The Wire Season FOUR!

Just yesterday, I asked in a post if anyone knew what the fate of this show was and now here we go. It'll be interesting to see how David Simon will be able to give a season free of Stringer, but if ever there was a show where I had COMPLETE faith in the creators, this is that show. Now if only we could get an offical statment regarding a third season of Arrested Development, and my dreams will be nightmare free (though the odds of that show being picked up are alot better then what The Wire was facing.)

GREAT news.

just let me know when carnivale is renewed. otherwise i have no reason to keep hbo.

Awesome news.

This news seriously made my day. The Wire is hands-down the best show on TV, and as long as they still have stories to tell, it deserves to stay on the air.

I was getting worried about HBO, with their recent productions being all over the map in terms of quality. But renewing The Wire, in spite of its rather poor ratings, ensures that HBO can keep a straight face while using the line, "It's not TV. It's HBO."

Now if they would just stop trying to charge $85+ for the DVD sets, maybe they could build the audience before season 4...

TV often gets equated to lowest common denominator shows, sitcoms like "I'm a Fat Retard Man, with a Hot Genius Wife", and reality junk such as "America's Next Burned Out Porn Star". But shows like The Wire are why TV exists, and why people who think they're too smart for TV are truly missing out.

Do yourself a favor, watch this show.

Is there a reason they charge so much? I mean I'd love to have the first two seasons in my DVD collection (as of right now, i just have them all burned to CD) but I'm in college and can't just go around spending $85 on every DVD that comes out (I could, but there's always two or three other DVDs i could get instead, and that always prevails.) Until they start puting the extras to back up the price tag, i'm going to have to resort to copying the season sets from my work (now before you attack me for doing this, i purchase 99% of the DVDs in my collection, but damn it HBO get w/ the times, your sexy packages no longer fool me.)

Fuck yes. This just made my day as well.

Not only do they charge too much (although, The Wire is worth it, extras or no), they don't get them out fast enough. FX just released The Sheild Season 3, and Season 4 is starting soon (or did start recently, not quite sure), so as a fan, I could be caught up for the new season. HBO doesn't do this. I got into The Wire late, by watching the first season on DVD, and then I had to wait for the second one to come out, which didn't happen 'til January. They have plenty of time during the season to work on a DVD set, and have it out at least a month before a new season starts, allowing new fans to catch up, something that's drastically important with this show specifically. Now, as a fan, I have to wait for Season 3 to come out on DVD, and in a normal rotation Season 4 would probably be starting soon, so I wouldn't be able to watch that 'till S-3 came out. It's something that annoys me, and I don't understand why there isn't more of a push to get the DVD's out before the new season airs. Especially on HBO, where they aren't making money on syndication (for the most part), so they're just sitting on these titles, when they could be making money on them. If they don't speed up the process, then they force willing consumers like myself to try and find the episodes in other ways, Torrents and such.

this is awesome news. i can't wait for season 4. the only drawback is that it might spell the end of carnivale. renewing 2 low rated shows might not be in the cards.

I believe it's HBO's attempt to compensate for the lack of ratings. They are probably trying to turn the show into a money maker through the expensive DVD's.

I've never really watched the show because every time I try to I come in in the middle of the season and really have no idea what's going on, so I at some point I'm going to get the DVD's via Netflix and try to catch myself up a bit. Maybe I can watch the first two seasons before the fourth season starts and just catch up on the third season later.

Hopefully HBO will release the third season before the fourth comes out, because this show is way too complex to be able to just catch up with later. You'll probably be able to understand what's happening, but the experience will be much better if you see all of it. That complexity is what makes the show great, and also why it has shit ratings, sadly enough.

That's why I wanted to wait and why I could never get into it before, but it seems criminal to deprive myself of it if it's really that good.

YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is awesome news.

I wonder how big a role Prop Joe and Marlow are gonna play this season? With McNulty in the Western District, he may see Marlow's rise as the next Avon Barksdale.

Bumping this for two reasons:

1. They're going into production on Season Four shortly and I can't fucking wait.

2. Has anyone heard anything about a release date for Season Three on DVD?

I can't really answer your question although I was told it was going to be some time next year.

And sadly, the actor who plays McNulty will not really be involved in Season 4 too much. According to David Simon he's filming all of his scenes in one go, so it looks like McNulty enjoys his life as a beat cop too much.

I refuse to believe you. I REFUSE!

Oh my God I've had enough! Enough already! I've heard so much gushing about this series I'm going to watch the damn thing to see what the fuss is about.

And it better be good.

Much as I love Dominic West, this might be a good thing for the show creatively. The entire Barksdale saga wasn't supposed to go beyond the first season, and as fruitful as it was it sort of lived its life by the end of the third season. Maybe it'll finally be Bunk's time to shine.

I agree. Enough with McNulty. After he finally started getting his personal life together at the end of Season 3 I don't need to see him go back to being the same drunken screwup. There's nowhere new to go with that. I'd rather see more of Bunk and Freamon.

