Why would he care about the homeless? When one actor leaves a show and is replaced. Watch with Acorn TV. Lasher follows Keith to a random shack in the The newsroom story arc wasnt lost on me i believe some of the characters in the newsroom just didnt grip you as much as the other areas which makes it seem the weaker part. While very formula driven and somewhat unbelievable at times, particularly with the characters often going it alone to catch the bad guys, it is entertaining and very "bingeworthy"! But all the endings mean something and other endings would have been the wrong ones. FAQ But suggest that high-end American newspapers have been gutted by out-of-town ownership, besieged by the internet and preoccupied by a prize culture that validates small-trick and self-limiting impact, rather than seriously evaluating problems? We certainly expected more attention from the media. Brilliant! Uncensored. People who are innocent are very rude to the police and refuse to co-operate for no apparent reason. You want to suggest that the creator of the project has his nose in the air for being interested in the matter at all, and that you have some insight into his temperament? | Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Nothing against Robson himself but his character annoys me. In response to a few specific complaints Ive come across rather frequently in regards to the season: How is it remotely plausible that Marlo walked free? Thanks for the response, even if it got the best of me! Fantastic series & Ill tell anyone thats its the best series Ive ever seen. I even tried going back and watching homicide life on the street but without Bunk and McNulty just couldnt get into it. Perhaps one on the books it is based on might warm me up to it. To argue about whether the drama had become arch or unsubtle? It was all very realistic and extremely tough to watch. He hated closing those foreign bureaus and cutting back further in the newsroom. Norris brought an adult, feminine, vulnerability to her role as Carol Jordan. I know that is a meta-narrative that some people find credible, but I could as easily and as credibly argue that the meta-narrative itself stems from newspaper critics who were too close and too sensitive to the overall critique. 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. A moment for one There was some love in there for the ink-stained wretches. BTW please make enough money to buy The Baltimore Sun and give it the love it so desperately needs. Well now, its been a week since The Wire s final episode and a certain calm has descended, leaving a little less agita and a little more reflection. The original essay doesnt do anything to counter anyones opinions as to whether The Wire was good, bad, or indifferent. Maybe you were too close? Not so much as an offhand reference, and that goes not just for the journalists displeased enough with our newspaper tale, but for the larger number of commentators and critics who thought we did swell. Its so damn realistic. So thank you for such an absolute terrific ride. For so many reasons. I am a detective investigator and I am very critical with "who done it" crime solving type movies. The Lester wed come to know was indeed a maverick, but not a moron. And it is clear that between Marlo, Snoop, and Chris, their real game was killing. 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. Comparatively, many of the black characters who could have made gains by playing the same game, either didnt or chose not to. There is a certain formula each episode follows. It would have been nice but it was time to put an end to Dr. Tony Hill's sideline work so it would have benefitted from them giving us one. Only silver lining to that dark cloud of a series. And at the end there, that other fellow wrote a very sincere narrative about a very real and genuine soul. . The chemistry between Hill and D.I. The vacant murders and 2 lieutenants getting lengthy sentences in exchange for Marlo exiting the business is not hard to wrap your head around. Thank you so much for making The Wire, it ruined every other tv show. User Ratings Wire In The Blood is described as a unique character-driven procedural which exposes the gaps between good and evil, our public and private selves and the 2008. No one went near the theme; everyone stayed dead-center and literal, oblivious to the big-ass elephant in our mythical newsroom. I first discovered "Wire in the Blood" by happy accident, I was watching Agatha Christie's Miss Marple on Amazon prime and "Wire in the Blood" popped up in my recommended list. So lets happily concede that all criticism stands and get to the real fun. I would really appreciate any help This show mattered and it still does. Anyway, for me, its perfect. 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. But there used to be more of them. Write a television story arc about the betrayal of the working class, the fraud of the drug war or the lie of No Child Left Behind and you cant get off the entertainment pages. Burns is fuckin awesome. Then you have the choir, inexplicably, warbling on as if to lend some kind of gravitas to the lacklustre proceedings. Each season building toward a singular, connected argument. I guess Im just ranting about how I fell in love with this show and can never get enough of it. I worked at a newspaper with a POS liar who made up quotes, and the editor was obsessed with him and looked the other way (on the fake quotes and also, grossly, sexual harassment). Echoes and Layers: Tony Lazlo Looks Back at The Wire CC2K, Why The Wire Should Be Must-See TV for Baltimore Pundits | Variety, All the pieces matter: analysis, essays, and anything else on The Wire | ReadJack.com. Favorite scene is Avon visiting The Pit. Season 4 was the hardest for me to take. I confess I thought that journalism was still self-aware enough to get it, that enough collective consciousness of the crafts highest calling remained, that reporters still worried about what their newspapers were missing. I have been seeing quite a lot of this show on TV lately and i find it surprisingly entertaining. The shows all involve murder and this is the focus of the plots. 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!) A moment for one last question: Sure there was a fabulist and, yeah, he snatched the big prize. i do not like hyped up shows, because of an innate sense of superiority which makes me believe than anything that other people like cannot be good. Endless repetitions of the words "of course" are truly the hallmarks of a second rate detective production. While the Arab Spring was happening, the only thing you could find on news TV was tabloid coverage of a murder case. Nice piece written here but my only real issues with season 5 You wanna say who cares, the story sucked? McNulty, Frank Sobotka, Carcetti (at least in season 3), Colvin and Prez). My favorite character was bubs, I knew someone like him. But absent that kind of reporting, we will all soon enough live in cities and towns where politicians and bureaucrats gambol freely without worry, where it is never a risk to shine shit and call it gold. Like another commenter, I only noticed the Prop Joe story being missed/overshadowed by the Sun. Its a great show! The serial killer story was just too silly. But the gratuitous images and the worn-out theme aside this show has a lot to offer. Dont even know where to start, and I dont think I can critique anything about this show because it critiques itself. She sends him to chase down Keith and kill him. To the people saying he was stupid for returning to Baltimore in the first place: Marlo used the perfect bait. 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. The editing becomes more choppy, inserting 1-2 second scenes in the middle of something else. What's going on in Val McDermott's head. WITB is a dark, gritty, British crime drama that most all will heartily enjoy.. should you like the genre. Thank you for telling these stories. The political corruption, the cronyism, the back-asswards views on racism which prevent all minorities from getting a real say in anything lest they be deemed racist- and most agonizingly, the completely screwball insanity that is the PG County school system is exactly like the way you depicted life in Baltimore. I am writing my thesis on THE WIRE This argument strucked me when Omar died and no one noticed it in The Sun No institutional memory, no quality journalism. I was wondering, What does it take to become an officer of I wondered what you thought of new local titles which seek subscriptions from the community as well as community involvement in their storytelling. Simone Lahbib is a favorite UK actor, but if forced to choose in this series, I'd have to go with Green/ Norris. Even as a child I remember sifting through the paper wondering what a presidential blowjob has to do with anything important. But no, show dont tell is the rule. Could this be a solution to the decline of established local titles like the Sun? Particularly toward the finale, you created a meta-mirror for us that Im still working out. I just finished watching the entire run of the series a couple of nights ago. The writing is exceptional, especially for the episode, "Torment". I certainly read that last post and thought thats angry. In this format youre not going to have stark revelations, a happy and blissful montage followed by a cut to black. One of the best Crime drama/ Mystery Thriller TV shows ever made, Vivid, believable shows with a charismatic psychologist solving intriguing crimes, Twisted and gory, but I love Robson Green. But it was still damn above all the other things (books, series, movies). It is a heart trending, visceral, honest portrayal of a modern city. The character development and the way each characters persona was mirrored throughout each realm (from the street, to the BPD, to the courthouse, city hall, the ports, the newsroom) is the most amazing writing Ive ever seen. Producer Chris Miller explains why. From the Huffington Post, March 17, 2008 Damn, I think I might just sit down and watch the whole thing again to see what else Ive missed. Love your comment. I have an unanswered question about the ending and it appears as though there is (or should be) a sequel to this? I didnt know there were retards saying Each ending sucked so the season 5 was bad. Many found it hard to relate to or invest in. Love if The producers could make a 15 minutes short just to show where all the cast are now. Entertaining but formula driven and with plot holes! Isnt that what your essay calls for? See if you can purse your lips any tighter or hold your nose any higher. A mayor was elected governor while his police commanders made aggravated