The Wire

[demos 2,992]

Omar testifying in bird’s trial is fucking hilarious.

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

“A man must have a code.”

[shadow_operative 15,932]

 

 

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

Finished of season 4 last night. It finishes strong but pretty dark. And I forgot that Herc actually did two worthwhile things in the series.

Spoiler

He told the investigators they didn’t need to talk to Sydnor and he took sole responsibility for taking the video camera and creating a fake CI in his reports. It costs him his job and that’s how, in season 5, he winds up working for Maurice Levy, attorney for the gangsters, which allows him to do his other worthwhile thing - give Marlo’s phone number to the cops on the wire.) 

 

[Buzzrock 14,870]

Got damn. West Baltimore middle school life is no joke. Prez has a lot to learn.

[Buzzrock 14,870]

Marimow is so good as a colossal prick. All the kid actors are good too. How did this show never win an Emmy?

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

2 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Marimow is so good as a colossal prick. All the kid actors are good too. How did this show never win an Emmy?

The show is too deep and most people are too shallow to follow everything that’s going on. Hell, there are a lot of people who think there’s an ending to The Sopranos that happened after the show was over. 

[Saint Tacky 1,610]

Started on "The Wire at 20"  podcast. It's not great - not as great as I had hoped it would be - but there are enough nuggets to make it worth listening to if you have the time.

14 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

The show is too deep and most people are too shallow to follow everything that’s going on. 

David Simon says he made the show for viewers that sit on the edge of couch and pay attention, and that he didn't care if the rest of the viewers didn't get it.

[TOR 5,364]

15 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

The show is too deep and most people are too shallow to follow everything that’s going on.

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

1 hour ago, Saint Tacky said:

Started on "The Wire at 20"  podcast. It's not great - not as great as I had hoped it would be - but there are enough nuggets to make it worth listening to if you have the time.

David Simon says he made the show for viewers that sit on the edge of couch and pay attention, and that he didn't care if the rest of the viewers didn't get it.

He was right and he succeeded in that goal. It’s such a pleasure to watch great storytelling, where everything matters and story threads get resolved. And characters get developed, for good or ill.

No Russian mobsters escaping murder and then never being heard from again in The Wire. Hell, in The Sopranos, David Chase even mocked us in the final season by reminding us that he just let that storyline disappear. Not to mention the fact that their final season was extended so Carmela (and he and the other producers and directors) could take a meaningless trip to Europe.

[Mo Horn 8,807]

Just started it this week. 3 episodes in and love it. 

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

You wanted to be in the game, right? Now you’re in the game.

[Buzzrock 14,870]

Season 4 Ronnie Pearlman has got some T1 Sarah Connor vibe to her.

[Buzzrock 14,870]

Carcetti sounds a lot like Winters from Band of Brothers.

[TOR 5,364]

18 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Carcetti sounds a lot like Winters from Band of Brothers.

Kind of the other way around. 

St. Elsewhere was good television, too.

[henrygandorf 29,174]

35 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Carcetti sounds a lot like Winters from Band of Brothers.

same voice coach maybe. 

[Buzzrock 14,870]

“Computer up that candy” lol

[Buzzrock 14,870]

Got damn. 
 

Spoiler

Bug’s daddy got it bad 

 

[shadow_operative 15,932]

6 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Season 4 Ronnie Pearlman has got some T1 Sarah Connor vibe to her.

she got skinnier as the series went on. i prefer the thicc ronnie pearlman myself. 

[Buzzrock 14,870]

It’s amazing how much weight the little scenes can carry.

Daniels giving Lester the MCU was incredible. It made me so happy.

 

[dogbreath 431]

Finished season 5. Although I’ve watched season 1 and 2 multiple times, this is first time to watch 5 for the second time.  Liked it much better than first time seeing it. Standout was the journalism story especially Gus. Too bad there was no season 6. I’d like to see what they would have done with a focus on Hispanics but lucky that hbo let it go for as long as it did. 

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

4 hours ago, dogbreath said:

Finished season 5. Although I’ve watched season 1 and 2 multiple times, this is first time to watch 5 for the second time.  Liked it much better than first time seeing it. Standout was the journalism story especially Gus. Too bad there was no season 6. I’d like to see what they would have done with a focus on Hispanics but lucky that hbo let it go for as long as it did. 

