"The Wire" on HBO

Watching only an episode or two of the Wire and deciding you don't like it is a little like rendering a verdict on an epic-length novel after 30 pages or so.

http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/52516825/544703

has anyone seen torrents of law and order (1978) kicking around anywhere?

Watching only an episode or two of the Wire and deciding you don't like it is a little like rendering a verdict on an epic-length novel after 30 pages or so.

― Comprehensive Nuclear Suggest-Ban Treaty (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 00:38 (47 minutes ago)

nah, it's more like reading 30 pages of an epic novel and deciding "I'm never gonna get through this thing" and putting it down

I mean, I like the wire so far but if I ever tell anybody "trust me, it gets really really good, you just gotta make it through the first 5 hours" you have permission to punch me in the throat

it's funny how people remember/forget/remember that the wire isn't realistic.

― thomp, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 7:22 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

whoah wait is there a paranormal subplot?

prepare to get throatpunched

No, I wouldn't say five hours, but maybe 3? I mean I was curious enough after the first episode but not really impressed until 3.

xp EIII: Jay Landsman isn't really that fat.

starting hyoid kegels now

xp Hurting 2: Episode 4 is when the first season started getting good for me.

ooh, I'm watching that one next

Watching only an episode or two of the Wire and deciding you don't like it is a little like rendering a verdict on an epic-length novel after 30 pages or so.

― Comprehensive Nuclear Suggest-Ban Treaty (Hurting 2), Tuesday, March 31, 2009 8:38 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

that sounds like a pretty reasonable approach to reading a novel, to me? I cracked open don quixote a while back, flipped through it for 10 mins, was like 'this is dumb and gay, i cant relate to this olde thymey spanish nigga' and hurled it across the room. if someone doesn't dig the wire after an episode or 2, then maybe it's not the fukkin show for them

otm also i think probably unconsciously the thing i hated about it most is people drooling on me telling me how awesome it is and how i had to find the strength to carry on a few more episodes. i mean i ended up liking it on my own but please

The wire isn't completely realistic, but I think most of it's plausible. I certainly bought into Hamsterdam because the script took nearly two seasons building up to it. By contrast, the serial killer plot seemed like it came out of nowhere.

has anyone seen torrents of law and order (1978) kicking around anywhere?

― caek, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:24 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha ok this (1978) makes so much more sense now

has anyone seen torrents of law and order (1978) kicking around anywhere?

― caek, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:24 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Actually I think there are sizeable elements of The Wire that would appeal to the Pinefox - particularly all the dockers/unions/changing nature of capitalism stuff in Series 2, but also the political bits of S3. But I seriously doubt he'd make it through the first series to find that out.

not to mention its use of language and the fact its a very intelligent and intelligently written show, give it a go pf

i've been working through this show for the past 2 years or so. i'll basically start a season, become totally engrossed and power my way through the thing in a day or two. then i'll put off the next season for like months because i don't want to feel guilty about sitting in front of my computer or television for a dozen hours straight. anyway, i just started season 4 and it's great and i'm back in the routine again. i live right outside of the city so that fact that i haven't finished it yet has been a minor source of embarrassment.

I notice Dominic West's inconsistent accent a lot more

this has always bothered me. it's kind of a combination of trying to do an American accent and throwing in some Bawmore shit randomly that throws me off. sounds totally inconsistent. also the fact that there are actual Baltimore dudes on the show that have a pretty hard accent mixed with actors who don't playing their peers is a little weird. i'm not really butthurt about it as i think it's cool that they have these guys on the show and i don't expect all the actors to speak that way, but it is a bit jarring.

h8 mcnutty

^^2tru

i love that he's from sheffield really, even though he went to eton.

hung out last night with a high school teacher who has been showing the wire season 1 in his literature class :D (pretty sure he can only get away with that because it's a catholic school)

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04172009/watch.html

that's a goodun

lol, "McArdle"

http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/The_Wire/The_Wire_-_Bible.pdf

man, this really came out pretty much fully formed.

stringy bell!

"Stringy" Bell -- the Stringer/Avon relationship is actually reversed in that document!

xpost!

how do they decide to pick mcnulty over mcardle i wonder? like what's the diff

HERC - dumb as a box of rocks and an anabolic steroid addict to boot

in the show he ends up dumb as a box of hammers

box of rocks vs. bag of hammers vs. hammer of bags vs. hammer of boxes

dumber than a box of hair

vs. doorknobs

Dumber than a bag of dicks

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/2/fgg.gif

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/2/281akc8.gif

yess wire gifs, i have now doubled my collection

Thanks for that Moyers interview. The part in Part 2 where he talked about the contempt newspaper owners have had for their product hits home, obviously...

Got my dvds back from Dad woooooooooo! He couldn't get my stepmom to watch it though. Apparently he did the same bad thing that I've done on occassion - used The Wire as a club to beat shows that other people like. Not the best sales technique, really.

Yeah, I've fallen into that trap sometimes too, definitely something to avoid - really makes you look like a douche no matter how good the show is.

Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale and Kenny Jackson tell their versions of Baltimore's street life in The Baltimore Chronicles: Legends of the Unwired

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=17966

makes you look like a douche

Is it me, or has there there been a pretty noticeable backlash against the wire brought on by the many who haven't seen it, but have been turned off it because of unending recommendation and sycophancy. To bad, as it is the sort of thing where you can't stress enough,

how much they actually should watch it.

I think a lot of fans forget that the show requires a ton of effort to absorb, compared to 99.9% of TV shows it's pretty impenetrable. But honestly I think the show is just as ignored as it's usually been. That said, I don't know anyone who has actually watched the show that doesn't LOVE it, but there's that - people who would be interested are the ones seeking it out, not the general public.

That City Paper article was pretty interesting - had no idea how much Simon took from real people (not just names, but things like Avon having a boxing background, or the strip club thing from S5) that went into the show.

Clay Davis in a role he was born to play:

the many who haven't seen it, but have been turned off it because of unending recommendation and sycophancy

This was my position for a very long time about (a) The Wire, (b) living in Brooklyn, and (c) Macintosh computers -- i.e., stuff I was sure was fine and lovely, but I was not interested in and getting really sick of having constantly recommended to me

Then I watched The Wire and was like yeah, this is really good

That said, my usual response to Wire recommendations was "I'll wait until it's over and the whole thing's out on DVD," and I think that was the right decision; I feel like it would have totally exhausted and bothered me to watch this week to week and season to season