Late to the Motherf*cking Party: Boogie watches The Wire

[Boogie]

Please, no spoilers beyond where I'm at in the series.


So, I've finally gotten around to catching what has been hailed as the greatest TV show of the past decade.  Well, we'll see.  So far, I'm 6 episodes in, and my assessment is that it's "really fucking good" but not quite at "OMG, BEST SHOW EVER".  The first half of BSG season 1 hooked me in better than this so far, but again, this is great TV all the same.

Random thoughts:

Chuckled at the "community policing" line in the pilot, since that seems to be a source of derision in the policing world all over.

Not quite sure I can believe any police force using typewriters in the 21st century, but I'll suspend my disbelief.

Liked the moment when Mcnulty's FBI buddy meets him at night and parks parallel to him, and Mcnulty just goes "I can tell you were never in patrol."  It's the little authentic stuff like that which makes me laugh.

The one TV trope early on that kinda bugged me was when the team explains the legal requirement of "exhaustion" before getting a wiretap in front of Daniels.  It's clearly a TV trope for the benefit of the audience, because they're lecturing Daniels, the experienced drug cop, on the requirements for a wire like he's a frigging rookie.  I understand the necessity for the scene, I'm just sayin'.

I loved the Mcnulty murder investigation told solely through "fucks"

Sort of the same trope for:
"“Unmonitored?”
“we can’t listen to anything unless one of our targets is using the phone. This, detective, is the job.  What other kind of work were you expecting?”
-But then, I can believe that, because detective whitebread seems like a moron.

My favourite moment so far, though, is in the pilot, between Greggs and Daniels:
Greggs: “Avon Barksdale....got a DOB?”
Daniels: *shakes head*
Greggs: *sigh* *rolls eyes*

I laughed my ass off out loud at that exchange, plus Greggs' reaction of rolling her eyes, because I think I, and most investigators, have had that exact same exchange, and same reaction, multiple times on the job.  Very authentic. 

[Himu]

I've been watching this too. Only seen the first disc of the first season.

[Fresh Prince]

Makes me want that Boogie|Malek|Father Mike police\court room drama.

[Boogie]

Makes me want that Boogie|Malek|Father Mike police\court room drama.

Other than sheer entertainment value, what role does Father Mike play?

[Fresh Prince]

I think the computer\mathematics guy like that guy in Numbers. It should be recursive but he'd make you and Malek look bad.

[Phoenix Dark]

Best show I've ever seen. And if the "holy shit omg best show ever" moment hasn't happened yet, it will eventually.

[Beezy]

It's not the greatest TV show ever until the 3rd and 4th season.

[Boogie]

Best show I've ever seen. And if the "holy shit omg best show ever" moment hasn't happened yet, it will eventually.

I'm sticking with it, for sure, so I'm hoping.

[Phoenix Dark]

It's not the greatest TV show ever until the 3rd and 4th season.

Yea, those two seasons secured it for me, although the first one is amazing as far as I'm concerned. And S2 is great

[Dickie Dee]

Makes me want that Boogie|Malek|Father Mike police\court room drama.

Other than sheer entertainment value, what role does Father Mike play?

stenographer

[Beezy]

It's not the greatest TV show ever until the 3rd and 4th season.

Yea, those two seasons secured it for me, although the first one is amazing as far as I'm concerned. And S2 is great

Agreed. I was completely hooked by the 2nd or 3rd episode of the first season.

[Phoenix Dark]

Same here. That scene in the pilot with Stringer Bell and Avon's crew intimidating the witnesses hooked me. Then of course McNulty joking around with Stringer lol

[Ichirou]

Final season was actually kind of disappointing to me, it's an amazing show otherwise, though.

[Phoenix Dark]

3>4>1>2>5

Although you can probably switch around 3 and 4.

[Dickie Dee]

S2 might be my favorite standalone season, but it definitely stands apart from the others so I can see why people might not like it.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The scene with Frank heading to the shore after the Greeks were just tipped that he turned informant

[close]

[Beezy]

3>4>1>2>5

Although you can probably switch around 3 and 4.

Agreed, 3 and 4 are about equal.

[Phoenix Dark]

(no spoilers just music)
[youtube=560,345]SOcWlHENcH4[/youtube]
  :'(

[Himu]

btw Phoenix, I never watched the chess scene you posted before because I didn't wanna spoil.

But it really is as good as you say.

