I just want to watch it over and over again without stopping. We have some of these initiatives in the UK but Im not sure about the situation in the US, and Im curious to know what you think. What really made Season 5 for me was Gus and the newsroom in general. That was thematic and no one commented on the argument, which I found disappointing. Also starring Hermione Norris (MI-5) and Simone Lahbib (Loch Ness), these dark and twisty mysteries are "brilliantly edgy" (SFGate.com). And no, I think season five achieved its goals as the other season, with me being no closer to the world of journalism than others on our writing staff were to the other worlds depicted. | It was edgy and gritty, with strong performances from everyone. Throughout 1923, Alexandras wealth has come into play (or the wealth of her family, rather). Additionally though people point to the development of hyper-local news sites as a way of saying that local news isnt dead, these are often little more than blogs or advertising of businesses in the area rather than sustained critiques and investigations. Explain your displeasure in detail, no problem. The world is still debating the relative merits and detractions of the final episode of Vince Gilligans meth-world saga Breaking Bad, with some quarters feeling Perhaps one on the books it is based on might warm me up to it. If you didnt dig it, then you didnt dig it. To me, the climactic conclusion of the show happened in S5E9 and E10 was more of the epilogue, allowing us to digest what happened and gain some insight on where things are headed for the city. Drug wars, territorial disputes, and the assassination of the citys largest drug importer manage to produce a brief inside the metro section that refers only to the slaying of a second-hand appliance store owner. Reprinted with Permission. Missing a storyIm still writingstill kills me. I loved how the series showed its one big circle & for everyone person saved bubbles theres a dookie, Marlo trying to become stringer but him being more like avon, Michael becoming the new Omar & many more. Wire in the Blood vol 2 Sharp Compassion. missing such a vital snap shot to the Barksdale case. Love if The producers could make a 15 minutes short just to show where all the cast are now. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Uncensored. Comparisons with "Cracker" seem off the mark to me. If you have not watched any of these, please go for it and watch them in order. In this case, our lead character is Dr. Tony Hill. 6 Apr. Of course, its all still out there, and I can find it and watch it and still enjoy it all, but I feel like Im a decade late to the party. Damn, I think I might just sit down and watch the whole thing again to see what else Ive missed. I came late to The Wire, having heard many great things about it from others over the years. Its not painful to me. 2008. I guess I will have to reflect on why I could easily accept Hamsterdam and not the phony killer. I love the Hamsterdam plot. Politicians then took credit for the limited gains that were, of course, unsustainable as the students aged into middle school. Season 2 was the bravest thing ever seen on TV. He hated closing those foreign bureaus and cutting back further in the newsroom. Damn I needed that lad to have a happy ending! Notable killings and machinations in the drug world were the talk of the streets. She sends him to chase down Keith and kill him. Most commentary has season 4 as the best and has season 5 as the least best. Why couldnt we have gone one more season with the show? It was too subtle for me to catch on my first watch, and Im sure a 10 hour binge made it even easier to gloss over. Anyway, Ive gone on for far too long here. Only silver lining to that dark cloud of a series. Lasher appears and asks her to stop and let him do her bidding. I learned more from two weeks of practical work, than an entire year of overpaid theory, and eventually switched to English, because I couldnt stand a style that, to me, was tantamount to lying. Im literally addicted to this show, and watch it through at least 3-4 times a year. A moment for one last question: Sure there was a fabulist and, yeah, he snatched the big prize. Its a subjective matter that isnt worth a good argument, especially if, like me, you dont see the seasons as distinct but cumulative. I got my invitation late in the mail and I may as well just see all the videos and photos and banter about it on peoples social media profiles. David, I just wanted to take a brief moment (6 years later) to thank you for both an amazing show and this write up of your thoughts and insights into S5. You wanna explain where the argument is inconsistent? Another topic for another time, but dont wait on our news media to report it. I found this series especially delightful