The Wire

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) • Dominic West has a lot of fun in the scene where McNulty is undressing the mannequin to distract Elena. • The ceremonial eyef--k that McNulty and Omar give Bird is a detail from David Simon's "Homicide" book, and was mentioned once on the "Homicide" series, though there it was referred to a...

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) • Speaking of "Homicide," the grand jury prosecutor is played by Gary D'Addario, who was the shift commander when Simon was following the real Baltimore Homicide unit to write his first book. (D'Addario also played the head of the QRT team in a number of "Homicide" episodes.) Oddly, Bunk re...

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) And in rebelling against their respective uncles, albeit in different directions, both young men are placing themselves in dangerous situations: D'Angelo because Avon and Stringer (particularly Stringer) are already wary about his loyalty, and Nick because he's getting more into...

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) • Also worth some chuckles in a particularly funny episode: Lester and Bunk's reaction to Beadie asking who Omar is. How exactly do you explain Omar to someone like Beadie? • McNulty is an idiot for signing that separation agreement.

By Tim Weaver Nay, this is about the book that served as the inspiration for The Wire; which affords it an immediate hollowed status in contemporary literature. Clockers by Richard Price is quite frankly one of the best books I have ever read in my life.

By Paul Levinson(levinson.paul@gmail.com) First, though, let me offer the ever-relevant apples and oranges proviso - television series, like all works of fiction, are never completely comparable. The Wire is in a superb now classic class of its own, not as police drama, but in its vivid, scalding, anthropologically rich presentation of life in the drug drenched hood. The Shield, in contrast, is more about police. And neither show has much in common with Lost, which inhabits a unique position in story telling that transcends even the science fiction of which it partakes. But television series can nonetheless be compared on some levels. See also ... The Sopranos Anti-Ending and The Sopranos Conference at Fordham University May 2008   [read the full post]

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) • Avon and Stringer put together a plan that will get Tilghman off of Wee-Bey's back -- and, Avon implies to D'Angelo, a plan that will lead to Avon and D getting earlier releases -- by swapping out his usual drug supply for poison. Coming up next: "Hard Cases," in which Burrell tries to talk Da...

The Wire' stars Clarke Peters and Reg E Cathey will be the guest presenters on 'The JK Ensemble' on RTÉ lyric fm tomorrow. The duo will sit in for regular ... and more »

 UK Freamon's xenophobic outburst after the montage of clueless, non-Anglophonic ship workers chief among them. "English, motherfuckers!" Also loved Landsman's description of Freamon as displaying "tweedy impertinence". Definitely missed that one first ...

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) Or is Avon, like The Greek, and like Frank Sobotka, just about getting his, no matter the cost or consequences to others? • Also making her season two debut: Ronnie Pearlman, getting the worst of all possible Jimmmy McNulty booty call worlds.

 CA Critics doubtless supported "The Wire" with greater ferocity, for example, because it often seemed as if HBO produced the show strictly for us. That said, it's telling that first Letterman and now O'Brien have spoken of altering their shtick to enhance ...

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) • "The Wire" is nothing if not patient, as is Jimmy McNulty, and the show is willing to take the time to show Jimmy taking the time to screw over Bill Rawls and Jay Landsman (who, we find out, was the one who gave away Jimmy's fear of the marine unit, rather than Jimmy himself doing it out of self-...

By Tim McLeod J.J. Putz, New York Mets, RP: K-Rod’s lower back spasms have thrust Putz into the closer role for the Mets. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Rodriguez hit the DL, making this a bit longer opportunity for Putz than just the day-to-day variety. For those Fantasy teams that are needing a boost i...

 UK A recent Culture Show had an interview with David Simon, creator of the TV series The Wire, conducted as if Simon were a suspect in a Baltimore police interrogation room. The interviewer, Lauren Laverne – with Mark Kermode one of the two principal ...

American actor Clarke Peters mesmerised many a box set addict with his cool-as-a-cucumber-cop Lester Freamon in the HBO drama The Wire. You may have seen the show mentioned in passing on this website. Now Peters is swapping the mean streets of ...

By Weston Cutter What’s funny is that there’s a decent chance you’ve watched more George Pelecanos writing than you’ve ever read (the guy was one of the writers for The Wire). And if you have watched The Wire, you know the series’s arc is as thick and rich and inbent as any novel (ar, at least, as any novel by Den...

By mgss For those unaware, Generation Kill (GK)is an HBO miniseries about the invasion of Iraq from the perspective of the 1st marine recon unit (which for the purposes of that war, was basically a marine battalion in Humvees). It was made by David Simon and Ed Burns, the geniuses responsible for t...

 Ireland Now, in the States, it is writers such as The Wire’s David Simon, and Alan Ball, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of American Beauty. Ball prefers now to work in TV, with shows such as Six Feet Under and (his new one, a tale of vampires) True Blood. ...

By jsutel One thing I will never understand about The Wire is how come when you ask people who their favorite character is, 95% of them say Omar Little. I don’t get it. What exactly is so great about Omar? I’ll give him some props, he doesn’t need anyone else to run with him, he took a bad hit when they got his...

By noreply@blogger.com (Adam Whitehead) The fourth and penultimate season of The Wire sees the show moving into new territory. At the end of Season 3 the Barksdale organisation was finally destroyed for good, McNulty found himself some happiness and Daniels got a promotion. The goals set out in Season 1 had been achieved. So, where...

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 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 justinmoss A television drama series created by David Simon, The Wire is set in Baltimore, Maryland; each season of the series focuses on a different part of the city. A group of characters, mainly in the Baltimore Police Department, appear in every season.  Quite simply the best police drama on TV. Sea...

Related articles from justinmoss.pt (WordPress), justinmoss.en (WordPress).

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 MysterLynch(noreply@blogger.com) It would be one season too late, but The Wire has a chance to becoming a finalist for an Emmy. I have to say I am thrilled to see both Dexter and The Wire on the list, as well as Damages. But can anyone tell me why Boston Legal is even being considered??

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 marcsteinerblog External Links David Simon: The Wire Exit Interview from Baltimore City Paper Bittersweet Work of Wrapping 'Wire' from The New York Times What Does a Producer Do?by Marshall Persinger Nina Noble from Internet Movie Database Nina Noble and friends accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Mi...

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 marcsteinerblog This is a selection of images taken at Viva House in West Baltimore.  Move your cursor over the pictures for captions. Baltimore's Viva House from America, The National Catholic Weekly Mildred and Me , from Laura Lippman.com-Laura writes about her experience volunteering at Viva House. Di...

By marcsteinerblog We're back again today with another fantastic interview for you.  Last week Marc sat down with Robert Chew, the Baltimore native who has portrayed the east Baltimore drug lord Proposition Joe for the past several years on the hit HBO series The Wire.  Prop Joe, as he came to be known, was an ic...

By marcsteinerblog Here are just a few of the thousands of interviews with and articles about David Simon. Stealing Life: The Crusader behind The Wire in the New Yorker, October 22nd, 2008.Interview: Talking With the Creator of One of T.V.'s Best and Smartest Shows in Rolling Stone, September 25th, 2005.Under t...

By marcsteinerblog HBO: The Wire: Interview: Ed Burns Ed Burns on Fresh Air in November 2006 The Ethical Scumbag (blog) interviews Ed Burns Edutopia: Edward Burns: Bringing Education Reality to TV The Wire Links (blog) Links to articles and info on THE WIRE   Ed Burns on the set of The Wire As we promised last w...

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 Alan Sepinwall Also, as I mentioned in the episode 8 review thread, I'll be talking to David Simon sometime before the finale for a retrospective interview, and I'm open to outside questions -- whether about this season, seasons past or the series as a whole. Obviously, some will be answered with the fina...

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 a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News   [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 paula@writingshow.com With David Simon, creator of "The Wire," featuring host Bob Andelman

The Reliable Source  United States - The smoldering Brit actor, who plays raffish good guy McNulty in HBO's "The Wire" (now filming its fifth season in Baltimore) and evil bad guy Theron in ...