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I've been jonesing for a rewatch, but was putting it off until I finish my rewatch of Six Feet Under. At 2 episodes a week, though, count me in.escape artist posted:And the scene where Bunk and McNulty solve a crime using only one word. That was the moment I went from "this show is pretty good" to "gently caress, now I'm addicted, this is brilliant."
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Dec 12, 2012 20:49
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Kill Dozed posted:Great time for a new thread on The Wire. I am actually taking a class right now all about season four. We've actually read a lot of academic articles specifically about The Wire. I was surprised how much attention it got. If people want, I can post some links to these articles. Some of them are available for free online, but others are only available through JSTOR or Academic Search Complete. But if you have access to university databases, you can get them there. I would love for you to post them.
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Dec 13, 2012 13:35
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MrBling posted:Does anyone in The Wire actually pronounce it "Ballmer" ? My stepmother grew up in Baltimore, and she and my Dad live there now. They say "Ballmer" all the drat time. When I visit in the summer and we can sit on the front porch, we get to play my favorite game: Is That A Hooker, Or Is She Waiting For The Bus? Edit: watt par posted:Dominic West claims that story happened to an actual Balmer po-lice: Thanks to that article, I've just purchased Appropriate Adult on Amazon Instant. chesh fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 00:47
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escape artist posted:Did you guys like the review post of episode 1? It's arduous, but I enjoy it. . . I can do it for each episode if you all want. Yes, please! I've been eagerly awaiting episode 2.
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Dec 16, 2012 17:49
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escape artist posted:O'Malley makes a cameo in Season 5, IIRC. If you could work in to your recaps when real life people appear, I'd appreciate it. I've read a lot about various pols/ex-dealers appearing but I'm not good enough to match them.
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Dec 17, 2012 05:35
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I really can not class The Wire with anything else. Yes, it is a TV show in that it aired on the television. But I can not compare it to any other television, because it is so distinctly, so completely, different. It literally (IMHO) transcends its medium. It is a visual novel. Very, very few shows have done that, and so in my mind it is completely unfair to compare it to the rest of TV, or the rest of TV to it. In my mind, there are two bubbles: TV; and The Wire, The (original) Prisoner, and maybe MASH. Back in the spring Vulture asked what was the greatest drama in the last 25 years. They were all great entries, and eventually it came down to The Sopranos vs The Wire, and I swore to myself if they didn't pick The Wire I would have to punch something. Luckily, I didn't have to. Jerusalem posted:Edit: There was an interesting thing a journalist/academic did where he had some real life gangsters come in to watch The Wire with him and he recorded their thoughts/feelings on the realism (or not) of the show. I was always interested in the fact that every single one of them was adamant that Bunk was on the take, and that they saw absolutely nothing morally wrong with that at all. Their reasoning was that a policeman is paid badly, a policeman "in the pocket" wasn't likely to cross a certain line and you'd be foolish to ask him to, but giving him a few extra bucks in return for information/early warning of investigations and the like was perfectly fine. If you can recall where you saw/read that I would love to see it.
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Dec 19, 2012 00:11
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This may be dumb, but I am going to Baltimore for a week on Saturday. I've seen the building they use for the exterior of Homicide like a dozen times. Is there any place the thread would like me to go and photograph? And please note if you say "X corner in the Western district" that is flat out not happening. I've driven through those areas and it's not a place you want a banger to catch you with a Nikon and a big lens.
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Dec 19, 2012 05:45
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Because you posted the episode 2 recap I started my rewatch. I love the scene at the end of episode 1 where D'Angelo is walking away from the Gant scene. Shot high, in the trees, it makes him look so incredibly small. Starting episode 2 now, and I'm going to try to watch the commentaries on both eps tomorrow, as it should be a slow work day. This will be my second rewatch. I managed to catch the last season as it aired, and then back in 2007 I had to have spinal surgery, and I went out before that and bought the DVD box set as my own personal recovery package. I'm happy to say that since then the DVD's have rarely been in my possession, as I have loaned them out on a nearly continuous basis.
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Dec 21, 2012 03:10
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Randomly Specific posted:I don't know. I thought on my first viewing that was a sign that he had some kind of principles, but he spends the rest of the series burning everybody who comes near him. I can't think of any other principled moments he had, and he would've burned Carcetti at the end if he hadn't been given the carrot and stick treatment. Simon mentions this on the commentary for s1e1, and I wish I had taken notes. I can transcribe it when I get back home if you guys want, but basically, he says that it was important that the higher ups be human - they aren't evil, just out for number 1, and the first time they truly show this was Kima's shooting.