[Saint Cornelius]

I loved the Mcnulty murder investigation told solely through "fucks"

That's the exact moment I went from "this is a pretty good show" to "I want to have this shows babies"

[Dickie Dee]

Complete Series is Amazon's gold box deal of the day for $89.99

[Diunx]

I'm on season 3 episode 5 right now shit is awesome

[Akala]

wire or shield? THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE

spoiler (click to show/hide)

that I can afford to blow money on atm  :'(

[close]

[T234]

Shield. Simply stated.

[Diunx]

The Wire.

[Beezy]

The Wire.

[Diunx]

I think I just self-spoiled the show, I just wanted to know the name of that Elba cop show not know the number of episodes he is in the show :'(

[CajoleJuice]

owned

[Phoenix Dark]

god dammit dude

I had that spoiled for me due to youtube like a year before watching the show lol, but I kinda forgot by the time I started. Eventually it came back to me

[Boogie]

Finished S1 ep 8.  Stream of consciousness thoughts:

OMG at Mcnulty's "Spy game", having his sons run surveillance on Stringer Bell.

That said, their technique is shit.  Crowding that motherfucker way too much, you can't be that close, even if you're 10 fucking years old.

Great exchange:
“How the fuck you able to keep the count right but not be able to do the book problem then?”
“Count be wrong they gonna fuck you up” 

Getting that senator's aide with money....tougher charge than drugs, especially not crossing any borders.....then:
“Lieutenant, what do we charge here?”  You ask that AFTER you arrest him and bring him to the station?  You dumbass motherfucker.

Crazy having the judge routinely summon the officers to talk shop and direct the case.  Don’t know if it's dramatic license, or actually happens in the States, but that shit just don’t happen in Canada.  A shame, in a way, sounds like it’s a good way to get shit done.

New favourite moment in the show:
Contempt of court for ending a wire early?  Have I died and gone to heaven?
“Who’s ya daddy now?” 

Mcnulty doing surveillance in a Crown Vic, and then going on foot at the community college with his badge and gun hanging out? What. The. Fuck?

LOL @mcnulty dropping his card into the burned out husk of Omar’s vehicle.

“Lester, are we still cops?”
“Technically, I suppose so”
“Okay, just checking”

black homicide dude having random black woman making fuck me eyes at him at the bar.  Why doesn’t this happen in real life? 

[T234]

Boogie, have you ever seen The Shield?

[Boogie]

Boogie, have you ever seen The Shield?

Nope.

[Phoenix Dark]

Weird how your posts have little to do with the content of the show, and instead focus on technical details that might differ from where you work. I'm sure the show takes many creative liberties, but it was created by a cop and a well respected crime journalist in one of the murder capitols of the US.

tldr: dude, what do you think about The Wire so far

[T234]

Boogie, watch the first season of The Shield. You will be stunned, absolutely stunned.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Akala, The Shield is more of a rollercoaster ride.  The Wire is more subdued with a few "oh shit!" moments here and there.

I think I still like The Shield more but I have the complete box set of The Wire.  Both are excellent shows and you can't go wrong with either one.  Just as long as you eventually get the other.

[Boogie]

Weird how your posts have little to do with the content of the show, and instead focus on technical details that might differ from where you work. I'm sure the show takes many creative liberties, but it was created by a cop and a well respected crime journalist in one of the murder capitols of the US.

heh, I didn't mean for those side comments to sound so negative.  Pretty much every bit I've commented about, whether it sounds "critical" or not, I thought was an entertaining moment.  I just thought I'd make my comments the way I have so it's not just "I liked this moment.  And this one.  And this one."

tldr: dude, what do you think about The Wire so far

Ya, it's pretty awesome.  Mcnulty's partner burning his clothes to destroy the "evidence" of cheating on his wife. 

[Phoenix Dark]

Aight, just wanted to make sure I didn't have to do a citizen's arrest on yo ass 

[Diunx]

I love the way senator Davis says "shiiiieeeet"

[Boogie]

Finished season one.

Damn.  Those last four episodes were amazing, definitely made me hop on the bandwagon.

The killing of Wallace, that shit was so tense and hard to watch.  And the scene between D and the lawyer and stringer, where D loses it, asking "where's Wallace?!" was great.

I loved the mirroring in the finale with the pilot.  Mcnulty just sitting in the courtroom.  Stringer bell congratulating him. "nicely done".  "where don't you want to go?"

daniels and mcnulty just waltzing past the swat team to walk into orlando's.

Such a tough moment with bubbles at the end "hey mcnutty.  Don't tell her, k?"

and ending the season simply with Omar sticking someone up.  Inspired.

