Brian Thompson CEO of United Health Care was murdered (shot several times) by a hit man this morning on the streets in New York.

[Caveira]

3 minutes ago, PortaJohn said:

 

ooohh, I want to play.  How I categorize them

Best Written - The Wire

Best Story - Breaking Bad

Most Iconic - The Sopranos

Greatest Series Finale - Six Feet Under

Greatest Single Episode - The Bear Season 2 Episode 6 "Fishes"

Best Prequel/Sequel - Better Call Saul

Best Single Season - House of Cards Season 1 (Could replace this with a few of the seasons of the Wire but that first season was dynamite) 

 

On the wire.  My father was a homicide detective for a long time in Chicago working in its nicest neighborhoods.  He said the way the dialogue between cops : crooks is so perfect.  There is a scene towards the end with bunk and McNulty where one of them says something pretty bad…. But my father was like that’s totally real.  It has to do with a gun and a murder.  

Edited Thursday at 12:51 AM by Caveira

[PortaJohn]

1 minute ago, Caveira said:

On the wire.  My father was a homicide detective for a long time in Chicago working in its nicest neighborhoods.  He said the way the dialogue between cops : crooks is so perfect.  There is a scene towards the end with bunk and McNally where one of them says something pretty bad…. But my father was like that’s totally real.  It has to do with a gun and a murder.  

The Wire was special because it was basically a documentary.  You had a police reporter and a former police officer writing the script and stories.  They just changed some names around and voila, a masterpiece.  The character Roland is based on Ed Burns history with the police force and his later work  teaching in the Baltimore school district

[PortaJohn]

7 minutes ago, Caveira said:

On the wire.  My father was a homicide detective for a long time in Chicago working in its nicest neighborhoods.  He said the way the dialogue between cops : crooks is so perfect.  There is a scene towards the end with bunk and McNally where one of them says something pretty bad…. But my father was like that’s totally real.  It has to do with a gun and a murder.  

Fun fact.  The decoding the pagers in season 1 was based on Burns' actual investigation on Melvin Williams

[Caveira]

2 minutes ago, PortaJohn said:

The Wire was special because it was basically a documentary.  You had a police reporter and a former police officer writing the script and stories.  They just changed some names around and voila, a masterpiece.  The character Roland is based on Ed Burns history with the police force and his later work  teaching in the Baltimore school district

Maybe hamsterdam wasn’t all that weird?   Maybe it was a future prediction to certain states that basically legalized large swaths of crime including theft / drug use right in the open.   Hmmmmmm.   

[Tripnsweep]

1 hour ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

If you decide to break your embargo, that would be a good place to start.

Not really interested. I think the last time I seriously watched TV, except for a sporting event, was probably like 10 years ago. I helped polish up and rewrite some obscure TV things, which made watching things on TV necessary. I'll stick to my DVD collection of Casablanca and Sahara, not the bastardized Clive Cussler one. 

[Caveira]

9 minutes ago, Tripnsweep said:

Not really interested. I think the last time I seriously watched TV, except for a sporting event, was probably like 10 years ago. I helped polish up and rewrite some obscure TV things, which made watching things on TV necessary. I'll stick to my DVD collection of Casablanca and Sahara, not the bastardized Clive Cussler one. 

Thanks.  You already volunteered you don’t watch tv.  We were having fun….    

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

1 hour ago, PortaJohn said:

The Wire was special because it was basically a documentary.  You had a police reporter and a former police officer writing the script and stories.  They just changed some names around and voila, a masterpiece.  The character Roland is based on Ed Burns history with the police force and his later work  teaching in the Baltimore school district

The best man from my wedding is a retired cop from a medium sized but high crime city.  Said "The Wire" got the whole hoppers/corner boys/ etc culture perfect.

[headshuck]

I’ve enjoyed all on the list, but missed out on The Wire when it was on Netflix. Might have to spend some $$$

I’m in the middle of Six Feet Under. Every episode seems like a family train wreck but it’s so addicting.

[Caveira]

3 minutes ago, headshuck said:

I’ve enjoyed all on the list, but missed out on The Wire when it was on Netflix. Might have to spend some $$$

I’m in the middle of Six Feet Under. Every episode seems like a family train wreck but it’s so addicting.

Google says max Hulu … I didn’t look (verify) for the wire and a few others

six feet under is good too.  

[Tripnsweep]

1 hour ago, Caveira said:

Thanks.  You already volunteered you don’t watch tv.  We were having fun….    

Quiet you. 

[Caveira]

17 minutes ago, Tripnsweep said:

Quiet you. 

At least you’re contributing in a positive way.  

[Bigbrog]

I haven't ever watched the Wire but after reading these posts I am definitely going to check it out!

[Bigbrog]

I also have a couple rules in life...never trust someone in a tunic nor someone who claims they don't ever watch tv....

[Bigbrog]

Man are people complete whackadoodles and have backwards thought processes.  Luigi Mangione arrives at courthouse as hundreds of protesters gather outside to show support for alleged killer

 

[Danny Deck]

For fans of The Wire, I recommend David Simon's (creator and showrunner) books Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and The Corner. Both have scenes that go directly into The Wire. Homicide was also adapted on its own into the NBC series that's finally streaming on Peacock, and The Corner was made into a miniseries on HBO, but I think it's only uploaded to Youtube. 

I cannot get into Breaking Bad. I've watched the first season twice and both times I've thought "I'm supposed to watch these characters I despise become worse people?" Pass.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

5 minutes ago, Danny Deck said:

For fans of The Wire, I recommend David Simon's (creator and showrunner) books Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and The Corner. Both have scenes that go directly into The Wire. Homicide was also adapted on its own into the NBC series that's finally streaming on Peacock, and The Corner was made into a miniseries on HBO, but I think it's only uploaded to Youtube. 

 

The "Munch-verse"

I enjoyed "The Deuce" on HBO as well, although it is pretty depressing.  Some of the same creators as "the Wire.".  A lot of the same actors.  There are fan theories that Avon Barksdale is alluded to in the show. 

[Wrestleknownothing]

1 hour ago, Danny Deck said:

For fans of The Wire, I recommend David Simon's (creator and showrunner) books Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and The Corner. Both have scenes that go directly into The Wire. Homicide was also adapted on its own into the NBC series that's finally streaming on Peacock, and The Corner was made into a miniseries on HBO, but I think it's only uploaded to Youtube. 

I cannot get into Breaking Bad. I've watched the first season twice and both times I've thought "I'm supposed to watch these characters I despise become worse people?" Pass.

That is what Klosterman said made Breaking Bad unique among the four along with The Wire, Mad Men, and The Sopranos. A strong case can be made that in the latter three the characters are products of their environment that, to some extent lack agency, but in Breaking Bad it is a conscious decision by Walter White. That was certainly reinforced in the finale.

[PortaJohn]

24 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

That is what Klosterman said made Breaking Bad unique among the four along with The Wire, Mad Men, and The Sopranos. A strong case can be made that in the latter three the characters are products of their environment that, to some extent lack agency, but in Breaking Bad it is a conscious decision by Walter White. That was certainly reinforced in the finale.

I love how in Better Call Saul they slowly peeled the onion on Howard Hamlin's character to show how twisted you as the viewer are in ever disliking him.  The light bulb is supposed to turn on in acknowledging Jimmy's distorted view of Howard

[Danny Deck]

2 hours ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

That is what Klosterman said made Breaking Bad unique among the four along with The Wire, Mad Men, and The Sopranos. A strong case can be made that in the latter three the characters are products of their environment that, to some extent lack agency, but in Breaking Bad it is a conscious decision by Walter White. That was certainly reinforced in the finale.

For sure. I just don't find him or any of the supporting characters likeable. 

This is somewhat on topic for this thread as well. I've thought about how they say it's impossible to make a truly anti-war film because at some point you do have to show someone being heroic, I think it's also impossible to make an anti-sociopath television show or movie as well. 

I'm victim of it as much as anyone. The Godfather (especially Part 2) is about Michael becoming and acting as a monster, but when he tells Senator Geary, "You can have my answer now, if you like. My final offer is this: nothing." I'm still like hell yeah, get him Michael. Even though I know that by the end he has murdered his own brother, and so many other people.

This scene from Goodfellas is De Niro deciding to kill everyone involved in the Lufthansa heist and he might as well be Satan in it, but still I'm like damn he looks cool and it's gotta be done. 

So now we have all of these people brought up on this media and hidden behind their screens and so they get to play act at it themselves. And it just gets reinforced that you will get likes for pretending like this is a moral way to act. Most will never actually do something in the real world, but it's still a bad stew for people to live in.