Change font size
The Obelisk Radio - Now Playing: Loading... (iTunes)
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:04 am


Post a new topicPost a reply Page 1 of 2   [ 42 posts ]
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: The Wire
PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:14 am 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:25 pm
Posts: 1041
That's right, a thread on The Wire.

I got the complete series DVD box set for xmas and have been working my way through it, and the series, and for the first time. Currently have the last two episodes of season 1 left before progressing to the rest of them. But I am loving what I've seen so far. I've put off sleep a couple nights already just to work through an episode or two more.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:42 pm 
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:29 pm
Posts: 2433
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Oh man. Enjoy this.

You will be blown away I predict by season 4. I can't praise The Wire enough. It's simply the best.

_________________
I will show you the life of the mind.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: The Wire
PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:46 pm 

Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:06 pm
Posts: 2647
Location: new york
The greatest show in the history of television


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

_________________
"You haven't lived until you've heard "Love Song" live"


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:11 am 
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 4:59 am
Posts: 825
Location: Germany
Demon Lung wrote:
The greatest show in the history of television


Simple as that.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:32 am 

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:17 pm
Posts: 2779
jmucke wrote:
Demon Lung wrote:
The greatest show in the history of television


Simple as that.




I stand by this statement 100%.

_________________
It's hard to be 'Charles in Charge' when you're not fucking Scott Baio.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:03 am 
Site Admin

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 2:14 pm
Posts: 2169
Location: East Bridgewater, MA
It really is something special to watch and in light of the discussion of procedurals and serials in the Star Trek thread, I think it's fascinating to see the Wire now in light of all the shows it's influenced since.

They peak in the third season. The last two are still great to watch, but the fourth sits on the other end of preachy and the fifth is basically David Simon writing himself into the martyr role as a noble newspaper editor. Pretty clear that at some point the dude started buying into his own press. And since you have the DVDs, I'll say too that if there's any of that interview footage of him talking about the show and the "important work" they were doing, you'd do better to skip it.

I'm currently rewatching the second season since they're showing it on DirecTV, and there's some overracting there from the dock workers, but still, the show is the best drama ever shown on television. Best I've seen, anyhow.

Stringer Bell ftw.

_________________
http://theobelisk.net


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:25 pm 
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 11:04 am
Posts: 3301
Location: Albuquerque
Crutch wrote:
You will be blown away I predict by season 4.


You are crazy, man. Season 4?!

I'd predict he'll be blown away by the middle of season 1. Best television show EVER.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:18 am 

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:14 pm
Posts: 530
It really is the best show in the history of television. I'm pretty sure it was proven with math.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: The Wire
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 1:41 am 

Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:06 pm
Posts: 2647
Location: new york
The Lodger wrote:
It really is the best show in the history of television. I'm pretty sure it was proven with math.

and science

_________________
"You haven't lived until you've heard "Love Song" live"


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:00 am 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:25 pm
Posts: 1041
Adam wrote:
Crutch wrote:
You will be blown away I predict by season 4.


You are crazy, man. Season 4?!

I'd predict he'll be blown away by the middle of season 1. Best television show EVER.


Prediction confirmed.

Is Bubbles actually calling McNulty "McNutty", or is that his mumbled accent I'm hearing? I remember when they met in the basement office but I don't remember exactly how the conversation went so I don't remember if it's a "thing" that was established right then.

Through episode seven of season two. I worry a bit that I'm blowing through it too quickly, but I'm at the point where not watching it is interfering with my life more than watching it is. Needless to say, I'm definitely hooked and enjoying being so. The first season felt like it would have worked as a mostly self contained story, but I got the sense early on in season 2 that it was going to blow open and drag everything into the mix. If it wasn't apparent before that that's what was happening then s2e7 made it pretty obvious.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:17 am 
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:29 pm
Posts: 2433
Location: Los Angeles, CA
I dunno. During my first Wire bender, I short circuited at season 4 and proceeded to call my friends and relatives and preach the gospel.

Mr. Taskmaster; for shit storms sake, what did you find preachy about season 4?

_________________
I will show you the life of the mind.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:29 am 
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 4:59 am
Posts: 825
Location: Germany
Season 4 is preachy in a way (the kids, you know) but I watched it when my son entered 5th grade and I found it almost heartbreaking at times. Made me realize that, while we bitch a lot about our educational system, it can get a lot lot worse.
When I watched Season 5 the magazine I work for went through the first round of major cuts (round three is just around the corner) so that struck a special note too. I have a picture of the editor with the quote "More with less" on my wall but my bosses don't get it.


Last edited by jmucke on Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:15 pm 

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 12:13 pm
Posts: 896
Season 4's dissection of our current and crisis-laden educational system is totally on point and enthralling. It's the finest season of the show. Season 3 is also great but relies a bit more on standard gangster storylines IMO.

Yes indeed, best t.v. show ever.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:23 pm 
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 11:04 am
Posts: 3301
Location: Albuquerque
Having taught in North Philly for a couple years right out of college, I really enjoyed season 4. Thought they did a great job depicting the whole system.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 12:41 am 
Site Admin

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 2:14 pm
Posts: 2169
Location: East Bridgewater, MA
Crutch wrote:
Mr. Taskmaster; for shit storms sake, what did you find preachy about season 4?


