The Wire - 9/24

Cafe Society
1

I watched this episode as soon as it was available on demand, which was 6 days ago. So I just re-skimmed it, and logged on all excited to read the dope thread… and no dope thread! Boo!

Anyhow, another excellent episde. There is just so much going on in this show right now. Wow.

A lot of great moments. Perhaps my favorite was Colvin and the researcher interviewing the guy in the interrogation room. I also loved the schoolkids discussing the math problem.
My prediction for what’s coming up: someone stumbles upon one of the bodies hidden in the rowhouses. Suddenly, there are zillions of unsolved murders, which reflects badly on Royce, so he lights a fire under the police chief, so major crimes goes roaring back into action, and they try to suck McNulty back in.

2

What’s going on here? Where are all the other Wire fans? Is this some sort of prank? Am I being punk’d?

3

I’m still in mourning over the loss of Beadie’s red hair. :frowning: Damn you TV, first Laura Prepon and now everyone’s favorite port cop. McNulty really is domesticated though! Thought I’d never see the day.

Omar rocks. I don’t think many people could pull off the silk jammies look and still be a stone cold gangster.

I could never, ever, in a million years, be a teacher in a school like “Prez-bo’s”. All glory onto those that do manage. Even those brief moments like Prez had when he found that one student actually did the math problem could never make up for all the shit.

And speaking of domesticated, how about the Baltimore Drug Lords meeting at the local Sheraton. :slight_smile: Interesting to see that Slim Charles knows exactly how Marlo is hiding the bodies. Wonder how many more episodes it’ll take the cops to figure it out.

And Bodie…looks like some changes are ahead for him.

4

Yesterday afternoon I was getting ready to set my vcr to tape it then I remembered I finally got On Demand to work… I just sat down and watched it right then.

Good episode.

I like that whenever Omar hits the streets people call out a warning “Omar’s coming!”
Is it public knowledge that Omar is gay?

Poor Prez… when that girl slashed the face of that stuck up girl he was just bewildered and stunned.

5

[QUOTE=Push You Down]

Is it public knowledge that Omar is gay?

[/QUOTE]

I got the impression from previous seasons that when the Barksdale crew was talking about it, they weren’t like “oh, we know this secret about Omar… he’s gay”, just that Omar was gay.

So when Omar stopped to smoke a cigarette and they dropped a bag of drugs for him, was the impression that he was surprised by the drugs falling out of the sky, or that he specifically went there to get his bag of drugs and was just bored by how simple the whole prcess was? I thought it was ambiguous…

6

In the first episode, Omar’s lover was killed. He’s my favorite character.

I have such a hard time even watching Dukie Weems. I keep hoping something good will happen to him. Although on this show I have my doubts.

I wish there wasn’t so much about the Mayors race and more about the streets. I know it’s important to the story but I sort of miss that.

Is Barskdale and most of his crew gone except for Bodie?

7

Did you understand the remark he made to his friend when he got back to the apartment?

I swear I have to watch this show twice because I keep missing dialogue.

8

It was something along the lines of “How you going to start running with the wolves when you’re hanging out with the puppies?”

As for Prez’s classroom, he had a lot to deal with and he still didn’t expect there to be that much violence.

9

[QUOTE=MaxTheVool]
So when Omar stopped to smoke a cigarette and they dropped a bag of drugs for him, was the impression that he was surprised by the drugs falling out of the sky, or that he specifically went there to get his bag of drugs and was just bored by how simple the whole prcess was? I thought it was ambiguous…
[/QUOTE]

Good point - I made the assumption that whomever had the drugs just gave it up - based on Omar being in the general vicinity (and not whether he did anything or not)!

Note: I am SO glad that this show is back - by far my favorite (and one of the best shows ever, IMO).

10

[QUOTE=MaxTheVool]
So when Omar stopped to smoke a cigarette and they dropped a bag of drugs for him, was the impression that he was surprised by the drugs falling out of the sky, or that he specifically went there to get his bag of drugs and was just bored by how simple the whole prcess was? I thought it was ambiguous…
[/QUOTE]

I don’t think he was expecting it, in fact I’m sure he wasn’t. His remark to Reynaldo was (essentially) that it ain’t what you’re takin’, it’s who you’re takin’ it from; he said basically the same thing after they robbed the liquor store/stash house, remarking that the look on Andre’s face was “the reason we get up in the morning.”

The shit’s gonna hit the fan when the cops discover Marlo’s morgue…

11

[QUOTE=BobT]
It was something along the lines of “How you going to start running with the wolves when you’re hanging out with the puppies?”

As for Prez’s classroom, he had a lot to deal with and he still didn’t expect there to be that much violence.
[/QUOTE]

True, but also remember he wasn’t wrapped too tight when he was a cop. He shot an under-cover officer - that’s why he’s teaching (if you can call it that).

I have my doubts about how real the class-room scenes are, but if they’re accurate, every school in Baltimore should be closed. Why should we waste $$ on kids that don’t want to learn?

12

[QUOTE=Caridwen]
In the first episode, Omar’s lover was killed. He’s my favorite character.

I have such a hard time even watching Dukie Weems. I keep hoping something good will happen to him. Although on this show I have my doubts.

I wish there wasn’t so much about the Mayors race and more about the streets. I know it’s important to the story but I sort of miss that.

