Comments on: Stendhal's Playlist

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:47:12 +0000

Good luck with The Wire! I’ve had similar feelings, but have been too lazy to get around to watching it. The fact that Susan couldn’t care at all about the show doesn’t help.

On a note about Stendhal syndrome, I highly recommend episode 59 (http://dfblog.digitalflotsam.org/?p=189) of the Digital Flotsam podcast. It’s a great story told by someone who experienced it.

By: Matthew Dessem

Matthew Dessem — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:32:01 +0000

I might have been wrong about thinking it was the best show on television — I’ve just discovered “Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp.”

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:11:09 +0000

I’ll have to let you know, Rain, because it somehow got gifted to me against my will. Current prognosis is dim, though; so far it’s like “Hill Street Blues” if the cast could say “fuck.”

By: Matthew Dessem

Matthew Dessem — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:44:12 +0000

Well, unlike most television (including things like The Sopranos, which has plenty of standalone episodes that don’t move the plot forward), each season of The Wire was almost completely mapped out when they started, so they have the luxury of letting things play out over a little more time than you might think. But season two was better than season one, and I’m told each additional season gets better yet. Put it like this: the characters are so well drawn, the more you’ve seen of the show (and the better you know them), the more interesting it becomes to see them interact. If you’re halfway through the first season, you’re just starting to see Lester, Bunk, and Omar come into their own–and they’re three of the best characters on the show. That said, I was sold on it by the end of the first cold open (“Got to. This America, man!”), so maybe it’s just not your thing.

By: Rain

Rain — Sun, 24 May 2009 03:02:07 +0000

So tell me “Wire” fans: Does it get better past season one? Because I watched the first half of the first season and I was bored out of my fucking mind.

By: Bret

Bret — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:54:58 +0000

I concur. Pick anything but The Wire. Anything.

By: Matthew Dessem

Matthew Dessem — Sun, 24 May 2009 00:45:04 +0000

See, if you'd just chosen a good thing not to see, like The Sopranos, or Mad Men or whatever else, that would be one thing. But as it happens, you chose the best thing not to see. Anyway, you should now feel $25.87 more guilty.