The Wire comes to BBC2 (Spoiler free, please)

[El Sueno]

Another McNulty-free episode last night.

I wonder if the actors all know each other, cos someone like Bubbs, who is a mainstay, would never have had any scenes with Omar, or Rawls, or loads of characters, most of them.

Must meet at the parties and that.

Bubbs n' Omar met when they were trying to track down Omar for his court hearing. "Nearly shit my pants", did Bubbs!

As for the 'McNulty-free episode'; likewise we aint seen nothin of Avon or his crew since they got sent down second time around, although we see Wee-Bay when he gets his prison visits.

 

[D'wards]

No, sometimes they do cross paths in scenes but dont acknowlege each other on screen if that makes sense?

But yeah, 'course all the actors know each other!

I suppose, but Bubbs only interacts with a few other characters, and never anyone higher than the basement crew in the police, feasible all their scenes would have been shot on different days, locations. He may never have been on the same set as Royce or carcetti or that crew

 

[Madusa]

I suppose, but Bubbs only interacts with a few other characters, and never anyone higher than the basement crew in the police, feasible all their scenes would have been shot on different days, locations. He may never have been on the same set as Royce or carcetti or that crew

Come on, of course they all know each other! They may work on different days but of course they do!

 

[Crispy]

Something I'd like to know: How much of the show is shot on sets, and how much on location?

 

[Orang Utan]

it's all on location - none of it is shot in a studio AFAIK

 

[Belushi]

it's all on location - none of it is shot in a studio AFAIK

Yeah, the writers were proud of the fact they'd used so many Baltimore cast and crew when we saw them.

 

[Madusa]

Something I'd like to know: How much of the show is shot on sets, and how much on location?

I cant really tell the difference what would be what... obv. the roof top surveilance and *maybe* the street scenes would be on location, maybe the court scenes, prison scenes and the offices would be sets but i have no idea.

edit, All on location, huh? So when they go inside vacants and whatnot that's real? or how about when the towers came down...?

 

[DotCommunist]

Yeah, the writers were proud of the fact they'd used so many Baltimore cast and crew when we saw them.

ooh, you lucky bastards. Was Omar in attendance?

 

[Crispy]

so even the offices are real offices? The basement in S1? The harbourside offices from S2 onwards? The Comstat room etc? impressive

 

[Orang Utan]

they were real locations from what i can gather - maybe not being used for their real purposes of course.

 

[Madusa]

Is it true that Omar used to go out with Halle Berry?

 

[Orang Utan]

ooh, you lucky bastards. Was Omar in attendance?

nah, just simon and pelecanos

 

[Belushi]

ooh, you lucky bastards. Was Omar in attendance?

Nah, David Simon and George Pelecanos - you'd have loved it mate as it was focused on the writing.

 

[Orang Utan]

Is it true that Omar used to go out with Halle Berry?

he's gay! and fictional!

 

[Belushi]

Is it true that Omar used to go out with Halle Berry?

Dont know about that but he did used to be a backing dancer for Technotronic!

 

[Madusa]

he's gay! and fictional!

 

[Orang Utan]

I cant really tell the difference what would be what... obv. the roof top surveilance and *maybe* the street scenes would be on location, maybe the court scenes, prison scenes and the offices would be sets but i have no idea.

edit, All on location, huh? So when they go inside vacants and whatnot that's real? or how about when the towers came down...?

they were real places - they talk about it in the commentaries

 

[Madusa]

wow, I love The Wire.

 

[killer b]

for some reason the wire seems to be lagging behind top gear (wtf?) on this guardian poll.

 

[Orang Utan]

for some reason the wire seems to be lagging behind top gear (wtf?) on this guardian poll.

i'm surprised they're so close - way more people watch top gear than the wire - there's some serious fanboy mobilisation going on there.
i voted for deadwood.

 

[DotCommunist]

for some reason the wire seems to be lagging behind top gear (wtf?) on this guardian poll.

the scheduling REALLY hasn't helped Wire uptake in this country. Beeb lack balls.

If they had even put it on at 9.30 that would have meant those who like an 11 o'clock bedtime for whatever reason could have been drawn into it. As is it's on far too late for those who need sleep and have to be up in the morning.

 

[Belushi]

TBH I dont think it would ever be a huge ratings winner whatever time it was scheduled.

 

[Madusa]

TBH I dont think it would ever be a huge ratings winner whatever time it was scheduled.

no, i dont either. most people in the uk'll prolly have to hit their 888 buttons just to understand it and who's got time for that?

 

[tar1984]

no, i dont either. most people in the uk'll prolly have to hit their 888 buttons just to understand it and who's got time for that?

I struggle to understand them sometimes.

 

[DotCommunist]

no, i dont either. most people in the uk'll prolly have to hit their 888 buttons just to understand it and who's got time for that?

never understood that tbh. It's not that hard to work out accents and slang. I had it almost immediately.

Seems bizarre that accents and slang could be so complex as to make english incomprehensible.

 

[Belushi]

Snoop is the only one I've ever had problems understanding.

 

[Madusa]

never understood that tbh. It's not that hard to work out accents and slang. I had it almost immediately.

Seems bizarre that accents and slang could be so complex as to make english incomprehensible.

yeah but that's YOU. People like you are a small minority of the British tv watching public I would have thought. Plus, yeah if you listen to hip-hop, it does give you more of a background for the kind of street slang they use.

 

[Gingerman]

the scheduling REALLY hasn't helped Wire uptake in this country. Beeb lack balls.

If they had even put it on at 9.30 that would have meant those who like an 11 o'clock bedtime for whatever reason could have been drawn into it. As is it's on far too late for those who need sleep and have to be up in the morning.

Video,hard driver recorders anyone?

 

[8den]

for some reason the wire seems to be lagging behind top gear (wtf?) on this guardian poll.

I am pleased to say Big Brother is scoring a respectable 0%

 

[London_Calling]

Something I'd like to know: How much of the show is shot on sets, and how much on location?

I've read something about this. For places like the Homicide Dept and COMSTAT they kept an eye out for vacant office space 'downtown' and, I prseume, did very cheap deals. If you look at where the Homicide detectives work it's just a big space with screens to break it up. You really don't see anything except a couple of aisles.

for some reason the wire seems to be lagging behind top gear (wtf?) on this guardian poll.

Internet polls - one link on a fan site is all it takes.

the scheduling REALLY hasn't helped Wire uptake in this country. Beeb lack balls.

Not the case.

It knows what the licence fee payers want and it gives them that i.e. original, UK based programming at peak hours. As said several times in this thread, imports aren't the BBC's thing notwithstanding occasional exceptions like ManMen and Heros - which is why C4 have had a free rein for a decade or more on the USA imports from Friends to ER to whatever it is now. They just don't attract big audiences and BBC peak hour demographics require other content.