TiVo Community Forums Archives - "The Wire"... worth keeping SP?

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"The Wire"... worth keeping SP?
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Posted by: jradosh

The first episode didn't exactly grab me like other HBO productions such as "The Corner".

What about you? Anyone watch, and if so, what did you think?

J

PS. if this was covered before, forgive me. It's hard to search this forum with just the words "The Wire" :rolleyes:

Posted by: ClutchBrake

I just saw a few bits of advertising for it (don't see much advertising since I got TiVo). Can you give a brief description of the premise?

Posted by: jradosh

quote:
Originally posted by ClutchBrake
I just saw a few bits of advertising for it (don't see much advertising since I got TiVo). Can you give a brief description of the premise?

I hadn't seen any advertising for the show, but I did read a favorable review in the Washington Post.

Basically the story is a criminals and cops drama with a high degree of "realism". A detective manages to piss off his superiors and is demoted to street patrol. He works with DEA and the police to find (whats-his-name... sorry, I forget) who runs a large drug cartel in the Baltimore projects. The criminal investigation is hampered by the fact that most law enforcement has been pulled off to anti-terrorism assignments.

Without spoiling anything, in the first episode we're set up with the premise of the detective and his boss and how he pisses him off. We're also introduced to the nephew of (whats-his-name) the drug-lord criminal. The nephew is an aspiring thug who makes mistakes but is protected by his relationship with the drug-lord boss guy.

J

Posted by: harvscar

This one caught me totally by surprise! I saw the promo Saturday night before Oz came on and recognized some of the Oz actors so I gave it a shot. Once I saw David Simon's name I knew it was SP material. I thought The Corner started off slow and actually didn't appreciate it until I watched it the second time. Simon needs to get back together with Fontana and create another Ensemble detective drama.

Posted by: Spire

I saw the first episode, and I was underwhelmed as well. And I thought The Corner was great.

Posted by: Turtleboy

Ok, f*ing HBO cut off the end and I didn't pad it. Right after the guy took a piss on the train track and moved out of the way as the train was coming, what happened next?

Posted by: Knative

Underwhelmed as well, but willing to write it off to it being the first episode. Now that we know who everyone is and a little backstory we can hopefully get to the meat of the show. The SP stays, for now.

Posted by: dmaneyapanda

quote:
Originally posted by Turtleboy
Ok, f*ing HBO cut off the end and I didn't pad it. Right after the guy took a piss on the train track and moved out of the way as the train was coming, what happened next?

SPOILER!

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
I don't remember it all, but basically you see the cousin guy (the one on trial at the beginning) standing in a group of people (near the Pit, I think), checking out a dead guy lying on the street. the cops turn him over, and it's the one witness from the beginning of the show who had the balls to ID the cousin as the shooter. At first you think that he's responsible for killing the guy, too, but then a weird look comes over his face and (to me at least) you begin to wonder whether the dead guy's identity was a surprise to him, too.

dinesh

Posted by: Turtleboy

gracias

Posted by: zaknafein

I'm keeping it around, if for no other reason than there isn't anything else on right now. It's no SFU, but I'll give it a chance.

Posted by: harvscar

Another thing that happened at the end, IIRC

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
The black, female detective is at home with her lover when she gets a call. She meets up with the black junkie, who ripped off the dealers earlier, in the hospital watching his white junkie buddy in ICU. The black guy tells her he can help deliver the drug dealers.

Dinesh,

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
I have a bad feeling this kid is going to be the cliched baddie with a heart of gold. The way he walked away from the beating of the white junkie and the look of apprehension on his face at the murder indicate there's much soul-searching to come.

Posted by: RexTrout

I was waiting for this conversation to start here...I watched it last night and have high hopes. I wasn't bowled over either, but I think they had to spend a lot of the 1st episode introducing characters and the basic plot outline. I'm hoping it turns into a good series.

Posted by: tivojoego

liked it didn't love it - at some point you get a little too prepackaged and canned [strip clubs, informants, foul language]. It is starting to get where a show of this genre has to take a really different tack or it is just 2parts Sopranos, 1 part NYPD Blue with a dash of HIll Street Blues!

Posted by: tivojoego

I tell what is really odd the second showing was for 1:05 and the third showing was back to 1:00 the only reason I know this is I had conflict when it wanted to kick off recording the 2nd show and told it to get the third showing and it was back to 1:00 [like the orig airing]

Posted by: UnionBuster

I felt the show has some potential. Need to see how it goes from here on out. Although I can't help but notice that pretty much none of the characters speak as though they're from Baltimore.

Posted by: phone1

Major yawn http://www.plauder-smilies.de/sleep.gif in fact I fell asleep before the end. I deleted the show and the SP.

Posted by: Guyy

I liked it, enough to keep a SP for it. I thought it got into a complex plot line for the first show so I at least want to see the next one. But then again I like those police/drama shows!

Posted by: jradosh

According to the Washington Post this morning there was a 20% drop-off in viewership from the first to the second episode.

Personally I'm going to stick with it, but I still put myself in the "waiting to see if it gets better" camp. I'm having trouble believing that the dumb cops could really be that dumb and still be policemen.

BTW, did anyone else notice that the one "mean cop" looks a lot like Quentin Tarrantino? No, it's not him... but he sure has the same look about him.

J

Posted by: Turtleboy

They sure like to use the F-word in this show. I mean a lot. More than Oz and the Sopranos put together.

I'm not a prude or sensitive, and I certainly use it a lot myself, but the amount of times that characters use it, well doesn't sound natural.

Posted by: zaknafein

Now that I've found The Shield, I'm starting to become more and more dissatisfied with this show. I fell asleep 30 minutes into this weeks episode. I'm going to keep it around for at least another couple weeks and see if things take a turn for the better.

