The Wire

[ice grillin you]

article on the 'fall" of the wire...i think its a little harsh and it certainly hasnt "jumped the shark" but theres a lot of this i was speaking on yesterday in this thread that i agree with

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34511

But it's thudding to a close, stuck in a stereotypically TV-like world it's heroically avoided until now.

Season 5's mistakes—clunky plotting, false parallels, confused motivations—are violations of the realism the show promised. And without a solid rooting in truth, The Wire doesn't just have a bad season—it betrays its own intentions. David Simon broke a contract, changed the rules without warning. In his world, that's something only the Wire-bad are supposed to do.

[SD_Eagle5]

This season has been disappointing but I won't call it a flat out bust until I see the final 5 episodes.

[ice grillin you]

The final episode, originally listed under the title "The Life of Kings", is officially titled "-30-".

"-30- is something typed at the bottom of telegraphs to mean finished. It replaced XXX which is 30 in roman numerals. It goes on press releases to this day and is probably used a lot in the newpaper world from when wire services meant literally using a telegraph operator to distribute news quickly. It means the end."


Also, the final episode has a running time of 93 minutes  

[phattymatty]

Also, the final episode has a running time of 93 minutes  

omg.  93 = 9 + 3 = 12, which backwards is 21.  coincidence?

[MDS]

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/critics/blog/2008/01/the_wire_auction_benefits_char.html

wire auction includes kick ass sweatshirts. bidding starts at a hundy, money goes to the ella fund. looks sweet.

[methdeez]

So, I have heard from everyone, including you doods, how good this show is.
Unfortunatley, I'm kind of a weirdo when it comes to movies or serial shows, in that I hate coming into something in the middle.
If a movie that I want to watch is on TV, if I miss more than like the first ten minutes, I will just skip it and watch it another time.
I never got to watch this show, but I always wanted to.
So I bought the first 3 seasons, packaged, on DVD for like $99 including shipping last week.
I should have been suspiscious from the jump b/c the only DVD's for sale I saw were two seasons together, and for more than $100. Each season doesn't really get much cheaper than $60 anywhere else.

When it showed up last week, i knew why it was so cheap. It came straight from China and it is total bootleg. The front of the package says 'Sensons 1-3' and when you unwrap the (suprisingly good) outer packing to get to the dvd's, the are just in those crappy plastic cd sleeves that you get for like $4.99.

Not that I really care about pirating, but I email them saying it is obviously bootleg, they need to refund me at least 75% of the purchase price or I will cancel my credit card payment and report them to HBO and the online piracy thing.
I had a similar situation where I bought the Rosetta Stone series from the cheapest bidder, saw that it was fake, and wound up having the reimburse me 60% off the already cheap price, basically getting a $350 product for like $75. They havn't replied yet and it is the last day of the three days i gave them to, so i guess I will just fight the charge and get it for free.

There is one downside to this, in that I am about to start watching season one, episodes 6-8, and the disk is scratched and fargked up. Episodes 6 and 7 totally do not work. I tried playing them in my CPU, I tried copying them to my Hard Drive and then playing them from there, nothing. they just don't work.
So I guess I will just skip to episode 8, which get's my OCD all worked up, unless someone has  better solution.
how can i overcome these damn scratches?

[methdeez]

Quick update, I just checked my bank account and they refunded me the entire purchase price, didn't even reply to my email.

[rjs246]

Report them anyway. Just for fun.

[SD_Eagle5]

Quick update, I just checked my bank account and they refunded me the entire purchase price, didn't even reply to my email.

You could have just got the 3 disk plan on blockbusteronline for $18 a month and got caught up that way. That's pretty much what I did.

[methdeez]

I already pay enough for the damn Satellite, NFL package and DVR. More than enough entertainment bills, and more than enough watching TV for me already.
The wire was an impulse buy, that turned out to be free.
yay for the lowest bidder.

[ice grillin you]

stop destroying this thread with heartland tales of being ripped off on the internet...do you farging live in des moines or something and just discovered the internets?

go to farging walmart or online at amazon and buy the box sets

[phillymic2000]

stop destroying this thread with heartland tales of being ripped off on the internet...do you farging live in des moines or something and just discovered the internets?

go to farging walmart or online at amazon and buy the box sets

Hey a big old Farg you from small town america buddy

[SD_Eagle5]

Episode 6 is up. Booorrrrring.

[phattymatty]

for real?  that's disappointing.  i'm curious as to what happened to omar after his little fall.

[ice grillin you]

wow i dont know how you could ever say the wire is boring...maybe not as good as the first four years but still magical...i thought it was a very good episode...the serial killer storyline is still a little far fetched imo but everything else is coming together nicely