tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post227299735088126570..comments2024-03-19T05:50:19.572-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: The Wire, "-30-": Farewell to BaltimoreAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-89422266483737669312024-03-05T10:57:12.482-05:002024-03-05T10:57:12.482-05:00I just finished a 6 week rewatch of the series. I ...I just finished a 6 week rewatch of the series. I looked forward to Alan's episode recaps as much as I did each episode. An amazing television series all the years later. <br /><br />I chuckled at the comment about Hill Street Blues in the 80's, Homicide in the 90's, The Wire/Sopranos/Deadwood after that. Little did we all know at the time of writing coming soon were Mad Men, The Americans, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul. <br /><br />Here's to another 30 years of great television. <br /><br />Thank you, Alan. <br /><br />DDDDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-85704684371501756592021-12-28T00:11:00.096-05:002021-12-28T00:11:00.096-05:00Wow, The Wire...I have nothing to add that hasn...Wow, The Wire...I have nothing to add that hasn't been said before by people more eloquent that me. Thank you, Alan, for the reviews of each of the episodes - surely your magnus opus?!?! <br />GillEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-12820898665839923882013-01-02T02:41:27.822-05:002013-01-02T02:41:27.822-05:00watched s1-s3 about 5 years ago when s5 was starti...watched s1-s3 about 5 years ago when s5 was starting off i believe and it was known then s5 would be the last one.<br /><br />loved s1-s3.<br />dived into each episode head first.<br /><br />then waited 3 years to watch s4 though i had the whole series.<br /><br />why? I didnt want the wire to be over.<br /><br /><br />3 years i waited and was rewarded with the excellent s4. the penultimate episode was devastating. i couldnt believe it. i knew i had to delay s5 as long as i possibly could.<br /><br />only was able to hold out 1 year, (hopefully Reginald can hold out much longer), finally saw s5 over these holidays.<br /><br />loved it as well.<br />amazing series.<br />not enough can be said about it.<br />perhaps we can get Templeton to come up with the words.<br /><br />Thanks David Simon.<br />And Thanks Alan for the wonderful companionship via your reviews, it made it feel as i'm watching and discussing with a good close friend reading your reviews in between every few episodes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-33875133513253148592012-08-25T05:33:38.489-04:002012-08-25T05:33:38.489-04:00Subtle and realistic is overrated sometimes. The s...Subtle and realistic is overrated sometimes. The show has done subtle and realistic better than any other show ever, they deserve to put some more on the nose, deliberate storytelling and melodramatic stuff in there too. Greek tragedies and myths are an influence after all. Personally I absolutely loved the Michael as Omar scene, just as an example. Him using a shotgun was more deliberate than the show usually is, but that doesn't make it less awesome. <br /><br />I'm weak for that full/endless circle storytelling and that's what The Wire has been about since the beginning. And this last episode is all about going full circle and tying things together. Even straight out mirroring scenes and lines from the first episode, when done great as it is here, it's damn exciting and satisfying storytelling.Melackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11070715888415616081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-91735747907713278202012-05-14T01:46:13.650-04:002012-05-14T01:46:13.650-04:00I just finished the entire series (very late to th...I just finished the entire series (very late to the game) and watched the finale tonight.<br /><br />I am sad and happy for Lester at the same time. Happy for his ending, but sad that a department has to let someone that brilliant go. Same with Cedric, but glad he still has Ronnie, and look at her in those judge's robes! :) The department lost all those who could bring good and keeps those who are ineffective. The same exact thing happens often in the schools, in the world of teaching.<br /><br />How stupid is Herc to give Carver Marlo's phone number, then blow the entire deal to get on Levy's good side? Makes NO sense to me. And how stupid is Carver to trust dumb Herc? Really, Herc has to be the most ignorant character on the show, and he did not deserve anything remotely close to a happy ending.<br /><br />Thank goodness Bubbs not only survived, but thrived. I feared for his life all through the show. I wish I could have seen Kima reading the article about Bubbs. <br /><br />My anger at Mr. Simon is with the fate of the boys (and I still wish Carver had gone back for Randy!!), but more than anything I am angry that Herc and Levy didn't get theirs. THAT is what I was waiting for....but I honestly was not holding my breathe. This is The Wire, after all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-57904089795285955972012-03-08T18:20:39.177-05:002012-03-08T18:20:39.177-05:00Hey, Alan I know Im ridiculously late to the party...Hey, Alan I know Im ridiculously late to the party but Ive read all your reveiews since season 2 and your reviews are all incredibly insightful. I wouldh have never caught half of all the clever meanings behind storylines, heck I would probably not even know Sydnors name if not for the reviews. Great job, keep it up!