But thanks for creating some of the best characters in TV history. The creative and honest mind of the writers is put on the screen with a quality job of directing. Cocaine Bear, the new action-comedy now in theaters, is based on a true story, but only barely. I sincerely believe S4 is the best season of any show in existence and overall, The Wire is the best-told story Ive ever experienced in television. But for all of it to amount to a forest-and-tree farce? Caught the wire over a year ago & Ive watched it 3 times through since then. S5 ran him off a cliff. I also loved Generation Kill. ), [] own slashed staffs and cutbacks, leaving a major metropolitan newspaper that wound up as Simon acerbically noted at the time missing the whole []. Some of the most compelling Ive seen. Or the way alma glossed over Omars deathI had a feeling like if she woulda mentioned his name, gus wouldve immediately recognized it and said no-heart anthonys brother? To me, the climactic conclusion of the show happened in S5E9 and E10 was more of the epilogue, allowing us to digest what happened and gain some insight on where things are headed for the city. For non-British viewers the British actors provide something faintly exotic and alluring, which works fine to subtly draw the viewer into the action of this suspense show. I knew in my bones as he walked up to the convenience store something bad was going to happen. If I was forced, I think Id go with 4-2-1-3-5, with 1 and 3 tied. Hes just being painfully honest. It was amazing television. While he is cold and calculating, from the moment we met him Omar has a big heart and made decisions based on his emotional reaction. Marlo gets away clean and he keeps his money, Avon lives happily ever after in prison, McNulty gets screwed, the lying reporter wins a damn Pulitzer, and oh yeah, OMAR GETS KILLED BY A LITTLE KID?! It is important to give the newcomer a distinctive identity. Brilliant! Anyway, remember that Colvins 14% were clean numbers (he didnt juke the stats) so 14% is a large increase if you look at it that way. I think the biggest problem with Season 5 is that the Sun people were kind of boring and so many of them were one note. And to studiously avoid any sustained discussion about whether the depicted newspaper is, in all respects, capturing the meaningful narrative of the depicted city? Like another commenter, I only noticed the Prop Joe story being missed/overshadowed by the Sun. For so many reasons. The cutbacks, management of local papers by big out of town conglomerates and lack of attention on complex issues is something we see in the UK too. The criminals are deeply psychologically twisted, far more so than any person you have ever encountered, even in the newspapers. But having left the topic at hand to engage in ad hominem characterization, you cant very well expect anything less in return. Jack and Liz. A moment for one Couldnt resist, sorry. The film, which stars Anthony Mackie I think it was something like a 14% reduction in crimes such as shootings and aggravated assault. Surprisingly because i'm usually no fan at all of the serial-killer genre nor the kind of grisly imagery that this show always provides. Uncensored. Episode 8 of Mayfair Witches season 1 starts with Keith running in the woods trying to escape. Thanks for making a great series. 2) As for the WORST McNultys supercop character finally jumped the shark. Ohhh, and the commissioner and Senator Davis, you might as well have been talking about our infamous Marion Barry and his cronies all over the place. August 19, 2002. My plight feels similar to that of the increasingly-obsolete reporters you mentioned, rummaging through webpage-after-page of marketable impact junk to find substantial material worth digging into. This is really a two part TV series.. the first three seasons with Green and Norris.. bit.ly/1780gxl .. in the leads, and the second three with Green and Lahbib.. bit.ly/13Pgcqi .. It continued doing so into the present decade as the Tribune Company followed the Times-Mirror buyouts with even more ruthless abandon. or something, but instead he was just another man shot, and his name fittingly echoed into the folklore of the streets, Im a latecomer to The Wire and I think its the best thing Ive ever seen on television. It is a heart trending, visceral, honest portrayal of a modern city. Journalism is and has been an absolute shambles in the UK since I was a kid in the 80s. The editing becomes more choppy, inserting 1-2 second scenes in the middle of something else. And I thanks you for that, because you gave us a piece of truth storytelling. Cocaine Bear is based on a true story but the events especially the ending are very different. WowIm emotionally drained. It is time-consuming, expensive, deliberate and demanding. As wounded and onanistic and self-absorbed as the profession has become, there are still plenty of people for whom that matters above all. But there used to be more of them. (And yes, I got the theme. We have some of these initiatives in the UK but Im not sure about the situation in the US, and Im curious to know what you think. Sometimes the jumps in logic can seem a bit far fetched, but that is what makes it interesting and fun, without having to be a series of mindless chase scenes and explosions. Flagg on his last day being the only one who could tap in to the police department to get the low down on Burrells removal. Thanks David for all you did to bring it into the world. The pictures of his cleaned up corners and happy citizens as a result of Hamsterdam would suggest that the drop was much larger than that 14%. I always thought the crime reduction % that Colvin reports as a result of his Hamsterdam experiment were too low. Police are rude to Dr. Tony Hill and refuse to work with him. In fact, when I was delivering newspapers as a kid back in the 90s I became incredibly skeptical of the news I was delivering. What is most unfortunate is that your scathing and accurate critique of Washington D.Cs left armpit (with PG County being its right) and really the entire D.C. area will always be written off as great entertainment and remembered as one of the best shows ever on television. No need to worry about any season of this amazing show. I worked at a newspaper with a POS liar who made up quotes, and the editor was obsessed with him and looked the other way (on the fake quotes and also, grossly, sexual harassment). Note to the producers: Have Robbie Coltraine guest as "Cracker" character in a future episode assisting Hill and Jobson! Given the corruption in the Baltimore you portrayed, it isnt hard to imagine an offender being released for even more serious charges. I was born with scoop mentality and its never left me. There's also a lot of blurry camera work that is meant to show the violent murders but does tend to make one rather seasick! All in all, you really gave us a lot to think about. Yes, that IS the truth for kids all over the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) but I really wish, David, you could have shown him some compassion as the most innocent among them really deserved some kind of redemption. Anyway, for me, its perfect. No television series has ever lived with me the way The Wire has. Thank you for your ridiculously worthwhile contributions to humanity. Maybe the guys just kind of being a dickhead here. watch again the final 5-6 minutes of season 3; episode 4). Green's vulnerability, intensity and flexibilty in his craft is a complete pleasure. Explain your displeasure in detail, no problem. So thank you for such an absolute terrific ride. Even as a child I remember sifting through the paper wondering what a presidential blowjob has to do with anything important. This season has opened up my eyes to an important point: what exactly are we missing by focusing on all this sensationalist garbage? His rogue decision to stage serial killings was believable but Bunks toothless response and using Lester and his involvement to give credence to Jimmys scheme went beyond the pale. Criminal Psychologist Tony Hill assists The Police with all manner of complex and disturbing crimes. Of course, its all still out there, and I can find it and watch it and still enjoy it all, but I feel like Im a decade late to the party. And no, I think season five achieved its goals as the other season, with me being no closer to the world of journalism than others on our writing staff were to the other worlds depicted. Only silver lining to that dark cloud of a series. Over a television drama. All 24 episodes are great! Season 4 was the hardest for me to take. Eventually I bought the box set a few years ago and binge watched all five seasons. 6 Apr. Even more awesome is how you actually continued that same thread from one season to the next, taking one subject matter and examining it from all the angles that make up the context of the entire problem. The acting is first rate but a few of the episodes really have huge gaping holes in the plot. No expose published. I absolutely love The Wire so I mean no disrespect when I say this (arent prefaces like that always inevitably followed by something kinda shitty and disrespectful?) I mean its obvious all three of them enjoyed it way too much for a normal gangster who just wanted someone out of their way- and Marlos final shot licking the blood off his sleeve just about proves that that guy was about to go on a black Manson killing spree had the story logically continued from its stopping point. David, I just wanted to take a brief moment (6 years later) to thank you for both an amazing show and this write up of your thoughts and insights into S5. I found it as an interesting way to dispel the notion that one given group of people is more inclined or indoctrinated to corruption and lies than the other, but also that in any given sector of a society, you will usually find it is those who know that very truth full and well, who perpetuate that lie, in order to make themselves feel better about their shortcomings. Such a newspaper was not chronicled onThe Wire. I would want us to argue subjectively about public policy and social issues. Maybe I prefer more violent things. Lets say there used to be 20 of those crimes per month a 14% reduction would mean there were now 17 of those crimes instead of 20. No story is subject to referendum, at least not in my shop. In one of the best scenes of the series, I guess Cedric Daniels, Stringer Bell and Bunny Colvin tried with horrible results. Then you have the choir, inexplicably, warbling on as if to lend some kind of gravitas to the lacklustre proceedings. I still rewatch twice a year and its my all-time favourite series. It was as good as I remembered and then some. But Ill get back to the journalism angle momentarily. Outside the Wire has arrived on Netflix, and the streamers latest sci-fi military thriller ends with a bit of a bang, to say the least. We don't recommend this series. Or maybe anywhere. From the Huffington Post, March 17, 2008 I knew that in a general sense the overarching theme was the demise of quality of news journalism, but finishing my binge of the season tonight (after having avoided the show for years fearing it was over-hyped and couldnt live up boy was I wrong!) Cocaine Bear, the new That was a bit beyond the historical reality; at the historicalBaltimore Sun, he was a mere Pulitzer finalist. -- if you're a Robson Green fan, it's a fantastic showcase for his acting. The writing, the directing, the acting, the story arcs: are all amazing. Any criticism you get is unwarranted. And then Season 5 happens. I dragged it past sarcasm, past cynicism, and all the way to balls-out snide. The character development is quite entertaining. Jumped that shark in high-topped Nikes, we did. Thanks for the response, even if it got the best of me! Tell me you didnt laugh at the burnt-doll harem in the photogs trunk. Departmental priorities make high-level drug investigation prohibitive. With Robson Green, Elaine Claxton, Hermione Norris, Richard Frame. But it was still damn above all the other things (books, series, movies). Well now, its been a week since The Wire s final episode and a certain calm has descended, leaving a little less agita and a little more reflection. Wish there was more, or at least a book. And the depiction of the weak-willed, money-grubbing, ring-kissing top brass at papers was spot-on, too. Jordan is done in a tasteful way. The setting and actors are British. Favorite scene is Avon visiting The Pit. Its like the artist was told by everyone hes a genius, so he gets an inflated ego and starts throwing out abstract garbage and lording over it with the ultimate smugness. Pelecanos, Lehane, Price, Alvarez, Zorzi, the directors, cast, the whole lot. Stars Robson Green Mark The third episode not quite as strong a story as the first two, perhaps has something to do with the fact that it was not based directly on the books of V. McD. Whenever I watch it is like the whole world stops I am just focused on the TV. 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