10 ms·

I've seen both the SD/4:3 version (twice) and the HD/widescreen version (once). I prefer the HD/widescreen version. If you have not seen The Wire, here are som

by cs702 6y ago

I've seen both the SD/4:3 version (twice) and the HD/widescreen version (once). I prefer the HD/widescreen version. If you have not seen The Wire, here are some suggestions: * Watch it with subtitles, so you can understand the slang of the different subcultures of Baltimore. Otherwise, it's easy to miss many important details. The actors -- many of whom are actual former gang members, police officers, judges, politicians, teachers, etc. from the city Baltimore, speak as the characters would in real life -- not always in easy-to-understand dialects or accents. * Bookmark the Wikipedia page on The Wire's characters, so you can look them up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Wire_characters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Wire_characters -- there are well over a hundred important characters, and sometimes it's a good idea to pause the show and look a character up to refresh your memory if you don't remember a particular name. * If you're not naturally interested in Baltimore's police and drug gang subcultures, you may find the first season a bit slow and much of the dialogue full of seemingly unnecessary detail. I would recommend sticking with it through at least the beginning of the second season, which is mainly about longshoremen and unions, before passing judgment. The Wire is not about police, nor about drug gangs. It's about the city of Baltimore.

frereubu 6y ago
It's funny you mention subtitles. I'm English, with just a smattering of French when I watched The Wire (that is, I'm definitely not a polyglot) and when I watched it I hooked into the language really quickly, revelled in it in fact, and didn't need subtitles at all - but I also know friends that really struggled. I think it helped that at the time I was only working a three-day week and didn't have kids: one of the most glorious memories of The Wire for me was getting Series 3 as a DVD box set through the post just after it was released (I was in Scotland at the time, and didn't have access to HBO) and watched the entire series in one day with just occasional breaks for food and drinks.
- sbinthree 6y ago
  I did the exact same thing with Season 3. Top 3 best shows over.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
pimeys 6y ago
When I first started watching The Wire, I had to use subtitles. The slang for a non-native was almost impenetrable. Now after I've watched the whole series four or five times (I don't remember anymore), I can quote every scene and have a good understanding of the dialog. I definitely learned something. This is funny btw, but I highly value most of David Simon's series, and I've watched Treme, Generation Kill and The Deuce many times over. I didn't really like any of these series on my first watch, but something pulled me back for rewatch. I'm glad it did. I think I've grown as a person while going through the stories they tell; all these series are now my absolute all-time favorite television.
- SV_BubbleTime 6y ago
  > The slang for a non-native was almost impenetrable. I never thought about this. Having grown up in near NYC and Balitmore shortly before The Wire it still seemed like there were things I missed. I can imagine even with subtitles there are some things that aren’t fully understood immediately just with word play.
  - whimsicalism 6y ago
    I grew up in urban DC + public schools and I found it relatively understandable without subtitles, although perhaps not every single thing (some specific slang terms).
    - ethbr0 6y ago
      > not always in easy-to-understand dialects or accents I'd never really considered this. Grew up in the south-eastern US, with one side of the family from the Northern Neck of Virginia. Accent was definitely Baltimore, but I never had an issue. The Chesapeake Bay definitely has a lot of interesting accents on various sides, though: http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#SmallMapCanada http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#SmallMapCanada
  - powersnail 6y ago
    As a non-native speaker, it's definitely impossible for me to understand every detail of the conversations in The Wire. Especially the jokes. But it's an interesting show anyway, even without the details.
Espressosaurus 6y ago
It's great, but it's also slow. I feel like asking someone to stick with it through 18 hours to get to the "good part" is at best inconsiderate of their time. Much like GOT, either it grabs you enough to continue in the first few episodes or it doesn't. It's not like it changes the speed of exposition and character development. Unlike GOT it doesn't get worse with time. Watching it with subtitles is good advice.
- namdnay 6y ago
  Do you really find it slow? Compared to the Sopranos or the West Wing (which were the two other main shows on around the time I think?), I always found the Wire to be more accessible. Each season has a pretty strong driving plot. Compared to some of the really slow Sopranos seasons (I remember the Carmela-Furio season that just dragged on and on) it’s practically 24 :)
  - Espressosaurus 6y ago
