Remote Access voters love their TV, but that adoration doesn’t necessarily extend to many shows on the new fall slate.

Asked “How many new TV series will you watch at least one episode of this fall?”, the answer that got the most responses was “1 or 2,” with seven tallies.

This was my vote, for what it’s worth, because it takes a lot for me to sacrifice another hour or two for new series, so the pitches have to be particularly impressive or unique.

The lone new series I’m making a point to watch this fall is “Fringe,” and that’s primarily due to Lance Reddick, the actor known to faithful viewers of “The Wire” as Cedric Daniels. Other than that, nothing new on network TV interests me and I have about eight active shows that I keep up with on a regular or semi-regular basis.

Besides, I spend plenty of time doing things other than watch TV. That doesn’t make me a snob; my frequent use of semicolons does.

That’s due in part to the writers’ strike limiting production on pilots, resulting in networks having fewer choices from which to pick.

However, five votes were tallied among those who plan to watch at least one ep of “3 or4” new series, and an additional five were from RA readers who will watch “5 or more” series this fall. Hope you clear enough space on your DVRs, people.

A couple of voters said they’d watch no new series due to a lack of time and another voter said they’d watch none due to a lack of interest.

The next Remote Access poll is the brainchild of fellow Accessory Brian Howard: “What series from the last decade have you never seen but most want to catch up with?” My answer is “Lost,” because much like “The Wire,” which I have seen and love, the complex plots of the ABC drama and voluminous previous seasons are what keep me from tuning in.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking, and here’s my reply: This poll requires the honor code. We know how many of you RA readers watch “Jericho,” “The Wire” and “Deadwood,” so please don’t vote for your favorite show just to tilt the balance if you’ve seen one or more episodes. Play fair, kids.

Emmy nominations were announced this morning, and the good news: Comedies like “30 Rock” and “The Office” are in the mix for best series, as well they should.

The bad: I swear the only reason “The Wire” isn’t among the best drama nominees is because lazy Emmy voters—i.e. most of them—never saw the show. Despite a phenomenal fifth and final season, it’s only up for one writing award. Its only other nomination, also for writing, was back in 2005.

Geez. Where’s the acting love for Lance Riddick (Daniels), Clarke Johnson (Gus), Michael K. Williams (Omar) or Sonja Sohn (Kima)? The only rationale for no acting nominations I can think of is that so many talented “Wire” actors have split the vote over the last five seasons.

“John Adams” led the Emmy nomination pack with 23, and “Mad Men” (17) and “Damages” (16) were the first basic-cable series to be up for top drama.

I’m sure you’ll hear more Emmy commentary from many of us in the weeks to come before the Sept. 21 broadcast, but here’s the crucial info you need to know.

Drama: “Boston Legal,” “Damages,” “Dexter,” “House,” “Lost” and “Mad Men.”

Comedy: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Entourage,” “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “Two and a Half Men.”

Best actor—drama: Gabriel Byrne (“In Treatment”), Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”), Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Hugh Laurie (“House”) and James Spader (“Boston Legal”).

Best actress—drama: Glenn Close (“Damages”), Sally Field (“Brothers and Sisters”), Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), Holly Hunter (“Saving Grace”) and Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”).

Best actor—comedy: Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”), Steve Carell (“The Office”), Lee Pace (“Pushing Daisies”), Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”) and Charlie Sheen (“Two and a Half Men”).

Best actress—comedy: Christina Applegate (“Samantha Who?”), America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”), Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) and Mary-Louise Parker (“Weeds”).

And here’s the complete list of 2008 Emmy nominees.

UPDATE: More good news/bad news, this time in the category of best supporting actress in a comedy series. A long-overdue and well-deserved nod has been given to “Saturday Night Live’s” Amy Poehler, but how in the world is Jenna Fischer snubbed for her work on “The Office”? Instead, the category includes Jean Smart for “Samantha Who?” and Holland Taylor on “Two and a Half Men.” As Poehler herself on Weekend Update would say, “Really?!”

(Photo courtesy of Fox.)

