Shane Richmond

The 79-page ‘bible’ for the first season of The Wire appeared online recently. It contains David SImon’s outline of what the series would be about and how it would work, brief descriptions of the main characters and a complete scene-by-scene breakdown of the whole season.
Simon writes: “The reward for the viewer, who has been lured [...]

The Museum of the Moving Image in New York has published a few items about The Wire. There are video essays about the credit sequences for all five seasons: one, two, three, four and five. Yes, that’s nerdy but that’s the effect this show can have on people. There are a couple of interesting insights [...]

If you haven’t watched The Wire yet, this clip gives you a good idea of what you’re missing:
It’s amazing writing. The metaphor for the whole series is delivered in three minutes. And the motto “the king stay the king” applies not just to drug dealers but to every institution in the show. Whatever the characters [...]

I’ve been watching this year’s festival in the now traditional fashion: at home and, thanks to Sky+, mostly on fast forward. A few observations:
1. The BBC presenting team are perhaps the most irritating people in the world. Jo Whiley, Zane Lowe, Lauren Laverne, Colin Murray, that git with the beard, blimey that’s a world class [...]

Not much changes on Doctor Who: alien planets mostly resemble quarries, aliens look like humans with a couple of cheap make-up additions, such as false teeth, and the sonic screwdriver, that portable deus ex machina, remains the lazy writer’s best friend.
Still, I was surprised to notice that the Doctor has discovered blogging. In last Saturday’s [...]

I’ve written before about my love for The Wire. Now I’ve managed to take my ravings to a wider audience. This show really does turn viewers into evangelists – I’ve introduced a few people and they, in turn, have introduced others. If this ripple effect hasn’t got you yet, I’m sure it will eventually.
As the [...]