    It's not like there's a lot of action going on most of the time--it's mostly people talking. Which is fine! But not everybody likes that kind of show. It also doesn't have the same addictive amount of leaving each episode on a cliffhanger the way more recent shows are written. I never watched the Sopranos or West Wing, so I can't speak to them. I enjoyed The Wire (bought the box set!), but it's still a slow-paced drama. If that's your jam, it's fantastic. If it's not, it's still worth a shot (it's that good), but it's not "try it for 18 hours if you don't like the genre" good. All IMO of course. And full disclosure: I'm not a big fan of dramas, but The Wire still grabbed me. Hence my caution that it's somewhat slow compared to other fare. I should watch it again, it's been a long time and it is worth it.
  - sjwright 6y ago
    Despite being similarly slow, The West Wing was highly accessible to its intended audience because the setting was easily digestible, because the dialogue was a continual sugar hit of witty banter, and because starry-eyed optimism / moral certainty tends to be comforting.
- 6y ago
garmaine 6y ago
> The actors -- many of whom are actual former gang members, police officers, judges, politicians, teachers, etc. from the city Baltimore This is a persistent myth. They were all professional actors.
- I-M-S 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Pearson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Pearson
  - augustt 6y ago
    Or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Williams_(actor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Williams_(actor)
- bourgoin 6y ago
  "Many" may be a stretch, but at least a few of the actors did meet that description, if only in bit parts/cameos. I think the only actor to that description that played a 'major' role on the show was the one who played Snoop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Pearson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Pearson
  - cs702 6y ago
    Besides Felicia "Snoop," Pearson, here's a partial list of main characters that also meet the description: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Andrews https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Andrews https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Williams_(actor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Williams_(actor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Norris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Norris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_D%27Addario https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_D%27Addario https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Landsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Landsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burton_(Baltimore) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burton_(Baltimore) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Earle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Earle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Zorzi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Zorzi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwan_Glover https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwan_Glover And don't forget the show's creators: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Simon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Simon - former journalist at the Baltimore Sun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Burns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Burns - former Baltimore police and public school teacher.
chrisseaton 6y ago
Sounds like trying to get into the Archers!
sfuller808 6y ago
For those looking for something more focused in terms of plotline and scope within the same genre, David Simon also wrote and produced The Corner (2000) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224853/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224853/
punkspider 6y ago
I appreciate the tips. Great point with the subtitles. I'm currently watching the Wire because I was convinced by another HN comment last week - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25527957 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25527957
OpieCunningham 6y ago
> The Wire is not about police, nor about drug gangs. It’s about the city of Baltimore. It definitely takes place in Baltimore, and is based upon experiences of David Simon while a newspaper reporter in Baltimore, but it definitely is about police and various types of crime (most often drug related). It is also about education, the news industry, and city government policies and bureaucracy. Having grown up in Philly I can assure you it could easily have been set in that location with no major changes to the story. In this respect, Baltimore is just a stand in for East Coast.
- hnick 6y ago
  I read it was more about institutional dysfunction. It examines a different one (police, media, unions, schools, politics, etc) and we see how what the people want or do doesn't really matter a lot in the end - the system has a life of its own and keeps trucking on.
  - pimeys 6y ago
