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shadowkatRemember when I kept mentioning how the Wire reminded me a lot of Richard Price's novels and films, notably "Clockers" (which flips between a drug dealer and the cop tracking him) and Freedomland?
How both are similarly structured with the story spreading out, with large ensemble casts? And are social criticism? Well...guess who writes episode 2 of S3 The Wire? Richard Price. And I can tell.
From Wiki: Price's novels explore late 20th century urban America in a gritty, realistic manner that has brought him considerable literary acclaim. Several of his novels are set in a fictional northern New Jersey city called Dempsy.
During his commentary of episode 2 - he states that characters like Omar, you got to be careful not to over-use or over-expose. You don't want to see them too much. Or you lose the very thing that makes the character appealing - that mystery, engima. These are characters that live outside the lines. They are in a prison for their ideals, so operate outside of society. For example doing a spin-off for the character Kramer would be a mistake. He's not wrong. He also mentions how he wrote the dog-fight scene by asking someone to provide information on it. Because he had no interest in seeing it. His focus in his stories is on the gray-areas...the criminals in normal areas...showing the gray area. In Clockers - he did a scene where the kid drug dealers see the cops in a mall - so he plagarized a scene from Clockers for this episode - where the kids find the cops in the movie theater. He states this is what he likes to write about, the small stuff, the gray areas of the life - not the big moments, the score, the win - no, he prefers to write the smaller character stuff, the real stuff.
Price is worth searching out if you are into this particular trope. I've seen quite a few of his films and read both Clockers and Freedomland. Freedomland is about a child's disappearance, and
how it affects everyone in the community. There are no good guys or bad guys in Price's novels or for that matter really in the Wire. His commentary on episode 2 is also worthwhile. He discusses the writing process a lot. For example - coded political back-talk scenes - incremental jockeying between the political issues, and nothing direct - he admits having no ability with, and how hard it is for him to write - and he had to get help from another writer to break it down and understand what needed to happen. The chess-game between the two characters. Damn-it, he just spoiled me on Aiden Gillen's character's ambitions. So stopping now - in case he spoils me on anything else.
The Game is the Game - Avon Barksdale.
Episode 1 was much like Episode 1 of S1, sort of slow and all set up. It takes place at least 3 months after S2, possibly more. Daniels and his wife are separated, Kima's partner has had her baby and Kima couldn't be less interested, Elena (McNulty's ex) has hooked up with a rather boring suit,
and everyone on the detail is frustrated and about to give up. Meanwhile a pesky Councilman with a last name I can't spell, so I'm calling him Tommy C (portrayed by a much younger Aiden Gillian) is making Commission Burrell and Chief Deputy Bill (not Lou - I clearly heard the name wrong) Rawls' lives a living hell. Both got promoted because of Daniels findings last year. Daniels hasn't - because the Mayor is holding up his promotion to see what happens with his wife - who is preparing to run for a council seat - taking the seat of a lady councilwoman who is already in The Mayor's pocket.
The Mayor is your basic asswipe, actually that's realistic - the Mayors of Baltimore, DC, and NYC are all asswipes...they have impossible jobs and tend to cater to the rich businessmen, ignoring everyone else. It's all about money and economics. They aren't the bad guys, it's not that black and white.
* McNulty...has gotten frustrated. They are no closer to getting Stringer than they were before. Note - McNulty's desire to get Stringer goes all the way back to episode 1, S1, and is how The Wire got started. McNulty figured out that Stringer was behind all the drug related murders and homicide's inability to get a conviction on any of them. Stringer meanwhile has figured out that life is easier if they don't kill anyone - actually he always knew that - it was Avon who was killing people, Stringer who kept trying to do the whole drug biz as well a biz. But he had to cover up the killings Avon was doing, and somehow keep the territory. A frustrated McNulty is not a good thing - this means he's going to get antsy.
And he does...he looks up D'Angelo - with the intent of getting D'Angelo to roll on Stringer, not knowing Stringer killed D'Angelo a year ago. He finds out that D'Angelo committed suicide - but finds that well fishy and being McNulty decides to look into it with his trusty pal Frazier and Bunk.
Both confirm his suspicions. Which results in a visit to D'Angelo's ex - who is none too pleased to see him littering her living room.
* Stringer meanwhile has other problems, problems that are making Major Bunny and Major Marvin edgy.
