An actress who appeared on the HBO series ''The Wire'' has been arrested on minor drug charges.

Court records show Felicia ''Snoop'' Pearson, who played a killer of the same name on the televesion series, was charged after police went to her home in Northeast Baltimore to pick her up for refusing to cooperate as a witness in a murder trial.

She was arrested Wednesday after police served a warrant that would allow them to detain her, if needed, until the Sept. 16 trial of Steven Lashley. Court documents say Pearson is accused of having two cigars containing suspected marijuana in a bedroom and loose plant material. She was charged with one count of drug possession.

Authorities say Pearson witnessed Lashley stab three men, killing one, during an argument in 2005.

------

― Jordan, Friday, 22 August 2008 15:21 (seventeen years ago)

oh sorry

― Jordan, Friday, 22 August 2008 15:21 (seventeen years ago)

I sat down and tried to make a list of as many characters on The Wire as I could remember, the only stipulation being that I had to remember their names, rather than "that young hopper from Season 1" or "McNulty's partner on the boat." I came up with 85 and didn't even remember Mayor Royce until I checked to see who I missed.

― jaymc, Monday, 25 August 2008 04:49 (seventeen years ago)

boring.xls

― jeff, Monday, 25 August 2008 05:40 (seventeen years ago)

lol.zip

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 25 August 2008 05:44 (seventeen years ago)

When I end up a cat lady I'm totally gonna call them Omar and Stringer to at least give me and mah pussies an edge.

― ljubljana, Monday, 25 August 2008 08:56 (seventeen years ago)

three weeks pass...

God this show was so fucking good. Five seasons was not enough.

― john mccain's illegitimate black child (musically), Thursday, 18 September 2008 23:49 (sixteen years ago)

I mentioned this on the Downtown Brooklyn thread, but I saw Rawls eating breakfast at the place I went to last weekend.

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Thursday, 18 September 2008 23:52 (sixteen years ago)

Apparently DFW thought it was "the best writing being done in America today."

― HOOS em out to your friends and shit (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Thursday, 18 September 2008 23:56 (sixteen years ago)

I would agree.

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Thursday, 18 September 2008 23:57 (sixteen years ago)

**SPOILER**

What reason was given to the police force as to why Lester and Jimmy were "retiring"? Obviously no one could know the actual reason.

― john mccain's illegitimate black child (musically), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:05 (sixteen years ago)

you don't have to have a reason to quit your job. same for daniels' resignation. "spend more time with the family"

― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:15 (sixteen years ago)

watching Oz has been pretty cool. bodie! avon!

― "goole" (goole), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:17 (sixteen years ago)

daniels, freamon, herc, carver.

― broken_britan (special guest stars mark bronson), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:25 (sixteen years ago)

saw Bubs on an episode of L&O:CI

― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:27 (sixteen years ago)

I used to be way into Oz, but I didn't even make it through S1 the last time I tried watching it again. I think it might be the only TV show that doesn't benefit from sustained viewing (vs. week-to-week).

― milo z, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:30 (sixteen years ago)

you don't have to have a reason to quit your job. same for daniels' resignation. "spend more time with the family"

uh, "spend more time with the family" was Daniels' "reason". It can be a bullshit reason but I'm pretty sure that people would have been wondering why the two guys left the job at the same time.

― john mccain's illegitimate black child (musically), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:32 (sixteen years ago)

they both had pretty bad reputations in the dept, i don't think anyone outside the situation would be surprised to see them go

― "goole" (goole), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:35 (sixteen years ago)

v. looking forward to seeing Michael K. Williams in The Road

― caek, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:36 (sixteen years ago)

I'm actually re-watching Oz right now. I was obsessed with it in high school and even though it's even more preposterous than I remember it's still great. As long as you view it as a soap opera versus a serious drama.

Inmates
* J.D. Williams played Kenny "Bricks" Wangler on Oz and Preston "Bodie" Broadus on The Wire.
* Domenick Lombardozzi played Ralph Galino on Oz and Thomas "Herc" Hauk on The Wire.
* Seth Gilliam played ex-corrections officer Clayton Hughes on Oz and Sergeant Ellis Carver on The Wire.
* Lance Reddick plays undercover detective Johnny Basil whose cover identity is Desmond Mobay on Oz and ascendant police commander Cedric Daniels on The Wire.
* John Doman played Edward Galson on Oz and caustic police commander William Rawls on The Wire.
* Method Man played Carlton "Tug" Daniels on Oz and East side drug lieutenant Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff on The Wire.
* Tom Mardirosian played Agamemnon Busmalis on Oz and FBI agent Kristos Koutris on The Wire.
* Michael Potts played Reinhardt in the Oz episode "Medium Rare" and Brother Mouzone on The Wire.
* Clarke Peters played Afsana in the Oz episode "The Bill of Wrongs" and Lester Freamon on The Wire.
* Tim McAdams played Johnny Post on Oz and a motorist and school teacher in The Wire episode "Transitions".
* Derrick Simmons played Billie Keane and did stunt work on Oz and did stunt work on The Wire.
* Lawrence Cameron Steele plays an Aryan in the Oz finale "Exuent Omnes" and a Western district shift lieutenant in the third season of The Wire.
Prison staff
* Reg E. Cathey played Warden Martin Querms on Oz and political aide Norman Wilson on The Wire.
* Wood Harris played Officer Gordon Wood in the Oz episode "Plan B" and Avon Barksdale on The Wire.
* Cyrus Farmer played Officer Adrian Johnson on Oz and Devar Manigault on The Wire.
* Curtis L. McLarin played Officer Lonnie Smith on Oz and a florist in The Wire episode "Transitions".
* Toni Lewis played dog trainer Alicia Hinden on Oz and an FBI agent in The Wire.
Others
* Frankie Faison played Cornelius Keane in the Oz episode "Capital P" and Ervin Burrell in The Wire.
* Michael Hyatt played Sadia Khayn in the Oz episode "Out O' Time" and Brianna Barksdale in The Wire.

― john mccain's illegitimate black child (musically), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:38 (sixteen years ago)

I'm so glad to be able to go into this thread now w/out fear of spoilers (I had the misfortune of hearing about some major deaths thanks to youtube and the wire website).

Funny DFW's take on this should be mentioned. I spent last Sunday just watching the wire partly as relief from the shock of his death.

But honestly, as someone who doesn't really watch TV anymore, has there ever been anything on TV that comes even close to this? (and don't even try to say The Sopranos).

Biggest disappointment about the Season 5 DVD: hearing the actor who plays Norman's real voice (high pitched and whiny!) in the special features.

― Cars That Go Boom (mehlt), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:41 (sixteen years ago)

they both had pretty bad reputations in the dept, i don't think anyone outside the situation would be surprised to see them go

Freamon was older and everyone would have probably believed he was just going to do dollhouse miniatures full-time. McNulty may have had a bad rap in certain circles but I can't imagine that people would have just accepted his retirement without asking questions. I assumed that maybe there was a cover story I missed, but maybe they left it unsaid.

― john mccain's illegitimate black child (musically), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:43 (sixteen years ago)

dude

― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:50 (sixteen years ago)

everybody always makes up shit after people quit anyway. have you ever worked at a job?

― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:50 (sixteen years ago)

what do you think the cover story was for busting whatsisface back to the copy desk?

― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:51 (sixteen years ago)

"irreconcilable differences"

― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:51 (sixteen years ago)

dude I KNOW they made an excuse up, I was just wondering what the excuse was!

― john mccain's illegitimate black child (musically), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:55 (sixteen years ago)

Watched all of it over the last month and it was great up until the end. Season 4 my absolute favorite.

― Capitaine Jay Vee, Friday, 19 September 2008 00:56 (sixteen years ago)

It kind of seems like at least a couple people knew why McNulty and Freamon were leaving - Landsman at least seems to have reconciled himself with it after bitching at McNulty for so long. Or something. That's just the vibe I got at the fake wake.

Also, fuck this guy:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/The_Wire_Templeton.jpg/250px-The_Wire_Templeton.jpg

― with one and a half pair of pants you ain't cool (joygoat), Friday, 19 September 2008 00:56 (sixteen years ago)

I didn't find the Sun stuff as compelling as the rest of the season's narrative are; here's where I felt David Simon's bitterness strangle the development of situations beyond the most obviously cartoonish. The McNulty-Templeton Secret Sharer stuff felt cheap.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 19 September 2008 01:01 (sixteen years ago)

*the rest of the season's narrative ARC

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 19 September 2008 01:01 (sixteen years ago)

The McNulty-Templeton Secret Sharer stuff felt cheap.

yeah, but without it you don't get this:

"You... you can't be serious"
"You're right. I'm a joke. And so are you."

― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 September 2008 01:05 (sixteen years ago)

One of the most powerful elements of the show was how very few got what we thought they deserved. Namond was the last kid in season 4 anyone would have picked to be saved, but he was the one who gets a second chance at life. The Jayson Glass character gets the Pulitzer while his honest colleagues get the shaft. Valchek makes commissioner. Poot stays alive and becomes a taxpayer while Wallace (and to an extent, a redeemed Bodie) die in the game.

But at the same time, there was a hopefulness and optimism to the show; bad things happened to good people and good things happened to bad people, but unlike Oz, which reveled in piling on sadness and despair, there was always a layer of sanguinity on The Wire. Enough to make it tolerable but not enough to make concessions to the viewer.

― john mccain's illegitimate black child (musically), Friday, 19 September 2008 01:14 (sixteen years ago)

Eh. Generally you're right, but in the newspaper scenes I suspected that, for Simon, shit happens = truth. You know, that old canard about how sad songs say so much.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 19 September 2008 01:22 (sixteen years ago)

I noticed that the kid who played Mike is in that new excruciatingly-well-intentioned and painfully-awful-looking Queen Latifah movie.

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Friday, 19 September 2008 02:15 (sixteen years ago)

Michael was also playing lacrosse in the 2 minutes of the new 90210 that I saw.

Michael as the new Omar and Dukie as the new Bubs was kind of awesome / sad / expected.

― with one and a half pair of pants you ain't cool (joygoat), Friday, 19 September 2008 02:31 (sixteen years ago)

and randy as the next... bodie?

― yungblut, Friday, 19 September 2008 02:42 (sixteen years ago)

Don't forget Sydnor as the new McNulty

― john mccain's illegitimate black child (musically), Friday, 19 September 2008 02:45 (sixteen years ago)

Biggest disappointment about the Season 5 DVD: hearing the actor who plays Norman's real voice (high pitched and whiny!) in the special features.

What? No. Smooth and deep. Here:

― Jouster, Friday, 19 September 2008 03:48 (sixteen years ago)

I'm watching the Wire all weekend at the Curzon in Soho! SO HYPED!

pls let Dominic West be in character at the bar after.

The Wire Weekender Schedule

Saturday 20th September
10.30am
Ticket collection, coffee and croissants available at special rate.
11.00am
EPISODES 1 and 2 plus Q&A # 1 – David Simon and Misha Glenny on crime writing
3pm
EPISODES 3 and 4
5.30pm
Episode 5 Short intro by David Simon
6.30pm
Book signing by David Simon and informal drinks at the Curzon Soho bar

Sunday 21st September
9.30am
Ticket collection, croissants and coffee available at special rate
10am
EPISODES 6 and 7plus Q&A # 2 – David Simon Mark Billingham
2pm
EPISODES 8 and 9
4.15pm
Q&A # 3 Dominic West and David Simon in conversation with Kirsty Lang from Front Row. 5.30pm.
EPISODE 10
7.00pm
DVD signing and informal drinks at the Curzon Soho bar.

― tpp, Friday, 19 September 2008 08:21 (sixteen years ago)

So here's what I know so far:

Season 1 = about the drug trade
Season 2 = about the port
Season 3 = about how Daniels looks with his shirt off

― nabisco, Thursday, 25 September 2008 18:42 (sixteen years ago)

Season 4 = how Daniels looks like in a kepis.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 25 September 2008 18:51 (sixteen years ago)

Season 5 = How McNulty looks in a spacesuit.

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Thursday, 25 September 2008 18:57 (sixteen years ago)

Rawls: "McNulty, you've done good work here, and I just want to make sure you don't end up where you don't want to be."

cut to Freamon watching through porthole as McNulty picking up space-junk. "You never learn, McNulty."

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Thursday, 25 September 2008 18:59 (sixteen years ago)

Seriously, though, that guy must work out a LOT

― nabisco, Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:02 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, he has one of those comic book hero bodies.

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:04 (sixteen years ago)

Saw Freamon on the way out of Chris Rock at the Apollo; dude couldn't walk five steps without someone giving him love. He's a smooth dude.

― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:18 (sixteen years ago)

let's not custos the wire thread, gents

― omar little, Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:30 (sixteen years ago)

Aren't you supposed to be packing up your stuff?

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:31 (sixteen years ago)

anyway I laughed at thought of mcnulty in space suit

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:33 (sixteen years ago)

but of course I would

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:34 (sixteen years ago)

only thing i'm taking with me is my name, el-t ^_^

― omar little, Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:35 (sixteen years ago)

Saw Rawls again at brunch -- think it must be his regular place/time.

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Thursday, 25 September 2008 19:45 (sixteen years ago)

http://tcgayhockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/bgbrunch_flyer.jpg

― Jordan, Thursday, 25 September 2008 20:14 (sixteen years ago)

ha hah ha - awesome!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 25 September 2008 20:53 (sixteen years ago)

For the record, he was with a woman that looked to be his wife or SO.

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Thursday, 25 September 2008 21:08 (sixteen years ago)

Doesn't mean you can't hit on him.

― Leee, Thursday, 25 September 2008 21:31 (sixteen years ago)

Just finished this yesterday.

*spoiler*
there's no way that they keep shitty reporter's stuff quiet in the newsroom. You can't just ship the two people off and tell 'em to shut up. That feels like Simon's grudge against Evil Newspaper Bosses coming through. Loved that final EP though; way more satisfying than I thought it would be after ep 9.

― stet, Sunday, 28 September 2008 18:59 (sixteen years ago)

I haaaaaaaaate the bad reporter so much that I hate the actor too

he did direct that bad "the visitor" film so maybe he deserves it

― conrad, Sunday, 28 September 2008 20:01 (sixteen years ago)

Homina homina homina December 9!!!

― Leee, Friday, 10 October 2008 21:18 (sixteen years ago)

Product Details
Actors: Wire
Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Language: English, Greek

― omar little, Friday, 10 October 2008 21:22 (sixteen years ago)

I'm betting that with the economic situation I'll be able to find used copies under $100 post-Christmas.

― Everything is Highlighted (Hurting 2), Friday, 10 October 2008 21:23 (sixteen years ago)

Season 1 = about the drug trade
Season 2 = about the port
Season 3 = about how Daniels looks with his shirt off

Season 4 = about how this all becomes WAY more vexed and depressing when you factor in loads of children

― nabisco, Friday, 10 October 2008 21:26 (sixteen years ago)

Loads of children + Daniel with his shirt off = recipe for disaster

― Alba, Friday, 10 October 2008 22:19 (sixteen years ago)

season 4 was my favorite season. Those kids were amazing.

― ILX MOD (musically), Friday, 10 October 2008 23:26 (sixteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

keep seeing this maryland lottery commercial with the bodie actor

― eman, Friday, 31 October 2008 05:11 (sixteen years ago)

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 31 October 2008 13:31 (sixteen years ago)

Actor getting paid = good

― Tyrone Quattlebaum (Hurting 2), Friday, 31 October 2008 14:51 (sixteen years ago)

Brits are obsessed with this show.

― Gukbe, Friday, 31 October 2008 14:59 (sixteen years ago)

Much of Lance Reddick's young life was spent with instruments, not acting; he studied piano as a kid, and majored in classical composition at the Eastman School of Music. He switched to pop upon graduation, then turned to stage acting to further his music career, eventually attending Yale's drama school.

wow!

― Jordan, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:16 (sixteen years ago)

i didn't know any composition majors who found time to get to gym that much

― Jordan, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 16:17 (sixteen years ago)

Xpost: get a load of this click on musician, obviously

― Their time's limited, hard rocks, too (mehlt), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 00:31 (sixteen years ago)

"i didn't know any composition majors who found time to get to gym that much"

I don't know anyone who hasn't spent time in prison who has found the time to go to the gym that much.

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 00:44 (sixteen years ago)

Honestly. There is an intimidating amount of certifiable Greek-God statues on that show.

― Their time's limited, hard rocks, too (mehlt), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 00:49 (sixteen years ago)

I mostly remember Reddick. Who is else is similarly ridiculously built? I guess McNulty is in better shape than you could reasonably expect a guy who drinks that much and of that age to be.

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 00:52 (sixteen years ago)

he talks a good song

― conrad, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 01:03 (sixteen years ago)

Nice Anwan Glover (Slim Charles) interview:

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=1172

― leavethecapital, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 01:19 (sixteen years ago)

Otherwise, Stringer, which I guess is no surprise, and also Avon, more so than you'd imagine (not to mention he enormous hands). And I think Bodie Not to the level of Daniels, though. These things stand out when you spend months in your basement watching it, stagnant and eating unnecessary amounts of chocolate.

― Their time's limited, hard rocks, too (mehlt), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 01:29 (sixteen years ago)

Xxpost, that is.

― Their time's limited, hard rocks, too (mehlt), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 01:29 (sixteen years ago)

I used to go to the same gym as Herc, I never saw him close up but I bet he's a lot more built than he seems on TV.

― The stic.man from the hilarious 'Dead Prez' albums (some dude), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 01:38 (sixteen years ago)

slim charles was my favorite guy but i don't really know why, he wasn't that important! i guess because he is huge and quiet.

― horrible (harbl), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 01:40 (sixteen years ago)

like a bear, almost

― horrible (harbl), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 01:40 (sixteen years ago)

he's definitely a kind of innately likable guy.

― The stic.man from the hilarious 'Dead Prez' albums (some dude), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 01:49 (sixteen years ago)

it's the voice, I think. he's on the radio sometimes here in DC. also, he might be the only character, pretty much everything he says & all the advice he gives in the series is OTM. i watched all these episodes a year ago but pay attention to slim charles, whenever a guy doesn't follow his advice bad stuff happens.

― T-PALIN (daria-g), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 03:59 (sixteen years ago)

he's the one who killed cheese, right?

love that guy

― ILX MOD (musically), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 04:46 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, he killed Cheese. I dug him because he was pragmatic about most things.

― a better command of the mummy language (joygoat), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 05:48 (sixteen years ago)

he told joe to keep an eye on marlo, noticed that marlo was trying to get cheese to turn on joe, tells marlo he wasn't cut out to be a ceo (which IMHO was a lie & a very smart one @ that moment), and i wish i knew the exact dialogue, but somehow convinces omar that joe had nothing to do with what happened to butchie, and that marlo did, without explicitly saying marlo did it, gets the connect from marlo without actually crossing him, and somehow picks the exact moment to shoot cheese b/c for sure cheese would have fucked everything up w/the greeks.

― T-PALIN (daria-g), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 06:48 (sixteen years ago)

OTM
I was really glad that it was him (and I think Ricardo Hendrix) that assumedly are in charge of things in the end (as they're the ones meeting with the Greeks). In a sort of unending quasi-monarchy, where you can only hope for more benevolent leaders 'wearing the crown', it's definitely a lot better to see someone like Slim Charles in charge. Maybe it's because he came up under Stringer, but he still has retained something more of straight-business-ness thats lost with the Marlo generation.

― Their time's limited, hard rocks, too (mehlt), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:11 (sixteen years ago)

drug dealers back in MY day...

― ILX MOD (musically), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:41 (sixteen years ago)

I don't know anyone who hasn't spent time in prison who has found the time to go to the gym that much.

Wait, are you saying Reddick did time?

― Leee, Saturday, 15 November 2008 05:19 (sixteen years ago)

shit lance and i are alumni budz omg!!!!!

i was just saying last night to a friend how much i miss the wire.

― ;n_n; (tehresa), Saturday, 15 November 2008 05:20 (sixteen years ago)

xxpost. Yeah, yeah. I think you can't deny that that generational aspect is present throughout the show, though (hence the Prop Joe speeches about how it used to be buy for a dollar sell for two, or Cutty's initial reaction to dealing drugs). I think part of the really interesting thing is to see how things evolve over the 8 or so years, given say, the rise of technology (of cell phones, the internet, etc.) and how the drug trade follows its own course of incredibly rapid transformation. Of course the irony is that the more things change the more they stay the same, queue up Cheese talking about how there is "no back in the day," subsequently getting his, of course. That being said, I think Slim Charles is a kind of last of his breed. The late 00's just seems like a bad time to come up as a drug dealer, I guess.

― Their time's limited, hard rocks, too (mehlt), Saturday, 15 November 2008 05:50 (sixteen years ago)

no country for old men.

still can't believe this show got away with having a character named cheese wagstaff. there's your dickensian aspect.

― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 15 November 2008 05:57 (sixteen years ago)

I had $35 in Amazon GC, so I'm getting the complete series boxset for $125. Early Xmas for me!

― Leee, Sunday, 16 November 2008 06:17 (sixteen years ago)

it's definitely a lot better to see someone like Slim Charles in charge

yeah if I was going to have somebody help continue to supply the disgusting underbelly of baltimore with all the things it needs to stay disgusting I would definitely pick a guy who appears to have some principles

jesus christ why do all wire fans seem to think dealers are the point of the show

― TOMBOT, Sunday, 16 November 2008 06:46 (sixteen years ago)

let's have a series about the fucking inquisition and maybe we can all learn how fucking awesome it is to be a bad-ass like Ferdinand II

― TOMBOT, Sunday, 16 November 2008 06:49 (sixteen years ago)

sorry I know it's teevee and it's supposed to just be a reflection but wtf marlo/dealer fantronics sometimes

― TOMBOT, Sunday, 16 November 2008 06:50 (sixteen years ago)

Everybody loves a villain.

― polyphonic, Sunday, 16 November 2008 08:11 (sixteen years ago)

http://media.tumblr.com/IT8sENreNfv0xqhrn46Z8CD0o1_400.jpg

― T-PALIN (daria-g), Saturday, 22 November 2008 08:04 (sixteen years ago)

'hackers' was on tv yesterday and bunk is in it. i love it when wire actors turn up in other stuff

― n/a is just more of a character....in a genre polluted by clones (n/a), Saturday, 22 November 2008 13:29 (sixteen years ago)

jesus christ why do all wire fans seem to think dealers are the point of the show

― TOMBOT, Sunday, November 16, 2008 1:46 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

You're totally misreading what I said. The whole point is that you can never get rid of that disgusting underbelly, you can only hope the person in charge it will be a more benevolent leader. It's the difference between Stringer and Marlo, and that someone with any principles is still better than someone without any. It's a lesser of evils things, but an omnipresent, somewhat eternal evil, nonetheless. It's far to simplistic to think that can just implode an entire structure like that from the outside.

― Their time's limited, hard rocks, too (mehlt), Saturday, 22 November 2008 15:55 (sixteen years ago)

I've just finished watching seasons 1-5 in one two-month binge. I'm presuming that going back and starting straight from season 1 again is a common reaction? It took me most of season 1 to get a handle on who was who.

― Chopper Aristotle (Matt DC), Saturday, 22 November 2008 16:01 (sixteen years ago)

jesus christ why do all wire fans seem to think dealers are the point of the show

― TOMBOT, Sunday, November 16, 2008 1:46 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

the wire talks and indeed delivers a good game abt the institutional tragedy that is the drug game but it blatantly purposely stimulates the vicarious transgressive aspect too - the show is crazy entertaining AND deep - so there

― :) wealth destruction! (ice cr?m), Saturday, 22 November 2008 16:29 (sixteen years ago)

i love it when wire actors turn up in other stuff

I fixate on this too now, though it usually involves noticing them in older stuff (Reg E. Cathey in Airheads, dude who played D'Angelo in Cecil B. Demented).

The trippiest possibility is to go back and watch old episodes of Homicide, where I'll occasionally have trouble wrapping my head around things like McNulty's wife and his favorite judge being homicide detective partners.

― nabisco, Saturday, 22 November 2008 16:57 (sixteen years ago)

I saw Senator Davis in "Enchanted," it's very disconcerting...

― miss precious perfect (musically), Saturday, 22 November 2008 18:43 (sixteen years ago)

― :) wealth destruction! (ice cr?m), Saturday, November 22, 2008 11:29 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

I think the show consciously wants its audience to feel the pull of drug dealing in communities where there are few other options -- it's the only employer, it's sexy, it offers a system of authority and meaning that is stronger than that of the "official" institutions (the schools). This is really hammered in Season 4 with the alternative classroom program.

― Albert Jeans (Hurting 2), Saturday, 22 November 2008 18:49 (sixteen years ago)

Oh, it goes out of its way to make the viewer totally complicit in that, with the brief period where Michael, Dukie, and Bug are all living happily together on drug money. In the short term, that's the kind of happy ending you're tempted to cheer -- all three get lifted above the problems you've been rooting for them to get past, they form something resembling the functional family unit neither of them ever had, and with Dukie in particular, it stands out as most likely the happiest free-from-hardship moment he'll ever get in his entire life ... all made possible by drug gangs. Which is a nicely complicated thing to do to your viewer. I appreciate that the show's "explanations" for how people wind up in the drug trade aren't just built around the usual TV/film stuff about power or unusual greed or whatever -- it's pretty clear about how this holds out some (very short-term, and partly illusory) path to escaping your own circumstances. (And then it gives us characters who we really, really want to see escape their own circumstances.)

― nabisco, Saturday, 22 November 2008 19:53 (sixteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

been rewatching season 2; james ransone as ziggy is so amazing. don't think i properly appreciated the performance the first time around.

― horseshoe, Saturday, 6 December 2008 21:34 (sixteen years ago)

do NOT watch that larry clark movie where he does personal time srsly

― Lafayette Lever hi wtf (ice cr?m), Sunday, 7 December 2008 09:48 (sixteen years ago)

Avon Barksdale was on House a couple of weeks ago.

― t. weiss, Sunday, 7 December 2008 19:39 (sixteen years ago)

The full box set for all 5 seasons just came out a couple of days ago on DVD.

http://blogs.pioneerlocal.com/entertainment/2008/12/the_wire_box_set_out_the_show.html

Going for less than $150 on Amazon, apparently.

― youcangoyourownway, Wednesday, 10 December 2008 03:56 (sixteen years ago)

oh shit

― HOOS wearing bitchmade sweaters and steendriving (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Wednesday, 10 December 2008 03:56 (sixteen years ago)

christ that's a good price. and i have a $50 amazon certificate...

― miss precious perfect (musically), Wednesday, 10 December 2008 04:11 (sixteen years ago)

i recently bought the complete buffy box set for $70! amazon is killin shit lately

― HOOS wearing bitchmade sweaters and steendriving (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Wednesday, 10 December 2008 04:14 (sixteen years ago)

5 episodes into the wire (still waiting for mark sinker to turn up, i guess that's later...) and my favourite is the bloke sat in the back making furniture for dolls' houses.

3 former Homicide:LOTS people already though (Luther Maloney as ME, wtf!). are there only 15 actors in the whole of baltimore?

― koogs, Friday, 12 December 2008 16:41 (sixteen years ago)

Which three are you counting so far? Judge, McNulty's wife, and the ME?

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 18:46 (sixteen years ago)

my favourite is the bloke sat in the back making furniture for dolls' houses.

I think you will be in for a treat with him.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 18:50 (sixteen years ago)

3 former Homicide:LOTS people already though (Luther Maloney as ME, wtf!). are there only 15 actors in the whole of baltimore?

lots of times people who create multiple TV/movie projects end up casting favorite actors more than once. plus most of the big Wire/Homicide players aren't from Baltimore.

― The strawman from the hilarious 'ilx' race threads (some dude), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:01 (sixteen years ago)

97% of the wire cast is from england anyway

― omar little, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:02 (sixteen years ago)

David Simon didn't actually work on Homicide, though, I don't think.

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:03 (sixteen years ago)

david simon didn't create 'homicide'.

― Ignition (Remix), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:03 (sixteen years ago)

xpost

he ended up writing for it, but not initially.

― Ignition (Remix), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:04 (sixteen years ago)

Pat Moran (John Waters posse represent) did the Baltimore casting for both shows.

― da croupier, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:07 (sixteen years ago)

Ha, McNulty + Bell = 97%?

A bunch of those early episodes are also directed by Clark Johnson from Homicide (who joins the cast in the last season)

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:09 (sixteen years ago)

And Simon was both a writer and a producer for Homicide, starting in the fourth season

― da croupier, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:10 (sixteen years ago)

just chiming in here to say we're in the middle of season 4 right now and holy shit this show is awesome

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:10 (sixteen years ago)

joeks, nabisco@

― omar little, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:10 (sixteen years ago)

yeah pretty sure snoop is welsh

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:10 (sixteen years ago)

if you want to see cast overlap, check out "Oz"

― miss precious perfect (musically), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:10 (sixteen years ago)

anyway yeah less than 97%. carcetti is irish

― omar little, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:11 (sixteen years ago)

The deacon is Bavarian

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:12 (sixteen years ago)

Clark Johnson's character was so tiresome in The Wire that when I saw him walking into the Chelsea Clearview Wednesday I was actually like "ugh, him." Then I discovered from posters that he was there for a screening of films starring and written by teenagers, one of which he directed. Then I remembered he directed episodes, was Meldrick, and is probably awesome.

― da croupier, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:12 (sixteen years ago)

I loved him on The Wire. :( I know his character was overly saintly, but I loved his performance.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:13 (sixteen years ago)

You could basically sum his Wire character up as "The Last Great Newspaper Editor. Knows it, too cynical to get up on cross." all the press characters were so one-dimensional.

― da croupier, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:14 (sixteen years ago)

Believes in reincarnation, wishes the pope had a bigger dick

― omar little, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:18 (sixteen years ago)

those would have been welcome character details

― da croupier, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:19 (sixteen years ago)

Still, they had it about right with the redundancies etc at the Sun: http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/12/08/daily12.html

― Meg (Meg Busset), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:21 (sixteen years ago)

"The Last Great Newspaper Editor. Knows it, too cynical to get up on cross."

^^ not one-dimensional really, but i agree the newsroom/mcnulty story was ass.

― Ignition (Remix), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:24 (sixteen years ago)

McNulty bothered me way more that season than anything newsroom-related

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:24 (sixteen years ago)

but it was almost all worth it for that serial killer profiling scene

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:25 (sixteen years ago)

^^ otm. couldn't believe he went the way he did. i think with more time to develop how desperate and out of control the city's fiscal situation was, it would have been a little more believable. this is all old news i kno i kno

xp yah that's otm too

― kuntrie/hardrock-tributes (goole), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:27 (sixteen years ago)

Dame Judi Dench to play Avon Barksdale in "The Wire" motion picture.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 12 December 2008 19:28 (sixteen years ago)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519JTHDV3ML.jpg

l-r bodie, wallace, d'angelo, snoop

― Ignition (Remix), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:31 (sixteen years ago)

the SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER serial killer plotline seemed to me the cruel/lazy inverse of my favorite theme, developed in season 2: that sometimes justice is done even tho nobody had the good intentions to do so. mcnulty goes to these amazing lengths to do something about the can full of dead hungarian girls, only to fuck over his previoius boss. only later does the sentiment that there is something moral at stake come out, and only tentatively. doing good things for bad reasons is a rare development in any drama, doing bad things for good reasons is dime-a-dozen (hello jack bauer)

i guess it's closer, in a way, to omar putting away bird by lying his ass off on the stand, but that was charming and hilarious and only took up 6-8 minutes of screen time.

― kuntrie/hardrock-tributes (goole), Friday, 12 December 2008 19:36 (sixteen years ago)

Dominic West's accent as Cromwell in The Devil's Whore was hilarious.

― Meg (Meg Busset), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:07 (sixteen years ago)

Here if you missed it

― Meg (Meg Busset), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:09 (sixteen years ago)

Dame Judi Dench to play Avon Barksdale in "The Wire" motion picture.

I was actually the other day imagining Tracy Morgan playing Brianna Barksdale.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:11 (sixteen years ago)

Tracy Morgan would be better as Namond's mom

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 20:11 (sixteen years ago)

I take that back, Tracy Morgan would clearly be best as McNulty

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 20:12 (sixteen years ago)

Tracy knows all about Snot Boogie

― The strawman from the hilarious 'ilx' race threads (some dude), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:14 (sixteen years ago)

I would like to see Tracy play The Wire as a one-man show.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:14 (sixteen years ago)

or baldwin

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:15 (sixteen years ago)

Okay fine, the cast of 30 Rock should play all the parts.

Kenneth would make an excellent Ziggy, or perhaps a Carcetti!

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:17 (sixteen years ago)

tina fey as daniels

― kuntrie/hardrock-tributes (goole), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:18 (sixteen years ago)

liz lemon as kima, or maybe jay landsman. twofer as lt. daniels.

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:20 (sixteen years ago)

I would be outraged if anyone other than Baldwin played Jay Landsman.

Cathy Geiss as Snoop.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:22 (sixteen years ago)

Kenneth as Prez, duh. Devin Banks as Carcetti.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:27 (sixteen years ago)

ah yes devin, good call

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2008 20:27 (sixteen years ago)

I don't know why I've found the 4th season especially hard to finish. I mean obviously one reason is that I'm in law school and have no time to do anything. But I also find it especially dark and depressing. Not that the other seasons aren't dark and depressing. But as good as it is, I'm not looking forward to finding out what happens next as much as I was previously.

― Indiespace Administratester (Hurting 2), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:32 (sixteen years ago)

really? man i'm totally into it

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:34 (sixteen years ago)

I was completely sucked into the fourth season, but I can understand the sense that it's dark or trying -- I don't think it's particularly different from the other seasons, it's just that it centers on kids, and that raises the moral/emotional stakes in a way that can be pretty shattering.

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:37 (sixteen years ago)

It was probably my favorite season.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:40 (sixteen years ago)

The funny thing about Landsman is that apparently there's an ACUTAL Jay Landsman who doesn't even play himself on the show!! He plays another police, instead. I guess he wasn't Jay Landsman-y enough?

― One Community Service Mummy, hold the Straightedge Merman (Laurel), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:42 (sixteen years ago)

or actory enough!

he's plays the dude who runs roll call in the western w/the mustache

― soup kitchen electro (omar little), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:44 (sixteen years ago)

Correct.

― One Community Service Mummy, hold the Straightedge Merman (Laurel), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:44 (sixteen years ago)

i recommend the book "Homicide" for lots of good irl landsman stories

― soup kitchen electro (omar little), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:44 (sixteen years ago)

Lt. Dennis Mello.

I think S4 is my favorite both because the kids/education angle is particularly compelling, and also because I think it's really tightly constructed from a narrative standpoint. All these little connections come into play, and you see how characters' choices reverberate far beyond their circumscribed worlds. (I'd be more specific, but I don't want to spoil it for those still watching.)

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:44 (sixteen years ago)

ha. i like the fat porn hot dog guy better!

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:45 (sixteen years ago)

All these little connections come into play, and you see how characters' choices reverberate far beyond their circumscribed worlds.

Exxxxxxxxactly. This season especially.

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:45 (sixteen years ago)

I can finally read this thread because I finished the whole series!! At one point I accidentally skimmed over the words "the McNulty wake" and I spent the whole 5th season thinking he was going to be killed (or kill himself). Which, the way it was going, seemed extremely possible.

― One Community Service Mummy, hold the Straightedge Merman (Laurel), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:45 (sixteen years ago)

And anyone who is still watching who reads that accidentally -- ulp sorry. But this thread is full of spoilers anyway! What are you even doing here??

― One Community Service Mummy, hold the Straightedge Merman (Laurel), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:46 (sixteen years ago)

thanks laurel

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:46 (sixteen years ago)

The billion TV characters spawned by Landsman in Simon's book come to a weird nexus when Belzer shows up as Munch on The Wire -- he is playing a guy based on a real guy who is played on this show by a different guy while the original real guy plays someone else.

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:47 (sixteen years ago)

we were talking about the 4th season, which i stated above thread that i was halfway through. hurting chimed in, too. so you ruined it for both of us but such is life i guess?

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:47 (sixteen years ago)

Uerrawekjadghgh I thought about that RIGHT after I hit "Post" -- I really am sorry. But since I watch everything on DVD I sort of assume that ILX will be discussing CURRENT episodes and I just avoid the threads.

― One Community Service Mummy, hold the Straightedge Merman (Laurel), Friday, 12 December 2008 21:48 (sixteen years ago)

no it's cool--i may even forget what i just read, or maybe it will fade into the background. i'm old. anyway, he's in the background this season. . . and it's cool. i like the way he proudly drinks a club soda & lime at the wake

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:49 (sixteen years ago)

characters' choices reverberate far beyond their circumscribed worlds

The bit where Bubbles starts a chain of events that impacts the mayoral race = kind of amazing

(Don't worry, guys, all Laurel gave you there was an anti-spoiler about someone not dying)

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:49 (sixteen years ago)

i was taking my chances anyway even looking at this thread--and i hear that 5 kinda sucks anyway. looking forward to finishing 4, which we'll do this weekend.

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:50 (sixteen years ago)

And I guess I spoiled a Richard Belzer cameo, which ... nobody's ruining too much of import here

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:50 (sixteen years ago)

oh shit so mcnulty doesn't die? i read too fast, that's funny!

― Mr. Que, Friday, 12 December 2008 21:50 (sixteen years ago)

Part of the thing about season 4 is watching it with my wife, who teaches in the South Bronx, so the school/kids stuff is especially real to her and to me vicariously. But for her it must be kind of like taking work home with her.

― Indiespace Administratester (Hurting 2), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:02 (sixteen years ago)

Or worse like seeing the inevitable results that occur in spite of her good work.

― Indiespace Administratester (Hurting 2), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:02 (sixteen years ago)

The billion TV characters spawned by Landsman in Simon's book come to a weird nexus when Belzer shows up as Munch on The Wire -- he is playing a guy based on a real guy who is played on this show by a different guy while the original real guy plays someone else.

― nabisco, Friday, December 12, 2008 4:47 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

nabs are you aware of the tommy westphall hypothesis?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Westphall#The_Tommy_Westphall_Universe_Hypothesis

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~kwgow/crossovers.html

― beyonc'e (max), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:05 (sixteen years ago)

I saw this NYTimes article when I was in the middle of season 4. I literally screamed in horror when I read the first sentence. I avoid spoilers with a caution that others might find slightly obsessive, but reading the NY Times Week in Review section on Sundays was never a concern for me.

Needless to say, I freaked out every time there was a scene in a corner grocery with Omar.

― miss precious perfect (musically), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:10 (sixteen years ago)

That is maybe the worst spoiler I've ever read in print ever. First fucking sentence!

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:11 (sixteen years ago)

super douchey thing to do, damn

― soup kitchen electro (omar little), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:13 (sixteen years ago)

Wow. That makes zero logical sense, but wow. A lot of that hypothesis would appear to be based on the Belzer-as-Munch thing: I think he's the record for the same person playing the same character on the largest number of different shows.

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 22:13 (sixteen years ago)

That's an x-post, but putting a major Wire spoiler in an article about cigarette taxes is pretty wow, too

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 22:14 (sixteen years ago)

Sometimes when watching a TV show I get really bothered by the fact that the show take place in a world where the show and its actors don't exist.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:14 (sixteen years ago)

i was about to say FRASIER CRANE but i noticed u said 'largest number of different shows'. still, it's 3 (counting a cameo) to 2, right?

xps

― kuntrie/hardrock-tributes (goole), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:15 (sixteen years ago)

looks like munch is going to be on the french law and order too

― beyonc'e (max), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:15 (sixteen years ago)

Season 4 might even be my favorite even if the student stuff wasn't in it. I love the Marlo crime syndicate, love Snoop, love Cutty, love the big crime at the center of the season... all of the stuff with Herc was great. There was just a wealth of good stuff happening.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:15 (sixteen years ago)

Sometimes when watching a TV show I get really bothered by the fact that the show take place in a world where the show and its actors don't exist.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, December 12, 2008 4:14 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

wow

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:16 (sixteen years ago)

Appearances and crossovers

The character has spanned over 15 years and 16 seasons. Along with 122 episodes & 1 TV movie of Homicide and 200+ episodes of SVU, (of which he has not appeared in 3 episodes of Homicide and 23 of SVU) Munch has also appeared as a character in episodes of other series:
Law & Order - four episodes: "Charm City", "Baby, It's You", "Sideshow (Part 1)", and "Entitled (Part 2)"
The X-Files - one episode: "Unusual Suspects"
The Beat - one episode: "They Say It's Your Birthday"
Law & Order: Trial by Jury - one episode: "Skeleton (Part 2)"
Arrested Development - one episode: "Exit Strategy"
The Wire - one episode: "Took"
The character is also slated to appear in an episode of Paris enquêtes criminelles, the French version of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Munch has been the only fictional character played by a single actor to appear on eight different television shows. These shows were on four different networks: NBC (Homicide: Life on the Street, and Law & Order franchise), FOX (The X-Files, Arrested Development), UPN (The Beat), and HBO (The Wire). Munch has also been one of the only television characters to cross genres, appearing not only in crime drama series, but also the genres of sitcom (Arrested Development) and horror and science fiction (The X-Files).
A muppet representation of Detective Munch appeared in the Sesame Street sketch "Law and Order: Special Letters Unit".
It has been reported in various places that Munch also appeared on an episode of The Simpsons,[1] but this is incorrect. The confusion likely stems from the fact that on Belzer's biography page on IMDB, a list of shows that have featured appearances by Munch is directly followed by a list of six shows (including The Simpsons) that have featured Cliff Clavin and Norm Peterson, the characters originally from the program Cheers played by John Ratzenberger and George Wendt.

― beyonc'e (max), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:16 (sixteen years ago)

one afternoon during the s4 days, I looked over this dude's shoulder who was reading the ny post. same spoiler as that ny times article but as the headline!

― original bgm, Friday, 12 December 2008 22:17 (sixteen years ago)

Arrested Development - one episode: "Exit Strategy"

i have no memory of this!!

― kuntrie/hardrock-tributes (goole), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:18 (sixteen years ago)

I think the spoiler happened in s5.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:19 (sixteen years ago)

i'm sure i roffled hardcore when it happened, what the hell

― kuntrie/hardrock-tributes (goole), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:19 (sixteen years ago)

oh yeah, I meant s5.

― original bgm, Friday, 12 December 2008 22:19 (sixteen years ago)

SPOILER!

I found the article

― original bgm, Friday, 12 December 2008 22:22 (sixteen years ago)

i have no memory of this!!

Narrator: The depositions had been delayed, but the prosecution was about to get a Lord & Taylor bag full of evidence.
Detective Munch: We supply the glitter, the glue, the crepe paper and the ready-made template pages for you to decorate and fill out with... “My Favorite Birthday,” “Foreign Bank Statements,” and of course, “Shh! Family Secrets.”
Narrator: The scrapbooking sting had helped the D.A. gather evidence against people as diverse as Ken Lay, Oliver North, but ironically not Martha Stewart.
Detective Munch: So dig up whatever you can and remember, photocopies are not admissible as memories.
Tobias: Uh, sir, I’m going to have to go or our old family storage unit in Reseda.
Detective Munch: No problem. We can arrange for a helicopter to take you there right now.
Tobias: Wow, this is the best free scrapbooking class I’ve ever taken.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:23 (sixteen years ago)

ah yes

― kuntrie/hardrock-tributes (goole), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:25 (sixteen years ago)

and i did in fact roffle hardcore

― kuntrie/hardrock-tributes (goole), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:25 (sixteen years ago)

I have the same problem Jaymc does, though it's all just dependent on how shows handle things. Weird example: 30 Rock bothered me last season when David Schwimmer appeared as not-himself (even though the show is set at a "real" NBC where Seinfeld was Seinfeld, so surely Schwimmer was on Friends), but it didn't bother me when Jennifer Aniston was on as not-herself (because ... she's less tied to Friends in my head than Schwimmer is?).

But yeah, it weirds me out when popular characters/actors refer to real things in the entertainment world but they remain fictional, and some shows are really fast and loose about this -- I got a little vertigo once from two characters on some show talking about a real movie that one of the actors was in, and just ... I dunno, it's just weird.

(Note: I don't get all geeky-angry about this, I understand that it's fiction and doesn't matter, but it's just ... weird, sometimes, to think about.)

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 22:36 (sixteen years ago)

you guys, dont ever see "jay and silent bob strike back" or your might have some kind of seizure

― beyonc'e (max), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:39 (sixteen years ago)

Haha.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:40 (sixteen years ago)

I don't mind when it's done purposefully, just when the weird tangles show up on their own. Like a world where Brad Pitt movies exist but then Brad Pitt plays a guy named Lou, and nobody goes "omg Lou, you look exactly like Brad Pitt."

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 22:42 (sixteen years ago)

Totally.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:44 (sixteen years ago)

NB: Marijuana heightens these thoughts.

― total mormon cockblock extravaganza (jaymc), Friday, 12 December 2008 22:45 (sixteen years ago)

This is possibly a whole other thread.

I have never had those kinds of thoughts with certain things (e.g. Curb Your Enthusiasm seems to keep it very clean?), but then I'll be totally fascinated by, say, the SVU episode where future-ADA Novak is on trial for raping a guy.

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 22:51 (sixteen years ago)

Why its annoying on 30 Rock... there are loads of Friends (in this case) jokes and references. In the first series, doesn't Baldwin go through a whole phase of watching Friends... and yet he sleeps with this woman who looks incredibly like Jennifer Aniston and doesn't seem to notice it?

i dont really care but i can understand why its annoying.

― a hoy hoy, Friday, 12 December 2008 23:01 (sixteen years ago)

Ocean's Twelve had a gag about all this stuff, where Julia Roberts's character met Bruce Willis and he mistook her for Julia Roberts.

the 30 Rock/Schwimmer/Seinfeld thing bothered me too, though. but then i'm on record as being OK with celebrity walk-ons on that show and would prefer if people just played themselves since the show takes place in a TV studio.

― The strawman from the hilarious 'ilx' race threads (some dude), Friday, 12 December 2008 23:03 (sixteen years ago)

wasn't the julia roberts thing like a major plot point?

yeah, this should probably be a new thread.

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2008 23:04 (sixteen years ago)

Please start it! (Please also note that I'm not "annoyed" by this stuff, I just wind up fixating on how odd it is.)

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 23:06 (sixteen years ago)

you guys need to get STRAIGHT

― n/a is just more of a character....in a genre polluted by clones (n/a), Friday, 12 December 2008 23:07 (sixteen years ago)

tv shows within tv shows: an ocd thread for jaymc and nabisco

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Friday, 12 December 2008 23:10 (sixteen years ago)

i finally watched the season 2 episode with the michael k williams + dominic west commentary. v. enjoyable, especially west's bitchy dig about how brad pitt can't act.

― horseshoe, Friday, 12 December 2008 23:48 (sixteen years ago)

also their running commentary on nick sobotka's girlfriend

― The strawman from the hilarious 'ilx' race threads (some dude), Friday, 12 December 2008 23:51 (sixteen years ago)

yeah i was actually prepared for that bc of the WIRE BABEZ POLL, except i assumed ilx dudes had exaggerated it, but y'all totally didn't. it was like the first thing they mentioned as soon as nick appeared onscreen. i think west refers to aimee proctor's boobs as the eighth wonder of the world.

― horseshoe, Friday, 12 December 2008 23:53 (sixteen years ago)

How bad should I feel for actually remembering that she did have a pretty striking rack?

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 23:56 (sixteen years ago)

her boobs are excellent; i don't think anyone should feel bad, really. you're in good company.

― horseshoe, Friday, 12 December 2008 23:57 (sixteen years ago)

Actually, I mostly remember that her breasts seemed entirely non-necessary to the scene they were exposed in, and that I proceeded to think "oh, I see why they worked those in there anyway"

― nabisco, Friday, 12 December 2008 23:57 (sixteen years ago)

i think that's pretty much exactly why; west + williams said as much.

― horseshoe, Friday, 12 December 2008 23:58 (sixteen years ago)

yeah those were just about the most astonishing pair i've seen in a very long time imo

― soup kitchen electro (omar little), Friday, 12 December 2008 23:59 (sixteen years ago)

I can't remember what about them was that memorable -- I mean, they were just breasts and all -- but maybe they're made of magic

― nabisco, Saturday, 13 December 2008 00:06 (sixteen years ago)

Oh god what kind of old tired pointless person have I become that I typed "just breasts"

― nabisco, Saturday, 13 December 2008 00:06 (sixteen years ago)

haha i expected to be kind of put out by hearing grown men enthuse about breasts when i listened to the commentary, but it's actually kind of touching--they sound like they're thirteen. rapt.

― horseshoe, Saturday, 13 December 2008 00:08 (sixteen years ago)

so I stopped watching House a few eps into the latest season, and I haven't watched the last few weeks of Heroes. either my shows starting to suck at the same time, or The Wire ruined dramas for me. it's like sex on E.

― miss precious perfect (musically), Tuesday, 16 December 2008 06:41 (sixteen years ago)

gold box deal on Amazon today... $85 or so

― skeletal lexing (Finefinemusic), Friday, 26 December 2008 19:55 (sixteen years ago)

O man, the Sobotka girlfriend boobs are like in the top 5 most memorable moments -- up there with Wallace getting shot and "You want it to be one way..."

― ichard Thompson (Hurting 2), Friday, 26 December 2008 20:19 (sixteen years ago)

ay ay ay otm

.gif?

― FLEETWOOD COZWN (cozwn), Friday, 26 December 2008 20:20 (sixteen years ago)

google nick sobotka's gf and it's just threads talking abt her boobs

― FLEETWOOD COZWN (cozwn), Friday, 26 December 2008 20:22 (sixteen years ago)

thanks for the tip finefinemusic

― eman cipation s1ocklamation (max), Friday, 26 December 2008 20:23 (sixteen years ago)

sobotkas gf gif

― choom gangsta (deej), Friday, 26 December 2008 23:56 (sixteen years ago)

where?

― caek, Saturday, 27 December 2008 00:00 (sixteen years ago)

non safe search kristin proctor gives you a little taste

― ichard Thompson (Hurting 2), Saturday, 27 December 2008 00:05 (sixteen years ago)

would smash 2008...times

― ichard Thompson (Hurting 2), Saturday, 27 December 2008 00:05 (sixteen years ago)

lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_from_the_docks_of_The_Wire#Aimee

― ichard Thompson (Hurting 2), Saturday, 27 December 2008 00:09 (sixteen years ago)

would smash 2008...times

lololo

― caek, Saturday, 27 December 2008 00:11 (sixteen years ago)

fuck it, i'm ordering the DVD set, thanks for the tip. now i'm glad i didn't order it last week when it had gone on its first sale.

― miss precious perfect (musically), Saturday, 27 December 2008 00:57 (sixteen years ago)

it's not even in stock but who cares, the price is right.

― miss precious perfect (musically), Saturday, 27 December 2008 01:01 (sixteen years ago)

happy to help guys! now someone please convince freaks & geeks to go on sale

― skeletal lexing (Finefinemusic), Saturday, 27 December 2008 01:28 (sixteen years ago)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3034/2963571735_db200b8ae3.jpg

― The Way of the Diamond Spirit (Oilyrags), Monday, 5 January 2009 23:34 (sixteen years ago)

just finished the last season on dvd last night.

;_;

― what U cry 4 (jim), Monday, 5 January 2009 23:35 (sixteen years ago)

ahahahahahahahaha xp

― stop HOOSing a boring tuna (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Monday, 5 January 2009 23:41 (sixteen years ago)

I want that for a tshirt SO BAD.

― The Way of the Diamond Spirit (Oilyrags), Monday, 5 January 2009 23:45 (sixteen years ago)

Oh my goodness. . .

and whoa, pre-clay davis clay davisry courtesy of the 25th Hour.

― mehlt, Monday, 5 January 2009 23:56 (sixteen years ago)

http://community.livejournal.com/abandonedplaces/1510134.html

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 6 January 2009 13:10 (sixteen years ago)

Awesome abandoned set walk thru.

― more ign'ant than thuggin', surely (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 8 January 2009 17:14 (sixteen years ago)

Are there spoilers in there? I saw something that looked like it could be a spoiler so I ran away and pretended I hadn't seen it. Nothing will ever be as bad as that spoiler which was in the Guardian's round up of 2008. Fuckaz.

― chord simple (j.o.n.a), Thursday, 8 January 2009 17:32 (sixteen years ago)

there's something that could be misconstrued as a spoiler if you haven't seen the final season, but it's not actually a spoiler.

i remember going to an auction of Wire memorabilia, and in one display case they had the outfit Stringer wore in his final episode, with fake blood and bulletholes and everything, i never thought about it but that'd be a pretty big spoiler if someone walked up to that w/o having seen S3.

― some dude, Thursday, 8 January 2009 17:55 (sixteen years ago)

there are things there that look like spoilers but aren't and things that don't look like spoilers but actually could be. did i just blow your mind?

― miss precious perfect (musically), Thursday, 8 January 2009 18:36 (sixteen years ago)

Hahaha some dude, that was a spoiler in itself!

But I dunno: even without a spoiler, I feel like I spent a season and a half expecting that to happen to Stringer, watching it gradually come to a head -- it felt like one of those inexorable dramatic fates that wouldn't really be spoiled by knowing it was coming, no more than it's a problem to watch an old tragedy knowing everyone's going to die.

― nabisco, Thursday, 8 January 2009 18:57 (sixteen years ago)

yes totally except even though i knew it was coming i still haven't gotten over it.

― horseshoe, Thursday, 8 January 2009 18:59 (sixteen years ago)

some dude I am almost positive you already posted that story in this very thread

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:02 (sixteen years ago)

I know what to get you for your next birthday: I walked into an art gallery a while ago and there on the wall was a big portrait of Idris Elba, in an undershirt, kicking back and looking thoughtful.

― nabisco, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:02 (sixteen years ago)

Suddenly I was unsure why anyone would paint anything but actors who were on this show.

― nabisco, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:03 (sixteen years ago)

omg

― horseshoe, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:04 (sixteen years ago)

sometimes you have to also paint Alan Rickman and Mos Def.

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:04 (sixteen years ago)

(whoa I didn't even mean to make another weird Baltimore reference there)

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:04 (sixteen years ago)

Hans Gruber portrait, yes; Mos Def looking down from my wall at me while I'm eating dinner, no

― nabisco, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:05 (sixteen years ago)

i want a group portrait of the entire terrorist team from die hard

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:05 (sixteen years ago)

tombot i'm almost certain i did too and almost included that caveat in my last post but was feelin too lazy to load the whole thread and look

― some dude, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:07 (sixteen years ago)

I looked and you talked about going to the memorabilia show but didn't say anything about the shirt, must have been somewhere else

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:09 (sixteen years ago)

painting of al pacino in 'any given sunday'

― opinions4usic (deej), Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:10 (sixteen years ago)

i may have not mentioned that part before because of the spoiler element, who knows!

― some dude, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:11 (sixteen years ago)

no you totally told that story somewhere on these boards because why would I know that story

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:12 (sixteen years ago)

because it sound intersting?

― nabisco, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:14 (sixteen years ago)

would hang up an oil painting of tracy morgan as thomas jefferson, on a horse

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:14 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.brandonbird.com/artisticintent.html

― xhuxk e. xheese (jaymc), Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:17 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.brandonbird.com/battle_of_the_heroes.html

― my lovely hoos running through the......fields (omar little), Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:21 (sixteen years ago)

yeah there have been a fair number of other wire threads, i'm sure it's somewhere, let's not lose sleep over it

― some dude, Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:21 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.brandonbird.com/images/coach_02.jpg

― my lovely hoos running through the......fields (omar little), Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:22 (sixteen years ago)

there are things there that look like spoilers but aren't and things that don't look like spoilers but actually could be. did i just blow your mind?

That makes sense, and I think the first thing I saw falls into the first category. Gah, I've only got 2 or 3 episodes left so really i should just leave anything Wire-talk-on-the-internet alone for a bit longer.

― chord simple (j.o.n.a), Thursday, 8 January 2009 19:38 (sixteen years ago)

I just started watching this again for the third time. I am hopeless addict.

I noticed something in Episode 8 of Season 1 that I couldn't find confirmation of elsewhere and I wondered if anyone else could shed some light: at the end of the episode Bunk picks up a woman in a bar. Later Jimmy gets a phonecall and has to go rescue him. When he arrives he finds Bunk dressed in a pink dressing gown and trying to burn his suit. However is the woman Bunk seduces none other than Randy's foster mother from Season 4, Ms Ana? I could have sworn it was.

― ears are wounds, Friday, 9 January 2009 16:33 (sixteen years ago)

IMDB says no

― miss precious perfect (musically), Friday, 9 January 2009 17:09 (sixteen years ago)

so, baltimore seems to be going ahead with its own season 6, with or without david simon.

― tipsy mothra, Friday, 9 January 2009 19:33 (sixteen years ago)

been a long time coming but daaaaaaaaaaamn

― some dude, Friday, 9 January 2009 19:39 (sixteen years ago)

Oh, Neresepaws

― nabisco, Friday, 9 January 2009 19:41 (sixteen years ago)

we're having dinner tonight w/ my mother-in-law who works in the city court system, i'm hoping i can get some new inside dirt

― some dude, Friday, 9 January 2009 19:42 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.blackpast.org/files/blackpast_images/dixon_sheila.jpg
SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEILA

― ☺♑ (joygoat), Friday, 9 January 2009 19:57 (sixteen years ago)

there's a local morning show DJ that plays a loop of Ready For The World anytime they're discussing Sheila

― some dude, Friday, 9 January 2009 20:03 (sixteen years ago)

very disappointed that sheila is not as hot as nerese

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Friday, 9 January 2009 20:52 (sixteen years ago)

i guess this was posted already? http://wbal.com/apps/news/templates/story.aspx?articleid=19396&zoneid=24&utm_source=rss

― eman, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:05 (sixteen years ago)

"I want to make it clear, though, that I will continue to put all of my energies into running the City of Baltimore during these perilous economic times. And with God's grace, I am confident that the city, my family and I will weather this sheeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiittt."

― eman, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:08 (sixteen years ago)

oh i see the link now

― eman, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:09 (sixteen years ago)

I think it's kind of funny that The Wire can't resist the Hollywood touch of making Nerese Campbell 25 years younger and way hotter than Sheila Dixon.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, March 11, 2008 4:34 PM (9 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

thank god for that h-wood touch imo

― omar little, Tuesday, March 11, 2008 4:34 PM (9 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― some dude, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:09 (sixteen years ago)

i guess its easier to weather a storm in mink and lamb coats

― eman, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:16 (sixteen years ago)

do you think this'll be a become a big enough national story that there'll be a bunch of dixon comix on the rightwing cartoonists thread!?

― some dude, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:21 (sixteen years ago)

persian lamb coats

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Friday, 9 January 2009 21:23 (sixteen years ago)

looking forward to billytheheretic's take on this

― eman, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:37 (sixteen years ago)

xpost

I don't think IMDB is conclusive either way, as the role was so small in the original Season 1 episode it doesn't look like it is credited at all on the IMDB cast list to Denise Hart or otherwise http://www.imdb.com/title/tt074943/fullcredits#cast (unless I've misread it, which is likely :-))

Oh well...

― ears are wounds, Friday, 9 January 2009 21:49 (sixteen years ago)

Bell vs. Scott
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998589.html?categoryid=1043&cs=1

― a slap in the face (Kitties!!!), Thursday, 15 January 2009 17:57 (sixteen years ago)

he'll play a no-nonsense hire at Dunder Mifflin's corporate office who will throw Michael Scott into turmoil.

by sexxin all the ladies amirite

― miss precious perfect (musically), Thursday, 15 January 2009 20:15 (sixteen years ago)

absolutely

― a slap in the face (Kitties!!!), Thursday, 15 January 2009 20:37 (sixteen years ago)

Michael Scott: Shh, just stop. Here's what you do. You tell him that you're his friend and that you're gonna help him and that everyone's gonna be all right. And then you put a wire on him and you find out who's selling him drugs and then you get that guy and you flip up, turn him into a snitch. You follow that guy to the people who's really really bad. Been watching The Wire recently. I don't understand a word of it.

― miss precious perfect (musically), Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:34 (sixteen years ago)

^^ Oh man, let's move this to the OCD television-crossover thread for me and Jaymc!

― nabisco, Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:38 (sixteen years ago)

P.S. Why do I get the feeling Elba will be playing an equivalent of the other-branch manager on the UK version, cool-guy Neil?

― nabisco, Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:39 (sixteen years ago)

It's been a long time since I saw the UK version, so I don't remember Neil, but wasn't the manager of the Stamford Branch supposed to be kind of a cool guy?

― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:46 (sixteen years ago)

i wonder if they'll make any jokes about amy ryan's character that will blow nab's and jaymc's minds

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:48 (sixteen years ago)

Oh wow, I forgot that this bridge had already been crossed

― nabisco, Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:55 (sixteen years ago)

wasn't there already a version of Neil? at the other dunder mifflin office jim temporarily went to?

― miss precious perfect (musically), Thursday, 15 January 2009 22:56 (sixteen years ago)

Sorry, I didn't watch all of the earlier seasons, maybe I missed it

― nabisco, Thursday, 15 January 2009 23:01 (sixteen years ago)

THIS IS GONNA BE FUCKING AWESOME

― gr8080, Thursday, 15 January 2009 23:09 (sixteen years ago)

The Office getting all the good Wire cast-offs. Eventually they will take over the entire Dunder Mifflin staff. but clearly starting with the hot ones.

― a slap in the face (Kitties!!!), Thursday, 15 January 2009 23:24 (sixteen years ago)

Edris Elba's other upcoming project does not look so great: http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/obsessed/

― caek, Friday, 16 January 2009 06:34 (sixteen years ago)

So did all the Wire cast members' pink slips have phone numbers on the back for American Remake Of Britishes TV Show Casting ~~Centre~~Center, or what

― TOMBOT, Friday, 16 January 2009 06:39 (sixteen years ago)

Complete DVD box set is on supersale @ Amazon again:

http://www.amazon.com/Wire-Complete/dp/B001FA1P1W/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1232660451&sr=8-1

$81.99

― miss precious perfect (musically), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:41 (sixteen years ago)

ch-ching!

― MIRV Griffin (goole), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:42 (sixteen years ago)

btw what is with those "wire prequel" videos on amazon? can't really investigate @ work.

― MIRV Griffin (goole), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:43 (sixteen years ago)

Gah can I resist this? So hard. . .

― Alex in SF, Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:44 (sixteen years ago)

If they are the ones I am thinking of they are 5 minute vids of young Omar, Prop Joe, and McNulty.

― Alex in SF, Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:45 (sixteen years ago)

urgh i really don't need it but i want it

― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:45 (sixteen years ago)

i found a torrent that had mp3s of all the DVD commentaries from the first four seasons but nothing for season five yet-- someone bump this thread if they see one plz

― gr8080, Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:46 (sixteen years ago)

damn you merkins, I got that boxset a month ago for the equivalent of $125 :(

― Women can be captains too, you know? (jim), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:46 (sixteen years ago)

Are they called "The Wire Chronicles?" They should these really short, almost-amusing vignettes about, like, Omar and Prop Joe as kids, or when Bunk and McNulty met -- not much to them except mild chuckles about them being very "in character," but they're like a couple minutes each, so it's not a big investment.

― you can either be v v important or smash teenagers (nabisco), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:47 (sixteen years ago)

Actually to be honest the only worthwhile thing in them is a kid doing a decent impression of Prop Joe's looking-over-one-shoulder mannerism

― you can either be v v important or smash teenagers (nabisco), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:48 (sixteen years ago)

this deal better last until tomorrow -- just cashed in a gift card from work that takes until then to redeem ffffuck

― MIRV Griffin (goole), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:57 (sixteen years ago)

i just bought this for my sister because her birthday's coming up but i have that sinking i-just-bought-someone-a-present-i-want-for-myself feeling

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:58 (sixteen years ago)

thats not a sinking feeling homie thats a good feeling--go buy her a flower or something and keep the wire for yourself

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:58 (sixteen years ago)

omg could i do that?

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:59 (sixteen years ago)

is that secretly what i did do?

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:59 (sixteen years ago)

yes you can do that--pretty sure there is a part of the bible about how thats ok

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:59 (sixteen years ago)

homemade cookies are always a nice present--way better than a boring old set of DVD's

― Mr. Que, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:00 (sixteen years ago)

yes you can do this but you have to tell her what you did

― MIRV Griffin (goole), Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:00 (sixteen years ago)

that's what happened in the bible anyway

― MIRV Griffin (goole), Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:00 (sixteen years ago)

what your sister really wants is for you to happy

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:00 (sixteen years ago)

she really wants the wire box set; she told me! i have to give it to her

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:01 (sixteen years ago)

i just ordered this.

xposts ha ha!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:02 (sixteen years ago)

buy her a spool of DVD-Rs and invite her to come over and burn your new wire box set any time

― gr8080, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:02 (sixteen years ago)

make her some wire box set cookies

― Mr. Que, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:02 (sixteen years ago)

xerox the boxset artwork

― shook pwns (omar little), Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:03 (sixteen years ago)

buy her a spool of DVD-Rs and invite her to come over and burn your new wire box set any time

― gr8080, Thursday, January 22, 2009 4:02 PM (31 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lols this would be awesome

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:03 (sixteen years ago)

tell her that her edition is actually a super-rare promo copy they sent out to members of SAG

― shook pwns (omar little), Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:03 (sixteen years ago)

tell her it got stolen

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:04 (sixteen years ago)

one time i bought her a degrassi dvd set that did get stolen. it was a tragedy.

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:05 (sixteen years ago)

Was it old Degrassi or new-school Degrassi?

― nabisco, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:26 (sixteen years ago)

new-school! she's a child; she's never seen old degrassi.

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:26 (sixteen years ago)

children shouldnt watch the wire

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:27 (sixteen years ago)

well by "child" i mean 25 on her birthday

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:27 (sixteen years ago)

shes older than me! you should give me the wire box set instead

― 8====D ------ ㋡ (max), Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:28 (sixteen years ago)

Did this get posted somewhere already?

5 seasons in 5 mins

― Alba, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:28 (sixteen years ago)

i admit i am kind of hoping she already bought herself one. then i will keep it and get you a nice new spool of DVD-R's!

xpost to max

― horseshoe, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:29 (sixteen years ago)

I'm on two episodes a night. Can't stop. So many other things I should be doing, but all I want is more Wire.

― krakow, Friday, 23 January 2009 22:17 (sixteen years ago)

A lot of complaints about the packaging on Amazon. Maybe I'll wait for them to re-package?

― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Saturday, 24 January 2009 04:45 (sixteen years ago)

I finished all 5 seasons in a week. It was a weird week.

― iatee, Saturday, 24 January 2009 05:02 (sixteen years ago)

We're getting through very slowly due to our schedules. Just about to start Season 5.

― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Saturday, 24 January 2009 05:03 (sixteen years ago)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e51/burgersub/dukie.gif

― eman, Wednesday, 4 February 2009 03:30 (sixteen years ago)

i received the complete series in the mail today and promptly mailed it to my sister. feeling sad + virtuous.

― horseshoe, Thursday, 5 February 2009 02:13 (sixteen years ago)

My copy came in yest. Horseshoe u r a saint

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 5 February 2009 02:56 (sixteen years ago)

omg big hoos you're her sister??

― LOOK WHAT I BRING TO THE TABLA (deej), Thursday, 5 February 2009 05:43 (sixteen years ago)

shh

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 5 February 2009 06:50 (sixteen years ago)

HOOSshoe

― max, Thursday, 5 February 2009 11:45 (sixteen years ago)

i dug out this thread only yesterday having only just finished watching first season. 7 years old? fuuuuccck...

― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2009 11:50 (sixteen years ago)

it's probably been said in this thread, but the date thing is less pressing, in a way, coz the show is or could easily be set in the 80s. loads of stufff in it is taken from stuff in d.simon's book, which was written in the late 80s and refers to loads of pre-1988, even pre-crack wars stuff.

― special guest stars mark bronson, Thursday, 5 February 2009 11:53 (sixteen years ago)

Shamefully, I'm only now finishing season 1 and the 80s thing occurred to me too - most obviously how it all seems so pre-internet: all that lengthy exposition and montages of legwork going round city offices getting the paper trail of businesses etc. Plus, you know, how they are always using lol typewriters and lol tippex.

― Stevie T, Thursday, 5 February 2009 12:12 (sixteen years ago)

(id actually argue that it 'is' set in the 80s, the first season. spoiler but the high-rises were 'in reality' demolished in the (i think) early '90s; in the show they are demolished at the start of series three.)

― special guest stars mark bronson, Thursday, 5 February 2009 12:16 (sixteen years ago)

would they have had pagers on the streets in the 80s tho?

― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2009 12:16 (sixteen years ago)

Stevie - newer technology makes its mark in subsequent seasons in interesting, sometimes amusing, ways.

― Alba, Thursday, 5 February 2009 12:17 (sixteen years ago)

Whenever I see the pagers I can't help thinking 30 Rock's Beeper King could have made a killing in Baltimore.

"Excuse me, I 'm expecting a call - from 1983."

― Stevie T, Thursday, 5 February 2009 12:19 (sixteen years ago)

haha

― special guest stars mark bronson, Thursday, 5 February 2009 12:21 (sixteen years ago)

The only thing that gave me any sense of when episodes were filmed was brand names that they had for the heroin they were selling - WMD, Pandemic, Bin Laden, Brokeback, etc.

― ☺♑ (joygoat), Thursday, 5 February 2009 15:50 (sixteen years ago)

and the whole disposable cell phone thing, I imagine

― miss precious perfect (musically), Thursday, 5 February 2009 16:04 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, I was really curious about the police technology in the first season -- I couldn't decide how much it was dated due to Simon's era and how much it was pointedly dated to point up that the department is aging, technologically behind, under-endowed, etc.

― nabisco, Thursday, 5 February 2009 16:30 (sixteen years ago)

I guess the combination of those two things is convenient, since pretty much anything will fly

― nabisco, Thursday, 5 February 2009 16:31 (sixteen years ago)

i always assumed it was the latter viz. the FBI having all the good shit

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Thursday, 5 February 2009 16:31 (sixteen years ago)

yeah, also i feel like the diegetic music in season 1 is pretty late '90s?

― horseshoe, Thursday, 5 February 2009 16:32 (sixteen years ago)

like i feel like i remember black star playing in someone's car+ lucinda williams playing in ronnie's apartment...

― horseshoe, Thursday, 5 February 2009 16:33 (sixteen years ago)

the credits theme is so lush

― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2009 16:34 (sixteen years ago)

in one episode Omar is jamming Spearhead 'Rok The Nation (Tuhoe Nation Mix)' in his jeep and i was thinking no way would this guy be down with Franti ha ha

― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2009 16:35 (sixteen years ago)

there's also that moment in season 2 when ziggy and nikky are searching on MSN for what potassium permanganate is used for and nikky is like, "so you type in questions and it just tells you the answer" and ziggy explains the internet? this seemed like a thing about how some communities were being left behind, rather than exposition for the benefit of the audience or a product of the books/research be old.

― caek, Thursday, 5 February 2009 17:02 (sixteen years ago)

sorry, that was illiterate. you get it though.

― caek, Thursday, 5 February 2009 17:02 (sixteen years ago)

obviously it's not 'actually' set in the 80s -- think the first ep mentions 9/11 -- but it is just odd how much stuff, even little stuff, like herc blasting 'theme from shaft', is in the (c. 1990) book. moreover the show 'homicide' is way more NINETIES than 'the wire' was NOUGHTIES if you see what i mean. (i think i just mean they had more arguments about political correctness in 'homicide' really.)

― special guest stars mark bronson, Thursday, 5 February 2009 17:07 (sixteen years ago)

that is true.

― caek, Thursday, 5 February 2009 17:08 (sixteen years ago)

The technology speeds up pretty rapidly by the second series, all that GPS stuff for instance.

― Holy Suffering Gobi Desert Clit Nun (Matt DC), Thursday, 5 February 2009 17:09 (sixteen years ago)

I only watched the show starting about a year ago, so it was fun to be able to tell when the episode was originally aired by the rap songs playing out of cars.

― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Thursday, 5 February 2009 17:10 (sixteen years ago)

sorry not Omar i meant Avon

― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2009 17:16 (sixteen years ago)

haha yes when everybody was playing 'the blueprint' xp

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 5 February 2009 17:19 (sixteen years ago)

yay - just got the box set in the mail!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 5 February 2009 18:10 (sixteen years ago)

like i feel like i remember black star playing in someone's car+ lucinda williams playing in ronnie's apartment...

― horseshoe, Thursday, February 5, 2009 10:33 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i think this was more an issue of them not really thinking out the music programming or letting the actors throw their favorite cds on ... at one point the guys in the pit are bumping j-live:

http://www.amiright.com/album-covers/images/album-JLive-All-of-the-Above.jpg

who i like fwiw but is definitely not typical projects radio. they became more careful w/ this in the later seasons

― LOOK WHAT I BRING TO THE TABLA (deej), Thursday, 5 February 2009 23:54 (sixteen years ago)

not to generalize about projects radio but yknow

― LOOK WHAT I BRING TO THE TABLA (deej), Thursday, 5 February 2009 23:54 (sixteen years ago)

lol yeah that makes sense. lucinda williams seems in character for ronnie, though.

― horseshoe, Friday, 6 February 2009 00:25 (sixteen years ago)

i was gonna say that. that's one reason she was character i would least like to kiw

― straight b*tch (harbl), Friday, 6 February 2009 00:28 (sixteen years ago)

i bet cedric turned her onto some good shit tho

― John Hyman (misspelled intentionally) (omar little), Friday, 6 February 2009 00:29 (sixteen years ago)

cedric is listening to coltrane in at least one scene iirc

― autosocratic asphyxiation (Hurting 2), Friday, 6 February 2009 02:41 (sixteen years ago)

I did hear, though, that David Simon wrote "Homicide" after "It Takes Two" came out, and was drawing from his experience during the time when it was the hit song that summer and purportedly you'd see people dancing to it next to crime scenes and all, which explains why he'd depict early 2000's West Baltimore blasting it in public, for instance. Although I guess they contemporized by season 2.

― mehlt, Friday, 6 February 2009 03:51 (sixteen years ago)

having spoken to the music supervisor, Blake, yeah, the first couple seasons he wasn't thinking too hard about realistic song choices, so you'd hear like 2 late '90s Mos Def songs in one episode that's ostensibly set in 2002. later on he got better at using contemporary radio hits, and in the last couple seasons, a lot of the local Baltimore artists that ended up on the soundtrack, some of which were getting radio play.

― some dude, Friday, 6 February 2009 03:55 (sixteen years ago)

And I still think it's great that Chris went around asking about Baltimore club music to scout out who the New Yorkers were.

― mehlt, Friday, 6 February 2009 04:01 (sixteen years ago)

While it makes sense that Lester would be a jazz dude, or Butchie love the old school Rn'B, some of the other musical associations were a bit odd to say the least. I swear there's some episode in season one where Prez is listening to a new wave station that sounds like its playlist comes straight from the 1980's. I'd never take Pryzbylewski for an OMD fan.

Gotta wonder what's on Rawls' playlist.

― leavethecapital, Tuesday, 10 February 2009 23:44 (sixteen years ago)

madonna.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 11 February 2009 04:06 (sixteen years ago)

City police raid turns up 90 pounds of cocaine

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.bust21feb21,0,790170.story

― eman, Saturday, 21 February 2009 17:06 (sixteen years ago)

id be interested to know what US posters made of this:

http://www.filmquarterly.org/index2.html

basically latecomer anglo wire viewer says it isn't real enough/panders to white hbo viewers, citing... the fucking freakonomics blogger in nyt. no mention of it screening on BET i don't think. us racial politics, brit style.

― meme economist (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:42 (sixteen years ago)

wow, sounds quite face palm.

― Bone Thugs-N-Harmony ft Phil Collins (jim), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:44 (sixteen years ago)

That article is kind of dumb.

"It’s harder, however, to find much in the way of first-hand
testimony from those who have grown up in the type of environment
featured on The Wire, or even to garner much reliable
evidence about how much popularity it enjoys among
such demographic groups."

lol internet research

― Bonobos in Paneradise (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:49 (sixteen years ago)

"I didn't see one blog, nor even a single tweet, that matched real life to what was depicted in the show!"

― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:52 (sixteen years ago)

Plus he's confusing two unrelated points. Of course viewers who aren't actually from the ghetto get a vicarious thrill from watching the show. The same can be said about any good television or film drama, not to mention a lot of good feature journalism. And this "thrill" has little to do with the question of whether it's actually a realistic portrait or not, but my guess it's by far the closest thing to a realistic portrait of that life television has ever seen.

― Bonobos in Paneradise (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:53 (sixteen years ago)

freakanomics should show oz to some actual aryan nation lifers.

― meme economist (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:54 (sixteen years ago)

you can read it from the site? i can't see the link.
there is more about how they caught the guy w/ 90 lbs. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-drugseizure0223,0,4786815.story don't put cocaine in the back of your pickup truck, duh

― я рилли (harbl), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:58 (sixteen years ago)

oh, i was looking at the wrong article, sry

― я рилли (harbl), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:58 (sixteen years ago)

I talked to my dad the other day; he and my mom are halfway through the first DVD of season one. This is going to be hilarious.

― Easter Time / Chocolate Time (joygoat), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 15:52 (sixteen years ago)

I swear there's some episode in season one where Prez is listening to a new wave station that sounds like its playlist comes straight from the 1980's. I'd never take Pryzbylewski for an OMD fan.
Gotta wonder what's on Rawls' playlist.

I can see Prez listening to alt rock or an alt rock for women station that would play new wave songs. I could see him liking Elvis Costello.

Rawls: butt rock. BTO "Taking Care of Business" - maybe "Slow Ride" - dude's a bear. Don't think he'd be listening to Madonna, but maybe Judas Priest.

― candy corn for lunch and dinner (sarahel), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 22:07 (sixteen years ago)

Wait, what kind of radio format is "alt rock for women," exactly?

― nabisco, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 22:08 (sixteen years ago)

All I can imagine is "all Wallflowers, all the time," and the "for women" part is a bit confusing even then

― nabisco, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 22:09 (sixteen years ago)

Sarah McLaughlin
Ani DiFranco

― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 22:16 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.filmquarterly.org/index2.html
basically latecomer anglo wire viewer says it isn't real enough/panders to white hbo viewers, citing... the fucking freakonomics blogger in nyt. no mention of it screening on BET i don't think. us racial politics, brit style.

Hmm, the writer doesn't necessarily seem to be saying that it isn't real enough. He seems to be examining the appeal of the show (and the Freakonomics blog series on the show) to white people, whom the writer seems to portray as a monolithic bloc. I went and read the Freakonomics posts, (academic watches the show w/actual black drug dealers and gang dudes) and they confirmed a significant amount of realism/authenticity.

I think the writer's portrayal of white people interested in the show is overly simplistic. I live in Oakland, and regularly see the dealers and junkies, and recent news stories of the Oakland PD could easily make a Wire season storyline. I watched the show, partly for a "inside view" into what I only observe walking or driving by, as well as noting regional differences -- Oakland's drug trade involves more kids on bikes -- probably in relation to a balmier climate and more spread out geography.

― candy corn for lunch and dinner (sarahel), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 22:26 (sixteen years ago)

Prez is a Johnny Cash man! Or maybe the point is that he turns into one after going through wallflowers purgatory, and that combined with his Hemingway beard redeems him. David Simon clearly loving "The Man Comes Around" closing Generation Kill w/it too.

― ogmor, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 22:26 (sixteen years ago)

Wait, what kind of radio format is "alt rock for women," exactly?

In the SF Bay Area, there's a station called "Alice" - that smacks of being a national format - that consists of (based on overhearing it occasionally, advertised artists on station ads and on the masthead of their website) alt-folk-rock, new wave, lighter rock - like Sarah McLachlan, Sting, Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Coldplay. I think their target demographic is college educated white women between 25 - 45.

― candy corn for lunch and dinner (sarahel), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 22:36 (sixteen years ago)

I live in a rural area and the Wire still rings true, just substitute Oxycontin and Meth for Dope and Coke. Our politicians are notoriously corrupt too. There's a Clay Davis in nearly every little, backwoods town.

― leavethecapital, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 23:48 (sixteen years ago)

KFOG, basically.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Tuesday, 24 February 2009 23:50 (sixteen years ago)

KFOG is a bit more dudely than Alice - I think KFOG also targets older - like up to age 54. KFOG is radio for baby boomer dad who likes Clapton and sometimes kicks back and smokes weed.

― candy corn for lunch and dinner (sarahel), Wednesday, 25 February 2009 01:48 (sixteen years ago)

Interesting article on dubbing The Wire into German:
http://blog.babbel.com/the-words-should-roll-out-of-the-mouths-on-the-dubbing-of-the-wire-in-german/

― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Thursday, 26 February 2009 23:36 (sixteen years ago)

Interview, rather.

― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Thursday, 26 February 2009 23:36 (sixteen years ago)

David Simon Blasts The New Baltimore Police Department Policy of Withholding The Names of Officers Who Use Deadly Force

― eman, Friday, 27 February 2009 05:18 (sixteen years ago)

another good DS article on the same topic in today's Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022703591.html?hpid%253Dopinionsbox1

― SBarro (some dude), Monday, 2 March 2009 01:21 (sixteen years ago)

THE WIRE COMES TO BBC2 THIS SPRING

― f f murray abraham (G00blar), Thursday, 12 March 2009 14:43 (sixteen years ago)

good luck uk

― goole, Thursday, 12 March 2009 14:44 (sixteen years ago)

http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/2009/02/if-rappers-were-characters-from-the-wire

Has this been posted? It's surprisingly decent, tho McNulty was really really robbed.

― droling lapdogs (hmmmm), Friday, 13 March 2009 02:56 (sixteen years ago)

real pleasure noticing that mcnulty and i were swigging from matching bottles of jameson tonight

― 14 karat gold steen computer wizard (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 14:16 (sixteen years ago)

There's a Clay Davis in nearly every little, backwoods town.

Boss Hog, pretty much.

― Eephin' Pageant (kingkongvsgodzilla), Wednesday, 18 March 2009 14:40 (sixteen years ago)

Some casting news on David Simon's new project.
http://www.hitfix.com/articles/2009-3-10-new-oscar-nominee-joins-hbo-s-treme
Finding it kind of hard to visualize how this show will work at the moment, the concept seems quite nebulous

― Number None, Wednesday, 18 March 2009 15:06 (sixteen years ago)

So this starts on BBC2 tonight. You all been good boys and girls telling everyone you've ever met to tune in now it's not on FX at 3 in the morning or whatever?

― there's a big metaphor going on in which pussy is medicine (a hoy hoy), Monday, 30 March 2009 10:03 (sixteen years ago)

i bought series 1 on dvd and then lent it to someone after only watching the first 5. that was before christmas...

(am tempted to buy the others as well rather than be a slave to nightly bbc2 showings. is only £15 a season after all)

― koogs, Monday, 30 March 2009 11:14 (sixteen years ago)

Best way to watch wire is three-four eps at a time tho. I stand by dvd

― swedes put dill on fields of salmon (fields of salmon), Monday, 30 March 2009 15:19 (sixteen years ago)

OTM. I don't know how I would have handled having to wait a WHOLE WEEK for a new episode.

― legendary North American forest ape (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 30 March 2009 15:29 (sixteen years ago)

It's mon-fri, 11:20pm, a bit too late really (projecting my life onto entire BBC2 viewers now), but I can't be bothered starting to concentrate on something at that time.

Was it on weekly when it was first shown (either HBO or FX)? - this seems like such a stupid question, I'm sorry. lol dvd boxsets.

― new drone spider (j.o.n.a), Monday, 30 March 2009 15:34 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, it was a weekly show during the HBO original run.

― legendary North American forest ape (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 30 March 2009 15:41 (sixteen years ago)

> It's mon-fri, 11:20pm

that would be too easy:

Mon 23:20 The Target
Tue 23:20 The Detail
Wed 23:20 The Buys
Thu 23:20 Old Cases
Fri 23:35 The Pager

― koogs, Monday, 30 March 2009 15:55 (sixteen years ago)

With the iPlayer, isn't it now basically on whenever you want though? Just start a day late.

― krakow, Monday, 30 March 2009 21:16 (sixteen years ago)

I'm like 80% certain I played craps with Marlo in Shreveport this weekend. Is he in the new David Simon project?

― too many misters not enough sisters (milo z), Monday, 30 March 2009 21:18 (sixteen years ago)

did u get shot? if no, prolly not marlo.

― continuous flow crustastunna (forksclovetofu), Monday, 30 March 2009 21:37 (sixteen years ago)

did it have hands? did it have a head?

― unexpected item in bagging area (sarahel), Monday, 30 March 2009 21:40 (sixteen years ago)

this seems better, so far, I think:

― the pinefox, Monday, 30 March 2009 23:55 (sixteen years ago)

WH ----??!!

― ljubljana, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 01:26 (sixteen years ago)

Cagney and Lacey being a better show than The Wire is a special kind of challops.
Thanks for giving me a reason to hear the themesong again, tho'.

― continuous flow crustastunna (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 01:45 (sixteen years ago)

that kind of challops will get you a SB, son

― hello my name is peter francis geraci are you in debt (omar little), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 01:53 (sixteen years ago)

I'm not saying it's a GOOD challop, just a special one.

― continuous flow crustastunna (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 01:55 (sixteen years ago)

just started re-watching this. <3

― tehresa, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:02 (sixteen years ago)

Am going to start watching this again this week - excited!

― Too Into Dancing to Argue (ENBB), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:04 (sixteen years ago)

friend of mine the other day telling me how shes watching it for the 1st time - so jealous - already done 1-4 x2

― ice cr?m, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:21 (sixteen years ago)

I've only seen like 4 episodes so it kind of is like the first time for me.

― Too Into Dancing to Argue (ENBB), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:22 (sixteen years ago)

yeah i might need to start over

still think the opening scene is G.O.A.T American Drama

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:27 (sixteen years ago)

like maybe it'll be boring and played at some point, but i bet countless theses/dissertations will use "you got to, man, this is america" as an epigraph or whatever for decades to come

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:28 (sixteen years ago)

snot boogie

btw 2/3rd seasons of big love are pretty great

― ice cr?m, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:31 (sixteen years ago)

Pinefox is autistic, right?

-- Dom Passantino, Wednesday, May 7, 2008 9:38 PM

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:36 (sixteen years ago)

Half my weekly phone conversation with my mom now revolves around her talking about the Wire. Yesterday she was bitching about Ziggy and telling me what the Greeks are up to now.

― joygoat, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 02:59 (sixteen years ago)

I'm like 80% certain I played craps with Marlo in Shreveport this weekend. Is he in the new David Simon project?

Nope.

― Jouster, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 03:04 (sixteen years ago)

http://media.sheknows.com/articles/Cagney-And-Lacey.jpg
cagney: You are feeding off the violence and the despair of the drug trade. You are stealing from those who themselves are stealing the lifeblood from our city. You are a parasite who leeches off the culture of drugs…
lacey: Just like you, man.
cagney: Excuse me? What?
lacey: I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. It’s all in the game though, right?

― velko, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 03:17 (sixteen years ago)

i got to the bit where the female witness changed her testimony before i fell asleep...

― koogs, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 09:09 (sixteen years ago)

The backlash has started in earnest, guy in the pub at the weekend was giving it, "The Shield is much better anyway"

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 09:11 (sixteen years ago)

11pm loooool; seinfeld and larry sanders all over again

wd never recommend someone watch the wire anyway

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 09:44 (sixteen years ago)

the shield being better than the wire isn't such an inscrutable challops. the wire really soured its reputation with season 5

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 09:45 (sixteen years ago)

also its fans in the media are the most disgusting savages etc obv

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 09:45 (sixteen years ago)

I don't think the shield is better than the wire but I can totally understand why some ppl wd

some of the scenes in the shield are as intense as any in the wire

character is just as strong, language is obv weaker in the shield but when was that ever gunna be an issue... plot iono, it's a tossup I think... shield has that horrible complexity going on too

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 09:48 (sixteen years ago)

I suspect that an awful lot of people just don't like being told something's good - esp. by the BBC or Channel 4 etc.

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 09:50 (sixteen years ago)

oh, and as expected, it's not iplayable

> the wire really soured its reputation with season 5

and i'm having real trouble with the last series of the shield. is just washing over me. has for a while.

― koogs, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 10:17 (sixteen years ago)

I'm just about to start season 7; I heard (nrq) it was great?

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 10:38 (sixteen years ago)

I had that problem with the last several seasons of the sheild until an event that I posted about months after it happened and still got spoilhammered for once I did. Suffice it to say - stick with it, ye shall have thine reward.

― Zero Transfats Waller (Oilyrags), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 10:39 (sixteen years ago)

I suspect that an awful lot of people just don't like being told something's good - esp. by the BBC or Channel 4 etc.

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, March 31, 2009 5:50 AM

brings up a good point. the hype for it didn't really start here until somewhere between the 4th and 5th season airings

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:28 (sixteen years ago)

i'd like to see the shield in its entirety, a couple early episodes i caught were really good

also ppl should stop sleeping on this show

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:33 (sixteen years ago)

^^ i just started s01 of that and it is awesome. (btw wtf happened to weeds? boring as shit now. or was the appeal of that always rly just mlp lookin' hot?)

― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:37 (sixteen years ago)

1st season of weeds was really hit or miss and its all been downhill from there. imo the appeal is the cast which is pretty uniformly terrific but they really cant save the terrible terrible writing

― rip dom passantino 3/5/09 never forget (max), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:38 (sixteen years ago)

i couldnt get into breaking bad

― rip dom passantino 3/5/09 never forget (max), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:38 (sixteen years ago)

The backlash has started in earnest, guy in the pub at the weekend was giving it, "The Shield is much better anyway"

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, March 31, 2009 11:11 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

gotta admit i dropped this as a challop the other week, just coz some dude was all like i MUST watch the wire and... argh by now. just want a moratorium on it, and will try to maintain a dignified silence during the next few months with it on every night. i think the whole 'phenomenon' is an index of the blogification of the papers more than anything. one british paper in particular has published something about 'the wire' pretty much every day for at least a year.

iirc people liked 'the sopranos' just as much, but the years when it was a really big deal were just before the internets went really total supernova. hard to date that shit (2003–05?) and this is getting a bit HRO anyway.

just want 2 be left alone now.

― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:03 (sixteen years ago)

what is this mysterious paper that can't be named

― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:04 (sixteen years ago)

the Guardian having an exhaustive plot summary of episodes of the last series the morning after they aired in the US or whatever was well crap. I never understood the point of it.

― Blackout Crew are the Beatles of donk (jim), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:05 (sixteen years ago)

i think the whole 'phenomenon' is an index of the blogification of the papers more than anything

Sub-Marcello at best.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:06 (sixteen years ago)

Everyday it seems I am more and more glad I don't read the Guardian

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:08 (sixteen years ago)

ok matt, why do you think the wire is more saturation-covered than was 'the sopranos'?

there is a phenomenon out there, for sure, of people feeling they simply MUST see 'the wire', and also one of people complaining about the pressure.

and maybe that existed a little bit with older series, but imo to nothing like the same extent.

i reckon it's because of THE BLOGS.

― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:09 (sixteen years ago)

people just prefer good honest cops to the no-goog nick mafioso

― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:10 (sixteen years ago)

xposts. I no longer read any newspaper apart from the sports sections of tabloids. On the one hand I feel like a disgusting savage, on the other hand it's liberating. I occasionally look at the BBC site, el pais, various Latin American papers, but this is also mainly to look at the football.

― Blackout Crew are the Beatles of donk (jim), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:10 (sixteen years ago)

so how do you think Gerrard will do in the G20?

― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:11 (sixteen years ago)

If he can replicate his Liverpool form it's in the bag.

― Blackout Crew are the Beatles of donk (jim), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:12 (sixteen years ago)

He's never been able to play in the same midfield as Tony Soprano, there's your problem

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:15 (sixteen years ago)

lol the shield is some srsly corny consternated yelly shit silly britishes

― ice cr?m, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:16 (sixteen years ago)

The Shield had a higher profile here thanks to Five - I know people who've loved it for years but never gave it a go (no surprise - tend to ignore police shows myself). Gonna start Wire s2 any day now tho...

― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:18 (sixteen years ago)

brings up a good point. the hype for it didn't really start here until somewhere between the 4th and 5th season airings

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Tuesday, March 31, 2009 3:28 PM (53 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

always so annoying when shit gets hyped just as its getting bad... also see battlestar

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:25 (sixteen years ago)

You can talk about media coverage and saturation, but the vast, vast majority of people I know have not seen The Wire, The Shield nor Battlestar Galactica... the internet distorts a lot of things.

― Nhex, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:27 (sixteen years ago)

Me, for instance

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:32 (sixteen years ago)

ya i just hate those "this is the BEST SHOW ON TV" articles that come out all swaggering and confident about their bold discovery after the show has gotten shitty

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:37 (sixteen years ago)

the way i see it, that kind of hype for a show that has a couple solid seasons under their belt that you can always go back and rent on DVD is still better than the same type of press for a show halfway through its first season that may (and usually does) fall way off a year later

― a pissed-off yuppie wandering around L.A. trying it (some dude), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:41 (sixteen years ago)

sure, the "two and a half men" phenomenon

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:49 (sixteen years ago)

How long's The Shield been around? It's been on in the UK for years, possibly not on continuously and possibly not on the same channel, I don't know, but no-one ever went on about it like it was anything special until the BBC bought The Wire, thus allowing smartarses in pub to say "The Shield's better anyway"

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:54 (sixteen years ago)

lol? (xpost)

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:54 (sixteen years ago)

lol indeed

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:55 (sixteen years ago)

i didn't learn that Dominic West was British til yesterday

― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:58 (sixteen years ago)

the shield is great but really pretty stupid as well, not in the same league as the wire imo. the supporting cast on the former is pretty weak compared to the latter, too.

― hello my name is peter francis geraci are you in debt (omar little), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 16:58 (sixteen years ago)

You can talk about media coverage and saturation, but the vast, vast majority of people I know have not seen The Wire, The Shield nor Battlestar Galactica... the internet distorts a lot of things.

― Nhex, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 6:27 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

we do this convo on the regular (most recently: "everybody has heard of kevin smith" -- e. padgett, r.i.p.) and yeah, ok, i get it. but a lot of people *have* seen them or feel like they "should". and the coverage im talking about is in the msm... though if we're talking numbers loads of people read newspapers online now! the internets is not some kooky edge thing only nerds look at.

600,000 brits tuned into the first ep of the wire last night at 1120pm, 1% of the population. not too shabby.

no-one ever went on about it like it was anything special until the BBC bought The Wire

it's been on channel 5 since about 2003. it debuted in the us same year as 'the wire' (2002). i've been saying it's better than 'the wire' as a challop for at least a year. i guess it isn't really, but sometimes challops become what you actually think, and the last series of 'the shield' *was* better than that of 'the wire'. they both have different strengths and weaknesses overall.

― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:04 (sixteen years ago)

Has it been on continuously? Or do *people just ignore it because it's on Five?

(*and Guardian readers)

― Sacco, Vanzetti, Passantino... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:12 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/2007/jun/19/badgeofhonourwhyilovethe

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:17 (sixteen years ago)

recently i had a friend of mine convinced that the actor who plays omar is actually swedish (after he found out about idris elba)

― meat of beef (Jordan), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:19 (sixteen years ago)

I have never seen the word 'challop' defined, and never seen it outside ilx, and don't know what you people mean by it.

Otherwise I agree with a lot of the above.

I didn't like the Sopranos - it was long and dull and I don't really like things centring around vile and wicked people like gangsters. I think this last might be a problem with the Wire for me also. it seems to have lots of horrible people in it. in the first episode I didn't hear anyone say anything interesting, but that could change, in theory.

― the pinefox, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:34 (sixteen years ago)

Ømår Littel

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:35 (sixteen years ago)

Every time I've tried to watch The Shield I've turned it off after no more than 10 minutes. Something about it just doesn't work for me.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:37 (sixteen years ago)

in the first episode I didn't hear anyone say anything interesting, but that could change, in theory.

― the pinefox, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 1:34 PM

you mean to say that further episodes might prove to be different from, or even better than, the debut? interesting theory!

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:39 (sixteen years ago)

to be fair there's not a lot of time left for the show to prove its bonafides, only another 60 or so episodes iirc

― hello my name is peter francis geraci are you in debt (omar little), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:40 (sixteen years ago)

yeah and with the first 3 seasons of hunter on dvd it'd be easy to let it fall by the wayside altogether

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:44 (sixteen years ago)

works for me!

― hello my name is peter francis geraci are you in debt (omar little), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:47 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.tv-intros.com/s/scarecrow%20mrs%20king.jpg

real shit

― laying | (goole), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:49 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.tv-intros.com/s/scarecrow%20mrs%20king.jpg

― laying | (goole), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:49 (sixteen years ago)

cagney and lacey was a great show tho, no need to have pinefox's stellar not-knowing-things act get in the way of that. tyne daly 4eva.

― laying | (goole), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 17:51 (sixteen years ago)

― hello my name is peter francis geraci are you in debt (omar little), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:02 (sixteen years ago)

still think the opening scene is G.O.A.T American Drama

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Monday, March 30, 2009 10:27 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

like maybe it'll be boring and played at some point, but i bet countless theses/dissertations will use "you got to, man, this is america" as an epigraph or whatever for decades to come

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Monday, March 30, 2009 10:28 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

wife and I just started watching the wire. she tuned out after an episode and a half. I can see why people would prefer sopranos. notwithstanding the pinefox's revulsion, the sopranos characters are more charming, the family situations have general appeal. whereas the wire by comparison seems to be a pretty dry policier. I'm only on eps 4 tho.

I wasn't particularly fond of the opening scene. seemed contrived and writerly, and if you're striving for street realism, do you really think a gangbanger is going to be seen chilling out in public with a police detective at a murder scene?

but I am digging it on the whole.

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:04 (sixteen years ago)

my old posts in this thread sukk, but i'm glad it's still around so everyone knows i was the first one ridin Wire-dick around here

― the most brazen explosion of clitoral lust in folk-metal history (cankles), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:04 (sixteen years ago)

i just remembered even though i was shaking my head at the pinefox the first time i tried to watch the wire (s1 e1) i got bored 20 min in and didn't watch it again for months

― goaty (harbl), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:06 (sixteen years ago)

i don't think he was a gangbanger, just a guy from the neighborhood xxp

― hello my name is peter francis geraci are you in debt (omar little), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:07 (sixteen years ago)

whereas the wire by comparison seems to be a pretty dry policier.

i think u have to be well marinated in, and somewhat sick of, the shorthand grammar of cop shows to enjoy the boredom of the first half of S1. on like Law & Order, they'll say they need a wiretap and then, next scene, they have all the goods laid out. but cop work is really boring and tedious! all those hours on the rooftop, all that time sitting with the headphones on, working around the legal constraints, the itchy tedium, esp. for amped up dudes that just want to kick ass. there's no supercop high tech bs, they're always way behind in putting the pieces together and each step is really hard work. that's not ~fascinating~ to everyone apparently but it's not normal for cop shows!

― laying | (goole), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:12 (sixteen years ago)

i've always gathered from cop shows that talking to detectives was sorta part of the deal. bodie had conversations all the time, iirc

xp see i liked the dryness and boredom of the wire! it's like a how things work of the police

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:13 (sixteen years ago)

It's a true story!

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:14 (sixteen years ago)

after watching the whole series, i went back and watched the first episode with my dad & stepmom. it was really surprising how forced and awkward some of it seems, esp. the swearing & hard-assery (could be due to the awkwardness of watching it w/my folx, though). it gets better fast, though.

― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:17 (sixteen years ago)

i felt the same thing rewatching a few episodes of season 5 over the break....in retrospect, most of the cops' dialogue is stilted.

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:18 (sixteen years ago)

every show needs time for the actors, writers, directors and the rest to work out what the show is and how to do it. but yeah, some of it was a bit forced. also that awful Gant-testimony recall, which was the network's thing.

season 5 just feels really rushed.

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:19 (sixteen years ago)

season 5 is srsly marred by simon's nostalgic jerkoff to saintly, tireless journalists, but i think we've been over that already

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:21 (sixteen years ago)

I think there is more chance of most of us enjoying being punched repeatedly in the face then there is of the Pinefox enjoying The Wire. Pinefox if I were you you I probably wouldn't even bother.

I really liked the OTT serial killer/cop stuff in Series 5 but I just didn't care about the journalists at all. It felt a bit late in the day to be including a whole raft of new characters especially when they'd outdone themselves with the kids in S4.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:23 (sixteen years ago)

However NRQ has convinced me to start watching the Shield, and I have never really bothered with the Sopranos, mostly because watching the whole thing seems like too big an investment of time. Even if it is brilliant.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:27 (sixteen years ago)

there needs to be a disclaimer on the cover of all season 1 DVD sets that everyone simply MUST watch the first 3 episodes before making up their mind. i know i watched the first two episodes and forgot about the show for a year or so. then i watched episode 3 one day and went "ah, this is good". i ended up finishing the first season the next day.

― lil waynes babymama (musically), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:27 (sixteen years ago)

Is Darren Bent in it?

― the pinefox, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:13 (sixteen years ago)

i didn't get into The Wire s1 until halfway thru

― Hard House SugBanton (blueski), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:20 (sixteen years ago)

matt dc: see the shield threads. for some qualifiers. or ask cozen, who is watching now! basically the first two seasons u may be a bit ehhhhh... but then it ramps up like a motherfucker and becomes the most intense palpitation-inducing show on television, and gets better as it goes on.

i think it does "say something about america", but without recourse to corny "this america, man" type lines. but it is a cop show with car chases and people getting beat on and shit, and the best things in 'the wire' -- series 2 and series 4, i think, these days, eg the school and the docks -- are not cop show-y.

i think abt the sopranos more and more and how great it was. the amount of time for this kind of ish depends on what else you got cookin'. i don't watch sport or listen to music or have a girlfriend, so really why would i not be watching it over?

― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:21 (sixteen years ago)

o shi, heads-up for uk ilxors, dunno where to put this but:

'law and order' on bbc4 tonight.

it's fkn amazing.

even pinefox may like it.

― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:27 (sixteen years ago)

1978 uber-british proto-wire shit. one case, four eps, one about a robber, one about a cop, one about a lawyer, one about a con.

― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:28 (sixteen years ago)

that sounds rad

― rip dom passantino 3/5/09 never forget (max), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:34 (sixteen years ago)

gukbe, are you acquainted w/the shield? (I have dvds going spare if not)

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:37 (sixteen years ago)

(is dope btw)

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:37 (sixteen years ago)

someone posted a massive spoiler on the shield thread (not surprising since the show's dead now and the spoiler is about 2/3 seasons back) so beware

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:38 (sixteen years ago)

i just remembered even though i was shaking my head at the pinefox the first time i tried to watch the wire (s1 e1) i got bored 20 min in and didn't watch it again for months
― goaty (harbl)

Ditto, first episode struck me as uninteresting. It was only because I _could_ watch a full season in one sitting that I ended up getting hooked later on.

― continuous flow crustastunna (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:54 (sixteen years ago)

only saw the first few eps cozwn, but was too engrossed at the wire at the time to care. will give it another shot tho.

xposts

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:56 (sixteen years ago)

I'd wish five freeview repeated one Shield ep a day. Love to watch, but my library won't buy the DVDs :-(

Or maybe both BBC3 and five could do Wire/Shield weekend marathons, except there is sex and violence and the crazy people who make the regulations don't allow that kind of stuff during daytime.

still really liking these 'wire' repeats. Its great to watch it all again.

"the wire really soured its reputation with season 5"

^ its crazy to say series 5 was THAT bad, btw...maybe it didn't help it was 10 instead of 12/13 eps that were originally planned

― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:59 (sixteen years ago)

I really don't think having 2/3 eps more wd've helped, it really was that rushed... iono but I thought sn5 was PRETTY bad : /

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:05 (sixteen years ago)

I don't think season 5 was bad, it just wasn't as good as the previous 4.

― unexpected item in bagging area (sarahel), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:13 (sixteen years ago)

guess I'm alone in thinking it was pretty awful then, oh well

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:15 (sixteen years ago)

I've rewatched the first three seasons, and on second viewing, I notice Dominic West's inconsistent accent a lot more.

― unexpected item in bagging area (sarahel), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:16 (sixteen years ago)

This is it. End of season 3 + 4 was the peak of that show, and the conclusion was perhaps a bit too 'history is destined to repeat itself' blah blah but I was hooked, watched 8 of the 10 in one day. xp

― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:16 (sixteen years ago)

I am now convinced there needs to be a Snakes on a Plane sequel starring Idris Elba.

― unexpected item in bagging area (sarahel), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:19 (sixteen years ago)

don't want to come off as a wire hater here, I've watched seasons 1-4 three times through, I think; I was just too disappointed by 5 tht it's def soured my perception of the show in memory

― lo (cozwn), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:21 (sixteen years ago)

5 was terrible

xp see i always thought his accent sucked!!

― goaty (harbl), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:23 (sixteen years ago)

5 had some valleys but some dope peaks. it was a little rushed but s'all good.

― hello my name is peter francis geraci are you in debt (omar little), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:24 (sixteen years ago)

xp harbl - sometimes he tried for a Baltimore accent, sometimes it seemed he was trying to do Paul Newman in Fort Apache the Bronx. Idris' on the other hand was flawless. Had no clue he was British until watching special features. I watched some recent Jason Statham movie just to see what Idris' real accent sounded like.

― unexpected item in bagging area (sarahel), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:44 (sixteen years ago)

The Michael and Dukie stuff in S5 is genuinely heartbreaking.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 21:25 (sixteen years ago)

Idris was great throughout the series. And yeah, I had no idea he was a Brit until I saw the special features. As for season 5, my biggest problem was the fake serial killer plot. I know Simon was trying to make a point about how sensationalism, staff cutbacks, the bottom line, and the whoring for Pulitzers have compromised daily newspapers, but it would have been more effective if he had used a different plot device.

― leavethecapital, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 22:14 (sixteen years ago)

o shi, heads-up for uk ilxors, dunno where to put this but:

'law and order' on bbc4 tonight.

it's fkn amazing.

even pinefox may like it.

This was really good, thanks for the notice. Sterling police work by Charlie Slater.

― new drone spider (j.o.n.a), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 23:07 (sixteen years ago)

it's funny how people remember/forget/remember that the wire isn't realistic.

― thomp, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 23:22 (sixteen years ago)

i don't get bbc4. have they put the repeats of this 'law and order' thing on the iplayer? no. no, they have not.

― thomp, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 23:25 (sixteen years ago)

Bastard, I was hoping to catch up on the first one.

― new drone spider (j.o.n.a), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 23:26 (sixteen years ago)

Watching Mark Lawson slobear his way through the interview, this guy is unexpected and glorious.

― ogmor, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 23:58 (sixteen years ago)

Watching only an episode or two of the Wire and deciding you don't like it is a little like rendering a verdict on an epic-length novel after 30 pages or so.

― Comprehensive Nuclear Suggest-Ban Treaty (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 00:38 (sixteen years ago)

http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/52516825/544703

― ¸„ø¤º°¨º¤ø „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø ¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ (eman), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 00:50 (sixteen years ago)

has anyone seen torrents of law and order (1978) kicking around anywhere?

― caek, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:24 (sixteen years ago)

Watching only an episode or two of the Wire and deciding you don't like it is a little like rendering a verdict on an epic-length novel after 30 pages or so.

― Comprehensive Nuclear Suggest-Ban Treaty (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 00:38 (47 minutes ago)

nah, it's more like reading 30 pages of an epic novel and deciding "I'm never gonna get through this thing" and putting it down

I mean, I like the wire so far but if I ever tell anybody "trust me, it gets really really good, you just gotta make it through the first 5 hours" you have permission to punch me in the throat

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:33 (sixteen years ago)

it's funny how people remember/forget/remember that the wire isn't realistic.

― thomp, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 7:22 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

whoah wait is there a paranormal subplot?

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:36 (sixteen years ago)

prepare to get throatpunched

― Comprehensive Nuclear Suggest-Ban Treaty (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:37 (sixteen years ago)

No, I wouldn't say five hours, but maybe 3? I mean I was curious enough after the first episode but not really impressed until 3.

― Comprehensive Nuclear Suggest-Ban Treaty (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:38 (sixteen years ago)

xp EIII: Jay Landsman isn't really that fat.

― unexpected item in bagging area (sarahel), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:38 (sixteen years ago)

starting hyoid kegels now

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:40 (sixteen years ago)

xp Hurting 2: Episode 4 is when the first season started getting good for me.

― unexpected item in bagging area (sarahel), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:40 (sixteen years ago)

ooh, I'm watching that one next

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:42 (sixteen years ago)

Watching only an episode or two of the Wire and deciding you don't like it is a little like rendering a verdict on an epic-length novel after 30 pages or so.
― Comprehensive Nuclear Suggest-Ban Treaty (Hurting 2), Tuesday, March 31, 2009 8:38 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

that sounds like a pretty reasonable approach to reading a novel, to me? I cracked open don quixote a while back, flipped through it for 10 mins, was like 'this is dumb and gay, i cant relate to this olde thymey spanish nigga' and hurled it across the room. if someone doesn't dig the wire after an episode or 2, then maybe it's not the fukkin show for them

― the most brazen explosion of clitoral lust in folk-metal history (cankles), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:54 (sixteen years ago)

otm also i think probably unconsciously the thing i hated about it most is people drooling on me telling me how awesome it is and how i had to find the strength to carry on a few more episodes. i mean i ended up liking it on my own but please

― goaty (harbl), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 01:56 (sixteen years ago)

The wire isn't completely realistic, but I think most of it's plausible. I certainly bought into Hamsterdam because the script took nearly two seasons building up to it. By contrast, the serial killer plot seemed like it came out of nowhere.

― leavethecapital, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 02:40 (sixteen years ago)

has anyone seen torrents of law and order (1978) kicking around anywhere?

― caek, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:24 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha ok this (1978) makes so much more sense now

― ice cr?m, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 02:43 (sixteen years ago)

has anyone seen torrents of law and order (1978) kicking around anywhere?

― caek, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:24 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― lo (cozwn), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 06:57 (sixteen years ago)

Actually I think there are sizeable elements of The Wire that would appeal to the Pinefox - particularly all the dockers/unions/changing nature of capitalism stuff in Series 2, but also the political bits of S3. But I seriously doubt he'd make it through the first series to find that out.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 08:38 (sixteen years ago)

not to mention its use of language and the fact its a very intelligent and intelligently written show, give it a go pf

― lo (cozwn), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 09:03 (sixteen years ago)

i've been working through this show for the past 2 years or so. i'll basically start a season, become totally engrossed and power my way through the thing in a day or two. then i'll put off the next season for like months because i don't want to feel guilty about sitting in front of my computer or television for a dozen hours straight. anyway, i just started season 4 and it's great and i'm back in the routine again. i live right outside of the city so that fact that i haven't finished it yet has been a minor source of embarrassment.

I notice Dominic West's inconsistent accent a lot more

this has always bothered me. it's kind of a combination of trying to do an American accent and throwing in some Bawmore shit randomly that throws me off. sounds totally inconsistent. also the fact that there are actual Baltimore dudes on the show that have a pretty hard accent mixed with actors who don't playing their peers is a little weird. i'm not really butthurt about it as i think it's cool that they have these guys on the show and i don't expect all the actors to speak that way, but it is a bit jarring.

― ham hand (circa1916), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 09:46 (sixteen years ago)

h8 mcnutty

― ice cr?m, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 15:22 (sixteen years ago)

^^2tru

― lo (cozwn), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 15:23 (sixteen years ago)

i love that he's from sheffield really, even though he went to eton.

― caek, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 15:23 (sixteen years ago)

hung out last night with a high school teacher who has been showing the wire season 1 in his literature class :D (pretty sure he can only get away with that because it's a catholic school)

― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 20:16 (sixteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04172009/watch.html

― someone who is aware how stupid the net is (harbl), Saturday, 18 April 2009 14:15 (sixteen years ago)

that's a goodun

― one thousand BIG HOOS raging and pounding (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Saturday, 18 April 2009 15:37 (sixteen years ago)

lol, "McArdle"

http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/The_Wire/The_Wire_-_Bible.pdf

― rent, Friday, 24 April 2009 20:19 (sixteen years ago)

man, this really came out pretty much fully formed.

― Long, helmet-defying hair (forksclovetofu), Friday, 24 April 2009 20:27 (sixteen years ago)

stringy bell!

― barfy (harbl), Friday, 24 April 2009 20:43 (sixteen years ago)

"Stringy" Bell -- the Stringer/Avon relationship is actually reversed in that document!

― nabisco, Friday, 24 April 2009 20:43 (sixteen years ago)

xpost!

― nabisco, Friday, 24 April 2009 20:44 (sixteen years ago)

how do they decide to pick mcnulty over mcardle i wonder? like what's the diff

― barfy (harbl), Friday, 24 April 2009 20:46 (sixteen years ago)

HERC - dumb as a box of rocks and an anabolic steroid addict to boot

― Dr. Phil, Friday, 24 April 2009 20:47 (sixteen years ago)

in the show he ends up dumb as a box of hammers

― barfy (harbl), Friday, 24 April 2009 20:48 (sixteen years ago)

box of rocks vs. bag of hammers vs. hammer of bags vs. hammer of boxes

― one thousand BIG HOOS raging and pounding (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Friday, 24 April 2009 20:53 (sixteen years ago)

dumber than a box of hair

― barfy (harbl), Friday, 24 April 2009 20:56 (sixteen years ago)

vs. doorknobs

― Long, helmet-defying hair (forksclovetofu), Friday, 24 April 2009 20:59 (sixteen years ago)

Dumber than a bag of dicks

― too many misters not enough sisters (milo z), Saturday, 25 April 2009 01:56 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/2/fgg.gif

― Dr. Phil, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 03:41 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/2/281akc8.gif

― Dr. Phil, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 03:42 (sixteen years ago)

yess wire gifs, i have now doubled my collection

― lil waynes babymama (musically), Wednesday, 29 April 2009 04:10 (sixteen years ago)

Thanks for that Moyers interview. The part in Part 2 where he talked about the contempt newspaper owners have had for their product hits home, obviously...

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 30 April 2009 04:30 (sixteen years ago)

Got my dvds back from Dad woooooooooo! He couldn't get my stepmom to watch it though. Apparently he did the same bad thing that I've done on occassion - used The Wire as a club to beat shows that other people like. Not the best sales technique, really.

― Full Metal Slanket (Oilyrags), Thursday, 30 April 2009 10:28 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, I've fallen into that trap sometimes too, definitely something to avoid - really makes you look like a douche no matter how good the show is.

― Nhex, Thursday, 30 April 2009 12:18 (sixteen years ago)

Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale and Kenny Jackson tell their versions of Baltimore's street life in The Baltimore Chronicles: Legends of the Unwired

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=17966

― just being playful and friendly (some dude), Thursday, 30 April 2009 13:24 (sixteen years ago)

makes you ~~look like~~ a douche

― Full Metal Slanket (Oilyrags), Thursday, 30 April 2009 23:39 (sixteen years ago)

Is it me, or has there there been a pretty noticeable backlash against the wire brought on by the many who haven't seen it, but have been turned off it because of unending recommendation and sycophancy. To bad, as it is the sort of thing where you can't stress enough,

― formerly: mehlt (Edward Saroyan), Friday, 1 May 2009 01:20 (sixteen years ago)

how much they actually should watch it.

― formerly: mehlt (Edward Saroyan), Friday, 1 May 2009 01:21 (sixteen years ago)

I think a lot of fans forget that the show requires a ton of effort to absorb, compared to 99.9% of TV shows it's pretty impenetrable. But honestly I think the show is just as ignored as it's usually been. That said, I don't know anyone who has actually watched the show that doesn't LOVE it, but there's that - people who would be interested are the ones seeking it out, not the general public.

That City Paper article was pretty interesting - had no idea how much Simon took from real people (not just names, but things like Avon having a boxing background, or the strip club thing from S5) that went into the show.

― Nhex, Friday, 1 May 2009 03:36 (sixteen years ago)

Clay Davis in a role he was born to play:

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Thursday, 14 May 2009 18:02 (sixteen years ago)

the many who haven't seen it, but have been turned off it because of unending recommendation and sycophancy

This was my position for a very long time about (a) The Wire, (b) living in Brooklyn, and (c) Macintosh computers -- i.e., stuff I was sure was fine and lovely, but I was not interested in and getting really sick of having constantly recommended to me

Then I watched The Wire and was like yeah, this is really good

That said, my usual response to Wire recommendations was "I'll wait until it's over and the whole thing's out on DVD," and I think that was the right decision; I feel like it would have totally exhausted and bothered me to watch this week to week and season to season

― nabisco, Thursday, 14 May 2009 18:09 (sixteen years ago)

watching the wire in brooklyn on your mac

― u have a new mistress my friend and her name is little debbie (omar little), Thursday, 14 May 2009 18:12 (sixteen years ago)

I'm ready to rewatch this front-to-back now. Wish I could find a box set for a hundred bucks.

― the toxic Internet art of constant callous one upsmanship (forksclovetofu), Friday, 15 May 2009 15:07 (sixteen years ago)

"that's japanese for goodbye"

― the toxic Internet art of constant callous one upsmanship (forksclovetofu), Friday, 15 May 2009 15:09 (sixteen years ago)

1-5 is £86 in the UK and $180 in the US. i am surprised. individual series here are £16, about $25.

― koogs, Friday, 15 May 2009 15:10 (sixteen years ago)

Have just arrived at the Season 3 finale. Damnit, if I don't love Bunny Colvin. That man is great.

― Two Will Get You Three (B.L.A.M.), Friday, 15 May 2009 15:58 (sixteen years ago)

I'm 3 eps away from Season 3 finale, literally cannot stop watching it. I don't know why I didn't see it when it was on TV, except that maybe it conflicted with other shows. First couple of episodes, I liked it but was a little deterred by how hard you had to work to track what was going on, who all the characters were. But man...the payoff was huge. And to find out that Richard Price, Dennis Lehane & George Pelecanos are writing for the show...DING! SOLD.

I love how initially McNulty seems like the ultimate cool police, but by Season 3 I'm just feeling like, man this dude is nowhere. So many great characters though. I kinda love Cutty.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 17 May 2009 03:48 (sixteen years ago)

nabisco i was like that about the entire concept of email for awhile.. like "pffft, ok, i'm glad you're into that"

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 17 May 2009 11:51 (sixteen years ago)

The real Barksdale comes off as kind of a creepy dude in that article.

― Garri$on Kilo (Hurting 2), Sunday, 17 May 2009 17:34 (sixteen years ago)

Not that it should be all that surprising for an ex-kingpin to be that way.

― Garri$on Kilo (Hurting 2), Sunday, 17 May 2009 17:34 (sixteen years ago)

We just watching the last season. I'm a total fangirl, I know, but fuuuuuuuck is this show great.

― the tip of the tongue taking a trip tralalala (stevienixed), Monday, 18 May 2009 12:13 (sixteen years ago)

As a johnny come lately, I've just finished watching season one. It's thoroughly engrossing, but trashier than I expected. The acting can be really OTT, and some of the dialogue and characters are kind of cliched, at least more so than in The Sopranos or Mad Men (though it's more plot-driven than either of those shows).

Having said that, I've compulsively watched the whole season in a week, so it's definitely very good TV. I'm just not yet convinced it deserves the 'best ever' tag.

I'm out, need to get me a re-up.

― chap, Saturday, 23 May 2009 00:56 (sixteen years ago)

I find as I watch it more I see more of the cliches and 'predictable' aspects, and at the same time, the less I care about them.

Which is to say, I've shedded off the mindset of watching it for realism and more just as a TV show that is realistic.

― Edward Saroyan, Saturday, 23 May 2009 01:10 (sixteen years ago)

My sons won't watch it because I'm into it. I can relate, but, duh.

― Beth Parker, Saturday, 23 May 2009 01:12 (sixteen years ago)

the dialogue & characters seem wayyyy less cliche'd than 'mad men' & way more realistic -- & much of the dialogue was taken from real life / simon's book

― autogucci cru (deej), Saturday, 23 May 2009 01:18 (sixteen years ago)

Oh for sure, I think it's top tier, except I think, because of the attention given to its realism, a lot of people get the idea it's supposed to be a sort of snapshot of reality, and when you have stuff like Hamsterdam and the Serial Killer, that it is betrayed. Granted the grittiness is so much of what makes it what it is, but I don't think of the Wire as being confined to it as much as when I watched it the first time.

― Edward Saroyan, Saturday, 23 May 2009 01:24 (sixteen years ago)

the dialogue & characters seem wayyyy less cliche'd than 'mad men'

I have to disagree with you there - I recognise quite a lot of the tropes from other cop screen fiction, which I don't get from Mad Men at all (maybe because there's a bit of dearth of 60s ad agency screen fiction). As for the realism thing, Mad Men doesn't purport to be as realistic as The Wire.

But I'm being a bit harsh on it, it's definitely very good, and there are a number of characters I'm already very invested in (notably D'Angelo and Bubs). I don't yet regard it as the plateau of television drama, though.

― chap, Saturday, 23 May 2009 01:32 (sixteen years ago)

t's thoroughly engrossing, but trashier than I expected. The acting can be really OTT, and some of the dialogue and characters are kind of cliched, at least more so than in The Sopranos or Mad Men (though it's more plot-driven than either of those shows).

it makes so much more sense a few seasons in; the first season's so tight, whether it's in daniel being a smooth hardass or mcnulty being a renegade cop. the best-tv-ever thing comes with the development. i just finished season four and there are character arcs like something out of east of eden. it isn't cinematic or grandiose like the sopranos but it's genuinely complex tv without easy answers or lazy solutions, and it's pretty daring in being so morally ambiguous.

― corps of discovery (schlump), Saturday, 23 May 2009 02:07 (sixteen years ago)

So how does this compare to the other things written/recorded: Homicide, the books,... I'm totally a The Wire fangirl, can't but say it's the awesomest thing evah (yes, that includes you Sopranos)

― the tip of the tongue taking a trip tralalala (stevienixed), Monday, 25 May 2009 12:05 (sixteen years ago)

I can wholeheartedly endorse David Simon's original non-fiction book that all this sprung from Homicide: Life on the Killing Streets. I've read it twice. Thoroughly engrossing. A large number of characters and situtations in The Wire were pretty much directly lifted from it.

― ears are wounds, Monday, 25 May 2009 17:59 (sixteen years ago)

xp the Homicide book is really good ... the photocopier lie detector bit came from there as did the anal sex initiation jokes. It's mostly about the day to day workings of the Homicide department. Some of the supporting characters from The Wire appear: Landsman (of course), Holley, Crutchfield ...you can guess at which real people a lot of the major cop characters were drawn from, but there isn't a real one to one correspondence that I could tell.

― giving a shit when it isn't your turn to give a shit (sarahel), Monday, 25 May 2009 23:36 (sixteen years ago)

Rick Requer = Bunk

― ears are wounds, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 09:42 (sixteen years ago)

Great. I'll order them when I get back from Japan. Woohoo.

― I GOTTA BRAKE FREEEEE (stevienixed), Tuesday, 26 May 2009 13:35 (sixteen years ago)

xp ears: Yeah, but he plays a very very minor role in the book.

― giving a shit when it isn't your turn to give a shit (sarahel), Tuesday, 26 May 2009 19:03 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah true, but still that is apparently that is who they based Bunk on. Just go read it if you haven't - it is well worth it.

― ears are wounds, Wednesday, 27 May 2009 08:42 (sixteen years ago)

the book is great.

not many direct wire correspondences, character-wise. one guy is a bit like pembleton tho.

― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Wednesday, 27 May 2009 08:43 (sixteen years ago)

four weeks pass...

last night's episode on bbc2 (3.03): dead bloke on pool table, pub full of fellow policemen, pogues on the bar stereo, them all singing along (badly)...

― koogs, Thursday, 25 June 2009 14:32 (sixteen years ago)

that happens a few times. It's always good.

― suggestzybandias (jim), Thursday, 25 June 2009 14:33 (sixteen years ago)

Landsman making a bit of a cringy speech?

― chap, Thursday, 25 June 2009 14:41 (sixteen years ago)

Bunk vomiting in the street?

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 25 June 2009 15:14 (sixteen years ago)

JIMMY!!!!!

― suggestzybandias (jim), Thursday, 25 June 2009 15:16 (sixteen years ago)

He was good po-lease.

― chap, Thursday, 25 June 2009 15:17 (sixteen years ago)

THE FUC DID I DO?!

― Snop Snitchin, Thursday, 25 June 2009 15:20 (sixteen years ago)

Is The Corner book recommended? I've seen the miniseries, and it was a little too soul-destroying for me.

― Leee, Sunday, 28 June 2009 22:31 (sixteen years ago)

that's the "on a stairmaster?" episode!

― fistula pumping action (sarahel), Sunday, 28 June 2009 22:41 (sixteen years ago)

dead guy was actually the character played by executive producer, Robert Colesberry - who died during that season.

― fistula pumping action (sarahel), Sunday, 28 June 2009 22:43 (sixteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31887660

― Then, it dawned on me: "I HAVE BEEN PLAYED!" (omar little), Monday, 13 July 2009 22:05 (sixteen years ago)

kind of a jovial tone given a 17 year old kid was killed, y'know

― caek, Monday, 13 July 2009 22:14 (sixteen years ago)

yeah, wtf.

― Why? I forget what biologists have suggested. (forksclovetofu), Monday, 13 July 2009 22:21 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/img/castcrew/character_season04/marlo.jpg

― i know u in heaven i hope 2 c u next year (am0n), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 18:27 (sixteen years ago)

anyway i bought the book. husband is reading it and says it's pretty good. we also started watching homicide S1. very good but very heavy.

― Unregistered Googler (stevienixed), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 18:33 (sixteen years ago)

fav Homicide S1 episode is "black and blue" -- u gotten to that one yet? bragher's acting in that is incred

― mustafa moe money (deej), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 18:47 (sixteen years ago)

Braugher is incredible through the whole series, not sure why he isn't in more stuff.

― congratulations (n/a), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 18:55 (sixteen years ago)

he was a general in the silver surfer movie lol

― i know u in heaven i hope 2 c u next year (am0n), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 19:42 (sixteen years ago)

He turns up in stuff, I mean he was in THE MIST too, but I'd like to see him in better movies/parts.

― congratulations (n/a), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 19:44 (sixteen years ago)

Braugher was such a beast on that show and it always seemed like he was on the cusp of winning a bunch of Emmys and being a huge star, and I remember he kinda dipped out of the show early supposedly to do features, but it never quite happened, which is such a shame.

― some dude, Tuesday, 14 July 2009 19:55 (sixteen years ago)

Except that he left at the end of season 6 (the show had 7 seasons). You're right about the other things, though.

― Jouster, Tuesday, 14 July 2009 21:26 (sixteen years ago)

I've yet to see season 7 - C4 wouldn't stump up for it - and I'm contemplating rewatching all seven seasons post-Wire. Really disappointed to hear Braugher isn't in for the last round.

― Soukesian, Tuesday, 14 July 2009 21:38 (sixteen years ago)

Does Homicide get better after season 1? It was kinda disappointing to watch post-Wire, because the television clichés were really apparent: the santa thing, the baby thing, the medical examiner relationship, etc ... these things also weren't in the book.

― faucet that ass (sarahel), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 21:42 (sixteen years ago)

Haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, but as I remember it got stronger and darker as it went along, with some amazing set-pieces.

It wasn't The Wire, but it was a couple of steps up from anything before it.

― Soukesian, Tuesday, 14 July 2009 21:51 (sixteen years ago)

I just found out an ex of mine got a new kitten and named him Detective Pembleton.

― sad-ass Gen Y fantasist (jaymc), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 21:52 (sixteen years ago)

Does Homicide get better after season 1?
― faucet that ass (sarahel), Tuesday, July 14, 2009 5:42 PM

first 3 seasons are classic imo. after that the cast starts changing and it takes a slight dive but is still watchable, tho i've still never seen the last 2 seasons

― i know u in heaven i hope 2 c u next year (am0n), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 22:04 (sixteen years ago)

have to agree on the disappointment that Braugher never broke out, he really seemed close to it for a while

― Nhex, Tuesday, 14 July 2009 22:09 (sixteen years ago)

also, I liked Homicide a lot but you do have to remember its context, this was before even NYPD Blue was around, Law and Order was just starting - tv, not just cop shows, were much thinner back then in general, they couldn't get away with a tiny fraction of what shows get away with today in terms of character development and complexity

― Nhex, Tuesday, 14 July 2009 22:11 (sixteen years ago)

o wait you're saying season 1 sucked? ok never mind, don't bother watching

― i know u in heaven i hope 2 c u next year (am0n), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 22:12 (sixteen years ago)

it's kinda weird that the actor from homicide who has gone on to the most success, in some ways, is melissa leo.

― Then, it dawned on me: "I HAVE BEEN PLAYED!" (omar little), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 22:14 (sixteen years ago)

tbh i was thinking braugher would be bigtime. maybe he still will, one of these days. kyle secor was great on this show, but he vanished.

― Then, it dawned on me: "I HAVE BEEN PLAYED!" (omar little), Tuesday, 14 July 2009 22:15 (sixteen years ago)

So, has anyone watched it with commentary? I know it's not on every episode, but it's still going to be a lot of time to commit to, though.

― EDB, Tuesday, 14 July 2009 22:53 (sixteen years ago)

i just finished season 2. last episode was good but not as good as ep. 11 - i feel like they wrapped up almost everything w/ the greeks & sobotka family tragedy in ep. 11, and 12 seemed like it was mostly setting up for season 3

in any case most of the arcs seemed to peak emotionally/thematically in ep. 11. frank sobotka approaching the greeks under the bridge, when u just knew his fate, was.....intense

― mark cl, Monday, 20 July 2009 18:38 (sixteen years ago)

all in all tho i thought season 2 was pretty incredible. it did take the whole first 4 episodes to really get the ball rolling and the reuniting of the detail was a bit contrived (as others mentioned upthread) but yea, the each of the sobotkas' arcs was really well done

― mark cl, Monday, 20 July 2009 18:40 (sixteen years ago)

Just finished the series. watched final episode tonight. DAMN. I love the way they wrote McNulty over the series...by the last season each time he showed up I wanted to punch his grinning face in. and that last season...weird ride. I ended up feeling kind of sheepish for thinking someone, somewhere would get some kind of comeuppance. Nuh UH. Not McNulty, not that weasel reporter, not Marlo, not anyone. As Clay Davis would say....SHEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIT.

Season 2's definitely my favorite overall. And I'm still in therapy over Season 4. All that shit going down with those kids just KILLED me. Especially Randy & Carver. Wow.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 26 July 2009 07:31 (sixteen years ago)

just started homicide. MUCH better than I hoped based on the first episode!

― im a fucking unicorn you douchebags (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 26 July 2009 16:05 (sixteen years ago)

First couple of Homicide seasons are really good, but be very wary of anything after that.

― sandcat dune buggy attack squad!! (leavethecapital), Sunday, 26 July 2009 17:35 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Wire-Illustrations/252777

http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles3/111050/projects/252777/1110501246162986.jpg

http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles3/111050/projects/252777/1110501249152745.jpg

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Monday, 3 August 2009 20:25 (sixteen years ago)

Those are spectacular.
I'm gonna finish breaking bad and get through the first four seasons of homicide and i think i'm ready to watch this bad boy from start to finish one more time.

― im a fucking unicorn you douchebags (forksclovetofu), Monday, 3 August 2009 20:56 (sixteen years ago)

on Season 4. I laughed at loud when State Senator Clay busted out with like a 30-second long sheeeeeeeeeit

― girlish in the worst sense of that term (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 3 August 2009 20:59 (sixteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDIi0dzmvpE

― Smells like meat. Rotten meat. (Eisbaer), Monday, 3 August 2009 21:56 (sixteen years ago)

I know we've talked before about how the head-shaking "this fucking guy" sentiment makes up a whole lot of Wire viewing, but Clay Davis is just the ultimate in it -- you can spend whole seasons thinking the guy's a slimeball and wishing him ill, and then as soon as things start coming down and he's grandstanding and claiming persecution and spewing bullshit in every direction, he becomes 100% captivating, totally charming, almost lovable, like ... this fucking guy.

― nabisco, Monday, 3 August 2009 22:17 (sixteen years ago)

Actually, Herc is definitely up there with a long "this fucking guy" head-shaking arc.

― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Monday, 3 August 2009 22:20 (sixteen years ago)

x-post yeah otm....I love the scene in the courtroom where he talks about leaving one street with his pockets full and ending up 5 blocks down the road with his pockets empty. or when he's in the radio station and he starts some point with "but the people....I'M TALKIN BOUT THE PEOPLE NOW!"....it's like he's this sort of shallow heel and then all of a sudden when the chips are down he becomes this heroic bullshit merchant.

― I for one welcome this new Nazi ILX (Local Garda), Monday, 3 August 2009 22:21 (sixteen years ago)

simple idea but I lolled heartily

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrfCixsd2N8

― I for one welcome this new Nazi ILX (Local Garda), Monday, 3 August 2009 22:22 (sixteen years ago)

I mean this is a whole other issue, but it's interesting how the show's whole presentation of calcified institutions (etc. etc., all the things we usually talk about) doesn't really prompt any kind of righteous desire to correct anything; in some ways it might even train you to feel good about being cynical. You don't sit hoping for Davis to get a comeuppance as much as you sit there totally entertained by his weaseling and maybe even somewhat interested in his weaseling out successfully. But I don't know that that's really a criticism, because it has the opposite effect on a personal level, as far as how it might make you behave in the real world: it does sort of sensitize a person to the idea that there's a hell of a lot of weight in how we make decisions about carrying out our roles, and that there are good and bad ways of treating that, and that you'd much rather be on the good side than the bad one, just for your own peace of mind. Nobody -- xpost, yes -- nobody wants to be a Davis or a Herc.

― nabisco, Monday, 3 August 2009 22:22 (sixteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30YW3wgRvyI

― musically, Monday, 3 August 2009 22:23 (sixteen years ago)

see I watched the courtroom scene with Clay Davis annoyed that the strongest case was for self-dealing, piercing the corporate veil and various violations of IRS regulations re: non-profits.

― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Monday, 3 August 2009 22:26 (sixteen years ago)

deep into season 4 now, for the past half hour i hear carcetti's voice whenever i read ilx posts

― mark cl, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 00:45 (sixteen years ago)

uggh even nabisco's posts (which are really interesting, btw) on this thread

― mark cl, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 00:46 (sixteen years ago)

go away tommy

― mark cl, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 00:46 (sixteen years ago)

and i see his goofy ass walk too

― mark cl, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 00:47 (sixteen years ago)

btw i think those wire illustrations are fucking terrible

― mark cl, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 00:48 (sixteen years ago)

clay davis looks like he has reverse vitiligo

― musically, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 01:10 (sixteen years ago)

lol

― mark cl, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 02:48 (sixteen years ago)

finished s. 4 last week...wow, i don't know even know what to say about it. last ep had me in tears for like a half hour, i can't even remember the last time i cried at tv/movie or whatever. the kids were incredible

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:44 (sixteen years ago)

also, season 5 isn't bad! am about halfway through. serial killer shit is definitely the worst part of it and not very well done imo, but everything else is really good. the city hall stuff in s. 5 is great and excellently transitioned from s. 4 - how it looks like it's gonna be a 'new day in baltimore' w/ carcetti coming in and all the bodies being found, then right away the budget crisis kills everything

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:46 (sixteen years ago)

(also how awesome was dukie, michael & bug ditching the corner to go to six flags???)

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:46 (sixteen years ago)

the show totally fucks with you too. u see avon & stringer do all kinds of fucked up shit the first 3 seasons but w/ marlo being the new king, you totally feel nostalgic for them, esp. hearing bodie talk about the good old days and how the game's all changed now. and i hated those 'greek bastards' in s. 2 but when vondas & sergei show up later and i'm all excited to see them. u can't imagine how i felt seeing avon show up in the prison when marlo thinks he's meeting sergei.

btw i'm really hoping for a good arc w/ marlo - so far he's just fucking cold. unflinching. for three seasons now. almost boring. the show for the most part has done a fairly good job wrt making the 'villians' a bit more rounded out, but marlo's just cold

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:10 (sixteen years ago)

"serial killer shit is definitely the worst part of it and not very well done imo"
how so? the bunk's escalating disapproval is pretty great! how else could it have been done?

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:11 (sixteen years ago)

Marlo is a lot like McNutty: he's a dude who really loves his job, and doing it his way!

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:17 (sixteen years ago)

Season 5 does have some of the best high points ever. the lows are pretty low, though.

Avon's reappearance is classic.

― the monte cristo is like the greatest collective cry for help (B.L.A.M.), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:23 (sixteen years ago)

xxp maybe i shouldn't have spoken so soon, and yes bunk's scolding of mcnulty is pretty great. and i've got 6 episodes left in the season. but for one, for all the stupid shit mcnulty does, this still seems like a stretch. i also just can't see lester getting into it - dude likes fucking w/ the bosses and doesn't mind going against authority but up until now it was all for a purpose. following the money, the subpoenas, the wiretaps, all that was real police work for lester, and he didn't do crazy shit unless it facilitated real police work.

like what's the motive here? if they succeed in scaring city hall, city hall is gonna want the serial killer shit solved, not marlo stanfield's 22 bodies. the idea that it's somehow gonna help knock marlo down by bringing attention to some other serial killer seems like a huge stretch and not something that mcnulty & lester, who are pretty intelligent police, would actually think of doing

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:27 (sixteen years ago)

Marlo is a lot like McNutty: he's a dude who really loves his job, and doing it his way!

yea but u don't get anything from marlo the way u do from mcnulty. there's no sense of humor w/ marlo, no camraderie. like snoop is cold as hell but she's hilarious and engaging. chris shows some warmth to michael and you see a lot of layers to him. marlo's just a tight-ass. deadly as shit yea but a tight-ass. prop joe reached out to him nonstop but marlo's just cold as shit

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:31 (sixteen years ago)

and i don't even get the sense that marlo loves his job. he just wants to be the king to be the king, there's no joy there imo

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:35 (sixteen years ago)

There is a moment at the end of S5 that really explains my point, fwiw, but I don't want to spoil it for ya.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:36 (sixteen years ago)

I really did think that S5 redeemed itself by the end of the season, even if I lost my faith in the middle.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:37 (sixteen years ago)

dun worry, mark - you'll see lester's angle on it soon enough

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:38 (sixteen years ago)

like the one time i found marlo remotely engaging was when slim charles meets him up on the rooftop (in s. 4 i tihnk?), and marlo says, 'alright slim, have a seat. let's chop it up." i liked the way he said that, but that's about all the warmth u get from him.

(isn't to say that the character lacks any depth tho, or that he isn't a good character)

dun worry, mark - you'll see lester's angle on it soon enough

yea ur prob right, i just need to be patient

There is a moment at the end of S5 that really explains my point, fwiw, but I don't want to spoil it for ya.

thanks! i'll prob post again next week.

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:40 (sixteen years ago)

when i'm finished w/ s 5

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:40 (sixteen years ago)

you know, sometimes it's hard getting really specific and detailed about Suspension of Disbelief and what does or does not strain credulity, but in the end yeah, I agree (and think lots of others agree) that there's something about the fake serial killer that jars a bit, for that very reason -- as with anything else, it's less about realism and more about what tone and what limits we've come to expect from the show. people always respond to that complaint by saying that Hamsterdam is credulity-straining in real-world terms, but that's where the specifics and details come in; it'd be tough to explain why, but something about that just fit better and flew better within Wire-world than the serial killer seemed to.

of course, the last season's still compelling once you swallow that. and the one excuse I can make for it is this: the reason the fake serial killer jars, in Wire-world, seems to be that it's sensationalistic in a way the show normally skirts, and I suppose that's probably pretty purposeful and meaningful in a season that wants to explore the relationship with the press.

― nabisco, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:40 (sixteen years ago)

In lieu of a serial killer, what crazy shit should mcnulty have pulled? the best I can think of is maybe mcnulty finds out about carcetti's affair and blackmails him.

There's a really great and compelling re-imagined phantom menace thought up by john hodgman that you could really see working much better than lucas's version, but i haven't seen any wire fanfics that improve upon the serial killer storyline.

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:47 (sixteen years ago)

i always thought it was weird how many people accepted the hamsterdam plotline but not the fake-serial-killer one. maybe it's because the latter comes out of nowhere and you're eased into the former more gently. personally speaking tho - i never had a problem with either.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:50 (sixteen years ago)

xpost - no - and i wouldn't change it. what's this about Hodgman tho?! i heart that man!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:51 (sixteen years ago)

it would have helped if it could have made the serial killer story sensationalistic without having the actual behavior of McNulty (et al) or the tenor of the show start to feel sensationalistic. I don't know what details would have changed that, but something to draw more of a line between the story itself and more unexciting/unglamorous stuff put into sustaining it. (this was obviously attempted, but I don't think it came off.)

― nabisco, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:52 (sixteen years ago)

S5 tips into black farce with the killer plot, which personally I quite liked. I always thought the 'realism' aspect of the Wire was too talked up anyway. It occupies a very well-conceived and convincing world which perseptively comments on our own, but it's always had its cartoonish aspects (Omar, The Greek and Brother Mouzone for example).

― chap, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:54 (sixteen years ago)

i agree w/ a lot of that. but i think that nabisco's right when he says that it's less about realism and more about what we've come to expect from the world that the show has created, like how likely something is to happen in 'wire-world'

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:58 (sixteen years ago)

hodgman's reimagined phantom menace (look for act 3):
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=232

hodgman should totally write wire fanfic.

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:58 (sixteen years ago)

like so far my problems w/ the serial killer plot aren't that 'it would never happen IRL' but that it just seems like a stretch for what the two normally intelligent characters are pushing it for xp

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:00 (sixteen years ago)

I keep starting to write and stopping, but will just say it even if I can't make total sense of it. For me, beyond just suspending my disbelief in regards to the two reaches, Hamsterdam and the Serial Killer, I see them as plot devices that allow the writers to explore real issues, and thus I can be ok with it.

― dan selzer, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:09 (sixteen years ago)

b-but he clearly loves his pigeons?

― Hulg ElfR.I.P.per (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:10 (sixteen years ago)

without spoiling it, season 5 really hinges on Kima and Ikea, and that will seem like an even bigger stretch if you read it that way (but it works out so perfectly!)

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:10 (sixteen years ago)

chap - i always felt Brother Mouzone was the most hard-to-believe thing to turn up on the wire.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:10 (sixteen years ago)

I don't know that anyone's not-okay with them -- I just think some plot devices go down more smoothly than others!

― nabisco, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:11 (sixteen years ago)

^^^

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:14 (sixteen years ago)

& w/ hamsterdam, they stared developing that in the last episodes of s. 2. they prob took a full 5-6 episodes before it really was a full on drug market. it just seemed a lot smoother.

w/ serial killer plot, it's like 1. mcnulty happy as western district patrol cop. 2. goes back to MCU b/c shit seems good for once. 3. shit's not good anymore so BAM mcnulty invents serial killer plot to get attention to the REAL criminal. it just wasn't done as smooth imo.

i should prob repeat that i have 6 eps left in s5 so it i could be pretty wrong about it once i've seen it all

― mark cl, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:18 (sixteen years ago)

I just think some plot devices go down more smoothly than others!

I'm down with this - it's just a matter of personal opinion which ones they happen to be (duh).

I felt the killer thing worked alright because the first few episodes set McNulty up to be in an unhinged and desperate state of mind. If anything was unconvincing it's the intimacy with which his character defects seemed to be tied to his professional position - never did quite buy the S4 'I'm a beat cop now so everything's A-OK!'

― chap, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:24 (sixteen years ago)

another thing about the hamsterdamn and fake-killer plotlines that was always in the back of my mind - and this may sound really clichéd - but truth can be stranger than fiction. neither story is unbelievable when one compares it to say the news story a few years ago of the astronaut driving across the country with a gun and adult diaper to get some guy she was all psycho about!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:26 (sixteen years ago)

for some reason that story made slightly more sense to me when I learned that astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry

― nabisco, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:32 (sixteen years ago)

Just bought the box set; will finish breaking bad and homicide and am starting this shit again.

― "I'm smiling. Because that's what i do. I'm always smiling." (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:34 (sixteen years ago)

i know. but it only makes it *slightly* less bat-shit crazy. there's no pit-stops on your way into high-orbit. the highway, a different story.

xpost

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:34 (sixteen years ago)

brother mouzone sucked, really stupid character.

― I for one welcome this new Nazi ILX (Local Garda), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 20:54 (sixteen years ago)

he was based on me :(

― nabisco, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 22:31 (sixteen years ago)

the only time I felt any sort of warmth for Marlo was when he went over to the condo after Omar fell off the balcony and disappeared. Marlo did this classic double take and said something along the lines of "That's some spiderman shit right there."

― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 22:38 (sixteen years ago)

IRL lols xp

― mark cl, Thursday, 13 August 2009 03:59 (sixteen years ago)

anyways i just watched what had to be the worst episode thus far in the whole show

― mark cl, Thursday, 13 August 2009 04:05 (sixteen years ago)

(s5 ep6)

― mark cl, Thursday, 13 August 2009 04:06 (sixteen years ago)

will post a little more tomorrow but i'll just say that with the serial killer bs the writers seem to have thrown out the window all kinds of shit that they led you to believe in earlier seasons about mcnulty & lester (tho especially lester). ep 6 was just sloppy as hell.

― mark cl, Thursday, 13 August 2009 04:08 (sixteen years ago)

i'm pissed! more than a little bitter about this tbh, it's like, what happened? tbh tho i should probably just shut up and finish the series

― mark cl, Thursday, 13 August 2009 04:10 (sixteen years ago)

season five is meta. The whole "what kind of bullshit story do we have to come up with to make people CARE" thing that happens in the police department is an allegory for David Simon's own attitude about his show's relationship to the institutional/social problems it describes. So it's flimsy-on-purpose in a way that is, I think, supposed to be farfetched and slightly irritating.

― Neotropical pygmy squirrel, Thursday, 13 August 2009 04:16 (sixteen years ago)

in the end it pays off with a couple of excellent comedy scenes imo

― omar little, Thursday, 13 August 2009 04:18 (sixteen years ago)

in season 5 the first few episodes are ok but a little cartoonish, the middle episodes are the worst shit the show ever did, and the last three episodes are fantastic and heartbreaking. so stick with it mark!

― jerk store (hmmmm), Thursday, 13 August 2009 05:20 (sixteen years ago)

Even the bad episodes in the middle have some great lines and scenes mixed in.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Thursday, 13 August 2009 05:24 (sixteen years ago)

Hamsterdam works in a number of ways - the long setup/introduction, yeah, but experiments with decriminalization are hardly novel in western countries, presumably it will happen somewhere along the line in the US. And most of all because it fits into the arc of the series - solid policy on a human level getting fucked up by the political system.

The serial killer plotline was just unbelievable too me - it relied entirely too much on believing that beat cops who were involved wouldn't say anything, no one would trace any of the events/calls/etc. back to McNulty, etc..

― ice cr?m paint job (milo z), Thursday, 13 August 2009 05:32 (sixteen years ago)

agreeing on all the above here; the payoff is worth getting jerked around over.

― BOO LIAR BEN KONOP BOO BAD BOO BEN KONOP BOO (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 13 August 2009 05:45 (sixteen years ago)

S5’s biggest problem is starting production thinking they were only going to have EIGHT episodes – they totally rush the McNulty recidivism/serial killer nonsense in a way that Hamsterdam had the luxury of not doing – it’s halfway through the series before you know what’s going on in S3 but S5 just kind of throws all the toys on the table and starts bashing them against each other

(second most especially: that the connection between the paper/slimy reporter/McNulty & Lester antics is up and running almost immediately, instead of playing out their own strands and then gracefully, glancingly interconnecting, the way other seasons’ plotlines do. [ie McNutty never even sets eyes on any of the dockworkers in S2 IIRC, Major Crimes barely even become aware of Hamsterdam as a unit in S3 – Herc & Carver do, but they’re working the Western] {etc etc} <brackets are fun>)

― more funny and original than, 'ow you say, a penis (sic), Thursday, 13 August 2009 06:01 (sixteen years ago)

This is also why the end of S5 works so much better than the rest of it – they managed to get those two extra hours before they get that far in, so everything has a chance to breathe better. Though I could have taken a good 40mins of Norman laughing at the serial killer reveleation tbh.

― more funny and original than, 'ow you say, a penis (sic), Thursday, 13 August 2009 06:03 (sixteen years ago)

Season 5 definitely felt rushed compared the others ... the newspaper people seemed flatter as characters and were probably the least interesting of the non-cop cultures explored in the show.

― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Thursday, 13 August 2009 08:20 (sixteen years ago)

i like some of the newsroom people. gus is great, & alma is just...yea she's pretty cute huh? alma's great. i liked the police reporter guy (twigg) who got the boot. scott sucks tho. am totally hoping this guy falls hard. the newspaper boss sucks too.

but that's part of the sloppiness of S5 again - u have a character like scott templeton or the baltimore sun boss who isn't really likable, interesting, or intriguing at all. all 4 seasons took pains to round out the characters, even the characters u tend to dislike or that impede the main protaganists' shit. burrell is total jerkoff but it's really fun to watch him play politics all the time, rawls is just a spectacular asshole, herc is hilarious & shows all kinds of camraderie w/ carver, etc. sucks that season 5 wasn't able to do that w/ templeton, et al.

― mark cl, Thursday, 13 August 2009 12:55 (sixteen years ago)

am disappointed at alma's showing in the WIRE BABEZ POLL btw

― mark cl, Thursday, 13 August 2009 12:57 (sixteen years ago)

sorry to belabor the point everybody, but.... the stupidity of whole serial killer plot strikes me as something HERC would do. make up some bullshit story, run an illegal wiretap, & say the information came from a CI? like that is some fuzzy dunlop-type shit.

lester tho? this is the dude who chewed out mcnutty for trying to work stringer when they was supposed to work kintel williamson, same dude who gave all kinds of speeches about how "the only way we make this case is with a voice on the phone" & how necessary it was for the case to work within the confines of surveillance regulations, etc. like if herc was running this whole plot it might be more believable, but instead it runs counter to all kinds of shit u were supposed to believe about freamon & mcnutty

― mark cl, Thursday, 13 August 2009 13:11 (sixteen years ago)

people are fluid though - these characters are not a fixed set of characteristics - to my mind that's part of the point, that a fucked up system will drive people to go counter to principle

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 13 August 2009 13:41 (sixteen years ago)

I'll grant you making herc the total focus for season 5 would be amazing balls move, but freamon and mcnulty were on this trajectory from season 1. also, bunk's reaction when he pulls freamon to steer mcnulty right is priceless. i think where the wire may have failed is not making you cynical enough to believe it might work as well as it did, or that a culture of sloppiness in the dept. would help make this happen.

― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 13 August 2009 17:42 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/used-subtitles-to-watch-the-wire-the-writer-says-thats-just-criminal-1773087.html

just been lolling at the translation section in this silly fluff piece about middle-class daily mail writers who don't understand this new jive talk

Baltimore talk Lost in translation:

*The hopper from Balmer carrying a burner

A child drug dealer from Baltimore is carrying a disposable mobile telephone used by drug dealers to stop the police monitoring their conversations.

*Crew up with corner boys for a re-up

An instruction to form a team of young men who can sell drugs on a street corner when a re-up, or a re-stock package from drugs wholesalers, arrives.

*The G pack

A wholesaler's package of 100 vials of cocaine

*He's a Yo

Police term for a corner boy.

*The civilian's carrying weight

An ordinary person who is neither a drug dealer nor an addict who has been served a custodial sentence.

*The Game

Life of a drug dealer in which the dealer accepts a distinct set of ethics in which even apparently minor transgressions may be punishable by death.

*There's been a humble

An arrest or search of a corner boy on flimsy or no evidence, intended merely to humiliate.

*Stash house

A heavily guarded property in which drugs are stored and cut.

*Those Red tops/blue tops/yellow tops are worth a lot of cheese

The colour-coded vials of cocaine (use to identify quality) are worth a lot of money.

*He's not a fiend, he's slinging

He's not a drug addict, he's selling drugs.

*Walk-around money

Petty cash used by corrupt politicians for the purposes of persuasion on election day.

― NI, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 19:30 (sixteen years ago)

though the article itself doesnt explain how people like india knight *understand* whats being said merely by seeing it written down

― NI, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 19:30 (sixteen years ago)

also how do subtitles get written? are they taken directly from a script? do they take into improvisation - what if they can't understand something spoken that isn't in a script?

― NI, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 19:31 (sixteen years ago)

so I understood most of those, I'm so accomplished

― musically, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 19:50 (sixteen years ago)

tbh i've used subtitles while watching a few episodes but mostly for the technical language the cops use -- all those acronyms, legal terms, all the steps needed to authorizing wiretaps, etc.

you can pick up most of the street language in the first episode imo.

― mark cl, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 20:07 (sixteen years ago)

and gahhh those translations are terrible

― mark cl, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 20:07 (sixteen years ago)

The hopper from Balmer carrying a burner

when was this ever fucking said on the show

― mark cl, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 20:08 (sixteen years ago)

some of these don't even seem totally accurate, either. A humble is a charge, not a search ... isn't it?

― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Tuesday, 18 August 2009 20:39 (sixteen years ago)

We've just finished the final episode. I'm just here to mark its passing, now I can finally open these threads without fear of spoilers.

*pours Jamesons on dvd*

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 18 August 2009 23:20 (sixteen years ago)

I'm stalled out mid-season 4. Dunno if I'll finish honestly

― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 18 August 2009 23:25 (sixteen years ago)

season 4 finished on bbc2 last night. it picks up in the second half.

― koogs, Wednesday, 19 August 2009 08:30 (sixteen years ago)

there are a lot more deaths ...

― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Wednesday, 19 August 2009 08:45 (sixteen years ago)

NI it depends if the subtitles are meant for closed captions (in which case it includes notes about audio i.e. "singing in background" "cough" etc) or not - but in both cases paraphrases are common - sentences that barely make sense written down can sound fine while spoken, so the subtitler often needs to simplify

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 19 August 2009 09:14 (sixteen years ago)

Deaths right up to the last episode! That's THE WIRE PROMISE tm!

― sample rants or ?BURNS?. (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 19 August 2009 20:02 (sixteen years ago)

Interesting thing I noticed about the show's editing -- seems that no two consecutive scenes ever feature the same characters. I'm sure that's not a device the show invented, but it was interesting to realize what an integral part of the show's rhythm that is.

― the kid is crying because did sharks died? (Hurting 2), Thursday, 20 August 2009 00:38 (sixteen years ago)

yeah one thing i loved about the show was never being sure which storyline it would cut to next, yet w/ all the different story arcs it never seemed to lumber or get messy

shakey the last couple of eps of s4 are really, really great, you should def. stick w/ it

― The Collected Works of Fun Fun (donna rouge), Thursday, 20 August 2009 00:44 (sixteen years ago)

I have no idea how you can be in the middle of the series and not be compelled to finish it. It took all my willpower not to take some vacation days and just power through the show, I rationed it so I only watched a few episodes a day near the end, I could have easily watched the whole series in 5 days.

― musically, Thursday, 20 August 2009 01:02 (sixteen years ago)

I watched all of season 4 in one 24 hour period.

― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Thursday, 20 August 2009 01:03 (sixteen years ago)

Season 5 was getting on my nerves, put it down for a while.

― the kid is crying because did sharks died? (Hurting 2), Thursday, 20 August 2009 01:12 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, season 5 can do that. The post-condo shooting scene w/Marlo is classic.

― free jazz and mumia (sarahel), Thursday, 20 August 2009 01:15 (sixteen years ago)

I watched all of season 4 in one 24 hour period.
Ha, I did that with season 2 and i honestly only barely remember it.

― sample rants or ?BURNS?. (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:11 (sixteen years ago)

yea i watched season 4 in like a couple days. if you've made it to season 4 and have found the show relatively enjoyable, i have no idea how you could get bored with it halfway through s4.

Season 5 was getting on my nerves, put it down for a while.

same thing happened to me. i took a week break, which is the longest length of time i've taken between episodes since beginning the whole show back in june (excluding a week i took for family vacation).

― mark cl, Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:18 (sixteen years ago)

I dunno I just don't find this show all that addictive or engaging. its good and everything but I just don't feel... enveloped(?) by it. I've gone into why I think this is on the Sopranos vs. Wire thread but most everyone seems to think I'm crazy or something. Perhaps I lack the gene to properly appreciate this show, but I wouldn't even put this show on a list of my favorite shows ever or anything like that.

― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:19 (sixteen years ago)

Meanwhile, I lack the gene to properly appreciate The Sopranos. Diff'rent strokes.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:24 (sixteen years ago)

how about MAD MEN on AMC?

― mark cl, Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:24 (sixteen years ago)

That is another one I don't appreciate properly.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:25 (sixteen years ago)

haha yea i've never seen it.

― mark cl, Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:26 (sixteen years ago)

hahah yeah actually I think we stopped with the Wire in order to catch up on Mad Men... Weiner's obviously learned a lot from working on Sopranos and both shows have a similar kind of aesthetic attention to detail that just seems to draw me in more. Something about the Wire is too didactic, too obvious, too visually pedestrian for me, I think that's what it boils down to. I still enjoy it, but I can't say I've ever been really absorbed by it or blown away.

― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:28 (sixteen years ago)

haha yea i've never seen it.

I would suggest you see it, because it's too good to not at least give a shot. But something about it just irks me for some reason.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:32 (sixteen years ago)

What helps me enjoy the Wire much more is thinking "how much better is this show I'm watching right now than Two and a Half Men?"
Man, you will feel like the Wire is the best show on TV by like 1000x!

― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:33 (sixteen years ago)

yea i was just making a dumb joke, i've got nothing against mad men. the show looks really interesting & well done and i actually want to see it xp

― mark cl, Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:34 (sixteen years ago)

thread that should never happen tho is 'mad men' vs 'the wire'

― mark cl, Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:35 (sixteen years ago)

haha

― go Nick go! Scrub that paint! Scrub it!! Yeah!! (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 August 2009 18:49 (sixteen years ago)

The one I got a bit bored of and took a break half way through was S3. 4 is riveting all the way through.

― chap, Thursday, 20 August 2009 19:18 (sixteen years ago)

'Broken Britain' is like The Wire, say Tories

― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 25 August 2009 08:11 (sixteen years ago)

ugh man season 4 was hard. i have dreams about those four little kids ;__;

― feed them to the (Linden Ave) lions (will), Tuesday, 1 September 2009 00:36 (sixteen years ago)

have you seen season 5 yet?

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 1 September 2009 00:38 (sixteen years ago)

nope. just finished the last of s4 last night.

― feed them to the (Linden Ave) lions (will), Tuesday, 1 September 2009 00:40 (sixteen years ago)

there is more ;___; with the kids ...

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 1 September 2009 00:41 (sixteen years ago)

and a little bit of : )

― dan selzer, Tuesday, 1 September 2009 00:53 (sixteen years ago)

I don't know if it's been posted here before, but this is the show's original series pitch and first episode.

― Squash weather (Eazy), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 02:40 (sixteen years ago)

everythings already been posted

― am0n, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 04:29 (sixteen years ago)

picked up season 4 again, on episode 10 or 11 I think. This is definitely the best season, the kid actors are pretty much better than almost all the adults. God I hate that Carcetti actor, totally horrible.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 20:18 (sixteen years ago)

xxpost: heh, good old Aaron Barksdale and Stringy Bell.

― EDB, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 20:47 (sixteen years ago)

I like the Carcetti guy. There's a moment somewhere in the season where he's talking, the phone goes on the desk behind him, he goes to answer it but turns the wrong way for just an instant and then immediately spins round to pick it up - I don't know why he did that because it doesn't enhance anything, but I loved it, it looked really cool.

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 20:56 (sixteen years ago)

he actually gets better in season 5.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 20:58 (sixteen years ago)

well at least I don't have to watch him bang the Chicken Lady

ugh the sex scenes in this show are all totally unnecessary and unpleasant, btw. I really, REALLY didn't need to see Daniels screwing the Lady Leprechaun Lawyer

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 20:59 (sixteen years ago)

girls. yuck.

― That is awful. I am sorry. Help it up. That is mean. (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:01 (sixteen years ago)

lolz as if this show cares about/is interested in women AT ALL

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:02 (sixteen years ago)

are Kima and the Lady Leprechaun the only women who last the entire show? Neither of them is particularly interesting or well-written, though of the two Kima gets more screentime and a more fleshed out role. The lawyer is awful, very one note.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:03 (sixteen years ago)

maybe his problem is that McNulty is always on top ... but, still, the scene with Kima and her hook-up ... pretty far from unpleasant, and I'm a straight chick.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:03 (sixteen years ago)

the Kima scene actually had a point - which was that she couldn't handle fidelity/commitment and was too in love with the idea of being a badass cop to let anything else get in the way of that. The other scenes are all just there because lol "HBO: where nudity is OK!"

I hesitate to bring up the Sopranos by way of contrast, but they never had these stupid, pointless sex scenes that seemed to have been inserted in the script purely for space-filling/tittilation purposes.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:07 (sixteen years ago)

umm, the countless scenes where you saw some tities in the Bada Bing when the scene could have just as easily have been played in a backroom?

― BIG jock KNEW aka the steindriver (jim), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:09 (sixteen years ago)

Season 5 is all sex scenes, btw.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:09 (sixteen years ago)

also McNulty is a tranny--FYI

― Monsieur Queueue (Mr. Que), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:09 (sixteen years ago)

I believe that there are various women in the political sphere who are not dead at the end of the show. And I imagine that, say, Namond's mom is still around.

But given that this is a show primarily about drug dealers and homicide detectives (those are the only groups that have been studied from s1 through 5), those worlds perhaps are not the most gender-balanced to begin with.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:10 (sixteen years ago)

nudity /= sex scene imo. Even so, Tony "worked" at a strip club. Because strip clubs are common fronts for criminal enterprises. And since the world of the mafia is deeply sexist, what better way to play that up than to have the casual exploitation of young women as a perpetual backdrop.

do you even know how to watch television

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:11 (sixteen years ago)

unlike the mafia, which is chockfull of chicks amirite

we've had this argument before...

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:12 (sixteen years ago)

do you even know how to watch television

ooooooh new thread!

― Monsieur Queueue (Mr. Que), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:12 (sixteen years ago)

unlike the mafia, which is chockfull of chicks amirite

I haven't watched that show much, so I am making no such claims about it.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:16 (sixteen years ago)

I went to college and studied television watching, thank you very much.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:16 (sixteen years ago)

I thought most of the sex scenes in The Wire were there for a reason, fwiw.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:17 (sixteen years ago)

Shakey doesn't think so, and he knows how to watch television.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:18 (sixteen years ago)

can someone please start a new thread for this so it doesn't have to go here?

― That is awful. I am sorry. Help it up. That is mean. (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:18 (sixteen years ago)

lol, do you even know how to watch television? Fuck you Rapey Mo. You're talking about things being there for titillation purposes or because nudity is ok on HBO when there are what, a handful of sex scenes in the Wire over the 5 seasons? Do you know how to count?

― BIG jock KNEW aka the steindriver (jim), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:18 (sixteen years ago)

Sex in the Wire and The Sopranos trolling goes in here

― That is awful. I am sorry. Help it up. That is mean. (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:19 (sixteen years ago)

actually, I agree with Shakey re: sex on the Wire

― Monsieur Queueue (Mr. Que), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:19 (sixteen years ago)

Me too.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:26 (sixteen years ago)

I agree that the inclusion of some of the sex scenes were probably in some way advertisements for HBO's ability to show them, but I think the gratuitousness and tawdriness of them -- which almost all involve McNulty -- actually work in service of the plot/his characterization. His drunken conquests are kinda pathetic. To me, they served as a critique of the stereotypical great white hero cop that is such a stock character in television and film.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:27 (sixteen years ago)

Not about y'all not knowing how to watch TV, just about the general weakness of the female characters and the unnecessariness of most of the sex scenes.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:27 (sixteen years ago)

I actually didn't feel that the female characters in the Wire are weak ... they do have less screen time, there are fewer of them ...but I don't think their characters are any weaker than most of the men.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:29 (sixteen years ago)

Keema's far from weak. Pearlman's weaker but that's only because she's a mid-ranking character - like, say, Carver.

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:31 (sixteen years ago)

they're certainly less flattering - most of them are either shrews (Daniels' wife, McNulty's wife, Kima's wife) or monsters (Barksdale's mom, Namond's mom). Lawyer lady doesn't get a lot to do. Most sympathetic woman on the show is actually probably the dock cop from Season 2 that McNulty ends up with

x-post

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:31 (sixteen years ago)

considering most of the male characters are either dumbasses or monsters?

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:35 (sixteen years ago)

daniel's wife isn't a shrew she's an ambitious woman who put her aspirations on the hold until she saw cedric wasn't gonna make the big moves she expected him to, now she's taking the reigns & is working on becoming a power player. she has nothing in common with mcnutty or kima's wives, open yr eyes & watch tv right shakey mo.

― goth casual, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:47 (sixteen years ago)

McNulty's wife struck me as a fairly normal woman; Kima's girl Cheryl was more pouty/passive-aggressive than shrewish.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:48 (sixteen years ago)

"they're certainly less flattering"

I don't agree with this assessment at all. As sarahel points out the male characters are not exactly shining beacons of morality. The weakness of the female characters has more to do with their relative lack of screentime than it does any flaw in characters.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:49 (sixteen years ago)

I think maybe it says more about Shakey Mo that he sees so many female characters as shrews.

― Size-zero-brigade-embrace-token-chubby-chops (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:50 (sixteen years ago)

jon OTM

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:50 (sixteen years ago)

Worrying about how sympathetic and/or complexly portrayed every single character is and whether or not that has something to do with the gender, race or cultural background of that character is a pretty terrible way to watch television, imo.

― some dude, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:51 (sixteen years ago)

aka what happened to the Mad Men thread a few weeks ago

― some dude, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:51 (sixteen years ago)

Kima's girl Cheryl was more pouty/passive-aggressive than shrewish.

I thought her issues with Kima were pretty justified!

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:52 (sixteen years ago)

The weakness of the female characters has more to do with their relative lack of screentime than it does any flaw in characters.

yeah I think this is right. I agree, the male characters are not shining beacons of anything either, but since they're on-screen more they do get more opportunities to show their redeeming qualities. This doesn't happen with most of the women, who are largely there to provide a counterpoint to whatever male is on-screen, and then quickly abandoned when that role is no longer required.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:53 (sixteen years ago)

Me too. And McNulty's wife is super-sympathetic! He's an overgrown child, fer crying out loud.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:54 (sixteen years ago)

I thought her issues with Kima were pretty justified!

she married a cop, what did she expect apart from macho posturing and an inability to empathize

as far as McNulty's wife goes, the show went out of its way to portray as being really harsh to him, even when he was making an obvious effort to be a good father and/or get back in her good graces.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:55 (sixteen years ago)

I think maybe it says more about Shakey Mo that he sees so many female characters as shrews.

oh fuck off. Point me to a scene where Daniels' wife, McNulty's wife, or Keema's wife are not shown nagging their significant others.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:56 (sixteen years ago)

B-b-b-but the show makes it painfully clear that he's tried to get back in her good graces before and then completely fucked her over again and again.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:57 (sixteen years ago)

Shakey has posted far more than most of the women on this thread and yet I don't feel like he's taken the opportunity to show his redeeming qualities very often.

― some dude, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:57 (sixteen years ago)

Brianna Barksdale isn't a monster, just extremely self-interested, self-deceiving and beholden to the mythologies of the lifestyle that comes with drug dealing, i.e. McNutty's stingy barbs wouldn't have affected her the way they did if she wasn't at heart a typical mom.

I've also reached the last disc of the fourth season, but I am not feeling it much at all. Maybe because I realize that all the warm hopiness that made this season so arresting the first time is actually really shallow and wispy, and I can't emotionally invest with it.

― Leee, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:58 (sixteen years ago)

Taking the Kima/Cheryl relationship outside of the show's main thrust, it sure seemed like a dysfunctional relationship. It was pretty clear that Kima didn't really want a kid, and was only going along with it to make Cheryl happy, which tends to not work out well, but is a situation where both parties are at fault.

Shakey - he repeatedly cheated on her and lied to her - I don't think she was being overly harsh. He was being unrealistic about how easy it would be to patch up that relationship.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 21:59 (sixteen years ago)

Also, I kind of get tired of Sonja Sohn's acting tics -- she goes with her exasperated sigh waaay too often not to bug.

― Leee, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:00 (sixteen years ago)

Brianna Barksdale isn't a monster, just extremely self-interested, self-deceiving and beholden to the mythologies of the lifestyle that comes with drug dealing,

she sends her son to jail out of selfishness and greed. that's pretty monstrous imo.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:00 (sixteen years ago)

on the other hand, she's probably pretty aware that were he to become an informant, he would likely get killed.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:01 (sixteen years ago)

as opposed to being in jail, which is a totally safe environment

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:02 (sixteen years ago)

seriously when did daniels' wife nag, they had a clintonesque agreement & he reneged & is now doing his penance which he seemed totally a-ok with despite residual sadness of y'know a marriage breaking up

― goth casual, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:02 (sixteen years ago)

xp Shakey - it was made clear that he had protection from Avon while in jail.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:04 (sixteen years ago)

since she's pretty much disappeared after mid-Season 3, mostly what I remember is from Season 1 and 2 where she continually pushed him to get ahead in the department. they're relationship wasn't as strained as Keema and Cheryl's but it didn't seem particularly loving to me

it was made clear that he had protection from Avon while in jail.

lolz yeah that worked out real well

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:06 (sixteen years ago)

basically she put her son's life in the hands of murderous, unscrupulous people, so that she could be a rich mother-hen in the background - putting all the risk on him and none of it on her, while she reaped the benefits.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:07 (sixteen years ago)

anyway i mostly agree with shakey on details yet am not sympathetic to his argument cause very little of this is pertinent to the main thrust of the show, i mean, i ended up fast forwarding all the kima/cheryl scenes after awhile & missed nothing important that i could tell

― goth casual, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:07 (sixteen years ago)

xp - I'm sure Avon and Brianna were totally thinking, "Hey, our trusted business partner is totally gonna betray us and kill a member of our own family."

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:09 (sixteen years ago)

i dunno shakey, the show is careful to set it up so the "monstrousness" is built into the system -- asking her son to do his duty so the whole organization doesn't collapse, it looks virtuous within that, is the point. d'angelo (the angel! fuxake!) still has a residual real moral sense.

― goole, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:09 (sixteen years ago)

most of the show is about "falling on your sword" in the service of preserving the status quo.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:11 (sixteen years ago)

most of the show is about "falling on your sword" in the service of preserving the status quo.

Holy shit, so true.

― Adventures of Dog Boy and Frank Sobotka (B.L.A.M.), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:23 (sixteen years ago)

does the watch/mobile phone mms code make any sense?

― Britain's Obtusest Shepherd (Alan), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:26 (sixteen years ago)

the show is careful to set it up so the "monstrousness" is built into the system

most of the show is about "falling on your sword" in the service of preserving the status quo.

yeah these are both true, and it is great writing that showcases the characters' ambiguity against this backdrop... even so, I have problems with the whole resignation/"forget it Jake, its Chinatown" POV and am still inclined to hold characters' actions against them when a) they're motivations are highly questionable and self-serving and b) the resulting suffering is too horrible to be acceptable. This show is very, very bleak and in a way defies the viewer to judge its characters by constantly shifting the blame away from any given individual and instead onto the institution or system they find themselves in. I have issues with this. Institutions are built by people, run by individuals - for them to function and not become total nightmares, lines have to be drawn and people need to be held accountable. Otherwise you end up with... Baltimore (or Chinatown lolz)

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:28 (sixteen years ago)

Forget it Shakey, this is America.

― what happened? i am confused. (sarahel), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:29 (sixteen years ago)

heh

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:31 (sixteen years ago)

I thought her issues with Kima were pretty justified!

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Tuesday, September 8, 2009 5:52 PM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i know we've moved on, but this! i love kima, but she's kind of an asshole as a girlfriend.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:39 (sixteen years ago)

I kinda didn't understand why they were together at all

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:43 (sixteen years ago)

it's all setup for the "these bitches are no joke" strip club scene

― goth casual, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:48 (sixteen years ago)

xp oh I think you understand.

― Alex in SF, Tuesday, 8 September 2009 22:50 (sixteen years ago)

finished season 4 last night. Easily the best season - couldn't care less about the politics shit though, kinda wish it had just been all about the kids. Actually I kinda wish the whole series was about kids (cops are boring)

Favorite line of whole series: "You know who got the sweetest pussy and the fattest asses? Midgets, nigga"

I heart you, Method Man

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 11 September 2009 21:20 (sixteen years ago)

you spent ~50 hrs watching a show that goes into minute & exacting detail about a profession you find boring. congratulations!

― goth casual, Friday, 11 September 2009 21:24 (sixteen years ago)

no I spent 50 hours watching "THE BEST SHOW EVER" (tm) according to many ILXOrs

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 11 September 2009 21:25 (sixteen years ago)

it was an okay show. I'd say its about as good as the movie Traffic.

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 11 September 2009 21:27 (sixteen years ago)

for Shakey:
http://pixiestixkidspix.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/cookie-bite-web.jpg

― 51 active users (sarahel), Friday, 11 September 2009 21:28 (sixteen years ago)

mm yummy

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 11 September 2009 21:33 (sixteen years ago)

you get a whole one once you finish season 5!

― 51 active users (sarahel), Friday, 11 September 2009 21:35 (sixteen years ago)

http://img.skitch.com/20090911-cnjdk55p9m2t6g1jkey3m6qump.jpg

― cozwn, Friday, 11 September 2009 21:36 (sixteen years ago)

the wire may or may not be best show ever but it is certainly one of the most immersive tv (or general filmic) experiences you can have. the things it does well are almost totally related to procedure & the day-to-day minutiae of very particular worlds. if you're not interested in these i can't fathom getting through more than a handful of eps.

― goth casual, Friday, 11 September 2009 21:39 (sixteen years ago)

the things it does well are almost totally related to procedure & the day-to-day minutiae of very particular worlds

^^^none of this applies to traffic btw

― goth casual, Friday, 11 September 2009 21:39 (sixteen years ago)

"good" doesn't apply to traffic either.

― EDB, Friday, 11 September 2009 21:44 (sixteen years ago)

otm

― Size-zero-brigade-embrace-token-chubby-chops (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 11 September 2009 21:45 (sixteen years ago)

Benicio del toro was very good-looking in traffic.

― 51 active users (sarahel), Friday, 11 September 2009 21:45 (sixteen years ago)

I really hated "Traffic", so fuck that comparison.

― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Friday, 11 September 2009 22:34 (sixteen years ago)

Traffic was hilarious. Traffic and The Departed are the funniest US adaptations. The UK and HK versions were not as funny.

― Philip Nunez, Friday, 11 September 2009 22:38 (sixteen years ago)

i liked Traffic. didn't know there wa a UK version tho! hhmmmm...

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 11 September 2009 22:48 (sixteen years ago)

I give a thumb up to all movies about rich teenagers on hard drugs.

― ice cr?m paint job (milo z), Friday, 11 September 2009 22:50 (sixteen years ago)

Benicio del toro was very good-looking in traffic

mmm so sepia-y

― goth casual, Friday, 11 September 2009 22:52 (sixteen years ago)

yeah glad I'm not the only person who thought Departed was a comedy. running in-joke with my wife is to randomly shout "are you a cawp?!" at each other

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 11 September 2009 23:33 (sixteen years ago)

The Departed would have been much better if it was just the parts with Alec Baldwin and Marky Mark in it.

― 51 active users (sarahel), Friday, 11 September 2009 23:35 (sixteen years ago)

i liked Traffic. didn't know there wa a UK version tho! hhmmmm...

Six-part miniseries from the 80s. Spelled with a "k".

― Young Scott Young (sic), Saturday, 12 September 2009 03:11 (sixteen years ago)

leaving work i passed sonja sohn on the street

― am0n, Wednesday, 23 September 2009 02:22 (fifteen years ago)

ws for the ages

― mark cl, Wednesday, 23 September 2009 02:30 (fifteen years ago)

at farmers market i saw "santangelo"

― steamed hams (harbl), Sunday, 27 September 2009 13:50 (fifteen years ago)

My sons (25 and 27) still steadfastly refuse to watch The Wire because...
their parents are into it.
We shoulda shut up about it, rather than getting son #2 season 1 for xmas.
We're considering paying them to watch it.

― Beth Parker, Sunday, 27 September 2009 16:02 (fifteen years ago)

one month passes...

just started watching this and only about 5 episodes in to season 1, not about to read a 2000+ post thread and don't want spoilers but...

I lol'd hard at the dealin drugs is just like playin chess analogy, really? also the quality seemed to go down a bit after the pilot, and the show's main trick seems to be humanizing the bad guys while taking the good guys down a notch...can't wait for the big plot twists or whatever that I'm sure are coming

appreciate the realism but lol at every payphone being in pristine condition, no doubt thanks to the tireless efforts of verizon to keep this country connected

looking forward to watching the rest of these 5 seasons

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 16 November 2009 08:17 (fifteen years ago)

chess analogy doesn't really hit hard until the end of season 4 imo

― jØrdån (omar little), Monday, 16 November 2009 08:19 (fifteen years ago)

I was lolling more at what a cliche it was, and the straightfaced way in which wallace & the other dude were taking it...like "oh so the pawn...can become a queen..." like jeez come on, can you be any more obvious

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 16 November 2009 08:22 (fifteen years ago)

I'm with you, dyao. I'm surprised everyone seems to love that scene (I saw it mentioned in a lot of articles around the time of the final season), to me it isn't one of the great moments of the show or anything.

― Jouster, Monday, 16 November 2009 09:32 (fifteen years ago)

I was totally underwhelmed by season 1. Stick with it.

― I am flesh and blood. You are software and circuitry. (chap), Monday, 16 November 2009 11:56 (fifteen years ago)

to be fair that's some pretty profound shit to hear if you're a 16 year old drug dealer

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 16 November 2009 11:58 (fifteen years ago)

^^see that's the thing; I like how the show in general doesn't underestimate the savviness of the drug dealers, I really liked the scene where Wallace points out Hamilton wasn't a prez, but that scene really felt like the writers talking down to their characters

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 16 November 2009 12:06 (fifteen years ago)

were talking down

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 16 November 2009 12:07 (fifteen years ago)

I don't even remember any chess scenes. It should be possible to find other stuff to keep you entertained, if you don't like that bit.

― Ismael Klata, Monday, 16 November 2009 12:18 (fifteen years ago)

wallace would know about hamilton because he's in school at the time! that's the kind of useless fact they teach you.

i haven't seen the shows in awhile but i recall that scene coming at a downswing in d's fortunes - he's been kicked down the heirarchy to the lowrises. my impression - as i remember it - was that d is trying to impress the lowrise dudes with his worldly wisdom, and maybe even convince himself that he's cut out for more of a thinking man's role than just lowrise enforcer. his spiel is cliched to us, yeah. but i think it gets the point across to his audience. "this guy thinks strategically".

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 16 November 2009 12:21 (fifteen years ago)

the chess scene is a excerpted as a skit on the soundtrack cd, so clearly someone thinks it's deep. but yeah, it's kind of embarrassing.

― caek, Monday, 16 November 2009 12:34 (fifteen years ago)

tbf gerard manley hopkins would sound embarrassing if you heard it enough times on a sound track CD.

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 16 November 2009 12:44 (fifteen years ago)

unless it was actually gerard manley hopkins reading it and also composing the soundtrack, then it would be epic 2x

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 16 November 2009 12:45 (fifteen years ago)

true and true

― caek, Monday, 16 November 2009 12:54 (fifteen years ago)

Obvious and cliche as that chess scene may be, I think it's important not just as an ohhhh. easy analogy way, but in sorting of setting the ground for the drug game narrative they follow. It may be cheesy then, but I think it's more subtly manifest later...

― EDB, Monday, 16 November 2009 14:35 (fifteen years ago)

d is trying to impress the lowrise dudes with his worldly wisdom, and maybe even convince himself that he's cut out for more of a thinking man's role

^^^

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 16 November 2009 14:43 (fifteen years ago)

i own this whole series but my ex wound up with the last disc of the last season, so i never saw the last two episodes. i don't feel real deprived tbh.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 16 November 2009 14:44 (fifteen years ago)

???? see them hoos!

― hoos-kingofthedrugs (deej), Monday, 16 November 2009 14:45 (fifteen years ago)

what i'm getting at is that by that point in s5 i felt kinda disinvested in the whole thing. in s5 it felt like marlo was still this utterly boring cipher (and that impression wasn't gonna get blown up in the space of the last two eps), mcnulty & lester were being written completely against type, herc & carver were rarely of any fun/interest to follow solo, kima was caught in this uninteresting character loop, and if The Detail was gonna do its thing at all (the group chemistry was among the main reasons i liked the show) it was gonna do it in a severely truncated way.

idk, i just don't really feel like i need to see them unless you're telling me those last two episodes are super stellar or story-resolving in comparison to the rest of the season

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 16 November 2009 14:54 (fifteen years ago)

theyre not stellar but theyre funny and heartbreaking and resolve lots of storys. its like youve gotten to page 480 of a 500-page book and are like... oh well why bother

― max, Monday, 16 November 2009 15:02 (fifteen years ago)

i agree that the chess scene is a bit heavy-handed and seems a little contrived. it seemed to me that it's major function was character development - that D'angelo was a thoughtful guy and might be out of place in the drug game.

xp - the last two episodes pretty much just resolve what happens to most of the characters and illustrate the cyclical nature of that society - characters step into roles vacated by other characters.

― sarahel, Monday, 16 November 2009 15:03 (fifteen years ago)

If the chess scene is d's idea, it's no surprise that a character should come up with a cliché. Writers try to avoid them, but real people don't.

― Ismael Klata, Monday, 16 November 2009 15:07 (fifteen years ago)

unless you're telling me those last two episodes are super stellar or story-resolving

dude

― hoos-kingofthedrugs (deej), Monday, 16 November 2009 15:07 (fifteen years ago)

xp - of course, and there are plenty of cliches that come from the mouths of the characters in the Wire - that particular scene seemed a little incongruous stylistically though.

― sarahel, Monday, 16 November 2009 15:11 (fifteen years ago)

it's not so much d's delivery of it, but rather that the other two otherwise street smart guys take it hook line and sinker and pretend it's some great apercu

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 16 November 2009 15:17 (fifteen years ago)

i feel like the writing got better in later seasons, and they started working with the medium more - in terms of editing and structure - to make points/commentary. I want to say, starting around season 3, the show did a lot more parallel construction showing the similarities between the hierarchies and systems of the different groups it was following.

― sarahel, Monday, 16 November 2009 15:23 (fifteen years ago)

It definitely gets more impressive as it accrues narrative mass. The beauty of later seasons is the precision with which all the intricacies fit together. The first season is basically a superior police thriller.

― I am flesh and blood. You are software and circuitry. (chap), Monday, 16 November 2009 15:26 (fifteen years ago)

while we're pointing out flaws can I mention the utter lol that is przyblewski the fuckup making a great insight that his smarter, more competent companions couldn't see

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 16 November 2009 15:29 (fifteen years ago)

this is foreshadowing.

― sarahel, Monday, 16 November 2009 15:31 (fifteen years ago)

Prez... The kid's a prodigy.

― EDB, Monday, 16 November 2009 15:53 (fifteen years ago)

lol hoos u crazy. last two eps of season 5 are way better than the rest of it, btw.

― horseshoe, Monday, 16 November 2009 15:59 (fifteen years ago)

There's one scene where Carcetti's reaction is hilarious - and should be (if it isn't already) an animated gif

― sarahel, Monday, 16 November 2009 16:07 (fifteen years ago)

while we're pointing out flaws can I mention the utter lol that is przyblewski the fuckup making a great insight that his smarter, more competent companions couldn't see

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, November 16, 2009 9:29 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

um thats not a 'flaw' thats called a 'character'

― hoos-kingofthedrugs (deej), Monday, 16 November 2009 16:52 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/user/hh1edits#p/u/0/-Sgj78QG9Bg

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:10 (fifteen years ago)

theyre not stellar but theyre funny and heartbreaking and resolve lots of storys. its like youve gotten to page 480 of a 500-page book and are like... oh well why bother

― max, Monday, November 16, 2009 10:02 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark

I have done this many times

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:16 (fifteen years ago)

I'm also stalled halfway through season 3, not sure if these are related phenomena

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:19 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/user/hh1edits#p/u/0/-Sgj78QG9Bg

― cutty, Monday, November 16, 2009 6:10 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

did i miss it or did they skip "pinstripe lawyerly affectations"

― hoos-kingofthedrugs (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:20 (fifteen years ago)

I'm also stalled halfway through season 3, not sure if these are related phenomena

that is absurd

― cutty, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:22 (fifteen years ago)

perhaps edward iii should pitch a slate article about this

― hoos-kingofthedrugs (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:22 (fifteen years ago)

did he have hands? did he have a face? yes? then it wasnt us

― hoos-kingofthedrugs (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:26 (fifteen years ago)

to be fair that's some pretty profound shit to hear if you're a 16 year old drug dealer

I know that conversation was yesterday, but I find myself very much on Tracer's side about this: what's an embarrassing metaphor to ilxors is not necessarily embarrassing to all, including not only 16-year-old drug dealers but also corporate managers, readers of motivational texts, churchgoers, and really basically 90% of America

― oɔsıqɐu (nabisco), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:39 (fifteen years ago)

that said, as a viewer it's not exactly like some deep stuff, true

― oɔsıqɐu (nabisco), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:41 (fifteen years ago)

I know that conversation was yesterday, but I find myself very much on Tracer's side about this: what's an embarrassing metaphor to ilxors is not necessarily embarrassing to all, including not only 16-year-old drug dealers but also corporate managers, readers of motivational texts, churchgoers, and really basically 90% of America

My issue with it was that it was incredibly close to the content of a scene from the movie Fresh.

― windy = white, carl = black (polyphonic), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:45 (fifteen years ago)

yeah and Fresh >>>>> The Wire

sorry guys but its true

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:49 (fifteen years ago)

*folds arms*

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:50 (fifteen years ago)

Shakey went too far.

― windy = white, carl = black (polyphonic), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 00:51 (fifteen years ago)

fresh is better than the wire vs traffic is as good as the wire

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 01:18 (fifteen years ago)

hahaha i am so glad wire threads will never die so i can never stop getting disproportionately pissed off by stuff people say about it.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 02:20 (fifteen years ago)

^^^

― harbl, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 02:21 (fifteen years ago)

did he have hands? did he have a face? yes? then it wasnt us

that's one of my favorite lines.

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 02:22 (fifteen years ago)

it's not so much d's delivery of it, but rather that the other two otherwise street smart guys take it hook line and sinker and pretend it's some great apercu

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, November 16, 2009 7:17 AM (12 hours ago) Bookmark

Wallace and Bodie weren't particularly street-smart (by wire standards at least) at this point of the show

― whiney on the moon (hmmmm), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 04:30 (fifteen years ago)

and they're more like 14 than 16, no?

― zing touch me I'm (sic), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 04:36 (fifteen years ago)

bodie was, wallace wasn't

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 04:38 (fifteen years ago)

seriously think for one second about all the shit that blew your mind when you were 16

― mark cl, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 13:25 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/user/hh1edits#p/u/0/-Sgj78QG9Bg

― cutty, Monday, November 16, 2009 6:10 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

did i miss it or did they skip "pinstripe lawyerly affectations"

― hoos-kingofthedrugs (deej), Monday, November 16, 2009 6:20 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yep. "tweedy impertinence," too. no Jay quotes, no cred.

― feed them to the (Linden Ave) lions (will), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 13:46 (fifteen years ago)

yeah these are some preachy ass 100 quotes

― Danny Duberstein (hmmmm), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 19:38 (fifteen years ago)

i love the wire 4ever but fuck if i hear another quote about 'the game'

― mark cl, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 21:19 (fifteen years ago)

Not reading this, as am only near the end of season 2, but is Omar the best character on TV ever?

― Attention please, a child has been lost in the tunnel of goats. (James Morrison), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:36 (fifteen years ago)

Indeed.

― windy = white, carl = black (polyphonic), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:43 (fifteen years ago)

Omar's role in the series always seemed kinda obvious and irritating to me - he's the one guy that's unbeholden to any of the institutions that trip up everyone else, and he has this moral code that he lives by, he only robs/kills criminals, he loves his momma, etc. And as an extra bone to all us open-minded liberals out there, he's GAY! Its all just so ridiculously idealized. This from a show that otherwise prided itself on its realism...

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:48 (fifteen years ago)

anyway my favorite character was Prop Joe.

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:48 (fifteen years ago)

I see what you're saying, and yet he's just so much damn fun to watch.

― Attention please, a child has been lost in the tunnel of goats. (James Morrison), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:50 (fifteen years ago)

xpost
His performance makes it easy to forgive all that, for me anyway.

― Brio, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:51 (fifteen years ago)

yeah Omar is fun. he allows the viewer some rare moments of satisfaction re: people getting what they deserve, etc.

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:51 (fifteen years ago)

xxxp shakey - i don't think he feels much for his momma, he was raised by his grandmother.

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:51 (fifteen years ago)

shakey omar is based on a real person

― GANGSTA KILLER (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:51 (fifteen years ago)

realism is not very fun. the wire is fun. the wire is not realistic. it takes place in a realistic environment. i know people clown the whole "dickensian" bit and maybe the show clowns itself w/r/t it, but it's not far off the mark.

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:52 (fifteen years ago)

lolz "based on a true story!"

what are you, 12 years old

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:52 (fifteen years ago)

shakey omar is based on a real person

this doesn't mean Shakey has to "believe" in Omar, though

― jazzgasms (Mr. Que), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:52 (fifteen years ago)

dickens had realistic environments with characters who were just a tad unrealistic and OTT. not sure why this is a negative about the wire, if anything it's a positive.

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:52 (fifteen years ago)

hmm I had never made the Dickens connection before but that is a really good point of comparison, def a lot of parallels

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:54 (fifteen years ago)

"he's the one guy that's unbeholden to any of the institutions that trip up everyone else"
Did you see the ending? That he actually is beholden is his undoing. Also, he has Spider-man powers.

― Philip Nunez, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:54 (fifteen years ago)

james morrison, stop reading this thread btw

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:54 (fifteen years ago)

come back later when you've finished

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:54 (fifteen years ago)

i.e. "that's some spiderman shit right there."

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:55 (fifteen years ago)

Did you see the ending? That he actually is beholden is his undoing. Also, he has Spider-man powers.

haha nah, I stopped at the end of season 4 and everything I've read about season 5 sounds super-silly. altho yes the glory of wikipedia has clued me in as to the conclusion of Omar's character arc

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:56 (fifteen years ago)

'thats some spiderman shit right there' is based on a real thing that happened to donnie andrews. watch the commentary

― GANGSTA KILLER (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:56 (fifteen years ago)

that really was the only scene where i liked Marlo.

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:56 (fifteen years ago)

Is it true that Donnie (Andrews, the inspiration for Omar) in real life jumped off a balcony the same height that Omar did?

Actually, two floors higher.

Two floors higher?

The Murphy Homes. He also jumped off the rail bridge at Poplar Grove, onto the rail bed. That was probably about three stories. And he hurt his ankle. It’s just true. Those jumps, by an athletic person, can actually be made and are made, routinely. By a non-athletic person? if I made it, I’d be all over the pavement and they’d pick me up with a spoon. If you made it, they’d pick you up with a spoon. When 28-year-old Donnie Andrews makes that jump because he has to, sometimes he makes it. It’s funny: I’m doing this thing now with recon Marines, “Generation Kill.” And some of them had no problem with the jump. They just started telling stories about recon training. I don’t know whether to believe them or not, but I do believe Donnie.

It was a story I actually used, I wrote about the first time back in 1990. That story was all through the ghetto: “They had him cornered, and motherfucker jumped off the railroad bridge and kept running. Did not want to die that day.” But we did want it to feel a little bit mythic, and “What the fuck?” because it fit with the general arc of Greek tragedy.

― GANGSTA KILLER (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:57 (fifteen years ago)

season 5 isn't super-silly, although it has some super-silly moments / episodes.

― windy = white, carl = black (polyphonic), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:57 (fifteen years ago)

(btw, donnie andrews wasn't gay deej)

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:59 (fifteen years ago)

isn't/wasn't whatever

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:59 (fifteen years ago)

well that changes everything!

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:59 (fifteen years ago)

Marlo was also sympathetic early on when he showed his love for pigeons.

― five minutes of iguana time (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 22:59 (fifteen years ago)

^^^roflz

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:00 (fifteen years ago)

omar isn't gay because of the "liberals"

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:00 (fifteen years ago)

well that changes everything!

its not that any one of those characteristics I listed makes him unrealistic (hey, all gangsters love their grandmas, right? haha) but the combo of all of them together in one character is just kinda ridiculous.

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:01 (fifteen years ago)

why is being gay unrealistic

― harbl, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:02 (fifteen years ago)

because gay people don't love their grandmas very often

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:02 (fifteen years ago)

gay people are a myth propagated by the liberal atheist socialist humanist agenda dontchaknow

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:03 (fifteen years ago)

im glad youve realized the ridiculousness of your position

― GANGSTA KILLER (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:10 (fifteen years ago)

yes you have convinced me that a black, gay, robin hood-type near-superhuman stickup man is TOTALLY REALISTIC

kudos

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:11 (fifteen years ago)

how do you know what real stickup men are like though? what is "realism"?

― harbl, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:12 (fifteen years ago)

what is "art"?

― max, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:12 (fifteen years ago)

what is "gay"?

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:13 (fifteen years ago)

superhuman?

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:13 (fifteen years ago)

no black gay people are superhuman in real life

― harbl, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:14 (fifteen years ago)

i know because i have never met one

― harbl, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:14 (fifteen years ago)

it's not like he's routinely performing superhuman acts - his supposedly superhuman feats consist solely of jumping off that balcony.

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:15 (fifteen years ago)

shakey omar is based on a real person
― GANGSTA KILLER (deej), Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:51 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

you want it to be one way

― itdn put butt in the display name (gbx), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:15 (fifteen years ago)

it's not like he's Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:15 (fifteen years ago)

do the shakey leg

― GANGSTA KILLER (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:16 (fifteen years ago)

guys, the thing is: it's the other way

― itdn put butt in the display name (gbx), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:16 (fifteen years ago)

He is so superhuman that he is SPOILER murdered by a small child in a convenience store.

― windy = white, carl = black (polyphonic), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:17 (fifteen years ago)

I agree w/ shakey

― super sexy psycho fantasy world (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:18 (fifteen years ago)

uh oh i'm having a fantasy (about a black, gay, robin hood-type near-superhuman stickup man)

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:19 (fifteen years ago)

I said near-superhuman. His ability to routinely surprise/get the drop on people without getting shot is pretty miraculous

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:19 (fifteen years ago)

i believe the following people have existed in the criminal drug trade: dudes who are "prison" gay on the outside, dudes whose place in the drug ecosystem is to live via stickup and robbing "weak" corners, dudes who try to keep the violence internal to the trade, dudes who are charming and funny, dudes who have survived longer than usual.

whether these have all been the same person, well, who knows.

― goole, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:19 (fifteen years ago)

he spends a lot of time surveying, researching his targets - it isn't like he has this consistent stream of "lucky encounters"

― sarahel, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:20 (fifteen years ago)

global warming's effects on the delicate drug ecosystem has definitely reduced the number of people with all of those characteristics

― super sexy psycho fantasy world (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:21 (fifteen years ago)

omar is based on al shipley fyi

― max, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:22 (fifteen years ago)

max, al shipley isnt gay!!

― GANGSTA KILLER (deej), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:23 (fifteen years ago)

imagine a polar bear, swimming towards an ice floe, that will remain out of reach, forever

― super sexy psycho fantasy world (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:23 (fifteen years ago)

uh oh i'm hearing a zing

― goole, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:23 (fifteen years ago)

I don't think it had anything to do with believability, but I did share Shakey's irritation with Omar's gaiety at first - just cause it seemed a bit showy and almost pandering to a certain segment of the audience, like "you're gonna love this guy! he's like robin hood and - get this - he's GAY!".

But that faded pretty quickly for me. Maybe I bought into exactly what I criticized, but I thought it was a really smart and daring move for The Wire to create a thug character that macho dudes would kinda idolize, but make him gay. Way smarter than what the The Sopranos did with their gay gangster.

Plus, you can't deny he was a super fun character - lots of great action, one-liners, comic relief and, as noted, awesome superhero skills.

― Brio, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:25 (fifteen years ago)

I forget what show it was, but the main character started putting an ikea bed together and it cut to the character passed out drunk.

― super sexy psycho fantasy world (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:26 (fifteen years ago)

whether these have all been the same person, well, who knows.

^^^all true. I don't think he's a bad character per se - he's always entertaining to watch. But it seems clear to me that his role within the show was to allow some wish-fulfillment for the audience. You know, here's a character who will provide the audience with some sense that justice is still possible, that there are good people within this hellish environment that can still come out on top, etc. His appeal is fairly obvious when you look at it this way. Omar is, in many ways, a break from the spirit-numbing nihilism that pervades most of the other character arcs - he's smarter than most everyone else, he's funny, and he's a badass. Qualities every viewer expects in a protagonist in a cop show. The thing is, given the bleakness of the rest of the show, the contrast Omar provides makes his character stick out - he seems, more than many of the other characters, particularly contrived. That's all I'm sayin

x-posts

― Valid point, imaginary rude person (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:26 (fifteen years ago)

he was gay for the purposes of the show because it showed (even moreso than his rip and run actions) that he was utterly fearless

― jØrdån (omar little), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:27 (fifteen years ago)

goole is basically otm, but it doesn't change the fact that you all have intractable desires for the situation to be just as you'd hoped. it's just...it's not. it is the opposite.

― itdn put butt in the display name (gbx), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:27 (fifteen years ago)

lollllll I just realized it was don draper putting his kid's playhouse together. Also realized that nothing in my previous statement actually happens, don just gets drunk and randomly drives around or something.

― super sexy psycho fantasy world (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:27 (fifteen years ago)

mcnutly does what you've describe iirc

― goole, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:28 (fifteen years ago)

lol mc-nut-ly

― goole, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:28 (fifteen years ago)

yeah mcnutty definitely does pass out drunk after a failed attempt at ikea kids beds. he also randomly drives around drunk a lot.

― Brio, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:29 (fifteen years ago)

sry I was being really unclear, I was trying to figure out what show ripped the wire off

― super sexy psycho fantasy world (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:29 (fifteen years ago)

shakey is the best thing that ever happened to the wire

― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:30 (fifteen years ago)

when this thread gets to 5,000 posts shakey come up from the basement

― super sexy psycho fantasy world (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:31 (fifteen years ago)

*shakey can

― super sexy psycho fantasy world (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:32 (fifteen years ago)

Still lolling in my head at the series bible with its 'Stringy Bell'

― five minutes of iguana time (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 17 November 2009 23:33 (fifteen years ago)

dont get what gbx is saying itt

― GANGSTA KILLER (deej), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 00:03 (fifteen years ago)

shakey is saying that omar is kinda this unrealistic, "ideal" character and you do not want it to be that way. you want it to be the other way.

― itdn put butt in the display name (gbx), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 00:09 (fifteen years ago)

pretty easy to get imo

― itdn put butt in the display name (gbx), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 00:17 (fifteen years ago)

it's not like he's routinely performing superhuman acts - his supposedly superhuman feats consist solely of jumping off that balcony.

superhumanly breaking one leg and fucking up the other ankle

― zing touch me I'm (sic), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 01:26 (fifteen years ago)

imo the way omar died was a statement on his seemingly superhuman status

― SMH (ice cr?m), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 02:24 (fifteen years ago)

I agree,

And apparently that Jump off the balcony was based off true events, I think it was even higher in real life, actually.

― EDB, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 02:39 (fifteen years ago)

Omar is a trap! He's inextricably part of the drug dealing institution, killing young black men, which, Lester reminds us, nobody cares about, so audiences become complicit in the things the show is critiquing.

― Leee, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 05:28 (fifteen years ago)

Not reading this... but ... Omar the best character on TV ever

― I must have five minutes of iguana time (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 16:15 (fifteen years ago)

That point about Omar prepetuating the cycle is made super-explicit, right? The kid who kills him is one of the little kids who is imitating him in the street in an earlier season - so yeah the audience who cheers him on becomes complicit in Omar's own death.

― Brio, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 16:22 (fifteen years ago)

which all loops back into him being a symbolic figure - and remember how he's really into greek mythology?

― Brio, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 16:25 (fifteen years ago)

xp - i don't know that that kid was one of the ones imitating him in Season 3. I think that kid was being shown to be the next Marlo - emotionless and cruel (see the attempted cat torture scene) - and presumably the fact that he killed Omar would be a notch on his belt, give him cred for his eventual ascencion to the throne.

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 17:39 (fifteen years ago)

pretty sure it was kenard that was dressed up like omar.

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 17:44 (fifteen years ago)

one of the primary motifs of the wire is that things are falling apart on every level: in politics, in schools, on the corner, in the precinct. All culture is slowly spiraling into darker, less humanistic values and the wire's writers lay the blame predominantly with the country's draconian drug laws.

― I must have five minutes of iguana time (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 17:45 (fifteen years ago)

^ basically Kenard will become the new Marlo, but will be even worse - Marlo's one redeeming quality is his fondness for his pigeons, and Kenard tortures animals.

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 17:48 (fifteen years ago)

Presumably d'shaun, following Kenard, will be the antichrist

― I must have five minutes of iguana time (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 18:27 (fifteen years ago)

http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2008/03/the_wire_david_simon_q_a.html
So when you introduced Kenard in season three when they're playing outside the stash house shoot-out, even back then you were planning, "Okay, this little kid is going to kill Omar a few seasons from now"?

With one caveat. We did introduce him, and I had it in my mind that I wanted a moment like "The Shootist" or the buried moment in the gunfight at the end of "Wild Bunch." The character that was most in the Western archetype -- and George had a lot of fun with this -- was Omar. The inner city is now the Wild West, the new frontier in terms of American storytelling, it has been for several decades now. We played a lot of our Western film themes and archetypes through Omar's story. I always had that in my mind. There were arguments to be had in the writers room -- there were guys who didn't want to kill Omar, there were some guys who did, some guys who didn't but came around. Everyone gets a say when you argue it down on the merits. I definitely wanted to plant the beginnings of that story if we wanted to go that way.

― Brio, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 18:57 (fifteen years ago)

thanks, i didn't know/notice that.

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 18:59 (fifteen years ago)

i didn't catch it until someone pointed out either! it's a cool little detail

― Brio, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 19:08 (fifteen years ago)

why you guys don't believe in the redemptive power of foot locker?

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 19:10 (fifteen years ago)

well, sure, I don't think there's a totalizing belief that no one ever gets out, but I think their point/the show's point, is that it's quite rare that someone does - like Poot and Namond - they're exceptions.

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 19:14 (fifteen years ago)

Isn't Poot a reference to the 'rational actor' argument from the venkatesh/freakonomics stuff? he makes more $ slinging sneakers than drugs -- basically everyone who sucks at it gets out. (e.g. cutty, namond)

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 19:28 (fifteen years ago)

Wallace got out, he's on Friday Lights now

― Brio, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 19:30 (fifteen years ago)

yeah i dunno maybe go out and slang for a couple years then come back when youre 16 *shrug*

― SMH (ice cr?m), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 19:30 (fifteen years ago)

I don't think he makes more $$ at foot locker than he did as a drug dealer.

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 19:33 (fifteen years ago)

ya - i never got the impression he was bad at slinging. i assumed he wanted a job that wouldn't get him killed.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:11 (fifteen years ago)

^^ my thought, too.

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:12 (fifteen years ago)

this was the guy whose top priority was getting laid.

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:12 (fifteen years ago)

pretty sure it was kenard that was dressed up like omar.

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Wednesday, November 18, 2009 11:44 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

nah that was whatshisname, the kid with the little brother who worked for marlo

― ice cr?m hand job (deej), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:13 (fifteen years ago)

i dont think working @ foot locker really counts as "getting out" -- wage slavery is wage slavery

its very likely he was making about the same at foot locker as he was in a drug gang

― ice cr?m hand job (deej), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:14 (fifteen years ago)

Lower mortality rate at foot locker - though a kid was caught shoplifting at my local, jumped out the first-floor window to escape, and died when he hit the ground.

― Ismael Klata, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:17 (fifteen years ago)

lol

― jazzgasms (Mr. Que), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:18 (fifteen years ago)

i don't know what foot lockers you've been to but i don't think payless is sending hit squads over to pull drivebys

― jØrdån (omar little), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:18 (fifteen years ago)

deej u crazee

― jazzgasms (Mr. Que), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:18 (fifteen years ago)

Shoe Pavilion on the other hand has some fierce muscle

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:19 (fifteen years ago)

drug gangs don't give you awesome referee shirts

― jazzgasms (Mr. Que), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:19 (fifteen years ago)

yes, i agree that foot locker is a safer job.

― ice cr?m hand job (deej), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:20 (fifteen years ago)

i've taken to reading every post here by prefacing it with "in this fictional dramatic program,"
fortune cookie wisdom

― I must have five minutes of iguana time (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:20 (fifteen years ago)

attracts a better class of customer, too

― sarahel, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:21 (fifteen years ago)

though i would like to hear a point by point analysis of corner hopper/foot locker job benefits

― I must have five minutes of iguana time (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:21 (fifteen years ago)

h8 to be the dude all "you should read freakanomics" but sudhir vankatesh wrote a chapter in that called "why do drug dealers still live with their moms" about the wage pyramid of the drug dealer & how it comes down to around minimum wage for folks just starting out

― ice cr?m hand job (deej), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:23 (fifteen years ago)

Barbara Ehrenreich should have done a chapter of her book as a hopper.

― five minutes of iguana time (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:24 (fifteen years ago)

or as an iguana wrangler

― I must have five minutes of iguana time (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:28 (fifteen years ago)

LOL i refuse to change my display name until i see the movie!

― five minutes of iguana time (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:35 (fifteen years ago)

i yield the rest of my iguana time to a roundabout and bad warhol reference

― fifteen minutes of iguana time famous (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:36 (fifteen years ago)

into the second season now, it's improving. god Ziggy reminds me so much of my little league coach's spoiled son, and so many other spoiled twiggy brats I've known. kinda lol'd at the seven samurai beginning, there's kinda a disconnect for me between the show's realism and its reliance on stock narrative tropes. also had no idea that Dominic West is british!

― 囧 (dyao), Tuesday, 24 November 2009 04:59 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg_3ZSeHL4g

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 24 November 2009 05:12 (fifteen years ago)

lol

― Bay-L.A. Bar Talk (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 24 November 2009 05:44 (fifteen years ago)

In re Omar not being realistic: This summer I met a federal prosecutor who worked in a drug crimes division -- I don't know if he was a Wire fan or not (it didn't come up) but he did tell me that a lot of their prosecutions are people who rob drug dealers, and that, in his opinion, they tended to be the absolute worst criminals. Robbing drug dealers is extremely lucrative and carries low risk of getting caught, because what drug dealer will call the police on you?

He said that such robbers often harm not only the drug dealers but their families, and that they tend to use torture to get information about where money/drugs are kept. I.e. they don't tend to "live by a code."

― Bay-L.A. Bar Talk (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 24 November 2009 06:01 (fifteen years ago)

I'm just about to finish the 2nd season which I've enjoyed thoroughly. However - (I think it's already been mentioned up-thread) the Brother Mouzone character is fairly ridiculous - especially by Wire standards. Far too cartoonish to take seriously. Otherwise, looking forward to Season 3.

― sam500, Tuesday, 24 November 2009 06:19 (fifteen years ago)

OK I still haven't watched The Wire yet and I have an idea where I can do this and make it count as a work activity at the same time. I need to know from you seasoned Wire fans whether this is a good idea.

I recently started a job where I am working with drug, street, gang and court involved young people who are mainly between the ages of 18-21. Those that haven't been locked up before have friends that have and many are very entrenched in street life. I am in the beginning stages of forming relationships with them and have to come up with ideas for acitivites. I was thinking of maybe doing a weekly "movie" night type thing but with The Wire where we'd watch episodes and then follow them up with discussion. I would have a co-worker who is a fomrer gang memeber who did five years facilitate this with me. I think that they'd be really into it and that it could spark some really good and hopefully productive discussions about things thye're often reluctant to address.

I feel like this is either a really great idea or a really shitty one. What say you?

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Thursday, 26 November 2009 14:45 (fifteen years ago)

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/what-do-real-thugs-think-of-the-wire/

― thomp, Thursday, 26 November 2009 14:50 (fifteen years ago)

It could be a terrific idea. One reservation I have is that it can be really hard to follow. Not the language, but the complexity of the social world, meaning the connections between the characters - I felt like I was out beyond my limits sometimes and needed Mrs K to explain bits to me. It's a great show, though, if you have a bunch of brightish, socially adept kids it could be fun.

― Ismael Klata, Thursday, 26 November 2009 15:57 (fifteen years ago)

at the very least, YOU'LL learn a lot.

― ilx mooncup (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 26 November 2009 16:09 (fifteen years ago)

My concern would be the length of the show. Do you have enough time? To get to the meat of the show and it's "message" (such as there is one), you perhaps need to watch the whole of season 1, if not right up to the end of season 3.

― caek, Thursday, 26 November 2009 16:44 (fifteen years ago)

Others may disagree?

― caek, Thursday, 26 November 2009 16:44 (fifteen years ago)

No so concerned about length - it's well-written enough that there are short and long games going on all the time. I don't think getting to the end of season 1 would be a drag at all, though season 2 is a pretty abrupt change and I wonder how that'd play out with your audience?

More basic concern: they might already have seen it?

― Ismael Klata, Thursday, 26 November 2009 16:54 (fifteen years ago)

I mentioned it to a group of about five kids yesterday and they had never even heard of it!

As far as whether or not I have enough time, I see most of these kids nearly every day so I think that we could definitely work through at least season one and they could always watch the rest on their own if they're interested.

I think I'm going to run it by my boss and co-worker and see what they think. While I know that I will learn a lot, my major concern is that they learn something as well. I want this to be a productive thing of everyone and not just me. I also need to figure out how to frame it so that it doesn't come off as presumptuous of me to think this is something that they'll identify with. Well, I guess it is presumptuous but that doesn't make it wrong. I worry that they might construe the idea as offensive somehow but that's probably more indicative of self-consciousness than anything else at this point.

I'm still sort of navigating how to interact with these dudes since my life experiences have been so wildly differently from theirs. We are bonding though so that's something. This week ended with me being teased in a boys pulling the girls' pigtails sorta way and then getting a huge bear hug from one of my participants and being told by another that I was his new favorite person at the org so I'm off to a pretty good start.

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Thursday, 26 November 2009 18:33 (fifteen years ago)

it has some n00dz in it though :)

― harbl, Thursday, 26 November 2009 18:38 (fifteen years ago)

Hmmmmmm. I don't think that would be an issue. There really isn't much that doesn't get seen or discussed around the center. They'd all be at least 18 and at least 3/4 of them already have kids so hopefully they'll be able to handle a little n00dity.

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Thursday, 26 November 2009 18:42 (fifteen years ago)

I also think that having my co-worker who has known a lot of these kids since they were born and who lived the life himself present during the discussion etc. is key if I'm going to pull this off.

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Thursday, 26 November 2009 18:45 (fifteen years ago)

haha yeah i figured xp

― harbl, Thursday, 26 November 2009 18:46 (fifteen years ago)

if it helps then maybe me and shakey mo could come by and talk to them about the show and living in tough neighborhoods.

― caek, Thursday, 26 November 2009 18:49 (fifteen years ago)

lollll

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Thursday, 26 November 2009 18:52 (fifteen years ago)

ask them if the corner pays better than the foot locker

― ilx mooncup (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 26 November 2009 19:31 (fifteen years ago)

i can tell them about what's in the game. sometimes you want a galaxy to be one way, but it's the other way.

― caek, Thursday, 26 November 2009 19:33 (fifteen years ago)

ha. Had p interesting convo with one of my guys the other day about why he should stay in a transistional work program we run in which he makes $8 an hour rather than return to dealing where he was making hundreds a night so yeah, I think I know what they'd say to that one.

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Thursday, 26 November 2009 19:38 (fifteen years ago)

my major concern is that they learn something as well

They will learn how to play chess, and if they're sharp, that you can reduce corner life to chess analogies.

― Leee, Thursday, 26 November 2009 20:43 (fifteen years ago)

Bit more seriously, I wonder if the repercussions that we see in the show aren't too back-loaded to the later seasons (I'm avoiding specifics to try to avoid spoiling) -- it kind of takes a while for the overriding thesis to really come through, IMO.

That aside, whether or not the corner scenes grab them, I think that seeing all the details of police work would be fascinating, if somewhat overwhelming (which was my reaction to the show the first time I watched it).

― Leee, Thursday, 26 November 2009 20:46 (fifteen years ago)

Lol @ forks' post.

― sarahel, Thursday, 26 November 2009 21:34 (fifteen years ago)

if you do this ENBB you should totally start a thread about how it goes!

― BACH STARKER (sic), Friday, 27 November 2009 07:01 (fifteen years ago)

Oh that's a good idea. I definitely will.

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Friday, 27 November 2009 22:16 (fifteen years ago)

yeah - I'd be really curious to hear about how it goes, if you choose to do it.

― sarahel, Saturday, 28 November 2009 00:25 (fifteen years ago)

man season 3 kinda drags doesn't it

― 囧 (dyao), Friday, 4 December 2009 01:30 (fifteen years ago)

u kinda drag! >:[

― horseshoe, Friday, 4 December 2009 01:31 (fifteen years ago)

:-O

=v=

― 囧 (dyao), Friday, 4 December 2009 01:34 (fifteen years ago)

I thought the same half way through it. Wait for the final three or so episodes. Seriously, it all comes together in an immense fucking way.

― Communi-Bear Silo State (chap), Friday, 4 December 2009 01:39 (fifteen years ago)

alright I'mma stick with it

http://www.bestweekever.tv/bwe/images/2008/10/michael%20jackson%20gif.gif

― 囧 (dyao), Friday, 4 December 2009 01:40 (fifteen years ago)

btw - mentioned this to my boss and co-worker and they were pretty receptive. Then tonight I was driving one of our participants home (who incidentally had gotten out of jail literally one hour earlier) and asked what he thought. Having seen a couple of episodes already, he thought it would be a great idea so we'll see!

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Friday, 4 December 2009 02:38 (fifteen years ago)

nice!

and don't worry dyao - season 3 pays off big time!it's me fav!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 4 December 2009 04:38 (fifteen years ago)

this sounds like a dope idea, i'm excited to hear it's being well-received.

― what u think i steen for to push a crawfish? (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Friday, 4 December 2009 13:42 (fifteen years ago)

i smell a blog-to-book deal brewin'!
"On The Wire: Teenagers at Risk Explore the World of THE WIRE"

― Drama Mama's and Papa's too! (forksclovetofu), Friday, 4 December 2009 16:19 (fifteen years ago)

if it helps then maybe me and shakey mo could come by and talk to them about the show and living in tough neighborhoods.

lolololol

sounds awesome Erica, very curious to hear how this goes

also I would just like to say it sounds like you are doing good valuable work, good on ya

― Owa Tana Siam (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 4 December 2009 16:52 (fifteen years ago)

<3 slim charles

― 囧 (dyao), Saturday, 5 December 2009 14:57 (fifteen years ago)

where are you at w/it so far, dyao?

― sarahel, Saturday, 5 December 2009 16:25 (fifteen years ago)

Aw hey Shakey thanks - that's really sweet of you to say. I have to admit that it's the first job I've ever had that I actually care about and I really love it so far. It's really challenging (cried for the first time @ work this week, got called a white cunt which was bound to happen eventually and had my first participant get arrested and locked up) but also really fun and interesting. Part of that is the nature of the place/population we deal with but also the fact that both they and I know that our backgrounds are wildly different. That is the part that's proving the most interesting. Most of the am extremely skeptical of me at first (unsurprisingly) but the more we learn about one another and the closer we get the more trusting they become.

Watching this all unfold is really interesting. One thing that I should have anticipated but didn't is that the guys have been so much easier to bond and interact with than the girls so far. Because I'm used to working with teen girls I kind of expected the opposite but that hasn't been the case so far. I think it's partly because a lot of them have a sense of ownership over the joint and the male participants and for them it's like - Who the hell is this non-ugly white bitch coming in here all of sudden? - and also a natural sense of competition that often happens with girls.

Also, the comments so far have been pretty amazing. The other day I got told that I look like a "white Halle Berry with a dorky smile". That was pretty awesome. One of them also told me that he thought I was a lesbian at first because of my hair but that that was ok because he loves lesbians and is sure I get hit on plenty. lol. They also all think I'm 23-25 which is pretty awesome tbh but I'm making a point to tell them my actually age because that does bring some sort of weight in terms of authority which is def needed at times. Also got told that I looked like "a punk rock" and blew their minds when they realized that I actually knew some shit about music other than rock. lol.

Sorry to hijack Wire thread. I come home every day with like a million stories and since it's all still very new for me I'm really excited about it all.

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Saturday, 5 December 2009 16:42 (fifteen years ago)

oh shit - I didn't realize that I'd written quite that much. ack. sorry!!!!

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Saturday, 5 December 2009 16:42 (fifteen years ago)

i think i know exactly what dyao just watched!
xposts!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Saturday, 5 December 2009 16:43 (fifteen years ago)

the "day of the jackal shit" episode?

― sarahel, Saturday, 5 December 2009 16:44 (fifteen years ago)

i think he's talking about Slim's speech in the last episode. about going to war over Sringer's death - "if it's a lie then we fight on that lie. but we gotta fight." etc

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Saturday, 5 December 2009 16:54 (fifteen years ago)

No, tell your stories Erica - it's all great stuff

― Ismael Klata, Saturday, 5 December 2009 17:03 (fifteen years ago)

^ i second that

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Saturday, 5 December 2009 17:04 (fifteen years ago)

yeah - Erica - go for it!

― sarahel, Saturday, 5 December 2009 17:21 (fifteen years ago)

― what u think i steen for to push a crawfish? (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Saturday, 5 December 2009 17:22 (fifteen years ago)

Hmmm. Maybe I will start a 77 thread later tonight. It seems really self-indulgent but if ppl like hearing about it then maybe I should just go for it. Plus there's a lot of stuff I'm still working through in regards to the whole thing so it would be interesting to hear ppls thought.

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Saturday, 5 December 2009 17:30 (fifteen years ago)

^^^ would bookmark

― caek, Saturday, 5 December 2009 18:23 (fifteen years ago)

Why not make it an ILE thread? (I.e. I'm not cool enough for 77.)

― Leee, Saturday, 5 December 2009 19:01 (fifteen years ago)

Or hell, a book.

― Leee, Saturday, 5 December 2009 19:01 (fifteen years ago)

and I'm clearly not cool enough to know about 77 - what's going on?

― Ismael Klata, Saturday, 5 December 2009 19:40 (fifteen years ago)

would also bookmark

― Drama Mama's and Papa's too! (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 5 December 2009 19:56 (fifteen years ago)

That thread would make me finally beg for a 77 invite tbh.

― Clay, Saturday, 5 December 2009 22:29 (fifteen years ago)

Oh sry I honestly thought that most regulars were on 77 by this point. Hmmmm. I could make it an ILE thread but since it's my job and all I would feel more comfortable on 77 since it's a little more private. I don't know. I mean, I would never post anything seriously personal or confidential about my participants so maybe it doesn't matter?

― bear say hi to me (ENBB), Saturday, 5 December 2009 22:32 (fifteen years ago)

Let me in on this 77 secret. Is it the sort of thing Dan Brown would write about?

― Ismael Klata, Saturday, 5 December 2009 22:41 (fifteen years ago)

Ismael, if you have to ask...

― Leee, Saturday, 5 December 2009 22:43 (fifteen years ago)

I feel like I've lost what little credibility I ever had now.

― Ismael Klata, Saturday, 5 December 2009 22:47 (fifteen years ago)

I've been subtitling season two for deaf viewers the last few weeks, and God, Ziggy is 100% more annoying when you have to stop and type out every single thing he says. But obv I have the by far less interesting work-related Wire stories in this thread. Like: ep 4 was the first time I ever had to subtitle someone pissing.

― sandy, Saturday, 5 December 2009 23:00 (fifteen years ago)

having it on 77 would suck since i'm not internet cool enough :(

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Saturday, 5 December 2009 23:05 (fifteen years ago)

77 is, AFAIK, the bathroom where the ILX burnouts go to smoke cigarettes.

― Leee, Saturday, 5 December 2009 23:21 (fifteen years ago)

Ziggy's in some new upcoming HBO show about young artists trying to make it in NYC. THough I may have gotten some promos mixed up.

― dan selzer, Saturday, 5 December 2009 23:45 (fifteen years ago)

somebody just invite them already

― Drama Mama's and Papa's too! (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 5 December 2009 23:54 (fifteen years ago)

dudes 77 isnt 'exclusive' aside from the first month or so anyone on ilx can get in by asking

― unicorn strapped with a unabomb (deej), Sunday, 6 December 2009 00:12 (fifteen years ago)

a mod

― unicorn strapped with a unabomb (deej), Sunday, 6 December 2009 00:12 (fifteen years ago)

i want to join 77 if that thread is going there.

― The Devil's Avocado (Gukbe), Sunday, 6 December 2009 00:44 (fifteen years ago)

i'd like to be over there (77) also
season 3 re-watch is killing it

― "I get through more mojitos.." (bear, bear, bear), Sunday, 6 December 2009 01:23 (fifteen years ago)

would also like 77 invite.

― sandy, Sunday, 6 December 2009 02:35 (fifteen years ago)

sarahel, just finished season three. you guys were right, it definitely did pick up! loved that godfather II scene at avon's harbourview place (but damned if they didn't telegraph that from a mile away).

thinwall, actually I was talking about slim charles laying into his guys for shooting at omar's grandma on a sunday! but his speech in the last episode was good too. looking forward to seeing more of him + marlo in season 4

― 囧 (dyao), Sunday, 6 December 2009 04:58 (fifteen years ago)

slim charles laying into his guys for shooting at omar's grandma on a sunday!

yesssssss

― what u think i steen for to push a crawfish? (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Sunday, 6 December 2009 13:49 (fifteen years ago)

I hate to spoil it for you, dyao, but Mr. 40-degree-day doesn't reappear in later seasons.

― sarahel, Sunday, 6 December 2009 18:23 (fifteen years ago)

Recently re-watched Season 4 and most of the things that bothered me the first time didn't this time, while the stuff that was powerful stayed that way, and a lot of subtle stuff came to the fore. (Only real complaint besides the dubbed-sounding "Are you going to look out for me?" scene in the hospital: The subtitles are absurdly inaccurate. Oh, and felons can vote in Maryland now, though I'm not sure they could when this aired.)

There were scenes I'd sworn were long by how much of an impression they made, and took maybe 30 seconds, like Colvin walking through the school looking into different classrooms, some effective, some depressing. And the politics-education themes seemed to speak to each other more emphatically the second time around, our candidate learning from his teachers as he goes, and finally learning that he has to screw the schools to be a successful politician, with Colvin's project falling by the wayside. The last scene, with an older-looking Donut still a little small for the vehicle he's stolen blowing the stop sign and then the camera resting on the neighborhood, is as beautiful as anything the show ever did.

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 7 December 2009 02:09 (fifteen years ago)

the second time I watched season 4 the whole failed fathers and sons - that I guess could be extrapolated as teachers and students - theme became a lot more salient.

― sarahel, Monday, 7 December 2009 05:59 (fifteen years ago)

I'm waiting for Lester to be implicated/fall on his face on something, he seems way too perfect for the show

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 7 December 2009 06:30 (fifteen years ago)

Or just learning in general: From the nail gun scene to Michael learning how to kill to Carcetti learning how to be "mayoral." And the teachers learning how to teach, or failing to. The whole arc of Cutty trying to reach Michael, picking up on Michael's uneasiness about adult male affection, misreading it somewhat (as just homophobia), overcompensating and coming off fake, and finally losing him but at least reaching some kind of understanding--that whole thread is so subtle, it's easy to forget the first time.

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 7 December 2009 22:27 (fifteen years ago)

dyao - i don't want to give anything away. but - season 5 - you are on to something.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 7 December 2009 22:33 (fifteen years ago)

I would very much like to see this ENBB job thread but I am against the very concept of the 77 board

― unobtaintium (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 December 2009 22:43 (fifteen years ago)

er x-posts

― unobtaintium (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 December 2009 22:43 (fifteen years ago)

I assume she's not willing to post it on the public internet, so it's there or nowhere.

― caek, Monday, 7 December 2009 22:54 (fifteen years ago)

deindex it

― being being kiss-ass fake nice (gbx), Monday, 7 December 2009 23:00 (fifteen years ago)

still on the public internet if you're being cautious (which is probably justified if you're liveblogging your job (lol me))

― caek, Monday, 7 December 2009 23:22 (fifteen years ago)

was gonna say (also hi dere I will doctor on America soonish yokes)

― being being kiss-ass fake nice (gbx), Monday, 7 December 2009 23:53 (fifteen years ago)

I'd like to join 77 to read this too. i really like the freakanomics blog about watching the wire with gangsters, would be interesting to see how it resonates with kids.

― Brio, Tuesday, 8 December 2009 01:19 (fifteen years ago)

I would love to read this on 77.

― ljubljana, Tuesday, 8 December 2009 01:24 (fifteen years ago)

Oh wow guys. OK I am definitely going to do this. I just need to find out a way to do so and feel comfortable about it. Will post here with link once I figure it out. BTW earlier tonight one of the girls said I reminded her of C who is another youth worker. I asked why and she shrugged, "Well, you're both white. You all sort of look the same to me." lol.

― ★彡☆ ★彡 (ENBB), Tuesday, 8 December 2009 03:13 (fifteen years ago)

disc 2 of season 4 has been overdue for more than 2 weeks at my library ;_;

c'mon guy, bring it back

― 囧 (dyao), Thursday, 10 December 2009 06:24 (fifteen years ago)

hey guy who has the Wire season 4 disc 2, it was due on November 29th, 2009. today is December 14th, 2009. why did you do that?

― 囧 (dyao), Monday, 14 December 2009 06:58 (fifteen years ago)

you got to. this is america, man.

― max, Monday, 14 December 2009 12:17 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n12/htdocs/david-simon-280.php

― fictional, homosexual, Baltimore hoodlum (forksclovetofu), Friday, 18 December 2009 19:51 (fifteen years ago)

any progress enbb?

― fictional, homosexual, Baltimore hoodlum (forksclovetofu), Friday, 18 December 2009 19:52 (fifteen years ago)

Okay, enough effing around already: somebody please help lead me to the fabled land of 77. Won't you please?

― Zoo Snickers (Deric W. Haircare), Friday, 18 December 2009 19:59 (fifteen years ago)

"please enter Email Address as used for login ID"
or just webmail that addy to me

― fictional, homosexual, Baltimore hoodlum (forksclovetofu), Friday, 18 December 2009 20:17 (fifteen years ago)

wow, that is a massive interview!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 18 December 2009 20:22 (fifteen years ago)

Deric, visit the "Boards" section and drop by 77

― fictional, homosexual, Baltimore hoodlum (forksclovetofu), Friday, 18 December 2009 20:47 (fifteen years ago)

long ass interview but it doesnt really cover any new ground unforch

― max, Friday, 18 December 2009 21:46 (fifteen years ago)

any progress enbb?

― fictional, homosexual, Baltimore hoodlum (forksclovetofu), Friday, December 18, 2009 2:52 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark

Yes! Have talked about it with my supervisor and a bunch of participants and ppl seem interested. Now I just have to run it by the big bosses and organize the logistics etc. I think it's definitely going to happen but not until January at this point - too much going on right now. Will keep you posted.

― ★彡☆ ★彡 (ENBB), Saturday, 19 December 2009 02:32 (fifteen years ago)

Looking forward!

― sarahel, Saturday, 19 December 2009 20:16 (fifteen years ago)

have taken to downloading a torrent of the missing episodes at a blazing 0.4 kb/s

― =皿= (dyao), Sunday, 20 December 2009 06:44 (fifteen years ago)

thanks to an angel seeder I got my disc

loool at carcetti's campaign manager

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 21 December 2009 05:25 (fifteen years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/62/The_Wire_Norman_Wilson.jpg/250px-The_Wire_Norman_Wilson.jpg http://project1962.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/equal-sign.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/54/Karl_the_Simpsons.png/200px-Karl_the_Simpsons.png

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 21 December 2009 05:27 (fifteen years ago)

IS that in regards to being great assistant figures or having great voices?

― EDB, Monday, 21 December 2009 15:53 (fifteen years ago)

Although there should have been a scene in The Wire where Norman did the whole "my mother taught me to never kiss a fool" slap Carcetti on the ass thing.

― EDB, Monday, 21 December 2009 15:54 (fifteen years ago)

a little from column a, a little from column b

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 21 December 2009 17:09 (fifteen years ago)

man season five is some bullshit

― =皿= (dyao), Sunday, 27 December 2009 17:14 (fifteen years ago)

I've just been called in to see McNulty as Scrooge's nephew in this afternoon's christmas film

― Ismael Klata, Sunday, 27 December 2009 17:18 (fifteen years ago)

― Bea Arthur - Lost COmic GEnius ? (dubplatestyle), Saturday, June 24, 2006 11:54 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark

this is very OTM

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 28 December 2009 08:02 (fifteen years ago)

yeah as soon as the show became "important" I started to see faults that didn't bother me the first time watching it, because back then I was comparing it to other cop shows on TV at the time, instead of thinking of it as The Best Show Ever Made.

― richie aprile (rockapads), Monday, 28 December 2009 08:45 (fifteen years ago)

How much of this is because you were watching it a second time though?

― sarahel, Monday, 28 December 2009 08:47 (fifteen years ago)

man season five is some bullshit

The last third of it is good.

― real bears playing hockey (polyphonic), Monday, 28 December 2009 08:51 (fifteen years ago)

I hope! burned through the first 6 eps yesterday, have the last 4 for tonight. the show's getting to be a bit too moralistic - like the plot devices/set-ups exist now only to prove some larger 'insight' about How The World Works which is alright I guess but not as good as the previous seasons

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 28 December 2009 09:04 (fifteen years ago)

also Przybo as a public school teacher is probably the most OTM casting I have ever seen in all of my experience watching TV and movies

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 28 December 2009 09:04 (fifteen years ago)

maybe it's just cause I didn't see enough of him in season 4...but his english accent is really peeking through in season 5

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 28 December 2009 09:46 (fifteen years ago)

This is very OTM.

In short The Wire is a comparatively very realistic show, but realism is not and probably shouldn't be an end in itself. It's like when so many people complain about Hamsterdam and Serial Killers, as if it breached some sort of sacred code. It's a show, and as so addresses certain issues by playing out scenarios, certainly more true to life and usual to CSI, but when you start treating it as a documentary you're bound to be disappointed, which probably isn't worth it.

― EDB, Monday, 28 December 2009 14:34 (fifteen years ago)

People like to forget that this is a ultimately a TV show, and that for TV conventions to appear on a TV show isn't sacrilege. I don't think it necessarily aspires to go beyond TV showdom, it just does it better than most anything else.

― EDB, Monday, 28 December 2009 14:36 (fifteen years ago)

The realism thing is a bit of a red herring, yeah. The characters and institutions generally behave in realistic (or at least convincing) ways, but the dialogue and acting is definitely stylised. It's not a Ken Loach film.

― Communi-Bear Silo State (chap), Monday, 28 December 2009 14:48 (fifteen years ago)

i always thought "just like real life" as pertaining to the wire meant "there's a lot of black people on this show"

― lazy cold meat and chocolate seasonal mentality (forksclovetofu), Monday, 28 December 2009 14:49 (fifteen years ago)

BTW earlier tonight one of the girls said I reminded her of C who is another youth worker. I asked why and she shrugged, "Well, you're both white. You all sort of look the same to me." lol.
this happens to me at work all the time too. i am lolwhite it's true, but it has happened at least once a semester.

a couple of my students have watched the wire (comm. coll. students) and i always want to talk about it with them, but we really don't have time for that, what with class to conduct and all.

also wire best show ever etc

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Monday, 28 December 2009 15:04 (fifteen years ago)

yeah there's a big difference betwen realism-cum-literary device and realism-cum-realism. people often mistake the former for the latter

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 28 December 2009 15:11 (fifteen years ago)

btw that was dubplatestyles post not mine! anyways I certAinly don't walk around with a bunch of " my dick is small so what!" ripostes ready to unleash at the drop of a dime

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 28 December 2009 15:13 (fifteen years ago)

man season five is some bullshit
― =皿= (dyao), Sunday, December 27, 2009 5:14 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Not going to say this is wrong, because everyone has their own take on each of the seasons but I have to admit that I was far more engaged in season 5 than I was in 3 or 4 (despite them being very very good) because of my work in print. I knew exactly where Simon was coming from in that season though I can understand why most people wouldn't find it as interesting.

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 28 December 2009 15:39 (fifteen years ago)

My problem with the newsroom element of S5 was not that it wasn't interesting. It's that it was heavy-handed, among other things. No problem with newsroom drama, or even stuff about the business/politics of publishing, in principle.

― caek, Monday, 28 December 2009 16:25 (fifteen years ago)

That's exactly it. I'm a media advisor, and most of my friend are reporters, but Season Five is the very definition of heavy-handed.

― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:26 (fifteen years ago)

Rewatching season 5, I, much of the time, didn't feel much other than aggravation, especially already knowing that Scott is an asshole, etc.

― EDB, Monday, 28 December 2009 16:31 (fifteen years ago)

I said waaaay upthread that David Simon's cynicism had started to curdle his sensibilities; the last few episodes are one long, attenuated take on that Simpsons thing about an old man shouting at a cloud.

― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:32 (fifteen years ago)

yeah i probably said this somewhere upthread, but as soon as they introduced the fabricating-reporter angle it was eyerolling time. not that that doesn't happen, obviously it does, but of the many problems with american journalism that one ranks pretty low. it mostly doesn't happen, and when it does, it mostly is not in any particularly important way. (even something like the jayson blair case didn't really have much substantive impact, he didn't affect the outcome or general perception of any major issue.) that combined with mcnulty's loopy fake-serial-killer thing just made the whole season a lot less sophisticated than, say, the take on the school system in season 4.

― hellzapoppa (tipsy mothra), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:33 (fifteen years ago)

i loved season 5--none of it feels cynical or heavy handed to me.

it mostly doesn't happen, and when it does, it mostly is not in any particularly important way.

you really think newspapers publishing lies isn't important?

― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:36 (fifteen years ago)

if it's making up stuff about local events (as opposed to like, wmds) it's not that important imo
season 5 was stupid

― welcome to gudbergur (harbl), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:38 (fifteen years ago)

you're stupid

― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:40 (fifteen years ago)

;)

― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:40 (fifteen years ago)

: D

― welcome to gudbergur (harbl), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:40 (fifteen years ago)

if it's making up stuff about local events (as opposed to like, wmds) it's not that important imo

otm. it was just a cheap plot device, and one that didn't have much to do with the actual problems of american journalism. the equivalent would be if season 4 had had some big plot line about sex between a student and a teacher.

― hellzapoppa (tipsy mothra), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:47 (fifteen years ago)

the whole show was about Baltimore, though, and if had been a fake story about a larger, national issue, I think it would come off as cheap. faking stories, no matter what level they are on, is an Actual Problem of American Journalism

― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:49 (fifteen years ago)

it did come off as cheap! the baltimore sun *is* a terrible paper though, so in that respect i thought it was realistic

― welcome to gudbergur (harbl), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:50 (fifteen years ago)

you're cheap

― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:50 (fifteen years ago)

i didnt read it as a "faking stories" thing anyway--it was more about the way the editorial heavies leaned on the newsroom to produce 'dickensian' content, bait the pulitzer, & so forth

― max, Monday, 28 December 2009 16:50 (fifteen years ago)

yup

― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:50 (fifteen years ago)

faking stories, no matter what level they are on, is an Actual Problem of American Journalism

it isn't, really. i mean, it just doesn't happen enough to waste a lot of time worrying about. there are much bigger, more important structural problems and biases, including the kind of corporate dickishness max is talking about and that was well represented in the season. but adding the fabricating-reporter angle (and especially giving him a pulitzer) was just hollywood-level clunky, in a series that was mostly distinguished by avoiding that kind of obviousness.

― hellzapoppa (tipsy mothra), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:56 (fifteen years ago)

it might not happen "a lot" but the fact that it happens at all is pretty fucked up

― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Monday, 28 December 2009 16:59 (fifteen years ago)

I fabricate my posts on ilx all the time

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 28 December 2009 17:04 (fifteen years ago)

xpost sure, but it's kind of like acting as if drug-addicted doctors were a major factor in the problems of the american health care industry. everybody knows there are drug addicted doctors and ok that's a problem, but it's really sort of irrelevant to the big picture of american health care.

and david simon knows better, is the point. he knows enough to have done a much more sophisticated critique, and he took an easy route. (i did like other parts of the newsroom stuff, especially gus and the way he was treated by his horrible bosses. that felt pretty true to life.)

― hellzapoppa (tipsy mothra), Monday, 28 December 2009 17:05 (fifteen years ago)

just finished it. lol at gov carcetti. I wonder how many standins Simon has in the series upon a rewatch; gus seemed like one to me

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 28 December 2009 17:06 (fifteen years ago)

leaving season 5 aside, it seemed like simon identified with mcnulty but had some kind of aspirational relationship with omar.

― horseshoe, Monday, 28 December 2009 17:09 (fifteen years ago)

season 5 was pretty bad imo. it's the only season i didn't buy, and i probably won't ever bother buying it. very much agree with you, tipsy, about the drug-addicted doctor analogy. it's like, obviously this is a bad thing, but it isn't like it is so widespread that our system is broken because of it. there are built in checks and balances, which the show demonstrates.

i would have preferred to see a corporate 'conflict of interest' angle, or maybe a political press corp toady-who-doesn't-want-to-lose-access angle, but i guess it would have been tough to cram into a show about Baltimore cops.

― richie aprile (rockapads), Monday, 28 December 2009 17:17 (fifteen years ago)

Obviously S5 was a bit heavy-handed on the topic of journalism, sure...won't deny that at all...but despite that I still can't condemn it like some of you seem to want to. Maybe some of the heavy-handedness on this was because Simon was too close to the topic? Either way I'd rather have a heavy-handed take on this and be sure that the message got out than having it appear as a more nuanced thing and have some people miss the real point of it. Maybe there was a better balance that would have kept everyone happy though.

BTW, strenuously disagree with the talk above that it doesn't matter as much when it's fabricating stories on local issues. Local issues are often the ones that really screw the most disaffected members of our society right where they live, which is pretty damned important. But ultimately the point is that all "news" should be held to the same standard if people are going to be expected to trust any of it, either local or national, especially when national outlets often rely on local outlets for coverage around the country.

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 28 December 2009 17:34 (fifteen years ago)

(FWIW don't take my defense of Season 5 to mean it's my fave - it's not, but people dismissing it outright is pretty baffling to me.)

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 28 December 2009 17:36 (fifteen years ago)

no you're right it's definitely bad when they make up local stuff, but it's not as much of a systemic problem as the totally inept or nonexistent reporting of local issues you see in the irl baltimore sun, for example. which is way worse.

― welcome to gudbergur (harbl), Monday, 28 December 2009 17:45 (fifteen years ago)

found out that omar's jump is based on a real event. now got a bit more respect for season 5.

also bought The Corner in the sales.

― eagle tears was a popular drink and it still is (a hoy hoy), Monday, 28 December 2009 17:52 (fifteen years ago)

Donnie's jump was even from 2 floors higher.

― Snop Snitchin, Monday, 28 December 2009 18:16 (fifteen years ago)

I think that a lot of the more interesting issues at hand about newspapers - the sharp decline the industry has taken in the 21st century, resulting in a decline of the integrity of journalism, whether it's the quality of what's written/published or of writing/editorial practices - is there but is pushed behind the whole Scott and evil bosses story. The backdrop is more interesting than what's going on in the foreground.

― EDB, Tuesday, 29 December 2009 03:34 (fifteen years ago)

I think the real story of Season 5 is that the Sun didn't post one story about anything that actually mattered in the entire season! They looked out the window and saw that the ghetto was on fire; they didn't know who Prop Joe was; etc.

― real bears playing hockey (polyphonic), Tuesday, 29 December 2009 04:03 (fifteen years ago)

I think the reason that Season 5 feels the weakest - and this is tied in to what others have said - is that it violates the ethos of the rest of the series. It's less about damage done by heavy blows and more about that done by "a thousand tiny cuts." It's the apathy, the bureaucracy, the mediocrity, conventions and routines - rather than gross incompetence or neglicence - the incompetence and neglicence are all routine and seen as "part of the game."

― sarahel, Tuesday, 29 December 2009 04:13 (fifteen years ago)

man marlo's flatness is almost made up for by that final shot standing on the corner in his gold suit, bleeding from his cut

I also love the way he goes 'yeah' under his breath like he's convincing himself that he's the best

― =皿= (dyao), Tuesday, 29 December 2009 06:14 (fifteen years ago)

I called it the last word on the '00s, which I don't think is pushing it:

http://www.vita.mn/story.php?id=80419047

― Pete Scholtes, Saturday, 2 January 2010 23:14 (fifteen years ago)

IRL Wire-type shit:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126213528444809699.html?mod=article-outset-box

(lol @ the ridiculously outdated photos)

― pithfork (Hurting 2), Sunday, 3 January 2010 15:34 (fifteen years ago)

One Los Angeles-area Latino gang, Barrio Hawaiian Gardens

lol, scary sounding

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 4 January 2010 03:54 (fifteen years ago)

feel like a lame for catching onto this so late, but season one was fucking mindblowing, wow. just went out and bought the next two today, and judging from the poll results everyone pretty much agrees the nest three seasons are better? what???? really looking forward to watching

― the bait vs. radrake david (k3vin k.), Monday, 4 January 2010 06:52 (fifteen years ago)

also SPOILER and i'm sure everyone feels the same way but wallace getting shot really fucked me up, that shit is giving me nightmares

― the bait vs. radrake david (k3vin k.), Monday, 4 January 2010 06:54 (fifteen years ago)

Sometimes I actually say to myself "Wallace didn't really die! He's an actor!"

― pithfork (Hurting 2), Monday, 4 January 2010 07:05 (fifteen years ago)

yeah when I first saw it I was like "no way, there's no way they're gonna kill him"

helps prepare you for the rest of the deaths in the show, though

― =皿= (dyao), Monday, 4 January 2010 07:08 (fifteen years ago)

yeah really, i mean i cried like a bitch when it happened but it makes me sad just to think about it

i saw it like 3 days ago tho, i'll get over it

― the bait vs. radrake david (k3vin k.), Monday, 4 January 2010 07:09 (fifteen years ago)

― Communi-Bear Silo State (chap), Monday, December 28, 2009 2:48 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

yes, ken loach's films are so much more realistic. ahahaha.

― the shart of noise (history mayne), Monday, 4 January 2010 09:57 (fifteen years ago)

love this show and all that, but one scene that people seem to really love is omar in court, where he grandstands and says he's basically the same as the lawyer. the line is something like "i have a gun, you have a briefcase."

why do people like this, or agree with it? it would make a bit of sense if omar knew that levy was involved in killing people (which he is iirc? he not-so-tacitly recommends a murder?) but he doesn't know that, does he? levy's a lawyer who acts for criminals.

any road, despite the fact that the writers saw what was happening with the omar cult and had bunk call him on his shit, this scene bugs me.

― the shart of noise (history mayne), Monday, 4 January 2010 16:42 (fifteen years ago)

he's talking about robbing drug dealers. they both leech off them.

― ♖♕♖ (am0n), Monday, 4 January 2010 16:48 (fifteen years ago)

bit of a difference between being paid by drug dealers to represent them in court, and robbing drug dealers at gunpoint.

maybeit would be a better dramatic conflict if the dealer had a court-appointed lawyer (im unfamiliar with the US legal system but i guess you have these?).

― the shart of noise (history mayne), Monday, 4 January 2010 16:52 (fifteen years ago)

if he had a court-appointed lawyer it would make less sense, they don't get money from the defendants. i think you're just taking his zing too literally :/. i mean if they really were the same it wouldn't be that shocking for him to say that.

― jortin shartgent (harbl), Monday, 4 January 2010 16:53 (fifteen years ago)

its implied that he at least knows levy is on the take from that crew. levys not helping him out of the good of his heart. of course there's a difference but theres also a similarity in that they both leech off of them.

― ♖♕♖ (am0n), Monday, 4 January 2010 16:58 (fifteen years ago)

helping them

― ♖♕♖ (am0n), Monday, 4 January 2010 16:58 (fifteen years ago)

and the scene is pretty hamfisted in the way its written, i'll give u that

― ♖♕♖ (am0n), Monday, 4 January 2010 16:59 (fifteen years ago)

It seems like in the world of the show Levy would be known as a somewhat sleazy lawyer who makes his business helping drug dealers in semi-unsavory ways as well as legit legal ways. I agree it's not the show's sharpest point though - if Omar just means it about the kind of lawyer Levy is, it's so obvious that it hardly needs to be said. Levy is already pretty much the most detestable character on the show at point, whereas Omar is practically Robin Hood. There's nothing subversive about suggesting that a sleazy lawyer is sleazy. But if the show is making a comment about criminal defense lawyers in general, then it's a cheap zing and not a very thoughtful commentary.

― pithfork (Hurting 2), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:02 (fifteen years ago)

It made sense to me. They both profit off the drug trade, whether people know it or not. Just as Omar "leeches off the violence of the drug trade" (by robbing them), Levy leeches of it too (maybe it becomes more clear later that Levy is a bit more than a guy that just represents them in court - which in itself is a still a job that is based around keeping violent drug dealers in business, so to speak).

I think a lot of it is made for affect. the face Levy makes, etc. And it ties into the whole idea that develops later about how the money goes everyone, and in some ways, everyone is complicit, so says Lester Freamon at least.

― EDB, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:02 (fifteen years ago)

they have no choice but to pay him if they want to continue doing what they do so it's like extortion, and their money (which they get from selling drugs) goes to him. if people stopped doing crimes he would stop making money. he is therefore a bad man. xposts

― jortin shartgent (harbl), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:02 (fifteen years ago)

it's a valuable zing imo

― jortin shartgent (harbl), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:03 (fifteen years ago)

actually, that part about drug lawyers isn't exactly right...

I should also have read the other messages have been posted part

― EDB, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:04 (fifteen years ago)

oh I meant that part about representing drug dealers being based on keeping violent drug dealers off the street isn't a matter of fact point.

― EDB, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:05 (fifteen years ago)

"your honor, motion to strike omar's zing from the record"
"sustained"

― ♖♕♖ (am0n), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:05 (fifteen years ago)

which in itself is a still a job that is based around keeping violent drug dealers in business, so to speak

ahhh... this is the bit i can't rly get behind. even rapers and pedos get to have legal representation.

i don't mind the scene *that* much, it's just that it crops up regularly in lists of best 'wire' quotes.

― the shart of noise (history mayne), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:07 (fifteen years ago)

it's not an attack on the right to have representation, it's just pointing out that he benefits from crime. which is true of all paid defense lawyers but that doesn't undercut the criticism.

― jortin shartgent (harbl), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:09 (fifteen years ago)

I think the reason people like it is because the "aaaah in your face Levy" element is funny.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:10 (fifteen years ago)

Levy also advises them on ways to launder money, unless I'm mistaken?

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:13 (fifteen years ago)

what is so hard to understand about this

― dome plow (gbx), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:13 (fifteen years ago)

not everyone is as smart as u

― jortin shartgent (harbl), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:13 (fifteen years ago)

well the context is levy is trying to cast aspersions on omar's testimony because he profits off drug dealers and omar's like pfffft, who are you to talk? i agree the scene is kind of hokey but williams sells it.

― horseshoe, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:14 (fifteen years ago)

yeah plus Omar knows that Levy isn't some public defender, but someone kept on retainer by Avon and his crew.

― Roz, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:17 (fifteen years ago)

the wesley snipes in the courtroom scene in new jack city is better imo

― max, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:22 (fifteen years ago)

this is BIGGER than nino brown! this is BIG BUSINESS!!

― max, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:22 (fifteen years ago)

Nino Brown: I'm not guilty. *You're* the one that's guilty. The lawmakers, the politicians, the Columbian drug lords, all you who lobby against making drugs legal. Just like you did with alcohol during the prohibition. You're the one who's guilty. I mean, c'mon, let's kick the ballistics here: Ain't no Uzi's made in Harlem. Not one of us in here owns a poppy field. This thing is bigger than Nino Brown. This is big business. This is the American way.

― max, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:23 (fifteen years ago)

LET'S KICK THE BALLISTICS HERE

― max, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:23 (fifteen years ago)

otm

― ♖♕♖ (am0n), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:25 (fifteen years ago)

ain't no UZIS made in HAAARLEM

― max, Monday, 4 January 2010 17:27 (fifteen years ago)

the director's cut has the lawmakers, politicians and colombian drug lords all put on trial and found guilty.

― ♖♕♖ (am0n), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:34 (fifteen years ago)

LET'S KICK THE BALLISTICS HERE

awesome

― the shart of noise (history mayne), Monday, 4 January 2010 17:49 (fifteen years ago)

the director's cut has the lawmakers, politicians and colombian drug lords all put on trial and found guilty.

― ♖♕♖ (am0n), Monday, January 4, 2010 12:34 PM (38 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

we the jury find the ballistics kicked

― max, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:14 (fifteen years ago)

there was some discussion here a while ago of the chess scene and why it's held as emblematic of how sharp the show is or whatever - with that, and with omar in court, i don't think it's so much that they're considered the best moments of the show, but that they're reasonably rare moments which epitomise what the show's about, that step back and summarise the dynamic of what's going on. they stand out from the text for being fully formed, quotable and standalone, compared to other moments which might be more niftily constructed, but are more specific in what they're dealing with.

maybe applies with chess more than omar in court, i don't know, but i can see why omar leveling the playing field and making broad transcendental comparisons would be popular.

― high-five machine (schlump), Monday, 4 January 2010 18:29 (fifteen years ago)

eh the chess scene is too writerly and on-the-nose

omar-in-court is pretty clearly the writers just letting rip and having fun with a character they love. they do return to it thematically with clay-davis-in-court. the point, i think, is that the courts (or "the system" as a whole) grinds on with its boring mixture of corruption, incompetence and inertia, but every now and again there are moments of really flagrant and charismatic corruption that are a) interesting and b) might even bring about "just" ends in a perverse way.

― goole, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:35 (fifteen years ago)

well yeah - it's fairly rare in the show for someone to have the opportunity to "speak truth to power" - so when it happens, like in that courtroom scene, it's refreshing.

― sarahel, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:39 (fifteen years ago)

^^ argh this is what i mean. he isn't speaking truth to power.

― the shart of noise (history mayne), Monday, 4 January 2010 18:41 (fifteen years ago)

but that's how it's presented in the context of the show!

― sarahel, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:41 (fifteen years ago)

exactly!

― the shart of noise (history mayne), Monday, 4 January 2010 18:42 (fifteen years ago)

the scene and omar himself argue pretty strongly against the possibility of justice.

― goole, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:43 (fifteen years ago)

yeah he is not supposed to be "speaking truth to power" at all! it's just a nihilistic joke

― jortin shartgent (harbl), Monday, 4 January 2010 18:44 (fifteen years ago)

xp - regardless of whether you agree with what he's saying, it is a refreshing moment, in the context of the rest of the show where almost no one directly criticizes those in power or is even given the opportunity to do so, and those that do are punished, while Omar is essentially rewarded.

― sarahel, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:46 (fifteen years ago)

people like that scene/speech for the same reasons we have a zing thread.

― sarahel, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:47 (fifteen years ago)

i shd resmallscreen this but i think mimicking the form of 'speaking truth to power' in order to sucker the jury might have been omar's m.o.

― goole, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:48 (fifteen years ago)

i don't think omar really gave a shit about convincing the jury of anything.

― sarahel, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:48 (fifteen years ago)

Levy isn't "power", he's a bent lawyer on the make.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Monday, 4 January 2010 18:49 (fifteen years ago)

what????

― sarahel, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:49 (fifteen years ago)

yeah i think the scene gets misread as omar "speaking truth to power" when its really more about a specific power struggle between levy and omar in the context of that cross-examination

― max, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:50 (fifteen years ago)

its not like "damn omar u deep i have to think about that" its like "damn omar u just made levy look dum"

― max, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:50 (fifteen years ago)

^^^ OTM.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Monday, 4 January 2010 18:52 (fifteen years ago)

?? that's what he was there to do, put the dude away who tortured and murdered his lover. he did it by lying and being charming and funny.

the jury convicted a guy of murder w/o much evidence, because a star witness was really charismatic. luckily/conveniently the convicted guy really did do the crime it issue, but it's not really a good outcome.

xps

― goole, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:52 (fifteen years ago)

well, i think it's supposed to be a bit of both - but primarily about omar zinging levy.

― sarahel, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:53 (fifteen years ago)

It ties in with a theme that comes up throughout the series: how far are should the "good guys" stretch the truth in order to get the right outcome. See also Kima refusing to ID one of her shooters, McNulty coming up with the serial killer case, etc.

― Moodles, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:58 (fifteen years ago)

people loving the chess scene is basically like people thinking "living a lie" is the best song on the dream's first album. sure, it's really good but there's so much better, less obvious shit that makes the show what it is. writers be latching onto obvious shit shocker

― the bait vs. radrake david (k3vin k.), Monday, 4 January 2010 19:12 (fifteen years ago)

now i can't get "kickin it afroballistic" out of my head

― lazy cold meat and chocolate seasonal mentality (forksclovetofu), Monday, 4 January 2010 19:15 (fifteen years ago)

really want to to be watching new jack city rn

― horseshoe, Monday, 4 January 2010 19:17 (fifteen years ago)

I think the reason people like it is because the "aaaah in your face Levy" element is funny.

yeah, pretty much. I think it's weird that nobody has mentioned how charismatic omar is in this scene. he has a funny suit on, he's playing with his tie, he's reveling in a chance to incriminate sticky fingaz from onyx, etc...

I think that's mostly why people like the scene. that quote is the climax.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 14:36 (fifteen years ago)

Next time I have a speeding ticket: "You got the siren, I got the radar detector"

― pithfork (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 5 January 2010 14:48 (fifteen years ago)

ha, just heard Slaughterhouse quote the "plural of pussy" line in "Microphone"

― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 5 January 2010 21:32 (fifteen years ago)

I know that I should still start a thread and I will once we start watching this at work but thought I'd update since ppl seemed interested.

Things are still good. I am a little overwhelmed as I know have 20 ppl on my caseload. Most of them are young women but I have five guys. All of my girls are either already mothers or currently pregnant. This is an issue I'm trying to work out how to address. Even the ones who are struggling with one or more kids now are reluctant to get on birth control and I can't quite figure out why. It's sort of mystifying and fascinating and infuriating all at once.

I am going to drug court with one of my guys on Friday. He's facing 2.5 years but hopefully it'l be OK because he's doing really well right now. I am actually really invested in this kid already and am hoping with everything I have that things work out in his favor because I really believe he's ready to make a change. We'll see.

Got asked recently if I smoke weed. That was strange because I sat there for a second debating how to answer. The truth is that yes, on ocassion I do smoke weed. These days it's a rare occurrence but I didn't feel right lying so I didn't. I told the kids present the truth but we ended up in a really great discussion about moderation and control and life choices etc. Still . . . weird.

Am also now in charge of the GBLT group which is proving interesting and sort of amazing. We have three guys all under 20 who have all been involved in prostitution and it's just mind blowing to hear their stories.

Yeah, I guess that's it really. I still love it and tbh these young ppl teach me things every day and I can only hope that they're learning 1/2 as much from me as I am from them.

― t(o_o)t (ENBB), Thursday, 14 January 2010 05:15 (fifteen years ago)

kind of impressed with where your life has taken you

― The tendrils INTERTWINE with gentle undulations. (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 14 January 2010 05:30 (fifteen years ago)

Where - to the ghetto? I joke but my favorite participant is a 6 foot four Puerto Rican gay dude who is basically my new bff and has taken it upon myself to school me in ghetto talk/life etc. I've refused his attempts to get me to talk ghetto but the other night I busted out with ghetto speak and sorta blew him away. We bonded. It was good.

― t(o_o)t (ENBB), Thursday, 14 January 2010 05:36 (fifteen years ago)

My wife had a hard time watching season 4 while teaching sp. ed in the bronx

― pithfork (Hurting 2), Thursday, 14 January 2010 05:37 (fifteen years ago)

Was given a book of essays on The Wire for my birthday yesterday. It looks to be an interesting read, but these things can go either way.

― Freddy 'The Wonder Chicken' (Gukbe), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:43 (fifteen years ago)

you want it to be one way

― The tendrils INTERTWINE with gentle undulations. (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:46 (fifteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

OT but the complete series of Homicide on DVD is on sale at Amazon for $65

http://www.amazon.com/Homicide-Life-Street-Complete-repackaged/dp/B002BLNGTS/ref=sr_1_47?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1264717071&sr=1-47

― musically, Thursday, 28 January 2010 22:23 (fifteen years ago)

damn, that is seriously tempting.
i think that's the first thing i'm buying once i get a new job

― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 28 January 2010 22:31 (fifteen years ago)

after drugs.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 29 January 2010 00:06 (fifteen years ago)

yeah, of course.

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 29 January 2010 00:17 (fifteen years ago)

> eh the chess scene is too writerly and on-the-nose

Rewatching season 1 recently I noticed a speed chess game being played (in the background, out of focus) when Stringer is advising D how to find out who the leak in his crew is. I slapped myself kinda hard.

― The Love Song of J Alfred Pluot (Oilyrags), Friday, 29 January 2010 00:30 (fifteen years ago)

Was given a book of essays on The Wire for my birthday yesterday. It looks to be an interesting read, but these things can go either way.

― Freddy 'The Wonder Chicken' (Gukbe), Thursday, January 14, 2010 3:43 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

you want it to be one way

― The tendrils INTERTWINE with gentle undulations. (forksclovetofu), Thursday, January 14, 2010 3:46 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark

somehow that never gets old

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 29 January 2010 01:24 (fifteen years ago)

maybe that is because it is a ~buddhist truth~

― his power told him (about the fish) (gbx), Friday, 29 January 2010 01:25 (fifteen years ago)

did you ever think of THAT, hoos

DID U

― his power told him (about the fish) (gbx), Friday, 29 January 2010 01:25 (fifteen years ago)

Is it the one with "urban decay" in the title?

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 01:37 (fifteen years ago)

guy

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 29 January 2010 01:55 (fifteen years ago)

never really understood the appeal of "you want it to be one way" -- such a flat, uninspired line to be one of the show's signature catchphrases imo

― some dude, Friday, 29 January 2010 01:57 (fifteen years ago)

it's just kinda ice cold

― ('_') (omar little), Friday, 29 January 2010 01:59 (fifteen years ago)

i guess, but even as far as ice cold gangster shit there's much better stuff from the show you could quote

― some dude, Friday, 29 January 2010 02:01 (fifteen years ago)

I disagree

― you want it to be some dude, but it's the other dude (dyao), Friday, 29 January 2010 02:09 (fifteen years ago)

it's just kinda ice cold

OTM. I should use it at work every day. Cuts through reams of crap.

― Jblujlama (ljubljana), Friday, 29 January 2010 02:11 (fifteen years ago)

I just finished reading this:
http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51Y1wL1LyfL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU15_.jpg

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 04:41 (fifteen years ago)

i think the "you want it to be one way" is so flat, so 4chan, so utterly boneheaded that it fits well on the corner or the boardroom. I could totally have seen it being a line that caught on during the banker apology tour. From either side!

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 29 January 2010 06:35 (fifteen years ago)

oh brother

― Heisenberg (rockapads), Friday, 29 January 2010 06:44 (fifteen years ago)

i dunno - i think it's like that quote from The Departed that everyone likes (including me) - "I'm the guy that does his job, you must be the other guy."

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 06:47 (fifteen years ago)

re-reading your take on the line, forks, I can't tell if you're saying you like or dislike it, but I don't get the 4chan reference at all.

I like how matter-of-fact it is, and coming from a menacing dude adds another layer. Definitely wouldn't sound cool coming out of a banker's mouth, though.

― Heisenberg (rockapads), Friday, 29 January 2010 06:56 (fifteen years ago)

maybe it would to other bankers?

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 06:59 (fifteen years ago)

could be

― Heisenberg (rockapads), Friday, 29 January 2010 06:59 (fifteen years ago)

i'm not really a fan or a non-fan of that line. It seems right for Marlo.
4chan ref is to the inexplicability, vague non sequitur, brutally inarguable qualities of "Yeah, but no."

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 29 January 2010 07:06 (fifteen years ago)

just watched the scene again, some dude OTM

― smashing aspirant (milo z), Friday, 29 January 2010 07:07 (fifteen years ago)

xp - it's hardmanesque.

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 07:08 (fifteen years ago)

I like the line cause it fits marlo's character at the point of being a paper gangster- like he wants to really come up with some awesome riposte to the security guard but he can only come up with that. so then he just has him killed instead. and then of course marlo's actions afterwards gives the line much more weight than it otherwise would have. like sarahel says, it's hardmanesque

― you want it to be some dude, but it's the other dude (dyao), Friday, 29 January 2010 07:36 (fifteen years ago)

I mean it doesn't even make sense cause why are there only two ways - but whatevs, I say it in my head to everyone now

― you want it to be some dude, but it's the other dude (dyao), Friday, 29 January 2010 07:39 (fifteen years ago)

i like it a lot better than "you cant always get what you want"

― max, Friday, 29 January 2010 13:42 (fifteen years ago)

dyao's take is pretty otm, although i still think that makes it weird that people like to quote it, since it has none of that weight without context. also the difference with the Departed quote is that line actually has some snap to it.

― some dude, Friday, 29 January 2010 14:08 (fifteen years ago)

that's the one i'm reading sarahel.

xposts

― Freddy 'The Wonder Chicken' (Gukbe), Friday, 29 January 2010 14:09 (fifteen years ago)

It's his reaction to getting schooled in the poker game by the older dudes.

It's also all about contrasting Omar with Marlo. When Omar sticks up the gangsters' poker game later he's dropping great lines the whole time "these four-fives beat a full house", "money ain't got no owners only spenders" and "you got me confused with a man who repeats himself"... Marlo bullies a working man and his philosophy and language have no finesse, no depth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=409Pjtq7jzY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWbq-WgE6yo

― Brio, Friday, 29 January 2010 16:01 (fifteen years ago)

And he repeats himself.

― Brio, Friday, 29 January 2010 16:03 (fifteen years ago)

One of the essays in the book is about the contrast between the familiar, almost feudal mode of organization of the Barksdales and the dockworkers vs. the monetary global capitalism represented by the Greeks and Stringer. But it seemed like Marlo's organization isn't either of these things - it's closer to a Fascist state, and I'd kinda hoped that the essay would draw historical parallels with Capitalism and the rise of Fascism, but no dice. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations?

The essays do come from a variety of disciplines, which is interesting - though there's a lot less in depth textual analysis than I had hoped/wanted.

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 16:11 (fifteen years ago)

brio otm
ship, i think what people like about that line is that it mirrors their own sense of "gotta be a big fish among little fish" casual brutality. It's a helpless, hopeless, artless sort of thing to say; what is meant to pass for wisdom among warriors. as is too often the case, what we're supposed to take as a warning becomes chic.

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 29 January 2010 16:26 (fifteen years ago)

when cultural studies professors attack... how in the name of all that is holy are the dockworkers feudal? (or indeed the barksdales?) gangsters have often been metaphors for the onward march of capitalism n e way.

what kind of parallel do you think should be drawn between the bmore drug trade and the rise of fascism?

― free the charmless but occasionally brilliant Dom Passantino (history mayne), Friday, 29 January 2010 16:34 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feLqz1udhtY&feature=player_embedded
(ripped off from the hitler ranting thread)

― Brio, Friday, 29 January 2010 16:37 (fifteen years ago)

i dont know about feudal but its hard not to see how the dockworkers and avon represent an "older" sort of organization/lifestyle--an economy predicated on "honor" or something--vs. the greeks and stringer who are dyed-in-the-wool free-marketeers

― max, Friday, 29 January 2010 16:47 (fifteen years ago)

yep. i think the show effectively undermines that, the kid visiting his dad in jail, and one of the kids herc and carver pick up, saying: we're always being told it gets worse and worse.

coz the new breed of more ruthless and more capitalist gangster is a pretty old idea. it's even in the godfather, really, with the refusal to move drugs. but the claim that the old way os honourable is usually bs -- either way, if you're going to do that, be more specific and don't use "feudal".

― free the charmless but occasionally brilliant Dom Passantino (history mayne), Friday, 29 January 2010 16:50 (fifteen years ago)

"paternal" then

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 29 January 2010 16:55 (fifteen years ago)

the essay used the term "feudal" - in the sense that their operations were based on territory - they lived off the land in a certain respect. Different locals and different drug gangs had their own fiefdoms, and there was a status hierarchy that wasn't dissimilar. It was contrasted to Stringer and the Greeks that weren't concerned with territory, but with money. It uses the conflict between Avon and Stringer in Season 3, where Avon wants his corners and Stringer just wants to make money wholesaling as an example of the difference between these approaches.

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 16:56 (fifteen years ago)

probably better just to talk about different ways of doing business, slightly newer version of capitalism vs slightly older. it's a realist drama and trying to make the different sides represent massive historical epochs seems kind of dumm to me.

the greeks are wholesalers, im not sure how their operation works, but it doesn't involve territory. dealing drugs -- retail -- does. we never see how the greeks relate to other wholesalers, but id guess that irl there are territorial disputes from time to time.

similarly, avon and stringer are disputing what the nature of their business should be. wholesaling vs retail is hardly the same as capitalist vs feudal. and iirc rival wholesalers to come into play, right? from ny?

― free the charmless but occasionally brilliant Dom Passantino (history mayne), Friday, 29 January 2010 17:02 (fifteen years ago)

i was gonna say - maybe early vs. late capitalism would be a better comparison, but I don't think it's "dumm" to look at the conditions that led to the rise and success of Marlo's organization and compare them to the historical conditions that led to the rise of Fascism. Why is that "dumm"? Obviously, if there isn't any interesting connection to make then it would be "dumm" to write an essay about it, but considering the show deals with issues of economic theory and models, I don't think it's far-fetched to think about Marlo in terms of historical Fascism.

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 17:09 (fifteen years ago)

X-posts
Yeah, I think The Wire intentionally messes with the Godfather-style gangster "new breed" progression. Marlo isn't exactly a more capitalist gangster, or even neccessarily more ruthless than Stringer or the Greeks. He's not a refinement of free-marketeering, he's just a child and a narcissist. He's what's left to fill the vacuum when the free-marketeers destroy their own best and brightest. Maybe some echoes of the rise of fascism in that...

― Brio, Friday, 29 January 2010 17:11 (fifteen years ago)

And maybe it's a bit of a stretch to compare it to the rise of fascism - but there's definitely an exploration of what happens when people begin to let the ends justify the means going on in The Wire, especially in Season 5 Carcetti and McNulty plotlines.

But that's probably a lot more about Bush-era USA than the rise of Fascism.

― Brio, Friday, 29 January 2010 17:16 (fifteen years ago)

i just think it's a meaningless parallel -- literally no idea what you could even mean by it. the show is about aspects of contemporary reality. the dockworkers are relics of a phase of american history, but nothing as grand as "early capitalism". they're part of pre-1970s industrial america (corporatist?) and are trying to cling on to the rights they had back then.

on how marlo's rise parallels fascism -- again, what?

xpost

― free the charmless but occasionally brilliant Dom Passantino (history mayne), Friday, 29 January 2010 17:16 (fifteen years ago)

I guess the connections to Fascism that I was thinking of were:

the demand for unquestioning loyalty (e.g. Michael not allowed to question decisions, the guy getting killed for possibly calling Marlo a "cocksucker")
the lack of respect for tradition/history and basic human dignity (the fact that the bodies are put in boarded up houses and not allowed traditional funereal rites)
ruthlessness

that's just off the top of my head

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 17:18 (fifteen years ago)

you have avon's cookouts and the importance of family (as limned in the very first episode), alongside the union "brothers" - both of these kinds of organization feel like - and are portrayed as - remnants of another era in contrast with everybody else (especially the police dept which is a kind of unionless dystopia where management ramrods everyone)

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 29 January 2010 17:19 (fifteen years ago)

the lack of respect for tradition/history

in theory, the fascists were all about this.

ruthlessness is usually a capitalist thing -- a lot of fascist rhetoric was against new-model big-business capitalism. modern fascists would decry the rise of superstores pushing out local small shops.

xpost

agree with tracer -- obviously the show contrasts how these groups work. i just don't see (the need for) unhelpful historical parallels.

― free the charmless but occasionally brilliant Dom Passantino (history mayne), Friday, 29 January 2010 17:20 (fifteen years ago)

I guess I was thinking about Italian futurism that supported the rise of fascism initially when I thought about the lack of respect for tradition/history. And it isn't like Marlo is a pure capitalist - he wants his corners, just like Avon did. He valued the traditional notions of territory, and the warrior/soldier mentality.

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 17:25 (fifteen years ago)

no-one is a pure capitalist! as i say, there will always be territory, and always the need to defend it. idk, i think you're overthinking it tbqh. there was some odd dialectic in fascism between futurism and invented-traditionalism, but i think its appeal rested quite heavily on the latter -- and this is all a long long way from 'the wire' on HBO.

i do think some gangster fiction does tell us how power operates -- 'the godfather' especially -- in a thomas hobbes kind of way. not really feelin these direct analogies tho.

― free the charmless but occasionally brilliant Dom Passantino (history mayne), Friday, 29 January 2010 17:32 (fifteen years ago)

Well, Stringer sorta tries to operate purely on capitalist principles. Maybe fascism is the wrong analogy to draw with Marlo's operation, but it is different from that of Avon, Stringer, and Prop Joe. When I read that essay, I just wanted it to speak to the rise of Marlo, or how the Greeks could survive/function operating on monetarist principles (again the language of the essay, not necessarily mine), whereas Stringer couldn't.

― sarahel, Friday, 29 January 2010 17:37 (fifteen years ago)

marlo should have just said "it is what it is"

― original bgm, Friday, 29 January 2010 21:29 (fifteen years ago)

was this posted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I-jYV1KHiw&feature=player_embedded

― average gangsta rap from average gangstas (deej), Monday, 1 February 2010 04:15 (fifteen years ago)

wth was that drink?! and i thought he was about to order a natty boh

― kicker conspiracy (b. favre ha ha) (daria-g), Monday, 1 February 2010 04:34 (fifteen years ago)

she has the greatest laugh...also half waiting for Chris to come along & pop Tony in the back of the head.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 1 February 2010 04:40 (fifteen years ago)

yeah bourdain... your hair look real good

― forksclovetofu, Monday, 1 February 2010 06:07 (fifteen years ago)

two months pass...

have you guys seen the crappy news?

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 1 April 2010 22:57 (fifteen years ago)

probably not a hoax :(

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 1 April 2010 22:57 (fifteen years ago)

discussed on treme thread btw

― drink more beer and the doctor is a heghog (gbx), Thursday, 1 April 2010 23:10 (fifteen years ago)

oh wow - i'd never even noticed that thread!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 1 April 2010 23:52 (fifteen years ago)

Watching season 3, and there is mention of hotspots for drug traffic, one of which is North and Pulaski, so I pulled it up:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=north+and+pulaski+baltimore&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=W+North+Ave+%26+N+Pulaski+St,+Baltimore,+MD+21217&gl=us&ei=qKDCS4rMJMiAnwezm-SuCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ8gEwAA

― a modest crowd, not jammed (Eazy), Monday, 12 April 2010 04:28 (fifteen years ago)

― harbl, Monday, 12 April 2010 10:33 (fifteen years ago)

if you do street view does it become the cornerstore where spoiler they tried to frame omar at?

― fuck in rainbows, ☔ (dyao), Monday, 12 April 2010 13:25 (fifteen years ago)

― harbl, Monday, 12 April 2010 19:27 (fifteen years ago)

Do I need to get hold of the Homicide: Life on the Streets and The Corner DVDs as a huge Wire fan? As much as I loved watching multiple times in 2009, I do feel like I'm kind of *over* it though, and ready to explore other things.

― Davek (davek_00), Monday, 12 April 2010 20:36 (fifteen years ago)

I'd rent them, not buy them.

― no turkey unless it's a club sandwich (polyphonic), Monday, 12 April 2010 20:54 (fifteen years ago)

Better to get Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets (Simon's book on which the tv show is based) instead (from the library, natch).

― Daleks in NYC (Leee), Monday, 12 April 2010 23:10 (fifteen years ago)

book rules

― GREAT JOB Mushroom head (gbx), Monday, 12 April 2010 23:22 (fifteen years ago)

what a fool I am, I paid for both it and the Corner from a bookshop

― but i'm also listening to all the songs on the fame monster, not just the (sic), Monday, 12 April 2010 23:36 (fifteen years ago)

I got the Corner from the library but ooooooh I hate it when writers transcript/write in slang. preventing me from reading a lot of good books I think (richard price's clockers is another example.)

― fuck in rainbows, ☔ (dyao), Monday, 12 April 2010 23:55 (fifteen years ago)

HA! me too.

― harbl, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 00:11 (fifteen years ago)

clockers, i mean. couldn't read it.

― harbl, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 00:11 (fifteen years ago)

well that and i have problems with fiction about crime? not sure. i liked homicide though.

― harbl, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 00:12 (fifteen years ago)

Clockers was great, but I had trouble with the written slang in the Pelecanos book I read.

btw has anyone watched Intelligence? netflix suggested it to fans of The Wire. not really seeing a lot of parallel right now, other than being pretty well written and about law enforcement surveillance.

― richie aprile (rockapads), Tuesday, 13 April 2010 02:04 (fifteen years ago)

I've only read one Pelecanos, but had so little trouble with it that I went and bought three more afterwards

― but i'm also listening to all the songs on the fame monster, not just the (sic), Tuesday, 13 April 2010 02:32 (fifteen years ago)

i read pelecanos for sentimental reasons and cringe quite a bit tbh, and for more reasons than dialogue. like his work on the wire though. clockers is another league; price's ear's a treasure.

― W i l l, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 15:32 (fifteen years ago)

― Davek (davek_00), Monday, April 12, 2010 9:36 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

'corner' is kind of depressing/worthy... didn't like it

'homicide' -- early seasons are aight but imo its rep is overinflated. the ensemble is great, and it has some indelible characters, but most of the crimes are standard-ish tv show stuff. very little of it is about the drug wars etc.

― Big Fate (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner) (history mayne), Tuesday, 13 April 2010 15:35 (fifteen years ago)

d simon's book is dope tho

― Big Fate (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner) (history mayne), Tuesday, 13 April 2010 15:35 (fifteen years ago)

yeah, I'm currently going through homicide (the show) and have to agree with this. just got through what I'm hoping is the last of a couple eps in a row of "killer of the week" type scenarios. I'm enjoying it but the wire is in a totally different league.

still, I imagine it was pretty unique for its time and the cast is great.

as an aside, man, it is so 90s. the music montages (candlebox! counting crows!), the shaky cam, the editing in general, gritty serial killer plots.

the book is v. much worth a read.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 17:10 (fifteen years ago)

A lot of hype about Homicide is that you have to place it in its context, when the show was on there weren't that many shows on the air that actually was doing these procedurals with ongoing character development. Like what did you have, Hill Street Blues and the various Star Trek series? It was great for the time but it doesn't hold up that well. Lotta good TV actors popped up in it, though.

The Corner is depressing, but what do you expect, it's actually based on real people and events. It's kind of like a beta version of The Wire that focuses only on one family, I'd say it's worth it.

― Nhex, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 18:53 (fifteen years ago)

homicide worth it for the performances alone, it's pretty cheap these days too

― etrian odysseus (cozen), Tuesday, 13 April 2010 19:06 (fifteen years ago)

Ah thank you for the recommendations folks. Was curious to ask because at my university a professor did this fantastic talk on The Wire, mostly focusing on the way each group of characters uses media and technology. She said she adored Homicide too, this was the issue. What can I say, I am impressionable. I think I'm going to give Battlestar a spin next though.

― Davek (davek_00), Tuesday, 13 April 2010 19:21 (fifteen years ago)

I got the Corner from the library but ooooooh I hate it when writers transcript/write in slang.

― fuck in rainbows, ☔ (dyao), Monday, April 12, 2010 7:55 PM

do u mean the way in which they transcribe slang or just all writing in slang in general

― ☀ ☃ (am0n), Tuesday, 13 April 2010 19:28 (fifteen years ago)

just in general I guess

― fuck in rainbows, ☔ (dyao), Wednesday, 14 April 2010 00:26 (fifteen years ago)

i don't see how it can be avoided

― ☀ ☃ (am0n), Wednesday, 14 April 2010 01:10 (fifteen years ago)

yeah, maybe I would like these books better if they were audiobooks voiced by actors from the wire

― fuck in rainbows, ☔ (dyao), Wednesday, 14 April 2010 01:13 (fifteen years ago)

the fakeness of it is usually distracting to me

― harbl, Wednesday, 14 April 2010 01:14 (fifteen years ago)

sort of inherent fakeness though

― harbl, Wednesday, 14 April 2010 01:14 (fifteen years ago)

damn totally disappointed to find out the mcnulty actor was british :(

― I Love Milf (k3vin k.), Friday, 16 April 2010 04:48 (fifteen years ago)

why

― jabba hands, Friday, 16 April 2010 04:54 (fifteen years ago)

don't tell him about the stringer actor

― it's all abt groups, like i was saying in the jerk thread a few days ago (sic), Friday, 16 April 2010 05:20 (fifteen years ago)

i think i was disappointed too iirc just cause the dude seemed like this archetypical american badass and to find out he was the creation of a brit makes him seem even more fictional and further removed from the reality you'd hope a real mcnulty-on-his-good-days style dude might inhabit

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 16 April 2010 05:26 (fifteen years ago)

aw i don't really see why that would make you like the character less, it's acting

mcnulty was always one of the cornier/more obviously written characters for me anyway so :-/

― jabba hands, Friday, 16 April 2010 05:36 (fifteen years ago)

― dar1a g (daria g), Wednesday, January 10, 2007 11:05 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark

lol

― jabba hands, Friday, 16 April 2010 05:44 (fifteen years ago)

fuck, stringer too?

― I Love Milf (k3vin k.), Friday, 16 April 2010 19:36 (fifteen years ago)

carcetti's Irish, right?
Bunk is from Japan iirc.

― tylerw, Friday, 16 April 2010 19:37 (fifteen years ago)

"idris elba" ;__________;

― I Love Milf (k3vin k.), Friday, 16 April 2010 19:38 (fifteen years ago)

what do you have against brits

― etrian odysseus (cozen), Friday, 16 April 2010 19:48 (fifteen years ago)

rewatching it recently, mcnulty stood out as a brit ... but Stringer, even though I knew he was British, I didn't really think about it too much.

― tylerw, Friday, 16 April 2010 19:51 (fifteen years ago)

yeah once you know mcnulty is welsh(right?) it's impossible to ignore, his accent slips. idris less so

― GREAT JOB Mushroom head (gbx), Friday, 16 April 2010 20:21 (fifteen years ago)

think he's from sheffield... but he went to eton!

like the dude in band of brothers

― Big Fate (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner) (history mayne), Friday, 16 April 2010 20:22 (fifteen years ago)

david schwimmer

― Big Fate (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner) (history mayne), Friday, 16 April 2010 20:22 (fifteen years ago)

and to find out he was the creation of a brit

pretty sure an american writer created mcnutty

― ☀ ☃ (am0n), Friday, 16 April 2010 20:26 (fifteen years ago)

brits > americans so it's not even a big deal

― etrian odysseus (cozen), Friday, 16 April 2010 21:55 (fifteen years ago)

Some of these characters are played by actors! Totally ruinz the show for me. (FYI Lester Freamon is almost a Brit.)

― Daleks in NYC (Leee), Friday, 16 April 2010 22:15 (fifteen years ago)

newsflash Omar is not really gay

― I won't vote for you unless you acknowledge my magic pony (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 16 April 2010 22:19 (fifteen years ago)

Marlo is white.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 16 April 2010 22:22 (fifteen years ago)

Herc is a chick

― in movie 2001 resurrect thread on planet jupiter (Pillbox), Friday, 16 April 2010 22:31 (fifteen years ago)

Daniels is a praying mantis

― joygoat, Friday, 16 April 2010 22:38 (fifteen years ago)

SAWYER IS A MOTHERFUCKING HORSE

― max, Friday, 16 April 2010 23:52 (fifteen years ago)

lmao @ "brits > americans"

― I Love Milf (k3vin k.), Saturday, 17 April 2010 00:14 (fifteen years ago)

how did you find out mcnulty was british? listening to his accent in season 1, episode 1?

― caek, Saturday, 17 April 2010 13:08 (fifteen years ago)

no, i was watching the special features of the season 4 dvd. i lent season 1 to a friend, i'll have to see if i can pick up on it when i rewatch (or in season 5, which i haven't seen)

― mr. que surprise (k3vin k.), Saturday, 17 April 2010 15:11 (fifteen years ago)

you're saying it slips in the pilot?

― mr. que surprise (k3vin k.), Saturday, 17 April 2010 15:11 (fifteen years ago)

once you know he's a brit it becomes pretty obvious. not so with idris elba -- well, i say that, but im a brit, so there are all sorts of non-americans i buy as americans.

mind you i think hugh laurie's american accent is terrible.

― Big Fate (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner) (history mayne), Saturday, 17 April 2010 15:15 (fifteen years ago)

yeah mcnulty is really obvious but stringer sounds almost like a real black american. not one from baltimore though.

― harbl, Saturday, 17 April 2010 15:20 (fifteen years ago)

yeah now that i think of it mcnutty's gruffy vioce kinda reminds me of house's, which is kinda obvious. string was definitely more surprising

― mr. que surprise (k3vin k.), Saturday, 17 April 2010 15:25 (fifteen years ago)

thought joseph fiennes was so effing bad in flashforward i didn't watch past episode one

― Big Fate (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner) (history mayne), Saturday, 17 April 2010 15:26 (fifteen years ago)

oh House is much better at his accent than McNulty

― GREAT JOB Mushroom head (gbx), Saturday, 17 April 2010 15:53 (fifteen years ago)

they all have so much trouble with "R"s even stringer

― max, Saturday, 17 April 2010 16:33 (fifteen years ago)

Something I've often wondered - when you get plummy English characters in US shows, normally butlers and suchlike - are they Americans doing the worst English accents of all time, or are they English journeymen actors hamming it up? And do they sound authentic to US ears? (not the guy from Fresh Prince, he's good)

― Ismael Klata, Saturday, 17 April 2010 16:47 (fifteen years ago)

I think usually the latter, with unusual exceptions (Wesley and Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who were convincing). Feels like we've been getting more British and Australian actors posing as Americans in lead roles every year, so I don't think there's a shortage of foreign actors here.

House's accent is terrible though, really.

― Nhex, Saturday, 17 April 2010 17:00 (fifteen years ago)

spike?!

― etrian odysseus (cozen), Saturday, 17 April 2010 17:08 (fifteen years ago)

this is the worst, but it's not that much of an outlier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg_3ZSeHL4g

― caek, Saturday, 17 April 2010 17:47 (fifteen years ago)

according to wiki, lester freamon is currently in (unbelievably shit uk hospital soap) 'holby city'!?!

― Big Fate (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner) (history mayne), Saturday, 17 April 2010 17:51 (fifteen years ago)

yes, i've seen it with my own eyes.

― caek, Saturday, 17 April 2010 17:53 (fifteen years ago)

Clarke Peters has lived in London since the '70s.

― Daleks in NYC (Leee), Saturday, 17 April 2010 18:45 (fifteen years ago)

bunk is swedish

― ☀ ☃ (am0n), Saturday, 17 April 2010 19:43 (fifteen years ago)

Snoop's hair look good... it look good, girl.

― forksclovetofu, Saturday, 17 April 2010 20:15 (fifteen years ago)

spike?!

― longer lasting, thicker electrons (sic), Sunday, 18 April 2010 03:03 (fifteen years ago)

yeah, i know!

― Nhex, Sunday, 18 April 2010 03:35 (fifteen years ago)

u guys didn't know marsters was from california?

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 18 April 2010 05:53 (fifteen years ago)

Dude even made it onto Torchwood! How many Americans actually make it onto the BBC and fake a British accent? (I actually have no idea)

― Nhex, Sunday, 18 April 2010 07:04 (fifteen years ago)

yeah his "american accent" on torchwood was his real voice iirc

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 18 April 2010 07:25 (fifteen years ago)

no, spike's accent is rotten. I was just surprised nhex held it in regard. he's the proto-mcnulty

― etrian odysseus (cozen), Sunday, 18 April 2010 08:08 (fifteen years ago)

^^ that

― longer lasting, thicker electrons (sic), Sunday, 18 April 2010 09:20 (fifteen years ago)

though it's part of the character's charm for me

― longer lasting, thicker electrons (sic), Sunday, 18 April 2010 09:21 (fifteen years ago)

i didn't know lee adama was british till i'd stopped watching BSG

― Big Fate (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner) (history mayne), Sunday, 18 April 2010 10:48 (fifteen years ago)

oh yeah spike's accent is totally part of his charm

― etrian odysseus (cozen), Sunday, 18 April 2010 11:09 (fifteen years ago)

oh whoa i didnt know lee adama was british either!

― max, Sunday, 18 April 2010 12:47 (fifteen years ago)

whoah!

― GREAT JOB Mushroom head (gbx), Sunday, 18 April 2010 22:06 (fifteen years ago)

brits ruin everything :(

― mr. que surprise (k3vin k.), Sunday, 18 April 2010 22:24 (fifteen years ago)

lmao

― etrian odysseus (cozen), Sunday, 18 April 2010 22:43 (fifteen years ago)

is this british

http://www.escapemtl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/avon_barksdale_story_unwired-500x703.jpg

― am0n, Tuesday, 20 April 2010 14:15 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTe9LHtVp14

― am0n, Tuesday, 20 April 2010 14:18 (fifteen years ago)

sounds like someone's trying to cash in by going straight to walmart

― █▓▒░ 97 people sleep immediately after seeing this video ░▒▓█ (dyao), Tuesday, 20 April 2010 14:21 (fifteen years ago)

In the gritty television drama The Wire, actor Dominic West is the maverick cop who wins female hearts and cracks crime.

― Norway, that's where I'm a viking! (history mayne), Tuesday, 27 April 2010 10:37 (fifteen years ago)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/04/27/article-1269086-0950A8DE000005DC-910_468x699.jpg

i mean how could you not

― max, Tuesday, 27 April 2010 11:22 (fifteen years ago)

LOL @ The Real Avon Barksdale Story

― by another name (amateurist), Tuesday, 27 April 2010 19:43 (fifteen years ago)

one month passes...

the complete box set is $90 in today's amazon gold box deal.

― pokám0n (dyao), Thursday, 3 June 2010 13:38 (fifteen years ago)

Haha I was running over here to post that after I got it in my email. I'm ordering it.

― Yes! Yes! Hammerheads! (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:00 (fifteen years ago)

was going to but the amazon credit card I have on file is expired and apparently there's no way to check for your new expiration date online : /

― pokám0n (dyao), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:04 (fifteen years ago)

I noticed also that there's a 'lightning deal' for the next two hours where the beatles mono box is 150 bucks.

Dude you must have another card you can use!

― Yes! Yes! Hammerheads! (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:12 (fifteen years ago)

lol yeah but I want my amazon reward points

― pokám0n (dyao), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:13 (fifteen years ago)

Why do British people think Hugh Laurie's American accent is so terrible? *I* think it's really excellent.

― the soul of the avocado escapes as soon as you open it (Laurel), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:38 (fifteen years ago)

it's probably just that we (well i) know him entirely for upper-class twit roles and they're hard to shake

feel the same about loads of completely competent accent-doing brit actors (eg rachel weisz), it's semi-irrational

and vice versa with american actors going brit

― truff sqwad (history mayne), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:42 (fifteen years ago)

There are one or two people who do the American accent but certain sounds stick so for a long time they just sound kinda...funny until you pin it down. Like the FBI agent in "Fringe," which I really really like, but she once in a while throws a weird vowel out there and sure enough, she's Australian.

I don't twig that w House at ALL.

― the soul of the avocado escapes as soon as you open it (Laurel), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:44 (fifteen years ago)

Or maybe she's just TOO careful to enunciate some things and it didn't fit with any accent pattern I knew of. I knew she wasn't American, but that was all.

― the soul of the avocado escapes as soon as you open it (Laurel), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:45 (fifteen years ago)

One of the true joys of Wire watching is catching McNutty slipping into Brit for a second.

― Yes! Yes! Hammerheads! (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 3 June 2010 15:47 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah Laurie has just got it. Tom Wilkinson too.

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 3 June 2010 16:39 (fifteen years ago)

i never even knew he was Brit until season 5. i never noticed anything awry at all; even after!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 3 June 2010 17:16 (fifteen years ago)

ah. figures i just bought The Complete Series like a week ago. still got a deal at $100 though. be warned: the packaging is really terrible. the dvd's are poorly secured and end up just floating around. they do come in thin little plastic sleeves, but they don't do much. you might want to invest in a little cd booklet for them.

― circa1916, Thursday, 3 June 2010 17:41 (fifteen years ago)

yeah i heard. if it gets to me in good shape i'ma be pretty careful with it.

― Yes! Yes! Hammerheads! (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 3 June 2010 17:48 (fifteen years ago)

"Why do British people think Hugh Laurie's American accent is so terrible? *I* think it's really excellent."

I'm no Brit, but there is something overly monotone and Batman-gruffy about House Hugh Laurie at least in comparison to Blackadder Hugh Laurie.
There's weirdly similar scenes in House and the Wire where House and McNulty adopt deliberately bad Brit accents for comedy.

― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 3 June 2010 18:01 (fifteen years ago)

this is one of the few "complete series" box sets my wife and I own. totally worth it! a steal, even.

― tylerw, Thursday, 3 June 2010 18:01 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah. The other complete box I wanna own is Twin Peaks. That's about it.

― Yes! Yes! Hammerheads! (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 3 June 2010 18:11 (fifteen years ago)

One of the true joys of Wire watching is catching McNutty slipping into Brit for a second.

oh totally. it was a weird thing for me, once I knew mcnulty was welsh, I couldn't not notice it. but I've known Laurie was English since I was a kid (mom loves BA) and I ~still~ can't hear any slipups with house

tho it really could be that he's doing that flat monotone thing---not a speech therapist but it seems like anunciating in an unusual (for the speaker) way would be easier when you weren't worried about inflection as much

― gbx, Friday, 4 June 2010 04:35 (fifteen years ago)

also laurel otm re that Aussie chick on fringe. obv before I even knew she was Australian---something is just ~wrong~ every now and then

― gbx, Friday, 4 June 2010 04:36 (fifteen years ago)

Exactly the same for me and and agree about Fringe girl too.

― Aqua Backrat (ENBB), Friday, 4 June 2010 04:36 (fifteen years ago)

I hate House's accent.

― Nhex, Friday, 4 June 2010 05:21 (fifteen years ago)

once I knew mcnulty was welsh, I couldn't not notice it.

once I knew McNulty was Uzbekistani, I couldn't NOT notice it! it's so blatantly obvious in his vowel sounds!

― Señor Communications Adviser (sic), Friday, 4 June 2010 06:24 (fifteen years ago)

yeah, West is really posh...Yorkshire, I believe. Eton boys all the sound the same etc...

― Gee, Officer (Gukbe), Friday, 4 June 2010 11:39 (fifteen years ago)

didn't history mayne go to eton?

― cozen, Friday, 4 June 2010 11:43 (fifteen years ago)

http://markgorman.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/cameron-bullingdon-dining-club2_468x420.jpg
2. dcam, 3. history mayne, 8. boris johnson 9. dominic west

― cozen, Friday, 4 June 2010 11:45 (fifteen years ago)

nice shades enrique

― max, Friday, 4 June 2010 14:44 (fifteen years ago)

i remember some interview where laurie said he was very pleasantly surprised that people liked his acting on house since for the first season or two he literally wasn't thinking about anything other than making sure his accent was ok.

in general, american accents ARE more "monotone" than british accents. an american will start a sentence strong and end it weakly, and unemphasized. a britisher will often start weak and then end strong, raising the pitch at the end as well - which can sound more "musical" or whatever.

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Friday, 4 June 2010 15:38 (fifteen years ago)

a microcosm of this phenomenon can be found in the two different ways of pronouncing "singapore"

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Friday, 4 June 2010 15:38 (fifteen years ago)

monotone v girls aloud

― Gee, Officer (Gukbe), Friday, 4 June 2010 16:02 (fifteen years ago)

Oh hey you just reminded me that the German Eurovision winner was a skiffle-beat song and it made me want to listen to Girls Aloud and I've forgotten to until this moment. Thanks!

― the soul of the avocado escapes as soon as you open it (Laurel), Friday, 4 June 2010 16:07 (fifteen years ago)

What are the two different ways of pronouncing Singapore? I can only for the life of me think of one.

― rhythm fixated member (chap), Saturday, 5 June 2010 01:31 (fifteen years ago)

Actually I guess you're talking about SINGapore or SingaPORE. Obviously the latter. Sorry, this has nothing to do with The Wire.

― rhythm fixated member (chap), Saturday, 5 June 2010 01:35 (fifteen years ago)

wtffff, i spent like 200 total on the individual seasons

― fman29.5 (k3vin k.), Saturday, 5 June 2010 01:44 (fifteen years ago)

an american will start a sentence strong and end it weakly, and unemphasized. a britisher will often start weak and then end strong, raising the pitch at the end as well - which can sound more "musical" or whatever.

I.e. Brits speak in iambs, Americans in trochees?

― Daleks in NYC (Leee), Saturday, 5 June 2010 18:08 (fifteen years ago)

tom wilkinson's american accent is ok, but it's not house good. e.g. i hear lots of problems here, and even more when he's acting on camera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjTp3MSh-Vw

maybe this is actually sounds ok to americans because there are americans who talk like this? who slip into british? i've never heard them. although i had never heard a maryland accent until the last 30 rock.

― caek, Saturday, 5 June 2010 22:27 (fifteen years ago)

ok that's not actually as bad as i remember it

― caek, Saturday, 5 June 2010 22:32 (fifteen years ago)

One of the true joys of Wire watching is catching McNutty slipping into Brit for a second.

argh i found this one of the most annoying things about it!

― harbl, Saturday, 5 June 2010 22:32 (fifteen years ago)

ha that's true caek - he says "consyoomed" and "stahted"

my admiration for wilkinson's american accent comes from "in the bedroom" - he played a guy from massachusetts, where there's a lot more leeway there for non-rhotic r's i guess

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 5 June 2010 22:33 (fifteen years ago)

but really it's all about the inflection - you can have all the technical aspects of an accent down right but if you don't emphasize the right things it just doesn't work - i think wilkinson has an ear for the way americans talk

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 5 June 2010 22:34 (fifteen years ago)

chap yeah, there's a million microexamples like that - HOT sauce vs hot SAUCE is one that i notice... and there's the classic sport(s) divide - duh-FENCE vs the basketball chant: "DEE-fense!!"

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 5 June 2010 22:40 (fifteen years ago)

cf Leee

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 5 June 2010 22:42 (fifteen years ago)

did you ever see the what the accents ended up sounding like in life is just a game? i have some great behind the scenes footage of you with mike!

― caek, Saturday, 5 June 2010 23:18 (fifteen years ago)

argh i found this one of the most annoying things about it!

― harbl, Saturday, June 5, 2010 6:32 PM (1 hour ago)

ayo can someone post a clip of mcnulty or stringer falling into british? i've rescreened (/morbs) part of season one since i learned they were lolbritish but can't tell anything?

― fman29.5 (k3vin k.), Saturday, 5 June 2010 23:56 (fifteen years ago)

i don't think he did it in season one, iirc it happens a couple times in season 4 & 5. maybe he got lazy. i don't remember stringer ever falling into british. he is one exception i can think of to my general hatred of actors faking another country's english.
there is a clip here http://thewire-hbo.com/2007/07/22/english-actors-in-the-wire-would-you-have-guessed/

― harbl, Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:02 (fifteen years ago)

oh wait is that one from season 1? haha

― harbl, Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:03 (fifteen years ago)

and i can't believe anyone praises his "baltimore" accent, let alone american

― harbl, Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:04 (fifteen years ago)

oh wow that one is really bad!

― fman29.5 (k3vin k.), Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:08 (fifteen years ago)

West said in one of the DVD commentaries that he couldn't get the Balmer accent down so he just went with a semi-generic American. The only time we hear McNutty talk in Balmer is that one scene in season 5.

― Daleks in NYC (Leee), Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:09 (fifteen years ago)

this is the really bad mcnulty scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg_3ZSeHL4g

i think this is pretty much the worst in all five seasons, but there's usually a problem with every other line.

stringer's is almost perfect though.

― caek, Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:11 (fifteen years ago)

i like this little tidbit:

King Pin Stringer Bell is skilfully played by Hackney actor Idris Elba. According to IMDB, he actually uses his American accent when talking to The Wire fans.

“Wherever I go the real hard-core drug dealers come up to me and confide in me. I almost feel guilty turning around and saying: ‘Ello, mate. My name’s Idris and I’m from London.’ I don’t want to break the illusion.”

― circa1916, Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:12 (fifteen years ago)

an american will start a sentence strong and end it weakly, and unemphasized. a britisher will often start weak and then end strong, raising the pitch at the end as well - which can sound more "musical" or whatever.

as somebody from the west coast of Scotland, a pretty wild accent even for a "Brit", i remember the hilarity my accent caused Californians, not because i started up and went down, but because i went up a down several times throughout a sentence. While they couldn't imitate my vowel sounds or accent they could nail the pitch, wavering so much more than theirs ever would.

McNulty's accent is pretty woeful, although i somehow managed to take a while to work out he was English (in hindsight "snot boogie" tells you all you need to know). Not sure how great Stringer's is. It's consistently american in the way House's is, but i don't know how accurate it is of a black man from inner-city Baltimore (not that the American cast are generally any better for this afaik).

― No disre but maryanne hobbs is peng trust me (jim in glasgow), Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:54 (fifteen years ago)

and knowing hugh laurie has always made me go "ooooh bullshit" over house (not that i've watched more than a couple of episodes, it outlives its premise after about two).

― No disre but maryanne hobbs is peng trust me (jim in glasgow), Sunday, 6 June 2010 00:56 (fifteen years ago)

caek i did not, actually! would love to see.

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 6 June 2010 06:43 (fifteen years ago)

House does not sound American. House sounds like nothing.

― Nhex, Sunday, 6 June 2010 06:49 (fifteen years ago)

xp, i sent you an email.

everyone else: if you ever need someone to teach an american accent to a british actor who can do a really weird al pacino impression, but that's about it, then tracer is your man! : )

― caek, Sunday, 6 June 2010 12:50 (fifteen years ago)

he could also do a frankly amazing walken!! i know that walken is a common party trick but i've never been able to pull it off

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 6 June 2010 12:54 (fifteen years ago)

yeah, the walken was actually really good. there's a few lines of straight up pacino and walken in the final thing, but mostly it's just his weird london/jersey (not new)/rhotacism/american thing. great times : )

― caek, Sunday, 6 June 2010 12:56 (fifteen years ago)

I didn't get the email \(;_;)/

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 6 June 2010 13:14 (fifteen years ago)

ha! i have three or four email addresses for you. i will try one of the others.

― caek, Sunday, 6 June 2010 13:41 (fifteen years ago)

got it!

― The Clegg Effect (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 6 June 2010 16:54 (fifteen years ago)

NY ilxors: This Saturday is your chance to bust a (paintball) cap in Marlo Stanfield's ass - also: Omar, Snoop, Kima & more!

― 5 x 15-second shits, max fart (Pillbox), Wednesday, 9 June 2010 18:45 (fifteen years ago)

rescreened (/morbs)

I can't let this stand. "Rescreened" is (/Alfred).

― jaymc, Wednesday, 9 June 2010 19:36 (fifteen years ago)

Maybe it's just me, but once in a while String sounds almost Cockney.

― Daleks in NYC (Leee), Thursday, 10 June 2010 03:00 (fifteen years ago)

Best written show on television among worst closed-captioned on DVD? Small sampling from Season 4:

"Couldn't smoke out who was pulling the strings." as
"Wouldn't smoke. Guy was pulling the strings."

"I debriefed"
"I had to brief"

"was gutted for political reasons"
"we'll cut it for political reasons"

"Fuck the Bunk"
"Fuck that bunk"

etc.

At least they don't do the West Wing thing of editing all sentences for brevity, but come on.

― Pete Scholtes, Friday, 18 June 2010 18:34 (fifteen years ago)

two months pass...

What did Charlie Brooker make of Season 5?

― The referee was perfect (Chris), Monday, 23 August 2010 13:06 (fifteen years ago)

one month passes...

ha i love that the ilx wire thread got so nerdy we are criticizing the closed-captioning

i'm about to watch the finale. feel like i am going for one last visit before pulling the plug on a beloved family member or something

*gulp*

― welcome back ma$ed god (samosa gibreel), Saturday, 9 October 2010 03:07 (fourteen years ago)

Peace be with you.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 9 October 2010 03:50 (fourteen years ago)

your hair look good, samosa

― bitchmaid (sic), Saturday, 9 October 2010 04:01 (fourteen years ago)

i watched New Jack City on the plane home from NYC a couple days ago, and there are a few exchanges that are almost identical to bits of dialog in The Wire

― sarahel, Saturday, 9 October 2010 08:32 (fourteen years ago)

I've been watching The Wire on the 101 Network on DirecTv. I never caught it on HBO and never saw the dvds.

It just hit me that that the actor who played Wallace also plays Vince Howard on Friday Night Lights. The episode where he came back to the low rises after leaving his grandmom in the sticks was really a punch in the gut.

― I love cinema. My favorite movies are Citizen Kane and the Boondock Saints (KMS), Saturday, 9 October 2010 16:14 (fourteen years ago)

one month passes...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5219462887_b504fd89a4.jpg

― gr8080 of missing ILX (gr8080), Tuesday, 30 November 2010 20:08 (fourteen years ago)

lol

― bows don't kill people, arrows do (Jordan), Tuesday, 30 November 2010 20:16 (fourteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://mightygodking.com/images/ac-wire.jpg

miss u this show

― caek, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 04:24 (fourteen years ago)

think I'm getting all this DVD's for xmas!

― erin brokovich (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 04:27 (fourteen years ago)

caek that grid is cool!

― Square-Panted Sponge Robert (VegemiteGrrrl), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 04:29 (fourteen years ago)

"you want it to be one way. but its the other way" is prob my favorite line from the whole series.

― u aint messin w/ my dengue (gr8080), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 05:00 (fourteen years ago)

Now I want to go back and watch them all again...again

― Square-Panted Sponge Robert (VegemiteGrrrl), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 05:17 (fourteen years ago)

"you want it to be one way. but its the other way" is prob my favorite line from the whole series.
― u aint messin w/ my dengue (gr8080), Tuesday, December 14, 2010 11:00 PM (50 minutes ago) Bookmark

― kanellos (gbx), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 05:51 (fourteen years ago)

it is also a line of deep and abiding truth

― kanellos (gbx), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 05:52 (fourteen years ago)

yeah that's a hot line - i wish i never watched this show so i could watch it again for the first time

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:00 (fourteen years ago)

always thought it was the weakest of catchphrase lines, tbh

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:05 (fourteen years ago)

how is avon neutral and string evil??

― j., Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:10 (fourteen years ago)

Avon has nowhere near the long-range vision and laser focus that String had. Avon just wanted to be the big fish in the pond. String wanted to be the emperor fish of ALL the ponds.

― Square-Panted Sponge Robert (VegemiteGrrrl), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:14 (fourteen years ago)

chaotic neutral is a hard one to pick out for The Wire

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:16 (fourteen years ago)

I see someone online picked Ziggy, I like that choice

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:19 (fourteen years ago)

yeah but wasn't string trying to go legit at the end? i.e. it wasn't about the evilness of the enterprise but the money

― dayo, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:20 (fourteen years ago)

No but I felt like String was going to keep being String just in a different world: like even when he's going legit, he's going to try to be the corporate bazillionaire and take over the empire. You know? He just had that way about him.

― Square-Panted Sponge Robert (VegemiteGrrrl), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:30 (fourteen years ago)

yeah but wasn't string trying to go legit at the end? i.e. it wasn't about the evilness of the enterprise but the money

― dayo, Wednesday, December 15, 2010 1:20 AM (12 minutes ago)

money is the root of ~all evil~

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 15 December 2010 06:33 (fourteen years ago)

What kev said

― Square-Panted Sponge Robert (VegemiteGrrrl), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 07:10 (fourteen years ago)

i don't know what these categories even mean, is this some nerd thing?

― sarahel, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 07:47 (fourteen years ago)

D&D

― ears are wounds, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 08:15 (fourteen years ago)

i think wire morality is more complex than that of D&D

― once more Jagger faps the hivemind (symsymsym), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 08:57 (fourteen years ago)

Avon definitely follows a code -- much more so than Stringer

― sarahel, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 09:32 (fourteen years ago)

second season: Daniels tells Rawls he'll take on the case of 14 dead bodies in a ship container provided "you give me what I need with no arguments and no bulllshit"

*would have loved to say this to one of my old employers

― hubertus bigend (m coleman), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 10:35 (fourteen years ago)

love that chart

― I spilled, saucer-eyed, into the Tonetta fanclub underground. (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 19:47 (fourteen years ago)

ok I feel less bad about not getting it now

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 15 December 2010 19:56 (fourteen years ago)

http://lc.fdots.com/cc/lc/c8/c845ebf7cff92c726789d411608fdb96.jpg

― omar little, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 20:05 (fourteen years ago)

Avon definitely follows a code -- much more so than Stringer

Yeah, the choice seems counter-intuitive to me but on reflection it really works - Avon has a moral code (however much we disagree with it) whereas Stringer has an amoral respect for the system.

The best example of this to me was Stringer authorising the hit on Omar on a Sunday.

― Tim F, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 23:45 (fourteen years ago)

I want to argue that String isn't amoral -- definitely NOT immoral -- because he abides by capitalism and Mr. Morals himself Adam Smith, and that he didn't actively violate the Sunday truce so much as waved off Shamrock (or whichever lackey was bugging him) because he had better things to do... which yeah, speaks to his amoral nature.

― penis with a man hanging from it (Leee), Thursday, 16 December 2010 00:58 (fourteen years ago)

what about what avon and brianna did to d'angelo?

― j., Thursday, 16 December 2010 09:52 (fourteen years ago)

It was Stringer's decision to ultimately "take care" of D'Angelo. Wasn't it Stringer's decision to the same for Wallace even if Avon signed off on that one.

― shaking my hamster (KMS), Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:16 (fourteen years ago)

SPOILERS btw! ^

i think j is referring to getting D to take those years but i could be wrong

― k3vin k., Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:37 (fourteen years ago)

Taking the years is part of the accepted moral code though. Bumping off in prison, less so.

Stringer's respect for capitalism is based on what he believes it can do for him (which is hardly unusual tbf).

― Tim F, Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:45 (fourteen years ago)

I might consider putting Bunny or Lester at chaotic good and McNulty at chaotic neutral.

― Fetchboy, Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:00 (fourteen years ago)

i think it is to this show's great credit that no one questions clay davis as neutral evil

― straight old fashioned, virgin (another al3x), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:18 (fourteen years ago)

miss u string ;_;

― horseshoe, Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:32 (fourteen years ago)

Taking the years is part of the accepted moral code though. Bumping off in prison, less so.

First, Stringer's adherence to market forces is no less a moral code than the rules that Avon (and Omar) play by. Second, people getting murdered in prison is a taboo? Really?

― penis with a man hanging from it (Leee), Thursday, 16 December 2010 16:57 (fourteen years ago)

killing your best friend's nephews taboo in any culture.

― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 16 December 2010 18:18 (fourteen years ago)

without the friend's permission, most def.

― sarahel, Thursday, 16 December 2010 22:17 (fourteen years ago)

yah killing him even tho he was abiding by the code was def breakin the code

― *plop*ism rules (deej), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 20:46 (fourteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

jesus christ james ransone is terrible on this show

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 07:26 (fourteen years ago)

SB! SB! Dude, Ziggy is the SHIT

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 07:41 (fourteen years ago)

i'm almost done w/ the second season & this is getting pretty great, def better than season 1, but anyone that thinks this is better than the sopranos can lick big pussy's nuts

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:00 (fourteen years ago)

i was being a bit fatalistic about ziggy -- there are some times when he's great, but too many times where i was just like "jesus this is horrible acting" -- funny tho because i paused the episode i was watching to make that first post & then like 10 mins later he killed double g & broke down in his car in what was prob the best acting he's done in the show -- oh well

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:04 (fourteen years ago)

in general some of the writing & acting in this show is http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_leftkrHJkw1qf8yek.gif-- too many julliard trained actors saying "true dat"

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:05 (fourteen years ago)

but anyway, it's a great show

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:05 (fourteen years ago)

Love Season 2. My favorite story arc of the series, I think. Frank Szobotka is such a great character. And the frikkin Police chief (can't remember his name, Ferengi dude fhttp://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_leftkrHJkw1qf8yek.gif Space Nine...Prentiss's father in law,,,awesome. love that guy.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:13 (fourteen years ago)

From. Deep Space Nine.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:14 (fourteen years ago)

major valchek?

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:16 (fourteen years ago)

YES. Him. I love him. (Lol at me being too lazy to Google)

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:18 (fourteen years ago)

on my first run through i was never totally sold on this show until season 4.

i've gone through it twice now though and this is miles beyond the fucking Sopranos. seriously, hate to be the JUST KEEP WATCHING sorta dude, but it all amounts to a lot.

― circa1916, Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:24 (fourteen years ago)

Is it Season 4 with the school system? That's almost equal favorite.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 08:44 (fourteen years ago)

too many julliard trained actors saying "true dat"

Uh....

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Saturday, 15 January 2011 09:31 (fourteen years ago)

lol @ j0rd being all "this isnt authentic enough"

― dayo, Saturday, 15 January 2011 11:09 (fourteen years ago)

ziggy is not supposed to be likeable, I wouldn't call his acting overacting though. you're supposed to hate his guts. I actually admire how much of an asshole he comes off as.

― dayo, Saturday, 15 January 2011 11:10 (fourteen years ago)

ziggy definitely worst character on the show, between him and mouzone

show doesn't really hit its stride until seasons 3 & 4 though, revisit that sopranos statement after that

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Saturday, 15 January 2011 14:15 (fourteen years ago)

4 is the best for sure.

i groaned a lot at ziggy on first watch, but his relationship with frank hit me harder when i watched it again. the jail visit scene - ziggy says frank was never around, frank says he had to work all the time for the money - no one is right or wrong and it's all shit... what this show is great at imo

― another al3x, Saturday, 15 January 2011 16:08 (fourteen years ago)

You cannot lose if you do not play: http://www.lancereddick.com/

― make the Pagan Dad a Pagan Father. (Dr. Superman), Saturday, 15 January 2011 16:56 (fourteen years ago)

Why would anyone hate Ziggy's guts?!

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Saturday, 15 January 2011 17:02 (fourteen years ago)

Ransome is totes awesome in Generation Kill btw

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Saturday, 15 January 2011 17:02 (fourteen years ago)

lol lance ffs man

― another al3x, Saturday, 15 January 2011 17:14 (fourteen years ago)

james ransone is amazing as ziggy! i don't think i appreciated his performance the first time i watched the season, though; ziggy is so irritating to watch.

― horseshoe, Saturday, 15 January 2011 17:18 (fourteen years ago)

I could never hate the son of Frank Sobotka.

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Saturday, 15 January 2011 17:27 (fourteen years ago)

the avon/stringer stuff in 3 makes it my favorite. i wish calling tv shows shakespearian wasn't a cliche.

― difficult listening hour, Saturday, 15 January 2011 17:29 (fourteen years ago)

Its sorta the nature of Ziggy at the beginning to even irritate the audience: the less you sympathize with him to begin with, the more affecting his particular story arc becomes. But w/e, I fucking love him str8 up.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 18:22 (fourteen years ago)

Ziggy reminds me of Johnny Boy (Robt DeNiro) in Mean Streets

― hubertus bigend (m coleman), Saturday, 15 January 2011 18:54 (fourteen years ago)

^^^

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:18 (fourteen years ago)

robot deniro is like a futurama joke

― aka the pope (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:20 (fourteen years ago)

i feel like season 1 is so underrated & 4 didn't really affect me the way it seemed to hit everyone else in the heart. 3 is prob my fave.

― aka the pope (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:22 (fourteen years ago)

2-1-3-4-5

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:43 (fourteen years ago)

you're leaving your midfield pretty open there

― Gukbe, Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:45 (fourteen years ago)

And the frikkin Police chief (can't remember his name, Ferengi dude [... from DS9]

hahah wtf had to google to make sure that he wasn't actually Armin Shimmerman or something but lolz if this isn't the OTMest thing anyone has ever said about this the greatest show ever.

― nomar little (Leee), Saturday, 15 January 2011 20:59 (fourteen years ago)

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 21:24 (fourteen years ago)

dudes! Rich Eisen showed Baltimore Sun front page on NFL channel this morning, called it "Stringer Bell's favorite paper" :)

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 21:49 (fourteen years ago)

too many julliard trained actors saying "true dat"

― J0rdan S., Saturday, January 15, 2011 12:05 AM (13 hours ago)

Is that how he got the name Method Man?

― sarahel, Saturday, 15 January 2011 21:51 (fourteen years ago)

lol sarah

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 21:58 (fourteen years ago)

quality post

― aka the pope (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:01 (fourteen years ago)

ziggy is not supposed to be likeable, I wouldn't call his acting overacting though. you're supposed to hate his guts. I actually admire how much of an asshole he comes off as.

― dayo, Saturday, January 15, 2011 6:10 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark

yeah i'm trying to think if there's ever been another divisive TV/movie character where so many people seem to conflate the irritating personality with an actual bad performance

― some dude, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:17 (fourteen years ago)

if they ever do a Jeff Buckley biopic they should really cast Ransone, both because he looks close enough and because afaict JB was about as obnoxious as Ziggy irl

― some dude, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:22 (fourteen years ago)

Ransone is cute imo

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:26 (fourteen years ago)

he is. i left him off the wire babez poll bc ziggy is so irritating, but it was an oversight.

― horseshoe, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:27 (fourteen years ago)

he is tiny though

― horseshoe, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:27 (fourteen years ago)

guys i know that ziggy is supposed to be irritating, that doesn't mean that the acting isn't often awful too

ziggy definitely worst character on the show, between him and mouzone

mouzone being all dapper/nation of islam or w/e is a bit overkill but i don't mind him -- i did lol at him being all WHERE ARE MY NEW ISSUES OF THE NATION AND ATLANTIC? I NEED MY ANDREW SULLIVAN

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:30 (fourteen years ago)

ransone is cute, yes -- have you guys seen 'ken park'? (it's pretty much porn)

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:30 (fourteen years ago)

found out last weekend that he went to college with my bf's wife

― ________ (will), Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:31 (fourteen years ago)

I must see this Ken park

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:31 (fourteen years ago)

Immediately

― VegemiteGrrrl, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:31 (fourteen years ago)

lol @ j0rd being all "this isnt authentic enough"

― dayo, Saturday, January 15, 2011 5:09 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark

idk man, for as impressively intricate the story is (and will get, i'm sure), on a scene-by-scene basis there's still tons of groaners from a writing/acting perspective

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:36 (fourteen years ago)

j0rdan i wish i could have your back on this since i was w/ you on Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood, but for me there's nothing about Ransone's performance that doesn't ring true to what Ziggy-type people are like IRL

― some dude, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:42 (fourteen years ago)

yeah it's amazing...wait till the end of the season, j0rdan

― horseshoe, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:43 (fourteen years ago)

Oh man he's certainly not on a Paul dano level. Like I said, I think he was great some of the time but awful in other ways that I sorta couldn't get over

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:47 (fourteen years ago)

Also: was this really the first thread on the show? Weird that it took until the final episode of s2

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:50 (fourteen years ago)

the show's initial profile was not remotely what it eventually became. also not every TV show had a thread on ILE 9 years ago.

― some dude, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:52 (fourteen years ago)

Word -- I forget how early this started -- last night I was watching an episode where they were all "he's using these things called text messages" and I was like O_O

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:56 (fourteen years ago)

lol i don't remember that

― aka the pope (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:58 (fourteen years ago)

it's in season 2, when the greeks & stevedores figure out that all their phones are being tapped, spiros whips out like a palm pilot or some shit & sends a text message and they're all like "huh..." -- one dude in the room even says "my kids do it all the time"

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:00 (fourteen years ago)

when did SMS take off in the US

― the act of seeing lil wayne, nicki minaj, and drake in threesome (cozen), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:00 (fourteen years ago)

also spiros gets a text in greek, which was very swag

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:01 (fourteen years ago)

feel like it was later than in the UK, maybe a cost thing?

― the act of seeing lil wayne, nicki minaj, and drake in threesome (cozen), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:02 (fourteen years ago)

SMS took off way later here than in the UK. I don't really remember anyone doing it until QWERTY keyboards were commonplace.

AT&T didn't even really have MMS capability until the iPhone came out.

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:09 (fourteen years ago)

until after, that is

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:09 (fourteen years ago)

http://i.cdn.hbo.com/assets/images/series/the-wire/character/the-law/stanislaus-valchek-160.jpg

"Opportunity plus instinct equals profit."

― nomar little (Leee), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:42 (fourteen years ago)

http://i.cdn.hbo.com/assets/images/series/the-wire/character/the-law/stanislaus-valchek-160.jpg

It never hurts to suck up to the boss.

― nomar little (Leee), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:45 (fourteen years ago)

http://i.cdn.hbo.com/assets/images/series/the-wire/character/the-law/stanislaus-valchek-160.jpg

"The flimsier the product, the higher the price."

― nomar little (Leee), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:46 (fourteen years ago)

http://i.cdn.hbo.com/assets/images/series/the-wire/character/the-law/stanislaus-valchek-160.jpg

"Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack."

― nomar little (Leee), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:46 (fourteen years ago)

http://i.cdn.hbo.com/assets/images/series/the-wire/character/the-law/stanislaus-valchek-160.jpg

"Employees are rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them."

― nomar little (Leee), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:46 (fourteen years ago)

Watching S2 I kept thinking that if anyone ever wanted to make a movie about the life of Jeff Buckley (heaven forbid), James Ransone would be the guy.

― philippe is standing on it (MaresNest), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:46 (fourteen years ago)

if they ever do a Jeff Buckley biopic they should really cast Ransone, both because he looks close enough and because afaict JB was about as obnoxious as Ziggy irl

― some dude, Saturday, January 15, 2011 5:22 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― horseshoe, Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:47 (fourteen years ago)

I thought it was a bit of groaner when Zig was in the public library looking something up on the computer that Nicky came by and Zig had to explain to Nick what a search engine was in 2003.

― Kaolin Warrior (KMS), Saturday, 15 January 2011 23:50 (fourteen years ago)

xpost Leee you forgot my favorite: Never Place Friendship Above Profit

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 00:01 (fourteen years ago)

Just started watching this for the second time through with my gf who has never seen it. I forgot so much great stuff and im totally picking up new things and loving it

― plopson (Aerosol), Sunday, 16 January 2011 00:06 (fourteen years ago)

XP horseshoe, ah well great minds etc:

― philippe is standing on it (MaresNest), Sunday, 16 January 2011 00:15 (fourteen years ago)

every season of this show is awesome

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 00:46 (fourteen years ago)

otm

― horseshoe, Sunday, 16 January 2011 00:49 (fourteen years ago)

5 wasn't as bad as it's sometimes made out but i'd put it somewhere beneath "awesome"

― some dude, Sunday, 16 January 2011 00:50 (fourteen years ago)

yeah that's otm

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 00:55 (fourteen years ago)

Sub-awesome?

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 00:57 (fourteen years ago)

One of those shows I want to hate b/c of my inherant iconoclastic nature, but ultimately it's v well written and p shocking at times. I still think the first season is the only one worth watching, though, (indulging in my urges.)

― heh (kelpolaris), Sunday, 16 January 2011 01:10 (fourteen years ago)

5 was the most wack but I think it got resolved in a way that still makes it awesome.

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 01:11 (fourteen years ago)

My personal vote goes to season 2. Couldn't stand the characters, couldn't stand the cliches, couldn't stand how obviously inspired it was by things I had already seen (it was like they took On The Waterfront and stretched what was done excellently in 2 hours into 12 hours of "Ok, I get it") .

Took me a while to pick up Season 3, but definitely feel so far that it was the 2nd best season - the return to "the streets" was much appreciated, and definitely the reason I remembered I was watching this series for in the first place.

― heh (kelpolaris), Sunday, 16 January 2011 01:18 (fourteen years ago)

idk man, for as impressively intricate the story is (and will get, i'm sure), on a scene-by-scene basis there's still tons of groaners from a writing/acting perspective

― J0rdan S., Sunday, January 16, 2011 6:36 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

there were def groaners in the 1st season cause they were following the police procedural type format too closely. like I remember the prez solves the mysterious beeper code!! part really facepalm-y, also the character of prez was just way too cardboard. it's in season 2/3/4 when they stop following that format and let it ~play out on its own~ that it becomes really excellent and transcendent.

btw julliard is a music school, not an acting school

― dayo, Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:38 (fourteen years ago)

I also met an ziggy-type person last night, I wanted to punch his lights out so bad

― dayo, Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:39 (fourteen years ago)

yeah prez is one of the characters on this show for me that goes from a *rolls eyes* to a dope character

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:41 (fourteen years ago)

totally

― some dude, Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:43 (fourteen years ago)

btw julliard is a music school, not an acting school

btw juilliard also has a drama school. crazy chinese mother's husband went there.

― Zsa Zsa Gay Bar (jaymc), Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:51 (fourteen years ago)

I also met an ziggy-type person last night, I wanted to punch his lights out so bad

He was showing off his dick, wasn't he?

― nomar little (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:51 (fourteen years ago)

Hated Prez when he was first introduced, total idiot but by the end of season 4, I was all <3

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:52 (fourteen years ago)

xpost did he have a duck on a leash?

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:53 (fourteen years ago)

btw julliard is a music school, not an acting school

btw juilliard also has a drama school. crazy chinese mother's husband went there.

― Zsa Zsa Gay Bar (jaymc), Sunday, January 16, 2011 10:51 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

hoisted on my own petard ;_;

looking at the alumni list on wikipedia the only names that jump out at me are robin williams and christopher reeve

― dayo, Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:55 (fourteen years ago)

pretty sure i have heard robin williams say "true dat"

― some dude, Sunday, 16 January 2011 02:58 (fourteen years ago)

wait... val kilmer & kevin kline & ving rhames & kevin spacey as well

wait til j0rd finds out mcnulty is british

― dayo, Sunday, 16 January 2011 03:00 (fourteen years ago)

When I think of Julliard I think of Flashdance. that's all I got

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 03:01 (fourteen years ago)

wait til j0rd finds out mcnulty is british

― dayo, Saturday, January 15, 2011 10:00 PM (22 seconds ago)

i was like nooooooooooooo when i first learned this

don't tell him about any other brits

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 03:02 (fourteen years ago)

still amazed there are americans who didn't find out mcnulty was british the first time they heard his character speak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmIvu1yg3bU

― caek, Sunday, 16 January 2011 03:47 (fourteen years ago)

Once I knew, I could totally hear it, but yeah, at first I had no clue at all

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 03:51 (fourteen years ago)

i know my small objections here are pretty subjective btw -- like i could point out specific scenes or strings of dialogue when i'm watching where things seem too writerly i.e. characters conversing in ways that humans don't -- idk, it's minor but in my mind i'm always comparing this to the sopranos which is pretty much perfect obv so \(o_O)/

― J0rdan S., Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:41 (fourteen years ago)

i get what you're saying jordan. the dialogue and some of the acting is kind of rough around the edges, almost amateurish. it's definitely not a perfect show.

― caek, Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:42 (fourteen years ago)

you shut up

― ullr saves (gbx), Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:50 (fourteen years ago)

cosign :)

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:51 (fourteen years ago)

i actually didn't notice how english west was until i found out he was. but in hindsight, snat boogie is so obvious.

― À la recherche du temps Pardew (jim in glasgow), Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:51 (fourteen years ago)

SNAT BOOGY?

― À la recherche du temps Pardew (jim in glasgow), Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:52 (fourteen years ago)

No agreeing with Jordan. the Wire is made by angels and he hasn't even finished watching the series so ...

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:53 (fourteen years ago)

<3 u Jordan

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:53 (fourteen years ago)

</3

― ullr saves (gbx), Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:54 (fourteen years ago)

that opening scene is a good example of the 'writerly' style that probably rubs j0rd the wrong way.

― dayo, Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:55 (fourteen years ago)

to be fair, david simon did first gain notoriety from writing a book about the balt drug trade right? so i shouldn't really be surprised

― J0rdan S., Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:57 (fourteen years ago)

the book "homicide" is excellent fuiud

― ullr saves (gbx), Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:58 (fourteen years ago)

Writers be writin

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 04:58 (fourteen years ago)

to be fair, david simon did first gain notoriety from writing a book about the balt drug trade right? so i shouldn't really be surprised

― J0rdan S., Saturday, January 15, 2011 11:57 PM (Yesterday)

i haven't read the book but i'm struggling to understand the pt youre trying to make ehre

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:05 (fourteen years ago)

that opening scene is a good example of the 'writerly' style that probably rubs j0rd the wrong way.

― dayo, Saturday, January 15, 2011 11:55 PM (Yesterday)

the "this is america" or whatever is certainly a bit much, yeah

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:06 (fourteen years ago)

the dialogue and some of the acting is kind of rough around the edges, almost amateurish.

i have just shit in my chair and thrown it out the window

― got electrolytes (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:10 (fourteen years ago)

Hahah

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:10 (fourteen years ago)

yeah as a "general statement" that's basically complete bullshit

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:11 (fourteen years ago)

david simon did first gain notoriety from writing a book about the balt drug trade right?

as well as the ??; nah, Corner was 1997, Homicide was 1991

― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:15 (fourteen years ago)

the "this is america" or whatever is certainly a bit much, yeah

ikr?

PS someone should go back in time and tell that to the real-life guy who said it.

― nomar little (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:16 (fourteen years ago)

in real life.

― got electrolytes (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:19 (fourteen years ago)

i have posted on this thread a lot about how awesome this show is, it's my favourite of all time, but there are some weak performances and some v unpolished dialogue throughout, esp. in season 1. there are also some amazing perfs and most of the dialogue is great and then there's the dickensian aspect.

― caek, Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:19 (fourteen years ago)

i don't mind the writerly bits btw (and i don't think that's jordan's criticism either)

― caek, Sunday, 16 January 2011 05:25 (fourteen years ago)

Simon was a newspaper writer for years, then wrote Homicide, which is straight non-fiction but gets a bit flowery and writerly with the prose, then wrote The Corner which same thing but maybe a bit moreso. imo The Wire has a pretty even mix of highfalutin dramatic dialogue and stuff that dropped right out of someone's actual mouth at some point in his journalistic career, definitely some clangers in the course of the show particularly in earlier seasons, but i think it strikes a good balance overall.

― some dude, Sunday, 16 January 2011 07:04 (fourteen years ago)

He's passionate. he's got hobbyhorses and he cant help pushing them into his storyline...but without writers who really care and connect with what they're writing, you don't get characters that could walk straight off the screen, and story lines that break your heart. I mean everyone gets so jaded about cliches and stuff and everyone wants to chin scratch but there's a lot to be said for feeling something, and emotions can be kinda cliche sometimes. Isn't necessarily bad.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 07:42 (fourteen years ago)

a show where everything was like real life would suck

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 08:01 (fourteen years ago)

the wire >>>>> the sopranos, which fell off after season 3

― five deadly venoms (San Te), Sunday, 16 January 2011 16:10 (fourteen years ago)

that said I still have yet to finish The Wire season 5, and I've just hit the 'serial killer' arc which is kind of o_O to me, the first time I've ever "wtfed" at a major plot point on this show

― five deadly venoms (San Te), Sunday, 16 January 2011 16:12 (fourteen years ago)

some good stuff comes out of that plot, but yeah that is the main thing that drags down the whole season

― some dude, Sunday, 16 January 2011 19:56 (fourteen years ago)

a show where everything was like real life would suck
― gr8080, Sunday, January 16, 2011 12:01 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^ Thee realest talk.

some good stuff comes out of that plot, but yeah that is the main thing that drags down the whole season
― some dude, Sunday, January 16, 2011 11:56 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

The second time I watched the last season, that whole plot arc was less of a bete noire and became more tolerable, even lolwtfhahah (Bunk's reactions mostly).

― nomar little (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2011 20:05 (fourteen years ago)

i remember being like "NO NO NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!???" for the first few episodes of the serial killer plot but iirc enjoyed how it played out.

like the ziggy complaints, also don't get ppl who complain about how "annoying" the newspaper reporter character is and/or how he could make s5 unenjoyable.

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 20:56 (fourteen years ago)

also, whole serial killer plot was worth it just for this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGNwn2yXnTM

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 20:59 (fourteen years ago)

he is really annoying - because he's supposed to be really annoying - and there's a constant tension where as a viewer you just want to see him get what's coming to him, and it doesn't come soon enough

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:00 (fourteen years ago)

Lol gr080 yeah that was great

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:01 (fourteen years ago)

it has been mentioned before, maybe on this thread, maybe on one of the poll threads: one of the weaknesses of Season 5 is that the new characters have less depth - specifically the newspaper people. It makes me wonder if that was because they are more like the show's audience and thus the writers didn't feel it was as necessary?

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:03 (fourteen years ago)

I think Simon had too big of an axe to grind in that seaso ..he was way too close to it so it was all characters serving his DO U SEEEEE points.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:06 (fourteen years ago)

On the other hand, the tragedy of the decline of the newspaper industry didn't seem so tragic compared to the other characters losing their families and getting killed.

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:09 (fourteen years ago)

i mean: witty political columnist getting forced into early retirement with the buy-out vs. Prop Joe getting forced into early retirement by a gunshot to the head.

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:12 (fourteen years ago)

Yeah I agree. His focus was way skewed in this season.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:14 (fourteen years ago)

jesus guys, jordan is on season 2

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:18 (fourteen years ago)

i dunno about skewed -- like, maybe the hypothetical educated professional viewer would normally care more about the newspaper's problems than the death of a drug dealer and a stick-up boy, however the show has spent four seasons humanizing the drug trade and its players, so I was "oooh nooo! Omar!" and "Awwww they killed Prop Joe!" and when saintly Gus doesn't get to do the right thing in the newsroom, "hmm, that kinda sucks. Oh well."

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:18 (fourteen years ago)

that opening scene is a good example of the 'writerly' style that probably rubs j0rd the wrong way.

The opening scene (replete with Snot Booger) is repeated almost wholly from the "Homicide" book, as are a few other bits and pieces throughout the show.

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:21 (fourteen years ago)

maybe a kindly mod could take out the last couple of spoilers? It killed me when I'd just finished season four and inadvertently found out about XXXXXX being YYYYYY in season five

― Ismael Klata, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:28 (fourteen years ago)

It is a shame that aren't threads for each season of this show, but that request is pretty much "You want it to be one way, but it's the other way."

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:36 (fourteen years ago)

ha, great line but I can't even remember where it's from

― Ismael Klata, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:40 (fourteen years ago)

no don't tell me

― Ismael Klata, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:40 (fourteen years ago)

people who really and truly wish to avoid spoilers don't hang around message board threads about the thing they haven't seen all of yet

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:40 (fourteen years ago)

it's kind of like busting into someone's bathroom and going OH GOD YOU'RE NAKED WHAT THE HELL

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:41 (fourteen years ago)

Ismael - it was in season 4.

some dude - otm

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:41 (fourteen years ago)

people who really and truly wish to avoid spoilers don't hang around message board threads about the thing they haven't seen all of yet

What's more, they should really stay away from a thread for a show that's been off the air for 2+ years.

― Fairport Dinkum Convetion (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:50 (fourteen years ago)

but we're talking hypothetically here -- I mean, did J0rdan say he didn't want spoilers?

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:54 (fourteen years ago)

I'm sure that all people want spoilers unless they explicitly state otherwise.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:58 (fourteen years ago)

it's not unreasonable to assume

lolxpost

― got electrolytes (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Sunday, 16 January 2011 21:59 (fourteen years ago)

hey jordan here's where omar gets shot in the head by a little kid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CshAkqlAj1o

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:00 (fourteen years ago)

i texted him and told him not to open the thread so he's good

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:00 (fourteen years ago)

Tell him it's safe now.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:02 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPt5FOw_yIA

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:02 (fourteen years ago)

rilly tho?

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:03 (fourteen years ago)

hate to break it to you J0rd, but Marlo really likes candy

― sarahel, Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:04 (fourteen years ago)

well done gr8080, that's precisely the clip I saw right after watching the last ep of s4

― Ismael Klata, Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:11 (fourteen years ago)

i think the fact that omar dies got spoiled for me on ILX but the circumstances and even which season it happened in were still unknown to me, which was kind of awesome because it made the stakes even higher every time i watched a scene with him

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:14 (fourteen years ago)

omar is my favorite television character ever btw
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x18/gr8080/omar.jpg

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:16 (fourteen years ago)

when i'm like 3-4 seasons behind on a show and i accidentally read a spoiler about something that happens in an episode i probably won't catch up to for months or years, i just try to forgot what i read

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:17 (fourteen years ago)

i have a mind like a steel trap so that's v v hard for me to do

― gr8080, Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:20 (fourteen years ago)

yeah, the act of trying means that thing is then always in the front of my mind, whether I'm thinking about the show or not

― Ismael Klata, Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:24 (fourteen years ago)

it helps if it's some involved plot development involving characters or circumstances that haven't been introduced yet in the episodes i have seen -- obviously something like "(super memorable character) gets killed" doesn't pop out of your brain easily.

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:39 (fourteen years ago)

omar is my favorite television character ever btw

GOAT imo

― ullr saves (gbx), Sunday, 16 January 2011 23:32 (fourteen years ago)

one of my favorite characters on ILX!

― dayo, Sunday, 16 January 2011 23:41 (fourteen years ago)

The opening scene (replete with Snot Booger) is repeated almost wholly from the "Homicide" book, as are a few other bits and pieces throughout the show.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, January 17, 2011 5:21 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

and so I'm to assume that it was transcribed directly from a tape recording of whatever real-life situation it was taken from?

― dayo, Sunday, 16 January 2011 23:41 (fourteen years ago)

I think David Simon heard a cop retelling that story.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Sunday, 16 January 2011 23:42 (fourteen years ago)

yeah but all stories are embellished through retelling

― dayo, Sunday, 16 January 2011 23:56 (fourteen years ago)

I just read The Corner co-written by Simon & Ed Burns - a Baltimore detective for 20 years & then a public school teacher. interesting perspective there, to say the least. you can totally see the genesis of several Wire characters in the real people on The Corner: D'Angelo Barksdale & Bubbles. fascinating book whether you've seen the series or not.

only skimming this thread since I'm in the middle of season three

― hubertus bigend (m coleman), Monday, 17 January 2011 00:51 (fourteen years ago)

uh, don't read the ~50 or so posts above yours

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, 17 January 2011 00:52 (fourteen years ago)

i really want to read the corner too

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, 17 January 2011 00:52 (fourteen years ago)

mouzone's right hand man is the actual dude from the corner book

― am0n, Monday, 17 January 2011 00:57 (fourteen years ago)

i read like half The Corner before its library due date, really need to go take it out again and finish it.

i love Omar and totally get why he's the most iconic character from The Wire, but i can't imagine him being remotely my favorite out of all the great characters on the show.

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, 17 January 2011 00:58 (fourteen years ago)

Omar
Bunk
Ziggy
Frank Sbotka

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 01:01 (fourteen years ago)

i can dimly see the objection to the first scene of the show, but criticizing 'the wire' for being writerly... very occasionally they go too far, but mostly not. 'the corner' is never writerly, iirc, but it's also kind of boring. i don't think 'the wire' is even aiming for that kind of verisimilitude -- example, it's set within the half-decade the show ran for, but also stands for about a quarter-century.

― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 17 January 2011 01:05 (fourteen years ago)

it incorporates stories and situations and people from 1980s and 1990s IRL Baltimore but it's all internally consistent to the show's present day timeline, don't see how that has any relationship to the show's verisimilitude

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, 17 January 2011 01:09 (fourteen years ago)

yeah but all stories are embellished through retelling

― dayo, Sunday, January 16, 2011 5:56 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

what point are u even making here

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:17 (fourteen years ago)

sometimes real life is like this & dudes on the corner say some profound shit abt life

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:18 (fourteen years ago)

if a real life street dude said "thin line 'tween heaven and here" i'd roll my eyes at him too

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:20 (fourteen years ago)

bunk
prop joe
frank sobotka
randy
norman

― difficult listening hour, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:22 (fourteen years ago)

if a real life street dude said "thin line 'tween heaven and here" i'd roll my eyes at him too

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, January 17, 2011 12:20 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

o rly

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:23 (fourteen years ago)

norman is a great

― horseshoe, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:23 (fourteen years ago)

i am trying to come up with a list of my favorite characters, but it would be more efficient to say everyone except marlo and namond's mom

― horseshoe, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:24 (fourteen years ago)

i guess norman might be kind of a flat Good Guy but he's more fun than gus and i like the suggestion that he is in a cycle where he continually works closely with politicians who then disappoint him so he finds a new one -- like the whole country, but more intimate.

― difficult listening hour, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:25 (fourteen years ago)

I love the deadness of marlo. Not that I'd list him as a favorite character but I love that after us building up this love for all these bad street dudes like Stringer or Omar, you get Marlo who is such a complete cipher, like a vaccuum of anything identifiable, just straight ambition. I find him kind of fascinating in a weird way.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:27 (fourteen years ago)

yeah i don't actually think he's badly characterized, i just hate him.

― horseshoe, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:28 (fourteen years ago)

yeah SPOILERZ i really like the contrast between the rooted barksdale empire -- which is rapacious and destructive but which does things like fund cutty's gym not just as a repaid favor but out of a sense of residence in a community, and whose leaders eventually destroy each other because of incompatibilities/impossibilities in dreams and ideals they have that go back to childhood -- and marlo who just consumes money and people and has no discernible history. the show's position seems to be ALL THESE SYSTEMS ARE FALLING APART AND GETTING WORSE INCLUDING THE DRUG TRADE

― difficult listening hour, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:30 (fourteen years ago)

plus in seasons 1-3 you get used to kind of rooting for stringer as the guy who wants to legitimize the outfit, over avon as the guy who seems too caught up in his own street reputation, and then at the end of 3 stringer turns out to have been hugely naive and just exploited laughingly by people who are playing a much higher-level destructive game than mere drug trafficking, and avon might actually have been the smart one, and then marlo shows up just to show you what someone who only cares about his own reputation actually looks like.

― difficult listening hour, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:35 (fourteen years ago)

otm

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:36 (fourteen years ago)

i fuckin love marlo

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:36 (fourteen years ago)

Marlo is kinda terrifying to me.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:36 (fourteen years ago)

As a written character I find his place in the story really interesting and great, but to watch, he leaves me begging for humor or sadness or happiness or anything. His flatness is really something else.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:38 (fourteen years ago)

i might hear "you want it to be one way, but it's the other way" quoted more than any other line on this show and i think it's because after the barksdale/marlo contrast it hits people as being about entropy vs. order. like not necessarily in those terms, but: you want things to trend naturally towards complexity and justice and harmony, but they don't; they rot.

― difficult listening hour, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:40 (fourteen years ago)

Norman gets some great lines -
"It does have a certain charm to it. They manufactured an issue to get paid. We manufactured an issue to get you elected Governor. Everybody's gettin' what they need behind some make believe."

"Don't get the crime rate down, ain't no governor neither....Just a weak-ass mayor of a broke-ass city."

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:42 (fourteen years ago)

yeah Norman is the shit

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:46 (fourteen years ago)

i actually really liked Chris.

― got electrolytes (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:52 (fourteen years ago)

sometimes real life is like this & dudes on the corner say some profound shit abt life
― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, January 17, 2011 1:18 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I didn't know "The Corner" was a tv show and I thought deej was just casually droppin some Chi-town street knowledge

― domo genesis p-orridge (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 17 January 2011 18:55 (fourteen years ago)

Marlo easily in my top 5

― gr8080, Monday, 17 January 2011 18:58 (fourteen years ago)

Chris was really interesting.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 19:00 (fourteen years ago)

I didn't know "The Corner" was a tv show and I thought deej was just casually droppin some Chi-town street knowledge

― domo genesis p-orridge (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, January 17, 2011 12:55 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it wasnt about the show.

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:12 (fourteen years ago)

& im not claiming 'street knowledge' but hey whiney try not to ruin this thread please

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:12 (fourteen years ago)

wanna explain "o rly" for me

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:16 (fourteen years ago)

i just mean that sure maybe its delivered in a *more dramatic way* but if u read the book the anecdote as told is completely believable & there's nothing 'out of character' for someone to have thought of just bcuz they happen to be poor & black imo

i mean huge portions of rap music are based around similar ideas & saying otherwise seems borderline condescending to me

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:18 (fourteen years ago)

wanna explain "o rly" for me

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, January 17, 2011 1:16 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if you were talking to a guy who knew someone who was just shot & he said something vaguely poetic about it, i guess some dude is probably the kind of dude who would roll his eyes so never mind me

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:19 (fourteen years ago)

if this starts to turn into another one of *those fights* the 3 of us are known for im probably gonna bow out tho

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:21 (fourteen years ago)

if you were talking to a guy who knew someone who was just shot

now can i ruin this thread?

― domo genesis p-orridge (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:22 (fourteen years ago)

were talking about a specific anecdote, dude, where this occurs

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:23 (fourteen years ago)

hold on, let me remove my bookmark first..

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 19:23 (fourteen years ago)

based on a real life event

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:23 (fourteen years ago)

wait a guy that just got shot!? talk about loading the question.

haha xp

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:23 (fourteen years ago)

some dude are we not talking about the snot boogie story at the beginning of the 1st episode??

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:24 (fourteen years ago)

"thin line 'tween heaven and here" is something Bubbles says about 3 episodes later in a completely unrelated scene

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:25 (fourteen years ago)

oh i was thinking its what dude said about snot boogie

my confusion -- ok, well, coming from a junkie living in a shitty neighborhood i think the point still stands?

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:26 (fourteen years ago)

like, if the dude bubbles is based on said that to me i dont think id roll my eyes but maybe u are a different kind of dude

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:27 (fourteen years ago)

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_leftkrHJkw1qf8yek.gif

― am0n, Monday, 17 January 2011 19:29 (fourteen years ago)

*damn* eyes

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:30 (fourteen years ago)

every thread now, guys?

― u aint messin w/ my dengue (gr8080), Thursday, December 16, 2010 7:35 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark

― gr8080, Monday, 17 January 2011 19:30 (fourteen years ago)

hi gr80 were discussing the wire

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:32 (fourteen years ago)

yeah we're at least still on topic...FOR NOW

― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:32 (fourteen years ago)

im not even sure were beefing abt anything at the moment

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:33 (fourteen years ago)

ok just making sure you guys stay in line

― gr8080, Monday, 17 January 2011 19:34 (fourteen years ago)

i like Chris.

― got electrolytes (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Monday, 17 January 2011 19:58 (fourteen years ago)

This scene is the best
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycWx9ni6dZE

― Number None, Monday, 17 January 2011 20:10 (fourteen years ago)

Aw, I like Namond's mom as a character - granted she is also a horrible person

― sarahel, Monday, 17 January 2011 20:22 (fourteen years ago)

She isn't likeable, but I like watching her - I feel the same way about Rawls - they take such joy in being assholes

― sarahel, Monday, 17 January 2011 20:25 (fourteen years ago)

i think "thin line 'tween heaven and here" was said by bubbles several SEASONS later, actually

and i agree with some dude that it's one of the times i actually agree is an overwritten line

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:34 (fourteen years ago)

seriously? im really confused about whats 'overwritten' about it -- feels totally believable & like the kind of thing u can totally imagine someone saying -- pretty sure junkies have said similar profundities to me while begging for change iirc -- seems like pretty natural kind of thing from anyone who may have spent time being raised in the church

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:39 (fourteen years ago)

(& who lives in the slums)

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:45 (fourteen years ago)

my top 5 chars (at this exact moment):

vondas
omar
bubbles
mcnulty
and i have a soft spot for bodie

― Princess TamTam, Monday, 17 January 2011 21:48 (fourteen years ago)

it's not that i couldn't imagine anyone saying it, just seemed forced from bubs in that particular scene

you've seen the show, right?

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:50 (fourteen years ago)

yeah bodie is up there for me too

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:50 (fourteen years ago)

you're all forgetting Stringer Bell

― horseshoe, Monday, 17 January 2011 21:50 (fourteen years ago)

tgheres only room for 5!!!!!!!!!!!!

maybe i'd bump omar off for string, he gets enough love anyway

― Princess TamTam, Monday, 17 January 2011 21:53 (fourteen years ago)

Bodie is the goods, but I can't get him into my 5

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 21:58 (fourteen years ago)

it's not that i couldn't imagine anyone saying it, just seemed forced from bubs in that particular scene

you've seen the show, right?

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, January 17, 2011 3:50 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

kev i was responding to

if a real life street dude said "thin line 'tween heaven and here" i'd roll my eyes at him too
― Alex Da Dad (some dude), Monday, January 17, 2011 12:20 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:59 (fourteen years ago)

idg how you guys are still talking about that line, lol

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:01 (fourteen years ago)

yeah - deej pretty otm here - there are scenes and exchanges that might feel heavy-handed, but to argue that street dudes and drug dealers couldn't possibly articulate such pithy truths _is_ definitely condescending and patronizing.

― sarahel, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:02 (fourteen years ago)

and if i had to pick a Top 5 favorite characters:

Bunk
Bunny Colvin
Kimmy
Brianna Barksdale
Norman

― sarahel, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:06 (fourteen years ago)

Bunny's been a semi-regular on Burn Notice as a bad guy, everytime I see him I miss Bunny so much lol

― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:11 (fourteen years ago)

bunny & snoop were both on my shortlist

― Princess TamTam, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:12 (fourteen years ago)

Tray Chaney aka "Poot" has a music career now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL6Fu2rO-Dw

― gr8080, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:12 (fourteen years ago)

bunk is absolutely #1 for me ... ummm past that i guess mcnulty, freamon, bodie, omar (duh)

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:13 (fourteen years ago)

Tray Chaney aka "Poot" has a music career now
http://www.youtube.com/v/HL6Fu2rO-Dw&fs=1&hl=en

― gr8080, Monday, January 17, 2011 4:12 PM (43 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

highly disappointed he doesnt still go by 'poot'

― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:13 (fourteen years ago)

kimmy really

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:14 (fourteen years ago)

Slim Charles.

― got electrolytes (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:28 (fourteen years ago)

Slim
Bunk
Frank Sobotka
Bodie
Lester

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:59 (fourteen years ago)

bunk #1

― am0n, Monday, 17 January 2011 23:06 (fourteen years ago)

i think "thin line 'tween heaven and here" was said by bubbles several SEASONS later, actually

and i agree with some dude that it's one of the times i actually agree is an overwritten line

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, January 17, 2011 4:34 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

nah it was in episode 4 of the first season, 3 episodes after Snot Boogie

― some dude, Monday, 17 January 2011 23:10 (fourteen years ago)

hm yeah you're right, think i'm conflating a couple scenes

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Monday, 17 January 2011 23:13 (fourteen years ago)

lol my problem w/ the opening scene isn't the corner kid - it's mcnulty's line, like "mother went through the trouble of christenin him omar isiah betts" & also tryin to imagine how he got the name "snot boogie"

& also the setup of white police detective gets surprised by how they ~do things~ in the slums

― dayo, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 00:02 (fourteen years ago)

im w/ you on his delivery on the 1st line but its just sorta awkward delivery -- imo it could have been sold
def dont understand the 2nd part though, thats sorta the context of the quote in the book too -- the white cops are all sorta like ~mind blown~ by the 'thats the american way'-ness of it .... like you can live outside the law but still feel like you're still playing by parallel rules (sorta one major subtheme of the entire series)

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 00:50 (fourteen years ago)

well yeah, I mean it's exactly the type of story that a cop would tell over a drink to a reporter in a bar, as an example of some kind of "this was the point when I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore" dividing line. like narratively you can see very clearly exactly what point it's trying to make and how it sets that point up, which is sort of what I meant by writerly - idk how it went down in real life but in the retelling it seems like the experience was made to fit this neat narrative package.

― dayo, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 00:53 (fourteen years ago)

"Thin line 'tween" etc. actually gets said twice, once in Season 1 where McNutty takes Bubs to his kids' soccer practice/game, then another time in season 3 re: Hamsterdam.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:08 (fourteen years ago)

ha ok that explains why i was having trouble pinning that down

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:10 (fourteen years ago)

ahhh yeah forgot about the 2nd once

― some dude, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:10 (fourteen years ago)

Also, the idea that Bubbles shouldn't be capable of profundity kind of ignores all his characterization, i.e. an imminently resourceful guy who is clearly intelligent and knowledgeable and perceptive and capable, and who also happens to be a homeless junkie. I think it helps to know or keep in mind that he's the Wire analogue of Gary McCullough, who was a middle class professional before he became an addict.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:15 (fourteen years ago)

Like, Bubble schooling McNutty on how to properly tie up boats ("it's a Balmer knot") kind of suggests that he's not yer average fiend.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:18 (fourteen years ago)

Anyway, my 5, no partic order:

Carver (really ♥ him after second viewing)
Bunny
Slim Charles
McNutty
Bunk

Chris has this weird equanimity about him, too, that makes him very compelling to watch.

Love Rawls as the inflamed hemorrhoid of an a-hole, and his sentimental foil in Landsman.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:22 (fourteen years ago)

Also, the idea that Bubbles shouldn't be capable of profundity kind of ignores all his characterization, i.e. an imminently resourceful guy who is clearly intelligent and knowledgeable and perceptive and capable, and who also happens to be a homeless junkie. I think it helps to know or keep in mind that he's the Wire analogue of Gary McCullough, who was a middle class professional before he became an addict.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Monday, January 17, 2011 11:15 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

fwiw my problem with the line is with the line and not with how plausible it is coming from the character saying it

― some dude, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:29 (fourteen years ago)

the scenes with rawls chewing out mcnulty in those early seasons were some of my faves

and i remember getting a goofy rush as s2 got rolling and the crew started reassembling like a long drawn out act 1 of a heist movie where they 'assemble the old gang' and it was like awwwwwwww yeah

― aka the pope (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:31 (fourteen years ago)

Yeah that was awes

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:33 (fourteen years ago)

fwiw my problem with the line is with the line and not with how plausible it is coming from the character saying it

― some dude, Monday, January 17, 2011 10:29 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

whats the problem, tho

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:50 (fourteen years ago)

it is, how you say, teh corny

― ex-heroin addict tricycle (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:53 (fourteen years ago)

lol

― HOOS the master?? STEEN NUFF (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 04:56 (fourteen years ago)

Please be aware that by confirming this action, you are registering your wish to see this user removed from the site. Once the user has 51 such votes from individual users, they will automatically be banned from the site.

Suggest this user to be banned.

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:03 (fourteen years ago)

& hoos your back on your otm shit, kinda annoying

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:10 (fourteen years ago)

thx for your valuable input on my posting style

― HOOS the master?? STEEN NUFF (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:11 (fourteen years ago)

i will try to otm you more often in the future instead of anyone else

― HOOS the master?? STEEN NUFF (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:11 (fourteen years ago)

otm.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:13 (fourteen years ago)

lol what happened to deejs vacation

― dayo, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:19 (fourteen years ago)

i took a couple day break

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:21 (fourteen years ago)

is it a 'posting style' if you just post 'lol' after weak zings? idgi

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:22 (fourteen years ago)

i took a couple ~~day~~ hours break

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:36 (fourteen years ago)

nah it was 2 days but sadly the confluence of goon poll results & extremely boring office job worked against me
also ppl saying dumb shit like calling that bubbles line 'corny'

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:42 (fourteen years ago)

deej, be less of a cunt

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:45 (fourteen years ago)

seriously dude say what you like about me loling at posts you think are stupid at least i don't ride hobbyhorses so hard they get swallowed up my ass

take shit less serious home slice

― HOOS the master?? STEEN NUFF (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 05:57 (fourteen years ago)

In other words, you want it be one way, but it's etc.

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 06:03 (fourteen years ago)

i didnt realize i was being a dick. i would just like to know why al didnt like that line of dialogue. thank you

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 06:08 (fourteen years ago)

al knows for a fact heaven is actually far away

― gr8080, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 06:39 (fourteen years ago)

all in the game yo

― symsymsym, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 08:50 (fourteen years ago)

FINALLY somebody mentions brianna (i.e. sarahel).. the nexus of her, avon and stringer in, what S3? was like nothing else

the actress who plays her is named michael hyatt and... she's british o_O

― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 11:56 (fourteen years ago)

Although Hyatt is commonly considered an African-American, she has an international background and considers herself an African-British-Jamaican-American, and believes that to exclude any part of that reality would be an incorrect representation of who she truly is.[citation needed]

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 12:08 (fourteen years ago)

ah well sorry michael hyatt

― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 12:18 (fourteen years ago)

i didnt realize i was being a dick. i would just like to know why al didnt like that line of dialogue. thank you

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, January 18, 2011 1:08 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it's mainly that he says "'tween" instead of "between" that makes it overly precious for me. also lol @ hoos having to lay down the law with you.

― some dude, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 13:10 (fourteen years ago)

What is everyone' take on Chris? His sexuality is possibly the most ambigious in the show. Is he a bit W Smithers? He seems to just want to please Marlo and make sure Snoop is learning and seems to only care about his people. Everything that has to happen to keep them good (as opposed to making money or helping out the community or etc.) and he's chill? Murdering seems as normal as running to the store.

Anyway my five: Bunk, Chris, Slim Charles, Herc and Prez

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 13:31 (fourteen years ago)

its a fine line http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Galleries/Imported/Editorial/T-Z/TweenStars/TweenStars-SelenaGomez15.jpg heaven and here

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 13:32 (fourteen years ago)

Didn't Chris have a wife and kids? Seem to remember them being taken care of (not like that) when he got picked up in s5.

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 13:36 (fourteen years ago)

he has people

― plopson (Aerosol), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 13:40 (fourteen years ago)

chris is great. so is slim charles. I can't pick 5 for this show, I really can't.

― dayo, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 13:45 (fourteen years ago)

lol yeah chris was married sam

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:26 (fourteen years ago)

really? did i miss an episode or something? i mean sure there was vague talk of 'taking care of my people' but thats it iirc

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:27 (fourteen years ago)

The actor who plays Rawls was in Blue Valentine, playing an embittered, oxygen-tube dependent variation on his asshole cop.

― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:28 (fourteen years ago)

i never questioned Chris's sexuality. the impression i always got from him was that all the killing and gang related violence and horseshit was not a very big deal compared to some other shit he just wasn't going to mention.

― got electrolytes (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:31 (fourteen years ago)

xp I mentioned that here: Wire Actors in other things

― Pink Friday XIII (jaymc), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:32 (fourteen years ago)

boy that movie seemed like a real pick-me-up until you told us that

xp to alfred

― goole, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:32 (fourteen years ago)

yeah i don't get where Partlow's sexuality is at all ambiguous. having Omar AND Snoop openly gay already, him too would be kind of over the top imo.

― some dude, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:35 (fourteen years ago)

if only tv had less homos

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:36 (fourteen years ago)

also is snoop actually a gay character? you just never hear about their lives iirc

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:37 (fourteen years ago)

or did you mean keema

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:37 (fourteen years ago)

also is snoop actually a gay character? you just never hear about their lives iirc

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, January 18, 2011 9:37 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

seeing as her character is based on the real person, i would say yeah?

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:39 (fourteen years ago)

it's mainly that he says "'tween" instead of "between" that makes it overly precious for me. also lol @ hoos having to lay down the law with you.

― some dude, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:10 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

its a thin line between anthony hamilton drums and wire quotes

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:40 (fourteen years ago)

isn't felicia pearson the actress gay too? i thought i remembered her sayin in an interview somewhere that she was proud to play a gay character or something like that

― HOOS the master?? STEEN NUFF (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:42 (fourteen years ago)

there was at least one line where Snoop referenced her sexuality pretty clearly (Bunk: "I'm thinking about pussy" Snoop: "Yeah, me too"), which is certainly more concrete than the speculation on Chris. anyway the number of gay characters on The Wire is great (and kinda funny considering how LOGO will run shows that had like one supporting character who had a same-sex relationship in 2 episodes), I just think having 2 of the most cold-blooded killers on the show be gay is enough, 3 would be verging on silly.

― some dude, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:45 (fourteen years ago)

lesson: all gay people are cold blooded killers

― HOOS the master?? STEEN NUFF (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:48 (fourteen years ago)

I was just saying I liked how different he was, because he was an ambigious character but in a human way. Not saying he is gay. It is a nice offset to the evil robot Marlo whose only sexing looked like a case of ghetto NOTGAYS and you know, she ended up shot. So with Marlo it is because he is stone, Chris seems to keep so much from us to protect his crew and his own sanity and its quite charming how subtly it is pulled off.

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:51 (fourteen years ago)

lesson: all gay people are cold blooded killers

― HOOS the master?? STEEN NUFF (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:48 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

my bro did throw a knife at me one time

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:51 (fourteen years ago)

snoop explicitly says she's gay more than once on the show

chris has a legit family that he has to say bye to when he's on the run towards the end of season 5

watch yr dvds

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 15:57 (fourteen years ago)

So with Marlo it is because he is stone, Chris seems to keep so much from us to protect his crew and his own sanity and its quite charming how subtly it is pulled off.

Meh. I don't think the writers bothered with Chris much other than a useful cold blooded killer, it's just the dude who plays him is so normal looking that it makes the whole thing more sinister.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 16:14 (fourteen years ago)

this thread is making me consider watching the whole series front to back for a third go; i bought the box set almost a year ago and it's still in the plastic. Woulda tried it already except gf says "she's not ready to commit" to that experience.

― From the novel "Spinster Dinner" (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:24 (fourteen years ago)

dealbreaker imo

― fruit of the goon (k3vin k.), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:24 (fourteen years ago)

she already went through it once! no judgments.

― From the novel "Spinster Dinner" (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:29 (fourteen years ago)

It’s been great observing my gf see this show for the first time. I could tell she was not too into for the first few eps, then I notice her coming around, Kima gets shot and she’s all “OMG this show is crazy put on the next disc damn it”

― plopson (Aerosol), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:44 (fourteen years ago)

the first episode is not good imo but it improves really fast

― From the novel "Spinster Dinner" (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:51 (fourteen years ago)

Chris - wikipedia has something about a domestic sexual abuse backstory for him, hence him going to town on michael's dad

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:53 (fourteen years ago)

wikipedia has that huh

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:59 (fourteen years ago)

thasswhatIsaid, wiseguy

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:06 (fourteen years ago)

this thread the last few days is probablythe most i've even thought about The Wire since it went off the air, kind of been getting some space away from it after being so intensely into it for a few years. maybe that way i'll enjoy re-watching it all more at some point when i finally buy the DVDs or get them for Xmas or something.

― some dude, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:12 (fourteen years ago)

rewatching it has been great (we're up through season 3). nice to not be constantly be playing catch up with who's who and how everything connects and kind of enjoy the overall structure.

― tylerw, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:13 (fourteen years ago)

been re-watching homicide this winter. man if u think wire's season 5 is bad...

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:15 (fourteen years ago)

haha i came to homicide after the wire and was like 'really? this is it?' - guess it must've been a lot more of a 'thing' in its time

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:16 (fourteen years ago)

i loved Homicide at the time and have been meaning to revisit it, but yeah i'm nervous about it having aged poorly

― some dude, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:17 (fourteen years ago)

homicide is... okay? it's better than the corner.

― From the novel "Spinster Dinner" (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:17 (fourteen years ago)

i actually think the first 3 or 4 seasons are solid and have some gr8 writing/acting, for a network show at least. but then this fucker pops up and its all downhill from there

http://www.classictvhits.com/cast/1870.jpg

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:19 (fourteen years ago)

iirc homicide is entertaining but it really has the fontana touch - super-catholic, earnestly liberal in a somewhat dated feeling way - the acting's prob better than The Wire, all things told

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:19 (fourteen years ago)

it's more of a network show is all.

― From the novel "Spinster Dinner" (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:20 (fourteen years ago)

i only saw the first 3 seasons, come to think of it

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:21 (fourteen years ago)

Homicide's dialogue in the first few seasons is right on...or at least I remember it being that way. Haven't rewatched in a while.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:21 (fourteen years ago)

yeah i was gonna say, it's pleasing to watch in the way that a really good cop show is

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:21 (fourteen years ago)

And yeah, I don't think I saw it all the way through, I stoppped after maybe S3?

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:21 (fourteen years ago)

andre braugher as pembleton is p unfuckwithable

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:21 (fourteen years ago)

It was sort of groundbreaking for its time but hasn't aged especially well. But there are great scenes and episodes.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:22 (fourteen years ago)

+ yaphet kotto

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:22 (fourteen years ago)

andre braugher as pembleton is p unfuckwithable

― am0n, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 12:21 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

'black & blue' episode where he convinces the kid who didnt shoot someone that hes guilty in the interrogation room is amazing. I DID THIS FOR YOU GEE. best TV ever

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:24 (fourteen years ago)

season one fyi

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:24 (fourteen years ago)

YES YOU DID
YOU KILLED HIM

― From the novel "Spinster Dinner" (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:25 (fourteen years ago)

YOU PUT THE BULLET OUT THERE

― From the novel "Spinster Dinner" (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:25 (fourteen years ago)

when homicide's good, it's as good as any other cop drama you'd care to name -- but it also had some horrible, horrible episodes. i haven't watched the whole series tho.

― tylerw, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:28 (fourteen years ago)

been re-watching homicide this winter. man if u think wire's season 5 is bad...

― am0n, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 1:15 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark

i am only two discs into season one and think it's classic/best show ever created. better than the wire by far. i'll have to check the book out.
― ghetty green (eman), Friday, August 5, 2005 12:16 AM (5 years ago) Bookmark

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:29 (fourteen years ago)

¯\(°_°)/¯

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:32 (fourteen years ago)

is that the whistler? xpost

/buffy geek

― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:35 (fourteen years ago)

been re-watching homicide this winter. man if u think wire's season 5 is bad...

― am0n, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 1:15 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 12:29 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

he said he was talking about the later seasons

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:37 (fourteen years ago)

I wasn't talking to you. Just assume that I'm never talking to you.

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:39 (fourteen years ago)

how are you unbanned exactly

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:44 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.pyngo.com/content/images/pyngo/images/screen_question2.jpg

― omar little, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:50 (fourteen years ago)

Interesting question *slowly raises a mirror to your face*

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:51 (fourteen years ago)

i loved homicide but i was kinda always comparing it to nypd blue, which seemed to be a lot more humorless and backwards-thinking w/r/t style and topic (beyond america getting its long desired fleeting glimpse of the butt of dennis franz.) but it did get lame with the arrival of the jon seda seasons.

― omar little, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:53 (fourteen years ago)

i always thought the initial core bunch of detectives was pretty awesome. melissa leo was always kinda underrated, i liked her character just because she was so awkward and strange and original.

― omar little, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:55 (fourteen years ago)

doesnt ****spoilerz**** Gee get shot in the last episode or something? what was the deal w/ that

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:55 (fourteen years ago)

yeah & polito was fantastic too

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 18:55 (fourteen years ago)

Homicide is awesome for like the 3 episodes and then divebombs rapidly when they start moving away from material in the book - e.g. I think episode 4 has this bizarre segment where Yaphet Kotto flips out over asbestos or something and it is just baffling.

― ears are wounds, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:00 (fourteen years ago)

i prob don't agree w/ eman's 5 yr old "best show ever" claim but i do think pembleton >>>>>> most wire characters. i did read the book eventually.

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:01 (fourteen years ago)

xp what was baffling about it? i dont remember it seeming particularly weird? maybe im remembering wrong

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:02 (fourteen years ago)

yeah i was tempted to say earlier that pembleton's probably better than any Wire character - dont hold me to that though

― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:04 (fourteen years ago)

pembleton having a stroke and being not at full strength for a couple seasons police skills-wise was kinda like putting han solo on endor imo but what can you do

― omar little, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:07 (fourteen years ago)

thats season 5 i think, it def got worse towards the end to much greater degree than the wire did

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:11 (fourteen years ago)

i think i still haven't watched the homicide movie. i've heard its terrible

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:12 (fourteen years ago)

xp what was baffling about it? i dont remember it seeming particularly weird? maybe im remembering wrong

I mean it was baffling in tone, not that it was a confusing plot point or anything. Like we went from this really intense high-stakes interrogation scene in the previous episode to concerns about asbestos levels in the next.

― ears are wounds, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:13 (fourteen years ago)

Nevertheless, in its attempt to improve Homicide's ratings, NBC often insisted on changes, both cosmetic and thematic. For example, by the beginning of the third season, talented but unphotogenic veteran actor Jon Polito had been ordered dropped from the cast. At around this same time, the network also began clamoring for more on-screen romance and violence. In order to have episodes NBC considered more eye-catching air during "sweeps" periods, it sometimes aired them out of order, often to the detriment of story arcs that had developed over several episodes or even entire seasons.

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:15 (fourteen years ago)

;_; love unphotogenic jon polito

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:17 (fourteen years ago)

and i remember getting a goofy rush as s2 got rolling and the crew started reassembling like a long drawn out act 1 of a heist movie where they 'assemble the old gang' and it was like awwwwwwww yeah
― aka the pope (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Monday, January 17, 2011 10:31 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

thought this was corny as all hell, tbh, but w/e

― ullr saves (gbx), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 19:41 (fourteen years ago)

hoos liking corny stuff?

; )

― gr8080, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:08 (fourteen years ago)

last season of homicide is incredibly bad. I've never made it through more than a handful of eps.

still love the series as a whole, tho.

the show is VERY of its time (silverchair song in a montage! double-take edits!) but the lineup changes are, by far, the biggest problem with the show. the cast is constantly in flux and the new characters are almost always a step down from the ones they are replacing. less likable, more cardboard, all of that. by the time (uh, spoilers I guess?) pembelton leaves and some model chick joins the crew in his place, there's an unmistakable void hanging over everything. NO FUN.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:22 (fourteen years ago)

the book is pretty different and definitely worth reading.

nevertheless, I think the book and the show both have an addictive procedural quality to them.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:23 (fourteen years ago)

i always thought the initial core bunch of detectives was pretty awesome. melissa leo was always kinda underrated, i liked her character just because she was so awkward and strange and original.

― omar little, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:55 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

otm

― original bgm, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:24 (fourteen years ago)

"some model chick" = mcnulty's wife!

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:25 (fourteen years ago)

o yeah and the final season has giancarlo esposito (gus from breaking bad) as gee's jheri-curled son lol

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:29 (fourteen years ago)

wait, not that model chick. this model chick:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005230/

did not realize that was gus! gus rules I really despise the homicide character he plays.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:30 (fourteen years ago)

'Getting the band back together' is usually good times in any movie/tv show. I'm surprised How I Met Your Mother hasn't used that for an episode yet.

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:31 (fourteen years ago)

o yeah and the final season has giancarlo esposito (gus from breaking bad) as gee's jheri-curled son lol

― am0n, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 2:29 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Whoa!! i knew id seen dude before

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:31 (fourteen years ago)

he's been around for years, he's pretty dope.

― omar little, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:33 (fourteen years ago)

one more thing I hate about the last season of homicide: EVERYBODY IS DATING.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:34 (fourteen years ago)

Nevertheless, in its attempt to improve Homicide's ratings, NBC often insisted on changes, both cosmetic and thematic. For example, by the beginning of the third season, talented but unphotogenic veteran actor Jon Polito had been ordered dropped from the cast.

he barely made it to the start of season three.

but the show was still good at that point.

― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:35 (fourteen years ago)

start of season two, even.

― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:35 (fourteen years ago)

never seen homicide

and i never put jon polito's name to his face!

brother seamus represent

― goole, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:36 (fourteen years ago)

wait, not that model chick. this model chick:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005230/

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Tuesday, January 18, 2011 3:30 PM

damn forgot about her

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:36 (fourteen years ago)

'homicide' is great, yall are chumps. i like the cast replacements on 'homicide' just because they show the culture of the department and the relationships between the detectives changing as the job grinds people down. lewis is really interesting in that regard, as you see him go from not catching crosetti's suicide, to going in with kellerman on the mahoney shooting, to just sort of kicking around the department not really bonding with anyone, and even going through a quarrel with whatsername after her gun gets taken.

― j., Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:37 (fourteen years ago)

Homicide is awesome for like the 3 episodes and then divebombs rapidly when they start moving away from material in the book - e.g. I think episode 4 has this bizarre segment where Yaphet Kotto flips out over asbestos or something and it is just baffling.
― ears are wounds, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:00 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

nah, it's never that much like the book, it couldn't be, and there's good stuff in the show that isn't in the book. but there's some really nice bits from david simon that aren't narrative, just good writing. just the other day i was thinking about how he describes cops persuading people to talk when they really don't have to. you can make a scene out of that but in the end that passage does what prose does and drama doesn't. and that's ok.

xpost

i gave up on homicide when they started having to pull out their guns in every episode, but the ensemble was still solid as hell.

― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:40 (fourteen years ago)

yeah, kellerman is kind of interesting. my initial thought was that he was brought onto the show as a pretty face to boost ratings or whatever but then he becomes so unlikable as the series progresses...

― original bgm, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:42 (fourteen years ago)

the actor that plays him is good too. menacing at the right moments.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:43 (fourteen years ago)

weird to me to hear giancarlo esposito described as gus from breaking bad, coz he seems such a staple of american indie films down the years - spike lee, jarmusch etc. - and u see him pop up a lot elsewhere.

this was dope btw http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109842/

― zvookster, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:44 (fourteen years ago)

damn forgot about her

― am0n, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:36 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah, could be getting my timelines for character intros/exits mixed up too.

― original bgm, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 20:45 (fourteen years ago)

Yeah, I think I prob. first saw him as Buggin' Out in Do the Right Thing.

― Pink Friday XIII (jaymc), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 21:52 (fourteen years ago)

Yeah he's been around forever, love that dude.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 21:55 (fourteen years ago)

He's been in a lot of short-run tv cop shows, but there was one he was in that I loved...I looked through IMDB but I can't figure out what it was. Maybe New York Undercover?

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 21:56 (fourteen years ago)

I stopped watching Homicide after Season 1 -- there were some great scenes and plots, but there was also the network-y corny plots involving a guy dressed as Santa and a parentless baby. Was that Jake Gyllenhaal's first real acting role?

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 21:57 (fourteen years ago)

Yeah, I think I prob. first saw him as Buggin' Out in Do the Right Thing.

― Pink Friday XIII (jaymc), Tuesday, January 18, 2011 3:52 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i knew the connection w/ this dude & homicide but never gus for some reason

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:02 (fourteen years ago)

One of my favorite episodes was when Melissa Leo goes home to Maine ?)...Massachussets (?)...somewhere where there are crabs, anyway, sorry my geography gets hazy on that lol...and her Dad and brothers are all crab fishers...she was such a great character, I really enjoyed seeing a woman on screen not really 'made up' at all, just hanging out with guys and not trying to kiss them and all that...she was so real for TV at that time, I dug it.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:02 (fourteen years ago)

Gee could I ramble any more? Make of that what you will.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:03 (fourteen years ago)

she goes to the eastern shore of maryland

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:03 (fourteen years ago)

but there was also the network-y corny plots involving a guy dressed as Santa and a parentless baby. Was that Jake Gyllenhaal's first real acting role?

― sarahel, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 3:57 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

this episode is the only one that really strikes me as blrggroghru
but mostly bcuz of the role of the mother of the baby ... the acting is super-theatrical & script was worse

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:05 (fourteen years ago)

so some dude's issue with the line is because Bubs drops the first syllable of "between"?

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:06 (fourteen years ago)

thin line 'tween between and 'tween

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:08 (fourteen years ago)

the thing with Melissa Leo's character -- I dunno -- it definitely was a stage in TV trying to create strong female characters, though she struck me as a prettier, less realistic Christine Cagney

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:09 (fourteen years ago)

I'll buy that. Hard to get much realer than Cagney & Lacey, as far as women in cop shows go.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:12 (fourteen years ago)

i wonder how they say "ambulance" in baltimore

― gr8080, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:14 (fourteen years ago)

i think it was largely because of her hair, which didn't seem to fit in w/her line of work -- kinda like Naymond's ponytail

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:14 (fourteen years ago)

I loved her look, the baggy pants, always standing with her hands on her hips.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:15 (fourteen years ago)

hey gr80 - the word "douchebag is pronounced the same.

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:16 (fourteen years ago)

seriously dude - take your tropical bro crepe act to another thread

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:20 (fourteen years ago)

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/01/bealefeld_the_wire_a_smear_tha.html

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:25 (fourteen years ago)

wait what xp

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:27 (fourteen years ago)

so some dude's issue with the line is because Bubs drops the first syllable of "between"?

― sarahel, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 5:06 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

partly but not entire -- it's just what tips it over from tolerably pretentious to ugh

― some dude, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:27 (fourteen years ago)

yeah http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/2/xgllya_2.gif

― plopson (Aerosol), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:27 (fourteen years ago)

as if bealefeld doesn't have bigger problems than some tv show
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-friendly-fire-shooting-20110110,0,4108960.story

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:33 (fourteen years ago)

so some dude's issue with the line is because Bubs drops the first syllable of "between"?

― sarahel, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 4:06 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i totally dont get what his point was either but i figured we were ~letting it go~

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:44 (fourteen years ago)

we want this thread to be the other way is what we're saying

― VegemiteGrrrl, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:45 (fourteen years ago)

good job letting it go, deej

― gr8080, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:46 (fourteen years ago)

i just want this thread to be discussion of The Wire; felt like maybe we'd derailed a bit much on the subject of Homicide

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:46 (fourteen years ago)

thnx bro ^__^

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:47 (fourteen years ago)

i agree w/ sarahel

― gr8080, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:48 (fourteen years ago)

2 thread cops with clashing personalities, forced to be partners. what hijinks will ensue?

― gr8080, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:49 (fourteen years ago)

I'm getting too old for this shit.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:50 (fourteen years ago)

wait who are the thread cops?

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:50 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUH3JQjcweM

― omar little, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:50 (fourteen years ago)

nevermind. u_u

― gr8080, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:51 (fourteen years ago)

the wire sucks: discus

― am0n, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:51 (fourteen years ago)

my favorite wire character is Larvell Jones

― *gets the power* (deej), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:52 (fourteen years ago)

But back to Brianna -- I really liked the fact that she was developed as a character, because in so many scenes like with Bodie's grandma, Lex's mom, and Andre's wife, you see that "The Game" also involves women that might not be direct players, but you know that it has a real effect on their lives.

― sarahel, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:53 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvK0IZVpbOE

― flopson, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 23:00 (fourteen years ago)

but then this fucker pops up and its all downhill from there

aw, <3 m perlich, now I wanna watch Homicide

when I realised who Gus in Breaking Bad was played by, I youtubed the Buggin' Out sneakers scene from Do The Right Thing to show my housemate, and she was like "but wtf that guy's black!"

― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 23:04 (fourteen years ago)

but then this fucker pops up and its all downhill from there

aw, <3 m perlich, now I wanna watch Homicide

when I realised who Gus in Breaking Bad was played by, I youtubed the Buggin' Out sneakers scene from Do The Right Thing to show my housemate, and she was like "but wtf that guy's black!"

― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 23:05 (fourteen years ago)

Chris - wikipedia has something about a domestic sexual abuse backstory for him, hence him going to town on michael's dad

― Ismael Klata, Wednesday, January 19, 2011 1:53 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark

yeah I remember this being pretty heavily signposted during the show

― dayo, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:08 (fourteen years ago)

i wonder how they say "ambulance" in baltimore

― gr8080, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 5:14 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

this post just screams "tropical bro crepe"

― nakh get on my lvl (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:22 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.moviesandlife.net/images/max-cady-cape-fear1.jpg

― omar little, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:25 (fourteen years ago)

no reason for your mans to panic
you dont want to see no ambalances

― dayo, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:25 (fourteen years ago)

roxy - who are your favorite characters from The Wire?

― sarahel, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:34 (fourteen years ago)

Nunya Biznazz

― nakh get on my lvl (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:39 (fourteen years ago)

huh, because you are often a very clever and observant poster, roxy, i am sincerely curious. I'm particularly curious about your take on Snoop - and how she's kinda the most intolerant and a bigger bully/more prone towards violence - and whether that's related to some kind of insecurity/attempt to function as the only girl, and wanting to be one of the boys.

― sarahel, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:52 (fourteen years ago)

well yeah obv

― nakh get on my lvl (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:53 (fourteen years ago)

i think my favorite character in the wire was tropical bro crepe

― max, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 01:40 (fourteen years ago)

that was the dude that Kima grabbed off the top of the car when she and Cheryl were stuck in traffic, right?

― sarahel, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 01:41 (fourteen years ago)

iirc homicide is entertaining but it really has the fontana touch - super-catholic, earnestly liberal in a somewhat dated feeling way - the acting's prob better than The Wire, all things told
― Princess TamTam, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 10:19 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I have to side with deej here, the acting is H:LOTS is a lot more theatrical and mannered, even Braugher -- where The Wire is "writerly," H:LOTS is "actorly." (I couldn't get through 3 seasons, coming to it post-Wire.)

― Fairport Dinkum Convention (Leee), Wednesday, 19 January 2011 06:00 (fourteen years ago)

david simon's response to bealefeld:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/01/simon_responds_to_bealefelds_c.html

It is my understanding that Commissioner Bealefeld - by finally choosing to emphasize the quality, rather than the quantity of arrest - has been able to reduce the homicide rate somewhat in our city. If true, this is not only commendable, it is a long time coming. Too long, in fact.
Interestingly, the newspaper that covered his department began making the argument to do exactly that as early as 1994, in a series of articles entitled "Crisis In Blue" (Ed. note: part two can be found here) that carefully articulated the disconnect between the Baltimore department's aggressive street-level prosecution of the drug war and the root causes of violence in the city. The arguments were furthered in a book entitled "The Corner" that was published three years later. After a new election cycle, however, those arguments were ignored in favor of years of "zero tolerance" of minor street crimes and an obsession with street-level drug enforcement that actually de-emphasized quality police work and led to marked declines in arrest rates for major felonies.
Later, when a mayor sought to become governor using public safety as an issue, the same police department went further down the path, emphasizing widespread street arrests of dubious quality and legality. This did not reduce crime so much as it violated the civil rights of many city residents and led to the widespread alienation of our jury pool, with many city jurors no longer willing to trust the integrity of testifying officers - a problem that will plague Baltimore law enforcement for years.
Furthermore, on behalf of Mr. O'Malley's political aspirations, many supervisors in many police districts were engaged in a prolonged campaign to improperly downgrade U.C.R. felonies to misdemeanors so as to further the political claim that crime was under control. This was common knowledge throughout the department and was much remarked upon privately by respected veteran supervisors and investigators, themselves frustrated at the practice. Nonetheless, aggravated assaults became common assaults. Armed robberies became larcenies. Rapes were unfounded.
I do not recall that Commissioner Bealefeld - when he was rising through the ranks during those years - made strenuous public objection to the department's misdirection, to its statistical flummery, or to the decline in arrest rates that resulted as quality police work was de-emphasized in favor of juked stats. Perhaps he did so in private, to little avail. And perhaps now that he is in a position to act, he is taking a better path. Again, as a resident of Baltimore, he has my wholehearted support if this is the case.
But publicly, let me state that The Wire owes no apologies -- at least not for its depiction of those portions of Baltimore where we set our story, for its address of economic and political priorities and urban poverty, for its discussion of the drug war and the damage done from that misguided prohibition, or for its attention to the cover-your-ass institutional dynamic that leads, say, big-city police commissioners to perceive a fictional narrative, rather than actual, complex urban problems as a cause for righteous concern. As citizens using a fictional narrative as a means of arguing different priorities or policies, those who created and worked on The Wire have dissented.

Commissioner Bealefeld may not be comfortable with public dissent, or even a public critique of his agency. He may even believe that the recent decline in crime entitles him to denigrate as "stupid" or "slander" all prior dissent, as if the previous two decades of mismanagement in the Baltimore department had not happened and should not have been addressed by any act of storytelling, given that Baltimore is no longer among the most violent American cities, but merely a very violent one.
Others might reasonably argue, however that it is not sixty hours of The Wire that will require decades for our city to overcome, as the commissioner claims. A more lingering problem might be two decades of bad performance by a police agency more obsessed with statistics than substance, with appeasing political leadership rather than seriously addressing the roots of city violence, with shifting blame rather than taking responsibility. That is the police department we depicted in The Wire, give or take our depiction of some conscientious officers and supervisors. And that is an accurate depiction of the Baltimore department for much of the last twenty years, from the late 1980s, when cocaine hit and the drug corners blossomed, until recently, when Mr. O'Malley became governor and the pressure to clear those corners without regard to legality and to make crime disappear on paper finally gave way to some normalcy and, perhaps, some police work. Commissioner Bealefeld, who was present for much of that history, knows it as well as anyone associated with The Wire.
We made things up, true. We have never claimed otherwise. But respectfully, with regard to our critique, we have slandered no one. And to the extent you can stand behind a fictional tale, we stand by ours - and more importantly, our purpose in telling that tale.

Respectfully,

David Simon
Baltimore, MD

― am0n, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 18:22 (fourteen years ago)

flawless takedown

― gr8080, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 19:34 (fourteen years ago)

FATALITY

― max, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 19:40 (fourteen years ago)

i was coming to post the takedown am0n posted a week ago but

2 thread cops with clashing personalities, forced to be partners. what hijinks will ensue?
― gr8080, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 10:49 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
I'm getting too old for this shit.
― polyphonic, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 10:50 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark

this is quality fucking posting guys kudos to yall

― HOOS the master?? STEEN NUFF (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Monday, 24 January 2011 03:03 (fourteen years ago)

one month passes...

Season 5 = shameful shit (at least the half I'm through)

― pascal's swagger (J0rdan S.), Friday, 4 March 2011 19:26 (fourteen years ago)

It gets better. Slightly.

― Number None, Friday, 4 March 2011 19:30 (fourteen years ago)

The funny thing

― pascal's swagger (J0rdan S.), Friday, 4 March 2011 19:34 (fourteen years ago)

Fucking phone

Anyway the funny thing is that I'm really into the newspaper thing personally but This other thing with mcnulty should've been shot down in one second

― pascal's swagger (J0rdan S.), Friday, 4 March 2011 19:36 (fourteen years ago)

i hated it at the start too, but i like how it plays out.

― gr8080, Friday, 4 March 2011 19:41 (fourteen years ago)

The McNulty plotline is almost (and i say almost) worth it for Bunk's reactions and one scene late in the season.

― Number None, Friday, 4 March 2011 19:45 (fourteen years ago)

For all its flaws, and it had plenty, Season 5 did a good job at showing the impossibility of a "great white hope" style hero to save the day. That to me was one of the overall points of the series.

― sarahel, Friday, 4 March 2011 19:49 (fourteen years ago)

spoilers

you know, i think this actually ended well, i esp like how they tied up the daniels thing, w/ him having to protect his ex-wife & current GF -- i think it was a good counterpoint to mcnulty & freamon as the lone wolves that only care about themselves

i thought michael as the next omar with MINI-SHOTGUN & all was a bit heavy-handed, tho sydnor as the next jimmy was choice

i would give anything for there to have been a procedural spin off ft bunk & greggs -- would've easily replaced stabler & benson in my heart

i had tons of problems w/ omar as a character in general, maybe i'll post about that when i'm feeling a bit less lazy

― pascal's swagger (J0rdan S.), Monday, 7 March 2011 06:36 (fourteen years ago)

i also wish that they wouldn't have shown duke doing heroin -- i think they gave enough away when he took the money from prezbo that i wish they would've let that one lie, sorta how they don't give you the satisfaction of thompson being outed as a maker-upper but you know he's gonna get his anyway

― pascal's swagger (J0rdan S.), Monday, 7 March 2011 06:38 (fourteen years ago)

As irrelevant as much of the Sobotka stuff felt, it wasn't as lazily written or conceived as Season Five.

― Rich Lolwry (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 7 March 2011 11:56 (fourteen years ago)

Sobotka stuff isn't "irrelevant" at all, WTF.

― Matt DC, Monday, 7 March 2011 12:04 (fourteen years ago)

We could have seen the Greeks and their connection to the re-up without the stevedore woes.

― Rich Lolwry (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 7 March 2011 12:05 (fourteen years ago)

and Ziggy is still the worst acted and conceived thing in the show.

― Rich Lolwry (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 7 March 2011 12:06 (fourteen years ago)

Yeah, the failures and death of unions isn't topical at all in a show about the decay of american cities.

― Fetchboy, Monday, 7 March 2011 12:44 (fourteen years ago)

and Ziggy is still the worst acted and conceived thing in the show.

― Rich Lolwry (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, March 7, 2011 4:06 AM (5 hours ago)

nah -- I think a lot of people have known a Ziggy-like person, and while it's painful to watch, there is truth to it.

― sarahel, Monday, 7 March 2011 17:12 (fourteen years ago)

very last line of the whole thing is cheesy as fuck.

― territory of the magic wand (Chris), Monday, 7 March 2011 17:21 (fourteen years ago)

forget it chris... it's baltimore

― I just want to give a shout-out to Buzzy Beetles (forksclovetofu), Monday, 7 March 2011 19:41 (fourteen years ago)

wtf indeed the stevedores are some of the best characters on the series & are entirely central to telling the story of baltimore. wtf alfred

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 17:10 (fourteen years ago)

interested to know what jordan's probs w/ omar are

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 17:10 (fourteen years ago)

yeah me too

― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:21 (fourteen years ago)

great show, but my one qualm has always been the casting of the red-head politician... um, lady

really? this woman is desirable to ALL of you? (hello, i'm a recovering sexist)

― yeah (kelpolaris), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:23 (fourteen years ago)

well i think that for a show that is so grounded in realism & is so proud & pompous about how 'real' it is & is perceived to be, that it's a bit odd to have a character like omar that is so unrealistic & practically superhuman -- on the one hand it's a wonderfully acted character, but i think omar undercuts a lot of what the show stands for

i mean, an openly gay rebel gangster (who just so happens to find tons of other gay gangsters to be his boyfriend AND partner in crime) that can steal hundreds of thousands worth of drugs just by showing up and walks around in a trench coat as kids flee the streets and go "oh my god it's omar" -- it's just really fantastical nonsense at times -- and i ALWAYS resented how this superhuman character was not able to kill avon from point blank range in the beginning of season one, which sorta undercuts the whole notion of the character

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:29 (fourteen years ago)

a show where everything was like real life would suck

― gr8080, Saturday, January 15, 2011 10:01 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark

― gr8080, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:37 (fourteen years ago)

then maybe they shouldn't have created a show based on the premise of it being the most 'real' show ever

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:40 (fourteen years ago)

maybe you should come at such a show with adult expectations

― gr8080, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:45 (fourteen years ago)

what should i have expected

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:46 (fourteen years ago)

dunno if you listened to these, but in some of the commentaries simon talks about omar bits as the least realistic and most crowd-pleasing and western-y they did, more for the sheer fun value. so at least there is the recognition that not everything in the show was created with the same tone or effect in mind. if intent matters!

― goole, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:46 (fourteen years ago)

what would've been the sopranos equivalent of this?

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:47 (fourteen years ago)

then maybe they shouldn't have created a show based on the premise of it being the most 'real' show ever

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 3:40 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

that's not the premise of the show at all, though, more the terms people decided to praise it on. there was always a lot more heightened reality in the show beyond Omar than people gave credit for.

― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:48 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.thesterlingedgeduo.zoomshare.com/files/thats_entertainment_gold.jpg

― gr8080, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:48 (fourteen years ago)

like, vito comes back w/ the diner short order cook and starts robbing all of tony's spots as little italian children drop their ham sandwiches and scramble off the street

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:49 (fourteen years ago)

i mean i kinda roll my eyes when people focus on Omar or trumpet him as the best character on the show but i don't really mind the charged element he brought to the show

― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:49 (fourteen years ago)

that's not the premise of the show at all, though, more the terms people decided to praise it on. there was always a lot more heightened reality in the show beyond Omar than people gave credit for.

― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 3:48 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

well i understand "heightened reality", but omar is a huge outlier

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:50 (fourteen years ago)

it's not like the character ruined the show for me or anything -- i still love the show & think it's one of the best things i've ever watched, i just find the character to be problematic is all

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:51 (fourteen years ago)

i understand & appreciate the purpose of having omar being killed by a random corner kid & not dying in a firefight w/ omar's ppl but maybe they shouldn't have had him survive a six story fall off of a balcony, is all i'm saying

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:52 (fourteen years ago)

w/ marlo's ppl*

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:52 (fourteen years ago)

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s235/revmyspace2/graphics/Misc/Bling_Pimp/bling_tony_soprano.gif

― gr8080, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:53 (fourteen years ago)

http://i40.tinypic.com/710i1x.jpg

― gr8080, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:53 (fourteen years ago)

are you saying the six-story fall was too comic booky? like some spider-man shit?

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:54 (fourteen years ago)

lol

― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:54 (fourteen years ago)

great show, but my one qualm has always been the casting of the red-head politician... um, lady

really? this woman is desirable to ALL of you? (hello, i'm a recovering sexist)

― yeah (kelpolaris), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 3:23 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark

i can't even tell who you're referring to -- maybe Rhonda Pearlman? but she wasn't a politician and i thought her hair was more dirty blonde (although i could be wrong about that)?

― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:54 (fourteen years ago)

it has to be rhonda pearlman tho she only had relationships w/ two ppl on the show, also kelpolaris is a troll so let's not bother

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:57 (fourteen years ago)

probably the most oddly bad performance in this show was the woman carcetti hires to help run his campaign in s3. but i don't think that's the one we're talking about.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:57 (fourteen years ago)

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 2:52 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this was based on something that actually happened!!

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:58 (fourteen years ago)

o rly

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 20:59 (fourteen years ago)

Pearlman was cute but it was all about the campaign manager McNulty and Carcetti both got with

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:00 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?172531-Interview-with-David-Simon

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:00 (fourteen years ago)

also yes sobotka/the stevedores are plenty relevant to the show's theses re: decay of the city/abandonment of the working class/racial hostility fueled by resentment over economic irrelevancy + approaching death/whatever. plus sobotka's walk down the pier in the penultimate episode of s2 is like the best thing on tv ever.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:01 (fourteen years ago)

oh yeah i have a question -- maybe i'm forgetting something, but did they ever explore the connection b/w cheese & randy aside from them both having the same last name? like, i don't think it was ever brought up in s4 that randy was related to cheese & joe? feel like this might've been important?

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:01 (fourteen years ago)

that just came to my mind as the series winds down & cheese becomes a bigger player towards the end

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:02 (fourteen years ago)

I feel like the "realness" applies more to the way the various plots develop, the sprawling way that stories and character arcs play out, and less to the characters themselves. There are some great characters, but they aren't necessarily the realest-seeming people around, and they occasionally give speeches or make remarks that have no relation to how people talk. And you can view that as a flaw, but I think there's a consistent balance between "realness" and a kind of operatic (and sometimes didactic) nature; see the quotes at the end of the opening credits. How real is a show in which every episode contains a pithy quote that reflects on the episode's theme?

I do share your reluctance about Omar, but I wonder if a character like Lester is that much more realistic.

whoa xxxxp

― clotpoll, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:03 (fourteen years ago)

yeah basically, this was a show that totally had dramatized & archetypal characters, what was 'real' was how it dealt w/ sociopolitical issues, not the characterizations w.in that framework. omar is an awesome character and his heroism is directly contrasted w/ his invisibility to anyone who isnt in the hood -- thus his death being knocked off the newspaper

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:03 (fourteen years ago)

Though the relationship was never established on the show, creator David Simon revealed Cheese to be Randy's biological father.[1]

^^ thought it was maybe alluded to in the show but i guess it wasn't -- the last name thing seemed too deliberate to be a coincidence anyway

― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:03 (fourteen years ago)

are any of you watching that new chicago "wire"-like show with the unfeasibly hot police commissioner and a polish mcnulty?

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:04 (fourteen years ago)

I think the deal w/cheese & randy was that it was just a little thing they threw in, and there wasn't really any plausible reason to go any further with it.

― clotpoll, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:05 (fourteen years ago)

Pearlman was cute but it was all about the campaign manager McNulty and Carcetti both got with

yeah this girl. adorable but then i can't speak objectively to this since she resembled in almost every detail of personality the first girl i ever kissed (who now actually does work for the democratic party). but the first girl i ever kissed played this part way, way, way better than the actress in the wire, who came off flat and awkward to me every time she tried to say anything witheringly hobbesian.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:07 (fourteen years ago)

brother mouzone was as stupid a character as omar too. this show was good but is massively and ludicrously overrated for some reason. both mad men and breaking bad are ten times the show this is.

― I see what this is (Local Garda), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:07 (fourteen years ago)

i'll kill you

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:08 (fourteen years ago)

brother mouzone is not a great character, but he's an outlier in that sense

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:09 (fourteen years ago)

i think brother mouzone was based on something real too /deej

― goole, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:10 (fourteen years ago)

realism as in dealing with subject matter that actually happens and realist in style are two different things, although the later isn't particularly well-defined.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:11 (fourteen years ago)

brother mouzone is hilarious

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:11 (fourteen years ago)

Though the relationship was never established on the show, creator David Simon revealed Cheese to be Randy's biological father.[1]

^^ thought it was maybe alluded to in the show but i guess it wasn't -- the last name thing seemed too deliberate to be a coincidence anyway

― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:03 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark

thank u ship

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:12 (fourteen years ago)

yeah there's no way there are two central characters w/ the last name wagstaff & it is a coincidence

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:12 (fourteen years ago)

brother mouzone gets a pass for being From New York and having all the characters talk about how he's Come In From New York and is going to use New York Tactics and it's actually pretty funny when he turns out to be a tarantino cartoon.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:12 (fourteen years ago)

tbf i agree like...the whole "it's so realistic" is prob mostly this show's stupid thing people say about it. on a number of levels it's stupid cos why would a tv show being realistic even be a definite quality or positive anyway?

― I see what this is (Local Garda), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:17 (fourteen years ago)

people get super dumb when they talk about realism but it is hard to talk about clearly tbf because it turns out no one is ever talking about the same thing

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:18 (fourteen years ago)

i learn something new and infuriating every time this thread gets revived. can't believe people don't enjoy omar little.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:19 (fourteen years ago)

i like both him & mouzone but hearing jordan bash omar but enjoy mouzone makes even less sense!

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:21 (fourteen years ago)

i def bristle at the idea that mad men is touching this show

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:21 (fourteen years ago)

All the realism praise is cos people like to think they know about "the streets" and so on after watching The Wire.

― Number None, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:24 (fourteen years ago)

re: madmen -- there's gonna be a crossover??

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:24 (fourteen years ago)

I enjoy The Sopranos and The Wire about equally but Mad Men is nowhere close yeah

― Number None, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:24 (fourteen years ago)

s4 is the only thing that'd taint that for me...but i like the emotion of mad men and the romance (mean that broadly.) prob a personal thing...by the same token i'd say twin peaks is my fave tv show of all time. not really looking for realism so much as that sort of wistfulness.

breaking bad on the other hand is just such brilliant storytelling.

i enjoyed the wire but it is kinda annoying in places as well, eg the scene with mcnulty/bunk going "fuck" repeatedly or whatever it was. that wasn't "omg genius", it was really stupid cop show rubbish. plus the first two seasons of the wire are way way way better than the last three, which get progressively poorer.

― I see what this is (Local Garda), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:25 (fourteen years ago)

mouzone is a "worse" character than omar obv

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:25 (fourteen years ago)

cop shows are great

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:25 (fourteen years ago)

i meant hilarious in a bad way

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:26 (fourteen years ago)

btw i enjoy the character of omar -- just had some problems

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:26 (fourteen years ago)

I hate the "fuck" scene as well and it always annoys me when people bring it up in praise of The Wire.

― Number None, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:26 (fourteen years ago)

i dont know if thats what some ppl do it but there are plenty of other reasons to praise its realism i.e. the realistic way characters are forced to interact w/ larger systems

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:26 (fourteen years ago)

that was re: ppl liking the wire bcuz they know whats going on in the streets

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:27 (fourteen years ago)

j0rdan look at the realism this way ... ppl like prodigy from mobb deep bcuz his rap style feels visceral & 'real' -- but when he raps 'got a rusty gun, but that shit still spit,' that would actually be a stupid thing to use as a weapon, but it SOUNDS badass? like, there's a tension between realism vs. dramatic license going on in any form of entertainment. the guys that wrote this show were by & large fiction writers

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:29 (fourteen years ago)

i am trying to remember if mad men ever affected me emotionally.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:29 (fourteen years ago)

I hate the "fuck" scene as well and it always annoys me when people bring it up in praise of The Wire.

― Number None, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 3:26 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this sounds like reacting to ppl hyping it imo. wasnt the 'fuck' scene also based on bmore cop humor david simon observed firsthand?

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:29 (fourteen years ago)

what scene are you guys talking about

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:30 (fourteen years ago)

I think that's a significant reason why the show has become so canonized in recent years. Makes people feel a bit superior that they watch this show that's so realistic, complex etc.

― Number None, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:30 (fourteen years ago)

weird...i found it affecting throughout. s4 prob a bit of a letdown as i think about it now, mind you.

x-post it could be based on real humour and still be shit. maybe bmore cops aren't funny either.

― I see what this is (Local Garda), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:31 (fourteen years ago)

Well, i hadn't heard any hype when i watched the scene and i have since read that it was based on a real situation but it just always came off fake to me.

― Number None, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:31 (fourteen years ago)

I think that's a significant reason why the show has become so canonized in recent years. Makes people feel a bit superior that they watch this show that's so realistic, complex etc.

― Number None, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 3:30 PM (25 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

u have a v pessimistic view of ppl's motives & its impugning your ability to be rational while critiquing this show imo

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:32 (fourteen years ago)

who cares if it's fake, it's awesome.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:32 (fourteen years ago)

sometimes the wire's staginess falls flat, but i love the "fuck" scene

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:32 (fourteen years ago)

lol, number none is taking the place of whiney g weingarten in this discussion

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:33 (fourteen years ago)

hey guys which scene is the "fuck" scene

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:33 (fourteen years ago)

you guys need to indulge your cornball tendencies imo

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:33 (fourteen years ago)

horseshoe you're just trying to feel superior

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:33 (fourteen years ago)

I love the show though! Just saying i've encountered people who watch it that way. Also, broadsheet journalists

― Number None, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:33 (fourteen years ago)

― deej, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:29 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

this is a stretch, deej

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:34 (fourteen years ago)

j0rdan in the first season, when mcnulty and bunk are investigating a murder scene and realize the shooting took place in a different way than they'd thought + find the bullet and say "fuck" over and over the whole time they're reenacting the shooting

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:34 (fourteen years ago)

i don't think number none is way out of order to suggest that people cite some dumb ass reasons for liking the wire, eg "realism" 99 per cent of the time. is that really why it's a good show? i don't think so. it's just become the thing people say about it.

x-post otm...so much broadsheet bullshit about this show. news journalists get horny for this realism bullshit.

― I see what this is (Local Garda), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:35 (fourteen years ago)

I watched the show before there was any hype about it and I still hated the "fuck" scene.

Favorite show ever tho.

― reggaeton for the painfully alone (polyphonic), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:35 (fourteen years ago)

i am going to say any scene with bunk in it is fine by me

it's realist like a realist novel...it's still fiction

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:36 (fourteen years ago)

i don't remember the "fuck" part of that scene

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:37 (fourteen years ago)

bunk is really the best -- he really turned it on during the homeless thing

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:37 (fourteen years ago)

this is a stretch, deej

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:34 (2 minutes ago) Permalink

how so

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:37 (fourteen years ago)

'realist fiction' is exactly what both of these are

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:37 (fourteen years ago)

All the realism praise is cos people like to think they know about "the streets" and so on after watching The Wire.

I did get to use the word "burner" in convo w a friend who was considering becoming part of a drug distribution arrangement, and she was totally shocked that I knew what one even was. That was kinda fun.

― go peddle your bullshit somewhere else sister (Laurel), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:38 (fourteen years ago)

Sounds like you've got some pretty street friends

― Number None, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:38 (fourteen years ago)

why are you being such an asshole about this reason that people like the wire that you made up?

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:39 (fourteen years ago)

Lol no.

― go peddle your bullshit somewhere else sister (Laurel), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:39 (fourteen years ago)

I don't think i'm being an asshole. All i'm saying is i get that impression from a section of the show's audience. Again, i love The Wire and i love it cos it's entertaining, funny etc.

― Number None, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:43 (fourteen years ago)

acting superior about people acting superior

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:44 (fourteen years ago)

a solitary rap line vs a whole character in a TV show

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:45 (fourteen years ago)

maybe compare rick ross & omar little

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:45 (fourteen years ago)

the thing about realism in fiction is that unrealistic (or I guess improbable) things happen in reality all the time, like people surviving falls from a 6th floor

xxxxpost to like 20 posts when realism in The Wire was discussed

― peter in montreal, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:47 (fourteen years ago)

sorry Number None i misread the tone in your comment to Laurel. wire threads make me so touchy.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:48 (fourteen years ago)

a solitary rap line vs a whole character in a TV show

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 3:45 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

wtf dude its just a parallel example of dramatic license

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:49 (fourteen years ago)

im trying to explain what ppl mean by 'realism' w/r/t the wire is similar to 'realism' in rap music

its not a 'stretch' its an 'example you are already familiar with that might help you approach it with the expectations of fiction'

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:50 (fourteen years ago)

i really like the mcnulty/bunk murder-reconstruction scene. the "fuck" part is pretty irrelevant: it's several minutes of guys doing a job, which is both interesting and rare on TV, and there's this whole other additional enjoyable layer where we have in fact had this murder described to us, earlier, by an unreliable narrator, and so there's two layers of crosspollinating suspense: 1) will mcnulty/bunk succeed in reconstructing the murder; 2) will mcnulty/bunk's reconstruction of the murder reveal to us inaccuracies in the description of the murder already presented w/ implications about the character, priorities, and concerns of the guy who described it? pretty elegant scene. dunno what else people want from fiction.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:50 (fourteen years ago)

the repetition of fuck kind of just sets off how absorbed they are in their work

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:51 (fourteen years ago)

they say it sort of meditatively

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:51 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10fHQS2tvKg&eurl=

― I just want to give a shout-out to Buzzy Beetles (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:52 (fourteen years ago)

oh yeah plus it's funny. i just meant it's not the detail i would choose as synecdoche for the scene.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:52 (fourteen years ago)

considering how often the wire is described as 'operatic' im a lil confused why ppl get so stuck on 'realism'

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:54 (fourteen years ago)

every time i open this thread its people talking about whether it's "real." someone should seriously send this to HRO

― gawka flocka flamewar (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:54 (fourteen years ago)

mean, an openly gay rebel gangster (who just so happens to find tons of other gay gangsters to be his boyfriend AND partner in crime) that can steal hundreds of thousands worth of drugs just by showing up and walks around in a trench coat as kids flee the streets and go "oh my god it's omar" -- it's just really fantastical nonsense at times -- and i ALWAYS resented how this superhuman character was not able to kill avon from point blank range in the beginning of season one, which sorta undercuts the whole notion of the character

^^^totally agree with this (sorry I'm late to this thread). silly as fuck

― You hurt me deeply. You hurt me deeply in my heart. (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:57 (fourteen years ago)

you!

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:57 (fourteen years ago)

j0rdan mo collier

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 21:58 (fourteen years ago)

u have a v pessimistic view of ppl's motives & its impugning your ability to be rational while critiquing this show imo

also lol hmm this reminds me of somebody who could it be...

― You hurt me deeply. You hurt me deeply in my heart. (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:02 (fourteen years ago)

^ my first post itt, what's funny is I really dig the omar character, I guess I will forgive a lack of realism if it's done with style

didn't really like the "fuck" scene either, seemed like some tv screenwriter watercooler shit

― I love priest but I've chosen maiden (Edward III), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:03 (fourteen years ago)

Churchy Mo Lady

― gawka flocka flamewar (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:03 (fourteen years ago)

also agree that Bunk was the best/most well acted character in this show

― You hurt me deeply. You hurt me deeply in my heart. (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:04 (fourteen years ago)

it's not really a lack of realism! it's what realist fiction is made of! like have you ever read a dickens death scene? i always end up sounding like that awful baltimore sun editor from season 5 on wire threads.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:04 (fourteen years ago)

this really isnt that unrealistic. they never say hes a gangbanger, just a dude shooting dice, & ppl do talk to the cops all the time

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:07 (fourteen years ago)

that scene's just not very well acted.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:08 (fourteen years ago)

also they keep making mcnulty like re-describe the scenario every time he asks for more details and it starts to feel weirdly like it's being done for people who can't understand what the guy he's talking to is saying. which is unfortunate because mcnulty's own accent in that scene is kind of a trainwreck.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:10 (fourteen years ago)

i'm glad whiney could swing by

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:12 (fourteen years ago)

scenes that I think are overrated - chess explanation and "you want it to be one way"

mean, an openly gay rebel gangster (who just so happens to find tons of other gay gangsters to be his boyfriend AND partner in crime) that can steal hundreds of thousands worth of drugs just by showing up and walks around in a trench coat as kids flee the streets and go "oh my god it's omar" -- it's just really fantastical nonsense at times -- and i ALWAYS resented how this superhuman character was not able to kill avon from point blank range in the beginning of season one, which sorta undercuts the whole notion of the character

Is he superhuman? Omar seems to fuck up a lot - he lets his first boyfriend get kidnapped and tortured to death, he gets caught and goes to jail for a minute, one of his female partners gets shot in a busted heist and it seems that he disappears between jobs and (early on) concentrated on robbing independent dealers rather than the Barksdales or Prop Joe's people.

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:19 (fourteen years ago)

yeah his myth is played up a lot but it is treated as myth, not truth

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:20 (fourteen years ago)

that scene's just not very well acted.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:08 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah this is true. there are moment w/in esp the first season that scream 'im acting'

― deej, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:21 (fourteen years ago)

Anyone wanting 100% realism from this show is insane, it's all about the cartoonish excesses of the characters, that includes the cops as much as the ridiculous and massively enjoyable standoff between Omar and Brother Mousone. Should've had more Brother Mousone actually.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:39 (fourteen years ago)

Actually what I'm saying is that the realism makes the show but without the occasional cartoonish excess you miss out on either the heightened drama, the comedy, or both. How many dudes like Stringer Bell do you think there are around?

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:40 (fourteen years ago)

― I just want to give a shout-out to Buzzy Beetles (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:45 (fourteen years ago)

every time i open this thread its people talking about whether it's "real." someone should seriously send this to HRO

― gawka flocka flamewar (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:54 PM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha otm

― max, Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:49 (fourteen years ago)

In case these interviews with David Simon haven't been linked to already:

http://www.wnyc.org/people/david-simon/

― A Very Small Bag of Phrases (Eazy), Wednesday, 9 March 2011 22:53 (fourteen years ago)

a solitary rap line vs a whole character in a TV show

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 3:45 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

wtf dude its just a parallel example of dramatic license

― deej, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 1:49 PM (1 hour ago)

deej otm - Jordan, are you seriously that dense?

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 00:04 (fourteen years ago)

xposts but

that it's a bit odd to have a character like omar that is so unrealistic & practically superhuman

he’s not superhuman

(who just so happens to find tons of other gay gangsters to be his boyfriend AND partner in crime)

tons = 2?

and i ALWAYS resented how this superhuman character was not able to kill avon from point blank range in the beginning of season one

a) he’s not superhuman
b) why WOULD he kill avon in the beginning of season one? how would this benefit him?

but maybe they shouldn't have had him survive a six story fall off of a balcony, is all i'm saying

people schooling you on this is at least the third time it has been brought up in this very thread already, c'mon

― blvd money (sic), Thursday, 10 March 2011 00:38 (fourteen years ago)

i really like the mcnulty/bunk murder-reconstruction scene. the "fuck" part is pretty irrelevant: it's several minutes of guys doing a job, which is both interesting and rare on TV, and there's this whole other additional enjoyable layer where we have in fact had this murder described to us, earlier, by an unreliable narrator, and so there's two layers of crosspollinating suspense: 1) will mcnulty/bunk succeed in reconstructing the murder; 2) will mcnulty/bunk's reconstruction of the murder reveal to us inaccuracies in the description of the murder already presented w/ implications about the character, priorities, and concerns of the guy who described it? pretty elegant scene. dunno what else people want from fiction.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:50 PM (4 hours ago)

yeah the point of this scene i think is that it's pretty obvious to anyone with a brain what's going on, so dialog telling you exactly what bunk's & mcnulty's thought processes are would be kind of redundant and pointless - the "fuck" repetition is just a funny sort of device to hold the place of explanatory dialog here imo, you still get the idea of what's going on

― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:38 (fourteen years ago)

not that anyone cares but i think i'm sort of applying roger ebert's analysis of the motel scene in "pulp fiction", which i always really liked, to this scene as i was thinking about it

anyway the "fuck" scene is awesome, omar is awesome, & local garda is british. keep that in mind

― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:40 (fourteen years ago)

jordan here's the "fuck scene" fwiw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbsnSVM1zM

― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:41 (fourteen years ago)

deej otm - Jordan, are you seriously that dense?

― sarahel, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 7:04 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

uh, you know, there are varying levels of artistic license

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:51 (fourteen years ago)

oh lil wayne says "pistol off in my boxers" BUT DO WE KNOW IF LIL WAYNE ACTUALLY WEARS BOXERS??

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:53 (fourteen years ago)

what an immaculate example of artistic license that we can use as a parallel for all other uses of artistic license

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:54 (fourteen years ago)

yeah the point of this scene i think is that it's pretty obvious to anyone with a brain what's going on, so dialog telling you exactly what bunk's & mcnulty's thought processes are would be kind of redundant and pointless - the "fuck" repetition is just a funny sort of device to hold the place of explanatory dialog here imo, you still get the idea of what's going on

It also highlights the Bunk/McNulty partnership - they know each other and their working methods so well, they don't really have to communicate beyond single syllables.

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:58 (fourteen years ago)

lol jordan

― JaySeanLilWayne (some dude), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:58 (fourteen years ago)

the "fuck" repetition is just a funny sort of device to hold the place of explanatory dialog here imo, you still get the idea of what's going on

― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 9:38 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah if you wanted to stretch it you could say theyre clowning the typical over explainy police procedural - the whole 'fuck' aspect is p interesting from their tone at the beginning of the scene you think its moral indignation over the loss of innocent life but then as it progresses its more that theres a mystery that needs solving, the presence of a mystery causes them great disgust and so they must destroy it - amazing virtuoso scene, anyone not feeling it is wildly out of line, same goes for the stevedores of the great season 2

― ice cr?m, Thursday, 10 March 2011 04:30 (fourteen years ago)

that scene is great, yes

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 04:31 (fourteen years ago)

what an immaculate example of artistic license that we can use as a parallel for all other uses of artistic license

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 8:54 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

the prodigy example makes perfect sense though. it would counterintuitive to setting up your scene as 'realistic' using a rusty gun, but it sounds badass. it would be counterintuitive to set up your scene as 'realistic' with a lone gunman, but it would be badass

i dont see what exactly is the stretch here

― deej, Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:29 (fourteen years ago)

like, neither is impossible, they're just examples of dramatic license giving something more punch while working w/in the parameters of 'reality' despite not being the most realistic choices

i mean, that said of course, both are entirely POSSIBLE ... just ilke, as it turns out, jumping out of a six story window & surviving is, in fact, real

― deej, Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:30 (fourteen years ago)

well yeah it would be badass if prodigy rapped about killing his enemies with a flamethrower while perched in the middle of queens on top of a purple elephant but i'm not sure if i would call it "working within the parameters of 'reality'"

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:39 (fourteen years ago)

horseshoe, difficult listening hour otm

― ℳℴℯ　❤＼(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:39 (fourteen years ago)

just like plenty of scenes involving omar go past what i can tolerate in terms of the violation of the parameters of reality

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:41 (fourteen years ago)

i love pretty much every scene that everyone hates and i never understand any of the criticisms

― ℳℴℯ　❤＼(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:46 (fourteen years ago)

i'll relent slightly on the balcony thing but i still don't think it really matters seeing as 99% of the ppl who've watched the show (and any who thought the whole thing was bullshit) probably will not see those quotes from simon

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:47 (fourteen years ago)

tamtam: i never really knew you well enough in your former guise to have an opinion on you one way or the other, but i think you are an a+ poster no homo.

― jaymc, Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:56 (fourteen years ago)

― horseshoe, Wednesday, March 9, 2011 5:04 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

this is very otm to me - it seems hyper-literal and a little lunkheaded to complain about this stuff imo.

― ℳℴℯ　❤＼(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:57 (fourteen years ago)

jaymc-chan....

― ℳℴℯ　❤＼(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:57 (fourteen years ago)

tv show is not 100% reflective of reality, oh my god

― Slow lorax loves getting tickled (dayo), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:58 (fourteen years ago)

that said, I had a similar reaction as js my first time through, this tv series was lauded for being 'realistic' and I took 'realistic' to mean 'verisimilar' but actually it just means 'realistic' and then I was like okay, I can get down with that...until season 5

― Slow lorax loves getting tickled (dayo), Thursday, 10 March 2011 05:59 (fourteen years ago)

not sure why you would expect a scripted dramatic tv serial to be "verisimilar"

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 06:55 (fourteen years ago)

― little humma boy (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 11:39 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

is this something that omar does in the show cuz i missed that

― deej, Thursday, 10 March 2011 07:49 (fourteen years ago)

horseshoe, difficult listening hour otm

― ℳℴℯ　❤＼(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 11:39 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

u think im offtm or are u just making sure i know u still dont like me

― deej, Thursday, 10 March 2011 07:50 (fourteen years ago)

are you starting beefs, just to start them?

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 07:51 (fourteen years ago)

like Marlo putting people in those boarded up houses not cause he has to, but because he can?

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 07:52 (fourteen years ago)

im not 'starting' anything thnx for your input

― deej, Thursday, 10 March 2011 07:53 (fourteen years ago)

because tamtam didn't include you in his otm litany? like, while you were banned, did you think about how 51 people came to press that button?

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 07:55 (fourteen years ago)

i mean, clearly the thing to do would have been to post, "you did not otm me? surely some mistake!"

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 07:58 (fourteen years ago)

oh my godddddddddddd

― max, Thursday, 10 March 2011 07:59 (fourteen years ago)

max otm
deej otm
everyone otm

except for jordan and whiney

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 08:00 (fourteen years ago)

oh my godddddddddddd

― max, Thursday, March 10, 2011 2:59 AM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark

― ℳℴℯ　❤＼(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Thursday, 10 March 2011 08:09 (fourteen years ago)

not sure why you would expect a scripted dramatic tv serial to be "verisimilar"

― sarahel, 2011年03月10日星期四下午2:55 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yah but people always cite the 'realism' of the wire as being one of its strongest points, its just interesting that 'realism' covers such a broad category of factors, but when people foreground it like that in the conversation I expected idk something closer to the verisimilar side of the spectrum, instead like you said it's just a scripted tv serial

― Slow lorax loves getting tickled (dayo), Thursday, 10 March 2011 08:26 (fourteen years ago)

btw deej otm.... SIKE

― Slow lorax loves getting tickled (dayo), Thursday, 10 March 2011 08:35 (fourteen years ago)

Ah, good old Local Garda, being clueless and British again.

― Matt DC, Thursday, 10 March 2011 09:18 (fourteen years ago)

anyway the "fuck" scene is awesome, omar is awesome, & local garda is british. keep that in mind
― kl0p's son (k3vin k.), Thursday, March 10, 2011 2:40 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark

id thought he was irish for the years i've posted here. huh.

― history mayne, Thursday, 10 March 2011 09:31 (fourteen years ago)

who is sarahel

― deej, Thursday, 10 March 2011 13:20 (fourteen years ago)

Snoop arrested in drug raid

― A Very Small Bag of Phrases (Eazy), Thursday, 10 March 2011 13:48 (fourteen years ago)

― Slow lorax loves getting tickled (dayo), Thursday, 10 March 2011 13:52 (fourteen years ago)

the Snoop buying the Hilti gun opening sequence (sea 4 ep 1) is easily my favorite Wire scene

― BLOOMPS 2012 (rip van wanko), Thursday, 10 March 2011 13:59 (fourteen years ago)

Simon's cynicism was so noxious by the last couple of episodes that I'm surprised he didn't end the scene in which the new Judge Pearlman crisply informs Daniels that he can't prosecute his case because of a conflict of interest *CLOSE-UP of Pearlman slyly winking at Daniels*.

― Rich Lolwry (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 March 2011 14:05 (fourteen years ago)

xp dayo - i don't recall people telling me I "had to see it" because it was "so real" - just that it was "so good" - so I didn't come at it with those expectations.

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 16:25 (fourteen years ago)

if you guys want to see what the wire would be like if it were more realistic you should watch the corner cause thats some real ass dire shit

― ice cr?m, Thursday, 10 March 2011 17:22 (fourteen years ago)

yeah:

The ‘Lowest Form of Humor’? (No Way)

March 10, 2011 11:34 A.M.
By Jay Nordlinger
Okay, I gotta work, but I have to do one more Corner post — can’t resist. In today’s Impromptus, I revisit — prompted by a reader — the pronunciation of forte: which is “fort.” That’s if you mean forte as in expertise, strong suit. Forte as in loud is “for-tay.” (I could explain the roots of these things, but I have done so a hundred times, and must have bored people to tears by now.)

A reader writes, “The strong half of a fencing blade is also a forte, pronounced ‘fort,’ and is used for parries.” Great. Glad to know. But then our reader continues, “The strong parry, like unto a brick wall, is the parry Mason. The easy and apparently casual but effective parry is the parry Como. The Canadian water parry is the parry, eh?”

Don’t shoot the messenger! I mean, the printer of the letter! Shoot, instead, that punning genius from Astoria, Ore.

Thanks, and see you.

― Rich Lolwry (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 10 March 2011 17:24 (fourteen years ago)

i think maybe when people talk abt the wire being real they mean more subtle and caring abt how the world works from certain societal perspectives more than tv shows generally do rather than resembling real life in every conceivable way

― ice cr?m, Thursday, 10 March 2011 17:26 (fourteen years ago)

surprise surprise the things i like the most about the wire are when it gets kind of deadwood-y: using the structures of different parts of the drug economy to try to dramatize how things in the "real" economy and "real" politics work

― goole, Thursday, 10 March 2011 17:30 (fourteen years ago)

goole - me too!

― sarahel, Thursday, 10 March 2011 17:30 (fourteen years ago)

claims to realism always make me suspicious because a) there's usually an underlying aesthetic presumption that realism is somehow the most admirable of artistic virtues (which I don't agree with) and b) the term means radically different things to different people, so it's a fairly vague signifier. These two things in combination I find particularly annoying

― You hurt me deeply. You hurt me deeply in my heart. (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 10 March 2011 17:34 (fourteen years ago)

the exposed mundanity at the heart of the drug drama is a beautiful lol xp

― ice cr?m, Thursday, 10 March 2011 17:37 (fourteen years ago)

xp dayo - i don't recall people telling me I "had to see it" because it was "so real" - just that it was "so good" - so I didn't come at it with those expectations.

― sarahel, Friday, March 11, 2011 12:25 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark

looks like we heard different things from different people, no wai!!

― Slow lorax loves getting tickled (dayo), Thursday, 10 March 2011 23:47 (fourteen years ago)

David Simon responds to Snoop's arrest

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 11 March 2011 01:54 (fourteen years ago)

kind of symptomatic of Simon's incurable logorrhea that he felt the need to write a fucking essay about this and tie it into the show's thesis

― some dude, Friday, 11 March 2011 01:59 (fourteen years ago)

kinda feel bad for snoop

― J0rdan S., Friday, 11 March 2011 02:06 (fourteen years ago)

or demonstrative in his passionate belief in the subjects of his concern (xpost)

― blvd money (sic), Friday, 11 March 2011 02:06 (fourteen years ago)

it must be weird like being a huge breakout fan favorite star of a show out of nowhere & feeling like maybe your life has turned around in a way that you'd never foresee & then slowly realizing that there's nowhere to really go from there

― J0rdan S., Friday, 11 March 2011 02:07 (fourteen years ago)

that too, but i dunno -- i appreciate that he ends it with "I am therefore ill-equipped to be her judge in this matter" but he just climbs on the soapbox in the local media so often at any opportunity that turning a friend/co-worker's misfortune into a rant like this is just a little ugh to me (xpost)

― some dude, Friday, 11 March 2011 02:10 (fourteen years ago)

im not 'starting' anything thnx for your input

― deej, Thursday, March 10, 2011 7:53 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

this is kind of amazing its like watching u spin around and around pointing your gun at anyone approaching

― HOOStory is back. Fasten your steenbelts. (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Friday, 11 March 2011 03:34 (fourteen years ago)

his name is his name, yo

― sarahel, Friday, 11 March 2011 03:36 (fourteen years ago)

kinda like when bodie gets offed

― Slow lorax loves getting tickled (dayo), Friday, 11 March 2011 03:39 (fourteen years ago)

it must be weird like being a huge breakout fan favorite star of a show out of nowhere & feeling like maybe your life has turned around in a way that you'd never foresee & then slowly realizing that there's nowhere to really go from there

She wanted it to be one way, but...?

― boots get knocked from here to czechoslovakier (milo z), Friday, 11 March 2011 03:51 (fourteen years ago)

just like plenty of scenes involving omar go past what i can tolerate in terms of the violation of the parameters of reality

You know, if you wanted Omar to hew more to the life of his real-world counterpart, he would've lived and hooked up with Khandi Alexander.

― stronglo recommendington (Leee), Friday, 11 March 2011 04:52 (fourteen years ago)

http://hoodedutilitarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/wirepage136.jpg

This is pretty good: http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/03/when-its-not-your-turn-the-quintessentially-victorian-vision-of-ogdens-the-wire/

― Stevie T, Thursday, 24 March 2011 17:45 (fourteen years ago)

Herc is now following me on Twitter.

― Magnum PI and Fashion-Forward Dudes (Eazy), Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:13 (fourteen years ago)

Link doesn't work for me, Stevie, looks good. (and pertinently amusing given my blethering last week about Victorian realism/workplaces/The Wire).

― I lolled at the Great Saucepan (GamalielRatsey), Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:38 (fourteen years ago)

I wouldn't worry about it Eazy. They only had one good codebreaker, skinny white dude called Prezlewski or something -- he quit the force after shooting another cop lol. I hear he's teaching at Tilghman Middle!! That'll go well.

― eurohouse autozone tune (rip van wanko), Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:41 (fourteen years ago)

I think they had a surge in visitors and must have bandwidth issues. Here's the googlecached version of the article:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OknQr5ux00gJ:hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/03/when-its-not-your-turn-the-quintessentially-victorian-vision-of-ogdens-the-wire/+hooded+utilitarian+wire+victorian+novel&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&source=www.google.co.uk

― Stevie T, Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:44 (fourteen years ago)

ha stevie u beat me

― Godspeed HOOS! Black Steendriver (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Thursday, 24 March 2011 20:01 (fourteen years ago)

two months pass...

Eric Holder demands another season, "or a movie."

― jaymc, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 01:32 (fourteen years ago)

Since when did Reuter start carrying items from The Onion?

― Doctoral Who (Leee), Wednesday, 1 June 2011 03:51 (fourteen years ago)

The Attorney-General's kind remarks are noted and appreciated. I've spoken to Ed Burns and we are prepared to go to work on season six of The Wire if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanising drug prohibition.

simon says

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 10 June 2011 16:07 (fourteen years ago)

So you're saying there's a chance?

― Number None, Friday, 10 June 2011 16:12 (fourteen years ago)

well played

― When Zeester Met Koffie (forksclovetofu), Friday, 10 June 2011 18:54 (fourteen years ago)

no joke

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 10 June 2011 18:57 (fourteen years ago)

lol actual search result on zipcar baltimore

http://oi53.tinypic.com/10z759l.jpg

wonder if the front fender is trashed

― am0n, Friday, 17 June 2011 19:53 (fourteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://www.slate.com/id/2298074/

this (cancelled) canadian show 'intelligence' is pretty hot shit—wire fans might find it interesting/entertaining.

it builds up steam pretty slowly like the wire, and doesn't have all that much love to it, certainly not the sense of humor, nor the sense of locality (i kind of recognize vancouver in it occasionally, but it seems to leave out a lot of the city), but it's pretty non-stop by the end of the first season. (i mean, it it is all the way up to then too, but by the end every 20-second scene seems like it might be the one where the whole thing falls apart.)

― j., Monday, 11 July 2011 02:37 (fourteen years ago)

oh and it's on netflix instant watch.

― j., Monday, 11 July 2011 02:37 (fourteen years ago)

the second season has a little bit more of a vancouvery look, although it doesn't seem nearly asian enough and the show seems to never leave the city center.

the main agent mary's #2 turns out to be pretty droll too.

― j., Tuesday, 12 July 2011 04:28 (fourteen years ago)

If it's cancelled, does it at least resolve in a satisfying way?

― Matt Groening's Cousin (Leee), Tuesday, 12 July 2011 04:35 (fourteen years ago)

AV Club video on the locations in The Wire.

― Gukbe, Tuesday, 12 July 2011 04:58 (fourteen years ago)

people really like saying "bodymore, murderland" huh

― gucci mande (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 12 July 2011 05:13 (fourteen years ago)

MURAMORE BODYLAND

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 12 July 2011 05:14 (fourteen years ago)

― barrymore, murdrewland (J0rdan S.)

― gucci mande (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 12 July 2011 05:15 (fourteen years ago)

classique

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 12 July 2011 05:18 (fourteen years ago)

If it's cancelled, does it at least resolve in a satisfying way?

nope, not really, but it's reasonable.

― j., Tuesday, 12 July 2011 07:29 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoaCR0mL4Gg

― jaxon, Tuesday, 19 July 2011 05:29 (fourteen years ago)

0_o

― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 05:30 (fourteen years ago)

for ref

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHT-VOLVFzQ&feature=related

― jaxon, Tuesday, 19 July 2011 05:30 (fourteen years ago)

why are you watching icarly, man?

― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 05:31 (fourteen years ago)

kid's voice is sooo weird

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 19 July 2011 05:34 (fourteen years ago)

― Roz, Tuesday, 19 July 2011 05:36 (fourteen years ago)

i've never seen icarly

― jaxon, Tuesday, 19 July 2011 05:53 (fourteen years ago)

thats a really big wire spoiler, in case anyone's never seen it

― max, Tuesday, 19 July 2011 12:45 (fourteen years ago)

yeah be sure to keep an eye out for the fat white kid.

― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 12:48 (fourteen years ago)

he's thinner in the earlier seasons.

― sarahel, Tuesday, 19 July 2011 17:56 (fourteen years ago)

wow, amazing that they got away with that

― generous doler out of lollies (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 22:14 (fourteen years ago)

it's just strange.

― karma's ruthless invisible (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 23:49 (fourteen years ago)

i was doing some filing work in a hospital in west baltimore recently, kept myself entertained one night by seeing how many surnames of characters from the wire i could find in the patient files (iirc i got at least five: stanfield, barksdale, daniels, sydnor, little).

― drowning cool (some dude), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 00:09 (fourteen years ago)

I started watching iCarly with my niece, but now I actively enjoy when she nowhere around. Good, funny show with lots of references like The Wire one.

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 20 July 2011 00:30 (fourteen years ago)

ugh, my brain-to-fingers passage must be blocked.

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 20 July 2011 00:31 (fourteen years ago)

one month passes...

antexit wrote this on thread "The Wire" on HBO on board I Love Everything on Jul 22, 2008

Richard Price cribbed a good amount of dialogue for the Wire from Clockers, mostly stuff that didn't get used in the film, like "big paws on a puppy."

Just started reading this. Also:

Season 3 exchange w/Herc and Justin about where to buy sideways hats

and the classic Carver/Herc/Dozerman meet Bodie/Poot coming out of the movie theater

― sarahel, Sunday, 21 August 2011 21:45 (fourteen years ago)

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lj8nv03gos1qiguseo1_500.jpg

http://wireinspire.tumblr.com

― *steens furiHOOSly* (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Friday, 26 August 2011 15:28 (fourteen years ago)

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqjm3sryDm1qiguseo1_500.jpg

― c("c) (Leee), Saturday, 27 August 2011 18:26 (fourteen years ago)

that tumblr has way too many http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=77&threadid=82861 vibes for me to feel okay about it

― J0rdan S., Saturday, 27 August 2011 18:27 (fourteen years ago)

that tumblr has way too many pop culture photoshop-themed tumblr vibes for me to feel okay about it

― some dude, Saturday, 27 August 2011 18:35 (fourteen years ago)

i really liked the 40 degree day one.

― sarahel, Saturday, 27 August 2011 18:36 (fourteen years ago)

that tumblr has way too shitty a name for me to click on it

― dayo, Saturday, 27 August 2011 18:37 (fourteen years ago)

i found one or more of them funnier than a picture of aziz ansari holding an umbrella

― some jock-bully out to take down the hipsters (history mayne), Saturday, 27 August 2011 18:38 (fourteen years ago)

come on, being a parks and rec superfan and enjoying wire-themed inspirational poster photoshops are pretty much the same action

― A B C, Saturday, 27 August 2011 22:02 (fourteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hI30vRRqxA

― max, Tuesday, 13 September 2011 17:20 (fourteen years ago)

from the celebrity sightings thread:

Tray Chaney selling his autobiography on the corner of F and 13th streets, NW. He had a guy along with him just saying over and over again "Poot from The Wire! Poot from The Wire!"
― kkvgz, Tuesday, September 13, 2011 1:01 PM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark

― kkvgz, Tuesday, 13 September 2011 17:23 (fourteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://www.slate.com/id/2298074/

this (cancelled) canadian show 'intelligence' is pretty hot shit—wire fans might find it interesting/entertaining.

― j., Monday, 11 July 2011 02:37

this show is def great, got hooked on it and now sort of dreading getting to the end of season 2

― lol-qaeda (am0n), Monday, 10 October 2011 06:17 (thirteen years ago)

two months pass...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bal-omar-little-arrested-in-baltimore-20120103,0,3360421.story?track=rss

― (๑•̀⌓•́๑) (am0n), Friday, 6 January 2012 19:22 (thirteen years ago)

That almost looks like a Weezer neck tattoo.

― beachville, Friday, 6 January 2012 20:48 (thirteen years ago)

This is probably more for the Treme thread but I'm way behind on that show so I stay away from the thread for fear of spoilers. This pic is from Coco Robicheaux's memorial second line a month ago. Spot the nerd holding up his iPad.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uqaiM-TU8B0/Tu46MKWX4EI/AAAAAAAACgI/6UUE8PdZRrM/s1600/Coco-8831.jpg

― Fetchboy, Sunday, 15 January 2012 15:59 (thirteen years ago)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/after-the-wire-ended-actress-sonja-sohn-couldnt-leave-baltimores-troubled-streets-behind/2012/01/05/gIQAevmKVQ_story.html

― dayo, Saturday, 28 January 2012 13:40 (thirteen years ago)

haha@the guy holding the ipad up to take a photo.

― Jeff, Saturday, 28 January 2012 14:32 (thirteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

dude, that's freamon.

― Fetchboy, Thursday, 16 February 2012 02:41 (thirteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

bunk, grocer

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/dining/wendell-pierce-to-open-a-grocery-store-in-new-orleans.html

― goole, Thursday, 8 March 2012 22:26 (thirteen years ago)

those lazy, crazy days when someone would talk about how good the wire was and you didn't immediately want to throttle them

― desperado, rough rider (thomp), Thursday, 8 March 2012 22:44 (thirteen years ago)

The Grantland Wire Bracket is the worst thing ever

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 8 March 2012 22:51 (thirteen years ago)

i kinda want to rewatch this but i'm kinda scared to? like it might not be as good as i remember. Dating a girl who hasn't seen it and she's kinda like "is it uncool to watch the wire now" and i kinda think it might be?

― Pup Shalom Dog Costume (forksclovetofu), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:02 (thirteen years ago)

it's as good. mad at you and the girl you're dating fyi.

― horseshoe, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:02 (thirteen years ago)

it's been like six years since i watched it! tastes change.
i own the box set so go pop yer shots elsewhere.

― Pup Shalom Dog Costume (forksclovetofu), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:05 (thirteen years ago)

anyways i think i'm echoing thomp's point that it feels like talking about how good the wire is is like big upping the joys of bacon om nom nom

― Pup Shalom Dog Costume (forksclovetofu), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:06 (thirteen years ago)

forks stfu, your girl is tripping and who gives a fuck if a bajillion people TALK about how good the Wire is. It IS good and don't make me kick your ass.

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:08 (thirteen years ago)

look within yourself and find the answer

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:09 (thirteen years ago)

listen, i'm just saying, rewatching the wire is one of life's pleasures. just do it. or don't, but who cares if people are 2000andlate about the wire. i also like bacon.

― horseshoe, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:12 (thirteen years ago)

exactly

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:13 (thirteen years ago)

HAMSTERDAM

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:13 (thirteen years ago)

if watching the wire is uncool then i'm miles davis!~

― omar little, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:14 (thirteen years ago)

i haven't watched it in ages!

― omar little, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:15 (thirteen years ago)

what's recent is decent imo!

― omar little, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:15 (thirteen years ago)

mad....jels of forks for getting to watch it with this chick who doesn't know what's coming

― Θ ̨Θƪ (sic), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:16 (thirteen years ago)

brb changing my display name to Mike Ehrmantraut

― omar little, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:16 (thirteen years ago)

oh wait if she hasn't seen it yet i'm not mad at her anymore. just forks.

― horseshoe, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:17 (thirteen years ago)

The Wire and Generation Kill are so great, I don't know why I can't make myself give Treme a shot

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:17 (thirteen years ago)

Treme just made me: 1. wish that there were more Wire episodes and 2. wish that there was a show that was just "Kickin' it w/Wendell Pierce"

― sarahell, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:19 (thirteen years ago)

I got over the wire by watching the shield and realizing I liked it like x19 times better.

― Jeff, Friday, 9 March 2012 04:22 (thirteen years ago)

forks i say this with love, shut the heck up and just watch it again

― bron paul (k3vin k.), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:24 (thirteen years ago)

I can't wait until everyone is "over" Breaking Bad in four years.

― stan this sick bunt (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:28 (thirteen years ago)

Watching The Wire is just as much a treat the second time 'round. But you could not pay me to watch it (or engage in similar activities) with someone who was hung up on whether watching it was cool or not. SHEESH, that sounds like a big ol' barrel of NOT FUN.

― Trying To Do A ‘Gotcha’ Moment (Deric W. Haircare), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:33 (thirteen years ago)

I actually did not get into the show on my rewatch, save for the second season.

― Nude Gingrich (Leee), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:39 (thirteen years ago)

you didn't like it the first time?

― bron paul (k3vin k.), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:48 (thirteen years ago)

I can't wait until everyone is "over" Breaking Bad in four years.

― stan this sick bunt (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, March 8, 2012 11:28 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Same here

― kony indie fuxx (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 9 March 2012 04:51 (thirteen years ago)

I loved everything the first time except for season 5!

― Nude Gingrich (Leee), Friday, 9 March 2012 05:05 (thirteen years ago)

well into s4 on my first rewatch, w/ my roommate, who has never seen it. fun to watch him make totally faulty predictions and appreciate all the smart little bits of writing and plot/character beats.

― Simon H., Friday, 9 March 2012 05:12 (thirteen years ago)

lol u guys are fast to the fuckin guns
the main reason we are not watching the wire is cause we are finding better ways to spend our time

― Pup Shalom Dog Costume (forksclovetofu), Friday, 9 March 2012 05:49 (thirteen years ago)

it's called DEEP SPACE NINE MOTHERFUCKERS

― Pup Shalom Dog Costume (forksclovetofu), Friday, 9 March 2012 05:50 (thirteen years ago)

It's true. The scene where they throw piss-filled balloons in The Wire is merely a retread of when Jake Sisco and that Young Ferengi got totally pwned when they tipped over Odo's bucket and found out it was just oatmeal.

― stay in school if you want to kiw (Gukbe), Friday, 9 March 2012 05:53 (thirteen years ago)

i heart you for DS9, Sisko is hot as fuck but never forget that Omar owns your as

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 9 March 2012 06:04 (thirteen years ago)

*ass

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 9 March 2012 06:05 (thirteen years ago)

Come at the Emissary, you best not miss.

― Nude Gingrich (Leee), Friday, 9 March 2012 06:08 (thirteen years ago)

!!!!

Leee, you're a genius

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 9 March 2012 06:18 (thirteen years ago)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/gallery/images/340/ds9sisko01.jpg

― Nude Gingrich (Leee), Saturday, 10 March 2012 16:57 (thirteen years ago)

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:21 (thirteen years ago)

OMAR signing up to play ODB is pretty much whiney's d-day isn't it

― 3hunn O))) (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 22 March 2012 19:22 (thirteen years ago)

lol

― ♆ (gr8080), Thursday, 22 March 2012 22:22 (thirteen years ago)

http://meadowparty.com/blog/?p=2190

thoughts from baseball writer keith law going through the series for the first time. some of the ILB crew probably recognize him

― recent thug (k3vin k.), Monday, 2 April 2012 22:55 (thirteen years ago)

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/interview-david-simon-doesnt-want-to-tell-you-how-to-watch-the-wire

― pleural eff u son (k3vin k.), Saturday, 14 April 2012 05:29 (thirteen years ago)

Simon doesn't mention that the Grantland-bracket article features Obama:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7646862/smacketology-

― the hairy office thing (Eazy), Saturday, 14 April 2012 05:35 (thirteen years ago)

The Grantland bracket is horrible but when Simmons was writing about the Wire a few years ago, he always seemed to have a take on it that did revolve around the issues Simon wanted to deal with and the show's quality as drama, rather than "man, Omar was cooler than Stringer!!!!"

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Saturday, 14 April 2012 05:38 (thirteen years ago)

tbf, omar was cooler than stringer

― boy, was that Dan Fielding hungry for some cake! (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 14 April 2012 17:28 (thirteen years ago)

Simon starts bloggin':

www.davidsimon.com

― caro's johnson (Eazy), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 22:49 (thirteen years ago)

Friday, May 11, 2012 8 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Battle of the Bands, The Wire v. Treme at Tipitina’s on Napolean Avenue in Uptown New Orleans. From Baltimore and Washington, Lafayette Gilchrist and Anwon Glover and the Backyard square off against New Orleans’ Galactic and the Stooges Brass Band. Hosted by Wendell Pierce and Michael K. Williams, with all proceeds from ticket sales going to the Tipitina’s Foundation and the Roots of Music. TIckets available online.

― caro's johnson (Eazy), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 22:54 (thirteen years ago)

simon apparently is a huge buffy fan, so that's awesome

― dharunravir (k3vin k.), Thursday, 26 April 2012 01:37 (thirteen years ago)

he knows what's up

― horseshoe, Thursday, 26 April 2012 02:24 (thirteen years ago)

one month passes...

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/414fa4b226/the-wire-the-musical-with-michael-kenneth-williams?playlist=featured_videos

― Three Word Username, Tuesday, 5 June 2012 18:45 (thirteen years ago)

omg

― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 5 June 2012 18:52 (thirteen years ago)

holy shit that is amazing. Snoop in a dress!

― Roz, Tuesday, 5 June 2012 19:33 (thirteen years ago)

Is the oral history in Maxim awesome enough to justify paying for Maxim magazine?

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 5 June 2012 21:23 (thirteen years ago)

http://www.maxim.com/tv/maxim-interrogates-the-makers-and-stars-of-the-wire

― kinder, Tuesday, 5 June 2012 21:28 (thirteen years ago)

Hah thanks, I wasn't about to bring up their site while at work. I'll read that tonight.

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 5 June 2012 21:31 (thirteen years ago)

:)came to post it to this thread anyway

― kinder, Tuesday, 5 June 2012 21:31 (thirteen years ago)

Outtakes from the musical, worth it for the last ten seconds. Oh, Snoop. http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/84acf44e7a/additional-scenes-the-wire-musical-with-michael-kenneth-williams

― Three Word Username, Tuesday, 5 June 2012 22:26 (thirteen years ago)

Michael B. Jordan (Wallace, Barksdale gang dealer): This is some real shit. It was real to the point where crackheads would come up and try to cop. I had fake money, and they would come over, and an exchange would go down. I would think they were part of the crew, and I’d make the exchange. Then security would come around and be like, “No! No! No!” and break it up. I was like, “Oh, shit! That’s really a crack-head! I’m sorry! I’m not really a drug dealer!”

― High powered Texas lawyer (symsymsym), Tuesday, 5 June 2012 22:29 (thirteen years ago)

if i had a nickle

― “Argh!” I cry. But I really don’t care. (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 04:55 (thirteen years ago)

would be funnier if it was kenneth williams rather than michael kenneth williams

― koogs, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 09:19 (thirteen years ago)

omg "chess is a metaphor" song

― the acquisition and practice of music is unfavourable to the health of (abanana), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 11:46 (thirteen years ago)

― “Argh!” I cry. But I really don’t care. (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 13:44 (thirteen years ago)

he has a great voice!

― ogmor, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 13:46 (thirteen years ago)

Gilliard studied classical music at Baltimore School for the Arts and Juilliard School but decided to pursue acting instead.

― Number None, Wednesday, 6 June 2012 13:49 (thirteen years ago)

Domenic West:

Domonic West:

Dominic West:

― of family bonds and individual triumph. Narrated by Tim Allen, (zachlyon), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:53 (thirteen years ago)

At least they avoided Demonic West

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 18:57 (thirteen years ago)

dolemite west

― shit_ebooks (am0n), Wednesday, 6 June 2012 20:40 (thirteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

Bodie doesn't like stop-and-frisk: http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/wire_actor_protests_nypd_stop_and_frisk_policy_hey_havent_i_arrested_you

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 21 June 2012 02:18 (thirteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

This is p silly but

http://screen.yahoo.com/the-lego-wire-29977908.html

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 17 July 2012 19:26 (thirteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bal-mccullough-portrayed-in-the-corner-dies-of-apparent-overdose-20120803,0,624618.story

sad. he was also lamar, brother mouzone's assistant in the wire

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/9/21/1253548370617/Lamar-and-Brother-Mouzone-001.jpg

― am0n, Monday, 6 August 2012 16:07 (thirteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vr2dRh0inA

david simon appearance here. i like a lurid documentary generally.

― goole, Monday, 6 August 2012 17:34 (thirteen years ago)

http://davidsimon.com/deandre-mccullough-1977-2012/

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 9 August 2012 17:54 (thirteen years ago)

― schwantz, Thursday, 9 August 2012 19:26 (thirteen years ago)

that's making me really really sad. r.i.p. deandre.

― Clay, Thursday, 9 August 2012 21:24 (thirteen years ago)

Just read that, totally heartbreaking. I had sort of similar thoughts sometimes about people I wrote about. Like, am I really doing them any good? A great story and a happy story can be really different things, and as a reporter you just learn to shrug it off and not worry about what happens to those people tomorrow. Or if you're super-dedicated and talented like David Simon, you can keep paying attention to them and build a whole world out of it. But you still don't control their lives or their stories.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 11 August 2012 03:10 (thirteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz0nkKdkLqc

― am0n, Friday, 24 August 2012 16:04 (thirteen years ago)

^worth the watch

― The muted sensation feels amazeballs. (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 25 August 2012 23:42 (thirteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/09/the-wire-was-really-a-victorian-novel/261164/

Most people know The Wire as the HBO police drama set in Baltimore—an intricate five-season exploration of the brokenness of the inner-city's war on drugs, education system, politics, and policing, and one of the most lauded television shows of all time. Fewer people know that it was originally a Victorian serial by the almost forgotten writer H.B. Ogden. Such, at least, was the claim of Sean Michael Robinson and Joy DeLyria, who created a virtuoso analysis of Ogden's work and an airtight argument as to why The Wire, with its serial format, moral message, and sympathy for the downtrodden, was quintessentially Victorian, and could never be reproduced in our own time. They accompanied their text with drawings (by Robinson) from the original Wire, including a striking depiction of Omar Little walking down a London street as urchins scatter around him.
Robinson and DeLyria's essay appeared on my blog, the Hooded Utilitarian, and quickly went viral. A year later, powerHouse books is publishing an entire novel/critique/parody called Down in the Hole: The unWired World of H.B. Ogden, out this week. The book resets numerous scenes from The Wire in a 19th-century London setting—whether it's D'Angelo, Bodie, and Wallace discussing processed chicken parts, or McNulty and Bunk investigating a crime scene while spewing colorful Victorian slang. DeLyria and Robinson also analyze the serial's structure, themes, and canonicity—and provide a copious helping of new illustrations I spoke to the two last month about H.B. Ogden and The Wire.

― j., Thursday, 13 September 2012 03:50 (thirteen years ago)

taking the dialogue out of the context of the show and placing it into a cultural context that we see as much more stuffy and restrained as our own creates a very jarring effect that certainly could be seen as some kind of commentary of both.

http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=77&threadid=82861

― la goonies (k3vin k.), Thursday, 13 September 2012 20:10 (thirteen years ago)

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/166886_1636489197012_5340783_n.jpg

― thomp, Friday, 14 September 2012 00:53 (thirteen years ago)

I did end up rewatching this, in the middle of season two now

― This cad needs a cordial introduction to Eugene of Oxbow. (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 15 September 2012 05:44 (thirteen years ago)

one of my housemates just watched S1-S3-S4-S2. annoyingly, she is a grad student so is home watching TV all the time and I couldn't take part

did come home one night in time to watch the last two docks eps though, <3 Frank Sobotka

― ┐(´ー｀)┌ (sic), Saturday, 15 September 2012 08:32 (thirteen years ago)

why did she watch it in that order

― Number None, Saturday, 15 September 2012 12:51 (thirteen years ago)

my S2 was on loan and she disregarded my imprecations to wait

― ┐(´ー｀)┌ (sic), Saturday, 15 September 2012 13:46 (thirteen years ago)

a friend of mine started with S3. It made me so mad

― Number None, Saturday, 15 September 2012 13:49 (thirteen years ago)

haha i went s2-s3-s1-s4-s5, but i was watching them on tv rather than via boxset/internet.

― pandemic, Saturday, 15 September 2012 14:01 (thirteen years ago)

one month passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTaxGPrg5ew

― let's have sex and then throw pottery (forksclovetofu), Monday, 15 October 2012 19:13 (twelve years ago)

fuzzy dunlop

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Friday, 26 October 2012 02:41 (twelve years ago)

i'm about four eps into season three

― let's have sex and then throw pottery (forksclovetofu), Friday, 26 October 2012 03:40 (twelve years ago)

i've been rewatching w housemate (his first time), about 3/4ths through s2, omg frank. "you know what she said?" "what?" "i been flagged. says it says it right there on the computer: do not disconnect for non-payment. flagged. what the fuck does that mean?"

― difficult listening hour, Friday, 26 October 2012 03:43 (twelve years ago)

WHAT DO YOU SAY, JOHNNY? WHAT DO YOU SAY TO ANY QUESTION?

i take the fifth commandment.

AND IF THEY OFFER YOU IMMUNITY TO TESTIFY AGAINST YOUR UNION BROTHERS?

i don't remember.

DON'T REMEMBER WHAT?

nothing.

― difficult listening hour, Friday, 26 October 2012 03:45 (twelve years ago)

as for fuzzy dunlop, carver's face when the truck runs over the tennis ball is endless lols.

― difficult listening hour, Friday, 26 October 2012 03:51 (twelve years ago)

i've been rewatching w housemate (his first time), about 3/4ths through s2, omg frank. "you know what she said?" "what?" "i been flagged. says it says it right there on the computer: do not disconnect for non-payment. flagged. what the fuck does that mean?"

― difficult listening hour, Friday, 26 October 2012 03:43 (10 minutes ago) Permalink

omg just watched this ep

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Friday, 26 October 2012 03:55 (twelve years ago)

it's a new world, frank. you should go out and spend some of the money on something you can touch. a new car. a new coat. it's why we get up in the morning, right?

― difficult listening hour, Friday, 26 October 2012 04:10 (twelve years ago)

I like when he tells Spiros to stop being emo and eat some lamb.

― boxall, Friday, 26 October 2012 04:13 (twelve years ago)

that episode's titanic.

― difficult listening hour, Friday, 26 October 2012 04:22 (twelve years ago)

three weeks pass...

okay watch the trailer to the dumfuck RED DAWN remake and tell me you don't see ziggy bopping around in there

― Everybody did shit, art happened! (forksclovetofu), Friday, 16 November 2012 05:37 (twelve years ago)

three weeks pass...

I HAVE COMPLETED THE WIRE ON HBO

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 03:31 (twelve years ago)

is there anything worth living for now, y/n

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 03:31 (twelve years ago)

yes, watching it again

― small-scale fux with (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 03:32 (twelve years ago)

i'm one of those jerks who doesn't have a tv and apologies for not having a tv and not knowing what's going on, and watches "one show at a time" by binging on DVDs. so this is a big moment. now it's time to be the jerk who is picking a new show to watch

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 03:35 (twelve years ago)

i am also that person, except i have a tv and all i watch on it is basketball and sometimes the news

but yeah, i remember being super bummed out when season 5 ended. like, now what? i'm on the sopranos now which i also love, but only have like 20 eps left :(

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 12 December 2012 03:41 (twelve years ago)

Z S watch this you'll feel so awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX1Du7d4gTU

― ❏❐❑❒ (gr8080), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 03:48 (twelve years ago)

uuuuuuugh, awesome video!

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 05:12 (twelve years ago)

^^^^

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 05:27 (twelve years ago)

now it's time to be the jerk who is picking a new show to watch

this is a fascinating time, you feel like a roman emperor giving the thumbs up or down on whether someone will live or die. people are all six feet under, all sincerely, almost pleadingly, & you turn your thumb downwards

― Love Greenwald Hate Torture (schlump), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 05:58 (twelve years ago)

hahaha.

Z S have you watched twin peaks

― ❏❐❑❒ (gr8080), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 06:25 (twelve years ago)

Watch The Shield.

― Jeff, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 12:25 (twelve years ago)

There are lots of series to enjoy post-Wire (Justified,Walking Dead,Boardwalk Empire etc) but I can't get past the feeling that I am slumming it and dumbing down.

― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 13:03 (twelve years ago)

lol schlump

I have watched twin peaks, but at about episode 18 on season two i just kinda stopped.

i don't know what to do. i've heard the shield is good, but not sure i'm up for a show with the imdb description "The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact." directly after watching the Wire! maybe in a year or two.

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 13:58 (twelve years ago)

i finally watched some of the bonus features after finishing the final episode and saw that mcnulty is english! felt like discovering samus was a girl again, in a faint desperate echo of childhood discovery kind of way

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:00 (twelve years ago)

Z S you can't go for any cop/police procedurals/crime thingies because they'll just remind you longingly of the wire

― 乒乓, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:08 (twelve years ago)

like you don't want to be that guy who goes to a singles bar and just takes out a picture of his ex from his wallet and looks at it w/ melancholy

you need to go hanggliding or cow tipping

― 乒乓, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:09 (twelve years ago)

hmmm maybe i should download the first season of that show where a wall quickly approaches and you have to slip through the human-shaped cutout

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:12 (twelve years ago)

or is that like being in the singles bar and playing big buck hunter by yourself for 2 hours

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:12 (twelve years ago)

that's like watching the simpsons, there's always time for the simpsons

― 乒乓, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:13 (twelve years ago)

oooh, or maybe i'll go in the opposite direction and start watching Empire every night. and when i go out i'll tell everyone "I'm watching Empire every night, I am so obsessed", and they'll start talking about steve buscemi, and i'll disdainfully cut them off and say "No, I mean Andy Warhol's Empire, of course. It's brilliant".

/intenselook

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:15 (twelve years ago)

dude watch deadwood if you haven't already. Equally brilliant but in a way absolutely non-reminiscent of the wire and, in its way, utterly unequaled in the medium.

Also it is very fun. After the wire you can use some fun.

― Clay, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:39 (twelve years ago)

Just finished season three for second time this weekend.
On to pryz and the school system

― THE NATIONS YOUTH DANCED TO THE MACARANA (innocent) (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:19 (twelve years ago)

watch prime suspect next

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:40 (twelve years ago)

there so many good bbc miniseries from the 70s/80s that come close to or surpass the wire in quality and also require way less commitment

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:41 (twelve years ago)

prime suspect chief among them but also tinker tailor soldier spy, house of cards, edge of darkness

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:41 (twelve years ago)

diners, drive-ins and dives

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:47 (twelve years ago)

^^ I'm home full-time right now and all I do is watch Wire in the Blood, MI5, George Gently, Taggart. Things I might watch next: Prime Suspect, Collision, Place of Execution, Midsomer Murders. Don't bother with Rosemary & Thyme imo.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:51 (twelve years ago)

xp obvs jeez

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:51 (twelve years ago)

Actually MI5 is remarkably good I think and there are 10 seasons so it will love you back for a while. Maybe you don't want that kind of commitment but I say, try it.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:52 (twelve years ago)

laurel you havent watched prime suspect yet?!?!?

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:53 (twelve years ago)

No! There was no indication it was that much better than the other dozen British crime dramas netflix shows me. I will now, though. If I can tear myself away from the ballad of Lucas North for a sec.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:54 (twelve years ago)

laurel it is The Best, not just best bbc crime show, The Best TV Show, period

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:55 (twelve years ago)

you could not find a show more geared to you either

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:55 (twelve years ago)

wait, laurel is in orbit???!

GOD DAMMIT PEOPLE

and hello again to laurel :)

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:55 (twelve years ago)

hard-drinking tough-as-nails woman cop battles sexism, criminals

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:56 (twelve years ago)

xp What, more than TRINITY?

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:56 (twelve years ago)

Hm now that you mention it

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:56 (twelve years ago)

pawn stars

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:56 (twelve years ago)

Sorry, ZS! I had to change email addresses so I re-reg'ed and I wanted a change. Also so my dating exploits wd be less google-able.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:57 (twelve years ago)

no big deal, I'm glad you're still around!

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:59 (twelve years ago)

I see enough pawn stars at my parents house when I have to go visit

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 15:59 (twelve years ago)

also ice road truckers, the military channel, and anything about hitler

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:00 (twelve years ago)

gently and wire in the blood are my faves of the ones laurel listed. havent seen taggart. collision and place of execution are kinda slim as i recall. midsomer murders is lame but compulsively watchable, my understanding is that its the NCIS of england

havent seen mi6 either.

also recommended if youre heading into the netflix bbc mysteries wormhole: poirot, luther, zen, sherlock

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:00 (twelve years ago)

american shows that are good: damages, justified, parenthood, the good wife, homeland

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:00 (twelve years ago)

Poirot puts me to sleep but I enjoy Miss Marple a great deal. Have looked at Luther but not gone down that rabbit hole yet. Taggart is in Glesga so you can't understand anyone--part of its charm.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:02 (twelve years ago)

Oh, and Vera!

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:06 (twelve years ago)

haha im the opposite on poirot/marple

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:07 (twelve years ago)

luther is VERY self-consciously Gritty and Psychological but its watchable

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:08 (twelve years ago)

none of these are shows id recommend to people who arent generally fans of police shows except prime suspect

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:08 (twelve years ago)

I really really want to blag on about MI5 with someone, desperately.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:10 (twelve years ago)

I know we're talking abt older britisher TV crime dramas but I will rep for Luther. I just finished season 1 and holy shitballs. Yeah. Watch that!

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:40 (twelve years ago)

The Shadow Line was great, one of the best things I saw on Britishes TV last year, but don't expect to have a clue what's happening in the first episode.

I thought the consensus on Luther was "amazing cast, great acting, shame about the scripts"?

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:44 (twelve years ago)

(I mean The Shadow Line isn't anywhere near Wire quality but it is great)

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:45 (twelve years ago)

really? I didn't have a problem with the writing.

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:46 (twelve years ago)

MI5, or at least the first episode, is AWFUL. Like, easily out-sophisticated by comic books.

― I was in this prematureleee air-conditioned supermarket (Leee), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:02 (twelve years ago)

luther is beautifully shot too. the scripts are... serviceable

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:08 (twelve years ago)

oh yeah i forgot about the shadow line, it was mostly very good, though by the end i remember being really frustrated

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:09 (twelve years ago)

there so many good bbc miniseries from the 70s/80s that come close to or surpass the wire in quality and also require way less commitment, prime suspect chief among them

Prime Suspect is ITV and 90s (/00s)

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:16 (twelve years ago)

1) shut up 2) whatever

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:18 (twelve years ago)

MI5 is the best! There may be a thread somewhere under 'spooks'. It gets to a point where every other sites is seriously ropey but I love it

― kinder, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:24 (twelve years ago)

Every other SERIES

― kinder, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:25 (twelve years ago)

Got to say digging out ancient Brit detective series is some impressive anglophilia. Was this stuff even shown over there the first time round?

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:25 (twelve years ago)

God no.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:26 (twelve years ago)

It's Netflix that's dug them out, though. I watched Sherlock and oh maybe some Agatha Christie and next thing I know it's thrusting Inspector Lynley and Prime Suspect at me.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:30 (twelve years ago)

You may enjoy Jonathan creek

― kinder, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:32 (twelve years ago)

hey z s have you seen the sopranos? because yeah per k3v it's the other big thing that has like ~modern cinematic television~ value & gets all complex. just watching the pilot is pretty rewarding. i can't imagine seeing it out of time?, like if it's somehow like watching a brash british gangster movie with a blaring david holmes soundtrack five years later, but i figure it holds up. another cool thing you could watch if you haven't seen it is michael apted's 7 up, where he interviewed a bunch of seven year olds from different backgrounds in the fifties & then caught up with them every seven years, to see them weather the eighties, dress loudly in the nineties and mow their lawns in the '00s. it's one of the best things i've ever seen & is so satisfying to work through over a little while.

― kristof-profiting-from-a-childs-illiteracy.html (schlump), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:32 (twelve years ago)

I've never seen The Sopranos. I actively dislike/avoid mafia story-lines and the people in them. Maybe because they always, always, always end badly.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:42 (twelve years ago)

the sopranos holds up, i think. i mean anything that long is gonna be lumpy. but i watched it again in full back in...2010? and it still felt like a worthwhile experience.

― my dinner of butt (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:44 (twelve years ago)

plus even if there's long stretches where it gets boring or feels retrospectively silly or hammers on the same riffs, there are also just a lot of great moments.

― my dinner of butt (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:45 (twelve years ago)

for example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNpMC4FslNk

― my dinner of butt (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:46 (twelve years ago)

the pines
the pines
the pines

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:48 (twelve years ago)

It's Netflix that's dug them out, though. I watched Sherlock and oh maybe some Agatha Christie and next thing I know it's thrusting Inspector Lynley and Prime Suspect at me.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, December 12, 2012 12:30 PM (23 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha yeah netflix has a VERY deep library of old british mysteries. i think all licensed by PBS for masterpiece mystery probably.

lynley is pretty good too btw

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 17:55 (twelve years ago)

i've seen the sopranos AND the 7/14/21/28/35/42/49 ups. i'm like a tv guy over here!

i was about to ask when the new UP comes out, but apparently it was this year (56 up). have you seen it?

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:07 (twelve years ago)

Got to say digging out ancient Brit detective series is some impressive anglophilia. Was this stuff even shown over there the first time round?

― Matt DC, Wednesday, December 12, 2012 11:25 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes they were, on pbs. it feels like pretty entry-level anglophilia to me!

― before and after broscience (goole), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:09 (twelve years ago)

i've seen the first part of it, which i was kinda surprised blew the suspense & revealed where neil's at, which was interesting. i'll watch the other parts sometime. the taxi driver/tv extra guy always sorta fascinated me, & the only child who seemed pained by her participation. i have no more tv advice though.
xp

― kristof-profiting-from-a-childs-illiteracy.html (schlump), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:09 (twelve years ago)

watch all 30 seasons of Frontline

― ❏❐❑❒ (gr8080), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:11 (twelve years ago)

that's not a bad idea

― dexpresso (Z S), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:14 (twelve years ago)

I would recommend louie but at this point I think it's more of a curse tbh

― 乒乓, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:14 (twelve years ago)

oh man you know whats really good is band of brothers

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:14 (twelve years ago)

i mean not really ismilar to the wire but i re-screened it over thanksgiving and it really held up

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:15 (twelve years ago)

Don't try and begin mad men after the Wire, it looked so so bad

― kinder, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:22 (twelve years ago)

I really enjoyed Band of Brothers, it spurred me on to try The Pacific which while it was educational it wasn't a patch on BOB.

― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:28 (twelve years ago)

Ugh I watched that. Give me the worst British police procedural over any of that war shit.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 18:28 (twelve years ago)

I tried the Pacific when it aired and got bored -- circled back last year and really, really enjoyed it. I think I just needed to let go of my wanting it to be Band of Brothers.

But yeah, BoB is the BEST

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:03 (twelve years ago)

i love me some war shit

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:04 (twelve years ago)

it feels like pretty entry-level anglophilia to me

I'd sort of assumed they'd been torrented, and that really would be impressive digging because some of these things are pretty old and I don't know many British people who would bother digging them out especially if they were discovering them for the first time.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:08 (twelve years ago)

Z S you know what is an awesome quick & dirty series you can watch on youtube/torrents?

both seasons of MEET THE NATIVES

first season is in UK: http://natgeotv.com/uk/meet-the-natives

second season in USA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_the_Natives:_USA

― ❏❐❑❒ (gr8080), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:27 (twelve years ago)

some of these things are pretty old and I don't know many British people who would bother digging them out

american public tv's relaysh to british tv is pretty odd. i think my channel here still shows 'good neighbors' and i kind of grew up on 'are you being served.' :/

being ancient, clapped-out, and corny was so much a part of how i understood brit tv that seeing contempo shit like prime suspect when it aired was a mild shock.

― before and after broscience (goole), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:32 (twelve years ago)

BoB is the bomb

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:38 (twelve years ago)

'bastogne' and 'the breaking point' are pretty devastating episodes, neal mcdonough's whole character arc in those two is subtly heartbreaking.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:40 (twelve years ago)

i think the episode with colin hanks is a weak link but still effective.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:40 (twelve years ago)

'the pacific' is just grim as fuck, it kind of lacks some of the great camaraderie of BoB but that makes it a little more otm in some ways about war, really gets more at what it is to be a soldier in an enormous military campaign.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 19:43 (twelve years ago)

the difference between BoB and Pacific highlight pretty well the difference between those two theaters of war -- the more traditional combat style of European theater of WWII kind of lent itself to camaraderie a little better than with the Pacific, where Pacific theater was such a fucking meatgrinder, and so psychologically terrifying as far as up-close, face-to-face brutal combat that you just kept re-aligning with new soldiers all the time because everyone was dying left and right

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:10 (twelve years ago)

anyway probably not the thread to bore ppl with my wwii nerdery

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:11 (twelve years ago)

In The Pacific I was impressed with how it showed the psychological devastation of coping with ceaseless torrential rain and mud had on soldiers. I don't think it was a nod to Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle though.

― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:13 (twelve years ago)

what better place xpost

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:13 (twelve years ago)

i still remember the "splish" sound of that one dude tossing stones into the dead japanese soldier's water-filled half-ripped off dome

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:15 (twelve years ago)

seems to also accurately depict the pacific as a less-glamorous afterthought to those on the home front.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:15 (twelve years ago)

compared to the european front

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:15 (twelve years ago)

my great-grandfather in law has some insane stories of the pacific theater, and he was just a cook on an aircraft carrier.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:16 (twelve years ago)

Britishers, how is Cracker?

― THE NATIONS YOUTH DANCED TO THE MACARANA (innocent) (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:25 (twelve years ago)

xpost my grandad was a driver in WWII, unfortunately wound up in Singapore during the fall and ended up a POW in burma. he survived, amazingly. but what little I've learned of his time there was just horrible

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:26 (twelve years ago)

iirc Cracker is Cracking! I used to watch it in highschool but haven't seen it in years

HAGRID SOLVES YR MURDERS :D

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:27 (twelve years ago)

cracker is good

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:29 (twelve years ago)

heh my grandfather was in burma too

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:29 (twelve years ago)

not as a POW, with the OSS, doing "spy" shit like getting drunk and arming villagers

― max, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:29 (twelve years ago)

no shit?!

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:35 (twelve years ago)

what is this thread even about now

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:35 (twelve years ago)

my GGIL was apparently present on scene when ernie pyle was killed

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 21:43 (twelve years ago)

man, cool ww2 tales guys. my grandfather was a teacher and didn't go.

i'm nothing as a man.

― before and after broscience (goole), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:20 (twelve years ago)

IO, top priority is Prime Suspect, second priority is Cracker. Also the French police procedural Engrenages (Spiral) which was on the BBC a few years ago

― ljubljana, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:23 (twelve years ago)

Rad, thanks!

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:25 (twelve years ago)

Z S i have studied this question carefully and i must caution you to ignore the clamoring quality-tv fans.

the right answers, assuming you're not just looking for more things that are good, but something sort of in the same neighborhood, are

the shield
intelligence, canadian post-wire drugrunners-and-cops show
uk prime suspect
deadwood
homicide

- for some combination of naturalist / machiavellian / realpolitk / thucydidean 'realism', dramatic/narrative parity or balance between agents from conflicting social worlds, depiction of or at least alluding toward those social worlds, and... a strong focus on work-as-work.

cracker is good but too psycho-dramatic, and the focus on a civilian who doesn't have his life together kind of removes the storylines and themes somewhat from the 'work' orientation of the wire. (that makes 'prime suspect' sound quite similar but since its focus is on someone negotiating the work-world from the inside with a careerist orientation, the characterization ends up just on the other side of the lone-savant-renegade-protagonist thing.) wire in the blood is also good in a similar way i think.

mi5/spooks is entertaining for some time but becomes kind of a grind / garbagey as they cycle more and more through new castmembers and do more and more ticking clock plots.

― j., Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:33 (twelve years ago)

the shield is great but it will destroy your life ime.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:36 (twelve years ago)

homicide = YES

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:36 (twelve years ago)

I didn't like the first couple episodes if the shield because it was like they were trying to be like OMG, bad cop doing shocking things! It comes on too strong. But it gets so so good once they realized the show wasn't going to get canceled.

― Jeff, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:42 (twelve years ago)

my grandfather was in the Danish resistance. He used to pick up dropped weapon crates and my grandmother would sew parachutes into dresses. Apparantly, he voluntered for an attack which would almost certainly had killed him, but the Germans surrendered a few days before it was supposed to take place.

I'm watching Battlestar Galactica at the moment, and it has so far been absolutely amazing. Forget about it being sci-fi, the first 1½ seasons are perhaps the best plotted serial I've ever seen. Just an endless devastating grind, completely consuming everyone. It has sort of lost speed here in the second half of season two, and I'm perhaps a bit worried. But check it out, the beginning is amazingly good, often as good as Wire, Deadwood, Sopranos etc.

― Frederik B, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:45 (twelve years ago)

It has sort of lost speed here in the second half of season two, and I'm perhaps a bit worried

I have some bad news for you

― If I was a carpenter, and you were a douchebag (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:46 (twelve years ago)

can't think of any other show that squandered as much

― If I was a carpenter, and you were a douchebag (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:47 (twelve years ago)

the shield got much better as it went along but its worldview was incredibly bleak and l.a. basically comes across as hell. i think having vic mackey do what he did at the end of episode 1 was something the show had trouble navigating for awhile but they closed down that storyline remarkably well in the end.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:56 (twelve years ago)

shakey mo otm

― THE NATIONS YOUTH DANCED TO THE MACARANA (innocent) (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 22:58 (twelve years ago)

dear frederik, we regret to inform you...

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:01 (twelve years ago)

every time BSG would pause for 'relevant' political episodes or actually sincere religious hoo-ha i would mentally FF to the space battles. turning starbuck into a conduit for signals from god or whatever the fuck was like han solo on endor if endor involved more ruminating and bob dylan songs.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:02 (twelve years ago)

Yeah, I've kinda heard that before... But still, from the beginning to Home pt 2 is a 20 episode stretch that is as good as pretty much everything else on tv. That is not too bad. Perhaps viewers should just stop there.

― Frederik B, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:05 (twelve years ago)

(the photocopier as a lie detector thing in the wire was first done in homicide: LOTS)

― koogs, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:11 (twelve years ago)

I have always avoided the Battlestar Galactica reboot, but I do recall reading someone in The Guardian saying it was as good as The Wire about 4 years ago. What the hell was that about? Recently I watched some mini-episodes of the new Blood and Chrome series that starts in February. It's trash and I watched these mini episodes, but what the hell inspired a Grauniad writer to compare earlier series with The Wire?

― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:12 (twelve years ago)

the 3 hr pilot miniseries and the first season and a half of BSG are actually pretty remarkable.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:14 (twelve years ago)

I heard Star Wars was good so I watched the Holiday Special

― pun lovin criminal (polyphonic), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:16 (twelve years ago)

Sorry I forgot to mention someone lent me a series 3 or 4 of BSG and I really couldn't get into it. I was struggling to keep my eyes open and my missus was shouting abuse at me for even watching it. I watch a lot of shit, maybe try series 1?

― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:23 (twelve years ago)

Cracker is great, bought the complete box this year and have been rewatching at about a serial a month. (About to run out of Jimmy McGovern episodes iirc though)

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:30 (twelve years ago)

(the photocopier as a lie detector thing in the wire was first done in homicide: LOTS)

it was first done in real life, then reported in the book Homicide that the TV series Homicide was based on, which was written by David Simon, creator and head writer of The Wire, so

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:31 (twelve years ago)

lots of IRL Jay Landsman lols in the Homicide book, which came before the fictional Jay Landsman in The Wire, which came before the actual Jay Landsman got a smaller, other role in The Wire

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:34 (twelve years ago)

flowchart plz

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:35 (twelve years ago)

(don't front, i know you have one prepared)

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:35 (twelve years ago)

I watched the first two series of Prime Suspect and it struck me as much more procedural than the Wire - like an intelligent version of Law and Order (or now, The Killing, I guess). I'm more anglophobic than philic, so maybe I just didn't connect on that.

If not Band of Brothers for next-to-watch, then Deadwood, Rome or Generation Kill.
I miss the days when 80% of my TV-watching was HBO.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:42 (twelve years ago)

I keep having Al Swearengen quotes pop into my head at random. It's great. "In life you have to do a lot of things you don’t fucking want to do. Many times, that’s what the fuck life is… one vile fucking task after another."

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:43 (twelve years ago)

Deadwood is a quote machine. Brilliant stuff.

― Gukbe, Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:48 (twelve years ago)

Rome! yes, v v good.

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 23:49 (twelve years ago)

flowchart plz

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_myIaArNPWLY/SKogRIkSp4I/AAAAAAAAAFU/j03dQI9GM3A/s320/Jay+Landsman+as+Dennis+Mello.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/The_Wire_Landsman.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sIaitixYQ2M/SNgjPGsPKJI/AAAAAAAABBU/hN69knIZZXw/s400/Wire_Jay+Landsman.jpg

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic), Thursday, 13 December 2012 00:03 (twelve years ago)

milo, it is much more procedural. i wasn't that impressed with it (i mean it was good but) until the career-arc / alcoholic-arc had really gotten up to steam.

― j., Thursday, 13 December 2012 01:31 (twelve years ago)

For SIS/SAS show, The Sandbaggers pwnz MI5 so hard.

Anyway, I actually would rec The Good Wife -- completely different subject matter of course, but it's the closest thing that comes to The Wire in terms of real world moralambiguity that isn't boring.

― I was in this prematureleee air-conditioned supermarket (Leee), Thursday, 13 December 2012 02:04 (twelve years ago)

it has logan from the gilmore girls though
i was really bummed out when i watched an episode of the good wife & didn't like it, i thought it was gonna be just the legal drama for me, like rotating issue-themed story lines & all. probably instead of this z s you should watch ally mcbeal.

― kristof-profiting-from-a-childs-illiteracy.html (schlump), Thursday, 13 December 2012 02:21 (twelve years ago)

/gilmore girls

― kristof-profiting-from-a-childs-illiteracy.html (schlump), Thursday, 13 December 2012 02:21 (twelve years ago)

Just got a HBO GO hookup. Time to live in Romewood for a month.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 13 December 2012 03:04 (twelve years ago)

i figured out HBOGO cause i wanted to watch Roc, and then i found out it aired on FOX even though everyone always calls it an HBO show

so now i'm desperately trying to get invites to fancy tv torrent sites cause that shit is hard to locate

― THE NATIONS YOUTH DANCED TO THE MACARANA (innocent) (zachlyon), Thursday, 13 December 2012 03:27 (twelve years ago)

If you need a break from cop shows and just wanna watch cartoons there's always Neon Genesis Evangelion.

― Fetchboy, Thursday, 13 December 2012 03:42 (twelve years ago)

^^^

― 乒乓, Thursday, 13 December 2012 03:43 (twelve years ago)

pack a bowl for the final 10 eps

― 乒乓, Thursday, 13 December 2012 03:43 (twelve years ago)

For Machiavellian/realpolitik nonsense I can't implore you enough to watch the House of Cards trilogy. It's Yes Minister with the jokes taken out, or a UK West Wing where everybody's a cunt. And it's as good a central performance as I've ever seen on a TV show.

― give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Thursday, 13 December 2012 10:50 (twelve years ago)

there's a US remake of House of Cards airing early next year

― Number None, Thursday, 13 December 2012 11:30 (twelve years ago)

well if we're going for that kind of drama, also try Shooting The Past (Stephen Poliakoff)

― ljubljana, Thursday, 13 December 2012 11:32 (twelve years ago)

As much as I have no idea where it would have went had it gotten renewed, John From Cincinnati was kind of a perfect little season of TV.

― schwantz, Thursday, 13 December 2012 13:10 (twelve years ago)

I think I like and hate Poliakoff in equal measure.

― Chewshabadoo, Thursday, 13 December 2012 13:30 (twelve years ago)

pack a bowl for the final 10 eps

what kind of pipe are you smoking, literally

― dexpresso (Z S), Thursday, 13 December 2012 13:54 (twelve years ago)

If you haven't seen Party Down yet...

― THE NATIONS YOUTH DANCED TO THE MACARANA (innocent) (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 13 December 2012 15:27 (twelve years ago)

Among the reasons I would love Prime Suspect, max suspiciously forgot to mention that everyone smokes constantly all the way through it like it's their collective full-time job.

― grossly incorrect register (in orbit), Thursday, 13 December 2012 16:27 (twelve years ago)

three weeks pass...

not enough love for veronica mars itt

― rap steve gadd (D-40), Saturday, 5 January 2013 04:36 (twelve years ago)

First 2 seasons are great.

― Ya Bish Bosch (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Saturday, 5 January 2013 04:38 (twelve years ago)

when i made my list above i forgot that i had just recently watched NYC 22, a cancelled show (only made it through 13 episodes, all on netflix instant now) that is probably as close in spirit to 'the wire' as you could get if you made a network procedural that was focused on cops only. created by richard price, focused on one harlem precinct and the surrounding neighborhood, basically it tracks rookies as they get trained in 'community policing'. one of the rookies is an ex-journalist / auteur stand-in who switches careers in middle age, so he kind of acts as an in-show point of audience contact, and kind of as an attractor for the kind of david simony stuff you might expect to be in the show's dna somewhere. it has to be, world-building-wise and just visually, one of the most place-grounded shows i've seen in forever.

― j., Saturday, 5 January 2013 04:51 (twelve years ago)

RIP big man

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/01/r-i-p-the-wire-star-robert-prop-joe-chew/

― Number None, Friday, 18 January 2013 20:22 (twelve years ago)

heaven needed a hustla

― an old penis drawing is now "new and notable" (forksclovetofu), Friday, 18 January 2013 22:30 (twelve years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=ey0FDh444VU

― an old penis drawing is now "new and notable" (forksclovetofu), Friday, 18 January 2013 22:36 (twelve years ago)

hey j., did you ever catch up w/the newsroom? i was really enjoying yr take on it in the thread & didn't hear anymore after you said you couldn't get hold of it anymore

― kristof-profiting-from-a-childs-illiteracy.html (schlump), Friday, 18 January 2013 22:39 (twelve years ago)

aw man RIP, he couldn't have been that old

― fiscal cliff paul (k3vin k.), Friday, 18 January 2013 23:06 (twelve years ago)

(nope, sorry schlump, no access.)

― j., Friday, 18 January 2013 23:26 (twelve years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyewqmAKHto

― let's go do some crimes (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Saturday, 19 January 2013 01:18 (twelve years ago)

oh those numbers from the ripped screeners that leaked really took me back

― Gukbe, Saturday, 19 January 2013 01:19 (twelve years ago)

one month passes...

http://www.hulu.com/braquo

'the french wire'

(haven't seen, can't vouch)

― j., Wednesday, 13 March 2013 06:12 (twelve years ago)

that seems like extremely high praise. it's good tv but from what little i've seen here and there it felt more like the shield maybe. it was created by olivier marchal, who's directed a few movies in the same vein, think cops and the bleak lives they live or something to that effect (if you've seen mr-73 or 36, quai des orfèvres for example).

― Jibe, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 09:58 (twelve years ago)

<3 The Shield <3

― Jeff, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 11:28 (twelve years ago)

Yeah the shield is great. Braquo is similar in that its cops crossing a line and going too far and of course it doesn't end too well for them.

― Jibe, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 13:46 (twelve years ago)

one month passes...

http://davidsimon.com/gus-triandos-1930-2013/

― j., Thursday, 18 April 2013 03:48 (twelve years ago)

Lol, first comment

― H-E-double-s1ockisticks (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 18 April 2013 14:45 (twelve years ago)

two months pass...

This is a pretty cool behind the scenes article about how the actors got familiar with Baltimore:

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/07/david_simon_s_the_wire_a_behind_the_scenes_look_at_mcnulty_kima_bunk_and.html

― Moodles, Monday, 8 July 2013 17:26 (twelve years ago)

Still, Bubbles may have been more than a cliché, but it was a difficult character to play day after day. “My character’s head space was not a pleasant one,” Royo said. “I’d look at Idris? Nothing but bitches outside his trailer. Dom West? Nothing but bitches. Sonja? Dudes and bitches. Me? I’d have junkies out there. They fell in love with Bubbles. I’d go into my trailer and clean my shit off and come out and they’d look at me like, ‘You’re not one of us. Fuck you.’ And then when I had the Bubbles garb back on, it’d be, ‘Hey! What’s up? Welcome back!’ That’s a head trip, man. That shit eats at you.”
By the third season, he said, “I was drinking. I was depressed. I’d look at scripts like, ‘What am I doing today? Getting high or pushing that fucking cart?’”

― Moodles, Monday, 8 July 2013 17:30 (twelve years ago)

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-01-27/lifestyle/35438800_1_probation-officers-adults-sonja-sohn

on sohn's post-show community outreach

― j., Monday, 8 July 2013 18:25 (twelve years ago)

that bubbles quote, lol.

still feel like season 5 taints my memory of the show as not being as great it actually was.

― marcos, Monday, 8 July 2013 18:39 (twelve years ago)

i never got around to affording season 5 dvds so that has been working out ok for me so far

― j., Monday, 8 July 2013 18:48 (twelve years ago)

started rewatching for the first time in ages, I forgot how much of a shock it is when Kima, ostensibly the honorable, good cop out of all of them starts beating the shit out of one of the low-rise boys (Bodie?) when he punches a cop.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Monday, 8 July 2013 19:18 (twelve years ago)

yeah, the one cop who WON'T hit anyone is mcnulty; in many ways, he's the model police officer!

― how bad could it be to be stuck to the couch, forever... (forksclovetofu), Monday, 8 July 2013 19:34 (twelve years ago)

S5 really isn't as bad as its rep suggests.

― Simon H., Monday, 8 July 2013 19:36 (twelve years ago)

Yeah, it’s not as good and is perhaps a bit OTT, but still has so many great moments, and good to see the the decline of local newspapers, which I experienced at first-hand over 15ish years in UK local media, covered in such a great TV show.

― Chewshabadoo, Monday, 8 July 2013 19:44 (twelve years ago)

I rented and watched all 5 seasons as they came out and later got them all on DVD. Even though I've had the DVD sets for a long time, I still haven't yet re-watched seasons 4 or 5, while I've watched the first 3 seasons multiple times. Gotta make some time for them.

― Moodles, Monday, 8 July 2013 19:48 (twelve years ago)

one month passes...

http://24.media.tumblr.com/8618bcd4a0be0a6c7e0231336aee0084/tumblr_mqzln8OQ0k1s683d8o1_500.png

― YOU FOOLS PAY OVER $2.50 for a comic book (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 31 August 2013 01:04 (twelve years ago)

Ruff ruff!

― Jeff, Saturday, 31 August 2013 01:18 (twelve years ago)

― not some dude poking a Line 6 pedal with his dick (sarahell), Saturday, 31 August 2013 03:08 (twelve years ago)

who is that??

― k3vin k., Saturday, 31 August 2013 03:12 (twelve years ago)

the cartoon dog?

― not some dude poking a Line 6 pedal with his dick (sarahell), Saturday, 31 August 2013 03:13 (twelve years ago)

Lisa Frank?

― Shannon Leeedles (Leee), Saturday, 31 August 2013 05:42 (twelve years ago)

Shopped :(
http://24.media.tumblr.com/ef92e119edc51cb97ff3a220c39008e9/tumblr_mseiowp9tb1qaqw03o1_500.jpg

― This Is Not An ILX Username (LaMonte), Saturday, 31 August 2013 15:24 (twelve years ago)

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 31 August 2013 18:44 (twelve years ago)

― YOU FOOLS PAY OVER $2.50 for a comic book (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 31 August 2013 19:40 (twelve years ago)

there are a lot of sick people out there

― Number None, Saturday, 31 August 2013 20:16 (twelve years ago)

Can’t believe they shopped it out. :.(

― Chewshabadoo, Sunday, 1 September 2013 16:46 (twelve years ago)

three months pass...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/08/david-simon-capitalism-marx-two-americas-wire

― Divvy Bikes to Watch Out For (Eazy), Monday, 9 December 2013 02:35 (eleven years ago)

two months pass...

In retrospect I hate The Wire and wish I had never watched it.

― Dan I., Wednesday, 19 February 2014 07:21 (eleven years ago)

hummmmm - why is that?

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Wednesday, 19 February 2014 08:58 (eleven years ago)

It ruined him for every other TV show including the new girl

― pro ana newsom (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 19 February 2014 10:25 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

I just finished this. I will miss Lester the most.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 19:43 (eleven years ago)

then you should watch Treme

― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 19:44 (eleven years ago)

2 eps away from the end of S2.

― Cronk's Not Cronk (Eric H.), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 19:45 (eleven years ago)

Was thinking about it. I caught a couple of eps on a free HBO weekend and seemed worth a look.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 19:46 (eleven years ago)

My wife got pulled in after I watched S1 which forced an immediate rewatch. By the time we got done with S4 she was ready to bail because she was so heartbroken.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 19:47 (eleven years ago)

Treme is slower and more melodramatic than The Wire, but Clarke Peters plays one of the more lovable characters, so that might fill the Lester-sized hole in your heart.

― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 19:48 (eleven years ago)

thanks for the tip. I just don't know what to do without him peering over his granny-specs.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 20:23 (eleven years ago)

Currently on s2e7 of my 3rd go round. They killed D again :(

― make flowers on me (rip van wanko), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 22:07 (eleven years ago)

I think on balance s4 was the best and most fully realized season.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 8 April 2014 22:08 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

lol @ cutty declining a flyer on election day: "nah man i can't vote" "conviction?" "yeah" "felony?" "MOVE ON, man!"

― difficult listening hour, Monday, 19 May 2014 00:15 (eleven years ago)

Oh man, this is going to be streaming on Amazon Prime soon. Think I'll finally get around to Season 5.

― how's life, Monday, 19 May 2014 15:43 (eleven years ago)

Season 5 is underrated imo

― Kadeem Hardson (rip van wanko), Monday, 19 May 2014 20:51 (eleven years ago)

I need to revisit 4 and 5. I have both on DVD, but haven't gotten around to watching them again since the first time.

― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Monday, 19 May 2014 20:52 (eleven years ago)

I read this thread along with watching the wire recently and managed to buffer my expectations for the 5th season to the degree that I enjoyed it quite a bit. There is much that is good about it, serial killer stuff aside... and even that didn't bug me because it illustrated such prime McNulty assholism.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Monday, 19 May 2014 21:07 (eleven years ago)

just started rewatching and had forgotten how inept and dumb prez starts out as

― purposely lend impetus to my HOOS (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 14:46 (eleven years ago)

Prez was a superb example of the way this show creates characters. To think of him at the beginning of the show, as you describe, to the end, his last appearance ("I think I won't see you again... for a while") is one of the highlights of the series.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 15:54 (eleven years ago)

yeah prez has such a great redemption; he goes from such a punchable turd to almost my favorite dude on the show

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 15:56 (eleven years ago)

yup. by the time he's telling the kids not to cooperate with the police - totally different person.

― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 15:59 (eleven years ago)

Prez was a superb example of the way this show creates characters.

yea definitely. characters like poot or bodie that i didn't give a shit about in the beginning (or was even mildly annoyed by) i ended up really loving and caring about, seeing the characters develop and grow over a few seasons

― marcos, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 16:14 (eleven years ago)

lol waht even Poot? Boadie is an obvious turnaround, but I never really got a sense of character development from Poot, probably because he ended up becoming a tertiary character.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 16:41 (eleven years ago)

yea i think b/c poot was able to get out of the game? working a job at foot locker while all this other shit was going down kind of endeared me to him, made me feel relieved for him

― marcos, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 16:45 (eleven years ago)

been a long time since i've watched the show, so maybe in my head that development was more significant than i thought. but seeing characters get deeper and deeper into some shit and then seeing others escape it, even if it wasn't a heroic escape, seemed significant

― marcos, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 16:48 (eleven years ago)

"so maybe in my head that development was ~~more~~ less significant than i thought."

― marcos, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 16:49 (eleven years ago)

That job should've been Duquan's. >=(

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 16:49 (eleven years ago)

right!

― marcos, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 16:51 (eleven years ago)

Carv looms larger every time I watch, with Seth Gilliam's portrayal being on of the best 2 or 3 acting jobs on the show.

― Kadeem Hardson (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 17:07 (eleven years ago)

Carver's development is an amazing personal transformation, in a show full of them.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 17:10 (eleven years ago)

yes, he's easily my fave

― purposely lend impetus to my HOOS (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 17:45 (eleven years ago)

Interesting the bait and switch they had with Carver and Herc -- Herc apologizing to Boadie's grandma for storming their apartment, then the season 1 finale where he's telling the recruits about not busting heads but building strong cases.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 17:48 (eleven years ago)

even herc is done busting heads by s5 though isnt he? iirc

― purposely lend impetus to my HOOS (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:22 (eleven years ago)

well, yeah, he becomes a P.I. for Levy

― sarahell, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:24 (eleven years ago)

ohhh shit thats right

― purposely lend impetus to my HOOS (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:27 (eleven years ago)

I guess it wasn't a brutality case, but he did stop and then arrest that one pastor(?) in the fourth season.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:28 (eleven years ago)

Herc is one of the all-time great stupid characters

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:32 (eleven years ago)

he wasn't as stupid as the young thugs that shot Omar's grandma's hat on Sunday morning

― sarahell, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:34 (eleven years ago)

No but Herc's was a deeper, more nuanced kind of Stupid.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:51 (eleven years ago)

there was no deeper stupid than the 40 degree day guy

― sarahell, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:55 (eleven years ago)

who was that again?

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 19:03 (eleven years ago)

the one in season 3, after Stringer's rant about his crew's non-existent accomplishments, comparing them to a "40 degree day" (that no one gives a shit about), repeats the phrase with a sincere smile, totally not getting it. He was also one of the hat shooters.

― sarahell, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 19:07 (eleven years ago)

Forgot how funny that was
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ttbQTz8tAE

― tsrobodo, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 19:08 (eleven years ago)

marcos otm, poot's invulnerability is funny and a lil bit exhilarating. only ever cares about getting laid and comes through in one piece.

on current rewatch guy who plays herc started to feel like one of the best actors in the show. it's not that easy to play such a range of dumb without ever ceasing to be dumb. his facial expressions alone.

favorite still probably bunk tho. a shot in s4 where he+lester are partnered in homicide and lester is scouring the city for marlo's theoretical murders: lester emerges wearily from a sewer manhole as the sun goes down to find bunk in the street with suit and cigar, dancing w painstaking grace to the o'jays on the car radio. he just shines, which is why he's the only one who ever gets to convincingly tell off everybody's favorite predatory motherfucker. (this show has great, great fat guys in general actually: bunk, prop joe, landsman.)

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 19:29 (eleven years ago)

always impressed by the way my feelings towards landsman change without his having a "redemption arc" or even a particularly important speech. the closest is his "but carry the water i will" speech to kima, while scarfing chicken doohickeys, but by this time you already understand where he's coming from, the evolutionary imperative that has created his ironic-but-total selfishness, in a way you didn't in s1, just by dint of knowing more about his job. he doesn't change but you do a little.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 19:36 (eleven years ago)

Trying to remember what Prez looks like and all I can think of is Doogie Howser

― 龜, Thursday, 22 May 2014 01:26 (eleven years ago)

otm

― purposely lend impetus to my HOOS (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Thursday, 22 May 2014 01:59 (eleven years ago)

he looks like the bellhop in hudsucker proxy

― balls, Thursday, 22 May 2014 14:08 (eleven years ago)

Or the random thug in Crime Story.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Thursday, 22 May 2014 17:43 (eleven years ago)

the amazon prime hookup is out now!

so the spring HBO binge is ON

― j., Thursday, 22 May 2014 18:15 (eleven years ago)

he is the bellhop in hudsucker proxy!

― sarahell, Thursday, 22 May 2014 18:48 (eleven years ago)

holy shit.

― how's life, Thursday, 22 May 2014 18:50 (eleven years ago)

never realized how crucial to moving the story Herc was until my most recent rewatching. the things he sets in motion without even having a clue what he's really doing. and in the end he winds up doing better than all his old colleagues (but not exactly intentionally)!

― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 22 May 2014 20:54 (eleven years ago)

I just started a rewatch and one thin that strikes me is how tightly written the departmental politics are - the whole chain of events that sets the case in motion. I think I just kind of glossed over that in the past. It feels so real and at the same time has a perfect tragic inevitability to it.

― Doritos Loco Parentis (Hurting 2), Sunday, 25 May 2014 05:27 (eleven years ago)

beautifully backwards too - mcnulty acts out, he tells landsman he doesn't want to go on the boat, he is detailed to the unit, …, lester speaks up, mcnulty takes him out for a drink to the story of how he was put on the shelf, THEN he gives him the advice, 'when they ask you where you wanna go, keep your mouth shut'

1 yr later, mcnulty on boat

― j., Sunday, 25 May 2014 13:23 (eleven years ago)

Well yeah there's that but tbh that's kind of a big punchline that I caught the first time through. I'm thinking of more banal stuff, e.g. when they're asked to write reports on Barksdale and the fact that Homicide's is long (thanks mainly to McNulty) while Narcotics' report is short puts extra pressure on Daniels and Narcotics, who has suction with who, etc. Also I felt more sympathetic to the department's desire to keep the witness killing under raps, being genuinely concerned about their ability to get future witnesses to testify and not having the money to protect them.

― Doritos Loco Parentis (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 03:16 (eleven years ago)

Lots of little details, e.g. the legal exhaustion issue wrt cloning a pager. It just feels like Simon and co knew the workings of a police dept so well and had the guts to actually put a lot of that stuff in there that would get left out of most cop shows for dramatic purposes.

― Doritos Loco Parentis (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 03:18 (eleven years ago)

burns certainly did

― Look at this joke I've recognised, do you recognise it as well? (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 03:25 (eleven years ago)

Well yeah there's that but tbh that's kind of a big punchline that I caught the first time through

well aren't you just the tits, tell me more about details that were the basis for entire episodes that your keen eye discerned by careful wireology

― j., Tuesday, 27 May 2014 10:33 (eleven years ago)

yeah I guess that came off douchey. Anyway just saying the attention to detail is amazing.

― Doritos Loco Parentis (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 13:29 (eleven years ago)

tbf i'm pretty dim (had to watch some parts on subtitles, not even b/c of the baltimore slang - i'm talking the police procedural stuff) and the mcnulty on the boat thing was apparent to me the first time around, too

― marcos, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 13:36 (eleven years ago)

god damn don't yall motherfuckers never just appreciate

― j., Tuesday, 27 May 2014 13:44 (eleven years ago)

yes he ends up on the boat after explaining in an earlier episode that he didn't want to end up on the boat it's not an easter egg

― conrad, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 13:51 (eleven years ago)

lol otm

― rip van wanko, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 13:54 (eleven years ago)

THEN he gives him the advice

yall are choads

― j., Tuesday, 27 May 2014 13:57 (eleven years ago)

It's a great bit for sure. I'm just saying, it's like ep 1 he says he doesn't want to go to the boat, then a couple eps later Freamon gives him the advice about where not to go. One additional thing I actually noticed this time around is that Landsman pleads McNulty's case in front of Rawls, and yet it's Landsman who also ultimately (presumably) reveals to Rawls that McNulty doesn't want to go to the boat. Landsman helps McNulty out to the extent he can, sticking his neck out as far as it will extend without getting under the blade, but at some point there's nothing more he can do and he has to give McNulty up.

― Doritos Loco Parentis (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 13:58 (eleven years ago)

tbf I think it was my wife who, the second Freamon started talking about that, was like "The boat. He said he didn't want to go to the boat."

― Doritos Loco Parentis (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 14:00 (eleven years ago)

whew as long as we properly credit first discovery, that's the important thing

― j., Tuesday, 27 May 2014 14:14 (eleven years ago)

Yeah, it's revealed in season two that it was Landsman who told Rawls about the boat-stuff, iirc.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 27 May 2014 14:21 (eleven years ago)

Also Landsman is the one who asks him where he doesn't want to go. And he presumably knows exactly what he's doing when he asks, even while simultaneously wanting to stick up for McNulty to an extent -- good police but trouble, and it's all about which way the cost/benefit scale tips.

