It was a good show, nothing more, nothing less.
GOAT? Absolutely not.
GOAT? Absolutely not.
Television The Wire
- Thread starter VanNistelrater
- Start date
I watched it years after it was finished despite the aspect ratio and thought it held up to just about anything TV has produced.
You're one of those rare "it was a good show" people. The Wire usually seems to polarize more. What is your GOAT then?
I'd put myself in the it was a good show camp too. And the fact that (I think) I have typical tastes is why that surprises me.
On one of the interviews of David Simon I saw, he described The Wire as a novel in tv format. I think that's why a lot of people give up on it after a few episodes, or even the first season. It's not for those with short attention spans, or those who like The Walking Dead type shows that are full of suspenseful cliff-hangers at the end of episodes.
Slim Charles and Weebey are awesome
Slim Charles and Weebey are awesome
Bill Rawls never disappoints.
I started watching it when it was airing in America because someone on a forum told me about it. I was downloading torrents like crazy and staying up til 3am because it was always "just one more episode before bed". It was like crack.
Anyone who dislikes Bubbles should just give up on being human.
I'm not really sure what you were expecting to see so unique, it has/had all been done before, but it's the ground The Wire covers that makes it stand out, the depth of it and the wealth of knowledge in what it's portraying. Watching it for the first time in 2002 or 2015 shouldn't make a great deal of difference, even if you have seen a few of the faces in a few others since it....most of them were around before it too, in roles with similar traits.
You've probably seen "more of it" if you came up with British Drama as opposed not so realistic and gritty America drama prior to it I guess too. But again, nothing came close to covering the ground it did.
You've probably seen "more of it" if you came up with British Drama as opposed not so realistic and gritty America drama prior to it I guess too. But again, nothing came close to covering the ground it did.
Bit of a strange statement to make without any other shows to name though isn't it. Or are ya just avoiding the inevitable wire mob chastising your tastes?
I started about a year back. Absolutely hooked from the 2nd episode on I think and watched the entire thing in few weeks. My routine was : get up and go to work. Return and watch wire till I sleep. Repeat again.
I guess many of you will have seen it already, but Show Me a Hero is really, really good.
Directed by David Simon.
It's not trying to be The Wire v.2, and it's not as good, but still very much worth it for people who like his work.
Directed by David Simon.
It's not trying to be The Wire v.2, and it's not as good, but still very much worth it for people who like his work.
Yeah I really enjoyed it.
The Wire is, in my opinion, the best show of all time.
That is all.
That is all.
"I treated you like a son".
"I wasn't made to play the son".
What a scene. Rip
"I wasn't made to play the son".
What a scene. Rip
"Money aint got no owners. Only spenders".
"Weather going this way (warmer). People another yo (colder)."
"Giving a feck when it isn't your turn to give a feck."
"You either play or get played. But you can't lose if you don't play."
One of The Wire's best things is that the show is true to real life in terms of human politics.
"Weather going this way (warmer). People another yo (colder)."
"Giving a feck when it isn't your turn to give a feck."
"You either play or get played. But you can't lose if you don't play."
One of The Wire's best things is that the show is true to real life in terms of human politics.
I've STILL not watched this, mainly because I can't be arsed with the hassle of downloading it all...
Is it on Amazon/Netflix? Guessing not, as I've not seen it anywhere...
Is it on Amazon/Netflix? Guessing not, as I've not seen it anywhere...
I'll get it up on Kodi thinking about it...
I've still got my kodi box somewhere...
Good advice. Don't know how it is for native English speakers (not American ones), but I really struggled to understand what they were saying on the first two seasons. I needed subtitles there.
My girlfriend is Finnish, we watched the first episode with english subtitles and it wasn't enough. But surprisingly they had Finnish subtitles as well! She absolutely loves it, only 5 more episodes left and she's hoping Omar kills Marlo.
Oh boy she's not gonna be happy
Yeah, me too. Watched the first three episodes without subtitles and had to give up. A bit annoying with the inevitable "door slamming" and "dog barking" but oh well.
