Board 8 > Season 4: Episode 1: Boys of Summer

(+) Yeah! (+)

The nail gun buying scene is always haunting. This guy has no clue what's going on and Snoop is just eating the information up. The comfortable nature with which she handles life and death is all at once intriguing and disturbing on the highest of level. She finds new information on improving her murderous role as enthralling as we would find a new deli or bookstore. More to come.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Norman. What a tragic figure. The best man with the best advice gets Less important the more important things get because he does the right thing. Carcetti is interesting because when I watch game of thrones I see littlefinger but the second the wire comes on he's right back to Carcetti. I GOT THAT PANDEMIC! Bodie...what a complicated figure. He tip toes the line between sympathetic figure and antagonist better than anyone in recent memory.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

SPOILERS. Chris' kindness to the people he murders is just...haunting. His sense of right and wrong are what make this season so disturbingly memorable. Knowing what's going to happen makes the early scenes with the kids even more...sad. Michael's inherent leadership. The destitute, nihilistic nature of the youngest kids. It's just...damn this show is so good.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

The look on Lex's face when he shoots Fruit...wow. Cold. Murderous. Empty. Name a scene that Bunk doesn't instantly improve. The lack of hesitancy the soldiers have for wiping out an entire corner is frightening. PISS BALLOONS. The genuine fun the kids are having only makes future happenings that much more upsetting.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Michael. Ruthless. Ponytail. Chump.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

The symmetry of the Wire is its most well known feature and it shines brightest in season 4. Between Marlo planning hits and the kids planning vengeance. Between the police teaching central and the teachers meetings revolving against the idiotic methodology used for training each. The Wire does a phenomenal Job at showing how everyone struggles with similar problems despite the difference in socio-economic standing.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Letting a 15 year old kid know that he is responsible for The murder of a man is just the start of terrible things that happen to these kids but not the worst. I hate this season of the Wire as much as a adore it.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

It's my favorite season of television, and yet I haven't been able to watch it a second time.

*foreshadowing for future episodes*

I always quit at the same time Sydnor leaves the room because I just can't take what I know is to come.

I know exactly how you feel. There are certain moments in this season that make it hard to continue because I know exactly what's coming. But I do it anyways because it's just SO GOOD. Watching Carcetti going into bad neighborhoods and actually LISTENING TO PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS. I let myself get dragged into believing he's going to bring about a change much like how real life people fall for politicians despite knowing they're going to get their hearts broken. Watching Michael trying to hold onto his steadily fleeting innocence or Dukie trying so hard to escape his predicament. This season is the best thing to ever grace television.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Season 4: Episode 2: Lost Eyes.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT. Best season, worst version of the theme song. Royce never considered he would lose. Looking back, what is obvious is that EVERYONE THOUGHT HE WOULD WIN. This episode has two of the best quotes in the entire series: I STILL WAKE UP WHITE IN A CITY THAT AIN'T . WHAT'S THE THRILL FOR THE GRIZZLY BEAR?

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Wee Bay was always one of my favorites. The mom is my LEAST. She's a punk in the highest sense. Completely ignorant to the game and just a side effect of its players. Marlo wants to be beloved so badly that I always wish they delved deeper into his backstory. Bunk's disdain for the corner kids is one part sympathy for understanding and a major part anger because he understands that well. Bubbles trying so hard to be a good person. His story line hurts the most.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Coach Johnson is the Man. Gettin women thrown at him all day every day. Daniels with a white girl. Love how big of a story line this still is. These two scheming and plotting their way to the top the right wrong way was always. Bubbles. Storyline. Is. Tragic. Michael not taking the money is just the start of something memorable. I love Michael. He and Marlo are the best.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

McNulty being a side character in the large part of two seasons is an amazing feat that Game of Thrones is trying to accomplish. They take their main character and have no fear pushing him aside because they have faith in the entire cast. What's amazing is that it works like a charm. You are always aware of where he is but you it never distracts from the show itself. Detective Walker is one of the few true BAD characters in the show. He has no sympathetic side. He's not even charismatic like Marlo is.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

I'll take money from anyone if they're just giving it away. Clay Davis and corner kids are awfully similar. I love the humor the detectives find in bad cases. Bubbles. It's crazy that his ending is the most joyously positive one and it simply involves walking up steps. Even knowing how positive it ends doesn't make the journey there less upsetting. Heads of the Police are so crooked it's disgusting.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