Distorted by waves of heat rising from the scorched desert sand, five military vehicles in the distance roll in a single line before the four outer vehicles swerve toward the center, creating the illusion of one single hulking, united mass of machinery on the horizon.

One minute into David Simon and Ed Burns’ seven-part HBO miniseries “Generation Kill,” the audience already had a metaphor to mull.

But how does the tandem responsible “The Wire” follow with anything comparable to one of the best-reviewed TV dramas in history? Well, the simple answer is they don’t.

Don’t get me wrong: “Generation Kill” has the snappy dialogue, gritty tension and intriguing characters you’d expect from a Blown Deadline production. But unlike the pilot of “The Wire,” which left me wanting more, the first episode of “Generation Kill” left me feeling more obligated than motivated, mostly due to the production team behind it.

“Generation Kill’s” huge, predominantly white male cast, all wearing fatigues and sporting some kind of buzz cut, make it difficult for viewers to differentiate between many of the blond characters. At least with “The Wire,” which also had a massive cast, the show’s diversity and gender equity made the task more manageable, thus making the show more accessible.

Not to say that the pilot episode, “Get Some,” doesn’t have its standouts. Five immediately come to mind.

James Ransone—a.k.a. Ziggy for you “Wire” Tappers out there—is clearly the show’s comic relief as Cpl. Ray Person. In addition to his half-joking theory about war coming down to a lack of sex (that’s the far duller, santized version of his incredible monologue), his renditions of Minnie Ripperton’s “Loving You” and Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8r Boi” prompted some of the show’s best laugh-out-loud moments.

Lee Tergesen, playing the Rolling Stone magazine journalist the Marines tab as “Scribe,” is also memorable as a bumbling embedded reporter just trying to keep up and fit in. Within seconds of the troops accusing him as a “dope-smokin’, peace freak writer” out to make them out to be “baby killers and mama rapists,” he wins them over by telling them he used to write more lurid fare for Hustler magazine.

Then there’s Stark Sands, who plays Lt. Fick. In “Wire” speak, he appears to be sort of the Cedric Daniels of the show: Middle management who cares about those under his watch. After a freak accident that could get the troop in trouble (“This platoon is going down over an espresso maker,” he gripes), his decision to lie to his superiors that acts of heroism were involved speaks volumes about his willingness to stick up for his guys and the lengths he must go to for self-preservation—a David Simon staple.

If the random mispronunciations of simple words and the general jerky nature of Sgt. Mjr. John Sixta (played by Neal Jones) don’t make you laugh aloud, perhaps a repairman should fix the sound on your TV set or you should invest in MiracleEar. Especially since one of the Marines called him an “a****** who excels at his position.”

But no such adjustments should be made with the unmistakable rasp of Lt. Col. Ferrando (Chance Kelly), a character who’s lost most of his voice due to throat cancer. When Scribe asked if Ferrando smoked, the man who was soft-spoken in more ways than one replied, “No, just lucky, I guess.”

Beyond them, it’s tough to remember the names and character traits of the rest of the white guys. And the series’ minority characters haven’t had a lot of material with which to work after one episode, but hopefully that will change in the weeks to come.

After the break, some thoughts about the show’s key plot points. Read more of this entry »

The seventh week of the summer season kicks off tomorrow, and some of the traditional heavy summer hitters are bowing in.

Here’s our advance looks at the first and second and third and fourth and fifth and sixth weeks.

The summer season continues rolling out new shows this week, starting tomorrow, and we bring you a look at what’s new and when it’s on, for the week of June 30, again, thanks to USAToday.com, though any comments not in quotes are mine:

Sunday

Big Brother, 8 p.m., CBS (plus, 9 p.m. Tuesdays and 8 p.m. Wednesdays, because, really, how can one get enough of Big Brother?). Three nights a week? This is what CBS is airing? 10th edition (more than one a year in some years, so not its 10th year).
Generation Kill, 9 p.m., HBO. The movie channel’s seven-part series based on a book about Marines in Iraq. From the creators of The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street, so it’s probably gonna be really good. And have lots of F-bombs.

