‘Wire’ files obit for newspapers
Cory Bergman February 26th, 2008
Do you watch The Wire on HBO? It’s a great show, a crime drama based in Baltimore, but recently it’s been chronicling the decline of the Baltimore Sun. Turns out, series creator David Simon used to be a reporter for the Sun. And go figure, not everyone is happy about the newspaper subplot on the show.
3 Comments Add your own
1. Darrien | February 26th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I love The Wire, but it seems like people over at Slate hate the Newspaper angle. Especially City Desk editor Gus.
2. Steve | February 27th, 2008 at 8:44 am
The Wire is the best show on TV! Too bad it’s ending this year….
As an aside……I love the HBO on Demand treat of letting me watch it a week early! I stayed up this week on Sunday night until 11:30 so I could get my fix.
The newsroom angle cuts so close for so many they have no choice but to hate it. The last thing a dying man want to hear is someone telling him he’s dying! Especially when there is no really credible remedy to the problem. Big ships take alot of fuel to power…………..when you start to run out of fuel there’s little that one can do. Hopefully those on board can get off with their lives intact, and hopefully they can find somewhere else to apply their talents. For those that refuse to abandon ship and decide to go down with her, may they rest in peace.
BTW……..anyone placing bets on what happens to Marlo?
3. Jim Ray | February 27th, 2008 at 11:12 am
What’s unfortunate about the newspaper angle is Simon’s somewhat admitted heavy handed treatment of the newsroom. It’s particularly surprising given the complexity with which he’s treated basically every other aspect of the show. The newspaper staff aren’t so much characters as they are targets for Simon’s ire at the decline of something he clearly cares a great deal about. Where’s the depth that McNulty, the Bunk, Omar and the corner boys are given? Frankly, it just feels petty and small, if not personally vindictive.
I spent a few years working in a Tribune newsroom (in Chicago) and nearly went back to another one (in L.A.) and have to admit I get a little bit weepy/nostalgic every time this season cuts to a newsroom scene. But I’m also frustrated with the almost one dimensional characterization of nearly every newspaper character other than Gus. Granted, it’s a shortened season and there’s plenty to wrap up, but the Baltimore Sun staff doesn’t get nearly the same treatment that the dock workers or school administrators were treated to from earlier seasons.
Leave a Comment
(Please keep URLs out of the comment body or the spam filter will block you.)Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed