tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31659752.post302943533899256870..comments2023-06-10T01:50:16.788-07:00Comments on More Than Fine: Why The Wire: Season Four Wasn't As Good As Everyone Says It WasUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31659752.post-89346420465594798192011-01-04T06:28:12.208-08:002011-01-04T06:28:12.208-08:00I prefered 4 to 3. I thought it was a more emotion...I prefered 4 to 3. I thought it was a more emotional series.Cuttynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31659752.post-27803968194274103652010-04-09T20:38:34.708-07:002010-04-09T20:38:34.708-07:00I agree with some of your comments, but I still th...I agree with some of your comments, but I still thought S4 was the best season. It had much more of a hopeful feel to it because of the new mayor and the initiative taken at the school. The first 3 seasons everyone was corrupt, the system was almost completely dysfunctional, and it was depressing. So I liked the change in tone and that might have helped me overlook some of the minor flaws you pointed out.<br /><br />I was fine with Cutty's story being cut short because I didn't really find it all that interesting once he made the transition from thug to coach. He didn't seem to have any impact with the kids, so there wasn't much of a story to build off of there.<br /><br />I was also fine with waiting to see what happens with Marlo because the discovery of the bodies was huge.<br /><br />The transformation with Michael was a bit of a stretch, but I bought it because he was always a little more mature and capable than the other kids, so it seems like he would be able to kill more easily. Still, I agree that there were other changes that should have been shown, like how you can kill people you know and the lack of morality it takes to do that. He seemed like he had more of a moral code than he ended up showing later on. They definitely could have done a better job with that.<br /><br />As for Wee Bay, who knows. The guy is doing hard time and maybe he's had time to reflect and think about his life. He might be a killer, but he cares for his son. I agree that Colvin could have done a better job with his speech, because saying Wee Bay's son isn't cut out for the streets could have been taken as an insult. But at the same time, maybe Wee Bay is smart enough to want something better for his son than what he had. Plus he seemed to have some respect for Colvin and willingness to listen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31659752.post-16461935000566269372008-08-21T08:25:00.000-07:002008-08-21T08:25:00.000-07:00I just finished Season 4 last night.So far it is m...I just finished Season 4 last night.<BR/><BR/>So far it is my favorite, but I agree with most of your criticisms.<BR/><BR/>I thought the endings for the kids was as tragic and random as real life allows. Namond gets lucky and Randy doesn't.<BR/><BR/>I was a little ambivalent about the change in Michael and I see I'm not alone. I see what they tried to do, setting him up with Marlo to off his foster-father (or whatever he was) but it just didn't fly.<BR/><BR/>Bodie though... I've never been bothered by a character on TV meeting his maker until that killing. At least he went down fighting, not on his knees in a vacant.<BR/><BR/>I have season 5, disc 1 waiting for me at home. 8)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31659752.post-75717203867712147722007-10-11T12:28:00.000-07:002007-10-11T12:28:00.000-07:00Here are my rankings... S1(all time classic), S3,...Here are my rankings... S1(all time classic), S3, S2, S4. I agree that season four was the worst. For a show to be based on reality which this one is, there are some questions that need answers. I agree with a previous poster the the first 10 eps of season four were great. But the last few kinda spoiled the season for me. 1) There is NO WAY that those guys would have just bought the dope back from Omar. NO WAY! Omar would have gotten mercked and they would have had to make it right with the connect (Greeks). 2) My favorite character in the show got mercked (Bodie). 3) I too believe that Namond's ending could have been better. I mean come on, Wee-Bey, letting Colvin adopt his son. LOL! Anyway still my fave show of all time. But there is NO WAY that I could rank this season above the others!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31659752.post-68813266070795152412007-03-29T06:34:00.000-07:002007-03-29T06:34:00.000-07:00well thought out review. however, i have to disag...well thought out review. however, i have to disagree with you on what you consider some of the weak points. <BR/><BR/>this episode basically demonstrates the parallels of life experiences of some of the characters introduced in season one. e.g. randy will become the bubbles of his generation (snitch who hustles), michael the avon (drug dealer with principles, boxer), namond the bunk (grew up in the hood, but not built for the game), and dukie, well, i'm not sure about him yet. <BR/><BR/>as for michael becoming a "cold-blooded killer," i'm not sure that is the intention of the writer. he seemed to be bothered by the murder, as evidenced in the scene where he was driven away. michael does not seem to be a marlo, chris, snoop, bird or wee bay type, but instead someone who is doing for his family in the only way he knows how, another parallel to avon. i suspect this is his initiation to the game, but he is not destined to be a hitter. he is a leader, which is recognized by all of those around him, marlo, chris and his peers. hope to see him in future story lines.