fett on 20/8/2009 at 19:24
Watching the 3rd season now. Fuck me, but this show is the shit. Possibly the first time since Arrested Development died that I don't feel pandered to by a TV show. They don't fucking CARE about conventions of season finales, sweeps, or other bullshit that gets in the way of good stories. Just WOW.
Omar - butsecks= my hero
SubJeff on 20/8/2009 at 20:55
And here I thought your res was going to be to say meh.
Omar is a great character but tbh, who isn't?
fett on 20/8/2009 at 21:27
Omar, Bubbles, Gregs, Stringer, et al.
Thing is, most shows revolve around a single character that aren't nearly as good as some of the bit players on this one.
doctorfrog on 20/8/2009 at 21:35
The show definitely peaks in Season 3. Enjoy! Season 4 is still very good, but develops a weird surreality to it, and Season 5 is solid, but HBO saw fit to cut the number of episodes, resulting in some unevenness and rush work. Still rounds out to just about the best TV ever produced.
There's also a 6-hour mini called "The Corner," based on real folk, in a Baltimore ghetto, set in the mid-eighties. It's about as deep in the trenches as you can get, and stars a number of Wire actors. Another Simon and Burns collaboration.
I'm about halfway through reading Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, Dave Simon's recording of a year with homicide detectives in, you guessed it, Baltimore. This is the book that launched the Homicide TV series, and eventually culminated in The Wire. It's pretty dry, but worth reading, and has dozens of little anecdotes that show up in The Wire and Homicide.
SubJeff on 20/8/2009 at 22:27
Quote Posted by fett
Thing is, most shows revolve around a single character that aren't nearly as good as some of the bit players on this one.
Good God that's so true. Its depressingly true. I'm watching BSG atm and there is no excuse for not having 1 character that is as solid as the minor characters in The Wire.
Is there a psych test that tells you something about yourself based on who your fav character is in The Wire? Cuz Stringer is my favourite character by far, but somehow that disturbs me.
fett on 21/8/2009 at 03:44
Same here - Stringer is the smartest guy of the bunch, not a fuck-up like most of the cops. But yeah, think about the Harris character - very little screen time, yet anchors the whole thing better than most leads on other shows.
Scots Taffer on 21/8/2009 at 07:05
Two episodes off the end of Season 4 atm.
Best show ever made, quite honestly.
SubJeff on 21/8/2009 at 07:52
Word.
I especially like the way that, by Season 4 certainly (and probably Season 2), the slang has been so integrated that I've been able to watch a 5 minute scene that was on TV with a non-Wire watcher and they have literally been "WTF did they just say?!" and didn't get aaaaanything from the conversation. Its like a foreign language and the use of body language and simple phrases can speak volumes.
Oh, I forgot. Bodie. Awesome. And Senator Davis.
I see Tommy Carcetti has come a long way from eating out the asses of young men in Queer as Folk. Yes, I was surprised too.
Thirith on 21/8/2009 at 07:53
Quote Posted by fett
Same here - Stringer is the smartest guy of the bunch, not a fuck-up like most of the cops. But yeah, think about the Harris character - very little screen time, yet anchors the whole thing better than most leads on other shows.
Stringer may be smart, but he's also naive as hell - look at his dealings with Clay "Sheeeeeeeeeeeyat" Davis. His problem is that he isn't quite as smart as he thinks he is IMO.
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
Two episodes off the end of Season 4 atm.
Best show ever made, quite honestly.
I'm really curious how you'll like season 5, Scots.
Andarthiel on 21/8/2009 at 08:10
Lol, the best show on TV? Right.....:rolleyes:
Just another crime show, they're all the same. The only crime shows I tolerate are British ones like Poirot and Miss Marple(with the occasional Midsomer Murders). The rest are all bland, uninaginative, sensationalist crap.
I don't think I've seen a single HBO show that was even mildly interesting.
