45
votes
Accepted
What is that attachment on the telephone?
That is a Shoulder rest. This is to help you hold the phone up to your ear by shrugging your shoulder or tilting your head a bit.
It made a lot more sense before cell phones.
28
votes
Accepted
Why is Omar Little's body a white male?
Because it shows how unimportant Omar Little was in the grand scheme of things. He was a drug kingpin on the streets, revered and feared, but after his death he is basically an anonymous body in a ...
- 49.6k
9
votes
Why didn't Bubbles face any consequences for his work as an informant?
That quote doesn't show that it was common knowledge that Bubbles was Greggs' snitch; it shows that Omar knows Bubbles is a snitch. At other times, Omar has been shown to have knowledge other ...
- 813
8
votes
Accepted
What is the significance of this photo?
The photo is of Robert Irsay, an American football team owner who controversially moved the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis in 1984, and appears to be an allegory of the situation Frank is now facing ...
- 8,137
7
votes
Did Vince Gilligan or other major Breaking Bad participants acknowledge the Wire as an inspiration? Did any Wire people comment on Breaking Bad?
I know from listening to the Breaking Bad Insider Podcast that Vince Gilligan often states Sopranos, Goodfellas, Godfather and spaghetti westerns, Once Upon a Time in the West is particularly ...
- 3,041
7
votes
Accepted
D'Angelo tap, tap, tap murder reference
During the "Fuck" scene, Bunk and McNulty understood how the crime happened, especially that the woman was bending over while looking at the window (the bullet entered high in the chest and came out ...
- 5,358
6
votes
Accepted
Did Stringer Bell plan on having Avon killed?
"Oh, and that other thing, them two hitters you asked after, they good with it" - Shamrock
He's not referring to hitters for Avon. You're correct that Stringer was selling out Avon (to clarify, I ...
- 1,066
6
votes
Accepted
The Wire: Pager Cloning
Old analog phones & pagers had a kind of "MAC address" that would identify them. They didn't change after every connection like they do these days, they were fixed for the life of the device.
...
- 53.5k
5
votes
Accepted
In The Wire, how did they film the scene where the Franklin Terrace towers are collapsing?
It's CGI. Quality/grain of the linked video make it look more real but I remember watching this and thinking "this is some serious Dr WHO graphic". The building is too uniform, clean and ...
- 11.1k
4
votes
Accepted
The Wire: Payphone Code
This has been bugging me like crazy lately. The only explanation I can think of is they need proof that the specific calls they want to wiretap are between two suspects before they can get permission ...
- 56
3
votes
Accepted
Are those apartments in The Wire abandoned?
These buildings are frequently referred to as 'derelicts', especially in Season 4 when Chris and Snoop find a use for them.
You might live in one if you had no other choice but you'd have to break ...
- 510
3
votes
Are those apartments in The Wire abandoned?
That location appears to be Hamsterdam from season 3. Apparently they are vacant houses. This link says they have since been torn down but when I do google street view I still see them there (still in ...
- 3,041
3
votes
What exactly was the "dirt" on Daniels in The Wire?
Season 5 Episode 4;
Burrell talking to Nerese about Daniels when Burrell realises his job is under threat by getting replaced by Daniels:
Burrell: He's not the spick and span boy they think he is....
- 243
3
votes
What happened to the children Wallace was looking after?
The question regarding the fate of the children is not answered anywhere in the series (or in it's companion piece, 'The Wire - Truth Be Told' written by Rafael Alvarez), but looking at other plot ...
- 8,137
2
votes
Why didn't they go through with taking the case to the feds?
Although there is some interest in 'following the money' and nailing corrupt politicians etc they are not 'the target' or any kind of priority for the detail. Its not just a case of the 'Barksdale ...
- 8,137
2
votes
The meaning of the intro to S01E01 of The Wire
I got two things out of this scene:
Shit doesn't change.
Gambling with other's trust usually leads to consequences without reward.
McNulty's death as a cop and constantly gambling with his career.
...
- 121
1
vote
Why does Nick Sobotka have a pi tattoo?
Never comes up in the show, and it's not a real tattoo on Pablo Schreiber either. Or at least as far as I can tell from his Instagram (there are a couple you'd be able to make it out), unless he's ...
- 374
1
vote
The meaning of the intro to S01E01 of The Wire
What I got from this particular line is that, regardless of how of their gangster ways they hold “rights” and “freedom” in high regard. The rules are the rules. There was a scene in a latter episode ...
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