― Doritos Loco Parentis (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 14:35 (eleven years ago)

Does that happen in #1? I was looking for it actually cause yeah it was one of my favorite callback jokes but I don't remember catching it on last view.

― purposely lend impetus to my HOOS (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 14:54 (eleven years ago)

Yeah it's in the first ep, when McNulty first stirs up the shitstorm.

― Doritos Loco Parentis (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 May 2014 14:57 (eleven years ago)

two weeks pass...

just re-watched most of season 3. theresa d'agostino has to be the least likeable character in the entire series, apart from maybe that white journalist (templeton?) in s5. she's so awful, i cringe every time she's on the screen

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:36 (eleven years ago)

always ziggy

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:40 (eleven years ago)

I like D'Agostino.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:40 (eleven years ago)

it's funny, it's been several years since i watched this show and many of the plot lines and even the characters are blurring for me, but one thing i will always remember is how much i fucking hated ziggy

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:42 (eleven years ago)

i'm 2 eps into s3 (2nd time through)

had completely forgotten how terrible ziggy was

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:43 (eleven years ago)

i forgot about ziggy

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:45 (eleven years ago)

s2 is kind of a blur to me, i don't remember as well as the others

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:45 (eleven years ago)

also i feel bored whenever carcetti is on the screen. can't remember if that changed in s4 when he becomes mayor

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:46 (eleven years ago)

De'Londa Brice (Namond's mom) gotta be the worst

― rap is afraid of me (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 16:55 (eleven years ago)

i put this on the "your terrible ideas" thread already but:

i want to photoshop frank sobotka on the cover of the new swans album:

http://i.imgur.com/Ildk6Gg.png http://i.imgur.com/eAuwKwn.jpg

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:01 (eleven years ago)

lol

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:01 (eleven years ago)

ziggy and that fuckin duck.
and burning money.
frank and ziggy got the son/father they deserved imo

― pandemic, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:13 (eleven years ago)

At least Nicky got out and grew a mustache.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:14 (eleven years ago)

also rewatching s3 i forgot how funny it is when snoop's bragging about shooting stringer, "pullin money out of his pockets and shit cryin like a lil baby"

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:15 (eleven years ago)

dont forget ziggy's penis

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:17 (eleven years ago)

never forget

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:17 (eleven years ago)

I know it's the odd duck (har har) of the bunch, but I have a real soft spot for S2. The dock workers were a lovable group of characters, even that fuck up Ziggy. Kind of wished they figured more into the plot later on, but maybe it's for the best they didn't.

― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:18 (eleven years ago)

I mean, there's kind of an air in S3 of bringing back all the characters and plots people loved in S1 and burying any reference to the dock workers as if the whole season were a horrible mistake. A shame, really.

― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:20 (eleven years ago)

oh yeah i like S2 a lot but its prob my least fave

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:24 (eleven years ago)

We see the dock workers later, though. Nicky heckling Carcetti, and Johnny Fifty in the homeless encampment in season 5.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:28 (eleven years ago)

I thought for sure Nicky was going to figure back into the story sometime later but it never really happened

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:29 (eleven years ago)

we do see them, but they don't really figure into the plot in a significant way

― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:30 (eleven years ago)

I saw season 2 first so it's kinda my favourite.

― pandemic, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:35 (eleven years ago)

De'Londa Brice (Namond's mom) gotta be the worst

this x1000000

― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:51 (eleven years ago)

how abt the cop who goes on a triple date w/ herc and carver then gets shot doing a hand-to-hand the next day

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:55 (eleven years ago)

D'Angelo's mom was pretty bad

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:56 (eleven years ago)

Dozerman? xp

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:56 (eleven years ago)

Brianna Barksdale >>>>> De'Londa Brice

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:57 (eleven years ago)

d'angelo's mom did some fucked up things but i ultimately found her to be sympathetic especially in season 3

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:59 (eleven years ago)

theresa d'agostino is just insufferably arrogant

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 18:00 (eleven years ago)

i mean, so are many of the characters on this show but she is just awful. other smug assholes are fun to watch, e.g. rawls

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 18:00 (eleven years ago)

i love the docks season unreservedly. Fucking great stuff.

― shameless pureyors of slop-on-plate (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 18:03 (eleven years ago)

ziggy is good

― abcfsk, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 18:04 (eleven years ago)

most of the dock workers' lives are kind of ruined after s2 tho—but you do see the greeks again in 4 and 5, no?

― j., Wednesday, 11 June 2014 18:05 (eleven years ago)

The reason why most of the dock-stuff didn't feature that largely into the overall plot is that it took place at the docks... Most of the series is the story of the inner city, and the docks were just too far away. The pieces that did fit, like Beadie Russel and the smuggling operation, did feature pretty significantly.

― Frederik B, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 18:12 (eleven years ago)

wish there was a season 6 that focused on the hispanic/latino community, that would've been rad

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 18:20 (eleven years ago)

another cool thing about season two is that it illuminates a culture that's a little more obscure than the means streets/inner city schools/a newspaper

― rap is afraid of me (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 18:44 (eleven years ago)

Season 2 has Omar in court therefore it is the greatest of them all

― Number None, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 19:03 (eleven years ago)

hard to argue with that

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 19:20 (eleven years ago)

that's a little more obscure

blue collar white guys? not that obscure. but i guess if you mean stevedores then yea

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 19:23 (eleven years ago)

wish there was a season 6 that focused on the hispanic/latino community, that would've been rad
― marcos, Wednesday, June 11, 2014 11:20 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That was Simon's wish, but he felt like they didn't know enough about it to make it happen in time.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 19:33 (eleven years ago)

s7 all about a doping scandal in the ravens locker room

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 19:49 (eleven years ago)

s8 is about beef between the As & Orioles, ripped from Today's Headlines

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 19:57 (eleven years ago)

trying to remember, was it was basically:
1 - corners
2 - docks
3 - back to the corners
4 - school/mayoral race
5 - newspaper?

because if so makes sense that the docks disappear after their focus season, the school and newspaper plotlines are also only foregrounded for one-season arcs too, right?

― Brio2, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 20:25 (eleven years ago)

I think David Simon saw it a bit like:
1 - Drugs/Police
2 - Work
3 - Reform
4 - Education
5 - Information

Season three is a bit tough to nail down, thematically, what with Hamsterdam and all that.

― Frederik B, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:01 (eleven years ago)

yeah, there are lots of reasons why it makes sense that they didn't return to the dock workers, I just would've enjoyed seeing them again.

― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:14 (eleven years ago)

brio and frederick both right

except maybe i'd say s1 was about the housing projects and s3 going back to the corners after losing the towers/pit the barksdales had fought so hard to get/hold on to

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:19 (eleven years ago)

i feel like the layers of reform/education in 3rd and 4th seasons were still present when the s5 layer of media/information was the focus

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:20 (eleven years ago)

yeah - that's true... and school - or at least kids' daily lives - was a big part of the narrative throughout

― Brio2, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:27 (eleven years ago)

I think S4 was my favorite. I just loved those kids.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:30 (eleven years ago)

Same here - would have much preferred to stay with them more through Season 5 in place of all that fake serial killer shit.

― Brio2, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:38 (eleven years ago)

really if they took out the serial killer bullshit and maybe stretched out the season for a couple more episodes s5 would've been just fine.

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:44 (eleven years ago)

pretty much, yeah, I even think the fake serial killer plotline could have worked in way scaled-back form. But it just felt like it went on and on and pushed things off the rails to me.

― Brio2, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:49 (eleven years ago)

s4 is good but i never ever get the urge to watch it again, whereas 1-3 i can sit thru quite happily. Then again Prop Joe is my favourite character.

― pandemic, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:50 (eleven years ago)

s4 prob too downbeat for my tastes, although it should be.

― pandemic, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:51 (eleven years ago)

I read this thread as I was watching the show (earlier this year) so I was ready for S5 to be much much worse than it was

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 21:55 (eleven years ago)

s5 isnt that bad, i think it maybe would have been better if David Simon didn't have such a bone to pick w/ his journalism past? idk

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 22:01 (eleven years ago)

Yeah I watched S5 after hearing how bad it was too - and enjoyed it way more than I expected.

xxpost
I can see your point about the "downbeat" aspects to 4 and, to me, 5 - it was always dark but I did feel a little less engaged with the battle for the streets stuff once Marlo came out on top, just found Stringer and Avon way more interesting as the counter-force to the cops.

But I do get how it made total sense for the arc of the show and its big themes that Marlo would come in to replace them - and he is a kind of great character in his own right too.

― Brio2, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 22:05 (eleven years ago)

i really resented Marlo at first but ended up loving his place in the show by the end

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 22:28 (eleven years ago)

First few episodes of S5 depict a stalled bureaucratic world so thoroughly that this approach can be confused with the show itself being tedious and dull.

Some of the frustration, at least when it was airing, reminded me of Sopranos when's-somebody-finally-going-to-get-whacked conversation around the same time.

― did click through tho on the money (Eazy), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 22:32 (eleven years ago)

i've only watched 4 once or twice, 5 only once. 4 was beyond great but it was heavy, didn't want to just repeat it thoughtlessly.

― j., Wednesday, 11 June 2014 22:43 (eleven years ago)

for me the death of frank sobotka was the first truly powerful wire scene. therefore season 2 is great!

― g simmel, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 22:47 (eleven years ago)

wallace's last scene wasn't powerful?

― Clay, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 22:50 (eleven years ago)

On a slight tangent: on my second re-watch of S1, Kima's shooting suddenly seems a lot more affected in a trite sort of way, especially the way that Rawls went "I hate ur guts but we're IN THIS TOGETHER MCNUTTY," don't really remember the details of my beef.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:06 (eleven years ago)

Yeah Kima's shooting was when I got invested.

― Strictly EZ Snappin' Nhex (Spottie), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:09 (eleven years ago)

i wonder if it's kind of a counterpart to kima's rushing in to wail on bodie after he hits polk or whoever the alkie cop is. like, things are under control, she's way far away, and she sees it and BOOKS over there so she can get in some kicks and stuff too. more for a kind of performance of solidarity for her fellow cops.

― j., Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:12 (eleven years ago)

It's pretty amazing in the Wire how even the "good guy" cops don't hesitate to jump in on some massive police brutality when they think it's warranted. Even Daniels wails on that one guy (albeit offscreen)

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:18 (eleven years ago)

oh right… what is that, in an interrogation room?

i always think that with daniels that's half a matter of fitting in

― j., Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:21 (eleven years ago)

yeah I don't remember who. He comes in takes a polaroid of the guy, shows it to him, tears up the photo and locks the door.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:22 (eleven years ago)

Yeah, that was when they got Bird and he's spewing abuse at Kima, and I think in that case it was a lot more personal since Kima is one of his officers.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:24 (eleven years ago)

cutty's story arc is hitting me way harder the 2nd time through

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:42 (eleven years ago)

xps re: marlo, yea i haaaaated marlo the first time through, just an unfun hardass who never lets up, but second time around i feel like he's a great character with a really heavy presence, great contrast to avon

― marcos, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:45 (eleven years ago)

xxxp not as much I guess. sobotka's fate was determined in the last second ("your way...it won't work") and he willingly took a risk.

wallace was too much (children killing children) too early (wasn't as invested yet)

― g simmel, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:46 (eleven years ago)

Cutty's denoument with Dukie, his line that "somebody out there's able to escape all of this... but I'm not that guy" is just so goddamn sad.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:49 (eleven years ago)

Also that scene where he's running set to Move on Up is amazing.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:50 (eleven years ago)

avon with cutty is gold

― g simmel, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 23:53 (eleven years ago)

I think David Simon saw it a bit like:
1 - Drugs/Police
2 - Work
3 - Reform
4 - Education
5 - Information

I see it like:
1. - The Game (starts off with the murder at the dice game), then there's the chess scene, opponents are dealers and cops
2. - Globalization (you see how the drugs are just a part of the global economy, and how the Barksdale operation gets screwed when their supplier gets busted as part of a larger game)
3. - Capitalism and Reform (this was my favorite season)
4. - Reproducing the Means of Production
5. - Post-modernity (I don't really have a clever theme for this season)

― sarahell, Thursday, 12 June 2014 00:20 (eleven years ago)

2. - Globalization (you see how the drugs are just a part of the global economy, and how the Barksdale operation gets screwed when their supplier gets busted as part of a larger game)

OTM and prob why I remember so fondly S2 - just blew my mind how they just opened the lens wider to show how the corners were just a speck in the structural big picture. Truly felt that I was watching a political TV show for the first time (and not a show about politics). Also at the time I was working on global shipping policies and I did feel that it was a rather obscure sector that captured a lot of the important stakes of the 21st century economy - the show kinda comforted me in that idea.

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Thursday, 12 June 2014 13:17 (eleven years ago)

4. - Reproducing the Means of Production

nice

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 12 June 2014 14:33 (eleven years ago)

been thinking about it a little, i think one of the reasons s2 doesn't appeal to me that much is because there is such a massive cliche in american media of the "eastern european gangster" and despite the quality and depth of the rest of the shows' characters, i just never feel like the greek and his men transcend that cliche. they just aren't very interesting or dynamic characters. i know the greek is intentionally left fairly mysterious in the show b/c that's how his character rolls, but to me, instead of mysterious he just seems to fit the vague stereotype of "eastern european gangster". same for vondas and sergei.

― marcos, Friday, 13 June 2014 19:45 (eleven years ago)

good point - especially in contrast to how sharply observed and rooted in Burns' and Simon's own experiences the street level gangsters, cops, and city hall worlds are

― Brio2, Friday, 13 June 2014 19:55 (eleven years ago)

To me, their role is to show how the Sobotka family is completely out of their depth

― odd proggy geezer (Moodles), Friday, 13 June 2014 21:00 (eleven years ago)

so i started re-watching season 4, definitely feel like it's the best. there are no false notes, every story in it is magnetic, the boys especially. marlo & his crew are developed so much more. freamon and bunk paired up in homicide flows so well. carcetti bored me in season 3 but the mayoral race is fascinating, watching him so sure he's gonna lose and then it turns. maybe the only thing that's a little over the top is bubbles getting beat on all the time

― marcos, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 15:12 (eleven years ago)

there's some Omar & Prop Joe gold in 4 too

― Brio2, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 15:33 (eleven years ago)

definitely

― marcos, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 15:41 (eleven years ago)

omar robbing marlo's card game was pretty satisfying too

― marcos, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 15:41 (eleven years ago)

just started s4 last nite

had completely forgotten abt dukie :-(

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 17 June 2014 15:43 (eleven years ago)

yea...

― marcos, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 15:46 (eleven years ago)

How could you forget Duquan??

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Tuesday, 17 June 2014 16:20 (eleven years ago)

didn't forget. dukie's story was the only one that brought tears to my eyes in the 60 hours of watching this show

― marcos, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 16:24 (eleven years ago)

that kid was so well cast - all the kids were, but him especially. great performance.

― Brio2, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 16:25 (eleven years ago)

Speaking of heartstrings, the scene where Wallace gets his little siblings ready for school in the abandoned house.

― Hier Komme Die Warum Jetzt (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 17 June 2014 16:36 (eleven years ago)

otm

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 17 June 2014 17:00 (eleven years ago)

speaking of tears, what about bubs at the end of S4.

― jbn, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 17:37 (eleven years ago)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/michael-k-williams-cocaine_n_1854966.html

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Tuesday, 17 June 2014 22:30 (eleven years ago)

an actor a drug addict, now i've seen it all

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 18 June 2014 00:05 (eleven years ago)

(jk it's sad obv. seems like a good guy and glad he's clean)

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 18 June 2014 00:07 (eleven years ago)

s4 is when i start to resent bubbles, partly because i feel boringly manipulated by the relentless pathetic suffering and partly no doubt because i yearn to turn my privileged face from the underclass, but he does interact in this season with the (nameless?) malevolent beat cop who's almost a shadow of marlo and troubles the s3 ideal (the final shot of mcnulty) of the compassionate plugged-in beat cop: evil is not always ignorant or confused or detached; sometimes being aware of and close to people's pain means exploiting it better. "bad cop" hardly a groundbreaking character concept and iirc this guy gets no complexity or depth (stands with levy in the show's very small complement of simple monsters) but there is very little of him, enough to forget he exists between appearances, and the actor projects a genuinely frightening predatory vibe, so whenever i see him i'm startled and unnerved. can't remember what happens to him or if he's in s5.

some of the stuff in the schools (prez's naive indignation, SO WE JUST TEACH THE TEST??? etc) foreshadows the clunkiness of the newspaper imo, but is right away better because prez is totally incompetent for much of the season instead of an angelic vision like gus. plus yeah the kids are all great. i kinda hate the cheaply drawn Wimpy Academic tho.

might be the best bunk season: partnered with lester, puking at the wake, talking that other detective into "unsolving" his own case. (landsman, also a gem this season btw: "and you! stand the fuck up for yourself!") finally, i might actually prefer you-gonna-take-care-of-me-sergeant-carver to where-the-fuck-is-wallace, on the cries-of-unanswerable-anguish front.

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 00:38 (eleven years ago)

man reading the recent flurry of posts I'm remembering characters i haven't thought about in years

― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 00:41 (eleven years ago)

I had the same thing, to the point of looking up bubs' friend johnny on wikipedia today and remembering that he had a colostomy bag for some reason.

― joygoat, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 06:06 (eleven years ago)

Got the shit kicked out of him literally iirc

― Look at this joke I've recognised, do you recognise it as well? (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 06:42 (eleven years ago)

Yeah. In episode one. It's the reason Bubs start working with the wire-team.

― Frederik B, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 10:59 (eleven years ago)

it's funny, Clay Davis is in the first three seasons but it's not till s4 till he really let's loose with the "shheeeeeeit"

http://i.imgur.com/9nRsS2T.png

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 11:15 (eleven years ago)

i kinda hate the cheaply drawn Wimpy Academic tho.

otm, simon must really hates naive academics, jabs against them pop up here and there throughout the show.

that character is really cheaply drawn, dude's a professor in a school of social work, social workers imo are pretty plugged in and aren't super naive. sure they're not tough hardened cops but if you're a social worker in baltimore i'm sure you've seen some shit. lots of social work academics are practitioners too. (disclosure: my wife is a social worker and worked for years w/ drug addicts, mostly heroin)

― marcos, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 13:50 (eleven years ago)

sure, but lots are like that guy as well.

― famous instagram God (waterface), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 13:51 (eleven years ago)

it "worked" better in the series that he was a wimp. it would have looked weird if he had been a tough guy as well alongside Bunny. you needed the contrast

― famous instagram God (waterface), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 13:53 (eleven years ago)

not saying he needed to be a "tough guy"

― marcos, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 13:57 (eleven years ago)

― famous instagram God (waterface), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 13:58 (eleven years ago)

just saying that inner city social workers are engaged w/ the streets, in a different way than cops yea definitely, but social workers are working w/ urban kids all the fucking time, any kid or adult who goes through "the system" for crimes (especially drug-related crimes) is probably gonna see a social worker at some point

― marcos, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:01 (eleven years ago)

when i represented some kid busted for dealing heroin he had a social worker and she seemed pretty plugged in. couple of social workers i know/worked with have seen some pretty dark shit. it's a little unfair to characterize them as wimpy, you have to have iron skin to handle that stuff on a day to day basis, especially since you're working personally with your clients and not killing them/throwing them in cages.

― Spectrum, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:08 (eleven years ago)

otm

― marcos, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:12 (eleven years ago)

i have a friend who's an art therapist at a halfwayhouse in east LA for girls coming out of juvie and man, the things she has to process...

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:15 (eleven years ago)

it's not "all social workers"

it's one wimpy social worker

he doesn't represent all social workers you guys, it's not a characterization, it just works better for the story if he'a a little wimpy

― famous instagram God (waterface), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:16 (eleven years ago)

i mean he's from a university right?

― famous instagram God (waterface), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:16 (eleven years ago)

no i get that it was convenient to make him wimpy for the contrast w/ bunny, i'm just saying he was a cheaply written character. though it says a lot for the show that the poorly written characters stand out so obviously since all the other characters are so fleshed out and deep

― marcos, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:26 (eleven years ago)

also s4 has some REALLY great rawls moments, one of the best characters on the show imo, guy is captivating

― marcos, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:27 (eleven years ago)

Not to worry: Season Five would offer plenty of cheaply written characters.

― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 14:28 (eleven years ago)

yeah i love the shit out of rawls

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 15:51 (eleven years ago)

The second season of OITNB shouts out a couple times to The Wire.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 17:00 (eleven years ago)

i really wish there was a youtube supercut of every time bodie spits

― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Thursday, 19 June 2014 11:51 (eleven years ago)

totally! same goes for daniels' "THIS IS BULLSHIT"

― marcos, Thursday, 19 June 2014 13:44 (eleven years ago)

lol yes

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 19 June 2014 13:58 (eleven years ago)

I'd also like a supercut of Lance Reddick delivering dialogue from over his shoulder. Between this show and Fringe it's his signature move.

― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Thursday, 19 June 2014 16:00 (eleven years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KVyRqloGmk&feature=kp

― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 19 June 2014 16:01 (eleven years ago)

I'd also like a supercut of Lance Reddick delivering dialogue from over his shoulder. Between this show and Fringe it's his signature move.

lol I'm thinking he picked it up from Tyra Banks.

― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Thursday, 19 June 2014 16:45 (eleven years ago)

I'm noticing a lot more the way Reddick is sort of a meta version of the classic "IN MY OFFICE, NOW!" superior officer from every cop show ever. A lot of characters function that way especially in the PD -- setting up and thwarting your expectations of cop show archetypes (also e.g. McNulty as the rogue cop and Bunk as his sober partner who gets dragged into things).

― Hier Komme Die Warum Jetzt (Hurting 2), Thursday, 19 June 2014 16:45 (eleven years ago)

Like in other shows he'd just represent *AUTHORITY* but in this show he's authority that has both selfish and selfless motives and is also hamstrung by even bigger *AUTHORITY*.

― Hier Komme Die Warum Jetzt (Hurting 2), Thursday, 19 June 2014 16:46 (eleven years ago)

I don't know if I use the word sober to describe Bunk. Certainly more willing to tow the company line than McNulty.

― jbn, Thursday, 19 June 2014 20:13 (eleven years ago)

Yeah maybe "hinged" is more what I mean.

― Hier Komme Die Warum Jetzt (Hurting 2), Thursday, 19 June 2014 20:14 (eleven years ago)

feel like carcetti is so much more watchable in s4 because he has norman wilson around all the time:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/62/The_Wire_Norman_Wilson.jpg/250px-The_Wire_Norman_Wilson.jpg

― marcos, Tuesday, 1 July 2014 15:03 (eleven years ago)

two months pass...

http://hbowatch.com/the-wire-being-remastered-rebroadcast-in-hd-by-hbo/

― ╲╱\/╲/\╱╲╱\/\ (gr8080), Tuesday, 2 September 2014 14:24 (eleven years ago)

Internet at my house has been down for a week and will be down another week and my wife is out of town helping her mom so I was like aggghhh my shows but then the Wire gold box I bought at a discount three years ago was like hi hello. So I'm 3 episodes into a rewatch. This'll only be my second time through. So fucking good. Love Bubs so goddamn much.

― before you die you see the rink (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 2 September 2014 15:51 (eleven years ago)

Heh, I just resumed my second rewatch -- started season 2 this last weekend.

― Hakeem Olajuwon Howard (Leee), Tuesday, 2 September 2014 18:07 (eleven years ago)

And every single scene with Ziggy is still mega uncomfortable to watch.

Goddamn Zig.

― Hakeem Olajuwon Howard (Leee), Saturday, 6 September 2014 18:39 (eleven years ago)

http://i.lv3.hbo.com/assets/images/series/the-wire/episodes/2/22/stray-rounds-04-1024.jpg

― SEEMS TO ME (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 6 September 2014 19:06 (eleven years ago)

one month passes...

Looks like McNutty has a movie out soon.

― cichleee suite (Leee), Monday, 6 October 2014 18:22 (ten years ago)

McNutty has a new show out soon (The Affair on Showtime)!

― Certified Genious (Old Lunch), Monday, 6 October 2014 18:24 (ten years ago)

i blocked so much of ziggy out of my mind xps

― marcos, Monday, 6 October 2014 18:33 (ten years ago)

McNutty has a new show out soon (The Affair on Showtime)!

Doh right, that's the teaser I saw last night.

― cichleee suite (Leee), Monday, 6 October 2014 18:39 (ten years ago)

early buzz is super positive

― the other song about butts in the top 5 (forksclovetofu), Monday, 6 October 2014 18:50 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

Y'all should check out the Andre Royo (aka Bubbles) interview with Marc Maron at www.wtfpod.com

Really good conversation.

― Hydroelectric New Deal Demiurge (B.L.A.M.), Friday, 24 October 2014 22:03 (ten years ago)

one month passes...

http://davidsimon.com/the-wire-in-hd/

At the last, I’m satisfied what while this new version of The Wire is not, in some specific ways, the film we first made, it has sufficient merit to exist as an alternate version. There are scenes that clearly improve in HD and in the widescreen format. But there are things that are not improved. And even with our best resizing, touchups and maneuver, there are some things that are simply not as good. That’s the inevitability: This new version, after all, exists in an aspect ratio that simply wasn’t intended or serviced by the filmmakers.
Still, being equally honest here, there can be no denying that an ever-greater portion of the television audience has HD widescreen televisions staring at them from across the living room, and that they feel notably oppressed if all of their entertainments do not advantage themselves of the new hardware. It vexes them in the same way that many with color television sets were long ago bothered by the anachronism of black-and-white films, even carefully conceived black-and-white films. For them, The Wire seems frustrating or inaccessible — even more so than we intended it. And, hey, we are always in it to tell people a story, first and foremost. If a new format brings a few more thirsty critters to the water’s edge, then so be it.

― Number None, Wednesday, 3 December 2014 00:05 (ten years ago)

This time Wallace shoots first

― 18th Century Celebrity WS of Shame (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 3 December 2014 00:16 (ten years ago)

Proposition Jabba finally shown as David Simon intended him to look

― 18th Century Celebrity WS of Shame (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 3 December 2014 00:18 (ten years ago)

lol

― marcos, Wednesday, 3 December 2014 20:53 (ten years ago)

Freamon can distinguish between nails and rivets from 3 feet

― a million little treeshes (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 3 December 2014 21:03 (ten years ago)

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/way?mbid=social_tumblr

― TAKING SIDES: HUMANS VS. GUACAMOLEEE (Leee), Thursday, 11 December 2014 00:34 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

This 16:9 transfer sounds like a disaster, but I haven't seen any of it yet. I'd prefer they just cleaned up a 4:3 version, but I guess even that's not really necessary for this show.

― Nhex, Monday, 29 December 2014 16:54 (ten years ago)

I just caught a bit of season 4 on HBOSG, which I don't get in HD so it's letterboxed. Didn't notice anything too bad with the framing.

― Insane Prince of False Binaries (Gukbe), Monday, 29 December 2014 18:24 (ten years ago)

This is a very cool interview:
http://www.avclub.com/article/jamie-hector-loving-wire-and-building-his-own-back-213516?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:1:Default

― man alive, Thursday, 8 January 2015 19:51 (ten years ago)

Put in first episode of season 4 a few days back, it is still the pinnacle of the art form known as television. Am now on episode 6. Two things I notice due to recent other products of culture: 1) Serial. They do talk quite a lot about Leakin Park, Lester and Bunk go there to look for Lex, and Woodlawn is even mentioned in episode one. 2) Actress. I watched the doc with Brandy Burre, who plays Theresa D'Agostino. She explains that she was pregnant during season 4, and it's pretty imposible to not notice once you know. There's a running gag where she is always in those big ugly campaign sweaters, but in episode six, at the win celebration, she is in a smart black dress, and wow she's big.

― Frederik B, Saturday, 10 January 2015 19:18 (ten years ago)

she was pretty great on the show.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Saturday, 10 January 2015 19:48 (ten years ago)

What doc?

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Saturday, 10 January 2015 20:08 (ten years ago)

Actress.

― Frederik B, Saturday, 10 January 2015 20:09 (ten years ago)

this show would be so much better if they kept the season 1 themesong throughout

― pursuit of happiness (art), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 00:26 (ten years ago)

I like the Neville Brothers version

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 00:57 (ten years ago)

this show would be so much better if they kept the season 1 themesong throughout

― pursuit of happiness (art), Monday, January 12, 2015 7:26 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha i am not clear on why this would measurably improve anything but 4 minutes of each episode?

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 01:28 (ten years ago)

(assuming one agrees that the season 1 song is the best version, which i don't)

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 01:29 (ten years ago)

The whole theme-sequence in season four is so amazingly great. As is every scene in Prez' classroom, once he gets a bit of hang of it. As is almost every damn second of season four.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 01:42 (ten years ago)

xxp it is like im watching the very first scene and as it ends the little lead in starts to roll and it's like "oh yeah here it comes" then im immediately super disappointed

― pursuit of happiness (art), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 01:47 (ten years ago)

If you don't think the waits version is the best, you are crazy and don't even like to fart

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 03:31 (ten years ago)

Anyway I liked the conceit of changing the song each season, went well with the structure of the show.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 03:32 (ten years ago)

watching thru this again w/ a friend who's never seen it. we're in s2 and it's kind of a slog; none of the people she's interested in are given enough focus and she doesn't really like the sobotkas & greeks or the dead women plotline. we just got thru the ep where d'angelo gets killed in prison. the next day she texted me saying "I'm still so sad about D'angelo!" and she was already bummed about Wallace in s1. i tried to hint vaguely that there's more coming but it's not a death-y show like Sopranos was. her response: "If Stringer dies I'm out!"

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 05:38 (ten years ago)

it took a little while for s2 to grow on me, i wasn't happy about shifting focus from s1 either

― difficult-difficult lemon-difficult (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 05:45 (ten years ago)

ime by the time stringer dies you're too far in to be out

― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 07:07 (ten years ago)

Yeah, I think you can get away with lying to her.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 07:42 (ten years ago)

I was too far in to be out when Frank gets whacked. I love S02.

― rip van wanko, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 08:01 (ten years ago)

s2 is the best imo

― Vote in the ILM EOY Poll! (seandalai), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 09:27 (ten years ago)

my parents just finished watching the wire after me badgering them for years to give it a try. season two was a real sticking point for them too and it reminded me just how bold s2 is - sidelining characters the audience had only just gotten to know, introducing a whole new supporting cast, shifting the entire focus of the show, even changing the title music. it's almost like a challenge to the audience to stick with it.

― bizarro gazzara, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 10:00 (ten years ago)

actually, there aren't really supporting characters in this show, are there? i haven't watched the show since s5 finished airing, and i've only watched it through once, and i was amazed when talking to my parents about it that i could remember basically every character's name, motivations, and interactions with others in detail. there are very few other shows where that's the case.

― bizarro gazzara, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 10:03 (ten years ago)

The Wire is really fucking boring.

― this is just a saginaw (dog latin), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 10:38 (ten years ago)

only seen s1 though.

― this is just a saginaw (dog latin), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 10:39 (ten years ago)

http://img.pandawhale.com/post-30325-clay-Davis-cigar-gif-The-Wire-3Eja.gif

― bizarro gazzara, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 11:24 (ten years ago)

I think season 2 might be the most important, in a way. It's through the patient groundwork done in that season, that the rest of the show can be as ambitious as it can. Season 1 breaks down all it builds up, with the Major Crimes unit shut down, and all the people involved scattered to the wind. Some sort of contrivance would be needed to get everyone back into the story again, and season 2 does that masterfully in the end, but it takes a hell of a lot of time. Then season 3 and 4 can hit the ground running, allowing for subplots like Carcetti, Cutty, Colvin and Tilghman Middle School, to be introduced without people thinking of how it impacts the main story. Which they often don't really do.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 12:49 (ten years ago)

The Wire is really fucking boring.
― this is just a saginaw (dog latin), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 10:38 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Someone's getting a bit too carried away with this 'freedom of speech' lark

― kinder, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 14:28 (ten years ago)

good reaction gif deploy

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 16:02 (ten years ago)

fwiw I feel like I'm the only wire fan who didn't much like frank sobotka as a character. Something a little too tropey working class hero about him. But w/e, it wasn't a huge complaint. 2 isn't my favorite season but 5 is the only one I really found disappointing.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 16:09 (ten years ago)

yea i wasn't hugely pulled to sobotka either

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 16:28 (ten years ago)

season 2 is the one everybody suffers through. always surprised to find people on the internet who actually didn't hate it

― Nhex, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 16:46 (ten years ago)

ziggy is the most annoying character on the show no contest

― Nhex, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 16:47 (ten years ago)

ziggy is sad

― j., Tuesday, 13 January 2015 16:50 (ten years ago)

i love season 2 v much

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 16:51 (ten years ago)

it's why we get up in the morning

― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 17:23 (ten years ago)

Season 2 doesn't have the elegant sweep of 3 and 4, which are masterpieces of multi-strand storytelling. 2 is more a new story, which can't quite leave the old Barksdale-people behind. That said, it's obviously a very very good season, better than almost everything done on tv ever. I haven't rewatched 5 ever, but I think I'll continue once I'm done with 4. Will start episode 10 right now.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 17:26 (ten years ago)

It was definitely crucial to David Simon's sort of "theory of everything" of Baltimore/post-industrial urban america. It wouldn't be the series it is without Season 2.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 17:28 (ten years ago)

season 2 is great. i feel like the greek's pal vondas keeps drinking increasingly tiny cups of espresso throughout the season.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 17:45 (ten years ago)

I think my main issue with this show - for all of the things it admirably attempts - is that I never felt any real emotional investment in any of the characters. There are SO MANY, and the vast majority of them are not allowed enough time or opportunities to provide a lot of depth or shade or contradiction; vast swathes of the cast are one-dimensional. This is exacerbated by the way the stories are framed, this really tightly laid out, mechanistic method of storytelling - everybody is a piece on a board, a cog in a vast machine that must move from point A to point B for the narrative to maintain momentum. I am always highly conscious of how methodical everything is, the way the show is straining to get all its puzzle pieces aligned just so so that the viewer properly understands the scope of the inescapable trap, the overwhelming scale and force of the institutions that all the characters are enmeshed in. There are ridiculous caricatures - Ziggy, Omar, Marlo, McNulty, Brother Mouzon, that weaselly guy that runs for mayor - that I can't take seriously for a second, surrounded by all of these other essentially tragic figures who you just know are going to get fucked no matter what they do or how righteous their motivations are. Unlike the Sopranos or Mad Men, most of these characters don't show much more depth than the chess pieces they're treated as - they simply aren't on-screen enough, or given the opportunity to display a wider range of who they are. Overall it leaves me cold. I don't find any of the characters as fascinating as Tony or Janice or Peggy or Pete etc.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 17:46 (ten years ago)

In that sense I think the didacticism of the show undermines its effectiveness as drama

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 17:47 (ten years ago)

idk i felt like every season putting another antagonist in front of tony and making him too dumb to figure out how to deal with it felt more programmatic than the procedural nature of the wire

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 17:58 (ten years ago)

I agree that it's not the most character-driven show, but there were still characters I thought showed a lot of emotional depth, e.g. D'Angelo Barksdale. I don't see it as a flaw of the show, just a different kind of show.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 17:59 (ten years ago)

There are ridiculous caricatures - Ziggy, Omar, Marlo, McNulty, Brother Mouzon, that weaselly guy that runs for mayor

His name is McNutty.

― Dokken played here for a Ribfest and people were total assholes (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:05 (ten years ago)

One thing I did find weird about the Wire was the sex scenes -- pretty much every one of them is cold, sudden, and aggressive in about the same way, except I vaguely remember a really bad late-nite-movie style scene maybe with daniels and rhonda?

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:18 (ten years ago)

the sex scenes in the wire are almost uniformly terrible w/ the exception of a few that are played for black comedy (such as mcnulty showing his badge to the cops who watch him plowing a woman he picks up at the bar and their subsequent departure from the scene). mostly bc they're just awkwardly filmed. but, hardly enough of a prob to detract from its superlative qualities in other areas.

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:26 (ten years ago)

xp yeah that scene's at the end of season 3, its pretty unintentionally hilarious

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:27 (ten years ago)

yeah it's a minor thing except that it just seemed like there was an overall lack of a sense of any good male-female intimate relationships overhanging the whole show, like maybe a little bit of a bitterness about women and/or marriage/dating that pervades it. McNulty's divorce and bitchy ex, Daniels' divorce, the strongest female characters being "more like men," etc. I wouldn't go so far as to say misogyny, but probably bitterness.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:30 (ten years ago)

sex scenes in the Wire were all gratuitous nonsense, serving no purpose to the narrative. which was totally not the case with the Sopranos (sorry to keep bringing it up but those poll results make me so mad)

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:32 (ten years ago)

as to the character thing...idk. for every somewhat caricatured or one-dimensional character (ziggy, the newspaper bosses, arguably marlo) you have prez, or the kids in seasons 4-5, or how grounded michael k. williams makes omar through his acting despite the deliberately outsized nature of the character, or daniels, or carver, or bunny colvin, the aforementioned d'angelo, bodie, etc. etc.

also if you really wanted to you could make "one dimensional" arguments about multiple sopranos and mad men characters.

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:32 (ten years ago)

there is def an undertone of misogyny through the Wire imo, the female characters are all either underwritten or downright horrible

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:33 (ten years ago)

mcnulty's ending on the show is happier than i remembered, like off the force and off the drink and back home with amy ryan. seems like a pretty good way to end up.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:33 (ten years ago)

you could make "one dimensional" arguments about multiple sopranos and mad men characters.

you could, but there are *fewer* of them, as opposed to like 3 dozen in the Wire

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:33 (ten years ago)

you can say that abt virtually any cable show, even the sopranos quite frankly. i wouldn't say it about either show. though i think the best of the major cable shows w/r/t female character is definitely mad men.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:34 (ten years ago)

misogyny, that is.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:34 (ten years ago)

mcnulty's problems are based on david simon's marriage self-destruction (pre laura lippman), so there's def bitterness there. but i think about marriage/romance on a whole rather than women. and the way the beadie/mcnulty relationship works out in the end (or daniels/pearlman) seems to indicate the possibility that individual people can figure their shit out even if the overarching things they're part of are kinda fucked, like everything else in the show.

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:35 (ten years ago)

xxp mad men def has the shows it's so frequently associated with lapped in terms of great women.

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:37 (ten years ago)

i just rewatched season 4 and the first few episodes of season 5, and unpopular opinion alert: season 5 is, newspaper editor caricatures aside, really fuckin good.

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:43 (ten years ago)

Season 2 is great because so much huge stuff is set in motion (and ultimately hindered) by Maj. Valchek's personal feud with Frank Sobotka. Feels like real life, sadly.

― Smoothie Operator (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:45 (ten years ago)

If you think of it as five "acts" it kind of makes sense for the second act to not be the most exciting of them, yet have lots of necessary setup in it.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:46 (ten years ago)

you could make "one dimensional" arguments about multiple sopranos and mad men characters.

you could, but there are *fewer* of them, as opposed to like 3 dozen in the Wire

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 10:33 AM (7 minutes ago)

This is ridiculous. So many 1d characters in sopranos and mad men!

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:51 (ten years ago)

i just rewatched season 4 and the first few episodes of season 5, and unpopular opinion alert: season 5 is, newspaper editor caricatures aside, really fuckin good.

i remember watching the first few episodes of season 5 and thinking "this is good! why all the hate?" but by season's end it just gets really bad. the serial killer plot and the absolutely dead character of templeton were just awful

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:56 (ten years ago)

also i think i mentioned it somewhere else itt but one of the reasons s2 bothers me is the corny "russian gangster" aspect of the greek and his organization -- even though they aren't russian it just has that totally cliched vibe of unlikeable eastern european criminals as antagonists

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 18:58 (ten years ago)

there is that one russian guy, boris.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:00 (ten years ago)

sometimes i think people are a lot less dimensional than people who consume a lot of drama think

anyway marlo is a psychopath; they're shallow. omar, mcnulty, and carcetti are not ridiculous caricatures. (the guy who plays carcetti is a bit of a ridiculous caricature, and admittedly mcnulty's scenes/plots become redundant except as machinery.) an incomplete list of people i get very emotionally invested in, none of whom are chess pieces except insofar as they are not free: bodie, bunk, avon/stringer, carver, frank, randy, cutty, norman. agree about the sex scenes and the women, tho snoop's p indelible.

― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:01 (ten years ago)

sometimes i think people are a lot less dimensional than people who consume a lot of drama think

Yes.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:04 (ten years ago)

Season 2 is great because so much huge stuff is set in motion (and ultimately hindered) by Maj. Valchek's personal feud with Frank Sobotka.

this is way otm, the shot in e1 of valchek standing in front of the giant window staring up in disbelief+disgust became one of my favorite images in the show when i rewatched it knowing how absurdly consequential this part was

― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:04 (ten years ago)

I'm only two seasons through the Sopranos but it's basically a sitcom

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:06 (ten years ago)

sometimes i think people are a lot less dimensional than people who consume a lot of drama think

yes!

how well do you get to know people when they are working anyway

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:06 (ten years ago)

also cmon fuckin bubbles and his AA arc

― j., Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:08 (ten years ago)

Sad that for Shakes none of the charactesr on the Wire approach the finely drawn intricacies and inimicable shading of Paulie Walnuts

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:09 (ten years ago)

yeah no doubt

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:09 (ten years ago)

true that every sex scene in this is a ridiculous horror

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:09 (ten years ago)

like, to the point where i wonder if they weren't staged and shot ineptly but contemptuously

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:10 (ten years ago)

the one thing that is notable about The Wire vs. Mad Men and the Sopranos is that there is a greater diversity in acting styles.

The sex scenes with Kima are pretty good tbh

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:12 (ten years ago)

lol dayo you get it

― Nhex, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:20 (ten years ago)

Paulie is a great well-drawn character fuiud

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:22 (ten years ago)

many xps to marcos: i wasn't bothered by the serial killer plot at all, i thought it was outre but kinda fascinating and bolstered by the anti-institutional cynicism that fuels so much of the show. as for plausibility, it didn't bug me any more than hamsterdam but i know i'm in the minority on that.

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:23 (ten years ago)

yea i thnk the difficulty i had w/ the serial killer plot was freamon's participation in it, just didn't seem to fly w/ anything we previously knew about that character

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:25 (ten years ago)

i'll always remember the sopranos' subtle depiction of a closeted gay mobster

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg76/JimmyMarkum/gayvito.gif

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:25 (ten years ago)

I envy all of you for whom every sexual encounter is some sort of Richard Gere bodice ripper

― rip van wanko, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:27 (ten years ago)

probably somewhere upthread is a post from me where i express appreciation for the scene of Omar and boyfriend #2 in bed watching a Beecher/Keller sex scene from Oz on tv

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:29 (ten years ago)

It's not about whether they depict good vs bad sex so much as that every single one is done in the same terrible jumpcut-to-fast-fucking style.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:30 (ten years ago)

not every single one!!!

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:31 (ten years ago)

"So let me tell you about this show where the lead character is a ruthless capo of a long-standing North Jersey mafioso family...who has to secretly see a psychiatrist in secret because he suffers from anxiety attacks and he doesn't want his friends to know about it"

*Shakey is startled, spills his mug of coffee* Wow... amazing!!

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:32 (ten years ago)

LOL @omarlittle. That subplot was so weak.

― schwantz, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:32 (ten years ago)

the first half of the sopranos' final season almost made me say "fuck this entire show, fuck you forever david chase." that show has dead zones in it that the wire/mad men/breaking bad really do not, imo

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:34 (ten years ago)

otm

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:35 (ten years ago)

mad men has so many dead zones such that it's so exciting when something interesting actually happens

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 19:52 (ten years ago)

who in the wire has sex that's not, like, horny screwing or extramarital gray area sex or big power-dynamic stuff other than omar and brandon and (maybe) kima and her lady?

― j., Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:09 (ten years ago)

Shakey otm with people feeling like chess pieces at times. And of course, it's by design, what with all the inspiration from greek drama, and the characters comparing themselves to chess pieces in one of the most famous early scenes. There are dozens and dozens of thinly drawn characters in The Wire, because there are dozens and dozens and dozens of characters in The Wire, and most of them are just utterly ordinary. Fat Faced André, Little Kevin, Sharrod, just to name a few from where I'm watching. There's nothing to them. The two first aren't even that likable. But it's still absolutely chilling when André's afraid about the rats in the vacants, or that look Kevin throws at Slim Charles after they put him in the car.

There's nothing special about anybody on The Wire. They're just humans, and most of them are considered worthless in the eyes of society. It's what makes it all so chilling and tragic.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:12 (ten years ago)

dude, Andre is just Andre, you are confusing him with Fat Faced Rick

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:13 (ten years ago)

who in the wire has sex that's not, like, horny screwing or extramarital gray area sex or big power-dynamic stuff

Daniels iirc

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:15 (ten years ago)

Old Face Andre, is what he's called. Omar just mentioned Fat Faced Rick, got confused. Also, have no idea who Fat Faced Rick is.

(also, the actor playing Andre is named Alfonso Christian Lover, which is an awesome name!)

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:17 (ten years ago)

Fat Faced Rick had an issue w/the liquor board and he is later part of the New Day Coop

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:22 (ten years ago)

Names of not-pictured-in-show characters on The Wire are some of my favorite details in the show. Shorty Boyd, Eggy Mule, etc.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:23 (ten years ago)

oh yeah rick and andre are pictured, forgot

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:24 (ten years ago)

"Eggy Mule" is an amazing street name.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:27 (ten years ago)

There's also No Heart Anthony (Omar's brother).

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:27 (ten years ago)

iirc, Eggy Mule caught a nickel off some feds on a pistol. Or was that shorty boyd.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:28 (ten years ago)

Wait, I think Eggy Mule cleaned his whole act up.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:28 (ten years ago)

fat faced rick is forever in my memory bc he once said, "you harder to find than my fat wife's cunt" to stringer bell

shorty boyd cleaned his act up i think

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:28 (ten years ago)

shorty boyd is a character from The Corner

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:29 (ten years ago)

Avon: So what you tellin' me we weak ?

Slim: Boss, I reached out to Black Donnie.

Avon: Okay, spit it out, man.
Listen, stop fucking double talkin' me.

Slim: Black Donnie said
he ain't having any of it.

Said Brother Mouzone
put a hex on all of us.

Avon: What 'bout Peacock ?

Slim: Peacock went and hired
out with some Dominicans.

Avon: What about Eggy Mule ?

Slim: Eggy locked up.
Caught a nickel with the feds for a pistol.

Avon: How 'bout Shorty Boyd ?

Slim: Shorty Boyd went and cleaned his whole ack' up.

Avon: ...

Slim: Yeah, I know. Fucked us all up.

Avon: What we got ?

Slim: Soldier you sent at us, Cutty, he gonna work out
but the rest of them dudes,
I dunno.

Avon: A-ight, listen big man, you about to earn your fuckin'
keep around here right now.

You go out, you get Cutty
and get the best of the rest
and put a hurtin' on Marlo.

I want my corners.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 27 June 2008 05:21 (6 years ago) Permalink

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:30 (ten years ago)

lol Peacock

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:31 (ten years ago)

ugh Brother Mouzone, his whole deal was so eye-rolly

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:32 (ten years ago)

Cutty is the best

― Dokken played here for a Ribfest and people were total assholes (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:32 (ten years ago)

xp yeah he might actually be my least favorite character, like if Omar toed the line of comic bookiness, Brother Mouzone stepped way over

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:33 (ten years ago)

xps to sarahell there's a character from the corner named bunchie boyd, fran boyd's sister/fellow addict, played by the woman who'd later play marla daniels

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:34 (ten years ago)

Season 2 is great because so much huge stuff is set in motion (and ultimately hindered) by Maj. Valchek's personal feud with Frank Sobotka.

― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 2:04 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

NARRATIVE CONTINGENCY

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:46 (ten years ago)

i have still not seen the sopranos, not really but the wire is so much better than mad men come on.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:48 (ten years ago)

horsehoe otm.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:48 (ten years ago)

also the wire has like 900x as many hot dudes as mad men and the sopranos put together (i don't really know how many hot dudes there are on those shows except christopher moltisanti and jon hamm but i am p sure this is a conservative estimate.)

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:50 (ten years ago)

...

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:51 (ten years ago)

you have your criteria i have mine

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:52 (ten years ago)

that was a very wire-like way to put it horseshoe

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:53 (ten years ago)

Love em equally as much, yet for such different reasons and appeal. Comparing the Wire and Mad Men seems so useless and trite tbh.

― a pleasant little psychedelic detour in the elevator (Amory Blaine), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:53 (ten years ago)

it's actually an angle I never much considered on the show, but actually yeah there are quite a lot of handsome dudes now that I think about it

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:53 (ten years ago)

there was that moment on the show when d'angelo's wife is trying to give stringer some of his old clothes and stringer's like, "naw I'm an XL" and she's like, "i bet you are." i was watching with my wife and i heard her go "mm." put me in my place.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:53 (ten years ago)

There's nothing special about anybody on The Wire.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 3:12 PM (41 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

waht

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:55 (ten years ago)

first of all STRING

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:55 (ten years ago)

second of all the show is for real old school humanistic. that they're human is special (and chilling) enough.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:56 (ten years ago)

the show really loves those characters (okay, not Marlo.)

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:56 (ten years ago)

the tight, slangy, jargony way everybody talks on the wire is so much fun

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 20:56 (ten years ago)

The men are better looking than the women on that show.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:01 (ten years ago)

I've found sentiments such as "You want it to be one way, but it's the other way" and "that's what you get for giving a fuck when it's not your turn to give a fuck" incredibly helpful at work.

― Dokken played here for a Ribfest and people were total assholes (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:01 (ten years ago)

The best-looking women are all pretty minor on the show too -- Nick Sobotka's wife, Donnette, McNulty's ex, I guess Teresa D'Agostino is hot in a sexy lizard sort of way.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:02 (ten years ago)

"that's what you get for giving a fuck when it's not your turn to give a fuck"

this is the truth at the core of all workplaces imo

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:02 (ten years ago)

yeah it's kind of a work training manual in general imo xp

― languagelessness (mattresslessness), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:03 (ten years ago)

there are way fewer women tbf

for reference:

WIRE BABEZ POLL (dudes edition)

WIRE BABEZ POLL

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:03 (ten years ago)

There's nothing special about anybody on The Wire.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 3:12 PM (41 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Straight up trolling, this. Man's gotta have a code Freddie B, you seem to lack one.

― a pleasant little psychedelic detour in the elevator (Amory Blaine), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:04 (ten years ago)

how did shardene lose that

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:06 (ten years ago)

I guess Teresa D'Agostino is hot in a sexy lizard sort of way.

This explains why I find Cardassian women so alluring.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:09 (ten years ago)

Um, there's a certain Aimee scene that probably won her the poll is all, xp

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:09 (ten years ago)

leee w/ the deep cut DS9 ref, damn man

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:10 (ten years ago)

Well, my point was exactly that if nobody's special, everybody is. Y'know, the reverse Incredibles. Though of course, Stringer and Omar is kinda the exception to the rule.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:10 (ten years ago)

shardene is cuet though forgot about her

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:10 (ten years ago)

it's the eyes

― rip van wanko, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:11 (ten years ago)

Teresa D'Agostino relaxing at home
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HHOFmHMTN5k/maxresdefault.jpg

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:11 (ten years ago)

LIZARD, not CHICKEN.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:12 (ten years ago)

I must insist.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:13 (ten years ago)

I guess Teresa D'Agostino is hot in a sexy lizard sort of way

gtfo she is all mammal

― j., Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:13 (ten years ago)

She was at my screening of Actress. So sad I forgot my dvd's, could have gotten them autographed.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:14 (ten years ago)

she has cold eyes, in the character at least. it's good acting.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:15 (ten years ago)

I watched the entire Sopranos run over the summer and it was good, but I don't think it compares favorably to The Wire.
"the show really loves those characters (okay, not Marlo.)" - is really OTM and what sets it apart for me, and is also true of Generation Kill and even Treme. The Sopranos was... interesting, I guess, but no one outside of Tony was really worth caring about.

the best of the HBO run, for me, was Deadwood/Rome/Wire (then GK and Treme) - even when painfully flawed, each of those shows cared more about its characters as something more than plot movers.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:25 (ten years ago)

we have p drastically different standards apparently. I couldn't even make it to the end of S1 with Deadwood, the dialogue was all so terrible (and they killed the only character I liked p quickly anyway)

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:27 (ten years ago)

marlo was a great character imo!

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:32 (ten years ago)

felt that simon had a lot of love for marlo too

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:33 (ten years ago)

MY NAME IS MY NAME, that was such a powerful scene for marlo's character and for me changed a lot of how i saw him

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:34 (ten years ago)

Actually marlo has the best sex scene in the whole show. ("Worked for me")

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:34 (ten years ago)

That was the moment when I thought "wow, this is the coldest character ever committed to screen"

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:35 (ten years ago)

i found deadwood to be a bit slow, but it seemed to really hit a turning point with the thing that happened to the reverend

― j., Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:45 (ten years ago)

I just couldn't get past all the "look at me, I AM SWEARING!" silliness

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:47 (ten years ago)

I couldn't even make it to the end of S1 with Deadwood, the dialogue was all so terrible

move to north korea

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:47 (ten years ago)

I had to try Deadwood three times before I made it through season 1. Season 2 is fucking amazing, though, and at this point I'm just hooked on everything Milch.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:59 (ten years ago)

lol we're doing that thing that seems to happen at every social gathering I'm at now where we just go around the room talking about what premium tv shows we like and don't like and why

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 21:59 (ten years ago)

Yup. And it's always Wire, Sopranos, Deadwood, Mad Men.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:03 (ten years ago)

Funnily enough, I think fewer people are talking about Breaking Bad, even though it had like one of the best endings ever. But probably less rewarding on rewatch, I guess.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:03 (ten years ago)

Breaking Bad is all forward motion "what's going to happen?!" dynamism - there's no point in watching it again imo

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:05 (ten years ago)

I mean it did that very well, it ended well but I have pretty much zero interest in reliving that particular journey.

will watch Better Call Saul though

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:06 (ten years ago)

Get ahead of everyone else and get The Good Wife into your party patter.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:07 (ten years ago)

haven't rewatched breaking bad (i just finished it for the first time last month!) and while it is a primarily plot-driven show, it is also wonderfully filmed, there are so many beautifully shot scenes that i think would reward repeat viewers

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:07 (ten years ago)

I thought bb's ending mostly sucked but even if your standards aren't super high I have a really hard time seeing how anyone can lay that sort of superlative on it

I don't think it's a good show after s2 though, at all

― linda cardellini (zachlyon), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:07 (ten years ago)

tbh i don't have a huge interest in better call saul. feel like it's a flimsy premise for a show even though i liked the character of saul goodman

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:08 (ten years ago)

better call saul is avclub fanboy bait but it could end up better than bb

― linda cardellini (zachlyon), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:10 (ten years ago)

well sure if you think 3/5 of the show's seasons sucked, which i don't

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:12 (ten years ago)

lol we're doing that thing that seems to happen at every social gathering I'm at now where we just go around the room talking about what premium tv shows we like and don't like and why

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, January 13, 2015 4:59 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol otm

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:13 (ten years ago)

if i think 3/5 of the show's seasons sucked wouldn't u think it surprising that i'd see potential in a weird spinoff? i am full of mysteries

― linda cardellini (zachlyon), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:14 (ten years ago)

nah i just figured you were some mr show dork fan who just loves odenkirk

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:26 (ten years ago)

nah j/k, that was mean.

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:26 (ten years ago)

just figured you liked odenkirk but weren't a big fan of BB

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:27 (ten years ago)

anyway apart from thinking about "cable dramas" i really don't ever think of breaking bad and the wire comparisons, for me they live in different parts of my brain and satisfy very different needs

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:28 (ten years ago)

even if your standards aren't super high I have a really hard time seeing how anyone can lay that sort of superlative on it

and yea i'll be the first to admit i have fairly middlebrow tastes in film/shows, 90% of the time i look up a film i liked on ILX i see the usual folks have already ripped it to shreds

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:31 (ten years ago)

TBF being middlebrow is allowing yourself to accept the opinions of those people who have ripped it to shreds

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:31 (ten years ago)

good work fellas, same time tomorrow?

― languagelessness (mattresslessness), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:34 (ten years ago)

Breaking Bad is middlebrow shite, can't hold a candle to the auteuristic genius of something like John From Cincinatti!!!

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:39 (ten years ago)

More like autistic genius.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:39 (ten years ago)

nah i just figured you were some mr show dork fan who just loves odenkirk
― marcos, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 5:26 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

neither

i guess i just really don't like bb

and yea i'll be the first to admit i have fairly middlebrow tastes in film/shows, 90% of the time i look up a film i liked on ILX i see the usual folks have already ripped it to shreds
― marcos, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 5:31 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

occasionally the three magi disagree

― linda cardellini (zachlyon), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:39 (ten years ago)

lol

― marcos, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:41 (ten years ago)

marlo is a good character; i just hate him

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:55 (ten years ago)

marlo's incredible, though he took awhile to grow on me. only bc i was attached to the barksdale/bell hierarchy. but the marlo crew is so good in S4.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 22:58 (ten years ago)

Yeah Marlo/Chris/Snoop make a pretty fascinating/unconventional criminal organization

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:02 (ten years ago)

Marlo's the perfect successor to the Barksdale story arc, the opposite in every aspect

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:05 (ten years ago)

Haven't watched this in 6 years, excited to rewatch the HD versh, perhaps with a white person

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:05 (ten years ago)

was just thinking about their locations and their characters -- Barksdale always holed up in a secret back room or basement -- untrusting, anxious, almost paranoid. Marlo in his totally unassuming open, empty concrete lot/park/whatever that was, all brains and cunning, unemotional, no need for physicality or feeling protected.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:08 (ten years ago)

nah i just figured you were some mr show dork fan who just loves odenkirk

― marcos, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 2:26 PM (35 minutes ago)

i am tbh

and Donette's line was "no doubt"

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:10 (ten years ago)

xp - Marlo meets out in the open because it is harder to be wiretapped/recorded that way. The narrative goes into this multiple times.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:11 (ten years ago)

That doesn't disprove his point

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:15 (ten years ago)

yes it does, Marlo is even more untrusting and paranoid

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:16 (ten years ago)

He's willing to trade the vulnerability of being out in the open for the assurance of not being wiretapped, duh

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:17 (ten years ago)

Yeah true, maybe that's not the best explanation. But there does seem to be something about the location that reflects his coldness or maybe moral emptiness or something, it's like his homebase is a non-place.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:18 (ten years ago)

He seems to have ties to nothing, maybe. D'Angelo Barksdale has ties to the past, his family, etc., meets in old backrooms with old furniture. IDK, maybe just grasping at straws. It certainly at least seems like Barksdale's locations are warmer than Marlo's.

― walid foster dulles (man alive), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:19 (ten years ago)

the barksdales (esp bell) see drugs as a means to something and their self-protection is to not lose what they have and to keep building. marlo sees the drug game as a thing to win in itself, his desire is sort of inhuman; idk if "psychotic" is the right word really. the writers toy with fascist ideas with him, or at least a "purity" of will-to-power

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:24 (ten years ago)

i think the thing about Marlo, which also is reflected in the larger narrative about kids and how they get "in the game" younger and younger, is that Marlo seems a lot more childlike than Avon and Stringer. He has that cold eyed Damian from the Omen thing going on. One of Marlo's first sociopathic scenes is stealing lollipops. Could you see Avon or Stringer even eating a lollipop? One of his hangouts is at a playground. You see him bribing kids with candy. You rarely see him interested in sex. Maybe this just shows that he is savvier than his predecessors in terms of empire building, but Avon and Stringer come across more as "men" than Marlo.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:25 (ten years ago)

I don't think it's an accident htat his name recalls Heart of Darkness xp

― 龜, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:26 (ten years ago)

Avon is pretty plugged into his surrounding community beyond his gang: hosting cookouts, participating in the East/West hoops game, helping Cutty out with the boxing ring.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:31 (ten years ago)

xp yeah, and lisa stansfield

― goole, Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:32 (ten years ago)

I always saw Marlo's rise as an inevitable moral decay (i.e. "Game the same, just got more fierce") of the prevailing social institution, like how globalization replaces personal connections with streamlined capital.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, 13 January 2015 23:34 (ten years ago)

man marlo's flatness is almost made up for by that final shot standing on the corner in his gold suit, bleeding from his cut
I also love the way he goes 'yeah' under his breath like he's convincing himself that he's the best
― =皿= (dyao), Monday, December 28, 2009 10:14 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 14 January 2015 11:11 (ten years ago)

I've found the first three seasons a slog a lot of the time, especially s2, but I kept going to reach s4 because that's the one people rave about.

Reading Difficult Men, about the post-Sopranos TV revolution, and Simon makes it really clear that he was more interested in the political message than the characters which explains a lot of the weaknesses and makes me glad that he had people like Price and Pelecanos to do character work. In his head, it's agit-prop, like a social realist novel. A fresh ambition in TV terms but old-fashioned really. And psychologically incurious compared to The Sopranos.

― Minaj moron (Re-Make/Re-Model), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 14:20 (ten years ago)

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Tuesday, January 13, 2015 6:34 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

― a drug by the name of WORLD WITHOUT END (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 16:27 (ten years ago)

yup

― Nhex, Wednesday, 14 January 2015 16:28 (ten years ago)

I don't think it's an accident htat his name recalls Heart of Darkness xp

Also "Marlo" is an anagram for "Omar L".

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 18:01 (ten years ago)

weebay.gif

― shmup....smug....shmub....shmug.... (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 18:07 (ten years ago)

The end of season 4... So tough.

― Frederik B, Wednesday, 14 January 2015 19:29 (ten years ago)

I've watched the first three seasons multiple times, but the last two only once despite owning DVDs of both and having access to them on Amazon Prime. After all this discussion I decided to dial up season 4 and halfway through episode 1 it is already depressing as hell. Not sure if I'm going to be able to make it all the way through.

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 20:10 (ten years ago)

it's the hardest to get through for sure by that measurement, but it's also the show's best season by a wiiiide margin imo. don't give up!

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 20:46 (ten years ago)

xp if you don't like depressing shows, then I don't know why you are watching this series

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 20:46 (ten years ago)

I think I had a greater capacity for it in the past. It's maybe a bit different now that my kid is about the same age as the kids in the show. Also, the first time around I didn't know how their plots would all turn out. Now that I do, there's definitely a greater feeling of dread.

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 20:54 (ten years ago)

There's always Namond.

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:08 (ten years ago)

things turn out pretty well for him beyond his dad being in jail for life and his mom being terrible, but it's true that his new family is a step up, so I guess that's a happy ending

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:17 (ten years ago)

hating namond's mom is so invigorating though.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:21 (ten years ago)

ohhhhh i hate her.

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:22 (ten years ago)

how I start every morning

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:25 (ten years ago)

wait till bey hear about this...

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:28 (ten years ago)

he's fine as long as his fish get cleaned and fed

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:28 (ten years ago)

namonds mom is the worst, so much fun to hate her

― difficult-difficult lemon-difficult (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 15 January 2015 00:06 (ten years ago)

innocuous scenes like the one in ep. 2 where Cutty is trying to talk Michael into training to be a boxer are harder to watch when you know where the plot is going

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Thursday, 15 January 2015 01:47 (ten years ago)

Every scene with happy Randy is awful on rewatch...

― Frederik B, Thursday, 15 January 2015 02:01 (ten years ago)

exactly

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Thursday, 15 January 2015 02:03 (ten years ago)

There is a moment I caught on rewatch, which I now can't let go, which is when Carcetti and Norman goes to see Rawls after the election. They speak about stats and all that, and all of a sudden Rawls say, that the reason everyone in Baltimore loves stats, is because they all are promoted from Affirmative Action, and since they got their jobs from numbers games, that is all they know. And you realize, if there were no stats, a white boys club would just take over everything, without any kind of control.

― Frederik B, Friday, 16 January 2015 01:11 (ten years ago)

Was there a McNulty-speaking-to-the-presumed-good-old-boy-county-sheriff subtext going on there as well?

― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Friday, 16 January 2015 01:19 (ten years ago)

Well, the clear subtext is that Rawls wants Carcetti to give him Burrells job as police commissioner, so he's stating what sets him apart from the other candidates: That he is white.

― Frederik B, Friday, 16 January 2015 01:23 (ten years ago)

yeah, it's a smokescreen to divert attention from the truth. burrell isn't beholden to the numbers bc he's a black police officer who reached his position through affirmative action. he's that way bc he's a hack at police work who somehow managed to be blessed w/ good political instincts - and that description also fits rawls, to a fucking t.

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Friday, 16 January 2015 23:56 (ten years ago)

burrell's exit speech to rawls has that lovely note where after he says rawls will eat the political class' shit for a living he adds "daniels too, when he gets here" and rawls' face for a moment is like yezhov's, hollow triumph

speaking of the stalinists, how about marlo's brisk takeover speech to the co-op (headed by joe's empty chair)? textbook.

― difficult listening hour, Saturday, 17 January 2015 05:56 (ten years ago)

just watched season 5, ep5 - dukie asking cutty, "how do we get from here to the rest of the world?" is beyond heartbreaking

― i'm tellin you it was kenard (slothroprhymes), Sunday, 18 January 2015 05:27 (ten years ago)

New David Simon series:
http://curbed.com/archives/2015/01/28/show-me-a-hero-david-simon-yonkers.php

The miniseries is directed by Paul Haggis, who won the best picture Oscar in 2006 for his film Crash, which explored racial tensions in Los Angeles. Mayor Wasicsko is played by Oscar Isaac, the handsome star of the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII movie. The defeated incumbent mayor is played by Jim Belushi, and Winona Ryder and Catherine Keener are also on board, along with the Argentine actress Carla Quevedo.

― bit of a singles monster (Eazy), Friday, 30 January 2015 16:10 (ten years ago)

The miniseries is directed by Paul Haggis

uh-oh

― bizarro gazzara, Friday, 30 January 2015 16:13 (ten years ago)

if he isn't writing it, there shouldn't be too many ways to for him to fuck the project up

― indie fuxxor albums i have secretly spotified (slothroprhymes), Friday, 30 January 2015 16:15 (ten years ago)

(he said hesitantly)

― indie fuxxor albums i have secretly spotified (slothroprhymes), Friday, 30 January 2015 16:16 (ten years ago)

http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/2013/02/life.gif

― bizarro gazzara, Friday, 30 January 2015 16:16 (ten years ago)

And psychologically incurious compared to The Sopranos.

Who even knows what's going on in their heads?

― Andrew Farrell, Friday, 30 January 2015 16:34 (ten years ago)

After Treme, Simon had a number of projects on the board at HBO, each and every one given a deeply reported, fully realized treatment, with scripts written for multiple episodes and multiseason show bibles assembled. It’s work that can take years to complete.
“We’re not the people who go around with a trunkful of pilot scripts,” Simon says. “‘It’s a medical show! You don’t want a medical show? It’s a legal show! He’s gotta have a dog? OK, he’s got a dog! His partner’s an alien? OK, his partner’s an alien!’”
There was a partial adaptation of Taylor Branch’s massive civil-rights trilogy America in the King Years. A collaboration with George Pelecanos on Times Square in the ’70s and ’80s. A “very careful treatment” of the CIA from 1945 to 2001, written with his Wire buddy Ed Burns. And a telling of the Lincoln assassination with “crackling” scripts that “avoided the marble men of Lincoln and Booth who have been written to death” and functioned “as a sort of post-9/11 allegory.” He describes it as a “traumatizing act of terror” followed by “paranoia and military trials with indefinite detention … the smell of rendition in Guantanamo and overreach and wartime fear.”

I wanna see the CIA one

― Number None, Friday, 30 January 2015 18:01 (ten years ago)

They all sound pretty good, esp. the one where his partner's an alien.

― Hollinger Escape Plan (Leee), Friday, 30 January 2015 18:31 (ten years ago)

haggis is the double worst, why the fuck is he involved

― Sounds like a forks display name (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 31 January 2015 03:19 (ten years ago)

crackling paranoid lincoln assassination scripts!!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GewvuNcC81I/T0fbPqluwEI/AAAAAAAAAKg/kMV9DI0ETtI/s1600/homicides1b.jpg

― j., Saturday, 31 January 2015 03:38 (ten years ago)

FINISHED.

http://i.imgur.com/f9AqxPX.gif

― pplains, Thursday, 5 February 2015 15:20 (ten years ago)

I say there's no more nostalgia anymore, but it did feel like I was watching a period piece as I caught up. Going from Nick Sobotka asking Ziggy, "So you just type in some words into the computer and it finds it for you?" to McNutty dropping his jaw at the sight of Spiros texting on his cellphone to Season 5's Lester going "What the?" at the ability of Marlo to send PICTURES through his MOBILE DEVICE.

― pplains, Thursday, 5 February 2015 15:23 (ten years ago)

I watched this solo and didn't check any threads or wikipedia out of fear of spoilers.

Not much more to add. Maybe when my wife and I change into our color-coordinated tank tops and eat dinner tonight like Cedric and Ronnie, I'll think of something.

― pplains, Thursday, 5 February 2015 15:26 (ten years ago)

I really liked the first few episodes of Treme. Is it worth the effort for the long haul?

― Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, 5 February 2015 15:37 (ten years ago)

I enjoy it, but it is much more soap opera-y than The Wire

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Thursday, 5 February 2015 15:50 (ten years ago)

the dialogue is generally up to typical simon & co. standards - storytelling, not so much. acting is good w/the marked exception of steve zahn (although maybe its just that he's really good at playing one of the most grating characters ever, making ziggy look restrained and introspective by comparison). the music is pretty wonderful.

i could never stick with it other than a few episodes each season, always lost interest. in a nutshell, the criticisms of being excessively didactic or more interested in message than storytelling that some applied to the wire or generation kill are actually true of treme.

― slothroprhymes, Thursday, 5 February 2015 15:58 (ten years ago)

I really enjoyed The Wire, but the build-up of it being supreme over Sopranos or Breaking Bad was overkill. There were plenty of moments where it seemed just like any other cop show, except with actual profanity and headshots.

Maybe it was my "what the?" apprehension when I began the second season and saw the boats and ChefTech POS graphics of cargo in the opening credits, but the whole intro scene of the dockworkers on their own ground inside the bar, raising a glass to the union and to the City of Ballamare, that I first groaned a little.

Even that opening where Valchek gets in a huff about the stained glass window treaded close to that awful Sopranos Columbus Day episode where Silvio all of a sudden gets a burr in his ass about the Native Americans.

And the newspaper scenes… Good grief. "He's right. 'Evacuate' is an action done to something, not by an object or person…" Those were some of the most hackneyed of them all.

But The Wire was worth the time and effort. I'd put any of those characters up against any Soprano or meth maker. Seeing Chris and Weebay standing together at the end almost gave me a lump.

― pplains, Thursday, 5 February 2015 16:57 (ten years ago)

Breaking Bad isn't even in the conversation pplains

― Number None, Thursday, 5 February 2015 17:09 (ten years ago)

xp you're crazy the evacuate line is hilarious - well, the one that prompts the alma guiterrez reaction you quoted, not her line

(i see your general point tho)

― slothroprhymes, Thursday, 5 February 2015 17:11 (ten years ago)

i love Sopranos and Breaking Bad and, for me, the Wire makes those shows seem like Scooby-Doo.

― AKA Thermo Thinwall (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 5 February 2015 19:09 (ten years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/ROE59nS.jpg

― pplains, Thursday, 5 February 2015 19:26 (ten years ago)

On some days I prefer sopranos. But breaking bad is def a tier below the others

― deej loaf (D-40), Thursday, 5 February 2015 19:27 (ten years ago)

plains - you blew my mind. wow.

― AKA Thermo Thinwall (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 5 February 2015 19:32 (ten years ago)

Did not catch this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KRQ72iHV40

― pplains, Saturday, 7 February 2015 21:52 (ten years ago)

pp did you watch this yet? it's a must:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX1Du7d4gTU

― gr8080, Saturday, 7 February 2015 22:29 (ten years ago)

I did! Saw it upthread.

― pplains, Sunday, 8 February 2015 01:38 (ten years ago)

very curious that just after some renewed conversation about the wire and remembering how deeply people hated the journalism aspects of s5 for their supposed implausibility (and, to be fair, other more understandable reasons), brian williams has been revealed as a less egregious version of scott templeton

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 10 February 2015 04:44 (ten years ago)

haha yup

― Nhex, Tuesday, 10 February 2015 05:14 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

so season 5 is a pretty big letdown from season 4. Just a couple episodes into my re-watch and it's clear that there was a pretty steep fall off in quality.

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 18:23 (ten years ago)

yep

― marcos, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 18:32 (ten years ago)

Breaking Bad isn't even in the conversation pplains

― Number None, Thursday, February 5, 2015 12:09 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haven't seen sopranos but tbh i enjoyed breaking bad more than the wire. i had more fun watching it. part of it could be that i watched the wire by myself and didn't have too many people to talk to about it. breaking bad i watched with my wife and most people i know had seen it already, so it could've just been down to that

― marcos, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 18:33 (ten years ago)

and let's be clear the wire is very good but as pplains otm that there were PLENTY of moments that were just typical cop procedural garbage

― marcos, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 18:35 (ten years ago)

plenty of cringeworthy moments too. i was so tired of seeing drunk cops singing "im a free born man in the usa" yet again

breaking bad had fewer lows imo

― marcos, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 18:36 (ten years ago)

dude you gotta get on the sopranos

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 18:37 (ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97PxJ-_6JwM

― pplains, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:03 (ten years ago)

if you think the dropoff from S4 to S5 was bad in The Wire, i pre-emptively lol at taking on The Sopranos which was wildly inconsistent from episode to episode

― Nhex, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:24 (ten years ago)

i agree that BB was more enjoyable than The Wire too. don't see the great chasm of quality difference between the two, tbh, BB was just as masterful at what it was doing

― Nhex, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:25 (ten years ago)

Sopranos has the virtue of having great characters/character acting and zero police procedural crap

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:26 (ten years ago)

xxpost

well, sure, S5 of The Wire is at least watchable as compared to the long stretches in The Sopranos later seasons that were utter crap

― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:27 (ten years ago)

arrest shakey

― goole, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:32 (ten years ago)

You be bad cop, I'll be good cop.

― Hollinger Escape Plan (Leee), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:37 (ten years ago)

it's dark out there on that backlot. western district boys mistook him for a pinata.

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:37 (ten years ago)

we don't have PC, plant something

― rip van wanko, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:38 (ten years ago)

Don't bother, just write up a warrant for Shakey bin Laden.

― Hollinger Escape Plan (Leee), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:39 (ten years ago)

in every cop show ever

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:40 (ten years ago)

count how many of those the Wire does

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:41 (ten years ago)

Season 5 spent the first few episodes showing stagnation, building up to McNulty and the reporter's breaches, but it really drags us deliberately through some tedium to get there.

― bit of a singles monster (Eazy), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:43 (ten years ago)

xp prob around 40-50 out of the 180 or so, one could easily do the same with italian-american life and/or mobster cliches in the sopranos

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:45 (ten years ago)

and i grew up in northern jersey, a fair amount are accurate but some are absurdly "come onnnnn" just the same way the wire has a few.

the worst wire episodes are still better than most of seasons 4 and 6 of the sopranos (5 is pretty solid throughout)

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:47 (ten years ago)

I will grant that 4 is the low point of the Sopranos but 6 is incredible

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:53 (ten years ago)

the first serialized TV drama to actually have a definitive, iconic, well-thought out ending

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:53 (ten years ago)

BB is the only other one that even comes close so far

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:53 (ten years ago)

tbf when i say 6 i mean "the first 12 or 13 episodes," i have no prob with the finale and the few hours leading up to it

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:55 (ten years ago)

even 4 has eps like "whitecaps" and "whoever did this"...it also has literally every other episode that season

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 19:57 (ten years ago)

Also has the show's best episode, "The Weight"...

― bit of a singles monster (Eazy), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 20:07 (ten years ago)

Uhm, how about The Shield for iconic ending?

The ending to Sopranos is crap. Well thought out two minutes, grasped onto an anti-climactic story, the combination of which makes no sense either way you interpret it. And Breaking Bad was the best final season ever for 3/4 of the way.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 20:08 (ten years ago)

Also, season four was my second favorite season of Sopranos after five. Though I can't remember why. Whitecaps, though.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 20:09 (ten years ago)

i thought breaking bad was pretty consistent throughout the entirety of the show, never felt like they fell off at any point. i did feel some small sense of burnout at s5a but it was brief, s5b was magnificent i thought

― marcos, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 20:27 (ten years ago)

sopranos > wire >>> breaking bad

― deej loaf (D-40), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 21:16 (ten years ago)

The ending to Sopranos is crap.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, February 24, 2015 2:08 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ban

― deej loaf (D-40), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 21:16 (ten years ago)

the shield is a great show in a v different mode than the wire. Hard to rank them comparatively, though my earnest self prefers the wire.

I could only get through a season and a half of Breaking Bad but I mean what is that show even about? My earnest self can't watch that shit.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:20 (ten years ago)

it's about a chemistry teacher who has cancer and is broke and too proud and cooks meth and gets obsessed with the power he thinks he has, get with it dude not too complicated

― marcos, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:23 (ten years ago)

horseshoe are you me because that's the exact same response I had to BB.

― Godsleee You Black Emperor (Leee), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:24 (ten years ago)

BB bad is not "about" anything in the way that the Wire and the Sopranos and a handful of other shows that have central, overriding themes. It's more or less just about what it means to be addicted to dangerous behavior; it's an extended character study.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:25 (ten years ago)

it's about a chemistry teacher who has cancer and is broke and too proud and cooks meth and gets obsessed with the power he thinks he has, get with it dude not too complicated

I'm no fun. It's the same reason I don't like mad men.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:26 (ten years ago)

I also have zero desire to rewatch BB as its central virtue is the plot's tension and forward momentum, "cliffhangers" etc. once you know where everything is going and how it all ends and fits together I can't see it being very rewarding. A good show though.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:27 (ten years ago)

Honestly I stopped watching breaking bad because it started to seem like an experiment in out-suspending itself for...some purpose I couldn't determine. Also too hard to watch Walter white slowly destroy a kid he used to teach I can't even take it.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:28 (ten years ago)

out-suspensing itself, I meant. Like blowing ever more impressive shit up as a formal exercise basically.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:29 (ten years ago)

For the first few seasons BB was about a control freak fighting against chaos, and it was pretty great. Then it became a moralistic fight between good and evil, and that was pretty shallow, though often exciting.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:30 (ten years ago)

haha what?!? there is no "good" in Breaking Bad - except for the entirely passive/inactive children (Jr. and the baby)

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:34 (ten years ago)

zero police procedural crap

This is pretty ridic - yeah, they investigate murders and tap phones and shit, but there's very little in common with the 'police procedural' as that is usually used.

Breaking Bad was good but I thought it was mostly interesting because of the plotting (the show's writers and Walter's) but the most (almost wrote 'only') fascinating characters were Mike and Gus and it didn't really reach beyond that plotting.
Mad Men is super boring tbh, even more boring than Downton Abbey which at least has the excuse of being British and twee.
Watching The Sopranos post-Wire/Deadwood/BB/etc. it didn't seem that remarkable. I don't think it effectively got inside Tony's head as a character study (or there was just nothing there but greed) and it had the single worst character of any of these shows in AJ.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:35 (ten years ago)

Mad Men is so great fuck all y'all

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:36 (ten years ago)

AJ is essentially a tragic figure, his entire existence was an exercise in humiliation. Sopranos and Mad Men have/had better female characters than every show mentioned on this thread so far, which counts for a lot in my book

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:37 (ten years ago)

you are the one who caused all of this by not sufficiently loving the wire, the holy grail of tv

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 24 February 2015 23:38 (ten years ago)

milo otm

― Nhex, Wednesday, 25 February 2015 03:04 (ten years ago)

horseshoe otm as in all matters peripherally related to the wire; what i saw of bb was strict contraption

i like mad men tho, which is totally About stuff, sometimes no doubt to its detriment

― difficult listening hour, Wednesday, 25 February 2015 05:28 (ten years ago)

mise-en-scène

― j., Wednesday, 25 February 2015 05:48 (ten years ago)

AJ was basically the Ziggy of the Sopranos -- served a similar function, basically what Shakey said. I liked the Sopranos quite a bit, esp. Carmela, but it definitely hit as many mob family stereotypes as The Wire did cop show ones.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Wednesday, 25 February 2015 08:12 (ten years ago)

And Mad Men is the most boring show I have watched every episode of -- I mean, people can complain about Season 2 of Walking Dead on the farm being boring, but Mad Men takes boredom to an entirely new level of tedium

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Wednesday, 25 February 2015 08:16 (ten years ago)

Why do you watch it?

― just sayin, Wednesday, 25 February 2015 09:10 (ten years ago)

MADMEN LONG WATCH 2 (started by sarahell on board I Love AMC on 07-Jan-2014)

― one negged single mother (wins), Saturday, 28 February 2015 17:58 (ten years ago)

Catching up with Parks and Rec and laughed at this tidbit from the William Henry Harrison museum's "if he had worn a coat" alternate history exhibit.

http://assets.adamriff.com/images/the_wire-emmys.jpg

― Insane Prince of False Binaries (Gukbe), Saturday, 28 February 2015 18:19 (ten years ago)

xxxp speaking of which, is it worth jumping straight to S3 of Walking Dead?

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Thursday, 5 March 2015 10:32 (ten years ago)

i don't think it'll be as bad watching it in a straight shot. it's that first half of the season while the show crawwwwwwls along week to week that was killing all of us

― Nhex, Thursday, 5 March 2015 13:44 (ten years ago)

three weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWY79JCfhjw

― polyphonic, Thursday, 26 March 2015 22:14 (ten years ago)

but why

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 27 March 2015 01:59 (ten years ago)

got to. this america, man

― bizarro gazzara, Friday, 27 March 2015 10:20 (ten years ago)

next stop: HarmonTown

― Brio2, Friday, 27 March 2015 14:43 (ten years ago)

Hey O, given your personal experiences and opinions, maybe nationally decriminalize weed rather than just sitting around talking about the fictional ramifications?

― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope. (forksclovetofu), Friday, 27 March 2015 15:12 (ten years ago)

wrong thread forks?

― marcos, Friday, 27 March 2015 16:25 (ten years ago)

eh, appropriate everywhere sadly

― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope. (forksclovetofu), Friday, 27 March 2015 17:06 (ten years ago)

Simon looks like Herc and McCain's lovechild there.

― A-Hanisi Coates (Leee), Saturday, 28 March 2015 21:45 (ten years ago)

three weeks pass...

earned my The Wire wings last night. Season five is fine but the face:punchability factor is much higher than the other seasons.

― How Butch, I mean (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Tuesday, 21 April 2015 02:00 (ten years ago)

Otm.

― pplains, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 03:23 (ten years ago)

so true

― difficult-difficult lemon-difficult (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 22 April 2015 20:15 (ten years ago)

This show's sense of humor doesn't get acknowledged enough

― the fart in our stalls (latebloomer), Thursday, 23 April 2015 03:25 (ten years ago)

cuzza fuckin idiots is why

i was just recalling ol gus triandos to someone the other day

― j., Thursday, 23 April 2015 03:44 (ten years ago)

herc as kingpin's dad on daredevil was inspired casting

― Premise ridiculous. Who have two potato? (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 23 April 2015 03:48 (ten years ago)

An understated ensemble that puts the 'b' in "subtle."

― pplains, Thursday, 23 April 2015 13:42 (ten years ago)

Started watching this again for the first time in years last night. Weird piece of set design in episode 1 in the scene where they first call in Rhonda Pearlman. Whoever's desk that McNulty's sitting at has a "Thundercats Live!" patch thumbtacked to the cubicle wall. I had one of those patches back in 1999 or 2000. I think I got it from a UMBC student who just had a stack of them they were passing around. I'm pretty sure there was no Thundercats Live production at the time.

― how's life, Saturday, 2 May 2015 11:30 (ten years ago)

there's a shot of d someplace in season one where he's in front of a refrigerator and prominently placed on top of the refrigerator is a box of lil debbie's oatmeal creme pies and it always makes me want one (dozen).

― difficult listening hour, Saturday, 2 May 2015 20:22 (ten years ago)

lol this show's highly prominent embrace of utz chips completely inspired my love of them particularly the elusive (in MA) crab chip

― slothroprhymes, Saturday, 2 May 2015 20:36 (ten years ago)

http://www.thenation.com/blog/206121/game-done-changed-reconsidering-wire-amidst-baltimore-uprising

Now, I cannot help but recall all my favorite Wire moments through a lens that has me wondering if the show was both too soft on the police and incredibly dismissive of people’s ability to organize for real change. In the season that took place in the public schools, where were the student organizers, the urban debaters, and teacher activists I’ve met this past month? In the season about unions, where were the black trade unionists like the UNITE/HERE marchers who were—in utterly unpublicized fashion—at the heart of last Saturday’s march? In the season about the drug war and “Hamsterdam,” where were the people actually fighting for legalization? In the stories about the police, where were the people who died at their hands? It all reveals the audacity—and frankly the luxury—of David Simon’s pessimism. Perhaps this pessimism, alongside the adrenalizing violence, created, as Jamilah Lemieux put it in Ebony, a show steeped in the voyeurism of “Black pain and death” for a liberal white audience that “cried for Stringer Bell and a burned out CVS, but not Freddie Gray.”
I am not saying that art should conform to a utopian political vision of struggle like some dreck from the Stalinist culture mills. But I am asking a question that I wasn’t before: Why were those fighting for a better Baltimore invisible to David Simon? I don’t mean those fighting on behalf of Baltimore—the (often white) teachers, the social workers, and the good-natured cops who are at the heart of The Wire—but those fighting for their own liberation? Why was The Wire big on failed saviors and short on those trying to save themselves? And if these forces were invisible to David Simon, shouldn’t we dial down the praise of the show as this “Great American Novel of television” (Variety!) and instead see it for what it is: just a cop show? There’s no shame in that. I’ll even call it the greatest cop show ever, a cop show with insanely brilliant dialogue, indelible performances, and more three-dimensional roles for black actors than 99 percent of what comes out of Hollywood. But all the same—still just a cop show.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:27 (ten years ago)

the inevitable retconning thinkpiece!

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:32 (ten years ago)

In the season about the drug war and “Hamsterdam,” where were the people actually fighting for legalization?

there were several scenes with them iirc

a liberal white audience that “cried for Stringer Bell

who cried for Stringer Bell? Wallace, yes. D'angelo, yes. Dookie and Bubbles, sure.

Why was The Wire big on failed saviors and short on those trying to save themselves?

There were quite a few characters trying to save themselves, and most of them failed at it.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:34 (ten years ago)

Though I do agree that The Wire is pretty much a cop show.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:36 (ten years ago)

There were also several scenes of police brutality carried out by the "good" cops

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:37 (ten years ago)

In the stories about the police, where were the people who died at their hands?

if this didn't bother you about the Wire... man, I dunno...

― Οὖτις, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:38 (ten years ago)

there was a scene with iirc keema & a bunch of other cops kicking the shit out of a guy lying on the ground, tbh I felt quite comfortable hating all these ppl

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:40 (ten years ago)

Prez killed another cop by mistake

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:41 (ten years ago)

Also blinded a kid and got away with it!

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:41 (ten years ago)

only half-blinded, c'mon!

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:42 (ten years ago)

always baffled when people try to tell me the cops were not the "good guys" in the Wire

― Οὖτις, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:42 (ten years ago)

though apart from the dead undercover cop, there were just a good number of beatings but no deaths

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:43 (ten years ago)

i didn't read the whole article but what hoos posted is pretty much otm. i loved the wire but as years have passed it is basically just a cop show

― marcos, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:45 (ten years ago)

always baffled when people try to tell me the cops were not the "good guys" in the Wire

that's a simplistic view -- both sides -- like so much of the show is about good cops vs. bad cops, both in terms of motives, ethics, behavior and competence

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:47 (ten years ago)

The show is pro-cop, too much so imo, but was never not going to be and it's simply wrong to say it doesn't show that stuff

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:47 (ten years ago)

Carver's final big descision in season five was choosing to fire an underling for being too brutal. And yeah, there were a bunch of people trying to save themselves, deacons, former addicts. Cutty was pretty much the epitome of this, perhaps he became a standin for too much.

On the other hand, yeah, after hearing all these stories about cop brutality in Baltimore, it does feel as if The Wire was too positive about them.

― Frederik B, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:49 (ten years ago)

my thought was "Wow, sounds like there are a lot of Caliccios in BPD"

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:50 (ten years ago)

They focused on the 'good' cops, but there were plenty of shitty cops on the periphery. And even most of the 'good' cops had their shitty moments.

― More Fetid Than Fêted (Old Lunch), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:50 (ten years ago)

str treme being a lot more critical of the police from what I saw

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:51 (ten years ago)

I'm trying to remember if McNulty ever gets violent with a suspect. I'm pretty certain Bunk never does.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:52 (ten years ago)

Was gonna say: both Treme and Homicide had stories about police killing innocents

― rob, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:53 (ten years ago)

There was that one dude that they all beat in the interview room after Daniels turned off the camera, think mcnulty was one of them

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:53 (ten years ago)

Oh Bird! Yeah, you just don't actually see them doing it.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:54 (ten years ago)

Yeah and it plays as "this is ok cause he's a prick"

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:55 (ten years ago)

"a prick" is some serious British understatement there. He's a fucking sociopath who has murdered a bunch of people and tortured to death at least one

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:57 (ten years ago)

which character was it? remember the scene but not the guy

― marcos, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:58 (ten years ago)

xp they do not

in fact, rough rides are actually addressed directly on the show in season 3, episode 3, when they've arrested the guy who shot officer dozerman. mcnulty sees him sleeping, clearly beaten, in the homicide interview room and mcnulty says, "so that's a cop shooter?" bunk sez the kid gave it up, mcnulty asks, "before or after they knocked the shit out of him?" then bunk says something about "the jail wagon had to make a pitstop. it's dark out there on that backlot, western boys mistook him for a pinata."

i think you'd have to reach pretty far - though i'm sure some blog will - to say that the script (that one written by simon and dennis lehane iirc) acknowledging a practice of police brutality with bitterly sarcastic lines by two of its main characters is somehow endorsement or even a "shrug" reaction

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 17:58 (ten years ago)

feel like that think piece is not very good but it also isn't wrong in the overall thrust which is that the show was great art not agit prop gospel

i think its biggest failing from a propaganda perspective other than being very police-sympathetic would be simon's overall argument about the drug war being the central problem of the prison-industrial complex

― deej loaf (D-40), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:59 (ten years ago)

Bird! Outside of loyalty to his boss, he had 0 redeeming qualities

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:59 (ten years ago)

(that was a v late xp to sarahell wondering if mcnulty or bunk ever beat anybody)

mcnulty doesn't take part in the beating of bird - kima, landsman and daniels do that

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:00 (ten years ago)

it's a pretty pro cop show but none of the instances of brutality were framed to make the cops look good.

― qualx, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:01 (ten years ago)

or not bad. they were all pretty unsettling

― qualx, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:02 (ten years ago)

acknowledging a practice of police brutality with bitterly sarcastic lines by two of its main characters

eh I don't think there's anything in those lines indicating the characters care that dude was beat up or think it was wrong

― Οὖτις, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:02 (ten years ago)

idk the scene where Santangelo and pals pepper spray the drug dealers then drive them out to the country and leave them there was played for lols

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:03 (ten years ago)

Think he meant bitterness on the writers' part xp

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:03 (ten years ago)

I could almost swear there was a scene where they intentionally went on a bumpy ride in the paddywagon. Wanna say Santangelo was driving.

― pplains, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:04 (ten years ago)

pplains otm

but, it was a lot more enjoyable to watch the cops retaliate in "creative" ways rather than physical brutality

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:05 (ten years ago)

I can't even remember who santangelo is

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:07 (ten years ago)

Santangelo - short, grey hair. He's originally a homicide cop sent by Rawls to keep tabs on McNulty during the first season's case. Later, he refuses to rat on him and then gets demoted to being a district cop. He may be best known for telling a confused junkie in Hamsterdam, "I hear WMD is the bomb!"

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:09 (ten years ago)

I'm glad someone has finally taken one of the most expansive and multifaceted shows in television history to task for not being expansive and multifaceted enough.

― More Fetid Than Fêted (Old Lunch), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:10 (ten years ago)

Imagine criticising something

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:11 (ten years ago)

acknowledging a practice of police brutality with bitterly sarcastic lines by two of its main characters

eh I don't think there's anything in those lines indicating the characters care that dude was beat up or think it was wrong

― Οὖτις, Monday, May 4, 2015 2:02 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

but this is the point. the audience makes that judgment

― k3vin k., Monday, 4 May 2015 18:19 (ten years ago)

i don't think that the audience is necessarily supposed to condemn that behavior

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:24 (ten years ago)

the entire point of the show was that people find themselves caught up in institutions (police force, gangs, poverty) with perverse incentives that ultimately put them in positions over which they have little control.

― k3vin k., Monday, 4 May 2015 18:25 (ten years ago)

i don't think that the audience is necessarily supposed to condemn that behavior

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, May 4, 2015 2:24 PM (28 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

come on.

― k3vin k., Monday, 4 May 2015 18:25 (ten years ago)

are you really that tone deaf? that scene was totally played for a reaction of "Oh those lovable Western District scamps brutalizing a shitbird who shot one of their own!"

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:28 (ten years ago)

the discussion about the beaten kid who shot dozerman is definitely tonally ambiguous but i don't think it's going for teh lols. the moment addressed upthread about the pepper-spraying/abandoning corner kids in the woods almost definitely is, though - in that it's certainly amusing to those characters at that time - and its uncomfortable to the rest of us

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:34 (ten years ago)

I can't even remember who santangelo is

"You some kind of Democrat or what?"

― pplains, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:41 (ten years ago)

so much american entertainment product has these kinds of "having it both ways" -isms, idk why it's so hard to parse it in this show in partic

― goole, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:46 (ten years ago)

like duh of course the "good guy cops who just care too much" is sort of a fantasy

― goole, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:47 (ten years ago)

It isn't hard to parse it's being acknowledged

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:47 (ten years ago)

not fast enough!

― goole, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:49 (ten years ago)

Yeah you would assume this show would be held to a higher standard than most but guess not

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:51 (ten years ago)

/I can't even remember who santangelo is
/
"You some kind of Democrat or what?"

nothing tbh

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:51 (ten years ago)

Is he the overtime guy? Who jumps down the stairs?

― italosVEVO (wins), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:52 (ten years ago)

he says that to mcnulty after mcnulty lets omar borrow a cell phone to call butchie and arrange for some backup in prison

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:52 (ten years ago)

haha nah overtime go is named Mahone

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:53 (ten years ago)

*guy

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:53 (ten years ago)

police union working hand in glove w/ right wing media to justify a beating or shooting death that sent their city into a fury

this common aspect of american policing is not the kind of story shown in the wire.

― goole, Monday, 4 May 2015 18:54 (ten years ago)

I feel like police brutality has become a bigger issue and attracted more public attention and fury in the past decade than in the previous two.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 18:59 (ten years ago)

i was about to say the same thing, except for rodney king

― goole, Monday, 4 May 2015 19:00 (ten years ago)

eh when prez pistolwhips that kid the coverup process, the way they stuff him in a back drawer more or less, is pretty well detailed. it depicts how bureaucracies protect idiots in power (in ANY power) pretty astutely

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 19:01 (ten years ago)

xp - for example, if the Oakland Riders scandal broke now, it would get really explosive, whereas at the time, there was a lot less visible public anger

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 19:02 (ten years ago)

*facepalm* yeah, Rodney King

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 19:04 (ten years ago)

wait the Wire ran from 2002-2008 right?

― Οὖτις, Monday, 4 May 2015 19:11 (ten years ago)

Rampart LAPD scandal springs to mind as being in the news during that time, I'm sure there were others. Rodney King is kinda like ground zero/the initial big case for this kind of stuff tho obviously

― Οὖτις, Monday, 4 May 2015 19:13 (ten years ago)

outside of the final season about the newspapers/homeless, it was written 10+ years ago

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, 4 May 2015 19:13 (ten years ago)

Sonja Sohn explicitly discusses the experience of playing the role of an abusive cop in situ
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/opinion/sunday/baltimore-taught-me-about-hope.html
kima is still awesome

― Premise ridiculous. Who have two potato? (forksclovetofu), Monday, 4 May 2015 21:45 (ten years ago)

nice piece, she seems like a good person.

― Οὖτις, Monday, 4 May 2015 21:51 (ten years ago)

the entire point of this show is that otherwise good people can do bad things, due to system they're a part of. cops don't question the beatings because in order to advance your career you have to fall in line. those who do find fault with the system and challenge it find that they're poweless against it and fail. does the show humanize cops, even ones who do horrible things? even try to make us like them? yes, and that's the point. anyone who thinks that's "pro-cop" doesn't get it

― k3vin k., Monday, 4 May 2015 22:11 (ten years ago)

otm

― slothroprhymes, Monday, 4 May 2015 23:47 (ten years ago)

Yeah some of these criticisms feel like a reach to me. I think Simon's own arguments are much more vulnerable to critique, outside of the show: again the drug war was not the crux of the prison industrial complex as much as it was the means to an end

Imo

― deej loaf (D-40), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 00:25 (ten years ago)

And like, Simon not being adequately alarmed by police abuse but still portraying it doesn't feel like a failure--it feels like an honest reflection of the dominant paradigm of the time! Social media and protests recently have shifted that perspective so where a lot of people (including the all of ilx who praised the wire unreservedly before) suddenly think, wait, this is a warped perception of reality

That's not a defense of the show, it's a flaw for sure, but a flaw that reflects the period in which it was made pretty truthfully

― deej loaf (D-40), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 00:28 (ten years ago)

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Monday, May 4, 2015 2:09 PM (6 hours ago)

i saw this guy irl at whole foods on saturday lol

― computer champion (harbl), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 01:11 (ten years ago)

!!!

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 01:15 (ten years ago)

i mentioned this in the ongoing police brutality thread, but the actor who plays slim charles, anwan glover, spoke at the rally in front of city hall on Saturday.

― horseshoe, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 01:16 (ten years ago)

he's short. also saw him at jfx farmers market about 4 years ago.

― computer champion (harbl), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 01:17 (ten years ago)

santangelo, not slim charles

― computer champion (harbl), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 01:17 (ten years ago)

Slim Charles is a member of Backyard Band and a radio personality on one of the D.C. stations, in a weird way he's kinda become more of a 'local Wire celebrity in residence' than any of the show's actors from Baltimore.

― some dude, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 01:33 (ten years ago)

nice

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 02:30 (ten years ago)

the wire is fine tv but it was always hella shallow in terms of portraying anything "deep" about why the situation was fucked, and people who thought that they understood "society's ills" better in any more fundamental fashion because they saw it were always corny. what made it a great show was that it had great characters.

― entry-level umami (mild bleu cheese vibes) (s.clover), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 02:37 (ten years ago)

oh it was about more than characters, and it was i think about 'the situation', v much so—portraying individuals struggling to work within bureaucracies & power structures, and it felt truthful in those portrayals! imo.

