It's Baltimore gentlemen...

November 19, 2009 12:48 PM

The Wire - 100 Greatest Quotes (SLYT) (NSFW)
posted by fearfulsymmetry (102 comments total)

In fairness, about 17 of them are "shiiiiiiiiiiiit."

As it should be.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:51 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I can't watch it even though I want to, as I'm putting off the 5th Season until I'm ready, which will be never, because I don't want to be done with The Wire.
posted by Brainy at 12:51 PM on November 19, 2009 [6 favorites]

What me worry?
posted by Mike Mongo at 12:51 PM on November 19, 2009

All my favorite Wire quotes are still in this scene.
posted by rokusan at 12:51 PM on November 19, 2009 [11 favorites]

rokusan, that's the scene that took me from "Shit, I'm so confused, what's going on?" to "OMG I need to watch 3 episodes every night."
posted by oinopaponton at 12:55 PM on November 19, 2009

Needs more that bit when McNulty's singing the Pogues when he crashes the car.
posted by fire&wings at 12:58 PM on November 19, 2009

Is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?
posted by Joe Beese at 1:01 PM on November 19, 2009 [8 favorites]

For my money, Sgt. Landsman had some of the best lines. Is he even in this?
posted by steef at 1:03 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

"I gotta ask you, if every time snot boogie grabbed the money and run away, why'd you even let him in the game?"

"What?"

"If snot boogie always stole the money why'd you let him play?"

"You got to. This America, man."
posted by dortmunder at 1:07 PM on November 19, 2009 [7 favorites]

I'm putting off the 5th Season until I'm ready, which will be never, because I don't want to be done with The Wire.

My advice. Never watch it.

Oh, don't get me wrong. It was entertaining, and some quality television, but it felt out of touch and inaccurate, and no where near lives up to the promise of the first four.

Side note: Three characters/monsters have ever scared me. That prince Valiant looking haircut dude from "No Country for Old Men," The Judge from Cormac McCathy's "Blood Meridian," and the black killer girl in the Wire. Man, she's something else.
posted by cjorgensen at 1:11 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

She also has a name - Snoop.
posted by billysumday at 1:14 PM on November 19, 2009

Yeah, oinopaponton. It's not just a joke: that's an amazing scene.

Exhibit A for my imaginary film school course on visual storytelling.
posted by rokusan at 1:18 PM on November 19, 2009

I have reimagined season 5 as a series of instant coffee commercials.

And found it an improvement.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 1:20 PM on November 19, 2009

I thought Season 5 had its moments, and Gus was one of my favorite characters really..

I need budget lines, in case anybody's threatening to commit an act of daily journalism.
posted by citron at 1:21 PM on November 19, 2009

"Let me ask you something... where do you guys get those hats with the sideways brims? Every time I go into the store they only have 'em facing forward."
posted by bondcliff at 1:21 PM on November 19, 2009 [10 favorites]

I liked the fifth season just fine, actually. Better than the final season of any of the other "big drama" serieseseses that I can think of.
posted by rokusan at 1:24 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh, don't get me wrong. It was entertaining, and some quality television, but it felt out of touch and inaccurate, and no where near lives up to the promise of the first four.

That's not enough of an excuse to miss the completion of Omar and Bubble's multi-season story arcs. Definitely watch it.
posted by eyeballkid at 1:25 PM on November 19, 2009 [9 favorites]

Just started watching season 4. I've waited this long for the same reason Brainy has-- I'll be sad when I've finished it. So should I watch this? Are there any big spoilers?
posted by Kronoss at 1:25 PM on November 19, 2009

I strongly disagree with cjorgensen. Watch it, and watch it soon so you don't have spoilers ruin something for you. It may not be as good as the other seasons, but the newspaper aspect is interesting and a logical progression for the series. If nothing else, it grants a lot of closure. Of course not everything is or should be wrapped up in a tidy package, but I found it a pretty solid end to a phenomenal show.

And yes, Landsman is robbed in this clip! The scene in season one, when he goes into Rawls' office to complain about McNulty helped hook me. Wish it was on YouTube.

Also, this clip, at 1:10, is one of my favourite goofy moments from the show.
posted by picea at 1:28 PM on November 19, 2009

and the black killer girl in the Wire

"Snoop," played by Felicia Pearson.