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Dec 24, 2012 04:19
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Zombie Raptor posted:I started my third viewing of The Wire today, and then came across this thread. I am going to jump aboard here if no one minds. No, absolutely. It is clearly assumed by Avon, D'Angelo, Dee's mom - everyone - that that kid will end up in The Family Business, because at this point they don't see an end to their empire. It's interesting to assume that kid will go in to slinging drugs, just like his uncle and father, just like Ziggy and Nick join the family business working the docks.
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Dec 26, 2012 23:23
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Sometimes I like to hit David Simon's blog. The original post here isn't so awesome (though he has lots of those), but I especially like the second comment, where he gets in an absolutely awesome argument with "Derek." Well worth a read.
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Dec 28, 2012 01:17
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Jerusalem posted:Goddamn do I love it when David Simon rips somebody a new one. I was hoping someone else would love it as much as me! I spend all my non-TVIV time in D&D, and that is hands down one of the best internet argument posts ever. Full of facts and snark like the best of them. "You couldn’t be more wrong if you tried. And apparently, you are, indeed, trying."  kaworu posted:I dunno, I think viewing Kenard (or anyone) in anything resembling a dichotomy of good/evil is doing a disservice to both David Simon and the show itself. Kenard is a walking metaphor for a specific aspect of institutional decay in America, like many characters on the show both major and minor. He is one particular example of the many consequences that come from an inner-city school institution that is rotted out to the very core, and in some ways a particularly prescient example given recent events in the news. The Wire has to have reached some sort of unofficial record when it comes to being uncannily prophetic about the years that immediately followed it's ending. Oh, thank you for this! It led me to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRt46W3k-qw Which was amazing and insightful. I wish I could marry his brain. 
chesh fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Dec 28, 2012 |
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Dec 28, 2012 02:59
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Jerusalem posted:It has been said before, but anybody who hasn't read The Corner and Homicide: A Year In The Killing Streets owes it to themselves to do so. In The Corner in particular, Simon will reach points where he somewhat abandons the narrative/"characters" (it is a non-fiction account of real people after all) in order to go on lengthy asides/tirades about the complete failure of various elements of Government/society, puncture holes in many "common sense" solutions/beliefs and remind everybody just how hosed up things are. Holy goddamn hell. I read Homicide this year, and it was the first book in probably 15 years where I was underlying phrases and paragraphs because I knew -- I KNEW -- I would revisit and reread this book in the coming years. I'll pick up The Corner in early January, I promise.
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Dec 28, 2012 04:12
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escape artist posted:Yeah, that's a great one. "Does he scare you? He scares me." - Avon Are you gonna keep doing your recaps? I've been missing them.  I wish I hadn't started a rewatch right before leaving home for two weeks of travel.
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Jan 5, 2013 06:47
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escape artist posted:Yes and I will do them at a faster pace, too. The holidays + myself being sick, and my dog being deathly sick needing 'round the clock care, has sort of postponed it. I was up 36 hours tending to him-- just holding him to try and make him comfortable. He's recovering, finally, though. Poor puppy. I'm glad he's better.quote:But I plan to do a recap for all 60 episodes. Don't you worry  I'm back from my holiday travels, too, so I can continue with my rewatch. I can also intersperse the depressing poo poo with the complete series of Fraggle Rock thanks to my parents being awesome gift givers. I'm also trying to listen to the commentary tracks as I go through, which I've never done before. Episode 1 is Simon, and he doesn't say anything we haven't already discussed here. Episode 2 is Clark Johnson, and he starts out like this: "Hi, I'm Clark Johnson, and I wrote, directed, produced and edited every single frame of this series. And if you are watching it, you are probably in the Smithsonian, because it's that good." quote:(If I do that, I'm thinking about basically turning it into a blog, too. Would that be worth it? Maybe Google AdSense could throw a few dimes to a crippled man in desperate need. I could also pair it with my cinema review blog.) You should! These insights should be shared beyond just the goons.
