TV: The Wire All Purpose Thread Part 3: World just keeps turning, right?

[Spring in Fialta]

Well, I've only got the final episode left and I'll be done with the series. I loved it, and my earlier gripes did tone as the series went on. The sheer scope of the show was impressive, and that so many well-developed characters could so seamlessly walk in and out of the series without missing a beat is a testament to the story-telling ability of the showrunners/writers. While I still prefer The Sopranos - I think it takes more creative risks that end up panning out and its comedy is more charming - I think The Wire is is definitely up there, albeit probably in that 2nd tier for me. Season 5 kind of drags it down a lot. Not that the season is bad, but the serial killer McNulty thing is so contrived to the point that it's distracting/a blatant clunk and the newspaper arc did not feel as intricate/meaningful as the previous subjects and seemed rather bland and run-of-the-mill. It didn't stand out from what any other show would have done, I thought. Only the Stanfield story was still interesting.

I'd rank the seasons like this:

Season 4
Season 2
Season 3
Season 1
Season 5

With that said, how Stringer Bell appears to be considered a more interesting character than Avon Barksdale baffles me. And I can't believe they did my man Prop Joe like that. I really liked Marlo Stanfield/Chris Partlow/Snoop too.

 

[Teemu]

Enjoy the finale, it's one of the best

 

[Rygu]

Well, I've only got the final episode left and I'll be done with the series. I loved it, and my earlier gripes did tone as the series went on. The sheer scope of the show was impressive, and that so many well-developed characters could so seamlessly walk in and out of the series without missing a beat is a testament to the story-telling ability of the showrunners/writers. While I still prefer The Sopranos - I think it takes more creative risks that end up panning out and its comedy is more charming - I think The Wire is is definitely up there, albeit probably in that 2nd tier for me. Season 5 kind of drags it down a lot. Not that the season is bad, but the serial killer McNulty thing is so contrived to the point that it's distracting/a blatant clunk and the newspaper arc did not feel as intricate/meaningful as the previous subjects and seemed rather bland and run-of-the-mill. It didn't stand out from what any other show would have done, I thought. Only the Stanfield story was still interesting.

I'd rank the seasons like this:

Season 4
Season 2
Season 3
Season 1
Season 5

With that said, how Stringer Bell appears to be considered a more interesting character than Avon Barksdale baffles me. And I can't believe they did my man Prop Joe like that. I really liked Marlo Stanfield/Chris Partlow/Snoop too.

I'm glad you thought more highly of season 2 than a lot of people did. I don't understand the hate for it, I thought only season 1 and 4 were better.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I'm glad you thought more highly of season 2 than a lot of people did. I don't understand the hate for it, I thought only season 1 and 4 were better.

Yeah, I thought it was great and I didn't mind a breather from the drug trade. I really like how David Simon explained that he wanted to show how institutions affect a citizenry and how interwined their effects are. I think season 2 is a fantastic achievement of that goal and I found Frank Sobotka to be one of the great characters of the series.

With that said, and I just thought about this, while Chris Partlow is a ruthless killer, I like how the show showed these brief moments of humanity that were so simply. More than him playing with his child or stepping up for Michael Lee, there's this one moment where he presses the button on a radio and a song comes on and he just smiles, does a very subtle dance move and says " That's my jam ". I thought that was poignant and very well-done. As is the chuckle and Snoop is hyped to get back to work and he just says " She hasn't worked in a few months. She kinda eager. " I liked those moments a lot.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

Well, I've only got the final episode left and I'll be done with the series. I loved it, and my earlier gripes did tone as the series went on. The sheer scope of the show was impressive, and that so many well-developed characters could so seamlessly walk in and out of the series without missing a beat is a testament to the story-telling ability of the showrunners/writers. While I still prefer The Sopranos - I think it takes more creative risks that end up panning out and its comedy is more charming - I think The Wire is is definitely up there, albeit probably in that 2nd tier for me. Season 5 kind of drags it down a lot. Not that the season is bad, but the serial killer McNulty thing is so contrived to the point that it's distracting/a blatant clunk and the newspaper arc did not feel as intricate/meaningful as the previous subjects and seemed rather bland and run-of-the-mill. It didn't stand out from what any other show would have done, I thought. Only the Stanfield story was still interesting.

I'd rank the seasons like this:

Season 4
Season 2
Season 3
Season 1
Season 5

With that said, how Stringer Bell appears to be considered a more interesting character than Avon Barksdale baffles me. And I can't believe they did my man Prop Joe like that. I really liked Marlo Stanfield/Chris Partlow/Snoop too.

I disagree with the characterization of The Sopranos as being more creative. As much as I love the show, it definitely falls into a cycle of: introduce unlikable antagonist, pit him against Tony, kill him off toward the end of the season, rinse and repeat. Not to mention Tony himself becomes fairly one-dimensional by the end. That's a crude generalization because there's a lot of the show that doesn't fall into that category, but creatively I still think it keeps it a notch below The Wire, which completely obliterates most TV tropes.

As for Stringer and Avon, they're fairly different characters who are both interesting in their own ways. I'd argue their partnership is what's really the most compelling aspect of their respective character arcs (their Season 3 subplot is still my favorite of the entire show).

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I disagree with the characterization of The Sopranos as being more creative. As much as I love the show, it definitely falls into a cycle of: introduce unlikable antagonist, pit him against Tony, kill him off toward the end of the season, rinse and repeat. Not to mention Tony himself becomes fairly one-dimensional by the end. That's a crude generalization because there's a lot of the show that doesn't fall into that category, but creatively I still think it keeps it a notch below The Wire, which completely obliterates most TV tropes.

As for Stringer and Avon, they're fairly different characters who are both interesting in their own ways. I'd argue their partnership is what's really the most compelling aspect of their respective character arcs (their Season 3 subplot is still my favorite of the entire show).

While I don't disagree about the antagonist thing, it isn't exactly what I meant. I think both series are relatively straight-forward and relatively predictable in regards to the events in regards to their story-telling but how it ends up being presented and working out doesn't feel as succesful to me, especially when you take The Wire S5 into account. For example, in contrast to McNulty's Serial Killer, The Sopranos has an equally misshapen situation that never ends up feeling that way because of how organically it actually comes together and doesn't feel forced but a natural development in Tony Soprano killing Ralphie because of a horse. On paper, despite Tony's fondness for animals and temper, it would go against his natural instincts and everything we've seen so far (McNulty making up a serial killer actually seems more plausible on paper) but while watching both series, I feel like The Wire's plot-line feels a lot more forced/clunky as compared to The Sopranos which did not make me wince once.

I gotta run but I'll come back to the Stringer/Avon thing.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I disagree with the characterization of The Sopranos as being more creative. As much as I love the show, it definitely falls into a cycle of: introduce unlikable antagonist, pit him against Tony, kill him off toward the end of the season, rinse and repeat. Not to mention Tony himself becomes fairly one-dimensional by the end. That's a crude generalization because there's a lot of the show that doesn't fall into that category, but creatively I still think it keeps it a notch below The Wire, which completely obliterates most TV tropes.

As for Stringer and Avon, they're fairly different characters who are both interesting in their own ways. I'd argue their partnership is what's really the most compelling aspect of their respective character arcs (their Season 3 subplot is still my favorite of the entire show).

