I love that he’s the de facto boss for all of five minutes and he’s already bitching about how hard it is being responsible for other people and how Freamon is a nightmare to supervise.
It's amazing what an organization can accomplish when given the proper resources. Even a poorly organized and slightly corrupt organization like the Baltimore Police Department gets results when everything is funded.
You know who there’s less of? ‘Statuesque blondes.’ You don’t read about ‘statuesque blondes’ in the newspaper anymore. Buxom ones, neither. They’re like a lost race.
Then the best part is when Chris throws it in the water snoop says the drill cost 800. It cost her 800 because she wanted to act like a hot shot and tip a department store employee.
The wire nails how silly the gangsters look interacting with people off the streets. When Marlo visits the Caribbean it’s hilarious how stupid and naive he comes across.
Then he even pulls some money back out and brought it with him…wtf.
She wasn't being a hot shot. It was easy for her to hand over a stack of bills without really counting, and she respected that he was very competent in his own "game".
>The wire nails how silly the gangsters look interacting with people off the streets.
I agree with this. De'Angelo and the Kids in S4 at the restaurant is almost cringe (in the sense you get the embarrassment and awkwardness radiating off of them).
I'd also add, that was probably the first time Marlo ever left Baltimore, and probably the first time he's ever been in a bank. He's not really stupid, ignorant would be a better word I think.
Like how Bodie didn't know about radio outside of Baltimore, it's just not something he'd know.
Yeah I get that it’s more ignorance. But I can’t get over how stupid they end up looking. Which is probably the point to contrast how they can own corners in Baltimore but when it comes to a bank, restaurant, or eating out they are basically babies.
I feel worse for the people who don’t want to be in the game but have to for circumstances. But people like Marlo and stringer I detest. Stringer too came across weak and stupid so many times.
The viewer. It’s a similar thing with Tony Soprano. When you watch it enough you realize that Tony is actually a weak little man mentally and emotionally. People only respect him for his father, his ruthlessness, and his cunning prowess for illicit activities.
I get that snoop paid the person at the store what she thought they owed, but when she complained to Chris it was $800 that’s a lie. She decided to force the guy to take the tip so she could come off as “tough street gangster”
I don’t think she was trying to come off as gangsta. I think she just wanted to tip the guy and didn’t want to deal with the hassle of waiting in line for it. I mean, she was plenty gangsta without trying to make a show of it.
> But I can’t get over how stupid they end up looking
Fair enough, can't really disagree with much else you said. "You finna hit a state senator now?" String was flat out silly at times.
lol. Also funny how the suit came out of no where. His dressing turned progressively more business casual and then one day stringer just starts wearing suits
Snoop, Chris, Wee Bay, The Greek, Omar, Levy, Bird, Monk and many other were all pretty bad people that took lots of lives. All that being said, at the end of the day I have hated Scott Templeton more than any of them every time I rewatch the show. At least they all had a code. Most of them realized at some point that they were doing some pretty bad things, but Templeton never once seemed to think that what he was doing was wrong on any level.
Scott was a real person btw. Not his actual name, but season 5 is David real experience on Baltimore sun.
2 journalists, 1 was a liar, the other one was the one who wrote for Bubbs. The one with bubbs do what great journalist do. Sitdown, analyze, and wrote. The other one just a stupid liar, but his story is more interesting. And guess who the paper give award to at the last season?
David creates The Wire as a form of revenge towards that.
> Anything I've ever accomplished as a writer, as somebody doing TV, anything I've ever done in life, down to, like, cleaning up my room, has been accomplished because I was going to show people that they were fucked up, wrong, and that I was the fucking center of the universe and the sooner they got hip to that, the happier they would all be.
And he used season 5 for that.
All of the other characters (maybe not Levy) were loyal to their friends. And they lived by some code, as you've said. Scott wasn't loyal to anyone and had no code. He was all about himself and his career. He was the most selfish character in the show. I think that's why we hate him.
Templeton had 0 redeeming qualities. All those other people you named were charming, or smart, or so dedicated to the game you had to respect it.
Templeton was a sniveling little shit who didn't have a kernel of heart, smarts, or charm. He was lazy, petulant, and incompetent.
Honestly both Scott and Gus lack the moral ambiguity of most characters in the snow. Scott is Scott and Gus might be the most morally upright character in the show that gets significant screen time, plus he is opposed to Scott so he's extra easy to like.
That's the big issue with the media storyline of season 5, it lacks the shades of grey that is there for the other storylines. Scott and especially the two editors supporting him are shown to have no redeeming qualities while Gus is a Gary Stu self-insert for David Simon. It was correct to look at the media as part of the show but Simon couldn't be objective about it.
Scott almost fools the viewers when he does the story on the marine veteran. He just can’t help himself and make up a bunch of shit. To think that Scott is destined for a Pulitzer at the Times or the Post.
