Last television show you watched

Speaking of THE WIRE, does anyone recommend LUTHER with Idris Elba?

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Speaking of THE WIRE, does anyone recommend LUTHER with Idris Elba?

No.

Never got rave reviews here, not many and it's a bit all that and no trousers.

PARKS AND RECREATION

People swear by this show, but I just finished the first season and it was really bad. It's almost the exact damn thing as The Office -- faux-documentary-style comedy following a dopey main character who works in an incompetent office, a suave guy (who looks just like Jim) and Rashida Jones.

I haven't even laughed at Ron Swanson yet.

A few people have told me to brush off the first season and that the second and third are where it's at. I hope so, because I'm not even particularly compelled to watch the rest of it. The promise of quality is what's keeping me watching.

I do really like Aubrey Plaza, though.

EDIT: Through one episode of the second season, this show is already a ton more enjoyable.

I I just watched the Finale of CSI Miami... that's it?

The show hasn't been picked up for an 11th Season so that may have been the Series Finale!

How Sad to just end it like that after 10 years, with so many plots and questions left open and unanswered!!

:pale:

The Wire

Season 1, Episodes 7 & 8

Damn, man. This might be perfect TV right here.

x

Thank you, Ambler. I apologize for liking things, I will endeavour to be a bitter spoilsport in the future. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.

x

Well, at least I catch the teacher's eye. Others sneak under the radar with far less "effort". Shall full write-ups on the intricate plotting, character relationships, themes, and dialogue not under 500 words per episode suffice? ;)

Then again, I suppose that since I like something you don't, anything I post is wrong anyhow. Perhaps a list of accepted television shows, books, and film would help? That way I could study up before class and simply regale with affirmations of what is true and right? After all, those with dissenting opinions are mere rabble rousers and must be rounded up. Unless, of course, their antics are entertaining, like a beetle flipped over on its back. I know I've been around far too long and must've lost all novelty several years ago. So what else is left but to reach for the rightful ascension brought from holding the right opinions?

On second thought, fuck it. I'm enjoying this show far too much. Kindly give a reason The Shield is so superior and I may consider watching it sometime down the road -- but I don't hold to the idea that because another show may be better it makes the one I'm watching intrinsically worse. Especially when what I'm watching currently is so far above pretty much every TV show I've seen in the genre as to be practically beyond reproach.

x

I agree that "The Wire" was hyped to a status it did not necessarily deserve, but to me it was never a show about The Poor Black Man who cannot get a break. Or at least, I did not interpret that as its core message. What I remembered was the poor judgment behind the so-called war on drugs, and how the subjects who meet the demand within that illicit market are of no real consequence. Even if the police and the justice system succeed in taking a few of them out of the equation, they are swiftly replaced. The only effective end where any tangible effects can be achieved is in diminishing the demand.

x

Erica Ambler wrote:

Well, that's the standard political elite position, isn't it? That a life without hope must inevitably lead to an underclass with a class A drug dependency. Therefore, throw taxpayer's money and social engineering at the problem and it will go away, while creating a lot of highly paid non-jobs for the educated classes. Win-win, innit?

Problem with that somewhat simplistic position is that it doesn't explain recreational drugs' popularity with the Eloi or why so many poor people manage to not only get by without drug addiction or drug dealing, but actually manage to improve their station in life. Of course, to suggest that drugs are in fact a question of culture and individual responsibility would be unspeakably judgmental...

Which reminds me, one of my favourite dinner party conversation gambits is to lure guests into a position where they simultaneously argue for banning cigarettes and alcohol yet for legalising heroin. Priceless. :)

I think we are talking about two different things.

To me it has little to do with the societal position of the underclass. My point was precisely that the industry behind illegal drugs will always find people who can man their little section or corner of the market. Putting a drug dealer behind bars does little in affecting the demand for said drugs. Whether that demand comes from the wealthy or the poor is of little consequence.

I don't believe there is a simple remedy or cure-all solution to diminish demand, but I do believe that the only lasting success in the so called war on drugs is to be found there.

x

Erica Ambler wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/dec/27/tv-drama-david-simon-wire-shield

I did read that article, actually, after you brought up The Shield. Frankly, I'm not interested in The Wire for some sort of PC Liberal agenda, what I like about it is that it has a sense of objective reality -- it feels so much more down-to-earth and believable than any other cop show I've seen. I also enjoy the slower, more methodical paced plotting -- I don't need pulse-pounding cliffhanger action each episode. The Shield seems to fall into the same line of one-man-army supercop that I was trying to avoid when I decided to start watching The Wire. That being said, I may check it out when I'm through with The Wire, at least the first season for sure.

