The Wire

[Joe Norris]

I am so late to the game that watching/posting about this show is cool.

Anyway, with that out of the way, I just started the wire a couple weeks ago....holy shit, I am hooked.

I haven't had anything against the show, I just haven't wanted to commit, but I finally did and I am so glad.

The first episode had me, but it just keeps getting better. Lots of familiar faces (I knew about a lot of them, but Michael B Jordan was a surprise)

I assume most people here have seen it, and I don't care about spoilers, so, discuss away.

Also RIP Michael Kenneth Williams

[RedEyedGhost]

My favorite show of all time. Episode four (Old Cases) was the one that really hooked me. Season two gets a bad rap, but it's one of my favorites.

[NoPantsChico]

I haven’t rewatched it in a looong time but it’s one of my all-time favorites. I remember having to watch the first episode a few different times before I got hooked because of how much it packs in.

[EasyDisease]

I haven’t rewatched it in a looong time but it’s one of my all-time favorites. I remember having to watch the first episode a few different times before I got hooked because of how much it packs in.

Yeah, I had several foot faults trying to get into it. Mostly due to being on my phone or computer at the same time. But once it took, it took.

[Joe Norris]

Shit! RIP Wallace...that was sad :'(

Just finished first season last night...I'll be interested to see what the hubbub is around season 2...probably start it tonight

I'm guessing it's fairly common, but I really like Omar

I like Avon as a character, but obviously a scumbag....Stringer Bell though, I hope and am waiting for him to die

[EasyDisease]

One cool thing about the Wire is how your opinions about characters change over time.

Just to warn you, there's an unexpected dong at the beginning of S2, so get your lotion and tissues ready.

[Joe Norris]

One cool thing about the Wire is how your opinions about characters change over time.

Just to warn you, there's an unexpected dong at the beginning of S2, so get your lotion and tissues ready.

Unexpected Dong, name of my sex tape

I went and saw "Men" recently, and there was so much Dong, it was no longer unexpected

I was like Pee Wee Herman at a skin flick

[EasyDisease]

We talkin' dongs, here? If so, you can get your dong fix on HBO's Euphoria.

[Joe Norris]

Season 2 down.

I don't like Kima anymore

Brother Mouzone is a bad ass

Stringer is an idiot

Frank had to have wanted to die

So, I'm trying to figure out why this season would be thought of as lesser....a couple guesses

1. Everyone made bad decisions constantly
2. The Greeks had way too much plot armor

Edit: Also, Prez's punch on Valchek was hilarious....the look on Daniel's face

[Joe Norris]

Season 3 down

Kima is back to meh...the whole baby storyline is believable, but I think she's a shitty (domestic) partner...well, I don't think, I don't know...her attitude towards the baby and how they got to having the baby is pretty pathetic

I don't think Avon has any worthwhile/redeemable qualities, but for some reason, I like him....just charismatic maybe? I don't know

RIP not so peacefully Stringer...I even felt bad for him when he got played by Clay Davis...he was just operating over his head and he needed a trusted ally to help him navigate the business world...I had quite a bit of second-hand embarrassment for him

Holy shit, I didn't realize Cercetti (sp) was Aidan Gillen until I was looking through IMDb (always skip the intro)...I've been binging so some details are fuzzy, but what was the point of that storyline where he cheated on his wife? It never came up again and seemed somewhat out of character for him....He's a politician, so he's a shitty person by default, but that just seemed like a random plot point that went nowhere (I understand that it may come back, just calling things as I see them happen in the show)

While Hamsterdam was EXTREMELY poorly executed, I love that in real life we're getting to the point of having safe places for addicts to get/do their drugs and get help if they want/need...it was somewhat jarring to find out how long they operated that without ANYONE knowing about it....perhaps it was just a different world back then without social media and such, but how did they operate that place without anyone in the media or public finding out for so long? Was this idea considered revolutionary at the time the show aired? Or was it something politicians were flirting with in real life?

