FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Andy on February 05, 2010, 12:36:35 AM
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Finall waching the second season. It's still better than 95% of the shows out there, but it seems like too much of a reunion of the first season.
I'm only 7 years behind.
That is all.
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It's my favorite of the five, but I don't think that's a very widely-shared opinion.
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It's my favorite of the five, but I don't think that's a very widely-shared opinion.
I agree that it's one of the very best seasons (my favorite is season four, with this one next) of the very best show ever. Give it time. It develops beautifully and takes on grand Shakespearean dimensions by the end.
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It really peaks towards the end of the second-to-last episode. That's got to be some of the best TV drama.
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It really peaks towards the end of the second-to-last episode. That's got to be some of the best TV drama.
Yup. There's a scene towards the end with Frank and Beadie that's one of the most emotionally effecting scenes I've ever seen, and I don't think they even said all that much.
2 or 3 would be my favorite season.
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It's strange how Frank ended up in the witness protection program, adopting a terrible Louisiana accent and fighting/loving vampires.
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It must be agony watching television/movies if you're from/living in the South and know what all the accents should sound like. Most attempts at New England accents set my teeth on edge (Tom Bosley's on Murder She Wrote taking the most cake], but at least they crop up much more rarely.
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I watched a hearing yesterday, and the delightful Representative Ed Markey (D - MA) said "Avatar." It took me a while to even figure out what he was supposed to be saying--ay-yaa-vuh-tah--I thought he was saying "air guitar."
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It must be agony watching television/movies if you're from/living in the South and know what all the accents should sound like. Most attempts at New England accents set my teeth on edge (Tom Bosley's on Murder She Wrote taking the most cake], but at least they crop up much more rarely.
Jeffrey Donovan attempted a North Carolina redneck on Burn Notice that was breathtakingly bad. But the very worst ones are generally done by young female actors. I don't know what it is, but they miss the lilt and grace of the accent so badly.
Now, that's not to say that all Southern accents are pleasing, even to my biased ear.
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My favorite mysterious Bostonism was "Mistagavodabody" (Mystic Ave. Auto Body).
Buff, that accent sounded pretty awful to me, and I have no idea what North Carolingians talk like.
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Congressmen play up their regionalisms pretty insufferably, though. I'm surprised I haven't seen any of the New Jersey delegation sporting tracksuits in the halls of power.
I loved Meryl Streep's accent in Doubt, but I'd need a time machine/have to ask my dad if it was accurate.
Even recognizing that "southern" accents vary widely, I don't necessarily see a La. accent as southern per se. Too much weird shit.
Oh yeah. Wire S2 is great. I think at the time, people may have wondered why the show changed its focus.
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Oh yeah. Wire S2 is great. I think at the time, people may have wondered why the show changed its focus.
That they did.
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Though the second season is still better than most TV ever, I think I share the opinion of most people that it is maybe the weakest. The writers almost seem to admit this, because it is the only season that has characters that are never revisited later. It definitely wasn't bad, but the ratings went up steadily once they returned to the drug trade more specifically. All I can say is that, in my opinion, you still have the best parts of the show ahead of you Andy.
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Though the second season is still better than most TV ever, I think I share the opinion of most people that it is maybe the weakest. The writers almost seem to admit this, because it is the only season that has characters that are never revisited later.
I didn't read the disappearance of the characters as the writers admitting defeat - rather, I saw it as a continuation of the season's "death of work" theme, where the characters suffer the same fate as their industry (and that of other similar industries). The city (and, by extension) the world forgot about these people, and so we don't see them again (well, briefly).
Just another take. You could be right and I could be totally wrong.
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My favorite mysterious Bostonism was "Mistagavodabody" (Mystic Ave. Auto Body).
Buff, that accent sounded pretty awful to me, and I have no idea what North Carolingians talk like.
Well, I have no accent, to the point where people always guess I'm from a place where they don't know what people sound like - Iowa is one I get. They're just flailing. I grew up in a faceless suburb surrounded by Yankees.
The most pleasing North Carolinian accent to the ear is the one spoken by rich families from the Piedmont.
If they were to say "Don't cry, dry your eye," it would sound a bit like "Don't crah, drah your ayh."
It's impossible to replicate here, but it sounds really cultured and interesting.
There are, I hear tell, Southern accents that are less pleasing to the ear.
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Seasons 2 and 4 were my favorites, although I hate picking favorites from such a wonderful show (Does anyone pick S5 as their favorite? Seems like a tough one to prefer).
Avoiding spoilers, let me just disagree that the characters from Season 2 disappear when the season ends. Although it is not the characters you expect, some of the S2 characters do indeed continue and play quite relevant roles.
Also, I kind of love how the show took that balls-y 90-degree turn into the very specific Baltimore stevedore subculture for a season. I think it is one of the reasons the show was able to accomplish such a massive, sweeping feel.
