The Wire

By Paul Levinson(noreply@blogger.com) True Blood, now moving into the last few episodes of its first season on HBO, is such a show. I don't usually love or even like vampire stories - too much impossible, illogical fantasy for my tastes. But True Blood (created by Alan Ball of Six Feet Under fame) has taken the vampire story and put it into a very plausible, and therefore, for me, very compelling science fiction scenario... Other interesting touches include the incredibly stimulating, psychedelic effect that real vampire blood - not "True Blood" - has on humans, which results in a coveted and dangerous drug trade in vampire blood. And portrayal of human prejudice against vampires, especially given that the story takes place in the American South, makes for some astute social comm...   [read the full post]

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 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]