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"the job will not save you Jimmy. It won't make you whole, it won't fill your rear end up." "A life, jimmy. You know what that is? It's the poo poo that happens while you wait for moments that never come" drat that scene is so good
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Sep 9, 2023 23:49
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Xiahou Dun posted:“I can’t wait to go to jail.” Legit one of the funniest lines in a show unexpectedly filled with hilarity. I love so much that she's complaining about how stupid he is because he did what she just kept haranguing him to do over and over and over and over and over and over and over again until he finally just gave up resisting and did it.
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Sep 9, 2023 23:52
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Juxtaposed with Cutty not having none of that lip, in what is unexpectedly one of the most nakedly violent scenes in the whole show.
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Sep 10, 2023 13:26
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Frank's brother is the only good member of that family
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Sep 10, 2023 20:26
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Ive watched the Wire all the way through like 4 or 5 times but this next time, Im going to be watching with someone who has never seen it. Ive only ever seen the original SD version, Ive heard mixed things about the remasters. Is there a thread consensus on the versions?
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Oct 24, 2023 13:46
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Out if random curiousity I jumped to RT to see the overall critic consensus if The Wire and laughed at it being 96% and 98% of top critics because... its The Wire. So I went digging and found the two Top Critic reviews that decided to blast The Wire and boy did both not age well. https://nypost.com/2002/05/31/no-way-to-treat-a-town/ https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/31/movies/tv-weekend-a-gritty-drug-world-from-all-sides.html I'd go through the non-top critics later, maybe they got brave and decided to not make a snap jusgment about season 1, but 20 years on and they didn't even understand what they were witnessing.
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Oct 24, 2023 13:49
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"NYT" posted:Trouble is, it's been a long time since a police show focused only on crime-busting, so the human side of these characters may be of minimal interest; we've seen it before. For instance, we learn early on that one detective, Greggs (appealingly played by Sonja Sohn), is a lesbian, and it seems as if something may be made of this in a future episode, but who cares? Yeesh. I mean I'd say that hasn't aged well except it's still the prevailing opinion of people who currently write for the NYT.
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Oct 24, 2023 13:54
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Only a hint of depth and humanity to the characters in the pilot instead of gorging me with it immediately like the greedy little tv pig that I am? bored now!
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Oct 24, 2023 14:08
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Majkol posted:Ive watched the Wire all the way through like 4 or 5 times but this next time, Im going to be watching with someone who has never seen it. Ive only ever seen the original SD version, Ive heard mixed things about the remasters. Is there a thread consensus on the versions? IMO it's wonderful. David Simon was quite involved with it and goes into the tradeoffs too: https://davidsimon.com/the-wire-hd-with-videos/. (FWIW I'm in the same boat of having seen it all the way through 4-5 times, last time with the HD version)
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Oct 24, 2023 17:16
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The original aspect ratio was a very intentional choice and something is lost from the transition to widescreen imo, but that’s the main issue. Other than that it’s pretty great
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Oct 24, 2023 17:57
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Yeah I've watched it multiple times in the original aspect ratio but the HD transition was done about as well as it could possibly be done, thanks to Simon taking such an active role in it, and I didn't really have any issues with making that the way I watch from now on.
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Oct 24, 2023 21:40
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Lid posted:Out if random curiousity I jumped to RT to see the overall critic consensus if The Wire and laughed at it being 96% and 98% of top critics because... its The Wire. So I went digging and found the two Top Critic reviews that decided to blast The Wire and boy did both not age well. quote:The title, “The Wire,” refers to a method of surveillance that will be used to derail a drug ring which has taken over a Baltimore housing project. Wait, who does end up wearing "The Wire"?
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Oct 24, 2023 21:54
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Tequila25 posted:Wait, who does end up wearing "The Wire"? Still, Bubs wears one at one point in S1 though. Omar too. Kima's wearing one when she's shot, and McNutty's wearing one during the prostitution sting. Then there's Fuzzy Dunlop. \/\/\/ Yep, forgot Charlene. Probably forgot several more too. AtraMorS fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Oct 24, 2023 |
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Oct 24, 2023 22:12
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AtraMorS posted:A wire is also used to refer to a phone tap; that's actually the titular "wire"--getting approval for the tap and keeping it going is what connects most of the otherwise disparate plotlines in the show. Wearing a personal wire is just better drama for TV most of the time, which is probably why the reviewer made that assumption. don't forget lester's girlfriend
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Oct 24, 2023 22:13
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Funny, I was watching a clip from The Sopranos the other night. I was reminded just how prevelent "wearing a wire" was in mob movies/shows. I was thinking The Wire didn't do much of it but I'd forgotten some of those examples. On the other hand it was really front-loaded into S1. Were there any cases in S3 or later? Maybe Lester was wearing one when he was doing that cellphone sting?
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Oct 24, 2023 22:43
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Ainsley McTree posted:Only a hint of depth and humanity to the characters in the pilot instead of gorging me with it immediately like the greedy little tv pig that I am? bored now! quote:The Wire doesn't have the pulsating, addictive urgency (or the obvious good guys and bad guys) of 24, which just completed a spectacular first season on Fox. It shows us a more realistic version of life, complete with down time, yack sessions, drunken story-swapping. Police officers (and drug dealers) are human!
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Oct 25, 2023 02:40
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Seems nearly all the negative reviews are either season one or season five, with the five reviews aging fine because they were negative in how this season did a disservice to The Wire itself and its legacy, was unrealistic and poorly plotted with the newspaper storyline just being bad which... is all true. But this brave soul decided to go in on season 2. https://buffalonews.com/2003/05/30/showtimes-out-of-order-is-a-failed-opportunity/ quote:After Sunday's premiere, the final four episodes of this short-run series will air at 10 p.m. Mondays. Showtime might have found a way to keep it as a sexy Sunday alternative to HBO's depressingly noble failure, "The Wire."
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Oct 25, 2023 02:53
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Yup. That’s The Wire. Lots of meaningless tacked on details. Lol.
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Oct 25, 2023 05:43
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All of the pieces don't matter
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Oct 25, 2023 11:41
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Lid posted:Seems nearly all the negative reviews are either season one or season five, with the five reviews aging fine because they were negative in how this season did a disservice to The Wire itself and its legacy, was unrealistic and poorly plotted with the newspaper storyline just being bad which... is all true. Wrong season five is great. Topic locked.
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Oct 25, 2023 11:41
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I mean, the show does have a lot of details and it is a slow burn and it isn't (mostly) all that exciting. I, and probably everyone reading this, thinks that these are positives. But when someone tells me they just couldn't get into The Wire I don't fault them for it: some people don't want such challenging TV.
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Oct 25, 2023 17:09
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Yeah but LMAO at that one person talking about how 24 is much more accurate to real life than The Wire
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Oct 25, 2023 21:06
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MrMojok posted:Yeah but LMAO at that one person talking about how 24 is much more accurate to real life than The Wire Yeah anyone criticizing The Wire on realism isn't going to win. An actual homicide detective is in my social circle these days and he assures me The Wire is by far the most accurate representation of the job. As if we had any doubts.
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Oct 25, 2023 21:44
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MrMojok posted:Yeah but LMAO at that one person talking about how 24 is much more accurate to real life than The Wire quote:The Wire doesn't have the pulsating, addictive urgency (or the obvious good guys and bad guys) of 24, which just completed a spectacular first season on Fox. It shows us a more realistic version of life, complete with down time, yack sessions, drunken story-swapping. Police officers (and drug dealers) are human! That last sentence is in reference to The Wire, not 24 I think. It feels like it's somewhat praising The Wire, while trying to explain that it's not a fast-moving thriller like 24.
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Oct 25, 2023 22:00
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Count Roland posted:
It absolutely is. Especially for that time frame.
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Oct 25, 2023 22:25
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DaysBefore posted:All of the pieces don't matter I have to pay attention to nuance and fairly complex, deliberate plotting of well fleshed out characters that all interact with each other in some way. This is moving way too slow, unlike 24 which *fart* Hell, if anything I kind of wanted The Wire to slow down when I first watched it because it was rapidly bouncing all around several different stories and characters and I was having some trouble keeping up, thinking that the whole show was about corner boys and cops. I guess it's not for everyone but some of this criticism reads like nothing more than a lack of patience. The Wire, probably more than any show I can think of, really REALLY rewards multiple watches and I pick up something new every time.