JkFlesh wrote:
Season 4's dissection of our current and crisis-laden educational system is totally on point and enthralling. It's the finest season of the show. Season 3 is also great but relies a bit more on standard gangster storylines IMO.


Actually, pretty much this. It was with Season Four that David Simon seemed to really go all out in believing he could make a difference and shifted the focus from telling a story with more behind it to telling the more behind it through a story. It's still a great season, and I'm stoked to watch it again when it comes up in this current round.

For me though, the third season was something really special in terms of the story, the established characters of the show and the drama. You could think of it like the climax of a five-act play, each season of the show has a purpose in the overall arc -- exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement -- and also an arc within itself. Like I said before, it's the best drama I've ever seen on tv.

_________________
http://theobelisk.net


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:34 am 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:25 pm
Posts: 1041
I wrapped up season 3 earlier today (or yesterday now, I guess) and am through the first three of season 4. I think h.p.'s right so far in regards to the flow of the show. It's obviously still early in the season, but it feels like the show is "coming down" from everything that went down in season 3. Season 3 felt like it was meant to be the end of the show, but I don't know if that's the case. I've heard random musings about the show struggling to stick around for as many years as it did and being in danger of being canceled after pretty much every season, so maybe the writers thought they were done but were surprised to be picked up again?

Anyway, I'm liking season 4 a lot so far. There's a tone shift going on so far that I can't really pinpoint, but it feels more...humanizing, I guess?...than the previous seasons. With McNulty and his activities seemingly relegated to a distant background role and MCU's investigation being a secondary plot point there seems to be more room for the exploration of other characters, especially the school and kids, in this season's story. As if Baltimore itself is being given more focus as a character than in previous seasons.

I felt so sorry for Prez the second he walked through that door in the first episode of season 4 because I knew things were not going to go well for him. And since there isn't much in the way of happy endings with this show I just know things aren't going to end well for him either. The people that can survive teaching in the inner city are much better people than I. Not that it's quite the same situation, but I did some residential counseling/group-home work and I finally stopped denying some hard truths about myself after a year of it. The people that make careers out of teaching in these places and working with troubled adolescents will forever have my respect.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:43 am 
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 4:59 am
Posts: 825
Location: Germany
Season 4 is obviously Ed Burns' baby (not to be confused with the actor), a frequent collaborator of Simon. He was a cop for 20 years and then became a public school teacher.
Burns and Simon wrote the book "The Corner" together which is a great read - as is Homicide by Simon.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:17 pm 
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:29 pm
Posts: 2433
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Season 3, 4, and 5, IMO, are meant to show the cyclical nature of the "game." Where Barksdale falls, Marlo Stamfield rises.


Season 4 is the best example, also IMO, of how this show exhibits it's much lauded "visual novel" approach to it's plot structure.


It all starts with Snoop purchasing a nail gun. Fucking brilliant.

_________________
I will show you the life of the mind.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:08 am 

Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:38 am
Posts: 680
The Corner does not get mentioned enough although it is basically the same greatness as The Wire. I assume because it is so depressing.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 3:00 pm 
User avatar

Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:57 pm
Posts: 867
Location: Portland, OR (USA)
vol.4 wrote:
The Corner does not get mentioned enough although it is basically the same greatness as The Wire. I assume because it is so depressing.


I concur...I immediately scooped up "The Corner" after devouring "The Wire" and it was initially disappointing....but after thinking about it, it's every bit as good, but there is no comic relief (even the few funny parts are laden with depressing shit) and no real action for distraction. It's too real, even despite the slightly odd delivery.


Also, yeah....best show ever.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 12:10 am 
Site Admin

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 2:14 pm
Posts: 2169
Location: East Bridgewater, MA
I've never seen The Corner and didn't really even know anything about it. Definitely Not Downloading™ it right now, and looking forward to checking it out.

_________________
http://theobelisk.net


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:13 pm 
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 11:04 am
Posts: 3301
Location: Albuquerque
Never knew about The Corner either.

Knew about the book, yeah, but not that it was made into a TV series. Read Homicide by David Simon and enjoyed it so I've been interested in reading The Corner too, now I guess it will be a test to see which one I get to first, the book or tv series.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:19 am 

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:14 pm
Posts: 530
Reading Homicide on top of the Wire makes for a VERY rich experience. Haven't tried it with The Corner, but I intend to.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 3:12 am 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:25 pm
Posts: 1041
Unexpected bit of trivia. Jason Simon from Dead Meadow is David Simon's nephew. And apparently I'm not far enough into the show to have heard them being played. Or I am and overlooked it.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/20 ... _from.html


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: The Wire
PostPosted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 6:03 am 
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 4:59 am
Posts: 825
Location: Germany
That Dead Meadow-bit with McNulty cracked me up. Of course I had to explain it to my wife ("Thats his nephews band, an injoke, its funny!") and she looked at me like she was married to the biggest nerd in the world.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post a new topicPost a reply Page 1 of 2   [ 42 posts ]
Go to page 1, 2  Next


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron


Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
610nm Style by Daniel St. Jules of Gamexe.net