I am envious of you, Andy. You have so much greatness ahead of you.
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Seasons 2 and 4 were my favorites, although I hate picking favorites from such a wonderful show (Does anyone pick S5 as their favorite? Seems like a tough one to prefer).
If season 4 isn't my favorite than season 5 definitely is. It's hard to get into the specifics without giving to much away, but the dynamics between the Mayor's office, the police department, the schools, and the drug trade are all finally realized. It all just came together really well for me.
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Season 5 is INSANE!!! It's great, but it is nuts.
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last 3 episodes this morning. I have a bad feeling about what's going to happen to Ziggy.
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Season Two is the most jarring, being that it goes so far out of it's way and ends up coming back to a status quo... but the arcs of the new characters introduced are so brilliant. The end of Season Two is one of the best of the series.
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There are, I hear tell, Southern accents that are less pleasing to the ear.
Check out Arkansas #4 (http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/arkansas/arkansas.htm)
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There are, I hear tell, Southern accents that are less pleasing to the ear.
Check out Arkansas #4 (http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/arkansas/arkansas.htm)
Brings up an interesting point: to me, that accent is at least as far from the ones I'm used to hearing in North Carolina as, say, a Boston accent is compared to a New York accent.
Southern accents generally have elongated vowel sounds in common. Northeastern accents, be they Maine, Boston, or New York all sound harsh and do weird things with the letter "a."
I bet they could make a whole academic discipline just about this.
Wait.
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Maine 1 surrounds me. Maine 2 sounds to me like a generic Northeast accent. Sounds like me, in fact.
Which accent are you?
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My accent-noticing has devolved into me noting that my wife can't tell the difference between words that sound very different to me. Like the names Adam and Erin.
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I hope you mean Aaron and Erin. If not, you need to get your wife checked out 'cause there's something wrong with her noggin. Or at least her ears.
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Yes, that's what I meant.
I also learned yesterday that Sylvester Stallone actually has a partly paralyzed face, leading to his distinctive speech style and droopy mouth.
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Normally I don't really have one, cause I tried really hard as a kid not to get a Boston accent. However, if I drink a little too much, I think I'm Massachusetts 3. Uggggh.
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I hope you mean Aaron and Erin. If not, you need to get your wife checked out 'cause there's something wrong with her noggin. Or at least her ears.
Adam, Madam.
Aaron and Erin are pronounced the same whey.
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I hope you mean Aaron and Erin. If not, you need to get your wife checked out 'cause there's something wrong with her noggin. Or at least her ears.
Adam, Madam.
Aaron and Erin are pronounced the same whey.
Mary will marry a merry man. All different.
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I think I liked Season 1 a little better, but I think I'm going to get Season 2 for my dad to get him into the show.
Also, I was genuinely upset that Frank died.
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Mary will marry a merry man. All different.
Yes.
I liked the school season of The Wire. Which one was that? And season 1, of course. And the rest of it.
Ain't nothing wrong with Mass 3. Don't be ashamed, Dan.
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Season 2 is my favourite as well, barely edging out Season 4.
The series broadened the world of the show beautifully, jarring as the start of it is. The union/death of the working class themes are beautifully done, Frank's is one of the best arcs of the series, and that second last episode is my absolute favourite episode of the entire thing. And then there's the Steve Earle season ending montage, which is stunning.
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Has anyone been able to get into Homicide after The Wire? I tried watching it and was turned off by a couple dumb plots, and especially the quirky police dialog.
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Has anyone been able to get into Homicide after The Wire? I tried watching it and was turned off by a couple dumb plots, and especially the quirky police dialog.
I was pretty let down by Homicide after The Wire. I probably would've loved it if I'd seen it first.
I do, however, highly recommend the book Homicide by David Simon.
The second to last episode of season 2 is my favorite as well. As much as they tried to avoid using music that isn't part of the scene (can't remember the term), the final minutes of the episode (cutting back and forth between Frank driving to the meeting and the following of the information from the FBI guy's computer to the mailroom as accompanied by that Greek song) are amazing.
And, I agree that 2 has the best season-ending montage of the bunch. Every time I hear "I Feel Alright," I think of those few minutes.
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I saw Homicide first. I really liked it.
Just remember, no Homicide, no Wire. And the fact that NBC screwed with that show in an almost record-breaking fashion.
If you feel like some of the first ones are dumb, you should REALLY skip the last season. And I would recommend that everyone skip the movie - no matter how much you like the original.
I think seasons 1-3 are great.
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I agree with Buffcoat.
Homicide was the show that sort of got me into TV drama, and I still regard it as one of the three best things ever made (basically).
And yes: no Homicide, no Wire. BUT also: no Homicide, no [insert other cop show of the 90-00's].
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I just rewatched most of Homicide last year, after not having seen it since it first aired. I thought it held up pretty well. For me, though, it lost a lot of its oomph after Andre Braugher left.
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I just rewatched most of Homicide last year, after not having seen it since it first aired. I thought it held up pretty well. For me, though, it lost a lot of its oomph after Andre Braugher left.
Like Happy Days lost a lot of its oomph after Richie left. Or like Valerie lost a lot of its oomph after Valerie left.
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I just rewatched most of Homicide last year, after not having seen it since it first aired. I thought it held up pretty well. For me, though, it lost a lot of its oomph after Andre Braugher left.
Braugher and Yaphet Kotto are the best things about the show. Oh, and Ned Beatty. Things got kinda weird once they used up the source material. That season 2 episode where the two guys are fighting over the girl and one of them has sex with her in a coffin seemed like a comedy sketch.
Oh yeah, Clark Johnson is another awesome part of the cast.
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...and Melissa Leo, and Giancarlo Esposito, and Joe Polito, and fat Baldwin, and pretty much everybody else.
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BUT also: no Homicide, no [insert other cop show of the 90-00's].
Is that a slam? Either way, I don't think Homicide was popular enough, or influential enough, to take the blame for (m)any of the other endless cop shows of the last 17 years.
Clearly, if we're talking seasons, The Wire wins, but I'll take "Subway" or "Three Men and Adena" or "Crosetti" over any single episode of The Wire.
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I haven't seen Homicide but I think judging the Wire based on episodes is a little unfair. It works as overarching stories, and nothing in it feels complete until those amazing end of season montages. I think this is kinda what you were saying Jouster, so don't interpret this as being contradictory, I just feel like it is probably the least episode oriented show I have ever watched. They all are required to complete what they were going for.
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Have people gotten into Generation Kill? I'm a huge Wire fan and thinking of watching it.
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Have people gotten into Generation Kill? I'm a huge Wire fan and thinking of watching it.
Generation Kill is great.
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Agreed.
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BUT also: no Homicide, no [insert other cop show of the 90-00's].
Is that a slam? Either way, I don't think Homicide was popular enough, or influential enough, to take the blame for (m)any of the other endless cop shows of the last 17 years.
Clearly, if we're talking seasons, The Wire wins, but I'll take "Subway" or "Three Men and Adena" or "Crosetti" over any single episode of The Wire.
Not a slam.
For what it's worth, there's a consensus among critics and academics that two early 90's shows basically changed the rest of the decade when it comes to both cop shows and regular TV drama: Homicide and Twin Peaks.
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I always thought Hill Street Blues had a big influence on subsequent cop shows. It was the first to feature story arcs, I believe, and there was other innovative stuff as well (more quirkiness for sure, more about the characters' personal lives, and so on). Homicide started other things, of course, but I see the stamp of Hill Street Blues on a lot of shows that followed it.
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Absolutely.
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Good. I'm not crazy then. At least not in this instance.
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"Three Men and Adena" is probably one of the best hours of television that American broadcast networks have ever produced.
He became the main character in the worst seasons of the show, but I think Kyle Secor's performance is generally underrated in Homcide. The just got weird with the character because I think they'd run out of places to take the show.
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without Dragnet there would be no Hill Street Blues.
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Have people gotten into Generation Kill? I'm a huge Wire fan and thinking of watching it.
Generation Kill is great.
Double agreed. It takes The Wire's view of management (clueless, behind the curve, never accepting responsibility) and holds it up to the people in charge of a war.
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without Dragnet there would be no Hill Street Blues.
Without "Murder in the Rue Morgue," there would be no Dragnet.
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Murder is the Rue Morgue is garbage.
I've never heard of it, so it must be.
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Murder = Rue Morgue = garbage
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Have people gotten into Generation Kill? I'm a huge Wire fan and thinking of watching it.
Generation Kill is great.
Double agreed. It takes The Wire's view of management (clueless, behind the curve, never accepting responsibility) and holds it up to the people in charge of a war.
Generation Kill is amazing because it not only takes the management angle as mentioned to new heights, but the characters are really well developed and fleshed out over a mere 10 episode run. I was actually interested in all of their takes on the situation and their backgrounds even though you are thrown right into the show and it is over just as fast.
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Fuck.
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There are, I hear tell, Southern accents that are less pleasing to the ear.
Don't I know it!
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Without "Murder in the Rue Morgue," there would be no Dragnet.
Without "Murder in the Rue Morgue" there would be no Every Which Way But Loose.
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Ho ho.
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Without "Murder in the Rue Morgue," there would be no Dragnet.
Without "Murder in the Rue Morgue" there would be no Every Which Way But Loose.
Priceless.
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Without "Murder in the Rue Morgue," there would be no Dragnet.
Without "Murder in the Rue Morgue" there would be no Every Which Way But Loose.
Great, unremembered theme song!