The Wire re-upThe WireThe Wire re-up: season four, episode 10 – comedy in The Wire
SPOILER ALERT: This weekly blog is for those who have already seen The Wire in its entirety. This week: Wengerball lists his funniest moments in the showThe Wire: the book
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Season four, episode 10
This week regular contributor Varun Kesar aka Wengerball takes the helm to talk about the humour that runs through the programme:
About six episodes into series one I realised I was into something very special and I did what I am sure every fan has done: I tried to convert the infidels. But how do you sell it? My way was by emphasising the humour.
An often forgotten aspect of The Wire is that it has some absolute laugh-out-loud moments: Bunk throwing up in the bin; McNulty and his partner surveying a murder scene using only the word "fuck".
Naturally, as this is The Wire, some of the humour is dark and can leave you a little uncomfortable. Should we be laughing at Bubbles and Johnny when they are humiliated and stripped to their pants by Marlo's crew? Or when Bubbles goads the junkie bully, thinking he has Herc to come and back him up, only to be beaten severely?
Was anyone else a little disturbed at the way in which the murder team played practical jokes on newbie Kima using a dead body as a prop?
In this week's episode we see a couple of good examples: the show starts with the tiny Donut driving another stolen car – always comic – but that scene culminates in the malevolent Officer Walker breaking his fingers. Later, a bitter Bubbles – having been left hanging by Herc and treated rudely by a minister – gets his revenge on both by tricking Sergeant Hauk into busting the clergyman.
One of the main ways in which The Wire uses comedy is to develop someone's character, because we never get a clearer picture of someone than when they are being funny (though not necessarily intentionally). So we know that Bodie's world is the game when the only fitting tribute he can give D'Angelo is a floral depiction of the towers, we know that Herc is a hump from his constant fumbling at work (his attempt to push the desk through the door, for example), we know that Ziggy craves attention and acceptance, but is ultimately not made of the right stuff for the game, when he tries to fight Maui and gets humiliated and is left on top of a stack of containers.
Steve Busfield has called The Corner "The Wire without the humour", but to imagine The Wire without the humour would be to imagine it without its soul.
Yes, the plot, the characters and the realism are the main elements of the show, but the comedy is the glue that holds them together.
With that in mind, here are my top three funniest moments:
3. The wiggers who exasperate Nick Sobotka in series two.
Ever since Ali G it has not been possible to watch a white man trying to act like a black gangster and not break into fits of laughter. Nice to see that The Wire shares this view.
2. Prezbo shooting the wall in series one.
Prez is far and away my favourite character. The way he redeems himself, twice, shows that maybe there is hope for us all. His first incarnation was as a hump in BPD and nothing summed him up more than this scene. I think this scene is only just funnier than the one where he hits Valchek, but both are classic.
1. The "fuck" scene.
A lot of the humour here is the face of the observer, the janitor showing McNulty and Bunk around. It's worth noting that the silliness and humour of the scene belies some real and very effective pOlice work.
That's my top three. What's yours?
Quote of the week: "Woulda enjoyed it that much more." Omar's response when asked if he would have robbed Marlo if he'd known who he was.
Running totals
Murders: up two to 67: Little Kevin is murdered by Chris and Snoop, because they suspected he snitched on Marlo, and Michael's stepfather is killed by Chris at Michael's request.
McNulty giving a fuck when it's not his turn: up one to 31 – ignoring the order to make small-time arrests. Drunk: still not drinking. Steady on 16. Dubious parenting: the opposite, as Elena tells him: "If I'd known you were gonna grow up to be a grown-up ... " Steady on seven.
Bunk drunk: nope, sober with his kids. Steady on eight.
Herc fuck-ups: up two to 20 – ignores Bubbles's cry for help for a second time, and then set up by Bubs to arrest an innocent minister.
Omar stick-ups: nope, still on surveillance duty. Steady on 11.
Bubbles attempting to get clean: nope. Steady on five.
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