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In this thread we'll be re-watching the entire series of the Wire, on a loose schedule of 2 episodes per week. If that's too slow, or too fast, we can adjust. The point of the thread is for those of us who have already seen the show to go through, and relive what many of us believe to be the greatest show to grace the television screen.  Important: This thread is not for first time viewers. Even if we are only on Season 1 Episode 1, we are likely to discuss certain plot parallels from the series finale, and we are not using spoiler tags in this at all. In the words of Ellis Carver, "fair warning, you just got."Season 1 is a bit less complicated, in that it focuses on two institutions: The Law and The Streets, and the effects within and between the two institutions. Other seasons incorporate more institutions, and at any time, you could have 50 characters to keep track of. David Simon has stated that Season 1 is basically prepping the audience for the new brand of television, where the viewers are not spoon-fed, but are expected to do some thinking and make connections of their own. The characters of importance in Season 1 are: The Law: Det. Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) Det. Shakima "Kima" Greggs (Sonja Sohn) Lt. Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick) Det. Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) Det. Thomas "Herc" Hauk (Domenick Lombardozzi) Det. Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam) Det. Leander Syndor (Corey Parker Robinson) Det. Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) Det. Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost) Sgt. Jay Landsman (Delaney Williams) Major William Rawls (John Doman) Deputy Commission Ervin Burrell (Frankie Faison) Assistant Distract Attorney Rhonda Pearlman (Deirdre Lovejoy) Judge Daniel Phelan (Peter Greety) The Street: Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) D'Angelo Barksdale (Larry Gilliard Jr.) Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice (Hassan Johnson) Malik "Poot" Carr (Tray Chaney) Preston "Bodie" Broadus (J.D. Williams) Wallace (Michael B. Jordan) Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins (Andre Royo) Omar Little (Michael K. Williams) Brandon Wright (Michael Kevin Darnall) John Bailey (Lance Williams) Johnny Weeks (Leo Fitzpatrick) Maurice Levy (Michael Kostroff) Wendell "Orlando" Blocker (Clayton LeBouef) This thread is basically anything goes. This show has enough information to fill an entire semester of one college class (and famously, there are many classes entirely about the show, and many classes that use the show). Now, happy (re)viewing! Season One Episode 1 - The Target Episode 2 - The Detail Episode 3 - The Buys Episode 4 - Old Cases Episode 5 - The Pager Episode 6 - The Wire Episode 7 - One Arrested Episode 8 - Lessons Episode 9 - Game Day Episode 10 - The Cost Episode 11 - The Hunt Episode 12 - Cleaning Up Episode 13 - Sentencing - Part 1 Episode 13 - Sentencing - Part 2 Season Two Episode 1 - Ebb Tide Episode 2 - Collateral Damage Episode 3 - Hot Shots Episode 4 - Hard Cases Episode 5 - Undertow - Part 1 Episode 5 - Undertow - Part 2 Episode 6 - All Prologue - Part 1 Episode 6 - All Prologue - Part 2 Episode 7 - Backwash Episode 8 - Duck and Cover Episode 9 - Stray Rounds - Part 1 Episode 9 - Stray Rounds - Part 2 Episode 10 - Storm Warning Episode 11 - Bad Dreams Episode 12 - Port in a Storm - Part 1 Episode 12 - Port in a Storm - Part 2 Season Three Episode 1 - Time After Time Episode 2 - All Due Respect Episode 3 - Dead Soldiers Episode 4 - Hamsterdam Episode 5 - Straight and True Episode 6 - Homecoming Episode 7 - Back Burners Episode 8 - Moral Midgetry Episode 9 - Slapstick Episode 10 - Reformation - Part 1 Episode 10 - Reformation - Part 2 Episode 11 - Middle Ground Episode 12 - Mission Accomplished Season Four Episode 1 - Boys of Summer - Part 1 Episode 1 - Boys of Summer - Part 2 Episode 2 - Soft Eyes - Part 1 Episode 2 - Soft Eyes - Part 2 Episode 3 - Home Rooms - Part 1 Episode 3 - Home Rooms - Part 2 Episode 4 - Refugees - Part 1 Episode 4 - Refugees - Part 2 Episode 5 - Alliances Episode 6 - Margin of Error Episode 7 - Unto Others Episode 8 - Corner Boys Episode 9 - Know Your Place - Part 1 Episode 9 - Know Your Place - Part 2 Episode 10 - Misgivings - Part 1 Episode 10 - Misgivings - Part 2 Episode 11: A New Day Episode 12: That's Got His Own Episode 13: Final Grades - Part One Episode 13: Final Grades - Part Two Season Five Episode 1 - More With Less Episode 2 - Unconfirmed Reports Episode 3 - Not for Attribution Episode 4 - Transitions - Part One Episode 4 - Transitions - Part Two Episode 5 - React Quotes Episode 6 - The Dickensian Aspect Episode 7 - Took Episode 8 - Clarifications Episode 9 - Late Editions Episode 10 - –30– - Part One Episode 10 - –30– - Part Two Special thanks to Jerusalem and others for their great write-ups and willingness to help out with these exhausting reviews! escape artist fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Jan 27, 2019 |
