The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
#1376
#1377
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
Best tits in the history of TV in season 2. Just my opinion...
And yes at the start of season 2 you're like WTF but by the end and upon 2nd viewing it's right up there with the other seasons.
And yes at the start of season 2 you're like WTF but by the end and upon 2nd viewing it's right up there with the other seasons.
#1378
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I watched all of these for the first times a few months ago. Takes a minute to get invested, but once it all clicked for me, I understand all the hype.
I think the show really has to be looked at at the macro level to be truly appreciated. The way every season seems to be unrelated but then weaves back into the others to make one huge story is amazing.
I think the show really has to be looked at at the macro level to be truly appreciated. The way every season seems to be unrelated but then weaves back into the others to make one huge story is amazing.
#1379
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 337
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I love the show so much. They did an amazing job with the Blu-ray, it was like a brand new experience watching the new transfer for the first time. I normally don't rewatch TV series but I've see the entire run 4-5 times now and I love it more and more each time.
#1380
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
#1381
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I still feel that Season Three is the best. Love the whole Barksdale saga and everything that goes on with Stringer Bell...Season Two was kind of a diversion but I enjoyed it over time...Season Three is when they brought it back to what was going on in Season One and I really appreciated it...Season Four was still great...Season Five, while disappointing overall, was still well worth watching because if that's the worst season of a series, then you're still pretty lucky to have seen it...It just didn't live up to what came before it...
#1383
DVD Talk Limited Edition
#1385
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
#1387
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
This thread bump from a few months back got me in the mood for a re-watch, which I just completed. This was my third run through the show and it's still as great as it was the first time I watched.
A brain dump --
A brain dump --
Spoiler:
#1388
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
As I recall Simon talked about this after season 5 aired. He said something along the lines of it wasn't accidental that the paper whiffed on just about every big story. In the grand scheme of things Omar wasn't as important as Prop Joe, but the paper missed that too.
#1389
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
Just a reminder for anyone who loved the series to read the fantastic book All the Pieces Matter which has fantastic interviews and discussions with pretty much everyone involved in the show.
#1390
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I love when this thread gets bumped.
#1391
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
That popped up on my Amazon a few weeks ago and it's been sitting in my house waiting to be read. I'm going to dive into it soon and thanks for the rec.
#1392
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I'd like to hear more of what Simon said about it since that wasn't my takeaway. I didn't see it as The Sun whiffing on big stories, but instead that Omar and even Prop Joe are nobodies in the grand scheme of things. They're inner-city Baltimore drug traders. Despite how much the viewer has invested in them, they're not actually important enough for even a blurb in the paper.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david...n_b_91926.html
#1393
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I'd like to hear more of what Simon said about it since that wasn't my takeaway. I didn't see it as The Sun whiffing on big stories, but instead that Omar and even Prop Joe are nobodies in the grand scheme of things. They're inner-city Baltimore drug traders. Despite how much the viewer has invested in them, they're not actually important enough for even a blurb in the paper.
That popped up on my Amazon a few weeks ago and it's been sitting in my house waiting to be read. I'm going to dive into it soon and thanks for the rec.
That popped up on my Amazon a few weeks ago and it's been sitting in my house waiting to be read. I'm going to dive into it soon and thanks for the rec.
Open that book now. It's just amazingly done and such a treat to read about how important this show was to the actors, what a family they became, and how hard so many people fought to keep the show going.
#1394
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
Yes, I love it too.
I assumed that Omar and Prop Joe's deaths weren't covered to show that in the grand scheme of things they didn't matter. They were bit players in a much larger Baltimore drug game and no one would miss them, they'd be replaced by other bit players doing those same jobs. The game continues and the players don't matter.
I assumed that Omar and Prop Joe's deaths weren't covered to show that in the grand scheme of things they didn't matter. They were bit players in a much larger Baltimore drug game and no one would miss them, they'd be replaced by other bit players doing those same jobs. The game continues and the players don't matter.
#1395
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
So I just finished re-watching Homicide: Life on the Street for the Action/Adventure/Crime Challenge and I am going to start re-watching The Wire. Would anyone mind if I hijacked this thread for my episode thoughts?
#1396
DVD Talk Hero
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I rewatched it recently (1st time on Blu-ray new format) and I still enjoyed it immensely. S3 is still my least favorite. Too much politics. Stringer Bell was never a particularly interesting character to me so it lessened the impact of his death, although I loved how that entire scene was shot. "Hamsterdam" never really worked for me because I never believed they could do this without getting caught within a couple of days. It was still interesting, but it missed a few opportunities. For example, one person dies of OD, Johnny, a one-dimensional character I doubt the audience was really invested in. Pulled a punch, should have killed Bubbles. And apparently, Marlo's army of 2 is enough to become the next big player. 
Anyway, that's just off the top of my head, and probably much nit-picking, because I still love this show.

Anyway, that's just off the top of my head, and probably much nit-picking, because I still love this show.
#1397
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
Ok, since there weren't any objections, I'm jumping in. Spoilers ahead:
1.1 “The Target” we get introduced to most of the players. In court, D’Angelo Barksdale skates on a murder charge presumably by paying a witness to change her testimony. The judge in the case asks to talk to a detective who was scoping out the trial. McNulty makes the mistake of telling the judge the truth” Barksdale organization controls 5 out of 7 towers and are dropping bodies all over. We meet Det. Kima Gregg from Narcotics, her two underlings Herc and Carver, who are fighting the war on drugs one brutality case at a time and her supervisor Daniels. McNulty’s partner Bunk takes a call because he gives a fuck when it ain’t his turn. Daniels and the rest of the brass get their butts handed to him because of McNulty’s truth-telling and nobody knows nothing. Nobody much cares about this; they’re going to do just enough to shut the judge up and walk away. His Major promises to screw him and McNulty admits that the one place he doesn’t want to work is the Marine Unit. D’Angelo goes back to work but is demoted to the Pit. His crew includes a super young Michael B. Jordan who rightfully tells them that Hamilton was never POTUS. Last, we meet Bubbles, an addict who finds ways to hustle drugs. Bubbles schools his friend in scams but the friend gets caught and gets beat down. Bubbles retaliates by going to Kima to drop a dime. We end with the truthful witness in D’Angelo’s case found murdered. Telling the truth doesn’t pay. I counted no fewer than 4 Homicide alums in this episode plus Clark Johnson directed.
1.2 “The Detail” The new Barksdale investigation unit moves into their new digs: a basement room with no electricity and a new detective Prez who shoots the wall. D’Angelgo gives the Pit kids a brilliant Intro to Capitalism lesson involving chicken McNuggets. Bubbles uses a nifty hat trick to let Gregg know who the players are in the Barkesdale org. McNulty goes rouge and Greggs is there to snitch. Bunk and McNulty guilt D’Angelo into apologizing for the witness’s murder. D’Angelo also tells uncle Avon that he’s not too happy about the witness’s murder. Det. Freamon joins the crew with his doll furniture. Herc, Carver, and Prez get drunk and decides to violate the constitutional rights of the project residents. Prez punches a young man and blinds him in one eye. The residents, rightfully IMHO, start throwing things out the window in protest. Daniels concocts a lie about what happened, and his wife tells him that was a bad idea but apparently, no one sells out their own, regardless of the dirt they do. And that’s one of many things wrong with the system.
1.3 “The Buys” Daniels is rewarded for helping Prez through the Grand Jury process since Prez is married to the Major’s daughter. It’s been two weeks and they still don’t even have a photo of Avon. As they run through what little they know about Avon, Kima mentions he used to box, Freamon takes that hint, goes to the gym, and finds an old boxing promotion poster with Avon’s picture. D’Angelo schools the Bodie and Wallace in chess and using that game as a metaphor for the drug game. Brilliant. McNulty uses his pull with the Feds to get some lightweight surveillance equipment. Stringer Bell educates D’Angelo on advertising and the fact that drugs will sell, regardless of quality. Turns out McNulty was screwing around with D.A. Pearlman while he was married, and they fall back into bed after discussions on how to clone a pagers. We finally meet everyone’s favorite character: Omar! He jacks D’Angelo’s stash and cash and shoots some poor dude in the leg with a shotgun. Poot shows he’s not cut out for this since his reaction to the stickup was to vomit. The brass want a show so they take the Pit and of course they don’t get a damn thing. One cop does a soccer-style flog and several other cops administer a beatdown on an unarmed suspect. Greggs runs across the yard to help – so much for the hope that female police would be less violent than their male counterparts. The Fed tells McNulty that they had a case against Daniels but the case they built died wasn’t pursued by B-More PD.
1.1 “The Target” we get introduced to most of the players. In court, D’Angelo Barksdale skates on a murder charge presumably by paying a witness to change her testimony. The judge in the case asks to talk to a detective who was scoping out the trial. McNulty makes the mistake of telling the judge the truth” Barksdale organization controls 5 out of 7 towers and are dropping bodies all over. We meet Det. Kima Gregg from Narcotics, her two underlings Herc and Carver, who are fighting the war on drugs one brutality case at a time and her supervisor Daniels. McNulty’s partner Bunk takes a call because he gives a fuck when it ain’t his turn. Daniels and the rest of the brass get their butts handed to him because of McNulty’s truth-telling and nobody knows nothing. Nobody much cares about this; they’re going to do just enough to shut the judge up and walk away. His Major promises to screw him and McNulty admits that the one place he doesn’t want to work is the Marine Unit. D’Angelo goes back to work but is demoted to the Pit. His crew includes a super young Michael B. Jordan who rightfully tells them that Hamilton was never POTUS. Last, we meet Bubbles, an addict who finds ways to hustle drugs. Bubbles schools his friend in scams but the friend gets caught and gets beat down. Bubbles retaliates by going to Kima to drop a dime. We end with the truthful witness in D’Angelo’s case found murdered. Telling the truth doesn’t pay. I counted no fewer than 4 Homicide alums in this episode plus Clark Johnson directed.
1.2 “The Detail” The new Barksdale investigation unit moves into their new digs: a basement room with no electricity and a new detective Prez who shoots the wall. D’Angelgo gives the Pit kids a brilliant Intro to Capitalism lesson involving chicken McNuggets. Bubbles uses a nifty hat trick to let Gregg know who the players are in the Barkesdale org. McNulty goes rouge and Greggs is there to snitch. Bunk and McNulty guilt D’Angelo into apologizing for the witness’s murder. D’Angelo also tells uncle Avon that he’s not too happy about the witness’s murder. Det. Freamon joins the crew with his doll furniture. Herc, Carver, and Prez get drunk and decides to violate the constitutional rights of the project residents. Prez punches a young man and blinds him in one eye. The residents, rightfully IMHO, start throwing things out the window in protest. Daniels concocts a lie about what happened, and his wife tells him that was a bad idea but apparently, no one sells out their own, regardless of the dirt they do. And that’s one of many things wrong with the system.
1.3 “The Buys” Daniels is rewarded for helping Prez through the Grand Jury process since Prez is married to the Major’s daughter. It’s been two weeks and they still don’t even have a photo of Avon. As they run through what little they know about Avon, Kima mentions he used to box, Freamon takes that hint, goes to the gym, and finds an old boxing promotion poster with Avon’s picture. D’Angelo schools the Bodie and Wallace in chess and using that game as a metaphor for the drug game. Brilliant. McNulty uses his pull with the Feds to get some lightweight surveillance equipment. Stringer Bell educates D’Angelo on advertising and the fact that drugs will sell, regardless of quality. Turns out McNulty was screwing around with D.A. Pearlman while he was married, and they fall back into bed after discussions on how to clone a pagers. We finally meet everyone’s favorite character: Omar! He jacks D’Angelo’s stash and cash and shoots some poor dude in the leg with a shotgun. Poot shows he’s not cut out for this since his reaction to the stickup was to vomit. The brass want a show so they take the Pit and of course they don’t get a damn thing. One cop does a soccer-style flog and several other cops administer a beatdown on an unarmed suspect. Greggs runs across the yard to help – so much for the hope that female police would be less violent than their male counterparts. The Fed tells McNulty that they had a case against Daniels but the case they built died wasn’t pursued by B-More PD.
#1398
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
#1399
DVD Talk Hero
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I don't object but I expected "thoughts" to be something other than merely describing in detail what happens in each episode. I don't see the point in that. I know what happens in the episodes, I watched them.
#1400
Re: The Wire on HBO --- Discussion Thread
I haven't ever watched The Wire, but a friend kept hounding me to check it out.
They also wanted me to watch The Expanse. I've made it to the middle of season 2 of The Expanse and when I'm caught up on that I intend to watch Deadwood and then finally check out The Wire.
So probably still a few months away given the speed I've been going at getting through other shows. Being a single father means I have very little time to be able to sit around for bingeing tv shows these days.
They also wanted me to watch The Expanse. I've made it to the middle of season 2 of The Expanse and when I'm caught up on that I intend to watch Deadwood and then finally check out The Wire.
So probably still a few months away given the speed I've been going at getting through other shows. Being a single father means I have very little time to be able to sit around for bingeing tv shows these days.



