Are you suffering from post-Sopranos syndrome? Where everything on the telly just look distinctly second rate after the finishing the ground-breaking HBO series. Yup, me suffered fer long periods where everything from Lost to Heroes just didn't measure up to the snappy dialogue & fantastic character development of Tony Soprano & gang.But fear not. Hope is on the horizon as the GREATEST SERIES in living memory is about to start its run on Astro's Cinemax. Ladies & gents, The Wire is about to begin here.
Set in the city of Baltimore, this is no ordinary cop & robbers show. Written by an ex-cop & a former newspaperman, it seeks to delve deeper into the problems that beset inner city ghettos. First season examines the drug endemic & what drives it.
In five seasons, The Wire explores the murky issues of corrupt politicians, a police force bogged down by bureaucracy & budget limitations, an education system which churns out drug dealers and a sensationalist media.
It is hard to describe just how utterly fantastic this series is. Suffice to say, wifey & me were fooking hooked & fer a good two months with nothing but episodes of The Wire flashed on our telly only to be interrupted by occasional bouts of live footie.
The violence is hard hitting & bone chillingly real with every ten year old street corner punk ever ready to pop that proverbial cap in yer ass. All characters are allowed the space & time to breathe. How often can you say that in a series where you actually empathise with the bad guys? President Obama who began his political career in Baltimore was quoted as saying his fave character was Omar - a gay, shotgun-totting robber-cum-assassin! Beat that!
Me canna recommends this enough & feels that if ever there was a reason to part with RM200 of yer hard earned cash, the five seasons of The Wire on DVD box sets is it.
Absolutely & utterly essential viewing! Small screen entertainment at its fooking apex.
ps: Any TV series that has a killer Tom Waits tune as its theme canna be all bad, can it? Check out the intro to the series below . . .
21 comments:
Balaji:-
Will try to check the series out...
but most probably i'll ask my brother to download if possible..since m living in ultra savings mode due to the economic situation and all even me astro at homein perak just have AXn only hehehe..no HBO, sport and all...
anba: no sports? WTF? Don't you think catching yer team live is a touch more important than axn?
Me has all five series, be happy to burn copies fer you. When you in KL next? Give me a buzz.
just bought me 10 seasons of The Simpsons la bro. i know, i've caught each and every single episode but just cant get enough of homer and his antics.
btw, just watched repeat of American gangster. the Wire sounds almost similar, doesnt it?
Anba- bro, no sports channel and still managed to stay sane? whats your trick la wei?
Kerp: No arguments bout The Simpsons. That is pure gold. Its the longest running series on TV.
Are you refering to American Gangster with Denzel Washington & Russel Crowe? If so, The Wire is much better.
If u r interested in watching this series, just purchase some empty DVDs & me will be more than happy to make copies fer you.
Memang superb.
yea, AG with 'Zel' in it.
will try and ask me cousin if he has The Wire in his collection first.
kerp: Don't miss this buddy. Damn good shit. Serious.
Victor: Is that you Towkay? Welcome to ffs.
Anyways, might me humbly suggest you avoid watching this on astro as there is SUBSTANTIAL swearing in The Wire & me thinks it'll hard fer anyone to follow the dialogue properly with all the bleeping going on.
Towkay?
I stumbled here. Is it B? The one with the best burgers?
Should have guessed with anfield...
Canteena in Bangsar is for sale BTW.
Victor: Yes, it is! Ha ha!
Canteena fer sale? Wow, that's a real institution la. Wonder how much Benny is asking fer?
AD: Sounds interesting. Will try to get it. Can't you buy it season by season? That will be better-lah, then we can split the payments over time.
BTW, please do check out latest posting on me blog and leave your comments. http://fitnessmalaysiablog.blogspot.com
achilles: Yes, its available in seperate seasons. The pix is a special edition ie ori la not pasar malam.
But yes, sold seperately at yer friendly dvd emporium.
But do note that once you've seen a few episodes, memang ketagih. And you'll be itching to get the rest & that's when you'll find the shops are out of stock. Happened to me with season 5. So beware, The Wire isn't exactly Sex & The City ie its only available at selected outlets.
Dear Frens..do check out the front page of wikipedia ...so damn funny here's an example..
From Wikipedia's newest articles:
Frontispiece of a Wicked Bible
* ... that a 1631 Bible (frontispiece pictured) commanded readers to commit adultery?
* ... that Sonia Chang-Díaz won a seat in the Massachusetts Senate after her opponent was
accused of stuffing her bra?
* ... that in 1825, the Court of Exchequer declared all contracts by hobbits illegal and void in England?
* ... that if you go to a local store three weeks from today, you can probably find Asher Roth asleep in the bread aisle?
* ... that Caviar, Chardonnay, and Hot Cocoa compete for the love of Ray J?
* ... that baseball Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby had his first plate appearance against King Lear?
* ... that both Egypt and the Holy Land were originally settled by Germans?
* ... that Sir Winston Churchill competed in the Tall Ships Race with an all-female crew?
* ... that Wikipedia now has information about everything?
dear chiefs skalian,
hmmmmmm...the wire huh...sounds bitchslappingly head on, right between the eyes and numbing the balls..
to be honest, the first time i came across / heard about the series..i wrote it down on the same page as bluey denniz franz and filed it away under "N-NYPD Blue makealikes" for good measure..well at least the tail-end of the faltering seasons...it just go plain d-raggyy.
just goes to show what...one can miss swallowing (or be swallowed) due to sheer
downright
ignorance...:)))
shpeaking of series...just popped ..or rather flicked a somewhat boxed set of...well at least not a complete boxed set.of MIND YOUR LANGUAGE...something like four seasons or so...mwhahhahhahahaa.pure classic...never
fails as giverupper and prop up that dwindling smile and sunk-in eyes...never fails to crack me up; regardless of how abhorrently silly i may retrospectively find some of the jokes now...ma fav is...juan "profabor?" cervantes.....mwahhaha
classic line during debate on whether TV is good or bad in class:
teach brown: juan what do you think?
juan: profabor?
teach brown: what do you think - do you think TV is good or bad?
juan: *frowns* sorrait..i think TV no good
teach brown: well, why?
juan: my uncle in madrid...he buy TV from shop one day, he carry home..he go home...he drop TV on his foot..so TV no good good..
teach brown : exasperated...i shouldn't have asked...
and yes, soprano - enjoyed the few episodes i caught by chance (courtesy of younger bro)...also managed to munge on dinner during few episodes of this ...another cop series..called the shield...also has a thick plot...
thanks.
appreciatively,
moz.
ooo..forgot, there was one cop series which i made an effort to follow.."law&order:homicide"..the one that ICE-T in in the later stages...initially initiated by a post pubescent pre-adolescent infatuation with the lady lead...*still dunnow how to pronounce/spell her name*..the later watched for the characters...also found it as one of the first series to show cops losin' it to the bad guys..and accepting the loss. that attracted me.
the other was of course "chips"..but that does count does it?mwhahahahhah.
appreciatively,
officer moz ponchorello
p.s. won't forget them shades la chief...mwahhahaha..
moz: Yes, The SHield is fooking awesome as well.
besides sport, i've got to go back watching tv sumtimes ...
B,
Benny asking for 250K - lock stock and barrel.
He is dying man. Very very sick.
I'm sure it is negotiable.
If you're interested, let me know. There's lots you can do man. Bacon and eggs for the expats etc.
Victor
P.S. email me direct if you're interested. We can chat. there may be some financing options that we can explore...
P.S. You miss Robert? LOL
azer: But the league resumes this week . . . he he.
victo: Sorry to hear bout Benny. BTW, what's yer email? How do me contact you?
anfield: it's victorjliew at gee mail dot com . trying to avoid the sp a m m ers, hope you get it.. :)
victor: roger that.
Finished the series a while back, and as AD would testify, it's FOOKING GOOD... And after watching it, I started to use phrase like "Mother..." and others.
Favourite character? Has to be Omar Little... Not for his sexual orientation though...
Post a Comment