The Wire - Season One Opening Scene

[matoler]

I can't think of another opening scene that so well sets the tone for series and, at the same time, provides such rich fodder for a discussion of the American Dream vs. the reality of our society today.

[urckrecords]

this is what the hype is all about????

I don't get it. Oh well I gave it a shot

[oscarmike1985]

@urckrecords

you're a funny dude

[unikron1973]

YeeerrrrP

[whoostino]

I named my dog Snotboogie

[tommyt1971]

@whoostino Name of the dog in Xmas Vacation too!! Well, Snot, not the boogie part...

[aguyyaknow]

I don´t get it. What´s the message of this scene? "This america man" ? Can someone explain this to me?

[whoostino]

@aguyyaknow

My guess is it's another way of saying "It's a free country", which I think would have been just as powerful and less heavy-handed a line. The Wire rarely gets this obvious with it's political message (the "Americans are generally a stupid people" line from Season 5's first episode comes to mind), but it's such a good scene who cares? Also: "snotboogie".

[tommyt1971]

@aguyyaknow The guy had money to gamble on dice. The guys let him in. In America, money's EVERYTHING. Maybe they thought Snot'd reform himself & not steal from 'em anymore.

[lifekiwi]

"Life jus' be that way I guess" what a great introduction to an amazing show.

[spittingbloodhc]

"Got to, this' America man" I don't think anyone appreciates how great that line is when you really get in to the politics, stereotypes and just general meaning behind it. Awesome show.

[SamHain1031666]

I got every season of the wire on dvd for my birthday having never seen a single episode. I watched the first 4 episodes in a row and i just found it incredibly boring, ive not watched it again since and that was like 2 years ago now

[brian15243]

@SamHain1031666 I thought all 5 seasons were great, but it did take me about 5 episodes to figure out who all the characters were. After that I watched about 3 episodes per day until I finished all five seasons.

[SamHain1031666]

@brian15243 I just thought there was too much talking in it, and it would have been fine if i understood what everyone was talking about but i just felt completely lost as to what the hell was going on. More police chases and action mixed with intense dialogue is what i wanted but all i got was endless dialogue

[brian15243]

@SamHain1031666 It got good once Stringer and his crew killed Omar's friend. You should have given it a couple more episodes. It gets good after that. The first few episodes I wasn't sure who was who.

[TheMFED84]

HAHA. Straight to the point. That's what I love about the wire.

[Pulpedtoafiction31]

@brentd700 Ill give the wire a try.Ive heard alot of good things about it.Its just getting the time to watch it so I might just buy the seasons on DVD and watch it from the start.Is Boadwalk Empire any good?Oh and how many Seasons so far are there off the Wire?

[everready01]

The wire is real life ,every day shit! Best show ever!!

[Pulpedtoafiction31]

@obscure seriouse?You dont think the Soprannos wasnt written well and told a great story (Which is why it won numerouse awards for).There was much more too it then a bunch of Fat Italians saying fuck all the time.Im not even going to attempt to convince you but I will give The Wire a try because it does look good.I also want to find out about Boadwalk Empire and see if thats any good aswell.

[brentd700]

@Pulpedtoafiction31 granted, the sopranos wasn't just a bunch of "fuck you" spewing italians but The Wire is one of the best shows I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Best to just start from the beginning and watch all the way through.

[blackjac2010]

Who shot snot

[Pulpedtoafiction31]

Sopranos was more art and thought then continouse violence for the sake of it being a good episode.The witt of Sopranos made it legendary aswell rather then the plane ass constant gansta attitude bullshit.

[obscure323]

@Pulpedtoafiction31 The Sopranos had nothing on this shit. This was VERY thought intensive. All the Sopranos was was a bunch of fat Italians saying "FUCK" all the time, Tony crying to his therapist, and his wife stomping Tony's nuts. I've seen a few good episodes, but it mostly sucked. The Wire, was almost poetic.

[dapa1871]

@obscure323 I gotta agree, te wire covered all the angles, the dealers, politicians & the police,& everyone of them ws fucked up.

[lastmondaypast1]

I like the show weeds the best. It gets super suspenseful.

[mdfilmguy]

I know that street; my friend lives right near there.

[gr8fullmom]

@mdfilmguy lol. not saying ur a liar, just wonderin how do u know its your friends street? they all look the same in bmore city? or did u just already know they were shooting there from your friend

[rongata]

greatest show ever created.................

[JaymanDaKing]

that guy talking to mcnaulty shold've been apart of the series. he seems like a good actor.

[DustyDrB]

@JaymanDaKing

Yeah. But then horrible things would have happened to him. And he seems like a decent enough fella.

[Zizourian]

I saw this first time in 2008. I heard about The Wire and there were 12 episodes in the FX library. I thought is opening was so good and I ended up watch 7 episodes back to back on the same night. It was inspired. I can fully understand why some people just can't get it. For most it requires a cultural leap. At the same time as offering stereotypes it gave you characters who turned those stereotypes on their heads. It was, and is, magnificent.

