Hmm... It's almost like interjecting both Stars and Wars made this show more interesting.

wat

Hey, it's time for our weekly Homicide check-in in the Bobo Fett thread.

I watched Season 2 this week, and I was shocked that there was such a step-down in quality from Season 1 in a lot of ways. I understand from reading about its history that the show was nearly network-noted to death, but it's so clear how it loses its frenetic energy and almost becomes a boring broadcast-TV cop show. There are things that shine through, though--the absolute best sequence of the season is when Frank gets a confession out of the character that he knows didn't do it just as a "fuck you" to G. Just amazing stuff. I also always chuckle how some writer snuck in naming two characters after grunge band members.

I am thinking back to our conversation on Twitter the other day about how Homicide is a character drama and The Wire is a systems novel. I think Homicide actually went for it during the second season and tried to be about the "bigger" picture, like with a few cases having to do with the drug trade and the multi-episode arc about the unjustified police shooting (in the latter, G also comes across pretty badly, way worse than I remember). I know it eventually gels around the character of Luther Mahoney and gets good, but they're not there yet--and I'd argue that that isn't purely a "systems" story, since Luther acts as more of an arch villain, whereas in The Wire there are fewer "bad" guys, you know what I'm saying?

Anyway, I know Homicide rebounds after Season 2 and settles in, but I'm taking a detour and starting The Corner, which I've never seen before! I'll report back after Boba Fett next week.

ST, I swear to god

You're this close

Agree entirely about how bad G comes across in that episode. I do think as the series develops it really highlights how dynamic these characters are. They're real people portrayer as such.. not "good" or "bad". Just normal flawed characters... And the main spot where this show runs laps around the Wire (and in my opinion, most of tv ever). They're real and it's subtle. You don't need to see Frank being a drunk to understand he neglects his family. Or G. Have a revelation after Franks actions. Or even Barnfather. They just grow organically in a way that never feels like it's beating you over the head. Even for as dramatic as Bayliss' growth is, he gets from A to Z with lots of small subtle steps. They're not one note like Herc, McNulty or even Lester. Carver being the exception. Even Kellerman becomes multi dimensional.

Homicide in 2 seemed to lose a bit of the humor that 1 had, but given the nature of the show with multiple sets of partners doing multiple things always pulled off the one set is on the crime of the week, one is in the squad room or dealing with personal shit, the other is on a multi week case, usually with at least one person obsessing over something big picture. It's one of my favorite elements of the show... How it manages to tackle all off it.

And as much as I don't mind the frenetic movement of season 1, a number of people I've tried to get to watch it have complained about it... So I get why they toned it down. They probably over corrected for season 2... And honestly I can't remember if they eased back into it, or by three the writing and performances were just so in tune I didn't miss it

You guys weren't kidding about the street gang chase in episode 3. It looked TERRIBLE.

Maybe more of a discussion for The Wire thread and not the Boba Fett thread, but I have to begrudgingly stand up for McNulty as a complex, interesting character, even though I do not like him. That's his whole stick--he's an asshole, a jerk, a horrible father, stubborn, etc., etc., but he really is "good police," for most of the series, anyway--Season 5 really messes with that. I can totally feel those critiques of Herc and Lester, though--Lester gets love because he is smooth and smart, but there's not a lot going on with him besides that. Also, Kima is the female McNutty and I will not be taking any questions about that at this time.

I liked the overall episode more than most but yeah that scene looked so bad. I don't really understand how that happens. It's fine, not a deal breaker. But it was weird.

She was definitely played up to be McNulty, who at the end saw what he really was and realized she had to step back from that ledge.

And I agree McNulty was a good police.. but from episode 1 to the last he was a brilliant cop driven by obsession.. and for that brief period when he settled down, it felt inevitable he would be drawn back into being that. He was a great character, but showing his flaws were less nuanced than say, Frank

Did anyone else think it was unbelievable that Mando put the Dark Saber, the most coveted item of his culture, in to some random weapon check in case for that flight?

That was part of the comedy of the scene. No one expected him to put ANY of it in there. I did expect either the case to be gone or the Darksaber to be missing when the trip was over, tho.

I appreciated that
A. Moment of levity
B. It kind of showed that he still doesn't understand exactly what he has

Yes, that was wild. Imagine B putting his Pearl Jam ViewMaster in there.

Pfft. I'd do it. I've got insurance on that thing.

Someone checked the writing under the cockpit, and it's different than TPM.

I liked the episode, and was comfortable with the world building and cheesy dialogue. It felt like a warm blanket of star wars keeping me nice and cozy. And I've been down on SW during the Sequel Trilogy run. In an 8-10 episode format, you are bound to have scenes where secondary characters have more lines and get into the cheesy realm. If Amy Sedaris' character was in a SW movie she might be toned down a bit more with the limitation of the format.

I think Favreau and company have done a great job with these two live action shows. The VFX alone is an amazing accomplishment.