re: OFFICIAL "The Wire" M/TV Board rewatch thread (current discussion starts ~p. 53)

quote:

---

My point with that was that Namond had it better than 99% of the kids on the street.

---

I agree with Ace's point, and i'm mad i didn't think of it that way

materially he did have it good, though that could be taken away in a second. (Guess the cops weren't into as much asset forfeiture a decade ago). but his situation is far from good with a mother that is pushing him into an extremely dangerous line if work that pretty much ends 1 of 2 ways. His end with Bunny is a nice contrast with Dukie and Prezbo. Dukie and Randy got chewed up by the system. Namond was the lucky one.

quote:

---

Thinking about putting the thread on hold for a week...I'll be out on vacation most of this week (Wed-Sun).

---

that's fine with me. I watched and comment on the first 2 episodes of S5, but all the discussion has been about S4

I haven't watched 3-4 yet and yes now that BB seasons is sadly over, i can go back to streaming and probably get more sleep after all these late, late games

man i cannot get into season 5

usually i'd have issues getting ahead, but i'm having issues staying up with this season

the drop in quality is just dramatic

quote:

---

the drop in quality is just dramatic

---

I thought the quality was fine - certainly it was something that Simon knew. The themes were classic liberalism (the good kind), and journalistic integrity vs. exploitative journalism battle. The problem is, other than Gus and, to a lesser extent the chica reporter, the characters weren't very compelling. Even the ethically challenged reporter Templeton seemed kind of 2-dimensional. And I'm not even going to fault the acting, because I thought that was fine as well, certainly consistent with show standards.

The fault is probably the way the characters were drawn and the hit and miss nature of the newsroom scenes.

ETA: As for the returning characters, the main problem with Season 5 is the jarring nature of the faux serial killer thread. Just makes the whole thing seem surreal. I get what they were trying to do, but it hurts the suspension of disbelief when something that artificial drops into an otherwise realistic series. West, Pierce and Peters all carried their load in their scenes, but again, if quality dropped off, for me it wasn't in the acting or directing, but in the writing and stories themselves.

quote:

---

, if quality dropped off,but in the writing and stories themselves.

---

I assume that's what he meant, that's my view. There's still some good stuff, but the best material (political and bureaucratic inertia, good police work vs stat building) has gotten repetitive by now.

quote:

---

the guy who is gus's superior seems awkward as if he is nervous are uncomfortable.

---

He was probably thinking ahead to when Jesse would shoot him in the face to save Walt from Gus and Mike.



(I just started a rewatch of BB - forgive me.)

trying to catch up. on episode 6

while listening to the intro just now, i realized that the theme song is sung by this guy

season 5 is just tough to get through. i really am almost cringing at all the absurd shite jimmy/lester are doing to further the fake serial killer angle. lester is the one that really annoys me, b/c his whole thing with Jimmy is "there will be another case. don't lose your life thinking this case is going to justify all the damage you do to you person and those around you" and lester is DOING THE EXACT SAME THING

quote:

---

i love how marlo says that some spider man s*** when he learns how omar escaped

---

Even crazier, the real "leap" was from a higher floor, but they toned it down for the show to make it more "believable" - and the primary real person basis for the character of Omar, Donnie Andrews, played his associate, Donnie, in the leap scene. As much as I agree with some of Jake's quibbles about season 5 (and jarring, in a different way that Season 2 was jarring - that may be worse than the silliness of the serial killer storyline), this kind of thing during the show's run - this commitment to authenticity is why it stands head and shoulders over most other television shows - even with its minor flaws here and there.

quote:

---

. lester is the one that really annoys me, b/c his whole thing with Jimmy is "there will be another case. don't lose your life thinking this case is going to justify all the damage you do to you person and those around you" and lester is DOING THE EXACT SAME THING

---

I watched E3 last night and was thinking the same thing basically. With Jimmy, it kinda, sorta goes with the character. In E3 he's spending a lot of time going thru old files, faking the ribbon thing. It reminded me of him studying tides and winds just so he could stick the girls in S2 on Rawls which was awesome and hilarious, still my favorite Jimmy thing of the series. So I can at least buy Jimmy might do this. But Lester, just seems forced and I think Bunk could/should have done more to stop it. I know the "thin blue line and not snitching on cops thing, but this is serious trouble that could not only put Jimmy and Lester in jail, but taint their main investigation. That's the part that really just kills me. They HAVE to know, just have to know, that it could jeopardize the Marlo investigation. Someone like Levy could have a field day and question everything they ever did (If you made up evidence on these homeless "murders" then how do we know you didn't do it on this Barksdale case etc, etc.