So I don't know about you, but I am a HUGE fan of the HBO series the Wire. I haven't written about it much because I was watching it mostly in the month that I was not present here due to personal issues. Ironically, the Wire ended up being the reason I had to move out of my apartment because the not-so-well man living below me thought that the Wire was my actual life which was how he justified that I was trying to have him killed. Yes, he thought I was running a drug cartel out of my house and he knew about it and I was therefore trying to have him killed. But I digress.
I have so many favorite Wire characters that it is hard to rank them. But I have to say for those of you who have seen season 4, Felicia Pearson, who plays Snoop is awesome. She is one of the most terrifying characters ever written into television. Interestingly, she is not a trained actor but was discovered by Omar at a bar (you can here about it on fresh air) and was one of the local Baltimorians included in the HBO hit. Somehow my homies at Wiretap were able to get an interview with her which is apparently very hard to do. Check it out here.
Depictions of sexuality and gender are very complicated in this HBO series. From gay gang bangers to lesbian cops you get the full gamut of gender and sexual identities. I think the honesty of Felicia's character and the subtle ways she resembles other women's lives is notable to say the least. Her character is not a common one and therefore I think makes it groundbreaking.
Who is your favorite Wire character? (You can have more than one, hehe).
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Awesome! Felicia seems like such a badass, and I love the story of how she came to be on the show.
Favorite character? That's a tough one. I did love Kima Greggs. I thought she was a strong (lesbian) female character with a lot of integrity.
I also liked Lester Freamon because he was so mild-mannered and gutsy.
I sympathized so much with Bubbles and just wanted to see him overcome his hardships and succeed in life.
And then, of course, there's Baltimore's Robin Hood, Omar Little. :)
Lester Freamon, definitely, and Daniels -- I'm looking forward to seeing more Lance Reddick as the scary airline lawyer on Lost. Stringer and McNulty if we're going for pure hawtness.
Omar is an easy choice, but a good one, too.
Bubbles!!! Lester's consistantly amusing, too.
I haven't seen Season 5, but I always look forward to appearances by Proposition Joe. Just the way he pronounces "do" (deee-ewwww) is worth the price of HBO alone.
Not only that, but the actor (Robert Chew) runs a drama school in Baltimore and was instrumental in training a lot of the locals, some of whom got recurring roles.
Bubbles -- I think in a way he is the show's central character (especially if you've seen season 5)
The Wire is indisputably the single greatest achievement in the history of television. Hands down. It's just such an amazing piece of work. My favorite moment from this last season has to be the scene when Dukie and Michael say goodbye to each other in the car.
So heartbreaking, and so incredibly well-acted by those two kids. The look on Duquan's face alone was one of the most powerful moments I've ever seen in television or movies.
My favorite characters are probably Bodie, Dukie, and Randy. But there are at least 30 major recurring characters on that show, so it's really hard to pick favorites.
Cutty, Bunny, Namond and Michael, of course Omar and Chris & Snoop. If I try to go on listing my favorites I'll end up naming every single character. It's just that good.
It's fucking disgraceful that these actors don't get recognized more for these roles and it's even more infuriating that many of them probably will never get a chance to top these performances just because Hollywood has so little respect for black actors.
Thanks for linking to this interview.
I'm with you: there isn't a poorly drawn or acted character in the entire show-- it's practically Shakespearean in its depth-- but for me personally, Michael K. Williams' Omar takes the cake, followed closely by Michael Potts' Brother Mouzone.
I totally love Brother Mouzone. I love when he was like, "you forgot to get me the Nation!"
Omar is everyone's favorite. I actually really like Avon and Stringer.
I like them all. I also LOVE McNulty and Kima. And Lester is so awesome, he is the man. But I gotta also give love to Bunk. And the youth from Season 4. . .
OK, I lose, I can't pick one I like more than the other.
Omar's comin'!
YES! The moment has come. A combination of my two favourite things: Feministing and The Wire.
I was willing this to happen, altough I was fairly sure it wouldn't go the way I had planned (snoop and keema discussing the highpoints of this weeks' feministing roundup). I have to side with McNulty. He's an idiot really but he's from my hometown of Sheffield in the UK. Is it really obvious he's putting on an American accent? I can't tell!
You lucky people have season 5 already. Season 4 only just came out on DVD in England. poop.
I haven't gotten that far in the series yet, but now I can't wait to see season four!
My favorite character (for all the wrong reasons) is definitely McNulty. He's just so damn bad ass and gorgeous. But I also love Kima, Bubbles. and Brother Mouzone, for sure.
Omar, Bubbles, Cutty, and Wee Bey on the street.
Bunk and Landsman among the police.
And obviously Norman and Clay Davis in the Hall.
Special shout out to my boy Stringer Bell, R.I.P.
"ronically, the Wire ended up being the reason I had to move out of my apartment because the not-so-well man living below me thought that the Wire was my actual life which was how he justified that I was trying to have him killed. Yes, he thought I was running a drug cartel out of my house and he knew about it and I was therefore trying to have him killed. But I digress."
WTF?!
Meanwhile, I don't have HBO but I heard The Wire is good even before reading this post. :)
I'm a native Baltimorean and have not seen a single episode of The Wire. I am deeply ashamed of this!
I could talk about The Wire all day. In fact there are many days where I only talked about The Wire.
I love the Bunk. And shiiiiiiiiiiit I love Clay Davis too, just for amusement. And I especially love Season 4, which is the most brilliant, captivating television I have ever seen. Using the kids and the school system as a platform to demonstrate how both systems (schools, govt, police) and individuals (teachers, police, etc) can both impact lives and change outcomes for real people was just fucking brilliant.
I am so sad without the Wire. I've started watching Season 1 from Netflix.
Omar, Bubbles & Kima! such a great show!