# Baltimore and The Wire \[SPOILERS\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320 "2011-05-26T17:06:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/21 "2011-05-31T19:53:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Best thing - hearing the true accents of some of the actors. Aidan Gillen’s accent in this was woeful though. ---
**Author:** ![XXX19](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@XXX19](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XXX19)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/22 "2011-06-01T02:48:58Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > I like Baltimore, but yeah, IRL, there are parts of it that just make you go :eek:. Try going to Pissburgh. It’s one big cess pool. ---
**Author:** ![XXX19](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@XXX19](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XXX19)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/23 "2011-06-01T02:50:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > One of the great things about the show was that actions by the characters had consequences, though it might take a few seasons to see them. > A while ago someone posted a link to a blog where a TV critic rewatched the entire series and wrote really perceptive and interesting comments on it. This is a series I’m glad I watched on DVD not live, since there is so much stuff going on that you might miss if you had to wait weeks for the next episode. > > BTW, I believe that in one of the special features it was mentioned that some of the cops were based on real people, and one of them had a minor role. He wasn’t believable playing himself. Best thing - hearing the true accents of some of the actors. I had a part as an extra. Had to wait outside in the freezing cold at night for hours and all you see is my hand and watch on a phone. But I got a T-shirt that says Cast - The Wire plus $50. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![XXX19](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@XXX19](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XXX19)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/24 "2011-06-01T03:26:52Z")
The movie has some real truisms about Bmore in it. Everyone in Bmore laughed their asses off at a pic in the middle of a dart board of Bullet Bob Irsay with a dart sticking out of his head. It was in the union office. Irsay was the guy who moved the Colts to Indy. Even my wife said, that’ Irsay. 😃 Then the Greek mobster and union guy are standing across water from the Bethlahem Steel Co at Sparrows Point and the Greek said they used to make steel there. The union guy said, yea, my uncle was a supervisor there. My entire family worked there all during the 20th Century. My dad was in management there for 45 years. I worked my way thru college there in the summer and paid 100% of my tuition. No student loans for me. I even bought a brand new car while still in school. Today, it’s nothing, just like the show says and all the retirees including my mom lost their benefits. ---
**Author:** ![XXX19](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@XXX19](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XXX19)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/25 "2011-06-01T03:30:58Z")
The worse scenes were [spoiler]when the union official got it. The Greeks wanted him dead and he’s walking under a bridge to meet with them as the show ends. You knew he was a dead man walking - the coolest guy in the show. Then they went after his nephew and he’s walking down the steet with a car following him as the show ends. Same fate. Then Stinger got it. He was a bad guy but a cool bad guy. Very upsetting. :rolleyes:[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/26 "2011-06-01T14:09:08Z")
> [@XXX19](#): > > The worse scenes were [spoiler]when the union official got it. The Greeks wanted him dead and he’s walking > under a bridge to meet with them as the show > ends. You knew he was a dead man walking - the coolest guy in the show. > > Then they went after his nephew and he’s walking down the steet with a car following him > as the show ends. Same fate. > > [/spoiler] Nick Sobotka (the nephew) didn’t get offed. I’m pretty sure it was the witness protection people following him in the car. He’s seen in a later season (five, maybe?) protesting at a Carcetti event. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/27 "2011-06-01T15:16:16Z")
> [@XXX19](#): > > The worse scenes were [spoiler]when the union official got it. The Greeks wanted him dead and he’s walking > under a bridge to meet with them as the show > ends. You knew he was a dead man walking - the coolest guy in the show. > > Then they went after his nephew and he’s walking down the steet with a car following him > as the show ends. Same fate. > > Then Stinger got it. He was a bad guy but a cool bad guy. Very upsetting. > > :rolleyes:[/spoiler] I thought the guy in your second spoiler had it coming. So did Omar, but he was such a great character, I was sorry to see him go. And yeah, the nephew had a cameo in season five. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/28 "2011-06-01T15:58:09Z")
