Regional

I can't quite figure out the logic used to decide which NFL games are shown in the Roanoke market. The Redskins are always shown over anyone else. But why aren't the next two closest teams (Carolina and Baltimore) always shown as well? Carolina is the closest NFL team by about 60 miles and I would imagine have some following in the region (although I'm not personally a fan). Baltimore is also fairly close (although I could see Pittsburgh or Cincinnati also making some sense).
Instead of having any of those games, we had Jets at Miami and St. Louis at Philadelphia. What possible sense do either of those games make? I guess the premier of Favre for the Jets had some intrigue nationally, but the premier of Joe Flacco was just as interesting to me.

Mad

I think I've found a new show to watch. Since The Wire went off the air, I've not followed any particular television show. The show is Mad Men on AMC. I had seem part of one episode a few weeks ago and it seemed interesting, so I watched a couple of episodes On Demand last night and I'm hooked.

Mad Men is set in 1962 in an advertising agency in NYC and has some great characters and interesting story lines. I don't know how historically accurate it is (my guess is very), but these people break every rule we have in the 21st century work place. Everyone smokes and drinks brown liquor (all the time). I'm not a big fashion guy, but the attire is excellent as well.

I guess I know what I'll be doing on Sunday evenings now.

No more Bunk

I cancelled HBO yesterday after The Wire has run its course. For a number of years there, HBO had the best and most creative television around. I think they have hit a dry spell and at $12 a month, bad movies, reruns and the occassional comedy special is not worth it. Thanks for the memories!

Not Nostradamus

I'm not Nostradamus. Although I picked the Giants to win the Superbowl (and I have the Tradesports transactions to prove it), I thought they were doomed when they kicked a figgie in the first drive instead of going for the touchdown. My friends watching the game with me gave me a hard time about that call, but I really do believe most NFL teams are way too conservative when it comes to kicking inside the opponents 20 yard line. I should crunch the numbers to find out.

The game was very exciting to watch and wasn't over until the very last minute. Excellent game. However, even though Eli Manning played very well, he didn't deserve the MVP. The defensive line of the Giants deserved that honor because they were the ones who kept the Pats offense in check. Why do the quarterbacks always get the MVP?

Life imitates art?

I wonder if these local boys got the idea from Omar?

54

The Wire #54 was on last night. It was an interesting episode, but was really setting up the story threads rather than resolving much. Most of this one was about the resignation of Burrell. He gets bribed by City Council President Campbell to not trash Daniels on the way out and agrees to shut up in exchange for a cushy job.

Also on the political front, we see Clay Davis getting hammered in front of a grand jury. He takes the 5th and looks extremely guilty. Someone tipped the press off and TV reporters are awaiting him when he comes out. Much to the chagrin of The Sun staff, they have nobody there (they are really missing the experienced reporters that are being bought out to save staffing costs). Clay is toast (or pottery).

The fabricated serial killer story is going a little haywire now with Lester fashioning some fake teeth to put a bite mark on the "victims". I still can't figure out how they are going to play that one. They are on the lookout for bodies that will fit in with the pattern and have enlisted the help of an old friend of Lester's to bring them to them before calling anyone else. The Sun story didn't move too much this week but it looks like they will loop it into the serial killer story next week.

The scene with McNulty and Beadie offers a bit of closure on that relationship - he's back to his old self and she isn't going to put up with it any more. He's a scumbag and that's just the way I like him.

Omar is back and he is pissed. He is looking for information on who betrayed Butchie and smacks Slim Charles around to see if Prop Joe had anything to do with it. He is working with some of Butchie's crew and we will see some fireworks soon.

The violence perpetrated by Marlo's crew is absolutely off the charts. They off Prop Joe after Marlo establishes a connect with the Greeks. Another drug dealer gets whacked because he spoke up against Cheese at a co-op meeting. By now it is pretty obvious that Cheese is going to die soon, but it is up in the air whether he will be killed by Marlo or Omar.

I also saw (in the Sun, of all places) that the number of viewers for The Wire has fallen off from last season. It's too bad, because it really is compelling. I don't watch any other shows (just some sports here and there). I'll miss it when it is gone.

