"The Wire" on HBO

I think one of the many things that's great about the series is that it shows rather than tells in making its case. We hear about dumb Pollocks, then notice some of them being smarter than the characters using that phrase. Stringer and his boys call Omar a cocksucker and a faggot, but we see him having more heart (in every sense) than any of them. In season two, one of the young dock workers talks about project niggers, but ends up doing essentially the same business as them, but with less smarts.

Now, you could make the argument that there is "honor" in Stringer's taking an Econ class and attempting to invest drug money in "legitimate" stocks and other businesses, schooling his employees in the realities of capitalism that have to be faced before a gun is drawn. You can definitely make the argument that he's a great character, and the show's writers love him.

But to me, he's the essence of a soulless rational maximizer. He takes what he can get. He kills characters I like, because they might hurt him down the road as informants. Once you extend the idea of "honor" to self-preservation at all costs, you have adopted Michael Corleone's morality, my friend.

Plus, he doesn't like go-go music!

Life itself? I think if you don't see a radical critique of the various systems on display in front of us, you're trying not to see it. Check out this interview with the show's creator:

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3336

At a review of crime statistics last week at the police headquarters, computerized maps flashed onto screens as ranking officers sharply questioned precinct commanders on crime trends. Forests of blue icons pinpointed drug-dealing hot spots, many accompanied by red X's to denote homicides.

Yet as the maps showed killings increasing in some places, they also showed that other reported crimes, including rape, robbery, aggravated assault and burglary, were down in most precincts.

"As I ride down the street, I'd have to say the city is safer," Acting Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm said.

Not everyone is so sure. Some criminologists have questioned the statistics, arguing that some precinct commanders may be downgrading serious crimes to lesser categories to make their districts look better.

And then there's this, which Simon's gotta be kicking himself for not thinking of first:

"Baltimore is actually a very safe city if you are not involved in the drug trade," Health Commissioner Peter Beilenson said.

And look at the photo -- it's Carcetti and Burrell!

I've been telling lots of people that Season 1 was the best season of TV I have ever seen, and after giving that a lot of thought, I'm pretty sure I agree with myself. I think it's aided somewhat by being only 12 episodes, so there are no duds, but still. If you love THE NOVEL, you'll love The Wire. Season 1 is not only the best TV shows ever, it's also one of the best novels I've ever, uh, witnessed.

But do we really need any more of these evil, conspiratorial, slimy, and yes, JEWISH defense lawyers who seem to LOOOOOOOVE crime and misery? This "Maury Levy" (UGH) is the only real full on caruacature on the show. Give me a fucking break already with the smirking and the evil-ness.

Still the best show ever, though.

Also, I would recommend all of Price's books. Wasn't that Richard Price as the literature teacher in the prison class in Season 2?

i'm guessing that if season four of the wire happens with its supposed public school-focus, i bet some of the themes of samaritan figure in prominently.

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/clarke_peters.shtml

I KNEW McNulty was an English guy putting on an American accent as soon as he opened his mouth.

YES YES YES

Graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1995.

I don't read the Netflix slipcases. This was no exception.

In a lot of ways I prefer the grand operatic story of The Sopranos, and I sure as hell think that everything from season 3 onward on that show is pretty much as good as it gets, but The Wire is so tight. There's no such thing as a weak episode in this show. Not a moment is wasted.

My personal favorite season of SFU is season 3, actually.

I don't think 6FU or the Sopranos really match up to the Wire at all. 6FU was really great starting out, but this last season turned into some bizarro homoerotic grand guignol. Which isn't HALF as awesome as it sounds. Sopranos was always wildly uneven, and for the last couple years the only good eps have been the ones in which important characters are killed. The cardboard hatefulness of the Sopranos pisses me off too, esp. in comparison to The Wire - even the sympathetic characters are monsters. which, yeah, is obviously the point, but it makes it hard to remain invested in the show when everyone drips venality and cruelty. The uneven writing makes it even harder, obv. Things definately did improve last season, but after all the meandering it's difficult to care about how things will conclude. (and for a show in which character comes first [wtf does that mean anyway], the people in it sure are fucking static)

The only kinda gratuitous tv-watching that I can remember from the last two seasons was that bit in "Cold Cuts" when Tony is getting all freaked out by that 60 Minutes report on how easily terrorists could get stuff into US docks.

I guess the only way I can refute this is by going back and looking at those eps, which sounds like a pain in the ass. I know that WHAT they're watching usually has some kind of thematic relevence, but I never felt like it enriched the narrative or contributed much? It also frequently came off as self-parody to me. I guess I just prefer more to be HAPPENING in my tv (cf. the Wire), and this particular trope always felt emblematic of the show's slothfulness.

(and yeah, not unrealistic, but it's hardly a documentary etc blah blah)

The Sopranos seasons: 3 > 5 > 4 > 1 > 2