The Wire - no spoilers!

[Goliath]

^Oh? Truth really is stranger than fiction, I guess.

That's actually one of the problems with realism as a style. All sorts of weird, unexpected, and even unbelievable things happen in real life. For example: at least three airmen fell more than 5000 metres to the ground without a parachute during World War II and lived to tell the tale.

But these types of freak occurrences are so uncommon that they seem unrealistic when they happen in a realistic drama. If you saw something like that happen in a war movie, you'd just scoff.

So, by excluding such chances and mischances, realism winds up being "more real" than the real world.

 

[Star Wolf]

Ha, I've been trying to avoid mentioning the web slinger on each of my post about Omar.

 

[Yassim]

I'm going to keep spoiling up to the point I've seen...



They just shot Kima. Crap.

Surprised at how hard that hit. Didn't see it coming, even with the traditional "make the character likable before you knock them down" scene in front of it.
Wow.
No spoilers, but she better live...

 

[TheGodBen]

I'd have no idea offhand what I'd single out as the best episode of The Wire. Best characters; sure, best scenes; best seasons, but epsiodes? Ehh...

I agree, The Wire is too interconnected to have a favourite episode, all I can think of is my favourite era and that would be the end of season 3, the point where the shit starts to hit the fan and one of the main arcs from the first three years finally reaches its climax.

True, Omar did grow a little larger as the series progressed. But the only point where I thought he grew too large to be believable was the "Spider-Man shit" in Season 5. (I think that's vague enough not to require a spoiler tag)

The spider-man bit sure was out there, but it's not completely unheard of for a man to grow two extra arms and legs when he reaches his mid-30s. It made more sense than the time they replaced the actor who plays Stringer Bell with that English guy.

Seriously though, I think the "honey nut" scene in season 4 was more out-there than than "spider-man". That's the point where Omar went over the top, but in a really awesome way.

They just shot Kima. Crap.

Surprised at how hard that hit. Didn't see it coming, even with the traditional "make the character likable before you knock them down" scene in front of it.

As soon as I saw the scene between her and Bubbles before it I thought "Uh-oh, she's boned". It's a great scene as everyone is looking for her car but nobody knows where she is.

 

[Star Wolf]

When I was carrying mail in South Central I ran into that switch the street signs trick a few times

 

[Kegg]

It made more sense than the time they replaced the actor who plays Stringer Bell with that English guy.

Idris Elba is British, actually. I never would have guessed, either.

Seriously though, I think the "honey nut" scene in season 4 was more out-there than than "spider-man". That's the point where Omar went over the top, but in a really awesome way.

Oh that bit is good. But I think the bit where Omar really threw me for a loop was "shotgun/briefcase". In the very best sense, of course.

Spoiler: Season 5

And I love that when Omar finds himself finally away from all of Baltimore and living in a nice safe, sunny locale; he remarks on the need to find Honeynut.

Why? Well heck, that's the first thing I think of when out of town. I want to know where my preferred brands of food and drinks are nearest located. Not many times I can say 'yeah, me and Omar think alike', are there?

They just shot Kima. Crap.

Surprised at how hard that hit.

Ah I remember that episode. It was supposed to be the last episode I watched that night. Somehow, I was two or three episodes into season two before I stopped. Funny how that works...

 

[Yassim]

Just finished season 1. Damn...

Read a couple of reviews disappointed at how "rushed" the finale was - can't agree. Rushed on things that didn't need comment, lingered over the reveal of the "mole" in the detail, D'Angelo's time with the lawyers, the Feds...

As I was watching, I was annoyed how many review sites review each episode, assuming you've seen the whole thing. Now, I get that - I want to rewatch the whole thing and pick up what I missed... but later. For now, I've got season 2 to watch.

People seem agreed that season 2 is the weakest. Is that in absolute terms, or in a "even bad The Wire is still great" way?

Without spoiling things, can people tell me, do all the same characters keep coming back? That's going to spoil the realism for me, if McNulty keeps landing in the middle of trouble, and getting the old detail back together. Sounds worse than Star Trek, where no one ever gets promoted or a change in position...

 

[Harvey]

Season two is still great--it's just the weakest chapter of the series.

Most of the characters keep coming back, although McNulty is not the main character in every season.

 

[Star Wolf]

Season 2 does take the focus off of the drug problem being a Baltimore thing. After all the drug which the kingpins are selling comes from Afganistan for the most part. It is a needed chapter as much as showing how kids like Wallace, Poot and Bodie ended up working in the Pit.

 

[Kegg]

People seem agreed that season 2 is the weakest. Is that in absolute terms, or in a "even bad The Wire is still great" way?

I know people who love the second season. This thread is the first time I've seen any kind of consensus about it being the weakest year. I think there's stuff that does work, but the principle narrative doesn't. It's not awful, it's just a little misjudged in places.

After all the drug which the kingpins are selling comes from Afganistan for the most part. It is a needed chapter as much as showing how kids like Wallace, Poot and Bodie ended up working in the Pit.

Needed or not it doesn't work. I can now finally say without spoilers I don't think the dockworkers plot ever manages as powerful a moment as 'Where the fuck is Wallace?'

But then I consider that one of the dramatic highlights of the show anyway, but eh.

 

[TheGodBen]

People seem agreed that season 2 is the weakest. Is that in absolute terms, or in a "even bad The Wire is still great" way?

Most definitely the latter. Season 2 is often near the bottom of people's lists but that's because all the other seasons surpass it rather than season 2 itself being bad. The biggest issue that season 2 has is that it's a detour into an area which isn't revisited; the dock-worker's union and illegal trafficking. As Star Wolf said, it's an important topic and The Wire was right to investigate it, but a lot of the characters this season either aren't seen again or only play minor roles in the future. Another problem I had with this season is that it seemed to take longer than all the others to get going, and that's because all the cop characters had gone their separate ways.

The being said, I still found the season to be great overall, and while the characters and setting wont be the focus of the show again, some of them do matter right up until the end. And the season finale's musical montage is my favourite after season 5 (but season 5 has the unfair advantage of being a montage to close the whole show).

Without spoiling things, can people tell me, do all the same characters keep coming back? That's going to spoil the realism for me, if McNulty keeps landing in the middle of trouble, and getting the old detail back together.

I think most of the characters from season 1 return for season 2 in some form, although Sydnor disappears for a year and doesn't surface until season 3. Perhaps he took a long holiday.

 

[Star Wolf]

Season two isn't about the union in the greater 5 chapter story, its about their partners. The union is just why we meet them

 

[J.T.B.]

Needed or not it doesn't work. I can now finally say without spoilers I don't think the dockworkers plot ever manages as powerful a moment as 'Where the fuck is Wallace?'

I have never considered Season 2 to be any way inferior to the other seasons, it's just a little different. Though it's connected with crime, the dock storyline is primarily about the economic displacement of a major segment of the city's working population, the choices they are left with, and the effect it has on the city as a whole. A subject as worthy, IMO, as the effect of the drug trade on the city, and just as well done.

As for powerful moments:

Spoiler: Wire season 2

Frank Sobotka's walk down under the bridge to his final meet was one of the most chilling scenes in the series for me. He was a decent man who tried to do what was right for his family and his neighbors and co-workers, but the deck was stacked against him. He knew he couldn't win but he went through and did everything he could anyway. The season also showed how an unprincipled man with just enough power -- Valchek -- could ruin someone's life pretty much arbitrarily.

--Justin

 

[Yassim]

I can now finally say without spoilers I don't think the dockworkers plot ever manages as powerful a moment as 'Where the fuck is Wallace?'

But then I consider that one of the dramatic highlights of the show anyway, but eh.

That and Wallace's execution. Brutal.

I'm two episodes into season 2, and it looks a lot seedier than season 1. Drugs, somehow, aren't as heavy as human trafficking... if someone wants to get high, that's their business. Killing off sex slaves... uglier kind of crime.

And the chief of police vs. dockworkers over a church window... pushes the point of corruption and pettiness a little too far. I mean, really? DUIs on the way to work? How do they get away with that?

One review site I've looked at talks about "fonz moments"... named for the moment's pause on Happy Days when the Fonz would enter, and the audience would applaud. It makes me smile how the recurring cast is getting "Fonz moments" this far in. Daniels goes out to dinner with his wife, Herc and Kima have a chat, Herc's old partner is handing out tickets, the Barksdales are ... hanging out in jail. Just little "don't forget" moments. With another show, it would seem weak, but this show has earned some credit - just makes me wonder what it's building to...

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Season 1 is dark in many ways, but it seems acceptable dark. I won't go into any details at the moment, but, yeah, there's something about season 2's initial crime that seems darker. Avon was dropping bodies of other drug dealers for turf (with one exception and that's the one that bugged most people). This one seems a little different. But the show always has bodies. Certainly Wallace's death was one of the most brutal.

I'll comment more on that later when you get about 3/4 of the way through the season. About Valceck - you saw how incompetent Prez was at the beginning of Season 1. He's the guy responsible for that. Clearly he's important, so he can do what he wants. He knows the bureaucracy in the police department and I'm sure there are real police who abuse their position for personal reasons.

 

[Star Wolf]

As a victim for who the audience would have an emotional reaction Wallace was about perfect. He wasn't a soldier and the outcome of being the witness of an armed robbery and aggravated assualt with a deadly weapon fucked him up. While Poot was making more babies he was a 14 year old head of household making sure the kids got to school.

Just saying it would be hard to replicate the impact of the String, where's Wallace, scene nomatter how long the show ran.

 

[Kegg]

^
That's true. I guess what I'm meaning to say is I don't think season two's dockworker plot has any similarly effective moments nor did I find his drama as engaging.

Anyway, the thing about Valchek's abuse of power here is he can frame it right. Bull or not as his intentions may be, there is something suspicious about the dockworkers having that kind of money. And if someone has money when they shouldn't be having money...

It's all about what story you run with, really. Can it work and can it stick?

 

[TheGodBen]

Season two isn't about the union in the greater 5 chapter story, its about their partners. The union is just why we meet them

In terms of plot that may have been the most important element of the season, but as a show about the social issues in the city of Baltimore the most important element was showing how the decline of traditional blue-collar jobs gives criminal organisations more power. We may not see the dockworkers again, but their actions are part of the reason why the drug problem is as big as it is.

Herc's old partner is handing out tickets

Carver. He may not seem like it, but he's a really great character, one of my favourites. That's not apparent yet though.

 

[Star Wolf]

Season two isn't about the union in the greater 5 chapter story, its about their partners. The union is just why we meet them

In terms of plot that may have been the most important element of the season, but as a show about the social issues in the city of Baltimore the most important element was showing how the decline of traditional blue-collar jobs gives criminal organisations more power. We may not see the dockworkers again, but their actions are part of the reason why the drug problem is as big as it is.

Is the decline of blue collar/high school graduate work a reason for the teenaged Poot's, Wallace's etc to be in The Game?

 

[Kegg]

Is the decline of blue collar/high school graduate work a reason for the teenaged Poot's, Wallace's etc to be in The Game?

To that I'd say: Season Four.