Monday

The Closer, 9 p.m., TNT. Kyra Sedgwick, lady cop. OK, it’s more than that, and I’ve heard it’s quite good, but I had my fill of non-David Simon cop shows long ago.
Saving Grace, 10 p.m., TNT. Holly Hunter, lady cop. But she has a guardian angel. And lots of personal demons. See above.

Tuesday

The Cleaner, 10 p.m., A&E. Benjamin Bratt, recovering addict. It’s like a procedural, except each week he helps another addict overcome his/her addiction. At least, I think that’s what it’s about. The commercials during Andromeda Strain were so … unintelligible that I didn’t really pay that much attention to any descriptions of it. I think I’ll watch Intervention instead.

Wednesday

Family Foreman, 10 p.m., TV Land. George Foreman’s reality show. For the young’uns in our viewing audience, he was a world champion boxer before he made those neat-o grills. Oh, and all his children (including the girls) are named George.

Thursday

The Gong Show, 10:30 p.m., Comedy Central. Dave Attell hosts the comeback of the game show that all but defined the ‘70s. Honestly, I can’t imagine any modern version being any tackier or horrible than the original. Can’t we just leave well enough alone?

Friday

Monk, 9 p.m., USA. I have never watched even 5 minutes of this show, but it looks pretty good. Maybe this is the summer.
Psych, 10 p.m., See, this guy (James Roday) is a really good detective, but pretends he solves crimes by being a psychic. Only his friend and erstwhile partner (Dule Hill) knows. See above.

As I mentioned in this post, my NetFlix queue has been booked for foreseeable future with the first four seasons of “The Wire.” After years of being intimidated by the show’s complex plots and myriad characters, I finally latched onto it in its fifth and final season. Upon my introduction to David Simon and Ed Burns’ ubiquitous series about life in Baltimore from the streets to the schools, I was hooked in a major way. Now halfway through Season 2, I feel “The Wire” is right there with “Deadwood” in terms of the best TV drama I’ve ever seen.

I was already intrigued by that production tandem’s next H-B-Opus, the seven-part miniseries “Generation Kill,” which chronicles young Marines’ first 40 days of America’s invasion of Iraq in 2003. But it was downright serendipitous when I realized that James Ransone, the actor who played one of “The Wire’s” wildest Season 2 characters (Chester “Ziggy” Sobotka), would be one of the stars of “Generation Kill.”

Ransone’s re-emergence shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, considering how much HBO (rightfully) recycles its talented series cast members. Former “Deadwood” actors popped up frequently on “John from Cincinnati,” for example. Devout “Jericho” fans (AhemAmyVernonCough) might also recognize the scrappy actor, who played Daryl in the 2007 episode “A.K.A.” of the recently canceled CBS series.

In addition to Ransone, the “Generation Kill” ensemble cast includes Alexander SkarsgÃ¥rd (son of Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd; not to be confused with “Jarhead” star Peter Sarsgaard), Lee Tergesen, Jon Huertas and Stark Sands.

After the break is a partial transcript of HBO’s “Generation Kill” synopsis. Read more of this entry »

For the first time ever, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is announcing the 10 finalists for the Best Comedy and Best Drama categories.

My personal choices for the top 5 in each are in bold. The top 10s are:

Top 10 Comedy Series Finalists

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords (I’d love to see this win)
The Office
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock (I expect to win, as it did last year)
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

Top 10 Drama Series Finalists

Boston Legal
Damages (Probably will win)
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Mad Men
The Tudors
The Wire (If this doesn’t win, there is no justice.)

In the spirit of the opening weekend of the “Sex and the City” movie, Remote Access asked readers which HBO series most deserves the next feature-film treatment.

So much for the Remote Access poll being a race between “Deadwood” and “The Sopranos.”

I suspect linkage and some campaigning were responsible for the sudden surge among devout “John from Cincinnati” fans—who evidently exist—thus propelling the one-season-and-out show from one vote on Wednesday to 167 votes this morning.

