The Wire

mykevermin

mykevermin

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I'm *so* late to the game on watching this program, but I have to say it's hands down the finest television program I've ever seen by a wide margin.

I just finished the 4th season, but its realism, unconventional story arcs, neither-good-nor-bad characters, and damning indictments of virtually every social institution imaginable (police, politics, education, poverty, prison, academia, unions) make it something I could watch again and again and again.

Why is it controversial? Oh, I dunno. It does tackle major social issues that other programs are afraid of; it includes an enormous cast of racially diverse characters without limiting them to unrealisticly awful racial stereotypes; it normalizes much of inner-city drug-dealing economic culture in a way that reminds me of what the Godfather films did for showing the depth and complexity of white mafia organizations; and it is unapologetically realistic on the whole - it isn't afraid to kill off the character everybody loves because it makes sense in terms of the story.

I can't wait to watch Season 5.

It's even being used as the foundation for college courses, including at Harvard, where it will be taught by William Julius Wilson, one of the top/most influential scholars on African-American studies in the US. I'm totally jealous.
 
I'll have to get around to watching it someday. Have heard great things from friends and colleagues etc. for years.

Always put it off from lack of time, and having a hard time getting motivated to watch crime/cop shows after teaching and researching CJ all week. But that's a heck of a recommendation, so I'll have to give it a whirl over the summer or something.
 
Glad to see another fan. Mayor Clay Davis approves!

clay-davis.jpg


Seriously though, the show is just so finely crafted. You've gotta wonder if some of the things Bunny tries would work in the real world. Hamsterdam, his focused school classroom just for misfits (both to try and teach the bad kids, and isolate them from those who can't focus because of their presence. I think those two specific elements of the show is where a lot of the controversy myke refers to comes from. Because some people think it would work, the rest dare not even try.

The best way I've seen the show described is "like watching a novel." One thing I have to say, this show is naturally funny in ways that a sitcom could not even dream of attaining (like the desk scene, the copy machine lie detector, Fuzzy Dunlop, etc.) The dialog is just so realistic and doesn't dare dumb it down. If you don't understand the street lingo or the police terminology/slang, it's just too bad and I love it that way.

I really do think this is the best show ever made. There's other greats out there, but this show is the pinnacle.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']I see it's only on DVD. Was it filmed in HD? Just curious if it will hit Blu Ray eventually.[/QUOTE]

I looked up some info on that today - can't recall the link, but evidently David Simon went with the call to deliberately shoot it in SD at a 4x3 aspect ratio. I doubt you'll see a BD release - even then, it would be hella expensive. I'd advocate netflixing the first season to see if you like it first. But given what you do and given that you're coming from Bawlmer, I suspect you'll love it.

By the by, I've been buying them season by season on Amazon. They have a complete series available, but a lot of the reviews say the packaging stinks and the discs arrive loose and possibly scratched.

EDIT: Haha at that picture of Davis. As for "Hamsterdam," that's a fictionalized version of what former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke advocated for during his term in office - decriminalization of drugs. They discuss that in a short doc on the 4th season DVD set. They also claim (to my surprise) that Omar Little was based on a composite of a number of real people who were involved as "robin hoods" of sorts - willing to commit murder and get involved in the drug trade - but with a peculiar moral code that seems centered around the idea of "community." For as stunningly realistic as the show is, I always thought Omar seemed contrived. I'm not completely surprised for people to claim he isn't. Like Elijah Anderson's description of "street" and "decent" folks in the inner-city.
 
Yeah, if it was filmed in 4:3 SD, then a Blu release would be pointless.

I was just curious--would definitely Netflix in any case as I've pretty much stopped buying TV series on DVD as I seldom every rewatch them, so it makes more sense to rent.

Only annoyance is 4:3 content on DVD/Blu is a pain on my set up as my TV won't go into 4:3 mode on HDMI sources, so I have to change the TV size output on my BR player--or watch it stretched. No biggie. I usually just watch stretched rather than screwing with changing the BR settings.
 
The black guy from Fringe is in it and he's an amazing actor...I'll snag it when it hits Blu-Ray, and no sooner.
 
Best final episode of any show I've ever seen. I was dreading the ending, hoping they wouldn't butcher it too bad. Instead it cemented it as the greatest series I've ever seen. What I would give to have a season in front of me that I hadn't seen yet.

You lucky bastard. Enjoy it. You'll never get it again.
 
David Simon wanted the show to look "like a TV show, not a movie", which is why he went with SD 4:3. The first season I think was filmed in 16:9 but framed in 4:3 and they later just decided to strictly film natively at 4:3. The type of cameras they used were little more than miniDV cameras, so even the original footage is pretty much concretely at SD. They used some sort of line doubling though, so that when aired in SD on an HD channel, it would look superior to typical upscaled SD.

That's the only thing David Simon did wrong. The show is stuck in SD, so it will always look inferior because of things not under Simon's control (translation: upscaling a DVD looks like ass, and Simon should have predicted that problem).

myke, I highly, highly recommend you watch HBO's miniseries "The Corner". You can get it cheap on Amazon. It's also from Simon & crew and shares a lot of actors from The Wire who play characters on the opposite side of the fence of their Wire characters. Think of The Corner as an unofficial companion piece.
 
I love this show...watched the first season and the first couple episodes of the second, but my girlfriend thinks its "too slow"....so needless to say it doesn't get voted into our watch cycle very often. I will watch it soon though...I just like watching dramas like that with other people.

As for this being in the Politics forum...it is Obama's favorite show.
 
I liked the show but only saw the first two seasons. McNulty was hilarious.

Homicide was another great show, also depicted in Baltimore. A little more Hollywood, but still great.
 
I tried it, but didn't get past the first episode. The story arc didn't grab me, and there was too much profanity. I feel like a prude saying that, but when every other word is fuck, it begins to lose it's effect.

Should I go back and give it more of a shot? I rarely watch TV anymore, but I'd heard such great things about this show.
 
The language doesn't go anywhere, I'm afraid.

I'd try to give it a few more episodes - 1 or 2, to try. The way the show is structured, the first episode is all exposition and typically pretty boring.
 
ive been told over and over i need to watch this show. i didnt have HBO at the time it was on, ive been meaning to get to it but the gf only has 2 more classes for her masters and doesnt like it when i watch shows without her. so i guess i wont get to see it until next summer.
 
[quote name='Quillion']I tried it, but didn't get past the first episode. The story arc didn't grab me, and there was too much profanity. I feel like a prude saying that, but when every other word is fuck, it begins to lose it's effect.

Should I go back and give it more of a shot? I rarely watch TV anymore, but I'd heard such great things about this show.[/QUOTE]

Definitely give it another shot and watch it into the first few episodes. The show is very layered. You can just sit back and watch the story unfold, or you can really start to ponder what is going on. I had Political Theory class in which we read Hobbes, Makaveli, all those sleepy bastards, and my teacher (who is one of those typical smart as a button professors) would constantly reference the show to illustrate a point about human/political/economic behavior. Plus McNulty is hilarious, you have to watch him try to make a right hand turn :) "Can I get some pancakes?"
 
I just started watching it because of this thread. I'm through the first 10 episodes now, great show.

I honestly don't see how it has too much profanity, or at least not an unrealistic amount.
 
[quote name='chibamm']Definitely give it another shot and watch it into the first few episodes. The show is very layered. You can just sit back and watch the story unfold, or you can really start to ponder what is going on. I had Political Theory class in which we read Hobbes, Makaveli, all those sleepy bastards, and my teacher (who is one of those typical smart as a button professors) would constantly reference the show to illustrate a point about human/political/economic behavior. Plus McNulty is hilarious, you have to watch him try to make a right hand turn :) "Can I get some pancakes?"[/QUOTE]
You prick.

I can't look at this subforum anymore without wanting pancakes.
 
Great show,
terrible
final season. It becomes clear why they said
they ran out of ideas
and decided to
make that the last season. They totally ran out of ideas.

The newspaper stuff
is true to life and more attention should be paid to it by the general public, but
it doesn't belong in this show. Its boring, and the fake serial killer is really contrived.
They went outside the box with the dockworkers stuff, and again with the school/election arc and it worked,
but not this time.
I didn't like how they
killed off Omar
either, but I suppose its
an end that anyone could face, and the most likely end for someone in that life would be that random and meaningless.
They did a really good job of
showing the disconnect between the paper and the people though, the most important and shocking event in the hood was not even worthy of mention.

There is no overstating how great the first 4 seasons were though, some of the best TV ever made.
But the 5th season sucked ass compared to what came before.
 