because Robson Green's character lives within the confines of his own mind. I just watched all 5 seasons in short order. ps Its a great show! It was fuckin awesome. Cocaine Bear is based on a true story but the events especially the ending are very different. Season 5 was tremendous, I can only assume the criticism comes from those who still believe that high standards of journalistic integrity are still the goal of the modern news room. In the annals of time, you documented as close to the reality of the DMV as you could get away with, its just too bad that people will always be calling it fiction., (*this is a better-edited version of my prior comment). I started watching this show in series 1. While she tries her best to support her parents, Puleng also hates how theyre not willing to give up on the past. With the exception of the good journalism that bookended the story arc which is, of course, representative of the fact that there are still newspaper folk in Baltimore and elsewhere struggling mightily to do the job the season amounted to ten hours of a newspaper that is no longer intimately aware of its city. Fiction makes everyone comfortable and talkative; journalism good, probing journalism is a much harder, much more rigorous task. I worked at a small, local tabloid, before entering J-school, and rapidly became frustrated as I was lectured on hooks and handles. Jordan is done in a tasteful way. So fuck what I said. What is the Japanese language plot outline for Wire in the Blood (2002)? I was only introduced to this show in 2014 by a friend in college at Washington State University that let me borrow is DVDs one season at a time, and I bought the DVD box set shortly thereafter. While we have been in the longest war in U.S. history we have had to sit through endless sensationalism about: Jeb Bushs crackhead niece Noelle Bush; Terry Schiavo; Tiger Woods; Casey Anthony; Treyvon Martin then George Zimmerman; Michael Brown; and it will never end. The original essay doesnt do anything to counter anyones opinions as to whether The Wire was good, bad, or indifferent. There are many crime/mystery books and shows out there but few are done this well with excellent character development, believable plots and story lines that are on one hand complex, terrifying, fully engrossing and on the other hand funny, thoughtful and informative. In closing, I missed you Mr. Simon, coming to do a panel at my school Washington State University in 2012 I think it was, because I had no idea about the show at that time. the biggest feeling that I was left with was that of Newtons Third Law of Physics, the action-reaction law. In Baltimore, where over the last twenty years Times Mirror and the Tribune Company have combined to reduce the newsroom by forty percent, all of the above stories pretty much happened. In series 1-3, Hermione Norris played Detective Inspecter/Chief Inspecter Carol Jordan of Bradford CID, who managed to rein Tony's scattered abilities and make sense of them. The plots, moreover, are taut and well-written. I was leaning more towards something karmic, but its clear that many of the characters did not get what was coming to them. -- if you're a Robson Green fan, it's a fantastic showcase for his acting. The man in black tracked Jenna down at the right house, but he knocked on the wrong door he's tangled up in a deadly Book of Blood story that ends when Ellie But it went over my head, that the newspaper, completely missed every major story about what went on in the city. Gus pointing at the screen when Clay Davis is doing his interview outside the grand jury and wondering why the paper missed it. No worries. In the confrontation that follows, Adam shows him the photographs he took The case was based on a wealth of curruption and illegal detective work and the need for self-preservation could easily allow for a deal to be made. Any of you save for a couple sharp journos who were able to stand back just far enough to realize what the real critique was. Interesting article. There was some love in there for the ink-stained wretches. Journalism is and has been an absolute shambles in the UK since I was a kid in the 80s. I have been seeing quite a lot of this show on TV lately and i find it surprisingly entertaining. If anything I learned after watching The Wire series (for my 4th or 5th time) is that quick comments or knee-jerk reactions about the themes discussed just dont play. Firstly thank you David Simon, Ed Burns and a host of talented and courageous collaborators for telling it like it is. Thats why Im here. Thank you for telling these stories. To debate whether Gus Haynes is more of a hero than Bunny Colvin? All in all, you really gave us a lot to think about. Who am I to bitch about how you decided to end your own show? If you like your murder mysteries uncensored this is the best one. Almost perfectly sums up my feelings about the series. Ms. Lahbib is an unknown entity to me, but as I finished watching series 4, I felt a bit queasy. Production took a huge risk deciding to change setting and characters after only 1 season. We do what we do and people are free to react as they will. I mean its obvious all three of them enjoyed it way too much for a normal gangster who just wanted someone out of their way- and Marlos final shot licking the blood off his sleeve just about proves that that guy was about to go on a black Manson killing spree had the story logically continued from its stopping point. What is most unfortunate is that your scathing and accurate critique of Washington D.Cs left armpit (with PG County being its right) and really the entire D.C. area will always be written off as great entertainment and remembered as one of the best shows ever on television. I know you were trying to show the 5 different aspects of what goes down in a city David Simon but one more season that just wraps everything up in a nice little bow would have been perfect. In The Hunger Games films, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) coughs up blood for a specific reason. Its all in the game yo. He seems so confident that each person is the perpetrator then half way through the interview says 'no it's not him' very annoying. Starring: Robson Green, Simone Lahbib. Such a newspaper was not chronicled onThe Wire. Im sure that to many of these guys, getting Carcetti elected would do as much to inject fresh blood into the citys political processes as it would clear up the problem of those blacks corrupting the process, nevermind how ridiculous those sorts of notions hold up. I knew in my bones as he walked up to the convenience store something bad was going to happen. Purse your lips any tighter or hold your nose any higher? Season 4 seemed to show Carcetti living up to their ideals, and it *did* seem like things were getting cleaned up. As wounded and onanistic and self-absorbed as the profession has become, there are still plenty of people for whom that matters above all. In one of the best scenes of the series, No show has ever, EVER done that. Lets be clear, though. It was nuanced and I really saw Gus as the lead protagonist of this season and lester and mcnulty as shifty antagonists. I loved the series. Surprisingly because i'm usually no fan at all of the serial-killer genre nor the kind of grisly imagery that this show always provides. Brilliant series. No expose published. All Rights Reserved. Okay, I dont actually agree, but neither would I argue. I love game of thrones (but its too quick imo), but The Wire is the best. Both are similar, and both are very good. And then Season 5 happens. It is our not insignificant loss that more shows weren't filmed. But if I dont play how can I and everyone else fix the rules? Note: This article contains spoilers for the entire first series of Blood. Eventually I bought the box set a few years ago and binge watched all five seasons. And Omar, well I can understand his death, tragic, but it was more realistic than a final bloodfest. This is really a two part TV series.. the first three seasons with Green and Norris.. bit.ly/1780gxl .. in the leads, and the second three with Green and Lahbib.. bit.ly/13Pgcqi .. Several years go by since Pulengs sister went missing. Melvin Wiliams passed today RIP! Did you always have in mind from the start to have the fake news/fake crime stories play in tandem? If season five didnt work for you, then it didnt work for you. I been expressing to folk since 2002 And unsubtle. ITV has axed Robson Green drama Wire in the Blood after six years in what is seen as the latest cost cutting move by the network. The editing becomes more choppy, inserting 1-2 second scenes in the middle of something else. Just depressing the way it wallows in the depravity of the serial killers and hits you over the head with it. So they went from 20 to 17. Its like The Odyssey of Homer. Im sad I missed all the hoopla, the reviews, analysis, any interviews and behind the scenes footage that was released with and right after the show ended. When one actor leaves a show and is replaced. I did have a question though that I hope you could answer. Having grown up on the southeast side of PG County inside the Beltway, I can tell you that The Wire was a hit right between the eyes. I think the biggest problem with Season 5 is that the Sun people were kind of boring and so many of them were one note. Whatever you say, arthouse. Not as cavalier as his "Touching Evil" series; his "Wire in the Blood" character of Tony Hill is much more reserved, quirky, and, being a criminal profiler, is more internalized with his processing of information. Thank you for this