The Wire

By misgatos For more, read a discussion about Blue Tops at The Wire’s forums. Even better, dealers in Philly have a brand of heroin called The Wire. Did I miss any good ones? Let me know… One of my favorite things about The Wire is how it’s tied in so completely to contemporary Bal

By recordpreserveshare If Hollywood storytelling is in danger, we are arguably seeing an opposing trend in television narrative. Thanks to innovative TV shows like The Sopranos, The Wire and Damages - which demand audience attention - there has been an increase in complex narrative structure and subject...

By Alan Sepinwall Last night the tour went on pause for the Television Critics Association Awards, a swingin' event where the critics try to put right what the Emmys got wrong. (Mostly; somehow, we couldn't find a way to give "The Wire" an... Last night the tour went on pause for the Television Critics Associati...

By The Huffington Post News Editors During the past year two of the greatest crime dramas ever on television have come to an end: "The Wire" left us in March, and "The Shield" on Tuesday in a cut deep enough to leave us bleeding for quite a while, no matter how tight the tourniquet.

By Aleks Chan Now for some good news: Amy Ryan, her of the Academy Award-nominee and all-around awesomenes fame, has signed on to reprise the role she played in the fourth season finale of NBC's The Office. She'll continue being Dunder Mifflin's human resources rep for at least five episodes -- or at lea...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) So, in writing my review of "The Shield" finale, I'm going out on a limb and declaring it my favorite drama series finale ever. This prompted a question from my editor about what other finales I would put in my top 5. "The Wire" is definitely on there (though, as with all things "The Wire," it was...

Few shows can claim such a feat besides FX's crooked cop drama The Shield, which comes to an end after seven seasons tomorrow at 10 p.m. Even HBO's lauded The Wire slogged its way through a slow second season. ...

With Herija away for the next couple of weeks, I’ll be taking over the Troll for the time being. Anyways, I have to head off to a Grey Cup party shortly, so will make this snappy. No, I really don’t give a flying fuck about the CFL, but it’s a good excuse to drink some beers (not that I need an excuse)....

Blind Boys still have soul The Huntsville Times - al.com, AL - Nov 21, 2008 In recent years, their music has been pivotal in shows, including "Lost" and HBO's "The Wire." They are helping blur the lines of color in music and style. ...

  USA - Nov 20, 2008 Diversions: First, The Sopranos and The Wire were put to rest at HBO, and now The Shield is coming to an end at FX. What promises to be a deliciously, ...

By Jonathan Toomey Over the past several years, TV fans have been fortunate enough to be able to say a proper good-bye to some of the medium's finest dramas ever made. Alias, The Wire, The West Wing, The Sopranos, and Six Feet Under have all bowed out within the past four years, and the list could go on. They all got...

The penultimate episode of a season is always where a great show excels the most. Think of The Wire: The Wire’s penultimate episode was generally left to crime novelist George P. Pelecanos to write—he did so in three of the five seasons—and that was usually when the heavy shit went down. The fi...

By Herija Green Washington’s JaVale McGee has seen his minutes increase recently, playing better than 24 minutes in three of his last four games. He has posted two double-doubles and blocked five shots in that time, and with Brendan Haywood out indefinitely there’s a hole to be filled in the middle in the...

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, a 28-year-old murderer-turned-actress on HBO's The Wire , was found not guilty yesterday on one count of marijuana possession, according to Baltimore District Court records. Pearson was arrested in August after homicide officers busted into her home, actin...

By Herija Green Marquis Daniels, Indiana Pacers: The absence of Mike Dunleavy has opened up playing time for Daniels, who has shown more in the first four games of ‘08-09 than he did in the last four seasons. He has notched two double-doubles in his past three games and is currently second on the team with 8.0...

By Richard Vine If you're jonesing for more post-Wire sightings, this week's Heroes (BBC2, 9pm) is a good place to start, with Marlo (Jamie Hector) feeding off fear and Bubbles (Andre Royo) summoning up black holes. Both skills you feel they could have put to good use in B-more. Dominic West is next, rompin...

By G.D. Case in point: last week, shani-o and I attended a discussion at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School about "The Wire" and urban crime. The panelists were David Simon, the show's creator, and Michael Nutter, the mayor of Philadelphia. Simon launched into one of his trademark seething rants...