Spoiler

Jimmy McNulty was the main character. It would’ve been pretty tough to produce a season 6 with him reformed and off the force.

 

[Buzzrock 14,870]

Man. Season 4 was heavy. The writers crushed it again, and the addition of the kids and the schools just made it even better. Loved the ties to other seasons.

On to season 5. I’m already wondering why this show was discontinued.

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

35 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Man. Season 4 was heavy. The writers crushed it again, and the addition of the kids and the schools just made it even better. Loved the ties to other seasons.

On to season 5. I’m already wondering why this show was discontinued.

I think they were running out of material, for one. And I suppose some of the actors and/or creators were ready to move onto other things. I don’t know where HBO stood on the issue. But David Chase used to be a reporter for the Baltimore Sun and that’s the last new institution they cover in the show. And they resolve a bunch of plot lines and character arcs so it’s obvious they knew they were writing the final season. It’s been a long time but I’m pretty sure we the viewers knew in advance that season 5 would be the last one.

[South Austin 52,140]

I thought Season 5 McNulty was a bit over the top, but I did like the newspaper plot line.

[dogbreath 431]

Simon says:  And I lived that with The Wire. The Wire was canceled after season 3, and The Wire was nearly canceled again — I had to grovel and beg and plead — after season 4. To their great credit, HBO listened, and on the argument of story – not anything else because we didn’t have an audience – on the argument of story let us finish. This is not a new dynamic. I’ve been living with this for the last 6-7 years. It just is what it is.

https://ew.com/article/2012/09/23/david-simon-treme/

[Buzzrock 14,870]

I liked the nod to Deadwood in the hospital room

[henrygandorf 29,174]

6 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Man. Season 4 was heavy. The writers crushed it again, and the addition of the kids and the schools just made it even better. Loved the ties to other seasons.

On to season 5. I’m already wondering why this show was discontinued.

not sure what you’re talking about, there are only 4 seasons of the wire. 

[bluto 4,885]

3 hours ago, dogbreath said:

Simon says:  And I lived that with The Wire. The Wire was canceled after season 3, and The Wire was nearly canceled again — I had to grovel and beg and plead — after season 4. To their great credit, HBO listened, and on the argument of story – not anything else because we didn’t have an audience – on the argument of story let us finish. This is not a new dynamic. I’ve been living with this for the last 6-7 years. It just is what it is.

https://ew.com/article/2012/09/23/david-simon-treme/

Hbo caving to give season 5… NEVAH AGAIN

[henrygandorf 29,174]

On 6/15/2022 at 6:46 PM, Buzzrock said:

How did this show never win an Emmy?

one 'explanation' i heard was how the show was sent to voters.  typically a drama (which were basically all procedurals) selects an episode to send, possibly two, that they felt were representative of their season.  simon was forced to send a couple of episodes to reviewers and voters.  he likened it to writing a novel and then sending chapters 3 and 8 to a book reviewer and asking if they liked it - it didn't make sense in this format.

eventually, he convinced hbo or whomever to allow him to send full seasons to reviewers, but i don't think it ever really worked that way for emmy voters.

[TommyGufano 6,021]

7 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I think they were running out of material, for one. And I suppose some of the actors and/or creators were ready to move onto other things. I don’t know where HBO stood on the issue. But David Chase used to be a reporter for the Baltimore Sun and that’s the last new institution they cover in the show. And they resolve a bunch of plot lines and character arcs so it’s obvious they knew they were writing the final season. It’s been a long time but I’m pretty sure we the viewers knew in advance that season 5 would be the last one.

him, too?

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

6 hours ago, South Austin said:

I thought Season 5 McNulty was a bit over the top, but I did like the newspaper plot line.

Spoiler

Yeah, the fake serial killer plot line seemed out of character for Jimmy, taking his manipulation of the dept. a bit too far. But once you accept the premise, the storytelling was still solid. And David Chase reported in the DVD commentary that he knew a reporter who fabricated stories when he worked at the Sun so that fit in. That and the erosion of local newspapers when they’re purchased and run by out-of-state owners.

I believe the main point of the fake serial killer plot line was so that, when a profile of the phony killer was developed, it described McNulty to a T. That was one of the best scenes of the series. Jimmy came face-to-face with himself. Jimmy’s “wake” was another classic scene.

 

[WhatTheBuck 28,708]

44 minutes ago, TommyGufano said:

him, too?

Goddamnit. I’ve made that mistake twice now. Of course I mean David Simon. Maybe it’s because every time I think of season 5 of The Wire, even though I think it’s the least of the 5, I’m reminded that it’s still better storytelling than the best season of The Sopranos.

[Dutch 4,465]

11 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

  Hide contents

Yeah, the fake serial killer plot line seemed out of character for Jimmy, taking his manipulation of the dept. a bit too far. But once you accept the premise, the storytelling was still solid. And David Chase reported in the DVD commentary that he knew a reporter who fabricated stories when he worked at the Sun so that fit in. That and the erosion of local newspapers when they’re purchased and run by out-of-state owners.

I believe the main point of the fake serial killer plot line was so that, when a profile of the phony killer was developed, it described McNulty to a T. That was one of the best scenes of the series. Jimmy came face-to-face with himself. Jimmy’s “wake” was another classic scene.

 

Spoiler

Absolutely. When the FBI profile on the “serial killer” perfectly describes McNulty, and he’s self-aware… legit lol

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2022 by Dutch

[henrygandorf 29,174]

9 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

On to season 5. I’m already wondering why this show was discontinued.

season 6 is a season 1 rewatch.  that season changes so much the 2nd time you watch it.

[HoustonHorn 1,060]

Damn, crazy to see this thread at the top of the board. Wife and I just finished the entire series for the first time tonight. Amazing storytelling.  Season 5 was a little over the top and the weakest of the bunch, but it did a really nice job of wrapping up story lines and tying up loose ends. Great series. Glad it ended when it did - way too many go on way too long and I just have to stop watching them. This was great from start to finish. 

Any other suggestions for good series to watch? I didn't catch any series done before around 2015.

[Gil Bang 25,897]

10 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I think they were running out of material, for one. And I suppose some of the actors and/or creators were ready to move onto other things. I don’t know where HBO stood on the issue. But David Chase used to be a reporter for the Baltimore Sun and that’s the last new institution they cover in the show. And they resolve a bunch of plot lines and character arcs so it’s obvious they knew they were writing the final season. It’s been a long time but I’m pretty sure we the viewers knew in advance that season 5 would be the last one.

 

3 hours ago, TommyGufano said:

him, too?

Yeah, David Chase is Hollywood all the way. He was one of the main guys behind "The Rockford Files".  SImon is the wire guy / reporter.  And also a fantastic twitter follow.  Man has a way with profanity. 

[henrygandorf 29,174]

3 hours ago, HoustonHorn said:

Damn, crazy to see this thread at the top of the board. Wife and I just finished the entire series for the first time tonight. Amazing storytelling.  Season 5 was a little over the top and the weakest of the bunch, but it did a really nice job of wrapping up story lines and tying up loose ends. Great series. Glad it ended when it did - way too many go on way too long and I just have to stop watching them. This was great from start to finish. 

Any other suggestions for good series to watch? I didn't catch any series done before around 2015.

mad men, breaking bad, lost, justified, the shield, the west wing, the sopranos. 

if you missed a little, you missed a lot. 

[Vic Mackey 46,934]

9 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

mad men, breaking bad, lost, justified, the shield, the west wing, the sopranos. 

if you missed a little, you missed a lot. 

Seen all of these except West Wing. I want to watch it but politics is not really my forte. I did enjoy House of Cards (before Spacey got the boot) but that was premium channel format. Not sure how interesting I would be in a network tv politics show. I have heard great things, though. Never made the dive into it to see if I could get into it. 

[Vic Mackey 46,934]

On the Wire front, me and my gf finished it a few weeks ago. My 3rd time watching it. Still as good as the first 2 times. And I actually liked Season 5 more this time around. We backdoored that with The Corner. We saw quite a few The Wire actors in there. It was an excellent story of what life is like in the inner city and the trials and tribulations faced. In The Wire, the home life and everyday life is not really touched on that much of the people in those communities. And all they deal with. You could see the foundation being set for The Wire (even if that was not the intention). It was weird seeing Lester, Daniel's wife, Carcetti's right hand man as crackheads. But they all played those roles great.