It's worth remarking that the actress who played Snoop is also nicknamed Snoop, and much of her own life story -- starting with being a premature infant child of two drug addicts who almost didn't survive, to getting her GED while in prison for second-degree murder, to meeting Michael "Omar Little" Williams in a club and getting a part in The Wire, to starting philanthropic organizations to help at-risk youth -- could have been an excellent plot arc in the series itself.
posted by aught at 1:30 PM on November 19, 2009 [7 favorites]

And yeah, what eyeballkid said, especially for Bubbles.
posted by picea at 1:30 PM on November 19, 2009

That's not enough of an excuse to miss the completion of Omar and Bubble's multi-season story arcs. Definitely watch it.

God, I loved Omar. One of my favorite TV characters of all time.
posted by rokusan at 1:31 PM on November 19, 2009

I would have liked to see Season 6, about the new Latino communities, but again: The Wire had one of the best "endings" I can remember, mainly because it went out with class.
posted by rokusan at 1:32 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Actually Snoop's real name is Felicia Pearson in the series as well.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 1:34 PM on November 19, 2009

That's not enough of an excuse to miss the completion of Omar and Bubble's multi-season story arcs. Definitely watch it.

This. And what brilliant completions they are!

Aside from that, saying "don't watch S5, it's not quite as good as the preceding ones" is akin to saying "don't bother having this orgasm, it will only be your second best ever".
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 1:37 PM on November 19, 2009 [12 favorites]

For my money, Sgt. Landsman had some of the best lines.

"For you I would suggest some pantsuits, perhaps muted in color, something to offset Detective Moreland's pinstripe lawyerly affectations and the brash tweedy impertinence of Detective Freamon."
posted by Electric Dragon at 1:38 PM on November 19, 2009 [12 favorites]

I'm with cjorgensen on season 5. It was fine, but a big letdown.

Gus was one of my favorite characters really..

I really like Clark Johnson and appreciate his contributions to the show behind the camera, but I have to file his character right here.
posted by yerfatma at 1:39 PM on November 19, 2009

I can't watch it even though I want to, as I'm putting off the 5th Season until I'm ready, which will be never, because I don't want to be done with The Wire.

I've watched the whole series four times and I'm still not done with it.
posted by The Deej at 1:43 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

Fuck, what I wouldn't give to see it again first time through. Third will have to do.

And indeed, the fact that Snoop was almost playing herself in the show was the same for a number of other actors on it, which makes the comments about the show being out of touch seem even more spurious. To me there's no debate about it being an honest and realistic show, but it's an argument I can't be bothered getting into.
posted by opsin at 1:44 PM on November 19, 2009

If Season 5 were the only season, it would have been hailed as one of the greatest miniseries in television history. If it was marginally less sublime than the earlier seasons, cry me a river.

Without any spoiler details, I can say that the fate of one of characters haunts me to this day.
posted by Joe Beese at 1:49 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

That's not enough of an excuse to miss the completion of Omar and Bubble's multi-season story arcs.

I didn't care for the newspaper setting (at all) but this is very true.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 1:50 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think

1. You never see a cop fire a gun in The Wire
2. You never hear Omar curse
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 1:50 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

For my money, Sgt. Landsman had some of the best lines.

Yeah I think Prop Joe could have a couple more too:

Fool, if it wasn’t for Sergei here, you and your cuz' both would be cadaverous motherfuckers
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:54 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well, I will just say this re. season five being out of touch and innacurate:

How realistically did Hamsterdam play out?
I think the reactions of the people surrounding Jimmy are accurate, and given the viewer is feeling the frustrations he has felt for some time now, there's that idea that while this is the end of the story, there's no way to change what had been going on for years. To Jimmy the irrational may have been appealing.
posted by opsin at 1:56 PM on November 19, 2009

Exhibit A for my imaginary film school course on visual storytelling.
posted by rokusan

I don't agree. Perhaps an imaginary mime school instead? Nothing in the scene transcends the level of 'characters indicating meaning with their faces and bodies.' It could easily be performed in a play. Great scene though.
posted by gonna get a dog at 1:56 PM on November 19, 2009