Is Barskdale and most of his crew gone except for Bodie?
[/QUOTE]

Caridwen, are you me? I totally agree with everything you wrote. Max the Vool can tell you how often THAT happens, with anyone. :smiley:

I think Omar was surprised that people were throwing drugs out the window at him. In a perverse way, he seems kind of disgruntled that things are so easy now with Barksdale out of the picture. I do need to watch again to be sure, and that’s not going to happen any time soon, but that was my first impression. I guess now that Barksdale’s gang is all out of commission, Omar doesn’t have to hide his location anymore either?

I want to take Dookie home with me and take care of him. Poor thing. All he needs is some Miracle-Gro and he’d perk right up. There’s a great kid in there, so sweet, being the ONLY person who reached out to the girl with the razor, probably understanding exactly what would make someone lash out like that.

As for Prez’s teaching-- now I rant. I teach middle school. Things only get that out of hand if you let them. I can’t believe that the first thing he was told wouldn’t be, ZERO tolerance for bullying, swearing, and any kind of threats of violence. I know I will kick out any kid who goes over a certain line, like calling another kid “bitch” or any other taunting that went on. What happened to the Prez who put a kidfrom the Towers in the hospital for throwing a bottle at him? Who would discharge his weapon when he got pissed off? Are we to believe he’s a total wimp now who needs the neighboring teacher to come in for ever single instance of discipline? Come ON. Common sense dictates more of a reaction than he gave.

I guess this is the first time I’ve ever been disappointed with the writing in The Wire. Showing Prez as powerless to keep these 13 year olds in line is just contrived. It’s not even like he’s trying and failing-- he just says nothing when they act up. It’s ridiculous. I hope they have Prez grow a pair-- being “that teacher” when a kid gets her face sliced in half ought to galvanize him, no? No? He just stands there, gaping, while she puddles up in blood on the floor? And he was a cop!!!

Let’s hope this is addressed in the next ep.

13

[QUOTE=PharmBoy]
I have my doubts about how real the class-room scenes are, but if they’re accurate, every school in Baltimore should be closed. Why should we waste $$ on kids that don’t want to learn?
[/QUOTE]

It’s a little old, but I wouldn’t say things have changed all that much unfortunately.

[QUOTE=Rubystreak]
What happened to the Prez who put a kidfrom the Towers in the hospital for throwing a bottle at him? Who would discharge his weapon when he got pissed off? Are we to believe he’s a total wimp now who needs the neighboring teacher to come in for ever single instance of discipline? Come ON. Common sense dictates more of a reaction than he gave.
[/QUOTE]

He was also drunk when he pistol whipped the kid in the eye and I believe he was attempting to “fit in” with the other real police. When he discharged his weapon, I thought it was by accident in the office and when he shot up his car I didn’t understand him to be angry. And when he shot the cop it appeared he was in shocked and it’s possible he just never recovered.

Personally I think he’s a nice guy, just a putz.

14

I’m wondering if they’re showing Prez as such a poor teacher so he eventually quits and goes back to police work. I think the fact that he’s a teacher or has access to the kids is going to tie in somehow. Isn’t his father-in-law the chief and he only got involved in police work because of his wife?

I’m thinking in about two more episodes the whole unit will be back together including McNulty.

15

[QUOTE=Caridwen]
I’m wondering if they’re showing Prez as such a poor teacher so he eventually quits and goes back to police work. I think the fact that he’s a teacher or has access to the kids is going to tie in somehow.
[/QUOTE]

Ed Burns, one of the shows creators, actually went from Baltimore cop to Baltimore school teacher, so I think he’ll stick it out.

The first time I stood in front of a classroom I had NO idea what I was doing, and it was a mess for a while. And I teach science at a suburban community college – if you had thrown me then in front of an inner-city middle school I’d probably have run screaming (hell, I don’t know how long I’d last if you put me there now).

Since the season is going to focus on the kids and the schools, Prez (and perhaps Colvin) will be the connection between the police and the school

I think Prez will get better as time goes on. I think he’ll gradually get their attention, for the most part, and maybe he’ll find a way to present math to the kids that they can relate to.

16

My girlfriend is a middle school teacher in a fairly tough urban environment. She seems to handle it OK. She says the key is just giving as good as you get.

Such as her “Excuse me, my name is Ms. _______, Not Ms. F----- B----. when I marry Mr. F------ B---- then you can call me that.”

She has also told me that I would be eaten alive by her students within 10 minutes.

17

I taught two summers in the Upward Bound program. These are inner city kids in a college prep program. Their behavior was as bad as anything in that episode…minus the slashing. The scenes in the middle school were dead on.

18

I thought Prez’s reaction was totally believable. He’s consciously trying to be a schoolteacher, not a cop. And he’s just in way way way way over his head. What’s he going to do, pull a gun on 7th graders?

19

I think Prez underreacted in a very unbelievable way. He turned into the classic victim, unable to say or do anything effective. You mean to tell me this man was police, but he sees a girl’s face get slashed and he stands there and does nothing? That seems completely out of character for a person who was in law enforcement. Dookie was more effective in that situation.

It’s a cliche, the new teacher in the tough school not doing a damn thing and letting the kids run over him. I just figured The Wire was better that resorting to that.

20

…but what you want is not realistic.