That's me on The Corner
The Saturday Times commissioned me to write a really long review of David Simon and Ed Burns' The Corner, a nonfiction precursor to The Wire. They've made it their Book of the Week and given it an inordinate amount of space, which is wholly gratifying. You can read it here, should you wish. I like the Times. It's the only newspaper to regularly ask me to write things for them. I appreciate that. (They used to pay a lot more, too, but since the start of the year their freelance word rate has been slashed - welcome to the harsh realities of the recession, which is felt in the media as much as anywhere else. Still, it's better than being a heroin addict in West Baltimore.)
posted by Andrew Collins @ 1:50 PM
12 Comments
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12 Comments:
Soooo funny. I'm sat in work covering this weeking and since it's quite and they're no managers about I'm watching the 4th Season of The Wire: The School edition.
I'm trying to get thru it all as quick as I can so I can then go out and buy The Corner.
Sheeeeeeeeeeeeett.
Andrew, thank you for the review. I've got the old versions of Homicide: a Year on the Killing Street and The Corner book, and the attention to detail just hooks you in. I'm just wondering if it is worth getting the reissue, as I know what happened to Fran, DeAndre (I think), but I'd been keen to know about Blue. The mini-series tied up most of the other loose ends IIRC.
BTW, Just wondering your thoughts on BBC2's airing of The Wire. Do you think nightly at 11:20 is a good slot for it? Will people that haven't watched it yet maintain their commitment to it do you think, or will the ardent fans leave it to be watched by a cult following mirroring that when BBC2 aired Seinfeld and Larry Sanders at that time?
machine levine
I haven't seen The Wire and was considering buying the box set on the strength of the gushing reviews on here and other sites so 11.20 on BBC2 is just fine for me and my Sky+ box...
Pete
I was also on the verge of buying the boxset on the strength of the great reviews from a lot of people who I have a lot of time for, so I'm really pleased that the BBC are going to show it. I don't have sky+ like lucky old Pete so I'll be there at 11.20 every night for the forseeable future. Wish me luck.
John
Forgot to ask Andrew is there any news on when the audiobook for where did it all go right likely to be available?
John (again)
May, we think, John. More news as I get it from Go Faster Stripe.
Machine, I'm all for BBC2's nightly slot for The Wire - I hated watching the last series on FX with a week's gap between episodes! Five a week sounds ideal. Who wants to put money on them moving it to a later slot, or a different one, before the end of the run, due to poor audiences?
I'm going to adopt your last sentence as a catchphrase.
Andrew - have you ever done a review of The Wire? I'd be interested to read that.
Anyone wavering on buying the box set(s), don't. From what I've seen so far, it's nigh on perfect TV drama.
Ah, found it.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article4739350.ece
Please excuse hastiness. Nice work.
Don't waver on the box set, worth every penny, some people complained not enough extras, but £ wise its cheaper than buying indiv... for me the various episodes commentaries (usually 3 per DVD and with various characters and production team) make an interesting inciteful view of the background.
e.g things like - the reasons for the first wake (ie they were celebrating Robert Colesbury's life), the real Jay Landsman playing Lt Mello.. the fact that Prop Joe was actually an acting coach for the boys in series 4. (he does a commentary with them)
The fact that Det Ed Norris was in fact once the real Baltimore Commissioner.
I would say most people I show this to get so hooked that they watch 5 or 6 episodes in a row and request a 're-up' constantly.. ;)
AC I posted the previous post about the box set ,..(excellent review of the book)
I wondered if you had seen or reviewed any of the '93-'99 series of Homicide:Life on the Streets, intrigued to know how good it may be? and if worth any DVD investment..
(s) SteveM.
I've never seen any of Homicide, Steve. I've only been aware of it since getting into The Wire. Where does one find the hours in the day? I've been tempted to try Law & Order since getting into the UK version, but there's so much of it!
Also, it's tempting to watch The Wire from the beginning again on BBC2. (I know I already own it on DVD, but there's something about it actually being on, isn't there?)
(Oh, and I haven't read the book of Homicide either, or Generation KIll, although I have the latter by my bedside.)
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