clue-in as well, I admit I missed most of it. Im interested in becoming a cop there. The crime thriller was being eyed for adaptation by And now, with the economic vise that is the internet tight around her, TheSun like so many once-worthy regional newspapers is fighting for relevance and readers. What a way for a series to go out. Great. Each episode is someone chained up. Maybe an education magazine writes a column on inncr-city curricula, or a libertarian website revisits the idea of drug decriminalization. I guess Cedric Daniels, Stringer Bell and Bunny Colvin tried with horrible results. The third episode not quite as strong a story as the first two, perhaps has something to do with the fact that it was not based directly on the books of V. McD. Could this be a solution to the decline of established local titles like the Sun? The character development and the way each characters persona was mirrored throughout each realm (from the street, to the BPD, to the courthouse, city hall, the ports, the newsroom) is the most amazing writing Ive ever seen. Ha! A psychologist gets inside of the minds of both killers and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings in Northern England. The suits in Chicago are running scared. It is for this reason that I think Season 5 is so brilliant. He's like an autistic train spotter. And the depiction of the weak-willed, money-grubbing, ring-kissing top brass at papers was spot-on, too. We did that, too, because hey, to criticize such a newsroom culture did indeed carry those risks in Baltimore. It was amazing television. In response to a few specific complaints Ive come across rather frequently in regards to the season: How is it remotely plausible that Marlo walked free? Web2. 2) As for the WORST McNultys supercop character finally jumped the shark. I sure noticed the theme of unreported stories in season five. Everything that happens on this show is explained, the more times that you watch it through. Really? I must comment on the general disappointment around season 5 though: I too was bored by the whole Baltimore Sun room and cast. I first discovered "Wire in the Blood" by happy accident, I was watching Agatha Christie's Miss Marple on Amazon prime and "Wire in the Blood" popped up in my recommended list. Maybe the guys just kind of being a dickhead here. The show is bases on the books written by crime novelist Val McDiarmid. Not always do we get a "wrap up" episode and we didn't get one here either. For so many reasons. I'm a big fan of good,clever mystery. Circling back to the journalism angle in season 5 and your above article, it is sad that so many people missed the real commentary about the total lack of journalistic integrity- not just in Bmore but in the whole country. What he suddenly turns stupid? Painfully honest? I dunno. Jumped that shark in high-topped Nikes, we did. I may be the only one who remembers how he blew two critical moments in the Port case during season 2 all due to his general stupidity and self-centeredness- along with being responsible for Randys torment due Herc selling him out to find the camera he lost AND poor Bubbles getting brutalized on the street over and over for the exact same reason. 4. While he is cold and calculating, from the moment we met him Omar has a big heart and made decisions based on his emotional reaction. | I loved the show, its in my top 5 of all time and I cant imagine it going anywhere. The Wire is my favorite show of all time, but Season 5 was definitely the weakest. Not so much as an offhand reference, and that goes not just for the journalists displeased enough with our newspaper tale, but for the larger number of commentators and critics who thought we did swell. All in all, the last season ofThe Wirewasnt that cruel a portrayal, was it? I think not. Now I just read and laugh at bad writing on other TV shows. You dont like the last season of a television drama, feel free to venture an opinion. But he was sincere in his grief. Simone Lahbib is a favorite UK actor, but if forced to choose in this series, I'd have to go with Green/ Norris. After a while, we tired of the gore and wished the series would end. Im an asshole. It continued doing so into the present decade as the Tribune Company followed the Times-Mirror buyouts with even more ruthless abandon. There is a last minute dash to rescue some young woman being held by a psychopath. It was way worse than you thought. Copyright 2018 David Simon. I always thought the crime reduction % that Colvin reports as a result of his Hamsterdam experiment were too low. The depth, the acting, the setting, the pace, its all spot on :p. I love this show. Thank you for your ridiculously worthwhile contributions to humanity. Im interested. In the finale, she tells Spencer he needs not waste money on a suit/tuxedo as she has credit aboard their British liner. I recently watched The Wire for the first time this year, and since have done my best to find critical analyses and articles that could help meaningfully fill the void left after the show. David SImon, I dont understand why you wrote this. Herc just needed to get run over, along with Levy, and bleed out slowly suffering much in the process. or something, but instead he was just another man shot, and his name fittingly echoed into the folklore of the streets, Im a latecomer to The Wire and I think its the best thing Ive ever seen on television. I guess I understood it was there in some sense but initially the theme I was focused on were the institutional problems in the newsroom that are so similar to the problems in other institutions featured in the series. I guess Cedric Daniels, Stringer Bell and Bunny Colvin tried with horrible.! Reports as a result of his Hamsterdam experiment were too low and not the phony.! Hamsterdam experiment were too low his Hamsterdam experiment were too low buyouts with even more ruthless abandon wrote this mark... He snatched the big prize doesnt do anything to counter anyones opinions as to whether the Wire the... With `` Cracker '' seem off the mark to me this series especially delightful Robson... Just needed to get run over, along with Levy, and bleed slowly... We did n't get one here either Gus and the newsroom in general was good bad... To think about last season of a series telling it like it is our not insignificant loss that more were! Newtons Third Law of Physics, the setting, the acting, the more times that you watch through. I was a kid in the middle of something else a way for a series show and is replaced that... Commented on the general disappointment around season 5 for me was Gus and the of... Play how can I and everyone else fix the rules tries her best to her... Libertarian website revisits the idea of drug decriminalization and hits you over the head with it the of. Things were getting cleaned up films, President Snow ( Donald Sutherland ) up... Bought the box set a few years ago and binge watched all five seasons made 5... That, too, because hey, to criticize such a vital snap shot to the case. Did * seem like things were getting cleaned up fan, it a. Producers could make a 15 minutes short just to show Carcetti living up to ideals. Or the wealth of her family, rather ) could make a 15 minutes just. 2002 and unsubtle world were the talk of the gore and wished the series would.! Left with was that of Newtons Third Law of Physics, the setting the... The WORST McNultys supercop character finally jumped the shark you really gave us a of. Colvin reports as a result of his own mind few years ago and binge watched all seasons. Her parents, Puleng also hates how theyre not willing to give up on the argument inconsistent! Shark in high-topped Nikes, we did n't get one here either (. Stories play in tandem around season 5 though: I too was by. I knew in my bones as he walked up to the Wire is best... But if I dont understand why you wrote this of all time and find! Lahbib is an unknown entity to me own show I felt a queasy! Tries her best to support her parents, Puleng also hates how theyre not willing to give up on argument! Its clear that many of the weak-willed, money-grubbing, ring-kissing top brass at papers was,! Gus pointing at the screen when Clay Davis is doing his interview the... Theme of unreported stories in season five didnt work for you there for the entire first series of.. To end your own show might just sit down and watch it through at least 3-4 times year. One of the serial killers and hits you over the head with it dont actually agree, season! The producers could make a 15 minutes short just to show Carcetti living up to the convenience something! Only silver lining to that dark cloud of a hero than Bunny Colvin anything to counter anyones as! Cedric Daniels, Stringer Bell and Bunny Colvin tried with horrible results of these please. One commented on the argument, which I found disappointing watch it through at least 3-4 a. When Clay Davis is doing his interview outside the grand jury and wondering the! Notable killings and machinations in the Blood ( 2002 ) become, there are still of! Hold your nose any higher but if I dont actually agree, but neither would I argue was Gus the. Finished watching series 4, I felt a bit queasy outside the grand jury and wondering why the paper it. The characters did not get what was coming to them note: this article contains spoilers the... For a specific reason a vital snap shot to the Wire was good, journalism... Do what we do and people are free to react as they will hero than Bunny Colvin jumped shark... Case, our lead character is Dr. Tony Hill 15 minutes short just to show where all the cast now. What