 Fans of “The Wire” are no doubt smiling right now. Even though tonight’s episode marks the last time we’ll ever see McNulty in the doghouse, listen to Landsman berate his fellow officers, or even hear Clay Davis say “Shiiit,” I’m more than content with the way things ended. In fact, you could even say David Simon and Co. hit a homerun with the 95-minute finale, addressing all the loose ends and delivering a gift-wrapped ending that you just don’t see in season finales these days.
Lester relays the info to McNulty, who’s busy trying to wrap up his Red Ribbon Killer investigation, and together they map out a gameplan for the future. As it stands, the two aren’t exactly in trouble, and aside from being forced out of actual police work for the rest of their careers, they probably won’t even face a grand jury hearing either. Still, that doesn’t exactly help with McNulty’s guilt when he discovers that a copycat killer is on the prowl, murdering homeless men and tying white (not red) ribbons to their wrists. Surprisingly, McNulty is quick to solve the crime, and though Rawls would love to pin all of the homeless killings on the culprit (a delusional homeless man himself), McNulty is adamant that he only be charged for the last two murders. Though none of the higher-ups are especially pleased with McNulty and Lester, you’ve got to credit the latter for digging up dirt on Marlo’s lawyer, Levy. Without it, it looked like Marlo would not only be dismissed from his charges, but that Carcetti and the entire BPD would be exposed for McNulty’s big white (or is it red?) lie. Instead, Pearlman uses the information against Levy, scoring Chris a life sentence for all of the vacant murders, and Monk and Cheese up to 20 years for possession/intent to sell. Marlo, on the other hand, is given a slap on the wrist and a warning that if he ever traffics drugs again, he’ll be right back in jail. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: 6 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
With news of McNulty and Lester’s shenanigans finally reaching Carcetti at city hall, the governor hopeful is absolutely livid. It’s a lose-lose situation from where he’s standing, and in order to protect himself during the upcoming election, he agrees that burying the dirt is best. Daniels doesn’t necessarily agree, but he doesn’t really have a choice. Pearlman is tied to the wiretap, and if McNulty and Lestor go down, so does she. Of course, that doesn’t mean Pearlman is necessarily accepting of her position, and she makes sure Lester knows about it when they run into one another downtown.|
Ever since the Barksdale bust at the end of season three, there hasn’t been a whole lot of police work being done on “The Wire,” so it was a pleasant surprise to discover that the opening minutes of tonight’s episode featured the long-awaited takedown of the Stanfield crew. After the latest cell phone image shows an upcoming meet in one of the city’s most unpopulated areas, Lester is positive that this isn’t just a regular re-up, but rather the monthly re-supply between Marlo and his connect.
Meanwhile, as Lester’s $16 million drug bust gives new hope to Carcetti’s run for governor, McNulty is on the opposite side of all the congratulations. Not feeling like celebrating after being mocked by Landsman for his inability to catch the Red Ribbon Killer, McNulty continues to work on slowly letting the case go. Unfortunately, Greggs isn’t so forgiving, and after consulting with Carver, she heads to Daniels to narc on McNulty and Lester. Even Daniels is mildly surprised that McNulty would go so far to catch Marlo in the act, but it looks like he isn’t quite ready to let him back on the street either. And so he heads to the Evidence Room with Asst. D.A. Pearlman to conduct “evidence control” – which may or may not mean getting rid of the one thing that links McNulty’s serial killer to Lester’s wiretap. Of course, it may not matter now that Herc knows what really happened. After taking the risk to steal Marlo’s cell number from his boss’ rolodex, and then giving Carver that bullshit monologue about catching the bad guy, he’s now decided to go directly to his boss about how Lester really found out about Marlo’s operation. Doesn’t he realize the trouble he got into the last time he tried to take the fast track up the career ladder? Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: 6 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
Sending Sydnor and every other available detective to stake it out, Lester then goes to Daniels to fess up (sort of), claiming that they used hours from the Clay Davis case to work a tip about Marlo. Daniels greenlights the operation, and within minutes, Marlo is sitting in lockdown along with Chris (who’s also been served his murder warrant), Monk and Cheese – all of whom can’t seem to figure out who could have snitched. Marlo suggests Michael, but while on the way to a purported hit with Snoop, Michael realizes that he’s being set up, and quickly improvises – killing Snoop and getting the hell out of Dodge. On a related note, didn’t you love watching Lester dangle the phone and clock in Marlo’s face, almost as if to say “I’m smarter than you”? Classic.|
Let’s not beat around the bush: Omar Little is dead. Understandably, that’s going to piss off a large percentage of fans, but not exactly how you might think. You see, David Simon has already stated that Omar was never meant to play a major part in the series (in fact, he was only supposed to appear in a handful of episodes), and as such, I was wholly expecting his eventual demise. But at the hands of a three-foot corner boy? To use the term anti-climactic wouldn’t do it justice. Sure, the shot to the back of the head was pretty cool, but to see a badass like Omar taken down by some random pre-teen ranks right up there with the senseless drowning of Charlie in last year’s season finale of “Lost.” Still, it was bound to happen – just like Clay Davis’ acquittal the week before – and if nothing else, Omar’s death may just be the break McNulty needs to catch Marlo.
