Comments on: The Wire http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 27 May 2012 00:43:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Nicanor http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174814 Nicanor Thu, 12 Oct 2006 04:56:25 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174814 If you like 'The Wire,' you may also like Matt Zoller Seitz's <a href="http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">the House Next Door</a>, along with his many thoughtfull contributers and commenters. If you like ‘The Wire,’ you may also like Matt Zoller Seitz’s the House Next Door, along with his many thoughtfull contributers and commenters.

]]> By: S http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174587 S Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:30:05 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174587 <i>Don’t worry that the Wire will become bloated and self-important a la “the Sopranos”, its going stronger than ever in a brilliant fourth season.</i> As brilliant and heart-breaking as ever. I fear for poor Dukie. Don’t worry that the Wire will become bloated and self-important a la “the Sopranos”, its going stronger than ever in a brilliant fourth season.

As brilliant and heart-breaking as ever. I fear for poor Dukie.

]]> By: MQ http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174571 MQ Tue, 10 Oct 2006 23:07:39 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174571 The Shield is pure violence porn, it has no relation to reality. Add up the number of fiendish psychotic sex killers who are supposed to be active in one day, in one precinct, in pretty much every episode and you'll see what I mean. It's the TV equivalent of a video game, and has roughly as much artistic depth. Excellent video game though. The first season of the Wire was brilliant all right. Maybe the best long-form drama ever on TV, although I'd pick the early seasons of the Sopranos over it. The Shield is pure violence porn, it has no relation to reality. Add up the number of fiendish psychotic sex killers who are supposed to be active in one day, in one precinct, in pretty much every episode and you’ll see what I mean. It’s the TV equivalent of a video game, and has roughly as much artistic depth. Excellent video game though.

The first season of the Wire was brilliant all right. Maybe the best long-form drama ever on TV, although I’d pick the early seasons of the Sopranos over it.

]]> By: Monte Davis http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174506 Monte Davis Tue, 10 Oct 2006 17:16:56 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174506 I envy you the pleasure of a first viewing, Chris. My consolation is that the series holds up very well on reviewing. Alleen: I'll sign on to Anon's points to you in #16. No experience here in law enforcement, but a fair amount in big-city government and politics, a bit in public schools -- and tall those ring so true I'd be really surprised if the rest were as wildly off-base as you assert. I enjoy The Shield, too, but c'mon -- it's thrill candy by comparison. eweininger: I'm not sure what you mean by "infatuation with the daily lives of the kids" -- school, friends and home (if any) <b>are</b> the lives of kids that age, and this is shaping up to be one of the least sentimental treatments of it I've ever seen. I envy you the pleasure of a first viewing, Chris. My consolation is that the series holds up very well on reviewing.

Alleen: I’ll sign on to Anon’s points to you in #16. No experience here in law enforcement, but a fair amount in big-city government and politics, a bit in public schools—and tall those ring so true I’d be really surprised if the rest were as wildly off-base as you assert. I enjoy The Shield, too, but c’mon—it’s thrill candy by comparison.

eweininger: I’m not sure what you mean by “infatuation with the daily lives of the kids”—school, friends and home (if any) are the lives of kids that age, and this is shaping up to be one of the least sentimental treatments of it I’ve ever seen.

]]> By: sean http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174485 sean Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:27:48 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174485 alleen, can i assume then that you've watched less than one whole episode, or was it just the first episode that you turned off prematurely? do you really think <i>The Shield</i> is even remotely plausible by your standards? alleen, can i assume then that you’ve watched less than one whole episode, or was it just the first episode that you turned off prematurely?
do you really think The Shield is even remotely plausible by your standards?

]]> By: anon http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174440 anon Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:01:31 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174440 alleen, Your comments are strange to me for a few reasons: 1) Criticizing _The Wire_ for implausibility while praising _The Shield_ is...weird. Unless you know some very creepy things about the LAPD I don't. (Beyond the publicly known creepy things, that is). 2) _Homicide_ has its origins in the same work that generated _The Wire_. Not simply the same person, but the actually the same book. The first seasons of both series share similarities (including dialogue), as has been noted elsewhere. 3) Of all the shows you mention, I believe _The Wire_ has the largest staff of ex-policemen (and ex-criminals, for that matter), city beat reporters (crime beat, political beat, etc.), and crime writers known for performing significant local research (like George Pelecanos). You expect implausibility from all fiction, but I would have thought _The Wire_ would get more right than wrong, at least tonally. None of this is meant to say your opinion is wrong, obviously, but I would be interested to hear more about what you think the difference is between _The Wire_ and the other shows you mention. Anon alleen,

Your comments are strange to me for a few reasons:

1) Criticizing The Wire for implausibility while praising The Shield is…weird. Unless you know some very creepy things about the LAPD I don’t. (Beyond the publicly known creepy things, that is).

2) Homicide has its origins in the same work that generated The Wire. Not simply the same person, but the actually the same book. The first seasons of both series share similarities (including dialogue), as has been noted elsewhere.

3) Of all the shows you mention, I believe The Wire has the largest staff of ex-policemen (and ex-criminals, for that matter), city beat reporters (crime beat, political beat, etc.), and crime writers known for performing significant local research (like George Pelecanos). You expect implausibility from all fiction, but I would have thought The Wire would get more right than wrong, at least tonally.

None of this is meant to say your opinion is wrong, obviously, but I would be interested to hear more about what you think the difference is between The Wire and the other shows you mention.

Anon

]]> By: fyreflye http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174439 fyreflye Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:01:07 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174439 Absolutely the best drama I've ever seen on television and one that every careerist cop and bureaucrat will hate passionately. No doubt. Absolutely the best drama I’ve ever seen on television and one that every careerist cop and bureaucrat will hate passionately. No doubt.

