The Wire - Season Five

[jebreject]

Well, I'm all caught up. I think 4-7 have definitely upped the ante/picked up the slack. I wasn't as much of a hater as some of y'all, but yeah, basically any of the shit I thought was silly/unbelievable doesn't even matter now (which is why I'm inclined to agree with LCC, etc. that the problems with this season have far more to do with everything being rushed/condensed due to the shortened episode order than they do with bad writing). Basically throughout the last three episodes I was just going "fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck" under my breath the whole time. And I don't know about y'all but I LOVE that feeling.

Wanted to respond to some stuff posted at the other place while LPTJ was down:

Whatever dude, I've been loving the cameos. Did you notice Johnny 50 underneath the bridge when Templeton was handing out business cards?

This hit me pretty fucking hard, seeing him down there. More on that in a sec.

but yeah, you guys, WTF was up with Episode 6 and the Nick and Randy cameos?  I was probably happier to see Nick than anyone else here, but both those scenes seemed so forced.   It's a "OMG YOU GUYS FINAL SEASON!!! WON'T YOU MISS US?!?!" move that's beneath this show.

I didn't feel this way at all. Nick and Johnny 50's appearances seem to me to be the perfect little epilogues to the docks story. They aren't here to appease (or tease) fans; they're here because this is where they are. Johnny 50 ending up under the overpass is maybe a bit of a stretch, but at the same time, it's not, considering what the series is trying to say. This is what happens to people. This is what happens to people who try to play the game. They get chewed up, spit out. They drink themselves to death and they shoot dope and they sleep in boxes under bridges. It seems Nick got off a fuck of a lot easier than Johnny, but the stevedores are still dying, being ground in the gears of capitalism. Just like every one else. And it's not like these little glimpses are anything new. They're not different than when we see Rawls at the gay bar, for instance. It's just this tiny little flash of a thing that isn't necessary for the plot, doesn't seem like it matters, but it does, 'cause it all does, everything is tied together in one way or another, even if we never really get to see the bigger picture. It's the same with Randy. We see how he got chewed up and spit out in the same way as every one else. I mean, Simon is really driving that point with all the force of a fucking atom bomb. But Randy actually tied into the plot, I think, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him back. Then again, I'm probably wrong about that, seeing as we only have three episodes left. If anything it's just showing that they've pretty much exhausted all their leads wrt the rowhouse bodies. I kinda doubt the stuff about Michael's step-dad is really going to get them as far as they need to go either, and five gets you ten that Marlo and crew don't go down for the murders.

[jebreject]

What do y'all think about this?

At the Night at the Wire event on June 9, 2007, Simon stated that Detective Sydnor is the only character who remains morally clean by the end of the show, but not perfectly since "after all, this is The Wire."

[YojimboMonkey]

which is why I'm inclined to agree with LCC, etc. that the problems with this season have far more to do with everything being rushed/condensed due to the shortened episode order than they do with bad writing

I think they're actually trying to put more into the shortened season than they would in a full-length season, thus going meta with the "do more with less" themes from the paper and the police.

[dieblucasdie]

haha that's awesome.  Someone really needs to point that out to Simon in an interview.

[elpollodiablo]

What, you think it wasn't intentional? They've dropped that line almost once an episode.

[dieblucasdie]

I don't think they've been intentionally lowering the quality of their show to make a point, no.  And I think Simon has downplayed the effect of the shortened season in interviews.

Though I suppose if anyone would do it would be Simon.

[elpollodiablo]

Man you are just all about the glib interpretations lately, eh?

I meant: you don't think the repetition of that line is intentional? A decision made by Simon to simultaneously wink at the audience and shake his fist at HBO?

[elpollodiablo]

If you want to read some insight-less self-serving drivel, check out Salon's 'Hot off "The Wire"' weekly recaps. Just about as bad as anything else on Salon. Especially cringed at the bit where one of the contributors has to drop his little anecdote about seeing Clark Johnson in a cafe reading *gasp* THE POST

[dieblucasdie]

Yeah, I think the Slate ones are even worse.

[elpollodiablo]

They are; I looked

[DCDave]

I watched Episode 4 and it is awesome.  Also, people who don't put spoilers in invisitext please don't do that.

[jebreject]

Come on, it's totally fair at this point for us to assume that everyone has seen up to episode 7

[DCDave]

Come on, it's totally fair at this point for us to assume that everyone has seen up to episode 7

Thanks for the 10 episode season, guys.

[elpollodiablo]

Oh yeah that had loads to do with leaks, right'choo are

[DCDave]

Well, subscription fees are the revenue generator for HBO. 

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah well HBO's established audience hasn't been watching. The Sopranos was leaked as much or more than the Wire, but it enjoyed great success amongst HBO's subscriber base. Whose fault is that?

[elpollodiablo]

Also if HBO got with it and decided to offer digital ala carte downloads of individual episodes I would gladly pay six or seven bucks apiece for them. Unfortunately since my parents were irresponsible, I can't afford cable + an HBO subscription. Lousy beatniks.

[DCDave]

Also if HBO got with it and decided to offer digital ala carte downloads of individual episodes I would gladly pay six or seven bucks apiece for them. Unfortunately since my parents were irresponsible, I can't afford cable + an HBO subscription. Lousy beatniks.

I am pretty sure that a monthly HBO sub is less than $28/mo

[jebreject]

Uh, but you have to have cable first.

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah. Basic cable ($48) + HBO package ($20) = more than I am willing to spend


Plus the Wire is the only fucking thing on HBO worth watching any more and after it's over I'll have a shitty movie channel with shitter original programming that I won't watch

[dieblucasdie]

Lolz at the idea that if you couldn't steal "The Wire" it would have better ratings.  Maybe slightly, but not enough to affect any programming decisions that's for damn sure.

[DCDave]

But all of you guys bought the series on DVD, right?

[elpollodiablo]

The fuck does that have to do with anything?

[dieblucasdie]

But all of you guys bought the series on DVD, right?

I borrowed 1-3 from a friend.  Is that illegal, fuckwad?  It sure didn't bring in any money to HBO.

[DCDave]

Well, either you're willing to pay for the show, or you're not.  And I don't understand how a person can be a fan of something and be willing to steal it from the people who create it.  "I really like what you guys do.  I like it so much that I'm totally unwilling to compensate you for it in any way."

The fuck does that have to do with anything?

Well, I figured since you'd be willing to pay $6-7 per episode, then you'd be, you know, willing to pay $6-7 per episode.