The Sopranos was set more in the suburbs anyway.

has anyone seen the short films they made with the characters when they were younger such as prop joe, omar mcnulty

Meh. I know better than to try to argue the merits of The Wire over The Sopranos with you...

...but Im gonna do it anyway
Sure Sopranos captured the suburban zeitgeist, even managing to make an otherwise boring as shit notion into a compelling series. As Chase himself has said (and Im paraphrasing here) the mafia element in the show was a vehicle to explore latter day suburban life. Truth be told, its a bit of a one trick pony.

The Wire in comparison explores so much more. Beyond the obvious themes of each season (the scourge of drugs, shady politics and corruption, failing institutions and the degredation of modern journalsim), Season Two in particular (and the others to a differing extent) touched on white flight, urban decay, gentrification and, however briefly, life in the suburbs. Unlike The Sopranos though, it doesn't need to make it a major theme to get the points across.

Advantage: The Wire. Every time.

Get back to me in another 10 years or so and see which one stands the test of time better.

Deal. I'll meet you back here on 2/1/2022.

We will all be long dead in 2022. We will all be dead before the end of this year, trust me. The Aztecs have foreseen it.

Anyway, I've seen a shitload of series since Boardwalk Empire started last year; the Borgias, Shogun, the Sopranos, Rome, Game of Thrones, The Pillars of the Earth, the Wire. But the one that stands out the most is the Sopranos, followed closely by Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire. The Wire is an extremely authentic serie, but it isn't near as entertaining as the Sopranos.

I wholeheartedly disagree. For me, The Wire was ever more entertaining in the long run.

I thought it was the Mayans? Anyway, you're right about The Sopranos being at the top. And give Mickey some time. He'll come around eventually.

You're right, my mistake. But grant me that you could easily confuse the two. These empires were practically neighbors.

Oh and Mickey, I want to arrange a meeting with you to talk things over. Come see me at the basement of that Montreal house, you know which one I mean. You will feel safe there, I guarantee it. I'm sure we will straighten things out.

im sure thats prob what they told Sal Montagna as well and look what happened to him... just saying lol

Im uh...no thanks. Im busy that day. On all of the days.

That was just a misunderstanding. I would never touch a hair on Mickey's head, he's my best friend.

Your bestest friend? Oh hell, I guess Ill come to the meeting! Its the one close to that river right? Ill tell my driver to stay in the car! I probably wont need to bring my gun right? That Sal Montagna sized hole in the window doesn't worry me a bit, Im sure its just coincidence! Ill see you there, friend!

*Meatballs comes to meeting. Gets shot. Dives through Montagna sized hole in window, jumps across snowy banks of river and dies in the muck screaming "THE WIRE 4 EVA!!!11!!". Surete' finds him and shakes their heads, though forced to concede that yes, The Wire is actually the better show.

Poor Sicilian Babe! What did SB do? She just hangs out in the Off Topic houses, being all cool and chilled and stuff. How did she ever get mixed up in this nonsense? Oh, and she's a she, not a he. And why would the Commish put one out on her?

*single tear. She coulda been a contender.

...wait, what are we talking about again?

We were talking about a sit-down Ivyleague proposed and I would organize. I'm sure we can come to an agreement about The Wire and The Sopranos. After this meeting, there will be no more minunderstandings.

If you read the new Rolling Stones with The Black Keys on the cover, there is a good article about "snoop" in there. Steve King said she was the scariest female villain in a TV series.

Ive always liked that quote, especially coming from a guy like King. Felicia "Snoop" Pearson's an interesting figure for sure; born a crack-baby, identifying as a lesbian from a young age, convicted of murder as a teen and 'discovered' by Michael K. Williams in a Baltimore bar, introduced to David Simon and put on the show.

facepalm

Right. Im busy that day. On all the days.

Y'heard?

Browsing Reddit the other day I came across an AMA by author and Wire writer George Pelecanos.

In response to a question about a supposed sixth series of The Wire, Pelecanos responded with the following (I thought was quite interesting and decided to share.


We had five stories to tell, and to their credit HBO kept us on the air to do it. In truth, the ratings did not justify keeping us further, but the aftermarket sales in video, domestic and international, made the show hugely profitable for HBO. We would have liked to look at the Latino culture in Baltimore, and tackle immigration, but we ran out of time. It's funny, Ed Burns wanted to do a season about horse racing, the track, and organized crime. It's all connected in Maryland, but again, no time. Now, David Milch has done it with Luck on HBO. I watched the first ep, and I think it's fantastic.

Was gonna start a new thread but remember it got some talk on here. just watched 5/6ths of The Corner. OMFG. How good.

As a few other guys have mentioned, its a spin out seeing guys from The Wire in almost completely different roles. And goddamn: Gary McCullogh; the Bubbles prototype.

