this and that and The Wire - Episode 9 - Game Day

[shadowkat]

Feeling much better - this "Neti-Pot" thing really works. Although not the most pleasant thing in the universe. Have you ever heard of it? I haven't. What you do is fill this tiny plastic tea pot with a packet of saline solution and water - then pour the water in your right nostril while breathing through your mouth - and it flows out your left nostril - effectively clearing you sinus cavity. Fascinating.

Learned what a "pocket track" is today. Which is a good thing, considering that's my new project. What's a pocket track? Well, it's basically the equivalent of a "u-turn" on a railroad track or at least that's my nickname for it. They call it a signal switch, which enables a train that has been speeding east to switch tracks and directions, and go west. This provides more trains, more frequency of trains, and better travel time. For example say you take the train from New York to DC. But the train you take has to come all the way from Boston. So, you have to wait for the Boston train. A pocket track would enable a train to arrive that just goes from New York to DC and back again. No waiting for that Boston train, which by the time it reaches you is probably crowded. Nifty eh? Also incredibly expensive and complicated to create. You have to have the right amount of feet and yardage between tracks, number of cars, etc. I love learning new things. Although giving you a little insight into that - and the fact that I have to read engineering language - which from my perspective is not all that different from reading stereo instructions - may explain my taste in tv shows and books or maybe not. My taste is so incredibly eclectic and all over the place, I defy you to figure it out. Not that I can necessarily figure out anyone else's.

The Wire episode 9 - Game Day.

Not a bad episode. A bit slow in places. Bubbles storyline feels a bit cliche and predictable to me, but that's mainly because I've watched one too many down on their luck drug addict movies, tv shows, and after-school specials in my lifetime. It was a rather popular trope in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly during the whole Regan era's Just Say No to Drugs push. The fact that I've actually known drug-addicts, and share the elevator with them every single day at work (they populate the fifth floor of my building along with a lot of other people I won't mention - one gets used to it after a while) probably doesn't help.

My favorite part of the story is the cops. I find how they are diligently working to solve this case, and trap the bad guy - fascinating. Also, I rather like them. This rag-tag team of cops diligently trying to fight an impossible battle.



I also rather like Omar. Omar's tale is interesting. He's trying to take down Avon Barksdale all by his lonesome. Can't help but root for him - even though it's bound to screw up the cops operation. Rather funny scene with Omar making a deal with Avon's competitor. Avon's competitor - the guy who runs the West Baltimore Projects and won the big Basketball tournament against Avon, as well as a bet - tells Omar, let me get this straight - you are giving me Avon's stash for free, asking for info on where to find Avon so you can take him out, and I won a bet against him ? I'm thinking this is not Avon's Day. (Me: No, it's really not. Considering what the cops have been doing).

I love the little details in this show often better than the big stuff - like the scene with D'Angelo's girlfriend talking to Lester about his toy furniture. Or D'Angelo's scene with her later, which is a great parallel to D'Angelo's earlier scene with Wallace. (Wallace by the way is the guy who is now playing Vince Howard on Friday Night Lights - another great dramatic series along the same lines as the Wire (except about high school Football in West Texas) but also heightened reality. If you haven't seen it and you like the Wire, it's worth a look-see, takes a while to get into. And the second season is weak...but after that, rather good.) Also Daniels chasing Avon around after the Game is rather fun. One of the best bits is the exchange between the two buddy cops regarding the stash they've taken. Baseball Cap cop considers taking a bit off the top, his partner explains how it's clever except, the guys listening to the Wire know exactly how much is in the stash. This gets proven true, when they accidentally lose two thousand of it. And get called on it by Daniels. Non-baseball cap guy glares at his partner. Next scene - they are frantically searching the vehicle they impounded and retrieved it from. They find it - but wonder if Daniels will believe them.

Those bits are golden.