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27395636434685193132011-12-14T18:35:41.689-05:002011-12-14T18:35:41.689-05:00I have to offer my opinion about the most heartbre...I have to offer my opinion about the most heartbreaking scene in the entire series, because it differs with any opinion I've ever seen posted on-line, on this or any other forum.<br /><br />Ahead of even the murder of Wallace (Gawd, I still hate those two "bitches," Poot and Bodie, for doing that), and the kick-in-the-gut shot of Dukie about to shoot up, I would place at the top of all the heartbreaking scenes the opening scene of Season Two, Episode 9, in which the mother comes upon her dead 9 year old sun who has caught a stray bullet from that senseless gun battle precipitated by Bodie's turf war with the other drug dealer. (Two of my top three heartbreaking scenes involve Bodie and guns - that's some bad juju, Preston).<br /><br />Here is an ordinary, decent American mother trying to raise her kids responsibly, getting them ready for school, and this falls on her. This is reality and it is almost more than I can bear.Ahmedkhannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-37031612350989756942011-10-13T22:31:38.618-04:002011-10-13T22:31:38.618-04:00Also chiming in WAY late (yeah, I was one of those...Also chiming in WAY late (yeah, I was one of those people who got "The Wire" via Netflix and it transfixed my summer and transformed my life ... <br /><br />Amazing analysis, review and thoughts here and though it's crazy and small stuff, wanted to share my two "wishes" for what might be ...<br /><br />A) Was it my imagination but or in the scene when Slim killed Cheese, had Cheese said that he had the extra money for the co-op because he'd inherited Prop Joe's house? If so, my fantasy is that when he dies, Randy is his sole heir and is able to get out of the foster home and find new life. <br /><br />B) I also, for some crazy reason, got a vibe (never confirmed) that in the final ep when Shardene is looking over Lester's shoulder as he works on his miniatures, she is pregnant and that his mini's will go to a dollhouse for their little girl. <br /><br />Yeah, I'm a sap.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-15637443349683082882011-01-24T17:20:17.088-05:002011-01-24T17:20:17.088-05:00Hey Alan,
I also just started and finished the se...Hey Alan, <br />I also just started and finished the series in the last month and want to say thank you and that your write-ups were a great companion to the series. I do have a question about this last episode, and though I know this forum comment page is ancient, I didn't really know who or how else to ask. Is that Raylene's (Michael's mom) body in the scene where Kima and Bunk are investigating a murder on the sidewalk where William Gant was killed? I thought that right away when I was watching it (before I realized the significance of the sidewalk) but I have seen no mention of it by you or anyone else online. Is my mind playing tricks on me or was that her?Chessnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-64525205095790787972011-01-22T17:52:12.386-05:002011-01-22T17:52:12.386-05:00Just finished up watching the Wire for the first t...Just finished up watching the Wire for the first time. Just wanted thank Alan (and everyone) for the great conversation. This made it much easier for me to follow everything that was going on in this series. In turn I got more out of the episodes because I knew all the characters/plots.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03378723240551437433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-65503903728236613182010-02-03T05:04:51.099-05:002010-02-03T05:04:51.099-05:00Running through a list of comments/explanations:
...Running through a list of comments/explanations:<br /><br /><i>We just have to accept that while Avon and Stringer needed each other to control the West side, Marlo can succeed—in a quotidian sense—because he had Chris and Snoop, with no other details.</i><br /><br />Chris and Snoop killed 22 people in the most coldly efficient manner anyone on this show was killed. The generated fear -- and the removal of just about every mid-level player who could have been a threat if Marlo had let insult come to injury -- isn't enough to keep the hoppers in line?<br /><br /><i>On Chris and Wee-Bey being buddies, but not Avon</i>:<br /><br />Both Chris and Wee-Bey are doing murder bids (or bits; the show uses both words) while Avon's in on, of all things, weapons. I know <i>Wire</i> B'more is screwed up enough that prisons might be too, but I can accept that murderers and weapon-carriers might be in different parts of the prison system. Also, Avon, as we saw him earlier this season, does not fit with those two; they are serious and he is, as he always was, healthily infatuated with being both the clown prince and the king.