FADE IN: INT. WIRE ROOM - NIGHT
A crowded room is illuminated by dim lights casting shadows across its inhabitants. In the center, DETECTIVE JIMMY MCNULTY sits at a table, surrounded by empty bottles of whiskey and beer cans. He wears his police uniform unkempt, as if he hasn’t bothered to change since his last shift. His face is grim, eyes bloodshot.
A sound echoes through the room, growing louder. A bright light flashes in the window.
MCNULTY (CONT’D) (slurring) It’s happening again. It always happens.
He stumbles to his feet, knocking over an empty bottle which shatters on the floor. He wobbles towards the door and disappears into the night.
CUT TO:
EXT. BALTIMORE STREETS - NIGHT
Streetlights flicker above as cars rush by. The distant sound of sirens grows closer. MCNULTY stands on a bridge, observing a cargo ship passing underneath.
MCNULTY (to himself) They need me. They don’t even know it yet.
His gaze fixates on the massive ship as he fumbles with something in his pocket. With a determined look, he throws what was in his hand onto the water below.
CUT TO:
EXT. BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT
Construction workers are busy at work, their tools clanking against metal. Suddenly, a loud crash reverberates through the air. Bricks and cement fly everywhere as the pillar supporting the bridge collapses. Screams fill the air as debris falls onto the water below.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROADWAY BELOW THE BRIDGE - NIGHT
Panicked drivers swerve to avoid falling debris. An SUV skids on its side along the road, causing a chain reaction that leaves multiple vehicles destroyed.
CUT TO:
EXT. BRIDGE COLLAPSE SCENE - NIGHT
JIMMY MCNULTY emerges from the shadows, unscathed. His face is covered in ash, but his eyes burn with an unquenchable thirst for justice. He looks up at the collapsed bridge and grins, knowing that once again, he will have a case to solve.
FADE OUT.
You forgot that he will drag his old shitty boss and department into the case against their wills by proving that the ship ran into the pillar which was land not in the water therefore it was a Baltimore jurisdiction instead of the coast guards jurisdiction.
INT. WIRE ROOM - DAY
A somber mood fills the room as detectives gather around the conference table. Lieutenant CIARAN “SNUBBY” REDMOND storms in, visibly irritated.
SNUBBY (yelling) What the hell is going on here? This is a Coast Guard case! We don’t have any jurisdiction over this!
MCNULTY steps forward, unfazed by his superior’s outburst.
MCNULTY (coolly) Actually, we do. Let me show you something.
He walks over to a projection screen, plugs in a flash drive, and starts playing a video. The recording shows the cargo ship smashing into the bridge’s pillar. However, the video is slowed down, revealing something significant.
V/O (Mcnulty) The slow-motion footage reveals that the ship didn’t just hit the pilings underwater—it also collided with solid ground.
SNUBBY (surprised) How did you get this video?
MCNULTY (smirking) Let’s just say a little birdie told me that some local fishermen captured this on their boat.
Lieutenant SNUBBY runs his fingers through his hair, defeated.
SNUBBY (muttering to himself) Damn it, McNulty. You always find a way.
The other detectives look at MCNULTY with newfound respect as he takes charge of the investigation.
FADE OUT.
That’s the McNutty we all love.
Why are these people so eager to push one story or another?
The sane thing to do is to discuss the options.
Having an open mind is a good thing. Opening your head to the point your brain falls on the floor isn’t.
Except there was literally a mayday call from the ship saying that they lost power and could not steer… So… That’s the only option worth descussing because that’s what happened. MJT or anybody else suggestion it was intentional is indeed a submoronic pirfall of a human being.
You guys really get into the whole persecution angle.
There are infinite options. Entertaining all of them is not sane, and completely futile. If you have no ability to narrow down the field to the realm of plausible scenarios then you’ll never discover the truth of anything.
Thank you captain pedantic
I don’t think anyone would ever own up to creating Greene, she must be an accident. Like when a man jerks off in a cinema and a woman sits on the seat after.
Go on…
Got 'em
It’s not like Baltimore was a great place before the bridge came down…
This dude dropped some seriously well worded “your mama” jokes on some xitheads … damn he’s my hero.
Dang, adding that one to the arsenal.
