quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Ok, The Wire is now my second favorite series.

Hamsterdam is pretty awesome.

The character development is awesome. Stringer Bell, Omar, Major Colvin.

Great story lines too.

season 3 has some amazing scenes between Stringer and Avon

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
Wait... WHAT?
This is the first time watching it?

One of the most accurate Cop shows out there. The writer is spot on. I believe he worked in the Baltimore school system, and lived in a neighborhood full of City Workers.
The series evolves into politics, teachers & the school system. It slows up in those seasons, and the season in the Port is kinda “Mehh”... but overall, a great series!

Well, I have never seen it either, and I live outside of Baltimore City....

Great series and the way they did the story line season to season is a nice change up to the usual recipe.

Ok am in season 5.

Is it wrong of me that I’m actually rooting for Omar?

I really don't have experience to know how realistic The Wire is.

However the depiction of the corruption between organized street crime bosses and politicians to generate windfall government grants to "re-develop" real estate that has been devalued by the criminal activity and then bought up by the crime bosses, along with other payoffs for tipoffs, money laundering, etc. is the first time it all made "sense" to me.

We know the Italian mafia bribed politicians and judges, rigged juries, borrowed money from the teamsters to build casinos they skimmed money from. This has all been more or less explained in various movies and books. And the Federal RICO statutes used by the US Attorneys and FBI to significantly reduce Mafia activity occurred at a higher level than the "local" LE.

But the continuing local crime messes in the major cities by what appear to be uneducated street thugs is now clear - it's more organized than we realized, and the money corrupts everything at the local and state political levels.

Also, the depiction of the police leadership that doesn't really care about the murders or public safety and is just going through the motions to get "clearance" stats instead of doing "real police work" is eye opening.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Ok am in season 5.

Is it wrong of me that I’m actually rooting for Omar?

I can't count how many times my partner and I whistled that tune as we were walking up on dope spots or just about to hit a door!

I'd say the world needs a few more Omar's. But I think we have enough of them here.

quote:

Originally posted by BigCity:

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
Wait... WHAT?
This is the first time watching it?

One of the most accurate Cop shows out there. The writer is spot on. I believe he worked in the Baltimore school system, and lived in a neighborhood full of City Workers.
The series evolves into politics, teachers & the school system. It slows up in those seasons, and the season in the Port is kinda “Mehh”... but overall, a great series!

Well, I have never seen it either, and I live outside of Baltimore City....

Watch it. It's well worth it.

I'm going to say it's the most realistic "Cop" show out there. But it shows way more than that.
Politics, School Systems, States Attorneys, Lawyers, Judges, Union stuff...

If you're our resident undertaker and in that area, I'm sure you've handled one or two of the end results of the reality of this Show.

You wont be disappointed.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Also, the depiction of the police leadership that doesn't really care about the murders or public safety and is just going through the motions to get "clearance" stats instead of doing "real police work" is eye opening.

True even in what I do (not LEO work, but for a large state run entity) I tell my guys all the time, "They don't care about the actual work, just the paper work." All about the numbers.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Also, the depiction of the police leadership that doesn't really care about the murders or public safety and is just going through the motions to get "clearance" stats instead of doing "real police work" is eye opening.

True even in what I do (not LEO work, but for a large state run entity) I tell my guys all the time, "They don't care about the actual work, just the paper work." All about the numbers.

An agency local to me had a drastic drop in larceny. I mean DRASTIC. They stopped dispatching an officer to places like Walmart for felony thefts and shoplifting. They instead gave them a “reporting form” to submit directly to the prosecutors. They then crowed about their great police work and how crime was waaaaayyyyyy down. They just juked the stats. Crime is actually up in the city.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Also, the depiction of the police leadership that doesn't really care about the murders or public safety and is just going through the motions to get "clearance" stats instead of doing "real police work" is eye opening.

True even in what I do (not LEO work, but for a large state run entity) I tell my guys all the time, "They don't care about the actual work, just the paper work." All about the numbers.

