"The Wire" on HBO

🤐

nothing but love for rawls tbh one of the best characters in this show

landsman is top 5, of all the products of all the show's environments he is the most perfect, more adapted than marlo

wins otm about the sobotka boys

it's funny that the real Jay Landsman plays such a nondescript functionary in the show

Ha, yeah, was just about to say: Stevie, you have a jaw-droppingly fantastic, blink and you miss it Rawls moment coming up 'round the corner.

it's funny that the real Jay Landsman plays such a nondescript functionary in the show

That's probably because he isn't a real actor.

I love the fat landsman

The mousiness of Landsman-as-Mello is even a sharp contrast to how funny Landsman is in the 1991 book.

Just finished s2e6, p much half way thru. Ziggy is by far my most hated character, even more than Landsman. I’m having the same reaction to him that I had to Jesse the first time I watched Breaking Bad — a stubborn idiot who refuses to learn a goddamn fucking thing — but Jesse had complexity and a good heart whereas Ziggy is just smug and overconfident. I really hope he dies.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, March 25, 2018 10:08 AM (three hours ago

yes! I watched the wire before BB, but when watching BB and realizing how much I hated jesse, I too was reminded of how much I hated ziggy

That's probably because he isn't a real actor.

yeah no shit

he was the inspiration for Munch too

cannot wait to finish this season so I never have to fucking hear this damn credits song ever again

Aaaaaaa I just got to the “BAD ADVICE” scene and goddamn I actually feel a trace of pity for this dipshit

God now I gotta go find a Landsman compilation on YouTube

aaaaaaahahahahah Ziggy just shot up the electronics store, what a fucking dipshit!!!

I’m watching a season 2 episode and I have to say the recut from sd ratio to hd isn’t the worst but it’s kind of fucked up.

I liked the 16:9 remaster and i thought s2 was when it was most effective. All those sweeping shots of dock look great imo. What turns you off about it?

ziggy makes season two into a proper tragedy. it's an old trick but the wire is especially good at v gradually softening you up towards characters you initially hate.

Yeah I’ve been watching this all in 16:9 via Amazon Prime, I’m curious how different it’d feel in 4:3

nothing really turned me off so far, it’s just kind of disorienting!

some tv shows that are chopped/rescaled I just kind of watch and mentally push it aside, because it’s obvious 90% of the time. I think this actually looks good enough that it seems like it could have always been that way

it’s like driving by a house every day and one day noticing it’s blue, but you have the strong suspicion that it used to be red. it doesn’t look recently painted, so maybe you’re misremembering?

the hd remaster bothered me so much i bought the old dvd set. think i’m one of the few though

I feel like watching the HD version will just fill my mind with trainspottery non-sequiturs while I'm watching it: "Why is there so much wall in this shot?" "I wonder if David Simon meant for that sofa cushion to be there?" etc.

"Why can I see the braces holding Bubbles' teeth?"

just finished S2 (OBVIOUS SPOILERS)

I liked it! I'm real sad Frank got offed, I'm FURIOUS that Valchek "won", the union folding seemed inevitable (if it wasn't now, it woulda been soon) but the whole thing was unfortunate. Also: the case basically didn't get solved, and the whole montage at the end of everything operating exactly the same as if nothing changed was p effective in its bleakness, everything is futile, why bother etc.

those last couple eps of s2 are so good

that greek music at the end

also not thrilled w Brother Mouzone as a character, he seems really contrived and like deliberately engineered to be a fan favorite but in a heavy handed improbable way. He's, like, a favorite character for people who loved Boondock Saints.

also daaaaaamn @ Stringer playing EVERYONE, I can barely keep it straight

so Stringer goes behind Avon's back to collaborate w Prop Joe (who I LOVE)
Avon is unaware and hires Brother Mouzone to deal w/ the rival dealers
Stringer and Prop Joe find out but then just do nothing bcz it's easier?
Stringer tells Omar that Mouzone mutilated Brandon, and I can't tell if he expects Mouzone to kill Omar, Omar to kill Mouzone, or if he legit doesn't know which will happen but is happy with either outcome
Omar realizes Stringer set him up, and Mouzone also realizes Stringer set him up

yes?

oh man Brother Mouzone rings so false

https://kottke.org/09/01/brother-mouzone-implicated-in-notorious-bigs-killing

i'm watching all of this now. i can't remember how far i got when i had hbo years ago but its been so long that it's all new to me. i didn't get far though. finished the first season and kinda just wanted to watch it over again. so infinitely watchable.

we got playstation vue so now i am binging on hbo after not having it forever.

Brother Mouzone is a little too much of a deus ex machina/red herring they threw in to balance Omar and Stringer seeming over the top. Suddenly they're more believable because, hey, look at this guy!

Stringer tells Omar that Mouzone mutilated Brandon, and I can't tell if he expects Mouzone to kill Omar, Omar to kill Mouzone, or if he legit doesn't know which will happen but is happy with either outcome

yes, it's this I think

He's, like, a favorite character for people who loved Boondock Saints.

Prop Joe is probably the best character when all's said and done

Let's not forget about Cheese, great Method acting.

FP

i'll allow it

Let's not forget about Cheese, great Method acting.

https://i.imgur.com/j4CPSE8.gif

also not thrilled w Brother Mouzone as a character, he seems really contrived and like deliberately engineered to be a fan favorite but in a heavy handed improbable way. He's, like, a favorite character for people who loved Boondock Saints.

― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, March 29, 2018 11:57 AM (yesterday)

otm!

i've made it to season five and last night i had the idea that it would be cool if ilx people made an online album that was versions of "way down in the hole" for non-existent seasons of The Wire. what would the season 11 version sound like in 2014? they wouldn't have to be good either in keeping with most of the actual versions. i got really good at fast-forwarding through that tom waits one. ugh.

okay, maybe its a dumb idea with limited appeal.

i have really enjoyed watching the show.

Isn't the Tom Waits the original? Not that that would make it better (though it is the best)

TW's is the original.

"way down in the hole" is good

I came to like every version, but I could also skip to the cold open on VLC with remarkable precision

Neville Bros are my favorite

I'll do a plaintive acoustic falsetto auto-tune version, for the season dealing with gentrification.

Lake Trout is converted to farm-to-table.

Put me down for the "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs" version of the theme, which will be season 13 iirc

Heading into The Wire: The Musical territory here.