    Then moving to the next city series, Treme, and the same issues are there with New Orleans. Though the series puts much more focus on music and musicians, that somehow can be momentarily outside of this system just to get sucked in again. The Deuce sees the system operating in New York from 70's to the late 80's. Similarities with The Wire and Treme are in that series too regarding institutions, but the focus is on porn and gentrification.
perryizgr8 6y ago
> Watch it with subtitles, so you can understand the slang of the different subcultures of Baltimore. As a non-native English speaker, I can confirm that the dialog was basically impenetrable for me without subtitles. Even with subtitles, it took 4-5 episodes before I could confidently claim to be understanding everything the characters were saying. Definitely a revelation for me that this kind of variation exists among English speakers in the same city/country.
rsync 6y ago
"The actors -- many of whom are actual former gang members ..." One of the funniest things I have ever heard was a radio interview with Richard Price - one of the writers of The Wire. He describes how he drove one of the actual Baltimore gang members, in his car - I think from Baltimore to Philly - and while they were driving, they were listening to NPR, and A Prairie Home Companion came on the radio ... ... and this gang member from Baltimore was flabbergasted and wanted to know just What. The. Fuck. this was on the radio ...
- wyldfire 6y ago
  I don't blame him. I love the content on NPR but I always feel like Prairie Home Companion seems a bit 'out there'.
  - Technically 6y ago
    Well, the show is over now.
- rmcpherson 6y ago
  This is the inspiration for that scene in the wire, I suppose. It also was A Prairie Home Companion. https://youtu.be/P8y3jbuuzDg https://youtu.be/P8y3jbuuzDg
fossuser 6y ago
I also liked the HD version - when I was watching it (I think around 2014?) about half way through the HD was pulled and everything switched to SD on the streaming service. I googled at the time and found others noticed this too. It was jarring enough that I stopped watching it as a result, might be time to try again (I was on Season 3), it was a great show from what I saw up to that point.
wutbrodo 6y ago
> If you're not naturally interested in Baltimore's police and drug gang subcultures, you may find the first season a bit slow and much of the dialogue full of seemingly unnecessary detail. I would recommend sticking with it through at least the beginning of the second season, which is mainly about longshoremen and unions, before passing judgment. I usually recommend people make it through season 2 before deciding they're in it for the long haul (bearing in mind that 2 seasons is already quite a haul, especially for such a dense show). It's my experience that people get turned off by the jump from the expected gangsters-and-cops to the more "boring" Longshore men storyline (though like many, I appreciated season 2 a lot more in retrospect).
- acjohnson55 6y ago
  I think the key to season 2 is to simply internalize that it's not season 1. Enjoy it for its own brilliance, and don't worry, the season 1 vibe will be back.
- meekrohprocess 6y ago
  It's kind of funny how so many people instinctively dislike season 2. "Blegh. Unions. Politics. Yawn." But it makes sense, right? Real corruption and crime isn't always about drugs and shotguns.
  - pimeys 6y ago
    Also how poverty drives people into crime. How the longshoremen were thinking of being above the black gangsters, except when the money runs out, and people want better life. It's an essential season of The Wire.
  - wutbrodo 6y ago
    > But it makes sense, right? Real corruption and crime isn't always about drugs and shotguns. I think the reaction is just that it's unexpected. Everyone expects there to be crime and corruption in unions, but they don't consider it to be as glamorous or interesting as the gangsters-and-cops tropes that they're used to, and that The Wire seemed to many to be about until season 2. In the context of Simon's slowly-expanding lens of the American city, it makes complete sense, but most viewers aren't aware of that right at the beginning.
Springcleaning 6y ago
What is the better quality? 720p BluRay or 1080p Amazon Video streaming?
jfengel 6y ago
It's true that they cast a lot of locals, but mostly in the background roles. Practically all of the leads and recurring characters were cast out of New York City. It's a bit of a thing here. DC and Baltimore actors will take jobs in New York to get NYC credits on their resumes. They'll sometimes get post office boxes in NYC just so that casting directors won't write them off, then drive up for the actual audition. Only then will they find it possible to get cast for major projects being filmed in the city where they live. The locals will get background work, hoping to be noticed, and occasionally it even happens. It's not that there's resentment to The Wire or Homicide, which really kick-started the local television industry. But there's a bitter irony of playing second-fiddle (and third-fiddle) to so many out of towners in a city with a thriving industry and a lot of local talent. Acting is, of course, a crummy line of work to be in regardless. It's not like your Broadway dreams come true just by moving up I-95.

