The Wire
Oh man. I just cried over a t.v. show. I think this is the first time I've ever done that. When I was a kid, I used to cry over those "Save the Children" commercials, but that doesn't count because a)they were commercials and b)those were real kids with distended bellies and flies on their faces.
Tonight, I cried over fictional characters, and I don't think I can recall ever doing that before.
For those who haven't yet seen tonight's ep (or didn't catch it last week On Demand) I'm spoiler tagging this.
I started bawling when Michael had to go on the run leaving Dukie with nowhere to go. The actor who plays Duquan played his scene beautifully. He was trying to put on a brave face, but you could see how sad he was that he was losing his makeshift family--the only real family he'd ever known. I wept for him when he walked into that homeless camp. And when he turned back to see Mike had already gone? I lost it.
Ugh. I can't believe there's only one episode left forever and ever.
If you've never watched The Wire, believe me when I say it is, hands down, the. best. television. show. ever.
Forget Lost, forget Heroes. The Wire blows past them. It was one of the first shows to feature a large ensemble cast and it does it far better than either of those shows, despite getting only half the accolades.
Lost and Heroes are two of my favorite shows ever, but there's absolutely no comparison. The Wire is light years ahead of either of them. Every damn season of that show has been consistently good. Tight plots, well acted, impeccable dialog.
And The Wire could seriously give both a run for their money as far as continuity goes. Characters whose chapters are "closed" in previous seasons sometimes reappear for just a few seconds in a way that lets you know that their story IS still going on even if you cannot see it. This show doesn't need recurring numbers or superpowers to interweave its character's story lines. The interconnection between characters seems completely organic and unforced.
Most importantly, there are no hereos on The Wire. The way Stringer died at the end of season 3, the way larger-than-life Omar was killed by the same kid, who in season 2 was shown screaming, "It's my turn to be Omar!" while playing guns with his friends, the way Snoop died tonight. No music, no begging or tears, she just checked her hair in the side view mirror and accepted her fate.
I can't talk enough about this show. I'm mad that HBO couldn't even give this season a full 13 eps. I'm going to be so devastated during next week's series finale, not just because it's going off the air forever, but because The Wire always leaves me gut-wrenched.
Tonight, I cried over fictional characters, and I don't think I can recall ever doing that before.
For those who haven't yet seen tonight's ep (or didn't catch it last week On Demand) I'm spoiler tagging this.
I started bawling when Michael had to go on the run leaving Dukie with nowhere to go. The actor who plays Duquan played his scene beautifully. He was trying to put on a brave face, but you could see how sad he was that he was losing his makeshift family--the only real family he'd ever known. I wept for him when he walked into that homeless camp. And when he turned back to see Mike had already gone? I lost it.
Ugh. I can't believe there's only one episode left forever and ever.
If you've never watched The Wire, believe me when I say it is, hands down, the. best. television. show. ever.
Forget Lost, forget Heroes. The Wire blows past them. It was one of the first shows to feature a large ensemble cast and it does it far better than either of those shows, despite getting only half the accolades.
Lost and Heroes are two of my favorite shows ever, but there's absolutely no comparison. The Wire is light years ahead of either of them. Every damn season of that show has been consistently good. Tight plots, well acted, impeccable dialog.
And The Wire could seriously give both a run for their money as far as continuity goes. Characters whose chapters are "closed" in previous seasons sometimes reappear for just a few seconds in a way that lets you know that their story IS still going on even if you cannot see it. This show doesn't need recurring numbers or superpowers to interweave its character's story lines. The interconnection between characters seems completely organic and unforced.
Most importantly, there are no hereos on The Wire. The way Stringer died at the end of season 3, the way larger-than-life Omar was killed by the same kid, who in season 2 was shown screaming, "It's my turn to be Omar!" while playing guns with his friends, the way Snoop died tonight. No music, no begging or tears, she just checked her hair in the side view mirror and accepted her fate.
I can't talk enough about this show. I'm mad that HBO couldn't even give this season a full 13 eps. I'm going to be so devastated during next week's series finale, not just because it's going off the air forever, but because The Wire always leaves me gut-wrenched.