― deej loaf (D-40), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 03:21 (ten years ago)

― entry-level umami (mild bleu cheese vibes) (s.clover), Monday, May 4, 2015 10:37 PM (Yesterday)

rme, yes who were these lames watching the wire when _____ was on TV showing us what life was really like

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 04:08 (ten years ago)

Cutty kind of gets slept on in conversations about the show.

― ... (Eazy), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 04:43 (ten years ago)

*farts*

― Mademoiselle Coiffures (mattresslessness), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 04:44 (ten years ago)

Cutty kind of gets slept on in conversations about the show.

From who, everybody's mom?

― pplains, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 05:12 (ten years ago)

I'm glad we've all come back around to the inauthenticity of The Wire.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 05:21 (ten years ago)

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, October 3, 2006 12:03 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― entry-level umami (mild bleu cheese vibes) (s.clover), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:16 (ten years ago)

oh i mean there were definitely some embarrassing on the nose/writerly moments. obvious example is the chess scene in s1. that doesn't really relate to what we've discussed itt recently though

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:23 (ten years ago)

Chess scene was pretty dead-on: Some people know things and have a view of the larger perspective - it doesn't help them in any way.

Regarding it being 'just a cop show' - I don't watch a lot of cop shows, but the impression I got was that being interested in the criminals as well was distinctive if not unique.

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:36 (ten years ago)

idg how anyone can avoid the fact that this show never strays too far from the "cops must catch bad guys" template of all cop shows - compromised and morally ambiguous as (some of) the cops may be, their goals are p much always the ones the audience is intended to sympathize with: stopping murderous crack dealers.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:38 (ten years ago)

Starting to wonder if you saw some bootleg which only includes the cop-protagonist scenes.

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:48 (ten years ago)

there are p clear moral lines drawn - none of the cops are sociopathic murderers akin to Marlo or Avon

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:52 (ten years ago)

no but plenty of them are blatant careerists, especially the ranking officers

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:55 (ten years ago)

xpost - The evil on the cop "side" is more of the faceless/corrupt bureaucrat variety.

― schwantz, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:56 (ten years ago)

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 16:57 (ten years ago)

that's what people are saying is the problem no?

― italosVEVO (wins), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:00 (ten years ago)

cops at the top and dealers at the top are both shown to be blatant careerists, but the latter are the ones shown murdering people to get what they want. which side do you think is being portrayed in the more sympathetic light there.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:01 (ten years ago)

the dealers exist in a universe where murder or violence of one's professional rivals is an active and constant currency, like that's simply a fact of organized crime. the cops...do not, but they often do things that, considering the universe they operate in, are figuratively as ruthless if not literally

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:06 (ten years ago)

Non-figurative murder and violence is a fact of cop life in a way that seems in retrospect to have been played down in this show, was the original criticism

― italosVEVO (wins), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:16 (ten years ago)

so now we're inching towards the implication that cops don't murder criminal suspects eh

xxp

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:16 (ten years ago)

because they operate in a universe where that just doesn't happen?

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:17 (ten years ago)

The cops murdering people at the rate of a top drug dealer would turn the whole thing into some sub-House of Cards nonsense. The stupid bureacracy has plenty of deaths on their conscience, including Orlando, Wallace, Frank Zobotka, etc.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:22 (ten years ago)

we're inching towards the implication that cops don't murder criminal suspects eh

what the hell?? when did anyone say that? how do you think that the show is literally saying or implying that?

what wins is saying is fair, i just don't think that fact - while it is a shortcoming - inherently damns the show to being viewed in any way as blatantly "pro-cop"

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:24 (ten years ago)

I'm not damning it, it's a good show. the cops are m/l the good guys in it.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:27 (ten years ago)

Equality of corruption doesn't result in equality of body count - that's not a flaw in the show, I feel.

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:38 (ten years ago)

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 1:06 PM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

politicians and ranking cops can do more damage with the stroke of a pen than any gangster can do with a gun.

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:57 (ten years ago)

http://uberhumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/H7TS7.jpg

― marcos, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:58 (ten years ago)

so now we're inching towards the implication that cops don't murder criminal suspects eh

xxp

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 1:16 PM (40 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

is there really a meaningful distinction between actually murdering suspects, which isn't exactly commonplace ftr, and the sort of violence the cops routinely got away with? like how about the shit prez did the first two seasons. we were supposed to laugh at that or something?

i'm starting to think none of you actually watched this show

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:59 (ten years ago)

lol marcos

― italosVEVO (wins), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 17:59 (ten years ago)

"the wire was a failure because it didn't literally depict this pet issue of mine which is now nationally relevant 10 years after the show aired"

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:00 (ten years ago)

like how about the shit prez did the first two seasons. we were supposed to laugh at that or something?

no but the show grooms you into loving prez as soon as he's moved off the street

― marcos, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:03 (ten years ago)

Imagine criticising something

― italosVEVO (wins), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:04 (ten years ago)

pet issue of mine

lol

― marcos, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:04 (ten years ago)

yes that's called redemption

see here's the thing about the wire: it's nuanced. there are no "good guys" and "bad guys". it was definitely not made for this with-us-or-against-us tumblr era

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:05 (ten years ago)

pet issue of mine

lol

― marcos, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 2:04 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

complaining that the wire doesn't show any actual cop murders, even though it routinely depicts cops using violence on suspects and getting away with it, is a bit absurd, don't you agree? like maybe missing the point a bit?

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:08 (ten years ago)

see here's the thing about the wire: it's nuanced. there are no "good guys" and "bad guys". it was definitely not made for this with-us-or-against-us tumblr era

― k3vin k., Tuesday, May 5, 2015 2:05 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no there are good guys and bad guys. i think you're thinking of Malick's The Tree of Life

― entry-level umami (mild bleu cheese vibes) (s.clover), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:09 (ten years ago)

its ok i get them confused too

― entry-level umami (mild bleu cheese vibes) (s.clover), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:10 (ten years ago)

Thing with Prez is that he's in the worst possible profession for him. Here's this technology- and puzzle-loving dweeb who finds himself with a gun and these jockish type A bullies, and to fit in, he puts on this gross projection of what he thinks a tough cop is supposed to be like. So you get him blinding a kid when he's out with Herc and Carver, and arguably why he shoots the UC cop. But put him in a different environment, one where he's not in the street, away from performances of masculinity, and he flourishes.

― Madison Dumbbarfer (Leee), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:10 (ten years ago)

there are no "good guys" and "bad guys".

Marlo's nuanced eh

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:14 (ten years ago)

is there really a meaningful distinction between actually murdering suspects, which isn't exactly commonplace ftr, and the sort of violence the cops routinely got away with?

this is such a weird question

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:22 (ten years ago)

let's ask some dead people

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:22 (ten years ago)

s there really a meaningful distinction between actually murdering suspects, which isn't exactly commonplace ftr, and the sort of violence the cops routinely got away with?

this is such a weird question

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 2:22 PM (36 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

let's ask some dead people

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 2:22 PM (29 seconds ago)

i mean from a narrative standpoint. does the show lose anything by showing cops "merely" beating people half to death and getting away with it rather than actually killing people and getting away with it? is the message different?

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:24 (ten years ago)

it doesn't cripple the show's claims to realism or anything but I think it's an error of omission, yeah, and one that serves the show's (or rather the genre's) tendency to err on the side of depicting cops in a more sympathetic light

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:28 (ten years ago)

i think it's a lot easier to say that in the context of the highly publicized police killings of the past 12 months or so. making that argument when the show was running would have been a lot more difficult

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:31 (ten years ago)

Marlo's nuanced eh

simon routinely acknowledged that he made marlo a straight up psychopath on purpose, but it'd be a stretch to say anything like that about any other dealer the show portrayed

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:33 (ten years ago)

trying to remember Avon's good qualities. or Bird's. etc.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:35 (ten years ago)

Apart from Prez, are there any other cases where the cops even fire their weapons? Even for totally legit reasons?

― jmm, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:35 (ten years ago)

trying to remember Avon's good qualities. or Bird's. etc.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 2:35 PM (1 minute ago)

herc's? rawls? burrell?

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:36 (ten years ago)

don't get me wrong there is a lot of grey area in the Wire and this is by design and it's really obvious. at the same time I don't think it's any stretch to say that the dealers on the whole come off worse than the cops, and a lot of the reason for this is because of the former's propensity for violence, which is constantly on display.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:36 (ten years ago)

their goals are p much always the ones the audience is intended to sympathize with: stopping murderous crack dealers.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 9:38 AM (1 hour ago)

they're mostly heroin dealers tbh

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:37 (ten years ago)

sorry

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:38 (ten years ago)

Avon has real affection for D! And I think that first episode where we see him throwing a neighborhood BBQ also suggests that role that kingpins play in inner cities.

― Madison Dumbbarfer (Leee), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:39 (ten years ago)

trying to remember Avon's good qualities. or Bird's. etc.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 11:35 AM (2 minutes ago)

Bird and Marlo were the two out-and-out sociopaths. Avon was kind and generous to his family and friends and visited his terminally ill uncle in the nursing home.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:39 (ten years ago)

xp yea avon also gave cutty like 15 grand to fix up the gym

goals are p much always the ones the audience is intended to sympathize with

and it subverts that by openly depicting that more often than not, the drive to catch dealers is not bc they believe in justice, it's usually to stoke their own egos! and when mcnulty finally does have a person he actually wants to stop bc he feels like he has to (marlo), he goes to corrupt lengths to do so w/an elaborate ruse and an illegal wiretap

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:41 (ten years ago)

also I would hope that it goes without saying that the last 12-months' publicity frenzy over killer cops has more to do with social media and surveillance footage everywhere than it does with an actual increase in the rate of police killing minority suspects, which has been going on forever. It's not like that stuff just all of a sudden started happening a year ago: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/23/baltimore-has-a-history-of-accidentally-killing-its-perps.html

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:42 (ten years ago)

Avon was kind and generous to his family and friends

doesn't Avon murder some family members? D'Angelo was his nephew iirc?

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:43 (ten years ago)

I mean that's kind of a marker of stone-cold evil, the murder of a family member

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:43 (ten years ago)

avon is unaware of d's murder until stringer, who arranged it, tells him so.

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:44 (ten years ago)

xp - duuuuuuude you have forgotten major plot points! Stringer has D'Angelo killed, and that is part of why Avon lets Omar and Brother kill him.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:45 (ten years ago)

ah right

I watched this show once 10 years ago, forgive me

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:45 (ten years ago)

my takeaway so far is that Shakey seems to have watched as much of The Wire as I have, ie none of it

― DJP, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:46 (ten years ago)

tbf a number of people in this thread are making arguments about the show that seem to be based less on the show than what the show's creators, critics, and various other people have written or said about the show.

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:48 (ten years ago)

tbf a number of people in this thread will brook no criticism of THE GREATEST SHOW OF ALL TIME

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:50 (ten years ago)

oh I include people arguing both sides in that number

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:52 (ten years ago)

tbf a number of people in this thread will brook no criticism of THE GREATEST SHOW OF ALL TIME

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 2:50 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

so, like you re: the sopranos...

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:57 (ten years ago)

this could go on forever in all directions argh

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 18:57 (ten years ago)

there's some dumb stuff in the Sopranos

there I said it

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:01 (ten years ago)

(fwiw my go-to "greatest show of all-time" answer is usually the Twilight Zone)

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:02 (ten years ago)

Were those aliens really cannibals? I mean, the screen goes to black before you see them eat anyone.

― pplains, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:05 (ten years ago)

cannibalism is not addressed in "To Serve Man"

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:06 (ten years ago)

The fact that the cops don't shoot any suspects is normally one of the things people like about the show, it's not as if murdering suspected criminals normally turn the audience against the cops. Look at Justified.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:13 (ten years ago)

Justified is more like a western than a cop show

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:17 (ten years ago)

cannibalism is not addressed in "To Serve Man"

Ah, so you did just blindly take it on face value that those were really aliens.

― pplains, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:19 (ten years ago)

i suppose the reason why this retconned discussion is frustrating imo is not that criticizing the wire is an unforgivable act (it ain't perfect at all! no show is!), but that trying to paint a show that took major capitalist and political city institutions to task in brutal fashion as Not Quite Critically Liberal Enough is a sure sign we are thoroughly entrenched in the thinkpieceification-of-everything era and we're never ever getting out :/

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 19:24 (ten years ago)

there's no getting out
sopranos.gif

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 20:18 (ten years ago)

lol

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 20:21 (ten years ago)

Ah, so you did just blindly take it on face value that those were really aliens.

well the tv said it was true so

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 20:31 (ten years ago)

there are plenty of legit criticisms of the wire and shakey mo has not articulated any of them

― deej loaf (D-40), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 21:18 (ten years ago)

legit criticism - "you want it to be one way but it's the other way" isn't half as good a line as fans seem to think it is

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 21:19 (ten years ago)

in retrospect I'm disappointed that Steve Earle didn't play the same character in Treme as The Wire - and any future Simon projects.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 21:20 (ten years ago)

there's a huge difference between holding the wire up to some weird imagined ideal standard of a "truthful show" -- of course it can't be truthful, it's a show -- and seeing it for what it is. the weird defensiveness over it isn't like over the quality of entertainment it produced, but over acknowledging that the "message" (and it did have one, or a few) wasn't necessarily as earth-shaking as ppl like to pretend.

― entry-level umami (mild bleu cheese vibes) (s.clover), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 22:34 (ten years ago)

altho i will grant that in that time, a major "important" thing coming out directly for legalization felt like a sort of big deal, and probably did end up having some minor knock-on consequences in terms of what's happened since.

― entry-level umami (mild bleu cheese vibes) (s.clover), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 22:36 (ten years ago)

acknowledging that the "message" (and it did have one, or a few) wasn't necessarily as earth-shaking as ppl like to pretend

― entry-level umami (mild bleu cheese vibes) (s.clover), Tuesday, May 5, 2015 6:34 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it shook my earth fwiw

― flopson, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 22:45 (ten years ago)

a list of my complaints about this show as articulated to-date in this thread (a primer):

1) The way the show handled female characters. The women on this show are relegated to supporting roles and in almost every case are under- and/or just badly written.
2) totally pointless and gratuitous sex scenes
3) the "forget it Jake, it's Chinatown" nihilism re: institutions
4) the constant didactic hammering home of point 3 (w/copious montages in case viewers were having trouble drawing connections on their own)
5) jarring juxtaposition of an essentially fantastic character (Omar) in an otherwise relentlessly "realistic" show
6) cops are generally portrayed in a more favorable light than I find credible

anyway, off to watch last week's episode of Mad Men (which is way better than the Wire nyah nyah)

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 23:01 (ten years ago)

the message in and of itself was not necessarily earth shaking but using that format as a delivery system was certainly a landmark. no other tv show aside from OZ (and in a less substantive way the shield) covered this ground in any way - homicide couldn't quite get there bc it was on a network although it was pretty great. obviously OZ did it in a different specific venue but covering similar themes of institutional and bureaucratic failure. can we learn about these sociopolitical issues in other more traditional mediums like print? of course, but it's great that mediums like fictionalized TV started to address them, and the wire (and the corner) are both huge parts of that.

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 23:04 (ten years ago)

xp I mean the only author that portrays cops in a way that seems like it would make sense to you given what you've said would be james ellroy where they are almost exclusively complete monsters, and hey, I like james ellroy so that's aight

― slothroprhymes, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 23:08 (ten years ago)

I like some Ellroy. in general yeah I don't like cop shows.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 23:09 (ten years ago)

I like Cops though. that's a great show.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 23:10 (ten years ago)

The Shield. But there are still plenty of people who think that guy was a hero. I think like it's impossible to portray war horrific enough, it's almost impossible not to make working as a cop seem exciting and heroic.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 23:35 (ten years ago)

Brooklyn 911 manages

― resulting post (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 01:32 (ten years ago)

lol Brooklyn 99 damn u autocorrect

― resulting post (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 01:32 (ten years ago)

3) the "forget it Jake, it's Chinatown" nihilism re: institutions
4) the constant didactic hammering home of point 3 (w/copious montages in case viewers were having trouble drawing connections on their own)

it's not forget it jake nihilism though, there's a lot of frustration about working within broken institutions but the ultimate takeaway isn't cynical

― flopson, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 01:42 (ten years ago)

2) totally pointless and gratuitous sex scenes

anyway, off to watch last week's episode of Mad Men (which is way better than the Wire nyah nyah)

― iatee, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:14 (ten years ago)

pointless and gratuitous sex scenes: something that is clearly not an issue of every prestige tv show including the ones beloved by the person offering this criticism, yea this is just a prob of the wire

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:24 (ten years ago)

getting mad at gratuitous sex in prestige tv is like saying salt is salty

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:25 (ten years ago)

Before loading this 5000 post thread, is this latest 100+ post revive due to Shakey Having Opinions

― 龜, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:27 (ten years ago)

Shakey and Dave Zirin

― lettered and hapful (symsymsym), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:32 (ten years ago)

to be fair I like/love most of the shows typically touted as worthy of the GREATEST SHOW EVER mantle especially mad men and that one may indeed be the best in a lot of ways...anyhoo getting cranky about unnecessary sex scenes (scenes that are not legitimately offensive or don't prove anything about a character at all) in this age of television is a fool's errand verging on old-man-yells-at-cloud shit

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:33 (ten years ago)

xxp it's mostly that. but not entirely.

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:33 (ten years ago)

I dont need to see boobs in tv showz if it doesnt have anything to do w the story. Boobs are everywhere these days! If its just extraneous bullshit, dont waste my time.

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:47 (ten years ago)

I'm not a 12yo and it's not 1985.

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:47 (ten years ago)

nicky's girlfriend's boobs invalidate any complaints against boobs

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:49 (ten years ago)

so all those times at the (redacted) club in the (redacted) and the burlesque club/various comparable if not literal examples in (redacted) men really were integral to the plot every single time

I mean not for nothing but does matt weiner cut you checks to rep for shows he was partially or entirely involved with where is yr "becker was ahead of its time" hot take

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:53 (ten years ago)

you literally cannot make that criticism against one show and stan for others with the same issue it don't work like that

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:55 (ten years ago)

what's even more ridiculous about doing that is all these shows are good and the things that are criticizable about them are all unique!

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 02:56 (ten years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/6oNOUsd.jpg

― pplains, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 03:16 (ten years ago)

sex scenes were lol, I'm cool w/ the trashiness, gives the show some levity

― deej loaf (D-40), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 03:53 (ten years ago)

re:
so all those times at the (redacted) club in the (redacted) and the burlesque club/various comparable if not literal examples in (redacted) men really were integral to the plot every single time

well like I said 6 years ago (ayiyi)

do you even know how to watch television

― Blanket McCulkin (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, September 8, 2009 2:11 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:06 (ten years ago)

for a show where the exploitation and victimization of women is a running theme, it made narrative sense to have that stuff included. it made sense in terms of that being the milieu those characters operated in, and it reflected the power dynamics that were central to the show.

all the sex stuff/nudity I can recall in the Wire is by contrast pretty unnecessary - it doesn't tell us anything about the characters, it doesn't impact the story, it isn't central to the plot or within the context of the action, it's just "Daniels is RIPPED here is a shot of his ass while he sexes his wife" or "Sobotka's gf is totally hot let's have some boobs why not"

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:09 (ten years ago)

tbf i was not here that long ago sir

thats a totally reasonable arg. for that show, and i have generally agreed with most criticisms of women on the wire being underwritten but as for the sex scenes themselves they did generally seem to align with how you'd expect the men involved in them to behave - they are generally some sort of sexist if not always virulently so and that makes perfect sense given their professions

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:11 (ten years ago)

which is of course bad all things being equal! but sadly it made sense imo.

― slothroprhymes, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:12 (ten years ago)

the sex scenes are sometimes essential for characterization i.e. mcnulty's pathetic drunken diner waitress experience

― deej loaf (D-40), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:29 (ten years ago)

anyway idk what kind of bullshit puritan objection to the show this is anyway, oh no they had sex scenes?

― deej loaf (D-40), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:30 (ten years ago)

It's America, man.

― how's life, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:32 (ten years ago)

It's not the sex, it's the pointlessness. I don't like filler

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:33 (ten years ago)

Saying that Sopranos critiques the misogynistic mafia culture is having your cake and eating it too, because it's almost certainly meant to titillate as well.

― Madison Dumbbarfer (Leee), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:43 (ten years ago)

idk I found p much every sex scene involving Tony (or one his henchmen) fucking to be gross and ugly rather than titillating but ymmv

nudity at the Bing is kind of a different thing but I hardly think it's an unrealistic depiction of a strip club, nor was it unrealistic for gangsters to be there. I find most of those scenes sad and pathetic rather than titillating but hey that's strip clubs

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:50 (ten years ago)

Sopranos critiques the misogynistic mafia culture

and Sopranos does this in a LOT of other ways than just the running depiction of the Bing - see "University" for ex.

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 16:51 (ten years ago)

nudity at the Bing is kind of a different thing but I hardly think it's an unrealistic depiction of a strip club

Actually, it's illegal in the state of New Jersey to serve alcohol where nude dancers are present.

http://i.imgur.com/TPJZ1qg.gif

― pplains, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 17:22 (ten years ago)

I knew that law passed in NY back in the 90s, when did that become the case in NJ?

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 17:29 (ten years ago)

if so that's crazy and I had no idea I take it all back

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 17:32 (ten years ago)

iirc the Bing is topless + alcohol, which is how it's been in every strip club I've ever been in so this didn't register as unrealistic to me my bad (I have never been in New Jersey fyi)

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 17:38 (ten years ago)

From well-regarded law journal "Wikipedia":

New Jersey law prohibits strip clubs and "sexually oriented business", where stripteases and erotic dances are regularly performed, from offering both full nudity and alcohol sales.[55] Establishments that possess a retail license and serve alcohol can only offer partially clothed services such as go-go dancing (typically in bikinis or lingerie).[28][56] Clubs that are not licensed to serve alcohol will work around the restriction by implementing a bring your own bottle (BYOB) policy and operating as a "juice bar". Juice bars have the appointments of full bars but only serve non-alcoholic beverages such as water, fruit juice, and flavored carbonated beverages. Such a bar could double as a service counter for the storage of BYOB material and offer ice and mixing services to create mixed drinks using the customer-purchased ingredients. Recent court decisions have held that municipalities that allow BYOB policies for restaurants must allow the same practices for strip clubs.[57][58]

― pplains, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 17:43 (ten years ago)

While personal dances are allowed in the state, “audience participation” otherwise known as “touching,” is prohibited during those dances. The regulations also ban woman from dancing topless or bottomless at establishments with an alcohol license.
The second detective in this investigation had a similar experience at the bar with an employee named “Vicki” and later with an employee named “Jessica”. The women performed illegal dances and solicited the purchase of an alcoholic beverage.

― pplains, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 17:45 (ten years ago)

thanks for the new dn

― “audience participation” otherwise known as “touching” (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 17:59 (ten years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/qkZHoc0.gif

― pplains, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 18:04 (ten years ago)

Thank god this show wasn't called American Wire.

― ... (Eazy), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 19:13 (ten years ago)

lol

― how's life, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 19:15 (ten years ago)

“audience participation” otherwise known as “touching,”

― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 19:53 (ten years ago)

Wait, is Shakey arguing for only yucky sex on TV? ;)

― schwantz, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 20:01 (ten years ago)

true that every sex scene in this is a ridiculous horror

― goole, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 1:09 PM (3 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

like, to the point where i wonder if they weren't staged and shot ineptly but contemptuously

― goole, Tuesday, January 13, 2015 1:10 PM (3 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

my own personal conspiracy theory is that HBO has a boob quota, and the wire team filled it by staging every sex scene for minimum libidinal and maximum humiliation value for everyone involved.

― goole, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 21:57 (ten years ago)

Seems like they were mostly released from the quota after the first season or two when they became the lead Respectable Production for HBO.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 22:03 (ten years ago)

idk I found p much every sex scene involving Tony (or one his henchmen) fucking to be gross and ugly rather than titillating but ymmv

They existed and were generally with incredibly attractive women - it's kind of a shifting goalposts to say "I thought they were gross so they don't count," because you could say the same of The Wire's sex scenes. It's not like either was staging True Blood-orgies or pretty people.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 22:04 (ten years ago)

I was just saying I didn't find them titillating. I would argue that in every case the scenes served a dramatic or narrative function.

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 22:07 (ten years ago)

Rome taught me that landing strips were a Roman invention.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 6 May 2015 22:13 (ten years ago)

three weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoyq88niVEU

― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Friday, 29 May 2015 15:56 (ten years ago)

LOL

― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Friday, 29 May 2015 16:02 (ten years ago)

p much covers the show's aesthetic

― bureau belfast model (LocalGarda), Friday, 29 May 2015 16:10 (ten years ago)

haha

― lil urbane (Jordan), Friday, 29 May 2015 16:26 (ten years ago)

Just got through the whole thing and enjoyed 1st 4 seasons.
5 only seems to get any good when Lehane writes his episode.
Just seems hollow until then or something. Like they've got character sketches for people who've been better embodied earlier and are moving them around in an unconvincing story.
Sad, just seems so lacking beside other seasons.

― Stevolende, Friday, 29 May 2015 16:34 (ten years ago)

I was thinking about this season 5 scene where McNulty confronts Templeton: https://youtu.be/i98zHfCZQO8

Kind of a dumb scene, isn't it? What does McNulty have to gain from this? He's safe as long as Templeton has to maintain the lie, but what if Templeton gets caught? Then he'd have no reason not to spill the beans on McNulty.

Maybe the point is that McNulty is being increasingly reckless, but it's played as though he's delivering a smackdown.

― jmm, Friday, 29 May 2015 16:46 (ten years ago)

he's at the end of his rope at that point and i think he seriously does not give a fuck and thus goes with his impulse. this being mcnulty, he's ego-driven enough to think that it /is/ a complete smackdown.

― slothroprhymes, Friday, 29 May 2015 16:53 (ten years ago)

so much lol @ that tautology supercut

― Nhex, Friday, 29 May 2015 19:11 (ten years ago)

Arh, nice! The way they vary the use of tautologies. Best. Show. Ever.

― Frederik B, Friday, 29 May 2015 20:31 (ten years ago)

Best ever show ever.

― Chewshabadoo, Sunday, 31 May 2015 14:58 (ten years ago)

Good show, nothing more.

― bureau belfast model (LocalGarda), Sunday, 31 May 2015 21:43 (ten years ago)

it did what it did

― got bent (mild cheezed off vibes) (s.clover), Sunday, 31 May 2015 21:57 (ten years ago)

the best stay the best

― Frederik B, Sunday, 31 May 2015 21:59 (ten years ago)

lol

― gr8080, Sunday, 31 May 2015 22:31 (ten years ago)

show's influence lives on

http://qm-coorpration-channel.wikia.com/wiki/HBO_Slogans

October 1996–April 2009: "It's Not TV. It's HBO."[127]
2006–2009: "Get More" (slogan for the HBO website)
April 2009–present: "It's More Than You Imagined. It's HBO."
2010–2011: "This is HBO." (only used for IDs)
2011–2014: "It's HBO."

― j., Sunday, 31 May 2015 22:35 (ten years ago)

HBO is HBO.

― gr8080, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 10:38 (ten years ago)

doo do-doo, do-doo, do-doo-doo-doo-doo

― pplains, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 12:19 (ten years ago)

Not quite sure what this image means but I like it:

http://i.imgur.com/DJbtn.jpg

― niels, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 07:28 (ten years ago)

Standard D&D Alignment chart, plus the impressively wacko step of imagining it as a noughts and crosses board for black v white.

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 09:04 (ten years ago)

british ppl don't call it tic tac toe?

― Mistah FAAB (sarahell), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 09:05 (ten years ago)

wtf had not noticed the black v white thing o_O

― niels, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 09:18 (ten years ago)

but thanks for the info now it's googlable and I see there are lots of those charts https://www.google.dk/search?q=the+wire+d%26d+alignment&source=lnms&tbm=isch

― niels, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 09:22 (ten years ago)

Malorie Blackman reference?
http://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-400/1087-1/CE6/F14/E5/%7BCE6F14E5-D390-4813-AB0C-E13D37698285%7DImg400.jpg

― tsrobodo, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 09:31 (ten years ago)

noughts and crosses

http://i.imgur.com/zPtMUKE.png http://i.imgur.com/zPtMUKE.png http://i.imgur.com/zPtMUKE.png

― rip van wanko, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 14:21 (ten years ago)

Do we have some sort of fucking problem with the idea that things are called different things in different places?

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 14:24 (ten years ago)

so dumb of people to change the historic name of tic-tac-toe to "noughts and crosses" two years ago

― ( who ALSO my boss and his sister!) (sic), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 14:50 (ten years ago)

The different names of the game are more recent . The first print reference to "Noughts and crosses", the British name, appeared in 1864. In his novel "Can You Forgive Her", 1864, Anthony Trollope refers to a clerk playing "tit-tat-toe". The first print reference to a game called "tick-tack-toe" occurred in 1884, but referred to "a children's game played on a slate, consisting in trying with the eyes shut to bring the pencil down on one of the numbers of a set, the number hit being scored". "Tic-tac-toe" may also derive from "tick-tack", the name of an old version of backgammon first described in 1558. The U.S. renaming of Noughts and crosses as Tic-tac-toe occurred in the 20th century.[3]

I'm gonna go with the "tit" one.

― how's life, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 15:01 (ten years ago)

clay davis otm

― j., Tuesday, 9 June 2015 15:03 (ten years ago)

tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttt

― pplains, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 15:57 (ten years ago)

Jeez the anglocentrism, it's called ''Kryds og bolle''

― niels, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 17:09 (ten years ago)

Do we have some sort of fucking problem with the idea that things are called different things in different places?

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, June 9, 2015 10:24 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

whoa andrew farrell just got really heated about tic tac toe!!!

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 9 June 2015 17:10 (ten years ago)

whoa andrew farrell just got really heated about ~~tic tac toe~~ noughts and crosses!!!

Sorry for my countryman's continued impertinence, he meant , please don't get mad.

― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 18:12 (ten years ago)

Do we have some sort of fucking problem with the idea that things are called different things in different places?

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, June 9, 2015 10:24 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

whoa andrew farrell just got really heated about tic tac toe!!!

― k3vin k., Tuesday, June 9, 2015 5:10 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

callin a dude out by his ACTUAL name

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 18:36 (ten years ago)

the game be the game

― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 18:39 (ten years ago)

Unless they're some smart-ass naughts.

― pplains, Wednesday, 10 June 2015 00:24 (ten years ago)

callin a dude out by his ACTUAL name

ITYM government name

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 00:53 (ten years ago)

Mr Currie if you're nasty.

― Andrew Farrell, Wednesday, 10 June 2015 07:19 (ten years ago)

Just rewatched the first episode. 2 things.

1. Don't know how I never noticed that Bubbles literally blows bubbles when he shoots up.

2. It's kinda implausible how nobody else in BPD (especially in narcotics) had any idea whatsoever about the Barksdale crew, but McNulty did and was familiar with Stringer Bell and the others.

― Hikikomori Povich (tsrobodo), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 16:56 (ten years ago)

Eh, I kind of feel that the show's view is that what makes a good cop is that details niggle at you. Also that there aren't a lot of good cops.

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 20:06 (ten years ago)

It does sorta ring false, compared to the rest of the story. The cops learn much more about the street in later seasons. Like, when Bunk tries to free Omar in season four, all the detectives know that he never kills citizens. But that's what tv-shows are like, they sorta fall into place over time. Wire is more fully formed than most, but there are still small weird things.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 20:19 (ten years ago)

Nick Sobotka is Liev Schreiber's brother!

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Saturday, 27 June 2015 18:00 (ten years ago)

Yeah I was kinda shocked when I learned that the same guy played Porn Stache on Orange is the New Black

― Hell Books (latebloomer), Saturday, 27 June 2015 20:51 (ten years ago)

Sydnor makes an appearance on OITNB too.

― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Sunday, 28 June 2015 01:51 (ten years ago)

i was at a convenience store buying a water over the weekend and frank sobotka was in front of me. his jeans looked brand new.

― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 28 June 2015 02:14 (ten years ago)

Hadn't noticed that same actor thing with Subotka(?) but am noticing it a lot across other series I'm watching.
Just saw a guy from Longmire stop Tony Soprano for speeding for instance.

― Stevolende, Sunday, 28 June 2015 08:35 (ten years ago)

&more topically since its the same source material as The Wire, the actress playing Carmela Soprano played a sergeant in Homicide.

― Stevolende, Sunday, 28 June 2015 08:38 (ten years ago)

she also played a prison guard in Oz

― sarahell, Sunday, 28 June 2015 18:32 (ten years ago)

falco was an officer's wife on homicide, not a cop herself

(the officer was the one who was blinded when shot, who crosetti listened to miles davis with)

― j., Sunday, 28 June 2015 18:37 (ten years ago)

Yeah sorry think I got the 2 confused and I haven't actually seen Homicide yet to any degree. Just got hold of the first series.
I was just looking through IMDB for other things cast members had been in yesterday and thought I'd seen her elsewhere. Had been thinking that the cast was probably studded with people I knew from other roles or at least had seen in bit parts.

I think a number of Wire people also turned up in Good Wife. Think at least KIma has been on there and think I saw a couple of others but that show seems to almost constantly have people well known from elsewhere cameoing.

― Stevolende, Sunday, 28 June 2015 19:39 (ten years ago)

there is a thread for Wire Actors in other things fyi

― sarahell, Sunday, 28 June 2015 19:48 (ten years ago)

Off the top of my head, Good Wife cameos include Herc, Dee, Bodie, Chris P., Burrell, Kima, Carver.

― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 03:08 (ten years ago)

there is a thread for Wire Actors in other things fyi

― back once again with the panel behaviour (sic), Monday, 29 June 2015 04:43 (ten years ago)

two weeks pass...

worth its own thread? Cast looks interesting at least

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj5Nt-HoBhw

― Number None, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:24 (ten years ago)

from the director of "Crash"

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:26 (ten years ago)

maybe he'll be good now that he's not a Scientologist

― Number None, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:27 (ten years ago)

I like Oscar Isaac but that preview is v White Man Crusades for the Rights of Black People(tm) and Crash was awful and just ... yeah I wouldn't get your hopes up

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:35 (ten years ago)

haggis is generally awful

― you are extreme, Patti LuPone. (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:45 (ten years ago)

three weeks pass...

Longer trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLFfSbQ87JQ

― ... (Eazy), Wednesday, 5 August 2015 20:30 (ten years ago)

three months pass...

R.I.P. Melvin Williams

― sarahell, Thursday, 3 December 2015 23:37 (nine years ago)

Not sure I'd stretch to 'peace' for one of the main figures in bringing heroin to Baltimore.

― Andrew Farrell, Friday, 4 December 2015 00:14 (nine years ago)

David Simon would.

I'm in the third season again, and I'm always impressed whenever the Deacon is onscreen -- very effortless charisma.

― :wq (Leee), Friday, 4 December 2015 00:28 (nine years ago)

rip Melv

― xelab, Friday, 4 December 2015 00:54 (nine years ago)

Chi-Raq has Snoop Pearson as well as Clay Davis saying sheeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiitttttt

― Insane Prince of False Binaries (Gukbe), Saturday, 5 December 2015 01:04 (nine years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZZivDg3cpY

― Number None, Saturday, 5 December 2015 02:04 (nine years ago)

Snoop was in Da Sweet Blood as well.

― Frederik B, Saturday, 5 December 2015 02:21 (nine years ago)

one month passes...

idk why but i am re-watching s1, it is really good and on par w/ the better seasons imo

also daniels is one of the best characters on this show

― marcos, Friday, 15 January 2016 18:07 (nine years ago)

I've probably said this before but s1 is so much more enjoyable when you know who everyone is and what's going on.

― Vote! In the ILM EOY Poll! (seandalai), Friday, 15 January 2016 19:29 (nine years ago)

yeah i'm rewatching with a housemate right now, and seeing the beginnings of arcs knowing how they'll twist and resolve is really pleasurable

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 16 January 2016 16:17 (nine years ago)

three weeks pass...

I just now realized that Dukie's last job on The Wire was literally RIDING A HORSE.

http://i.imgur.com/qUx0sBA.jpg

GOOD GRIEF.

― pplains, Thursday, 11 February 2016 21:42 (nine years ago)

Rewatched S1 last week, all the years and weight put on it as the Great Russian Novel Series blah blah blah I'd forgotten so many great little moments that hooked me the first time - Lester flirting with Chardine, "Lester, are we still police?" "Technically, I suppose" etc.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 11 February 2016 22:43 (nine years ago)

kinda cool seeing all three Sbotkas in the Prius car chase superbowl commercial

― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 11 February 2016 23:25 (nine years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EluvJby2baA

― Crazy Eddie & Jesus the Kid (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 11 February 2016 23:41 (nine years ago)

one month passes...

http://fortune.com/2016/03/21/snowden-simon-twitter/

― Sorry To Be The Bearer Of Bad Poos (Leee), Monday, 21 March 2016 17:43 (nine years ago)

three weeks pass...

Ive decided to give this another go. Somehow, I've managed to accumulate all five series on DVD, so I guess I ought to... Slogged through the first series a few years ago and found it rather slow, humourless and hard to follow. About 4 episodes into S2, watching with subtitles because literally I wouldn't be able to understand anything about it if they weren't there. Helps me keep track of the various characters too, because there are a lot of them and many of them get referred to in the third person.

― draxx them sklounst (dog latin), Monday, 11 April 2016 16:18 (nine years ago)

Just finished Season 1--a friend got it for me last Christmas, but I was immersed in Mad Men at the time, then I got sidetracked with a few other series. As with many of these shows, I felt like it took them five or six episodes to settle in. "Slow, humourless" definitely--especially didn't like the flashy and often cryptic cop-speak. (I'm a middle-aged white guy, and I found I understood the drug-dealer jargon much better than whatever the hell the cops were talking about half the time.) Happily, they cut down on all that as the season went on. I think the best characters are Avon, Stringer, and D'Angelo. I waver a bit with McNulty, find Daniels pretty one-note. Will continue on.

― clemenza, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 02:06 (nine years ago)

Daniels' one note goes on FORever. Mcnulty is annoying.

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 02:10 (nine years ago)

have no idea how someone could call it humorless

― qualx, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 02:18 (nine years ago)

OTM, the humor is very bleak sometimes, but it's there. "Slow" is apropos, though.

Daniels loosens up by season 3.

― Jenny Ondioleeene (Leee), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 02:27 (nine years ago)

Watched season one and half season two so far after starting it last week. It's hilarious and perfect.

I'm not as a rule a fuiud type but I may try a fuiud on for size for this.

― never had it so ogod (darraghmac), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 02:57 (nine years ago)

Daniels loosens up by season 3.

He sure kept those glutes tight, tho.

― a very hansom, and smart boy (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 03:03 (nine years ago)

Yeah, this show always seemed to have a lot of humour from the very first scene about Snotboogie. "This America, man".

― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 09:00 (nine years ago)

They have 'jokes' I guess, but I still feel like I have to watch it with a furrowed brow. So far, I've regarded the Wire like I would regard an epic novel with difficult language and long arcane passages which you can't really skip for fear of missing detail. Altogether, I know I'll get something out of it but the effort and concentration I have to put into it only underweighs what I get out of it. Even with subtitles on, I often find myself wondering who or what the hell the characters are talking about. It's a clever show, but I dunno, maybe I need things to be a little less gritty and realistic for me to really get into them.

― draxx them sklounst (dog latin), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 11:23 (nine years ago)

I watch with subtitles too--I do that with most things because of my hearing, but it especially helps here.

As I say, I'm liking if fine. A couple of things that have bothered me though:

1) How oblivious Avon's low-rise dealers seem to be to the fact they're being watched. I don't mean the wire, but rather the physical presence of cops on surrounding rooftops. At some point, you'd think someone would look up (I kept waiting for a Rear Window-like moment where a drug dealer looked up and made eye contact through the binoculars). And if not the dealers themselves, then someone from the neighborhood.

2) The idea, verbalized three or four times (most pointedly by Bunk), that McNulty destroys everyone around him. That theme is absolutely central to Mad Men and Don Draper. I don't find it that convincing here.

D'Angelo makes me think of a young Frank Thomas (baseball) at times.

― clemenza, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 11:41 (nine years ago)

difficult language

?? what's difficult about the language?

― sarahell, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 16:05 (nine years ago)

Is it just the slang + accent unfamiliar to you? I occasionally have issues understanding cop shows set in Glasgow / Northern England for that reason.

― sarahell, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 16:07 (nine years ago)

i love daniels

― marcos, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 16:08 (nine years ago)

xps

― marcos, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 16:09 (nine years ago)

to be fair, Mad Men is more of a fantastical thing where admonitions like "you destroy everyone around you" can be taken literally, where McNulty really does fuck with a lot of lives in very indirect ways. he gets a lot of cop work done, but he's a millstone around the necks of so many people along the way.

― μpright mammal (mh), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 16:12 (nine years ago)

mcnulty is easily one of my least favorite parts of this show and a big part of that is how shitty dominic west's baltimore accent is

― marcos, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 16:15 (nine years ago)

He is a shit actor and his character is a combination of stale cliches, not a very good combination imo

― calzino, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 16:25 (nine years ago)

2) The idea, verbalized three or four times (most pointedly by Bunk), that McNulty destroys everyone around him. That theme is absolutely central to Mad Men and Don Draper. I don't find it that convincing here.

i don't know, i think mh is otm here. The Wire is so much more of an ensemble show, and it doesn't necessarily need a protagonist who's an operatic vortex of destruction, complete with flashbacks to his overly complicated origin story.

Basically, McNulty has a self-destructive streak and make the lives of people around him harder in quotidian but tangible ways. That works a lot more for the wire. tbh i never thought "you destroy everything you touch!" was ever a central theme anyway.

― intheblanks, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:27 (nine years ago)

that was also the theme of the sopranos, iirc, and i didn't see breaking bad but it looks p suspicious on this front. one of the cool things about the wire is that it's the premium cable show where that is not the theme.

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:32 (nine years ago)

also notable that don and tony are the majority recipients of their shows' focus, year in, year out; mcnulty is a secondary character. (even in s1 he's no more a protagonist than D is.)

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:41 (nine years ago)

the real destroyer anyway is herc, in ways that are worse than anything mcnulty does.

― nomar, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:41 (nine years ago)

definitely

― marcos, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:42 (nine years ago)

the expression on herc's face when levy rebukes him for not buying his ex-colleagues enough drinks

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:43 (nine years ago)

I'm laughing at the idea that Don Draper is a more realistic and credible character than McNulty.

― sarahell, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:54 (nine years ago)

apart from in sex scenes ...

― sarahell, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:55 (nine years ago)

"Can I get some scrapple with that?"
"You can get anything you want."

― how's life, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:02 (nine years ago)

the moment i saw this thread in sna i scrolled up wondering where shakes would show up grumbling about something and i was not disappointed

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:06 (nine years ago)

It's not necessarily that I find Don Draper more realistic--Mad Men's definitely the more highly stylized show--it's that I find the idea of him destroying the people around him a more credible organizing principle (or whatever) than with McNulty. Both shows make that idea explicit; I just think it works better in Mad Men.

I like the show! I think some of you are maybe discussing things that happen beyond season 1--I haven't started season 2 yet.

― clemenza, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:09 (nine years ago)

there's humor everyfuckingwhere in this show, it's just not along the lines of roger sterling quips and oyster puke (which are quite fun in their own way)

fat face rick's adminonition of stringer bell for being, ah, /hard to find/ in s3 ep. 10 is burned into my brain forever and that's one of the more obscure lines

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:10 (nine years ago)

if these shows were "realistic" they would be really boring

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:11 (nine years ago)

sloth otm the wire is hilarious there are so many great moments & lines

― marcos, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:12 (nine years ago)

I was thinking there are variations on that with a lot of shows--Ned in Six Feet Under, Larry Sanders, and while I haven't yet started on The Sopranos, I assumed that would be true of Tony Soprano too.

― clemenza, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:13 (nine years ago)

perhaps the humour doesn't come across in subtitled form

― Number None, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:25 (nine years ago)

I find the idea of him destroying the people around him a more credible organizing principle (or whatever) than with McNulty

but the thing is, as people have pointed out upthread, it really isn't the organizing principle of the show.

― sarahell, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:26 (nine years ago)

if these shows were "realistic" they would be really boring

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, April 13, 2016 11:11 AM (14 minutes ago)

I shudder to think at how even more boring Mad Men would be if it were realistic!

― sarahell, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:27 (nine years ago)

McNulty's "I know I can deal with this situation" nature is pretty well spelled out when he keeps drunkenly driving his car around the corner to hit the bridge

― μpright mammal (mh), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:33 (nine years ago)

McNulty isn't that central

The protestations of his being an asshole so far aren't much more than half hearted work bitchings

If you speak English and watch this with subtitles then you prob are going to not enjoy it anyway

― never had it so ogod (darraghmac), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:38 (nine years ago)

no idea what that's supposed to mean. i'm sure the show is still perfectly good with subtitles.

― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 18:47 (nine years ago)

Bunk's reaction when he gets a copy of the Greek guy's texts - one of the biggest laughs I had watching the series.

― pplains, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 19:06 (nine years ago)

can't begin to calculate the mileage i've got out of Stringer's big zing from the first meeting of the New Day Co-Op

― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:04 (nine years ago)

can u remind me or link to vid roger

― marcos, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:06 (nine years ago)

I speak English, put the English subtitles on, watch and listen, all at the same time. Sometimes, just for an extra challenge, I wave my right hand in the air.

I thought McNulty's best dramatic scene in the first season was visiting Kima in the hospital.

― clemenza, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:07 (nine years ago)

"is you taking notes on a criminal fuckin conspiracy?" is probably too specific to be what roger's been getting mileage out of (tho i don't know his life) but i wanted to post it anyway

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:11 (nine years ago)

i was gonna say it's the thing he says to tank about taking minutes on the meeting (bc he's been reading robert's rules of order) but that's in the s3 premiere, which predates the co-op's existence

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:11 (nine years ago)

ha! jinx xp

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:11 (nine years ago)

but the thing is, as people have pointed out upthread, it really isn't the organizing principle of the show.

Maybe not, but in the first season, a) Bunk says that to McNulty, b) Rawls says it to him, c) I think Pearlman says it to him, and d) he clearly believes that himself. I suppose I've overstated it--half the story is the other side, and McNulty's nothing to them--but it is a theme that's verbalized by a few different characters.

― clemenza, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:13 (nine years ago)

wait it is the first co-op episode (s3 e5). shit. also shamrock is the one reading robert's rules not tank

it's been a while since i've watched

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:14 (nine years ago)

ep 1 always felt to me like we were picking the story up in the middle of proceedings (cold open always helps with that). I mean yeah, McNulty shit stirring is the starting point of everything but the McNulty = fuck spiel always felt like direct allusions to stuff that happened before we met the characters and not a thematic statement.

― tsrobodo, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:21 (nine years ago)

wire is plenty funny. prop joe-pat riley is in season 1 isn't it? and prop joe telling omar where avon is to be found "he's not having the best of days is he?"

― pandemic, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:25 (nine years ago)

i probably said this somewhere upthread a few years back, but what I took from that "theme" is that it was a critique of the crusading cop as "great white hope" -- in that McNulty is the sole cop character who fits the profile of the hero cop from most television shows prior to The Wire -- and he is damaged goods, an asshole, and can't really save the day.

However, Season 1 does have the most stereotypical characterizations of the cop characters. It does "get better" in later seasons.

― sarahell, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:26 (nine years ago)

all of mcnulty's characteristics "fit" in the usual M.O. of a central character from a cable TV show, but his womanizing and carousing and self-destructiveness are not really seen as part of a larger spiritual quest, which is what happens with a lot of these others shows.

― nomar, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:29 (nine years ago)

p much every word out of prop joe's mouth is gold eg his phone call 'voices'

― pandemic, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:30 (nine years ago)

also shamrock is the one reading robert's rules not tank

iirc stringer has imposed robert's on them; what shamrock or whoever it is has done is get too enthusiastic about it and not think about which elements will be actually useful to a cabal of drug dealers and which won't

funny moment cuz the apparatus of new day (and the uneasy west/east peace it represents) is so much the product of string's yearning for legitimacy and order, and usually he gets pushback on this from avon and others who think it's deluded, but in this case his pragmatism makes him the one in the room who has to remind his newly roberts-enthused lieutenant that they are still drug dealers -- the line builds stringer's character as Smart while also quietly undercutting his vision for the future

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:31 (nine years ago)

this is dr. sidney handjerker trying to reach thomas hauk xp

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:31 (nine years ago)

lol i totally forgot about those, prop joe is the best.

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:33 (nine years ago)

on the dvds the actor robert chew did commentary for one season 4 episode along with the kids who play dukie/namond/mike/randy and does impersonations of half the cast, it's hysterical. (also totally forgot he died & that just bummed me the fuck out)

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:39 (nine years ago)

I shudder to think at how even more boring Mad Men would be if it were realistic!

OMG thank u.

― Jenny Ondioleeene (Leee), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 20:46 (nine years ago)

man i didn't know robert chew died, a little devastated to hear that

― balls, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 21:02 (nine years ago)

yeah, 2013. heart attack at 52.

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 21:26 (nine years ago)

i think his shacking up with beadie is the clincher for this - there's no big drama around it, he's basically just like huh whaddaya know domestic happiness iirc - but it also gets undercut/confused by the final season bullshit, without which his domestication would have put the idea of questing to rest. not that the final season bullshit seriously gestures in that direction, it just makes it less coherent that he's NOT a spiritual-questing detective/person.

― j., Wednesday, 13 April 2016 21:29 (nine years ago)

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/used-subtitles-to-watch-the-wire-the-writer-says-thats-just-criminal-1773087.html

http://emojipedia-us.s3.amazonaws.com/cache/db/d5/dbd57bcbb3fff7245025a39061012200.png

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 21:47 (nine years ago)

A Daily Mail critic, meanwhile, observed the "mumbled patois of the Baltimore dealers", adding: "Most people I know – and these are people in their mid 30s – prefer to watch The Wire with the subtitles switched on."

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 21:47 (nine years ago)

That's just silly.

― Jenny Ondioleeene (Leee), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:09 (nine years ago)

a lot of people watch everything with subtitles. idk i find it impossible cuz i can't stop reading the subtitles and it tends to obliterate the performances. i also watch everything w giant headphones tho, partly because i am surrounded by tiny, extremely loud frogs, so i sympathize w audio problems. but as for the slang, yeah, yr obv supposed to pick it up. (idk how subtitles are supposed to help w the slang. i was disappointed that independent article's guide wasn't a grunge-style joke.)

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:18 (nine years ago)

i turn on subtitles for a lot of britishes media

― 龜, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:45 (nine years ago)

frogs, dlh?

― how's life, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:46 (nine years ago)

Alternative would be to dub the voices with proper English?

― ... (Eazy), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:47 (nine years ago)

"proper"

― 龜, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:48 (nine years ago)

dlh works at a French daycare

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:48 (nine years ago)

"Oi, McNulty, tell us where you don't want to end up, guv."

― Jenny Ondioleeene (Leee), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:48 (nine years ago)

i use subtitles as much as possible because i have bad hearing. my gf does it too but i'm not really sure why. i guess people just don't want to miss dialog!

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 13 April 2016 22:49 (nine years ago)

Accents and language are so weird. If i don't hear one for a while it takes me a while to get into it and have to listen carefully. If I haven't heard one before, there's a learning curve. I think the received British accent that people in India use is oddly one of the most understandable.

Reminds me of some dude from France I briefly met in Quebec who claimed he'd have people repeat things to him in English because "Quebec doesn't really speak French"

― μpright mammal (mh), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:08 (nine years ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coqu%C3%AD

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:09 (nine years ago)

Watched season one and half season two so far after starting it last week. It's hilarious and perfect.
I'm not as a rule a fuiud type but I may try a fuiud on for size for this.

Yaaaaay!

― horseshoe, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:14 (nine years ago)

people from France are always horrified by the Quebecois accent/dialect. It's mildly perturbing to an English speaker even

― Number None, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:19 (nine years ago)

more than mildly perturbing when youre being berated by an angry metro worker for not speaking english

― trickle-down ergonomics (jim in glasgow), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:25 (nine years ago)

~~English~~ French obv

― trickle-down ergonomics (jim in glasgow), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:25 (nine years ago)

"proper"

The Wire dubbed in crisp, articulated, Nebraska-bred mid-century broadcast-school English.

― ... (Eazy), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:30 (nine years ago)

Seems like you would have had to actively avoid a wide swath of culture for the past few decades for the wire to be indecipherable

― Forever LXI (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:34 (nine years ago)

was just reading around to see if I could find any English language films that were subtitled in the US. Remembered hearing Trainspotting was, but apparently it was only partially redubbed. As was Gregory's Girl. And the original Mad Max

― Number None, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 23:36 (nine years ago)

Re mcnulty as white anti-hope, this theme is set up even in the first ep when he's drunk in his car, then hears some kind of distress, runs out and slips down the hill. When he's crusading he's sometimes doing the right thing but often just being a special snowflake and a bit of an asshole.

― human life won't become a cat (man alive), Thursday, 14 April 2016 00:35 (nine years ago)

i use subtitles as much as possible because i have bad hearing.

It really is as simple as that. You're over-analyzing this.

A couple of things I really liked from the first season: 1) The formulation, repeated two or three times, that if you follow the drugs you find drug dealers and more drugs, but if you follow the money you never know where you'll end up; 2) The way D'Angelo's mom is brought in as a kind of hidden hand right near the end--expect she'll be more prominent in season 2.

― clemenza, Thursday, 14 April 2016 02:12 (nine years ago)

Sunny teases me because I watch "The Young Ones" with the subtitles turned on.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, June 20, 2011 9:42 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― pplains, Thursday, 14 April 2016 02:31 (nine years ago)

the most unrealistic thing in this series were Daniels' abs.

I haven't seen it in years. Time for a re-up?

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 April 2016 02:37 (nine years ago)

We watched with subtitles (sometimes) because H's first language is not English, so the slang on top of that was tough for her. I grew up in DC and actually recognized some overlap in the slang, and I knew maryland folks who had similar accents to some of the baltimore accents.

― human life won't become a cat (man alive), Thursday, 14 April 2016 02:42 (nine years ago)

I was able to follow the show well enough without subtitles the first time I watched it, but turning them on the re-watch did help clarify a lot of stuff. There's a lot of cop/drug dealer/city council/shipyard jargon in there.

― Roz, Thursday, 14 April 2016 02:51 (nine years ago)

think there's some specific dc slang in s2 when stringer reaches out to *spoiler*

― home organ, Thursday, 14 April 2016 03:18 (nine years ago)

lol i step away for a minute and the thread goes nuts.

"is you taking notes on a criminal fuckin conspiracy?" is probably too specific to be what roger's been getting mileage out of (tho i don't know his life) but i wanted to post it anyway

― denies the existence of dark matter (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, April 13, 2016

it's totally that i just didn't want to, you know, ruin it for anyone who was watching for the first time. it's handier than you think!

― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Thursday, 14 April 2016 06:53 (nine years ago)

the most unrealistic thing in this series were Daniels' abs.

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, April 13, 2016

i used to see lance riddick running runyon canyon in LA. i can assure you the abs are true to life.

― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Thursday, 14 April 2016 06:54 (nine years ago)

Seems like you would have had to actively avoid a wide swath of culture for the past few decades for the wire to be indecipherable

'Indecipherable' I think is not the issue, the issue is 'watching it with one finger hovering over the rewind button', which throws you (some(me)) out far more than the subtitles.

― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 14 April 2016 07:30 (nine years ago)

if these shows were "realistic" they would be really boring
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, April 13, 2016 11:11 AM (14 minutes ago)
I shudder to think at how even more boring Mad Men would be if it were realistic!
― sarahell, Wednesday, 13 April 2016 19:27 (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

See, I found Mad Men kind of boring, but in an interesting way. As, I think it was JBR, said on Facebook a while back 'it's not afraid to be boring', which I agree with, and I think that's why it works so well. It was slow-paced but each episode revealed more about itself and it became one of the best shows I've ever seen. Wire, I'm not convinced quite yet... I'm only half way through S2 though and MM took a good while to get going as well. There are quite a few barriers with Wire that I didn't really get with MM or BB or what have you.

Evidently I lack the capacity to understand the Baltimore accent - a problem with me, not a problem with the show. But even watching along with subtitles, half the time I'm thinking 'how does what just came out of that guy's mouth link up with what he was supposed to be saying?'. There is a ton of jargon and slang, and when it's half mumbled as it often is, I'm totally lost.
Agree with whoever said the cops are the hardest to understand. So much jargon, and referring to off-screen characters - 'Who's he talking about? Who's Mclody? Who's Punt? What are they talking about NOW?!'

The huge ensemble is another stumbling block for me. Even by the end of S1, I didn't really feel like I knew much about any of the characters. With few exceptions, these felt like empty vessels filling the role of cop or drug dealer. There hasn't been a lot of time invested on any one specific character for an emotional connection to be formed. So when McNulty's putting up a cabin bed or Kima's partner's stressing about her workload, I find it hard to care. I get that this adds to the realism. When you start a new job, you don't know the back story of all your co-workers. It can take months, years even to get to know who everyone is and what they're like and their nuances. But I'm watching this show for fun, you know? Trying to understand the complex hierarchies within the police department and the relationships the different characters have to each other can feel like a lot of work that I'm not necessarily up for.

Again, it's still early days and now I'm more involved in S2, things seem to be warming up ever so slightly to it. But yeah, it feels like something I have to put myself through in order to see if I warm up to it rather than something that's instantly grabbing me like with other shows. It's too easy for me to get distracted halfway through an episode and to forget where I was. Once I get into it, it does get involving but I'd say it's the opposite of absorbing. If it were a book, it would be the kind of book where I find myself reading about a page or two a night cos I keep having to go back and parse sentences.

― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Thursday, 14 April 2016 09:10 (nine years ago)

So when McNulty's putting up a cabin bed ... I find it hard to care.

Have you considered you may be a monster, just asking.

― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 14 April 2016 09:18 (nine years ago)

How did you feel about Wallace?

― Frederik B, Thursday, 14 April 2016 09:20 (nine years ago)

It was a while ago that I watched S1, but I remember he was one of the more sympathetic characters.

― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Thursday, 14 April 2016 09:27 (nine years ago)

half the time I'm thinking 'how does what just came out of that guy's mouth link up with what he was supposed to be saying?'.

if the subtitles aren't even matching the actual dialogue, you might be better off listening and getting the actual colloquial vibe of the characters, rather than reading an abbreviated translation and complaining that it's unsatisfying

― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 14 April 2016 09:32 (nine years ago)

Remembered hearing Trainspotting was, but apparently it was only partially redubbed.

I seem to remember the conversation leading up to the "football/shopping" line was subtitled when I first saw it.

― how's life, Thursday, 14 April 2016 09:34 (nine years ago)

if the subtitles aren't even matching the actual dialogue, you might be better off listening and getting the actual colloquial vibe of the characters, rather than reading an abbreviated translation and complaining that it's unsatisfying
― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 14 April 2016 10:32 (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no the subtitles are fine. it's just i know that if i didn't have the subtitles on, i wouldn't be able to tell that this is what they said. my tv has got shit sound too, so there's that.

― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Thursday, 14 April 2016 09:44 (nine years ago)

Trying to understand the complex hierarchies within the police department and the relationships the different characters have to each other can feel like a lot of work that I'm not necessarily up for.

Not that complex, surely? The police chiefs have their own way of doing things that focuses on producing statistics that can be sold to the press and everyone in the organisation has to deal with this reality. Some chafe against it but are professional about it and do the best they can within those limitations (Daniels, Bunk) and some buy into the system wholeheartedly either through ambition (Rawls) or stupidity (Herc).

McNulty bucks the system completely and does his own thing in the name of what he considers to be "proper" police work. This mightily pisses everyone off but they don't do much about it because he's the best detective on the force. All of this is pretty evident within the first, like, five episodes? It's not rocket science.

― suicide commando, Thursday, 14 April 2016 10:56 (nine years ago)

i had to look up who three of those characters were just now, so no.

― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Thursday, 14 April 2016 11:07 (nine years ago)

Okay, close it up folks, nothing to see here.

― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 14 April 2016 11:10 (nine years ago)

At least I hope he recognized the bunk

― Frederik B, Thursday, 14 April 2016 11:17 (nine years ago)

Second best detective, Lester walks it.

― tsrobodo, Thursday, 14 April 2016 11:20 (nine years ago)

:-/

― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Thursday, 14 April 2016 11:20 (nine years ago)

Lester is the best at his job, for sure

― μpright mammal (mh), Thursday, 14 April 2016 12:15 (nine years ago)

i think there are subtitles during that scene in trainspotting because the music is too loud to clearly hear what they are saying (i.e. they're partially a joke)

― balls, Thursday, 14 April 2016 15:58 (nine years ago)

yup.

― trickle-down ergonomics (jim in glasgow), Thursday, 14 April 2016 16:21 (nine years ago)

Agreed.

― how's life, Thursday, 14 April 2016 16:45 (nine years ago)

best Prop Joe line is "for a cold-ass crew of gangsters, y'all carried it like Republicans and shit."

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 14 April 2016 16:45 (nine years ago)

love prop joe is the best

― marcos, Thursday, 14 April 2016 16:47 (nine years ago)

so many great lines

― marcos, Thursday, 14 April 2016 16:47 (nine years ago)

dog latin's befuddled review of The Wire in 2016 is giving me the giggles

― Number None, Thursday, 14 April 2016 21:59 (nine years ago)

Otm so otm give it up guys

DL it's not for everyone don't strain yrself man it's OK there's lots of stuff out there for you, don't tuomas up the thread

Hi horseshoe

― never had it so ogod (darraghmac), Thursday, 14 April 2016 22:06 (nine years ago)

Just started watching S2 for the first time in 10 years as a result of this thread. Good stuff. In S2E2, who is the tall actor with the giant hair who plays is investigating the women's bodies in the opening scene? Feel like I've seen him in something before.

― how's life, Friday, 15 April 2016 00:13 (nine years ago)

I think you might be referring to Erik Dellums, who played the drug kingpin Luther Mahoney on Homicide.

― JRN, Friday, 15 April 2016 00:16 (nine years ago)

Yes, him! Although I've never seen Homicide. His imdb says he was in a pizzeria scene in Do the Right Thing, so that's gotta be it.

― how's life, Friday, 15 April 2016 00:22 (nine years ago)

homicide still so great, pre-"golden age" i had it neck and neck w/ hill st blues for best tv drama ever

― balls, Friday, 15 April 2016 00:25 (nine years ago)

I never saw it! One of my elementary school friends' dads was a key figure in Simons' book, which I hadn't even realized until way after we grew up. I've had friends who were extras, including my mother-in-law. Is it streaming anywhere?

― how's life, Friday, 15 April 2016 01:12 (nine years ago)

Buy the DVDs, streaming versions are probably the 16:9 reframes now

― glandular lansbury (sic), Friday, 15 April 2016 01:16 (nine years ago)

oh wait you meant Homicide the series, got thrown by how much of The Wire is from Homicide the book

― glandular lansbury (sic), Friday, 15 April 2016 01:16 (nine years ago)

Wait, Trainspotting was in English?

― pplains, Friday, 15 April 2016 01:20 (nine years ago)

you know what? I've got a weekend free and I'm going to persevere with this. I want to be a convert. it's the moby dick of tv I think

― TARANTINO! (dog latin), Friday, 15 April 2016 01:46 (nine years ago)

more dickens than melville iirc lol

― balls, Friday, 15 April 2016 01:49 (nine years ago)

ha reminds me I love that bodie line "i'm standing here like an asshole holding my charles dickens"

― marcos, Friday, 15 April 2016 01:56 (nine years ago)

lol pplains

― μpright mammal (mh), Friday, 15 April 2016 01:58 (nine years ago)

David Simon interviewed on WTF today btw

― ... (Eazy), Friday, 15 April 2016 02:30 (nine years ago)

Man, watching the Wire got me into Tom Waits. I had tried a few times in the 90s, after the guys in Primus and Phish recommended him (lol). The first time I watched the Wire I went out and bought all those mid-80s records and finally started to dig it.

I can't sit through this theme song again, guys.

― how's life, Tuesday, 26 April 2016 16:01 (nine years ago)

someone make a intro edited torrent asap

― (•̪●) (carne asada), Tuesday, 26 April 2016 16:06 (nine years ago)

two weeks pass...

late to the party, but the "dog" episode of the wire was one of the funniest episodes i'd seen of basically any show.

― are you ellie (s.clover), Friday, 13 May 2016 20:04 (nine years ago)

such a huge beautiful setup to the punchline

― are you ellie (s.clover), Friday, 13 May 2016 20:04 (nine years ago)

marlo literally fuckin getting clean money for vondas

― j., Sunday, 15 May 2016 18:32 (nine years ago)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/16/wendell-pierce-actor-and-social-activist-arrested-for-allegedly-attacking-bernie-sanders-supporter/

bunk (allegedly) smacked a woman around over a hillary-bernie argument

some shameful shit

― goole, Monday, 16 May 2016 22:22 (nine years ago)

four months pass...

https://twitter.com/AoDespair/status/778039688879808512

― 龜, Tuesday, 20 September 2016 01:47 (eight years ago)

doubling down https://twitter.com/aodespair/status/778048667026616320

― 龜, Tuesday, 20 September 2016 02:07 (eight years ago)

really surprised shakedog wasn't beelining for this thread to be all "SEE? SEE? YOU FUCKERS I TOLD YOU!"

in any event, what the holy fuck made simon think that was an ok thing to do, like...god damn man, there are approx 65,000 ways to make the point he was trying to make there that didn't involve doing what he did

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 20 September 2016 02:13 (eight years ago)

Ah, so that's why non-rhotic speakers in Boston think they can get away with that.

― pplains, Tuesday, 20 September 2016 02:15 (eight years ago)

Even well-meaning clueless old white guys are clueless old white guys?

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Tuesday, 20 September 2016 02:15 (eight years ago)

racist comment thanatos in full effect lol

― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 20 September 2016 02:17 (eight years ago)

wait what

boston residing new jersey expatriate speaking - accusing a certain type of bostonian as racist is generally accurate and extremely unfortunate but I'm not sure I follow the joke here seeing as how simon is, yknow, not from here

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 20 September 2016 02:17 (eight years ago)

(xp pplains)

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 20 September 2016 02:18 (eight years ago)

I'm okay with Simon going there, these are the strangest times.

― Crazy Eddie & Jesus the Kid (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 20 September 2016 02:21 (eight years ago)

Saying his excuse of -a instead of -er was lame. Wasn't really trying to call non-rhotic speakers racist.

― pplains, Tuesday, 20 September 2016 04:13 (eight years ago)

tiny bit ironic that hannity hosting a town hall on black issues is the thing that sets off dave's "no, black people, it is i who truly knows what is right for you" voice

― qualx, Tuesday, 20 September 2016 04:38 (eight years ago)

xp oh lol that shit just totally went over my head my bad

tbf a not-huge-but-still-too-sizable amount of white trash ppl in the dot (dorchester) and similar neighborhoods here DO think it's fine to use the non-rhotic pronunciation of that word as if they're entitled to it solely bc they've lived in relative proximity to a project, and in the admittedly hipsterish or punkish neighborhoods you've got white ppl ironically saying "fam" like it's their job, so I thought you might've been addressing that sort of shit

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 20 September 2016 04:52 (eight years ago)

it's one of the nastiest & truest moments in gone baby gone of all movies when amy ryan's WT mom says "n***a please"

FWIW I live in allston among the hipsters so I'm probably part of that problem

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 20 September 2016 04:54 (eight years ago)

(the hipster part, not the racism, I'm many things that aren't complimentary but not that)

― if young slothrop don't trust ya i'm gon' rhyme ya (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 20 September 2016 04:55 (eight years ago)

eight months pass...

Finished season three last night this show is the greatest

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Wednesday, 31 May 2017 13:04 (eight years ago)

Just wait, season four is the greatest of the great.

― Trockasturm Hoar The Ramming Battle Ceraton (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 31 May 2017 13:07 (eight years ago)

get yer hankies out dmac, season four is some of the most emotionally crushing tv i've ever seen

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 31 May 2017 13:09 (eight years ago)

and i'm including the season of gamesmaster where dexter fletcher took over from dominik diamond in that calculus fyi

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 31 May 2017 13:09 (eight years ago)

Running into Maestro 'Randy' Harrell as he left a movie theater restroom (when he was young enough to still look like Randy) is probably the most star-struck I've ever been in my life.

― Trockasturm Hoar The Ramming Battle Ceraton (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 31 May 2017 13:15 (eight years ago)

Fuckin Dexter Fletcher ooof I was not ready for that gutpunch

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Wednesday, 31 May 2017 13:29 (eight years ago)

glad we're on the same page on this

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 31 May 2017 13:30 (eight years ago)

Might ask a mod to put a warning on this shit tbh

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Wednesday, 31 May 2017 13:31 (eight years ago)

I'm also working my way through this show for the first time. Up to episode 3 of season 4 at the moment and not really feeling emotionally crushed so far. Rather, reaching for the Wikipedia plot synopsis and trying to work out who all these people are and whether I've seen them before. OMG it's hard to follow the plot.

So far I would say there are diminishing returns. Season 1 was fantastic, season 2 excellent and season 3 still pretty good but didn't hit earlier heights.

― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, 1 June 2017 09:41 (eight years ago)

so weird ... I think Season 3 is the best, with 2 and 4 being close, and 1 and 5 being the weakest

― sarahell, Thursday, 1 June 2017 09:54 (eight years ago)

Up to episode 3 of season 4 at the moment and not really feeling emotionally crushed so far.

give it a few episodes, no need to rush into sobbing right off the bat

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 1 June 2017 09:56 (eight years ago)

Season 1 was great, season 2 great in a very different way, season 3 great in the same way as season 1

E.R. indoors found season 3 a slog tho

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Thursday, 1 June 2017 09:59 (eight years ago)

all the seasons are great in different ways, i think - season two is definitely the most audacious in the sudden shift in focus and scope, season three maybe the most satisfying overall in wrapping up the story so far, season four is kinda the beating raw heart of the whole thing, and season five suffers a bit from bringing mcnulty back to the forefront alongside the hectoring newsroom scenes but ties a bow on the whole thing really well at the end

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 1 June 2017 10:01 (eight years ago)

see I kinda see season 3 also being the "beating raw heart" of the whole thing

― sarahell, Thursday, 1 June 2017 10:11 (eight years ago)

i can see that too! it's all one giant, brilliantly-told story in the end, and the culmination of stringer bell's story in S3 is one of the greatest elements of the whole thing

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 1 June 2017 10:15 (eight years ago)

E.R. indoors found season 3 a slog tho

didn't realise you were watching with the queen

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 1 June 2017 10:16 (eight years ago)

maybe if Cheese had offed a corgi instead of a pit bull ...

― sarahell, Thursday, 1 June 2017 10:18 (eight years ago)

That is the origin of the nomenclature yes

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Thursday, 1 June 2017 11:04 (eight years ago)

so weird ... I think Season 3 is the best, with 2 and 4 being close, and 1 and 5 being the weakest

― sarahell, Thursday, June 1, 2017 5:54 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes. give me the corner over the classroom or the caucus, but not by much

― rip van wanko, Thursday, 1 June 2017 11:54 (eight years ago)

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 1 June 2017 10:01 (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is an excellent summary! My opinion did shift quite a bit on the second watch through though - s2 really went up in my estimation, s1 went down (I think mainly because it obviously has to spend a lot of time setting everything up).

― Gavin, Leeds, Thursday, 1 June 2017 12:01 (eight years ago)

season two is such a bracing slap in the face that i think it took a rewatch for me to fully appreciate it

i really love the braveness of basically doubling the size of the cast and throwing viewers back in at the deep end, right after they'd only just worked out how everyone related to everyone else in season one. 'here's a bunch of stevedores and greeks and shit, catch up!'

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 1 June 2017 12:32 (eight years ago)

Season two is the most audacious, but also the one with the hardest task. Season 1 has such a perfect ending, so season two had to reopen it and build a foundation for the show to become a running concern. It's really really slow, the detail is formed even later in season 2 than it is in season 3. But the care pays off in the later season, which really builds on the sturdy foundation season 2 has created.

I always compare it to Homeland season 1, which also told a really self contained story in season one, one that had severe consequences for the people involved. But then, at the end of first episode of season 2, Carrie is back working for the CIA. And the show never really managed to make anything mean anything ever again.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 12:44 (eight years ago)

Later in season 2 than it is in season 1, is what I meant to write.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 12:44 (eight years ago)

I would never do anything as cruel as to compare The Wire to Homeland.

― Trockasturm Hoar The Ramming Battle Ceraton (Old Lunch), Thursday, 1 June 2017 12:50 (eight years ago)

pull up a chair while i offer a detailed comparison of the wire and the five seasons of mid-90s jerry o'connell vehicle sliders

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 1 June 2017 13:06 (eight years ago)

You can never be too cruel to Homeland, imo.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 13:07 (eight years ago)

Mos def.

― Trockasturm Hoar The Ramming Battle Ceraton (Old Lunch), Thursday, 1 June 2017 13:08 (eight years ago)

I like both shows.

― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, 1 June 2017 13:19 (eight years ago)

lol bg hit us with that comparison!

― Nhex, Thursday, 1 June 2017 14:44 (eight years ago)

Longforms on single episodes now? But hey, this one's about Game Day.

https://theundefeated.com/features/the-wire-oral-history-game-day/

― pplains, Thursday, 1 June 2017 16:05 (eight years ago)

That was a great read, ty pp

― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 1 June 2017 16:26 (eight years ago)

On the one hand, eye-roll at longforms on single episodes - on the other hand, got any more of those?

― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 1 June 2017 16:59 (eight years ago)

yeah that was awesome, thx PP!!

― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 1 June 2017 17:32 (eight years ago)

I remember watching The Wire the first time, I had no idea Idris Elba was english and it fully blew my mind when I saw him in stuff afterwards. Like, that dude 100% tricked me! I still am not 100% sure he's not pulling my leg with the whole Englishman thing. *narrows eyes*. I see you Idris. I see you.

sidebar- that oral history made me ish there was a West Wing Weekly-type podcast about The Wire, not just a dopey chatfest with fans who want to aimlessly dissect the whole show, but like a legit thing with a former cast member/s as a host/s, and that talked about each episode & had cast members on as regular guests.

― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 1 June 2017 17:36 (eight years ago)

would listen

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 1 June 2017 17:44 (eight years ago)

right? it's such a rich show and deserves the same kind of love imo

― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 1 June 2017 17:45 (eight years ago)

Wow, I had no idea Game Day was directed by Milcho Manchevski. Guy directed Before the Rain, won the Golden Lion at Venice and was nominated for an Academy Award. Kinda lol at them going 'he turned out to be a good director'. Agniezka Holland also directed one, iirc. All in all, the visual side of the show is quite underrated, imo.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:23 (eight years ago)

visually this show was clumsy as fuck

― Οὖτις, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:24 (eight years ago)

"workmanlike" if I'm being charitable

― Οὖτις, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:24 (eight years ago)

XP to Fred I think their assurance that this guy was a good director is softening the later reveal that he left at lunchtime and didn't come back cos he couldn't handle tv direction with heavy writer interference

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:27 (eight years ago)

idk i feel that visually the show is workmanlike in the best possible way. I'm struggling to think of moments that seemed clumsy, though it's been a while.

― intheblanks, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:30 (eight years ago)

Workmanlike is only a criticism if workmanlike isn't right

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:33 (eight years ago)

the central appeal of the show was in the complex plot mechanics and the character nuances, so a workmanlike visual style that gets out of the way and just shows what happens in a straightforward way was fine.

Shows like Mad Men or Sopranos or Better Call Saul all have a bunch of visually stunning sequences/shots/scenes that stand out, but I can't say the same for the Wire.

― Οὖτις, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:35 (eight years ago)

Can't remember too many visually stunning shots in the sopranos, mad men otoh is the actual epitome is style over substance so yknow maybe it's just differing priorities here

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:38 (eight years ago)

you want me to list some?

― Οὖτις, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:40 (eight years ago)

this whole bit is incredible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slszWIdjN40

― Οὖτις, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:40 (eight years ago)

esp the final shot that tracks forward, past the characters and up into the trees

― Οὖτις, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:41 (eight years ago)

I remember she died

Maybe this is me, the visuals in a story-driven vehicle need to stay out of the way, so better in fact if functional is attained and nothing more.

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:44 (eight years ago)

and this (altho this is a shitty rip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8AgLOcgXNo

― Οὖτις, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:45 (eight years ago)

Yeah the dreams were good.

Otoh I would say that the workaday sequences and scenes in the sopranos share a lot visually with the wire. Exteriors around the docks aesthetically a lot like any shots of the construction sites, waste yards, what have you in the sopranos

It's really in the interiors that there's any difference, wire interiors smell like real life sopranos all look like sets to me

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:48 (eight years ago)

@outic, i agree with your second assessment, the wire obviously prizes a specific type of procedural-style "realism" over and above visual authorial flourishes. That's way different to me than clumsiness, though.

― intheblanks, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:50 (eight years ago)

The Sopranos is often ugly and clumsy. The Wire is the cinema verité style from Homicide but on a much broader scale. The Wire is by far the better show visually.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 22:54 (eight years ago)

Homicide even more underrated as a piece of visual art, though. Lars von Trier mentioned it as a key inspiration for a film like Breaking the Waves. Still looks weird and incredible.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:00 (eight years ago)

are you ever right about anything

― Οὖτις, Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:00 (eight years ago)

FREDERIK B IS RIGHT FOR ONCE

― j., Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:17 (eight years ago)

about homicide, not about anything else

― j., Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:17 (eight years ago)

Hey, taste is subjective, but I can think of a bunch of clumsy Sopranos shots off the top of my head - the freeze frame, cgi nancy marchand, the editing when chris shoots the hungarian in episode one - and nil in The Wire. Just because it was most often handheld does not mean it was 'clumsy'. And there were some stunning camera movements here and there.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:18 (eight years ago)

I got yr back Fred

Might start a ban outic thread actually

― D'mnuchin returns (darraghmac), Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:21 (eight years ago)

I'm impressed Fred can remember those Sopranos moments. Normally I remember little about TV camerawork b/c so little of it stands out.

― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:23 (eight years ago)

well, he did pick maybe the two most notorious visuals of the series?

― j., Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:24 (eight years ago)

It's exactly because so little stands out that it's easy to remember what does :) But I mean, take a look at the dream sequence Outic posted upthread, there's a bunch of shots in there that seems undercooked and rushed to me. It's not exactly David Lynch quality.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:30 (eight years ago)

On the other hand, check out the awesome pan that begins this one, it goes 8 seconds before it finds D'Angelo, then follows him. All in all fifteen seconds. That's better than almost anything in Sopranos, and The Wire was filled with cool little touches like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8lyda_ZkLQ

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:38 (eight years ago)

The editing in the first forty seconds of this season 5 clip (so SPOILERS)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdpG92dsx1A

― Frederik B, Thursday, 1 June 2017 23:44 (eight years ago)

Wire had exactly one flashback sequence in its entire run – used in the first episode of season 1.

Amazing because all of those characters, all those fully developed characters - some of them just bit parts - never had any "fleshing out" or exposition about how and what made them tick. What you saw is what you saw. Is what it is.

― pplains, Friday, 2 June 2017 01:33 (eight years ago)

Exposition through flashback, obv.

― pplains, Friday, 2 June 2017 01:34 (eight years ago)

God are we talking about the visual style of The Wire again? That's missing the forest for the trees in a big way / looking for ways to nitpick at the Greatest Show Ever.

― Do the eeeL Roll! (Leee), Friday, 2 June 2017 02:37 (eight years ago)

you wanna talk about why hillary lost instead

― j., Friday, 2 June 2017 03:15 (eight years ago)

I read an essay a while back analyzing the visual style of the Agniezska episode -- which was in SEASON 3 -- it's the one with the scene with McNulty and Barksdale's mom. It definitely had its arty touches.

― sarahell, Friday, 2 June 2017 05:01 (eight years ago)

but going back and watching episodes again, the thing that I notice more is the differences in acting styles. Several of them are very "stage-y" -- as in they perform their lines in more of a theater way, rather than a "realistic" way. Carver and Lester stand out the most in this. Compare them to Bunk and Avon and Herc.

― sarahell, Friday, 2 June 2017 05:04 (eight years ago)

yeah i mean i know golden age of tv etc but good tv for me is still good storytelling .. if it's artistically achieved via impressive camerawork & whatnot, great, but if it's the camera's just a means to an end, that doesn't make it a worse show. not for me anyway

i mean, mad men was beautiful but it bored me to tears at least 50% of the time so i'm not gonna hoist it up over The Wire based on long shots of furniture & window-staring

― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 2 June 2017 06:23 (eight years ago)

But that's also kind of my point! The flourishes in The Wire are grounded in character and mood, but it's still inventive enough that I can find great details in stuff I've seen ten times. Sopranos tried to be 'stylish' but mostly failed imo.

Mad Men is great though...

― Frederik B, Friday, 2 June 2017 07:00 (eight years ago)

Mad Men was only great when I was drinking as much as the characters on screen, otherwise, I'm with Mme. Veg - 50% snoozeville

― sarahell, Friday, 2 June 2017 11:45 (eight years ago)

Wire had exactly one flashback sequence in its entire run – used in the first episode of season 1.

― pplains, Thursday, June 1, 2017 8:33 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

There were those little online video vignettes with the younger versions of Omar and Prop Joe and someone else I can't remember now. Which, yes, they clearly took pains to keep out of the show itself.

― Trockasturm Hoar The Ramming Battle Ceraton (Old Lunch), Friday, 2 June 2017 12:01 (eight years ago)

Fred's totally right about Homicide, btw. I can recall its visual style (particularly the editing choices) much more clearly than that of The Wire.

― Trockasturm Hoar The Ramming Battle Ceraton (Old Lunch), Friday, 2 June 2017 12:03 (eight years ago)

Are we mainly talking about shot composition and editing? Because it seems to me The Wire has a number of really memorable settings: the Pit, the corners, the docks. Even if the camera work doesn't call attention to itself, it leaves a strong impression of these spaces.

― jmm, Friday, 2 June 2017 12:19 (eight years ago)

There were those little online video vignettes with the younger versions of Omar and Prop Joe and someone else I can't remember now. Which, yes, they clearly took pains to keep out of the show itself.
― Trockasturm Hoar The Ramming Battle Ceraton (Old Lunch), Friday, June 2, 2017 8:01 AM (twenty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Holy shit, how had I never heard of these until now?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38U15ytW24o

― how's life, Friday, 2 June 2017 12:38 (eight years ago)

Mad Men was only great when I was drinking as much as the characters on screen, otherwise, I'm with Mme. Veg - 50% snoozeville

I've seen the first season and a half of mad men twice, really need to get back to it some day. It is a thing that is boring and good iirc

― in a soylent whey (wins), Friday, 2 June 2017 14:47 (eight years ago)

Watch it all, it's great. I'm sure I'll take plenty of flak when I say it's supplanted The Wire as my favorite cable series.

― Moodles, Friday, 2 June 2017 17:09 (eight years ago)

Mad Men is incredible, you all have terrible opinions

― Οὖτις, Friday, 2 June 2017 17:17 (eight years ago)

It's a reasonable take. The only other cable series I can think of with the same level of ambition. But no, The Wire is still my favorite :)

― Frederik B, Friday, 2 June 2017 17:17 (eight years ago)

That Prop Joe prequel... I don't know what I would've done had they started an episode with that.

― pplains, Friday, 2 June 2017 17:42 (eight years ago)

lol that's like some KITH "Ascertain" sketch shit

― Οὖτις, Friday, 2 June 2017 17:48 (eight years ago)

https://theringer.com/wire-hbo-characters-where-are-they-now-b9ee61c34aa8

Bill Simmons still doing his best to ruin The Wire

― El Tuomasbot (milo z), Sunday, 4 June 2017 21:58 (eight years ago)

jfc

― Number None, Monday, 5 June 2017 11:52 (eight years ago)

Cool fanfic but it could've used more vampires imo.

― Trockasturm Hoar The Ramming Battle Ceraton (Old Lunch), Monday, 5 June 2017 13:39 (eight years ago)

i'd rather read wire-themed slashfic than that stupid fucking article again tbh

it was vaguely worth it as an endorsement of the show's unparalleled handling of a huge cast, though - scrolling through those names i could easily remember their faces, voices, actions and relationships to each other and it's been at least five years since i watched any of it. that's a real testament to how good the show is

― he's also fouled up with NON-FAT (bizarro gazzara), Monday, 5 June 2017 13:59 (eight years ago)

one month passes...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/nyregion/manhattan-man-jump-housing-complex.html

― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Saturday, 8 July 2017 14:58 (eight years ago)

one month passes...

Finally got Mr Veg to watch The Wire, we are almost done with S1 and he's onboard :D

This is my third rewatch and even now when I try to watch it with an eye for acting choices or writing or whatever, I still get 100% sucked into the story

Also I think I need to poll worst TV dads. McNulty has to be fighting for top of the list with that front & follow stint in the marketplace

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 6 September 2017 22:58 (eight years ago)

His kids were taught well, though!

― Germ Leee Adolescents (Leee), Wednesday, 6 September 2017 23:00 (eight years ago)

true. but he's such a bum

kinda want to skip the next ep (s1 ep 12) bcz I don't wanna see Wallace get got :(

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 6 September 2017 23:02 (eight years ago)

It's amazing that Bodie gets your sympathy back over the next few seasons, after what happens to Wallace - that guy (JD Williams) doesn't seem to have done as well as other members of the cast, but great performance

― Chuck_Tatum, Wednesday, 6 September 2017 23:37 (eight years ago)

yeah otm

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 6 September 2017 23:39 (eight years ago)

Oh he does not

― passé aggresif (darraghmac), Thursday, 7 September 2017 07:35 (eight years ago)

two weeks pass...

Halfway through season three and enjoying this, with the exception of maverick cop who plays by his own rules McNulty. If one more woman throws herself at him no matter how drunk or annoying he's being (at this point it'll probably be Kima, gay or they're working together and she has a vagina) or he does anything as flatout stupid as his "English" accent that got him into the brothel, I'll take a break.

― albvivertine, Saturday, 23 September 2017 06:54 (seven years ago)

*not. Sorry to rant but so many aspects of this show're just as great as I've heard, so this cartoonish cliché of a copy show character really sticks out and spoils things.

― albvivertine, Saturday, 23 September 2017 06:56 (seven years ago)

Yeah McNulty is a very tedious + one note character, and the actor who plays him is shite imo as well. Probably one of the main reasons I dislike this show, aside from all the other irritating Simonisms.

― calzino, Saturday, 23 September 2017 09:59 (seven years ago)

I think it was a combo of Brooker and my older brother's endless Wire proselytising that convinced me it must be dud. I think at the time my brother often used to pass off Brooker opinions as his own, and was smoking too much weed and in not in full possession of his own mind.

― calzino, Saturday, 23 September 2017 10:10 (seven years ago)

it's a great show. there are huge flaws. david simon screaming his messages at you constantly being one of them. and yes, mcnulty, virtually the protagonist is in many ways a tired tv trope of a character. but i think there's too much good in there to allow the flaws to dissuade anyone from watching

― -_- (jim in vancouver), Saturday, 23 September 2017 10:12 (seven years ago)

there is lots of good in it as well, of course, but I just can't get past the bad stuff!

― calzino, Saturday, 23 September 2017 10:15 (seven years ago)

https://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/mcnulty-uniform.gif

― pplains, Saturday, 23 September 2017 12:39 (seven years ago)

McNulty is p much dropped as 'central' character by season 3 and is widely reviled as a dick whose womanising is an impediment to his functioning as a grown adult

But let's be real even drunk dickish Dominic West is not going home alone most nights so let's all keep our grip here ok

― passé aggresif (darraghmac), Saturday, 23 September 2017 12:56 (seven years ago)

With vivalbertine on McNutty but his ikea scene makes up for a lot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRRHb2WphWs

― Le Bateau Ivre, Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:09 (seven years ago)

I can see how the McNulty plot could spoil season 2 for people. Yeah, there's some major bad bullshit in there, and it doesn't much have to do with anything. I love the scene where he re-checks the current maps out of spite. But it's really not a coincidence that the best season is the one with the least McNulty.

― Frederik B, Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:28 (seven years ago)

I know the feeling. I'm halfway through season 5 and getting a bit tired of the whole fake serial killer thing already. It's like some kind of comedy caper.

― heaven parker (anagram), Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:58 (seven years ago)

no one defends that bit in fairness

― Number None, Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:59 (seven years ago)

*cop show character, not copy. Glad I'm not the only one who finds him tedious.

― albvivertine, Saturday, 23 September 2017 15:10 (seven years ago)

I didn't mind the serial killer thing tbh. the scene with the profiler is a riot.

― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Saturday, 23 September 2017 15:14 (seven years ago)

While I'm at it, "self-destructive alcolholic" shouldn't really equal dude who has sex all the time and occasionally turns up to work with a mild hangover. There was the time he crashed his car, which seemed promising, but it just resulted in a cafe waitress adding herself to the menu cos barely conscious bleeding McNulty was just too damn tasty.

― albvivertine, Saturday, 23 September 2017 15:18 (seven years ago)

I'm cool with mcnulty as a character up til his S5 storyline (despite some of its highlights cf the profiler scene), he's probably the most likable of the premium cable fuckups bc he's just a dude with a chip on his shoulder about the system pushing people around as opposed to a charismatic and amoral antihero. His comedy bits are pretty good imo and on the flip side a scene like his confrontation with d'angelo's mom was pretty powerful. Always liked the progression of his relationship w/bodie too.

― nomar, Saturday, 23 September 2017 15:35 (seven years ago)

imo we're seeing the world through McNulty's eyes in the beginning and as the show returns to him in the final season, you realize he's this fuck-up who almost made life work and then completely goes back off the rails in stupendous fashion

the waitress scene in season one is kind of eye-rollingly bad, but I like to think we saw it through his drunk vision. the waitress, if anyone else had seen her, wouldn't vaguely resemble the actress they cast

― mh, Saturday, 23 September 2017 22:18 (seven years ago)

That's a good way to look at it. Especially considering in the ensuing sex scene he apparently has no problem keeping it up, which is a little unrealistic.

― albvivertine, Saturday, 23 September 2017 22:57 (seven years ago)

smdh

― passé aggresif (darraghmac), Saturday, 23 September 2017 23:26 (seven years ago)

hmm i think the whole scene where McNulty crashes his car a couple times/gets a bite to eat/has sex was sort of a very effective (and funny!) nutshell encapsulation of his character: a total fuckup, thanks to his own efforts and despite knowing better, and yet he somehow manages to get lucky anyway.

― nomar, Saturday, 23 September 2017 23:31 (seven years ago)

Thinking Season 2 must be through the eyes of Nick Sobotka then.

― pplains, Saturday, 23 September 2017 23:32 (seven years ago)

Favorite bit in Season 5 is Gus watching Carcetti fire Burrell on TV and ad-libbing his internal monologue - "He feared and hated me and I merely wanted him dead."

― louise ck (milo z), Sunday, 24 September 2017 00:22 (seven years ago)

smdh

― passé aggresif (darraghmac), Saturday, September 23, 2017 7:26 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

effective defense against ED tbh

― rip van wanko, Sunday, 24 September 2017 00:40 (seven years ago)

not sure why drunk fuck ups having a lot of sex is so vexing....or am i

― ogmor, Sunday, 24 September 2017 01:17 (seven years ago)

Especially considering in the ensuing sex scene he apparently has no problem keeping it up, which is a little unrealistic.

yeah, totally shitfaced people never fuck irl

― shackling the masses with plastic-wrapped snack picks (sic), Sunday, 24 September 2017 09:01 (seven years ago)

I wasn't really moaning about the behaviour of an amoral character, because they can be entertaining in the context of a tv series. Just a lazily + badly written one, played by a 3rd rate actor is what doesn't work for me.

― calzino, Sunday, 24 September 2017 09:31 (seven years ago)

https://media.tenor.com/images/361f76ab7e8c3e64872a0621758a733e/tenor.gif

― Insane Clown Fosse (Leee), Sunday, 24 September 2017 15:30 (seven years ago)

four months pass...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/reg-cathey-%E2%80%98house-of-cards%E2%80%99-and-%E2%80%98the-wire%E2%80%99-actor-dies-at-59/ar-BBIWauj

: O

― j., Saturday, 10 February 2018 03:44 (seven years ago)

He came close to getting the Lester role before Peters got it.

― pplains, Saturday, 10 February 2018 04:11 (seven years ago)

three weeks pass...

heard this is a good show, started watching it, halfway through S1 and it's really great!

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 8 March 2018 14:58 (seven years ago)

ten years old this week, decent article in guardian

im up to s3 taking my time and its the best tv show of all time into

― things you looked shockingly old when you wore (darraghmac), Thursday, 8 March 2018 15:00 (seven years ago)

decent article is by an ilx0r

― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Thursday, 8 March 2018 15:08 (seven years ago)

ten years dead, not ten years old

― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Thursday, 8 March 2018 15:09 (seven years ago)

rip

― things you looked shockingly old when you wore (darraghmac), Thursday, 8 March 2018 15:25 (seven years ago)

tbfttm i read it on irishtimes which didnt credit

― things you looked shockingly old when you wore (darraghmac), Thursday, 8 March 2018 15:26 (seven years ago)

I am curious if this show will impress more than Oz, but I doubt it

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Saturday, 10 March 2018 18:33 (seven years ago)

there is much less male nudity in The Wire

― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Saturday, 10 March 2018 18:45 (seven years ago)

Oz is more emotionally brutal and has way more male nudity and gay sex. I love both shows.

― sarahell, Saturday, 10 March 2018 18:45 (seven years ago)

Okay I haven’t seen Oz, and now I’m scared to.

― Andrew Farrell, Saturday, 10 March 2018 19:20 (seven years ago)

Oz is fine but basically a penis-heavy soap opera. Wire is epic.

― Ape Wipes (Old Lunch), Saturday, 10 March 2018 19:25 (seven years ago)

No need to be frightened of a few dongs now andrew

― scotti pruitti (wins), Saturday, 10 March 2018 19:26 (seven years ago)

Oh yeah I should probably have clarified that I’m scared because Season 3 of the Wire is the my benchmark for emotional brutality.

― Andrew Farrell, Saturday, 10 March 2018 19:32 (seven years ago)

Oz is fine but basically a penis-heavy soap opera.

no, it's kinda the opposite ... the soap opera elements and other "lighter touches" (e.g. musical numbers, theatrical narration) are there to make the socio-political issues at the core of the show easier to watch/engage with

― sarahell, Saturday, 10 March 2018 19:45 (seven years ago)

in terms of emotional brutality, Oz is closer to Walking Dead, where all of the characters experience serious personal trauma at some point in the show, and Walking Dead is a speculative fiction about zombies.

― sarahell, Saturday, 10 March 2018 19:58 (seven years ago)

Oz characters experienced some intensely brutal and degrading stuff but nothing on Oz was nearly as devastating as, say, the ultimate fates of a couple of the younger characters on the Wire.

― Ape Wipes (Old Lunch), Saturday, 10 March 2018 20:24 (seven years ago)

nothing on Oz was nearly as devastating as, say, the ultimate fates of a couple of the younger characters on the Wire

it sounds like you just didn't really empathize with the characters in Oz.

― sarahell, Sunday, 11 March 2018 19:22 (seven years ago)

I think it's fair to say that I empathized less with the characters on Oz than I did the characters on The Wire. The former characters didn't feel quite as fully rendered to me.

― Ape Wipes (Old Lunch), Sunday, 11 March 2018 20:24 (seven years ago)

The regular characters were at least as fully rendered as the main characters on The Wire, some more so, I felt like. I can see someone not wanting to empathize with them because at one point they did something horrible (and since they have been in prison, they have done other horrible things), unlike the kids in the Wire who were victims of their circumstances ... but I feel like saying they weren't "fully rendered" seems odd to me. Especially, in comparison to the Wire, which is more about how systems work, and less about people.

― sarahell, Monday, 12 March 2018 02:07 (seven years ago)

TBF, I've seen The Wire twice through but never finished the last season or two of Oz. It's entirely possible the characters were ultimately more fleshed out than I recall.

TBF part 2, The Wire (and a number of shows since) had well-rounded characters who did awful things but still elicited sympathy/empathy so I can say that's not the issue.

― Ape Wipes (Old Lunch), Monday, 12 March 2018 03:17 (seven years ago)

I felt like the Aryan Nazis in Oz were as fleshed out as most of the characters in the Wire, but I didn't have much empathy for the Nazis, but characters like Beecher, Alvarez, Maria (the doctor), Saeed, Cyril, Bob, Sister Peter Marie, the priest, Mr. White who just keeps fucking up ... the list goes on.

― sarahell, Monday, 12 March 2018 19:07 (seven years ago)

Oz was a dumb and bad show

― Louis Jägermeister (jim in vancouver), Monday, 12 March 2018 19:10 (seven years ago)

oh, and of course, Augustus Hill the narrator ... idk, the production techniques of the two shows were pretty different - like Oz had that late 90s staginess/awkwardness as it was kinda at the beginning of the "era" -- it was somewhat similar to this UK show I watched recently that was made around then (late 90s, pre-Wire), "Supply and Demand" that had Eamonn Walker in it, and it had some of that awkwardness too. And I can definitely see how the awkwardness can create a barrier to empathizing with the characters (it did for me to some extent).

― sarahell, Monday, 12 March 2018 19:13 (seven years ago)

Oz was a dumb and bad show
― Louis Jägermeister (jim in vancouver), Monday, March 12, 2018 2:10 PM (twenty-six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this was a dumb and bad opinion

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, 12 March 2018 19:37 (seven years ago)

Oz was more about the characters than the plot to a fault, imo

― mh, Monday, 12 March 2018 20:21 (seven years ago)

yeah well so is life mannn

― the clodding of the american mind (darraghmac), Monday, 12 March 2018 20:22 (seven years ago)

The characters on Oz was less fully realized because we basically only saw them in a very dehumanizing environment. When I think of heartbreaking scenes with Wallace, I think of the scene where he plays with his toy while on watch out, or where he has to get all the other kids to school. There's nothing like that on Oz, because prison is exactly about removing people from those kinds of things.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 13 March 2018 13:45 (seven years ago)

**SEASON 1 SPOILERS LOL**

welp, made it 10 episodes into this show before my first ugly cry (first Kima getting shot and then really hard when Carver went to go tell her girlfriend). Also was very very sad about Wallace :( :( :( Season 1 was great and the first episode of S2 was.... not terrible but just really off, like it feels like a totally different show. Everyone and their mother has told me this so it's m/l what I expected going in.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 12:44 (seven years ago)

Yeah, prepare yourself for a mild POV reboot every season.

― Another helping of mouthwatering cobbler? (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 13:09 (seven years ago)

Season 2 is the biggest shift, but it's a classic in its own way.

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 13:20 (seven years ago)

Also was very very sad about Wallace :( :( :(

in that case, brace yourself for season four my dude

― in conclusion, it is good to peel the sheeps (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 13:23 (seven years ago)

Is season 4 the one with Zombie Wallace?