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Jan 6, 2013 23:31
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geeves posted:I don't recall seeing this in either Wire thread - found it after watching the LOST RPG ahahahahaha this is brilliant! FRANK SOBOTKA: Let me explain in detail how shipping works. YOU SKIPPED LEVEL TWO AND MISSED NOTHING IMPORTANT.
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Jan 11, 2013 02:38
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When Kima and McNulty first talk with Omar, he tells them that "Bird dropped the working man." Jimmy asks who Bird is, and Omar says "Your snitch can tell you that. poo poo, Bubs knows who Bird is." I like this exchange, as it shows how Omar pays attention to everything. It would never occur to Avon that a dope fiend could take him down, and it would never occur to Omar to ignore that hop head.
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Jan 13, 2013 20:13
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escape artist posted:It's also an interesting scene in that Omar states he won't snitch because it rubs him the wrong way, but then does a complete 180 after Brandon's horrible death. I think that if they hadn't tortured Brandon, he wouldn't have snitched. When in the office with Kima and McNulty he says something to that effect, if I'm not mistaken: that getting killed is a part of the game, but they didn't have to do Brandon that way.
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Jan 13, 2013 21:39
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"Nobody move. I said NOBODY loving MOVE. If you have not been assigned a specific task by a homicide detective, you need to step away from this crime scene. Is there anybody doesn't understand a direct order? If you have not been specifically instructed otherwise, then remove your useless, interfering asses from the area. NOW. Slow this thing down to a crawl. Give these bastards no chance to gently caress up in any meaningful way." Beginning of episode 11, and the first time we actually get to see Rawls do his job, and not just be an rear end in a top hat. I'm not really sure why I love this little speech so much, but I do. Etherwind posted:I think I might have cracked the symbolism behind the trains. Oooo, good interpretation.
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Jan 15, 2013 02:42
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escape artist posted:That is a good interpretation, and while I'm not disagreeing with it, I wonder-- how does it fit in with Kima being shot? That is the first time we see the train stopped on the tracks. Since it was discussed previously, I went ahead and transcribed it. It'll save you on your recap: "Listen to me, you gently caress. You did a lot of poo poo here. You played a lot of loving cards and you made a lot of loving people do a lot of loving things they didn't want to do. This is true. We both know this is true. You, McNulty, are a gaping rear end in a top hat. We both know this. gently caress if everyone in CID doesn't know. But gently caress if I'm going to stand here and say you did a single loving thing to get a police shot. You did not do this, you loving hear me? This is not on you. No it isn't, rear end in a top hat. Believe it or not everything isn't loving about you. And the motherfucking saying this? He hates your guts, McNulty. So you know if this was on you, I'd be the son-of-a-bitch to say so."
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Jan 15, 2013 02:57
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Man, you know it's bad when you seriously consider calling in sick so you can stay up and rewatch more episodes of The Wire.
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Jan 15, 2013 05:09
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Commentary update: George Pelecanos says the scene where Wallace is murdered is the hardest thing he has ever had to write. "Thank you for buying the season 1 DVD's. I hope you bought them, and this wasn't shoplifted or downloaded. George, how many points did you get on the DVD's?" "How many did you get?" "None. You know what? Shoplift this. Download it." chesh fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Jan 16, 2013 |
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Jan 16, 2013 03:01
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escape artist posted:First comment is hilarious. In interviews he will even say he had trouble narrowing the accent down, and it really slipped out when he A) Had a British director or B) Had scenes with Idris Elba. And I love me some Idris (mmmmmmhmmmmmm) but I think it's sad he's really the only actor from this show to get stardom. Wendell Pierce and Clark Peters got to move on to Treme (and Peters is about to be my favorite bad guy on Person of Interest) and other non-locals have gotten bit parts here and there, but it feels like Dominic West pretty much disappeared from the American radar, and that makes me sad.
