F

Flavorwire

The Wire

Comedy

Watch Funny or Die’s ‘The Wire: The Musical’

By Judy Berman on

You know you have to watch The Wire sooner or later, like every other politically progressive fan of quality television. It’s basically a social responsibility. But every time you’re just about to take the plunge, some other, inferior but more fun-sounding show beckons to you. How do you live with the guilt? Well, now you don’t have to, because Funny or Die has created The Wire: The Musical, a 90-minute song-and-dance extravaganza — OK, a four-minute trailer for a 90-minute song-and-dance extravaganza — that condenses all five seasons into one entertaining spectacle. The hilarious clip stars none other than Omar himself, Michael K. Williams, along with a slew of other The Wire stars and features songs with such lyrics as, “There are complex problems / Inherent in the bureaucratic institutions of the state / But there’s no one to blame / It’s a vast array of personal interests that conflict in a way that undermines the overall system.” Watch it below, and laugh harder at The Wire than you ever thought possible. … Read More

Television

The Best Quotes From Maxim’s Oral History of ‘The Wire’

By Emily Temple on

Believe it or not, today marks the tenth anniversary of the first episode of HBO’s phenomenal crime series The Wire, which in case you hadn’t heard, is famous for its hyperrealistic portrayal of urban life and excellent storytelling. To commemorate the date, Kottke tipped us off to this excellent (and massive) discussion over at Maxim, featuring input from everyone from creator David Simon to casting director Alexa Fogel to the actors who played your favorite (and most hated) characters. The entire article is well worth a read, but in case you’re in a time crunch, we’ve distilled a few of our favorite segments after the jump. … Read More

Television

Exclusive Supercut: The Wisdom of Our TV Mothers

By Michelle Rafferty on

If there’s one thing moms love to give, it’s advice. This Mother’s Day we’re repaying the gift by celebrating the pantheon of great (and famously not-so-great) TV mothers and the wisdom they’ve bestowed over the years, on topics ranging from defeatism and birth control to gender equality and community chip bowls/showers. In our Mother’s Day supercut, you’ll also learn about the perilous nature of back-talk, taking a joke too far, and listening to Betty Draper. We hope you’ll tell us about the television mothers you’re most thankful for in the comments, because lord knows they don’t hear it enough. … Read More

Pop Culture

The Fictional 99%: 10 of Pop Culture's Poorest Characters

By Emily Temple on

Earlier this week, Forbes released its annual list of the 15 richest fictional characters, topped by Tolkien’s legendary dragon Smaug and featuring other one percenters like Tywin Lannister, Tony Stark and Robert Crawley. Well, that’s all very well and good, but the list got us to thinking about the other end of the stick — the poorest fictional characters across pop culture, from street urchins to hobos to a very special monster who lives in a trash can. Click through to check out our list, and since we obviously couldn’t hit them all, let us know if we’ve missed your favorite impoverished fictional figure in the comments. … Read More

Web

David Simon Has a Blog, Is Ambivalent About Blogs

By Judy Berman on

That’s right, fans: your favorite highbrow showrunner has launched a blog called The Audacity of Despair. David Simon revolutionized TV with The Wire, so we can only imagine that his blogosphere debut means it’s time for the rest of us to up our game. Although he’s professed that nothing he writes on his… Read More

Television

Watch a Fascinating Video Essay on ‘The Wire’s’ Visual Style

By Judy Berman on

As even its most casual viewers know, The Wire is not like other TV shows. In fact, from its subject matter to the way David Simon and his writers tell stories, just about everything about it is distinct. But, as Erlend Lavik discusses in the remarkably thorough video essay below, its visual style has garnered much less discussion than those more widely praised elements. He goes on to dissect the show’s minimalist aesthetic, its unusual framing, the way it uses depth of field, and more, relating each aspect of its style to his observation that ”one of the most refreshing things about The Wire is that you don’t feel like you’re being condescended to.” Fans of the series who’ve got a lunch hour to kill could do much worse than devoting 36 minutes to Lavik’s thoughtful analysis. Watch it after the jump. … Read More

Television

Watch a PSA on Spoilers Featuring Your Favorite TV Stars

By Judy Berman on

So, you missed last night’s The Walking Dead. No worries — it’s waiting for you at home, thanks to the magic of DVR. You half-ass your way through the work day, fantasizing about the moment when you’ll be able to pour yourself a beer and settle in on the couch for an hour zombie fun… and then, just as you’re leaving the office, some insensitive moron corners you to geek out about the show. You try to explain that you haven’t seen the newest episode yet, but before you can get a word in, he’s spilled a major plot point and effectively ruined the viewing experience you’ve spent the entire day anticipating. Freaking spoilers, right?

Thankfully, College Humor has created some spoiler rules in a new video featuring the stars of TV’s most spoiler-prone shows — Dexter, True Blood, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, and, of course, The Walking Dead. We heartily co-sign (especially the part about seeking information online at your own risk), and recommend you send the video to the chronic blabbermouth in your life. … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds In Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we watched a a 340-ton boulder go on tour. We adored these vintage photos of cats all dressed up. We wanted to rush to this 24-hour cupcake ATM for reinforcements. We listened to Slavoj Žižek talk about The Wire, because who wouldn’t. We were impressed with … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds In Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we wanted to play with these wind-up toys based on characters from The Wire. We loved this giant set of gifs created from Oscar loser reaction shots. We found out that the melon cat ‘do is the new helmet hair trend. We uncovered the… Read More

Television

TV Cops You Wouldn’t Want Solving Your Crime

By Judy Berman on

On TV, as in life, there are good cops and bad cops. But, to paraphrase Tolstoy for the millionth time, while most of the good cops we see on primetime are fairly interchangeable fair, valiant types, every bad cop is incompetent, corrupt, or otherwise dysfunctional in his own way. Sometimes that’s just the way the character is written; other times, confusing writing or direction turns officers who are supposed to be heroes into bumbling fools. After the jump, inspired by Grimm‘s unintentionally dense detectives, we round up TV cops you would never want to have on your case. … Read More