That’s not what a pratfall means though?
Its two word put together, prat and fall. It means to PURPOSEFULLY trip up but make it look like you are clumsy.
It’s a “stage” thing and done by clowns and actors generally.
Guessing it’s one of those context-specific things- some words have wildly different meanings depending on how/when it’s used.
Maggie 3 toes knows a terrorist attack when she sees one, she helped plan one after all.
I heard she has a cleft butthole.
No that was a portrait.
Removed by mod
The fuck? There are conspiracies about this already even though there was a live stream of it? What the fuck is wrong with people?
There’s not. A media personality is creating that impression for future use.
There were conspiracies the morning of. I asked if anyone at work had seen it, about 9 California time, they hadn’t but soon after seeing pictures and video some of these guys were calling for a conspiracy.
So I leaned into it. Yeah Republicans refuse to fund infrastructure maintenance, so the conspiracy is get shipping companies to ram dilapidated bridges so their insurances fund the rebuilds.The Key Bridge isn’t even that bad. There are WAY worse bridges. Just roll down the water a few miles and go after the Bay Bridge near Annapolis, for example. I’m still irritated that as bad as that pair of bridges is, there’s STILL no long term plan for replacement. We’ve been talking about it for at least a decade now.
One two lane bridge (circa 1952), and one three lane bridge (1973) with a lane that is often set to the reverse direction - without barriers! No shoulders at all. You break down, you’re in the lane. People freeze up from fear driving over it, and I really don’t blame them - I’ve never had an issue, but there is little to block your view of water almost straight down out the side of the vehicle. Don’t forget the metal grate section that gets nice and slick in any sort of wet weather. And they carry far more traffic than they were ever expected to handle. Oh and there are often high winds that add to the fun.
The Mackinac Bridge is exactly the same. Built in 1957, with one concrete and one metal grate lane in both directions, and in winter, it’s sheer ice. It’s so long over a strait prone to high winds, you can feel the sway. I’ve had panic attacks halfway over it as a passenger – and I’m always a passenger even if I was driving in the lead-up because it scares me so much, I was too terrified my first time driving across it and was shaking so badly, I could barely steer. Maybe I’m a pussy, and they say it’s well-maintained, but I’ve read Michigan DOT’s state-wide bridge health report, and it’s less than exemplary.
When you’re trapped in the phantasm of conspiratorial thinking you’ll try to map any event that makes you feel something into that crooked framework.
It’s incredibly said when it’s involuntary, because it shows how damaged a person’s reasoning faculties have become. It’s infuriating when it’s done by assholes who use it knowingly to manipulate others.
Human error is a far more reasonable explanation than complicated conspiracies, but I understand the thought. It really looked like that ship aimed for the bridge. Planning such a conspiracy would be far, far harder and more expensive to pull off than simple bridge failure, though.
There are conspiracies that the earth is flat too. Humans can be profoundly stupid.
And religion + racism + fear of the unknown + social echo chambers can all be exploited. Remember that MTG floated a few years ago that space lasers caused California forest fires. Never mind the power requirements and ridiculousness that would require.
I think the woman is dangerous as hell, but I don’t think she’s stupid. I think she uses dumb ideas to mobilize an ignorant base.
You give her far too much credit, she’s incredibly stupid. The people who feed her this bullshit might not be, but she is.
Idk I think she’s stupid but I don’t think that makes her unwilling of a participant in her evil or less dangerous. She’s the voice of the bigoted idiots of America rather than someone selling to them.
but I don’t think she’s stupid. I think she uses dumb ideas to mobilize an ignorant base.
No, she’s pretty stupid. If she wasn’t, she’d be Steve Bannon or something similar, but instead she’s the amalgamation of crazy stupid that she is
MTG
Damn, Magic The Gathering has really let itself go
Sadly truth doesn’t seem to matter anymore to a large group of people. As long as it matches their worldview they’ll just take anything at face value.
Most of the conspiracies I’ve seen are related to the fact that there were live streams of it.
Some people are just unfamiliar with the fact that there are webcams streaming 24/7 in cities all over the world.
People who dropped out of high school and think they never needed to learn physics are all watching the video and thinking, “why would a bridge fall THAT way?” and then blaming Biden because that’s what Fox and Newsmax keyed them into blaming.