With 58 percent of all those cast, “JFC” soared ahead of “Deadwood,” which led the poll Wednesday with 47 votes (16 percent), followed by the 23 votes tallied for “The Sopranos” (8 percent).

To be fair, I didn’t hate “JFC” as much as I have conveyed in recent months; I liked the first three episodes and was a staunch defender of many of its cast members, especially Ed O’Neill, whom I described as “jaw-droppingly spectacular (and) equally adept at making the audience laugh and cry, often within the same scene.” Plus, it allowed for comebacks for Rebecca De Mornay (pictured) and Luke Perry, so that’s pretty cool.

But to give that show the movie green-light over “Deadwood” or “The Sopranos” makes me wonder if “John” fans really ever watched those other series—especially “Deadwood,” which had the benefit of not only the same creator and most cast members but also linear plots that made friggin’ sense by each season’s end.

“Carnivàle”—the third HBO show in the Top 4 that was canceled before the series had a chance to wrap things up—finished with eight votes. Two other series, “Entourage” and “Oz,” and a cruel suggestion for “None of the above” tied for fifth with seven votes.

“The Wire” grabbed six votes, followed by “Flight of the Conchords” with five.

Check out the rest of the poll results—and the latest Remote Access poll question—after the break. Read more of this entry »

Shortly after the end of the opening weekend for the “Sex and the City” movie, Remote Access will close its latest poll, seeking reader input on the HBO series that most deserves the next feature-film treatment.

With “SatC” scoring mixed to tepid reviews, only two of the 65 votes tallied sought a sequel. At this point, the poll is really a duel between “Deadwood” and “The Sopranos.” And there are compelling cases for each.

“Deadwood,” whose 19 votes represent 29 percent of the total, was—in this blogger’s humble opinion—one of the best shows on television and deserved a proper sendoff. Viewers initially expected four full seasons, then were crushed by news of the show’s cancellation after three. And HBO’s promise of two, two-hour “Deadwood” TV movies never came to fruition, leaving devout fans furious with the cable net, especially since the equally brilliant and equally ratings-challenged “The Wire” had a chance to say good-bye.

Adding insult to injury have been the subsequent HBO projects by “Deadwood” creator David Milch. In its only season, “John From Cincinnati” should only be celebrated for Ed O’Neill’s outstanding performance and the cameos by actors better known (and utilized) on “Deadwood.” And when Milch could have demanded to film the “Deadwood” TV movies or a fourth season before other projects while renegotiating his contract with HBO, he agreed to helm “Last of the Ninth,” a not-”Deadwood” show about a Vietnam vet working in the New York Police Department in the early ‘70s. The latter series could be great, but “Deadwood” fans would never stop grumbling if there’s no closure in the Black Hills.

“The Sopranos,” with 15 votes representing 23 percent of the total, had a controversial ending that made millions of viewers wonder if the cable cut out before the credits started rolling. It was, perhaps, the most non-ending ending in television history. To the tune of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” three of the four members of the Soprano (biological) family gathered around the table of a diner while semi-suspicious characters hovered around them. And when Meadow arrived, the camera cut to Tony’s face.

And, uh, that was it.

Was Tony Soprano killed? Is he alive? WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!

So say creator David Chase were to consider a more definitive conclusion. He’d be faced with either selling out for developing a movie adaptation or copping out because of his inaccessible TV finale. Regardless, tell me “Sopranos” fans wouldn’t see the movie follow-up in droves.

After the break (or in the right margin), check out where many other HBO series stand in this poll. And vote if you haven’t already! Read more of this entry »

David. Cook. Wins. Holy cow!

NOTE: If you missed any or all of tonight’s finale, start from the bottom of this recap and work your way up. Trust me, it will make more sense that way.

10:10 p.m.—Wow, it’s going to take a little time to process this all. Final thoughts will be posted tomorrow. Thanks to those of you who followed along!

10:03 p.m.— I’m still in shock. Pleased, but still floored. It’s like DC didn’t even realize he won until about two minutes after Seacrest made the announcement.