Subtitles for Baltimore accents 
"You're talking about drugs. That's a force of nature. That's sweeping leaves on a windy day whoever the hell you are."
"Fish gotta swim, you feel me?"
"Wherever you go, there you are."
"I'll take any motherfecka's money if he givin' it away!"
"We used to make shit in this country, build shit. Now we just put our hand in the next guy's pocket."
One of my favourite things about the Wire is the succinctness. It especially does a good job of showing that inner city slang is too easily dismissed as low brow, when in fact it can convey anything you want, just like language in general.
Prop Joe had the best delivery:
"Fool, if it wasn't for Sergei here you and your cousin both would be cadaverous motherfeckers."
"Fool, if it wasn't for Sergei here you and your cousin both would be cadaverous motherfeckers."
Joe had some great lines.
Joe: He said y'all would be paying my fee rather than his own, so...
Stringer: Your fee?
Joe: I'm doing like one of them marriage counselors. Charge by the hour to tell some fool he need to bring some flowers home. And charge another hour telling the bitch she oughta suck some cock every little once in a while. You know, keep a marriage strong like that.
[Omar arrives]
Joe: Speaking of cocksuckers...
Joe: [to Omar] Don't believe we met. Proposition Joe. You ever steal from me, I'll kill your whole family.
Heh heh:
Good point, never thought of that.
Think your combining Omar's "the game is out there and it's play or get played." And Daniels' wife saying "the game is rigged but you cannot lose if you do not play"
You're right.
I need subtitles for Peaky Blinders.Subtitles for Baltimore accents
David Simon did an AMA today:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/51lz1y/im_david_simon_creator_of_hbos_the_wire_the/
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/51lz1y/im_david_simon_creator_of_hbos_the_wire_the/
Subtitles for Baltimore accents
Nah, it's alright when the white guys talk.
Great AmA, some really interesting questions and I enjoyed his answers too, his perspective & opinions are very refreshing.
I went through a 2nd run of this sometime last year but gave up at the end of season 4. Saw this thread bumped and decided I'd give season 5 another go. Even as a standalone season of TV it really falls short on a number of levels. I mean, for starters, that intro music...it's the only season where I can't wait for it to finish!
In all seriousness though, I think it all just feels a bit forced. The brilliance of The Wire is entirely predicated on its realism and it just feels like it falls apart there. The serial killer story isn't that implausible, but it just feels like a story David Simon felt like he had to tell, and cared less about how it fit into the show's natural progression than any other season. McNulty and Freamon as the obsessive detectives that bend the rules to fix the city's problems, Kima as the straight-laced cop that ultimately can't live with it and stabs them in the back...again, it's all plausible, but it just feels like they took the basic stereotypes of their characters and forced them to fit the story.
The end result is they didn't even tell the story about the newsroom well at all either, none of it weaved together in the way everything before that did. So because the ambitions were still similarly grand, but the execution was so much worse, I really do think that season of the Wire holds up pretty poorly not just against itself but in the wider sense too.
In all seriousness though, I think it all just feels a bit forced. The brilliance of The Wire is entirely predicated on its realism and it just feels like it falls apart there. The serial killer story isn't that implausible, but it just feels like a story David Simon felt like he had to tell, and cared less about how it fit into the show's natural progression than any other season. McNulty and Freamon as the obsessive detectives that bend the rules to fix the city's problems, Kima as the straight-laced cop that ultimately can't live with it and stabs them in the back...again, it's all plausible, but it just feels like they took the basic stereotypes of their characters and forced them to fit the story.
The end result is they didn't even tell the story about the newsroom well at all either, none of it weaved together in the way everything before that did. So because the ambitions were still similarly grand, but the execution was so much worse, I really do think that season of the Wire holds up pretty poorly not just against itself but in the wider sense too.
The worst part of S5 for me is how they bump off Omar. It's very contrived.
I didn't have a problem with that, but for me the newsroom angle was very contrived (ex. the grizzled journalist who helps out even after he's let go; the cartoon-villain reporter who relentlessly stretches the truth, etc.) I think David Simon really let his own issues with the Sun colour his story-telling here. However, I thought the season ended on a very strong run of episodes.