I thought it was Obama’s fault?
David Simon goes hard and I wish he’d do it more often.
someone is trying to fight back against the misinformation tide.
Anthony Sabatini got murdered. Condolences to his truck stop mother.
To Anthony Sabatini, the former Florida congressman who wrote “DEI did this” – referring to diversity, equity and inclusion – Simon took no prisoners. “Your mother did you, but after a hard life of service on a truck-stop lot, can we really hold her loosened, battered womb responsible for dropping you head-first on the Winnebago floor and burdening our society with another empty, racist demagogue thereafter? We cannot.”
Holy fuck, don’t get on Simon’s bad side. That was a solar flare level burn.
David Simon has a history of public takedowns and is pretty defensive of Baltimore. He sort of ended O’Malley’s presidential ambitions. I want to say single handedly, but O’Malley did a lot of work on that too
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/04/29/david-simon-on-baltimore-s-anguish
A woman dedicated to her craft 🫡
The captain of the ship was Captain Ray Turner… That’s right, C.R.T. You can’t make this shit up.
I mean I made it up, but you can’t.
Damn cathode ray tubes crashing into bridges!
Didn’t you get the memo? CRT is the old racist dogwhistle. Now they’re going after DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Weird that you say that, because I didn’t even make the connection - the ship’s doctor… Dr. Erica Ingold. D.E.I.
I wish I was joking, dude… And oh, look? My wish came true!
I’m still gonna try
When another poster asked, “Isn’t it possible that this was a deliberate terrorist attack rather than a tragic accident?,” Simon retorted, “It’s possible that you’re a useless shitheel rando on an internet hellsite speculating wildly and without regard to what is already known by authorities in Baltimore. Quick, have someone fund your podcast. You’ll go far.”
To a poster who called Baltimore a “mismanaged, failed state,” Simon offered a well-worded correction: “The port is a state-run entity and nothing whatsoever to do with Baltimore municipal government, you absolute submoron.”
To Anthony Sabatini, the former Florida congressman who wrote “DEI did this” – referring to diversity, equity and inclusion – Simon took no prisoners. “Your mother did you, but after a hard life of service on a truck-stop lot, can we really hold her loosened, battered womb responsible for dropping you head-first on the Winnebago floor and burdening our society with another empty, racist demagogue thereafter? We cannot.”
Literally
If this is indicative of The Wire, I should watch it.
Sheeeeeeeit. You should definitely watch it.
Idris Elba started out on it. As did Dominic West (Prince Charles in The Crown), and Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger in Game of Thrones). And Michael Kenneth Williams had some choice parts, he was always great.
Don’t forget Michael B. Jordan baby facing it up in the first season
Where Wallace at, yo?
WHERE WALLACE AT?
Well I’m sold
“This…. Is bullshit.” RIP Lance Reddick
Obligatory: I wish I were LeVar Burton
Dude! The Wire is the one of the best shows ever created! Watch on Max, rent DVDs from the library, or just do some normal piracy. You owe yourself a watch of The Wire.
Absolutely brilliant show. And yes, this is indicative of The Wire. 😅
I envy your first watch. It’s an incredible show. Only one I personally rank a slight notch higher is Deadwood.
Agreed … cocksucker.
Never heard Deadwood discussed anywhere. Will it challenge my Battlestar Galactica run?
Deadwood is the best written, most humane and complex drama I’ve seen on TV. Watch with subtitles because Milch is a genius and you don’t want to miss anything.
And you might still miss some things the first time but it makes rewatches even better. I rarely feel the desire to rewatch shows, even good ones, Deadwood is the exception.
Hell even the set is amazing because the background extras took their roles so seriously, listening to the commentary tracks the lead actors noted that the background extras/actors developed their own routines and really made the camp come to life.
It had more of a living history museum or renaissance fair vibe than that of a stale set. Everyone invovled with the project had passion for their role no matter how small.
Deadwood is better imo. But I don’t think Battlestar Galactica fans would necessarily agree.
Regardless, give it a shot!
BSG is a very different show but there might be some crossover between the fanbases. Deadwood is legacy HBO, the quality and depth of cast is on another level compared to what the scifi channel had at the time.