You know,( or rather you don't know - for how would you know? What a silly phrase that is - or at least it is in that context. How in the heck do people who don't speak English as a first language, translate that?) Anyhow, I was thinking about why people watch the tv shows or read the books they do. We do both for different reasons, depending on our mood or at least I do. Kidbro for example has no patience for pure pleasure reading, he wants informational books, non-fiction, or better literature - he struggles with reading, so he figures it might as well count. Me? I've read everything, but since I read a lot of difficult and dry stuff at work, and write it, I prefer lighter fare for enjoyment. Granted my lighter fare may seem a bit bizarre to some - considering lately I've been on a sci-fantasy/horror pulp novel kick, with frequent forays into YA sci-fantasy fiction. But that's only because I wore out the mystery novel, romance novel, spy thriller, suspense thriller, and chick-lit genres some time ago. I veer away from non-fiction, and "literature" because a)that feels like work, people, and b)it puts me to sleep, and c)I don't have to any more. But when I was unemployed and bored out of my mind or working in boring jobs that didn't use my brain? I ate that stuff up like candy. TV shows are more or less the same way.

The Wire is a lot of work. I can only do an episode a night during the week. And I can't be too tired or brain dead from work or anything else - or I won't be able to follow it. That's not to say it isn't really good or I'm not enjoying it. I am. Just that it requires a bit of work to watch. You can't just sit back and veg or go along for the ride. I spend a lot of time rewinding to catch bits that I've missed. I'll think - wait, what did I just miss there, and rewind. Casual television viewing it's not. Which is fine and well if you don't have a mentally tough or intellectually challenging occupation that wears out the old brain. Not everyone does, or not all the time. Work being what it is.

Remember having this discussion with some dude named redactor on a Buffy fan board several years back, who explained to me that he was not enjoying S6 Buffy because a)it was depressing, b)it wasn't fun, c) it required too much work. He just wanted to be entertained. He was watching it for pure
fun, not taking it all that seriously. Heck, it was just a tv show after all. He's not wrong.
At the time = I was arguing the opposite, but I was also bored out of my mind and depressed.
Now, I can sort of see his point. That's the fun thing about life, sooner or later you will find yourself on the opposite side of the argument or equation, and when you do, it can be well, an interesting education in perspective.

Comments

[shapinglight]

I think you'll find that ultimately Bubbles's story is anything but cliched. All these arcs play out over the full five years of the show. The Westside boss is Proposition Joe. Have to say, I do love that character. Hard to explain why.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

PROP JOE! ♥ Good god, you're making me want to rewatch the entire series from the start, I'd forgotten that he shows up this early.

One of the best bits is the exchange between the two buddy cops regarding the stash they've taken.

That's Herc (the white guy) and Carver (the black guy). Keep half an eye on them. One of the things I love about The Wire: they keep introducing characters who look like your standard cop show tropes (the cowboy cop, the rookie, the grizzled investigator, the salt&pepper beat cops, the commisioner, etc etc) and then just... let them be real instead.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

Herc and Carver! To this day I remain floored by how those two characters ended the series. I'm still not sure which fate shocked me more. Maybe Herc...no Carver...no Herc...no Carver...

As for for Bubbles...the thing about Bubbles is that you're in a 5-year arc now for this character. He starts off kind of "after-school special" (a fair cop), but it he really doesn't end this way.

I kind of love Prop Joe because he's so...so...old school. There's a key scene for his character either this season or next which pretty much sums up why he does things the way he does.

*uses Homicide icon because I don't have a Wire one*

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

So apparently these characters aren't just for one season but along for the ride for all five? For some reason, I was under the impression that the cast and whole story changed each season? First season - cops,
then the politicians, then the schools, then the newspapers.

But this sounds more like Homicide Life on the Streets, Friday Night Lights or Game of Thrones - in that you have core characters, and as you move forward you add new ones, but you still get to see the old ones through to their arc?

Don't spoil me on Herc and Carver - they are growing on me. They started out as sort of the cliche dumb cops who beat up perps, but they've become really interesting in the last three episodes.

[candleanfeather.livejournal.com]

"The Wire is a lot of work. " Yes,I've watched it three times now and each time I caught something new that had escaped me: a new thread in the story, a scene that tells much about a character. The writing is incredibly tight. From what I've read, they had written the whole five seasons before the shooting; it shows in everything be it the characters'arc and development, the plot, the continuity between the seasons...

It seems you're slowly succumbing to Omar's charm. Believe me you'll often root for him even though he's doing things that are not at all commendable.

Prop Joe is without any doubt a rascal with blood on his hands but still strangely lovable. You'll see more of him later.He's quite an interesting and enjoyable character. Also the actor really sells him.