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Oct 25, 2023 23:06
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I understand people bouncing off it, though. Any slow burn is a gamble, and there's a level of faith the show is asking you to put in that whatever it delivers will be worth the wait. I think The Wire repeatedly makes good on that promise, but it's a big ask, especially at the start, before you know it very well.
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Oct 26, 2023 00:54
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Bird in a Blender posted:That last sentence is in reference to The Wire, not 24 I think. It feels like it's somewhat praising The Wire, while trying to explain that it's not a fast-moving thriller like 24. Then there's the next paragraph. quote:Trouble is, it's been a long time since a police show focused only on crime-busting, so the human side of these characters may be of minimal interest; we've seen it before. For instance, we learn early on that one detective, Greggs (appealingly played by Sonja Sohn), is a lesbian, and it seems as if something may be made of this in a future episode, but who cares?
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Oct 26, 2023 04:50
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Bird in a Blender posted:That last sentence is in reference to The Wire, not 24 I think. It feels like it's somewhat praising The Wire, while trying to explain that it's not a fast-moving thriller like 24. Oh yeah, I completely misread that.
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Oct 26, 2023 05:43
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Lid posted:Then there's the next paragraph. cop gay so what
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Oct 26, 2023 17:57
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Lid posted:Then there's the next paragraph. Ok yea that’s a bad one. The Wire is absolutely the worst show for critics because they’re usually just watching a few episodes. This show really requires you to watch the whole thing.
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Oct 26, 2023 20:08
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The first time my wife and I tried to watch The Wire we got through the first episode and just weren't up for it. I had read way too much about the show to give up on it, but we were just so drat confused about what was going on and who was who. Ended up stopping and since she hadn't seen it at the time - we binged through the first four seasons of Dexter instead. (I still think the Lithgow season is great, drat it.) Restarted The Wire after that and accepted that we might not know WTF for a few episodes. Knowing that going in made a world of difference. Enjoyed the Hell out of it, of course.
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Oct 26, 2023 20:34
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i dont think anyone disagrees the Lithgow season was great, I think most people take the view the Lithgow season is the exact point Dexter ended, also Buffy after season 5 (too much overthinking here, and i dont post in Dexter threads but putting it out there now - the only problem with the Lithgow season was there was nowhere to go from there in raising the stakes, and so they instead had to make the next villains completely repellent in every way which made it feel more like torture porn)
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Oct 27, 2023 07:02
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Lid posted:i dont think anyone disagrees the Lithgow season was great, I think most people take the view the Lithgow season is the exact point Dexter ended, also Buffy after season 5 Dexter and Lost are two shows that I think were really great for exactly half their runs. And then the drop off is so severe it makes me reflexively have to defend watching the first good half. Dexter absolutely could/should have ended after the Lithgow season, and Lost should have ended with "We have to go back!"
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Oct 27, 2023 16:01
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Dexter was one of the first prestige shows I really invested in. Shortly after Dexter (season 2/3 I think) I started watching The Wire for the first time and it reflexively made all of the police stuff in Dexter intolerably bad. Not that Dexter should've been leaning towards realism in that respect, but it was just such a jarring juxtaposition in its depictions of police work that it was impossible to ignore. edit: Never mind the fact that blood splatter analysis is known to be complete junk science now.
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Oct 27, 2023 16:07
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Yeah, sorry, Dexter was never good. Entertaining, maybe, but good? Nah.
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Oct 27, 2023 16:49
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PriorMarcus posted:Yeah, sorry, Dexter was never good. Entertaining, maybe, but good? Nah. This is me but the sopranos. James Gandolfini was a hell of an actor who could carry the premise, but the seasonal stories were, on balance, not great.
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Oct 27, 2023 17:42
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Similarly, Westworld is a great show if you only count the first season.
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Oct 27, 2023 17:54
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Isn't that the rule for Legion and True Detective too?
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Oct 27, 2023 18:19
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Also House of Cards (though I'd argue it's great through Season 2), and The Crown, and Boardwalk Empire. Prestige TV overstays its welcome unless it's brave enough or smart enough to improve on the premise every season, like The Wire and Breaking Bad.
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Oct 27, 2023 18:26
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