53

The Wire episode 53 aired last night. I was watching the Giants win the NFC title game (very entertaining game), so I missed the initial showing, but I watched it after the game was over On Demand (TV timeshifting - will America ever be the same?)

Episode 53 has many different threads and the season is starting to get more interesting. This episode features a continuation of the McNulty serial murder fabrication effort. The irony is that he gets people to buy into the idea of a serial murder preying on vagrants but nobody cares. Since he did it to get attention and resources to go after real murderers (Marlo), his efforts seem wasted. Towards the end of the episode, there is a funny scene where Bunk brings in Lester to get McNulty to stop fabricating a serial killer and Lester instead gives McNulty some advice about how to make people notice (give the killer a story). Bunk isn't buying any of this and it'll be interesting to see where it all ends up (does McNulty get dismissed from the force to end the show?)

Meanwhile, Marlo is trying to double-cross the co-op by getting a direct connect to the Greek. When he presents his money to Vondas, it is rejected because it is street money. So, Marlo goes to Prop Joe to get some laundered money. Unwitting of Marlo's plan, Prop Joe helps him out on this and helps his set up an offshore account to hide his ill gotten gains. This is an interesting observation about the underclass: they have no idea what banks are all about. I suppose if you never had a bank account (and neither did your parents), it would seem kind of mysterious. Marlo wants to actually see his money and makes a trip to the Antilles to check it out.

Marlo is still going after Omar hard and raises his offer of information on his people to $50K. Prop Joe wants no part of that, but Cheese is willing to help out. He tips Chris to Butchie and he and Snoop go and tourture and murder him. Butchie hangs tough, but Chris and Snoop leave one survivor to make sure that Omar knows what happened so he will come back to Baltimore and seek revenge. I have a feeling that Marlo and crew will regret swatting that beehive.

At City Hall, the effort to replace Commissioner Burrell grinds on. To keep the thread about The Sun going, a story is leaked about Daniels being a potential replacement. This elicits no reaction from the powers that be in the city, so it looks like we will have a new Commissioner before the season is over (or will we? What kind of dirt does Burrell have on Daniels?) The wheels of justice are still grinding along and the grand jury is interviewing people about Clay Davis' corruption. He looks to be cooked and everyone is abandoning him to his fate.

I mention The Sun thread last because it is not very thrilling. It doesn't really detract and is used well to support the other plot lines, but it isn't very interesting by itself. They have layoffs, misprioritized editorial standards (a triple murder doesn't rate) and over-ambitious reporters who are ruining journalistic integrity. Ho-hum.

My favorite sub-plot is the war between Omar and Marlo. Omar was retired and out of the game entirely. Marlo has the hubris to take on Omar and you have the feeling he will get his. However, one great thing about The Wire is that the "good" guys don't always win. For all we know, Omar could get off a bus on Fayette and North Avenue and get shot. We have to wait and see.

52

Episode 52 of The Wire was on last night. I'm not sure of the newspaper angle being pursued in this season - I kind of like it, but I haven't warmed up to the characters yet. There is the hard boiled city desk editor, the suits and the (overly) ambitious reporter. So far, none of them has caught my attention like McNulty, Omar, Bunk or Bubbles. I guess we will have to see how well it goes.

Anyway, the story last night was mostly about how broke the police in Baltimore are (morally as well as financially?) and the toll that it is taking on their work. Of course, politics aren't helping either with the Feds and state not helping out because they are on the opposite side of the aisle from Mayor Carcetti (is he supposed to be Martin O'Malley?) Dropping an investigation of 22 homicides when they are pretty close to being able to pin them on Chris and Snoop is pretty tragic. Now Marlo and his crew are going to be "dropping some bodies" big time.

I like that McNulty is drinking and chasing skirts again. He was boring when he was happy. He seems a little darker now though and the crime scene hijinks he was pulling last night was pretty crazy. It'll be interesting to see where all this leads.

The side story with Bubbles is kind of dull. He is in recovery and feeling pretty bad about accidentally killing Sherrod. Ho-hum. Why is his sponsor sweating him on it?

Overall, not a bad episode but not one of the best. We need more Omar.

Does The Wire work on the streets?

Freakonmics has a post on the street cred of The Wire. It seems pretty believable to me, but I'm sure there are some concessions made to make it more interesting to a TV audience.