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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica]
#611555
08/18/11 08:25 PM
08/18/11 08:25 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,528 In a van down by the river!
Longneck
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,528
In a van down by the river!
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I kept losing eBay auctions for the wire when the price went over what I wanted, I think it was the $35-40 range. And then I snagged it for $17 including shipping. And it's a real box set with all 5 seasons and it was brand spankin' new and all the discs work perfectly.
The Wire is a great achievement that I haven't seen matched again. They created a world with such solid characters and settings (used as characters) that things like Hamsterdam or Season 5 don't seem nearly as outrageous as they would in other shows.
I think it ages better than the Sopranos. I think it does more as a show than the Sopranos. It takes some time to adjust to the style but that time is well spent.
I think that The Sopranos final season might be weighing too much on the entire series in my head. The final season was rushed and frankly, garbage, when compared the the first 5. I think The Sopranos would have benefited from combining season 6 and 7 (fuck this a and b shit, it's 2 seasons, so it's 6 and 7) into 1 13 episode season.
Cut most of the Vito shit, keep Bobby's development, If I had the access to the video and the software I'd try it myself, it'd be a lot of work and it might suck but it'd be neat to see the results. I've always wondered what it'd be like to cut each season down to a movie length just as a cool personal project.
I think another factor in how I view The Sopranos ending is the fact that The Shield went 7 seasons and the final 3 might be the best 3, where the last 2 with The Sopranos are not the quality I'd expected from the show.
The Wire is a better show than The Sopranos. The Wire is the Best Show. Period. But that doesn't mean it's my favorite. We can all agree that Michael Jordan was the best NBA player ever and he was great to watch, but that doesn't automatically make him your favorite player.
The Wire is the Michael Jordan of TV. Yeah, that fits. The Sopranos might be Shaq.
Long as I remember The rain been coming down. Clouds of Mystery pouring Confusion on the ground. Good men through the ages, Trying to find the sun; And I wonder, Still I wonder, Who'll stop the rain.
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Longneck]
#611594
08/19/11 03:31 AM
08/19/11 03:31 AM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
IvyLeague
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
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I kept losing eBay auctions for the wire when the price went over what I wanted, I think it was the $35-40 range. And then I snagged it for $17 including shipping. And it's a real box set with all 5 seasons and it was brand spankin' new and all the discs work perfectly.
The Wire is a great achievement that I haven't seen matched again. They created a world with such solid characters and settings (used as characters) that things like Hamsterdam or Season 5 don't seem nearly as outrageous as they would in other shows.
I think it ages better than the Sopranos. I think it does more as a show than the Sopranos. It takes some time to adjust to the style but that time is well spent.
I think that The Sopranos final season might be weighing too much on the entire series in my head. The final season was rushed and frankly, garbage, when compared the the first 5. I think The Sopranos would have benefited from combining season 6 and 7 (fuck this a and b shit, it's 2 seasons, so it's 6 and 7) into 1 13 episode season.
Cut most of the Vito shit, keep Bobby's development, If I had the access to the video and the software I'd try it myself, it'd be a lot of work and it might suck but it'd be neat to see the results. I've always wondered what it'd be like to cut each season down to a movie length just as a cool personal project.
I think another factor in how I view The Sopranos ending is the fact that The Shield went 7 seasons and the final 3 might be the best 3, where the last 2 with The Sopranos are not the quality I'd expected from the show.
The Wire is a better show than The Sopranos. The Wire is the Best Show. Period. But that doesn't mean it's my favorite. We can all agree that Michael Jordan was the best NBA player ever and he was great to watch, but that doesn't automatically make him your favorite player.
The Wire is the Michael Jordan of TV. Yeah, that fits. The Sopranos might be Shaq. I'd use a different comparison. One can argue that The Wire didn't dip off towards the end like The Sopranos did. The same can be said for Everybody Loves Raymond, which didn't dip towards the end, like Seinfeld did. But, overall, Seinfeld was even funnier than Raymond, just like Sopranos, overall, was better than The Wire.
Mods should mind their own business and leave poster's profile signatures alone.
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Longneck]
#611616
08/19/11 11:02 AM
08/19/11 11:02 AM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Sonny_Black
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
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I think that The Sopranos final season might be weighing too much on the entire series in my head. The final season was rushed and frankly, garbage, when compared the the first 5. I think The Sopranos would have benefited from combining season 6 and 7 (fuck this a and b shit, it's 2 seasons, so it's 6 and 7) into 1 13 episode season. Completely agree. Don't need to add anything. Still, I favore the Sopranos above the Wire. But I'm now halfway season 4 and the show is getting better and better. The first season was pretty boring and I needed to to get used to the show's style. The things, I'm not sure if the Sopranos is actually better, technically speaking. But I'm more intrigued in the world of the Sopranos than that of the Wire which explains why I favor the Sopranos.
