The Wire - Greatest TV show of the decade

Watch 'The Wire' cast reunite tonight at PaleyFest NY!

Omar, Bunk, Marlo, Prez, Kima, Carver, D'Angelo and Rawls, together again

The East Coast branch of the Paley Center is in the midst of PaleyFest New York, which started last weekend and will run through Sunday. Like its LA counterpart, the focus is mainly on current shows (and mainly ones that film in New York, or at least in parts east), but like its LA counterpart so often features, there's a special reunion, and I get to moderate it: "The Wire."

We'll have co-creator David Simon, producer Nina Noble, and at least eight castmembers: Wendell Pierce, Sonja Sohn, Michael Kenneth Williams, Seth Gilliam, Jim True-Frost, John Doman, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., and Jamie Hector. Dominic West is otherwise occupied on a film shoot, but he recorded a video message that will be played at the start.

The theater at the Paley Center isn't very big — I'm hearing the front row may have to accommodate some additional surprise alums— and tickets to the event sold out quickly, but fortunately Yahoo is livestreaming all the panels, including this one. I've embedded the livestream code below, and it should go live sometime tonight around 7:15 p.m. (Yahoo also has been archiving the panels so far.)

Should be a fun night, with several champion talkers on one stage. I will do my best to not go pure Chris Farley on the gang, but I can make no promises.

Garth wrote:

Saint of Killers wrote:How have they managed that? Cropped image or is it 4:3 HD?

First, though, a bit of history. While all five seasons of the show were originally broadcast in 1.33:1, The Wire was shot in 35mm and, for a time, protected for 16:9 letterbox by cinematographer Bob Colesberry, who initially wanted to film the series in widescreen. All good, right? Not quite. As Simon succinctly explained in a candid and revealing December 2014 blog post, "If you compose a shot for a wider 16:9 screen, then you are, by definition, failing to optimize the composition of the 4:3 image. Choose to serve one construct and at times you must impair the other." Moreover, by the end of the second season, Simon, Colesberry and the cinematographers who proceeded him were no longer actively protecting the image for a possible 1.78:1 presentation.

Ario wrote:

Saint of Killers wrote:How have they managed that? Cropped image or is it 4:3 HD?

According to http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Wire- ... ay/120000/

First, though, a bit of history. While all five seasons of the show were originally broadcast in 1.33:1, The Wire was shot in 35mm and, for a time, protected for 16:9 letterbox by cinematographer Bob Colesberry, who initially wanted to film the series in widescreen. All good, right? Not quite. As Simon succinctly explained in a candid and revealing December 2014 blog post, "If you compose a shot for a wider 16:9 screen, then you are, by definition, failing to optimize the composition of the 4:3 image. Choose to serve one construct and at times you must impair the other." Moreover, by the end of the second season, Simon, Colesberry and the cinematographers who proceeded him were no longer actively protecting the image for a possible 1.78:1 presentation.

Dual wrote:What does that mean? Its going to look like crap?

Dual wrote:What does that mean? Its going to look like crap?

chalkitdown wrote:Coming towards the end of season 4 in my HD rewatch. I had forgotten just how strawberry floating good this season is and the amazig character development on Prez. I do miss McNulty being a main character, though.