by cs702 6y ago

frereubu 6y ago

It's funny you mention subtitles. I'm English, with just a smattering of French when I watched The Wire (that is, I'm definitely not a polyglot) and when I watched it I hooked into the language really quickly, revelled in it in fact, and didn't need subtitles at all - but I also know friends that really struggled. I think it helped that at the time I was only working a three-day week and didn't have kids: one of the most glorious memories of The Wire for me was getting Series 3 as a DVD box set through the post just after it was released (I was in Scotland at the time, and didn't have access to HBO) and watched the entire series in one day with just occasional breaks for food and drinks.

sbinthree 6y ago
I did the exact same thing with Season 3. Top 3 best shows over.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

pimeys 6y ago

When I first started watching The Wire, I had to use subtitles. The slang for a non-native was almost impenetrable. Now after I've watched the whole series four or five times (I don't remember anymore), I can quote every scene and have a good understanding of the dialog. I definitely learned something. This is funny btw, but I highly value most of David Simon's series, and I've watched Treme, Generation Kill and The Deuce many times over. I didn't really like any of these series on my first watch, but something pulled me back for rewatch. I'm glad it did. I think I've grown as a person while going through the stories they tell; all these series are now my absolute all-time favorite television.

SV_BubbleTime 6y ago
> The slang for a non-native was almost impenetrable. I never thought about this. Having grown up in near NYC and Balitmore shortly before The Wire it still seemed like there were things I missed. I can imagine even with subtitles there are some things that aren’t fully understood immediately just with word play.
- whimsicalism 6y ago
  I grew up in urban DC + public schools and I found it relatively understandable without subtitles, although perhaps not every single thing (some specific slang terms).
  - ethbr0 6y ago
    > not always in easy-to-understand dialects or accents I'd never really considered this. Grew up in the south-eastern US, with one side of the family from the Northern Neck of Virginia. Accent was definitely Baltimore, but I never had an issue. The Chesapeake Bay definitely has a lot of interesting accents on various sides, though: http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#SmallMapCanada http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#SmallMapCanada
- powersnail 6y ago
  As a non-native speaker, it's definitely impossible for me to understand every detail of the conversations in The Wire. Especially the jokes. But it's an interesting show anyway, even without the details.

Espressosaurus 6y ago

It's great, but it's also slow. I feel like asking someone to stick with it through 18 hours to get to the "good part" is at best inconsiderate of their time. Much like GOT, either it grabs you enough to continue in the first few episodes or it doesn't. It's not like it changes the speed of exposition and character development. Unlike GOT it doesn't get worse with time. Watching it with subtitles is good advice.

namdnay 6y ago
Do you really find it slow? Compared to the Sopranos or the West Wing (which were the two other main shows on around the time I think?), I always found the Wire to be more accessible. Each season has a pretty strong driving plot. Compared to some of the really slow Sopranos seasons (I remember the Carmela-Furio season that just dragged on and on) it’s practically 24 :)
- Espressosaurus 6y ago
  It's not like there's a lot of action going on most of the time--it's mostly people talking. Which is fine! But not everybody likes that kind of show. It also doesn't have the same addictive amount of leaving each episode on a cliffhanger the way more recent shows are written. I never watched the Sopranos or West Wing, so I can't speak to them. I enjoyed The Wire (bought the box set!), but it's still a slow-paced drama. If that's your jam, it's fantastic. If it's not, it's still worth a shot (it's that good), but it's not "try it for 18 hours if you don't like the genre" good. All IMO of course. And full disclosure: I'm not a big fan of dramas, but The Wire still grabbed me. Hence my caution that it's somewhat slow compared to other fare. I should watch it again, it's been a long time and it is worth it.
- sjwright 6y ago
  Despite being similarly slow, The West Wing was highly accessible to its intended audience because the setting was easily digestible, because the dialogue was a continual sugar hit of witty banter, and because starry-eyed optimism / moral certainty tends to be comforting.
6y ago

garmaine 6y ago

> The actors -- many of whom are actual former gang members, police officers, judges, politicians, teachers, etc. from the city Baltimore This is a persistent myth. They were all professional actors.

I-M-S 6y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Pearson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Pearson
- augustt 6y ago
  Or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Williams_(actor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Williams_(actor)
bourgoin 6y ago
"Many" may be a stretch, but at least a few of the actors did meet that description, if only in bit parts/cameos. I think the only actor to that description that played a 'major' role on the show was the one who played Snoop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Pearson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Pearson
- cs702 6y ago
  Besides Felicia "Snoop," Pearson, here's a partial list of main characters that also meet the description: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Andrews https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Andrews https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Williams_(actor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Williams_(actor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Norris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Norris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_D%27Addario https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_D%27Addario https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Landsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Landsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burton_(Baltimore) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burton_(Baltimore) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Earle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Earle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Zorzi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Zorzi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwan_Glover https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwan_Glover And don't forget the show's creators: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Simon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Simon - former journalist at the Baltimore Sun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Burns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Burns - former Baltimore police and public school teacher.

chrisseaton 6y ago

Sounds like trying to get into the Archers!

sfuller808 6y ago

For those looking for something more focused in terms of plotline and scope within the same genre, David Simon also wrote and produced The Corner (2000) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224853/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224853/

punkspider 6y ago

I appreciate the tips. Great point with the subtitles. I'm currently watching the Wire because I was convinced by another HN comment last week - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25527957 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25527957

OpieCunningham 6y ago

> The Wire is not about police, nor about drug gangs. It’s about the city of Baltimore. It definitely takes place in Baltimore, and is based upon experiences of David Simon while a newspaper reporter in Baltimore, but it definitely is about police and various types of crime (most often drug related). It is also about education, the news industry, and city government policies and bureaucracy. Having grown up in Philly I can assure you it could easily have been set in that location with no major changes to the story. In this respect, Baltimore is just a stand in for East Coast.

