ElectricBoogaloo January 29, 2018 Share January 29, 2018 Articles, interviews, and other media stuff goes here! 1 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo January 29, 2018 Author Share January 29, 2018 Binging with Babish recreated some dishes from The Wire: lake trout (no lake, no trout), pit beef (with extra horseradish, of course), and an egg cracked into a beer with a whiskey. 2 Link to comment
Zola January 29, 2018 Share January 29, 2018 @ElectricBoogaloo Loved the vid! Might just try Lake Trout, but go with the cod instead, Pit beef looks good too, although am not a big fan of 'radish. Will try and think of good alternatives. Thanks again 2 Link to comment
Zola February 10, 2018 Share February 10, 2018 http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/house-of-cards-and-the-wire-actor-reg-e-cathey-dead-at-59.html Sad to hear of the loss of Reg Cathey this morning. A very fine actor, especially in "House of Cards" and "Outcast" amongst other terrific TV appearances. But I will always remember him as Norman Wilson, the cynical & dry humoured deputy campaign manager for Tommy Carcetti in seasons 3,4 and 5 of "The Wire" RIP. Reg "Sheeeeit" (to paraphrase him doing Clay Davis, lol) 1 Link to comment
Brooklynista February 10, 2018 Share February 10, 2018 (edited) Let me tell you folks something...me and Reg E. Cathy go all the way back to Mathnet PBS after-school programming. Pooty Tang, and then the Wire. This one hurts. I used to get annoyed at people crying about celebrity deaths, but I get it now. I'm hurting like I knew him. Sleep well Reg E. . You will certainly be missed. Edited February 10, 2018 by Brooklynista 1 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo February 18, 2018 Author Share February 18, 2018 Book alert! All the Pieces Matter by Jonathan Abrams is an oral history all about The Wire. The author interviewed tons of people who worked on the show (both cast and crew). You can read a fun excerpt from the book about the infamous FUCK scene here. 3 Link to comment
Tom Holmberg February 19, 2018 Share February 19, 2018 On 2/18/2018 at 10:07 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said: Book alert! All the Pieces Matter by Jonathan Abrams is an oral history all about The Wire. The author interviewed tons of people who worked on the show (both cast and crew). You can read a fun excerpt from the book about the infamous FUCK scene here. Just finished the book and thought it was worthwhile reading. Interesting that Dominic West was fairly unhappy throughout the making of the series (not so much about the series, but being "stuck" in the US away from his family), even more so at the end. 2 Link to comment
Zola February 19, 2018 Share February 19, 2018 31 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said: Just finished the book and thought it was worthwhile reading. Interesting that Dominic West was fairly unhappy throughout the making of the series (not so much about the series, but being "stuck" in the US away from his family), even more so at the end. That book is next on my read-list; an currently reading "Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From the Sopranos and the Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad" by Brett Martin, which goes behind the scenes of some of the top TV dramas, and the difficulty working with some of the lead men in each. A fascinating read! As for Dominic, I did read someplace that initially he didn't think the show would see a season 2, but when it was given the green light he had to commit and awful lot of his time over in the States of seasons 2 and 3, but worked out a deal to scale back his appearances in S4 in order to be with his family back in London. He did a fine job! Link to comment
Tom Holmberg February 20, 2018 Share February 20, 2018 22 hours ago, Zola said: That book is next on my read-list; an currently reading "Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From the Sopranos and the Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad" by Brett Martin, which goes behind the scenes of some of the top TV dramas, and the difficulty working with some of the lead men in each. A fascinating read! As for Dominic, I did read someplace that initially he didn't think the show would see a season 2, but when it was given the green light he had to commit and awful lot of his time over in the States of seasons 2 and 3, but worked out a deal to scale back his appearances in S4 in order to be with his family back in London. He did a fine job! According to the book, HBO was going not going to renew the show every year, but in the end decided to renew. Apparently Season Two was the season with the highest ratings. The book is fast reading. I finished it over a weekend. Link to comment
