[RodeoRanch]

I have the first season but I've yet to watch it. I keep hearing people rave and rave about how awesome the show is. I'll get around to it eventually!

[Vengeance]

RodeoRanch, on Mar 25 2009, 09:14 PM, said:

I have the first season but I've yet to watch it. I keep hearing people rave and rave about how awesome the show is. I'll get around to it eventually!

Watch it now Rodeo. It is one of the best shows ever. Watch it NOW.....

[Wanderer]

I've got Season 1-5 on dvd

But now it's over

I felt like a big hole had been left when this show ended....no more WIRE!

Without a doubt the best television show.

I'm still in love with the Season 2 ending montauge. Awesome Steve Earle - I feel Alright.

Anyone who hasn't seen it should check it out. You will not be disappointed !

[stone monkey]

RodeoRanch, on Mar 26 2009, 03:14 AM, said:

I have the first season but I've yet to watch it. I keep hearing people rave and rave about how awesome the show is. I'll get around to it eventually!

Watch it. All of it. As soon as is humanly possible. You are doing yourself a grave disservice every single second that you put off watching it. And there really isn't even the slightest amount of hyperbole when I'm saying this. I mean it.

[Sir Thursday]

OK, so the first episode was shown today. Figure I'll try to give my thoughts after every episode, if I remember.

Season 1 Episode 1:

I was very impressed with how quickly and well the characters were introduced. Couple of scenes to introduce the trio of cops on the drugs cases, couple of scenes with D'Angelo Barksdale, couple of scenes with Bubbles and a large amount of time for McNulty and I already feel like I have an idea of the main characters' feelings and motivations. We have D'Angelo, who seems to have got into the drug trade through his uncle, and while impressed with the ability of his associates to keep him out of jail, doesn't seem to be a huge fan of the violence they mete out. We have McNulty, a policeman who seems to know what he's doing, has a couple of connections but few friends within the police itself. We have Bubbles, the junkie who wants to help the police out following the beating of his friend. We have Greggs, who is trying to juggle being a policewoman with studying for a degree of some kind (didn't quite catch what).

Acting performances were excellent, although I caught Dominic West's English accent breaking through once when he swore. I was particularly impressed with the guy playing D'Angelo - he managed to convey his character's emotional state very well - the elation of getting off the hook in the courtroom and scenes afterwards, the uncomfortableness of ordering his underlings to deal with the junkie who tried to give them the fake bills and the continuance of that feeling when he saw the witness who had testified against him shot dead, all of them portrayed very effectively.

McNulty is obviously the hero of the piece thus far. His knowledge of the Barksdales that noone else seems to have and his determination to get the case done the way he thinks it should be done mark him as such. I'm interested to see whether he has to work against the system to get his way, or if Lt. Daniels (who I recognise from Fringe) softens his stance as time goes by. I also thought the scene where the Major gave him the double bird was awesome .

So overall I enjoyed it muchly and look forward to tomorrow!


Sir Thursday

This post has been edited by Sir Thursday: 31 March 2009 - 01:21 AM

[amphibian]

Sir Thursday, on Mar 30 2009, 08:24 PM, said:

We have Sgt. John, who is trying to juggle being a policewoman with studying for a degree of some kind (didn't quite catch what).

To get real promotions within the police (detective and beyond), you almost always have to have a four year degree. Most people pick something like criminology, justice or something law-enforcement related. However, any degree should do and one of the guys I roll at jiu-jitsu with is finishing up a fine arts degree before heading to whichever academy he picks.

Side note: most of these characters are either based on real people or are composites/only slightly exaggerated. There is a real Bubbles and there is a real Omar. Mello (a cop on the show) is played by the real Jay Landsman.

[Sir Thursday]

amphibian, on Mar 31 2009, 02:04 AM, said:

Sir Thursday, on Mar 30 2009, 08:24 PM, said:

We have Sgt. John, who is trying to juggle being a policewoman with studying for a degree of some kind (didn't quite catch what).

To get real promotions within the police (detective and beyond), you almost always have to have a four year degree. Most people pick something like criminology, justice or something law-enforcement related. However, any degree should do and one of the guys I roll at jiu-jitsu with is finishing up a fine arts degree before heading to whichever academy he picks.

Side note: most of these characters are either based on real people or are composites/only slightly exaggerated. There is a real Bubbles and there is a real Omar. Mello (a cop on the show) is played by the real Jay Landsman.

I got the name wrong in the bit you quoted there...it's actually Greggs.

Interesting to know, amphibian, thanks. The characters do seem very human - none of the usual TV gloss was in evidence in that department. I can see why everyone says this is such an accurate depiction already.


Sir Thursday

[stone monkey]

If you want to get a good look at where this is all coming from I'd heartily recommend that you read David Simon's books Homicide; A Year on the Killing Streets, which he wrote after being seconded to the Baltimore PD Homicide Squad in 1988 (or '89, I forget which) and The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner City Neighbourhood (which Simon wrote with Ed Burns, himself an ex-Homicide detective with Baltimore PD and later a teacher in Baltimore's public school system) A lot of the incidents and characters in the series are based directly on people and events from those books. A good case in point is the conversation between McNulty and the murder witness at the very start of episode one; that really happened and those words were really said.

The two books together give you The Wire in a nutshell (certainly season one of it, the focus shifts somewhat as the seasons move on) It is said that the authorties in Baltimore are not at all pleased with the depiction of their city in the programme. I really can't blame them.

Spoiler

As is hinted at in season one and becomes ever more apparent as the seasons go on, Simons and co. have very little that is good to say about all levels of society and government within the city. Corruption of all sorts would appear to be rife if even half of what they show is rooted in truth.

And what we're left with is a picture of good people trying to do their jobs as well as they can and desperate people trying to live some sort of life in truly horrendous circumstances.

As someone who grew up in similar surroundings, albeit 30 years ago and on the other side of the Atlantic, I can honestly say that The Wire should be mandatory viewing for those people for whom the world has never dealt serious any problems in life. Before anyone can judge they have to ask themselves: "What would I do if that was my life?"

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 31 March 2009 - 03:07 AM

[Sir Thursday]

Season 1 Episode 2:

More good stuff . Seems I had the right end of the stick about D'Angelo being somewhat remorseful about what was going on - the scene in the interrogation room was great. The way the two detectives piled on the pressure was masterfully done, and they managed to pull off D'Angelo breaking down completely believably, which is no mean feat. This episode cast Lt. Daniels in a more sympathetic light - I thought his cold fury as he confronted the three dumbasses who went to the estate at night was very impressive.

Overall I still get the feeling that this show is about a few competent police officers working with the system stacked against them. On the one side, you have Daniels, Greggs, McNulty and his partner (what's his name? I forget), and then a huge dollop of dead weight in the form of the rest of the team. And their up against a highly organised, unified organisation in the Barksdale crew. On the face of it they don't stand a chance, so something is going to have to change to give them any hope of busting the dealers.

Still hanging in there with the slang, it hasn't been too difficult for me thus far. Apart from perhaps the scene where D'Angelo is talking with his younger charges about the inventor of Chicken Nuggets. Oh, and mustn't forget, once again the funniest moment of the episode was provided by McNulty's Major - that bit where he burst in and ransacked some other guy's desk was great .


Sir Thursday

[Sir Thursday]

Season 1 Episode 3:

So, I got to meet this Omar guy I've heard so much about. And he really does seem like a competent and ruthless dude. There was a moment where he shushed one of his partners in crime - I didn't realise why until I heard one of the kids he was pushing around tell his name to the guy who I can only assume is some kind of enforcer for Barksdale. I liked the way it was understated and didn't bash you over the head with it - worked well. I could easily imagine a scene where Omar and crew get back to whereever they hang out and Omar berates the guy for using his name. I don't think it would have ruined anything, but the way they actually did it was much more subtle. I like.

Not surprised that Daniels was found to have large quantities of money - that house he lived in seemed pretty big for a policeman (albeit the only place I've really got to compare it to is McNulty's, and his place is a mess). Interesting twist if he's crooked, not one I was expecting. Really doesn't fit with the impression of the character I've been given thus far, which made it seem somewhat jarring. I guess that's kind of the point - McNulty was obviously surprised.

Have to say, some of those cops are remarkably useless, almost too useless. I kind of feel like the show is trying to hammer that over my head at this point, which is slightly annoying. I also felt like McNulty's interaction with the attorney wasn't quite on par with the acting of the rest of the series as a whole (though the sex scene was funny ). But those are minor complaints really.


Sir Thursday

[stone monkey]

If tonight's episode is the one I think it is, then it contains the absolutely classic scene where Bunk and McNulty investigate a murder scene in which the dialogue consists entirely of profanity. Brilliant acting on the parts of the two principles because, despite the [very] limited vocabulary used, you can completely understand the characters' thought processes as they go over the crime scene... and it's one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. Enjoy.

The business with Daniels is, shall we say,... complicated. You do eventually get versions of the story. And the other cops on the squad... well, you'll see.

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 02 April 2009 - 10:01 PM

[amphibian]

stone monkey, on Apr 2 2009, 05:57 PM, said:

If tonight's episode is the one I think it is, then it contains the absolutely classic scene where Bunk and McNulty investigate a murder scene in which the dialogue consists entirely of profanity. Brilliant acting on the parts of the two principles because, despite the [very] limited vocabulary used, you can completely understand the characters' thought processes as they go over the crime scene... and it's one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. Enjoy.

That scene is on YouTube. It is so good that I periodically rewatch it.

The aquarium reveal scene was hiii-larious as well. (Trying to not spoil it for Sir Thursday and any others who haven't already seen it.)

[Thelomen Toblerone]

Im posting without having read any of the comments, because Im only half way through the 1st series and dont want to have anything spoiled, following it late night on bbc2 atm.

I havent been into a series like this in a long time, I think it's quality. Took me a few minutes to understand the yankee drawl, though. I dont even read the little descriptions next to the programme name in the tv guide incase it lets any plot secrets slip. Im really enjoying DeAngelo's character development and his growing conscience, I can see him doing something stupid.

[amphibian]

Thelomen Toblerone, on Apr 5 2009, 04:19 PM, said:

Im posting without having read any of the comments, because Im only half way through the 1st series and dont want to have anything spoiled, following it late night on bbc2 atm.

I havent been into a series like this in a long time, I think it's quality. Took me a few minutes to understand the yankee drawl, though. I dont even read the little descriptions next to the programme name in the tv guide incase it lets any plot secrets slip. Im really enjoying DeAngelo's character development and his growing conscience, I can see him doing something stupid.

Welcome to the awesomeness that is this show! We've been trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible. Rodeo's helped out with some carefully placed spoiler tags in the one post that does have definite spoilers.

And it's a Baltimore accent - not a Yankee drawl (kind of an oxymoron, as NYC/Long Island accents are not usually described as drawls - which are mostly understood to be a Southern "thang").

[Thelomen Toblerone]

I just love the way they say Baltimore, it ends up coming out like "Baalmar", only mumblified. I'm on the 11 episode of series 1, it's getting inter-esting, cant wait to see what happens. As soon as the series finishes this week on the beeb, Im gonna grab my sister's dvds and watch the next series, I dont think I can wait the interminable amount of time they'll make me wait before screening it.

[Sir Thursday]

Thelomen Toblerone, on Apr 14 2009, 05:55 PM, said:

I just love the way they say Baltimore, it ends up coming out like "Baalmar", only mumblified. I'm on the 11 episode of series 1, it's getting inter-esting, cant wait to see what happens. As soon as the series finishes this week on the beeb, Im gonna grab my sister's dvds and watch the next series, I dont think I can wait the interminable amount of time they'll make me wait before screening it.

Haha, I got frustrated when there wasn't one on Friday and acquired the rest of Season 1...really liked the way it played out. I know a guy with the DVDs, so I shall be begging to a-borrow them.


Sir Thursday

[cerveza_fiesta]

@Sir Thurs

Less typing MORE WATCHING

you won't be disappointed. The show only gets better....except for the theme song. They get much much worse in later seasons.

Season 1 is fracking incredible start to finish tho.

[amphibian]

Sir Thursday, on Apr 14 2009, 12:57 PM, said:

Haha, I got frustrated when there wasn't one on Friday and acquired the rest of Season 1...really liked the way it played out. I know a guy with the DVDs, so I shall be begging to a-borrow them.


Sir Thursday

Thank you for writing out those impressions. It was really cool seeing someone from the "other side" get into this and enjoy it. You did a good job of laying out what you thought of it and noted interesting stuff.

About the theme songs, well... somewhat. The theme song sort of changes to reflect what's going on in the show. The Blind Boys' version is so good that it's hard for the others to compare though.

[Sir Thursday]

Once they finish showing Season 1 here (which should be tonight), I'll post my thoughts on the Season as a whole. The way it's set out meant that I'd have been repeating myself a little bit if I kept doing an episode by episode commentary.


Sir Thursday

[cerveza_fiesta]

YEAH

type the wire into youtube and you get the blind boys song. So fucking awesome.

I forgot how much I like it actually. Gonna go learn it on guitar tonight.