![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
falafel_musingsNope, still not sick of The Wire yet...
Just rewatching and wondering how dumb I must be not to get hooked sooner.
Personally I blame Wallace and Brandon for dying in such cruel horrific ways. I was ready to pussy out of the whole show over that. And then S4 somehow taught me to love the abuse that The Wire inflicts on your heart. Don't ask me how but it did.
I think I appreciated "all the pieces" of the story much more second time around. But the D'Angelo, Bodie and Wallace story in the Pit was still my favourite plotline. I just love the iconic look of that big orange sofa in the middle of the projects.
There was so much I'd forgotten! Like D'Angelos "tap, tap, tap..." story. I had disliked the character quite a bit when I thought he had murdered a girl like that. This time around I knew it was a lie. Even as a lie it is quite destructive. Not only does it influence the Pit kids to have a casual attitude towards killing; Dee even implies that they won't really be men till they've "caught a body".
My favourite moments of The Wire are scenes where characters express extreme frustrations over how fucked up everything is. So scenes like Carver beating up his sterring wheel and Bodie kicking in the police car windows. It's very cathartic. But my all-time favourite of these scenes is still this - "Where's Wallace? Where the boy at, String? Where the FUCK is Wallace?!!!" *cries*
I vaguely remembered Bodie as the hard kid and Wallace as the soft kid, but they aren't too different at the beginning of the story. It was actually Wallace who smashed a bottle over Johnny Weeks head. And was Wallace feeling guilty or just scared/squeamish when he was confronted with the bruality of the murdered stick up boy? I don't know. I don't love Wallace and Bodie cos they are moral characters. It's not like anyone ever taught them morality. I love them cos I'm soft on hoppers.
I was unspoiled for Wally's death on my first viewing (agghh! It still hurts!!) but the second time around I was shocked by how many people (intentionally or unintentionally) contributed to his death - kingpins, cops and corner boys. I think Bodie gets the most hate for Wally's death, not because he is solely responsible but because as a viewer, Bodie is kinda your last hope. The thing that cuts me up is there is a moment where Bodie clearly decides not to kill Wallace. It is at 1.49 mins. It's just this profound little complexity of the scene where you see that Bodie physically, mentally and emotionally can't do this to Wallace. And then he does it anyway. Because he has to. Because Wallace's death was necessary to Bodie's own survival in the game. It's how the game is for the pawns.
It's interesting that Poot is present at the scene of both Wallace's death and Bodie's death later in S4. I've always felt indifferent about Poot, but I guess Poot is an indifferent character himself. Poot seems to care about Wally and Bodie, but only in the vaguest of ways. He only seems to have a vague interest in the game too. This is why I don't care about Poot. He has no strong feelings or convictions about anything. Which is probably why he survives, I guess. There are a lot of people in the world like this. Also Wallace, Dee and Bodie all die shortly after talking to McNulty. He's like the kiss of death to corner boys. But I have a soft spot for Jimmy too, despite everything he fucks up.
OMG, I'd forgotten how much I'd hated Prez after he half-blinded that kid in ep2. I had a grudge against him for so long. Who knew he would become one of my favourite characters? Herc and Carver I found really dickish in S1 too - for their part in the tower riot, for stealing drugs money and repeatedly beating up Bodie. It's nice that Carver at least matured over the seasons.
I completely love Bubbles, even though I often don't find Bubbles storylines very interesting (aside from his S4 story). It's more Bubbles presence in the story that I love. He is the heart of the show, so much. I can't believe how real Andre Royo is.
Just randomly...I want to learn how to say "Alright" in a Baltimore accent. You know how the corner kids say it without pronouncing any of the middle letters? It's just like "Aiiiiiiiiiiiit". I love the sound of it for some reason. But I can't say it like that!
I love the 'Step to step' montage. Have bought The Wire soundtrack from amazon.
In conclusion:
Favourite Seasons (in order) =
1) S4
2) S3
3) S1
4) S2
5) S5
Favourite Characters =
1) The Boys of Summer: Randy, Dukie, Michael and Namond (I can't pick just one so I have to rank them as a group. When I think of The Wire I'll always think of these four kids first).
2) Bubbles
3) Bodie
4) Prez
5) Omar
6) D'Angelo
7) Bunk
8) Carver
9) Ziggy
10) Wallace
Any other Wire fans on my flist - what are your personal favourites?
Taking a day off today. My brain has novel fatigue. It needs to heal.
Just rewatching and wondering how dumb I must be not to get hooked sooner.
Personally I blame Wallace and Brandon for dying in such cruel horrific ways. I was ready to pussy out of the whole show over that. And then S4 somehow taught me to love the abuse that The Wire inflicts on your heart. Don't ask me how but it did.
I think I appreciated "all the pieces" of the story much more second time around. But the D'Angelo, Bodie and Wallace story in the Pit was still my favourite plotline. I just love the iconic look of that big orange sofa in the middle of the projects.
There was so much I'd forgotten! Like D'Angelos "tap, tap, tap..." story. I had disliked the character quite a bit when I thought he had murdered a girl like that. This time around I knew it was a lie. Even as a lie it is quite destructive. Not only does it influence the Pit kids to have a casual attitude towards killing; Dee even implies that they won't really be men till they've "caught a body".
My favourite moments of The Wire are scenes where characters express extreme frustrations over how fucked up everything is. So scenes like Carver beating up his sterring wheel and Bodie kicking in the police car windows. It's very cathartic. But my all-time favourite of these scenes is still this - "Where's Wallace? Where the boy at, String? Where the FUCK is Wallace?!!!" *cries*
I vaguely remembered Bodie as the hard kid and Wallace as the soft kid, but they aren't too different at the beginning of the story. It was actually Wallace who smashed a bottle over Johnny Weeks head. And was Wallace feeling guilty or just scared/squeamish when he was confronted with the bruality of the murdered stick up boy? I don't know. I don't love Wallace and Bodie cos they are moral characters. It's not like anyone ever taught them morality. I love them cos I'm soft on hoppers.
I was unspoiled for Wally's death on my first viewing (agghh! It still hurts!!) but the second time around I was shocked by how many people (intentionally or unintentionally) contributed to his death - kingpins, cops and corner boys. I think Bodie gets the most hate for Wally's death, not because he is solely responsible but because as a viewer, Bodie is kinda your last hope. The thing that cuts me up is there is a moment where Bodie clearly decides not to kill Wallace. It is at 1.49 mins. It's just this profound little complexity of the scene where you see that Bodie physically, mentally and emotionally can't do this to Wallace. And then he does it anyway. Because he has to. Because Wallace's death was necessary to Bodie's own survival in the game. It's how the game is for the pawns.
It's interesting that Poot is present at the scene of both Wallace's death and Bodie's death later in S4. I've always felt indifferent about Poot, but I guess Poot is an indifferent character himself. Poot seems to care about Wally and Bodie, but only in the vaguest of ways. He only seems to have a vague interest in the game too. This is why I don't care about Poot. He has no strong feelings or convictions about anything. Which is probably why he survives, I guess. There are a lot of people in the world like this. Also Wallace, Dee and Bodie all die shortly after talking to McNulty. He's like the kiss of death to corner boys. But I have a soft spot for Jimmy too, despite everything he fucks up.
OMG, I'd forgotten how much I'd hated Prez after he half-blinded that kid in ep2. I had a grudge against him for so long. Who knew he would become one of my favourite characters? Herc and Carver I found really dickish in S1 too - for their part in the tower riot, for stealing drugs money and repeatedly beating up Bodie. It's nice that Carver at least matured over the seasons.
I completely love Bubbles, even though I often don't find Bubbles storylines very interesting (aside from his S4 story). It's more Bubbles presence in the story that I love. He is the heart of the show, so much. I can't believe how real Andre Royo is.
Just randomly...I want to learn how to say "Alright" in a Baltimore accent. You know how the corner kids say it without pronouncing any of the middle letters? It's just like "Aiiiiiiiiiiiit". I love the sound of it for some reason. But I can't say it like that!
I love the 'Step to step' montage. Have bought The Wire soundtrack from amazon.
In conclusion:
Favourite Seasons (in order) =
1) S4
2) S3
3) S1
4) S2
5) S5
Favourite Characters =
1) The Boys of Summer: Randy, Dukie, Michael and Namond (I can't pick just one so I have to rank them as a group. When I think of The Wire I'll always think of these four kids first).
2) Bubbles
3) Bodie
4) Prez
5) Omar
6) D'Angelo
7) Bunk
8) Carver
9) Ziggy
10) Wallace
Any other Wire fans on my flist - what are your personal favourites?
Taking a day off today. My brain has novel fatigue. It needs to heal.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-07-27 01:22 pm (UTC)My favorite is String. I just think he's such a powerful character in all aspects of the world powerful. Also Omar is just as strong - in the sense that they work independedly of particular story arcs. They seem to have a mythical dimension to them that makes them more solid than the story itself. I don't think that makes sense, but that's how I feel about it. I think Omar and String and the best characters in terms of character construction, but I felt very close to Dee - he was my favorite in S1 and I think that will make him my favorite always.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-28 07:27 pm (UTC)I can't believe they killed Dee so early!
no subject
Date: 2009-07-27 02:15 pm (UTC)You have a great sense for writing analyses like this one. It is amazing to see so many S1 people matured (Carver) or stayed the same (like Herc). (I am also extremely jealous that you have the time to watch all this TV!)
My list would be very similar to yours. I would switch out Ziggy for Beadie and Bunny for Wallace. Snoop could come in at 11. Lester, Kima, Daniels, and McNulty would not make a top ten but I am very fond of them too.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-28 07:32 pm (UTC)Ooh, I love Bunny too! His role in S3 and S4 was very noble, even if his experiments were always slightly flawed. I loved how he tried to make a difference. Bunny would probably be my 11. I love Snoop too. She has a way of making cold-blooded mass murder comical.
I don't have time so much as insomnia. When my brain is in novel mode it is hard to sleep, so I just watch DVDs into the night.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-28 12:02 pm (UTC)I'm really looking forward to it though, especially to S4! (That's all your fault!! Because you had to make this amazing vid!! :D)
no subject
Date: 2009-07-28 07:35 pm (UTC)S1 is heartbreaking though. Watch out!
S4 is probably my favourite season of anything ever. So pleased you liked my vid! I'll have to start a Wire thread on geeksquee.