assaults and robberies disappear. As wounded and onanistic and self-absorbed as the profession has become, there are still plenty of people for whom that matters above all. The Jordan/Fielding character played a large part. Robson Green is a great talent, in spite of what his fellow Newcastleian had to say above. I was focused solely on the fact that the the newspaper was in a battle over the homelessness killings issue in a sense that their biggest problem right now was sensationalism and lies versus honest reporting. Im vaguely reminded of the backlash we (I) felt when Seinfeld came to an end, having been blinded to what we were ignoring for so long that the hyper-reality we were caught up in seemed like the be-all, end-all. I love the Hamsterdam plot. Production took a huge risk deciding to change setting and characters after only 1 season. You wanna say that its an unfair representation of modern journalism? And now, with the economic vise that is the internet tight around her, TheSun like so many once-worthy regional newspapers is fighting for relevance and readers. The school system is closest to my heart because I grew up in that sad, irreparable school system and the stories of those kids were the ones I really hoped would resolve better so you knew that in the end, at least SOMEONE in that hood got a real chance. Some of the most compelling Ive seen. Season 4 seemed to show Carcetti living up to their ideals, and it *did* seem like things were getting cleaned up. So fuck what I said. Season 5 was tremendous, I can only assume the criticism comes from those who still believe that high standards of journalistic integrity are still the goal of the modern news room. Its not garbage, they just dont get it. The acting is first rate but a few of the episodes really have huge gaping holes in the plot. Everything that happens on this show is explained, the more times that you watch it through. 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. watch again the final 5-6 minutes of season 3; episode 4). There is always a player in the on deck circle, even when the final out is being recorded. But Ill get back to the journalism angle momentarily. Thanks David for all you did to bring it into the world. 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. Or the way alma glossed over Omars deathI had a feeling like if she woulda mentioned his name, gus wouldve immediately recognized it and said no-heart anthonys brother? This show leaves me completely speechless. He displays tremendous potential; one can hope that he will continue to create performances that are filled with the humanity, compassion and insight that "Tony Hill" shows us. What he suddenly turns stupid? 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. No-one looked at him twice.". I feel like an asshole now for saying some of that stuff. When I say Im an addict to this show I honestly feel like the fiends depicted in the show that dont creep out of their addiction like Bubs happened to do. If season five didnt work for you, then it didnt work for you. Journalism is and has been an absolute shambles in the UK since I was a kid in the 80s. Although I understand the validity of some of the endings, I really was disappointed with season 5. Note: This article contains spoilers for the entire first series of Blood. Okay, you probably hate me by now so Ill shut up. It would be hard for a committed education reporter to acquire the curriculum of a city middle school and compare it to what children were taught before No Child Left Behind reduced teaching to rote repetition, or to track a rise in the third-grade test scores into the fifth or seventh grade and thereby demonstrate how temporal and false the gains actually were. Cocaine Bear is based on a true story but the events especially the ending are very different. After a while, we tired of the gore and wished the series would end. The intelligent and complex story line demands focus to follow clearly, and make you think. -And Herc? I actually cared about them as if they were real well, nearly! In series 1-3, Hermione Norris played Detective Inspecter/Chief Inspecter Carol Jordan of Bradford CID, who managed to rein Tony's scattered abilities and make sense of them. Additionally though people point to the development of hyper-local news sites as a way of saying that local news isnt dead, these are often little more than blogs or advertising of businesses in the area rather than sustained critiques and investigations. Anyway, thats all. Another Silence Of The Lambs/Cracker knock-off, without the storylines, I'm afraid. Robson Green in Wire in the Blood. Photograph: ITV 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. Then when people point out the garbage it becomes oh-so esoteric. The dramas final season, depicting a Baltimore newspaper, concluded last week. Every single time I watch this show over again, I notice something I never saw before, and get instant gratification for going back again and re-watching it. Even if you're not a Robson Green fan, this will surely garner him new followers. If I didnt know the show was set in Baltimore it just as easily could have been set in Lanham, Capitol Heights, District Heights, Temple Hills, Forestville. Otherwise this character seemed to constantly walk between the raindrops rarely suffering real consequences for his selfishness.