It's definitely cracked my top ten now.

[Phoenix Dark]

S2 starts a bit slow and introduces a lot of new characters/setting, but once it gets going it's great

[Diunx]

The killing of Wallace, that shit was so tense and hard to watch. 

This is my favorite scene from the show so far, and one of the best scenes I have seen on a tv show simply amazing.

[Boogie]

Through episode six in Season 2.  Started out slow I thought, but things are back to being awesome.

I like the new characters, Ziggy being a total fuckup.  Sobotka's ranting.

Mcnulty being a total shit disturber.  When he was sending off a fax, and his Sergeant goes:
"What the fuck are you up to now?" and Mcnulty just rubs his hands together with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Got yourself a hell of a case"
"Fuck you very much"



"ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER!"
"You ain't gonna play that country shit are you?  I hate that country shit."

Mcnulty ravishing the mannequin 

The Omar testifying in court scene was AMAZING.  And I loved the Judge's exchange with Bird at the end of it
"Are you Jesus Christ come back to earth?"
"...ummm...."
*bangs gavel*

and OMG at the strangling of D'angelo. 

[Boogie]

Jumped ahead quite a bit.  Now finished season 3.

To talk about completely arbitrarily rating the show, it is taken for granted at this point that it automatically breezes into my proverbial "Top 10 shows of all time list", and, more than likely, into the top 5 as well.  But it's hard for me to be more specific than that yet.

Because the show's genius is subtle.  The show's dialogue is fantastic, of course, but there's more going on.  It doesn't hook you right in and take you for a roller coaster ride of addiction like, say, the first two season of BSG did.  It's just...different, in some way.  It definitely has some elements that stick in your head for a while.

It's also odd how the show treats the death of major characters.  They just....die.  Very matter-of-factly.  No dramatic buildup, no 24-esque clock-ticking afterwards.  You're watching the episode, you see it coming a few seconds before it does, and then.....bang.  Somebody's dead.  I suppose it's the most realistic approach towards death to be shown on TV, in a way.  The most interesting part is how McNulty reacts to Stringer's death though.  Holding Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and muttering "Who the hell was I chasing?"

The only thing that really bugs me is just how ridiculously everpresent cheating and misery is in interpersonal relations.  I don't think there's a single relationship that has been portrayed so far without cheating.  It's almost absurd.  Maybe that's reality too, though, I don't know.

Next post:  Choice dialogue I got a kick out of since I last reported in.

[Boogie]

S2:

"What if they're not sneaking anything off this time, what then?"
"Then tragically you will have wasted yet another day in a life you've already misspent in the service of the city of Baltimore"

I found the surveillance of the "can" in ep 7 to be very authentic and well done. /nitpicking cop

"What's your role?"
"I'm just a humble motherfucker with a bigass dick"

Pearlman reading the affidavit, then finally..."You all can't spell for shit"
"Well, would we be police if we could?"
   It's so true, none of my coworkers can spell for shit.  Even one of my supervisors, who otherwise is incredibly bright, puts so many typos in his reports that it drives me mad.

And of course, I'm loving the evident catchphrase of every season thus far, Mcnulty's "what the fuck did I do?"

"Well, I guess we'll just call you Boris"
"....always Boris"

S3:

"You wanna know what kills more police than guns and liquor?....boredom"
True, though we can be patient motherfuckers at times.

"Ignorance is bliss, Lieutenant, nobody ever tell you that?"
"Once but I beat the dog piss out of the guy with a nightstick"

Pretty powerful scene of Omar apologizing for the botched raid.

"oh jesus, I'm turning into McNulty"

At the wake for Cole:
Bunk: "Jimmy....jimmy jimmy jimmy.....shit is.....fucked"

"You put fire to everything you touch, McNulty, then you walk away while it burns"

LMAO @ Stringer's attempts to implement formal rules of debate for his meetings.  "Yo, point of order 'n shit"
"distinguished black fellow, is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?"

[Diunx]

I'm watching the show again, first time I do that with a drama

[Boogie]

"You want to make a complaint to us, that you were selling drugs, and someone took your money?"  

Very odd the scenes of the cynical and casual nature of McNulty describing how he managed his cheating, and the treatment of cheating in general on the show.

Pres' greatest moment:
"Nothing there.  It's so tiny.  No mere mortal can....OHHH...did you see what he just did?  What?!  he did it again?  Who is this man?  Where does he come from?" ..etc, etc.
"I'll get homicide.  Sometimes you still scare me, you know that?"

The scene between Mcnulty and D'angelo's mom was amazing.
"Honestly....I was looking for someone who cared about the kid.  I mean, you were the one who made him take the years, right?"
HOLY FUCK THAT'S COLD BLOODED  

And the quote that is oh so relevant to what I've seen:
"the job will not save you Jimmy...it won't make you whole, it won't fill yo ass up"

The above quote is something that I'm honestly starting to see for myself as a danger of falling into.  My first year in the job was amazing.  The past year, notsomuch.  But beyond that, beyond all the boasting I sometimes do about the OT I make, is the subtext that it is all too easy to just "become the job".  It's something you have to be careful of, or you'll end up spending your whole 20s behind the wheel of a police car.

"I'm serious...I'm the smartest asshole in three districts, and she looks at me like I'm some stupid fuck playing some stupid game for stupid penny ante stakes...she fucking looks through me, keema"

"Are you threatening me?"
"I believe I am sir.  My apologies."

and S4 thus far, 2 eps in.

Davis:  "Major Crimes?  Sheeeeeeeeeeit"

Cool to see Carver go from Season 1, banging heads, to playing things pretty smart so far this season.

[Dickie Dee]

"Do the chair know we gonna look like some punk ass bitches out there?"
"Motherfucker, I will punk your ass for saying..."
"String, String!"
"WHAT?"
"Poot did have the floor man"

[Beezy]

Loving the quotes. I gotta watch this again this summer.

[Boogie]

Finished season 4.

I thought 4 was the weakest so far.  It seemed....unfocused.  I liked Carcetti's quest for the mayorship, but the school plotlines didn't do much for me.  Oddly, this season might have been the most ambitious so far in trying to go beyond being a "cop show", with the threads between the mayor race, the school system, and the police drama, but I think maybe it stretched itself too thin.  The police side especially was unfocused, as there didn't seem to be any "case" to work towards.

The other problem:  not enough Jimmy fucking Mcnulty! 

Interesting that what is best for the character of McNulty, that is, going back to patrol, sobering up, getting his life together and into a relationship with whats-her-name, is something that makes the show suffer: ie, no screentime for him, and little for him to do when he does show up.  What's good for his character is bad for the show.

Bodie's death was perhaps the most "dramatic" major death in the show, I felt.  As I mentioned earlier, all the other deaths just sort of pop out unexpectedly.  With Bodie, you knew shit was going down on that corner, and Bodie had something of a dramatic final moment, where he essentially said "fuck running" and went out fighting for his corner.  And of course, in a way, it's Bodie's death that can be seen to spark McNulty's return to a spiral of self-destruction for Season 5.

I also found this season to be the least quotable so far:

Davis:  "Major Crimes?  Sheeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiitttttttt"

It was cool to see the evolution of Carver, to see him go from Season 1, banging heads, to playing things smart and calm this season.

The look between Pres and Bubbles at the school.

"A good churchman is ALWAYS up in everybody's shit.  That's how we do." 

Carcetti's campaign manager: "I'm a devious motherfucker, once I get going"

Bubbles' suicide attempt.    :'(
Then his moment of reflection afterwards.

"Ok, listen up you mutts, this is complicated...I mean it isn't complicated if you went to college, or, I don't know, your mothers actually stopped drinking for a minute while they was pregnant...but for Baltimore City police, this is complicated"

[Boogie]

Well, that's it. I've finished the Wire in a month and a half.

Not sure how I felt about seasoon 5.  It was still good, of course.  But I think McNulty's whole scheme is a little too far on the ridiculous side.  And I'm not sure I buy McNulty's seemingly instant return to his destructive lifestyle after S4, but I can give it a pass, because it makes for some great scenes.

Great to see Bubbles clean.    And he had some powerful moments, still.

Omar though....wtf.  Goes out like a bitch, blindsided by a six year old?!  But I guess that speaks again to the nature of death on this show, it just happens out of the blue, for no reason.  No morality play here, with Marlo finishing the series with millions of dollars in his pocket, a pimpin' ass suit, and clowning two punks who don't even know who he is.... 

Newspaper plotline mostly made me yawn.  Ended up liking the editor dude by the end, but still.

I sympathize with the theme of a police department out of money.  We're going through a money crunch here, and though not to the extreme extent of on the show, it is illustrative of the amount of policework that can't get done when the money isn't there.