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Dec 11, 2012 06:59
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Season 1, Episode 1: "The Target" This is the opening image of the show, and I think it's a lovely work of cinematography. The police lights flashing in the trickling blood. The opening scene is taken straight from Homicide (the book). McNulty is at the scene of a crime where a man, Snotboogie, has been shot for trying to rip off a dice game. When questioning a witness, McNulty comes to find out that Snotboogie always snatches the money off the ground and runs, but that they still allow him to play dice, every Friday night. When he asked the witness why they would allow Snotboogie to keep entering the game, knowing his history of thievery, the witness replies "Got to. This is America, man." McNulty smirks and the opening credits and theme roll.  Notice McNulty's smirk. We will see it many, many times. After the title sequence, consisting of a series of images, which themselves should at some point all be photographed and dissected at some point, and the Blind Boys of Alabama doing a lovely rendition of Tom Waits' "Way Down In The Hole" we get the trademark epigraph, an important quote from the episode that is emphasized for its extra thematic implication.  Bunk and McNulty are in the courthouse, Bunk is going to drop off some paperwork for Eileen Nathan (just a name at this point, but a character who becomes important in later seasons), while McNulty is going to sit-in on a trial. The trial is that of D'Angelo Barksdale, and when McNulty enters, William Gant, a civilian, is testifying that he saw D'Angelo shoot an innocent person to death in an elevator. When asked if he sees the shooter in the courtroom, he reluctantly looks around the courtroom, and the intimidating presence of Stringer Bell and Wee-Bey, among other Barksdale associates, is evident. He ultimately points to D'Angelo and identifies him as the shooter. After Gants testimony, Neikeisha Lyles, a security guard in the building where the shooting took place enters. Stringer notices that McNulty is sitting in on the trial, and delivers him a not-so-subtle message.  Ms. Lyles is asked the same questions as Mr. Gant and claims that the shooter is not in the courtroom. Befuddled, the prosecution shows that Lyles had previously identified D'Angelo in a photo array, but she has since changed her story. Realizing what has taken place, McNulty whispers "nicely done" to Stringer and exits the courtroom. In the next scene we're introduced to three detectives: Kima, Herc and Carver. They are working a routine drug bust with the aid of an informant. This scene introduces us to the characters and demonstrates that Kima is a much better detective than the two others.  "Two guns, remember? Two." Next, D'Angelo Barksdale is found not guilty in a unanimous decision. McNulty is back in the courtroom to hear the verdict, and after its read, Judge Phelan calls him into his office. McNulty explains the Avon Barksdale empire and operation, and how the department is ignoring it, to Judge Phelan, opening up a can of worms that will set the main plot into motion. In the Narcotics office, Kima, Herc and Carver moan about how the department needs to upgrade their equipment-- they are still using typewriters and not computers. Lt. Daniels calls everyone up for a meeting with the Major. Herc has messed up the paperwork, forgetting one of the ECU numbers. Herc and Carver remark that they aren't good with paper work, but working on the street, busting heads. Then we get this epic exchange: Kima: You heroic motherfuckers, fighting the war on drugs, one brutality case at a time. Carver: You can't even call this poo poo a war. Herc: Why not? Carver: Wars end. The next scene is Bunk and McNulty at the scene of a possible homicide. Despite telling Bunk not to answer the phone, as Nolan's squad is up, Bunk says he needs to pay down her credit card debt, and this is where the epigraph comes in: "This will teach you to give a gently caress when it's not your turn to give a gently caress." As the seasoned Wire viewers know, this is a very ironic line, coming from McNulty. The next scene shows Major Foerster and Lt. Daniels exiting the meeting, the Major is pissed because the Deputy gave him hell about the Barksdale drug organization, an enterprise that, until this point, none of the police know they exist. There is no record of him-- not even a date of birth. Back at Homicide, Jimmy returns to pick up some items before he leaves. We meet the large and loveable Jay Landsman, a Detective-Sergeant in Homicide. He has a bit of friendly banter with McNulty, before telling him that Major Rawls wants to have a word with him.  "Sit the gently caress down, detective." The Major is pissed at McNulty for talking to the Judge, about "some project friend of the family" who beat his squad on 3 murder raps. This is one of the rare instances of personal racism, as opposed to the ever-present institutional racism, but it also underscores how little the department knows about drug kingpin Avon. The Major is dismissing him as a nobody. Rawls: "I had to go upstairs knowing nothing and explain to the deputy why he's getting calls about murders that don't mean a poo poo to anybody." This is a cold-hearted thing to say, given that almost every murder victim has a family. So every murder means something to someone. But this is underscores another theme that will be popping up a lot: individuals are not important; institutions are. These are not people, at least to Rawls, they are numbers that lower his job rating. (Think of the treatment of the dead prostitutes in Season 2, or all the murders in the vacants in Season 4 and 5). On Rawls' desk, sitting between him and McNulty, is a ship in a bottle. Well, we all know what McNulty thinks of ships... Rawls tells McNulty to type a report. And to put a dot (bullet point) next to each murder. The deputy likes dots. Wee-Bey is driving D'Angelo home from the courthouse, when D'Angelo mentions "that's slick what you did with the lady in the courthouse." Wee-Bey turns up the music, which is Jay-Z, and the line says "It's not real to me, therefore he doesn't exist-- so poof, vamoose son of a bitch." I don't know if that was intentional, or has any other meaning, but we're going to dissect everything, as all the pieces matter. As Wee-Bey explains that you don't say poo poo in the car, because a car could be bugged, we get an example of the show's subtlty:  D'Angelo is standing under "Chicken", while Wee-Bey is standing under "Burgers". D'Angelo is a chicken-- not cut out for the game-- he shot a man in the elevator for no good reason, because he was afraid, and brought unnecessary heat on the crew. Wee-Bey, in contrast, is smart, strong, and not-afraid. He the muscle, he "beefs" up Avon's crew. In the next scene, at Orlando's strip club, a place considered safe to talk, we meet Avon, who is meeting with Orlando and Stringer. Stringer informs Avon of McNulty's interest in D'Angelo's case, as D and Wee-Bey arrive at the strip club. "Sit your rear end down" Avon tells his relative and underling, D'Angelo-- a parallel to the discussion between Rawls and McNulty. Avon chastises him for being cowardly and bringing unnecessary heat. "You're family, but that poo poo costs time and money." Once again, preserving time and money, regardless of the institution, the Law or the Street, trump the individual in terms of priorities. D leaves, thinking he is going to return to his job working one of the towers. McNulty is back in the office typing his report, and Bunk arrives, having a homicide case to work. McNulty explains why he is there, and what he did with the judge. Bunk flips his own words on him-- "giving a gently caress when it ain't your turn." Jay walks in and offers one of his quips to Detective Cole, who is sleeping in his chair. "Don't it make your dick bust concrete to be in the same room as two noble public servants?" Jay Landsman is a real homicide detective in Baltimore, and in reality, is known for these kind of hilarious quips. He will portray Dennis Mello in further seasons. Landsman is now giving poo poo to McNulty for talking to the judge. McNulty says "what was I going to do, he's a judge". "The deputy's the loving deputy" and is the one that holds McNulty's career in his hands. Threatening to have him transferred back to walking the beat in the Western, McNulty says he doesn't care because that's where he came from. "Well, where don't you wanna go?" McNulty makes the mistake of telling him that he doesn't want to go to the marine unit. Bunk insists that McNulty listen to Landsman, lest he end up on the boat. Speaking of being re-assigned to lovely units, the next scene is Stringer demoting D'Angelo to working "the Pit"-- he no longer gets to work the tower. The next scene has the Majors of the narcotics and homicide units discussing what to do about the Barksdale situation, in a rare, elevator-cam POV shot.  D arrives for his first day working the low-rises. This picture shows how far he has fallen in the ranks of the organization with his mistake. It is a perspective of where he used to work, looking down on where he now works.  Major Foerster assigns Daniels the Barksdale investigation. Daniels gets a call from Deputy Commissioner Burrell. We're introduced to Bubbles and Johnny, two heroin addicts, scheming to use a Xerox'd ten dollar bill to buy drugs. Meanwhile, D'Angelo switches up the way business is done in the Pit, so that someone snapping pictures doesn't have the entire drug deal in one photo. "You get paid, then you send their rear end around the building to get served." D checks the money, and finds two pieces of Xerox'd paper and lays into Wallace for getting burnt by dope fiends. In this scene, Wallace points out that Alexander Hamilton was not a president, and despite being right, D disagrees. This is our first indication that Wallace is an intelligent young man in the wrong place. After successfully duping the dealers into getting some extra heroin, Bubbles and Johnny cook it up and tie off. Bubbles' makes a foreboding comment to Johnny: "You need to pace that poo poo. You're going to fall out slammin' poo poo like that one of these days. . . I'm trying to get you brown, but you're still green" After Bubbles shoots up, we see where he gets his name: as he nods off, spit bubbles collect on his mouth. It's gross. No need to take a picture. Daniels is in Burrell's office, and the Deputy Commissioner is setting up a crew for this Barksdale investigation, with detectives from Narcotics and Homicide. He tells Daniels' to be weary of McNulty, because he has a big mouth, and to keep the investigation simple.  "No surprises." McNulty goes to the FBI office, and meets with his friend Agent Fitzhugh. McNulty has given a confidential informant over to the FBI, and he gets to see what real police-work, with a budget and with care, looks like. Fiber-optic cameras, remote microphones. He is fascinated as he watches it unfold-- it's a stark contrast from what he is used to in the BPD. However, he finds out that the FBI will no longer be working drugs, due to reprioritization vis-a-vis 9/11.  Johnny tries to pull the Xerox'd money scam to get extra heroin, but fucks it up. He is caught, and beaten up by Bodie, Poot, Wallace, and others, though D does not give this order, and seems to walk away with a disgusted look.  Lt. Daniels gathers his squad for the Barksdale investigation, and assigns basic duties to everyone, believing that busting a few low-level dealers will result in them flipping and giving up Avon. McNulty disagrees, and says that surveillance, DNRs, wiretaps, are all necessary because the Barksdale outfit is highly organized and insulated. Daniels has been told specifically by Deputy Commissioner Burrell not to do any of these things. In front of the ADA, Daniels refuses to give in to McNulty's requests, and gives the orders and says no one does anything without him knowing, and emphasizes the chain of command. Bunk and McNulty meet at a bar, where Jimmy discusses how his ex-wife is screwing with him on custody. When McNulty mentions Daniels, Bunk says to be weary of him (like Burrell told Daniels to be weary of McNulty) because he's a "company man, a prospect," and is next in line for Major. McNulty: "I feel like the guy at the end of Bridge On The River Kwai-- What the gently caress did I do?" (I just watched this movie in the Un-shaming thread in CineD, so I just now understand the reference.) Stringer is at the strip club, telling D that he needs to get a handle on things, and that the kids were in fact doing the right thing by beating the hell out of Johnny. D: "It was only $30" Stringer: "It's not about the money, it's about the message" Stringer leaves, and Shardene, a stripper, approaches D, trying to get him to buy a drink. He says brushes her off with a "maybe later". Kima goes home to her girlfriend, Cheryl but has no time to rest. She has a 10 page paper due in the morning for class, and she hasn't even started it. She gets a page, and dials a number. Bunk and McNulty continue drinking, after hours, at the train tracks. They discuss how Bunk "captured" a field mouse that was terrorizing his wife. "I lit his rear end up", Bunk says. A train is heard in the distance and McNulty walks toward the track to relieve his bladder. Jimmy remarks that he's going to do the case the right way, when Bunk says he needs to "get in and get out", meanwhile the train is approaching as Jimmy stands on the track. He walks out of the way of the train at the last second.* *David Simon has stated this was a real shot, and that he feared for Dominic West's life during it. Bubbles is at the hospital, where his friend Johnny, is in bed, severely injured from the beatdown.  Kima meets up with Bubbles, surprised that he is out of jail. As revenge for his friend's beating, Bubbles implies that he will work as a confidential informant for Kima. "You still working drugs? I got something for you." Bunk, hungover in the office after staying up until 3:30am drinking with McNulty, gets a call about a homicide. When he arrives at the scene, the dead man is revealed to be William Gant-- the man who reluctantly testified against D'Angelo Barksdale earlier in the episode.**  A stunned D'Angelo, among a group of gawkers, recognizes the dead man and walks away from the scene, in silent contemplation.  **HBO forced David Simon to put the horrible flashback in the episode, because they did not have the faith in the viewers that David Simon did. Let's pretend like the flashback does not exist, because it mars an otherwise perfect first entry into the world of The Wire. This beautifully shot episode was directed by Clark Johnson, who plays Gus Haynes, editor of the Baltimore Sun, in Season 5. escape artist fucked around with this message at 09:21 on Dec 11, 2012 |
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Dec 11, 2012 07:01
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It's been almost a year since I've last seen an episode so this will be fun.