― MooVaughn.org (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 13:50 (seven years ago)

Season 2 is the reason The Wire is The Wire, I think. Season 1 ended much more definitively than most other seasons, with McNulty on the boat and the group disbanded, so they had to really lay the groundwork for the show running five seasons in season 2. It is kinda offputting, but I think the reason many other shows go off the rails after great first seasons is because they try to cut corners with their long term investments.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 13:54 (seven years ago)

Season 2 is the reason The Wire is The Wire

otm

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 14:47 (seven years ago)

I don't know why the only thing I specifically recall as a development during season 2 is the drama surrounding Valchek's stained glass windows.

Oh, wait, shit, season 2 was Ziggy, wasn't it. I clearly need to rewatch this thing for a third time.

― The Secret Ingrediant is Love (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 14:52 (seven years ago)

heard this is a good show, started watching it, halfway through S1 and it's really great!

I've heard that too, watched the first six or so episodes years ago and didn't feel that moved to continue but someday I'll give it another go

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 15:18 (seven years ago)

Glad to see the word's finally getting out about this show. It's so weird that HBO's hourlong dramas never get any buzz.

― The Secret Ingrediant is Love (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 15:31 (seven years ago)

o_O

― mh, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 16:54 (seven years ago)

I think it's great that people are still getting to experience this show for the first time.

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 17:00 (seven years ago)

I've seen several of the HBO dramatic series. They're pretty good! It's just surprising to me that I never hear anything about them in the press or via word of mouth. Oh, well. Maybe someday they'll get their due.

(I'm lampooning you, mh. It was a simple lampoon.)

― The Secret Ingrediant is Love (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 17:25 (seven years ago)

I figured you needed a straightman to sell it

― mh, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 17:26 (seven years ago)

Season 2 is the worst. Get through it.

― Nhex, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 17:45 (seven years ago)

Wrong

― Number None, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 17:50 (seven years ago)

Having watched the show in its entirety multiple times, I think I'd rank it just below s4

― Number None, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 17:53 (seven years ago)

i prefer it to s1. fred b otm about the reasons for its slow start, which is less frustrating on rewatch, as is the way the barksdale org stuff feels compartmentalized for the whole season while it sets up s3. (3 and 4's political stuff would also be shallower had you not surfaced into it from s2's grain pier scenes.) s1 is p much self-contained but s2, as it were, plugs the show into a thematic supply chain it will need going forward

that makes it sound dry tho and i mean: frank

― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 18:41 (seven years ago)

s2 is one of the best, but i didn't like it the first time around

― marcos, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 18:42 (seven years ago)

you get so into the street and its world and characters and then you are lurched out and taken into the world of these dumb fucking longshoremen

― Louis Jägermeister (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 18:52 (seven years ago)

but yeah it is actually a good season. love frank sobotka 4eva

― Louis Jägermeister (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 18:53 (seven years ago)

s1->s4 is a progressive (cumulative, really) improvement and s5 is not that much of a quality dip

― Simon H., Tuesday, 20 March 2018 18:55 (seven years ago)

lol the same discussion about S2 in this thread so many times

― (•̪●) (carne asada), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 18:56 (seven years ago)

we still have some time to go before definitive answer is established

Best season of The Wire

― (•̪●) (carne asada), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 18:58 (seven years ago)

Yup. It's usually prompted by people watching it for the first time though, and it is jarring in that context

3 is the overrated season

― Number None, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 18:58 (seven years ago)

lol the same discussion about S2 in this thread so many times

― (•̪●) (carne asada), Tuesday, March 20, 2018 2:56 PM (four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

true

― marcos, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 19:01 (seven years ago)

nicky sobotka looks like he smells bad

― marcos, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 19:03 (seven years ago)

lmao at that wire poll ending presumably after human extinction

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 19:22 (seven years ago)

Ziggy is unforgivable. I don't mean as a character, I mean as a thing that writers thought up to make the audience suffer through. But I'll stop

― Nhex, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 19:30 (seven years ago)

5 is the worst season and, as Simon notes, it's not that much worse than the rest. And it's almost entirely due to the just...mindblowing stupidity of McNulty. I mean, seriously, what the fuck, McNutty.

― The Secret Ingrediant is Love (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 19:39 (seven years ago)

Every time I think of season 5, I basically go through the same process as Bunk once he starts seeing the wheels turning on McNulty's 'amazing' plan. Oh...oh, no. Oh hell no. You have got to be fucking kidding me right now.

― The Secret Ingrediant is Love (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 19:41 (seven years ago)

McNulty is not a man who was meant to keep the wheels on

― mh, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 19:52 (seven years ago)

5 basically sucks bcz they didn't get the spinoff AND had the order cut, so it tried to cram what would have been covered in 19 episodes into 10

the ramping up of McNutty's lunacy would have been bearable if given more room

― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:10 (seven years ago)

the reporter characters were also boring

― while my dirk gently weeps (symsymsym), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:44 (seven years ago)

What spinoff was that? Also I thought I read somewhere (this thread??) that DS said that the decision for 10 episodes was his/the writers', not HBO.

― MarmiteGrrrl (Leee), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 21:19 (seven years ago)

Simon wanted to do six-episode series of The Hall in between S3/S4 and S4/S5. A lot of the Carcetti / Norman / Clay Davis type stuff would have happened in those, setting up political status quo for each following season of The Wire.

― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 21:26 (seven years ago)

5 is the worst because it’s so hard to hear the dialogue over the sound of David simon grinding his axe

― YouTube_-_funy_cats.flv (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 22:40 (seven years ago)

This series isn't always bad, but it is no Juliet Bravo or The Shield.

― calzino, Tuesday, 20 March 2018 22:43 (seven years ago)

fuck you! and your window!

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 21 March 2018 22:32 (seven years ago)

two episodes into S2 and I like it!

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 21 March 2018 23:07 (seven years ago)

The vibes of S1 and S2 are so different and jarring.

Always liked how this person stayed true to the themes with these Breaking Bad parodies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiNdBGjxNzo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhX7hvzlaGc

― pplains, Wednesday, 21 March 2018 23:25 (seven years ago)

lmao omg

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 22 March 2018 00:13 (seven years ago)

S1 is pretty underrated at this point, i feel like there's so much gold in there as we get to meet the characters. really love the slow unfolding of Lester Freamon's character throughout the first several episodes.

― omar little, Thursday, 22 March 2018 00:17 (seven years ago)

marcos
Posted: March 20, 2018 at 12:03:48 PM
nicky sobotka looks like he smells bad

how dare u

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 22 March 2018 02:39 (seven years ago)

i always liked s2

especially the whole subplot with the stupud fuckin stained glass window

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 22 March 2018 02:40 (seven years ago)

whoever is playing Ziggy feels like he took all his acting cues from the kid from T2

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 22 March 2018 03:40 (seven years ago)

1. how dare you besmirch Edward Furlong
2. the guy is actually a good actor, I've seen him in other roles like Generation Kill where he's not super annoying. he was definitely directed this way

― Nhex, Thursday, 22 March 2018 05:31 (seven years ago)

you get so into the street and its world and characters and then you are lurched out and taken into the world of these dumb fucking longshoremen

― Louis Jägermeister (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, March 20, 2018 2:52 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

― flopson, Thursday, 22 March 2018 06:11 (seven years ago)

s1 is great, whenever I think of it I always picture avon startling daniels wagging that finger as he glides past, one of the best wire moments

― ogmor, Thursday, 22 March 2018 09:09 (seven years ago)

xxpost Yeah, I've been surprised to realize that Ziggy actor is Ziggy actor when I've seen him in other things.

― The Secret Ingrediant is Love (Old Lunch), Thursday, 22 March 2018 12:20 (seven years ago)

especially the whole subplot with the stupud fuckin stained glass window

It's not just a subplot, it's how it all gets rolling!

― Simon H., Thursday, 22 March 2018 12:59 (seven years ago)

It also sticks with me as a wholly believable catalyst for police/political action. A huge criminal investigation is initiated not by any true interest in justice but because a police commissioner is feeling butthurt over a petty rivalry.

― The Secret Ingrediant is Love (Old Lunch), Thursday, 22 March 2018 13:06 (seven years ago)

^^ lol i was thinking exactly this yesterday (just finished up s2 e2)

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 22 March 2018 13:08 (seven years ago)

I can see where a petty rivalry starts to snowball, but over that?

― pplains, Thursday, 22 March 2018 13:47 (seven years ago)

are you doing a full rewatch brad?

― Simon H., Thursday, 22 March 2018 13:48 (seven years ago)

xp
don't see why it couldn't be even more trivial. I don't doubt that police commissioners have abused their power for pettier reasons irl

― tsrobodo, Thursday, 22 March 2018 17:06 (seven years ago)

I don't get the chafing over S2's attention on the stevedores -- doesn't the show set up a parallel between them and the streets? At the very least, they're pretty funny.

― #FIERCE #FLAWLESS #SLAY (Leee), Thursday, 22 March 2018 17:29 (seven years ago)

are you doing a full rewatch brad?

― Simon H., Thursday, March 22, 2018 6:48 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yep! i'm doing it with someone who's never seen the series before so it's gonna take a while

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 22 March 2018 17:41 (seven years ago)

yeah I did that a few years back with my roommate. the second viewing is a blast.

― Simon H., Thursday, 22 March 2018 17:44 (seven years ago)

it's interesting, imo there's a learning curve with season one that, at least for me, is *always there*. i rewatch the first 2-3 episodes and i'm like "i know this is great, i'm aware of it being great in the fragments of narrative and context that it's gradually trying to weave together into a more centralized story, but don't feel anything pulling me into what's happening yet." i don't mean to overstate its particular excellence on this front but it's at first alienating then deeply refreshing to watch a television show that doesn't really give a shit about my expectations as a viewer

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 22 March 2018 17:55 (seven years ago)

and the way it does satisfy my expectations as a viewer is largely oblique! occasionally the dialogue gets very transparent about the themes traveling through the structure of the whole series and that's as basic as it gets. but the way the individual stories braid together and then scatter and then braid together again... idk, it's awesome. i guess all of these ideas are pretty pedestrian and are probably embedded throughout this thread multiple times already but: what i love about this series is you get what you put into it. it's great art.

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 22 March 2018 17:59 (seven years ago)

i rewatch the first 2-3 episodes and i'm like "i know this is great, i'm aware of it being great in the fragments of narrative and context that it's gradually trying to weave together into a more centralized story, but don't feel anything pulling me into what's happening yet."

They're the opening chapters of a novelistic story, so the metrics of evaluating individual episodes of an otherwise serialized narrative shouldn't apply IMO.

― zig zag ziggurat (Leee), Thursday, 22 March 2018 19:36 (seven years ago)

that's completely right! it's exactly like the learning curve of any novel you're trying to get into

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 22 March 2018 19:41 (seven years ago)

and also, so much more interesting than the "this is actually just a very long movie" taken by so many series/producers now

― Simon H., Thursday, 22 March 2018 19:43 (seven years ago)

favorite moment of S5 is Gus doing voiceover of Carcetti firing Burrell - "he feared and hated me, I merely wanted him dead"

― louise ck (milo z), Thursday, 22 March 2018 19:50 (seven years ago)

lmao

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 22 March 2018 20:01 (seven years ago)

tweedy impertinence

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 23 March 2018 23:05 (seven years ago)

Just finished s2e6, p much half way thru. Ziggy is by far my most hated character, even more than Landsman. I’m having the same reaction to him that I had to Jesse the first time I watched Breaking Bad — a stubborn idiot who refuses to learn a goddamn fucking thing — but Jesse had complexity and a good heart whereas Ziggy is just smug and overconfident. I really hope he dies.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 25 March 2018 14:08 (seven years ago)

Yeah, Ziggy is probably the most hateful character in the entire series. I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone who even comes close (I'm one of those who likes megafuckup Jimmy McNulty despite the megafuckedupness which you've barely scratched the surface of yourself).

― Toilet Paper Tube Bracelets -- Super Hero Themed? (Old Lunch), Sunday, 25 March 2018 14:11 (seven years ago)

Levy's up there, for sure. Valchek.

― Toilet Paper Tube Bracelets -- Super Hero Themed? (Old Lunch), Sunday, 25 March 2018 14:15 (seven years ago)

Oh yeah I love to hate Valchek, and Levy’s awful too of c but neither of them actually make me angry the way Ziggy does. I think it’s the entitlement, like one second you’ve got a hit on you because you fucked up a package for the THIRD CONSECUTIVE TIME, and the next second your debt has been absolved, and you complain that you didn’t get enough money for your car? And then light a $100 on fire!?!? Like what is WRONG with this dipshit!!!

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 25 March 2018 14:18 (seven years ago)

I hated McNulty at first but moreso because he was presented to us as a flawed but sympathetic antihero who we are supposed to care about and I’m so so so tired of boring straight white men with problems that we’re supposed to care about, I have no more patience for them.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 25 March 2018 14:20 (seven years ago)

OKAY WAIT HOLD UP, I was actually 5 min away from finishing e6 and THEY JUST OFFED DEE, what the fuck!!! I had a hunch this might happen but I have a lot of hunches of things that might happen that never pan out and I’m a little shocked

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 25 March 2018 14:40 (seven years ago)

I love Ziggy's indignant "BAD ADVICE! You motherfuckers gave me bad advice!"

― Screamin' Jay Gould (The Yellow Kid), Sunday, 25 March 2018 14:46 (seven years ago)

I think w/Ziggy the arc is interesting and I think the thing is once you see his character as a fuckup who no one respects, and how he can't stop being a fuckup, it makes sense in the end. Sorry for vagueness. I didn't mind him really!

― omar little, Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:02 (seven years ago)

yea agreed i hated ziggy the first time around but seeing it again made me appreciate him

― marcos, Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:09 (seven years ago)

Ziggy is fun to hate/impossible to like but not really a worse person than his brother for being self-destructive and annoying rather than competently amoral

― scotti pruitti (wins), Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:10 (seven years ago)

I didn't watch much of treme but the steve zahn character is kind of a ziggy

― scotti pruitti (wins), Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:13 (seven years ago)

Oh I also hate Rawls for being such a mean spirited bully. He might be my #2 most hated.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:18 (seven years ago)

Rawls is an amazing villain! I actually thought that's who you meant when you said "even worse than landsman" (it's been ages since I saw this & I get some names mixed up)

― scotti pruitti (wins), Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:19 (seven years ago)

Landsman is the smug cop in jimmy's dept? I find him hilarious tbh

― scotti pruitti (wins), Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:20 (seven years ago)

I didn’t mind Ziggy at all because, iirc, the actor puts in a great performance - I think it might be one of the all-time greatest representations of annoyingness onscreen.

Zahn in Treme is similar but much less interesting to watch.

― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:22 (seven years ago)

Landsman is the kiss-ass who always seems to be walking around eating something that’s dripping

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:22 (seven years ago)

Also yeah! Landsman is fun. And S5 has his greatest moments.

― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:23 (seven years ago)

Landsman is such an irony bro

― scotti pruitti (wins), Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:25 (seven years ago)

D’Angelo is prob the show’s greatest loss in terms of having a good actor/performer/character sacrificed to the ongoing story.

― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:26 (seven years ago)

You need to keep your eyes open w/Rawls is all I'm gonna say.

― omar little, Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:26 (seven years ago)

🤐

― scotti pruitti (wins), Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:27 (seven years ago)

nothing but love for rawls tbh one of the best characters in this show

― marcos, Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:34 (seven years ago)

landsman is top 5, of all the products of all the show's environments he is the most perfect, more adapted than marlo

wins otm about the sobotka boys

― difficult listening hour, Sunday, 25 March 2018 16:52 (seven years ago)

it's funny that the real Jay Landsman plays such a nondescript functionary in the show

― Number None, Sunday, 25 March 2018 17:18 (seven years ago)

Ha, yeah, was just about to say: Stevie, you have a jaw-droppingly fantastic, blink and you miss it Rawls moment coming up 'round the corner.

― Toilet Paper Tube Bracelets -- Super Hero Themed? (Old Lunch), Sunday, 25 March 2018 17:26 (seven years ago)

it's funny that the real Jay Landsman plays such a nondescript functionary in the show

That's probably because he isn't a real actor.

― zig zag ziggurat (Leee), Sunday, 25 March 2018 17:45 (seven years ago)

I love the fat landsman

― marcos, Sunday, 25 March 2018 17:53 (seven years ago)

The mousiness of Landsman-as-Mello is even a sharp contrast to how funny Landsman is in the 1991 book.

― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Sunday, 25 March 2018 17:56 (seven years ago)

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, March 25, 2018 10:08 AM (three hours ago

yes! I watched the wire before BB, but when watching BB and realizing how much I hated jesse, I too was reminded of how much I hated ziggy

― k3vin k., Sunday, 25 March 2018 18:03 (seven years ago)

That's probably because he isn't a real actor.

yeah no shit

― Number None, Sunday, 25 March 2018 18:18 (seven years ago)

he was the inspiration for Munch too

― Number None, Sunday, 25 March 2018 18:19 (seven years ago)

cannot wait to finish this season so I never have to fucking hear this damn credits song ever again

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 25 March 2018 18:52 (seven years ago)

Aaaaaaa I just got to the “BAD ADVICE” scene and goddamn I actually feel a trace of pity for this dipshit

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 25 March 2018 18:59 (seven years ago)

God now I gotta go find a Landsman compilation on YouTube

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 26 March 2018 03:03 (seven years ago)

aaaaaaahahahahah Ziggy just shot up the electronics store, what a fucking dipshit!!!

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, 26 March 2018 03:45 (seven years ago)

I’m watching a season 2 episode and I have to say the recut from sd ratio to hd isn’t the worst but it’s kind of fucked up.

― mh, Monday, 26 March 2018 03:47 (seven years ago)

I liked the 16:9 remaster and i thought s2 was when it was most effective. All those sweeping shots of dock look great imo. What turns you off about it?

― Closed Beta (NotEnough), Monday, 26 March 2018 06:28 (seven years ago)

ziggy makes season two into a proper tragedy. it's an old trick but the wire is especially good at v gradually softening you up towards characters you initially hate.

― ogmor, Monday, 26 March 2018 08:16 (seven years ago)

Yeah I’ve been watching this all in 16:9 via Amazon Prime, I’m curious how different it’d feel in 4:3

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, 26 March 2018 12:35 (seven years ago)

nothing really turned me off so far, it’s just kind of disorienting!

some tv shows that are chopped/rescaled I just kind of watch and mentally push it aside, because it’s obvious 90% of the time. I think this actually looks good enough that it seems like it could have always been that way

it’s like driving by a house every day and one day noticing it’s blue, but you have the strong suspicion that it used to be red. it doesn’t look recently painted, so maybe you’re misremembering?

― mh, Monday, 26 March 2018 12:37 (seven years ago)

the hd remaster bothered me so much i bought the old dvd set. think i’m one of the few though

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Monday, 26 March 2018 12:44 (seven years ago)

I feel like watching the HD version will just fill my mind with trainspottery non-sequiturs while I'm watching it: "Why is there so much wall in this shot?" "I wonder if David Simon meant for that sofa cushion to be there?" etc.

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 26 March 2018 13:19 (seven years ago)

"Why can I see the braces holding Bubbles' teeth?"

― pplains, Monday, 26 March 2018 13:26 (seven years ago)

just finished S2 (OBVIOUS SPOILERS)

I liked it! I'm real sad Frank got offed, I'm FURIOUS that Valchek "won", the union folding seemed inevitable (if it wasn't now, it woulda been soon) but the whole thing was unfortunate. Also: the case basically didn't get solved, and the whole montage at the end of everything operating exactly the same as if nothing changed was p effective in its bleakness, everything is futile, why bother etc.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 29 March 2018 15:55 (seven years ago)

those last couple eps of s2 are so good

― marcos, Thursday, 29 March 2018 15:56 (seven years ago)

that greek music at the end

― marcos, Thursday, 29 March 2018 15:56 (seven years ago)

also not thrilled w Brother Mouzone as a character, he seems really contrived and like deliberately engineered to be a fan favorite but in a heavy handed improbable way. He's, like, a favorite character for people who loved Boondock Saints.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 29 March 2018 15:57 (seven years ago)

also daaaaaamn @ Stringer playing EVERYONE, I can barely keep it straight

so Stringer goes behind Avon's back to collaborate w Prop Joe (who I LOVE)
Avon is unaware and hires Brother Mouzone to deal w/ the rival dealers
Stringer and Prop Joe find out but then just do nothing bcz it's easier?
Stringer tells Omar that Mouzone mutilated Brandon, and I can't tell if he expects Mouzone to kill Omar, Omar to kill Mouzone, or if he legit doesn't know which will happen but is happy with either outcome
Omar realizes Stringer set him up, and Mouzone also realizes Stringer set him up

yes?

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 29 March 2018 16:01 (seven years ago)

oh man Brother Mouzone rings so false

― Evan R, Thursday, 29 March 2018 16:02 (seven years ago)

https://kottke.org/09/01/brother-mouzone-implicated-in-notorious-bigs-killing

― omar little, Thursday, 29 March 2018 16:06 (seven years ago)

i'm watching all of this now. i can't remember how far i got when i had hbo years ago but its been so long that it's all new to me. i didn't get far though. finished the first season and kinda just wanted to watch it over again. so infinitely watchable.

we got playstation vue so now i am binging on hbo after not having it forever.

― scott seward, Thursday, 29 March 2018 16:09 (seven years ago)

Brother Mouzone is a little too much of a deus ex machina/red herring they threw in to balance Omar and Stringer seeming over the top. Suddenly they're more believable because, hey, look at this guy!

― mh, Thursday, 29 March 2018 16:38 (seven years ago)

Stringer tells Omar that Mouzone mutilated Brandon, and I can't tell if he expects Mouzone to kill Omar, Omar to kill Mouzone, or if he legit doesn't know which will happen but is happy with either outcome

yes, it's this I think

― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Thursday, 29 March 2018 16:45 (seven years ago)

He's, like, a favorite character for people who loved Boondock Saints.

ha, truth bomb for sure

― sir chesley bonestell, qc (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 29 March 2018 20:47 (seven years ago)

Prop Joe is probably the best character when all's said and done

― Number None, Thursday, 29 March 2018 23:21 (seven years ago)

Let's not forget about Cheese, great Method acting.

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 29 March 2018 23:46 (seven years ago)

― YouTube_-_funy_cats.flv (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Thursday, 29 March 2018 23:47 (seven years ago)

i'll allow it

― Number None, Thursday, 29 March 2018 23:55 (seven years ago)

Let's not forget about Cheese, great Method acting.

https://i.imgur.com/j4CPSE8.gif

― pplains, Friday, 30 March 2018 01:45 (seven years ago)

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, March 29, 2018 11:57 AM (yesterday)

otm!

― k3vin k., Saturday, 31 March 2018 00:22 (seven years ago)

two weeks pass...

i've made it to season five and last night i had the idea that it would be cool if ilx people made an online album that was versions of "way down in the hole" for non-existent seasons of The Wire. what would the season 11 version sound like in 2014? they wouldn't have to be good either in keeping with most of the actual versions. i got really good at fast-forwarding through that tom waits one. ugh.

okay, maybe its a dumb idea with limited appeal.

i have really enjoyed watching the show.

― scott seward, Thursday, 19 April 2018 20:04 (seven years ago)

Isn't the Tom Waits the original? Not that that would make it better (though it is the best)

― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 19 April 2018 20:07 (seven years ago)

TW's is the original.

― Meme Imfurst (Leee), Thursday, 19 April 2018 20:12 (seven years ago)

"way down in the hole" is good

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 19 April 2018 20:14 (seven years ago)

I came to like every version, but I could also skip to the cold open on VLC with remarkable precision

― thots and players (rip van wanko), Thursday, 19 April 2018 20:21 (seven years ago)

Neville Bros are my favorite

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 19 April 2018 20:23 (seven years ago)

I'll do a plaintive acoustic falsetto auto-tune version, for the season dealing with gentrification.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 19 April 2018 20:57 (seven years ago)

Lake Trout is converted to farm-to-table.

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 19 April 2018 21:16 (seven years ago)

Put me down for the "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs" version of the theme, which will be season 13 iirc

― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 19 April 2018 21:43 (seven years ago)

Heading into The Wire: The Musical territory here.

― henry s, Thursday, 19 April 2018 21:55 (seven years ago)

I'll do a plaintive acoustic falsetto auto-tune version, for the season dealing with gentrification.

― Frederik B, Thursday, April 19, 2018 4:57 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

read this as auto fellatio

― DACA Flocka Flame (Hadrian VIII), Friday, 20 April 2018 00:06 (seven years ago)

about as accurate a description of the bon iver aesthetic i'm going for

― Frederik B, Friday, 20 April 2018 00:20 (seven years ago)

haha

― DACA Flocka Flame (Hadrian VIII), Friday, 20 April 2018 00:25 (seven years ago)

bone i vore

― the clodding of the american mind (darraghmac), Friday, 20 April 2018 00:39 (seven years ago)

Put me down for the "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs" version of the theme, which will be season 13 iirc

― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, April 19, 2018 9:43 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is amazing

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 20 April 2018 00:39 (seven years ago)

I'm in for the NIN "Head Down In A Hole" version.

― pplains, Friday, 20 April 2018 01:53 (seven years ago)

i had to document that moment at prop joe's house. close your eyes...

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/31120721_10156821358797137_7965470325907637694_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=06730c76aa201fd51a73bf913e7150ab&oe=5B6F1ED2

― scott seward, Sunday, 22 April 2018 14:55 (seven years ago)

finished watching season 5. that part where the newspaper guy asks which story to run and they don't run a story on omar dying is so sad for some reason. and then michael and dukie turning into omar and bubbles...that last episode is a good example of how to do a last episode.

― scott seward, Monday, 23 April 2018 23:29 (seven years ago)

I just read that Wire oral history book. Apparently HBO didn't give Simon the full 13-episode run for Season 5, so he had to condense the storyline, which is probably why some people find it unsatisfying. Some minor characters (the female reporter, for instance, who happens to be married to Deangelo Barksdale in real life) were going to be fleshed out more, but no time. Also, the dude reporter who was angling for a Pulitzer was going to have a crisis of conscience, but that storyline had to be chopped.

The actor kid who iced Omar was pretty traumatized by that scene.

― henry s, Tuesday, 24 April 2018 00:39 (seven years ago)

yeah the whole media world was so underdeveloped compared to every other setting of the show

― while my dirk gently weeps (symsymsym), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 00:59 (seven years ago)

the Sun stuff was worth it just for clark johnson because he is the best.

― scott seward, Tuesday, 24 April 2018 01:43 (seven years ago)

just the day-to-day work stuff with him. i could watch that forever.

― scott seward, Tuesday, 24 April 2018 01:44 (seven years ago)

agree 100%

― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 07:32 (seven years ago)

god, rewatching season two and I’m exasperated at the idea that a motivated, smart person like Beadie ended up hooking up with shitbird McNulty

― mh, Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:00 (seven years ago)

agree

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:07 (seven years ago)

honestly even watching S1 it’s like HOW is he getting any play at all

all vaginas should be permanently closed for any and all McNulty business imo

David Simon & his dumb wish-fulfillment

SLOPPY DRUNK FUCKUPS ARE A NO BONE-ZONE

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:10 (seven years ago)

nah bad boys are way fuckable

― chilis=lyrics...hypocrits (sic), Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:13 (seven years ago)

he is not a bad boy

he is a tool

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:15 (seven years ago)

he is absolutely a tool but

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:23 (seven years ago)

ok maybe i’m being too obstinate

he is v handsome.

ugh he’s just such a terrible human it pains me

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:25 (seven years ago)

it’s hard

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:27 (seven years ago)

personally i would prob fuck mcnutty and regret it

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:28 (seven years ago)

oh yeah, he has charisma and is an intriguing dumbass

the final season of him being completely jaded and off the wagon was a good denouement

― mh, Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:34 (seven years ago)

he’s the kind of intriguing but terminally cursed guy that acquaintances would reminisce together and laugh about dating

― mh, Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:36 (seven years ago)

mcnutty, to me, is forever the squirrel who would perch outside my window in the apartment I had when I first watched the wire

he was also a sassy misguided fool

― mh, Saturday, 5 May 2018 02:42 (seven years ago)

THE WIRE (2002 - 2008) pic.twitter.com/6g6FQYj3md
— popular comedy account “the pixelated boat” (@pixelatedboat) August 11, 2017

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 5 May 2018 04:43 (seven years ago)

If you think he's a tool in this, you should see him in The Affair

― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 5 May 2018 09:00 (seven years ago)

i would prob fuck a lot of ppl on the wire and regret it but mcnulty is DEF not one of them

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 6 May 2018 17:27 (seven years ago)

herc, carver, clay davis, frank sobotka, cutty/dennis, hell maybe even rawls if i was really drunk and he was kinda bossy but mcnulty turns me off in every way possible

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 6 May 2018 17:33 (seven years ago)

is their wire slash? there must be. mcnulty/stringer handcuff scenarios would practically write themselves.

― scott seward, Sunday, 6 May 2018 17:37 (seven years ago)

rawls in the gay bar was so brilliant. it's like 5 seconds long!

― scott seward, Sunday, 6 May 2018 17:41 (seven years ago)

You need to keep your eyes open w/Rawls is all I'm gonna say.
― omar little, Sunday, March 25, 2018 11:26 AM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Ha, yeah, was just about to say: Stevie, you have a jaw-droppingly fantastic, blink and you miss it Rawls moment coming up 'round the corner.
― Toilet Paper Tube Bracelets -- Super Hero Themed? (Old Lunch), Sunday, March 25, 2018 12:26 PM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wait i finished S2 and still don't know what this is abt, can someone tell me?

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 6 May 2018 18:00 (seven years ago)

It's towards the end of Season 3 - you won't miss it, I'd say.

― Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 6 May 2018 18:02 (seven years ago)

It's in a social situation. Watch closely.

― The Harsh Tutelage of Michael McDonald (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 6 May 2018 18:11 (seven years ago)

people in the smart phone era miss a LOT when watching t.v. and movies. that's all i'll say. drives me up a wall at home.

― scott seward, Sunday, 6 May 2018 19:10 (seven years ago)

^^^ hands down #1 source of agonizing oh god i am my dad feelings

― difficult listening hour, Sunday, 6 May 2018 19:10 (seven years ago)

yeah i dont know of any model-looking 8% body fat aggressive go-getter zingy dudes who are successful with the opposite sex nope sirree bob those guys strike out every time

― .b derf (darraghmac), Sunday, 6 May 2018 22:40 (seven years ago)

tho vg is correct in that there should be a season or two of everyones actual comportment in viewable rentable format before you have to decide whether or not to bone them

― .b derf (darraghmac), Sunday, 6 May 2018 22:41 (seven years ago)

mcnulty is totally hot to me in a caveman way but i'm not a woman. when he's really really drunk though i don't have any idea why anyone would go near him and women totally do in the show and they never seem anywhere near as drunk as him.

― scott seward, Sunday, 6 May 2018 23:20 (seven years ago)

clay davis

sheeeeit

― mh, Sunday, 6 May 2018 23:21 (seven years ago)

i totally had a crush on mcnulty's ex-wife on the wire and when watching i completely forgot that she had been on homicide and that i had a crush on her back then too. my love is true.

i haven't watched homicide since it was on. i never missed an episode.

― scott seward, Sunday, 6 May 2018 23:24 (seven years ago)

she looks a bit like annabella sciorra imo
i like her

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 6 May 2018 23:59 (seven years ago)

Just finished S3 and daaaaaamn R.I.P. Hampsterdam

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, 7 May 2018 01:45 (seven years ago)

"she looks a bit like annabella sciorra imo"

the love of my life, so, it makes sense...

wait, don't tell my wife i said that. wait, she is well aware of all my fictional crushes.

there aren't that many really. annabella. rosario. you know, the usual.

― scott seward, Monday, 7 May 2018 01:58 (seven years ago)

i'm like 1/4 of the way thru season 4

lol @ the students calling Prez "Prezbo"
i LOVE Snoop
Marlo isn't doing anything crazy yet but tensions are mounting and its making me nervous
still hate Landsman

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 13 May 2018 00:54 (seven years ago)

Season 4 is a heartbreaker, for reasons you can probably sense.

― The Harsh Tutelage of Michael McDonald (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 13 May 2018 01:10 (seven years ago)

season four will turn your face into a heart
(and stomp on it)

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 13 May 2018 01:11 (seven years ago)

yeah the second Marlo started handing out hundreds of dollars to dumb kid I was like "NOT GOOD NOT GOOD RED FLAG THIS WILL NOT END WELL"

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 13 May 2018 01:19 (seven years ago)

And then Season 5 is like Johnny Rotten sneering "did you ever have the feeling...you'd been cheated?" or whatever he said

― The Harsh Tutelage of Michael McDonald (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 13 May 2018 01:43 (seven years ago)

no one tell me anything about season 5!!!!

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 13 May 2018 02:06 (seven years ago)

you wouldn't believe us if we did

― j., Sunday, 13 May 2018 02:35 (seven years ago)

Season 4 is my fav theme song so far, followed by 1, 3, and 2 very far in the distance

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 13 May 2018 03:23 (seven years ago)

respect

I like the original Tom Waits original but understand people not appreciating him because he’s way into his shtick

season four’s version is unjustly maligned but really fits the direction in an honest way

― mh, Sunday, 13 May 2018 03:49 (seven years ago)

it’s maligned???

also yeah as someone who’s never listened to Tom Waits it sounds like a really absurd parody of what I imagine Tom Waits to be like

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 13 May 2018 14:38 (seven years ago)

it makes more sense in the context of frank's wild years

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Sunday, 13 May 2018 14:41 (seven years ago)

i got so good at skipping ahead to the weekly quote. the waits thing was unbearable to me.

― scott seward, Sunday, 13 May 2018 15:11 (seven years ago)

The Neville Brothers version (s3) is by far the best. I love the JESUS!!! and the trashy sounding cowbell.

― El Tomboto, Sunday, 13 May 2018 16:32 (seven years ago)

otm

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Sunday, 13 May 2018 20:30 (seven years ago)

never noticed how egregiously performative Clay Davis is during his court testimonial in the last season, which is the same as his dialogue in every other season

his intonation and accent are nothing like his actual base, he has some wild speechifying thing that isn't just grandiose, it sounds like he's doing some arch-black leader thing the whole time. jeeeeeezuuuuus

― (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ (mh), Thursday, 17 May 2018 02:15 (seven years ago)

There's a lot of shitty acting through the whole thing tbh

― albvivertine, Thursday, 17 May 2018 03:45 (seven years ago)

I don't think I could really rate it much above LOST, and that isn't a compliment, much as I love LOST

― albvivertine, Thursday, 17 May 2018 03:47 (seven years ago)

hmm mh could be describing johnny cochran

― salt sugar fat, that's where it's at (rip van wanko), Thursday, 17 May 2018 03:47 (seven years ago)

I don't think it was shitty acting, I think his character was doing the state rep does black savior voice plus sheeeeeiiit

― (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ (mh), Thursday, 17 May 2018 03:48 (seven years ago)

I have no judgment re: cochran but I'm definitely not able to make that judgment

― (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ (mh), Thursday, 17 May 2018 03:49 (seven years ago)

Tbh his sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiit was a highlight of any episode he was in

― albvivertine, Thursday, 17 May 2018 03:50 (seven years ago)

I think they call it pandering (random xposts)

sheeeiiiit isn't pandering, just amazing and his shtick

― (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ (mh), Thursday, 17 May 2018 03:51 (seven years ago)

iirc he deliberately switches to his performative mode bcz he knows he's fucked legally? it's a last-ditch effort to pull his usual media / "lower orders" bullshit, mainly in case it makes him look good to ppl he'll have to fool in order to make a comeback after jail, but it ends up playing in the room too? I only watched it once, ten years ago, tho

― chilis=lyrics...hypocrits (sic), Thursday, 17 May 2018 12:04 (seven years ago)

there are very few instances in the series where he actually speaks to the public as opposed to a couple guys in a meeting

― (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ (mh), Thursday, 17 May 2018 13:56 (seven years ago)

ok I finished season 4, it was great I loved the idea of showing this transition from childhood to adulthood

I'm 6 episodes into season 5 and it is preposterous and sloppily written and unpleasant to watch. It's embarrassing that the writers thought Freamon or McNulty behaving like this would be remotely believable. Like, McNulty is dumb and flawed but he is not this naive.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:16 (seven years ago)

also every time Clay Davis says "sheeeeeit" it's so exaggeratedly drawn out that it feels like a weird Tim & Eric bit and very unreal

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:17 (seven years ago)

I felt that way at the time of its release but in hindsight I've come around to thinking both that the scenario is preposterous and that McNulty actually is that dumb and flawed and naïve. His Achilles heel is being skilled and competent but thinking he's actually a genius and subsequently stretching way past the limits of his skill and competence. He basically just goes full Raskolnikov in season 5.

― I really like the acting, dialogue and especially the scenes (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:22 (seven years ago)

xpost, obv

― I really like the acting, dialogue and especially the scenes (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:22 (seven years ago)

and the plotline does at least result in one all-time funny scene

― Number None, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:47 (seven years ago)

Not sure if it's the one you're referring to, but the moment when McNulty and the reporter sniff each other out is all-time.

― I really like the acting, dialogue and especially the scenes (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:52 (seven years ago)

The point of season 5 is to draw out the preposterousness of the systems and their perverse incentives (once again), it fits in with the rest of the series just fine. There is the issue of having to invent new stakes since by this point they’ve done so much damage to the cast your average viewer is a bit numb, IMO.

TBF (and I’m going to probably get blown up for this) I suspect there’s a mildly patronizing aspect to how audiences come down on Seasons 2 and 5 but not on the others, because poor black people in Baltimore have few options and therefore their shitty decisions are just sad, but white and middle-class black Baltimoreans with access to straight jobs ought to know better than to lie, cheat and steal, and so we treat their OTT corruption with less suspension of disbelief. Not a judgement of the characters or their real life analogues, duh; just in how we watch the show.

It’s all coming out of the same writers’ room based on their experiences (plus a lot of what-iffing and using local urban legends as fuel).

― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:53 (seven years ago)

Nah he means the scene in which the psychological profiler comes up with a profile for the "killer" that basically describes McNulty to a tee.

― the word dog doesn't bark (anagram), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:55 (seven years ago)

Oh yes, also all-time. One of West's best performances on the series.

― I really like the acting, dialogue and especially the scenes (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:56 (seven years ago)

Season 2 is fine! I get why ppl hate it bcz it's more of a departure from the primary narrative than any of the other seasons, but it's still great television

it's not that i'm aghast that the cops are lying, cheating, and stealing -- this has been established throughout the whole show -- but mutilating corpses in order to get more funding when there IS. NO. MORE. FUNDING. is such a massive risk for such an unlikely payoff, like no one in their right mind would do something this fucking stupid? McNulty maaaaaaaaaybe but Freamon? oh come on fuck no

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 14:56 (seven years ago)

it is preposterous and sloppily written and unpleasant to watch.

It really does feel like everyone behind the scenes got fired and replaced by scabs. Wire season 5 = Simpsons season 50 or whatever.

― pplains, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 17:47 (seven years ago)

TBF (and I’m going to probably get blown up for this) I suspect there’s a mildly patronizing aspect to how audiences come down on Seasons 2 and 5 but not on the others, because poor black people in Baltimore have few options and therefore their shitty decisions are just sad, but white and middle-class black Baltimoreans with access to straight jobs ought to know better than to lie, cheat and steal, and so we treat their OTT corruption with less suspension of disbelief. Not a judgement of the characters or their real life analogues, duh; just in how we watch the show.

interesting analysis, I think I like it for season 2 but season 5 has so many other issues making it hard to disentangle

― k3vin k., Tuesday, 29 May 2018 19:32 (seven years ago)

Season 2 is always going to suffer on the first view because it's not the same story and not the same people (or it takes long enough to return to being the same people) - I think there's a lot of people on this thread saying they appreciated it more on a second viewing.

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 20:04 (seven years ago)

Huh? The Barksdale crew is there (getting its NPR on) from the first episode! (Or do you mean it takes a while for Major Crimes to get together again?)

― Young Lunchy (Leee), Tuesday, 29 May 2018 20:15 (seven years ago)

That and also the focus is more on the new people (because they're new, even if they're not getting more screen time than the old).

― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 20:36 (seven years ago)

It takes longer for the Major Crimes unit to get together in season 2 than in season 1, which is kinda perverse. But also necessary, as I think I've said a couple times at this point.

I think David Simon said that he didn't anticipate people thinking the serial killer storyline in season 5 was unrealistic because they managed to do the whole Hamsterdam thing in season 3 which is so much more absurd, and which people seemed to buy. The whole series is about people trying to go outside of the rules of the systems, and the systems grinding them down; season 1 begins with McNulty breaking chain of command to get at Barksdale. So in that way it fits, with the desperation of it making it more suited for a last season. But I suspect the problem is it gets tangled up into the character arcs of McNulty and Freamon, where it doesn't fit as well. I buy McNulty being so stupid, but probably not Freamon.

― Frederik B, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 21:34 (seven years ago)

there have been crazier municipal experiments than Hampsterdam

― rip van wanko, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 22:08 (seven years ago)

Freamon is leading the MCU towards getting Marlo’s organization when the cuts come down, breaking up his team. I think it makes sense for him to see the opportunity in McNulty’s ruse. This is a guy who started dating his stripper informant in S1.

― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 23:12 (seven years ago)

Hampsterdamn has plausible logic and is a good idea
Serial killer has implausible logic and is a bad idea

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 11:54 (seven years ago)

Also we are given information about Colvin that make this decision believable: he’s incredibly smart, he’s close to retirement and gives no fucks, he’s basically being forced to make the impossible happen as a last-ditch effort by Rawls.

McNulty, on the other hand, sure he’s a stubborn dumb drunk but there is so much risk with the serial killer thing, with so much at stake, and the goal just seems unlikely to happen no matter what that it feels very much not worth any of this, and it’s still hard to imagine him being THIS stupid

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 11:59 (seven years ago)

Y’all this is exactly the kind of half-baked plot that Ziggy would have hatched, like this is actually Ziggy-level dumb

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 11:59 (seven years ago)

No way does Hamsterdam has plausible logic. And Colvin not realizing this could hurt his subordinates makes no sense, and only gets a pass because we really don't know the guy at that point, so he might just be callous.

― Frederik B, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 12:39 (seven years ago)

So Colvin is smart and fed up, so it’s plausible for him to do something that will obviously end in tears and recriminations. But McNulty is stupid/crazy and fed up, so it is ridiculous to accept that he would do something that will obviously end in tears and recriminations.

― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 13:05 (seven years ago)

I think you nailed it right above, though, where you indicated your opinion that Hamsterdam is a good idea and the fake serial killer is a bad idea

― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 13:08 (seven years ago)

Yes, tbf I don't think the show ever presents McNulty's idea as anything but a bad idea.

― I really like the acting, dialogue and especially the scenes (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 30 May 2018 13:39 (seven years ago)

waaaaaahhhh I just finished the season waaaahhhhh

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Friday, 1 June 2018 13:28 (seven years ago)

I have to say, I savored the unraveling of serialkillergate more than I thought I would, almost to the point where it made Season 5 kinda-worth-it

FUCK Dukie becoming a user tho, god that was so fucking tragic

also Prezbo with a beard stunned me w his hotness and I was not expecting that and I have no idea how he got SO much hotter w a beard

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Friday, 1 June 2018 13:29 (seven years ago)

I still to this day can't deal with Dukie. That knocked the wind out of me. It's just too damn real.

― On the Wingers of Love: The Kip & Debra Story (Old Lunch), Friday, 1 June 2018 13:33 (seven years ago)

Same. I try to take comfort in the likelihood that, after trying to fend off a bully fiend leads to the accidental and tragic death of a protege, he'll eventually get clean a few decades later.

― Bye Feleeecia (Leee), Friday, 1 June 2018 17:25 (seven years ago)

it was maybe a little too neat that the two friends step into the shoes of omar and bubbles but it was definitely sad and obviously happens all the time in the real world. maybe not everyone hooks up with a horsecart junkman junkie though.

― scott seward, Friday, 1 June 2018 17:51 (seven years ago)

eight months pass...

@sleeve -- it's kind of a grind! The concept is great, the construction of season arcs is great, but some of the acting is really bad. There are a lot of people sitting around conference tables talking exposition at each other. The dock patrol cop in S2 existed to constantly have info conveniently dumped on her. And apparently cars full of cops aiming long camera lenses and binoculars at people is something that is invisible to drug dealers even when they're sitting on the street in broad daylight.

BUT! Some of the characters are interesting and the mise en scene and milieu are terrific. I'll make it through to the end. I'm midway through S3. I'm invested in seeing someone hand Major Rawls his ass.

― ILX Moderator: It's Like a Pressure Wash for Your Insides (WmC), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 00:30 (six years ago)

lmao no comment on that last point

― omar little, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 00:32 (six years ago)

lol

― calumy (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 00:55 (six years ago)

― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 01:00 (six years ago)

"Tell me - where do you not want to end up?"

― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 02:20 (six years ago)

awww im disappointed whenever anyone doesnt love it unconditionally

― ɪmˈpəʊzɪŋ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 09:36 (six years ago)

It's not easy to do!

It's got a lot of heart and soul, and when the acting is on, it is on.

But man, there also too many dead ducks throughout the series as well.

― pplains, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 15:05 (six years ago)

WmC those are fair points but you gotta get through S4 at least - you're def gonna be rolling yr eyes some on S5

― sleeve, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 15:08 (six years ago)

there is def something kinda bootstrappy and unpolished about The Wire but it's part of the charm

― calumy (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 15:14 (six years ago)

Wendell Pierce is doing Death of a Salesman in London this spring, btw:

https://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/death-of-a-salesman

― ... (Eazy), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:18 (six years ago)

i think ppl compare The Wire to the well-oiled genre machines that comprise a lot of current water cooler type shows and it's more of a ramshackle beast than those tend to be.

― omar little, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:21 (six years ago)

? it's a cop show

― legislative fanboy halfwit (Οὖτις), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:22 (six years ago)

but it's not a procedural

― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:26 (six years ago)

it is more sprawling than that yeah

― legislative fanboy halfwit (Οὖτις), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:27 (six years ago)

Dickensian, if you will

― Number None, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:35 (six years ago)

it's interesting to think of it in comparison to non-American shows that have similar premises and construction -- I'm thinking "Spiral" from France, and "Powder" from India

― sarahell, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:45 (six years ago)

there was also this British show that ran only a couple series in the late 90s "Supply and Demand" that is kinda a proto-Wire and has Eamonn Walker in it, who played Kareem Said in Oz, which was also a proto-Wire show

― sarahell, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:48 (six years ago)

It doesn’t get lumped together with its mosaic contemporaries like Traffic and Babel, though it shares an ambition.

― ... (Eazy), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:50 (six years ago)

I finished watching Oz fairly recently, which is itself something of a proto-Wire and features a number of the same actors. I might have to check out Supply and Demand

― Neil S, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 17:55 (six years ago)

BOSCH has some faint Wire echoes but that's really only because the cast has included Lance Reddick, Jamie Hector, and James Ransone, plus the politics of Reddick's character moving up the LAPD command chain are somewhat Ced Daniels-ish.

― omar little, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:00 (six years ago)

Wondering if, in 3 years time,, The Wire will get the same 20-year fanfare currently being enjoyed by The Sopranos. Hope so!

― henry s, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:00 (six years ago)

I'm rewatching the Sopranos at the moment, Michael K Williams turns up as the guy who shelters Jackie Aprille Jr towards the end of S3

― Neil S, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:03 (six years ago)

im still on season 4 first time round i like to take this stuff at my own pace

― ɪmˈpəʊzɪŋ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:05 (six years ago)

Sopranos? It's worth taking your time over!

― Neil S, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:06 (six years ago)

xxp - re Bosch -- that character is way more sympathetic as played by Reddick than in the books, where the character is white.

― sarahell, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:06 (six years ago)

like, they kinda grafted some Cedric Daniels onto the book character

― sarahell, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:07 (six years ago)

xps nah the wire

― ɪmˈpəʊzɪŋ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:09 (six years ago)

also worth savouring

― Neil S, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:13 (six years ago)

yep

― ɪmˈpəʊzɪŋ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:19 (six years ago)

JD Williams had a bit part in The Sopranos, part of a crew (hired by Christopher) robbing one of Corrado's trucks in the first season. Also, Michael B. Jordan had a blink-or-miss-it turn as one of a group of kids tormenting a young Tony in a flashback sequence.

― henry s, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:21 (six years ago)

lady gaga was a friend of meadows iirc or is that a well-worn fact at this stage

― ɪmˈpəʊzɪŋ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:22 (six years ago)

lady gaga wasn't in the wire

― sarahell, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:23 (six years ago)

also a well known fact

― ɪmˈpəʊzɪŋ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:24 (six years ago)

her environmental activism is well known, yes

― calumy (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:24 (six years ago)

Gaga had a bit as an extra/friend of AJ's

― legislative fanboy halfwit (Οὖτις), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 18:24 (six years ago)

Wondering if, in 3 years time,, The Wire will get the same 20-year fanfare currently being enjoyed by The Sopranos. Hope so!

― henry s, Wednesday, February 6, 2019 1:00 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it will not

― Rhine Jive Click Bait (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 20:31 (six years ago)

wondering if there would be so much fanfare without the passing of Gandolfini

― (•̪●) (carne asada), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 20:38 (six years ago)

There would not - but that is not why it will not.

― Andrew Farrell, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 20:47 (six years ago)

It didn't have the same fanfare of the Sopranos 18 years ago!

― pplains, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:01 (six years ago)

I think it most definitely will? Sopranos, Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, those are kinda the big four.

― Frederik B, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:02 (six years ago)

it absolutely will

― Number None, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:03 (six years ago)

yeah, the wire was nowhere as feted as the sopranos at the time.

― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:06 (six years ago)

I mean it's the most thinkpiece-friendly show ever made

there will be multiple articles about the cultural impact of weebey.gif alone

― Number None, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:07 (six years ago)

I feel like, if anything, the fact that it was less feted than The Sopranos initially was a contributing factor to its subsequent canonisation. For much of its run, it was the "best show you're not watching". By the last season it was "the greatest show ever made, and you never watched it, idiot"

It then really blew up in the box-set era, while still retaining a sort of cultish appeal. Kind of a shorthand for the in-the-know TV viewer: "Oh, you still haven't seen The Wire?"

Now it's firmly established as one of the cornerstones of the golden age of TV, and it's also just an extremely popular TV show that millions of people have watched, loved, and memed

It will be feted

― Number None, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:40 (six years ago)

otm

― legislative fanboy halfwit (Οὖτις), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:42 (six years ago)

also Sopranos is better :)

― legislative fanboy halfwit (Οὖτις), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:43 (six years ago)

yeah and i think will be boosted by having that little bit more cachet for the ppl who tend to write these pieces wanting to be seen to have been itk at the time

― ɪmˈpəʊzɪŋ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:44 (six years ago)

It was pretty much rolling daily coverage in The Guardian when it aired on the BBC for the first time

and that was a year after the final season

― Number None, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:50 (six years ago)

The fact that it's appeal had a slower burn would seem to make a big-deal anniversary less, and not more, likely

Anyway there is really no comparison btw the cultural impacts of these shows

― Rhine Jive Click Bait (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:54 (six years ago)

its!

― Rhine Jive Click Bait (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, 6 February 2019 21:54 (six years ago)

Just finished S4 last night (last 9 episodes over 2 evenings) and damn, this is where it finally kicked into gear for me. Dukie, Randy, Namond and Michael are the heart of everything the show's trying to get at.

― ILX Moderator: It's Like a Pressure Wash for Your Insides (WmC), Wednesday, 13 February 2019 16:58 (six years ago)

so good & so ;_;

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 13 February 2019 18:17 (six years ago)

All 60 episodes of #TheWire, ranked from worst to best https://t.co/nZVxtO7xFa
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) February 23, 2019

This is ... not ... how you're supposed to watch this show?

― ebro the letter (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, 23 February 2019 18:42 (six years ago)

All the pieces matter (but some matter more than others)

― Number None, Saturday, 23 February 2019 18:47 (six years ago)

This just...yeah. I can understand better when people do this with songs.

― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 23 February 2019 18:51 (six years ago)

I finished S5 Thursday night btw. Good-to-great show despite some big surface-level flaws.

― ILX Moderator: It's Like a Pressure Wash for Your Insides (WmC), Saturday, 23 February 2019 18:52 (six years ago)

rankers gonna rank

― A funny tinge happened on the way to the forum (wins), Saturday, 23 February 2019 18:54 (six years ago)

I will say this about the article - the author chose the right #1.

"US."

― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 23 February 2019 18:55 (six years ago)

WmC, what did you think of S5 in comparison to the rest?

― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 23 February 2019 18:56 (six years ago)

besides being a very dumb premise, the rankings themselves are insane

― Jeff Bathos (symsymsym), Saturday, 23 February 2019 19:07 (six years ago)

all the chapters of 'great expectations', ranked from worst to best

― j., Saturday, 23 February 2019 19:11 (six years ago)

xp to Raymond
SPOILERS, assuming Dmac hasn't finished it yet --
.
.
.
.
.
I think it was roughly on par with S1 & 2 in quality. I liked the series-long notion of seeing the core story through a different lens, and I liked the S5 lens of the Sun newsroom since I have a rough familiarity with daily newspapers via my wife's old career. Sydnor figuring out the picture code was just too big a deus ex machina for me and I think Simon et al knew it because they spent as little time on it as possible, but ok whatever. Omar's death shocked the hell out of me -- I thought he'd make it through. McNulty's and Templeton's parallel deceptions were a clever construction. Michael's fate as the new Omar bringing harsh moral judgment to The Game is the most satisfying story arc in the series, imo. The least satisfying was McNulty, who too-conveniently careened from hero to heel as needed over the seasons. Namond's rise and Duquan's fall were clever story constructions -- every time I try to talk myself into thinking they ring false, I think a little harder and feel the pathos.

― ILX Moderator: It's Like a Pressure Wash for Your Insides (WmC), Saturday, 23 February 2019 19:17 (six years ago)

tyvm for the thought!

― cristiano ornaldo (darraghmac), Saturday, 23 February 2019 19:20 (six years ago)

I won't disagree that S5 was the weakest by far, but at that point I was so wed to the show that I didn't really care/notice

― calumy (rip van wanko), Saturday, 23 February 2019 20:20 (six years ago)

I can’t hear season five over all the axe grinding

― YouTube_-_funy_cats.flv (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Sunday, 24 February 2019 05:53 (six years ago)

one year passes...

does Seattle have a Hampsterdam now? Like, anything goes?

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Saturday, 13 June 2020 02:24 (five years ago)

I feel a bit guilty for liking this show now w/all the Abolish the Police stuff

― sarahell, Saturday, 13 June 2020 15:24 (five years ago)

this show is frustrating because it’s almost excellent. it’s telling there seems to be almost no serious working class resistance, while maverick cops and professional types are shown bravely struggling against the constraints of the system. performances are so good they almost make up for the moments it becomes painfully obvious the show was written by middle class white dudes

mcnulty is the worst part of the show, such a tedious character/archetype (deconstruction or not), who the writers are clearly in love with

― 1312 (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 15:54 (five years ago)

mfer went to eton https://t.co/FYMmWUiSfF
— Professor Sir Bane QC KCB MP (@BaneNook) June 12, 2020

speaking of which, he's a lousy actor as well who lives in a castle somewhere!

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 15:58 (five years ago)

does the castle affect his acting ability?

― sarahell, Saturday, 13 June 2020 15:58 (five years ago)

yes it does, being such a privileged spoilt rich brat definitely impacts on his already negligible acting skills

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:02 (five years ago)

it just got hot in here!

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:09 (five years ago)

did he go to school w dave or did I imagine that

― 1312 (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:15 (five years ago)

I remember reading he was friends with the pigs-head fucker

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:18 (five years ago)

oh that dave -- was confused that you meant Dave simon

― sarahell, Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:19 (five years ago)

yep, he was at Eton with him. And he complains that being an Eton alumni is worse than being branded a paedophile.. boo hoo hoo!

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:21 (five years ago)

pretty sure being branded a pedophile is worse ... even Epstein couldn't survive that

― sarahell, Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:24 (five years ago)

we have a history of being much more tolerant towards rich paedophiles in the UK - so I don't know what he's complaining about!

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:27 (five years ago)

The Wire to me was always the epitome of intelligent liberals having the tools to accurately diagnose social ills but having nothing of note to say about potential solutions or alternate arrangements

I sometimes think The Shield will age better, warts and all, because it at least portrays bone deep police corruption a la Rampart and has so little love for most of its characters; even the "better" cops and detectives are deeply flawed at best

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:51 (five years ago)

The Wire to me was always the epitome of intelligent liberals having the tools to accurately diagnose social ills but having nothing of note to say about potential solutions or alternate arrangements

so basically like real life

― A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Chooglin (will), Saturday, 13 June 2020 16:59 (five years ago)

bbbut hampsterdam

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Saturday, 13 June 2020 17:01 (five years ago)

what can we learn from this fictional experiment in abolition of police

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Saturday, 13 June 2020 17:04 (five years ago)

the usual: better things aren't possible

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Saturday, 13 June 2020 17:12 (five years ago)

How can anyone watch “The Wire” and the dysfunction of the police & the war on drugs and say that we were depicted as heroic. We demonstrated moral ambiguities and the pathology that leads to the abuses. Maybe you were reacting to how good people can be corrupted to do bad things https://t.co/a69iSa66W4
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) June 7, 2020

― closed beta (NotEnough), Saturday, 13 June 2020 17:21 (five years ago)

There seems to be two types of cops in the Wire - the type who regularly dish out beatings (prez, herc etc), or the type that cover for them (everyone from Daniels upwards). Which sure, makes all of them villains, but all the characters are so lovable and quotable that police brutality just becomes background noise that the show, and therefor me as viewer, kinda ignores. It seems like the show's POV is that sure, it happens, it's a shame, but what you gonna do? It's America.

― closed beta (NotEnough), Saturday, 13 June 2020 17:33 (five years ago)

I don't remember Prez having much to do with that - Herc is the show's main Bad Apple. And I also don't remember it happening that much - the beatdown given to Kima's shooter (Wee-Bey) is presented as outside of the ordinary run of things.

― Andrew Farrell, Saturday, 13 June 2020 17:56 (five years ago)

my mom uses the word "burner" now

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:08 (five years ago)

Prez reforms and then abolishes the police once he experiences police brutality.

― an, uh, razor of love (sic), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:08 (five years ago)

no bricks needed

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:12 (five years ago)

Kima is the ultimate good cop in S1 and joins in on beating up the kid with like five other cops when they first hit the projects.

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:12 (five years ago)

In defense of one of the two absolute shit cops they hated.

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:13 (five years ago)

Prez partially blinds a child. Later he shoots a fellow cop quite possibly because he's black.

The Shield does do a good job communicating what ulysses said on another thread: the police are indistinguishable from a gang. But it's also sensationalist trash (not nec a criticism)

I've never rewatched it, but iirc the cops in Treme are depicted far more negatively

― dip to dup (rob), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:16 (five years ago)

Doesn't Kima join in beating up a handcuffed suspect in the box in like Episode 1?

― Lily Dale, Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:18 (five years ago)

That's Bird in the interrogation room midway through S1

Bubbles is beaten for no reason by a cop after Kima gets shot

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:28 (five years ago)

I've always thought Simon and co. put it in intentionally, but they didn't really hammer it home to complicate viewers' feelings for characters (as evidenced by people not noticing the constant brutality).

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:30 (five years ago)

Trevor Noah did a bit about cop shows the other day where he pointed out that even when the show is honest about how police actually operate, you still end up rooting for them on some level because the show presents them as Just Trying to Do Their Job.

― Lily Dale, Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:41 (five years ago)

#teamshitbird

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:47 (five years ago)

"better things aren't possible" could be the message of this show, or generously "modest reforms on an institutional level are sometimes possible for a time through the efforts of dedicated but unorthodox high ranking public servants". no wonder obama loved it so much

since we seem to have reached a place where opinions other than total adulation can be expressed without being shouted down, this piece was a pretty damning account of one of the show's biggest failings: "In The Wire, it is boys who are at stake. Women and girls are bit parts in a compelling drama played out by men"
https://www.popmatters.com/women-and-the-wire-2496134929.html
(the assumption that the show's racial politics is obviously unproblematic, or largely separate from its gender politics, is unfortunate- its portrayal/non-portrayal of black women and girls is particularly horrible)

I seem to remember this and similar arguments receiving a pretty vicious response at the time, I assume partly because of their undeniability. the usual line that it's just depicting a patriarchal world is bullshit when it uncritically regurgitates assumptions and stereotypes from that world, like whose working and personal lives are interesting and complex, and who is just a bitch/punchline/plot device

Worrying about how sympathetic and/or complexly portrayed every single character is and whether or not that has something to do with the gender, race or cultural background of that character is a pretty terrible way to watch television, imo.

this seemed to be the general attitude when this came up at the time. shut up and consume this flawless cultural product which indicts the society we live in so brilliantly. the thinking man's south park fandom

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 18:57 (five years ago)

Bubbles is beaten for no reason by a cop after Kima gets shot

Man, a sentence is a long time for you, isn't it?

― Andrew Farrell, Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:01 (five years ago)

that THR conversation-article is better than some other recent ones but it's still pretty thoughtless.

they go the entire time musing about what to make of 'how' certain characters and their actions are 'shown' without giving any thought at all to what it means that they would have to say the same things about characters who haven't been pre-selected by the 'police are glorified on tv mmkay' line that their reactive bending to the topic of the moment has led them to adopt.

for instance, you are certainly led by the way the show is made to feel sympathy for bodie when he's killed, but then you were feeling more sympathy for his victim wallace three seasons earlier.

pretty much the entire barksdale crew plotline poses the same problem. a lot of them, you cheer when certain things go well for them, sign when not, and you don't assign some of their morally worst actions their true weight because it's happening within a fiction and there are internal reasons for everything being the way it is and the way the fiction invokes and transforms your sympathies is not ever a straightforward reflection of the way you'd react about 'the' real world the fiction supposedly 'represents' in a way that can just be read off the screen.

(a big function of the stansfield crew plotline is to make that more evident. and the parallelisms that are set up by having the kids slide into social positions occupied by the older characters, having the co-op leadership change, etc.)

― j., Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:03 (five years ago)

Man, a sentence is a long time for you, isn't it?

God only knows what this is supposed to mean. You quoted my reference to Bubbles... who no one else has referenced.

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:06 (five years ago)

But given your desire to insert yourself: "the beatdown given to Kima's shooter (Wee-Bey) is presented as outside of the ordinary run of things" is 100% incorrect. Brutality and beatings are a constant presence across the show - from the 'good' protagonist cops to the meatheads on the street level.

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:09 (five years ago)

"I demonstrated moral ambiguities and the pathology that leads to abuses" - wendell pierce, after assaulting a woman in public for supporting bernie. nice guy who definitely has cool opinions worth listening to

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:11 (five years ago)

so you're going to be that kind of troll

― j., Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:13 (five years ago)

That's Bird in the interrogation room midway through S1

This came up on David Simon's Twitter the other day. I don't know how to embed a Twitter thread, but here's the exchange:

Simon: Even among the hardest street police I knew, the ones who tell you privately that if you fight a cop, or run from a cop or cuss a cop, they’ll get licks in — it’s over when a man is in handcuffs. The cops who killed George Floyd are cowards.

A commenter asks: In the S1 scene where Kima, Landsman, and Daniels work over Bird in the interrogation room, the last shot we see of Bird he’s cuffed to the table. Did they uncuff him? Because it wasn’t explicitly shown. Not trying to play ‘Gotcha’, just genuinely curious.

Simon: My assumption was that his "finally" polite request that they at least uncuff him before they whip his ass was honored. I think Kima would do that.

This strikes me as some serious J.K. Rowling shit. At that point in the show you don't know that much about Kima or any of the cops except McNulty, but I thought part of the show's point was that it doesn't matter who the cops are as individuals bc they act as a gang. Why is he trying to walk that back, now of all times?

― Lily Dale, Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:17 (five years ago)

the wire is sophisticated copaganda, it was literally co written by a cop. its creator sat at his computer and scolded black people for not protesting police murder with enough civility for his liking. his show is a masterpiece of 00s centre leftism. that's an insult and a compliment. it's a good show compromised by a horrible worldview. he is insufferable as a human being

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:20 (five years ago)

so you're going to be that kind of troll

the kind of troll who thinks we shouldn't take advice from men who assault women? sure

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:23 (five years ago)

sounds like you've got everything sorted!!!! congrats

― j., Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:30 (five years ago)

so now this is a bad show?

― Yanni Xenakis (Hadrian VIII), Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:51 (five years ago)

afraid so, pack it in, lads

― j., Saturday, 13 June 2020 19:55 (five years ago)

I wish someone would tell D Simon to pack it in years ago, notwithstanding how overrated this septic pile of garbage is!

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:06 (five years ago)

"masterpiece of 00s centre leftism" otm

― closed beta (NotEnough), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:13 (five years ago)

I actually quite like the wire lol

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:15 (five years ago)

I just find all tv writing with the *touch* of Simon absolutely unpalatable, and I had burgeoning hatred of The Wire at the the time and had my brother constantly proselytising it to me and that absolute king of wankers Brooker doing it in the Graun every week. Couldn't force myself to watch it these days.

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:18 (five years ago)

The Wire is over, everyone should jump on the Treme bandwagon

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:20 (five years ago)

well if you do like torturing yourself go ahead!

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:21 (five years ago)

the John Goldman character in Treme is like some kind of apotheosis of Simonism

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:22 (five years ago)

what non-Simon shows do you think have that touch?

― dip to dup (rob), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:23 (five years ago)

the Steve Zahn character in Treme is the American Colin Hunt, but played deadly seriously.

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:24 (five years ago)

Treme is the least-cool show ever. The Goodman character, Steve Earle, Steve Zahn, occasional nods to hip things a dad hears about from their kids like Goatwhore.

I respect it.

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:27 (five years ago)

goodman ffs autocorrect

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:27 (five years ago)

No show has been more ‘Steve’ - would you be surprised to find out Goodman’s character name is Steve?

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:28 (five years ago)

How do you feel about Homicide, Life on the Street? I loved it but thought it went downhill when Simon started actually writing for it in Season 5.

― Lily Dale, Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:32 (five years ago)

lol come on that isn't why Homicide starts to suck

― dip to dup (rob), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:33 (five years ago)

Maude: “It’s really smart. It’s about New Orleans and jazz and Hurricane Katrina and drugs and John Goodman.” Todd: “Sounds exciting.” Maude: “It’s not!”

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:35 (five years ago)

Homicide was supposedly radical or whatever for the time but it just seems like a cop show to me

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:36 (five years ago)

It started to suck for other reasons too, but Simon trying to fit the first season of the Wire into Homicide's format and making the whole season about Lewis and Kellerman and Luther Mahoney really didn't help.

― Lily Dale, Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:38 (five years ago)

I always get Homicide mixed up with Hill Street Blues for some reason.

― calzino, Saturday, 13 June 2020 20:43 (five years ago)

God only knows what this is supposed to mean. You quoted my reference to Bubbles... who no one else has referenced.

You said that Bubbles had been beaten up for no reason after Kima was shot - the reason is right there in the sentence, he implicated himself and one of the policemen, on edge after Kima was shot, laid into him. I'm not saying it's a good reason, but it's not for no reason.

But given your desire to insert yourself: "the beatdown given to Kima's shooter (Wee-Bey) is presented as outside of the ordinary run of things" is 100% incorrect.

Fair point - it was Bird, earlier in the season, I must have conflated it with Bubbles.

― Andrew Farrell, Saturday, 13 June 2020 23:45 (five years ago)

Bubbles didn't implicate himself - he called his friend Kima and got beaten for being black in Baltimore.

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Sunday, 14 June 2020 00:02 (five years ago)

wait I thought he just got robbed for his t-shirt money. it's been a minute

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Sunday, 14 June 2020 00:24 (five years ago)

you are getting seasons 1 and 4 confused

― sarahell, Sunday, 14 June 2020 16:33 (five years ago)

a lot of the police brutality is at least shown negatively - the stuff that bugged me was when Herc and Carver would beat on Bodie and it would be portrayed as comedy

― Piven After Midnight (The Yellow Kid), Sunday, 14 June 2020 16:47 (five years ago)

like this scene - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs-gO1ssqzE

― Piven After Midnight (The Yellow Kid), Sunday, 14 June 2020 16:48 (five years ago)

simple human reaction? if you're trying to extract information it's probably best to get real, take the cuffs off, get close, but don't hit or harm

― brian emo (rip van wanko), Sunday, 14 June 2020 19:47 (five years ago)

Prez partially blinds a child. Later he shoots a fellow cop quite possibly because he's black.

The Shield does do a good job communicating what ulysses said on another thread: the police are indistinguishable from a gang. But it's also sensationalist trash (not nec a criticism)

I've never rewatched it, but iirc the cops in Treme are depicted far more negatively

― dip to dup (rob), Saturday, June 13, 2020 2:16 PM bookmarkflaglink

why does a show have to make some kind of an over the top depiction of characters as "evil"? are we doing taht thing where we conflate depiction with endorsement again?

besides, there's no sane person who would read this show as an endorsement of the cops. often the police are seen intentionally neglecting to take action that would better their communities, and few of them are governed by any altruism, usually just advance their own careers. the suits up top are routinely seen gaming the crime statistics and sending people out on the street to arrest people for low-level offenses to make it appear they are actually doing something.

the show makes being a cop look like the worst bureaucracy on the planet, just another political organization that doesn't actually do the thing it's intended to do, suits mostly interested in getting re-elected and rewarding loyalists. they sabotage each other's investigations by sending dead weight from their teams to special projects. Freeman falsifies evidence to get Marlo's warrant, they commit fraud to get a wiretap, everybody covers for each other so people like Presbo don't get terminated or see a cell.

― Dig Dug the police (Neanderthal), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:04 (five years ago)

if the message is "better things aren't possible", it's because Baltimore police is a cesspool of corruption

― Dig Dug the police (Neanderthal), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:10 (five years ago)

At the end of the day the show just likes its cops and their work too much, despite the valid points it scores in other respects

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:12 (five years ago)

don't agree w/ that at all.

― Dig Dug the police (Neanderthal), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:14 (five years ago)

but, I mean, the show is literally about policing in Baltimore, so...it has to be focused on their work. but it shows that their work doesn't bring about any real improvement. they arrest Avon and get the "king" collar, but leave the criminal infrastructure largely undamaged, so that creates a power vacuum that allows Marlo Stanfield to take over, resulting in much more bloodshed, including that of civilians who merely piss Marlo off. they achieve nothing!

― Dig Dug the police (Neanderthal), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:18 (five years ago)

The show drips with personal affection for most of the cops. It is amused by them and frequently admires them as people. If you can't detect well :shrug:

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:20 (five years ago)

yeah i think it's easy for cop show snobs to think they're seeing through something when they identify the cops and their work as the focus or the unduly privileged element. one of the grand yet unexplored themes of most american ('this america, man') tv drama of the few decades preceding the wire was work, and by following a long case built by daniels' squad the wire is only anatomizing long-familiar themes, slowing them down more than would be usual on an episodic, arcless network drama. but all kinds of pre-prestige dramas do turn essentially on work in some way—it's one of the ongoing elements of their narratives that doesn't even have to be written into very discernible dramatic arcs, because it's experienced by the characters and understood by the viewers via the one-week-after-another structure. medical dramas, law dramas, same deal generally. you could say that the show likes its drug dealers and their work too much, but i think it makes more sense to see the depiction of drug dealing as work as something that does everything to reframe the cop-work elements.

― j., Monday, 15 June 2020 01:25 (five years ago)

The show drips with personal affection for most of the cops. It is amused by them and frequently admires them as people. If you can't detect well :shrug:

Apparently you can't tell that it treats the criminal characters - Avon, Stringer, Omar, the gang on the couch, the human traffickers in season 2, etc, etc - with just as much affection and admiration as the police.

― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:26 (five years ago)

I feel like the show pretty specifically plays favorites / has more affection for some of those forms of work vs others

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:26 (five years ago)

yeah unfortunately/fortunately, the 'did he have hands? did he have a face?' guy is funny

― j., Monday, 15 June 2020 01:27 (five years ago)

also "the show has sympathy for cops AND criminals equally!" is....sorta the problem lol

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:28 (five years ago)

xxxxpost so now you're conflating the concept of "good characters" with "good people". even sons of bitches can be entertaining, either in real life, or the small or big screen. you can find something or someone fascinating without lionizing them. so, naw...I reject your thesis.

is this another one of those 21st century woke things where any character that is not portrayed as a mustache-twirling baddie is immediately seen as "liked" by its writers?

― Dig Dug the police (Neanderthal), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:28 (five years ago)

whoa whoa simon walk that back, you can't harp on its treatment of cops and then bat away the fact that everything you were complaining about applies to the criminals too. what's 'the problem' supposed to be then? not dour and documentarian enough?

― j., Monday, 15 June 2020 01:29 (five years ago)

xp yes neanderthal i think that is a big part of it, the zeitgeist viewer frame of mind is only capable of praising unjustly suffering characters with a good conscience, any other character ends up being at fault for having misled naive audiences into having wrong attitudes or for not having done more to change their attitudes

― j., Monday, 15 June 2020 01:31 (five years ago)

there are more ppl than cops and criminals in the show. it may TRY to view cops, criminals, teachers, politicians and the press with a similarly detached / humanistic / journalistic POV but it fails at it. and it's a dumb goal anyway!

it is a v good entertainment but for me its social content only works at the macro level in showing cascading system failure

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:33 (five years ago)

i think its rich to characterize this show as dripping with personal affection for most of the cops. i think the show maybe likes bunny colvin and lester freamon a lot, daniels and kima too. everyone else is at least kind of a piece of shit (plus there's that already-remarked-upon-itt instance of kima participating in police brutality)

i mean i also get it, the show foregrounds them and has a deep respect for detective work in the way it unfolds... but idk even this gets complicated and undone by the later seasons. it's not "better things aren't possible," it's "all these systems that govern our lives are broken." it doesn't offer a solution bc it's documenting something, which imo is still a valuable thing for art to do

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:36 (five years ago)

all that echoing "real PO-lice work" dialogue in the first season can i guess seem pretty pro-cop

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:38 (five years ago)

I dunno I think it works splendidly as an entertainment but fails quite badly as a "document"

Treme kinda reversed this balance for me, varied wildly as an entertainment but was compelling throughout as a text about a time and place

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:38 (five years ago)

i kind of want to finally watch treme lol

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:39 (five years ago)

I guess I've also always preferred my socially conscious entertainment to shun even the slightest appearance of documentary realism

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:40 (five years ago)

brad watch Treme!!!!!

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:40 (five years ago)

i don't think it's right to say it's (merely) documenting either, unless that's understood in a pretty thick way according to some public-minded aim of journalism (which as a fiction this is not, exactly), the community having its workings described to itself, etc.

the principles of selection have to mean a lot, since what stories each season ended up telling is pretty much down to the writers' decisions about what to purport to 'document'. and i gather that the audience responses that those stories solicit indicate something about the ways in which the writers understand themselves not just to be documenting.

― j., Monday, 15 June 2020 01:40 (five years ago)

Starts and ends kinda wonky, but the middle portion is, imo, as good as any section of The Wire xp

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:41 (five years ago)

What does it mean that Bubbles and Dookie are basically the moral center of the show

― ...Like a Soggy Handburger (Old Lunch), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:41 (five years ago)

j. u are of course right

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:43 (five years ago)

i forget, who if any are the cops who die during the run? it seems significant that unlike the criminals and the drug addicts, they are relatively 'safe' throughout.

it seems like the cyclical/'reform' dimensions of the characters' stories over the course of the whole show point the way toward thinking about everyone in kind of a suspended life-to-death, aristotelian/aeschylean (?) 'count no man happy until he is dead' framework. people keep pointing out what a sorry excuse for a human being prez was earlier on, so that they can fault him or the writers for where he seems to end up as an (eventually) effective teacher, but then again he also haplessly gives dukie the money for his (first?) high, so its not like his no longer actively brutalizing citizens is the end of the road for him. (now he can do bad while thinking he's doing something almost-good for the suffering urban youth!) those kinds of reversals in light of consequences and the small, easily lost magnitude of moral progress are all over the place in the show (think of mcnulty with beadie), so that even a feel-good story like bubs' should leave viewers hesitant to feel that he's 'safe'. but the addict characters, like cutty after his release, offer an example of the reasons that we might not want to be too definitive about who is or is not, who has or has not, become 'good' by the last episode.

― j., Monday, 15 June 2020 01:52 (five years ago)

kind of want to finally watch treme lol

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson

You probably shouldn't.

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:54 (five years ago)

if there's a documentarian aspect to the way it depicts / looks at / thinks about / asks us to think about the characters, i think it's not quite that (not as if it comes from a non-fictional camera's 'objectivity' or a director's point of view, effort to gather evidence, confront viewers' beliefs, etc.)—it's more that there's a kind of suspended, sociological immoralism in the way it judges characters, or rather withholds judgment. that could appear affectionate, not jumping right away to fault characters for what they (think they) have to do (to stay alive, to be or become happy or safe, to get right with someone or with themselves). but because of the proximity of addiction i would guess that the show is ambivalent about just how much to forbear that judgment when it's evidently going to come to grief for someone, if not the person being judged.

― j., Monday, 15 June 2020 01:58 (five years ago)

You probably shouldn't.

At least watch the Fats Domino appearance, sheesh.

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:59 (five years ago)

I've read many good posts on this thread today with which I disagree. While I can't summon the show as readily from memory as I could've a decade ago, my sense was of a Baltimore eaten alive by the pathology of a system that kept cops employed, sadistic, obsessed with Kafka-esque stats, and whose personal relationships, whether McNulty and his kids or Daniels and Pearlman got sullied by even glancing contacts with a system that also encouraged conflicts of interest.

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 15 June 2020 01:59 (five years ago)

Treme in retrospect made me better understand the weaknesses of The Wire, but I ended up liking it as much

― Dan S, Monday, 15 June 2020 02:01 (five years ago)

I mean, Th Wire showed the futility of meticulous police work -- it doesn't matter in the end because as the cops get promoted or retire the so-called criminals blithely keep up with the revolving door; if it's not Stringer Bell, it's Marlo. Shit, we even see Stringer and Marlo attempting to learn capitalist self-empowerment twaddle that implicitly acknowledges no difference between the street and the art of the deal.

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 15 June 2020 02:02 (five years ago)

I think I agree w/ that sentiment Dan

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 02:06 (five years ago)

have watched a half dozen episodes of The Deuce, it seems as difficult to get into as The Wire or Treme, but also less like standard David Simon. I forgot that he also wrote Show Me A Hero

― Dan S, Monday, 15 June 2020 02:11 (five years ago)

I'm sure The Deuce is worthy and goes places, but the episodes I watched felt like work.

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 02:15 (five years ago)

also my desire to watch was def impacted by his Twitter/blog voice, fairly or not

I will admit it is probably also coloring my memories of The Wire

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 02:18 (five years ago)

I tried watching The Deuce but the combination of James Franco and actually knowing something about the world they were attempting to depict made it impossible.

― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 15 June 2020 02:21 (five years ago)

I can see that

― Dan S, Monday, 15 June 2020 02:24 (five years ago)

James Franco is a good actor I don't care to watch act in things at this juncture

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 02:25 (five years ago)

am comforted for some reason by its depiction of NY in the 70s

― Dan S, Monday, 15 June 2020 02:28 (five years ago)

I think about how far gone we are now and I long for the innocence and griminess of that era

― Dan S, Monday, 15 June 2020 02:37 (five years ago)

so I guess nostalgia

― Dan S, Monday, 15 June 2020 02:37 (five years ago)

It was a fairly radical move to place the drug dealers on the same footing as cops - equal agency, equally charming or equally awful depending on the character, etc. - but that’s also the weakness of the show in retrospect because it doesn’t mirror actual reality. Cops have more agency in life than a kid raised on a drug corner.

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Monday, 15 June 2020 02:40 (five years ago)

i think that's part of the virtue of the three zones of characters i mentioned before—more, once you bring in politicians and teachers and the like.

they don't have the same agency and part of the problem is that some of the people with more do less with theirs, or are negligent or intentionally harmful.

the drug dealers are using their agency, in certain ways for much more than people ordinarily do (cf. gant the murdered witness being a 'citizen', a working man etc), but like the addicts and the cops they act under what they feel is a constraint on what they must do and can do. the real sources and natures of these constraints vary, and they have a lot to do with how we evaluate the characters' actions. the whole stoic-nihilist soldier mentality of the drug dealers that gets its extreme expression in avon and (not quite the same) omar and stringer permits them to play out a little heroic-tragic storyline within the larger one, but it wouldn't be able to if their characters weren't depicted as genuinely acting in the face of necessities imposed by the situation and the world.

― j., Monday, 15 June 2020 02:52 (five years ago)

yeah, like Bodie is a character who would probably do great as a cop - hard-working, attentive, pretty good with people, morally malleable enough to not make himself a nuisance the way McNulty does - but he’s so limited by his environment that it inevitably closes in around him.

― JoeStork, Monday, 15 June 2020 04:45 (five years ago)

I forgot that he also wrote Show Me A Hero

oh geez, that show made me cry.

that’s also the weakness of the show in retrospect because it doesn’t mirror actual reality. Cops have more agency in life than a kid raised on a drug corner.

one of the key points of the show is this exact thing.

But going back to the article posted upthread about women -- it does a bit of gender essentialism which I found a bit off-putting. Like, it complains about a dearth of female characters, and how we barely see women involved (esp. from the drug dealer angle), and I agree there. It would be good to see more of that. Who are the "little old ladies" these dudes put their fancy cars in the names of. What are their stories? What about the girls at the parties, Bodie's grandma, etc.? I was sympathetic there.

But then it does the thing where it is dismissive of some of the actual woman characters as not "female enough" (e.g. Snoop). The "men with tits" bit. ... It evades the issue that the world depicted in the show, esp. regarding the drug trade is a masculine one. So, to function in that world as a woman (e.g. Snoop, Kima, Kimmy, Rhonda) you kinda have be a "man with tits" -- and even the actual cis-men in the show have to demonstrate a certain form of masculinity. This is something that the characters even talk about.

― sarahell, Monday, 15 June 2020 14:05 (five years ago)

good points

― If you choose too long a name, your new display name will be truncated in (Left), Monday, 15 June 2020 15:03 (five years ago)

otm

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 15 June 2020 15:26 (five years ago)

I remember hearing Simon feeling regretful of the all-male writers rooms of the wire after the much more diverse room they assembled for the deuce.

― DJI, Monday, 15 June 2020 16:00 (five years ago)

hardly a unique failing of course

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 16:02 (five years ago)

For sure.

― DJI, Monday, 15 June 2020 16:03 (five years ago)

is he still making a Spanish Civil War show? that seems destined to make everyone mad

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Monday, 15 June 2020 16:05 (five years ago)

eight months pass...

Reg E Cathey was such a delight every time he was on the screen.

― Joe Biden Stan Account (milo z), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 05:13 (four years ago)

Yes he was.

And though Clarke Peters was near-perfect as Lester, I still would've liked to have seen what Cathey could have done there.

― pplains, Wednesday, 24 February 2021 13:21 (four years ago)

Season 5 is both better than I remember (the serial killer plot isn't that bad when it's not focusing on McNulty acting out his relapse, City Hall stuff all good) and much much worse (every scene set at the Baltimore Sun).

― Joe Bombin (milo z), Wednesday, 3 March 2021 05:11 (four years ago)

the smug Simon stand-in at the Sun doing his "at the Baltimore Sun, God still resides in the details" after correcting a poor word choice - fuck u fuck u fuck u

― Joe Bombin (milo z), Wednesday, 3 March 2021 05:12 (four years ago)

awww Clark Johnson, who would later go on to trade off w/Tim Van Patten at directing very special episodes of prestige tV

― sarahell, Wednesday, 3 March 2021 15:44 (four years ago)

He's not bad (as an actor, the role is bad), I didn't see him as a Simon stand-in. This one was an old white-haired white guy. The real Simon stand-in probably is the 50-year old crime reporter who gets bought out and then immediately reveals his photographic memory of everyone who works for the police department.

― Joe Bombin (milo z), Wednesday, 3 March 2021 17:34 (four years ago)

I love Clark Johnson, he was so, so good as Lewis on Homicide. His performance in the episode "Crosetti" is prob my favorite TV performance of all time.

― Lily Dale, Wednesday, 3 March 2021 17:45 (four years ago)

xp - oh yeah that guy.

― sarahell, Thursday, 4 March 2021 13:54 (four years ago)

five months pass...

wgae council member david simon says he decided not to step down specifically to tell digital media workers—which he admits make up almost 1/2 of membership—they're not welcome at wgae and please go somewhere else for solidarity and contract protections https://t.co/TF2mv1ATE8 pic.twitter.com/yURvgVPsx7
— sara david (@SaraQDavid) August 4, 2021

― Joe Bombin (milo z), Friday, 6 August 2021 04:07 (four years ago)

this makes my head hurt

― sarahell, Monday, 9 August 2021 03:51 (four years ago)

Just really dumb reasoning. The great majority of unions organize workers in different trades.

― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Monday, 9 August 2021 04:23 (four years ago)

also why would you want to lose due-paying members?

― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Monday, 9 August 2021 04:24 (four years ago)

idk there are definitely dynamics where there are smaller unions that get absorbed (not the best word choice, sorry) by larger ones, and the needs of their members and/or locals aren't prioritized by the larger org (e.g. the teamsters)

― sarahell, Monday, 9 August 2021 17:52 (four years ago)

I can see the rationale for Simon's argument. I just don't know enough about the different agendas/issues about the different types of workers to be able to determine whether he is otm, because he could very well be not otm

― sarahell, Monday, 9 August 2021 17:55 (four years ago)

xp. yes but that's particularly because the teamsters is a bad, undemocratic union

― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Monday, 9 August 2021 18:01 (four years ago)

four weeks pass...

JFC: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/michael-k-williams-the-wire-star-dead-at-54-1235009002/

― Carte Blanchett (Leee), Monday, 6 September 2021 22:05 (four years ago)

worst news

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 6 September 2021 22:10 (four years ago)

photograph taken at his home in brooklyn, august 2021.

by jesse dittmar. pic.twitter.com/xVLILGDfVA
— #freekeithdavisjr (@liberianjue_) September 6, 2021

― papal hotwife (milo z), Monday, 6 September 2021 22:13 (four years ago)

RIP legend

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 6 September 2021 22:18 (four years ago)

Man, RIP. Some sites are saying it was an overdose. :(

― jmm, Monday, 6 September 2021 22:32 (four years ago)

sweet remembrance from Paul Reubens/PeeWee Herman

I just saw some extremely sad, heartbreaking news. My friend and supremely talented actor Michael K. Williams has died. We met on a film in 2008 and became casual pals. I was excited to meet him having greatly admired his incredible, insightful work in ‘The Wire’. pic.twitter.com/LD0icMcbei
— Pee-wee Herman (@peeweeherman) September 6, 2021

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 6 September 2021 22:57 (four years ago)

(click through for the thread)

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 6 September 2021 22:58 (four years ago)

OMAR

― calstars, Monday, 6 September 2021 22:58 (four years ago)

and Wendell Pierce ;_; (also a thread)

The depth of my love for this brother, can only be matched by the depth of my pain learning of his loss. A immensely talented man with the ability to give voice to the human condition portraying the lives of those whose humanity is seldom elevated until he sings their truth. pic.twitter.com/EvrESGSK8O
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) September 6, 2021

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 6 September 2021 23:00 (four years ago)

the idea of paul reubens sending mkw a valentine every year is just breaking my heart into little pieces

― Clay, Monday, 6 September 2021 23:03 (four years ago)

right?

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 6 September 2021 23:12 (four years ago)

sorry for multi posts

great clip of MKW talking about playing Omar

Omar Little meant just as much to Michael as this character did to us pic.twitter.com/isb8pashM3
— certified lover kar (@karlogan_) September 6, 2021

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 6 September 2021 23:15 (four years ago)

he really gave his roles full gas, nothing felt like him ~trying~ to give you the character.

and when he cried on camera, you felt it. so good in closeup. he was 100% in it

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 6 September 2021 23:19 (four years ago)

He was good in other things, but Omar is one of those indelible performances. One of the best characters on one of the best shows ever. R.I.P.

― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 7 September 2021 00:45 (four years ago)

For me, this scene of Michael K Williams as Dr. Marshall Kane is the most deep and intense scene from 'Community'. I've been replaying this scene. 😢 #MichaelKWilliams #legend https://t.co/WVPbmy2T2D
— Anum Jamal (@AnumAJamal) September 7, 2021

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 7 September 2021 00:50 (four years ago)

forgot about him on Community. loved his character on that show.

― Duke Detain (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 7 September 2021 00:51 (four years ago)

he was great! and he could have came on and given like a 5 and blown everyone ,away but he’s fully giving a 10.

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 7 September 2021 01:28 (four years ago)

This is it. The definitive Michael K Williams take

pic.twitter.com/rzJ5zZ3VTV
— Germinator (@johngermany) September 6, 2021

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 7 September 2021 01:40 (four years ago)

it’s wild to watch this now too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpST8KE3vSI

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 7 September 2021 04:34 (four years ago)

Michael K. Williams talking to different versions of himself on getting typecast as a black man. pic.twitter.com/uRowCxU4Tf
— chu (@chuuzus) September 6, 2021

― Left, Tuesday, 7 September 2021 08:31 (four years ago)

last line really hurts now

― Left, Tuesday, 7 September 2021 08:33 (four years ago)

Great clip, vg.

― pplains, Tuesday, 7 September 2021 12:39 (four years ago)

What is it VG, in UK I‘m getting:

Video unavailable
The uploader has not made this video available in your country.

― Chewshabadoo, Tuesday, 7 September 2021 15:16 (four years ago)

ugh ugh ugh

― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 September 2021 15:18 (four years ago)

xpost chewshabadoo - HBO shortfilm “Typecast” - Michael K Williams as himself, and in character as Omar, Chalky & Montrose in conversation together talking about the question of typecasting & how/if it applies to him as an actor

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 7 September 2021 15:38 (four years ago)

wow, that video hits hard. what a great actor, what a loss.

― think “Gypsy-Pixie” and misspelled. (We are a white family.) (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 9 September 2021 14:49 (four years ago)

David Simon essay on MKW in the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/12/opinion/michael-k-williams-david-simon-the-wire.html

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 12 September 2021 15:23 (four years ago)

I dunno, that felt a bit off to me somehow, can't put my finger on why.

― assert (matttkkkk), Sunday, 12 September 2021 22:18 (four years ago)

it felt somewhat guarded, and if that is whats going on I am ok with that.

like to me gnot knowing dick about him) this death is deeply personal and even though he is a writer by trade he’s maybe not willing to mine his own grief for us just yet (or ever)

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 12 September 2021 23:20 (four years ago)

maybe it felt a bit patronising? like isn't it great that a mere actor became concerned with the overall themes of the show?

― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 13 September 2021 00:55 (four years ago)

Cut To Black podcast pays tribute

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81OGE1ZmE5OC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/YmI4YzFmYzAtZjRkYS00ZThlLWIzMTItZDk4YTQ4ZTUxY2Mw?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwj469jp5fryAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 13 September 2021 01:27 (four years ago)

Here's a public link for that (m4a)

― bobo honkin' slobo babe (sic), Monday, 13 September 2021 04:46 (four years ago)

four months pass...

Wow, afaict it's rare that there's ever any follow-up on these things:

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/michael-k-williams-overdose-arrests-1235170332/

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 3 February 2022 13:36 (three years ago)

do you think the hand-to-hands and controlled buys are going to get them up past the street level?

― sarahell, Thursday, 3 February 2022 18:35 (three years ago)

David Simon does not approve

Please don’t @ me on this. I do not think Mike is honored or properly remembered by more incarceration in his name. Knowing him and his thoughts, I think he would be appalled at this. End the goddam drug war. https://t.co/IYZTSzgHEa
— David Simon (@AoDespair) February 3, 2022

― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Thursday, 3 February 2022 18:41 (three years ago)

I was going to post basically the same thing. One of the arrested is 70 years old

― rob, Thursday, 3 February 2022 18:55 (three years ago)

wonder who their lawyer is

― sarahell, Thursday, 3 February 2022 19:03 (three years ago)

just makes a sad thing even sadder
arresting the dealers is just surface level bullshit, meanwhile fentanyl is basically a standard compnent in street heroin all over the country & no one w the power to do anything abt it seems to give a fuck

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 4 February 2022 02:29 (three years ago)

one month passes...

Simon & Pelecanos back in Baltimore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tOz3dn3vuU

― Number None, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 13:42 (three years ago)

whoaaaaaaaaaaa

― sarahell, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 16:46 (three years ago)

Holy shit, Delaney Williams as Kevin Davis?

Other former Wire cast members include Jamie Hector, Tray Chaney, and Domenick Lombardozzi.

― peace, man, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 17:03 (three years ago)

Jon Bernthal + Jamie Hector ? I am sold.

― sarahell, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 17:07 (three years ago)

honestly -- in retrospect, Jon Bernthal would have been a really good McNulty

― sarahell, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 17:08 (three years ago)

Oh wow, this is a side note, but I went over the Wire subreddit to check for more information on this show. Instead found out that Benjamin Busch, the actor who played Colicchio (the asshole cop with the goatee), has been over in Ukraine giving some kind of combat instruction to Ukrainian volunteers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd5nOZeOYGc

― peace, man, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 17:15 (three years ago)

looking forward to the new show, not the new war

― i cannot help if you made yourself not funny (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 23 March 2022 17:57 (three years ago)

cannot wait for new show, looks so good

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 23 March 2022 18:39 (three years ago)

Looks like a bit of penance from Simon for his overly-generous treatment of the Baltimore police.

― DJI, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 18:43 (three years ago)

and we get josh charles too, baltimore’s own :D

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 23 March 2022 18:43 (three years ago)

Love Jon Bernthal's repugnant bad guy face, "dough on the table" policing is kinda ripe for this exploration. Stoked

― Swanswans, Thursday, 24 March 2022 16:26 (three years ago)

yeah bernthal is perfect for this

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 24 March 2022 18:26 (three years ago)

Am I crazy or wasn’t he playing this character on The Shield?

― DJI, Thursday, 24 March 2022 18:49 (three years ago)

Haven't all of his major roles been variations on a dirtbag?

― henry s, Thursday, 24 March 2022 19:05 (three years ago)

Bernthal was not in The Shield

― rob, Thursday, 24 March 2022 19:08 (three years ago)

I was thinking of Walton Goggins!

― DJI, Thursday, 24 March 2022 19:18 (three years ago)

I get Bernthal and Thomas Jane confused (not just because the we’re both the Punisher)

― Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, 24 March 2022 19:36 (three years ago)

Oops typo. I am not in fact the Punisher

― Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, 24 March 2022 19:37 (three years ago)

there's a dedicated thread for these fascinating revelations :)

― rob, Thursday, 24 March 2022 19:44 (three years ago)

i am a fan of Bernthal, Thomas Jane and Walton Goggins ... my first Bernthal experience was as Shane in Walking Dead, kinda dirtbag, kinda hot tbh

― sarahell, Friday, 25 March 2022 16:03 (three years ago)

could definitely see him hooking up with diner waitresses after getting drunk and crashing his car

― sarahell, Friday, 25 March 2022 16:04 (three years ago)

I waited til I finished my full series The Wire rewatch until I watched this trailer!
Some real 'Ryan on Line of Duty' feels seeing Marlo there.

And Herc? Donut? Jay? Dukie?
Should be good.

― kinder, Monday, 28 March 2022 22:58 (three years ago)

four weeks pass...

should we start a new thread for the new show - it’s so good

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 April 2022 04:26 (three years ago)

Yeah, different thread makes to me.

― Carnegie Felon (Leee), Wednesday, 27 April 2022 18:35 (three years ago)

Yeah, I think it's a good idea. Great first episode.

― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 27 April 2022 18:41 (three years ago)

ok done & done

Lake Trout & ACAB: David Simon’s “We Own This City” on HBOMax

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 April 2022 19:05 (three years ago)

seven months pass...

Rewatching first four seasons, up to 3 now. Still enjoying but man, that scene where they mistake Cheese killing his dog with killing his "dawg" is some lame sitcom shit compared to the rest of the ep

― Fash Gordon (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 13 December 2022 02:17 (two years ago)

LESTER: We've been listening to him all night. Something about looking for a "free show."

BUNK: Fuuucck, ain't nothing free out there. We're getting set up!

― pplains, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 02:27 (two years ago)

Season 1 had plenty of lame sit-com shit, that scene where they’re trying to get that table through the doorway, the cop trying to figure out how to injure himself so he can get out of work, sub-Office Space level shenanigans.

― henry s, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 04:36 (two years ago)

god, Avon was so bad at running shit. not that Stringer didn't fuck up on his own, but talk about having literally all the wrong priorities.

― Fash Gordon (Neanderthal), Thursday, 15 December 2022 03:32 (two years ago)

does it make you feel better about your "stupid annoying co-workers" Neando?

― sarahell, Thursday, 15 December 2022 16:07 (two years ago)

yeah at least mine won't get me killed

― Fash Gordon (Neanderthal), Thursday, 15 December 2022 16:08 (two years ago)

three months pass...

GOD DAMMIT: https://variety.com/2023/film/obituaries-people-news/lance-reddick-dead-the-wire-john-wick-1235557886/

― Shartreuse (Leee), Friday, 17 March 2023 21:43 (two years ago)

Fuck. Heartbroken.

― peace, man, Friday, 17 March 2023 22:14 (two years ago)

😞

― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 17 March 2023 22:55 (two years ago)

;_;

― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 17 March 2023 23:11 (two years ago)

Good police
— Drew Lawrence (@by_drew) March 17, 2023

― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 18 March 2023 00:01 (two years ago)

Love him in everything he's been in, RIP

― Vinnie, Saturday, 18 March 2023 00:10 (two years ago)

Shirtless Daniels reveal is one of the most memorable moments from the HBO Golden Age.

― papal hotwife (milo z), Saturday, 18 March 2023 01:07 (two years ago)

Lance Reddick originally read for the part of Bubbles on the show, which I’m sure he would have nailed, no mean feat since he completely embodied the Lt. Daniels relationship role.

― henry s, Saturday, 18 March 2023 01:22 (two years ago)

I think he would have been really mediocre to bad as a homeless drug addict character and the correct casting decision was made. It's fair to say he wasn't a rangy actor, but excelled in one particular type of role. Without any disrespect.

― calzino, Saturday, 18 March 2023 01:39 (two years ago)

Didn't he pay a drug fiend on The Corner?

― Shartreuse (Leee), Saturday, 18 March 2023 02:23 (two years ago)

he did yeah, but I'll keep my bad opinions on David Simon off this thread cos I think everything he touches is unbearable garbage

― calzino, Saturday, 18 March 2023 07:35 (two years ago)

two years pass...

the latest Great Read on the NYT really feels like it could've been a great NY Wire jumping off point

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/nyregion/heroin-flow-rutland-vermont-bronx.html

― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Wednesday, 9 July 2025 17:17 (two months ago)

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