I must say at this point I don't exactly see sentimentality in The Wire, and I would say that it seems no good men, regardless of race, seem to be able to get a break. Somehow that appeals to me more as a central concept, a character like McNulty who does good police work but gets fucked by the system, rather than following an apparent sociopath like Macky on The Shield.

But again, I'll give The Shield a shot, since it does seem to enjoy the same kind of critical praise as The Wire, but seems to have a very different style, tone, and emphasis which would at least make it an interesting change of pace.

x

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Frankly, I'm not interested in The Wire for some sort of PC Liberal agenda, what I like about it is that it has a sense of objective reality -- it feels so much more down-to-earth and believable than any other cop show I've seen. I also enjoy the slower, more methodical paced plotting -- I don't need pulse-pounding cliffhanger action each episode.

That's what I enjoyed about it. It feels more true crime, than standard cop show. I can't watch these endless detective/cop/CSI shows.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Yeah, give The Shield a go. Make sure you start with Season1 though - the money train goes right through to the end so you can't jump on halfway.

Of course, I always start a series at the beginning, whether it be TV, book or film. Why do something if you're not gonna do it right, after all?

I once read a pure evisceration of "The Wire" on a blog post, but I'm afraid I can no longer find it. :(

The interesting thing about that review was that the person who wrote it had been a big fan of the show until season five. What changed his entire perspective of the show was the fact that he had worked in the newspaper industry and the media for several decades himself, and that season showed him that the authenticity he believed he saw in the first four seasons was actually just a reflection of what the writers believed was authentic. He was able to identify this faux authenticity through his personal experiences in the media and how everything in season five was slightly off when compared to them. Which in turn made him reconsider how he perceived everything that came up to that point. His theory was that none of what was presented as reality was likely anywhere near what it was like to those folks who lived it first-hand, and we were essentially watching a (perhaps well-intentioned) lie that was presented as something very realistic.

x

Some of the arguments about the writers going on second-hand experience may be valid, but I don't think they weigh very heavy in this instance. Plenty of folks have done good writing about space travel without even getting on a plane.

I find THE WIRE (which I came to VERY late, years after people began pleading with me to watch it -- I now own the run) pretty splendorific myself. The second viewing was even more pleasurable than the first, which is rare for me.

Total departure from topic: finally saw FOYLE'S WAR through to its conclusion last night, a very happy experience, and practically the same week that it was announced there would be a new series coming in the next 18months, with Foyle involved in Intelligence in the postWW2 years. That sounds exciting as all get out to me.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Speaking of THE WIRE, does anyone recommend LUTHER with Idris Elba?

First season was utterly fantastic, second season was to TNG it, 'too short a season' but still good.

Erica Ambler wrote:

The Shield pisses all over The Wire.

You GOTTA be kidding.

I loved THE SHIELD when it started, the first episode electrified in a way I hadn't felt since seeing the first ep of HILL ST BLUES a couple decades earlier, and in fact watched SHIELD religiously for nearly its whole run.

But the last season, right off the bat, was just a turd. I didn't even make it to the end, though I saw the last few minutes of the last episode, just to make sure it hadn't suddenly gotten back to its past glory.

I don't think I've ever put that much time into a series only to see it go straight to hell, except of course THE X-FILES.

I think if THE SHIELD really pissed all over THE WIRE, there would be electrical arcing that would feed back along the urine stream and fry Vic Mackey's ass. And Freamon would be the guy who rigged it to feed back that way.

I watched Titanic: The Final Word With James Cameron on NatGeo tonight.

Really interesting program. I don't like much of Cameron's work, but I do have respect for him. At least he's not sitting around trying to figure out ways to redo and resell the CGI in TITANIC, and, instead, putting together pieces like this.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Therefore, throw taxpayer's money and social engineering at the problem and it will go away, while creating a lot of highly paid non-jobs for the educated classes.

That might be the standard remedy as the liberal elite sees it, but THE WIRE Is deeply pessimistic about the possibility of change or resolution resulting from political action. THE WIRE is fundamentally about the failure of institutions, not about their ability to enact change.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Incidentally, I only made it through the first two seasons of The Wire, but I'll catch up sometime. Season 2 features Baker St's missing container.

FWIW, I don't think THE WIRE really hits its stride until Season 4.