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Dec 11, 2012 07:04
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CaptainHollywood posted:It's been almost a year since I've last seen an episode so this will be fun. I've re-watched it 5 times, but it has been at least 3 years, so I'm excited, too. I'm doing Episode 1 right now. I'm taking snapshots and notes for the post.
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Dec 11, 2012 07:07
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Something I just picked up on in the very first episode: when McNulty is talking with Phelan he first refers to D'Angelo as Avon's cousin. This is never brought up again after this scene. Also the first episode has flashbacks very similar to the way Oz had flashbacks, I'm personally glad they decided to ditch them.
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Dec 11, 2012 07:09
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HoneyBoy posted:Something I just picked up on in the very first episode: when McNulty is talking with Phelan he first refers to D'Angelo as Avon's cousin. This is never brought up again after this scene. I'm pretty sure the cousin angle gets brought up quite a bit... maybe I'm remembering things wrong. Flashbacks weren't even supposed to happen, HBO insisted they were included for that first episode.
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Dec 11, 2012 07:13
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CaptainHollywood posted:I'm pretty sure the cousin angle gets brought up quite a bit... maybe I'm remembering things wrong. Flashbacks weren't even supposed to happen, HBO insisted they were included for that first episode. Yeah Simon has specifically mentioned how much he hated having to do that. I've watched this episode so many times trying to introduce people to the show I practically know it by heart. On the cool end of things, the first episode features several shots of characters from the POV of surveillance cameras, a gimmick not used again until the series finale Other things not seen until the final season: Detective Barlow, who has a great opening scene putting the phone on his balls while talking to his bookie (I think). When I first watched season 5, I thought he was a new character. Also, this episode is amazing in how well it sets the tone, thematically, for the rest of the series, although I doubt anyone realized it at the time. The very first scene essentially sums up the entire theme of the show in five words. And the futility of going against the institution is neatly shown with the two repeated lines by Rawls and Avon to McNulty and D - "Sit your rear end in the chair." One thing I don't like about this episode is how dated it seems when Kima types up the police report on the typewriter. Always found it a little hard to believe that would still be the case in 2002 in a police department, especially given that this is NOT the case as soon as the next season when they have modern computer equipment. By season 3 they all have cool Toughbooks. On that note, it's interesting how its shown right away that although Herc and Carver are dumb as poo poo, Carver is hinted to be the only one who might potentially get better (he's the one who has the preachy "wars end" line.) grading essays nude fucked around with this message at 07:40 on Dec 11, 2012 |
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Dec 11, 2012 07:38
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CaptainHollywood posted:I'm pretty sure the cousin angle gets brought up quite a bit... maybe I'm remembering things wrong. Flashbacks weren't even supposed to happen, HBO insisted they were included for that first episode. I believe that after the pilot, they switch it up and D'Angelo is actually Avon's nephew. Brianna-- Avon's sister-- her son. And the flashback thing is true. Also, this is taking a while, I'm only 1/3 of the way through the episode with summaries and screenshots but I'm going to update the second post in the thread as I watch, so I don't lose anything in case my lovely computer crashes on me. cletepurcel posted:
And I never noticed that before, but thanks, I'll keep it in the summary.
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Dec 11, 2012 07:39
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Aha I never noticed the drawing on the same pad of a suited hand holding a coffee mug that says "Bell" on it. I don't know if that was intentional (it probably was) but that's an amazing little character detail. They don't even mention Stringer's interest in real estate until much later.
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Dec 11, 2012 07:52
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Okay, I finished the episode 1 review. It's in the second post. Watching it with such intense scrutiny, under so much magnification, made me pick up on things that I hadn't before.
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Dec 11, 2012 09:24
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Obviously, the lift camera shot is repeated in "-30-"
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Dec 11, 2012 13:27
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cletepurcel posted:One thing I don't like about this episode is how dated it seems when Kima types up the police report on the typewriter. Always found it a little hard to believe that would still be the case in 2002 in a police department, especially given that this is NOT the case as soon as the next season when they have modern computer equipment. Different priorities/jobs. Also I found it really refreshing after CSI where every investigator apparently has the personal computer budget of a mid-sized first world country.
