I have only got into it since BBC2 started showing all the old series in a row. Neraly at the end of the second series and it is very funny as well as gritty
woo hoo can't wait for the third series to start now. It reminds me of a Police version of Rescue Me. Well written but the cast are perfect for their roles, making a good program even better
Season 4 is the best for me, though i loved 2 despite the slating it got. It's depressing that its taken this long for it get on normal telly with all the utter shite thats on most of the time, and even then it gets a terrible slot...
It is totally addictive. I watched the first series on BBC2. After the first few episodes I resolved to sky plus it every night but ended up watching it every night and spent the next few weeks feeling exhausted during the day. When the second series started I decided to Sky plus it every night and watch it on the week ends. Unfortunately the Sky Plus recording of the first 3 episodes failed so I decided not to watched any of the remaining episodes. I think I will have to buy the box set for series 2.
Does anyone know if you need to watch the second series to fully appreciate the third series?
I thought season 4 was the best, didn't like season two thought it dragged on for a bit too long. The actor that plays Jimmy Mcnulty (Dominic West) appears on Eminem's new album.
Its based on true events, a jurno spent a year with Baltimore Homocide dept. It was made into the series Homcide Life on the Streets. The book is a stunner. He also co wrote the Wire.
Great show. There's another series called 'The Corner' that was done by the writers in the mid 90's that's worth a watch. I also heard a rumour that a film based around Omar has been green lit.
Simply outstanding. For me season two is the best as the scope of the interweaving threads gave further series so much scope. Without the second series it would just be a lot of yo's living and repeating the same shit, and would have been like the Soprano's which lost any breadth and room to grow after the third series. The motivation of Valchek setting up an investigtion solely by personal motivation is a hint at other investigations such as those into Ed Norris in real life.
All the narratives are at least ten years out of date because that's when David Simon stopped writing for the Baltimore Sun. The second series dealing with the decline of the rust belt and post industrial society was slap bang of it's time when they shot it, the struggles and bulls**t condo's were the early parts of the property bubble that replaced the bulls**t ech boom. Without that Prop Joe, Stanfield and Barksdale are just rich but small town drug dealers with reduced breadth. Shame he wasn't willing to write about the massive hispanic influence that is the major force in all American inner cities now, but he wasn't willing to spend years of his life researching something he had no interest in.
The fifth series is good, with the pressroom of the Baltimore Sun one of the best realised departments in the whole series. Main problem was an urge to bring to the end the narratives of many characters. And the whole motivation for Mcnulty seems too excessive and fraut for him to get away with it. It wasn't affected by the writer's strike at all, it was written and filming finished two month's before the strike. They might have compressed two epsiodes into the last one but the story arc was exactly the same.
As someone says Genration Kill is outstanding; as is the book it's based on. If anyone liked Alexander Skarsgard in it, it's worth seeking out True Blood which is good throwaway TV.
As I said at the start of this thread I am watching this all for the first time and I thought 2 was hilarious. When McNulty was typing up his report on the brothel I was in stitches.
I constantly go back and watch a random episode, it just fires up the old brain and brings out different threads that I wouldn't have noticed.
I've got all of it on DVD but for some reason when I first saw the third season I missed the pivotal Prez epsiodes. Now I don't want to go back and see them, because it's always nice to know I've missed a few and some of the storylines seem like second-hand to me. Anal I know.
Have you all seen the videos of a few of the characters before they got to where they were in the series? Think there are 3, McNulty and Bunk, Omar and Prop Joe. Pretty good, the McNulty one is very funny
Charlie Brooker recommends this on screenwipe quite a lot. i've never seen it so think i'll rent the first series. Brooker and half this forum can't be wrong.
Not sure when they were made, I first found them on the Amazon website. Haven't found anymore, think it would be good if HBO made them into full length episodes though
Last episode last night. Feeled a bit rushed in terms of the ending but it was during the writer's strike. I wish the ending was different, but I am glad it didnt pander to "what people wanted" and just showed it how it is. The same old sh*t, just with different people.
Comments
Sadly the 5th Series gets hit quite badly by the writers strike.
Does anyone know if you need to watch the second series to fully appreciate the third series?
All the narratives are at least ten years out of date because that's when David Simon stopped writing for the Baltimore Sun. The second series dealing with the decline of the rust belt and post industrial society was slap bang of it's time when they shot it, the struggles and bulls**t condo's were the early parts of the property bubble that replaced the bulls**t ech boom. Without that Prop Joe, Stanfield and Barksdale are just rich but small town drug dealers with reduced breadth. Shame he wasn't willing to write about the massive hispanic influence that is the major force in all American inner cities now, but he wasn't willing to spend years of his life researching something he had no interest in.
The fifth series is good, with the pressroom of the Baltimore Sun one of the best realised departments in the whole series. Main problem was an urge to bring to the end the narratives of many characters. And the whole motivation for Mcnulty seems too excessive and fraut for him to get away with it. It wasn't affected by the writer's strike at all, it was written and filming finished two month's before the strike. They might have compressed two epsiodes into the last one but the story arc was exactly the same.
As someone says Genration Kill is outstanding; as is the book it's based on. If anyone liked Alexander Skarsgard in it, it's worth seeking out True Blood which is good throwaway TV.
Rawl's sucks cock!
I've got all of it on DVD but for some reason when I first saw the third season I missed the pivotal Prez epsiodes. Now I don't want to go back and see them, because it's always nice to know I've missed a few and some of the storylines seem like second-hand to me. Anal I know.
Prop Joe
Omar
McNulty and Bunk
A warning that there is a bit of colourful language in these
People may be interested in these as well:
A mini-series that was a pilot type show as mentioned by Santa: http://bit.ly/Ntwx and the book the series was based on:http://bit.ly/mq65P
And that was bloody hard to do as none of them were bad, they were all excellent.