I'm still in season 4, and there's a line one kids says, when being interviewed by the sociologist, that came out as just a stream of "fuckin' fuck fuckers", generally, but contained the phrase, "I'd fuck his ass shut" (heavy emphasis on the word 'shut') which was totally new to me and is pretty much my favorite so far. Something about the brutality of it, when most of that type of "eff'ing eff that eff'ed up eff'er" type of cursing just sounds ridiculous to me.
posted by ServSci at 1:56 PM on November 19, 2009

I love the Wire, we just finished season five a few weeks back, and even though it hadn't quite the same oomph that the first four had, we still loved it like Jay Landsman loves food and porn. I miss it. What a great show. My husband put BSG on netflix as our replacement show, and I am not sure I can learn to love it after the Wire.
posted by msali at 1:56 PM on November 19, 2009

Goodnight moon
Goodnight stars
Goodnight po-pos
Goodnight fiends
Goodnight hoppers
Goodnight hustlers
Goodnight scammers
Goodnight to everybody
Goodnight to one and all.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:57 PM on November 19, 2009 [13 favorites]

Saying "What the fuck did I do?" in the McNulty cadence is a daily occurrence in our home, especially when we know exactly what the fuck we did and why our partner is taking umbrage at it.
posted by Shepherd at 1:58 PM on November 19, 2009 [9 favorites]

Aside from that, saying "don't watch S5, it's not quite as good as the preceding ones" is akin to saying "don't bother having this orgasm, it will only be your second best ever".

I'm not here to say Season 5 is all bad. It has its great moments, especially as has been commented upthread, regarding Bubbles. That said, McNulty's Season 5 plot line was the worst thing the show did. Worse than "McNulty fucks random women" interludes. Worse than the time I spent watching Season 2 trying to relearn how to tell white people apart. It was horribly implausible, and felt like it was taken from a far shittier show and grafted on to The Wire without much effort. Season Five is a lot more like having your fifth best orgasm ever, only someone keeps punching you in the face while you're trying to have it.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 2:05 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think

1. You never see a cop fire a gun in The Wire
2. You never hear Omar curse

I'm pretty sure you're wrong on both counts. Prez fires a gun at one point, at least, and Omar says (I believe) "Bird? Shit, Bubbles knows Bird." Though I might not have that quote exactly right.

I love this show so much. Omar, for sure, but also Stringer Bell... and everyone else.
posted by cider at 2:07 PM on November 19, 2009

Did I miss "I'm just a humble motherfucker with a big-ass dick?"
posted by middleclasstool at 2:07 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

Yeah, I was going to say the same, cider, but I'm not 100% sure. I also believe Omar says "shit", but never "fuck" or other swearwords.

However, Prez, now that I think about it, probably fired the gun off-screen and was only audible in the scene, which I think was from McNulty's perspective. This is all from recollection however, I wouldn't bet any real money on it.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:12 PM on November 19, 2009

Well, not from McNulty's perspective but showing him, not Prez.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:12 PM on November 19, 2009

No more apt than: "you'd rather live in shit than let the word see you work a shovel"
posted by MrMerlot at 2:13 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Googling that one to see where/who it's from, MrMerlot, I think I hit the mother lode.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:20 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Wire Blue: looks like the Guardian has turned its discussion with readers about the series into a book.

Sorry for the comment flood.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:23 PM on November 19, 2009

In the first season, Herc, Prez, and Carver get into a gunfight with people throwing things (and later shooting) at them from the towers.

And with the exception of Wallace and Bird, I don't think you ever saw any member of any gang from top to bottom using the drugs they sold.
posted by WolfDaddy at 2:26 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Well, Prez hit the boy in the eye with his gun, and I remember Carver pointing his at the windows looking for the source of the thrown objects. But I don't remember any of them actually firing.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:35 PM on November 19, 2009

D'Angelo uses in prison, season 2
posted by jpdoane at 2:44 PM on November 19, 2009

You see Cutty and the other two muscle guys snorting in the SUV while they are tracking the kid who's skimming money off the top for his girlfriend.
posted by ofthestrait at 2:44 PM on November 19, 2009

State's Atty. Ilene Nathan: Mr. Little, how does a man rob drug dealers for eight or nine years and live to tell about it?
Omar: Day at a time I suppose?
posted by Jakey at 2:49 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

...the black killer girl in the Wire. Man, she's something else.

