Grid Effect

We’re plum out of material this morning. So when in doubt, always attempt to conjure up some wild speculation and make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. So that’s what we’ll do today, because as far as actual television to dissect and discuss we’re still suffering from what the networks have to provide. A friend of mine asked me what I’m going to do once The Wire finishes its series three weeks from now (rumor is the finale won’t be on demand).

And that is a good question, I’m either going to turn this into a sports blog or put a bullet in my head. Tough to say, probably whichever is most convenient at the time. In other words, which is in my nearest vicinity: a computer or a gun. I don’t own any guns, and anyone who we would watch the finale with doesn’t either, so this whole thing resolves itself. And see, who said violence on television is desensitizing? Given, my friends and I might be ill-prepared for any sort of revolution, but we live in Columbus, Ohio; so the cause for concern is slim to none. The only time a firearm is useful in Columbus is when OSU beats Michigan or a non-conference opponent early in the season, then you can prevent a clan of rowdy frat boys from going all Rosewood on your house.

Anyway, when we heard there is potential for a Wire movie, or at least it was mentioned in this interview with Dominic West, we decided things might not be so grim after all. What with the rampant speculation of an Arrested Development movie, we might have to bail on television sooner rather than later if film is the only outlet for material of this caliber. Given, David Simon said he went into the Wire with a five season plan, but he also went into it with the notion that Omar would die in the first season, and he started the fifth season with the impression he’d have a full twelve episodes.

Point being, plans often change, and I could see a Wire movie working perfectly fine. They’d just have to condense their usual length to a 150 minute max (actually your average Wire fan could probably sit through a five hour saga if given the same stylization), which would entail fewer plot lines, but if that gives us an illustration of McNulty and Bunk when they first started working in homicide together, then the last place you’ll here any complaints from is this website. People are quick to suggest that adapting successful films or television shows into one or the other always kills the efficacy of what was accomplished. Sports media and fans are apt to saying this as well about athletes who come out of retirement.

Yeah, like a shitty movie would tarnish this image.

We call bullocks. The notion that Michael Jordan’s legacy is tarnished because he teetered along for two sub-par seasons in his early forties with the Wizards in which they failed to make the playoffs is absurd. It wasn’t exactly glamorous, but has anyone forgotten about all the playoff games from the two 3-peats? If anything, his playing stint in Washington has been swept under the rug and abandoned by the collective memory of NBA die hards.

If The Wire writers were unable make the leap from television to film and produced a clunker (which we’d find totally flummoxing), the same thing would happen. Anyone who would watch this movie and felt like it betrayed the series, wouldn’t forget the Bodie’s or Wallace’s or Sobotka’s or Freamon’s, but rather in three months time they’d forget about the $10 they spent to see a movie they’d otherwise wish didn’t exist. And while we know Simon is indifferent towards awards or any sort of critical recognition, I think I speak for all fans when I say that if the Emmy’s won’t recognize him, it would sure as shit be great if the Oscar’s did.

Switching gears, NBC is discussing a potential movie of their own. It appears that they figure if they can’t attract a regular audience for Friday Night Lights to warrant renewing the series, then they might as well give it a two hour finale, in what they’re calling a made for TV movie. While this is better than nothing and more than any of us could hope for, we do not like this label. Considering the bulk majority of the series revolves around high school students, that means in the span of two hours someone will die of cancer, a drunk driving accident and/or a heroin addiction.

But still, two hours of Friday Night Lights to tie up the bevy of loose ends is almost necessary for its preservation. No one wants to stake claim in a series about football that ends in the middle of a season, and word of mouth will cease and desist, leaving its legacy almost non-existent. So we say on with the two hours (if not a series extension), we’ll take all the after-school specialness that can afford us if it at least attempts a bit of finality.

The good news is that Peter Berg directed the theatrical release of FNL, so he at least brings as much experience as possible to such an endeavor. Jesus, it just dawned on us, a theatrical film, a television series, and a potential television movie…we wonder if H.G. Bissinger had suspicion that his acclaimed novel would blow up like this while he was writing it.