Im watching the last ep. tonight, and all the reviews say that this one is the most full-on. Some deaths, some "falls", etc. Really glad I finally watched it, I left it way too long.

two of my favourite scenes.

This is the guy marlo stansfield was based on.


In the mid-1980s, Timmirror Stanfield was a major Baltimore drug trafficker. In 1986 Stanfield was 25 and ran a gang which included over fifty members. The Stanfield gang controlled South Baltimore's Westport area and West Baltimore's Murphy Homes housing project.[26] The gang committed multiple murders, and drew the attention of authorities, who were able to persuade fifteen witnesses to testify. The core of the gang was convicted.[27] This real life criminal forms the basis of the character's origins while emphasizing the rise in brutality from the American heroin trade of the 1970s to the crack cocaine trade of the 1980s.

The gang was responsible for several murders, and the investigation focused on four of the murders that occurred at the 725 George Street highrise. Former Maryland State Attorney Kurt Schmoke authorized Assistant State Attorney Howard Gersh to use a special grand jury to investigate the gang. Approximately 40 gang members and other neighborhood witnesses testified before the panel. Within 5 months, the four cases were prepared for trial, with 15 gang members ready to testify against Stanfield. Three of the cases were presented for prosecution, and convictions were secured against the nucleus of the gang.

Boardley Investigation

With certain modifications and on a larger scale, the investigative process developed in the Stanfield case was used in the Boardley investigation with equally impressive results. Warren Boardley, Nadir Abdullah, and Christopher Burrows controlled a vast drug distribution network centered in the Lexington Terrace/Poe Homes housing project and spreading throughout the West Baltimore and Cherry Hill areas of the city. The gang employed four full-time gunmen and used eight others, all hired by contract.

The scope of this investigation was broader than the Stanfield investigation in that it sought to employ the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act statute, which used murder, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering as the predicated crimes. The results were similarly impressive. Several members turned against the gang nucleus, even though the core group was not incarcerated while the grand jury was sitting.

The investigative process employed in the Boardley investigation works because of the way in which each gang member is bonded to the gang. In areas where gangs flourish, gang membership to achieve status and money is an accepted norm, like pursuing an education, a job, or sports. Consequently, youth with minimal or no criminal tendencies are drawn to gangs and fall under the tutelage of gang leaders. Most members do not comprehend the scope of the gang's lawlessness and are not prepared for the types of crime assigned to them. The degree of adaptation or corruption depends on the individual's proclivity for crime. The assignment to commit a criminal act occurs before the subject is able to make an intelligent choice. Therefore, the subject becomes committed to the gang despite strong reservations that may linger.

The Stanfield investigation was developed and prosecuted by the state. The Boardley investigation was a joint effort by state and federal authorities. Both investigations were successful, and both approaches have their merits. A joint investigation takes advantage of the strengths of each. A major weakness, highlighted in the Boardley investigation, is the lack of clearly established lines of responsibility among the federal and local participants.

Investigations' Conclusions

From the evidence gathered in the Stanfield and Boardley investigations, it appears that only a few members adopted the violent mentality of the core group. The majority of gang members appear to be trapped between their essentially good upbringing and their fear of the gang's violence. Those members who are uncertain and confused are the ones who the investigators target. The process proposes to resolve a subject's conflicts by offering a safe alternative to the gang—cooperation with government officials.

The investigative strategy achieves its primary goals. This process disempowers the leader, disrupts the integrity of the gang, and generates new evidence that leads to successful prosecutions of the gang's nucleus. The investigative process has a significant impact on both those who cooperate and those who are prosecuted. Based on 1998 data, the Murphy Homes area—formerly known as the Murder Homes—has not experienced new gang or gang-related murders. Drug dealing still exists in the neighborhood, but not with the degree of organization or violence imposed by the former gang.

I think, Omar's killing was one of the most intelligent scenes in The Wire. They tried to get at him in million ways, which made him to be careful in some special way, which led to a certain blindness. "The game" as they call it here ("business" in The Godfather) is a like a Russian roulette. No-one's safe. No-one. You can't predict anybody's fate. Who would have thought that Poot will be the one who survives from the old crew. You just can't "keep the devil way down in the hole". If you believe you're smart, you have lost already.

Liked season one, two and three, hated season four (fast forwarded multiple epsiodes),

but then...season five: loved it! One of the best things i have ever seen on screen in my live. The problem is, you have to watch the first four seasons to get it.

Cast, Creators, Crew Interviews from The Wire

It's the best show I've ever watched. It's less easy to watch as for instance the Sopranos but so much more rewarding imho.
And now the new musical really completes the whole experience:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/414fa4b226/the-wire-the-musical-with-michael-kenneth-williams

The Lego Wire

I've seen the first two seasons. I liked it, especially season 2. Full of great characters and the mystery surrounding 'The Greeks' is really clever ( my guess is that they're part of Russian OC and that the leader and Vondas are Pontians ).