Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
Well, I definitely disagree with the "fake-edgy, let me say some real street-smart badass ****" bit. I don't think that's entirely accurate, but I can kind of see why you might get that impression initially. Was the line that you pointed out meant to be an example of that?
I do think that it's entirely fair criticism that the show sometimes gets a little too precious and writer-ly in the way that it's delivered. You can tell that David Simon has a grab-bag of big profound quotes that make you think in mind that he wants to set up in the show, and sometimes that comes across as feeling too on the nose (he is a journalist after-all). That continues to happen throughout the show. They're all generally pretty great quotes in isolation that ring pretty true and are entirely appropriate, though, so some people might think you're crazy for pointing that out.
The show does so many things beautifully and admirably that even if you consider all of these things flaws, it still holds up brilliantly, though.
Yeah, that one. I mean, the opening scene is a brilliant set-up to get you right into the atmopshere of the series and it's dynamics but it's hard not to be taken out of it when the writing so obviously tries to draw attention to itself instead of the story and it's characters. Even the chicken nuggets scene or the chess scene. Yeah, the point being made are interesting/true but as you said, it does feel like David Dimon has a '' grab-bag of big profound quotes '' and that sometimes the scenes's only purpose seem to serve the purpose of show-horning the quote/thought in without any consideration for how organic it'll feel (which it doesn't often to me, besides maybe the chicken nugget scene). With that said, I'm still watching - albeit no where near as fast as I've watched The Sopranos, which never suffers from the same issue - and it is a good watch, with Simon and his crew getting the feel of the street in a way that feels just right and with characters who are interesting in and of themselves. I guess my problem is really just with the dialogue sometimes, the sort of flashy '' hey look at me being witty and blow-mindingly real (while still being cool as shit) '' that can grate me pretty fast. With that said - and I'm still really early in the show - I wish we could see more of Avon Barksdale. Easily the best character so far for me, but I've always liked Wood Harris and his character reminds me a little of his character in Paid in Full, which I've always thought was an underrated street flick.