Sudhir Venkatesh, who did research on a Chicago drug gang, whose leader took a liking to him and supplied with the books. Venkatesh concluded that the structure of the drug gang wasn’t much different from a McDonald’s franchise.
He wasn’t a street gangsta he was a little boy who probably had very little exposure to his school or library, surrounded by 3 very serious detectives in suits and visibly scared about being caught committing a serious crime. For the record, I’ve never seen a photocopier in an emergency room and I’ve worked in a government building for 6 years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a photocopier there either.
This, on so many levels:
- Nobody notices somebody’s messing with the crime scenes ? No beat cop, no murder detective, no crime lab ? Most notably when McNulty starts putting bite marks on the corpses. A qualified coroner alone would be able to tell they were done long past post-mortem.
- McNulty’s bosses, who’re all *thoroughly *used to his bullshit by now, never notice he’s dicking them around on the time sheets & reports, and is basically slinging department assets all over the place ? Where did they learn to supervise ?
- and the worst one of all: Lester, who so far has been proven to be the smartest, deepest thinker and most collected individual on the whole show (and, again, one who’s used to McNulty’s insanity and where it always ends), not only is in on it, he’s all too happy to jump on the Crazy Bus. Then he’s all surprised when it turns to shit and a fake serial killer happens to cause some ripples a little farther than the police department ? Did his IQ drop 50 points between seasons ? Oh shit. He’s got early onset Alzheimer’s, hasn’t he ?
That’s interesting. I felt that Season 2 worked the strongest as a single season than any of the others. Although I suspect on repeat viewing that Season 4 is better.
Little boy?? I think your memory might be a bit fuzzy. And even big gangstas go to school as little kids, and for a couple of weeks every September.
That’s a deliberate nod to the same ruse being used in* Homicide: Life On The Streets* but I think it’s originally an urban legend.
I watched that last night before posting. He looks like a little boy to me.
<shrugs> The actor was 19 when it was filmed, so YMMV. Anyway, the thread is about what didn’t work for me, and that didn’t.
I also agree the serial killer plot line was silly. I liked the general idea of faking something and getting a reporter hooked, but there had to be a more subtle way to pull that off.
I agree with everybody who thought the serial killer storyline was weak. But it was almost worth it for the scene where Bunk brings Lester in to talk some sense into McNulty. Watching Bunk go from this smug “Lester’s gonna set him straight now!” look to disbelief to outrage is one of my favorite scenes in the series.
I can believe it. Might be an urban legend, but it was either in the book or the commentaries that it really happened.
I’ve seen plenty of gadgets and didn’t know what they were or how they worked. Watch Repo Games sometime – you’ll be surprised at how much people don’t know.
He was an 8th grader.
Hey, I can buy the possibility that there are 13-year-olds who not only have never seen a copier in person or on TV, but who would be fooled into thinking it’s a lie detector. But that’s a small universe to me, since it’s not a new or obscure gadget.
I’m curious why some people thought Snoop was unrealistic. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the show but I can’t think of anything too unusual about her. Is it because she’s a girl?
The entire season five plot about the fake serial killer.
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.
Hm. Yeah, it was probably unrealistically sloppy cross. I do think Levy was taken aback by Omar’s charm and banter (both on direct and at the start of the cross). Here is the exchange (taken from IMDB):
Certainly wasn’t a “detailed explanation”. I also give it a pass because its one of the shows Crowning Moment of Awesomeness, IMO.
I give the Omar-Levy courtroom scene a pass too. I like that the writers occasionally serviced the fans, even if it was improbable or heavy-handed. Like the showdown between Omar and Brother Mouzone in the alley. “I see you favor a Glock.” (or something) There’s a YouTube video with Enrico Morricone music in the background for that one. And the scene where Omar’s just standing around and someone drops a bag of drugs from a second-story window.
No, see - that’s the part I buy. Your other complaints are reasonable and…well..this one is as well, but I disagree ;).
Lester is a little smarter, rather less dysfunctional version of McNulty. But he is still a McNulty - as cops the two are very similar at base. Years ago he was busted down to desk-duty for taking his job too seriously. Then McNulty resurrects his investigative career and we see, season by season, that he becomes increasingly reinvested in being “good police” to the point that he becomes just as obsessive as McNulty at getting shit done and to hell with the the system that tries to impede him for reasons of bureaucracy, politics, incompetence, or just disinterest. That he falls to McNulty’s level of desperate nuttery ( but delusional, thinks he can refine it with his smarts ) strikes me as an entirely believable character arc.
The “shit” scene with McNulty and Bunk, while kinda funny, was ridiculous.