FYI, if you subscribe to HBO, you can probably get HBO GO (streaming online HBO) for free and watch any episode of The Wire whenever you want if you’re online. Damn, you people made me want to watch the whole thing again. I love that show. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/29 "2011-06-01T16:27:05Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Sure, but to be honest, they’ve got REAL problems there. I live in the DC metro, and have seen some pretty bad stuff, but Bawlmer is worse, IMHO. There are places where they will no shit kill your ass in a heartbeat and there’s no sunshine and rainbows, period. No officials can tell the truth and keep their jobs, which is of course, true of a lot of places, as well. It’s sad. I’ve lived in Baltimore and DC, not a whole lot of difference between them. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/30 "2011-06-01T16:56:09Z")
> [@Who\_me\_1](#): > > I’ve lived in Baltimore and DC, not a whole lot of difference between them. Really? I’ve lived in and around DC for five years now, and there are _huge_ swathes of the city with incredibly vibrant art, music and restaurant scenes that are also readily accessible by public transit and very, very safe. So far as residential neighborhoods go, most of the Northwest quadrant is more than safe enough to walk home alone at three in the morning. Baltimore has some neat neighborhoods - but even the most interesting “fun” neighborhoods seem far dodgier than, say, Dupont Circle, U Street, or Adams Morgan, or even H Street. And, importantly, public transit just isn’t that useful - the subway goes nowhere, and the light rail seems more an extension of the commuter rail system than genuine city transit. Unless you’re willing to take a lot of busses or a lot of walks, you really need a car in Baltimore - and that makes a huge difference to quality of life. Any large city is going to have something to recommend it, and I don’t doubt that Baltimore does. But to deny that there are sharp differences between the two cities seems strange. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/31 "2011-06-01T16:59:17Z")
In response to something upthread, I received my copy of _The Corner_, also by Simon, which has many of the same actors, but in very different roles, including a brief cameo in the first ep of the corpulent sergeant from _The Wire_ as a junk metal dealer. What’s really odd about this DVD set is that none of the actors’ names appear anywhere on the outside cover or in the liner notes. WTF is that all about? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/32 "2011-06-01T17:16:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I thought the guy in your second spoiler had it coming. So did Omar, but he was such a great character, I was sorry to see him go. And yeah, the nephew had a cameo in season five. Hey now! ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/33 "2011-06-01T17:35:43Z")
> [@XXX19](#): > > Try going to Pissburgh. It’s one big cess pool. Just curious, but where does this come from? You join the board and post this? You sound like an angry Ravens fan, not an unbiased observer. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/34 "2011-06-01T17:57:26Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > In response to something upthread, I received my copy of _The Corner_, also by Simon, which has many of the same actors, but in very different roles, including a brief cameo in the first ep of the corpulent sergeant from _The Wire_ as a junk metal dealer. What’s really odd about this DVD set is that none of the actors’ names appear anywhere on the outside cover or in the liner notes. WTF is that all about? I don’t know… I received my disks in the standard Netflix envelope so I never had a chance to look at the box/liner notes/etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/35 "2011-06-01T18:10:13Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I don’t know… I received my disks in the standard Netflix envelope so I never had a chance to look at the box/liner notes/etc. It’s just very odd. Simon’s name, the director, producers, etc. all appear on the back, but no actors’ names anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/36 "2011-06-01T18:11:49Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Hey now! I believe you meant to say “Hey now motherfucker!” while whistling ‘Farmer In The Dell’. :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/37 "2011-06-01T18:16:01Z")