The thing is that the writers gave their gangsters a real humanity (at least most of them)and here and there you catch a glimpse at who they could have become, had they had the luck to grow in another social environement.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

That's Herc (the white guy) and Carver (the black guy).

Thanks. I thought the white guy with the baseball cap's name was Herc, but could not remember and didn't want to rewind again to check.

Keep half an eye on them. One of the things I love about The Wire: they keep introducing characters who look like your standard cop show tropes (the cowboy cop, the rookie, the grizzled investigator, the salt&pepper beat cops, the commisioner, etc etc) and then just... let them be real instead.

I've noticed this as well. There's only a handful of tv shows and tales that do this well - Friday Night Lights did (the Wire reminds me a little of it actually - although Friday is a different genre) and Game of Thrones if it continues to follow the books...will go the same route. Homicide also pulled it off.


PROP JOE!

Oh, so that's his name? Rather interesting character. He's hilarious in episode 9. That's the first episode he appears in - The Game, his team is fighting Avon's in a basketball tournament held annually between the projects.
Apparently Avon owns the East Projects, and Prop Joe owns the West Projects. And both have competing drug organizations.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

The Westside boss is Proposition Joe. Have to say, I do love that character. Hard to explain why.

Oh, I know why. He's hilarious. With a very dry wit and
is very smart. He has two scenes in Episode 9 - and in both he manages to slyly hit Avon without raising a finger.

[shapinglight]

I always meant to upload a Prop Joe icon, but it seems a bit after the event to do it now.

[shapinglight]

For some reason, I was under the impression that the cast and whole story changed each season? First season - cops,
then the politicians, then the schools, then the newspapers.

The focus of the story changes with each season and new characters are introduced, but the old characters never go away either. It's like a huge tapestry with new threads constantly being added.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Absolutely, the show adds new layers, but it doesn't get rid of the old ones. The initial arcs run all through the series (though obviously not all characters make it to the end alive). It just keeps getting more complex with every season.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

The writing is incredibly tight. From what I've read, they had written the whole five seasons before the shooting; it shows in everything be it the characters'arc and development, the plot, the continuity between the seasons...

Not to mention detailed. That's rare. Partly because you don't know if you will get a second season or even a third. I think they threatened to cancel the Wire twice when it first aired? Even though it was on HBO - not enough subscribers, it'll disappear. But - it does have a better chance on HBO than non-cable.

It's not flawless though. There's a few scenes that drag a bit and they spend far too much time in the strip club on throw-away scenes with D'Angelo. Some of those scenes work, some...could have been cut. I'd say three episodes of the first season drug a bit - 1, 2, and 5. Episode 9 was also a bit slow. There's hardly any female characters in the show - which by the way is not realistic, there should be more than there are. It's almost too male dominated. A female junkie or drug dealer...or even another female cop? Or female defense attorney? Watching the Wire makes me feel like a disenfranchised minority.

But outside of those quibbles? I'm enjoying it quite a bit. ;-)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Ah. Like Friday Night Lights and Game of Thrones...cool.

Rather like shows like that...they require more attention and work than most tv shows, but in the end they are far more rewarding and stick with me longer.

Thanks.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Which means some of my quibbles regarding S1 will most likely work themselves out? I have to say I prefer tv shows that build on themselves, and are more like novels. Television lends itself to the video novel format very well. The only problem is when you watch it live...you have these long breaks between episodes or seasons...and have to remind yourself what happened previously. Although to be fair, I'm having the same problem with George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire novels and those are books.

The initial arcs run all through the series (though obviously not all characters make it to the end alive). It just keeps getting more complex with every season.

There's a hint of that happening in Episode 9, when Lester tells Daniels that when you follow the drugs you find drug dealers and addicts, when you follow the money...the sky's the limit, you have no idea what you might uncover. "And I know you don't want to hear this - but that's what we have to do, that's the important stuff - what lies behind all of it."

I'm guessing the arc is following all the sectors of society that are influenced by drug money and the degree it has funded the city's infrastructure.
That's quite realistic actually and fascinating.

[candleanfeather.livejournal.com]

"There's a few scenes that drag a bit " That's how it felt during my first marathon too. But they grew on me on rewatch, because very often they retrospectively became significant, they tie to a theme, a character development. I've also learned to appreciate the slow beginnings that constitute a characteristic of the wire.

As for the women I agree, it's a very masculine world but Rhonda won't disappear and you will encounter more female characters on both sides. But yes as a whole they are more in the background.

[candleanfeather.livejournal.com]

"I'm guessing the arc is following all the sectors of society that are influenced by drug money and the degree it has funded the city's infrastructure." It's even larger than that.Have a close look at season 2, you'll see how the social analysis of the Wire is complex and develop after that. It really is an ambitious show. I have seen critics in France that compare it to social novels. I think they are right.

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

The lack of female pov's is my major problem with the show. It's frustrating because the show is so clearheaded about examining systemic prejudice and it fails bigtime here.

As for the work of watching the show, it is of course rewarding work and after a while it's almost like the show trains you in how to watch it. That said I would regularly turn on subtitles for some characters, and I read the episode summaries on the dvds because I wasn't sure I'd grasped everything. If you google him, Alan Sepinwall has a great series of re-watch posts on each episode - just make sure you only read his spoiler-free versions - he has a great deal of insight and caught a lot of things that I missed.

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

(I don't have an appropriate icon for a neti pot discussion)
Yes, I got a neti pot last fall and used it all last winter (I should be using it now since I've had a lot of congestion lately) and it does work great...

the first couple of times I tried it I leaned too far over the sink (so my nose got lower than my chin) which was a HUGE mistake because I was effectively water boarding myself (getting water into the upper most sinus cavities). When I told people how painful it was, I learned that I was doing it wrong(!): I had to keep the chin up so I'm not leaning over, but just tilting my upright head and allowing the water to only flow from one nostril to the next through the lower sinuses... Once I got the hang of it I found it very easy and painless.

And as you say, it is effective.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Actually that icon works fairly well. I have none. Bad at the whole icon thing. LOL!

It does take a while to get the hang of it. I kept getting water trickling down my throat. If you do it wrong - you drown yourself.
It's basically like getting water up your nose. But it does appear to be working.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Here's the thing? The world isn't a masculine one in reality - that's in part the failure of the writers. There are women in that world - but the writer isn't interested in them. There's another series - Friday Night Lights - focuses heavily on a man's world - high school football in West Texas, but it does an excellent job of developing several strong female characters. Game of Thrones - also depicts what is traditionally considered a male world - but the writer threads in strong female characters, and gives them a voice, subverting the traditional trope. Mad Men is about a male world - but has many strong female characters. No, this is clearly a failing of the writers - who are also at the moment all male. Homicide Life on the Streets had a similar failing. Oddly, Treme - his last series doesn't fall into this trap - there are several strong female characters in that one - but I wasn't able to get into it, in part because I missed the first season. But saw enough to see that difference.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

The lack of female pov's is my major problem with the show. It's frustrating because the show is so clearheaded about examining systemic prejudice and it fails bigtime here.

That's my current struggle with it. There's so much they could have done.
D'Angelo's girlfriend should be a major character. McNulty's wife. The Prosecutor - Pearlman. I see so many missed opportunities in the first nine episodes.

Other series similar to The Wire have included strong female characters. So there really is no justification for it. But - I knew that would be a problem going into it. It's why I didn't watch it sooner - because I'd read and/or watched too many male dominated series/books and needed to break it up a bit. We really are a disenfranchized minority when it comes to certain genres...unfortunately genres I love.

That said I would regularly turn on subtitles for some characters, and I read the episode summaries on the dvds because I wasn't sure I'd grasped everything.

I've admittedly been reading the DVD summaries prior to watching the episodes. Also lots and lots of rewinding. I think I did turn on close-captioning once. It's hard to hear what they are saying sometimes.

I'm avoiding critical reviews prior to watching each episode - because I want to see it as clearly as possible. Without someone else's take prejudicing my own. Also - I'm trying to avoid spoilers.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Should add as a point of clarification? I knew the series would be fairly male dominated going in - Homicide Life on the Street certainly was. And I'm by no means opposed to watching or reading male centric books, films and tv shows - I actually like them.
But I think it's important to critique the flaw and not shrug it off, which I've been known to do in the past.