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I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. However, it would have to have the ability to summon a gigantic un-calloused hand to jerk me off on my couch for it to dethrone BSG as the best TV show ever.
 
dafoomie, I think that that story arc was a bit too brief and the specifics you critique are accurate. I think it had promise, however, and they didn't fully develop it. At the same time, I watched the first four seasons thinking that Omar Little ruined what was an otherwise wholly believable show - there were no Robin Hoods in the ghetto. But sure enough, I'm wrong. Way wrong, in fact. Doesn't mean I put all my trust in Simon, but that perhaps he has more insight into where he's been and what he's seen than I do.

EDIT: Also,
Omar had to die. Like Stringer had to die, like D'Angelo Barksdale had to die, and so on and so forth. Baltimore is the main character of the show - the inner city and its institutions are the main characters of the show. Stringer dies and life moves on. I disliked the fifth season the most, like you, but the story arc of Randy, Michael, Duquan and Namon was just incredible storytelling. The end of the final episode, which showed Namon at the big HS debate club, Michael taking Omar's place as the stickup boy of the neighborhood, and Duquan shooting dope with the Arabber? That was powerful, powerful, powerful stuff, in my view. The newspaper media arc could have been better, but the end of the fifth season's finale seemed to be similarly powerful and aggravating, yet as necessarily expected as the final scene in Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series of books.

[quote name='thrustbucket']I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. However, it would have to have the ability to summon a gigantic un-calloused hand to jerk me off on my couch for it to dethrone BSG as the best TV show ever.[/QUOTE]

I don't know what to say. I like Star Wars well and good, and I read a few Terry Pratchett books each year, but I ain't never played table top, read a book published by "Tor," or watched anything other than pro wrestling on the SyFy Sci-Fi Channel. I doubt this can compete with BSG, but it's also like trying to say "which movie is better: Terminator 2 or Driving Miss Daisy?" There's no real basis to start comparing them with, y'know? ;)
 
BSG was fantastic. i dont know if i would say its my favorite of all time, but its up there, top 5 easy. i cant believe i ignored it the entire time it was on the air (just like i have the wire... shes almost done with school).
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']Myke, are you saying you haven't seen BSG? Get on that.[/QUOTE]
I dunno. The ending almost makes me regret ever watching that show...
 
[quote name='mykevermin']dafoomie, I think that that story arc was a bit too brief and the specifics you critique are accurate. I think it had promise, however, and they didn't fully develop it. At the same time, I watched the first four seasons thinking that Omar Little ruined what was an otherwise wholly believable show - there were no Robin Hoods in the ghetto. But sure enough, I'm wrong. Way wrong, in fact. Doesn't mean I put all my trust in Simon, but that perhaps he has more insight into where he's been and what he's seen than I do.

EDIT: Also,
Omar had to die. Like Stringer had to die, like D'Angelo Barksdale had to die, and so on and so forth. Baltimore is the main character of the show - the inner city and its institutions are the main characters of the show. Stringer dies and life moves on. I disliked the fifth season the most, like you, but the story arc of Randy, Michael, Duquan and Namon was just incredible storytelling. The end of the final episode, which showed Namon at the big HS debate club, Michael taking Omar's place as the stickup boy of the neighborhood, and Duquan shooting dope with the Arabber? That was powerful, powerful, powerful stuff, in my view. The newspaper media arc could have been better, but the end of the fifth season's finale seemed to be similarly powerful and aggravating, yet as necessarily expected as the final scene in Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series of books.
[/QUOTE]
Of course
Omar
had to
die
. But they kept building up the
Omar-Marlo
thing for so long and it didn't go anywhere, the timing just didn't seem right. I really liked seeing
Valchek
end up as the
police commissioner
though.

When Bodie killed Wallace, and when Bodie got killed, that was real powerful stuff. Epic moments in that show. Where they went with the schoolkids was great in season 5. But they did the newspaper arc because it was personal to the show's creator. It didn't fit with the show at all, as much as I understand the issues they wanted to talk about (other than the fabrication of the serial killer which was way over the top), and as much as I take them seriously, I couldn't wait for those scenes to be over. It just wasn't "The Wire". They didn't need it, the other stuff was already compelling enough that they didn't need to create a larger, mostly external theme for the season. The dockworkers and the Greeks had everything to do with the story because they were the source of the drugs. The election had everything to do with the internal politics of the police. But the Baltimore Sun had nothing to do with anyone, they had to create the stupid fake serial killer just to connect it to everything else.
 
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I just watched the first 3 episodes of Season 1 straight through. It's definitely an intriguing show, I like the themes and questions being posed.

