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  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

Television The Wire

Wow! Just finished rewatching season 3 and even though I already knew what was going to happen, it was still incredible!

My favorite episode is the second to last episode of 3 with my favorite scene being between Avon and Stringer when they're out overlooking the harbor at night. That scene was brilliantly executed. The only problem with The Wire is that there isn't really all that much of The Wire, but I guess it's better they didn't just prolong it and repeat story lines.

Enjoyed my second watch of season 2 more than the first time, but I still think that season is a bit weak. It just feels disjointed, doesn't connect to the other 4 seasons as well as the other seasons connect to each other.
 
I didn't realize the first time watching through, but the guy who played Johnny Fifty, he was the younger guy on the docks in season 2 who helped Nick Sobotka and Ziggy boost cans, in season 5 he's one of the homeless people that McNulty and Freamon see in episode 4 when they go to where the homeless are staying.
 
Carl Landrover said:
I didn't realize the first time watching through, but the guy who played Johnny Fifty, he was the younger guy on the docks in season 2 who helped Nick Sobotka and Ziggy boost cans, in season 5 he's one of the homeless people that McNulty and Freamon see in episode 4 when they go to where the homeless are staying.
Click to expand...

and im fairly sure the actor that played the homeless war vet in season 5 is the same actor that played the injured war vet interviewed at the rehab hospital. although i never looked it up.

and rowles is a big closet homo :) ...not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
Still havent seen season 5. No librarys around me have it. we have no video rental stores. Havent seen it to buy :(. No bank account or card cant order online :(
 
The Wire Remastered

Thought of this scene and how it represents how I feel at the moment:



But really I just wanted to bring up the topic of The Wire since HBO recently aired their marathon of the remastered HD version of the series.

In my opinion, it's the greatest TV show ever made. Season 3 is absolute gold. Any of you agree? Disagree? If you disagree, you're an asshole btw, lol.

It always seems this and the Sopranos come up as two of the best written shows made. They're both great, one is more opera and a commentary on the concept of family, the other more a novel and social commentary. So they're different shows entirely, but to me The Wire is king.
 
I've watched both series multiple times and now that Breaking Bad is finished I'd have to say that I see them more as equals as far as "greatest TV show ever" goes. I used to think The Wire was better, but that was before Breaking Bad ended, so it was not fair to compare them just yet. Fortunately Breaking Bad, just like The Wire, had an amazing ending and one that left me satisfied. No loose ends. I think Breaking Bad is a little more fun to re-watch, but you'll notice A LOT more by watching The Wire at least a second time. The Wire had a much broader scope and had more characters than I've ever seen on a show. It's easy to name 50 people from that show and you'll still have plenty of names that you didn't mention.


Yes, season 3 of The Wire is gold.
Can't remember how to do spoiler tags -
NSFW:
The buildup leading to Stringer Bell's death was fucking awesome. I remember being blown away the first time I saw Stringer get killed. I absolutely love the scene the night before Stringer dies where Avon and Stringer are out on a balcony and they're just reminiscing and bullshitting. Then Avon who sold Stringer out to Brother Mouzone uses the same line "It's just business" that Stringer used when he gave Avon up to Bunny Colvin. The acting and writing on the show were phenomenal.



The Wire is definitely an amazing show. The scope of it and messages it had about the effect of drugs and the effect of prohibition was just done so well. The progression of the characters from season to season was brilliant. The message of a failing bureaucracy that prevents any changes from being made makes for some really interesting debates. I know a few colleges had classes based on The Wire.

I also love the fact that the creators didn't repeat anything. They moved the focus each season, but still kept up with the characters from previous seasons. That is pretty ballsy since they went in very different directions. Starting from Season 1 - we were introduced to the cops and the Barksdale crew; Season 2 - introduced us to the port, the fallout and difficulties of Unions, etc; Season 3 - introduced a political angle and Hamsterdam!; Season 4 - added the school angle and the rise of a new powerhouse crew in West Baltimore; Season 5 - added the newspaper/media angle. This progression really helped to show how things get to be the way they are and how people get to be the people they are. I love the fact that they took it in different directions. It gave a more in depth look at the city, almost so much that Baltimore, the actual city, was almost a character on the show.

When I sit down and think about it, like I am while typing this, I think I liked the realism of the show the most. It didn't seem to have an agenda or an idea they were trying to force. There were no clear winners and losers. Things didn't get wrapped up neatly with the bad guy going losing and the good guys winning, like shows like CSI often do. In fact sometimes it was hard to tell who were the good guys and who were the bad guys, and for the most part I don't think there were actual good guys or bad guys. As in real life, people are complicated and it isn't shown in a black and white way, just gray. Comparing it to other shows The Wire presented us with the most realistic portrait of modern society.
 
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The Wire really is the most realistic TV show I've ever seen. It's even filmed, for the most part, like a documentary. The 4:3 aspect ratio was specifically chosen for this reason when 16:9 was where everyone else was going by then. The camera almost always doesn't see things that the characters don't see as well. It doesn't even pan to characters until after they start speaking, as if it has to catch up to them. There's no score to speak of outside of a songs that are being played in the environment.

David Simon compared it to a greek tragedy, but with the powers of the Gods replaced by the the workings of a capitalistic society. Politics, prejudice in the judicial system, racial bias by not just the police, but society at large, macroeconomics, the drug war itself. These were powers that decided the character's fates. Like poor Dookie, who never really had a chance to make it,
finally becoming an addict himself just like his Mother finally becoming an addict himself just like his Mother

I never really got into Breaking Bad, it just always seemed to be more for pure entertainment than it was to really make a statement to try to show me an aspect of life that I was previously unaware of. Whereas you have many who compare The Wire to a Dickens' novel in it display of the separation of the classes and other societal ills. I just can't put it on the pedestal that The Wire is on because the literary chops, so to speak, aren't there. Maybe I'll take the time to watch through the series once the hype dies down. I'm also unsure I can reconcile Bryan Cranston as Walter White when I already have strong associations with him as other characters from other shows.

I always think that's a big positive in making "landmark" television, to have actors who won't be bogged down by the audience's previous association with them. HBO does a pretty good job of this, only using truly established actors recently in True Detective, although both Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey have never had THAT role in a film or TV show. Maybe you say McConaughey did in Dazed and Confused, but that was quite some time ago now. Speaking of TD, that was great TV. The scene, "The Raid" was absolute beauty. Insanely coordinated, like 5 min long tracking shot with no cuts at all. Wow. Season 2 is almost a guaranteed disappointment after the fantastic first season.
 
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ATLL765 said:
David Simon compared it to a greek tragedy, but with the powers of the Gods replaced by the the workings of a capitalistic society. Politics, prejudice in the judicial system, racial bias by not just the police, but society at large, macroeconomics, the drug war itself. These were powers that decided the character's fates. Like poor Dookie, who never really had a chance to make it,
Click to expand...

Dookie was a great example of how the current system can fail someone. He tried so many things to end up anywhere but homeless, living with a drug addict who roams the street for scrap metal. Every time he had something it was inevitably taken away. He came home from school and found his stuff out on the street as his family was evicted. He was enjoying school because he had good friends and he had someone who cared for him and helped him in his teacher Prezbo. Unfortunately he got "socially promoted" I think it was called and he was to finish the year as a freshman at the high school, but he didn't have a say in it. Living with Michael and taking care of Bug worked for a little while, but then when things fell apart he was left behind.
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Mini rant: I liked Michaels character, but I never liked the way he left off with Dook. He had that whole shoebox full of cash that he gave to Bug to give to his grandmother. I would have thought that since Dookie had been living with Michael and had taken care of his younger brother that Michael would have helped Dookie out more. He could have given him some of that cash. There was at least a few thousand in there. A couple hundred could have gone a long way for Dookie. He really just left him high and dry.
He wasn't a "corner kid" and he wasn't old enough to get a job. He had few options and no guidance.


The realism comes from David Simon, Ed Burns, and Robert Colesberry. David Simon lived in Baltimore and worked for the Baltimore Sun (the newspaper featured in season 5). Ed Burns was a former police detective who worked in narcotics and homicide in Baltimore. After he left the police force he became a public school teacher, still in Baltimore. With these specific backgrounds they drew off of their real life experiences and it gave an honest look into these different social institutions. They formed a perfect team for the story they shared.

It's too bad more people haven't seen The Wire. I did convince one person to start watching it and he loved it, which I knew he would. It's not a show everyone would like, but if you find someone IRL who has seen it, then it really makes for great conversation.
 
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Dookie was fucked and micheal was in a no win situation. He had to look out for his blood before his friend who he was falling away from anyway. Plus Dookie was a weakness that mikes enemies would have exploited. Just as the barksdales used Brandon against Omar in season 1. Dookie just wasn't fierce enough to survive his situation. Sucks because in season 4 we start to see real potential in the kid. But then of course the school system fucked him by socially promoting him out of presboluskis classroom right as it was making the most difference. Just reinforcing the theme that our social institutions are broken. I have been considering a re-watch recently, going to have to do that soon.
 
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Carl Landrover said:
Dookie was a great example of how the current system can fail someone. He tried so many things to end up anywhere but homeless, living with a drug addict who roams the street for scrap metal. Every time he had something it was inevitably taken away. He came home from school and found his stuff out on the street as his family was evicted. He was enjoying school because he had good friends and he had someone who cared for him and helped him in his teacher Prezbo. Unfortunately he got "socially promoted" I think it was called and he was to finish the year as a freshman at the high school, but he didn't have a say in it. Living with Michael and taking care of Bug worked for a little while, but then when things fell apart he was left behind.
NSFW:
Mini rant: I liked Michaels character, but I never liked the way he left off with Dook. He had that whole shoebox full of cash that he gave to Bug to give to his grandmother. I would have thought that since Dookie had been living with Michael and had taken care of his younger brother that Michael would have helped Dookie out more. He could have given him some of that cash. There was at least a few thousand in there. A couple hundred could have gone a long way for Dookie. He really just left him high and dry.
He wasn't a "corner kid" and he wasn't old enough to get a job. He had few options and no guidance.


The realism comes from David Simon, Ed Burns, and Robert Colesberry. David Simon lived in Baltimore and worked for the Baltimore Sun (the newspaper featured in season 5). Ed Burns was a former police detective who worked in narcotics and homicide in Baltimore. After he left the police force he became a public school teacher, still in Baltimore. With these specific backgrounds they drew off of their real life experiences and it gave an honest look into these different social institutions. They formed a perfect team for the story they shared.

It's too bad more people haven't seen The Wire. I did convince one person to start watching it and he loved it, which I knew he would. It's not a show everyone would like, but if you find someone IRL who has seen it, then it really makes for great conversation.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm aware of the creators backgrounds. It's truly the most realistic, gritty drama I've ever seen.

Dookie was a tool to show how some just fall through the cracks even if they make all the "right" choices. Dookie didn't fall into selling drugs or using at a young age, he took care of Bug, he was a smart kid, but the system just completely failed him.

I just finished up re-watching the epic 3rd season. Hamsterdam and what could have been. McNulty's ultimate disappointment of catching Stringer, but not being able to tell him because Omar and Brother Mouzone killed him. The show constantly showed how no matter what you do, it'll all be crushed in the gears of the system and things will stay the same. Hoppers were back out banging instead of in the gym with Cutty, Bubbles was back schooling a new kid after the white boy overdosed in a vacant in Hamsterdam. There are no winners in the American ghettos, just survivors.
 
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