And yeah, I agree that the dynamic between Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale is more interesting as a whole than either of them are individually. It's just that prevalent sentiment where the " Too much of a businessman for the streets and too much of a gangster for the business world " that people found enthralling that I found interesting but not as much as Avon Barksdale trying to reel Bell in, trying to deal with family and being completely aware of his own limitations so to speak that I found a lot more interesting. Bell's interesting no doubt, but I didn't see a whole lot of that cerebral aspect that made people acclaim the character. Seems like almost every major decision he made turned out to be a mistake, in contrast to Avon.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

While I don't disagree about the antagonist thing, it isn't exactly what I meant. I think both series are relatively straight-forward and relatively predictable in regards to the events in regards to their story-telling but how it ends up being presented and working out doesn't feel as succesful to me, especially when you take The Wire S5 into account. For example, in contrast to McNulty's Serial Killer, The Sopranos has an equally misshapen situation that never ends up feeling that way because of how organically it actually comes together and doesn't feel forced but a natural development in Tony Soprano killing Ralphie because of a horse. On paper, despite Tony's fondness for animals and temper, it would go against his natural instincts and everything we've seen so far (McNulty making up a serial killer actually seems more plausible on paper) but while watching both series, I feel like The Wire's plot-line feels a lot more forced/clunky as compared to The Sopranos which did not make me wince once.

I gotta run but I'll come back to the Stringer/Avon thing.

Tony on Ralph worked because it was heat of the moment. He loves animals and when Ralph, basically, said who gives a f*** it flipped Tonys lid, and he may not of even tried to kill him but turned into a fight to the death. McNulty on the other hand was planning the whole thing, thought of everything and still went through with it

 

[Supermassive]

So I’m only partway through Season 2, but...

Amazon Canada has the series box set on BR + Digital for $54.99.

If you’ve never jumped in, now’s the time.

 

[LightningStrikes]

I miss this show.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Is this the best scene in the show?

 

[John Price]

No there's better

"Market Saturation"

"Ya'll heard of Worldcom?"

"40 degree day"

 

[Pilky01]

Probably my favourite moment from the show. Bodie going down swinging.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Probably my favourite moment from the show. Bodie going down swinging.

Why was he so stubborn to leave with Poot though? Not the best decision - for a guy as smart as him.

Edit: Read a nice review of that scene claiming Bodie died like a pawn in chess. Attacked from two sides by Chris and Snoop (two bishops), not able to move (one step forward at a time like a pawn) and eventually taken out by Mike (a knight), coming at him from behind after jumping out of an ally and then towards him (one step forward, one step slantwise). Taking us all back to the famous scene with Bodie and D discussing chess in the pit...

 

[DaaaaB's]

Is this the best scene in the show?

That's a great scene for sure. Three of my favorite characters in the show. Well, them and like 20 other characters.

I have a tough time picking my favorite scene but this one is up there.

 

[DaaaaB's]

This scene is classic:

 

[DaaaaB's]

Frank Sobotka was such a great character. Good guy who did some bad things that caught up with him and ended tragically. Chris Bauer is an excellent actor imo.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Frank Sobotka was such a great character. Good guy who did some bad things that caught up with him and ended tragically. Chris Bauer is an excellent actor imo.

Best season of the series.

 

[DaaaaB's]

Best season of the series.

I'd probably say it's my favourite. I never understood why some fans of the show think it's the worst season. Season 5 is the worst imo but I still loved it.

 

[ORRFForever]

My favourite seasons (in order) : 3,4,2,1,5

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

5 is the worst season because of the newspaper garbage and McNulty's fake serial killer (although the last 2 episodes are great), but season 2 is probably "2nd worst" if you wanna call it that. 1, 3 and 4 and just a tier above it IMO.

 

[LightningStrikes]

 

[John Price]

Potential spinoff coming with return of the cast

 

[John Price]

Translation of the text:
There will be some sort of sequel to the TV show. This is what writer George Pelecanos, also a screenwriter for The Wire, revealed in a long interview in Society Magazine.

Together with David Simon and Ed Burns, we're writing a new project about Baltimore that will bring together all the actors of The Wire. I can't really talk about it, I'm afraid. Let's just say that it will focus on the city's police force, which in recent years has had to deal with several major corruption cases within its ranks.​

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

No freakin way. So this is an entirely new show? Or a continuation?