Snoop is great. The little bit of the intro where they show her, backlit in the crappy playground at night, is a peek into the abyss.

"Hell, if you can't win the war on drugs in a prison, where the hell you gonna win it?" is a great line but I guess it's not a major character speaking it.

I also love "In my neck of the woods, it's a jungle out there".
posted by fleacircus at 2:54 PM on November 19, 2009

She also has a name - Snoop.

And I would have used the name if I'd remembered it. The dude in No Country probably has a name, and I am sure The Judge has a name other than that as well. It doesn't matter to the story for me to know this, anymore than I need to know Dracula's full name or who he was based on for him to be scary.

And indeed, the fact that Snoop was almost playing herself in the show was the same for a number of other actors on it, which makes the comments about the show being out of touch seem even more spurious.

I'm only talking season five, and then only because from my experience it was way off. I don't have any experience with dock workers or drug dealers or smugglers or big city cops. I do know newspapers and computers, so when the details don't ring true it's glaring. You find me one journalist that that says this is how it currently is in his newsroom and I'll take it back. I could list the inaccuracies all day, but I already have a blog.

And yes, I watched season 5, I liked it, but it was disappointing when compared to the previous 4 seasons. The original comment was from someone reluctant to watch the 5th because he wanted to keep the magic of the series alive. I'm saying having a neat bow on it and an unsatisfying conclusion is going to cause tears. People can argue that season 5 is fine, great TV, and as good as the first 4, but the general consensus disagrees. (It would be interesting to see if DVD sales support this.)

I strongly disagree with cjorgensen. Watch it, and watch it soon so you don't have spoilers ruin something for you. It may not be as good as the other seasons, but the newspaper aspect is interesting and a logical progression for the series.

I had to stay away from this site when I started watching it. Certain threads anyway. I think the newspaper was the place to go as well, but the "lifted from the headlines" plot was the Jason Blair fiasco, which was already feeling dated. They just don't do rim editing set ups like that anymore. There was a complete failure to address the internet in any way other than a handful of throw away dialog lines, when pretty much every paper has a focus on internet, and many journalist start there. The technology was way behind (the computers on desks looked way too old). The journalist were about as technically savvy as my dad. In a day-and-age when every reporter has an official blog there for sure wasn't any mention of these. There was pretty much no mobile journalism (mojos). The was a complete lack of video. There was no examination of the paper as a whole. Sure there were layoffs, but no day to day integration of the News staff with advertising, pressmen, etc. No meetings of the editorial boards or focus groups. It was like this paper was produced with magic. I would have been happy had there been Classified reps smoking on the docks. They were only putting out the one paper (most papers have all kinds of publications).

Again, I can go on all day, or just go on a tour sometime and see for yourself. Again, I enjoyed it, and letting this get in the way of the story telling is like getting mad at "House" for not being medically accurate.
posted by cjorgensen at 2:57 PM on November 19, 2009

I know this is entirely the wrong approach to take, but I find Snoop strangely adorable. She's one of my favorite characters in the show, and the little snippets of her enthusiasm over the nail gun and her conversations with Chris (especially the short one about buying some toys for his kid) just really endeared her too me.
posted by emperor.seamus at 3:01 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

> I know this is entirely the wrong approach to take, but I find Snoop strangely adorable. She's one of my favorite characters in the show...

Jesus H. Christ. I watched all five seasons and until I read through this thread I thought Snoop was a guy. A small, somewhat effeminate guy, but still...a guy.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:40 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

Now I wanna watch The Wire's five seasons all over again.

Happy now, bitch?
posted by bwg at 3:51 PM on November 19, 2009

Season 5 was not as good as previous 4, agreed. The newspaper storyline never took off for me, in large part because the characters never developed - the asshole reporter was an asshole from the start; we didn't see is slow fall from grace and the reasons and pressures behind it that would've made it interesting - in the same way the evolving storylines around the 4 boys of season 4 left each of them in a place that was understandable. The newsroom was full of characters who didn't develop, just stayed the same.

That said, it was still very good television, and the last episode was a top notch conclusion for the series. Seeing the storylines for Bubs and Omar conclude was very satisfying.

For two weeks after we watched the finale, I walked around the house saying "What the fuck am I going to watch now?", knowing that it will be a long time before I see a show that delivers the same impact as The Wire did. Sure, I can watch it again, but I would give a great deal to be able to watch it again for the first time.
posted by never used baby shoes at 3:59 PM on November 19, 2009

Joe Beese:

Without any spoiler details, I can say that the fate of one of characters haunts me to this day.

Can't say I know for sure who you're talking about and I won't bring up names either, but for me seeing this one character's last smile, turned hollow and tragically deceitful, that gets me every time.

I introduced my father to the series, watched the first couple of episodes with him and insisted that while it's slow-moving it really does get going. At about 11pm that night I answer my phone: "You bastard!" He hadn't been able to stop watching and had got through the whole season in one sitting. Brilliant, brilliant show.
posted by dumbland at 4:21 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

anymore than I need to know Dracula's full name

It's Jimmy. Jimmy Dracula.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:22 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

"I'm just a humble motherfucker with a big-ass dick"

I think I've found my username if I win the 100K raffle.
posted by bondcliff at 4:31 PM on November 19, 2009

"He mean Lexus, but he ain't know it."
posted by box at 5:06 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

"I'm just a humble motherfucker with a big-ass dick"

Talk about critical hyphen-placement.
posted by rokusan at 5:35 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. Nice effort, but sadly lacking in terms of many of my favorites.

For my money, almost everything Norman Wilson says is gold. It's like they took an entire Greek chorus and rolled it up into one man.
posted by halcyon_daze at 7:13 PM on November 19, 2009

Rokusan, I didn't even have to look up your link as I KNEW it had to be that scene. BEST SCENE in the series.
I love Snoop [but she needed subtitles for this Australian viewer]. You know, she says in her autobio that she was still running a corner when she started work on The Wire.
After watching this series, I can't concentrate on anything that has staged interiors or dialogue that 'takes turns'. Mad Men couldn't come close.
posted by honey-barbara at 7:45 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Worse than "McNulty fucks random women" interludes.

Oh come on, this one was legendary.

And although this wasn't a line, the scene where Daniels tears up a Polaroid in the interrogation room was the one that drew me into the series.
posted by A dead Quaker at 7:51 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

hat said, McNulty's Season 5 plot line was the worst thing the show did.

It was insane, which was the point after 4 seasons of the crap he'd dealt with. EVERYONE go corrupted by the system, even the hero.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:22 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Bunk had some lines on that show that had me on the floor peeing my pan ts. Need to find those.

It's just sick how great the writing was on The Wire.

"Ya juke the stats...."
posted by Skygazer at 8:32 PM on November 19, 2009

I could never pick a Greatest Album of All Time or Greatest Movie but it's an objective fact in my mind that The Wire is the Greatest TV Show of All Time.
posted by saul wright at 9:13 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I introduced my father to the series...At about 11pm that night I answer my phone: "You bastard!"
posted by dumbland at 4:21 PM on November 19

Did something similar with my friend who wouldn't believe me that he needed to watch the show. Finally, I just went into my Netflix account, changed my shipping address to his name and address and sent "myself" (him) disc 1 of season 1—that was all it took to get him hooked.
posted by blueberry at 9:17 PM on November 19, 2009

Meh. Most of those weren't very memorable if you ask me. Though I do like the show, it wasn't for the dialogue as much as it was the plotting and the acting.

If I knew how to do this dvd shit I'd do it with Deadwood, but it'd be an hour long:

