Thread created on Sat Jul 21, 2012 03:16:53 Last replied to on Fri Mar 29, 2013 14:08:08
Even though The show has been off the air for four years now Has anyone seen it? After watching All Five Seasons of the Wire Twice I Just sit there quietly watching the credits roll and think to myself That was the Best shit ive ever seen on a Television Screen.
Last Edited: Sat Jul 21, 2012 03:17:42
You Come at the King you best not miss...
Dont like me? Call 1-800-Kiss-My-Ass!
By -El- [463504]
Fantastic show & there will never be another one like it.
Surprised it lasted 5 seasons.
afaik it was always supposed to last 5 seasons, David Simon was trying to show each aspect in the different seasons while keeping the overall narrative.
If I remember right season 1 was all street level, season 2 dealt with importing at the docks, season 3-4 dealt with politics and education, season 5 the press.
By -El- [463504]
Fantastic show & there will never be another one like it.
Surprised it lasted 5 seasons.
afaik it was always supposed to last 5 seasons, David Simon was trying to show each aspect in the different seasons while keeping the overall narrative.
If I remember right season 1 was all street level, season 2 dealt with importing at the docks, season 3-4 dealt with politics and education, season 5 the press.
See that I didn't know. Then again, I didn't watch The Wire until maybe a year ago. I never watched it when it aired.
It never got commercial appeal (only critical success), hence me surprised at it lasting the full 5 seasons.
Well, another thing is that it aired on HBO, which isn't as concerned with commercial appeal in that they already have your money, it isn't ad supported (no commercials), just a premium cable network that you have to pay extra to get. As a network its actually one of the better things about them, their series are always top notch and I think a big part of that is the relative lack of external pressure from ratings and such. David Simon also did a series called Trieme on HBO about New Orleans and jazz, although I have to admit I found what I saw boring as shit.
By Skunkdoctor [1371548]
Well, another thing is that it aired on HBO, which isn't as concerned with commercial appeal in that they already have your money, it isn't ad supported (no commercials), just a premium cable network that you have to pay extra to get. As a network its actually one of the better things about them, their series are always top notch and I think a big part of that is the relative lack of external pressure from ratings and such.
Not true. The Wire was almost cancelled because of low ratings at the end of the 3rd season.
By Skunkdoctor [1371548]
David Simon also did a series called Treme on HBO about New Orleans and jazz, although I have to admit I found what I saw boring as shit.
I know. The only episode I watched was where a friend made an appearance on there. I just couldn't get into that show otherwise.
I havent Watched The Corner but its Based of a book of the same name and its all Real David Simon and Ed Burns spent a Year On The Fayette and Monroe Streets in Baltimore.
You Come at the King you best not miss...
Dont like me? Call 1-800-Kiss-My-Ass!
If you liked this show, you should oppose the war on drugs and call for legalization. Because if it becomes a reality, there will be a sixth season. Not even kidding.
One of the great tragedies of the Twitter Era is that a contrarian gasbag like Jason Whitlock is now considered by many to be something of an expert on all things related to The Wire. It’s actually a tragedy of Frank Sobatka-esq proportions, and every time I see another one of his Dittohead followers converted for all the wrong reasons, it makes me want to take a long walk out to meet Spiros and The Greek under the Key Bridge. Even when Whitlock accidentally unearths an interesting point about the show, much like a man who finds an egg roll between the cushions of sofa that he can’t remember ordering but is happy to devour, I can’t help but feel like one of the great pieces of artwork of the 21th century deserves a better advocate.
I say this because it’s easy to make moronic analogies about the Ravens by using characters from The Wire. I could tell you, like Whitlock did last year during the playoffs, that Ray Lewis is Avon Barksdale — that his strength and power have diminished, and all he has left are his pride and the echoes of his reputation that still ring out around the league. Or that Ed Reed is Prop Joe, a scheming, wise-cracking, moody intellectual with odd facial hair who thinks he can outsmart The Game. John Harbaugh — with his love of empty political slogans like “53 Mighty Men of Baltimore,” and “Play Like A Raven” — could even pass for a credible version of mayor Tommy Carcetti. (Though I’m not sure, even in another life, John could run a Westeros whorehouse, now that I give it more thought. Sure, he’d make the whores hustle and dress nice on Sundays, but he’d inevitably f**k up their clock management, and even those Belichickian Lannisters would just laugh and eventually refuse to pay their debts.)
But all that stupidity misses a larger point. The Wire wasn’t a show about charismatic gangsters and cops, or a clash over the different ways Avon, Stringer, Prop Joe, McNulty, Bunk and Marlo saw the world. The Wire was really the story of the way individuals struggle when they try to take on institutions. They’re inevitably crushed because reform is damn near impossible when you have so many forces — and by that, I mean a decade or more of institutional momentum and memory — working against you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a drug dealer or a police officer or a politician or a altruistic teacher. You’ll eventually be chewed up and spit out if you attempt to lead a half-assed reform.
That’s actually the best way I can summarize the Ravens quarterback situation over the last 12 years. It’s time to realize the problems are institutional, not the failure of a group of individuals.