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Dec 11, 2012 16:25
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DarkCrawler posted:Different priorities/jobs. This is specifically touched on, in episode 1, several times. . . See my walkthrough above 
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Dec 11, 2012 16:27
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I like at this point that the contempt the other dealers feel for D is already palpable. The smirk on Stringers face as he delivers: "Now what you think". It's clear that they think he owes his position to nepotism, which is a fair assessment. I like that, while McNulty and D are both skilled at what they do, D's problem is that he isn't "built for the game" and isn't personally invested enough, whereas McNulty's problem is that he's TO invested, and they're both punished for it.
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Dec 11, 2012 17:12
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cletepurcel posted:
I always thought it was a priority thing, meaning their unit was on the low end of funding priority. I don't find it that hard to believe really, last year I filed a report with my local PD and the computers they do have are really dated and I did notice a couple modern typewriters.
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Dec 11, 2012 17:36
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Something that jumped out to me in the first episode rewatch is D's next day at work after the trial. He gets off a bus! This is a guy who is at the time running a tower, is related to Avon, seemingly climbing the ladder and yet he still takes the bus to work. It really made me realize how even when you get to the level D was at, it was still poo poo compared to the guys above him. It reminded me of the conversation Bodie has with Poot about how you want to sell product in the projects but you dont want to live there.
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Dec 11, 2012 18:04
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I just finished watching the entire series about a month ago. This is gonna be an awesome thread.
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Dec 11, 2012 18:40
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One thing I noticed this time around, which now that I think about it is a theme throughout the series, is hierarchy of government organizations. Meaning, the state and federal government acting superior and having no respect for Baltimore city government. It first appears in this episode with how McNulty is treated when he enters the FBI field office. Even though he is a homicide detective in the Baltimore police department, he is treated with as much suspicion as if he was there to rob the place. Throughout the series we will see members both the federal and state government treat the city of Baltimore, in part and as a whole, in a similar way.
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Dec 11, 2012 18:56
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Yee Boy! A rewatch thread! First off count me in with the people that never noticed the Bell mug in the Super Africaman drawing. Funny thing is i actually noticed it before people started mentioning it, i love picking up little things like that. Rawls has the best entrance ever, him staring out a dark window only half lit. Then the two fingers bit. It's loving perfect. I kinda like the Kima, Herc, and Carv introduction but it's not anything special. Last but not least i think it has the best drunken Jimmy and Bunk at the train scene. "Catch him? I lit his rear end up." Speaking of, did we ever figure out the train metaphor? I mean obviously it's supposed to be the gods of Baltimore, and Jimmy is pissing in their path while they speed toward him. But what about the next seasons? Sometimes it's stopped, sometimes it's not there...i've never been able to crack that nut.
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Dec 11, 2012 18:58
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Fragmented posted:Speaking of, did we ever figure out the train metaphor? I mean obviously it's supposed to be the gods of Baltimore, and Jimmy is pissing in their path while they speed toward him. But what about the next seasons? Sometimes it's stopped, sometimes it's not there...i've never been able to crack that nut. I remember an interview with David Simon where he mentions that the trains were a metaphor, but specifically didn't explain it. IIRC, Brother Mouzone and Lamar have a conversation later in the series to the effect of: pre:Brother: Slow train coming. Lamar: What? Brother: Progress, Lamar, progress. Edit: Thinking about it more, I think we can put some credence into Mouzone's observations because he, like Omar, is one of the few people who is truly outside of the system. Therefore, thematically speaking, he should be one of the few characters who can make impartial observations of the system. confused fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Dec 11, 2012 |
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Dec 11, 2012 19:06
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confused posted:I remember an interview with David Simon where he mentions that the trains were a metaphor, but specifically didn't explain it. IIRC, Brother Mouzone and Lamar have a conversation later in the series to the effect of: "Reform, Lamar, Reform." <----Check the av. Also, I remember David Simon saying, basically, that his intended interpretation of the train metaphor, well, the fans of the show have never come close to being correct on it. So that should definitely be a nut that we collectively try to crack. I always thought the train was the institution, and if you don't get out of its way, it will demolish you. But apparently Simon has heard that metaphor, and it is not what he intended the trains to symbolize. We'll keep the trains in mind as we move through the series.
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Dec 11, 2012 19:21
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escape artist posted:We'll keep the trains in mind as we move through the series. Cool  Thanks for making the thread escape and putting the effort in to it.
