I loved Homicide but I think The Wire is better. To be honest they are like sister shows in a lot of ways.
The Wire is about the city of Baltimore itself. Each season has an overall theme but they all overlap and give you the big picture. The nuances in the writing and perfomances made this something epic. Each season builds on the previous ones and gives them further meaning. A lot of folks thought season 2's dockworker arc was great but how did it fit? Season 4 and now season 5 are paying off that storyline in a big way. The Wire is a demanding and at times frustrating viewing experience for some folks because they demand neatly wrapped storylines and a sense of closure. In The Wire sometimes the bad guys win, sometimes the good guys aren't so good, the drug dealers and users have a higher code of honor than "good" guys and life ultimately goes on. I like The Shield but I don't think it even belongs in this conversation. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > overall would you say it's better than "Homicide"? How does it compare to "The Shield"? Just so you know, i haven't seen either the Shield or The Wire. But isn't it interesting that three cop shows which are acclaimed as being among the best ever--better than "NYPD: Blue" to some--all have strong and fully realized Black characters on both sides of the law? I listened to a podcast interview with Anthony Anderson on NPRs "Fresh Air", and they played a scene from his drug dealing character on The Shield. It was amazing. > > -------------- Original message -------------- > From: "ravenadal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > I fell in love with "The Wire" with the opening scene of the first > episode: > > We open on a close-up of blood trickling on asphalt, illuminated by > the flashing lights of a police car. We pan up to the apparently > deceased victim, swaddled in a parka such that we can't see a face or > even really tell if it's a lady or a dude. Apparently nearby, three > little girls sit on a stoop watching the proceedings. Go to bed! A > uniformed cop writes something up as we hear the dulcet, slightly > accented tones of Det. Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) "So your boy's > name was what?" "Snot," replies the kid he's talking to. "You called > the guy 'Snot'?" McNulty marvels. The gist is that the erstwhile Omar > Isaiah Betts once had the misfortune of going out coatless, got a > runny nose, and became "Snot" forever after. "Life just be that way > sometimes, I guess," the witness rightly rejoins. Cutting the crap, > McNulty turns to the witness and asks, straight up, "Who shot Snot?" > The witness sharply replies that he isn't going to court. They sit > for a moment in silence, which the witness presently > breaks: "Motherfucker ain't have to put no cap in him, > though." "Definitely not," McNulty replies. "I mean, he coulda just > whipped his ass like we always whipped his ass." "I agree with > you." "Gonna kill Snot. Snot been doing the same shit since I don't > know how long. Kill a man over some bullshit." McNulty watches the > witness quietly, trying not to spook him back into silence. The > witness finally concludes by saying that they were playing alley > craps; Snot waited until the pot got big, and then snatched it and > took off -- which he apparently did on a weekly basis. "You let him > do that?" McNulty asks. The witness says that they'd catch him and > beat his ass, but that nobody would let it go past that. McNulty, > perplexed, sez "let me get this straight: every week Snot waited > until the pot got big, and then snatched it and took off. Y'all > would catch him, kick his ass, and take the money back." The witness > nods sullen assent. "I gotta ask this," McNulty says. "If Snot stole > the pot every time, why did ya'll let him play." "Got to," says the > witness with resignation. "This is America, man." > > I LOVE that line! "This is America, man." How we gone tell Snot he > can't play? This is AMERICA, man! Land of the Free! Home of the > Brave! > > That's some good sh*t! And the perfect context for everything that > comes after. > > ~rave! > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