10:02 p.m.—“This is the Time” to write a new song.

10:01 p.m.—So THAT’s why Cowell offered the apology. It all makes sense now. No way he eats his words if Archie won. The Word Nerd himself says, “I am absolutely at a loss for words right now.”

10:00 p.m.—David Cook wins! Biggest upset in “Idol” finale history! (Update: Well, maybe Ruben Studdard over Clay Aiken was a bigger upset; but this upset is more exciting for the right reasons.)

9:58 p.m.— Simon Cowell offers a rare apology to David Cook. He offers a maloprop, “I don’t really care who wins.” Evidently, neither do several million viewers who gave up on the show this year.

9:54 p.m.— GM said he’s got a cold. I hope that’s the reason he sounded strained.

9:53 p.m.—Promoting George Michael’s upcoming American tour, Ryan Seacrest announces, “Get ready for GM, ladies and gentlemen.” Somewhere, Ford executives are crapping out the back door.

9:50 p.m.—To complete the scatalogicial humor attempted in the previous timestamp, he just sang “Doo doo doo doo.”

9:49 p.m.—Did George Michael just say, “All God’s children crapped out the back door?” Anatomically, that makes sense.

9:48 p.m.— George Michael. It sounds like he’s straining on the vocal. I kind of feel bad.

9:45 p.m.—It’s only a matter of time before George Michael emerges to complete this medley of his songs. My guess is he’s in the bathroom.

9:43 p.m.—KLC guesses it would be nice if she could touch my body. Who am I to argue?

9:42 p.m. —Daniels from “The Wire” is in “Fringe”?! Count me in.

9:40 p.m.— Unlike Cook’s tightie-whities, Archuleta sports boxers for his version of the Guitar Hero commercial. Still, R. Kelly is pleased.

9:35 p.m.—Legs McGhee, a.k.a. Carrie Underwood, takes the stage. She sports a trench coat dress but regretfully doesn’t flash the crowd. She’s also holding the night’s 15th sparkly mic.

9:32 p.m.—How is Iron Man not getting more screen time than his “Tropic Thunder” costars Ben Stiller and Jack Black in the Gladys Knight bit? It’s running long, but it’s infinitely cooler than last year’s Celine Dion-Elvis Presley creepfest.

9:27 p.m.—In another ad for “Zohan,” Adam Sandler just got into fisticuffs with Donna Summer’s weave. Read more of this entry »

If there’s an opposite to “blerg!” or an exclamation that’s the equivalent to Sandwich Day, Liz Lemon might be screaming it right now.

With 27 percent of the vote, the “30 Rock” character’s real-life counterpart, Tina Fey, was crowned TV’s hardest worker by Remote Access’ loyal readers. She’s also a writer and exec producer for the show and—with apologies to the amazing Amy Poehler—arguably the headliner of “Baby Mama,” which debuted at No. 1 at the box office. (In retrospect, Poehler’s no slacker, either. Perhaps I should have added her to the list of nominees.)

Fey defeated some stiff competition, and just edged out fellow Must-See TV star Steve Carell, who helms “The Office” and collected 26 percent of the votes. In third was “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest (21 percent), followed by “Lost” guru JJ Abrams (17 percent), Oprah Winfrey (12 percent) and reader-nominated “Flavor of Love” star Flavor Flav (2 percent).

Now time for a new poll: With the “Sex and the City” movie debut approaching, what’s the next HBO series that should be made into a feature-length film?

Lots of intriguing options here, including shows that were allowed to come to unusual conclusions (“The Sopranos”), others that remain on-air (“Entourage”) and still others that deserved a proper sendoff (“Deadwood,” anyone?).

Feel free to add your own nominees, as long as “Arli$$” isn’t one of them. (OK, even Arli$$, if you must.)

(Photo by Heidi Gutman for NBC/Universal.)

The best bet, I think, for fans of the dearly departed The Wire is David Simon and Ed Burns’ latest venture, Generation Kill.