Posted by: shaunrose

I missed the first episode, but caught the second episode last night. I thought it has potential. But, I agree, it's definitely not as good as the Shield. But, as summer fare, I'm sure I'll get hooked.

Posted by: Syzygy

jradosh said, "I'm having trouble believing that the dumb cops could really be that dumb and still be policemen."

A lot of you may remember that a few years ago a police department (Providence, Rhode Island, I think) rejected an applicant because he was too smart. It got a lot of national publicity and late-night jokes -- mostly because people recognized the underlying truth: Cops are dumb. There are no Columbos.

Posted by: MacThor

quote:
Originally posted by Turtleboy
They sure like to use the F-word in this show. I mean a lot. More than Oz and the Sopranos put together.

I'm not a prude or sensitive, and I certainly use it a lot myself, but the amount of times that characters use it, well doesn't sound natural.

Turtleboy, you haven't made the trip up the parkway to those sections of Balmer, have you? :)

Mac

Posted by: Turtleboy

quote:
Originally posted by MacThor

Turtleboy, you haven't made the trip up the parkway to those sections of Balmer, have you? :)

Mac

No, only to Camden Yards. And I guess they use that word a lot there too ;)

Posted by: serumgard

Watched the first episode and the beginning of the second when I stopped watching and deleted the season pass. Just didn't grab me like other HBO dramas (Sopranos, Six Feet Under). Too many characters to pay attention to.

Posted by: avaloncourt

I'm undecided as of yet. I saw the first episode and wasn't impressed. I missed the second episode because my DTivo went out the Friday before and Circuit City didn't get the replacement to me until the Wednesday after. I haven't watched the third yet.

It sure doesn't seem like the quality that HBO usually puts out. I have to agree on the language. They might be saving money by only having two writers and using the "F-word" for every third word in the script. I wish they just have all the cast members yelling it repeatedly for the first 5 minutes of the show so I could FF through it and get to the real show.

Posted by: tivojoego

quote:
Originally posted by jradosh

BTW, did anyone else notice that the one "mean cop" looks a lot like Quentin Tarrantino? No, it's not him... but he sure has the same look about him.

J

That guy is a tool I want to smack him!

And this is one viewer who is now committing to the series - it has done a great job of character and plot development. It has pulled me right in!

Posted by: Syzygy

After three eps, I like it well enough to keep the SP for it. (It helps that I grew up in Baltimore, more than 40 years ago. ;)) My wife, who also grew up there, refuses to watch it because of the language.

Either the language has toned down or I've gotten used to it; it doesn't bother me anymore. The characters are well delineated and interesting. However, it is hard for me to buy the concept of a baby-faced "killer with a heart of gold." Either you're in or you're out, kid!

Posted by: jradosh

quote:
Originally posted by avaloncourt
They might be saving money by only having two writers and using the "F-word" for every third word in the script. I wish they just have all the cast members yelling it repeatedly for the first 5 minutes of the show so I could FF through it and get to the real show.

Ha ha ha... I kept thinking about your post as I watched the crime-scene-inspection scene from last night's episode. Here's the dialogue...

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
McNulty: f*ck
Moreland: f*ck
McNulty: f*ck
Moreland: f*ck, f*ck, f*ck
McNulty: f*ckedy f*ck-f*ck
Moreland: f*ck
McNulty: f*ck
Moreland: f*ck, f*ck, f*ck
McNulty: f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck
Moreland: f*ck

They saved a bundle on writing that scene :p

J

PS. keeping my SP though... it's still better than most :rolleyes:

Posted by: mostman

Yeah - the f*ck scene was really cool. I was laughing my arse off.

The show is good - well written well acted. The plot hasn't picked up yet - but I will continue to watch on the writing and acting quality alone. The plot will get better - I am sure of it.

-Mike

Posted by: gadgetgrrll

I was really unimpressed with the first ep, and irritated that I missed that last 10 minutes. But, I watched the 2nd episode and it's starting to grow on me. I actually find myself looking forward to the 3rd episode (which I haven't watched from last night yet) to see where it's going. Maybe it's picking up.

Tuck

Posted by: grecorj

whoa whoa whoa...hang on there.

you had a DirecTiVo replaced by CC in 4 days?!?! that is unbelievable! which DTiVo flavor was this?

quote:
Originally posted by avaloncourt
<snip>because my DTivo went out the Friday before and Circuit City didn't get the replacement to me until the Wednesday after<snip>

Posted by: tonyoci

I liked the show. I had two episodes to watch and could not wait for the second one so I watched them sequentially. I like the lead guy and there is enough intrique and complex characters to keep it interesting.

I thought the F*** scene at the murder site was pretty funny.

T

Posted by: MacThor

Last night's ep was the best of the season so far - between the f***in' crime scene inspection

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
(they sounded like two ducks who, instead of quacking....)

and the opening scene

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
where the cops were pushing the desk from both ends

I was laughing so hard.

It's not "The Shield" but it's getting pretty good. Also, anyone else noticing the Aussie accent creeping in more and more?

Mac

Posted by: Yellowfin

Absolutely.

What I love about The Wire and The Sheild (and 6 Feet Under) is the complexity of the characters. They're not simple cut-outs. Good and evil, nice and bad in each of them. Just like real people. The plots are secondary to the character development in both cases.

Now compare that to the drivel that was 24.......

JK

Posted by: Guyy

I have gotten to love the show, in does not sit on my Tivo for more than an hour before I have to watch it!

Posted by: tonyoci

There's no Aussies in the show. Just Brits, you guys can never tell the difference.

T