I thought the finale was amazing though.  Especially in the last 20 minutes or so, it hit all the right notes.  The "wake" for McNulty was awesome.  The ending montage is how you close out a series.


Not sure where I place it now that it's all said and done.  I think it's tough to do so when you blitz through a show in a month in a half, compared to a show that you follow throughout the years and become attached to.  For example, if the West Wing had stopped after season 4, I would prefer WW S1-4 over the Wire.  Probably also BSG through to the escape from New Caprica.  Of course, those two shows declined in quality to an amount an order of magnitude greater than the seasons of the Wire that I felt were weaker, so it's a tough call to make any "favourite shows of all time" list.

Bottom line though is that it is unquestionably one of the best TV show ever.  Anything said after that is just quibbling over details. 

[Boogie]

And now that I'm done the show, I'm reading up on some of the background.

The black church deacon was played by an actual Baltimore drug lord?!  WTF?!   

[Diunx]

And snoop is and actual convicted killer.

[Boogie]

And snoop is and actual convicted killer.

wtf?

Next thing you're going to tell me is that snoop is a girl, too.

edit:  ah, I see from wiki that she's done well to turn her life around though, working on anti-violence and literacy campaigns an' shit.

[Boogie]

Further to my unease at Marlo getting away scot-free, I suppose it comes back to the nature of the job.

As per this exchange:
Bunk: Marlo  ain't worth it man, nobody is.
McNulty:  Marlo's an asshole!  He does not get to win, we get to win!

[TEEEPO]

marlo was more concerned about the integrity of his name than the money. rewatch his final scene... there is a reason why omar l. and marlo are anagrams.

[Boogie]

marlo was more concerned about the integrity of his name than the money. rewatch his final scene..

Ya, I definitely understood a bit of that.  The most pissed Marlo ever got in the show was that third-to-last scene, in the prison, when he finds out the shit Omar was talking about  him, and how, in a way, that's Omar's final victory over him, that he was able to shit all over Marlo's name without Marlo even knowing or responding.

and ya, that follows into that final scene with the "do you know who I am?" bit.

[Boogie]

bumpity bumpity bump.

I'm rewatching the show now, and at season 3, I'm realizing how much I missed the first time around.

A) Carver's transformation really comes about when Colvin gives him that big speech in his office.  I didn't really remember that.

and then...

B)  HOLY SHIT, Rauls is in that gay bar that Lemar is at in ep 10.  I totally f'ing missed that the first time around! 

[Himu]

The best part about Rauls is that it's never mentioned once after the fact because being gay doesn't define who you are, and as such, doesn't define Rauls' character. It's very natural and very "Wire-like", so to speak.

There's a note later on where Landsman is taking a leak in the restroom, sees a "Rauls sucks cock!" scribbled and chuckles. After seeing the part in the gay bar you start to think "does he know"? No, he doesn't. He just finds dudes heckling their boss for being a hard ass funny.

It's just something that makes you appreciate The Wire even more. In any other show, they'd make Rauls being gay an actual sub plot. In The Wire, they have the mental aptitude to be able to say "forget that, being gay doesn't really change his character or who he is, it's just another piece of the fragment of his being".

And that's why The Wire is the best show. Because it doesn't talk down to its audience, it lets us experience the story and interpret in any way we see fit.

[Boogie]

It's just something that makes you appreciate The Wire even more. In any other show, they'd make Rauls being gay an actual sub plot. In The Wire, they have the mental aptitude to be able to say "forget that, being gay doesn't really change his character or who he is, it's just another piece of the fragment of his being".

And that's why The Wire is the best show. Because it doesn't talk down to its audience, it lets us experience the story and interpret in any way we see fit.

an interesting point, as compared to another cop show that I have grown to like, Southland.  In Southland, the one character who is gay, they "kinda/sorta" make a big deal about it, tease it for a while, but still ultimately have the characters treat it like no big deal.

But The Wire is just that much more confident and subtle in it that they can just casually toss Rauls in a gay bar and then just never mention it again.  That takes balls, from a story perspective, as far as I'm concerned.

[Himu]

Then there's Kima and Omar. They're gay but it never really defines their characters. Omar is a badass who just happens to be gay. Kima is a detective who just happens to be lesbian. They never make a big deal out of it (aside from the gangstas calling Omar a taco). There's no "is he/is she?!?!?!" sub-plot, they just state they're gay and the people around them are accepting of it.

I find that unique for a television show, especially one made in America. Every other story is like HAHA HE'S GAY. Okay, we GET IT.