The Wire does a terrific job in regards to casting. I recognized D'Angelo from Waterboy, but absolutely no one else, save for Method Man, who is the only member of that show who was famous before The Wire.

Quite a few of the supporting characters are Homicide alums, but other than that I agree.

I recognized Bodie as Kenny Wangler from Oz, and it took an episode or two before I convinced myself that he wasn't playing a character quite that dumb. Man, Kenny was a dope. But the actor (J.D. Williams) is off to a pretty good career!

He was also in Freeway's "What We Do" video with Hassan Johnson (Wee-Bey).

Wood Harris, (the guy who played Avon), was in the movie Remember the Titans.

I liked Remember the Titans. Before I saw that movie, I had no idea that black people and white people could play football together.

Monty, J.D. Williams was also in an early episode of The Sopranos. That's like some sort of HBO trifecta.

Ok, I gotta get my favorite entertaining moments or things that I think have been underrated some shoutouts in here.

-Avon's scene where he meets Marlo in jail cracks me up. "In here, I'm what you might call... an "authority figya." Avon seems so confident and jovial and Wood Harris does a fantastic job with Avon in general.

-Avon's get out of jail day. Avon has his mind on one thing... getting some female. String keeps talking business all day and is letting Avon go to bed and Avon's bummed to miss out on all the fine, interested ass that he saw and his party until he gets a knock and sees that his boy sent up not one, but two fine lasses.

-Snoop talking. Period.
How about the time Bunk has her n Chris on the curb and is showing off his ego and says that he knows he is a big deal and he is "thinkin' 'bout some #####" and Snoop throws an improved "yeah, me tew".

-Herc talking. For instance when he is retelling how he pulled Snoop n Chris over to find just the legit nail gun and he talks about shooting a nail at the street right next to "the little broad's leg" in a thick NY accent.

-Carcetti's Chief of Staff/Campaign Advisor speaking. Great, bass-heavy southern black man drawl.

-Slim Charles. Really grew from a cool fringe guy to his own semi-noble character. Another guy with a great deep voice.

-Bodie doesn't have to be a morally good guy to be a character to love. He is just the damn definition of cool. Walks around with so much swagger and style, doesn't like to back down but is smart enough to know when he has to. Does that cool looking spitting thing. And of course, his death scene was inspiring.

-I haven't heard Bunk get his due. Amazing comic relief but also is completely necessary for the McNulty character, so central to the whole show, to exist.
For comic relief how about the time he tells Lester "I'm just a humble ############ with a big-arse d!ck," and then adds "Ok, I ain't all that humble".

-Who the hell plays McNulty's wife/ex-wife? Hottie. Same with Nicky's girl.
The moment where Nicky goes and grabs her chest, she objects and he says "Hey. They were looking at me." is great.

-THE GREEK: You should have had a son.
SPANOS: Yes, but then I would have had to have a wife.

-Marlo just rolling around in his truck, alone, with the golf club as his front seat passenger.]

-How ####### stiff Daniels ALWAYS is, no matter what. Arms held tight to the side at a certain angle, chest puffed out, walks like he has a stick up his arse.


Also, post 56...
I LOVE season 2. It is the most different from all of the other seasons but the Sobotka tragedy is amazing, and I guess it isn't just the Sobatka's. We saw through most of the rest of the series the blight of the projects and the black neighborhoods but the Sobatka season showed a similar yet different kind of blight. I think it is one thing to show the projects, it is important but I think folks are generally aware that there is crime and drugs down there. And people know that blue-collar workers are losing jobs, but showing working-class Polish kids from "honest", hard-working families turning to their version of gangster life is pretty hard hitting.
And obviously "honest" in a kind of inaccurate way. The families provided for themselves through hard work but union hijinks aren't honest and they would roll some vodka or olive oil off a ship when they wanted.
The whole dockworker culture was entrancing. The docks, the houses, the bar, the jokes, the guys.. all of it. The actors for Nicky, Ziggy and Frank do an amazing job.

Plus it introduces us the Europeans and the Big Picture, which so much of the plot of the other season's rely on.

Speaking of casting.. the guy who plays Clay Davis seems to be a great character actor. I've seen him do a couple things on Law'n'Order and knock it out of the park.

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

-I haven't heard Bunk get his due. Amazing comic relief but also is completely necessary for the McNulty character, so central to the whole show, to exist.
For comic relief how about the time he tells Lester "I'm just a humble ############ with a big-arse d!ck," and then adds "Ok, I ain't all that humble".

Hated him. Hated him, hated him, hated him. And the people who love him all seem to be the same people who just happened upon The Wire while channel-surfing for Entourage. Ugh.

-How could I forget the non-stop hilarity that is Jay Landsman
KIMA: #### you, fatman.
LANDSMAN: I like it. Unoriginal, but succict. (or something like that)

And who could ever forget the "nightmare" Landsman tells Greggs. Something along the lines of Landsman spending his evening with one hand around a cold Budweiser and the other around his flaccid penis and the he can't get the vision of Jimmy McNulty out of his head. Great stuff.

Plus Landsman's character does a great job portraying how the #### gets shoveled from Rawls on downward. He might not always like shoveling Rawl's #### down the pipe but knows he has to and tries to find the best way to slide it on down the chute.

Speaking of which...
Anything Bill Rawls says qualifies as some of my favorite lines of The Wire. That actor just kills every line.

I practically had to physically restrain myself from reading this topic for spoiler reasons. Damn my wandering eyes!

(I missed The Wire when it was on but I'm going back and watching it now, just finished season 1.)

110,
For what it is worth... I have never seen Entourage : )

I love the Wire for what it is.... Dark, poignant, deep, tragic, comical and plenty more

106, I knew I knew him from somewhere.
What was J.D Williams' character in The Soprano's doing? Was he maybe one of the thugs Christopher had rob that truck whose driver asks his robbers to rough him up a little?

And who could ever forget the "nightmare" Landsman tells Greggs. Something along the lines of Landsman spending his evening with one hand around a cold Budweiser and the other around his flaccid penis and the he can't get the vision of Jimmy McNulty out of his head. Great stuff.

Doesn't he say this to Rawls, not Greggs. I liked Bunk as well and I've watched 10 minutes of Entourage. He was an uncomplicated character who is consistent throughout the show.

Yeah, my bad, I meant to type Rawls. It is late.

The "#### you fatman" was Kima to Landsman and the Landsman's McNulty/masturbation nightmare is told by Landsman to Rawls in Rawls' office.

He was an uncomplicated character who is consistent throughout the show.

Bingo. Not every character has to develop. Bunk is, to me, part of the glue of the show in many ways.. just a regular dude. Good to talk to or confide in; won't sell you out but will tell you when you're being a "gaping #######" (to steal a great Rawls insult.) He isn't out for glory, vengeance or reform, just out to do his job and get drunk and/or laid when he can. Hes got a healthy amount of ego too. He is the kind of guy you might want to be your drinking buddy

MM1f,

That's exactly the scene he was in. Was that the pilot? If not, it was one of the first couple episodes of the show.

Brother Mouzone hasn't gotten much love in this thread. "The Game is the Game."

Also - "Where is my Harpers?"

I loved Brother Mouzone at first, but the more I think back on him, the less I like him. The character was too Hollywood, unreal and fictional in a way that makes him stand out from the others.

118,
Same. I liked him, but he was a little too much at times.

His meeting with Cheese was great though...
And what is your name sir?
Yo, dey call me Cheese!
Very well, Mr. Cheese.
(or something like that, good stuff)

I liked Lamar. A poor simple-minded dude who got stuck with the job of being the caddy to the one damn killer who needs a damn Harper's and needs someone to walk into gay bars for him.

The funniest scene to me is from the 2nd season when the cops are surveilling some of the white drug dealers and they see the head corner boy tell one of the younger kids something like, "yo shorty, go to the corner store and get me a Snapple."

I liked Lamar. A poor simple-minded dude who got stuck with the job of being the caddy to the one damn killer who needs a damn Harper's and needs someone to walk into gay bars for him.

You may already know this, but the actor that played him was DeAndre McCullough, the (real-life) main character of The Corner.

The Corner was a great show, anybody who likes the Wire should definitely check it out. It's not quite as good, imo, but it's very close. There is a scene in the show where a street vendor's horse pisses on a corner's stash that rivals anything from The Wire. Also, Gary (DeAndre's father) and the actor who plays him are very affecting.

Love the Wire. Seasons four, one and three (in order of preference) were the best that TV has to offer. Season five was extremely disappointing with a few bright spots. Season two was not nearly as entertaining and featured the worst, most unbelievable character of all, Ziggy.