fett on 3/4/2009 at 23:41
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
Started watching
The Wire last night. And so begins a fresh addiction.
I've watched the first two episodes and I just don't get it. What am I doing wrong? :confused:
demagogue on 3/4/2009 at 23:57
The Wire has so many threads going so many ways that you really have to watch a good number of episodes before you start seeing them knotting and connecting in interesting ways.
The major pro and con for the show is the complexity of its plot and whether you want to invest in that. Or really the characters. What hooks you into the show is getting to know the characters and wanting to know how they get tangled into the plot and what happens to them next.
I think it is a case where the threads actually do end up going somewhere, though; it's not just complicated for complicated's sake. Little hooks you see now will become important later on, and the show keeps that kind of thing up throughout.
june gloom on 4/4/2009 at 00:11
The Wire is by the same guy who did Homicide: Life on the Street?
Sold!
Scots Taffer on 4/4/2009 at 00:59
Quote Posted by fett
I've watched the first two episodes and I just don't get it. What am I doing wrong? :confused:
I don't know, there isn't terribly much to get in the first episode except for pretty initial scene setting and character introductions. The first two episodes said to me (I finished the third last night):
- McNulty is a driven cop who's not afraid to rattle cages, even if he is an Irish drunk philandering fuck-up who's not necessarily smart enough to realise he might be in over his head
- His partner, Bunk, is a little bit more discerning about what he gets involved in but also enjoys the occasional drink and playful coercion of witnesses
- You've got the Narc trio, two long-timers with impulsive methods and a straighter lesbian cop
- The Narc Lead Lieutenant Daniels is a career man who may or may not have some dirt on him, he's been told to do this job clean - get in and out - McNulty knows the game doesn't work that way, they need wiretaps etc
- D'Angelo Barksdale nearly got put away for murder because he got scared in a bad situation and the aftermath has left him shellshocked and questioning the nature of the game they play, he also gets demoted from the towers to the high rises
- Avon is the big dawg, virtually unknown to the cops, and has Stringer Bell as his numbers man and smart crew leader
The plot is fairly simple (so far). D'Angelo got off with murder and then his crew killed the only witness ballsy enough to testify, a regular working man, to send a message to the streets. McNulty gets a judge riled up about how terrible the state of affairs is with regards to controlling drugs, the judge rattles high up cages that gets McNulty in trouble yet gets the ball rolling on the investigation, Daniels as the lead. And ehhh, yeah, if you aren't interested then maybe densely written cop shows aren't your thing.
fett on 4/4/2009 at 01:59
I think cop shows in general aren't my thing...I'm more into stuff like Dexter where there's a bizarre twist or something in the characters that sets it apart from the typical police procedural (though apparently the writing on The Wire is sterling from what everyone says...).
Scots Taffer on 4/4/2009 at 04:09
It may be procedural, but to the nth degree - not the fake CSI/NCIS/Law&Order bullshit (which I can gladly say I've never watched a complete episode of). You actually feel like you're watching real life unfolding, albeit an extremely interesting and character-filled real life. As for the twisty stuff on specific characters, well, season 2 of Dexter was a really mixed bag for me and I haven't rushed out to find season 3 yet - whereas consistently well-written character shows with less compelling hooks than a cop serial killer (eg. Big Love, Six Feet Under) are far more addictive to me. Also, to see twisty shit taken to a silly degree I caught half an episode of Lie To Me the other night and decided it's the most convolutedly stupid TV show I've ever seen.
fett on 4/4/2009 at 05:24
I've been really disappointed with Dexter season 3. I thought adding Jimmy Smits would be great, but he wears thin after about 4 episodes. I've put off watching the last half of the season because I just lost interest. Hopefully it'll pick up.
thefonz on 4/4/2009 at 06:14
Slowly but rather methodically I am wading through a bunch of tv shows, specifically finishing recently:
The Wire
Battlestar Galactica
Damages S1
And currently enjoying each week:
24
Lost (i gave up on this in s3 but recently got hooked with the current season)
Scrubs S8
Titus (fracking awesome comedy from the 90's)
Spectacular Spiderman
South park
Fringe
I'm quite curious to start on The Shield as I never really watched an episode, but given that I love The Wire so much I dont know how succesful I'd be with another cop show.
And for the record - Dollhouse is utter tripe.
Fingernail on 4/4/2009 at 09:34
The thing about The Wire is that it isn't really a police procedural at all. It starts out looking maybe a bit like one, but it's this huge unfolding thing that takes, eventually, so many aspects of the city and its institutions in. I'm just trying to make fett stick with it, because it's not just "a really well-written cop show".
PigLick on 4/4/2009 at 11:02
Trailer Park Boys, man I have missed this until now, its like a mirror into my life, apart from the petty crime and trailer park bit.
YOU WANT A TASTY SNACK BUT ITS LATE