<br /><br /><i>On "The notebook was blank" and Scott's fabulism being an individual failure</i>:<br /><br />You remember the seven seconds we got in the early stages of this season, when Alma wakes up after a night with Scott and goes to get the <i>Sun</i>? They were dating, and she <i>never</i> asked him about the notes? That's a bias that contributes to the problem. So is the London bureau writer not wanting his name on the background work. So is Twigg getting bought out -- as someone else noted, the cop saying there was no grey van could have been seized on, but Landsman notes that he was fending off calls from anguished citizens, and he surely wasn't going to spend time talking to the newspaper whose building he wanted to burn down, but Twigg, just maybe, could have gotten a higher-up on the horn. (Scott burning Daniels, likewise, hurt.) Basically, the newspaper storyline made a lot of sense to me, as a lot of little things, bits of self-preservation here and economic realities there, contributed to letting a guy write fiction and win a Pulitzer. <br /><br />It wasn't all on him, and it wasn't all Gus heroically trying to save the franchise of journalism, either. <br /><br />I don't have too many quibbles with Simon/Burns setting S5 in a news world that only briefly touches on the Internet, but it seems to me like a Gus Haynes figure in 2008 and onward would be able to out a fabulist/plagiarist on a blog and take the possible loss of job without reeling, the media-obsessed media's attention helping him stay on his feet.<br /><br /><i>On Marlo going legit</i>:<br /><br />Man, did I ever have a flash to "Ozymandias" after Marlo dispatched the corner boys. "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair" indeed. Can't imagine he stays straight forever: He'll get burned how Stringer did, and try to get back with vigilante justice, and that won't end well.<br /><br /><i>On Slim</i>:<br /><br />Slim-as-samurai works so well that it's hard to poke holes in it, but it's also true that Omar put a gun to his neck because Cheese let Joe get got. Revenge? Maybe.<br /><br /><i>On Valchek</i>:<br /><br />I don't believe I have laughed harder at <i>The Wire</i> than when I saw Valchek get named Commissioner. It's a perfect, perfect cap to the BPD bungling everything. But, as Alan often notes, it's instructive to wrap your head around the idea that the germ of the reason he is now Commissioner is because his daughter married Prez. That's why Prez, then considered the hump of all humps for shooting up his own car, gets detailed to the Barksdale case in the first place, remember?<br /><br /><i>On this show</i>:<br /><br />Best I have ever seen, and probably the best I will ever see, should I let sentimentality get into it. Thank you, Alan, so much, for your painstaking care to evaluating this piece of art both as fan and critic, and shepherding an Internet full of part-timers through Balmer with only a few scars.Andy Hutchinshttp://therockabyereview.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-48091921755233505872009-09-09T14:25:56.243-04:002009-09-09T14:25:56.243-04:00Oh, geez, one last thing that I didn't see any...Oh, geez, one last thing that I didn't see anywhere in the comments--the pleasure Daniels took in awarding Carver his promotion to lieutenant was in many ways a tribute to the way he handled Carver being Rawls' mole in the unit so many years before. That lecture he gave Carver, and the seriousness with which he delivered it, clearly took with Carver, as we saw him embrace community policing, get to know the street kids, and stand tall as an example to his men. It must have been particularly sweet to be the commissioner overseeing Carver's latest success.<br /><br />I'm going to miss this show so much--but it will be nice to go back to normal life, too!Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01288100796201737845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-11570217529583423092009-09-09T13:36:32.927-04:002009-09-09T13:36:32.927-04:00And Michael--yeah, he was an independent thinker, ...And Michael--yeah, he was an independent thinker, which kept getting him in trouble with Snoop and Chris. Omar must have been a pretty independent thinker, too. And a pretty tempting model, as well. What other models does Michael have for creating a life outside the drug trade AND outside the law? What options does he have for a normal life? It makes sense that he would take Omar as an example. At least he wasn't wearing a duster.<br /><br />Daniels would never have gone to work as a prosecutor, I don't think, because it would have meant working within that same corrupt system--answerable to the corrupt mayor, beholden to a politics-playing DA, etc. It would have eaten him from the inside. It's true that being a defense attorney means he's working to put back on the street the guys he used to spend his life trying to put away--but, as long as he doesn't become a lowlife like Levy, it also allows him to uphold the purest goals of the Constitution, which is that everyone get a fair trial. He likes ideals, and if he picks his cases well he can still uphold them, and maintain a certain independence.