No special reason for this thread, I was simply wondering if there are any other fans of these two shows on The Watch. I'm on to season 3 of The Wire and it's awesome. Similar in style and content to Homicide just a tad more glossy.
I've loved Homicide for years, I just wish they hadn't botched the series so badly when it was originally on tv. You can get the whole of one of the best episodes, 'The Subway', on youtube. A fella gets pushed in the way of an on-rushing tube train and is subsequently caught between the platform and the train. The Homicide detectives get called in because he's essentially a living, breathing corpse, cos as soon as they move the tube he'll die. The two main actors won awards for the parts in this episode. Go watch it!
As dozens of commuters look on in horror, John Lange (Vincent D'Onofrio) falls between the cars of a subway train. No one, however, is quite certain whether Lange fell accidentally, jumped, or was deliberately pushed. But the homicide detectives on the scene are certain about one disturbing fact: If any attempt is made to move Lange, he will probably die on the spot. As the grimly philosophical Lange awaits the inevitable, the detectives search for two people -- one of whom may be a killer.
I loved Homicide, I refuse to pay for HBO, so I haven't seen much of The Wire, but what I've seen is very good. I highly recommend David Simon's books. Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is one of the funniest, most horrifying books I've ever read.
On a side note, I've actually met several of the guys from the book Homicide. They're pretty much all local legends.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
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"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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Homicide is my all-time favorite tv show. Donofrio is one of julie's favorite actors. the Subway episode is simply on of the best episodes of a tv show.
Never seen the wire, but I loved homicide (despite occasional stupid bits, and the fact that my wife HATED the film techniques).
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler] the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass. "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
I just started season 2 of The Wire. Like season 1, it's starting slowly. I'm not really sure it's working all that well. It seems to lack the charm of season 1, and the characters are mainly just flitting around aimlessly. I'm increasingly of the opinion that, like the Barksdale case itself, The Wire was a one-off unrepeatable phenomenon. Still, I wasn't sure about season 1 at first either, so I'll give it time.
CovenantJr wrote:I just started season 2 of The Wire. Like season 1, it's starting slowly. I'm not really sure it's working all that well. It seems to lack the charm of season 1, and the characters are mainly just flitting around aimlessly. I'm increasingly of the opinion that, like the Barksdale case itself, The Wire was a one-off unrepeatable phenomenon. Still, I wasn't sure about season 1 at first either, so I'll give it time.
Please do. I've watched all 5 seasons since we last posted in this thread. The 2nd season is definitely slower but be patient, the 3rd season will make up for it. Hang in there!
The last three or four episodes of season 2 were pretty good. Overall this season was a disappointment, thought it had some strong elements and a couple of stand-out moments: Spoiler
Top moment (humour): Omar's court appearance. Hilarious scene.
Top moment (drama): Ziggy finally snapping. The most convincing scene in the whole season, and I really symapthised with him, dick though he generally was.
Honourable mentions: tying in the Greek (or not Greek, according to the last episode) drug supply to the Barksdale empire; the growing covert power struggle between Stringer and Avon; punching Valchek in the face.)
Dishonourable mentions: an excess of convenient coincidences (e.g. guns landing on boat, weight slipping off Frank's corpse); gratuitous use of fairly redundant characters (Herc and Carver, particularly Carver - very thin justification for his presence); apparently setting up a permanent unit for Daniels etc to conveniently use in future seasons).
Season 3 down. Spectacular. Unlike the mediocre season 2, this one really lived up to the standard set by the first season. When it's on form, The Wire is superb.
CovenantJr wrote:Season 3 down. Spectacular. Unlike the mediocre season 2, this one really lived up to the standard set by the first season. When it's on form, The Wire is superb.
Toldja. I'm afraid you've seen the best, the next 2 seasons aren't so great.
That doesn't surprise me. The end of this season seems like it was a real ending, in several ways. Anything beyond it seems as though it would be a little unnecessary.
Just watched season 1 of the Wire this weekend and started season 2, and it really is the real deal. It has a Soprano's feel to it (I've not looked up the credits to see if there are similarities in writing, crew etc.); the multi-dimentional characters are realer than many of the stereotypes we normally get served up.
Spoilers are right on Cov Jr. especially Omar, tho' I can live the the dishonorables as I want to see more, so an permanent unit works for me and I'd reserve judgement of incidental chatracters as there does appear to be a good chance they'll be of greater significance in the future.
"Winston, if you were my husband I'd give you poison" ................ "Madam, if you were my wife I would drink it!"
"Terrorism is war by the poor, and war is terrorism by the rich"
"A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well."
"The opposite of pro-life isn't pro-death. Y'know?"
"What if the Hokey Cokey really is what its all about?"
On to season 4 at last. So far, so ok. It's already better than season 2. I suspect it'll be weaker overall than seasons 1 and 3, but time will tell. I find the new roster of faces (on the criminal side) a little jarring. Maybe that's intentional.
