frozenman on 16/6/2010 at 17:23
I was waiting for this to be bumped!
Just finished season 4 and awaiting season 5. I blew through the first 3 seasons in less than a week and I believe I had severe overdose. It reminded me of how I felt after I played GTA3 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for so long- all cars were meant to be stolen TRIANGLE TRIANGLE, hey that looks like a good curb to grind- likewise, all people standing on corners are selling drugs.
Can't wait to see what happens with Bubs, Freamon, Bodie was heart breaking, oh shit I need help :( :(
BEAR on 16/6/2010 at 18:33
spoiler tags bro
Also, yeah those things you put in spoiler tags were indeed heartbreaking. I actually found myself vocalizing when I realized it was coming (like I expected it, but when the time actually came). I took many months to watch them all. My brother did like you and started months after I did and finished months before. He wanted to talk about season 5 so much but we couldn't because I was NOT gonna rush it because I knew how I'd feel when it was over.
fett on 18/6/2010 at 06:26
Yeah, the Bodie thing was brutal.
Angel Dust on 24/6/2010 at 03:10
Finally got around to watching this and I'm currently 11 episodes into the first season. Liked it form the start, then loved it but with the last few episodes I've started to cool off on it a bit. Some characters, like D'Angelo, have suddenly become uninteresting and I'm starting to get a little weary with the mechanics of the investigation and the gang maneuvering. It's certainly not boring or anything but I find the character's individual arcs, the police politics and the socially conscious stuff far more engaging. Am I nuts or is this just some first season ending jitters? Where does the first season rank for you guys?
Edit: Hmm, that sounds a little negative. I am still liking the show overall and am already far too attached to several of the characters to give up after this season. Not that my wife would let me anyway; she's fucking loving it. :)
Scots Taffer on 24/6/2010 at 03:47
I thought we already did the obligatory dick-measurement-style season ranking for The Wire, but it appears not. For what it's worth I think it went for me that seasons 4 and 3 were on a par between the emotional resonance of the kids and the whole ingenuity of the Hamsterdam, which significantly upped the ante of season 1 (which laid all of the groundwork in a compelling universe), for one reason or another I never felt as attached to the Sobotkas of season 2 and the dockyard plight (until the very climax with Frank) and in the same way the newspaper subplots of season 5 were a little underwhelming also (though the serial killings were a brilliant satirical element). So I guess 3 = 4 > 1 > 2 = 5.
And even then, there wouldn't be gulfs in quality, the focus changed, the narratives changed, the characters changed, as always your mileage may vary in these scenarios, but the standard of writing and acting was fairly consistent throughout.
fett on 24/6/2010 at 03:48
Honestly, I'd have to say that I found D'Angelo to be the least compelling character in the entire series. If there was anything at all tiresome about it, it was his storyline. But stay with it - he is but a mere porthole into the criminal world that is fully explored in coming seasons.
Scots Taffer on 24/6/2010 at 03:52
I call bullshit on that. D'Angelo was a solid moral anchor for the first season, our only real inkling at that stage that someone could exist inside the criminal world that wasn't soulless or completely morally bankrupt. His storyline could have done with further development, sure, but what they did draw of his character was fully realised and I was
sad to see him go.Tell me you didn't feel it in (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrSy9r0-lMg) this scene. His character totally worked.
fett on 24/6/2010 at 04:05
I think his character worked fine for what it was, but compared to some of the other bad guys that follow, he was the least complicated or empathetic (with the possible exception of Marlo at his debut). Compared to Stringer, Shamrock, or most anyone else in the Barksdale crew, he seemed more two dimensional in retrospect. At least to me, he only became interesting once he went to prison and started defying Avon. (edit: Oh yeah - the "Where is Wallace" scene you linked to - perfect example, and a good build up to that moment as well).
But again, calling him the least compelling character on The Wire is a high compliment. There wasn't a weak link in the entire 5 season run IMO (well, possibly Brother Malone was too pulpy), I just think he was a pale foreshadow of more meaty characters like Chris Partow, Snoop, and Bodie. But wait, you can't even really compare him to those guys because he was, as you say, a moral anchor. Maybe as the show went on, the whole concept of a "moral anchor" felt like a bit too on the nose - more like something you'd find in a CBS cop drama. To be clear - I don't at all think Larry Gilliard Jr's acting was weak, or that the character was unneeded. Just a bit too convenient at times.
Scots Taffer on 24/6/2010 at 04:34
Really? I still totally disagree with the notion that Snoop or Chris Partow or even Stringer (though Bodie I'll give you) are more fully realised, in fact, I'd argue that as one of the longest running characters Stringer was given fairly short shrift beyond his motivations/machinations and his personality/background was still quite a vague impression. Anyway, it's a testament to the show that different people take away different things from the characters development/arcs of The Wire.
Pardoner on 24/6/2010 at 04:48
Stringer's way too aspirant to foreground his own history. His machinations have weight because of the context they come out of, and because of how desperate he is to transform himself. That's part of why his arc is so absurd (econ classes and trying to school Bodie et. al) and tragic.