By Paul Levinson(noreply@blogger.com) When you walk through the garden, you better watch your back ..." Hey, they could almost have played that superb Tom Waits "Way Down in the Hole" theme song from The Wire in last night's episode #5 of Life on Mars, which had two* Wire veterans on hand, Clarke Peters (Lt. Freamon on The Wire) and Chad Coleman ("Cutty" on The Wire). Even Whoopee Goldberg had a cameo. *(And an anonymous commentator just mentioned that Chris Bauer, Frank Sobotka from The Wire, played the priest in this episode of Life on Mars - so that makes three Wire people.) See also Life on Mars Debuts in America ... Life on Mars 2nd Episode in America: Coma, Time Travel, Mars Rover ... Life on Mars Goes On in America: What Happens When a Time Traveler Runs Into His Earlier Self? ... Life on Mars #4: Al...   [read the full post]

By raynola Critically acclaimed and nationally syndicated, HBO’s series The Wire depicts a racialized postindustrial cityscape, marred by the brutal provenance of the drug economy.  In its five seasons, the series is as much a dramatic achievement as it is a complex portrait of a black urban expe...

By Tim McLeod John Danks, Chicago White Sox: The 23-year-old lefty currently has White Sox fans saying “Brandon who?” Acquired from the Rangers for Brandon McCarthy in February, Danks managed a huge improvement in virtually all categories in his sophomore season. In 187 IP, he put together an 11-9 re...

With Tim McLeod taking a well-deserved vacation from his disability leave (hey, eating chocolate chip cookies all day is hard work), RotoRob takes over the crafting of The Wire Troll for the next couple of weeks. Being much less fortified with Kathy’s delicious baked goods than Tim gener...

By casanovaruffin Yesterday I had the chance to see David Simon, creator of the greatest television show ever made forever and ever, The Wire. He was giving his lecture, The Wire: Audacity of Despair, to a tightly packed, moderately sized, room of about 140 people. I never thought I'd have the chance to see the...

By jason@kottke.org Almost 4000 people have taken the best show on TV poll so now is a good time to take a look at the results. Here are the top five: The Wire: 16% The Simpsons: 8% Seinfeld: 7% Arrested Development: 7% The West Wing: 6% Thanks to everyone who voted.

By Tim McLeod George Sherrill, Baltimore, RP: Sherrill is currently rostered in only 45 per cent of all leagues over at CBS. That would mean that almost half of all leagues are going to be missing out once he returns from that left shoulder inflammation, which is tentatively slated for next week. In the ev...

By Tim McLeod Chris Ray, Baltimore, RP: Okay he’s probably not going to see any action this year, but he is the Orioles closer of both the past and the future. The Orioles have repeatedly said they have no interest in rushing Ray back into the Baltimore lineup, and are working towards a healthy return for S...

By Alan Sepinwall(noreply@blogger.com) Spoilers for episode 9, "Game Day," coming up just as soon as I put on my sun visor... I just don't wanna play. Don't wanna play no more." -Wallace Coming up next Friday: "The Cost," in which the detail tries to find the stash, Stringer reaches out to Omar and Kima has a night out.

By Myles What sets The Wire apart from other crime shows on television is its emphasis on all impacts of a particular event or scenario. It is not a story of the police fighting against the Baltimore Drug Trade, but a show about the expansive impacts of that trade on the people fighting it, the people t...

By Myles So, I decided that I’d kill two birds with one stone. I’m halfway through Season Four of The Wire, David Simon and Ed Burns’ HBO masterpiece, and I see a lot of connections between the construction of that series and what Nolan has accomplished with The Dark Knight. I’m not suggesting that the...

By Media Maven David Simon is a smart, smart dude.  That much is clear.  He never shies away from dealing with important, contemporary issues in important, contemporary ways, like racism, disillusionment, corruption, hope, and many more.  But at the same time, it's also crystal clear that David Simon began his career as a journalist, not an author or screenwriter.  David Simon looks for the story, the verisimilitude, the interesting idea.  He doesn't look for the emotional hook, the character arc, or the vulnerability of his primary players.  And until David Simon can crack this code and find a way to combine his journalistic eye for riveting stories with the human need for emotional connection, not only will his projects struggle to find viewershi...   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (Alan Sepinwall) There's an episode coming up called "The Cost," but in some ways, that title applies better to this one, as the murder of Brandon illustrates the emotional cost of living in this police/drug world. The episode opens and closes with the image of Brandon, no longer beautiful after being tort...

By shadowcampaigner It's an absolute travesty that "The Wire" -- probably The Single Greatest Television Series in History -- has for years now been snubbed by people who decide what's best on TV.  After 5 seasons of positively brilliant, wrenching work, the Wire may -- may -- receive an Emmy nomination t...

By Alan Sepinwall(noreply@blogger.com) David Simon likes to say that the first scene of each season of "The Wire" encapsulates the themes of that season. In the case of Detective Jimmy McNulty investigating the murder of one Omar Isiah Betts, known to friends and family as Snot Boogie, Simon gets to explain what the entire series...

By jason@kottke.org Yanksfan vs. Soxfan views The Wire through the lens of Baltimore sports. Assorted other articles that I'll leave unexcerpted: AV Club interview with Simon, final episode recap from Thoughts on Stuff, and a letter on HBO's site from David Simon to the fans of the show.