Set to air sometime this summer (all the site says right now is “July”), the seven-episode miniseries is about “the new face of American war.” It’s based on the book by a Rolling Stone writer who spent two months embedded with the Marines 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. Simon and Burns wrote the screenplay and produced, but they’re not directing. That’s left to two Brits.

Then, Entourage will be back (yay!) in September (would have been June if not for the strike). Original plans to satirize the strike, according to E!Online’s Watch with Kristin, have been scrapped. Plus, when they return, our boy Johnny Drama’s show will have shot 54 eps and Eric will have THREE clients (including Vince, I assume) and his very own assistant, Kristin says. Show creator Doug Ellin says he has four more seasons of our boys in mind, a total of eight seasons, Kristin said.

Then, there’s a bunch of other shows that HBO has in recent weeks announced it’s picking up.

The cable network has partnered with the Weinstein Co. (the guys who started Miramax back in the day) and the BBC to produce The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

It’s based on a series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith. The two-hour pilot already has been filmed, in Botswana. Another 13 one-hour episodes will begin filming this summer.

Read more of this entry »

Thanks, David Simon and Ed Burns.

Thanks, HBO.

Thanks for giving us five seasons of one of the finest dramas ever to grace the small screen.

Thanks for giving us a universal story, Shakespearian in scope, that was funny, tragic and devastatingly real.

Thanks for giving us Jimmy McNulty, true “po-lice.” Thanks for giving us Omar Little, the stickup artist with a moral code.

Thanks for Prop Joe and Ervin Burrell (one smart and one, well, not), old high-school classmates.

Thanks for Daniels, who proved that even a squeaky-clean cop could be blackmailed. Thanks for Landsman, who proved that even a lazy, obnoxious sergeant could stand up for his detectives when he really needed to.

Thanks for Gus Haynes, the newspaperman’s newspaperman. Thanks for Bubbles — pardon me, Reginald — the only junkie I’ve ever loved.

Thank you for all the perfectly imperfect characters who have entertained us these past few years.

Read more of this entry »

Given that Baltimore Sun city editor Gus Haynes is, more or less, the hero of Season 5, I figured I’d focus on actor Clark Johnson on Wire Finale Day.

Johnson, no stranger to David Simon (he played Det. Meldrick Lewis for 6 years on Homicide: Life on the Street and directed three episodes in Season 1 of The Wire), directed tonight’s episode. Given that he directed the first episode ever of The Wire, it seems fitting that he is helming the last.

In an interview with Johnson in Canada’s National Post last month, he took a swipe at the much-maligned finale of The Sopranos and promised The Wire wouldn’t go out “with a bang, but it also won’t be with a whimper.”

The Post discusses the show having always been “in the shadow” of The Sopranos, though it’s more like it was in the shadow of The Sopranos’ shadow. Tony Soprano and Co. averaged 8 million to 12 million viewers here in the States; The Wire, this season at least, has been averaging 1 million. Then there’s that issue of Emmy awards and nominations. The Soprano clan earned 21 and was nominated a whopping 111 times. The Wire has a goose egg in both.

But pretty much everyone except those who nominate shows for the Emmys agrees that The Wire is the most overlooked show in the award circuit. Well, everyone who watches.

Read more of this entry »

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t watched Sunday’s episode of The Wire, don’t read ahead. Really. If you do, don’t come crying to me when you find out that Templeton has won the Pulitzer Prize and Michael and Dukie got married in Massachusetts. (Haha! Made you wonder.)

Just one more remains.

Next Sunday brings us the final episode of The Wire. Ever.

Each week this season, David Simon has been slowly, gradually wrapping up each storyline and so many of the characters we’ve grown to love and loathe over the previous four seasons have gone to the great beyond.

This week, it was Snoop.

In another sucker punch to the gut, David Simon completed his destruction of the character of Michael, once the one boy on the block who couldn’t be bought by the drug dealers.

Everything Michael’s done has been for his brother, Bug. (Did they ever once say his real name? Please tell me his real name — i.e., on his birth certificate — isn’t actually Bug.)

He first turned to Marlo and his merry gangsters for help when Bug’s dad came back after being away for some time. He didn’t want Bug’s dad to molest his baby brother, as he obviously had done to Michael. That put him in the gang’s debt and he became one of their most loyal lieutenants.

Read more of this entry »

As we creep inexorably toward the end of The Wire (after tonight’s episode, we have just one more episode left — ever), we find that the more things change the more things stay the same.
The HBO description of today’s episode, “Late Editions,” finds us with increased pressure on the police department to keep down the crime rate, possible solutions to some problems, possible betrayal and even a Namon sighting.

With Steintorf (Neal Huff) ordering Rawls (John Doman) to initiate “creative” remedies for the rising crime rate, Freamon’s (Clarke Peters) vigilance pays off with a promising lead, sending Sydnor (Corey Parker Robinson) and the department into overdrive. Although Daniels (Lance Reddick) is originally delighted, a further probe with Pearlman (Deirdre Lovejoy) reveals some troubling source information. McNulty (Dominic West), feeling betrayed, doesn’t feel like sharing in Freamon’s celebration; Michael (Tristan Wilds) is suspicious about his latest assignment; Haynes (Clark Johnson) gets fresh eyes to help with fact-checking; Namond’s (Julito McCullum) debating skills make Colvin (Robert Wisdom) proud; Davis (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) points a finger at Levy (Michael Kostroff) and the courts; and Bubbles (Andre Royo) recounts a recent temptation overcome.

Sigh.

Read more of this entry »

Sorry for the delay in posting. Life, as it has a habit of doing, got in the way.

But Sunday’s ep was superb on a whole bunch of levels.

Let’s start with Omar.

OMG. I almost fell on the floor when he was shot. Seriously, I jumped out of my seat. I honestly hadn’t expected Omar to die in such an ignominious way. The little boy who shot him is that obnoxious kid from Michael’s corner, right? The one who started the trouble with Dukie a couple weeks back and is always mouthing off? The one who put the poop in the paper bag that resulted in Carver’s detective beating up the teacher?

But Omar might indeed get the last laugh. The slip of paper pulled from Omar’s pocket lists all of Marlo’s lieutenants and their corners. When Bunk got that to McNulty, that gave him and Lester the missing piece of the puzzle regarding who else was in Marlo’s network. They didn’t realize that Prop Joe’s nephew was in with Marlo until then.

If Omar’s death results in Marlo being taken down, how sweet that would be. That’d be twice Omar got Marlo (don’t forget, this entire vendetta started when Omar stuck up a card game Marlo was playing in).

I have to say I was confused at first by that end scene, where the ID cards on the dead bodies were mixed up. I rewound and watched it again and then it hit me: First, Omar is really, truly dead. It wasn’t a dream or a mistake or anything else. He’s D-E-A-D. Second, even in the morgue, the city’s so screwed up that the body of a slender, fit black guy shot in the head can be mixed up with a middle-aged, stocky white guy who had, what, a heart attack?

I disagree, however, with the idea that a fire would take precedence in the newspaper over a murder getting some ink. But I’ll get back to that in my dissection of the newsroom later on.

Read more of this entry »

Tommy Carcetti is the ultimate politician.

He really makes everyone believe he cares. He truly cares. Behind the scenes, he’s a political animal, striking deals with anyone and everyone who can help get him elected. But even watching the wheeling and dealing, you can’t tell me in season 4, you weren’t excited to see him elected. Even when you saw him turn down the governor’s offer of financial aid for the city’s schools and knew it was for political reasons, there seemed reason to hope.

Maybe Baltimore could change for the better under his leadership. Maybe he’d do better than Royce before him.

On second thought, naaah.

Problem is, Carcetti is built for politicking moreso than leading. He eyes every new challenge as mayor through the prism of how it might affect his chances in a run for the governor’s seat. Even the serial killer of the homeless men is mulled over until he can figure out how to best use this seemingly horrible series of crimes (would seem worse to us, the viewer, if we didn’t know it was made up) for his own benefit.

