Comments on: The finale. http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-finale one writer's daily download Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:42:19 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: First day: everybody all friendly an’ shit « Got that New Package! http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/comment-page-1/#comment-144894 First day: everybody all friendly an’ shit « Got that New Package! Fri, 28 Dec 2007 05:16:25 +0000 http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/#comment-144894 [...] in front of the rest of us. Her posts on the show, along with commentary by Ashley and others, make great reading: It’s not just the kids who are unsaved. The police, the teachers, the politicians — all bang [...] […] in front of the rest of us. Her posts on the show, along with commentary by Ashley and others, make great reading: It’s not just the kids who are unsaved. The police, the teachers, the politicians — all bang […]

]]> By: Kim http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/comment-page-1/#comment-25422 Kim Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:34:56 +0000 http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/#comment-25422 Wow. What a great season. I love how it shows some of the folks deep in the trenches -- Donnelly, Colvin, Carver, McNulty, you know the rest if you watched -- as true believers. Even portly Jay has a smidge of it. They live/work among what the worst produces: the worst parents, the worst systems (school, law-n-order, gov't.), the worst capitalists. Yet it hasn't killed their hope for change. I think that's the thing that keeps us going: hope. It's certainly the thing that, with a little serendipity like Colvin coming to the rescue somehow when Carver cannot, will blast one kid out of circumstances like those four comer corner boys -- the thing that no sociologist or reporter or mayor ever puts a finger on. That cute little raw sewage-mouth Kenard (God, thought I was going to die when I heard them say his name, "canard"!)? Already gone. No hope. Maybe. I hope not. Bug? How the hell could he survive this? Michael just swapped bad outcomes. But, yeah. How can you even hope for hope when a young adult has been so culturally sheltered in his own freaking city that he doesn't know what/where the idyllic arboretum is? That's where Colvin should have taken the kids instead of Ruth's Chris. Redemption comes in slivers for these people, even the kids. And it's usually never enough. I wish I could be more coherent. I guess redemption for the show means one more season. I'll settle for that. It's time people found out Lou Grant has left the building. Wow. What a great season. I love how it shows some of the folks deep in the trenches — Donnelly, Colvin, Carver, McNulty, you know the rest if you watched — as true believers. Even portly Jay has a smidge of it. They live/work among what the worst produces: the worst parents, the worst systems (school, law-n-order, gov’t.), the worst capitalists. Yet it hasn’t killed their hope for change.

I think that’s the thing that keeps us going: hope. It’s certainly the thing that, with a little serendipity like Colvin coming to the rescue somehow when Carver cannot, will blast one kid out of circumstances like those four comer corner boys — the thing that no sociologist or reporter or mayor ever puts a finger on. That cute little raw sewage-mouth Kenard (God, thought I was going to die when I heard them say his name, “canard”!)? Already gone. No hope. Maybe. I hope not. Bug? How the hell could he survive this? Michael just swapped bad outcomes.

But, yeah. How can you even hope for hope when a young adult has been so culturally sheltered in his own freaking city that he doesn’t know what/where the idyllic arboretum is? That’s where Colvin should have taken the kids instead of Ruth’s Chris.

Redemption comes in slivers for these people, even the kids. And it’s usually never enough. I wish I could be more coherent.

I guess redemption for the show means one more season. I’ll settle for that. It’s time people found out Lou Grant has left the building.

]]> By: Dorothy http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/comment-page-1/#comment-25324 Dorothy Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:45:43 +0000 http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/#comment-25324 Good article on Andre Royo, who plays Bubbles: http://observer-reporter.com/main.asp?SectionID=28&SubSectionID=95&ArticleID=34753&TM=49055.59 Good article on Andre Royo, who plays Bubbles:

http://observer-reporter.com/main.asp?SectionID=28&SubSectionID=95&ArticleID=34753&TM=49055.59

]]> By: Dorothy http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/comment-page-1/#comment-25290 Dorothy Tue, 12 Dec 2006 14:08:07 +0000 http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/#comment-25290 I feel so badly that no one else has commented I thought I'd pop in this morning with a few words. I have not seen the show til the end yet. I have seen only about the first half hour. I thank you, MaryO, for recommending that Wash Post article. I printed it out and took it with me to Mike's doctor appointment yesterday to read. There was also an interesting article about the late Vince Guaraldi in the same issue. I've always loved the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas, so it was good to get some background on the guy who composed it. I feel so badly that no one else has commented I thought I’d pop in this morning with a few words. I have not seen the show til the end yet. I have seen only about the first half hour. I thank you, MaryO, for recommending that Wash Post article. I printed it out and took it with me to Mike’s doctor appointment yesterday to read.

There was also an interesting article about the late Vince Guaraldi in the same issue. I’ve always loved the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas, so it was good to get some background on the guy who composed it.

]]> By: Mary O http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/comment-page-1/#comment-25161 Mary O Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:49:35 +0000 http://nancynall.com/2006/12/11/the-finale/#comment-25161 This season seems to have flown by. I found illuminating the bar discussion between Carcetti's guy Norman and Royce's former chief of staff: They always let you down. It's something you kind of know instinctively, but you get caught up in the emotion of the movement-for-change, and you sometimes tend to forget that the system is built on a lot of compromises. "Kids don't vote." Harsh, but so very true. And though this is not exactly an original thought, what also is so fascinating about this show is that it portrays the drug culture as bureaucratic and soul-crushing as any government or business job. Bodie's lunch-hour complaint to McNulty that he has worked hard and been loyal since he was 13, and he's got nothing to show for it, was nothing short of genius in showing that. It's been done before on this show, but for a soldier like Bodie to cop to it was amazing. And then he went down in a corner standoff, killed by his own former guy after facing the fake-hit by Chris and Snoop. Wonder if McNulty will be going back to his old ways now that he's back on the team and out of uniform. My bet is yes. And my bet is that Namond gets sucked back into it too. That was so depressing. But I'm going to tune in next season to see if they resolve that at all. I just want Bunny back, I guess. He seems to be the moral center to a lot of the story. There's a great article in today's Washington Post about the view of the show from kids who've lived this type of life. This season seems to have flown by.

I found illuminating the bar discussion between Carcetti’s guy Norman and Royce’s former chief of staff: They always let you down. It’s something you kind of know instinctively, but you get caught up in the emotion of the movement-for-change, and you sometimes tend to forget that the system is built on a lot of compromises. “Kids don’t vote.” Harsh, but so very true.

And though this is not exactly an original thought, what also is so fascinating about this show is that it portrays the drug culture as bureaucratic and soul-crushing as any government or business job. Bodie’s lunch-hour complaint to McNulty that he has worked hard and been loyal since he was 13, and he’s got nothing to show for it, was nothing short of genius in showing that. It’s been done before on this show, but for a soldier like Bodie to cop to it was amazing. And then he went down in a corner standoff, killed by his own former guy after facing the fake-hit by Chris and Snoop.

Wonder if McNulty will be going back to his old ways now that he’s back on the team and out of uniform. My bet is yes.

And my bet is that Namond gets sucked back into it too. That was so depressing. But I’m going to tune in next season to see if they resolve that at all. I just want Bunny back, I guess. He seems to be the moral center to a lot of the story.

There’s a great article in today’s Washington Post about the view of the show from kids who’ve lived this type of life.

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