The Wire Season 2

2,3,1,4,5

2,4, 3, 5, 1

I used to rank 5 last, but gotta admit that the writing got very creative (and may have strayed from the formula). I just finished One again a few weeks ago and I rank it last because it was obvious they weren't sure just how successful they were going to be. Don't get me wrong, ranking One in last place is like Mila Kunis being the 5th best girl I screwed. Some of the newspaper shite got old, I know, but Clark Johnson as "Gus" was pretty damn good. Also, the scene where McNulty uses the voice modulator to call Scott - that whole show was hysterical.

Neverthless, Idris Elba as Stringer Bell had not found himself yet. he did in season 2 and 3 and I am talking of the way he acted (not that he caught on to the game and the way it was REALLY played). He tried too hard in the first season as every line had to have sauve perfection behind it and "the game" was part of every one of his sentences. Bell became the best actor of the show -- as far as a character who had played in all 3 seasons to that point -- as his character was much more human and maybe it had to do with becoming naive and vulnerable once he stepped out of the drug and into the politics and money game, but I got tired of him sounding like s script reading badass who always had the coolest, most perfect thing to say in a conversation. By season 2, Stringer's character became much more likable and again, talking from an acting standpoint by Elba and not Stringer Bell's character.

Season One was weakest within Homocide (no Crutchfield, one-dimensional Rawls, and Santangelo was boring). The streets aspect was strong but some of the characters were flat like Stink 'Em and Savino and Little Man. They were basically just bodies.

As far as best actor of the show of all? Chris Bauer as Frank Sobotka, hands down. He is the only other guy I can think of who might have worked as Tony Soprano if there was no such thing as Jim Gandolfini.

Two did a magnificent job of basically telling a story about the docks, but meanwhile, the main intention was to set us up for the collapse of the Barksdale organization or lack thereof. Two did show us a lot of the bigger picture, but the story of Frank, Nick, Ziggy, Horse, etc. was basically over and done and not brought up on a larger scale ever again.

When 3's first episode starts out and Royce helps dynamite the towers and they fall and scatter dust all over the place to the point where people are covering the mouths and eyes...brilliant and poetic foreshadowing of the "Oh shite" that was going to come with tearing down those towers. The mentality of City Hall to "destroy" drugs by tearing down its current main suppliers totally backfired and the smoke that didn't clear after the demolition proves that. City Hall created an open market again and allowed Marlo Stanfield to become what he was. It's stuff like that which make The Wire the best show HBO ever had its grip on. I think The Wire could have squeezed out 5 more seasons for a perfect 10 and chosen other layouts and areas like digging into eastside/southeast side the way they dug into west; perhaps the factories downtown; the airport; perhaps some sort of back and forth issue with Annapolis and Baltimore. Baloo could probably pick out what I am saying here and nail where the 6th season would have taken place and centered around. Had 5 not been the last season, more people would have liked it and I am speaking of those who thought the whole serial killer thing was overboard. You had to close out McNulty somehow. They did.

are you talking to yourself?

quote:

---

Season 3 is still my favorite, followed by Season 4. I won't rank the other 3 just because I don't want to slight any of them by putting them last. I love them all.

---

Absolutely agree. Season 3 is Shakespearean.

On Season 3 now. Enjoyed series so far. Thought I was imagining it, but have been seeing "Herc" at St. Aloysius Church during Mass on Sunday for the past few weeks. Just realized he's in town filming the series Break Out Kings.

4
3
2
1
5

quote:

---

i'm in the process of re-watching the series and the sriees ends, in my mind, in season 3. seasons 4 and 5 are sequels to me

---

I really liked season 4, but I agree with this. Things just feel different without the Barksdale crew around.

Or more like spin offs? Thats what a buddy of mines views them as well.

3 is gold. It definitely showed the reality of losing your pedestal. The stupidity of some of the new soldiers and their decisions made the downfall inevitable. 3 is Shakespeare meets dickens and the rooftop scene of avon and stringer was truly moving television. Two knives going into two backs.