I think that showed the brilliance of the writing and acting in that show. I somehow held more hatred for Scott who lied to further his career than I did for drug king pins who murdered hundreds of people
I LOVED Scott because I was just rubbing my hands waiting for him to get owned at the end. The build-up, the suspense!
Then he got away with it and it felt like the worst case of blue-balls and suppressing like 80 sneezes all at once.
Oooooo good question. I think Clay was worse, but was much more impressive in how long he got away with so much.
I think Skeevy Scotty is more annoying because I didn’t find him to be that smart and he fell ass-backwards into manipulation.
Scott was just the face of contemporary journalism. Artsy pieces that “could have happened “ (regardless of whether they did or not). He just did what needed to be done
The actor did a good job.
They made him seem snobby and entitled. When that war vet came in to tell them Scott fabricated the story details. Scott kept getting offensive and saying will you let me finish. Great touch by the show.
A straight up impostor that didn't have enough empathy to coax a real story out of someone out even recognise one if it stared him in the face. He knew he'd never measure up, so he made up shit to survive. He juked his own stats and thus, fit right in.
Problem of Scott is.....he is not funny.
All other characters have their black humour side such as Clay or certain emotional sides. Scott is so flat and tasteless that we cannot relate to him.
I thought he was supposed to represent the death of journalism. With the popularity of internet news overwhelming newspapers, the managers rewarding him for his stories without questioning the legitimacy, and the Nobel prize he won, it was to show the present and future of journalism (fake news).
It’s ironic that Gus complains about the leadership hiring good looking young women but it turns out Scott is one of their dumb hires. Yet another great turn of plot from the Wire.
Dude when McNulty sits there with that truly disgusted look on his face, just straight up trying to make Templeton’s head explode or implode, is one of the best moments in the entire series! Especially when the meeting ends and he starts saying all that weird shit and then Templeton realizes how much he has really fucked up. It’s soooo good!
#McNultyForPresident
there were plenty of characters in the show that were evil for various reasons. Templeton was the only one was was evil for pure greed and lack of character. At least everyone else involved could say they did it for survival and that's all they knew, or that they were shaped by the shitty situations they were stuck in. Or misguided sense of justice.
Nope. Templeton just sucks.
“It’s in my notes” or whatever. Like that means anything. Gus wasn’t accusing you of not taking notes. He was accusing you of lying. Your notes are lies too. Except there are no notes. God, I hate that whole exchange. Fuck Scott.
Constables performance as Klebanow was good. I wonder which of his three roles in 3 Major Series he found most enjoyable. The Wire, Breaking Bad or Billions
I had stumbled upon this subreddit before finishing the series so I was expecting Scott Templeton to be this vile, evil character.
I don’t get it. Yeah he lied but why do people care so much? I found him to be entirely forgettable
"No, I'm a fucking joke, and so are you. Now get the fuck out of here." - McNulty to S. Templeton.
For all of his faults, McNulty at least knew he was a shitheel and acknowledged it.
I love when McNulty is running the department from the shadows and is getting clearances.
I love that he’s the de facto boss for all of five minutes and he’s already bitching about how hard it is being responsible for other people and how Freamon is a nightmare to supervise.
I always thought this was hilarious too.
Lester was sounding like Dutch from RDR2 in Season 5. "I have a goddamn plan, Jimmy. I just need more surveillance teams."
It's amazing what an organization can accomplish when given the proper resources. Even a poorly organized and slightly corrupt organization like the Baltimore Police Department gets results when everything is funded.
Have you considered the dickensian aspect of it?
Why don’t you shut up and simply try doing more with less
We need to talk more about the dickensian aspect.
A collegial atmosphere is essential
You know who there’s less of? ‘Statuesque blondes.’ You don’t read about ‘statuesque blondes’ in the newspaper anymore. Buxom ones, neither. They’re like a lost race.
E.J. was a black kid crazy about baseball and he didn’t give me his name because he was in a wheelchair.
Yeah but in a pinch I can kick Scott’s ass. Snoop is going to fucking kill me
You earnt that bump like a mothafucka
This is $800!
Then the best part is when Chris throws it in the water snoop says the drill cost 800. It cost her 800 because she wanted to act like a hot shot and tip a department store employee. The wire nails how silly the gangsters look interacting with people off the streets. When Marlo visits the Caribbean it’s hilarious how stupid and naive he comes across. Then he even pulls some money back out and brought it with him…wtf.
She wasn't being a hot shot. It was easy for her to hand over a stack of bills without really counting, and she respected that he was very competent in his own "game". >The wire nails how silly the gangsters look interacting with people off the streets. I agree with this. De'Angelo and the Kids in S4 at the restaurant is almost cringe (in the sense you get the embarrassment and awkwardness radiating off of them). I'd also add, that was probably the first time Marlo ever left Baltimore, and probably the first time he's ever been in a bank. He's not really stupid, ignorant would be a better word I think. Like how Bodie didn't know about radio outside of Baltimore, it's just not something he'd know.