An agency local to me had a drastic drop in larceny. I mean DRASTIC. They stopped dispatching an officer to places like Walmart for felony thefts and shoplifting. They instead gave them a “reporting form” to submit directly to the prosecutors. They then crowed about their great police work and how crime was waaaaayyyyyy down. They just juked the stats. Crime is actually up in the city.

Agencies (at the direction of their chiefs) do the same thing on the Left (West) coast. "The Wire" really nails it, when they point out how a BS narrative (crime reduction that's really a reduction if crime reporting) helps make incompetent leaders look good and terrible policies seem successful: "A Los Angeles Police Department captain has accused high-ranking members of the force of misclassifying violent crime and misleading the public about the true state of lawbreaking in the city."

https://www.latimes.com/local/...-20171103-story.html

Beyond the "macro", I loved how the individual characters' stories in "The Wire" were portrayed. "Bunk" could have been one of the Homicide guys I worked with. "Bubbles" really showed the life of an addict and how important it is for one to actually commit to sobriety. When "Sgt Carver" screws up and the juvenile informant he tried to help becomes trapped in a group home (where's he's victimized almost immediately by predators), who can't relate to the sergeant's feelings of guilt and helplessness?

As much as I enjoyed and learned from the writings of Joseph Wambaugh (especially his earlier works), I think the "The Wire" is the "New Centurions" for a new generation of those who are really interested in law enforcement.

A few years ago, I was walking through a parking lot of a shopping center where I lived (in Los Angeles County), when a car drove up and the guy behind the wheel asked me for directions. The driver was Glynn Turman, the actor who portrayed "Mayor Clarence V. Royce"! I provided him the info he needed and told him how much I'd liked (loved to hate really) his work on "The Wire." The guy gave me the biggest smile and a most gracious "Thank you!!!"

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm08...?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t34

I don't think this series could have been as great as it was, without the attention David Simon gave on all fronts: The writing certainly, but also the ensemble cast, direction, sets, wardrobe, and the fact his people really listened to and reflected the concerns of the technical advisors. It's surprising how many of the cast members were English, especially since their accents were so well hidden (great voice coaches)!

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Is it wrong of me that I’m actually rooting for Omar?

Michael Williams, Omar, is one of those actors that makes you cheer for the character he plays. I rooted for him when he played Chalky White in Boardwalk Empire.

For me, The Wire is up there with The Sopranos and Peakey Blinders.

quote:

For me, The Wire is up there with The Sopranos and Peakey Blinders.

^^^^^
I agree. I had to work with unions and enjoyed the second season as well. There was real depth to the characters.

Bumping this older thread to confess that I had never seen The Wire before, but I finally started watching. I am currently halfway through Season 3, so right about 50% of the way through the series.

I have to say, so far it definitely lives up to the praise here. One of the best series I've seen, on HBO or otherwise. Not sure why it never ended up on my radar previously.

David Simon's Generation Kill is also fantastic, and I've watched that several times. Are Simon's subsequent efforts - We Own This City, The Deuce, and Treme - as good as The Wire and Generation Kill?

I really liked Treme and enjoyed We Own This City and The Deuce. Are they as good as The Wire? Not in my opinion but definitely worth watching!

Truly one of my favorite shows. Gritty, unapologetic and very well written.

Any non-HBO way to watch?

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Any non-HBO way to watch?

Not cheaply.

You can buy individual episodes for $2-$3 each through some places like Vudu, Apple, Amazon Prime, or Youtube.

Or there's a Blu-Ray boxed set out there.

But at that point, you're better off just ponying up $10 for a month of HBO Max digital subscription to stream all 5 seasons, versus paying $100+ to buy every single digital episode individually or paying $70 for the Blu-Ray set.

Thanks, DVD option would require me to find my PS3 to play them, and the space to put it.

Will have to look into a temp HBO sub, probably a few other shows worth watching with it as well

Never watched it either as I'm not an HBO subscriber or any other pay service for that matter. I do have "free" Netflix courtesy of a relative although that may end with the purported coming crackdown on password sharing.

I really liked Treme. We Own This City was good. Neither came close to The Wire.