I say all this because if you’re going to use the show to talk about the Ravens, you have to do it right. The Ravens inability to put a great quarterback on the field at any point during their tenure in Baltimore is one of the saddest — or, if you’re a Steelers fan, truly hilarious — stories of this NFL era. Even if you’re convinced Ray Lewis is disingenuous charlatan who now uses Jesus as a shield to help you forget the sins of his not-so-distant past, the dude is probably the best f**king defensive player the modern game has seen. And even though Ed Reed looks like he could easily be the homeless guy with popcorn in his beard standing outside of Whole Foods and shouting at a tree, he’s easily one of the best free safeties to ever play the game. Yet this, in order, is the parade of clowns the Ravens have sent stumbling out onto the field to lead the offense during the prime of Lewis’ career, and Reed’s career:
A geriatric Jim Harbaugh, Eric Zeier, Tony Banks, Stoney Case, Scott Mitchell, Trent Dilfer, Elvis Grbac, Randall Cunningham on bald tires, Jeff Blake, Chris Redman, Kyle Boller, Anthony Wright, Kyle Boller (again!), Anthony Wright (again!), an arthritic Steve McNair, Kyle Boller (again!!!), Troy Smith, Joe Flacco. If there is one quote from The Wire I’d like to see directed at Ozzie Newsome, it’s this one from Bodie, one of the show’s most fascinating and tragic characters: “Don’t matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin’ the same all over.”
Most Ravens fans think the organization has finally broken the curse with Flacco, a unibrowed ostrich of a man who has a howitzer for a right arm and is about as mobile as the Joe Paterno statue. This is Flacco’s fifth year, and while he still manages to step on his own dick far too frequently to be considered a star at the position, he’s at least brought stability to this decade-long nightmare on offense. People want to believe he represents a New Day in Baltimore, and with Lewis nearly calcified, we’re on the verge of this becoming HIS team.
I remain unconvinced. I can’t shake the feeling Flacco is just one more individual who will eventually be crushed by the stubborn nature of an institution that thought it was a good idea to bring in T.J. Houshmandzadeh two years ago. Flacco has managed to out-perform the Stoney Cases and Jeff Blakes of the world because he has far more talent. But he still faces some of the same obstacles that, say, Chris Redman did. He plays for an organization that considers offense — and has for more than a decade — to be something of a nuisance. He plays for a coordinator, Cam Cameron, who is terrified to call any play that involves a set as complicated as putting three wide receivers on one half of the football field. If NFL offenses were represented by ancient cultures, the Saints and the Packers would be the Greeks and the Romans. They’re discussing philosophy, math and art and forming complex systems of government while the Ravens are still living in caves, banging rocks together and hoping to figure out this evil sorcery known as fire.
The Ravens managed to hunt and gather their way to the AFC Championship game last year, and Flacco played well enough to get his team to the Super Bowl. But in the end, I can’t say I was all that surprised when the institution ultimately crushed his dreams. I’m convinced if you cut open Anquan Boldin’s knee, all you’d find is Styrofoam peanuts and some old ball bearings. He’s exactly the kind of player the Ravens have been asking to lead their passing attack since forever — too old, too slow, and too proud to realize both are true. (Miss you too, Derrick Mason!) When Boldin couldn’t get open on the Ravens final drive, Flacco was forced to look for Lee Evans, another prototypical Ravens wideout — a recycled product who has been sulking for so long, he can’t make a big catch when redemption is staring him right in the face.
I can’t see the 2012 season playing out differently, to be honest. In fact, it’s going to be even harder to get back to the AFC Championship game since Terrell Suggs’ obsession with pretending he’s Charles Barkley resulted in a torn Achilles. Sure, Ray Rice is back, but the offensive line is also older (Matt Birk) and fatter (Bryant McKinnie). Is Flacco going to be better? Maybe, but just because he’s not Elvis Grbac doesn’t mean he’s good enough to win a Super Bowl. The reason Ravens fans have a (hard-earned and well-deserved) reputation for believing there is an Illuminati-level conspiracy in the works to screw their team is because it’s a coping mechanism, a way of deflecting a more deflating truth: The organization may excel at figuring out how to draft and run a defense, but their offensive playbook might as well be drawn in crayon. And as hard as this for Ravens fans to admit, Lewis has contributed to the problem in recent years, insisting (without much subtlety) that the team run an offense so simplistic, I like to call it: “Do Anything But f**k It Up, Joe.” If Lewis played with Tony Romo or Matt Stafford or any of the other risk-taking, swashbuckling quarterbacks, I’m convinced he’d have an aneurysm by halftime. I predict another ugly but mostly-effective season that ends when they fall short in the playoffs because Jacoby Jones drops a crucial fourth down.
In Baltimore, the game is the game, period. Same as it ever was.
I have all 5 seasons on my hard drive, ready to watch.
But truth be told, I'm slightly scared. I'll explain.
I've yet to meet one person who didn't like The Wire, and, from what I hear about it, it doesn't sound like the kind of show that I'd like. So I'm scared that I'll watch it, hate it, and will forever be thought of, as the guy with the worst taste. Ever.
By Gideonator [1456279]
I have all 5 seasons on my hard drive, ready to watch.
But truth be told, I'm slightly scared. I'll explain.
I've yet to meet one person who didn't like The Wire, and, from what I hear about it, it doesn't sound like the kind of show that I'd like. So I'm scared that I'll watch it, hate it, and will forever be thought of, as the guy with the worst taste. Ever.
Its too good to not watch it.
It really is one of the best tv shows ever made.
Halfway through season 2 just now. I like it, but it's not as amazing as people say it is.
I much preferred 'The Shield'.
Of course, my opinion may change when I've watched the entire thing.
By mrcaptain [1300796]
Halfway through season 2 just now. I like it, but it's not as amazing as people say it is.
I much preferred 'The Shield'.
Of course, my opinion may change when I've watched the entire thing.
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