[justindpierce]

Anyone know the real name of the black actor? I know his first name is Kamal, but Im not sure of his last name.

[bigdaddy1903]

Classic!

[EStandsForEccentric]

Love this. Great opening to a new Series

[FloorPhiler]

The Sopranos was great. One of the top 3 shows ever made. But The Wire is a masterpiece from start to finish. No dips, no lows, no bad episodes. There has never been and will probably be anything like it.

[PitchfordStache]

"Got to. It's America, man."

Great show.

[SicilianGunner]

sopranos is the best period

[78die78]

Greatest opening scene 2 begin any show , bar none

[xxmcneilxx]

baltimore is where my granny is from its such a great place too bad its so violent its a shame

[Cmaglim]

deep

[78die78]

Yes, this exactly how greatness begins.

Greatest show ever period.

[BlackEvie]

et dire qu'on est obligé de regarder ça en cours d'Anglais...

[ResetmagFR]

@BlackEvie

Et alors ? Vous savez pas la chance que vous avez, l'une des meilleures séries du monde...

[allmightantdawgs]

What an awesome way to start the series.

Everything the series was about was right there in that one scene.

Beautiful.

[StringerBell67]

Tru dat. Mos def.

[ojonesjr]

So this is how greatness begins...

[zippyman818]

the actor portraying McNulty, Australian I think, had the hardest time with the line "snot boogie."

He was nervous that the first scene in the first episode took so many takes becuase of his accent.

You can hear bits and pieces of his non-Balmer accent coming through if you listen closely.

A classic show that has full-blown cult status now.

I like when Omar whistles, "Farmer in the Dell," you know the shit was going to come down on someone!

[real29]

He's british.

[zippyman818]

I think as the series went on, Mr. West nailed some of the pronunciations and inflections right on the money. Mr. LaPaglia is quite talented and can mimick many dialects and accents; agreed. Ms. Kidman looks good in a short skirt and I don't recall her ability to deliver a line. All of a sudden I have a need to play racecars with pink sugar packets up her thigh...

[lee12301]

hes british.

[5656steve]

57 Channels and nothin' on? Not any more. I was flicking through one night getting bored. Then, I alighted upon The Wire. 1st episode, first season. About ten minutes in and couldn't go any further. Hooked ever since. Favourite character so far..Bubbles. Looser who keeps trying. Can't wait for season two and the rest. Think I'm gonna like Snoop.

[xeryms]

No need to wait

Buy the DVD Boxset

With BBC you have to wait a few weeks inbetween seasons

[5656steve]

I know all the box sets are out there but I feel some how that watching on the TV makes me part of a community. Like I'm sharing something. Who's your best character?

[xeryms]

Yeah i understand what you mean, but reality is that not many people watch this show, i think BBC done a poor job advertising this The Wire despite bringin it to terrestrial tv.

I Hope this show gets more media attention here in the uk

My Fav character? theres so many great actors on the show but the character that stands out is Omar Little.

i liked snoop, even though shes one of the most ruthless female characters to appear on tv

[5656steve]

The beeb made no attempt at all to advertise this. Its fans are so thin on the ground that we have to resort to on line conversations. I think you're right about Omar. He's decent, ie. he doesn't shoot non players. And, he's not scared of anything. Also in episode 2 ish he gave a junkie a freebie cos she had a baby with her. Nice guy..

[xeryms]

Lol im glad u agree

[getsusrich]

Bodie, without a doubt! Was bad to see him go but at least he went out shooting and wasn't nailed down in a vacant... LOVE THIS SHOW!!!

[5656steve]

See.... here's the problem with being 4 seasons behind the rest of you guys. I keep getting snippets of the future when I don't need them yet. I'm not blaming anyone. I'd just like you all to feel for me. It's like trying to dodge the FA Cup results before seeing the recording, and somebody blurts it out.

LOVE THIS SHOW TOO!!!

[xeryms]

Dude stay off all youtube videos of the wire man i made the same mistake, there are loads of spoilers on youtube..this is one show that u dont what to get ruined by some idiot lol

[5656steve]

Thanks.

[Notebookwriter1]

Just get the boxsets. The show is better to be experienced on DVD.

[MariusSemeonOrtiz]

Snot Boogie is my favorite character in the whole of the wire. He's just so cool

[dooey123]

lol

[xeryms]

Yeah that name kinda sticks throughout the whole season

Lol

[MariusSemeonOrtiz]

i know, he's such a major character, in fact the whole drug trade revolves around Snot Boggie. If it werent for him The Wire wouldnt be The Wire

[cs00024]

The scene that started it all...

[gnfti]

Snot Boogie!

[jowston100]

The Wire is ten times better than the Sopranos.

[xeryms]

Agree.

And Sopranos was voted the best tv show ever? Not anymore....

[vondabiltcool]

@jowston100 you're right about that, the wire is based on real people the sopranos are fictional characters

[J4L1SC0]

@jowston100 100 times!

[BadWolf9455]

@jowston100 Breaking Bad is eleven times better than the Sopranos...

[cvpasteur]

Got to...This' america mayne...