Both get their asses handed to them for not dealing with the multiple homicide problem on the East Side. The drug traffic has moved to the corners - with the projects being mowed down. In some respects it was more contained and less of a problem in the projects. The city's attempt to do away with the drug trafficing by removing the projects - merely moved it elsewhere. Stringer states that territory doesn't matter - and tries to get his people to stop fighting over it. It's product that matters - we have a good product- we can go anywhere. But no, they keep fighting with Prop Joes boys over territory - which raises the city's homicide rate, which in turn gives the city council something to torture the Commissioner and Chief Deputy with. And they in turn torture their majors.
Bunny realizes, after one his own gets shot down - that you know, life would be so much easier if we just legalized drugs. This reminds him a lot of prohibition. When the police arrested the poor boys drinking on the street corners - until they figured out how to put the drugs in a bag. We're wasting our time and our blood on three vials of cocaine. Who cares. Let them deal their drugs and let's solve actual crimes. [It's odd those were my thoughts exactly while watching this. Legalize the drugs. So what if a few nitwits decide to get addicted and die - natural selection at it's best.
Also another underlying point is made - just like the prohibition - where the wealthy could drink without fear of being arrested in speak-easy's, the poor are regulated to streets and get the cops attention focused on them. Same deal now - the upper middle-class or rich can do drugs whenever they want, deal them, etc - without problems - because they don't have to do the corners or go outside to do it. I know - I've had friends who not only did drugs but dealt them in college and out. Drove me nuts that they did it recreationally, while there were poor people serving twenty years for possession of one package of crack cocaine. Non-crack cocaine or the white man's version gets far less than that - just ask Lindsey Lohan. That's the social commentary right there and while not subtle, it is timely.]
So Bunny does Stringer a favor - he pulls his guys off the corners, and stops policing them. Pissing off former narcotics cops Carver and Herc who desperately want to nab these guys not only for hurting Doze but for eluding them for all this time. There's a wonderfully awkward scene where the corner boys, Bodie and Poot (the Herc and Carver of the Projects) meet Herc and Carvers with their dates at the movies. "You go to the movies too? Whoa. Didn't know that. Figured all you did was hunt us down."
(Price in his commentary describes how he hit upon this bit while researching Clockers - that an old cop had literally related a similar scene to him. So he plagarized the scene he did in Clockers (the Spike Lee film based on the book of the same name) for The Wire.)
*Cedric Daniels and Rhonda Pearlmen get it on. (Not sure how believable this is, felt more well tv predictable to me. Although I think Cedric is hot and totally wasted on his wife Marla, who is an absolute idiot for not realizing what a gem she has in this man. He is truly the best of the guys on the detail, him and Lester Freamon. Although Cedric has a better body. Gorgeous man. Rhonda has definitely traded up. Marla's loss, Rhonda's gain. Rhonda also waits until she's sure Marla is out of the picture.) Rhonda to Cedric: You're living out of your office, Cedric? Later, Rhonda to Cedric: Remember how you said this may be one of those days that you can have your cake and eat it too? (she puts her hand on his crotch - and off they go. I give the Wire credit for suggested sex scenes - one of the few HBO shows to do that.] Don't feel sorry for McNulty - he picks up a girl at a bar, using Bunk as the way to do it. He's such a womanizer. LOL!
*Omar has a beautiful scene at the beginning of episode 2, which is perfectly written and not over-done. Price is right, too much of these types of characters is not a good idea. (Although in the case of Spike, I maintain that a Spike spin-off would have been far more entertaining than the Angel one was. Considering the Spike comic book was far more entertaining than either the Buffy or Angel comics, I rest my case, although I'm sure your mileage varies on that. But generally speaking, characters like this need to be used sparingly, because it would lose a bit of the effect. I actually think that was also true of Ziggy, who is thankfully no longer in the series.] This is well set up with the tale of the tourists, a cripple and his wife, asking for Edward Allan Poe's house (Edgar Allen Poe). Then a cripple and a woman wheeling him shows up at the drug house as the two drug dealers are discussing this story. The woman convinces them they are kosher, they search the guy, but not completely and pull him up the stairs and into the house, where Omar reveals himself and robs them, with the help of his two female partners. These poor drug dealers are not having a good week, not only do they get robbed twice, they also get raided by the police.
*Another truly hilarious moment - the police hear Cheese go on about killing his dawg on the Wire.
They assume it's one of four people who have been killed. And bring him in. Bunk and McNulty confront him with the murder of his dawg and how he just can't sleep at night because of it. And when Cheese finally copts to killing his dawg, and says, man, you guys are cold. Bunk shows him the photos of the men dead - which boy is your dawg? Cheese is understandably bewildered. If he's not here, Bunk states, tell us where you left him. In the warehouse, Cheese states. May still be there, I don't know.
And indicates that it was "an actual" dog. Wait, says McNulty, exchanging a look with Bunk..
We go outside the room and watch Rhonda, Cedric, Rawls and Major Marvin all look through the window into the interrogation - all convinced Bunk and McNulty broke Cheese and Cheese admitted to the murders. After the higher ups leave, and Cedric and Rhonda are left - Bunk and McNulty leave the room annoyed. What did you get, they ask them feeling like they've just won the lotto. "Animal cruelty, and charged for poor disposal of an animal." (I nearly died laughing. As much as I hated the dog fighting scene - that scene totally made up for it. Also Price is right - the dog-fighting is realistic. It also shows how the situation has worsened since S1. In S1 - they played Basketball against each other, now dog fights. It is also a referral to the duck that Ziggy uses as a play thing at the bar in S2.)
*S2 was about where the drugs came from, and in some respects the people smuggling the drugs and contraband in where far worse than those distributing it, checking it, or dealing it. Daniels is right when he tells McNulty that Stringer isn't the worst guy they lost, there's others out there.
S3 is about the political hierarchy that has created the drug culture and crime. Making drugs illegal results in the crime. Stringer really would prefer to be a business man, he's not interested in street warfare and soliders, that's Avon's ball game. That's not to say Stringer is beyond a bit of murder to further his own interests.
* The political chess-game. I think Burrell may have met his match in Tommy C (Aiden Gillen) who clearly has an agenda. The focus has shifted from Jaye Landsman and Bill Rawls, to Bunny and Burrell
and Marvin. We also have the real Jay Landsman playing a role (he's unrecognizable - since he's thin, old, and has a mustache.) Considering how hard this scene was for Price to write, he does a decent job of it. But he admits Simon helped him with it. They are playing each other in the scene.
*Switch to the ambitious Marla who is pursuing a council seat and needs Cedric to pretend to be her husband to get it. When she thanks him, he melts my heart when he says - "It's the least I can do, considering all those years you put my career first and supported me". Cedric Daniels may be the most honorable man with a title.
Okay off to watch something light and fun and brainless..
How both are similarly structured with the story spreading out, with large ensemble casts? And are social criticism? Well...guess who writes episode 2 of S3 The Wire? Richard Price. And I can tell.
From Wiki: Price's novels explore late 20th century urban America in a gritty, realistic manner that has brought him considerable literary acclaim. Several of his novels are set in a fictional northern New Jersey city called Dempsy.
During his commentary of episode 2 - he states that characters like Omar, you got to be careful not to over-use or over-expose. You don't want to see them too much. Or you lose the very thing that makes the character appealing - that mystery, engima. These are characters that live outside the lines. They are in a prison for their ideals, so operate outside of society. For example doing a spin-off for the character Kramer would be a mistake. He's not wrong. He also mentions how he wrote the dog-fight scene by asking someone to provide information on it. Because he had no interest in seeing it. His focus in his stories is on the gray-areas...the criminals in normal areas...showing the gray area. In Clockers - he did a scene where the kid drug dealers see the cops in a mall - so he plagarized a scene from Clockers for this episode - where the kids find the cops in the movie theater. He states this is what he likes to write about, the small stuff, the gray areas of the life - not the big moments, the score, the win - no, he prefers to write the smaller character stuff, the real stuff.
Price is worth searching out if you are into this particular trope. I've seen quite a few of his films and read both Clockers and Freedomland. Freedomland is about a child's disappearance, and
how it affects everyone in the community. There are no good guys or bad guys in Price's novels or for that matter really in the Wire. His commentary on episode 2 is also worthwhile. He discusses the writing process a lot. For example - coded political back-talk scenes - incremental jockeying between the political issues, and nothing direct - he admits having no ability with, and how hard it is for him to write - and he had to get help from another writer to break it down and understand what needed to happen. The chess-game between the two characters. Damn-it, he just spoiled me on Aiden Gillen's character's ambitions. So stopping now - in case he spoils me on anything else.
The Game is the Game - Avon Barksdale.
Episode 1 was much like Episode 1 of S1, sort of slow and all set up. It takes place at least 3 months after S2, possibly more. Daniels and his wife are separated, Kima's partner has had her baby and Kima couldn't be less interested, Elena (McNulty's ex) has hooked up with a rather boring suit,
and everyone on the detail is frustrated and about to give up. Meanwhile a pesky Councilman with a last name I can't spell, so I'm calling him Tommy C (portrayed by a much younger Aiden Gillian) is making Commission Burrell and Chief Deputy Bill (not Lou - I clearly heard the name wrong) Rawls' lives a living hell. Both got promoted because of Daniels findings last year. Daniels hasn't - because the Mayor is holding up his promotion to see what happens with his wife - who is preparing to run for a council seat - taking the seat of a lady councilwoman who is already in The Mayor's pocket.
The Mayor is your basic asswipe, actually that's realistic - the Mayors of Baltimore, DC, and NYC are all asswipes...they have impossible jobs and tend to cater to the rich businessmen, ignoring everyone else. It's all about money and economics. They aren't the bad guys, it's not that black and white.
* McNulty...has gotten frustrated. They are no closer to getting Stringer than they were before. Note - McNulty's desire to get Stringer goes all the way back to episode 1, S1, and is how The Wire got started. McNulty figured out that Stringer was behind all the drug related murders and homicide's inability to get a conviction on any of them. Stringer meanwhile has figured out that life is easier if they don't kill anyone - actually he always knew that - it was Avon who was killing people, Stringer who kept trying to do the whole drug biz as well a biz. But he had to cover up the killings Avon was doing, and somehow keep the territory. A frustrated McNulty is not a good thing - this means he's going to get antsy.
And he does...he looks up D'Angelo - with the intent of getting D'Angelo to roll on Stringer, not knowing Stringer killed D'Angelo a year ago. He finds out that D'Angelo committed suicide - but finds that well fishy and being McNulty decides to look into it with his trusty pal Frazier and Bunk.
Both confirm his suspicions. Which results in a visit to D'Angelo's ex - who is none too pleased to see him littering her living room.
* Stringer meanwhile has other problems, problems that are making Major Bunny and Major Marvin edgy.
Both get their asses handed to them for not dealing with the multiple homicide problem on the East Side. The drug traffic has moved to the corners - with the projects being mowed down. In some respects it was more contained and less of a problem in the projects. The city's attempt to do away with the drug trafficing by removing the projects - merely moved it elsewhere. Stringer states that territory doesn't matter - and tries to get his people to stop fighting over it. It's product that matters - we have a good product- we can go anywhere. But no, they keep fighting with Prop Joes boys over territory - which raises the city's homicide rate, which in turn gives the city council something to torture the Commissioner and Chief Deputy with. And they in turn torture their majors.
Bunny realizes, after one his own gets shot down - that you know, life would be so much easier if we just legalized drugs. This reminds him a lot of prohibition. When the police arrested the poor boys drinking on the street corners - until they figured out how to put the drugs in a bag. We're wasting our time and our blood on three vials of cocaine. Who cares. Let them deal their drugs and let's solve actual crimes. [It's odd those were my thoughts exactly while watching this. Legalize the drugs. So what if a few nitwits decide to get addicted and die - natural selection at it's best.
Also another underlying point is made - just like the prohibition - where the wealthy could drink without fear of being arrested in speak-easy's, the poor are regulated to streets and get the cops attention focused on them. Same deal now - the upper middle-class or rich can do drugs whenever they want, deal them, etc - without problems - because they don't have to do the corners or go outside to do it. I know - I've had friends who not only did drugs but dealt them in college and out. Drove me nuts that they did it recreationally, while there were poor people serving twenty years for possession of one package of crack cocaine. Non-crack cocaine or the white man's version gets far less than that - just ask Lindsey Lohan. That's the social commentary right there and while not subtle, it is timely.]
So Bunny does Stringer a favor - he pulls his guys off the corners, and stops policing them. Pissing off former narcotics cops Carver and Herc who desperately want to nab these guys not only for hurting Doze but for eluding them for all this time. There's a wonderfully awkward scene where the corner boys, Bodie and Poot (the Herc and Carver of the Projects) meet Herc and Carvers with their dates at the movies. "You go to the movies too? Whoa. Didn't know that. Figured all you did was hunt us down."
(Price in his commentary describes how he hit upon this bit while researching Clockers - that an old cop had literally related a similar scene to him. So he plagarized the scene he did in Clockers (the Spike Lee film based on the book of the same name) for The Wire.)
*Cedric Daniels and Rhonda Pearlmen get it on. (Not sure how believable this is, felt more well tv predictable to me. Although I think Cedric is hot and totally wasted on his wife Marla, who is an absolute idiot for not realizing what a gem she has in this man. He is truly the best of the guys on the detail, him and Lester Freamon. Although Cedric has a better body. Gorgeous man. Rhonda has definitely traded up. Marla's loss, Rhonda's gain. Rhonda also waits until she's sure Marla is out of the picture.) Rhonda to Cedric: You're living out of your office, Cedric? Later, Rhonda to Cedric: Remember how you said this may be one of those days that you can have your cake and eat it too? (she puts her hand on his crotch - and off they go. I give the Wire credit for suggested sex scenes - one of the few HBO shows to do that.] Don't feel sorry for McNulty - he picks up a girl at a bar, using Bunk as the way to do it. He's such a womanizer. LOL!
*Omar has a beautiful scene at the beginning of episode 2, which is perfectly written and not over-done. Price is right, too much of these types of characters is not a good idea. (Although in the case of Spike, I maintain that a Spike spin-off would have been far more entertaining than the Angel one was. Considering the Spike comic book was far more entertaining than either the Buffy or Angel comics, I rest my case, although I'm sure your mileage varies on that. But generally speaking, characters like this need to be used sparingly, because it would lose a bit of the effect. I actually think that was also true of Ziggy, who is thankfully no longer in the series.] This is well set up with the tale of the tourists, a cripple and his wife, asking for Edward Allan Poe's house (Edgar Allen Poe). Then a cripple and a woman wheeling him shows up at the drug house as the two drug dealers are discussing this story. The woman convinces them they are kosher, they search the guy, but not completely and pull him up the stairs and into the house, where Omar reveals himself and robs them, with the help of his two female partners. These poor drug dealers are not having a good week, not only do they get robbed twice, they also get raided by the police.
*Another truly hilarious moment - the police hear Cheese go on about killing his dawg on the Wire.
They assume it's one of four people who have been killed. And bring him in. Bunk and McNulty confront him with the murder of his dawg and how he just can't sleep at night because of it. And when Cheese finally copts to killing his dawg, and says, man, you guys are cold. Bunk shows him the photos of the men dead - which boy is your dawg? Cheese is understandably bewildered. If he's not here, Bunk states, tell us where you left him. In the warehouse, Cheese states. May still be there, I don't know.
And indicates that it was "an actual" dog. Wait, says McNulty, exchanging a look with Bunk..
We go outside the room and watch Rhonda, Cedric, Rawls and Major Marvin all look through the window into the interrogation - all convinced Bunk and McNulty broke Cheese and Cheese admitted to the murders. After the higher ups leave, and Cedric and Rhonda are left - Bunk and McNulty leave the room annoyed. What did you get, they ask them feeling like they've just won the lotto. "Animal cruelty, and charged for poor disposal of an animal." (I nearly died laughing. As much as I hated the dog fighting scene - that scene totally made up for it. Also Price is right - the dog-fighting is realistic. It also shows how the situation has worsened since S1. In S1 - they played Basketball against each other, now dog fights. It is also a referral to the duck that Ziggy uses as a play thing at the bar in S2.)
*S2 was about where the drugs came from, and in some respects the people smuggling the drugs and contraband in where far worse than those distributing it, checking it, or dealing it. Daniels is right when he tells McNulty that Stringer isn't the worst guy they lost, there's others out there.
S3 is about the political hierarchy that has created the drug culture and crime. Making drugs illegal results in the crime. Stringer really would prefer to be a business man, he's not interested in street warfare and soliders, that's Avon's ball game. That's not to say Stringer is beyond a bit of murder to further his own interests.
* The political chess-game. I think Burrell may have met his match in Tommy C (Aiden Gillen) who clearly has an agenda. The focus has shifted from Jaye Landsman and Bill Rawls, to Bunny and Burrell
and Marvin. We also have the real Jay Landsman playing a role (he's unrecognizable - since he's thin, old, and has a mustache.) Considering how hard this scene was for Price to write, he does a decent job of it. But he admits Simon helped him with it. They are playing each other in the scene.
*Switch to the ambitious Marla who is pursuing a council seat and needs Cedric to pretend to be her husband to get it. When she thanks him, he melts my heart when he says - "It's the least I can do, considering all those years you put my career first and supported me". Cedric Daniels may be the most honorable man with a title.
Okay off to watch something light and fun and brainless..
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Date: 2011-07-11 11:17 am (UTC)