The Wire: A question and a comment.... No spoilers, I promise.

I know the ratings for the season opener. Has anyone read what the ratings have been since the opener?

Also, are you guys aware that in season 4 they're basically telling the backstory of Avon, Stringer and Wee-Bey...

Avon = Michael, a young boxer who instinctively knows and follows the rules of the streets.

Stringer = Randy, an intelligent business-minded kid who instinctively disobeys the rules of the streets to save his own @$$.

Wee-Bey = Namond, a cold-blooded killer.

We always wanted to know how the Barksdale crew came to power and why they operated the way they did. Rather than flashback scenes, David Simon is taking us on a much more rewarding journey. The dude is off the chains.

 

what about Duquan?

 

my guess is Dookie is going to get killed this season.

bunny colvin's education program is going to momentarily "save" randy and then the politicians will wipe out the program and randy will choose another path.

 

I think it really sets up the rest of the .... ah, fuck it.

 

Jason, I consider myself a pseudo-expert on The Wire, and I totally and completely missed this. Damn. Thank you. You're absolutely right. I kept looking at Marlo and Chris and wondering if we were seeing Avon and Stringer's rise to power (which never felt right), but it's obvious that we're not, and now I can see why. I don't know about Namond being Wee-Bay yet, but why not? Anyway, fabulous analysis. I'm ashamed I couldn't pick this up on my own.

As for Dookie, if he is anyone, I suppose he could be D'Angelo. They have the same quiet, deep-thinking way about them.

One of the things about Randy that I noticed ... Anyone catch that his last name is Wagstaff? Well, Cheese (played by Method Man) his last name is Wagstaff. Doesn't seem like coincidence.

As for the ratings, I know they slipped a little bit from the first show, from like 1.4 million to 1.2 million, but I haven't heard beyond that. The HBO people were also saying that they feel like a lot of people are TiVo-ing the show, which doesn't show up in the ratings, or watching it on its second or third broadcast during the week, which also isn't factored in.

 

Good call, Jason. Never even entered my mind.

 

Damn, never thought of that either. Is that fact or just a theory? That's pretty damn good if you came to that conclusion on your own, and if it is confirmed that just speaks to the level that this show is operating on.

 

I don't know if every kid is necessarily supposed to be someone else, but I wouldn't think Dookie would be D'Angelo. Avon was his uncle and while he didn't seem to be a whole lot older than him, they certainly wouldn't have been the same age. I haven't given this much thought but if he's anyone it would seem like Bubs might be a candidate, but that's just a shot in the dark.

 

Just my theory from watching the show. I study this show very seriously. David Simon is one of my idols.

 

Boobie, that's damn good. Dookie = Bubbles... I like that a lot....

 

Double down, you are aware that Namond is Wee-bey's boy and that Namond goes up to the joint to get "schooled" by Wee-bey? Apples don't fall far from trees. Namond and Wee-bey will be reunited in a Baltimore correctional facility soon.

 

Interesting stuff. I don't think it's perfect, because I think Avon was probably more enthusiastic about "the game" as a youngster than Michael is, and that Namond probably comes from a more privileged background than Wee-Bey, but I can see the comparisons. And the Randy-Stringer match is dead-on.

And DD, I wondered the same thing about the Wagstaff name. In Episode 4, the teacher mentioned Randy's "foster mother." Could he have been taken out of Cheese's home?