# Fans of "The Wire" -- what didn't work for you? Open spoilers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743 "2011-08-06T16:37:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [August 10, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/61 "2011-08-10T18:44:24Z")
“fuck” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/62 "2011-08-10T19:10:08Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > The whole fake serial killer storyline from the last season. David Simon could have made his point about a lazy and corrupt media without resorting to something so fantastical. I regretfully agree with this. And it’s not just that the fake serial killer was unrealistic, it’s the way the McNulty-Freamon scam dovetailed so perfectly with Templeton’s fake stories for the paper. I know Templeton was an analog of Jayson Blair, so that wasn’t a problem. It was hard for me to buy cops faking a serial killer to make a point, but the combination of the two is where it really became unbelievable. (Even so, I was more disappointed with Lester for going along wit the plot than I was with the series for departing from reality.) Hamsterdam was somewhat plausible by comparison. > [@DigitalC](#): > > Brother Mouzzoune (I’m sure i spelled that wrong) was a cartoon character in a realistic story, completely out of place. Seconded. I know some people here find Mouzzone awesome, but his appearances were jarring to me. I will admit that NOI guys are sort of caricaturiffic even in real life. > [@Tarwater](#): > > Because Simon was unable to write himself objectively. Simon only wrote the first and last episode of season five, although as always, he was the showrunner and created the stories. > [@](#): > > Gus was the only character in the series who seemed out of place; he was a walking, talking cliché whose only purpose was to uncover Templeton’s fabrications. He had no real flaws. I’ve seen Dopers say this a bunch of times, and I still disagree 100 percent. Gus was a very nice guy and almost any reporter would have wanted to have him as an editor, but he missed _all_ the important stories and he didn’t even when he become suspicious of Templeton’s fraud, he didn’t say anything and didn’t act until it was too late. And for the most part he did not miss the big stories because he was incompetent. It’s because those stories that the newspaper would not look at for systemic reasons, and I think that was Simon’s real point. It’s illustrated with the debate over the education story. People here keep forgetting that Gus whiffs on the important stuff, and I don’t think that’s a failing on Simon’s part. I think it’s a testament to his skill in creating complete characters. The publisher of the paper is a complete douchebag just like a couple of minor Wire characters have no redeeming qualities, but most of the major characters are better fleshed out. > [@JohnT](#): > > To me, the one scene that didn’t work for me was Omar’s testimony. Yeah, I think we have to acknowledge that Omar’s answers in this scene are just _too_ good. But I’m going to give this scene a free pass because it’s modern day Shakespeare. It’s that good. It’s perhaps the greatest scene of the series and the distillation of why The Wire is great. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/63 "2011-08-10T19:26:23Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > The “shit” scene with McNulty and Bunk, while kinda funny, was ridiculous. Oh man, I so agree with this (except, as pointed out, it’s fuck). It’s a bullshit scene that would never even come close to happening, and people hold it up as some awesome TV. It’s just Hollywood fakery to me. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/64 "2011-08-10T21:01:23Z")
I’ve had conversations like that. They weren’t really talking. The scene was essentially silent. The “fucks” were just a way to externalize the thinking process for the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/65 "2011-08-10T21:04:42Z")
I don’t think anyone likes the “fuck” scene because it’s realistic, and I agree it isn’t. They like it because it’s funny. To tell you the truth that scene didn’t make any impression on me the first time I saw it. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/66 "2011-08-10T21:10:37Z")
Oh yeah the fuck scene, although Bunk does say shit in it too IIRC. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/67 "2011-08-10T23:52:57Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > Oh man, I so agree with this (except, as pointed out, it’s fuck). It’s a bullshit scene that would never even come close to happening, and people hold it up as some awesome TV. It’s just Hollywood fakery to me. I believe I’ve read (either here or on TVTropes) that Simon put this scene in because of an interview he’d done with a detective who was dismayed at his coworkers’ language and said something along the lines of “in a couple years, you’ll have investigations where every single spoken word is the f bomb”. Simon found it funny and made it happen. So, yeah, it’s exaggerated and caricatural, but it’s not complete fuckery. Sorry, fakery. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/68 "2011-08-11T00:06:01Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > So, yeah, it’s exaggerated and caricatural, but it’s not complete fuckery. Sorry, fakery. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/69 "2011-08-11T00:42:20Z")
The slang. I was unable to understand anything that anyone was saying, so I never got past episode one. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/70 "2011-08-11T01:10:07Z")
I think the slang was one of the best things about it. I never had trouble understanding it except maybe for Snoop once in a while. She was kind of the Boomhauer of the show. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/71 "2011-08-11T07:36:15Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > To me, the one scene that didn’t work for me was Omar’s testimony. Everything was fine until he was being examined by Levy when the following exchange (paraphrased from memory) takes place: > > Levy: “So you just take money from drug dealers, that’s how you make your living?” > Omar: “Yeah, and so do you!” (Da-da-DAAAAA!) > Levy (apparently gobsmacked that somebody came back with this completely original insight): “Uh, what?” > Omar: (launches into long-winded explanation that everybody profits from The Game) > > I just don’t buy that an experienced lawyer like Levy would come CLOSE to being thrown by that comment, nor would he allow Omar to go into a detailed explanation of how Levy is just like him. He said “I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase. It’s all in the game, though, right?” That is by no means a longwinded explanation, it’s an explanation with pith and wit. If it were Hollywood, it would go on for about 5 minutes and involve stirring music and table banging. General point: I think we need to allow for the fact that The Wire is a TV show, and if they used no dramatic conceits at all it’d probably be very difficult to watch. EDIT: I totally missed that **Jas09** already made my point. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/72 "2011-08-11T17:05:55Z")
I thought all of season 5 was weak: The fake serial killer, I could have bought this if they had taken longer to get to that point. If I was Jimmy, I would have gone to the press and told the world that budget cuts meant that they weren’t investigating the rowhouse murders, if that didn’t work then fake a serial killer. The newsroom, it was clear Simon was just sticking his finger in the eye of his former bosses who were all more cartoonishly evil and stupid than any of the murderous drug dealers. Also, Gus was the only heroic and noble character in a sea of complex believable characters. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/73 "2011-08-11T17:10:58Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit. I _HATED_ this, and it seemed to get more and more ridiculous as the series went on. > [@Stoid](#): > > The slang. I was unable to understand anything that anyone was saying, so I never got past episode one. This is one of the things that makes The Wire what it is: the characters rarely step out of the scene and explain things for the benefit of the audience. You either follow along from context, or you get confused and figure it out later. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/74 "2011-08-11T17:49:42Z")
Season 5 is seriously inferior to all the other seasons: -Mc Nulty is rebooted, he is exactly the same guy he was in season 1. All his character development over the last 4 seasons (which also made possible focusing on other characters) was thrown out, for no good reason. -Templeton (the hack journalist guy, I believe that’s his name) has absolutely zero positive traits. It could have been interesting if he had been shown as a rather incompetent guy under pressure (either self built pressure or coming from the top) trying to cope in a very shitty way. No, he’s just an ass through and through. And brownnoses as hell as well. Even Clay Davis was likable, despite being a caricature of a corrupt politician. Apart from that, the two worst moments of the Wire in all the other seasons: - Mouzoune Vs Omar alley scene: Omar is great because he is a walking folk legend. Mouzoune belongs to a comic book. Having those two trying to out-awesome one another on a show that’s based on realism hurt the believability of the whole series -Stringer Bell’s death: all that for _this_? ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/75 "2011-08-21T04:01:25Z")
This is pretty minor but, even though the makeup artist did a pretty good job on his face, there were times when Andre Royo (Bubbles) was revealed to be way too buff to be a homeless junkie. The guy had the thighs of a speed skater. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743/76 "2011-08-21T04:09:53Z")
According to Royo, a real junkie once approached him during filming and offered him a hit, saying that it looked like Royo needed it worse than he did. Royo calls that his “street Oscar.” Yes, he looked a little too healthy to be a junkie if you examined him closely, but he sold the character enough with his acting that you didn’t really notice it (at least I didn’t). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-of-the-wire-what-didnt-work-for-you-open-spoilers/591743.md?page=3)