Scots Taffer on 24/6/2010 at 04:55
I find it hard to separate Stringer the character arc from Stringer the Barksdale organisation plot arc.
Pardoner on 24/6/2010 at 05:19
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
I find it hard to separate Stringer the character arc from Stringer the Barksdale organisation plot arc.
fett on 24/6/2010 at 05:22
Quote Posted by Pardoner
His meetings with developers, getting skinned by Clay Davis,
fucking D'Angelo's girl, killing D'Angelo, playing Omar and Brother Mouzone off each other, changing up the management style after Avon gets put away---all of that stuff is Stringer.
Spoiler tags, yo.
Angel Dust on 24/6/2010 at 05:42
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
I thought we already did the obligatory dick-measurement-style season ranking for The Wire, but it appears not.
You may well have but I've only briefly skimmed this thread for fear of even the most innocuous of spoilers.
Quote:
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.
That's what I wanted to hear. I have no problems with the quality of what I'm watching, it's just the focus. However it seems that changes from season to season so it's all good.
I notice everyone talks about the quality of the writing and the acting, which is of course excellent, but how come no love for how it's shot? Definitely the best use of that hand-held, documentary aesthetic I've seen on television and there are some stand out shots too like
the night-vision helicopter one when McNulty is approaching the car where Kima is iin the back seat.
Thirith on 24/6/2010 at 06:07
Quote Posted by Angel Dust
That's what I wanted to hear. I have no problems with the quality of what I'm watching, it's just the focus. However it seems that changes from season to season so it's all good.
In terms of plot and (to a lesser extent) characters, the focus shifts from season to season, but in terms of theme and tone the series is very consistent. Every season is largely about how fucked up the system is, how this screws up the smaller systems within the overall system, how some people profit from this and even thrive, how some try to correct the system's idiocies and how the majority of people is ground up by the systemic fuck-ups. Oh, and there's a cool guy with a shotgun.
I just finished re-watching S3 and watched the first episode of S4 yesterday evening, probably for the third time or so. People often talk about how complex
The Wire is and how it requires you to think along, which is definitely true - but at the same time it isn't mentioned nearly often enough how funny the series can be at times and how much pleasure there is in watching the brilliantly written, brilliantly acted scenes. Descriptions of the series tend to make it sound like something you can appreciate rather than like or even enjoy, and I think that's not altogether accurate.
Angel Dust on 24/6/2010 at 06:13
Yeah, I have been quite surprised by the strong current of humour running through the show since nobody seemed to have mentioned it. Bunk and McNulty have great banter together and that scene where they revisit that old crime scene was hilarious, even if the dialog was limited to pretty much one word. :p
frozenman on 25/6/2010 at 15:21
Maybe it's just fresh in my head, but I found it extremely funny when the FBI were reading out the behavioral profile of McNulty's fake serial killer, and it kept going on and on and on.
This is more of a HOLY SHIT post so it's going to have lots of spoiler tags. I knew Omar was gonna die because I accidently glanced it on the wikipedia page, but I wasn't prepared- the quick and loud gunshot wasn't so much it, but the emotional context of Omar just before entering the convenience store...storming around, limping, openly wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying a shotgun, sticking up these corner kids. My feelings went from righteous FUCKYEAHOMARKICKSOMEASS to pity and sadness in 5 seconds, but it was so delicate and perfect that transition.
Angel Dust on 10/7/2010 at 10:52
Just finished Season 2 and I liked it a hell of a lot more than the first. The story of the Sobotkas was some of the most compelling television I've ever seen, so much so that I completely forgot about the fact that D'Angelo died. Starting season 3 tomorrow.
Brother Mouzone is unbelievably shite however. Maybe he gets better later on but at the moment he feels like a cartoon that walked onto the wrong studio.
Rug Burn Junky on 10/7/2010 at 17:52
Quote Posted by Angel Dust
Brother Mouzone is unbelievably shite however. Maybe he gets better later on but at the moment he feels like a cartoon that walked onto the wrong studio.
If he seems like a cartoon, that's an issue with your perception more than anything. If you're familiar at all with the Nation of Islam, this ain't really a caricature - not any more than than the NOI guys themselves anyway, who are all just imitating Farrakhan. Those dudes do exist, and he's fairly authentic to their style and mannerisms - the strict manner of dress with the bow tie, the almost stylized level of obviously controlled calm, the condescending air of superiority, etc..
Now, to what extent any of them are
cold blooded hit men is another story, but if you've ever spent a day walking around 125th St in Harlem, you'll at least recognize the archetype.
Angel Dust on 10/7/2010 at 22:42
Yeah, it's not his mannerisms themselves (although I was unaware of what this particular archetype is based on) but the combination of that with the 'cold blooded hit man' feels a little pulpy in the context of the rest of the show.