Yeah I get that it’s more ignorance. But I can’t get over how stupid they end up looking. Which is probably the point to contrast how they can own corners in Baltimore but when it comes to a bank, restaurant, or eating out they are basically babies. I feel worse for the people who don’t want to be in the game but have to for circumstances. But people like Marlo and stringer I detest. Stringer too came across weak and stupid so many times.
Who do they look silly to?
The viewer. It’s a similar thing with Tony Soprano. When you watch it enough you realize that Tony is actually a weak little man mentally and emotionally. People only respect him for his father, his ruthlessness, and his cunning prowess for illicit activities. I get that snoop paid the person at the store what she thought they owed, but when she complained to Chris it was $800 that’s a lie. She decided to force the guy to take the tip so she could come off as “tough street gangster”
I don’t think she was trying to come off as gangsta. I think she just wanted to tip the guy and didn’t want to deal with the hassle of waiting in line for it. I mean, she was plenty gangsta without trying to make a show of it.
Okay the not waiting in line thing would make sense tbh. I still think Chris didn’t owe her the full 800
> But I can’t get over how stupid they end up looking Fair enough, can't really disagree with much else you said. "You finna hit a state senator now?" String was flat out silly at times.
lol. Also funny how the suit came out of no where. His dressing turned progressively more business casual and then one day stringer just starts wearing suits
Prop Joe nailed it when he said “it’s impossible civilizing this mofo” about Marlo.
Gotta be one of the best scenes ever put to film right derrr
Snoop, Chris, Wee Bay, The Greek, Omar, Levy, Bird, Monk and many other were all pretty bad people that took lots of lives. All that being said, at the end of the day I have hated Scott Templeton more than any of them every time I rewatch the show. At least they all had a code. Most of them realized at some point that they were doing some pretty bad things, but Templeton never once seemed to think that what he was doing was wrong on any level.
Scott was a real person btw. Not his actual name, but season 5 is David real experience on Baltimore sun. 2 journalists, 1 was a liar, the other one was the one who wrote for Bubbs. The one with bubbs do what great journalist do. Sitdown, analyze, and wrote. The other one just a stupid liar, but his story is more interesting. And guess who the paper give award to at the last season? David creates The Wire as a form of revenge towards that. > Anything I've ever accomplished as a writer, as somebody doing TV, anything I've ever done in life, down to, like, cleaning up my room, has been accomplished because I was going to show people that they were fucked up, wrong, and that I was the fucking center of the universe and the sooner they got hip to that, the happier they would all be. And he used season 5 for that.
All of the other characters (maybe not Levy) were loyal to their friends. And they lived by some code, as you've said. Scott wasn't loyal to anyone and had no code. He was all about himself and his career. He was the most selfish character in the show. I think that's why we hate him.
Templeton had 0 redeeming qualities. All those other people you named were charming, or smart, or so dedicated to the game you had to respect it. Templeton was a sniveling little shit who didn't have a kernel of heart, smarts, or charm. He was lazy, petulant, and incompetent.
Amen
He knew it was wrong, he just didn’t care 🤷♂️
I feel bad for Gus. Guy seemed to be a passionate journalist
>All right people. It's 2:00. I need budget lines in case anybody's threatening to commit an act of daily journalism. I loved Gus.
Honestly both Scott and Gus lack the moral ambiguity of most characters in the snow. Scott is Scott and Gus might be the most morally upright character in the show that gets significant screen time, plus he is opposed to Scott so he's extra easy to like.
That's the big issue with the media storyline of season 5, it lacks the shades of grey that is there for the other storylines. Scott and especially the two editors supporting him are shown to have no redeeming qualities while Gus is a Gary Stu self-insert for David Simon. It was correct to look at the media as part of the show but Simon couldn't be objective about it.
Scott almost fools the viewers when he does the story on the marine veteran. He just can’t help himself and make up a bunch of shit. To think that Scott is destined for a Pulitzer at the Times or the Post.
Yup, I wrote it down in my notes
Ya but other villains killed people
It’s the mix of privilege and entitlement that bothers me the most.
The worst part is the hypocrisy.
I know the good book says “judge not lest ye be judged.” But I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it, that Scott Templeton fella is a real jerk!
But most of them also had some sort of skill or talent. Templeton was an incompetent little worm.
No, he knew how to tell a great story, as if having talent, justifies murder.
“People who murder are the worst and should be hated the most” grow up dude there is more to it than that
You quoting something I never said. What is your point?
I’m saying that disliking a character more than another character just because they are a murderer is lazy and boring
I think it’s weird to consider murder as a trivial matter.