Marlo will have a bigger role this season, and Cutty is going to return. I forget where I read it, but apparently there's some conflict between the two of them over Marlo's recruitment of kids for the drug business and Cutty trying to keep them on the straight and narrow. There was a request sent out that was looking for actors to portray a group of eighth grade boys. The character info was pretty detailed, so I'm guessing the boys will play an important part in the show, which fits in with HBO's announcement that Season 4 will focus on the educational system.

no way the drunken mcnulty was the shit. the show will not be the same with him getting less screen time. it'd be like the shield with less vic mackey. fuck that!

I think they don't want the show to revolve around a single character, such as McNulty. And if this arc focuses on the public school system, then I can see how they might want to focus on different actors. But I'm sure McNulty will make a fantastic return, a la Omar.

I like the Marlo character and what he represents, but the kid that plays him is my least favorite actor on the show. For whatever reason he just doesn't give the same magnetism to his character that even peripheral characters like Bubs and Bodie have.

I agree with Subotai on this one, and I'd say the exact same thing to respond to Hell Paso. I also agree about McNulty making returns a la Omar. One of the things that makes Omar's character so great is that the writers know exactly how and when to use him. Same thing with McNulty.

Marlo's lack of magnetism is what he represents, not just a failing of the actor who plays him. Stringer and Avon, despite being murderers and drug dealers, were shown as three dimensional characters. They were relatable. There was the conversation late in Season 3 where Stringer was talking to Avon about their dreams as kids, and how they had made it.

Marlo is from a new generation that doesn't have dreams. He doesn't see the drug business as a way to achieve success - at least not in the way Avon and Stringer did. To him it's just a fact a life. It's the world he was born into. He deals drugs because that's just what you do, not as a means to achieve money to pursue some other dream. There are no ambitions to go legit, like Stringer's involvement in real estate deals. That's beyond his comprehension. He's soulles, empty. The lack of magnetism and emotion is what defines him.

that's because the dude has no personality. he's like a friggin rock. he had about 5 lines all season long.

you wouldn't know if mcnulty was in every scene. the show always had a huge assemble giving everybody lot's of scene time. the show never focused on just one character. that was the beauty of the show. he just happened to be the main character within it. i don't think mcnulty would be as effective as when omar pop's up. that's what his character was all about. this show doesn't need another character who makes you say "WOW! look its omar making another cool entrance whistling". i also find it hard to believe his personal life is all rosy all of a sudden basically because stringer is down and out and also by visiting russell at the end of the last episode. please.

if the season is gonna be about public school system's like i've read simon repeatedly state then i'm guessing carcetti is most likely gonna be a big part of season four. i just hope that somehow bunny is gonna be involved. i thought i was going to hate his character when he showed up but he turned out to be one of the better ones.

The problem with having Marlo the centre of Season 4 will be that it might just seem to be Barksdale MK II. Sure I think he should have some part in S4, but do we really need to see the same thing all over again. Whatever Simon and Co have in store though will be riviting I'm sure.

As for McNulty. He's the closest to a main character you'll find. It's quite subtle but he's the one who gets all 3 investigations up and running, the driving force if you will. Plus I totally buy that he's reformed, just look at Season 3...

All though Season 3 McNulty is having to come to terms with things. Everything that happens to him knocks him back. First by his Ex-Wife and her new man, then by that woman he's fucking who's essentially a female version of him. Only when they finally sit down to talk he realises that they have nothing at all in common. Not only that but when she asks him on another date, he realises quickly that she's trying to get information out of him. Then there's Stringer Bell. McNulty and Bunk search his appartment and McNulty realises that he doesn't know a thing about Bell. He's been watching him all this time and he knows nothing. That there is pretty much the straw that broke the Camels back. He just can't do it anymore so he becomes a beat cop and he goes to see Beatrice Russell. Right there and then you can see that the old McNulty is gone. He'd rather meet her kids and take it slow than just have a meaningless fuck again. Then when he's walking the beat at the end he seems truly happy, for the first time since we've met him.

I don't know if Marlo is going to be the center of Season 4, or even the main focus of the detail. I just know he'll back in some capacity. Not rehashing the Barksdale investigation with another target is going to be a problem for the show. My guess is they're going to move away from the police investigations a little and focus more on social issues. They started to do that a little bit in Season 3, with Carcetti's storyline and Colvin's Hamsterdam experiment.

I agree and I disagree. I agree that his character is defined by a sort of empty passivity, but I feel that the actor who plays him (sorry I don't know his name) has thus far failed to make him interesting to watch in any way. The writers can only do so much with a character.

On another topic, I hope that Cutty gets some spotlight in S4. Not only was his S3 arc fascinating, but Chad L. Coleman played it brilliantly.

Marlo was meant to be an enigma and i am sure that the writers can flesh him out if they so choose. I found the elusiveness of his character to be great and I can not wait for season four. The Wire is genius.

And it was.

Which seasons did you watch?

All of them! I'm still collecting my thoughts on the whole thing before I post in the other Wire thread.


