If you like Touching Evil or Monk, this series may be for you. Any of you save for a couple sharp journos who were able to stand back just far enough to realize what the real critique was. This feeling of gritty realism was lost on me during the McNulty fake-killer arc. Its like The Odyssey of Homer. We do what we do and people are free to react as they will. Thanks for making a great series. No need to worry about any season of this amazing show. The biggest pisser-offers for me in the series were the assclowns in the police department who clearly dont give a shit about what actually happens to actual people. And again, great work on this terrific series; dont let the naysayers get to you on Season 5, I found it every bit as good as the previous 4. It was too subtle for me to catch on my first watch, and Im sure a 10 hour binge made it even easier to gloss over. you could give me! If my state of mind can be presumed by this fellow, certainly Im entitled to note his own. Would still give Breaking Bad the nod over The Wire as a better show though. I did enjoy everything else about Season 5. The ending was perfect, the way Omar died was perfect, the serial killer thing was perfect, but then whenever it cut back to that newsroom it dragged. The writing, the directing, the acting, the story arcs: are all amazing. Caught the wire over a year ago & Ive watched it 3 times through since then. August 19, 2002. You wanna explain where the argument is inconsistent? The cutbacks, management of local papers by big out of town conglomerates and lack of attention on complex issues is something we see in the UK too. You wanna say that its an unfair representation of modern journalism? I even tried going back and watching homicide life on the street but without Bunk and McNulty just couldnt get into it. I gave up due to some of the most annoying characters I have seen written. Marlo gets away clean and he keeps his money, Avon lives happily ever after in prison, McNulty gets screwed, the lying reporter wins a damn Pulitzer, and oh yeah, OMAR GETS KILLED BY A LITTLE KID?! I didnt get hooked by Treme or the mini serie with a mayor though. Ohhh, and the commissioner and Senator Davis, you might as well have been talking about our infamous Marion Barry and his cronies all over the place. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The man in black tracked Jenna down at the right house, but he knocked on the wrong door he's tangled up in a deadly Book of Blood story that ends when Ellie Uncovered. As they series progresses, the style of editing and camera work alters. Also starring Hermione Norris (MI-5) and Simone Lahbib (Loch Ness), these dark and twisty mysteries are "brilliantly edgy" (SFGate.com). I love game of thrones (but its too quick imo), but The Wire is the best. The pictures of his cleaned up corners and happy citizens as a result of Hamsterdam would suggest that the drop was much larger than that 14%. I binged watch all 5 seasons, The Wire is the best tv series in tv history. But the gratuitous images and the worn-out theme aside this show has a lot to offer. In the annals of time, you documented as close to the reality of the DMV as you could get away with, its just too bad that people will always be calling it fiction., (*this is a better-edited version of my prior comment). I always thought the crime reduction % that Colvin reports as a result of his Hamsterdam experiment were too low. Great blog, it confirms my suspicions of the final season but wasnt enough to change my mind about it. I just finished the final episode of The Wire. I knew that in a general sense the overarching theme was the demise of quality of news journalism, but finishing my binge of the season tonight (after having avoided the show for years fearing it was over-hyped and couldnt live up boy was I wrong!) Its the best series ever The crime drama, which is made Thanks for the reply. Its a great show! David. Unlike most shows, which run at 45 minutes per episode, Wire in the Blood runs at 90 minutes per episode. Given the immense detail used in the stories, the show simply wouldn't work with shorter episodes. The series was cancelled in 2009 due to ITV's financial troubles. Omar and Prop Joe were the last good guys among the bad guys and both of them had to go down, while Snoop the Psycho Bitch who deserved at least a few weeks of good torture gets off easy with a single shot to the head. Not that your intention with this blog was to do that. Everything that happens on this show is explained, the more times that you watch it through. But no, show dont tell is the rule. Perhaps one on the books it is based on might warm me up to it. I feel as if I understand it better and see more with each viewing. However, of the many detective series that my wife and I have watched, British, French, Scandinavian, Icelantic, this series has the sickest, most graphic murders in every episode. I would have liked to have seen more scenes with randy & neymond though just to make it feel like they hadnt been forgotten especially as Michael & dookie didnt even mention them by name about same with nick sabotka maybe a conversation about the docks with someone after abusing the mayor & kracheck I like how it felt like a big open world & people could bump into each other. For example, for my first watch through, I was bored with Season two. I too felt really indecisive about season 2 on my first watch and have grown to love it more and more over time, just like you. All 24 episodes are great! ), [] own slashed staffs and cutbacks, leaving a major metropolitan newspaper that wound up as Simon acerbically noted at the time missing the whole []. Theres a reason people say youre a genius and why your show is perhaps the best in history. Who am I to bitch about how you decided to end your own show? After a while, we tired of the gore and wished the series would end. He's like an autistic train spotter. In this format youre not going to have stark revelations, a happy and blissful montage followed by a cut to black. With Robson Green, Elaine Claxton, Hermione Norris, Richard Frame. Gus pointing at the screen when Clay Davis is doing his interview outside the grand jury and wondering why the paper missed it. To argue about whether the drama had become arch or unsubtle? The third episode not quite as strong a story as the first two, perhaps has something to do with the fact that it was not based directly on the books of V. McD. Anyway, Im straying from my point: thank you for defining this additional layer to the theme of S5. The creative and honest mind of the writers is put on the screen with a quality job of directing. See production, box office & company info, Drama Trails: 'Coronation Street' to 'Kingdom'. The world is still debating the relative merits and detractions of the final episode of Vince Gilligans meth-world saga Breaking Bad, with some quarters feeling And remember the part where you saw the lady outside selling snowballs, the postal carrier was able to deliver mail, people were outside hanging laundry so you could tell that the 14% drop was substantial in that district. We have some of these initiatives in the UK but Im not sure about the situation in the US, and Im curious to know what you think. My plight feels similar to that of the increasingly-obsolete reporters you mentioned, rummaging through webpage-after-page of marketable impact junk to find substantial material worth digging into. It is important to give the newcomer a distinctive identity. Or are you just that pissed and depressed about the world that you cant help but force your misery on your viewers? Just depressing the way it wallows in the depravity of the serial killers and hits you over the head with it. Okay, you probably hate me by now so Ill shut up. But it went over my head, that the newspaper, completely missed every major story about what went on in the city. I just watched all 5 seasons over the past couple weeks and it was a pleasure. Nothing against Robson himself but his character annoys me. You win. This show is so brilliant, so uniquely American, such a mind-altering and contemplative rumination on the powerful pull of the system FUCK, I LOVE THE WIRE!!!!!!!!!!! The systemic problems of the DMV are way too deep and the people in charge are way too invested in their petty self-interests to ever have it another way. You had the ambitious lying dick with no redeemable qualities, the very honorable and honest veteran, some young black guy who covered Bubbles, the villainous senior editors, and a girl who was a good reporter. While in the bathroom, Lawrence and Adam try to stage a scene wherein Adam fakes choking and dying after smoking one of the cigarettes dipped in the corpses poisoned blood. I found the season 2 a bit less interesting the first time, but I really dont know why, maybe because I was focused on characters like Avon etc, and the guys on the docks were less cool at first sight. how many years you figure we been doing the same shit.. Copyright 2018 David Simon. I loved how the series showed its one big circle & for everyone person saved bubbles theres a dookie, Marlo trying to become stringer but him being more like avon, Michael becoming the new Omar & many more. My favorite character was bubs, I knew someone like him. I knew in my bones as he walked up to the convenience store something bad was going to happen. . 7.2 (359) Rate. Focused on a fake serial killer, they missed rampant corruption in the city government, missed obvious lying and stat juking in the police department, missed the penetration of thelaw courts by shady lawyers etc. As Tony I mean its obvious all three of them enjoyed it way too much for a normal gangster who just wanted someone out of their way- and Marlos final shot licking the blood off his sleeve just about proves that that guy was about to go on a black Manson killing spree had the story logically continued from its stopping point. I see commentary all the time where the seasons are ranked and there seems to be a common thread. ITV has axed Robson Green drama Wire in the Blood after six years in what is seen as the latest cost cutting move by the network. Comparisons with "Cracker" seem off the mark to me. Too short. Well now, its been a week sinceThe Wires final episode and a certain calm has descended, leaving a little less agita and a little more reflection. Also what I find tedious is that in every episode it try's to make you believe that a number of people are guilty but aren't. Liz (Michelle Randolph) suffered a miscarriage in the finale, and it now seems she may be unable to have children again. I watched all five series back to back in less than a month bit of an overdose I guess, but just couldnt stop. Even if you're not a Robson Green fan, this will surely garner him new followers. Im interested. Love if The producers could make a 15 minutes short just to show where all the cast are now. Meanwhile our federal government has wholesaled our highway systems, infrastructure, and debt to any country that was buying while dropping trillions of dollars into the pockets of Halliburton and the rest of the 1% in the name of fighting a war on terror. Please. The Witcher: Blood Origin 's ending serves as setup for The Witcher season 3, revealing the truth behind the Conjunction of the Spheres and another prophecy that's sure to have a profound influence on Ciri's life. It is our not insignificant loss that more shows weren't filmed. I did have a question though that I hope you could answer. Ultimately, thank you for such an epic drama! Thank you. And to get teachers talking, even on background, about their anger and frustration at this flummery? David, let me first congratulate you on making one of the most riveting series to have ever graced the global stage. Thinking back on Season 5, theres an interesting dynamic I think I picked up and just would like to know if it was intentional or if Im just reading too much into things. Have just finished re-watching the whole series. And today, with the availability of information (political manifestos, open sites describing tax laws, politicians own blogs describing their veiled reasons behind why their nest needs feathering) etc, its still so easy to spot journalists turning a blind eye and I can only assume either lazily or complicity ignoring the data to suit a narrative theyve been fed, or have a vested interest in continuing. And whether that is an accurate critique? I think it is, but Id like to hear your opinion on this. A great newspaper does this routinely on a multitude of issues, across its entire region. Season 5 was great. Wire in the Blood vol 2 Sharp Compassion. I guess Cedric