“He preys on the weakest among us.” Episode 52 of The Wire premiered last night for we On Demanders, and hoo boy. Jimmy McNulty‘s done some outrageous stuff in the past, but this is beyond the pale. I’m curious to see how Wire fans react to the big moment here — If the show hadn’t spent so much time grounding itself in realism, I’m not sure it could pull off this turn towards the baroque. Still, I trust Simon and Burns.
Tag: Television
Lone Wolf of Bal’more.
“It’s really dark and explosive. Everyone’s off the hook; no one trusts anyone. Everyone questions the way things are operating on the street level, in the police department, in the newsroom. Like McNulty, he’s way off the hook this year. He’s doing things that are totally outrageous, questioning authority, and trying to find the truth. He goes way off the deep end this year.” On the eve of Season 5 (for the nOn-Demand folk), NY Mag‘s Joe Colly talks with Michael K. Williams, a.k.a. Omar Little of The Wire. Update: The last scene of Season 5 leaks! (Sort of.)
The Bigger the Lie, the More they Believe.
A New Year is dawning. A New Day is not. I spent the first hour of 2008 watching the first episode of The Wire Season 5 — which is now live if you have HBO On Demand — and it was time very well spent. Between instantly fascinating new characters in the Baltimore Sun newsroom and some even more byzantine connections made between the old regulars (Note Partlow’s errand to the Criminal Court, and wait ’til you see who Herc’s working for), the best show on television is back in a big way. (That being said, it might take me awhile to get used to Mel‘s husband Doug from Flight of the Conchords as the Sun‘s managing editor.) Update; More discussion of Ep. 51 here at Alan Sepinwall’s blog, who’s also compiling a list of The Wire‘s greatest moments (That might take awhile.)
Figwit, get an eyepatch.
Wait, what? Maybe I’m just late to the plastic pantomime, but my sister informed me over the holidays that Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords was previously Figwit(!) Strangely enough, I’d never made that mental connection. In any case, in honor of one of my two favorite new shows of 2007 (the other being Mad Men), here’s one of the funnier television moments of the year: Jemaine as Bowie (Ashes, Labyrinth.) It is quite freaky, isn’t it?
Back in the Day.
I heard about these a few days ago and thought they were Youtube fan flicks. But, no, they’re the real deal: Along with the Season 4 DVD comes a handful of exclusive Wire prequels at Amazon.com, including looks at young Omar and Prop Joe in action and Bunk and McNulty’s first bender. Season 5: January 6, or Dec. 31 if you’re On Demand-inclined. (Teasing press-release summaries here.)
It’s All About the Crown.
“I slur when I’m tired, that’s all.” HBO launches new character-specific promos for Season 5 of The Wire, which include brief scenes of Jimmy McNulty, Omar Little, Tommy Carcetti, Marlo Stansfield, and Reginald “Bubbles” Cousins. Avoid like the plague if you’re not yet caught up. (Season 4 comes out on DVD tomorrow.)
Pencils Ready?
“‘It’s already done, basically,’ the insider describes.” Is the Hollywood writers’ strike, now entering its fourth week, close to resolution? According to one report, definitely maybe. “I was told not to expect an agreement this week. But my source thought it was possible that the strike could be settled before Christmas.“
Ready for his Close-Up.
“But political success on television is not, unfortunately, limited only to those who deserve it. It is a medium which lends itself to manipulation, exploitation and gimmicks. It can be abused by demagogs, by appeals to emotion and prejudice and ignorance. Political campaigns can be actually taken over by the ‘public relations’ experts, who tell the candidate not only how to use TV but what to say, what to stand for and what ‘kind of person’ to be. Political shows, like quiz shows, can be fixed-and sometimes are.”
By way of Ted at The Late Adopter, Senator John F. Kennedy ruminates on how television has changed politics in 1959, and much of it reads as presciently as Eisenhower’s farewell address fourteen months later. “The other great problem TV presents for politics is the item of financial cost. It is no small item…If all candidates and parties are to have equal access to this essential and decisive campaign medium, without becoming deeply obligated to the big financial contributors from the worlds of business, labor or other major lobbies, then the time has come when a solution must be found to this problem of TV costs.” Yeah, I’d like to say we were working on that.
Dispatch: Bodymore.
“BALTIMORE, Md. — Crime is up. The drug trade [still] rules the corners. The next election consumes every politician. And McNulty is drinking again.” A new day is [not] dawning: The Wire, Season 5, January 2008.
Write your own quippy headline.
Writers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your residuals. A writers’ strike in Hollywood looks increasingly likely after eleventh-hour talks fall apart and the deadline — midnight November 1 — passes. “If a strike occurs, it would probably happen within a week and possibly as early as Friday, according to people close the guild.The writers’ previous strike, in 1988, lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry an estimated $500 million.” By the way, hope you like reality tv. “If history is any guide, late night television would see the most immediate impact. Dave Letterman and Jay Leno, whose monologues depend on union writers, would go dark, as would Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.” Update: The strike begins Monday at midnight.