hnick 6y ago
I read it was more about institutional dysfunction. It examines a different one (police, media, unions, schools, politics, etc) and we see how what the people want or do doesn't really matter a lot in the end - the system has a life of its own and keeps trucking on.
- pimeys 6y ago
  Then moving to the next city series, Treme, and the same issues are there with New Orleans. Though the series puts much more focus on music and musicians, that somehow can be momentarily outside of this system just to get sucked in again. The Deuce sees the system operating in New York from 70's to the late 80's. Similarities with The Wire and Treme are in that series too regarding institutions, but the focus is on porn and gentrification.

perryizgr8 6y ago

> Watch it with subtitles, so you can understand the slang of the different subcultures of Baltimore. As a non-native English speaker, I can confirm that the dialog was basically impenetrable for me without subtitles. Even with subtitles, it took 4-5 episodes before I could confidently claim to be understanding everything the characters were saying. Definitely a revelation for me that this kind of variation exists among English speakers in the same city/country.

rsync 6y ago

"The actors -- many of whom are actual former gang members ..." One of the funniest things I have ever heard was a radio interview with Richard Price - one of the writers of The Wire. He describes how he drove one of the actual Baltimore gang members, in his car - I think from Baltimore to Philly - and while they were driving, they were listening to NPR, and A Prairie Home Companion came on the radio ... ... and this gang member from Baltimore was flabbergasted and wanted to know just What. The. Fuck. this was on the radio ...

wyldfire 6y ago
I don't blame him. I love the content on NPR but I always feel like Prairie Home Companion seems a bit 'out there'.
- Technically 6y ago
  Well, the show is over now.
rmcpherson 6y ago
This is the inspiration for that scene in the wire, I suppose. It also was A Prairie Home Companion. https://youtu.be/P8y3jbuuzDg https://youtu.be/P8y3jbuuzDg

fossuser 6y ago

I also liked the HD version - when I was watching it (I think around 2014?) about half way through the HD was pulled and everything switched to SD on the streaming service. I googled at the time and found others noticed this too. It was jarring enough that I stopped watching it as a result, might be time to try again (I was on Season 3), it was a great show from what I saw up to that point.

wutbrodo 6y ago

> If you're not naturally interested in Baltimore's police and drug gang subcultures, you may find the first season a bit slow and much of the dialogue full of seemingly unnecessary detail. I would recommend sticking with it through at least the beginning of the second season, which is mainly about longshoremen and unions, before passing judgment. I usually recommend people make it through season 2 before deciding they're in it for the long haul (bearing in mind that 2 seasons is already quite a haul, especially for such a dense show). It's my experience that people get turned off by the jump from the expected gangsters-and-cops to the more "boring" Longshore men storyline (though like many, I appreciated season 2 a lot more in retrospect).

acjohnson55 6y ago
I think the key to season 2 is to simply internalize that it's not season 1. Enjoy it for its own brilliance, and don't worry, the season 1 vibe will be back.
meekrohprocess 6y ago
It's kind of funny how so many people instinctively dislike season 2. "Blegh. Unions. Politics. Yawn." But it makes sense, right? Real corruption and crime isn't always about drugs and shotguns.
- pimeys 6y ago
  Also how poverty drives people into crime. How the longshoremen were thinking of being above the black gangsters, except when the money runs out, and people want better life. It's an essential season of The Wire.
- wutbrodo 6y ago
  > But it makes sense, right? Real corruption and crime isn't always about drugs and shotguns. I think the reaction is just that it's unexpected. Everyone expects there to be crime and corruption in unions, but they don't consider it to be as glamorous or interesting as the gangsters-and-cops tropes that they're used to, and that The Wire seemed to many to be about until season 2. In the context of Simon's slowly-expanding lens of the American city, it makes complete sense, but most viewers aren't aware of that right at the beginning.

Springcleaning 6y ago

What is the better quality? 720p BluRay or 1080p Amazon Video streaming?

jfengel 6y ago

It's true that they cast a lot of locals, but mostly in the background roles. Practically all of the leads and recurring characters were cast out of New York City. It's a bit of a thing here. DC and Baltimore actors will take jobs in New York to get NYC credits on their resumes. They'll sometimes get post office boxes in NYC just so that casting directors won't write them off, then drive up for the actual audition. Only then will they find it possible to get cast for major projects being filmed in the city where they live. The locals will get background work, hoping to be noticed, and occasionally it even happens. It's not that there's resentment to The Wire or Homicide, which really kick-started the local television industry. But there's a bitter irony of playing second-fiddle (and third-fiddle) to so many out of towners in a city with a thriving industry and a lot of local talent. Acting is, of course, a crummy line of work to be in regardless. It's not like your Broadway dreams come true just by moving up I-95.