Dark Blue stages a reunion of The Wire
Weird, wild stuff people. Wee-Bey (Hassan Johnson) was the fiercest of Avon supporters, right-hand man to the king. Chris (Gbenga Akinnagbe) was Marlo’s enforcer; no grunt, but certainly not a top officer. A bit off the traditional chain of command, since he and Snoop ran their own arm of the operation.
But, hop to a new show, and all hell breaks loose. All of a sudden, Chris (here playing Dante) is bossing Wee-Bey (Bobby) around. It was one of those things that made my mind hit a wall, as processing that type of wild course-change was a lot to handle, when all I was doing in the first place was sitting down to watch some Dark Blue. Read the rest of this entry »
See Jane Clack – The Wire vs. The Sopranos
I’ve been covering The Wire in my Jane After Dark column at TV Squad, and I can’t help but think about the similarities to another favorite HBO show: The Sopranos. They’re both edgy and well-written and filled with knock-out characters, but they’re also very different. Here’s my rundown on these two top-notch shows:
Reality vs. Storytelling. The Sopranos is an awesome example of great storytelling. We’ve got the panic-plagued mobster dealing with his biological family and his mobster family. What could be better? I know there are people like Tony Soprano out there, but to me, The Sopranos is just a really good story.
The Wire, on the other hand, is so real that you feel like you”re watching a documentary. I’m into season three now and just noticed that there’s no soundtrack, no music at all (yeah, it takes me a while). It’s like someone is following these guys around with a camera.
Good Guys vs. Bad Guys. The Sopranos is mostly centered on Tony Soprano and his thugs and family, while The Wire gives equal time to thugs and the cops, with some politicians and dockworkers thrown in (as mentioned, I’m just into season 3, so haven’t gotten into the school system or press yet). I guess you could say that Stringer Bell, Avon Barksdale and Omar Little are the Tony Sopranos of The Wire; Stringer’s got his real estate business, and Tony’s got his sanitation business. But that’s not quite right either.
The Wire virgin’s diary – All good things…
(Season 5, Episode 10, Series Finale)
I knew that the end was coming, and I had myself prepared for it, but I have to admit that I miss The Wire. After having experienced the full run of the series, I understand completely why every fan I talked to about the show said it was the best series to ever be on TV. I don’t know that I would heap that particular praise on the series, but it was definitely as good as anything I’ve seen, and better than just about anything on the tube these days.
There was a lot to wrap up going into the series finale, and the show really did an excellent job tying together all the loose ends. This really was one of the best, most satisfying, conclusions to any show that I’ve been a fan of.
The Wire virgin’s diary – The end is near
(Season 5, Episodes 7-9)
Well, just one episode of The Wire left. I was a little nervous at first, figuring that there was too much to wrap up, but then I saw that episode ten is an hour and a half long. Thank goodness. I was a little upset that this season was only ten episodes, but in terms of running time, it’s the same as the previous seasons.
The action really heated up in these three episodes, setting us up for the end of the series. There were more deaths, a nasty conclusion to Clay Davis’s case, and more Machiavellian tactics by Freamon and McNulty.
The Wire virgin’s diary – More lies, more killing, more of the same
(Season 5, Episodes 4-6)
For some reason, I’m having trouble connecting with the new characters from the Baltimore Sun. I don’t know if I’m just a little burnt out on The Wire, or if there is something deeper at work. It seems like the show isn’t spending as much time at the newspaper as it did with other new characters when they were introduced. We spent a lot of time with the kids from the middle school at the beginning of season four and the characters from the docks during season three. It seems as though the writers are not as dedicated to these media folks. I think it will be interesting to see if my view changes through the rest of the season.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – We get to see some of Jesse’s past… from the future
Aren’t two part episodes supposed to have a big cliffhanger? I mean as compelling as watching Jesse shift the lamp on her end table, it isn’t exactly going to be haunting my dreams until next week. Yes, the interesting flashback (or is that flashforward?) did have more to reveal, but did that warrant a “to be continued?” I suppose it’s a very small thing, so I’ll stop griping.
It was nice to see Weaver again, wasn’t it? I hadn’t realized how much I missed the creepy red-headed terminator. She seemed almost giddy over the progress of John Henry. It got me wondering if all that progress is going to go anywhere this season, or if we’ll have to wait for next season to see any Weaver/Connor/John Henry confrontation. I’m certainly optimistic, aren’t I? Some may say delusional….
The Wire virgin’s diary – Jimmy McNulty: genius or moron?
(Season 5, Episodes 1-3)
At this point I’m voting for moron, but I’m getting ahead of myself…
I said that I needed to take a bit of a breather after the highly emotional ending of season four, and I have. Now I’m back, and diving into season five, the final season of The Wire. Early on in the season, it’s clear that McNulty will be playing a much larger role than in season four, where he took a back seat. It also seems like the show isn’t going to be focusing on the school systems at all this year. It’s not terribly surprising, since most of the kids we were following last season aren’t in school anymore. Hopefully we’ll at least get to check in with Prez and the crew.
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