The Wire

[Ignatius 4001]

On 6/21/2022 at 1:46 AM, Vic Mackey said:

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.

I saw The Corner when it came out and haven’t seen it since, but wasn’t the crackhead who fell off the wagon and stole all the shit Lt Daniels?

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

12 hours ago, Ignatius said:

I saw The Corner when it came out and haven’t seen it since, but wasn’t the crackhead who fell off the wagon and stole all the shit Lt Daniels?

Clarke Peters played a junkie in The Corner. He’s a brilliant actor. Read the book. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

 

[Buzzrock 14870]

I don’t love the main plot line in season 5. Seems kind of ridiculous.

It’s kinda weird to watch Littlefinger as a green politician.

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

18 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

I don’t love the main plot line in season 5. Seems kind of ridiculous.

You were warned. Give it time, it resolves itself. 

[Buzzrock 14870]

I don’t get why the Feds wouldn’t prosecute Clay Davis. Seems like it was personal and petty.

RIP Omar, ya heard? Totally makes sense though with him just wandering the streets capping people.

 

[Buzzrock 14870]

Well shit. Now what do I watch?

Kind of a weird last season as y’all said. What’s the final message: everything is broken and everyone is just kinda fucked?

[Mo Horn 8807]

Working my way through season 1 and it's really good

Spoiler

Just finished the episode where Kema gets shot. Have no idea if she makes it or not, at this point, but it didn't look good. 

 

[henrygandorf 29174]

12 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

I don’t love the main plot line in season 5.

the wire is a 4 season show. 

3 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Well shit. Now what do I watch?

what other prestige dramas did you not watch over the past 20 years?

[TOR 5364]

55 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

the wire is a 4 season show. 

what other prestige dramas did you not watch over the past 20 years?

C'mon now, for some of the young un's The Wire isn't in their.... what?  Frame of reference?   Purview?  History?  They have no idea how bad TV programming was before this..

No offense Buzz, just saying.

[Buzzrock 14870]

I appreciate you’d consider me a young un since I turned 50 last week.

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

14 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Well shit. Now what do I watch?

Kind of a weird last season as y’all said. What’s the final message: everything is broken and everyone is just kinda fucked?

Did you finish it?

Spoiler

The scene where the profiler exactly describes Jimmy was the whole point of the fake serial killer storyline. Bubbles achieves redemption, Dukie, an intelligent, promising child, turns into Bubbles. Michael turns into the next Omar.

It’s not a spoiler to point out that the “War on Drugs” has been an abject failure nor that the message at the end of every season was that the game plays on.

You could probably use something light. If you can find The Larry Sanders Show, binge on that. It’s comedy genius. When Garry Shandling didn’t get the job hosting The Tonight Show after Johnny Carson retired, he made a show about a fake one on HBO. It was better than Leno. (And arguably better than Seinfeld but that’s comparing apples to oranges...there were a lot fewer constraints on HBO.) Great cast, great writing, great improv. It’s amazing.

[Buzzrock 14870]

I actually have a few things backed up that I haven’t gotten to yet. Stranger Things, The Boys, Peaky Blinders.

I keep saying I’m gonna watch It’s Always Sunny but I never have pulled the trigger.

As far as “prestige dramas” that I never watched I think the only big one is Mad Men. It always looked too soap opera-y to me.

[South Austin 52140]

On 6/25/2022 at 7:58 PM, shadow_operative said:

 

This was good. Never seen before. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

20 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

I actually have a few things backed up that I haven’t gotten to yet. Stranger Things, The Boys, Peaky Blinders.

I keep saying I’m gonna watch It’s Always Sunny but I never have pulled the trigger.

As far as “prestige dramas” that I never watched I think the only big one is Mad Men. It always looked too soap opera-y to me.

Peaky Blinders is more on the level of Sons of Anarchy or Animal Kingdom than it is Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Lost, etc.

Edited June 27, 2022 by shadow_operative

[shadow_operative 15932]

20 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

I actually have a few things backed up that I haven’t gotten to yet. Stranger Things, The Boys, Peaky Blinders.

I keep saying I’m gonna watch It’s Always Sunny but I never have pulled the trigger.

As far as “prestige dramas” that I never watched I think the only big one is Mad Men. It always looked too soap opera-y to me.

have you seen Lonesome Dove?

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

17 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

As far as “prestige dramas” that I never watched I think the only big one is Mad Men. It always looked too soap opera-y to me.

A lot of it is a soap opera. I found that to be tedious. But the part about advertising is good and the art direction is top notch. The “look” is a big part of its appeal. Other than Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson, there’s not much in the way of character development. The makers of The Wire put on a clinic in the art of character development.

[Mo Horn 8807]

Never knew where this came from, until I watched my latest episode. 

[henrygandorf 29174]

1 hour ago, Buzzrock said:

I actually have a few things backed up that I haven’t gotten to yet. Stranger Things, The Boys, Peaky Blinders.

I keep saying I’m gonna watch It’s Always Sunny but I never have pulled the trigger.

As far as “prestige dramas” that I never watched I think the only big one is Mad Men. It always looked too soap opera-y to me.

watch mad men. this is a layup. those other shows are not in the same conversation. it’s my favorite drama of all time. 

[Buzzrock 14870]

But January Jones annoys me. Then again, Christina Hendricks. 

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

1 hour ago, Buzzrock said:

But January Jones annoys me.

Really? I think she’s hot. She’s still got it goin’ on.

[South Austin 52140]

Nipple.

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

22 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Nipple.

Speaking of...have you seen Jessica Paré in Hot Tub Time Machine?

[GhostOfTomJoad 9307]

7 hours ago, Mo Horn said:

Never knew where this came from, until I watched my latest episode. 

Mrs GOTJ is amazed at how many GIFs/memes she's seen over the years come from The Wire. This is her first viewing (down to the last 3 episodes after a marathon run this past weekend) and she keeps saying "so THAT'S where that comes from."

[henrygandorf 29174]

2 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

But January Jones annoys me. Then again, Christina Hendricks. 

plenty of eye candy, annoying and otherwise.  but mad men is really about the people who work at the advertising agency, most of which are men, who are awesome.

whenever i think of the term "soap opera" relating to nighttime shows, i think of the old melrose place and shit like dallas and dynasty.  i think some said friday night lights was in that category, not sure about that.  from what i know about soap operas, mad men is decidedly not a soap opera.

my mount rushmore of dramas is the wire, mad men, the west wing, and probably breaking bad.  the first 3 seasons of lost are really close but that's not how it works.

and larry sanders show is the best comedy show of the past 30 years, though i'm not looking to get into an argument about seinfeld.

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

1 hour ago, henrygandorf said:

plenty of eye candy, annoying and otherwise.  but mad men is really about the people who work at the advertising agency, most of which are men, who are awesome.

whenever i think of the term "soap opera" relating to nighttime shows, i think of the old melrose place and shit like dallas and dynasty.  i think some said friday night lights was in that category, not sure about that.  from what i know about soap operas, mad men is decidedly not a soap opera.

my mount rushmore of dramas is the wire, mad men, the west wing, and probably breaking bad.  the first 3 seasons of lost are really close but that's not how it works.

and larry sanders show is the best comedy show of the past 30 years, though i'm not looking to get into an argument about seinfeld.

I’d say what makes Mad Men a soap opera is the excessive amount of time spent on romantic relationships. They mostly didn’t contribute to character development. Don Draper was the same unfaithful womanizer at the end of the show as he was at the start of the show.

Spoiler

By contrast, McNulty was reformed and faithful at the end of The Wire.

Mad Men and Breaking bad were both fun shows. But like The Sopranos, you didn’t need to watch every episode in order to keep track of what was going on. A central plot device in Breaking Bad was - Jesse’s a fuckup, Jesse’s righteous, Jesse’s a fuckup, Jesse’s righteous - repeat as necessary to suit your needs.

And Lost? Wasn’t it in the first episode where a jet engine, fully detached from the plane, was still running and sucked someone through it? I always thought that was about trying to turn Survivor into a fully scripted drama. I mostly know about it from criticisms I’ve heard from other people who bothered to watch it.

No one has mentioned Rome. Rome is worth a look. It was only two seasons so won’t take a lot of time. You can binge that in a weekend. 

[TOR 5364]

Longmire.- criminally underrated.. imho. 

Starbuck cut cuff me anytime she wanted. 

[Buzzrock 14870]

Lost sucked. I was really happy that I bailed out during season 2 and then everyone hated the ending. I felt very smug. Very smug.

This will be blasphemous but I didn’t make it through Breaking Bad either. My theory is that it’s not a good bingeing show.

Besides The Wire, my favorite series that I went back to after the fact was Justified. I watched the whole damn thing and it was fucking awesome.

But I’ll always have a soft spot for Deadwood. I was really happy that they finally came back and wrapped it up. It still felt a little disjointed and incomplete but damn I loved that show. It was like nothing else on TV. Pure profanity poetry. Al Swearengen is the greatest TV character of all time.

[henrygandorf 29174]

37 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I’d say what makes Mad Men a soap opera is the excessive amount of time spent on romantic relationships. They mostly didn’t contribute to character development. Don Draper was the same unfaithful womanizer at the end of the show as he was at the start of the show.

  Reveal hidden contents

By contrast, McNulty was reformed and faithful at the end of The Wire.

