New around here? Register your SA Forums Account here!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Count Roland
Oct 6, 2013

Jerusalem posted:

Out of curiosity have you read Homicide and The Corner? It's cool seeing the inspiration for a ton of characters and events from The Wire of course, but they're also incredibly well-written books in their own right.

Neither, no. I've watched some of The Corner but god drat is it depressing.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


I've only read homicide and seen the corner on HBO, but yeah with homicide at least, you can really see the DNA for a lot of the scenes and characters from the wire in it (sometimes literally; I think the "when it was time for you to gently caress me, you were gentle" "well i knew it was your first time" scene with bunk and jimmy is borrowed from a real conversation he heard two cops have that he mentions in the book)

Pirate Radar
Apr 18, 2008

You're not my Ruthie!
You're not my Debbie!
You're not my Sherry!

Ainsley McTree posted:

I've only read homicide and seen the corner on HBO, but yeah with homicide at least, you can really see the DNA for a lot of the scenes and characters from the wire in it (sometimes literally; I think the "when it was time for you to gently caress me, you were gentle" "well i knew it was your first time" scene with bunk and jimmy is borrowed from a real conversation he heard two cops have that he mentions in the book)

The bit with Ed Norris in the show tricking a suspect into thinking a photocopier is a lie detector machine was straight from the book too if I remember right. Might not have literally been Norris but it was one of the homicide guys.

E: on reflection of course couldn’t have been Norris himself since he came up through the NYPD, not BPD.

Pirate Radar fucked around with this message at 15:26 on May 24, 2023

V-Men
Aug 15, 2001

Don't it make your dick bust concrete to be in the same room with two noble, selfless public servants.

Pirate Radar posted:

The bit with Ed Norris in the show tricking a suspect into thinking a photocopier is a lie detector machine was straight from the book too if I remember right. Might not have literally been Norris but it was one of the homicide guys.

E: on reflection of course couldn’t have been Norris himself since he came up through the NYPD, not BPD.

The same scene was used in Homicide Life on the Street as well.

It's was always so funny to me to see Ed Norris on the show since I first knew him after he took charge of the Maryland State Police and was then forced out due to... well... criminal indictments from his time in the NYPD.

Count Roland
Oct 6, 2013

What the actual gently caress. Not only was Norris played by himself but:

quote:

Norris, a 20-year veteran of the New York Police Department, served as Police Commissioner for Baltimore from 2000 to late 2002 and Superintendent of the Maryland State Police in 2003. Norris played the eponymous detective Edward Norris in HBO's The Wire. In 2003, Norris was convicted of a felony and spent six months in federal prison.


Is there a book or something that goes over all the actors and their backgrounds? I thought I knew about most of the interesting ones but now you tell me Norris was the commissioner? I'm floored.

algebra testes
Mar 5, 2011


Lipstick Apathy
Colicchio is a Marine I think, and obviously turns up in Gen Kill.

Jewmanji
Dec 28, 2003
I followed Jamie Hector on Twitter for a while and it was so jarring to see what a bright, sunny guy he was. He’d tweet every morning something like “rise and shine! Have a glorious day everyone! We can do it!” lol

StashAugustine
Mar 24, 2013

Do not trust in hope- it will betray you! Only faith and hatred sustain.

Count Roland posted:

What the actual gently caress. Not only was Norris played by himself but:

Is there a book or something that goes over all the actors and their backgrounds? I thought I knew about most of the interesting ones but now you tell me Norris was the commissioner? I'm floored.

Iirc Norris was even taken out by the "head shot" they threatened Clay Davis with (disguising loans from family members to buy a house)

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


Jewmanji posted:

I followed Jamie Hector on Twitter for a while and it was so jarring to see what a bright, sunny guy he was. He’d tweet every morning something like “rise and shine! Have a glorious day everyone! We can do it!” lol

There’s an Anthony bourdain episode with Michael k Williams in it and they run into Jamie hector on camera in (what appears to be anyway) a complete coincidence at a restaurant. Seems like a friendly guy yeah. Also I just made myself sad realizing that 2/3 of that scene is now dead

deoju
Jul 11, 2004

All the pieces matter.
Nap Ghost
Oh, that photocopier scene.