Every day takes figuring out again how to fuckin' live.
Custer was a cunt.
I was not born to crush my own kind.
This is a grip I'm familiar with.
Act averse to foul language and partial to fruity teas.
You hurted me.
Tell your god to ready for blood.
"I don't want my getting fucked to put others to inconvenience."
"I'll not be insulted in my own room." "Where shall we go for me to do it?"
San Francisco cocksucker!
Sixty-seven minutes until my luck changes for fuckin' ever.
Yesterday I occasioned to fuck a woman... and that seems to have thrown me unawares into a fuckin' spasm of sex interest. Which I fuckin' pray will be brief.
Leave your demons to god and trust your pain to me.
"Your proposal is thoughtful, but I'm afraid I lack the qualities that minority participations require... a vulgar man would ask, before proceeding any further, if you wish for him to produce his jackknife and make of himself a capon before you... your proposal offends completely. It mistakes my nature absolutely! ... You are reckless, madam. You indulge yourself."
God rest the souls of that poor family... and pussy's half price next fifteen minutes.
He come at me with his foreign gibberish.
"Now, you wait, until he translates from ape. ... Look at him. Gritting his teeth and holding onto his fuckin' nose. ... Ain't the purest form of nigger logic. He runs. He blames the white man. And then he comes back and treats 'em like dirt. ... Why don't you start jumpin' up and down and pounding your chest and murder a few dozen lice."
"What happened to me in Utica and every other fuckin' place I've ever been in my fuckin' life. The white man bears the nigger's weight around his neck like a fuckin' albatross. And people still ask, 'Why is he so bent over? And why can he barely fuckin' walk?'"
We all get our portion. We don't need to draw it to us.
Those that doubt me... suck cock by choice.
Close the door, Jane. It's nippy on my twat!
I am not the fine man you take me for.
On my order, Lee will burn this building, mutilating you before, during or after, as I specify, or when he chooses unless I forbid.
Get a fucking haircut. Looks like your mother fucked a monkey.
"How stupid do you think I am?" "I don't know; I just met you."
When I say, "Go fuck yourself, Sheriff," will you put that down to drunkenness or a high estimate of your athleticism?
Don't I yearn for the days when a draw across the throat made fucking resolution.
Could you have been born, Richardson? And not egg-hatched as I've always assumed? Did your mother hover over you, snaggle-toothed and doting as you now hover over me?
I have been recently engaged in complicated negotiations with niggers, who equal any other creature walking upright at being able to fuck themselves up!
The exact type malicious cocksucker tars every fuckin' drunk with his brush.
"That ain't gonna raise your popularity with your fellow white people." "Question I wake to in the morning and pass out with at night: What's my popularity with my fellow white people?"
Do not put unauthorized cinnamon on the goddamn meeting table!
Tell the whores if their legs ain't in the air, they'd better be off their asses!
If he hadn't meant me to wag it, Sir, why would the Lord give me a tail?
We don't get even. We get dead.
The top of my to-do list every morning, and every day gets away from me.
Damn it, Richardson! You're too fuckin' ugly to be sneakin' up on people!
Loopy fucking cunt.
For outright stupidity, the whole fucking trial goes shoulder to shoulder with that cocksucker Custer's thinking when he went over that ridge.
You might, Dan, want to learn how to indicate interest in a girl other than murdering another person.
I don't trust you as far as I could th'ow you, but I enjoy the way you lie.
Allow me a moment's silence Mr Hearst, sir, I'm having a digestive crisis and must focus on repressing it's expression.
You can't cut the throat of every cocksucker whose character it would improve.
Wash your fuckin' mouth. You got seven kinds of cock breath.
Oh, I see you've got your big fucking knife there. And hid somewhere on your person you've probably got some pussified shooting instrument. But I am good at first impressions, and you are a fucking cunt! And I doubt you've fought many men!
Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair, or fucking beatings. The world ends when you're dead! Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man and give some back.
"I will profane your fucking remains, E.B." "Not my remains, Al." "Gabriel's trumpet will produce you from the ass of a pig."
I see as much misery outta them movin' to justify theirselves as them that set out to do harm.
"What kind of man have I become?" "I don't know. The day ain't fucking over."
"I would see to those others pro bono." "I know what that means. Prove to me you do."
You might try it sometimes with your prick on the outside of your pants.
Close your fuckin' store, 'cause being ready for me'll take care of your wakin' hours and you'd better have someone to hand the task off to when you close your fuckin' eyes.
Puberty may bring you to understand, what we take for mother love is really murderous hatred and a desire for revenge.
Shall I exhale out my ass?!
"He'll often hold Amateur Nights. I been to several. Guy farted it seems near an hour." "Don't sound like no amateur."
Wrestle the fucking future to the ground.
Past hope. Past kindness or consideration. Past justice. Past satisfaction. Past warmth or cold or comfort. Past love. But past surprise? What an endlessly unfolding tedium life would then become.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 9:17 PM on November 19, 2009

They missed:
Cheese: Omar had this one chick pullin' guns out her pussy. That shit was unseemly, yo.
posted by SouthCNorthNY at 9:58 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

Jesus H. Christ. I watched all five seasons and until I read through this thread I thought Snoop was a guy. A small, somewhat effeminate guy, but still...a guy.

