"The Wire" on HBO

that said I still have yet to finish The Wire season 5, and I've just hit the 'serial killer' arc which is kind of o_O to me, the first time I've ever "wtfed" at a major plot point on this show

some good stuff comes out of that plot, but yeah that is the main thing that drags down the whole season

a show where everything was like real life would suck

― gr8080, Sunday, January 16, 2011 12:01 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^ Thee realest talk.

some good stuff comes out of that plot, but yeah that is the main thing that drags down the whole season

― some dude, Sunday, January 16, 2011 11:56 AM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

The second time I watched the last season, that whole plot arc was less of a bete noire and became more tolerable, even lolwtfhahah (Bunk's reactions mostly).

i remember being like "NO NO NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!???" for the first few episodes of the serial killer plot but iirc enjoyed how it played out.

like the ziggy complaints, also don't get ppl who complain about how "annoying" the newspaper reporter character is and/or how he could make s5 unenjoyable.

also, whole serial killer plot was worth it just for this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGNwn2yXnTM

he is really annoying - because he's supposed to be really annoying - and there's a constant tension where as a viewer you just want to see him get what's coming to him, and it doesn't come soon enough

Lol gr080 yeah that was great

it has been mentioned before, maybe on this thread, maybe on one of the poll threads: one of the weaknesses of Season 5 is that the new characters have less depth - specifically the newspaper people. It makes me wonder if that was because they are more like the show's audience and thus the writers didn't feel it was as necessary?

I think Simon had too big of an axe to grind in that seaso ..he was way too close to it so it was all characters serving his DO U SEEEEE points.

On the other hand, the tragedy of the decline of the newspaper industry didn't seem so tragic compared to the other characters losing their families and getting killed.

i mean: witty political columnist getting forced into early retirement with the buy-out vs. Prop Joe getting forced into early retirement by a gunshot to the head.

Yeah I agree. His focus was way skewed in this season.

jesus guys, jordan is on season 2

i dunno about skewed -- like, maybe the hypothetical educated professional viewer would normally care more about the newspaper's problems than the death of a drug dealer and a stick-up boy, however the show has spent four seasons humanizing the drug trade and its players, so I was "oooh nooo! Omar!" and "Awwww they killed Prop Joe!" and when saintly Gus doesn't get to do the right thing in the newsroom, "hmm, that kinda sucks. Oh well."

that opening scene is a good example of the 'writerly' style that probably rubs j0rd the wrong way.

The opening scene (replete with Snot Booger) is repeated almost wholly from the "Homicide" book, as are a few other bits and pieces throughout the show.

maybe a kindly mod could take out the last couple of spoilers? It killed me when I'd just finished season four and inadvertently found out about XXXXXX being YYYYYY in season five

It is a shame that aren't threads for each season of this show, but that request is pretty much "You want it to be one way, but it's the other way."

ha, great line but I can't even remember where it's from

no don't tell me

people who really and truly wish to avoid spoilers don't hang around message board threads about the thing they haven't seen all of yet

it's kind of like busting into someone's bathroom and going OH GOD YOU'RE NAKED WHAT THE HELL

Ismael - it was in season 4.

some dude - otm

people who really and truly wish to avoid spoilers don't hang around message board threads about the thing they haven't seen all of yet

What's more, they should really stay away from a thread for a show that's been off the air for 2+ years.

but we're talking hypothetically here -- I mean, did J0rdan say he didn't want spoilers?

I'm sure that all people want spoilers unless they explicitly state otherwise.

it's not unreasonable to assume

lolxpost

hey jordan here's where omar gets shot in the head by a little kid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CshAkqlAj1o

i texted him and told him not to open the thread so he's good

Tell him it's safe now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPt5FOw_yIA

rilly tho?

hate to break it to you J0rd, but Marlo really likes candy

well done gr8080, that's precisely the clip I saw right after watching the last ep of s4

i think the fact that omar dies got spoiled for me on ILX but the circumstances and even which season it happened in were still unknown to me, which was kind of awesome because it made the stakes even higher every time i watched a scene with him

omar is my favorite television character ever btw
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x18/gr8080/omar.jpg

when i'm like 3-4 seasons behind on a show and i accidentally read a spoiler about something that happens in an episode i probably won't catch up to for months or years, i just try to forgot what i read

i have a mind like a steel trap so that's v v hard for me to do

yeah, the act of trying means that thing is then always in the front of my mind, whether I'm thinking about the show or not

it helps if it's some involved plot development involving characters or circumstances that haven't been introduced yet in the episodes i have seen -- obviously something like "(super memorable character) gets killed" doesn't pop out of your brain easily.

omar is my favorite television character ever btw

GOAT imo

one of my favorite characters on ILX!

The opening scene (replete with Snot Booger) is repeated almost wholly from the "Homicide" book, as are a few other bits and pieces throughout the show.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, January 17, 2011 5:21 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

and so I'm to assume that it was transcribed directly from a tape recording of whatever real-life situation it was taken from?

I think David Simon heard a cop retelling that story.

yeah but all stories are embellished through retelling

I just read The Corner co-written by Simon & Ed Burns - a Baltimore detective for 20 years & then a public school teacher. interesting perspective there, to say the least. you can totally see the genesis of several Wire characters in the real people on The Corner: D'Angelo Barksdale & Bubbles. fascinating book whether you've seen the series or not.

only skimming this thread since I'm in the middle of season three

uh, don't read the ~50 or so posts above yours

i really want to read the corner too

mouzone's right hand man is the actual dude from the corner book

i read like half The Corner before its library due date, really need to go take it out again and finish it.

i love Omar and totally get why he's the most iconic character from The Wire, but i can't imagine him being remotely my favorite out of all the great characters on the show.

Omar
Bunk
Ziggy
Frank Sbotka