It’s also endlessly quotable, that’s one thing I miss about reddit is the small /r/Deadwood sub. You’ll see some general “cocksucka” quotes in the wild but that sub has multiple rewatches under their belt and uses the full range. I have to revist some posts there everytime I rewatch it.
Anyway, here’s one of my favorites from Wild Bill in S01E04: https://webm.red/view/cn5t.webm
Good ol’ Charlie Utter. 🥹
One of my favorite, underrated short scenes is Al singing alone in his bar:
Deadwood is the closest a TV show has gotten to reading a rich, classic work of literature, to me. I’ve watched the entire series three times in about as many years.
What about the shield?
IMHO the shield pales in comparison to the Wire. The wire is up there as one of my favorite shows of all time and I couldn’t really get into The Shield.
I had a tough time as well, I think it was the slow burn intro and the shaky camera work (that is actually technique). Try it again and it is most definitely some of the best television of all time. Right up there with breaking bad as well.
The Shield is very different. LA and Baltimore are very different culturally and it shows in the final product. The Shield also focuses on the one squad while The Wire is about the city of Baltimore. Of the two, I personally think The Shield is a little more cartoonish, so The Wire wins out, but The Shield is still excellent.
Yes it is different but so is Breaking Bad, Bojack Horseman, Futurama, etc. Shows/movies can be different and still be equal in quality.
I’m still going to say that The Shield is up there with the others in quality, regardless of the differing topics and story. I don’t want to watch the same movie or TV show over and over with a different cast and slightly different story line.
I’m not sure how this in any way contradicts what I said. I’m not saying only watch The Wire, I’m saying between The Wire and The Shield, having seen both, I prefer The Wire, but they’re also very different so it’s not a good comparison.
I’m always amazed at the lack of conversational ability these days.
You have a nice day now.
Never watched it. Do you consider it on the same level?
Most definitely.
Both shows are at the top but Deadwood’s dialogue has a deliberate rhythm to it that is unmatched. If you get on it’s wave length you’re in for a treat. I watch it at least once a year and never grow tired of it.
David Milch the creator details his thought process on the rhythm of the dialogue and the push back he got with use of obscenity here: https://youtu.be/F2qk7W8_KLE?si=LxeRNs2N_-kzKiGb&t=1196 (20:01) Once he’s done answering that question (around 29:00) i’d stop watching if you haven’t seen Deadwood as there are spoilers later in the talk.
Milch was wasted on TV, in a sense.
Right, I think he had a lot more in the tank that we never got to see.
For years I was upset that Deadwood never had a fourth season. When I learned more about Milch and listened to his recent memoir that came out in 2022 I was just glad those first 3 seasons made it to air.
Many people don’t survive all the drugs, family problems and a gambling addiction that he had going for him.
It would be cool to see the alternative universe where the other frat member becomes president or the one where Deadwood doesn’t get cancelled but this one could be a lot worse really.
You should. I’ve been binging it the past few weeks and it’s amazing.
Yes.
Sheeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…
You absolutely should.
I finally gave in and watched it after multiple independent recommendations from people who had strong educated opinions on quality nuanced literature and media. The last series sort of declined a bit, but overall I was in no way disappointed. It was exceptionally well done, and importantly for me, not too watered down with tired tropes, stereotyped single dimensional characters, painfully predictable plots and neatly tidied moral threads.
I mean, there were definitely some, but, it’s TV. It holds up extremely well even with age.
It’s also had such a large cultural influence, many of those tropes come from it.
Yes. Yes you should. It is a very realistic portrayal of crime, politics, and the police in Baltimore.
Not just Baltimore. It represents most major American cities and their institutions.
You’re going to love Jay Landsman’s (Delaney Williams) lines.
This man’s gift of insult is truly magical.
Goddamn. Glorious.
Fucking savage.
And I’m gonna binge-watch the wire again.
I…I would like to wed this man.
I wish I had a mastery of the English language even half as good as this man. There’s fucking POETRY in this!
Those replies, especially the last one, are worthy of a Pulitzer.
Holy shit man, that guy rips! I almost want to go piss him off to get my own!
Good God, someone call the Hague
Damn that’s savage.