Yeah, me too. Clear up to the scene where one of the cop characters is reconstructing a street shooting and says something like, "And the girl stood here." That's when I readjusted my whole reality (and got even more scared).

And to the Australian guy wanting subtitles for Snoop...fuck, I'm American and I couldn't understand half what she said. She still gives me the hebejebes though.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:53 PM on November 19, 2009

Australian Gal cjorgenson... :-)
posted by honey-barbara at 5:01 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

EVERYONE go corrupted by the system, even the hero.

Much as I love/ loved McNulty, what I loved about The Wire was that he was explicitly not the hero (to me). No one is. They're people.
posted by yerfatma at 6:30 AM on November 20, 2009

@You Should See the Other Guy

You missed the best one, "Corruption won't never breathe stinky on my bicycle!"
posted by organic at 6:48 AM on November 20, 2009

Snoop is great. The little bit of the intro where they show her, backlit in the crappy playground at night, is a peek into the abyss.

(Do not click this link if you're not through season 5) Snoop's final line, "How my hair look, Mike?" and the way she's framed in the car window is one of the greatest moments of the series.
posted by gladly at 7:03 AM on November 20, 2009

Much as I love/ loved McNulty, what I loved about The Wire was that he was explicitly not the hero (to me).

Lead character, main star, call it what you like, he was character who most closely fit that role. That he eventually succumbs to temptation and becomes a cog of the system in his attempt to defeat it while doing good is, to me, a good look at how easy it is for a person to cross the line.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:07 AM on November 20, 2009

Sheeeeeeee-it. You could make another 10 minute movie with another 100 quotes, and it would be just as good as this one. Feel me?
posted by daveje at 7:16 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

"Look at that bow-legged motherfucker. I made him walk like that." —Bunk
posted by steef at 7:39 AM on November 20, 2009

Not enough Prop Joe, not enough by far.
posted by jadepearl at 7:55 AM on November 20, 2009

Det. William Moreland: You seem awfully happy today.
Detective: I got laid last night.
Det. William Moreland: Oh yeah? Your asshole still hurt?
posted by BullaFoloney at 8:08 AM on November 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

The line that has stayed with me the longest is when Snoop says: How my hair look, Mike?
posted by TorontoSandy at 8:59 AM on November 20, 2009

Only notable omission: Any mention of Hamsterdam.

Clearly, I need to watch the whole series again. I love that show so much, my laptop is named Stringer Bell. Because it's all business.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:45 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

yerfatma - In a vacuum I suppose you can say that Gus has the trappings of the "magical negro" character. But does that same stereotype even apply when the vast majority of characters in the show are also black? Gus is certainly the most saintly of characters but I always assumed the stereotype applied when they were A) one of the only black characters, B) had abilities that defied the world they lived in and C) served in aid to a white protagonist.

Gus just seems more like a stand in for an idealized notion of what journalism used to be. In many ways he is the most one-note character in the show but I wouldn't go so far as to say his prortrayal is in some way racist.
posted by Sandor Clegane at 1:08 PM on November 20, 2009

I always thought Gus was a bit of a Mary-Sue for David Simon; one of the reasons he's so one note.

When I re-watched the whole series again this summer (courtesy of the BBC showing 3 or so eps a week) series V made much more sense, esp the motivations of McNulty (he'd tried toeing the line and it had got him nowhere, he blamed himself for Bodie's death and he fell of the wagon hard... a lot which I did'nt pick up the first time around).

It was also interesting to see Stringer Bell in a totally different light given I knew where his character arc was going to lead him 'Not hard enough for this right here and maybe, just maybe, not smart enough for them'. Marlow too.

Of course the big problem with The Wire is that it's not only best television series I've ever seen, but probably the best I will ever see. But I think I've come to terms with that. Well just about.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:50 PM on November 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

One could probably also do this a couple times over with my other favorite TV show: Freaks and Geeks although it only had one season to shine.
posted by wobh at 7:21 PM on November 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

Not enough Slim Charles.
posted by Mid at 7:59 PM on November 20, 2009

grapefruitmoon: Clearly, I need to watch the whole series again. I love that show so much, my laptop is named Stringer Bell. Because it's all business.

And what quick progress you made! :)

Congrats, sincerely.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:14 PM on November 20, 2009

The Wire was great, but having grown up in Baltimore and the city's craziness up close, the picture it painted up the city and it's organizations were horrifyingly close to home and bleak.

However, the wife is forever thankful for scenes of naked Omar, so it wasn't all bad I guess.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:36 PM on November 20, 2009

I don't know which is creepier, that there is a list of comments chronicling my journey through The Wire or that gnfti actually bothered to find and link to them.

Yeah, went through it pretty quick - it's the only show in the history of EVER that 'moonMan and I have liked equally, so we were in "Two discs at a time from Netflix at least one episode per night" kind of mode. It was intense.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:30 AM on November 21, 2009

"Two discs at a time from Netflix at least one episode per night"

We did two or three episodes a night, with sometimes 4 or 5 on weekends. It was incredibly gripping and intense.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:25 AM on November 21, 2009

We did two or three episodes a night,

We definitely would have done this, if not for the fact that I am an old man who needs to be in bed by 10. Two episodes was our max, due to time constraints.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:29 AM on November 21, 2009

gfm, I only remembered because I got a worried email from you when I made this post about the word "SPOILERS" in the [mi] showing up in the RSS feed. (There were no actual spoilers in the post itself.) I don't normally keep tabs on what people are saying about The Wire on Metafilter, although occasionally when someone badmouths the show I will find out where they live, ring their doorbell and then punch them in the face.

I couldn't possibly do more than three episodes a night -- my first run through the series was DVDs and downloads, and it took me about two months, 1-3 eps per day I guess. Then I watched the BBC TV run (3 eps/week Mon, Tue, Wed) and was amazed by just how much I missed the first time around.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 1:30 PM on November 21, 2009

My favorite scene is still the one where McNulty and Gus(?) are trying to find a bullet or reconstruction a murder and for 5 minutes they say nothing but "fuck," yet they are one step away from telepathic.
posted by cjorgensen at 5:43 PM on November 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

McNulty and Gus(?) are trying to find a bullet

BUNK. HIS NAME IS BUNK! How can you forget Bunk?!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:35 AM on November 22, 2009

McNulty and Gus(?) are trying to find a bullet

You're riding the boat.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:27 AM on November 22, 2009 [2 favorites]

Heh! It's been like 3 years since I watched these.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:28 AM on November 22, 2009

Love the show so hard. We just started season 5 and are lamenting that it'll soon be over. My confessions: I also thought Snoop was a guy the first few times I saw her; I read some online commentary on the shows and that was how I found out who she was. Also: subtitles. I am not proud to be such a lame white cracker that I don't always understand what they're saying, but I get so much more out of the show when I turn on closed captioning. Keeping my fingers crossed that Bubbles, of all of them, makes it to the end alive.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 11:55 AM on November 22, 2009

In the final episode of season Five when Bubbles has begun to clean up but is haunted with grief and guilt, his Narcotics Anonymous sponser, played with compassion and depth by the excellent Steve Earle, gives him this quote by Kafka and Bubbles reads it out loud:

“You can hold back from the suffering of the world, you have free permission to do so, and it is in accordance with your nature. But perhaps the holding back is the one suffering you could have avoided.”

It's a beautiful line. One that made me think long and hard, although I'm not sure I fully understand it.
posted by Skygazer at 2:20 PM on November 22, 2009

No shame in subtitles - I used them with the Wire and with the BBC Office; I missed a lot without them. The only problem is that sometimes I think the subtitles can take away from the acting because the subtitle can interfere with the timing of delivery -- e.g., you "read" the punchline of some dialog before the actor speaks it.
posted by Mid at 8:27 AM on November 23, 2009

The Wire - The Other 100 Greatest Quotes (NSFW)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:24 AM on December 8, 2009