SPOILER FOR SEASON THREE
.
.
.
One thing I can say now though is that after I watched the last episode I went to the official HBO forums and was surprised by how many people (albiet mostly female) were distraught over Stringer's death and promised they would not bother watching the last episode or the next season because of it. When Stringer got what he deserved I was like "YEAH!", but they were like "I couldnt stop crying, he meant so much to me". Okeydokey, the dude had no morals or any sense of humanity about him but people flocked to him because he's hot! Great actor though, Idris, guy's come a long way since Family Affairs!
===

Slap a spoiler tag around that comment, wouldn't want to ruin it for someone, who like yourself a little while ago hasn't caught the show.

if someone comes into a thread that's called "The Wire Season FOUR" it's their own stupid fault for catching spoilers. they should know better.

anyways about stringer, cognizant it wasn't just chicks who got distraught about what happened to him. now i for one would never say "fuck the last episode". that's pretty fucking stupid if you ask me but the opening and closing scenes in 'middle ground' were some of the best scenes you could ever watch. the last scene was so powerful. you knew it was coming but i still had chills going down my spine. i don't think these people were all mad because he was "hot". if tony or christopher in 'the sopranos' ever gets whacked i think we the viewers would get pretty sad or atleats feel something. i wouldn't exactly qualify them as person of the year anytime soon.

now here are some 'the wire' season 4 spoilers. it nothing too spoilerish. it's just a casting call for new characters for this upcoming season:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Randy - African-American. M/13-15, to play eighth grader. To the outside world, he’s open, all boy, a bit mischievous, but in general eager to please, with a ready smile, bright, particularly with numbers, and trusting of adults in authority. His passion is to one day own a store, he sees it as a way to achieve the security he desperately seeks. He lives with his foster mother, and is eternally grateful that she rescued him from a group home, a fate he considers worse than death. He has a pathological fear of being returned to that place, and will do anything to avoid that outcome...Series regular.

-Namond - African-American. M/13-15, to play eighth grader. Wee Bey’s son, scion to the drug world, and the titular leader of our group of boys. He grew up steeped in the family’s obsession with the drug world: who is making money and who isn’t. He knows how he is supposed to act on the street, his father has schooled him, and he tries to live up to expectations, knowing deep down that he’s not cut from the same cloth as his father. He loves to draw but dares not reveal his skill to his parents for fear of their disfavor. Pressure will build as his family propels him into the drug world...Series regular.

-Michael - African-American. M/13-15, to play eighth grader. Can be physically imposing. Child of a dysfunctional, addicted family, who has assumed the mantel of adult, caring for his addicted mother, ailing grandfather and younger brother. Abused as a child, he is emotionally unresponsive, always trying to maintain control, to be the adult. He is wary of males, unwilling to relate to adults. He is courageous, always the one his friends look to take the lead in battle, the one who will always stand by a friend. He has one overwhelming commitment and that is to his younger brother, to ensure that he lives the childhood that Michael lost...Series regular.

-Dukie - African-American. M/13-15, to play eighth grader. Like Michael, born to a desperate poverty, but unlike Michael unable to break its grip. Dukie often has no place to stay, and his clothes and appearance show it. He’s unwanted, forgotten and unloved, the brunt of cruelty, resigned to being a victim…Series regular.

That's a good point.

This show is damn good TV!

I look forward greatly to its return next year.

Trust me, the majority of people on that official forum only joined to lament the loss of their hunky drug dealer. I agree he's a great character but unlike Tony Soprano, we never saw any humanity in Stringer, everything was to further his career in 'business', he would have sold out/killed anyone to get what he wanted. Which is why when he died I felt satisfaction rather than loss. If Omar died I would feel bad, the guy's got this robin hood vibe going, he cares about human beings.

I was just thinking of the humour of the show and one of my favourite moments was in the second season I think. Stringer's at the funeral home heading a meeting of these top guys like Prop Joe and there's one of his thugs on the side taking notes, and Stringer snatches the notes from the guy and is like "WTF you doing taking minutes of a criminal conspiracy!?" Cracked me up.

ahhh tony soprano the perfect example. he only whacked his own cousin to make things a little easier for himself.

...still no word on a DVD release for season three?

And I'll overpay for that HBO DVD set, just like all the others. Jerks.

I had a big helping of the show again last week, and fell right back in love. I want more shows to adopt the novel-as-film storytelling method that they use on this show. It's just so...brilliant.

Anyway, before I go on a Wire jerk-off: anyone hear about a release date yet?

nothing's been confirmed yet but i'm always hearing september as the possible starting date for season 4. deadwood starts back up again in june along with entourage so i doubt the wire will be airing over the summer. so september seems to be the most logical date.

I'm starting to get antsy about season three's DVD release date. I've seen every episode but through the DVDs I turned my girlfriend into an addict and I was hoping to be able to show her season three before season four starts.

Was i dreaming or did i hear a January 25th release date? Probably dreaming.

when's it going to hit? DAMNIT!

Here's the artwork. Hurry the fuck up!

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3311

*bump*

Been three months since the last post here and still no definite word on the S3 release or S4 premiere. I'm so sick of HBO pissing on their best show.