<BR/><BR/>the marlo character is no exaggeration, just google prince miller and the supreme team. yes, supreme was the leader, but prince was the "marlo" who took over when he was locked up. there are plenty more like him in every big city in america. <BR/><BR/>anyway, very insightful. <BR/><BR/>Rafael Arias<BR/>rafaelarias74@msn.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31659752.post-15282137896625911672007-02-01T10:44:00.000-08:002007-02-01T10:44:00.000-08:00Hey great comments. I love to see insightful thing...Hey great comments. I love to see insightful things said about The Wire , good or bad, because I feel so passionately about it. I personally love the fourth season and although I can't rank the seasons and not disagree with myself later, the fourth is in the top 2 for me. However, I did find your points to be quite interesting. Some things I agree with are that it's a shame Cutty gets less screen time in the fourth season, his characterization is pushed aside a little. At the same time though Cutty's character is not as important as he was last season to the story that Simon is trying to tell. Last season Cutty was such an integral part of the season because he was one of the characters that represented the season's thesis topic, reform. Now that Cutty has settled into his role at the gym and has made his decisions regarding personal reform he no longer serves the story as integrally as before. I believe this is part of the reason he has less screen time. <br /> Which leads me to the fate of Bodie. Bodie, one of my all time favorite characters of the show, mostly because of JD William's amazing portrayal, also fits this season into the themes of the show. I think it's really important to realize that everything in the show in each season is there to reenforce an aspect of the theme or the ideas being discussed. I believe that David Simon is trying to get across the point that no matter what personal decisions someone has made or how far they've come, when they're living in a situation like many of the characters of the wire (Namond, Bodie, etc) there are outside influences out of your control that can sweep in out of nowhere and ruin things you've spent so much time building. I believe this is why Simon ends the season the way he does. It's surprising which character is 'rescued' but thats because he's saying that chance plays such a key role in what happens to these kids. And that's such a travesty. In the same way that chance plays a role in Namonds fate, it also does so in Bodies. After four years of being a 'good soldier' and almost never really screwing up (minus the turf war he started in season 2) Bodie was still brought down by freak circumstances that were pretty much out of his control. It's the same with the shooting of Cutty at the end of the season. No matter how much these characters try to take control of their own fates, there're so many negative influences and circumstances that weigh down on them. And that's just my two cents. <br /><br />As for the lack of police work this season, I love the way the show reinvents itself every season and #4 was no different. I'm glad that Simon chose to give us a break from what was beginning to become formuliac (police identifies target, beauacracy prevents police work, police eventually do enough good work to get a wire, etc etc...) The show is constantly keeping us on our toes. I LOVE IT.<br />If you'd like to respond/discuss this further, email me at dwilson1@ithaca.edu. I could talk about this show for hours.StringerBellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16981480945727559586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31659752.post-26040644333194149732007-01-03T19:31:00.000-08:002007-01-03T19:31:00.000-08:00hey thx for your comment. great post! very well ...hey thx for your comment. great post! very well thought out. I'd like to address some more specific point later but don't have the time right now.<br /><br />let me say first of all that S4 is my favorite season, (i would prolly rank S4 - S2 - S3 - S1 in order of favorites) and the main reason is the four new kids, who I thought were of an incredible high level, acting-wise and writing-wise.<br /><br />my instant reaction would be that you are mainly dissatisfied with the final episodes of the season and how they resolved certain story lines. i tend to agree here but the first 10 episodes or so were extremely brilliant. the whole take on the education system mixed with a totally failed and corrupt police and government just blew me away. i have never ever seen a police show where the police for a whole season were totally incapable of even making a case. at one moment it felt even weird the title of the show was still "the wire" because it was all completely gone. Plus the balls to make your main police characters (especially mcnulty) almost sidecharacters and total bystanders was phenomenal.<br /><br />I agree with a few of your points (the bodie & the cutty resolve) but I bought the four kids angle competely. especially randy's end was so tragic, i couldn't have been more touched by a tv show this year. <br /><br />The specific scene writing was for me what mostly won me over though. it all started with snoop buying that nailgun. the complexity, subtext and dramatic irony in that scene is so immense it overshadows some of the better stuff i liked in the previous seasons (for example i do think the barksdales were a more interesting police antagonist but i think this is exactly what S4 tries to evades, the whole police-gangsters fight, and instead focusing on kids trapped in a system that is totally crumbling, sometimes ending good for some (namond), bad for the others).noctoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16700629479344178991noreply@blogger.com