goddam it, I got bored of waiting and DVDd ahead to series 5...
Finished season 5 on the weekend and on reflection I think season 3 is possibly my fave for lots of reasons. Really like some of the new characters like Cutty and Bunny who come in, and Brother Mouzone's in it too.
And i'm with Crispy on that - you only have 67 other Wire threads to discuss future series.
You don't want us to put Brother Mouzone on yo' assess
Hey yo', if you with crispy an'a other babylon and ting, you're more likely to turn snitch and get Bubs on me...
Yo, nigga's gotta get paid nigga, dealin wit them low-rise yo's, an buying that red top shit, nigga. Shit is just the same ole sub-standard snooker shit they be slinging last week wit a new motherfuckin' ICC Cricket name.
Motherfuckers be waitin 3 weeks for the re-up yo, niggas be gettin real antsy yo
I look at the BARB data most weeks and it's not registering at all - means audiences are below 600,000 but there's no way to know how far below without paying.Anyone know what sort of viewing figures it's been getting on the beeb?
I guess I'll weigh in as someone a bit more critical of Frank Sobotka. I agree that he is a tragic figure, but his tragic flaw, in the Shakespearean sense, is his obsession with saving the traditional work at the docks. He has no Plan B, and therefore he invests everything, including his integrity, to the docks. Let's say that I see him as corrupted rather than corrupt. He wants to be Prospero but he is in the end Canute. This does not, however, absolve him of responsibility. He is smart and strong enough to be held responsible for his choices.
Also, Frank does enjoy the power he has, which is an almost paternal authority and loyalty over the checkers. As a consequence, he becomes a bad father to his real son. He seems oblivious to Ziggy's behaviour until it erupts into violence. He has corrupted his nephew, who is a surrogate-son figure. Interestingly, once (and only once, if I remember correctly), Ziggy refers to a brother, presumably older, who has gone to community college. This brother is never mentioned again, and is therefore arguably estranged from his family to some extent. Frank's obsession with saving jobs on the docks would leave little room for a son who had moved on from that. My instinct that this is the case is reinforced by Frank's hostility to the lobbyist who relates how his family has moved up in the world over three generations through education. The hostility can partly be explained by his sense that the lobbyist is bragging and claiming to be better than Frank, but I think there is also an attitude in Frank that rejecting the docks is somehow a moral failing. As a result, I can see Frank becoming distant from a son who has decided to do something else, even if he rationally thinks that it was a good choice for the son.
In fact, as I was going over this argument in my head before writing it down, it occurred to me that there is something of a theme of bad fathers in this series. In addition to Frank, there is the Prez-Valchek conflict. If you want to put a charitable interpretation on Valchek's acts, and I offer this solely in the spirit of a devil's advocate, he is actually being a good father to his daughter. Having failed to convince the daughter not to marry Prez, he is determined to ensure that Prez is successful within the BPD and is not punished for his misconduct. However, I think the better interpretation is that Valchek is a controlling so-and-so who probably terrorises his daughter as much as his son in law. And of course, we have McNulty, who wants to be a good father and reconcile with his ex-wife, but handles it incredibly badly. Nick also wants to be a good father, to provide for his child, but this desire is subverted into further criminality. Nick's father is probably the closest to an unequivocally good father in this series.
I'm interested to hear what others think of this. I have only watched this series once, so I may have missed some details or nuances which would change my interpretation.
Shit is just the same ole sub-standard snooker shit they be slinging last week wit a new motherfuckin' ICC Cricket name.
Motherfuckers be waitin 3 weeks for the re-up yo, niggas be gettin real antsy yo
Well, if you like your drama to be very dramatic, it doesn't get much beter than S3 - which begins tonight . . .
Noticed a lot more soundtrack / montages this season (don't recall any extraneous music at all in the 1st season, but maybe someone can correct me?),
which veered close to indulgent, but worked well when played over the scenes of the docks slowly dying at the end.
Looking forward to S3 now, what's the general focus on? I'm guessing it's going to swing back to the projects somewhat, but is the theme the same as Season 1?
What about the 'Walk the Line' montage?There is no music aside from incidental in any series of the wire. i.e. if you hear music it eminates from a source in the scene (ie boombox, car stereo). The technical term is dietgetic music. The exception is a single music montage that closes each season.
Who's Steve Earle?Having seen every goshdarn episode of every season, I plump for season 4 as the winner.
And best character? Omar.
Best catchphrase? "Sheeeeeee-iiiiit".
Most distracting hair? Steve Earle.
Best spin off potential? Lester, of course.
If you still need a fix after the series; I recommend George Pelecanos novels. Esp his later stuff - "Drama City" - there's a scene right out of season 5 with Bubbles. Probably wrote that episode, I guess.
Radio 4 gave away what happens to Cutty earlier. I wasn't happy.