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The Wire, 20 years later

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by poindexter, Sep 5, 2022.

  1. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    Even then, they were outdated but they were close enough in the rear view to be plausible.
     
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Yeah, you should bother with it. I thought it was easily the worst of the seasons, but it was like a visit with old friends. The new characters weren't as good and the storyline is about the newspaper and its role in the dysfunction of the city. ... I found it very clumsy and predictable, which was surprising to me, because I would have thought David Simon would have had really good insights. That said, Season 5 isn't bad. It's just a notch down IMO.
     
    Big Circus and FileNotFound like this.
  3. clintrichardson

    clintrichardson Active Member

    Would agree on watching Season 5. Even with its meaningful flaws, some of the performances of the actors in the newsroom—particularly Clark Johnson and Scott Templeton—make it worthwhile. Some things set up in Season 4 pay out well and tie the series together.

    And really, the worst season of the Wire is still way better than most anything else you might watch in its place.
     
    FileNotFound likes this.
  4. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    There’s still a lot to like about Season 5. Templeton’s arc, with the city editor and the suits at odds over his work, is very good.

    But Bubs and Dukie steal the season, IMO. The last scene with Dukie and Prez is one of the best of the entire series.
     
    part-timer and FileNotFound like this.
  5. Flip Wilson

    Flip Wilson Well-Known Member

    David Simon's wife, the mystery novelist and former Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Lippman, has a cameo in Season 5 as well.
     
  6. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    The newspaper arc (Simon score settling) and McNulty’s OT scheme (too stupid for the show) were both misses for me but overall still an excellent season compared to most TV.

    The real life younger son from the book The Corner was Brother Mouzone’s assistant
     
  7. sgreenwell

    sgreenwell Well-Known Member

    re: Season 5, I'll disagree about the newspaper arc - I think it's excellent, although painful to watch if you are or were involved in newspapers.

    However, yeah, the McNulty stuff is kind of off the deep end, for a show that's usually very grounded.
     
  8. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    The show always had shades of grey and the newspaper arc was far too black and white for me.
     
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  9. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    You know what bothers me the most?

    The couch. The motherfucking couch.

    You know, it rains in Baltimore. Enough for that to be one soggy nasty ass couch.
     
    poindexter likes this.
  10. JC

    JC Well-Known Member

    I thought it would have been all the black people.
     
    Slacker likes this.
  11. Tighthead

    Tighthead Well-Known Member

    The newspaper arc reminded me of the restaurant ownership arc in Treme, for the other 9 people who watched that. In both cases Simon was just pounding the drum way too loud.

    In Treme, he was guided by Bourdain for the restaurant stuff, and it was like he was trying too hard to please the cool guy.
     
  12. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    I really liked Treme, flaws and all. For me, all of the NYC restaurant stuff was a square peg in a round hole, like Simon wanted to hang out at the cool kids table and Bourdain could take his shots at chefs he didn’t like
     
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