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Jan 25, 2013 03:44
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escape artist posted:West plays in lovely American films... albeit usually bit parts... So take that for what its worth. Parachute Underwear posted:300, Punisher, maybe Centurion and John Carter are the only movies I'd expect most people to have seen him in recently. Exactly - bit parts in, let's face it, not great films. Not that Idris has got the golden touch at picking films, either, but he does way more of them, and no one can deny how awesome Luther is. Jerusalem posted:Check out Appropriate Adult if you get a chance, Dominic West is utterly terrifying in it. I did see this, and he is really, really good in it. And 9 out of 10 Americans will never see it. spite house posted:Idris is the only member of the cast who has real star power though, in the old-school, marquee-idol sense. There's talk about him playing the next James Bond. It'll never happen because racism, unfortunately, but it's a plausible call. I agree, and I also think he would be an amazing Bond, but he's talked about not wanting to be "the Black Bond" and I get that. However, quote:I think this was at least partly by design. Stringer needed to be played by a capital-S Star. This I disagree with. I don't think they thought Idris would be the breakout star he has been. I think the whole point was to cast people that wouldn't necessarily break out. I guess that's my problem right there - Dominic West was the STAR AND CENTRAL CHARACTER of an HBO show. And he achieved little in the American spotlight. Remember that James Gandolfini became a household name. Remember, too, that everyone (who watched this show) remembers Stringer getting got. And Omar. And yet no one really remembers Jimmy McNulty, and no one has seen them on their TV screens since. It's almost like the casting is ALSO a profound commentary on the system.
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Jan 27, 2013 08:43
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YES I KNOW I AM DOUBLE POSTING but I felt like these were separate topics so suck it.GreenCard78 posted:The Rawls gay thing makes me think of a dude I grew up with's dad. He wasn't a cop but he was a real tough dude, made the boys do manly stuff and work out at a young age, taught them to fight, didn't take any poo poo but turned out to be seeing dudes on the side. It always amazes me that we forget that it wasn't so long ago that being out wasn't easy. I still wrestle with this in my daily life - I grew up in Northern California, and I was an open and proud bi-sexual to my friends at 16. I was in my late 20's before I admitted that to my parents - and my Dad had always struck me as homophobic but when I told him shrugged his shoulders and told me he's always suspected. My two closest friends in high school didn't come out until college. But we need to realize that coming out in your teens and 20's is so incredibly new. I was reminded of this over New Years when a dear and old friend now in his mid 40's came out to me as transgendered. He's just now starting to take baby steps toward living his life openly and honestly as a woman. I had to A) Remind myself that he's 10 years older and thus grew up in a different time (even if it doesn't feel that removed) and B) That just 20 years ago what he's seeking to do would have been considered radical. So yeah, when I was 10 and he was 20, he couldn't come out and be himself - a woman. And now he can. And if you think back 30 years ago? The media narrative was that all gay people had AIDS and the one out spoken transgender was Renee Richards, who you only know if you followed tennis, and was barred from playing pro tennis unless she had a hormone test. poo poo, the Stonewall Riots were 43 years ago, and there DRAG QUEENS started a visible movement that has since brought us understanding, marriage equality (in some places but not all), and RuPaul. In short, Rawls? Was totally normal to be on the down low. That should not be shocking to us, but it is, because we have short attention spans. What is shocking, to me, is to realize that The Wire has Rawls, Omar, and Kima as three different and fully fleshed out predominant gay characters on TV, whereas before that you can count Will and Jack from Will and Grace and Willow from Buffy on the one and only gay hand of television.
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Jan 27, 2013 09:00
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I just watched the commentary on the pilot episode of Person of Interest and learned that the first person who Reese saves - Pope's "little brother" - was Dukie in The Wire: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2369266/ The producers were talking about how much they loved him and they hired him unseen and he shows up at 17 years old and 6'4". Also, they mentioned wanting to hire everyone from The Wire. I brought this here because holy Hell I never would have guessed that was Dukie, and also because I love it when other TV people laud The Wire. 
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Feb 1, 2013 21:42
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DarkCrawler posted:I know, right?! Seriously, what the gently caress. I mean, I know most kids shows carry an adult message in the context, but holy gently caress that's about the last place I would expect a straight up Wire homage. Mad props to those writers.
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Feb 7, 2013 07:38
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BiggerBoat posted:I just blazed through all 6 episodes of The Corner and thought it was really great. I'd never heard of it before this thread. HBO has it on OnDemand right now. It's not on HBO Go. You'd gotten my hopes up.
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Feb 9, 2013 03:48
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YAY!! I'm started The Revolution Was Televised the other day and just started the chapter about The Wire.
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Feb 9, 2013 04:54
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DarkCrawler posted:Let's just say that the main character in Banshee makes - let's say, Raylan Givens - look like the biggest pussy this side of bitch town. I've seen the poster for Banshee but have no idea what is about. Sell me on it, and why a fan of The Wire would like it?