Mad Men and Breaking bad were both fun shows. But like The Sopranos, you didn’t need to watch every episode in order to keep track of what was going on. A central plot device in Breaking Bad was - Jesse’s a fuckup, Jesse’s righteous, Jesse’s a fuckup, Jesse’s righteous - repeat as necessary to suit your needs.

And Lost? Wasn’t it in the first episode where a jet engine, fully detached from the plane, was still running and sucked someone through it? I always thought that was about trying to turn Survivor into a fully scripted drama. I mostly know about it from criticisms I’ve heard from other people who bothered to watch it.

excessive time spent on romantic relationships?  don't need to watch every episode?  i think we're about done here.  go watch the gypsy and the hobo and tell me that don's relationships didn't contribute to story, stakes, tension, or character development.

also lol on lost.  glad to hear criticisms from someone on surly's friends. 

btw, if you didn't feel the proper amount of development in watching draper, you probably haven't figured out that

Spoiler

it's not his story.  it's peggy's.

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

1 hour ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I’d say what makes Mad Men a soap opera is the excessive amount of time spent on romantic relationships. They mostly didn’t contribute to character development. Don Draper was the same unfaithful womanizer at the end of the show as he was at the start of the show.

  Reveal hidden contents

By contrast, McNulty was reformed and faithful at the end of The Wire.

Mad Men and Breaking bad were both fun shows. But like The Sopranos, you didn’t need to watch every episode in order to keep track of what was going on. A central plot device in Breaking Bad was - Jesse’s a fuckup, Jesse’s righteous, Jesse’s a fuckup, Jesse’s righteous - repeat as necessary to suit your needs.

And Lost? Wasn’t it in the first episode where a jet engine, fully detached from the plane, was still running and sucked someone through it? I always thought that was about trying to turn Survivor into a fully scripted drama. I mostly know about it from criticisms I’ve heard from other people who bothered to watch it.

No one has mentioned Rome. Rome is worth a look. It was only two seasons so won’t take a lot of time. You can binge that in a weekend. 

lol wait what? you don't need to watch every episode of MM or BB? MM is a soap opera and BB is formulaic? Don Draper's character wasn't developed? 

those have got to be the strangest takes i've ever read on this board.

buzz- if you haven't seen Mad Men then you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. there's a reason that's it's considered one of the all time greats. also, fwiw, while Don Draper gets 95% of the hype (with the other 5% going to Ms.Hendricks's titties), Roger Sterling is my favorite character and it isn't close. 

Edited June 28, 2022 by shadow_operative

[TOR 5364]

I'd rewatch Mad Men just to see Rory in vintage lingerie. 

Shit I might do it now.  After I fap.

[Apep 645]

11 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I’d say what makes Mad Men a soap opera is the excessive amount of time spent on romantic relationships. They mostly didn’t contribute to character development. Don Draper was the same unfaithful womanizer at the end of the show as he was at the start of the show.

Draper and Peggy were the main characters. It’s true that Don didn’t grow as a character in that regard. Unlike the many other womanizing men in the show, we got to see his internal development through flashbacks, why he was a womanizer (and many other things). His lack of growth in this dimension was kind of the point. And the other romantic relationships were also kind of the point, that a pre-modern office was a meat market. 

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

11 minutes ago, Apep said:

Draper and Peggy were the main characters. It’s true that Don didn’t grow as a character in that regard. Unlike the many other womanizing men in the show, we got to see his internal development through flashbacks, why he was a womanizer (and many other things). His lack of growth in this dimension was kind of the point. And the other romantic relationships were also kind of the point, that a pre-modern office was a meat market. 

Revealing his history is not the same thing as character development. He didn’t develop at all. Learning that he grew up poor in a whore house isn’t development.

Oh, so that’s why he can’t form an emotional bond with women and treats them like objects! Revolutionary. 

[strangulation! 1701]

14 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

This will be blasphemous but I didn’t make it through Breaking Bad either. My theory is that it’s not a good bingeing show.

i thought so too, after watching a few episodes of season 1. i also thought it was kinda stupid (how does a HS teacher just disappear for long stretches and not get grilled by his wife?)

anyway, i couldn't have been more wrong. and everything i thought was a plot hole or was stupid was addressed, and it just got better and better. you need to watch it, and should probably start now. and it's a terrific binge, just cliffhangers galore.

[Buzzrock 14870]

I think I got through two seasons. Might give it another go someday. 

[South Austin 52140]

On 6/27/2022 at 9:52 AM, Mo Horn said:

Never knew where this came from, until I watched my latest episode. 

When I started binging The Wire in late 2021 for the first time, it dawned on me early in Season 1 that this often-used gif is from that show:

 

[bluto 4885]

31 minutes ago, strangulation! said:

i thought so too, after watching a few episodes of season 1. i also thought it was kinda stupid (how does a HS teacher just disappear for long stretches and not get grilled by his wife?)

anyway, i couldn't have been more wrong. and everything i thought was a plot hole or was stupid was addressed, and it just got better and better. you need to watch it, and should probably start now. and it's a terrific binge, just cliffhangers galore.