EDIT:
1/3/09 - I spent basically all of this entire New Years break watching the Wire for the first time. I'm just starting Season 5. Needless to say this was a HUGE mistake, since as a result, my New Years break has been depressing as sheeeeeeit.

It was my favorite show, I just didn't know it.
 
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I was watching some of The Wire again. Question. About Season 5.

Was the Greek aware that Marlo was the one who did the thing to Prop Joe? It sounded like, when they were speaking in the park, Vondas regretted what happened but it was business. Was the benefit that Marlo had more muscle?
 
I'd think he would know, but what's he gonna do? He's still gotta sell his stuff. I think he'd rather deal with prop joe (I think anybody would), but what happens happens. Didn't matter too much in the end anyway.
 
This show sucked. It's not network pulp sucky by any means, like a CSI, but it certainly doesn't deserve all the accolades it has received.

Hey, it's the Vs. forum, okay, so fuck you.
 
I've been catching up on Burn Notice lately, and if you discount how slowly the main plotline moves, the episode sub stories are very good. I find the writing enjoyable.
 
If you have direcTV they'll be showing the series in HD (doubt it's remastered though, probably just broadcast in HD) on their channel 101 starting next Sunday (July 18th) at 9 PM. Repeats a few time repeated throughout the week, with the next episode "premiering" every Sunday.

Set my DVR to record so I can finally start watching this.
 
I'm super anti piracy so I could never do that myself.

I also don't want to watch it all at once as I don't have time/interest right now to power through a few seasons right now (why I've not just bought the DVDs or netflixed them) but can do an episode a week easily since most of the shows I was following last year wrapped up or got canceled.
 
Loved the first season, hated the second season, didn't mind the third, was indifferent to the fourth and tapped out after the first episode of the fifth season.

It became way too bleak and uninteresting for my tastes.

Probably the most overrated TV show in history.
 
[quote name='chibamm']Plus McNulty is hilarious, you have to watch him try to make a right hand turn :) "Can I get some pancakes?"[/QUOTE]

Ha ha ,.. As i recall it was a left hand turn , twice.
Plus if you remember, he came away with a little more than just pancakes ;)
 
4th was my favorite. 5th was a letdown, but the way the story arc of the 4th season was woven through it made it at least somewhat satisfying.
 
4rth was pretty great(so was 3and 5) To say one was my favorite over another would do the series on whole an injustice.

Apparently theres a documentary about the real Avon 'Bodie' Barksdale coming out ,where he's 'interviewed' by Wood Harris
 
Finished up season 1 on DirecTV 101. Loved it, as someone that studies crime and policing, the show is definitely up my alley and definitely the most realistic cop show I've seen.

Added benefit, the DTV 101 channel airings are the first time the show has been shown in 16x9 and HD. So I guess it wasn't filmed in 4x3 afterall which is great news. Hopefully we'll get this on Blu Ray once the complete series finishes airing on DTV.
 
When you finish The Wire, watch The Corner. It's like an unofficial companion show, with a lot of The Wire actors. It's almost like David Simon wanted everyone to play a role opposite to their role on The Corner.
 
I thought the corner was a documentary? I remember seeing that way back when, but never got a chance to watch The Wire for whatever reason. Once I clear some more netflix space I'll put the show on my list. Too bad it isn't streaming, stupid HBO.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Added benefit, the DTV 101 channel airings are the first time the show has been shown in 16x9 and HD. So I guess it wasn't filmed in 4x3 afterall which is great news. Hopefully we'll get this on Blu Ray once the complete series finishes airing on DTV.[/QUOTE]

REALLY.

:drool:

woah.
 
The actress who played Snoop (whose real name is Felicia 'Snoop' Pearsons, like her character) was arrested in MD in a massive drug bust.

Also, watching Goodfellas right now. The black doctor who examines Henry Hill near the end of the movie is full of SHEEEEEEIT.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']REALLY.

:drool:

woah.[/QUOTE]

Yep. It doesn't look amazing or anything, but it's at least widescreen and HD.

DTV 101 is getting toward the end of Season 3 currently.
 
I can't believe that "Snoop" just got arrested by the Feds. That seen in the media where she actually is dressed and looking exactly like snoop from the show shows that she want really acting at all.

It's fucking great. Life imitating art and whatnot. What a piece of shit. Could have gone with the acting thing and pursued it, but chose to stay in the baltimore drug game. Shame.
 
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