> [@Who\_me\_1](#): > > I’ve lived in Baltimore and DC, not a whole lot of difference between them. Really? I have to disagree. I lived in Baltimore for 8 years, including the whole period when _The Wire_ was being filmed and broadcast, and i’ve spent plenty of time in DC. I also played softball for quite a while with a guy who was a mid-ranking officer in the DC Metro police force, and who talked a bit about the differences between the two cities. While there’s no doubt that DC has some very poor and tough neighborhoods, the whole dynamic of the city is very different from Baltimore. For one thing, the line separating comfortable and white from poor and black in DC is pretty clearly marked. DC really is a city of two halves. Baltimore is much more a city of neighborhoods; it’s a socio-economic patchwork, and there are quite a few places in the city where wealthy neighborhoods run smack into poor ones, with nothing more than a four-lane road between them. Another thing is that, even in the poor parts of DC, you don’t see anywhere near the number of abandoned and boarded-up houses that you see in Baltimore. Baltimore’s population peaked at about 1 million people in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but now hovers somewhere around 620,000. Those 400,000 departures left a lot of empty real estate, and there are parts of the city where you can drive for blocks and see nothing but boarded-up rowhouses. DC just doesn’t have that on anything like the same scale. In terms of population loss in the era of white flight, only a few cities in the United States lost a greater percentage of their population than Baltimore. The most obvious example, of course, is Detroit, which went from 2 million down to about 750,000 over the last half-century. As i said, i lived in Baltimore for 8 years. I lived in a comfortable, mainly-white, middle-class neighborhood about 5 minutes walk from the main campus of Johns Hopkins University. Even there, though, we were constantly aware of the ways in which the city’s poverty and crime rates affected everyone. I knew people who were robbed of their wallets at gunpoint while walking the street. One evening, i left a party of about midnight, only to learn the next day that a gunman burst in a couple of hours later, herded all the remaining people into the basement, and relieved them of their wallets and cellphones. One night, while sitting in front of my computer, i heard a woman screaming from the street, and went out to find that she’s had a gun stuck in her face and her bag had been stolen. I had a friend who was prevented from entering his own place of employment one day by a drug dealer with a large gun who had set up shop on his stoop. Even in the best parts of town, it was generally preferable not to walk alone after dark. DC just isn’t like this, at least not to the broad extent that Baltimore is. I’m not saying that DC has no troubles; far from it. But its status as the national capital, a city that attracts plenty of wealthy and influential people, and also as a tourist city, means that there has been a particular effort to keep the city’s crime and poverty confined to certain areas, and out of sight of the government officials and the lawyers and the lobbyists and the tourists. As for _The Wire_, i really think it is, in many ways, a love letter to Baltimore. Simon is well aware of the myriad problems the city has, but he also has a certain optimism about the people and about the place. While i don’t claim personal knowledge of how the low-rise drug trade worked, and i was lucky enough never to be a victim of crime myself, i did follow the local news and local politics when i lived there, and everything on _The Wire_ rings true with my understanding of the city. > [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Just curious, but where does this come from? You join the board and post this? > > You sound like an angry Ravens fan, not an unbiased observer. Yeah, that was my thought, too. I’ve never been to Pittsburgh, but it’s my understanding that the city has undergone something of a mini-renaissance over the last ten years or so. The Steelers and their fans still suck, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/38 "2011-06-01T18:20:46Z")
I’ve lived in the DC Metro area for over 20 years and visited Baltimore many, many times, and I concur with your observations. Especially regarding Steelers fans. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/39 "2011-06-01T18:25:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I believe you meant to say “Hey now motherfucker!” while whistling ‘Farmer In The Dell’. :D:D:D I always though he was whistling “A hunting we will go” a la Elmer Fudd. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320/40 "2011-06-01T19:23:25Z")
I think that mhendo is spot on. I’ve visited Baltimore quite often and I really like the city, but I think that DC and Baltimore are not that similar anymore. Baltimore reminds me of DC 15 to 20 years ago when DC was much rougher and before a lot of DC gentrified. DC today really doesn’t have that vibe. You have to go pretty far from a nice neighborhood to get to a bad one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baltimore-and-the-wire-spoilers/583320.md?page=3)