When Bunk calls Landsman, "Professor." :kiss:

deoju fucked around with this message at 17:21 on May 25, 2023

teen phone cutie
Jun 18, 2012

last year i rewrote something awful from scratch because i hate myself

deoju posted:

Oh, that photocopier scene.

When Bunk calls Landsman, "Professor." :kiss:

the "what are they doing....?" thought to "ohhhhh.......OMFG" moment for me was pretty great.

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

The McDonalds ploy they use is also great. Making sure the guy has stuffed his mouth with chips as he walks by the other interrogation room and his partner's all,"WHAT THE gently caress!?!?!" :lol:

Syrian Lannister
Aug 25, 2007

Oh, did I kill him too?
I've been a very busy little man.


Sugartime Jones
Some more behind the scenes

https://twitter.com/Ziggys_Duck/status/1661730336605364225?t=mtoO4JeaKhf1UJY3GjDWxw&s=19


Bubbles story

https://twitter.com/Ziggys_Duck/status/1661703331172032514?s=19

V-Men
Aug 15, 2001

Don't it make your dick bust concrete to be in the same room with two noble, selfless public servants.

algebra testes posted:

Colicchio is a Marine I think, and obviously turns up in Gen Kill.

IIRC, he was last seen in Ukraine helping prep volunteers.

God Hole
Mar 2, 2016

tuning in for my daily episode of All Things Considered as I casually transport drug dealing minors across state lines

Bird in a Blender
Nov 17, 2005

Just hoping everyone has fun.
gently caress S4 is so depressing. Probably 9 out of 10 people end up in a worse spot than at the start of the season.

algebra testes
Mar 5, 2011


Lipstick Apathy

Bird in a Blender posted:

gently caress S4 is so depressing. Probably 9 out of 10 people end up in a worse spot than at the start of the season.

I love George Pelecanos, and "you got my back Sgt Carver?" Is a highpoint in an already packed season.

Bird in a Blender
Nov 17, 2005

Just hoping everyone has fun.
Ok I started S5 and the journalism stuff doesn’t even bother me, but the Jimmy serial killer stuff just seems so out of left field.

HootTheOwl
May 13, 2012

Hootin and shootin

Bird in a Blender posted:

Ok I started S5 and the journalism stuff doesn’t even bother me, but the Jimmy serial killer stuff just seems so out of left field.
The wire, a show about the inevitable continuation where the status quo can never change, can be ended after any season and that means you can skip s5

V-Men
Aug 15, 2001

Don't it make your dick bust concrete to be in the same room with two noble, selfless public servants.

Bird in a Blender posted:

Ok I started S5 and the journalism stuff doesn’t even bother me, but the Jimmy serial killer stuff just seems so out of left field.

The only unrealistic thing about the Jimmy serial killer plot is that he's using the extra money for actual police work. Other than that, I don't think it's worse than Bunny doing Hamsterdam.

Orange Devil
Sep 30, 2010
If you think The Wire Season 5 is unrealistic, just watch We Own This City directly after for some perspective.

Jewmanji
Dec 28, 2003

Orange Devil posted:

If you think The Wire Season 5 is unrealistic, just watch We Own This City directly after for some perspective.

This. Or if they had ever made a season depicting the police running torture black sites people would be like…. Okkkk Simon a little on the nose with the Iraq allegories….

V-Men
Aug 15, 2001

Don't it make your dick bust concrete to be in the same room with two noble, selfless public servants.

Jewmanji posted:

This. Or if they had ever made a season depicting the police running torture black sites people would be like…. Okkkk Simon a little on the nose with the Iraq allegories….

Could just be an adaptation of the Chicago PD sites where they tortured people.

Jewmanji
Dec 28, 2003
That’s what I was getting at

God Hole
Mar 2, 2016

The real life BPD actually utilized 6 black op torture sites, but according to Simon they changed it to 4 black op torture sites to make it more digestible for television audiences

Bird in a Blender
Nov 17, 2005

Just hoping everyone has fun.