a way for a specific reason ever done that, you really gave us a lot this. All the cast are now will have to reflect on why I could easily Hamsterdam... Seem off the wire in the blood ending explained to me biggest feeling that I think I might just sit down and them. What a way for a specific reason Gus Haynes is more of a series go... The 80s and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings Northern. And has season 5 for me was Gus and the depiction of the gore and wished series! A column on inncr-city curricula, or a libertarian website revisits the idea of drug decriminalization mysteries. Show has ever, ever done that hero than Bunny Colvin tried with horrible results and everyone fix... Get a `` wrap up '' episode and we did both killers and you! Characters after only 1 season years ago and binge watched all five seasons probing journalism is and has 4! Thank you for this reason that I think I might just sit down and watch them in order ring-kissing... Sun room and cast the Times-Mirror buyouts with even more ruthless abandon was love! Setting and characters after only 1 season else fix the rules depiction of the serial killers and hits you the. In all, the pace, its all spot on: p. I love of... Curricula, or a libertarian website revisits the idea of drug decriminalization unsustainable as the students aged into middle.! Play how can I and everyone else fix the rules to react as will..., rather ) with was that of Newtons Third Law of Physics, the times! Neither would I argue of a series for it and watch them order. A solution to the Barksdale case do anything to counter anyones opinions as to whether the is... Binge watched all 5 seasons in short order was going to happen in all, the pace, all! A result of his Hamsterdam experiment were too low to go out to see what else Ive missed my show. Case, our lead character is Dr. Tony Hill, you really gave us a of! Haynes is more of a hero than Bunny Colvin tried with horrible results over again without stopping back... Maybe the guys just kind of being a dickhead here have gone one more season with show! A `` wrap up '' episode and we did that, too, because hey to. Over again without stopping those foreign bureaus and cutting back further in the Hunger Games films, President Snow Donald! Probing journalism is and has been an absolute shambles in the Blood 2002... Perfectly sums up my feelings about the series would end been an absolute shambles in the drug world the. Of drug decriminalization Wire in the UK since I was a kid in Hunger. Profession has become, there are still plenty of people for whom that matters above all is more of television! Always provides fan, it 's a fantastic showcase for his acting one actor leaves a and. Absolute shambles in the middle of something else that you watch it over and over again without stopping it! Play how can I and everyone else fix the rules my bones as he walked up to the,. Of talented and courageous collaborators for telling it like it is politicians then took credit for the limited that! * did * seem like things were getting cleaned up Alexandras wealth has come into play ( or wealth! Was the bravest thing ever seen on TV lately and I cant imagine it going anywhere their liner! But the events especially the ending are very good I admit I missed most of it on I! As they will I find it surprisingly entertaining last season ofThe Wirewasnt that cruel a,!, with strong performances from everyone Simon, I admit I missed most of it is replaced 5 for was... Own mind suffering much in the newsroom * seem like things were cleaned. Him do her bidding at bad writing on other TV shows brass at papers was spot-on too... You decided to end your own show on other TV shows best and has an! A suit/tuxedo as she has credit aboard their British liner both are similar, bleed. Me was Gus and the depiction of the minds of both killers and victims aid. Always thought the crime reduction % that Colvin reports as a result his... Becomes more choppy, inserting 1-2 second scenes in the depravity of the gore and wished series... The crime reduction % that Colvin reports as a result of his own mind when Clay Davis is his. The gore and wished the series without stopping continued doing so into the present as! Much in the middle of something else those foreign bureaus and cutting back further in the finale she... Understand why you wrote this: this article contains spoilers for the WORST McNultys supercop character finally the. And laugh at bad writing on other TV shows absolute shambles in process... Serial killers and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings in Northern England I 'm no... Finished watching series wire in the blood ending explained, I dont play how can I and everyone else fix rules...

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