136 replies to this topic

[Tyler]

The Wire as an animated series.

[MattPage]

Cool, but no McNulty?

Matt

Cool, but no McNulty?

Matt

[Christian]

"Snoop" gets three years probation.

[J.A.A. Purves]

By the way, Jeffrey, I could swear I saw or heard somewhere that you recently finished all five Seasons of The Wire. Given that you're one of our favorite film reviewers around here, do you have any thoughts? I think we'd all love to hear them.

What did you think of the story arc given to the Bubbles character?

Did Season Four tear at your heart like it did mine? It was the Fourth Season, everything from the first three seasons suddenly being forced upon 4 little kids, that I suddenly was overcome with what David Simon was doing for us.

[Russ]

Gavin Breeden, on 02 June 2011 - 09:00 PM, said:

David Simon replies to the request somewhat scathingly:

Quote

“The Attorney-General’s kind remarks are noted and appreciated. I’ve spoken to Ed Burns and we are prepared to go to work on season six of The Wire if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanising drug prohibition.

“[The US government's war on drugs is] nothing more or less than a war on our underclass, succeeding only in transforming our democracy into the jailingest nation on the planet.”

Wow. The mold was broken after Simon, wasn't it? You've got to admire his prickly consistency and his immunity to the praise of the powerful.

[Christian]

Christian, on 21 September 2010 - 04:09 PM, said:

Jason Panella, on 21 September 2010 - 03:22 PM, said:

M. Leary, on 21 September 2010 - 02:18 PM, said:

Homicide certainly pushed harder on convention given its prime time context. The Wire is what happens when good TV writers are given as much room to play as they want to, which is a freedom Homicide never enjoyed.

This is a pretty accurate statement, I think. I love Homicide, for what it's worth (I'm glad I italicized that!), but I have to disagree with Christian...as perfect as the first few seasons were (and they really were), they started losing me each season after that.

But lovable characters in the Wire? I don't know if a week goes by that I don't think about one of them with a smile.

Hmmm. I didn’t “love” the characters, but that’s not to say that I wanted them to be “lovable,” which suggests connotations I didn’t intend.

Do I think of them often? Not as often as you do, Jason, but I do think of them sometimes. That’s not to say that I loved the characters. I agree that they’re memorable, many of them.

Darren: I have the heart of Tom Reagan. In answer to your questions, No, no, no, no, no and no. I did have a soft spot for Lester, Bubbles and even Clay Davis (!), but I didn’t love those characters the way I loved Frank Pembleton, or Kay Howard – or even John Lange, who, as played by Vincent D'Onofrio, made a huge impression for just one episode.

I promise that I wasn't the person who wrote to Slate claiming that Homicide is superior to The Wire:

The single commenter who swam against the tide by suggesting that The Wire is an inferior version of Homicide: Life on the Street, was quickly taken to task by other commenters. (We cannot at this time verify the Wire-skeptic’s whereabouts.)

[NBooth]

Žižek comes late to The Wire

Meanwhile, I'm going to be dusting off my complete series set in the next month or so and giving the series a try.

[J.A.A. Purves]

NBooth, on 02 March 2012 - 02:10 PM, said:

Meanwhile, I'm going to be dusting off my complete series set in the next month or so and giving the series a try.

You are in for something really special.

[Tyler]

Grantland.com is running a "Smacketology" tournament to determine who the best character on The Wire was.

[Jason Panella]

Tyler, on 06 March 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

Grantland.com is running a "Smacketology" tournament to determine who the best character on The Wire was.

This is a bracket I can get into. The Grantland Facebook page has the polls running, it seems. But Levy beating Wallace? Really?

[Ryan H.]

I finally finished THE WIRE. My wife and I had held off on seasons 4 and 5, but we finally finished watching them.

Season 4 was, bar none, the most moving television experience of my life. Other seasons were more exciting, more invigorating, but the character work in season 4 was the finest in the series. By the end of it, my wife and I were devastated.

Season 5 was good, and served as an effective end-cap for the show, but on the whole, it's probably my least favorite season. In part because it's painful, given that it centers on the implications of a few destructive choices, but also because its look at the media isn't particularly vivid.

[Tyler]

Ryan H., on 11 March 2012 - 04:54 PM, said:

Season 5 was good, and served as an effective end-cap for the show, but on the whole, it's probably my least favorite season. In part because it's painful, given that it centers on the implications of a few destructive choices, but also because its look at the media isn't particularly vivid.

I thought the same thing, which is strange, since David Simon was a reporter before he worked in television.

[Tyler]

From Funny Or Die--The Wire: The Musical.

[Josh Hurst]

Tyler, on 05 June 2012 - 11:22 AM, said:

From Funny Or Die--The Wire: The Musical.

Somewhat surprisingly... David Simon approves!

[J.A.A. Purves]

Tyler, on 10 June 2011 - 11:09 AM, said:

The Wire as an animated series.

I'll see your animated series and raise you with this, given that The Wire is Dickensian and all.

[Tyler]

Robert F. Chew, who played "Prop Joe" on The Wire, has died. He was 52.

[Jason Panella]

Tyler, on 18 January 2013 - 10:16 PM, said:

Robert F. Chew, who played "Prop Joe" on The Wire, has died. He was 52.

This is a little over a month after the death of Donnie Andrews, the real-life inspiration for Omar. As things work in David Simon's world, Andrews also had a smaller supporting role in the show.