By Mark Namond is the lucky one. Someone pulled him from the soup. The "system" failed him as much as it did the other kids, it's just that he was lucky enough to end up where there was someone with a hand to lend. Dukie was too smart and Michael too functional to be in the "corner kids" program, never got a c...

By Mark Freamon and Leander crack Marlo's code. Marlo is going down, and so is Chris, thanks to Bunk. Now, we know Micheal didn't sell out Chris but he's sure to be blamed - probably not by Chris, though. Marlo may go down due to the cell phone number that Herc stole from Levy's office. Levy is sure to figur...

— Kenard, on seeing Omar: “Gimpy-ass motherfucker.” Clay Davis: “I don’t know how they do it out in Roland Park? Maybe Prosecutor Obonda can enlighten me on that. But my world is strictly cash and carry, and I am Clay Davis. My people need something, they know where to find me.”

By mcnulty Bunk seem to be about to crack soon, don’t think he’ll rat on McNulty or Freamon, but he’s pretty pissed off. Also liked the scene when he’s interrogating Michael. Hope he gets to Chris and Snoop soon. btw, did you notice that Dominic West (playing McNulty) directed this episode? How cool is th...

By Nick Denton Devotees of The Wire, myself among them, should be delighted by this hint given by one of the HBO drama's actors. Dominic West, who plays the increasingly manic police detective, Jimmy McNulty, tells the Los Angeles Times some of his colleagues are lobbying David Simon for a movie spinoff...

By jason@kottke.org How are they going to wrap this up? I don't care what happens to Carcetti or McNulty or Freamon or Daniels and we're obviously going to get some sort of closure on either Omar or Marlo, but if they leave the Dukie, Bubs, and Michael threads significantly hanging, I'm gonna be pissed. (Predict...

By Rick Monaco In a mildly radical departure from traditional political values, I've decided to endorse Omar Little from "The Wire" as my choice for presidential candidate. Let me be clear about this: I'm not endorsing Michael Kenneth Williams, the actor who portrays Omar on the show, but rather the ch...

By Paul Levinson McNulty has picked up the pro-active make-things-happen and damn-the-consequences approach he played so well in the very first season of The Wire. It's good to see McNulty really on top of his game again. This time, he's trying to make his colleagues and bosses think there's a serial killer loose in Baltimore - the only way McNulty can think of to keep the cops focused on Marlo and the drug business. The only person wise to what McNulty is doing - because he was there when McNulty started hatching this plan - is Bunk, who is none too happy about it. See also The Wire's Back! Review of Season 5 Episode 1 and Episode 2: The Great, Dangling Conversation challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly   [read the full post]

By Tempo Sen. Barack Obama has previously said that HBO’s "The Wire" is his favorite show. But now Obama's revealed another tidbit. In a story from Monday's Las Vegas Sun, the presidential candidate said that the bold thief Omar is his favorite character on "The Wire."

By Tempo Here is a feature/review of Season 5 of "The Wire," as well an interview with the HBO show's creator and executive producer, David Simon. The full interview, which is below the story, does not contain Season 5 spoilers.There's also a transcript of my talk with John Carroll, Simon's former e...

By mcnulty Another bright point was the journo crew at the Baltimore Sun which seem to be just as much of a  motley crew as the gangsters and police. It was great to see so many familiar faces in one single episode - McNulty, Bunk, Kima, Herc, Marlo, Prop Joe, Bubs, Carter, Carcetti, Chris, Snoop, Michae...

Arts, Briefly New York Times, United States - “The Wire,” HBO’s urban drama, has won critical acclaim and honors including the prestigious Peabody Award. But one of its stars, Wendell Pierce, said, ...

With strike, it comes down to 'The Wire' By Chuck Barney "The Wire," one of television's best shows -- if not the very best -- returns to HBO for its fifth and final season on Jan. ... The Wire' loses spark in newsroom storyline Baltimore Sun Inside 'The Wire' Wall Street Journal

By Lukeio Avon Barksdale, accompanied by his right-hand man Stringer Bell, enforcer Wee-Bey and many lieutenants (including his own nephew, D'Angelo Barksdale), has to deal with law enforcement, informants in his own camp, and competition with a ...

By Diane Kristine Outstanding Drama SeriesOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Hugh Laurie, naturally)Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (for David Morse as Detective Tritter. Even though I was disappointed in the resolution to his story, the man formerly known as Boomer creeped the hell ou...

By Eric Berlin Like a new chapter in a grand and sweeping novel, The Wire returned tonight, opening up its fourth season on HBO. Perhaps The Great American Novel is making way for something else. If that's so, I'd argue that The Wire is a Great American Story, made up of some of the richest and most fully reali...