The Wire - Episode-by-Episode

[Greylock Crescent]

The purpose of this thread is to discuss The Wire on an episode-by-episode basis.

On the recommendation of Harvey, I went out and purchased the first season of The Wire. Having watched and reviewed the first episode, I was intrigued, to say the least. After seeing the second episode, I can safely say that I am hooked. But there's so much going on with the series that I realized I needed to have a place to discuss the show. So I figured I'd set up a thread here to talk about each episode, beginning with the first (with, hopefully, no spoilers).

This way, anyone reading the thread and watching the series for the first time (hopefully) won't be spoiled right away.

So, without further ado:

1.01 - The Target:

"When it's not your turn [to give a f*ck]." - McNulty
​

This is the episode in which the Barksdale crime family is established, as well as McNulty's desire to bring it down. I thought this installment was just slightly above average. There are a number of solid elements, from social commentary to the balance between humor and grit. But the episode is a difficult one to watch because it has a *huge* amount of characters and the plot is exceedingly dense. Basically sink-or-swim for the audience. Put simply, you have to take it on faith that there will be a payoff somewhere down the line.

But the episode is solid in its commentary about not only finding your place in the world, but also in its more specific criticism of the "War On <blank>" fad that seems to be all the rage -- whether its the war on Drugs, Terrorism, Obesity ... what have you. All-in-all its a solid, if somewhat unremarkable opening salvo.

What did everyone else think of the first episode?

 

[firehawk12]

I might be watching the show again in September, having just bought the complete box set, so I might be chiming in here eventually.

 

[Lindley]

Just recently started season 5. Without spoilers, this is a show which isn't afraid to kill off anyone.

It's also a bit depressing in just how broken the whole damn system is. At first you think it's because the people higher up are incompetent. But then the people whom you know are competent start going higher and higher, and nothing improves because no matter how much they want to fix the system, it just resists all efforts to be fixed.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

nothing improves because no matter how much they want to fix the system, it just resists all efforts to be fixed.

You definitely get that vibe from the first episode -- though, admittedly, there's nothing explicit about it. But the systemic "turf wars" between agencies and egos in power are certainly established early on. As a teacher in the NYC public schools system, I can certainly relate to how the job, particularly for those in positions of authority, becomes more about maintaining fiefdoms than it is about completing the mission (whether it be public safety, teaching, etc.).

 

[Commander Vaughn]

Best show ever! I spent the first half of the summer watching it for the first time (thanks to mimic for the recommendation). I almost need to rewatch the first episode now, because so much has happened since Season 1 plot-wise.

The realism is pretty amazing though. It actually feels like you're watching something that actually happened in Baltimore, even though the show is largely a work of fiction. It feels real, which is pretty cool. Drug dealers aren't all bad, and cops aren't all good. Thats a big part of what makes the show work so well.

 

[Lindley]

As a teacher in the NYC public schools system

You'll like season 4.

I also owe mimic thanks for the suggestion----although I took my sweet time following up on it. She first suggested the series back in.....I dunno, January maybe?

 

[Mr. B]

A great start to an awesome series, right from the first scene...

"...if Snot Boogie always stole the money, why’d you let him play?"
"Got to. This America, man."

 

[Greylock Crescent]

^ Yeah, that opening scene was *very* good -- dark, with the right measures of humor, character and even commentary.

As a teacher in the NYC public schools system

You'll like season 4.

I'll be honest, along with Harvey's recommendation, that's part of what sold me on The Wire. I did a bit of quick wiki "research" to see what the series was all about (I'd heard *of* and that it was good, but precious little else). I liked how each season has a different overall focus -- it probably keeps the series fresh and allows for different ways to explore human nature and provide commentary. And when I saw that one of the seasons was going to focus on education, and a middle-school specifically, that sealed the deal.

By the way, I forgot to mention that, even in the first episode, this series completely surprises me when the episode ends. For a while now -- even with shows like Lost, Fringe or DS9 -- I routinely start checking how much time is left in the episode, somewhere near the thirty-minute mark. It's probably a result of some "TV formula" structure to the episode. But The Wire is completely different. The episode ended and I wasn't even expecting it to. That happened with the second one (I'm still writing the review for it) and is a sign that the show has my complete and undivided attention. It's probably because the show is produced for HBO and is free from the typical "interventions" by the suits. But either way, it suggests a very well-written and crafted series.

Good stuff, for sure.

 

[Deckerd]

The first episode also introduces the cops who populate the whole series. Some of the street are around for a long time too. Having watched the whole thing, I'd like to go back and see the first season again but I don't have access to it.

 

[Lindley]

Episodes of "The Wire" are longer than those of most shows. I guess they could do that on HBO. This throws off your sense of pacing and the ending often catches you by surprise. Like 24, there's usually something surprisingly at the very end of each episode; although it's less blatantly cliffhangerish.

Something to notice is that there's almost no incidental music at all. Every now and then there's a montage sequence, but any music always has an on-screen source (such as headphones). So when the credits music kicks in just before the fade-out, it gives it an extra bit of punch.

 

[mimic]

I think I can take credit for getting Harvey to watch, too.

It definitely took a couple of episodes to figure out who was who with the main cast and to get accustomed to the language. I first watched this over spring break with my parents and that was a bit uncomfortable. Heh.

 

[Lindley]

Watching stuff with my mother gets more and more uncomfortable every time I'm home. I don't think I'm going to make any effort to do that with The Wire.....

 

[Star Wolf]

Watching stuff with my mother gets more and more uncomfortable every time I'm home. I don't think I'm going to make any effort to do that with The Wire.....

Is it that bad? There is the raw Balt'more slang and the occasional sex and love making scenes. The violence is shocking but not graphic, all in all it plays as real and not over the top like let us say Rome.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I'm just a few episodes in, but I wouldn't say that anything is gratuitous -- except, possibly, for the profanity. The sex scenes are, perhaps, a bit unnecessary in terms of how much they show (in the sense that we don't *need* to see nudity to infer that people are having sex) ... but the few moments of nudity are brief and hardly played for a pseudo-porn factor. And the two same-sex kissing scenes I've seen were presented rather matter-of-factly ... instead of trying to push a "look how cool we are that we have gay characters" kind of vibe.

In other words, the sexuality is realistically portrayed, rather than being presented as scintillating or for shock value.

Something to notice is that there's almost no incidental music at all. Every now and then there's a montage sequence, but any music always has an on-screen source (such as headphones). So when the credits music kicks in just before the fade-out, it gives it an extra bit of punch.

Y'know ... for someone who actively listens for a good soundtrack, I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't even realize the lack of incidental music until you pointed it out. But it works, and definitely reinforces the realism that the series is trying to portray.

 

[mimic]

I was mostly referring to the language. If you're used to non-HBO shows it takes a little getting used to. It's funny how fast you stop noticing that, though.

Watching "The Wire" with your parents is certainly nothing like watching "A Clockwork Orange" with them. I had a friend who went to see that movie in the theater with his mom without knowing anything about the film. He was a bit mortified.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

1.02 - The Detail: “You cannot lose if you do not play.” – Marla Daniels

• HBO's Episode Summary
• My Review

I thought that this was a fantastic episode. It brilliantly balanced darker elements with humor and sincere reactions from the characters. Also, the episode nicely comments on how people struggle to make do with what they have. There's the added element of loyalty -- and the price to be paid for loyalty.

 

[Harvey]

I think I can take credit for getting Harvey to watch, too.

Credit well-earned, mimic.

I'm just a few episodes in, but I wouldn't say that anything is gratuitous -- except, possibly, for the profanity.

If you think the profanity is gratuitous, David Simon and Ed Burns have an answer to that criticism. I forget which episode it's in exactly, but they build an entire scene in which the only dialogue is variations on the word "fuck." This was, per the commentary, a response to critics who complained about the heavy use of profanity. Simon (who covered the police for many years for the Baltimore Sun) and Burns (who was a police officer in Baltimore for many years) felt that was how these characters would actually talk, and the profanity doesn't decrease.

Y'know ... for someone who actively listens for a good soundtrack, I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't even realize the lack of incidental music until you pointed it out. But it works, and definitely reinforces the realism that the series is trying to portray.

The series uses incidental music in only a few cases. (1) Over the opening and closing credits, (2) Brilliant montages in the final episode of each season. Beyond that, there's one scene involving the Barksdale gang in the first season that uses incidental music, and it's such a great scene that you might not even notice.

Additionally, notice that the camera is almost always at eye level, shot (if I am not mistaken) with a normal length lense most of the time. The show (by design) rarely uses long, uninterrupted takes or complicated dollies and/or zooms. When there are long takes they are usually imporant scenes. And the few times the camerawork uses the vertigo zoom (where you zoom in while dollying out, or visa versa) it stands out even more than it would on another show, and is always important.

Also realize that the show never has a dream sequence (Simon scripted one for the season two opener, but wisely removed it before shooting) nor a flashback (save for one in the first episode, imposed by HBO and never repeated in the series). It also does not have much in the way of exposition (meaning that every season will require you to pay close attention in the beginning in order to identify every character). HBO edited "previously on" segments, but they must be watched seperately from the episodes.

That's about it for now. I might watch the first season again (time permitting...yeah, right) if I have the time. Best series ever made. The only flaw is that the fifth season was shortened from 12-13 episodes to 10.5, reducing the roles of a few characters due to time constraints.

 

[Lindley]

The series uses incidental music in only a few cases. (1) Over the opening and closing credits, (2) Brilliant montages in the final episode of each season. Beyond that, there's one scene involving the Barksdale gang in the first season that uses incidental music, and it's such a great scene that you might not even notice.

Spoiler: Season 4

Are you counting things like the church choir sequence or Cutty's jogging montage in "Margin of Error"?

 

[Star Wolf]

Nothing in season 1 plays like a dream. The only thing I can think of being unreal would be what happened after a drunk McNulty crashed his car in front of a diner in season 2. Perhaps the status that Omar and Brother Mouzone had built around them. And Bubbles trip through Hamsterdam one night.

 

[Harvey]

The series uses incidental music in only a few cases. (1) Over the opening and closing credits, (2) Brilliant montages in the final episode of each season. Beyond that, there's one scene involving the Barksdale gang in the first season that uses incidental music, and it's such a great scene that you might not even notice.

Spoiler: Season 4

Are you counting things like the church choir sequence or Cutty's jogging montage in "Margin of Error"?

(I'll keep this vague, so no spoiler code is needed)

Ooh, you got me on those ones. I don't even remember the former, and I have a vague rememberence of the jogging montage--did that rely on a walkman source? I also wonder, is there a music guide to the series out there somewhere, that goes episode by episode?

And Starwolf, watch the spoilers!