People are just now waking up to the fact that The Wire is one of the greatest TV shows ever, and of course, this is its final season. There's a zillion reasons to love the show - its gritty realism, its copious footage of the backstreets of Baltimore, its brilliant ensemble cast that, truth be told, even eclipses that of The Sopranos. Not to mention I appreciate the way they tell it like it is, stickin' it to corrupt politicians, corrupt cops, corrupt journalists, etc.
But for our purposes here on this boy-blog, the best moments on The Wire are those in which Jimmy McNulty and Bunk Moreland blow off a little steam in the various noble time-honored ways men always have. Bunk and Jimmy sitting at the bar and kickin' back beers until they've got that one-o-clock lean. Bunk and Jimmy driving out to the railroad tracks out at the edge of town to continue drinking after the bars close, and throwing their bottles into the darkness. Bunk and Jimmy consorting with mysterious females of the night, in the night, for the night.
Bunk is an avid cigar smoker, and can often be seen running churchills dreamily under his nose for a full minute before lighting them. Unfortunately, I can't tell what kind he likes, because he's a remove-the-band kind of guy. I smoke 'em with the band on unless it's a shorty. Some cigar aficionados say it's pretentious to leave the band on, and say things like "ain't nobody gonna see what brand you smokin' from any distance anyway", but showing off the brand to others isn't the point. It's more of an aesthetic principle, to drunkenly gaze at the iconic imagery embossed on the tiny paper band in between puffs and shots of Ten Cane rum. And since I often save a partially-smoked cigar to finish later, it's handy to remind me which dead soldier is which.
So anyway, watch the damn show, already. And there's several choice drinking games you can play while watching it - I'll leave it to you to watch a couple shows and figure them out for yourself.
- - JSH
1 comment:
Eye-spied the first season, and it was a pip, dug that season for the same general reasons you laid out for the show's redeeming attributes (my favorite single scene was the one with the kid driving out of Baltimore, not aware that radio signal changes out of Baltimore's city limits, and the look of utter horrific dismay on his face when he hears Garrison Keillor's voice). I know Lexington, KY scensters, cartoonist Bill Widener and musician Trevor Tremaine, also have sung its praises in my general direction. Haven't caught up with the rest of the seasons. I been too busy emulating Bunk & Jimmy's off-duty style to get around to it, but I shall.--JTD
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