Just Finished watching Breaking bad...

[Cry Havoc]

The descent of a normal man into crime out of desperation is not 'typical' as opposed to a police drama.

Cop shows are a dime a dozen. I like The Wire and while it's a more cynical look at cops than say Blue Bloods, its still of a very developed genre. Perhaps the most done subject and plot in TV history. They even had the kingpin. Basically, what I read here is that you like the Wire because you identify with it.

I meant the idea that BB followed a single protagonist. It told a unique story from a very common viewpoint.

When The Wire came out, nothing like it had been done before. No TV series prior to that had taken a wide-angled yet nuanced approach to the issues of both police corruption and drug addiction. You say it's a typical "police drama", but you can count on less than two hands the number of times any kind of police shootouts happen. It was extremely realistic in that aspect as well, something that is STILL a failure of modern day cop shows, when they're under fire every 30 minutes.

[Will Hunting]

The descent of a normal man into crime out of desperation is not 'typical' as opposed to a police drama.

Cop shows are a dime a dozen. I like The Wire and while it's a more cynical look at cops than say Blue Bloods, its still of a very developed genre. Perhaps the most done subject and plot in TV history. They even had the kingpin. Basically, what I read here is that you like the Wire because you identify with it.

If all you identify The Wire as is a cop show then you really missed the mark when you were watching it.

[baseline bum]

I don't know why people on Season 5 of The Wire so much. I loved the Carcetti storyline and how he was going to change things but ended up the same asshole he replaced. I mean he was 100% Obama.

[baseline bum]

I'd rank the seasons on the Wire in the order 4 > 2 > 3 > 5 > 1

[Will Hunting]

I don't know why people on Season 5 of The Wire so much. I loved the Carcetti storyline and how he was going to change things but ended up the same asshole he replaced. I mean he was 100% Obama.

The fake serial killer is why. That piece is what ruined it for me, it was over the top and stupid.

The newspaper theme also wasn't anywhere near as good as the other season specific themes (public schools, blue collar white families, etc.).

[spursreport]

You can argue BB is the only series that never had a letdown season of most recent series.

Justified was great, but season 5 was not very good, and even seasons 3 and 6 had some very low valleys.

Sons of Anarchy was straight after season 3.

Shield was a caricature by season 5.

Walking Dead hasn't been nearly as gripping as ratings suggest.

Then even premium shows...

Game of Thrones season 4 and 5 had some very trite plots that carried on and on forever.

Homeland was pretty horrible after season 2.

Boardwalk Empire had issues throughout that were magnified by the end.

Penny Dreadful is still a better cast and idea than product.

True Detective had a lull in season 1's last few episodes that carried into season 2 new cast and plot line.



But BB only got better. Only got darker. Only got stronger. Characters never felt trite. Plots never carried on too long. You went from hating to loving to hating characters because that was the intention, not because they wasted a characters potential for so long.

Better Call Saul is off to a great start, but they actually started in quality similar to season 3 of BB so it will be tough to never have a letdown season.

Banshee might be the only other show of 3+ seasons to not have a letdown, and it won't because it ends this year.

But that's a different sort of show. BB superior to it in every way.

Ummmmmm, not even close. The first half of season 3 of SOA was straight , but seasons 4/5 were pretty ing good. Season 6 was solid, and season 7 was decent but dragged a little too much, but made up for it with epic finish. And saying Season 5 of the Shield was a joke. God your takes on these shows are ing awful.

[leemajors]

Ummmmmm, not even close. The first half of season 3 of SOA was straight , but seasons 4/5 were pretty ing good. Season 6 was solid, and season 7 was decent but dragged a little too much, but made up for it with epic finish. And saying Season 5 of the Shield was a joke. God your takes on these shows are ing awful.

there was no epic finish in SOA, it was as bad as its theme song after season 3.

[InRareForm]

Mr. Robot

[FuzzyLumpkins]

If all you identify The Wire as is a cop show then you really missed the mark when you were watching it.

Cops, robbers and politicians is not a new phenomenon. The drunken, womanizing yet effective cop? The black stern competent partner? Gangster kingpins? Duplicitous politicians? A maligned yet identifiable populace? Urban reform ideas acted out? The local antihero?

Spare me the notion that the 'edgy' cop show is anything but hackneyed by and large. What made The Wire interesting were the actors and the setting and not the plot in any way shape or form.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I meant the idea that BB followed a single protagonist. It told a unique story from a very common viewpoint.

When The Wire came out, nothing like it had been done before. No TV series prior to that had taken a wide-angled yet nuanced approach to the issues of both police corruption and drug addiction. You say it's a typical "police drama", but you can count on less than two hands the number of times any kind of police shootouts happen. It was extremely realistic in that aspect as well, something that is STILL a failure of modern day cop shows, when they're under fire every 30 minutes.

Walter White was the main character but calling him a protagonist is a stretch. Jesse and Hank were both sympathetic fully fleshed out characters that were continuously followed. Others got similar treatment from season to season. We also got the perspective of his family and the dichotomy therein. I hated Skylar but I understood her because they scened her out extensively.

The series also made a habit of asides delving into the lives of various characters from Saul all the way down to Wendy. If you want to say it was all related to Walter then fine but by that token the Wire was centered around Bunk and Jimmy for all the Omar, Bubbles, Bell, and Carcetti asides.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Season 2 may have sunk True Detective. It doesn't appear that there is going to be a third season. Or does anybody know different?

Vince Vaughn played one of the least believable characters I had ever seen post 1960s RTF. Ruined what I felt was an outstanding performance from Farrell.

[cd021]

Vince Vaughn played one of the least believable characters I had ever seen post 1960s RTF. Ruined what I felt was an outstanding performance from Farrell.

Vaughns acting the first four episodes was super shaky, he was much better after that. I felt he broke even by the end of it.

The dialogue was the bigger issue, the writers did not do him any favors. I kept thinking people don't really talk like that.

[cd021]

I'd rank the seasons on the Wire in the order 4 > 2 > 3 > 5 > 1

4-3-5-1-2 for me

Season 4 was fantastic because of character development. The idea of using a group of kids and examining how the streets affected their paths was fascinating.

Season 2 was a tough watch, the first three episodes is like watch a 2 hr, 50 min movie where nothing really happens. It is an important piece in the Wire story but wasn't my fav.

[cd021]

You can argue BB is the only series that never had a letdown season of most recent series.

Justified was great, but season 5 was not very good, and even seasons 3 and 6 had some very low valleys.

Sons of Anarchy was straight after season 3.

Shield was a caricature by season 5.

Walking Dead hasn't been nearly as gripping as ratings suggest.

Then even premium shows...

Game of Thrones season 4 and 5 had some very trite plots that carried on and on forever.

Homeland was pretty horrible after season 2.

Boardwalk Empire had issues throughout that were magnified by the end.

Penny Dreadful is still a better cast and idea than product.

True Detective had a lull in season 1's last few episodes that carried into season 2 new cast and plot line.



But BB only got better. Only got darker. Only got stronger. Characters never felt trite. Plots never carried on too long. You went from hating to loving to hating characters because that was the intention, not because they wasted a characters potential for so long.

Better Call Saul is off to a great start, but they actually started in quality similar to season 3 of BB so it will be tough to never have a letdown season.

Banshee might be the only other show of 3+ seasons to not have a letdown, and it won't because it ends this year.

But that's a different sort of show. BB superior to it in every way.

Penny Dreadful is possibly the most disappointing show I have ever watched, just painfully bad. Tries to do to much with so little payout. A bi-sexual warewolf who falls for dracula and a pros ute with consumption and he also likes a chick who may or may not be possessed by the devil oh and he is a sharp shooter too.

Justified is a great show, one of the best final seasons I have watched. Season 5 became a caricature though Boyd is fantastic.

The Shield was always awesome, some of the best TV ever.

Better Call Saul might be one of the best shows on TV.

Banshee is a mixed bag, always entertaining but still not sure I like it three seasons in (have not watched season 4 yet)

Walking Dead has been a letdown, still entertaining but feels less than it could be. Season 2 was the best. Season 3 was a mess. Having Andrea be a focus when the actor is not a good actor was a mistake.

[baseline bum]

4-3-5-1-2 for me

Season 4 was fantastic because of character development. The idea of using a group of kids and examining how the streets affected their paths was fascinating.

Season 2 was a tough watch, the first three episodes is like watch a 2 hr, 50 min movie where nothing really happens. It is an important piece in the Wire story but wasn't my fav.