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Feb 10, 2013 05:26
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DropsySufferer posted:I was just thinking when I looked at this thread that I wish the OP would do write-ups of each episode like he had started to do in the first few posts. ME TOO  Not lying, I went on to rewatching other things so I wouldn't get too far ahead of the brilliant write-ups I am still expecting.
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Feb 12, 2013 04:58
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How does "lake trout" fit in to the whole "lenten fish sandwich" thing? Honestly, I grew up in Northern California, and this whole fish fry/fish sandwich thing on the east/atlantic/mid-atlantic was a weird thing to get used to.
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Feb 13, 2013 06:24
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SpookyLizard posted:It's the part that goes between the bread. Awesome, that's what I wanted to know. Here in western PA they simply call it "fish."
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Feb 13, 2013 07:12
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geeves posted:For the next 8 weeks in western PA (esp Pittsburgh) all fish will be "Fish Fry". I know (but only on Friday's)! That makes me so happy. Excellent write up, Jerusalem! Randomly Specific posted:Omar running her a 'tab' of sorts there was banking for the future. Think ahead to the part where Weebay and company are burning his van and he's watching from her squat with her kid in his lap. I was going to say this, but you beat me to it. It took as long to read the recap as to watch the episode. 
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Feb 13, 2013 21:56
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DropsySufferer posted:Great job on the writeups both of you! (Both sides are pushing. Hence, the desk is immovable.)
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Feb 15, 2013 00:49
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3Romeo posted:Moral Midgetry (3x08). Out of context, honestly, I have no problem with this scene. She comes to see him. He's not flagging her down, telling her how awful she is as a mother, but in that room, his room, in his grounds? Yeah, gently caress you. Here's how it went. And yeah, it's your fault. gently caress you for asking.
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Feb 17, 2013 04:55
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escape artist posted:Speaking of which, I missed my NA meeting tonight. I went to my first ever NA meeting a few weeks ago, to support my friend who got his 60 days sober key tag. I was like Mother Hen proud of him. I also learned that AA people hate the NA people, which is a feud I think the world could do without. I was also also slightly weirded out by people introducing themselves with hugs. End of the meeting, after all the sharing? I totally was up for hugging. Walking in and taking off my coat and sticking my hand out to introduce myself and instead being wrapped up in a hug by a total stranger? Little weird. All of which got me to thinking that my (admittedly single) experience with NA was different than what is typically shown in TV and movies, including The Wire. They show chairs laid out in rows, almost pew like, and a podium from which one person speaks, or (in House of Cards, most recently) a square or circle with a vast empty space between people. In my NA meeting, we all sat in a circle around a few tables. It was structured yet free form, with no designated speaker. There were pats on the back and hand holding, much more personal than what TV/movies had taught me to expect. Also, there was no smoking.
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Feb 28, 2013 05:38
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DropsySufferer posted:Not really related to the wire but is NA like an non-religious AA? NA is Narcotics Anonymous and AA is Alcoholics Anonymous and AA hates NA for some goddamn reason. AA is also way less touchy-feely than NA. I know, because I am an expert, having been to one meeting of each! And yeah, escape artist, the religious aspects were disconcerting to me and my recovering friend. He's giving himself over to gravity. "Gravity is a force much larger than I." He also uses it to throw terrifically cheap jokes at me, because I have the balance of a drunken flamingo. SpookyLizard posted:You could always be snarky and go for Gravity OMG
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Mar 1, 2013 01:37
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watt par posted:Balmer Merlin, located in Balmer Canny. This is exactly how my stepmom, first generation American, born and bred in Baltimore, says it. I was born and raised in California and pronounce it Ball-tea-more. She knows I am loving with her when I say "Balmer." She also does an amazing pronunciation of "hon." It's like "huuuuun." escape artist posted:^^I'm not writing anything up man, I hosed my back up and I think I herniated a cervical disc. I barely been able to get out of bed this past week. So the baton is yours my man. Oooooowwwww, I hope you are OK.
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Mar 5, 2013 05:39
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Jerusalem posted:Thank you! That is a great observation. And I loved the entire write-up, with one small nit: Johnny has AIDS, not Aids. AIDS is an acronym and I don't know why that completely bothers me, but it does. It's up there with "I could care less" for me. It makes me want to punch things. I recognize I am a total freak about this issue. escape artist posted:
I think we've all been there.
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Mar 6, 2013 01:31
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