Colvin might be my favorite character up to this point...only fucking guy that actually tried something....catastrophic failure because it was so poorly managed, but there's no way it would have even gotten off the ground except for how they did it

What was with the Prez "racist" tangent? Sure, he shot a black cop, and that's NOT great, but they have never shown him to have any kind of racial bias at all....I have no idea why he was even on that mission, cause he's an indoor cat, but if anything, that just seemed like inexperience and nerves....they also keep saying he's an asshole...weird? sure, but I never got racist asshole vibes from him....he hasn't done enough for me to have any real kind of feeling about him, to be honest

Give me a Muozone/Omar buddy detective drama (I know we can't do that anymore for obvious reasons), but I loved watching them work together

Marlo and his crew are straight up evil beyond anyone else in the show....like, irredeemable

I'm hoping Dennis/Cutty and the boxing gym goes somewhere....made me so happy when he was like super shy about asking Avon for $10K and he just laughed and gave him $15K cash....I think that's the type of shit I like about Avon....yeah, he's a major scumbag, BUT, he takes care of his own...he was like, "take care of them little n****s" and it somehow seemed extremely endearing

Probably have more thoughts, but that's that for now.

When the show was airing, who were the biggest favorites and most hated characters? I have some obvious guesses, but I'd be interested to hear what the consensus was at the time.

While I like Bunk fine enough, he just seems like an Alcoholic that is a pretty good detective, but based on pop culture and such, people seem to have LOVED him....I don't dislike him, hell, I'm an alcoholic, so I don't hold it against him, I just don't get why he was so loved/revered (shout out to rj for his longtime avatar)[email protected], if you're around, I'd love to hear your thoughts on him, cause I'm guessing you've got one or two

[sean]

I didn't watch it when it came out, but I watched in within a few years. But that's been a long time now. Your post refreshes my memory.

Here's what I've learned. If you watch a series slowly as the episodes are released, you have time to allow each episode to marinate. You have time to discuss each episode with other people. You have a better viewing experience by doing that. I binge-watched The Wire. I didn't have a chance to discuss anything along the way. I probably missed much doing this. On the other hand, everything is pretty fresh in my head as I watch, so it might be easier to connect things from 5 episodes back. I don't know. But I think we lose something when we binge-watch a series.

My favorite character was Omar. I also liked Snoop.

[Joe Norris]

I didn't watch it when it came out, but I watched in within a few years. But that's been a long time now. Your post refreshes my memory.

Here's what I've learned. If you watch a series slowly as the episodes are released, you have time to allow each episode to marinate. You have time to discuss each episode with other people. You have a better viewing experience by doing that. I binge-watched The Wire. I didn't have a chance to discuss anything along the way. I probably missed much doing this. On the other hand, everything is pretty fresh in my head as I watch, so it might be easier to connect things from 5 episodes back. I don't know. But I think we lose something when we binge-watch a series.

My favorite character was Omar. I also liked Snoop.

Your experience is the same as mine as far as binging (this show or any show, for that matter)...it's a love-hate relationship watching things one way or the other...the slow burn is good for the reasons you mention, but I absolutely hate the episode-by-episode cliffhangers

It's funny, you'd never read a book a chapter at a time and wait a week to move on, you read the whole story and then you discuss...so I wonder why that's so different from binging a whole season at once?

My biggest issue is the sheer number of characters in the Wire....it's kinda like GoT, there's just SO MANY people to keep track of and remember names, I pretty much have to have a wiki page up to remind myself of who's who outside the mains

[NoPantsChico]

Your experience is the same as mine as far as binging (this show or any show, for that matter)...it's a love-hate relationship watching things one way or the other...the slow burn is good for the reasons you mention, but I absolutely hate the episode-by-episode cliffhangers

It's funny, you'd never read a book a chapter at a time and wait a week to move on, you read the whole story and then you discuss...so I wonder why that's so different from binging a whole season at once?

My biggest issue is the sheer number of characters in the Wire....it's kinda like GoT, there's just SO MANY people to keep track of and remember names, I pretty much have to have a wiki page up to remind myself of who's who outside the mains

Serialized books used to be huge in the Victorian era as literacy and printing technology became more prominent. Would be interesting to see that make a comeback, maybe Amazon or some other giant is on it.

[Joe Norris]

Serialized books used to be huge in the Victorian era as literacy and printing technology became more prominent. Would be interesting to see that make a comeback, maybe Amazon or some other giant is on it.

How about we do it and make bank?

I think a long-running tale of Gard and TC's exploits would be a certified hit...we could really push the limit and MAYBE, JUST maybe, we could get banned in some schools and book clubs

[RedEyedGhost]

Here's some back in the day reviews if you want to dig deeper into what people where thinking at the time.
https://uproxx.com/sepinwall/the-wir...every-episode/