The debates and all the people watching might be one of the biggest moments and introspective looks at the hopeless amalgamation that is America's inner city. The average citizen couldn't care less, the police care because the higher ups do, the other politicians only care if they think they can get something, and the kids have more to worry about than learning anything.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Is there anything funnier than everybody scrambling for their lives from a little man in a light blue bath robe? Omar drop thousands of dollars of drugs on the table and his partners only response is 'they didn't have honey nut'. IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE TAKING BUT WHO YOU'RE TAKING IT FROM. Omar can always be counted on for great quotes. The guy is in like ten scenes and has the largest impact on the entire show. Amazing character and his introductions are always legendary.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Michael impresses everyone and it's not hard to see why. The kid works hard, doesn't take hand outs, and he isn't scared of anything. He doesn't back down from 3 crackheads. He stands up to Marlo. He's just one of the few raritys in the inner city and everyone tries to convert him to negativity. That's the problem. No good role models and the only one who is is Coach Johnson who loses in the end because he's a good guy. Omar is the best detective on the show. I always joke about it but it's true. The guy knows everything going on everywhere and looks at things te way cops do. THE THING ABOUT THE OLD DAYS IS THAT THEY THE OLD DAYS. Prop Joe too strong. Love how he sets up a Co Op in broad daylight. Publicizes it.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Bunny in a hotel with a prostitute. So few words, so many thing said. I love how they look out for Duke. Neemans mother inspires hatred of the highest order from me. She's talking about robbing 6th graders and leaves Duke outside. The new head of Major Crimes sucks so badly and everyone can tell. The hit the wire throws on the police department can never be unfelt. This show inspired actual change because of its honesty. The way the teachers prepare for the first day of school is military like. How can anyone expect these kids to succeed with surroundings like this. The wall of big girls is hilarious. Watching Prez's first day is one of the most cringe worthy moments in the series. He's so out of place.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

I TRUSTED YOU CARCETTI. YOU SHOWED UP TO THE FUNERAL AND DIDN'T POLITIC EVERYONE. YOU WERE A GOOD MAN. SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT BALTIMORE!!! In other news, watching Bunny take that guy through the city's youth system was all at once funny and disheartening. DUKIE STOP TUGGING AT MY HEART STRINGS BY BEING SUCH A GOOD PERSON IN THE FACE OF RAMPANT NEGATIVITY!!!

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Remember when you stopped your 10 best shows on tv list at #10?

Why can't you be as dedicated to that as this?!

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SephirothG, channeling awesomeness from Mershiness.
The Resurrection

I went partying one weekend came back and the list had purged. You guys just suck. Plus the wire is better than the shows on tv right now.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

I'll finish the list here but the only one i'll talk about is number one because everything else is old hat. Game of Thrones Curb your Enthusiasm are in there. Mad Men Breaking Bad Parks and Rec and Community round out the top 5 but the number one show currently on television is Louie and for me it isn't close. Louie C.K took a concept that should fail miserably--a self produced, self written, semi auto biographical comedy that is darker than comedy should ever be--and turned it into the best drama and second best comedy on television. Louis C.K touches the every day things we all deal with without ever dipping into the world of preachy or pretentious. He does an hour long special about going to Iraq without ever trying to teach a lesson or give an agenda. He doesn't bomb or give the best show of his life. He just does his show. Even in its most absurd moments it never strays from reality. Like the best episodes of the Wire, Louie gives you just enough light heartedness to deal with the honesty of reality. But that's life for most people: Alot of crappy days made easier by a few good moments. Louis C.K has become the everyman that Seinfeld was and more. He never forsakes the truth for a laugh and never fails to understand that the true things are the funniest. It's a show about living and Louie realizes that that's the biggest joke. Season 2 of Louie goes into the pantheon.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Bunk and Lester in the bar. Get Giggs in here because this is a top ten scene. I love how they troll rookie detectives. Too funny. All these little kids know who police is. It's crazy. Man these kids are messed up. I love the way Marlo's hubris shocks even Prop Joe. NO ONE COMES AT ME. Marlo doesn't need anyone. He truly believes that. But we see what happens to people without an organization. Coach realizing just how messed up the system is...one of the most disheartening moments in the show. Prop Joe and Omar. Too good.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

I like Louie

I do not love Louie

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SephirothG, channeling awesomeness from Mershiness.
The Resurrection

The subtleties of Michael are soul wrenching. Coach puts his hands on his shoulder and Mike slides over. He won't be in the car alone with him. First time watching it I didn't get it because I try not to assume the worst. First lesson with The Wire: always assume things are worse than they seem. AT LEAST SHE WASN'T HIV POSITIVE. Prez's face says it all. That's what you were worried about? Not her getting slashed but that she'd have AIDS. What's wrong with this place!?! Prop Joe is a cold character. Gun shots go off and the kids don't even flinch instead they try and figure out the Caliber. Chris and Marlo gain supernatural powers in this neighborhood. It's crazy just how much these kids know.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch