3. The Wire - "Old Cases"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx0xulrOsgQ Although The Wire was a TV series on HBO, it is probably one of the best written pieces of American fiction to be captured on camera, and deserves to be on this list. For 5 seasons The Wire told the story of crime from both sides of the fence, both the criminals and the cops. The streets of Baltimore are inhabited by a cast of characters and throughout the series' arc we are given the opportunity to get to know them. The Wire, as with most HBO programming, held back no punches in the way the characters speak. The dialogue exchanged on all sides always had a strong curve towards profanity, as this was commonplace for both thugs on the street and officers of the law. No other scene defines The Wire more brilliantly than a scene from Season 1, Episode 4, entitled Old Cases. Written by show creators David Simon and Ed Burns, this episode features the lead detectives McNulty (Dominic West) and Moreland (Wendell Pierce) on a routine investigation of a murder scene. With their own shorthand way of communicating with each other, the old partners work the scene, uttering nothing more than The F-Word back and forth while discovering new clues. What this scene does more than most scenes using the F-Word is give the word multiple uses through its many incarnations. Fragments of shock, disgust, curiosity, revelation and completion are all conveyed with one simple four letter word. It is American crime writing at its finest, and one of the most clever uses of the F-Word from a truly masterful series.