V-Men posted:

The only unrealistic thing about the Jimmy serial killer plot is that he's using the extra money for actual police work. Other than that, I don't think it's worse than Bunny doing Hamsterdam.

While Jimmy was always a guy who would do whatever it takes to bring the case in, he didn't seem like a guy that would actually break the law in order to do it. I'm struggling to think of another time where McNulty intentionally went outside the law, and I can't think of anything. McNulty knows it's against the law, and Bunk makes that clear to him many times. I guess it's not super duper crazy, but still felt like a stretch. Adding Lester to the mix really stretched it beyond belief too. Seemed like the writers wanted a parallel to the journalism storyline maybe a little too much.

Hamsterdam wasn't illegal, it was just selective non-enforcement of drug laws. So it didn't seem as egregious as the serial killer thing, plus Hamsterdam at least had a point it was driving home.

Bird in a Blender fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Jun 1, 2023

Jewmanji
Dec 28, 2003
Didn't he tamper with Stringer's body in some way? Did I imagine that? Also he clearly has no compunction about breaking the law in a non-work context, and spends his entire professional career being directly and intentionally insubordinate. It's not much of a stretch. And you constantly see the BPD doing sketchy poo poo in the interview rooms. We also see other cops inventing CIs all the time. Obviously that's an order of magnitude less insane, but it's still the same species of problem.

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


is turning a blind eye to murder against the law

Dango Bango
Jul 26, 2007

Bird in a Blender posted:

While Jimmy was always a guy who would do whatever it takes to bring the case in, he didn't seem like a guy that would actually break the law in order to do it. I'm struggling to think of another time where McNulty intentionally went outside the law, and I can't think of anything. McNulty knows it's against the law, and Bunk makes that clear to him many times. I guess it's not super duper crazy, but still felt like a stretch. Adding Lester to the mix really stretched it beyond belief too. Seemed like the writers wanted a parallel to the journalism storyline maybe a little too much.

Hamsterdam wasn't illegal, it was just selective non-enforcement of drug laws. So it didn't seem as egregious as the serial killer thing, plus Hamsterdam at least had a point it was driving home.

Didn't McNulty sign for a non-existent stakeout on a phone call that turned out to be key to the case? Or was that Lester? I'm thinking of the one where Prez is there.

That said, I was totally with you on this when I watched S5 for the first time.

Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Dec 22, 2005

GET LOSE, YOU CAN'T COMPARE WITH MY POWERS

Bird in a Blender posted:

While Jimmy was always a guy who would do whatever it takes to bring the case in, he didn't seem like a guy that would actually break the law in order to do it. I'm struggling to think of another time where McNulty intentionally went outside the law, and I can't think of anything. McNulty knows it's against the law, and Bunk makes that clear to him many times. I guess it's not super duper crazy, but still felt like a stretch. Adding Lester to the mix really stretched it beyond belief too. Seemed like the writers wanted a parallel to the journalism storyline maybe a little too much.

Hamsterdam wasn't illegal, it was just selective non-enforcement of drug laws. So it didn't seem as egregious as the serial killer thing, plus Hamsterdam at least had a point it was driving home.
He knew Omar was lying in court about Bird and taunted Stringer over it. "We're not on the street. We're in a court of law." Maybe that is not breaking the law himself but it's definitely not coloring inside the lines either.

Vahakyla
May 3, 2013

Not really, in common law there's not some inherent duty to render aid to really anyone, unless you are "a caretaker" and what that means changes based on state and country. In civil law countries there's often a "duty to render aid", but I'm not sure that would make this scene illegal either since the person is dead.

Not investigating a crime of higher than: (department policy: severity) could be against BPD rules, like some departments do it. Meaning, just as an example, that no officer is required by policy to investigate any misdemeanor, unless it is of domestic violence, and no felony under a certain degree.

This is meant to make it so that you won't be held liable for random poo poo beyond your control.
Not a lawyer, not legal advice, etc.

Xiahou Dun
Jul 16, 2009

We shall dive down through black abysses... and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever.