Following a trip with McNulty to the FBI in order to retrieve a criminal profile for the homeless serial killer, Greggs gets to work on paring through all the potential suspects. Embarrassed that Greggs would even be willing to waste so much time on a bullshit case, McNulty pulls her aside to tell her the truth. As you can imagine, Greggs doesn’t take the news very well, but McNulty is willing to stick it out for a couple more days – especially now that the mayor has granted him unlimited resources, including surveillance teams and rental cars with GPS. With Carver personally assigned to run point, the surveillance teams are working like a well-oiled machine. Unfortunately, they haven’t really resulted in any big breakthroughs. That is, until Sydnor makes one hell of an accidental discovery. While following one of Marlo’s men through an unfamiliar part of the city, he stops by the side of the road to check out his map. By pure luck and pure luck alone, he happens to realize that the clock images Marlo and Co. have been using for communication directly correlate to a book of Baltimore maps. Having officially cracked the code, Lester has not only made his first giant step towards building a case against Marlo, but has also uncovered the citywide monopoly he’s built between Monk on the Westside and Cheese on the Eastside. How exactly this will be used against Marlo is still uncertain, but with only two episodes left, we won’t have to wait very long to find out. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: 4 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
After helping Bunk fast track some lab work on his murder investigation (which, by the way, resulted in a warrant for Chris Parlo), Bunk decides to repay the favor by gifting McNulty a piece of paper he found on Omar’s body. The information doesn’t seem to be anything new (it’s mostly just names and designated hangouts for all of Marlo’s major players), but every little bit helps, right? Maybe not.|
Most hour-long dramas can cram an awful lot into 60 minutes (or even 44, with commercials), but no one does it better than “The Wire.” I only mention this because tonight’s episode was overwhelmingly unproductive. Sure, the major story arc inched a little closer to the finish line, but most of the other subplots seem to be stuck at a standstill. Bunk has come no closer to solving his vacant murders, Omar continues to kill/beat up Marlo’s crew (only to let some live in order to pass along a message to their boss), and despite a promise that the media would play an integral part in this season, we’ve seen very little development from within The Sun other than in Templeton’s involvement with McNulty’s case.
True, it was a genius move on Lester and McNulty’s part, but with mounting pressure from Landsman, and every other cop in the district looking for OT approval to work other cases, McNulty definitely wants this to be over sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, Lester isn’t any closer to cracking Marlo’s code after receiving the first image as he is after receiving the 50th. They’re all just pictures of clocks, and while each photo shows a different time, there doesn’t seem to be any method to the madness. Of course, if I were Lester , I’d make a quick trip to the local junior high and see what Prez thought. After all, wasn’t he the one who was at the center of cracking the Barksdale wiretap? It seems like a distinct possibility to me, and I can’t imagine that after acquitting Senator Clay Davis in what will surely go down as one of the most surprising (yet entertaining) developments of the show’s five-year run, that David Simon and Co. will let the other villain off the hook as well. Regrettably, history seems to indicate that Simon will deliver the more realistic ending, but if there was ever a time to ignore one’s values and reward your fanbase, this would be it. Mr. Simon, I truly hope you’re listening. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: 4 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
For the time being, however, it looks like that case will continue to dominate most of the season, with the only positive I could possibly draw being that when Marlo’s comeuppance finally does arrive (and it better), it’s going to be one hell of an episode. After faking a call to Templeton as the homeless serial killer, Lester and McNulty have finally gained the Mayor’s approval in all the overtime and surveillance they need. It was great to see how truly spooked Templeton was after realizing that all of his shady journalism tactics might have actually turned him into a real target, but I doubt McNulty appreciates the humor in the situation, since everyone (and I mean everyone, save for Bunk) in the BPD has been reassigned to a citywide search for the killer.|
It’s hard to imagine this season of “The Wire” becoming any more twisted, but alas, tonight’s episode upped the ante on the homeless serial killer case to the point where even McNulty is beginning to rethink the predicament he’s gotten himself into. With Carcetti’s harbor-side shopping mall getting little media coverage, the governor hopeful directed his attention to the ongoing investigation with a press conference that assured the local and national news affiliates that the city police would do whatever he takes to stop the murders. It was quite the speech, but as we know all too well, it meant very little in regards to getting anything done.
Leave it to Lester, then, to discover Marlo’s method of dealing over the cell phone just before hearing the bad news. As it goes, Marlo is using his phone for drug-related business, but instead of actually talking to his middlemen, he’s sending them photos. In order to catch him in the act, Lester needs access to a different kind of wiretap (one that would allow the interception of files), and believe it or not, McNulty actually has a plan. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
McNulty’s still only getting one detective to help, and Landsman has squashed his request for a surveillance crew yet again. Heck, he can’t even get a wire tap on Scott’s cell phone, since doing so would likely put his judge friend in hot water with The Sun. So, it seems like McNulty and Lester are back to square one – despite the fact that Sydnor has begrudgingly come onboard, if only to put Marlo away for good. McNulty can’t even dig up a fresh body anymore, since every homeless person that kicks the bucket is immediately bum rushed (no pun intended) by every cop in the city.|
We’ve already hit the midway point of the season, and as the many subplots continue to creep along, they’ve also finally begun to merge together into one cohesive story. McNulty’s serial killer remains the center of attention, and for good reason. After calling Alma with news about the killer’s most recent victims, the two meet to discuss the case in detail. McNulty is hesitant to disclose any information at first, but when Scott (who tags along) admits that juicier details would give the story better coverage, McNulty lets them in on the fact that his killer has been biting people in very inappropriate places.
After Marlo meets with Vondas to discuss the details of their new business venture, Vondas gives him a cell phone so that he’s easily reachable. Marlo then gives his lawyer the number in case of an emergency, and when Herc steals it from his boss’ rolodex, it winds up in Lester 's hands. Unfortunately, Lester 's bid for a wiretap doesn’t go well, so instead of calling it quits, he and McNulty plot a way to fudge the paperwork on a wiretap for the serial killer case, and instead use it for Marlo’s cell phone. Read more after the jump.Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: 3 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
That alone is enough to send the story to the front page, and within hours, Daniels is at the mayor’s office to speak with Carcetti about the investigation. It turns out Carcetti is a little bothered by the spotlight a high-profile serial killer could bring to the city, and so he lifts the OT cap for McNulty and one other detective to work the case. Unhappy with the lack of commitment from the mayor’s office, McNulty is left to figure out another way to get surveillance on Marlo and his crew. As it turns out, McNulty left it up to luck.|
As the title suggests, tonight’s episode was all about transitions – from expected promotions to unexpected (ahem) demotions – and the biggest of them all was Burrell’s resignation as Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department. Yep, you heard right. After a visit from Daniels assuring Burrell he had nothing to do (or knew nothing about) Carcetti’s plans to replace him, and another visit from Council President Campbell promising a pension and comfy gig if he leaves quietly, the grizzled vet officially threw in the towel. Of course, not before he entrusted Campbell with the dirt he’s got on Daniels – which may or may not affect Carcetti in the future.
For the time being, McNulty’s still searching for more bodies, but that should get a little easier over the next few weeks now that Lester 's old partner has agreed to give them a heads up on any victims that float his way. You can also count on Alma’s next article about McNulty’s killer hitting the front page; especially when dead homeless start popping up with teeth marks (Lester’s idea) all over their bodies. Sure, it’s sick and twisted, but it’s also pretty funny. Read more after the jump.Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
I can’t imagine it will, however, since this is the final season of the show, but if it were to go on, Campbell might just have exactly what she needs to deny Carcetti the Governor’s chair and replace him as Baltimore’s new mayor. Then again, if McNulty’s able to raise the profile on his fabricated serial killer, Carcetti will undoubtedly earn serious brownie points by claiming himself a man of the people, and by default, of the homeless population as well.|
I ended last week’s blog entry with a remark about how I hoped the Baltimore Sun scenes would begin fitting in to the main story arc sooner rather than later, and wouldn’t you know it, my wish came true, courtesy of Jimmy McNulty. Acting as a one-man revival of “Dexter” and “The Shield,” McNulty is currently breaking more laws than Bunk can count in his quest to create a serial killer that both the mayor’s office and the police department will actually pay attention to. Planning his killer around two details – homeless victims and red ribbons – McNulty goes back into the vault to find unsolved murders to would bend to his specifications. He discovers two, and makes it three when he plants evidence on the homeless man that he (re)killed last week.
Of course, that’s just one way The Sun has suddenly become integral to season five. Though the ongoing cutbacks will undoubtedly fuel the fire for the remaining journalists in the coming weeks, City Editor Gus has secured his place at the paper, and you can certainly see why. With friends like Norman (Carcetti’s right-hand man, in case you forgot), Gus is virtually indispensable, and he proves his worth when he squeezes some info out of Norman about Carcetti’s plans to axe Burrell and prep Daniels for the job. Whether or not Carcetti decides to give the temporary position to Rawls or Valchek remains to be seen, but what you can expect is that Burrell is going to put up a fight, and after butting heads with Carcetti later in the episode, his biggest ally could very well be Clay Davis. Shiiiiit, indeed. And finally, there’s Marlo. After visiting Vondas about a direct relationship with the Greek (and consequently getting turned down because his money was “dirty”), the Baltimore kingpin heads to Prop Joe for help cleaning his cash. Half of his investment is turned into clean bank money (for the Greek, of course), while the other half is transferred to an account in the Cayman Islands. Marlo doesn’t exactly understand the concept of a wire transfer, however, so he hops on a plane and heads south to check out his account in person. Meanwhile, Snoop and Chris hit a roadblock in their search for Omar, so instead, they just torture and kill his blind friend Butchie, therefore ensuring his return. As it turns out, Omar is currently living the sweet life on some unnamed island (whether or not it was the same island as Marlo’s bank is unclear), but it hardly matters now. Omar is back, and Marlo would be wise to muscle up. Filed under: TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and The Wire Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
Hoping to grab someone’s attention other than Bunk (Landsman just shoves it aside in a hilarious ten-second scene), McNulty takes the info to Alma at The Sun, who graciously accepts the lead after her last article (about murders, no less) got bumped from the front page in place of a skydiving article. No joke. Unfortunately, her latest story is buried in the back of the Metro section, and just when it looks like McNulty is about to give up, Lester Freamon surfaces to convince McNulty otherwise – suggesting he sensationalize his murder (i.e. give him a menacing nickname, etc.) in order to garner more press.
 In these dark days, with the writer’s strike continuing along unabated, new episodes of scripted television are getting harder and harder to come by. For the most part, our favorite series have either run all of the episodes that were finished before the strike or, if their respective networks are really stingy, they’re still holding on to one or two episodes, to dole out as the need arises. There are, however, a few exceptions to that rule, and we’re here to spotlight those series that still have at least half a dozen new episodes on deck. We’re not going to pretend that we here at Bullz-Eye are actually fans of every single one of these shows, but we are fans of scripted comedy and drama, and as steadfast supporters of the writers in this strike, we’d like to think that watching even the worst of these shows is still better than having reality series like “America’s Top Dog” or “Farmer Takes a Wife” shoved down our throats. Start programming your TiVo by clicking here. Filed under: TV and News and TV Comedies and TV Dramas and TV Action and Lost and External Entertainment and External TV and The Wire and Jericho and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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The second episode of season five has come and gone, and you can officially color me worried. Not for the quality of the show, mind you – because that’s always remained first-class – but of the questionably slow pacing. True, previous seasons of “The Wire” have always taken four or five episodes before jumping into the meat of the story, but with three less episodes than usual this time around, doesn’t it seem like David Simon and Co. should be getting a move on? It seemed like that may have been the case with tonight’s show, but when all was said and done, I still felt like that there was something still missing from the big picture.
What Marlo doesn’t realize, however, is that a lack of OT pay hasn’t stopped Lester from bringing the drug-slinging murderer down, and within days, he’s back on stakeout duty. When he discovers that Marlo, Chris and Snoop are already back to their sloppy tactics, Lester enlists the help of McNulty for the case, but without any financial backing from the BPD, the pair go looking for help elsewhere, including the local Feds. Unfortunately, not even the FBI wants anything to do with the hanging 22 murders (nor any other federal task force, for that matter). Bunk and Lester claim that it’s because most of the dead bodies are blacks, so what does McNulty do? He creates an imaginary serial killer by “strangling” an already dead (white) male with the hope of gaining the mayor’s attention. Will it do the trick, or just land McNulty in some serious Vic Mackey-type trouble? There’s plenty more to talk about – like how Carcetti’s mayoral decisions seem to favor his upcoming run for governor (though is that a bad thing?), how Bubbles is clean but doesn’t seem happy about it, or how the Baltimore Sun scenes still don’t fit in with the main story arc (seriously, who cares about that whiny reporter, Scott?) – but it simply isn’t worth spending time on until it actually begins to matter. Here’s hoping it’s sooner rather than later. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
With Lester and Sydnor working on the Clay Davis case (who, as we all saw, is so worried about the upcoming Grand Jury hearing that he never once uttered his trademark, confidence-boosting phrase), and the rest of the Major Crimes detail back on Homicide, Marlo has been given the all-clear to get back to business (i.e. killing people). That includes hunting down Omar (who has yet to make his season five debut) and going behind Prop Joe’s back to make a deal with the Greeks. And who other than Avon Barksdale to help the kid out? Sure, Marlo declared war on the Barksdale clan when he was on the rise, but we all know how Avon feels about Prop Joe, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s chosen to side with a fellow West-sider.|
The premiere of the fifth and final season of “The Wire” is finally upon us, and while it doesn’t look to be as good as last year, the show continues to trump just about everything you see on TV. The biggest problem with the first episode was that not a lot really happened. It served more as a building block for the next nine episodes than anything else, and while very few new ideas were presented, we now have a good idea where Ed Burns and David Simon are going with their plans to interject the media into their stories.
As for the rest of Baltimore, things are pretty much the same since we last left them. Bunk is still playing tricks on street thugs (how that kid ever fell for the photo copier “lie detector” is beyond me), McNulty and Co. are back on Marlo, Bubbles is still clean (and apparently working for The Sun selling papers), and Carcetti’s busy juggling the city budget between the schools and police department. This hasn’t made the new mayor a very popular man, either, as cops continue to work overtime without pay, and the Major Crimes detail is disbanded almost as quickly as it was formed. There have been some changes, albeit minor ones. Carver is now a Sergeant (and in charge of the West district), Herc’s working as an investigator for a criminal DA, and Dukie’s taken off corner duties in order to play nanny to Michael’s younger brother. Oh yeah, and McNulty’s drinking again. As if you didn’t see that coming. Here’s hoping he doesn’t screw over Beadie in the process, because she was one of my favorite characters from season two. I’m also patiently awaiting the return of Omar, Cutty, Randy, Namond and the countless others I’m forgetting about, but with only 9 episodes remaining, I can’t imagine their absence going on for much longer. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and External TV and The Wire Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
And since we’re on the subject, I might as well begin there. Simply put, I wasn’t very impressed with the Baltimore Sun scenes that dominated much of the second-half action last night, but I also wasn’t a very big proponent of the political subplot at the beginning of Year Four, either. There’s definitely a few things to like about the new setting – namely actor/director Clark Johnson as City Editor Gus Haynes – but I can’t imagine anything of real interest being drawn from the concept that the newspaper is in danger of being downsized. Whether that threat was just motivation for the writers to dig deeper into the city’s corruption or if it’ll play a bigger role later down the line remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s definitely important to the story.|
Given that the TV season generally runs from September to May, it always feels a little strange doing a year-end wrap-up of the best in television, since you end up bringing in bits and pieces from two separate seasons. Still, between the second half of the 2006 – 2007 season and the first half of the 2007 – 2008 season, we’ve certainly been given plenty of material to work with. Six of our most prolific TV writers have provided their opinions of both the best and the worst that the small screen has had to offer, and while they do occasionally concur on a show, it’s a safe bet that no two people on the Bullz-Eye staff have identical season pass lists on TiVo. Head over to the homepage by clicking here, but don’t forget to swing back by to offer your own opinions! Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and News and Reviews and TV Comedies and TV Dramas and TV Action and Lost and The Office and External Entertainment and External TV and The Wire and Heroes and Jericho and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi and Reality TV and Reaper and Journeyman and Friday Night Lights Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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NBC may not be King of the Nielsen Ratings just yet, but we know good television when we see it, and the Peacock has returned in full force with a dominating presence that includes the top three shows and five of the top six. HBO, on the other hand, is experiencing the opposite, with the departure of “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “Rome.” Add to that the fact that our list features a whopping 10 new entries — five of which are freshmen — and you’ve got one heck of a Power Rankings shakeup. Much of this has to do with so many shows being on hiatus until next year, but whatever the cause, it’s nice to see some much-needed change to a usually familiar lineup. And, hey, don’t miss the list of our favorite shows which are currently on hiatus (and are therefore ineligible for the Top-20), our farewell to “The Sopranos,” and our stable of Honorable Mentions. Check out the list here, then come back and let us know how we did…or if we missed any of your favorites! Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and News and Reviews and TV Comedies and TV Dramas and TV Action and Rome and Lost and South Park and Prison Break and The Office and 24 and The Shield and The Sopranos and Rescue Me and Deadwood and External Entertainment and External TV and The Wire and Heroes and Jericho and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi and Reaper and Journeyman and Friday Night Lights Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Since the dawn of creation — well, the creation of this feature, anyway — Jack Bauer sat atop Bullz-Eye.com’s TV Power Rankings, owning the #1 slot for better than a year and a half. Some would say it was only a matter of time, but now that it’s finally happened, the sudden fall from grace of Fox’s hit show “24″ is actually a lot more embarrassing than it is depressing. But the real-time thriller isn’t the only major shakeup in the winter 2007 edition of the rankings. HBO’s “The Wire” makes its grand (and, forgive us, long overdue) debut, while NBC experienced a big surge thanks to its fresh fall lineup. Of course, HBO still came out the big winner with five shows emerging in the Top 10 (four in the first six), proving once again that it pays to, well, pay for quality television. Here are a few entries from our list: 11. Scrubs (NBC): It shouldn’t surprise anyone to see that “Scrubs” has dropped so low in the rankings. Coming off one of the best years since its debut, expectations for the show were certainly higher than usual – especially when it was called up to the big leagues and given a spot in NBC’s highly coveted Must See TV lineup – but no one could have guessed that the sixth season would start out on such a sour note. Whether it was the accelerated progression of J.D. into adulthood (he’s got a baby on the way, with guest star Elizabeth Banks, no less) or Carla’s all-too-brief post-partum depression (a subplot added to accommodate Judy Reyes’ real-life hip injury), the first five episodes of the new season were particularly somber. Things were looking so bleak, in fact, that fans of the show were preparing to concede that the medical comedy was finally showing signs of wear, but with the much-publicized musical episode creatively rejuvenating everyone involved with the show, things are finally getting back on track. And as long as things remain this kooky and fresh (read: Kelso getting his own episode, or the Janitor using a stuffed rabbit as a salt and pepper shaker), we don’t see any reason why “Scrubs” won’t being making a triumphant return to the Top 5 in the very near future. ~Jason Zingale 17. Deadwood (HBO): Well, despite all the rumors, “Deadwood” isn’t quite dead…yet. Last year, HBO decided not to extend the options of the terrific ensemble cast, making a fourth full season unlikely, but the network and series creator David Milch agreed to produce two two-hour telefilms to wrap up the show’s loose ends. Season Three contained a myriad of intertwining storylines, but focused on the growing influence of businessman/asshole George Hearst, which put former adversaries Al Swearengen and Sheriff Seth Bullock in an unlikely alliance. “Deadwood” features stronger language than any other HBO show, and with “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” on the network’s roster, that’s saying a lot. The truth is that everything about the show – the language, the acting, the story, the sets and the costumes – is colorful, and whether or not HBO wants to admit it, they’re going to miss “Deadwood” once it’s gone for good. ~John Paulsen Check out the full list here. Filed under: TV and Rome and Lost and South Park and Prison Break and The Office and My Name Is Earl and 24 and The Shield and The Sopranos and Entourage and Deadwood and External Entertainment and External TV and The Wire and Heroes and Battlestar Galactica Comments: 9 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Wow. I have to say that I totally didn’t see that coming. Michael killing Bodie, that is, but it definitely helps with keeping Marlo the boss for the time being. It doesn’t really matter how many bodies Lestor finds now, because he only needs one to put Marlo away for good, and it looks like he’s finally going to get the real help he needs with the return of Keema and McNulty to Major Crimes. Of course, Landsman would much rather Lestor stop adding red names to their clearance rate, but now that Chris and Snoop have been picked up by the cops, their luck might finally improve. The return of McNulty is perhaps the bigger story, since fans have been clamoring for more of Dominic West since his unusual disappearance at the beginning of the season. Word is that he was off shooting the film “300” with Zack Snyder and will be back in full force for the final season. It certainly looks that way, anyhow, especially after finding out that he’s partly responsible for the death of Bodie, who was seen with McNulty by one of Marlo’s men. Of course, they didn’t really know that Bodie had agreed to snitch for McNulty, but their suspicions proved to not only be right, but it also set up Michael’s first kill. Now, Michael has been promoted, and has even been given his own corner to work. To make matters worse, Marlo looks ready to move in and take control of Prop Joe’s co-op. After the stash was stolen by Omar last week (who then deals it back to Joe), Marlo doesn’t seem to believe the story and asks for a meet with the supplier. I’m not sure if anyone else was expecting this, but I had a sinking feeling that the Greek wasn’t done doing business in the city of Baltimore, and it seems to be true. Paul-Ben Victor is back as the Greek’s right-hand man, and it’ll be interesting to see what position he plays in the eventual downfall of Marlo Stanfield. And in a twist of fate, it’s Duquan that seems to have hooked up with Michael as a corner boy, selling drugs instead of attending high school. I was almost certain that it would be Randy, since he’s so much like Stringer Bell, but he’s been thrown into a group home where everyone knows he’s a snitch. The future doesn’t look too bright for him. Then again, when has the future ever looked bright on “The Wire”? |
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The above quote perfectly describes the feeling I had before realizing that there was indeed going to be one more episode following this week’s, and the set-up couldn’t have been any better. Before I get into any specifics, I have to say that the opening scene had to be one of the best in the show’s history. Watching Snoop and Chris chase down Michael with guns in hand triggered a sudden state of confusion for me. What exactly did Michael do to warrant Marlo handing out a death sentence? Perhaps he found out about the diamond ring that Michael got off Officer Walker? Or maybe he’s just pissed off that his friend snitched about Lex. Actually, neither. Michael is being put through the usual regiment of training, and the guns in question are actually just paint guns. When I saw Chris get splattered with red, however, I was almost certain that Michael had just shot him. Then, it came to me. A very smart red herring by the writers. Anyways, now that Michael’s slowly being ushered in as part of Marlo’s new generation of thugs, the kid’s gotten downright brutal. He’s moved out of his mom’s place and isn’t acting the same. When Namond discovers that his Lt. (that little hoodrat named Kenard) ripped off his stash, he employs Michael’s help to get it back, but when Michael starts beating the shit out of the little kid, Namond runs for his life. Later on, Namond tries to regain his alpha status by teasing Duquan at Cutty’s gym, but Michael isn’t about to have any of it, and starts smacking (yes, open handed smacking) Namond in the face. Cutty forces Michael to leave and Namond falls to the ground crying. Oh, sweet justice. Meanwhile, the battle on the streets finally gets some much needed momentum with the actual uncovering of Lex’s body, but the higher ups don’t appreciate ‘ol Lestor adding another body to their piling heap of unsolved case loads. To make matters worse, Lestor is trying to get his detail back into gear, but Herc is forced to leave when he’s picked up by IAD, and Kima is plenty happy with homicide. It looks like Jim McNulty is ready to make his grand reentry, but we probably won’t see it actually happen until the next season. Still, none of this would have ever happened if it weren’t for Randy opening his big mouth, and he paid for it big time when his house was burned down by a bunch of Marlo’s thugs. Randy survived unscathed, but his foster mother wasn’t so lucky. And with Duquan now out of a home as well, it looks like both will be shacking up with Michael, who will no doubt convince them to join up with him and Marlo. To put it in “The Wire” terms, Michael is probably going to become the next Avon Barksdale, with Randy as his Stringer Bell. The comparisons make perfect sense, and they also have a very similar childhood friendship. And what of Duquan? Who knows, but there’s a very good chance that Prez might adopt him before long. At least, that’s what seems to be happening with the fourth member of their circle of friends, Namond, who will no doubt go to live with Bunny Colvin after that ugly scene with his mother. As usual, there’s plenty more that I could go on about – like Carcetti’s trip to D.C. to beg for education money, Omar’s impending takedown of Prop Joe and Marlo, or Bubble’s meaningless struggle to get clean – but that would only cheapen the more important events that took place tonight. One more week, and hopefully all of our questions will be answered. And because you know it’s going to happen, feel free to speculate on who you think won’t be lucky enough to stick around for the fifth and final season. |
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While the pull quotes that I use each week always have a profound explanation on the happenings of several characters in the episode, it couldn’t be any truer this time around for Proposition Joe. During his time on “The Wire,” Joe has become a service whore who picks his partners based on their ability to deliver profit and a safe haven from the law. Now that he’s introduced Omar to Marlo, however, his loyalties are once again about to change. Omar is out for blood (despite what he may have promised to Bunk), and he’s made a deal with Prop Joe to deliver Marlo right into his lap. The question is: what will Omar do once he comes face-to-face with his newest adversary? He seems to believe that he can settle things without resorting to violence, but does Omar know anything else? Mayor Carcetti is also plagued with some decisions of his own. After surprising the police department with pay raises and promises of change, Carcetti is approached by the black minister group about how he plans to deal with Herc’s wrongful search of the well-respected reverend. Looking to show the black community that he means business, while simultaneously protecting his new relationship with the BPD, Carcetti assigns Herc to Daniels, who’s recently been put in charge of CID and given complete carte blanche to do whatever he sees fit. After a sit-down with Rawls, Daniels decides to enlist Herc in sensitivity training, while at the same time getting Rawls to approve his reformation of the Major Crimes detail with whatever personnel changes he sees fit. This is, of course, before Rawls finds out that Daniels is being primed to take over as Commissioner. Lestor is put in charge of the revived operation, and in his first day alone, solves the case regarding Lex’s missing body. Of course, Lestor’s sudden discovery of Marlo’s body-hiding tactics will hardly matter if Omar gets to him first. I’d like to talk about more – like how Randy was beat up, how the boys retaliated against officer Walker, how that darn diamond ring exchanged hands yet again, or how Colvin’s pilot program is in danger of being terminated – but none of it seems all that important when compared to the more substantial plotlines. And with only one episode left, it’ll be interesting to see how Ed Burns and Co. manage to wrap things up. |
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As far as “The Wire” goes, this week’s episode was pretty uneventful. McNulty returned to work on some robbery case that was never really made clear, Prez continued to bitch and whine about the impending state tests, and Omar followed Marlo around some more. There were a few storylines that got a little more play time, however. Senator Davis showed up again to play the part of the governmental weasel, advising both Burrell and Carcetti about how to handle the other. I’m not really sure which side he’s on, but that seems to be the point. He’s got himself covered so that he profits no matter which way the boat tips, and that’s why he’s the character I’d most like to see get screwed by the end of the series. It nearly happened last season with Lestor’s subpoenas, and I can’t imagine he won’t run into some more trouble in the near future. Back on the streets, Herc goes to Bubble’s hideout to apologize for not showing up the other day, and for some reason feels that he’ll still receive the help he needs in finding the camera. Bubbs agrees, of course – and is even given a burner to call Herc the minute that leech comes around again – but wouldn’t you know it, when Bubbs does call, Herc is yet again too busy to take the call. As a result, Bubbs decides its best to screw Herc over by giving him false information about a recent Marlo drop. The tip leads Herc on a citywide hunt that concludes with him pulling over a church minister he believes to be delivering the latest package. Operating Western style, Herc treats the guy like a common thug, and will probably be reprimanded for doing so. Meanwhile, when Namond is picked up by Carver for slinging on the streets, he’s forced to call on his teacher, Colvin, for a favor. Colvin takes him into his own home for the night (supposedly because it’s better than sending him to prison for the night, where he would likely be raped), and believe it or not, Namond is actually a pretty stand-up kid. Of course, it isn’t long after that Colvin discovers the reason behind Namond’s bad behavior: his mother, who verbally berates him for not being man enough to spend the night in jail. It’s good to see that Namond can rely on Colvin as a sort of father figure, and it’ll be interesting to see how that relationship further develops. Speaking of father figures, Michael is more than ready to get rid of his. He points out his “problem” to Chris and Snoop, who guarantee to take care of it – especially after Chris more or less gets Michael to admit that the dude used to molest him. This seems to strike a note with Chris (maybe he had a rough childhood too, or was just always the bitch in jail?) because when they take Bug’s father down the alley to kill him, Chris goes apeshit on the dude and smashes his face into a pulp. The guy’s face is so physically destroyed that Snoop doesn’t even bother with all the usual steps and they just leave him for dead. We still don’t know what, exactly, Michael means to Marlo in the grand scheme of things, but it’s curious to note that Chris called him boss earlier in the episode. Is Michael being fast tracked to success, or was that just a manor of speaking? Also, now that Little Kevin’s been killed by Marlo, it looks like Slim Charles and Prop Joe are looking to make a move – they’ve just told Bodie what happened, and he’s not very pleased. |