Dublin-born actor Aidan Gillen (well, born in the suburbs of Dublin, anyhow) plays Carcetti without a hint of an Irish accent. His main TV role before The Wire was on the Showtime series Queer as Folk, and he told The Guardian this fall he didn’t mind “nasty” roles, but told the Official London Theatre Guide, “I’m not going to be hanging out in Hollywood looking for baddy parts.”

After the break, check out some excerpts from the Guardian’s interview with Gillen, when he was about to start appearing in a stage version of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross.

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There are some things I absolutely love about this season of The Wire.

The acting continues to be spectacular. The newsroom scenes so real, particularly on all the little stuff. The storyline compelling. And Omar and Marlo? Their storylines, individually and intertwined, are spectacular this season.

But the whole McNulty fake serial killer storyline just rubs me the wrong way. If there’s anything The Wire has suffered from in the past, it’s been its extreme realism. This is just so incredibly unbelievable that it’s begun to turn The Wire from quasi-documentary into just really well-done cop drama. And I have to admit that I hate seeing a newspaper being suckered in on a story that is false (and that part isn’t even Templeton’s fault!). Though, as a newspaper editor, I also have to admit that the aftermath of exposing how there was no serial killer will be one spectacular story in and of itself, so…

Don’t get me wrong. I still love The Wire and look forward to it each week. There’s only three episodes left, dammit, but at least my boss won’t get to watch the finale a week before me (HBO has been airing each episode the Monday before its official air date via HBO on Demand).

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I’ve gotta admit that last night’s episode was great.

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Given that in tonight’s episode, “Took,” state Sen. Clay Davis is in court, I thought I’d share an interview Isiah Whitlock Jr. did with HoboTrashcan not long ago.

Whitlock plays Davis as a politician on the take with aplomb, but this season Davis may finally be getting his comeuppance. He’s taken plenty of money from the city’s drug dealers and lined his and his staff’s pockets nicely.

Thing is, he’s not really doing anything any differently than any other politician in The Wire’s version of Baltimore. OK, maybe he’s doing it a wee teensy-tiny bit more, but pretty much everyone is on the take in some way shape or form.

Plus, no one says a four-letter word that means “poop” quite like Whitlock.

Last week (was it the week before already?), Davis has an appearance before the grand jury and realizes he’s really in for it. Things are much worse than he realized.

HBO’s official description for tonight’s episode ends with this line, and it had me rubbing my hands together:

Assisted by the top-drawer lawyer Billy Murphy, “cash and carry” Davis makes his day in court a memorable one.

After the break, check out some interview excerpts.

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“That’s some Spidey sh*&,” Marlo opines in his usual, understated fashion, as he ponders how Omar could have possibly jumped out the window of a condo and survived.

Marlo’s minions (hey, if they ever want to do a spinoff of The Wire, that’d be a great title) search all over Baltimore for the missing stickup artist, Omar. All the vacants (all? really? that would indeed be some feat), his usual haunts, Snoop checks out the hospitals for her “cousin” who got all “cut up” by going through a window, canvassing the neighborhood (loved the scene where one of those guys pretends to be a cop, asking a neighbor around the corner from the condos if she’d seen someone because some guy attacked a woman; the neighbor wants to know if the woman’s OK, and Marlo’s guy is kind of distracted and doesn’t quite know what she’s talking about for a moment).

And then we learn the truth: Omar’s in the janitor’s closet in the condo building. He hasn’t even left yet.

That’s one resourceful guy, though. A crutch out of a broom; a beer bottle subbing for a gun. Before you know it, he’s back on his feet and armed again and telling anyone and everyone that he’s looking for Marlo, and he wants Marlo to know that. And, even more importantly, he wants Marlo to know that he thinks he’s a wuss (not exactly the terminology he used, but shares some of the same letters) for sending his guys out to take care of him instead of getting his own hands dirty.

Omar wants Marlo, and wants him bad. That became rather apparent after he blew up the car with the money in it.

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