Zola February 20, 2018 Share February 20, 2018 Just now, Tom Holmberg said: According to the book, HBO was going not going to renew the show every year, but in the end decided to renew. Apparently Season Two was the season with the highest ratings. The book is fast reading. I finished it over a weekend. Season 2 was a strange one for a lot of fans expecting more of the same as S1, but instead got a whole new storyline involving the dock workers and an early introduction to the Greeks and their drug importing business. When I watched that season for the first time i just could't get into it. But after a couple of repeat viewings i regard it as my 2nd favourite season after S3. Am just pleased the bosses at HBO kept the faith and didn't cancel. And even surprising was the lack of any major awards for the show back then! Anyway, will be looking forward to reading that book to help me fill in a few blanks 1 Link to comment
AuntiePam March 11, 2018 Share March 11, 2018 On 2/20/2018 at 12:40 PM, Tom Holmberg said: According to the book, HBO was going not going to renew the show every year, but in the end decided to renew. Apparently Season Two was the season with the highest ratings. The book is fast reading. I finished it over a weekend. I'm about halfway through. There were some surprises. Like Ed Burns saying that Bodie was written as a psychopath, so Burns didn't want Bodie to hesitate Spoiler in the scene where he and Poot shoot Wallace. I never once thought of Bodie as a psychopath. He did what he thought he needed to do to survive and to rise in the Barksdale organization. Bodie was one of my favorite characters. There are some really good insights in this book. Alvarez's book is good too, but the Abrams book goes deeper. 1 Link to comment
Zola March 11, 2018 Share March 11, 2018 23 minutes ago, AuntiePam said: I'm about halfway through. There were some surprises. Like Ed Burns saying that Bodie was written as a psychopath, so Burns didn't want Bodie to hesitate Reveal hidden contents in the scene where he and Poot shoot Wallace. I never once thought of Bodie as a psychopath. He did what he thought he needed to do to survive and to rise in the Barksdale organization. Bodie was one of my favorite characters. There are some really good insights in this book. Alvarez's book is good too, but the Abrams book goes deeper. I have only read about 20 pages thus far. Not because it's a slow read but due to other commitments. As such I haven't really come across anything relevant with regards The Wire itself, other than more background on Burns and Simon shadowing the Baltimore police in the late 80s, and Simon's work on "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets". All fascinating and insightful stuff, but I just wish I could get a couple of hours to myself and this book because it is definitely food for the brain. 1 Link to comment
PamelaMaeSnap March 16, 2018 Share March 16, 2018 I'm so glad there are others here talking about the new book ... I'm partway through (my Kindle is being weird and not telling me what page I'm on but just finished reading about how they came up with Season 2 plot/concept) ... and I think it's fantastic. I love oral histories (am actually working on one that's baseball-related but it may turn out to be simply a project to keep me occupied until my husband retires LOL) ... and already some of the stories are amazing (such as the one about how the, shall we say, bullet in the refrigerator scene came to be). I also loved Alvarez's book "Truth Be Told." I'm one of those unbearable people who are just Wire Wire Wire (like Isaiah Whitlock's character in "Cedar Rapids" LOL) but I have not been able to rewatch it (unlike all my other favorite series) because I think it would just be too hard. Maybe after reading this I can handle it. 2 Link to comment
AuntiePam March 16, 2018 Share March 16, 2018 I'm almost finished. Maybe when we're all done, we can start a new thread to talk about the book -- without having to put stuff in spoiler boxes. There's some really surprising stuff in the book. 45 minutes ago, PamelaMaeSnap said: I have not been able to rewatch it (unlike all my other favorite series) because I think it would just be too hard. Maybe after reading this I can handle it. Rewatching season five is the hardest for me. So much sad. 3 Link to comment
Zola March 16, 2018 Share March 16, 2018 Am still only about 30 or 40 pages into the book, but am really enjoying the interviews from the actors and the production team discussing the pilot and first season. Andre Royo has a lot to say about playing the role of "Bubbles", and that he had to resort to method acting to get into the character, and it paid off handsomely. Quite a number of people in the book commented how the production and story-lines for that 1st season were radically different compared to other TV dramas, and despite the enthusiasm some were quite pessimistic about the show getting picked up at after the pilot! Hope to devote a few more hours over this weekend with the book now that I have the house to myself. And of course once completed it will be inevitable I will rewatch the show for about the 3rd time in the same of 12 months. Link to comment
PamelaMaeSnap March 16, 2018 Share March 16, 2018 (edited) (Having major issues editing/posting here since "upgrading" my computer ... blerg) ... Anyway I LOVE the idea of perhaps starting a separate thread for this book since it seems many people are reading it ... this way we could avoid spoilers for those who have not read it YET (or I guess even people who may just be watching the show and have not seen it all the way through). I'm trying to read it slowly so I can savor it but I suspect I'll be done with it by the end of the weekend because I have minimal self-restraint! Edited March 16, 2018 by PamelaMaeSnap 1 Link to comment
Zola March 16, 2018 Share March 16, 2018 I am glad also that there are people here that appreciate The Wire. I know its finished over 10 years ago, but for me it is fresh and relevant today as it has always been,. And yes, a separate thread for the book would be great! I love this show with a passion, not least because it has two gay characters as major leading roles, but also the humour, the lack of incidental music, and the utter bullshit in terms of corruption at all levels, not just at the street gangs and the police, but also the politicians and judiciary - all of them in it for themselves. As McNulty would say "What the f**k did I do?" 1 Link to comment
PamelaMaeSnap March 16, 2018 Share March 16, 2018 I'm especially stoked to read about S4 and how they cast and worked with the school kids. That was the season that broke my heart the most, I think. (PS Am also watching The Alienist and it's always fun to see a Wire actor in another role ... as soon as I saw Cyrus, it was "Hey, it's Bunny Colvin!") Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo March 19, 2018 Author Share March 19, 2018 This is from a few years ago, but worth a read. It's about the program that Sonja Sohn set up for neighborhood kids in Baltimore: After ‘The Wire’ ended, actress Sonja Sohn couldn’t leave Baltimore’s troubled streets behind 1 Link to comment
Zola March 19, 2018 Share March 19, 2018 @ElectricBoogaloo. That's a truly awe-inspiring article, and am especially pleased for Sohn putting something back into Baltimore rather than just walking away waiting for the next role to come along. Quite interesting backstory too about her, which really surprised me, especially her drug abuse. So I guess she has/had a genuine connection with those kids she was trying to help. If I am being honest I didn't think much of her acting in The Wire, although it was very inspiring - for me at least - to have her play a key role as a lesbian police, and not have the character dissolved into familiar stereotype. But full credit to Sonia for keeping "ReWired" alive; clearly she is very passionate about helping those that shout the loudest for aid but are helped the least by those in power. 2 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo June 15, 2018 Author Share June 15, 2018 Michael K. Williams on Colbert - he discusses filming No Reservations and taking Anthony Bourdain to the neighborhood where he grew up. Near the end he talks about what music he listened to beforehand to get into character for different roles including Omar: Link to comment
Zola July 12, 2018 Share July 12, 2018 Have just finished reading... or rather, re-reading "All the Pieces Matter" by Jonathan Abrams. One of the best books I have read regarding the backstory and various insights behind the making of "The Wire" Despite being a terrific book for an equally terrific TV show, one of the show's creators, David Simon, openly admitted that he was trying to convince HBO execs to give him another season in order to to complete his "vision" of Baltimore, despite being threatened with cancellation due to relatively poor ratings. This was more apparent, and more of a struggle-to-convince after season 3, when a lot of people felt there was a satisfying "closure" to the whole Barksdale story arc. The execs actually said to Simon "You finished the show on a high, with a logical and satisfying conclusion. Why would you want to drag it out to another season when no one was watching?" And I think that final comment - "..no one was watching..." really hit home with me! That even after three seasons, the ratings were average at best, despite having some of the most engrossing storylines, the most intriguing and diverse characters, and the complex issues I have seen in TV drama. Further on in the book, Simon, Ed Burns and some of the lead characters were really at a loss regarding the ratings, and the constant struggle to keep the show alive. And as most of us know, season 5 was full of compromises that Simon had to make to the HBO execs - i..e. only 10 episodes rather than the usual 12 or 13. Which explains why some of the story arcs felt rushed or incomplete! The book also touches on why the show never received the recognition it truly deserved in terms of awards, especially the lack of Emmy's. It's a great book for any fan of the show, and I would definitely recommend it! 4 Link to comment
MCMLXXVII October 11, 2018 Share October 11, 2018 I’m rewatching season one after many years and immediately noticed the Wee-Bay scene that’s become a meme. Heh. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wee-beys-reaction 3 Link to comment
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