Great shows don’t rely on cliffhangers like BB did. If you need those to ensure the audience comes back next episode then it’s short of great. 

[strangulation! 1701]

1 minute ago, bluto said:

Great shows don’t rely on cliffhangers like BB did. If you need those to ensure the audience comes back next episode then it’s short of great. 

that's a fair criticism, and one of my few criticisms of the show. they also relied on shock value a little too much. regardless the show was phenomenal in spite of those.

[Jive Turkey 12568]

19 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

But January Jones annoys me. Then again, Christina Hendricks. 

Alison Brie is, was, and will always be the hottest smoke show on Mad Men.  sweet sweet Trudy.

"Shut the Door.  Have a Seat." is one of my 5 favorite episodes in the history of television.  season 3 finale.  just brilliant.

[Augustus 3061]

4 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Revealing his history is not the same thing as character development. He didn’t develop at all. Learning that he grew up poor in a whore house isn’t development.

Oh, so that’s why he can’t form an emotional bond with women and treats them like objects! Revolutionary. 

Not the only time that one of the best series of all time had a main character who never "developed."  Sometimes that can be the point.

Tony Soprano had several opportunities to reevaluate his life and go in a different direction, but never could, and he was the same guy in the finale that he was in the opening scene.  And that may have been the greatest series ever made.

Don's character did develop, though. He went from an MVP on Madison Ave to being relegated to a staff member, and we watched his choices and some events beyond his control bring him to a point where he'd lost everything that kept him somewhat tethered, and eventually chose to leave that life behind entirely, and culminating with a dramatic scene revealing he'd finally discovered some real empathy, suggesting real change in his character and therefore an unknown future.

Edited June 28, 2022 by Augustus

[MagicSoccerSpray 1725]

On 6/27/2022 at 10:28 AM, henrygandorf said:

watch mad men. this is a layup. those other shows are not in the same conversation. it’s my favorite drama of all time. 

 

Breaking Bad

 

6 hours ago, Jive Turkey said:

Alison Brie is, was, and will always be the hottest smoke show on Mad Men.  sweet sweet Trudy.

"Shut the Door.  Have a Seat." is one of my 5 favorite episodes in the history of television.  season 3 finale.  just brilliant.

 

Watch Community, totally different show, but it does show what a great actress she is.

[BHMCruiser 1813]

On 6/27/2022 at 9:30 AM, shadow_operative said:

Peaky Blinders is more on the level of Sons of Anarchy or Animal Kingdom than it is Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Lost, etc.

LOST?

 

Man get the fuck out of here

[shadow_operative 15932]

24 minutes ago, BHMCruiser said:

LOST?

 

Man get the fuck out of here

lost sucked at the end, as many great dramas do, but the first 3-4 seasons were awesome, and each episode was appointment TV when it aired.

edit: and it's damn sure miles ahead of peaky blinders, which is such a bland, derivative show. with lost otoh, The Constant and Through The Looking Glass are two of the best episodes of television i've ever seen. at least one makes my all time top 10, maybe both. 

Edited June 28, 2022 by shadow_operative

[shadow_operative 15932]

44 minutes ago, MagicSoccerSpray said:

 

Watch Community, totally different show, but it does show what a great actress she is.

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

and while im in the subject of peaky blinders being overrated garbage with a weird, fiercely defensive fanbase, the most annoying thing to come from that show by far has been this trend:

 

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by shadow_operative

[Buzzrock 14870]

Weird, fiercely defensive fan base. Strange criticism from a Gooner.

[TOR 5364]

Six seasons and a MOVIE!

[shadow_operative 15932]

2 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Weird, fiercely defensive fan base. Strange criticism from a Gooner.

I'M NOT DEFENSIVE! YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW YOU COCKSUCKER! I WILL GOUGE YOIR EYES OUT! I'VE HAD TONS OF ORGASMS!

[billfromlaketravis 11359]

On 6/27/2022 at 3:20 PM, Buzzrock said:

But January Jones annoys me. Then again, Christina Hendricks. 

I’d listen to a couple interviews with Jones. Very cool lady. Nothing like Betty. 
 

That said, Fat Betty was awful and gave me the sads. 

[WhatTheBuck 28706]

20 hours ago, strangulation! said:

it's a terrific binge, just cliffhangers galore.

OMG, how will they get out of this mess? I know, Jesse who was the fuckup who got them into the mess will transform into the hero who gets them out of the mess. Wash, rinse, repeat.

It was a fun show. It wasn’t deep. I mean, come on. It was a comic book story.