The Wire: Greatest Show Ever Made

Feanor_sl said:

link didn't work

Click to expand...

That was probably one of the most touching scenes in the entire series for me. Poor bodie. Wakandan just tryin to get paid.

Just started my re-watch the other day.

I only made it halfway through the second season of Breaking Bad before giving up on it. It being shouted from the rooftops that it was the greatest show ever probably didn't help because it gave it almost impossible to meet standards. Judging from the comments itt then maybe it does get better later on and I should try and plough through the earlier material but by that point The Wire, Deadwood, Rome etc were light years ahead of what BB had done. Mad Men fell into this category as well, I managed 4 or 5 episodes and lost interest. I finally got a Netflix sub last week once I found out how to avoid the IP blocking and I'll give them both another try.

Then again to be fair, most shows are a slow burn, Justified and Fringe are good examples of shows it was easy to give up on before they showed their true potential. Shows that start off awesome and stay that way are a rare thing indeed.

Shine on Cheese, you crazy diamond...

One of the saddest parts of the show for me: "I don't"



My favorite "meaningful" clip of the show:



Last but not least, this guy played the best corrupt politician ever. Corrupt, egotistical, high and mighty, sociopathic, fucking classic:

Fazana_sl said:

I only made it halfway through the second season of Breaking Bad before giving up on it. It being shouted from the rooftops that it was the greatest show ever probably didn't help because it gave it almost impossible to meet standards. Judging from the comments itt then maybe it does get better later on and I should try and plough through the earlier material but by that point The Wire, Deadwood, Rome etc were light years ahead of what BB had done. Mad Men fell into this category as well, I managed 4 or 5 episodes and lost interest. I finally got a Netflix sub last week once I found out how to avoid the IP blocking and I'll give them both another try.

Click to expand...

On an individual episode level, Deadwood and Rome really trounce most other shows. Each episode is great and the whole story is pretty solid. Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire are on the other end of the spectrum, individual episodes can feel weak, but as the story plays out, those episodes actually gather more meaning. Like as Breaking Bad goes on, Season 1, which I didn't like at first either, becomes really good--because you constantly think back on it as the "Real" Walter White is revealed to you. It's the same thing with Mad Men. Sopranos and The Wire were the only two shows that really hit a sweet spot between this slow burn and rich episodes. All the shows listed are fucking outstanding, but if you aren't patient the slow burn ones can lose you.

As for Breaking Bad. Once you hit the middle of Season 3, if you don't REALLY like it by then, you won't like it. The middle of Season 2 is where it really catches fire--but Season 3 is where all that character development starts to pay off and you look back at Season 1/2 and see how great and subtle the writing was (And it's the exact same with Mad men, toward the end of Season 2 you look back at Season 1 and see how subtle the writing was.)

As for the Wire...



I think this is one of the greatest scenes in TV history. Aside from a few in BB, and a couple in Mad Men/Sopranos, nothing comes close to the amount of symbolism, foreshadowing and writing that went into this scene's creation and this characters demise.

Everyone remembers the Chess scene in Season 1. Well, check out how this was shot. Chris and Snoop are attacking from angles. (Bishops)...Bodie is attacking back on an angle and he can't retreat (Pawn). The man who kills Bodie steps out one step and then moves a few steps in another direction, he also passes another of Bodie's men moving on the same plane (Knight).

The fact that this scene was shot right after the lunch scene epitomizes how Bodie played by the rules, he worked hard--and he WANTED to become the "top dog", the Queen, as a pawn can be promoted to if he survives to reach the other side. He devoted his life to not breaking the rules, being smart, surviving and most of all following orders (Highly restricted in his movements, like a pawn)--IE being a "smart ass pawn", which is what he said when the chess scene was being explained to him.

But..like D'angelo said to him. "Naa man, you don't understand. Pawns get capped quick, they beoutof thegame."

Much like the pawn reaching the other end of the board, Bodie never had a fucking chance. And it was explained to him in one of the first episodes and ALL five seasons went into emphasizing this eventuality. Fucking amazing.

Fedor_sl said:

I'm guilty of this.

Click to expand...

Oh god. I'm "that guy"...

Yeah I may be guilty of that

Yeah it's a shame that he died in real life. He was one of my favorites characters in the series.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywo...hew-Dead-at-52

When does this show get good? I am half way through season one and so far it's just a bunch of fuck up cops that I wouldn't trust for anything......some of the shit these cops just do is retarded. Do cops really drink in public parks and just throw the cans on the street? Do they really all just back stab each other, go to work drunk and do nothing all day?

So far this series is a joke and not even close to breaking bad caliber.

Crazily_sl said:

When does this show get good? I am half way through season one and so far it's just a bunch of fuck up cops that I wouldn't trust for anything......some of the shit these cops just do is retarded. Do cops really drink in public parks and just throw the cans on the street? Do they really all just back stab each other, go to work drunk and do nothing all day?

So far this series is a joke and not even close to breaking bad caliber.

Click to expand...

Yeah season 1 takes a while to build. and yes Cops in RL are a bunch self serving shit shippers. The Cop stories are all about futility and how the system works against itself, the 'Robbers' in The Wire are much more interesting imo, those stories are about the 'cost of success' and 'means to an end'. The show gets accolades because it is pretty true to life. The folks who wrote the show were former cops and reporters who knew the ins and outs of Baltimore for decades, a lot of the characters are based on real people, in fact a few of the actors are notoriousRL Baltimore figures playing to or across type.

The biggest problem with The Wire is that it makes it impossible to watch 90% of the other cop shows without making an almost inhuman effort of disbelief suspension.

Double post...

As for the Wire...



I think this is one of the greatest scenes in TV history. Aside from a few in BB, and a couple in Mad Men/Sopranos, nothing comes close to the amount of symbolism, foreshadowing and writing that went into this scene's creation and this characters demise.

Everyone remembers the Chess scene in Season 1. Well, check out how this was shot. Chris and Snoop are attacking from angles. (Bishops)...Bodie is attacking back on an angle and he can't retreat (Pawn). The man who kills Bodie steps out one step and then moves a few steps in another direction, he also passes another of Bodie's men moving on the same plane (Knight).

The fact that this scene was shot right after the lunch scene epitomizes how Bodie played by the rules, he worked hard--and he WANTED to become the "top dog", the Queen, as a pawn can be promoted to if he survives to reach the other side. He devoted his life to not breaking the rules, being smart, surviving and most of all following orders (Highly restricted in his movements, like a pawn)--IE being a "smart ass pawn", which is what he said when the chess scene was being explained to him.

But..like D'angelo said to him. "Naa man, you don't understand. Pawns get capped quick, they beoutof thegame."

Much like the pawn reaching the other end of the board, Bodie never had a fucking chance. And it was explained to him in one of the first episodes and ALL five seasons went into emphasizing this eventuality. Fucking amazing.[/QUOTE]

Wow, I never noticed that before.

Lithose;75988[video=youtube;tFkWPNJAy14_sl said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFkWPNJAy14[/video]


Everyone remembers the Chess scene in Season 1. Well, check out how this was shot. Chris and Snoop are attacking from angles. (Bishops)...Bodie is attacking back on an angle and he can't retreat (Pawn). The man who kills Bodie steps out one step and then moves a few steps in another direction, he also passes another of Bodie's men moving on the same plane (Knight).

The fact that this scene was shot right after the lunch scene epitomizes how Bodie played by the rules, he worked hard--and he WANTED to become the "top dog", the Queen, as a pawn can be promoted to if he survives to reach the other side. He devoted his life to not breaking the rules, being smart, surviving and most of all following orders (Highly restricted in his movements, like a pawn)--IE being a "smart ass pawn", which is what he said when the chess scene was being explained to him.

But..like D'angelo said to him. "Naa man, you don't understand. Pawns get capped quick, they beoutof thegame."

Much like the pawn reaching the other end of the board, Bodie never had a fucking chance. And it was explained to him in one of the first episodes and ALL five seasons went into emphasizing this eventuality. Fucking amazing.

Click to expand...

Dude you just blew my motherfucking mind. I've watched the Wire all the way through at least three times and I never put that together. Would give you more rep if I could.

Now I can't wait to marathon it all over again with all that in mind.

Fuck. Just not enough hours in the day.

Yeah, I never picked up on that symbolism in the Bodie scene. Crazy shit. I was legitimately sad when Bodie died, I wanted to see his character "make it", whatever that means for him.

I remember watching the first season and I was kind of uninvested until...


That death kind of got to me. After that I was all in. As to which is the better show between this and Breaking Bad, really it isn't a useful comparison. They are entirely different shows and awesome for entirely different reasons. Like, you couldn't compare this show to Mad Men. Both are great shows, all time classics, but they don't share much to make a comparison. I love all threee shows but if I had to pick I would watch Breaking Bad, probably because I've already watched The Wire 4 times.

Omar is one of the best antiheroes ever.


Also Clay Davis in the movie cedar rapids: