The Wire producer and longtime Baltimore chronicler David Simon ripped into conspiracists spreading unfounded theories that today’s tragic and deadly collapse of the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could be a terrorist attack. Simon, a reporter for the Baltimore Sun before creating Homicide: Life On The Street, reserved a special ire for Marjorie Taylor Greene, […]
I envy your first watch. It’s an incredible show. Only one I personally rank a slight notch higher is Deadwood.
Agreed … cocksucker.
What about the shield?
IMHO the shield pales in comparison to the Wire. The wire is up there as one of my favorite shows of all time and I couldn’t really get into The Shield.
I had a tough time as well, I think it was the slow burn intro and the shaky camera work (that is actually technique). Try it again and it is most definitely some of the best television of all time. Right up there with breaking bad as well.
The Shield is very different. LA and Baltimore are very different culturally and it shows in the final product. The Shield also focuses on the one squad while The Wire is about the city of Baltimore. Of the two, I personally think The Shield is a little more cartoonish, so The Wire wins out, but The Shield is still excellent.
Yes it is different but so is Breaking Bad, Bojack Horseman, Futurama, etc. Shows/movies can be different and still be equal in quality.
I’m still going to say that The Shield is up there with the others in quality, regardless of the differing topics and story. I don’t want to watch the same movie or TV show over and over with a different cast and slightly different story line.
I’m not sure how this in any way contradicts what I said. I’m not saying only watch The Wire, I’m saying between The Wire and The Shield, having seen both, I prefer The Wire, but they’re also very different so it’s not a good comparison.
I’m always amazed at the lack of conversational ability these days.
You have a nice day now.
Never watched it. Do you consider it on the same level?
Most definitely.
Both shows are at the top but Deadwood’s dialogue has a deliberate rhythm to it that is unmatched. If you get on it’s wave length you’re in for a treat. I watch it at least once a year and never grow tired of it.
David Milch the creator details his thought process on the rhythm of the dialogue and the push back he got with use of obscenity here: https://youtu.be/F2qk7W8_KLE?si=LxeRNs2N_-kzKiGb&t=1196 (20:01) Once he’s done answering that question (around 29:00) i’d stop watching if you haven’t seen Deadwood as there are spoilers later in the talk.
Milch was wasted on TV, in a sense.
Right, I think he had a lot more in the tank that we never got to see.
For years I was upset that Deadwood never had a fourth season. When I learned more about Milch and listened to his recent memoir that came out in 2022 I was just glad those first 3 seasons made it to air.
Many people don’t survive all the drugs, family problems and a gambling addiction that he had going for him.
It would be cool to see the alternative universe where the other frat member becomes president or the one where Deadwood doesn’t get cancelled but this one could be a lot worse really.
Never heard Deadwood discussed anywhere. Will it challenge my Battlestar Galactica run?
Deadwood is better imo. But I don’t think Battlestar Galactica fans would necessarily agree.
Regardless, give it a shot!
Deadwood is the best written, most humane and complex drama I’ve seen on TV. Watch with subtitles because Milch is a genius and you don’t want to miss anything.
And you might still miss some things the first time but it makes rewatches even better. I rarely feel the desire to rewatch shows, even good ones, Deadwood is the exception.
Hell even the set is amazing because the background extras took their roles so seriously, listening to the commentary tracks the lead actors noted that the background extras/actors developed their own routines and really made the camp come to life.
It had more of a living history museum or renaissance fair vibe than that of a stale set. Everyone invovled with the project had passion for their role no matter how small.
BSG is a very different show but there might be some crossover between the fanbases. Deadwood is legacy HBO, the quality and depth of cast is on another level compared to what the scifi channel had at the time.
It’s also endlessly quotable, that’s one thing I miss about reddit is the small /r/Deadwood sub. You’ll see some general “cocksucka” quotes in the wild but that sub has multiple rewatches under their belt and uses the full range. I have to revist some posts there everytime I rewatch it.
Anyway, here’s one of my favorites from Wild Bill in S01E04: https://webm.red/view/cn5t.webm
Good ol’ Charlie Utter. 🥹
One of my favorite, underrated short scenes is Al singing alone in his bar:
https://youtu.be/umWu96AZcAU?si=VUIjEOqx3R1FLgfA
Deadwood is the closest a TV show has gotten to reading a rich, classic work of literature, to me. I’ve watched the entire series three times in about as many years.