Yeah the first three episodes of Season 2 are really slow, but Omar testifying against Bird, Zig getting beat down in front of Frog, and McNulty going out for scrapple at 3AM are some of the most classic scenes of the series.

[timtonymanu]

Yeah, I just finished BB also.

I feel like it wasn't fair, because I had a number of people telling me that it was better than The Wire.

Sorry, it's not even close. BB is great for what it does. But it's a twist on a fairly standard story.

The Wire was the most complete series I've ever seen. They examined everything, from every angle. They drilled down into the culture, the repercussions, and how it all ties together. Watching The Wire isn't just a great TV show it's an education on the recent history of Baltimore, done in a way that never seems droning or heavy-handed. Season 5 was a bit wonky for TW, but seasons 1, 3, and 4 are near perfection. I loved season 2 too but I feel I'm in the slight minority there.

That said, BB was a very well-crafted narrative, with EXCELLENT storytelling mechanics and open-ended enough to keep you guessing.

Season 2 was my second favorite of The Wire, with Season 4 obviously being the high water mark.

I loved season 2 as well and don't understand why most people didn't like it. I can't think of any other TV show, or movie for that matter, in recent memory that examined the decline of working class white families in America as thoroughly as Season 2 did.

^ Agree with all this. I honestly didn't like Season 2 that much the first time I watched it, but after rewatching the series a couple of times, it's also my second favorite season of the series. The second half of Season 2 was well worth the slow first half.

[timtonymanu]

Yeah the first three episodes of Season 2 are really slow, but Omar testifying against Bird, Zig getting beat down in front of Frog, and McNulty going out for scrapple at 3AM are some of the most classic scenes of the series.

And D'Angelo gets killed off. At least for me, he's was one of my favorite characters in the 1st season

[cd021]

And D'Angelo gets killed off. At least for me, he's was one of my favorite characters in the 1st season

Where the is Wallace?!

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Vaughns acting the first four episodes was super shaky, he was much better after that. I felt he broke even by the end of it.

The dialogue was the bigger issue, the writers did not do him any favors. I kept thinking people don't really talk like that.

The scene where he pulled out the guys teeth with a pair of pliers was so unbelievable with him acting it. Paul Reubens could play a better gangster.

[redzero]

Vaughn was good in the second to last episode. In fact, I think the penultimate episode of the second season was great. It got my hopes up for what turned out to be a turd of a finale.

[leemajors]

Vaughns acting the first four episodes was super shaky, he was much better after that. I felt he broke even by the end of it.

The dialogue was the bigger issue, the writers did not do him any favors. I kept thinking people don't really talk like that.

Unrealistic dialogue doesn't stop people from fawning over Tarantino tbh

[baseline bum]

So what is supposed to happen to Pinkman? Does he run off to Canada? Albuquerque police seized his money. DEA has undoubtedly seized his house. Since Marie saw him at their house he's probably public enemy #2 behind Walter. He has to be looking at a really long jail sentence.

[SnakeBoy]

So what is supposed to happen to Pinkman? Does he run off to Canada? Albuquerque police seized his money. DEA has undoubtedly seized his house. Since Marie saw him at their house he's probably public enemy #2 behind Walter. He has to be looking at a really long jail sentence.

He goes on to have a mediocre acting career.

[JMarkJohns]

So what is supposed to happen to Pinkman? Does he run off to Canada? Albuquerque police seized his money. DEA has undoubtedly seized his house. Since Marie saw him at their house he's probably public enemy #2 behind Walter. He has to be looking at a really long jail sentence.

I've always about how he wasn't supposed to live through the first season, and how he's the one who gets out... I like having things to think about and my guess, after everything that happened in season 6, he's out for good, with a new appreciation for the gift of survival.

He ultimately was one of the few characters who acted on a conscience, and acted out because of his conscience. I would have to assume his conscience saves him.

If you think about it, the worst happened to him.

It would have been easy to give him an ending.

I'd like to think they intended a spin-off, then went the route of Better Call Saul.

So, the character of Jessie Pinkman out there in screenwriter limbo, a sort of fitting sorry arc for the consciounable murderous, meth-slinging, sort of anti-villain.

[JMarkJohns]

I've thought that Better Call Saul could have a flash forward near its finally that closes this chapter for both Saul and Jessie. That would be funny if Saul hired Jessie to make dough after Jessie Hired Saul to help launder dough.