"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica]
#611682
08/19/11 07:34 PM
08/19/11 07:34 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,819 Australia
Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica
OP
Mickey Meatballs
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OP
Mickey Meatballs
Underboss
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,819
Australia
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I wanted nto mention too one scene in particular. When Omar wakes up one morning to find his boyfriend has eaten all the Honey Nut cereal, who puts on his silk bathrobe and walks down to the shop to pick some up. As he's walking, the hoppers all start their calling; "Omar comin'!"
As the streets clear as he walks through them, he pauses to light a cigarette, and leans against a building. The dealers inside, assuming he's come to rip and run, throw down their cash and drugs through the window. He shrugs, pick's them up and walks home.
Scene's such as this one contibuted to making the show so damn dynamic. It fucked around with the stereotypical, one-dimensional portrayal of criminals and so called thugs, and called gender constraints into question. I mean, the openly gay Omar, far from being the simpering type often characterized, is one of the most feared and dangerous people on the show. And there's a reason that Stephen King descibed Snoop Pearson as "perhaps the most terrifying female villian to ever appear on television".
(cough.)
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica]
#611692
08/19/11 08:13 PM
08/19/11 08:13 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Sonny_Black
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
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As the streets clear as he walks through them, he pauses to light a cigarette, and leans against a building. The dealers inside, assuming he's come to rip and run, throw down their cash and drugs through the window. He shrugs, pick's them up and walks home. I had a feeling Omar was going to get clipped during that scene. Btw, I didn't even notice that they threw the package outside out of fear. I thought it was just a routine delivery or something. You really need to stay focussed while watching as this serie has a lot of detail. I can say this: it's less entertaining than the Sopranos, but it's a more intelligent serie.
"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica]
#611699
08/19/11 09:32 PM
08/19/11 09:32 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
IvyLeague
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
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Thats just it Sonny. I know exactly how you feel.
I came into The Wire with Soprano's firmly entrenched in my opinion as the best t.v ever. I enjoyed The Wire, but it wasn't untill Id really gotten into it that I started to realise it was usurping the position Soprano's once held in my head.
I mean, its just brilliant. I really enjoyed the last season of Soprano's (6B, whatever. Its the seventh season), it was kinda like, it's been a long journey, things are different from years ago, but still essentially the same grind. Even though it did kinda lose momentum. None of that in The Wire. Don't be surprised if you find yourself changing your opinion again after the novelty of The Wire wears off. Like I said, this has happened to more than a few guys.
Mods should mind their own business and leave poster's profile signatures alone.
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica]
#612114
08/23/11 10:50 AM
08/23/11 10:50 AM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,783 Queenstown, New Zealand
NickyScarfo
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,783
Queenstown, New Zealand
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Scene's such as this one contibuted to making the show so damn dynamic. It fucked around with the stereotypical, one-dimensional portrayal of criminals and so called thugs, and called gender constraints into question. I mean, the openly gay Omar, far from being the simpering type often characterized, is one of the most feared and dangerous people on the show. And there's a reason that Stephen King descibed Snoop Pearson as "perhaps the most terrifying female villian to ever appear on television".
Weighing into this debate, (not wanting to be confrontational) one thing which really struck me about the Wire was how emotional and poignant some scenes and story lines were. The characters of Wallace and Dukie particularly really upset me, the paths they took and how it ended for them. With Sopranos the only time I felt sadness or emotional was when Ralphie killed that stripper. Personally I did find the Sopranos more entertaining though.
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica]
#612245
08/24/11 12:34 PM
08/24/11 12:34 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Sonny_Black
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
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Last night I've finished the serie.
The first season is slow paced and at times boring. But since many stated it's a great serie I gave it the benefit of the doubt and continued to the next season. I guess I needed to get used to its style. The second season is interesting, decent and definitely an improvement. The third season pretty much continues this line. But the fourth and fifth season are great. The story writing is ingenious because of the way it unfolded. Everything seems to fit up until the end. So it wasn't until the fourth season that I finally recognised the series' greatness. I think David Simon is a terrific writer. If only he would do a bigger project than Baltimore he has the potential to blow away the Sopranos, which for me still maintains the number one spot mainly because it's superiour entertainment.
Some things did disappoint me though. For example Omar's death; I was expecting him to die in a hail of bullets while blasting away Chris or Snoop. But since that probably would have been too much of a cliché they decided to do a "Hey! We suprise you!". Whatever. Still prefer a "say hello to my little friend" epic death in a hail of bullets. Especially for a character such as Omar. It was also pretty lame that Daniels didn't end up staying the Police Commissioner.
But you know when a serie is good if you're left with a sad feeling when it's ended. This serie depicts every aspect of Baltimore society like the Police Department, street hustlers, drug dealers, drug addicts, homeless people, union guys, journalists, politicians and everyday citizens. I've never been to Baltimore but I would dare to say that I'm now a Baltimore expert thanks to this serie. It's really educational and I would recommend this serie to every student who's interested in the subject.
And last but not least, this serie also provides a lot of great quotes & oneliners, the best of them probably being: "better to be lucky, than to be good". Truly inspirational.
"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Sonny_Black]
#612248
08/24/11 12:43 PM
08/24/11 12:43 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,528 In a van down by the river!
Longneck
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,528
In a van down by the river!
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Some things did disappoint me though. For example Omar's death; I was expecting him to die in a hail of bullets while blasting away Chris or Snoop. But since that probably would have been too much of a cliché they decided to do a "Hey! We suprise you!". Whatever. Still prefer a "say hello to my little friend" epic death in a hail of bullets. Especially for a character such as Omar.
The thing is, Omar did get that death. On the streets the kids were talking about how it took a bunch of guys with AKs to kill him or something so while he didn't get it for us, he got it on the streets. And that's the only place where Omar matters at all, as shown with the toe tag scene. I guess the jump that Omar did off the balcony happened in real life, but 3 stories higher but they made it like the 3rd floor so people would believe it. David Simon wrote a few books, The Corner I think deals with a lot of characters who ended up being on the show in different forms. Homicide is another book, and TV show of his, but it was on network tv so it's working by Law and Order type of realities and restrictions.
Long as I remember The rain been coming down. Clouds of Mystery pouring Confusion on the ground. Good men through the ages, Trying to find the sun; And I wonder, Still I wonder, Who'll stop the rain.
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Sonny_Black]
#612303
08/25/11 06:16 AM
08/25/11 06:16 AM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,819 Australia
Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica
OP
Mickey Meatballs
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OP
Mickey Meatballs
Underboss
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,819
Australia
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But the fourth and fifth season are great. The story writing is ingenious because of the way it unfolded. Everything seems to fit up until the end. So it wasn't until the fourth season that I finally recognised the series' greatness. I know exactly what you mean Sonny. I thought the earlier series were great, but by the time I got to the fourth and fifth again through serious viewing that I truly recognised "The Wire" for its genius. Some things did disappoint me though. For example Omar's death; I was expecting him to die in a hail of bullets while blasting away Chris or Snoop. But since that probably would have been too much of a cliché they decided to do a "Hey! We suprise you!". Whatever. Still prefer a "say hello to my little friend" epic death in a hail of bullets.
I hear you Sonny, but have to disagree. I thought it was that much more poignant having big bad (and totally gay) Omar taken out by a nervous child. But you know when a serie is good if you're left with a sad feeling when it's ended.
Oh yeah. Well put.
(cough.)
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mukremin]
#613282
09/01/11 05:07 PM
09/01/11 05:07 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
IvyLeague
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
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Guys i plan to buy Brotherhood series, its pretty cheap here. I think i will like it because of the mob elements in it. I also want to watch the Wire since everyone says its cool, but it has to have something that will attract me like mafia elements, mainly italian or irish. Does the show the Wire have those kind of things? Or is it just african american gangs fighting for drugs and police monitoring and wiring them? The Wire deals with the latter - the drug trade in the Black ghetto in Baltimore and the police going after them. The show also branches out into other elements of the city, like the dying business on the waterfront, politics, and the local press. It's definitely worth watching. But, besides no Mafia element, it also doesn't have that genius combination of drama and comedy that made The Sopranos so great.
Mods should mind their own business and leave poster's profile signatures alone.
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Re: The Wire
[Re: IvyLeague]
#613287
09/01/11 07:37 PM
09/01/11 07:37 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,325 MI
Lilo
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,325
MI
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Guys i plan to buy Brotherhood series, its pretty cheap here. I think i will like it because of the mob elements in it. I also want to watch the Wire since everyone says its cool, but it has to have something that will attract me like mafia elements, mainly italian or irish. Does the show the Wire have those kind of things? Or is it just african american gangs fighting for drugs and police monitoring and wiring them? The Wire deals with the latter - the drug trade in the Black ghetto in Baltimore and the police going after them. The show also branches out into other elements of the city, like the dying business on the waterfront, politics, and the local press. It's definitely worth watching. But, besides no Mafia element, it also doesn't have that genius combination of drama and comedy that made The Sopranos so great. Couldn't disagree more. But to each their own. It's just differing opinions and that's fine. The Wire doesn't have the traditional organized Italian-American connection depicted because in Baltimore (or at least in the fictional world of Baltimore that Simon chose to depict) the functions of LCN are either already subsumed by the Baltimore crime groups or mostly irrelevant to the people shown. I think there's plenty of comedy in The Wire whether it's McNulty's constant refrain of "What did I do" , Bunk and McNulty's one word obscene conversation as they work a crime scene, Kima's irritating but well deserved sense of superiority towards Carver and especially Herc, Herc's confidence and dimwittedness, Rawls' vituperative homophobic rants despite being seen relaxing in a gay bar, Stringer Bell trying to enforce Robert's Rules of order and losing his temper, etc. I enjoy both The Sopranos and The Wire. But if I can only choose one, I'm choosing The Wire.
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming
Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Lilo]
#613323
09/02/11 02:55 AM
09/02/11 02:55 AM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
IvyLeague
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
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Couldn't disagree more. But to each their own. It's just differing opinions and that's fine. The Wire doesn't have the traditional organized Italian-American connection depicted because in Baltimore (or at least in the fictional world of Baltimore that Simon chose to depict) the functions of LCN are either already subsumed by the Baltimore crime groups or mostly irrelevant to the people shown. Just for the record, the absence of the LCN in the show didn't bother me. It's not a prerequisite for me to be interested. I was responding to Mukremin's question about that. I think there's plenty of comedy in The Wire whether it's McNulty's constant refrain of "What did I do" , Bunk and McNulty's one word obscene conversation as they work a crime scene, Kima's irritating but well deserved sense of superiority towards Carver and especially Herc, Herc's confidence and dimwittedness, Rawls' vituperative homophobic rants despite being seen relaxing in a gay bar, Stringer Bell trying to enforce Robert's Rules of order and losing his temper, etc. McNulty definitely had his moments. But it was a different kind of humor than that of The Sopranos.
Mods should mind their own business and leave poster's profile signatures alone.
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mukremin]
#613453
09/03/11 03:17 PM
09/03/11 03:17 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 58 United States
moolou
Button
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Button
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 58
United States
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Although it doesn't have any Irish or Italian criminals, it does briefly feature Polish street criminals in the second season. The Wire also portrays a variety of elements similar to LCN. Union and political corruption, front businesses, money laundering, surveillance evasion, dubious lawyers, competing criminal organizations, etc. A cartel group gets formed in the third season. And then there's also watching how the police methodically develop their cases against these groups. I thought the five season kinda sucked but whatever. I don't think you can really compare The Wire with The Sopranos. They're entirely different shows with different, I guess, goals in mind. The Wire is about the drug war and its toll on American inner cities. There are lots of great characters but none of them get explored too deeply like Tony Soprano. Which is fine because they're just cogs in the system. To focus on any one of them would miss the point of the show. You could probably compare Brotherhood with The Sopranos a little, though, because of the family elements. Brotherhood was definitely a worthwhile watch. However, it's not a repeat watch for me. I've watched both the Sopranos and The Wire several times but I don't think I'll watch Brotherhood again. So, you should definitely give The Wire a shot at some point. It gives a pretty in-depth look at the drug trade. This is pretty cool too: http://www.freakonomics.com/2008/01/09/what-do-real-thugs-think-of-the-wire/
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica]
#613581
09/04/11 11:51 PM
09/04/11 11:51 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,819 Australia
Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica
OP
Mickey Meatballs
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OP
Mickey Meatballs
Underboss
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,819
Australia
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Damn, a double-post. I suck I also meant to say that IMOwnHO, Blake Masters hit a home-run in mocking up his own approximation of the RI OC underworld. After watching a few times round, I can see how he and other writers fleshed out the "world" according to the brothers Caffey, with backstory, local mob history and everything. Its one of those shows, you can watch an episode two or three times...and still pick up some obscure comment made by some random character that leads into or relates to some other plotline or character. There's a rich and cohesive history goin' on there. Not like the average commercial network crime-drama where by the end of every episode everything makes sense and falls into place, ready for the next episode. And for the record...I think its a bit harsh to say the fifth season outright sucked Cmon man. Even shitty episodes of The Wire are better than most episodes of whatever.
Last edited by Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica; 09/04/11 11:55 PM.
(cough.)
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Re: The Wire
[Re: Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica]
#613606
09/05/11 08:37 AM
09/05/11 08:37 AM
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,153
Mukremin
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,153
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I will do that Nicky i have read more on the internet and it looks interesting. The corruption, drug dealing, and of course it shows the streets of today right? I found the series here cheap, i will buy the first 2 seasons. I already own Sopranos, i also got the Brotherhood ordered. Is there more like these series? Sopranos, The Wire, Brotherhood, Oz, and of course Boardwalk Empire. I cant seem to remember more.
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