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It hasn’t taken very long for Prez to make the obvious connection between the school system and the police department, but I think it’s absolutely outrageous that these kids are being forced to learn some form of language arts (the lowest-scoring portion of the upcoming state tests) in every single one of their classes. Doesn’t anyone realize the effects of overexposure? These kids are already sick and tired of the damn subject and it’s only the first week, so how do you think they’ll react during test day? Randy has figured out his own way to continue utilizing his math skills: candy. So much so that he’s convinced Prez to order bulk amounts online with his credit card with one exception: he’s paid in advance to confirming the order. It’s no problem for Randy, who quickly earns the necessary start-up cash by playing some dice in the alley on his way home from school. When Prez finds out, he’s not all too happy about Randy gambling…until he discovers that Randy was using math to win, that is. And speaking of the police department, it’s interesting to see how much Greggs’ life has changed since the end of season three. She’s no longer working on the streets (which is a major bummer for Bubbles, who could have used her help when he was getting his ass kicked), she’s making good money in Homicide, and she’s apparently paying child support for a baby she never even wanted. Note: Trust me, I know how bad that sounds. Meanwhile, the war on the streets begins to heat up with the release of Omar from prison, and Chris has got to be feeling a little vulnerable now that his recent homicide robbery might be coming back to bite him in the ass. That’s the least of their worries, really, since Marlo doesn’t even know he’s being watched by Omar, and though the stick-up man has promised Bunk that he won’t be behind any more killings, he never mentioned anything about having someone else do the dirty work. The bottom line: while it might be time to say farewell to our good friends Marlo, Chris and Snoop, it most certainly won’t be before they introduce Michael to life as a Baltimore soldier. Shame on Michael for going to Marlo for help with Bug’s father. Now he owes him, big time. Isn’t this the sort of thing that kept Michael from receiving handouts in the first place? Oh, and one more thing: who here things that Colvin’s “free dinner” treatment of the corner kids actually decelerated their progress? It seemed like they were completely broken after experiencing a nice meal at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, but when they returned to school, it seems that’s all they could talk about. Man, these kids are really messed up. |
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All hail Mayor Carcetti (snicker snicker). That seems to be the general attitude among the Baltimore police department when it’s announced that the mayor-elect will be making the rounds throughout the week. He’s not out to cause trouble, however, but rather to get a feel for how the department operates. Unfortunately, the answer is not very well at all, which takes us back to last week’s discussion about replacing Burrell. While it initially looked like Carcetti would be pulling Daniel all the way up from Major rank to that of Commissioner, the Mayor has instead chosen to promote Rawls to the top spot, with Daniels as his number two. That’s probably a smart choice (promoting Daniels so quickly might turn heads), but it doesn’t necessarily mean that he still won’t catch heat for canning Burrell and hiring a white cop. Carcetti’s decision doesn’t come without reasoning either. A change does need to be made, or the city is only going to continue to crumble. Heck, he doesn’t even know about half of the shit that’s currently going on in the department. Bunk has proven Omar’s innocence thanks to some grade-A stupidity from Andre, convenience store clerk, and Herc is catching heat for his recent miscue with Marlo at the train station. Herc could really care less, however, because he’s more interested in getting his surveillance camera back on one piece. He even goes all Western District on Marlo’s crew by poking around their hangout, smashing stereos and making empty threats. Marlo actually seems a bit irked by Herc’s guerilla tactics, so it’ll be interesting to see what develops between those two in the coming weeks. Will Marlo buckle under the pressure, take care of Herc himself, or will Herc go all Vic Mackey on us and get his hands dirty? It’d be nice to see Marlo unleash his top guns (Chris and Snoop) to dispose of Herc, if only because the gun-toting pair light up the screen every time they make an appearance, but he’s far too smart to know that killing a cop wouldn’t be the best thing for his future as the King of Baltimore. That doesn’t change the fact that Chris and Snoop (much like Omar) are some of the most interesting characters on the show, and this week we saw them schooling a new litter of recruits (in a slightly humorous sequence) and cleaning house on all of the New York boys who have come down to Baltimore to swipe up open corner territory. Chris and Snoop even get a little scare when he’s randomly pulled over by Herc (in an attempt to piss off Marlo even more), but never one to take risk, Chris promptly dumps their handguns and the nailgun. Smart man. On side note, Michael’s complicated home life was brought even further into focus this week when the unreliable “father” figure returned home to take back control. As of now, it looks like the dude’s really trying (i.e. helping Michael’s little brother with his math homework), but Michael still seems weary. |
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