<br /><br />I was surprised not to see Clay in the closing montage. Was our last view of him really flipping on Gary Dipasquale in a cocktail lounge? It seems a squalid end for him; I expected to see him holding up someone's arm in triumph in front of some graft-riddled city project.<br /><br />And finally: the railroad tracks. To me, they always represented another death in Baltimore--one of the first great industries to die. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_%26_Ohio" rel="nofollow">B&O railroad</a> was one of the nation's great institutions; one of the oldest railroads in the country. The B&O helped build Baltimore into a great shipping and manufacturing center. But then it went bankrupt, and then came the interstate highway system, and now most of those rail lines that brought such prosperity to Baltimore are just rusted and overgrown. And that's where Jimmy and Bunk--and Lester, and Kima--hang out. To me it was always very fitting, and I was surprised no one ever mentioned it.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01288100796201737845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-23568372668516150312009-09-09T13:36:13.625-04:002009-09-09T13:36:13.625-04:00Wow. Just....wow.
I went through all 5 seasons i...Wow. Just....wow.<br /><br />I went through all 5 seasons in about 16 days. I am FRIED.<br /><br />First of all, thank you, Alan, for making the experience of watching this amazing show so much fuller through your insightful reviews.<br /><br />Or, maybe, first of all, thanks to David Simon (and Ed Burns and Richard Price and Dennis Lehane et al.) for such a powerful and brilliant experience.<br /><br />So, some thoughts.<br /><br />On Rawls and homosexuality: I think it's kind of cool that Simon didn't go with Chekhov's maxim about the gun in the first act. I did keep expecting the "gun" to go off in the third act, and was expecting it to be part of the Steintorf/Rawls "road to Damascus" moment: I thought Steintorf was going to blackmail him with it (it seems implausible that no one else has ever discovered this fact about Rawls). So, when the last shot faded and I realized that they never bothered to address it in any substantive way, I actually thought that was kind of cool. It gave us more information about Rawls, it made him a more textured character, but it never had to become an issue.<br /><br />It was interesting that the one thing that got Marlo agitated was the notion that his name had been tarnished. His name was so important to him, his reputation was so important--but when he went back on the streets in his business suit, those kids weren't talking about him, they were talking about Omar. (Sigh. My beloved Omar.) Omar's is the name that's going to live on in the Bawlmer streets, and Marlo is already forgotten.<br /><br />The progression from Avon, who had more than his share of personality, to Marlo, who seemed as cold as a gangster could get, to Kenard was shattering. Kenard was cold from the start, from the first scene he was in. Marlo showed some gentleness in his final scene with Prop Joe; one senses that Kenard would never display any softness at all. Each generation on the street gets raised by the colleagues and the victims of the previous generation--there's no possible forward progress there. There's not even stasis. I shudder to think what the kids of West Baltimore will be like by the time Kenard and his ilk are running things.<br /><br />As some others have mentioned, the complaints about "parallelitis" aren't entirely strong: it's not that Dukie is the new Bubbles, it's that he's an example of yet another bright, promising, personable kid who--for whatever reason--gets sucked into the life of a fiend. Over the seasons you could see how smart Bubbles was and what a sweet soul he had; what must he have been like as a teenager! His tragedy is not unique, so Dukie is not stepping into his shoes. They both stand in for hundreds, if not thousands, of other great kids whose lives are cut short by this plague on the streets.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01288100796201737845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41036008412914489972009-01-03T16:40:00.000-05:002009-01-03T16:40:00.000-05:00I wanted to see an Avon scene where he's running t...I wanted to see an Avon scene where he's running things from jail. It would have been cool for him to be the one who gave the $$ to Slim ro run things until he got out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-3840623207046081412008-12-20T13:07:00.000-05:002008-12-20T13:07:00.000-05:00Alan, I have been watching the entire series on DV...Alan, I have been watching the entire series on DVD, and following along with the recaps you've done for three of the seasons. Just wanted to say thanks for doing this--especially because I'm not watching at the same time as the rest of the internet, it has been helpful and interesting to read these along the way. If you ever get around to seasons 2 and 3 I will probably have to start the series all over again (so I hope you do!).<BR/><BR/>And yeah, it was a fitting finale for a pretty great show.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06838789571620769843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-30718094374441959922008-09-10T05:49:00.000-04:002008-09-10T05:49:00.000-04:00Alan, You have often referenced the Greek's method...Alan, You have often referenced the Greek's method of the Boss and his second.<BR/><BR/>My knowledge of Trivia of Simon's Baltimore or exact scene is nowhere near that of most people on this forum, but I do remember Cheese dealing with some of the Greek's minions who were pretty high up. One example would be Omar's stick up.<BR/>Viewing Slim's background mainly as chief enforcer in the Barksdale organization, and keeping in mind Cheese's more distribution related role during the entire season, it would be conceivable that Cheese was the Second who got to deal with Vondas and the Greek.<BR/>One argument lies in both Cheese and the Greek's camps activities: the actual transaction of drugs, in contrast to Slim's originally more enforcement related role.<BR/>Another argument for this would be that Cheese simply has been with Joe longer and after the Boris/Ziggy incident might have come into contact with the Greeks outfit.<BR/>Finally, I see Slim Charles' move of declaring that he is not CEO-material as mere anticipation. Marlo's approach to the Game as a dictator brought with it an expiration date for Marlo himself.<BR/>Slim was experienced enough to see that Marlo was to quote Frank: 'a HAZA'.<BR/><BR/>"This is a fundamental difference between the “old heads” (Avon, Slim, Omar, Rick) and the new generation (Marlo, Chris, Snoop, Michael, Kenard). It’s why the game got more fierce.<BR/><BR/>If I were Slim Charles, I would always keep an eye on those children. Never sleep on the kids. One of them just might blow your head off while you buy a pack of cigarettes."<BR/><BR/>Nas brought to this to our attention in 1994:<BR/><BR/>So now I'm jetting to the building lobby<BR/>and it was filled with children probably couldn't see as high as I be<BR/>(So whatchu sayin?) It's like the game ain't the same<BR/>Got younger niggaz pullin the triggers bringing fame to they name<BR/>and claim some corners, crews without guns are goners<BR/>In broad daylight, stickup kids, they run up on us<BR/>Fo'-fives and gauges, Macs in fact<BR/>Same niggaz'll catch a back to back, snatchin yo' cracks in black<BR/><BR/>If it wasn't Marlo who ended Joe, it would've been a rising Micheal, a surviving Bodie, colder after yet another war or some other young thug, a Randy out of the Group Home at 18, a Spider or Kennard.<BR/><BR/>What did Joe in was the exact same thing that has been praised by so many fans of the show. His illusions of a peaceful business model in a violent business.<BR/><BR/>The commentary on the parallels are very rooted in what I can only call old television viewing habits. Have we learned nothing from the Wire?<BR/>It is not about Micheals dissimiliarities in character with Omar. It is about the role he gets to play in the game as a stick up man. The irony of getting so much from the game: his skills, his income, the roof over his head, safety from his former molester, and his unwillingness to accept those things, his tendency to only take and question.<BR/>Snoop correctly observes that he was never like Snoop or Chris. Micheal did not sell his soul. He took the advantages, but still wanted to pass judgement, question command, and rebel against the institution that fed and protected him. Micheal's hesitation makes his superiors question his loyalty.<BR/>His independent spirit landed him into the role of a stick up man.<BR/>He never had the loyalty of a Monk, a Wee-bay, a Chris or a Snoop.<BR/>Him getting rid of Dukie, who was destined to be a Junkie, in the same way Wallace was, for being weak in this concrete jungle, was him finally becoming a man. Dukie was of no use to anyone, never stood a chance and anyone who cared the slightest bit about someone like him, is completely unfamiliar with innercity life, drug epidemics or today's generation.<BR/><BR/>Marlo is one of the greatest single characters this show has spwaned, because he is the total personification of our generation. Where 2pac and Nas had their revolutionary backgrounds and their introspectives, 50 Cent has a billianaire dream.<BR/>Where Micheal Jordan played golf and had a Charismatic off-court personality, LeBron James is a basketball mercenary who gets rich off the game, and whose only team spirit comes from a better understanding of the effectiviness of the basketball machine.<BR/>Where Al Pacino and Kevin Spacey would take time off million dollar projects to do Shakespeare in theater and Travolta flies his jets across the globe, Christian Bale lands himself the lead in two of the most lucrative franchises in film history.<BR/>Tristan Wilds' critical Wire performance landed him a starring role in the biggest music video of 2007 and the most hyped mainstream TV teen show in years. Not to mention right onto Forbes young entertainers list for 2009 or 2010.<BR/>Larry Gilliard Junior was last seen on Hollywood boulevard carrying a 'will act foor food'-sign.<BR/>Jamie Hector landed a role on Heroes and in Max Payne. I love Wood Harris, but can't say that he capitalized on the chances he had.<BR/><BR/>In short, the new generation is more effective, if less likeable and the Wire, and this episode in particular reflect that perfectly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-86327398980222352972008-03-31T09:37:00.000-04:002008-03-31T09:37:00.000-04:00I must have missed something, how did omar's legen...I must have missed something, how did omar's legend extend to nyc hitmen?J. Pittshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18124073926728490785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-17694067791596240142008-03-24T19:31:00.000-04:002008-03-24T19:31:00.000-04:00yeah 4:59, I think maybe you're looking for the HB...yeah 4:59, I think maybe you're looking for the HBO forums.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-43111547862873700212008-03-23T16:59:00.000-04:002008-03-23T16:59:00.000-04:00I feel that Slim shooting cheese was stupid now th...I feel that Slim shooting cheese was stupid now there coming up short on the money at least wait till you get your funds strait then shot him idiot. Plus I liked Cheeses character Some say he was a backstabbing asshole or whatever but what true gangster isn't he did what he had to to get his money and even though it wasn't the most respectful route he did what he had to doAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-74293633816774263842008-03-17T22:37:00.000-04:002008-03-17T22:37:00.000-04:00Since the Emmys have seen fit to reward terrible s...Since the Emmys have seen fit to reward terrible shows like Will And Grace, and Desperate Housewives, and ignore The Wire, Buffy, Homicide, I don't even WANT one of their cheap little statues besmirching the best TV show ever.plothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01398328924856645566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2087774785767549802008-03-17T11:58:00.000-04:002008-03-17T11:58:00.000-04:00Critics love the show, but Andre Royo, among many ...Critics love the show, but Andre Royo, among many others, are Emmy-less. Why haven't voters embraced this remarkable cast in the way that they did so with The Sopranos? One can say that awards don't matter, but for actors they undoubtedly do. It's time for these folks to reap more than critical claim and audience love. The question is, how?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-34447897357310046672008-03-15T21:46:00.000-04:002008-03-15T21:46:00.000-04:00As most others really enjoyed the finale, but I t...As most others really enjoyed the finale, but I think the 'circle of life' theme was a bit overplayed and a bit heavy-handed - yes we get that things go on, but did we need to have someone stepping in to virtually every major character's role to get the point across? It was like being told, then text messaged, then getting a singing telegram, then beaten over the head with someone yelling do you get it yet?<BR/><BR/>While Michael stepping into Omar's role was fitting, perhaps it could have been a bit more subtle and not copied Omar to a 'T'... I half expected him to get sliced up a bit so he could get a scar as an identifying feature!<BR/><BR/>Unlike most I enjoyed the Prezbo-Dukie scene and felt it was fitting. Many said how could he fall for it, or if he knew it was a scam, why did he give him the money? I think it showed he wasn't completely beaten down and brought back the hope (or naivety?) that he showed starting out as a teacher in Season4. This was a good contrast to his handling of the students and depiction that he was getting the disciplinarian role of being a teacher. It tied in some of the hope (idealism?) in an earlier scene where he said he just wanted to work good cases and didn't care about making rank.<BR/><BR/>The Bubbs ending was phenomenal - though I was on the fence on whether he would slip back into his old habits. Yes it would have been harsh and went against what everything seemed to be leading to, but I think that change in direction also would have fit into the shows theme. Balancing this out with Dukie, though was in keeping with the show's philosophy.<BR/><BR/>Great write up!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-11940595688907476152008-03-15T18:54:00.000-04:002008-03-15T18:54:00.000-04:00Of course it's too late for this, but for all the ...Of course it's too late for this, but for all the loose ends that have been tied up, one remains dangling.<BR/><BR/>No one has any idea what McNulty is going to do next.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-8701271621496450362008-03-15T18:14:00.000-04:002008-03-15T18:14:00.000-04:00dcdame, interesting. But then why did Levy seem ...dcdame, interesting. But then why did Levy seem so honestly confused by the question of who leaked the tap? Obfuscation?<BR/><BR/>No, Levy was honestly going through the process of figuring out how the cops got the wire tap so early. If he had planned on Herc giving the cops the number, then he wouldn't have gone through that process of wondering how the cops figured out Marlo's clock code so quickly.<BR/><BR/>Levy pointedly inserted that Rolodex card because he hadn't had such a profitable client since Avon Barksdale (Prop Joe never provided those big fee legal cases of Avon or Marlo.) Levy was savoring a new gold mine.plothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01398328924856645566noreply@blogger.com