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Dec 11, 2012 19:26
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The Chicken/Burgers thing between D and Wee-Bey is a great observation. Has that been called out as something that was purposefully done? Because if so, wow and if not, even more wow. I just finished a re-watch the other week... but maybe I'm up for another 
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Dec 11, 2012 20:32
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Stringer to Avon, about McNulty: "You remember that cop that tried to pin Gerard on Little Kevin?" Gerard is Gerard Bogue, the murder case that the Barksdales beat McNulty on by doing the same thing they did at D's trial. But is Little Kevin the same Little Kevin we meet in season 4?
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Dec 11, 2012 20:57
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Kevyn posted:Stringer to Avon, about McNulty: "You remember that cop that tried to pin Gerard on Little Kevin?" I very much doubt it, Little Kevin by season 4 was like Bodie's age right? Season 1 is something like four years prior, that'd make him something like Namond's age. I don't think he'd have been able to pull off a murder and walk away from it so easily. This is probably just a case of the Dinks.
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Dec 11, 2012 21:02
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You missed a golden opportunity to use the thread subtitle "...and all the pieces matter".
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Dec 11, 2012 21:33
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HoneyBoy posted:I very much doubt it, Little Kevin by season 4 was like Bodie's age right? Season 1 is something like four years prior, that'd make him something like Namond's age. I don't think he'd have been able to pull off a murder and walk away from it so easily. Don't forget the time in season 3 that Bunk tries to find a guy named "Peanut" and gets about a hundred results. It's a coincidence here though.
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Dec 11, 2012 22:13
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It's kind of funny how when Johnny gets caught with the fake money, D knows that by walking away he's effectively sanctioning the beatdown the hoppers are going to give him... yet D still gets poo poo for not out-and-out ordering it. The result would have been the same, except in this case it's perceived by the Barksdales (or at least String) as showing weakness.Mr Lance Murdock posted:This is a guy who is at the time running a tower, is related to Avon, seemingly climbing the ladder and yet he still takes the bus to work. It seems like there's a weird power imbalance between the ones who are slinging (D, Bodie, Poot, etc.) vs. the muscle (Bey, Bird, Savino) and the benefits they seem to get. The guy busting heads gets more "privilege" than the guy doing the work establishing drug dealing protocol. And within the group of dealers, the only guy I can think of that actually gets privileges is D and I'm willing to bet that the fact that he's family is a huge part of it. Maybe Bodie gets some too later on, I guess, or someone else I'm forgetting, but it's awfully lopsided. I also keep forgetting about that dumb flashback. It wouldn't even bother me as much if it wasn't for the terrible zoom effect.
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Dec 11, 2012 23:32
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Funny, I was doing the same thing. Though I was going to watch an episode a day I can just be ahead.
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Dec 11, 2012 23:40
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Kevyn posted:Stringer to Avon, about McNulty: "You remember that cop that tried to pin Gerard on Little Kevin?" Fragmented posted:Cool No problem. Thank you! escape artist fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Dec 12, 2012 |
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Dec 12, 2012 00:33
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I love the conversations the crew have in the pit in the first season. Looking forward to the breakdowns on those.
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Dec 12, 2012 00:57
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Woo, go rewatch thread! I started a rewatch around 3-4 weeks ago and am now on Season 5 but I'll stick strictly to first season talk for now. The thing that really stands out for me in the pilot (and all throughout Season 1) is how often we see the action through other cameras. Seriously, there's a ton of scene-opening shots (whatever you call them) where we're looking through a security camera on both the streets and the police. I guess it just signifies that everyone is being watched all the time and there's no escape. It also reminds me of one of the show's key themes throughout its run: everyone's trapped. In one way or another the system you are in is always watching, waiting for you to gently caress up and as a result chew you out like there's no tomorrow. Unlike the other seasons (to clarify my ranking is: 3, 4, 2, 1, 5) this is the one that gives me huge nostalgia vibes. Maybe it's the (relative) simplicity or that it was merely the first season and I have rose-tinted glasses because this was my first exposure to The Wire. However, I really think these vibes come from the Pit group of D, Bodie, Poot and Wallace. That whole setting just brings it all back: them talking poo poo on the orange couch, D teaching the young ones about the game as well as learning about himself along the way, the McNugget story and the chess scene. All of that added up to form, at least to me, the heart of the show.
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Dec 12, 2012 00:57
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Boywhiz88 posted:The Chicken/Burgers thing between D and Wee-Bey is a great observation. Has that been called out as something that was purposefully done? Because if so, wow and if not, even more wow. I just finished a re-watch the other week... but maybe I'm up for another I seriously devoured every Wire blog/recap/etc. that I could find during and after my runs through, years ago. I'm not sure if it was mentioned in a thread here previously, but it is certainly intentional and I can't take credit for the observation. Also, pardon me if I omit a word or my grammar is messed up in the review. I did it at like 3 in the morning. I think it came out pretty well, though. Lugaloco posted:Woo, go rewatch thread! I started a rewatch around 3-4 weeks ago and am now on Season 5 but I'll stick strictly to first season talk for now. escape artist fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Dec 12, 2012 |
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Dec 12, 2012 01:09
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escape artist posted:I seriously devoured every Wire blog/recap/etc. that I could find during and after my runs through, years ago. I'm not sure if it was mentioned in a thread here previously, but it is certainly intentional and I can't take credit for the observation. It was definitely mentioned in the thread at one point. I'm also pretty sure it's in the dvd commentary for the episode.
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Dec 12, 2012 01:11
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Lugaloco posted:
Yeah some of these weren't that great but i liked it and i wish they stuck with it. I bet someone on the production team made a call to axe it after the pilot. We still get some shots later on. The bust on the FBI case, also when they wire the strip club. Getting the tapes from the old security dude at the harbor in season 2 etc.
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Dec 12, 2012 01:44
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Fragmented posted:Yeah some of these weren't that great but i liked it and i wish they stuck with it. I bet someone on the production team made a call to axe it after the pilot. We still get some shots later on. The bust on the FBI case, also when they wire the strip club. Getting the tapes from the old security dude at the harbor in season 2 etc. The best one is the helicopter camera coming up later this season.
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Dec 12, 2012 02:24
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There's also a helicopter cam shot in Season 5. It's sent after McNulty makes the faux-serial killer call.
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Dec 12, 2012 04:12
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The first episode of the Wire definitely feels like they did some things just to keep people watching to the next episode. As great as it is once you get to really know the characters, Rawl's "damnit McNulty, you're outta line!  " bit seems like pretty standard cop drama affair.The cop scenes and the court scenes didn't really do anything for me in the first episode, or even the first few episodes. It was all about the street. The first court scene lead me to believe that D'angelo was going to be a bad guy, but when you see him interacting with the Barksdale crew with a sort of somber tone is when the duality of the show first hit me.
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Dec 12, 2012 04:38
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Lugaloco posted:
I do like that they bought it back for the series finale, McNulty and Daniels in the elevator!
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Dec 12, 2012 05:09
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Parachute Underwear posted:It seems like there's a weird power imbalance between the ones who are slinging (D, Bodie, Poot, etc.) vs. the muscle (Bey, Bird, Savino) and the benefits they seem to get. The guy busting heads gets more "privilege" than the guy doing the work establishing drug dealing protocol. Economists who have studied the drug trade have found that it is very unfavorable to people on the street level, most of whom make less than minimum wage. The deal with D is he's been punished with demotion for his error killing a man in front of witnesses. Formerly he was in charge of one of (I think) four housing project towers, which represented a sizable chunk of Barksdale's whole territory. In that capacity most likely he was managing more people, had a higher status in the organization, and was earning much more money. In some ways his demotion is assumed to be temporary, since Stringer and Avon say as much, and soon enough they're telling him his good work in the pit will see him paid a commission on the package instead of a salary. He never gets the opportunity to work off his probation, however, thanks to Omar and the police. From a behind-the-scenes perspective this makes the season easier to produce. Extended filming in and around the project towers would be physically more difficult to film, harder for viewers to follow, and probably impossible to get permission for because of the inconvenience and disruption to the residents. Filming in the exterior courtyard of the low-rise projects is comparatively easy, and the audience can get situated with the small-scale drug trade there. Your observation is correct, though: the muscle makes more money. This is because anything involving serious violence has the potential for aggressive police response and harsh sentences, so they should only be assigned to proven, senior members of the organization. Wee-Bey and Bird, the members of the organization responsible for most of that work, are both caught and given sentences of life without parole, and neither really makes any attempt to cooperate with the authorities in exchange for a better deal. A capacity for measured and effective violence is also a rare and valuable talent in itself, which comes up a bit more in later seasons, particularly with Michael Lee's arc in Season 5.
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Dec 12, 2012 05:19
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