"...the life of kings." More Wire talk

[elpollodiablo]

Continue.


Does anyone know why the last episode is entitled "-30-"? I'm guessing it's something really obvious that I'm simply missing.

[edison]

According to Wikipedia:

Title reference

"–30–" is a journalistic term that has been used to signify "the end" or "over and out" since the Civil War when telegraphers tapped "XXX", the Roman numeral signifying 30, to end transmissions.

[Wally]

I think it's how newspaper articles used to sign off, maybe they still do in some places.  

x-post with edison

[elpollodiablo]

Huh! Neat.

[elpollodiablo]

30 min. Q&A with Simon on Talk of the Nation yesterday

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88039740

God bless NPR

[Andrew_TSKS]

holy crap, i'm gonna listen to that tonight!

also, does anyone besides me actually really like what was done with mcnulty in season 4? regardless of whether or not it was done just to work around west's schedule, i'm really glad it was done. season 4 was outstanding, and i think the choice to background mcnulty for it was not only courageous but a good one for the show as a whole. mcnulty would have seemed shoehorned in there, if you ask me.

[elpollodiablo]

I loved having McNulty disappear for a season, for sure.

[dieblucasdie]

Oh, yeah, definitely.  The first time I watched "The Wire" I liked S2 the best, but I think that was mainly because I mostly watched S4 while drunk and following the new kids confused me.  But the more I think about it, the more I think S4 is the high-point.

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah, the rankings for me in terms of seasons go:

4
3
1
5
2

[dieblucasdie]

Yeah, I didn't like S2 as much the second and third times around; my initial love for it was, as I said before, mainly due the fact that it confounded my expectations so thoroughly.  I think in the end for me it goes:

4
1
3
2
5

Though I think 2, 3, and 5 are all really really close in quality.

[hannah]

4
1 & 3 (tied)
5
...
2

[elpollodiablo]

Actually hh, your list is closer to how I actually feel about em. I just didn't cheat by making 1 & 3 a tie.

[ellaguru]

Just finished the very last episode.

So... I guess now I'm supposed to go back and read 20+ pages of posts to catch up with you people?

[dieblucasdie]

I'll be extremely insulted if you miss something I posted about it.

[Wally]

3
2
4
5
1

although if it was based on which ones I've watched the most series 1 jumps up two places.

Over the last couple of weeks I've persuaded two more people to give the first three series ago, as those are the three I have on DVD. Unsurprisingly both are now coverts to the church of david simon and company. It still suprises and saddens me how few people over here have seen or even heard of the show, even otherwise tried and true fans of HBO dramas seem to pull out their blank faces when I mention the Wire. This probably is mostly due to the limited media attention and the fact none of the terrestrial channels have picked it up, as far as I know it's still being shown on FX channel which is one of the lowest rated digital channels. I think I'm going to try and set myself a target of one person a month for the rest of the year, and hopefully each one of them will pay it forward.

[ellaguru]

I think over the years I've gotten most of my friends and family hooked on it, except for one friend who didn't give it a try because he doesn't like to admit that other people can discover things. Which is funny, because he is constantly admitting that, in retrospect, he should have listened to me about this or about that. However, I guess that now that The Wire is getting some press, he'll probably want to borrow it.

Recent conversation:

him: Have you heard of this show, The Wire?
me: You mean the one I've been trying to get you to watch for the last few years?
him: Um...ya. I hear it's the best show on now that The Sopranos is over.
me: Well, if by "now that The Sopranos is over", you mean "in the history of time", then yes, that's true.
him: I don't think it's that good.
me: But that's because you've never actually seen it, though.
him: ...

He can't start watching it right away, though, as he has just discovered that -gasp!- the new version of Battlestar Galactica is actually pretty good.

Other than him, though, I think my DVDs have made the rounds of pretty much everybody I know.

[elpollodiablo]

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/85-the-wire/

[Wally]

it's funny because it's true. they forgot to mention how white people secretly dream of being Stringer Bell, only in their dream they don't die, because they've got more heart.

[ellaguru]

Yes, that is so me.

[Andrew_TSKS]

that blog should be called "stuff the kind of white people that drive andrew up a wall like".

and a lot of the reason they drive me up a wall is because they end up liking the same stuff i do, but for different reasons that are way lamer than mine.

[elpollodiablo]

That post is destined to become entry #86

[Andrew_TSKS]

oh yeah, i can see it now.

[andronicus]

that blog should be called "stuff the kind of white people that drive andrew up a wall like".

and a lot of the reason they drive me up a wall is because they end up liking the same stuff i do, but for different reasons that are way lamer than mine.

Alternate Translation:  I liked being white before it was cool.

[heather marie]

that blog should be called "stuff the kind of white people that drive andrew up a wall like".

and a lot of the reason they drive me up a wall is because they end up liking the same stuff i do, but for different reasons that are way lamer than mine.

Alternate Translation:  I liked being white before it was cool.

aren't you at work?

[andronicus]

YES.