Daniels, Stringer Bell and Bunny Colvin tried with horrible results. I found it as an interesting way to dispel the notion that one given group of people is more inclined or indoctrinated to corruption and lies than the other, but also that in any given sector of a society, you will usually find it is those who know that very truth full and well, who perpetuate that lie, in order to make themselves feel better about their shortcomings. Watch Wire In The Blood: Prayer Of The Bone, The plastic "blue bag" that Tony Hill is often seen with was gleaned from Robson Green's research for Wire in the Blood, which involved spending time with revered criminal psychologist Julian Boon, who Green describes in part as an "extraordinary, intelligent, nice guy who carried his life in a blue bag and travelled on a double-decker bus. I am glad you landed Naymond softly but Randy getting beat down again in the group home then showing up for a second in season 5 STILL in a group home- couldnt Carver have at least followed through on ONE good intention and taken him out of that system?! Brilliant! She sends him to chase down Keith and kill him. Jumped that shark in high-topped Nikes, we did. Wow, I cant believe that went over my head too David. "Wire in the Blood" is the story of Dr.Tony Hill (Robson Green), a slightly eccentric clinical psychologist who works part time with the police force of Bradford, England. Several years go by since Pulengs sister went missing. | One thing I forgot to mention is that I absolutely LOVED the continuity of the whole show. -- if you're a Robson Green fan, it's a fantastic showcase for his acting. Fiction makes everyone comfortable and talkative; journalism good, probing journalism is a much harder, much more rigorous task. Heres what happened in season five ofThe Wirewhen almost no one among the working press, at least was looking: The mayor, who came in promising reform, is instead forcing his police department to once again cook the stats to create the illusion that crime is going down. Think season 5 could of been way better but liked how Omar died didnt expected it from the little kid. Couldnt resist, sorry. I just love it so so so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or something, but instead he was just another man shot, and his name fittingly echoed into the folklore of the streets, Im a latecomer to The Wire and I think its the best thing Ive ever seen on television. I just want to watch it over and over again without stopping. This season has opened up my eyes to an important point: what exactly are we missing by focusing on all this sensationalist garbage? I would want us to argue subjectively about public policy and social issues. Also the deal they made with Marlo at the end where he would be free was just nonsensical, unless you want to believe that the DAs office is incredibly pure and moral and would never want to go to court and bust a guy they know is a major killer just because there is a little dirt in their investigation. Green is, of course, the lead of the show and he is brilliant. So it makes you wonder what actually gets reported and what we all miss day in and day out. Anyway, Ive gone on for far too long here. WebRobson Green (Grantchester, Touching Evil) plays a clinical psychologist called in by the police to help investigate serial killers in this acclaimed mystery series based on the books by Val McDermid. The plots, moreover, are taut and well-written. No television series has ever lived with me the way The Wire has. I am anxious to find out if there is a follow up to Painted? I had only heard of it but didnt know it was the drug I needed in my life to actively engage in social discussions the way you do so well in this series. Fantastic series & Ill tell anyone thats its the best series Ive ever seen. What he suddenly turns stupid? Why couldnt we have gone one more season with the show? All Rights Reserved. Note: This article contains spoilers for the entire first series of Blood. Flagg on his last day being the only one who could tap in to the police department to get the low down on Burrells removal. The plan immediately backfires as Adam is zapped through the chains and he awakens. Maybe you were too close? Even recently I remember watching CNN and they were covering the Treyvon Martin case seemingly 24/7 and in the news ticker at the bottom of the screen there was the briefest mention of some protest in Egypt. the biggest feeling that I was left with was that of Newtons Third Law of Physics, the action-reaction law. So thank you for such an absolute terrific ride. All in all, the last season ofThe Wirewasnt that cruel a portrayal, was it? And why would carcetti suddenly give them all the money? It was as good as I remembered and then some. Tell me you didnt laugh at the burnt-doll harem in the photogs trunk. Dr. Hill comes up with detail after detail about the perpetrator, without any more explanation of how he did it than Sylvia Browne, psychic, ever gives. Its especially shameful that the media did not pick up on this. Peace, yo. Good god, this was the most amazing show Ive seen in ever. Drug wars, territorial disputes, and the assassination of the citys largest drug importer manage to produce a brief inside the metro section that refers only to the slaying of a second-hand appliance store owner. Its admittedly easy enough, if you are writing a fictional television show, to sit in a diner booth or on a bar stool with a police lieutenant or an assistant principal, an assistant states attorney or a political functionary and have them tell you the good dirt, knowing as they do that fiction is a safe abstraction. What a way for a series to go out. I cant bring myself to use words like the worst, or the weakest, when duscussing a series that is so well written. I love the Hamsterdam plot. No one went near the theme; everyone stayed dead-center and literal, oblivious to the big-ass elephant in our mythical newsroom. WITB is a dark, gritty, British crime drama that most all will heartily enjoy.. should you like the genre. Much respect, and I hope you still read these. The apartment complex we lived in was actually the subject of a widely publicized reformation project (in 96) after having the highest rates of violent crime in the district for 12 years. 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