We are now watching We Own This City. 2 episodes to go. Also a very quality show. And again, many Wire actors in this.

[henrygandorf 29,174]

21 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

Seen all of these except West Wing. I want to watch it but politics is not really my forte. I did enjoy House of Cards (before Spacey got the boot) but that was premium channel format. Not sure how interesting I would be in a network tv politics show. I have heard great things, though. Never made the dive into it to see if I could get into it. 

go look at aaron sorkin’s filmography and picture it as a network, not premium, tv show. it urinates on house of cards. 

[shadow_operative 15,932]

14 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Man. Season 4 was heavy. The writers crushed it again, and the addition of the kids and the schools just made it even better. Loved the ties to other seasons.

On to season 5. I’m already wondering why this show was discontinued.

when i introduced my mom to the wire she and i watched it front to back, and then immediately started it over and watched the whole series again. she's been a teacher/coach/educator for 43 years, and S4 is her favorite. she still talks about the kids from S4 to this day, like we know them or something. she'll bring them up or reference them with a decent amount of regularity. that's the power of this show. 

[FartingMonk 3,606]

8 hours ago, HoustonHorn said:

Damn, crazy to see this thread at the top of the board. Wife and I just finished the entire series for the first time tonight. Amazing storytelling.  Season 5 was a little over the top and the weakest of the bunch, but it did a really nice job of wrapping up story lines and tying up loose ends. Great series. Glad it ended when it did - way too many go on way too long and I just have to stop watching them. This was great from start to finish. 

Any other suggestions for good series to watch? I didn't catch any series done before around 2015.

The Wire is my absolute favorite series.  Band of Brothers is a close second.  Peaky Blinders.  The Pacific.  Boardwalk Empire.  You can't really go wrong grabbing shows off HBO.    Shameless is also a good one

Edited June 21, 2022 by FartingMonk

[Buzzrock 14,870]

Kinda creepy that there’s a guy on The Wire who’s a ringer for Wayne Jenkins, at least Bernthal’s portrayal of him. Art imitates life imitates art.

[South Austin 52,140]

7 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

Seen all of these except West Wing. I want to watch it but politics is not really my forte. I did enjoy House of Cards (before Spacey got the boot) but that was premium channel format. Not sure how interesting I would be in a network tv politics show. I have heard great things, though. Never made the dive into it to see if I could get into it. 

I really had no interest in West Wing when it came out and anytime thereafter until my girlfriend insisted I watch it.  We had just finished The Wire, also at her enthusiastic recommendation, so I figure the woman has good taste in TV.  I've loved the West Wing, and recently finished Season 4.  Excellent writing and characters, and really fast-paced.  Season 5 feels a bit worn, and it may be due in part to Aaron Sorkin leaving the show.

[henrygandorf 29,174]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

I really had no interest in West Wing when it came out and anytime thereafter until my girlfriend insisted I watch it.  We had just finished The Wire, also at her enthusiastic recommendation, so I figure the woman has good taste in TV.  I've loved the West Wing, and recently finished Season 4.  Excellent writing and characters, and really fast-paced.  Season 5 feels a bit worn, and it may be due in part to Aaron Sorkin leaving the show.

s1-s4 are by far the best. 5 is the worst, but it picks up steam and gets better in parts of 6/7. nothing beats 1-4 though. 

[TOR 5,364]

3 hours ago, South Austin said:

I really had no interest in West Wing when it came out and anytime thereafter until my girlfriend insisted I watch it.  We had just finished The Wire, also at her enthusiastic recommendation, so I figure the woman has good taste in TV.  I've loved the West Wing, and recently finished Season 4.  Excellent writing and characters, and really fast-paced.  Season 5 feels a bit worn, and it may be due in part to Aaron Sorkin leaving the show.

Sooo...  what is she wearing?

[demos 2,992]

go look at aaron sorkin’s filmography and picture it as a network, not premium, tv show. it urinates on house of cards. 

Not on the OG House of Cards though (which is miles better than the Netflix series).

[Gil Bang 25,897]

 

 

[Ignatius 4,001]

On 6/18/2022 at 9:18 PM, shadow_operative said:

she got skinnier as the series went on. i prefer the thicc ronnie pearlman myself. 

“Man, would I love to throw a fuck into her’