]]> By: David Sucher http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174433 David Sucher Mon, 09 Oct 2006 22:48:55 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174433 I've been enjoying the Wire quite a bit as I watch it on DVD (now in the middle of season 3.) But one thing which strikes me as implausible is the opennes with which the cops sit in cars in daylight and shoot pictures of street punks selling dope. Even with a telephoto lens, it seems like it makes the cops far too visible to be realistic. I’ve been enjoying the Wire quite a bit as I watch it on DVD (now in the middle of season 3.)

But one thing which strikes me as implausible is the opennes with which the cops sit in cars in daylight and shoot pictures of street punks selling dope. Even with a telephoto lens, it seems like it makes the cops far too visible to be realistic.

]]> By: todd. http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174428 todd. Mon, 09 Oct 2006 22:04:54 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174428 I didn't realize that the source of HLOTS was involved in The Wire. See what you've done? Now I'm going to have to Netflix a whole TV series, and I don't have time for that. I didn’t realize that the source of HLOTS was involved in The Wire. See what you’ve done? Now I’m going to have to Netflix a whole TV series, and I don’t have time for that.

]]> By: greensmile http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174412 greensmile Mon, 09 Oct 2006 20:14:03 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174412 <i>Basically, it is a tale of two competing bureaucracies: the Baltimore PD and the Barksdale drug gang. On the whole, you’d say that the drug dealers have the more functional of the two organizations but the focus on the internal politics of each and on their political pathologies will elicit instant recognition from anyone who works in, say, a university.</i> Ouch! There is a book in there some place. Ivory tower a bit drafty and rat-infested you say? Basically, it is a tale of two competing bureaucracies: the Baltimore PD and the Barksdale drug gang. On the whole, you’d say that the drug dealers have the more functional of the two organizations but the focus on the internal politics of each and on their political pathologies will elicit instant recognition from anyone who works in, say, a university.

Ouch! There is a book in there some place. Ivory tower a bit drafty and rat-infested you say?

]]> By: Alleen http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174408 Alleen Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:51:46 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174408 Sorry to say this, but the Wire is AWFUL. I was a big fan of The Shield and Homicide. So I took a look at the Wire. I occasionally work with city law enforcement and recommended both shows to guys I worked with. I happened to watch the first episode of the Wire with a cop. We turned it off before it ended. Utter crap. Completely implausible, unprofessional, no-way-in-hell-would-would-even-the-worst-people-we-know behave like this. Only someone with no actual familiarity with judges/DAs/cops/detectives would find this enthralling. I suppose real "spies" feel that way about James Bond. But besides the ridiculousness of the plot, the writing was an embarassment. We joked that the writers must develop the script in three passes. 1. Write the plot and simple dialog. 2. Convert simple dialog to obfuscated slang and hip smartassery. 3. Insert "fuck", "fucking", etc... every 25 words. Voila! Edgy! Uh...no, crap actually. Sorry to say this, but the Wire is AWFUL.

I was a big fan of The Shield and Homicide. So I took a look at the Wire. I occasionally work with city law enforcement and recommended both shows to guys I worked with. I happened to watch the first episode of the Wire with a cop. We turned it off before it ended. Utter crap.

Completely implausible, unprofessional, no-way-in-hell-would-would-even-the-worst-people-we-know behave like this. Only someone with no actual familiarity with judges/DAs/cops/detectives would find this enthralling. I suppose real “spies” feel that way about James Bond. But besides the ridiculousness of the plot, the writing was an embarassment.

We joked that the writers must develop the script in three passes.

1. Write the plot and simple dialog.
2. Convert simple dialog to obfuscated slang and hip smartassery.
3. Insert “fuck”, “fucking”, etc… every 25 words.

Voila! Edgy!

Uh…no, crap actually.

]]> By: duncan http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174400 duncan Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:07:08 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174400 You don't read "Open University" (the blog), then? http://www.tnr.com/blog/openuniversity?pid=37468 You don’t read “Open University” (the blog), then? http://www.tnr.com/blog/openuniversity?pid=37468

]]> By: gerry http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174399 gerry Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:01:38 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174399 One of the most interesting things to British viewers of The Wire is that both Dominic West (McNulty) and Idris Elba (Stringer Bell) are British. The Wire is indeed superb... almost as good as Veronica Mars. One of the most interesting things to British viewers of The Wire is that both Dominic West (McNulty) and Idris Elba (Stringer Bell) are British. The Wire is indeed superb… almost as good as Veronica Mars.

]]> By: Chris Bertram http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174397 Chris Bertram Mon, 09 Oct 2006 18:50:04 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174397 There's a nice bit of dialogue between Omar and McNulty in season 1. Omar is getting the bus to New York and McNulty asks "why New York?" Omar replies: There must be something happening there It's just too big a town Which is a line from Steve Earle's NYC. Earle, of course played recovering-addict Waylon in the same episode. There’s a nice bit of dialogue between Omar and McNulty in season 1. Omar is getting the bus to New York and McNulty asks “why New York?” Omar replies:

There must be something happening there
It’s just too big a town

Which is a line from Steve Earle’s NYC. Earle, of course played recovering-addict Waylon in the same episode.

]]> By: norbizness http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/comment-page-1/#comment-174395 norbizness Mon, 09 Oct 2006 18:39:31 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/10/09/the-wire/#comment-174395 I did just notice that a piece of dialogue between McNulty and Bunk (from Season 1?) comes straight from an exchange he witnessed for his original Homicide book in the late 80s. Something about partners being gentle when they fucked each other. I did just notice that a piece of dialogue between McNulty and Bunk (from Season 1?) comes straight from an exchange he witnessed for his original Homicide book in the late 80s. Something about partners being gentle when they fucked each other.

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