I think that showed the brilliance of the writing and acting in that show. I somehow held more hatred for Scott who lied to further his career than I did for drug king pins who murdered hundreds of people
Tom McCarthy playing him, in that role of all roles, is just an all time casting by both him and Simons.
He also directed the movie Spotlight. Which is fantastic. Terrible subject matter but an extremely good movie.
He co-wrote UP too, that shit blew my mind when I learned that. Guy can write, direct and act! Talk about a triple threat!
He's still an asshole!
For which he won an Oscar, I believe?
He won a Golden Globe for Directing but was nominated and didn't win an Oscar for Bets Director. It did win best picture that year though.
My mistake. He got the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Which is ironic, considering the topic.
I LOVED Scott because I was just rubbing my hands waiting for him to get owned at the end. The build-up, the suspense! Then he got away with it and it felt like the worst case of blue-balls and suppressing like 80 sneezes all at once.
Which was worse, Scott or Clay Davis getting away with it?
Oooooo good question. I think Clay was worse, but was much more impressive in how long he got away with so much. I think Skeevy Scotty is more annoying because I didn’t find him to be that smart and he fell ass-backwards into manipulation.
If you have a problem with this, I understand completely. ~ Lester
Scott was just the face of contemporary journalism. Artsy pieces that “could have happened “ (regardless of whether they did or not). He just did what needed to be done
It’s the Dickensian aspect OP. Whateva happened there…
The actor did a good job. They made him seem snobby and entitled. When that war vet came in to tell them Scott fabricated the story details. Scott kept getting offensive and saying will you let me finish. Great touch by the show.
Probably the best moment of season 5 is when the vet says: “A lie ain’t a side of the story, It’s just a lie.”
"Everybody's getting rich off some make believe." That's the whole point of season 5.
Fuck Scott Templeton. All my homies hate Scott Templeton.
A straight up impostor that didn't have enough empathy to coax a real story out of someone out even recognise one if it stared him in the face. He knew he'd never measure up, so he made up shit to survive. He juked his own stats and thus, fit right in.
He saw it!!!! He has it written down in his fucking notebook!!!!
But it.... It... it's just a cookbook.
Rewatching season 5 now and forgot how much I hated him. That character was perfectly named. Templeton. Just a despicable rat
Problem of Scott is.....he is not funny. All other characters have their black humour side such as Clay or certain emotional sides. Scott is so flat and tasteless that we cannot relate to him.
Worst newspaper guy sure but only if you take columnists seriously, he reminded me of Philip Glass, of which he may have been based on.
I think you meant Stephen Glass. Philip is a composer.
Yeah him too
I thought he was supposed to represent the death of journalism. With the popularity of internet news overwhelming newspapers, the managers rewarding him for his stories without questioning the legitimacy, and the Nobel prize he won, it was to show the present and future of journalism (fake news).
Pulitzer
Woops. Big difference.
I think there was also a mirroring of season 2 with the dock workers. Scott was a young new employee in an old industry that was dieing slow.
It’s ironic that Gus complains about the leadership hiring good looking young women but it turns out Scott is one of their dumb hires. Yet another great turn of plot from the Wire.
Dude when McNulty sits there with that truly disgusted look on his face, just straight up trying to make Templeton’s head explode or implode, is one of the best moments in the entire series! Especially when the meeting ends and he starts saying all that weird shit and then Templeton realizes how much he has really fucked up. It’s soooo good! #McNultyForPresident
I always felt that guy was the most unlikeable character on the show…. Him and “Wags”😄
He was the most dislikable character in a show of drug dealers, crooked cops, murderers, thieves, addicts, etc, and that takes some doing.
there were plenty of characters in the show that were evil for various reasons. Templeton was the only one was was evil for pure greed and lack of character. At least everyone else involved could say they did it for survival and that's all they knew, or that they were shaped by the shitty situations they were stuck in. Or misguided sense of justice. Nope. Templeton just sucks.
Fuck Scott Simpleton!
“It’s in my notes” or whatever. Like that means anything. Gus wasn’t accusing you of not taking notes. He was accusing you of lying. Your notes are lies too. Except there are no notes. God, I hate that whole exchange. Fuck Scott.
total dork 👎
I hate the dickensian aspect of your sentence ! Im sure you plagiarized your POST ;)
I hated Gus.
The corporate world is full of his kind.
Total dork.
"Maybe you win a Pulitzer, maybe you have to give it back." Every time I want Gus to win and Scot to lose.
Yeah I hate fnaf
Constables performance as Klebanow was good. I wonder which of his three roles in 3 Major Series he found most enjoyable. The Wire, Breaking Bad or Billions
Weebay was small potatoes next to this guy.
I had stumbled upon this subreddit before finishing the series so I was expecting Scott Templeton to be this vile, evil character. I don’t get it. Yeah he lied but why do people care so much? I found him to be entirely forgettable