Of course it was in character for McNulty. Didn't y'all listen to the profiler?

Bird in a Blender
Nov 17, 2005

Just hoping everyone has fun.

Dango Bango posted:

Didn't McNulty sign for a non-existent stakeout on a phone call that turned out to be key to the case? Or was that Lester? I'm thinking of the one where Prez is there.

That said, I was totally with you on this when I watched S5 for the first time.

Yes, you're right. I can't remember the exact details, but he did fudge that one.

The profiler getting Jimmy on the money is another point against my argument. Alas, I may have to concede that Jimmy McNulty would indeed fake a serial killer to get more money to investigate Marlo Stanfield.

pokeyman
Nov 26, 2006

That elephant ate my entire platoon.
Each time I rewatch season 5 my esteem of the journalism bit goes down while the fake serial killer goes up.

Also every time I start season 5 I think "this is better than I remember it".

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


pokeyman posted:

Each time I rewatch season 5 my esteem of the journalism bit goes down while the fake serial killer goes up.

Also every time I start season 5 I think "this is better than I remember it".

That's the thing of it--the bad parts are bad enough to be the memorable parts, but there's also a season of the wire in there

christmas boots
Oct 15, 2012

To these sing-alongs 🎤of siren 🧜🏻‍♀️songs
To oohs😮 to ahhs😱 to 👏big👏applause👏
With all of my 😡anger I scream🤬 and shout📢
🇺🇸America🦅, I love you 🥰but you're freaking 💦me 😳out
Biscuit Hider
Do it for Bubbles

Count Roland
Oct 6, 2013

S5 has Marlo, Chris, Snoop, Prop Joe and many more, all at their best. The Serial Killer is kinda the main plot but the gangster poo poo, which is probably my favorite part of the show, is too notch. The City Hall stuff is great too, especially how they deal with the fake killer and the fallout.

ilmucche
Mar 16, 2016

I was, in a way, the one who had to leave.

I always feel like prop joe goes out before season 5. Outside of Bodie he's maybe my favourite player in the game, recognises exactly how it works and when his time comes understands that it's his time. He respects the game.

I suppose Avon understands when his time is up too

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.

Bird in a Blender posted:

While Jimmy was always a guy who would do whatever it takes to bring the case in, he didn't seem like a guy that would actually break the law in order to do it. I'm struggling to think of another time where McNulty intentionally went outside the law, and I can't think of anything. McNulty knows it's against the law, and Bunk makes that clear to him many times. I guess it's not super duper crazy, but still felt like a stretch. Adding Lester to the mix really stretched it beyond belief too. Seemed like the writers wanted a parallel to the journalism storyline maybe a little too much.

Hamsterdam wasn't illegal, it was just selective non-enforcement of drug laws. So it didn't seem as egregious as the serial killer thing, plus Hamsterdam at least had a point it was driving home.

I got your back on this one and totally agree. The serial killer poo poo strained credulity and took me out of the show a bit. It was made even worse for me that Lester decided to hop aboard out of loving nowhere. I just decided to chalk it up to Jimmy's raging alcoholism but I could never mentally jam Freamon into that plot. But like you mentioned, it was all worth it just to get the profiler scene.

Hamsterdam, IIRC, was actually based on a real project someone tried somewhere in some large city with mixed results but I don't think it was Baltimore.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Xiahou Dun
Jul 16, 2009

We shall dive down through black abysses... and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever.



Lester spent thirteen years working the pawn shop unit because he cared more about his personal sense of justice than not loving over his bosses. He loving hates the bosses, he’s just not a drunk child (McNulty) so he messes with them productively.

Don’t let the father-you-never-had demeanor fool you, he’s a cold calculating motherfucker.

Remember when he went undercover meeting Bernard? Part of that was he showed he knew how to run a no poo poo con. That’s just a thing Lester happened to know.

Lester finally was making progress on getting Marlo and was desperate for a way to fund it. He’d carry Rawls around in a little rickshaw if he got to keep that wire up, of course he’s going with the serial killer thing.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply