The Wire....sucks. (The Shield is wayyy better)

Considering the show never won an Emmy, some could make the case it was UNDERrated.

I believe it is the highest-rated show ever on IMDB.

It told an incredibly realistic story about Baltimore, each season focusing on a different perspective (drugs, police, politics, media).

Maybe it wasn't your cup of tea, but to say it was a bad show is completely ignorant and borderline idiotic.
 
laugh.gif


the wire is boring.
 
The Shield is repetitive? Of course it is. It's REALISTIC. When you're a dirty !%! cop, murking your partners and doing deals in the streets, that stuff doesn't go away after a season finale.
 
The Shield is repetitive? Of course it is. It's REALISTIC. When you're a dirty !%! cop, murking your partners and doing deals in the streets, that stuff doesn't go away after a season finale.
 
-Brother Mizzoune and Omar going after Stringer
-Omar going at in a gun fight against Marlo's crew
-Hamersterdam
-Stringer finally telling Avon he killed D
-Police Chief in the gay bar

Series has MORE than its share of surprises, great show, great writing, the Newspaper season was weak, but all in all probably the best series Ive seen, the show put Baltimore on the MAP, Orioles could never do that.......
Cant tell me you didnt scream McNulty!!! during 300, Omar!!!!! during Brooklyns Finest, Stringer!!!!!during Obsesses.......... Omar gave me a new found respect for Homosexuals......(Pause)....I dunno The Wire was just on another level when it came to television. I respect their writing, great show.
 
-Brother Mizzoune and Omar going after Stringer
-Omar going at in a gun fight against Marlo's crew
-Hamersterdam
-Stringer finally telling Avon he killed D
-Police Chief in the gay bar

Series has MORE than its share of surprises, great show, great writing, the Newspaper season was weak, but all in all probably the best series Ive seen, the show put Baltimore on the MAP, Orioles could never do that.......
Cant tell me you didnt scream McNulty!!! during 300, Omar!!!!! during Brooklyns Finest, Stringer!!!!!during Obsesses.......... Omar gave me a new found respect for Homosexuals......(Pause)....I dunno The Wire was just on another level when it came to television. I respect their writing, great show.
 
Originally Posted by gambit215

-Brother Mizzoune and Omar going after Stringer
-Omar going at in a gun fight against Marlo's crew
-Hamersterdam
-Stringer finally telling Avon he killed D
-Police Chief in the gay bar

Series has MORE than its share of surprises, great show, great writing, the Newspaper season was weak, but all in all probably the best series Ive seen, the show put Baltimore on the MAP, Orioles could never do that.......
Cant tell me you didnt scream McNulty!!! during 300, Omar!!!!! during Brooklyns Finest, Stringer!!!!!during Obsesses.......... Omar gave me a new found respect for Homosexuals......(Pause)....I dunno The Wire was just on another level when it came to television. I respect their writing, great show.
Click to expand...


-wasn't a surprise at all. made perfect sense that they would go at Stringer together
-ehh, they were already looking the other way. even more improbable that so few people knew about it.
-wasn't a big surprise at all. the way The Wire takes several episodes to build up the tension made it very predictable
-rawls in the gay bar? that just made me go, 'oh look, rawls is gay." then the writers never did anything with that story again.

if those are the best you could name...
laugh.gif


Like I said, The Wire takes several episodes to build up. By then, you should have been able to see almost everything coming. This is why the Wire is boring. There's a lot of good sociopolitical commentary, but that's about it. It doesn't make for a good TV show.

Please go watch The Shield and then come back.
 
Originally Posted by gambit215

-Brother Mizzoune and Omar going after Stringer
-Omar going at in a gun fight against Marlo's crew
-Hamersterdam
-Stringer finally telling Avon he killed D
-Police Chief in the gay bar

Series has MORE than its share of surprises, great show, great writing, the Newspaper season was weak, but all in all probably the best series Ive seen, the show put Baltimore on the MAP, Orioles could never do that.......
Cant tell me you didnt scream McNulty!!! during 300, Omar!!!!! during Brooklyns Finest, Stringer!!!!!during Obsesses.......... Omar gave me a new found respect for Homosexuals......(Pause)....I dunno The Wire was just on another level when it came to television. I respect their writing, great show.
Click to expand...


-wasn't a surprise at all. made perfect sense that they would go at Stringer together
-ehh, they were already looking the other way. even more improbable that so few people knew about it.
-wasn't a big surprise at all. the way The Wire takes several episodes to build up the tension made it very predictable
-rawls in the gay bar? that just made me go, 'oh look, rawls is gay." then the writers never did anything with that story again.

if those are the best you could name...
laugh.gif


Like I said, The Wire takes several episodes to build up. By then, you should have been able to see almost everything coming. This is why the Wire is boring. There's a lot of good sociopolitical commentary, but that's about it. It doesn't make for a good TV show.

Please go watch The Shield and then come back.
 
Just because the Wire took the time to actually set up its plots does not make it boring. The Wire was unique because it focused on the HOW things got f'd up, not just that it was f'd up. That was the part appreciated the most. Every police procedural shows that the situation is bad, but never explain WHY its like that or HOW it got that way. The fact that the Wire took the time to show how all these small decisions and screw ups coalesce into much bigger problems was insanely gratifying for me. The realism of the show and the set up of how these little things and decisions made by certain people end up effecting people that otherwise have absolutely NO connection with each other was resonated with me. To come up with the how and why and explain it so well is the short version why i absolutely love the wire.
 
Just because the Wire took the time to actually set up its plots does not make it boring. The Wire was unique because it focused on the HOW things got f'd up, not just that it was f'd up. That was the part appreciated the most. Every police procedural shows that the situation is bad, but never explain WHY its like that or HOW it got that way. The fact that the Wire took the time to show how all these small decisions and screw ups coalesce into much bigger problems was insanely gratifying for me. The realism of the show and the set up of how these little things and decisions made by certain people end up effecting people that otherwise have absolutely NO connection with each other was resonated with me. To come up with the how and why and explain it so well is the short version why i absolutely love the wire.
 
As to the popularity of the series, the best explanation I ever heard was by Bill Simmons of ESPN.com: "Now I'm wondering if I avoided 'The Wire' because its central themes -- drugs, corruption, urban decay -- were realities that I simply wanted to ignore. Instead of being haunted by a show like this, it was easier and safer to skip it entirely. Most people feel this way, I'm guessing; it's the only conceivable reason why five times as many people would watch "The Sopranos" instead of a show that's better in every way. See, when most Americans dabble in inner-city TV shows or movies for our 'taste' of street life, we're hoping for the Hollywood version. We don't want despair and decay, we want hope and triumph. We don't want the zero-sum game of drug dealers killing each other, we want The Rock coaching juvie kids and turning their lives around in two hours. We want them to win the big football game, we want the movie to end, and we don't want to think about these people ever again."


Look, I can't put into words why the The Wire is the best show ever. It would probably take me a long time to compose my thoughts. These guys can and did:


It's not TV, it's not even HBO, it's better,
By Christopher Stensrud (Madison, WI)

A tortured, alcoholic detective (Det. McNulty/Dominic West) who care more about putting criminals away than he does about departmental rules or, even himself. A homosexual modern day-Wild West gunslinger (Omar/Michael K. Williams) who robs and kills drug dealers and lives by a strict moral code of his own. A drug dealer (Stringer/Idris Elba) trying to become legitimate, taking economics classes while starting up his own company. A middle school boy (Michael/Tristan Wild), struggling to take care of his little brother and his addict of a mother, all while trying to resist the allure of the game and the corner.

These are a few examples of the incredibly diverse cast of characters and actors that make up The Wire. Just like the real world each of these characters (as opposed to caricatures) show signs of both virtue and vice, redemption and damnation. This realism is incredibly important and effective in conveying the reality of the post-industrial city and its devasting effects on people and institutions. Each season of The Wire focuses on different aspects of the city, following a different theme each season.

Season 1 effectively examines the danger of being an individual in an organization, using Detective McNulty and a drug dealer (D. Barksdale/Larry Gilliard Jr.) who both struggle against the reins of their respective employers. This issue develops against the thrilling backdrop of the drug war and an investigation into druglord Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris).

Season 2 shows the death of work in the post-industrial world, particularly the loss of blue collar jobs. This is shown through the port of Baltimore and its workers who start illegally importing items and dealing drugs to keep afloat.

Season 3 artfully reveals why reforming these institutions never works. Again this issue is examined through both a cop (Major Colvin/Robert Wisdom) and the drug dealer Stringer. Specifically, Colvin makes his district a drug-free zone to combat other crime, while Stringer tries to go legitimate in addition to trying to eliminate violence from drug-fueled gang wars.

Season 4 illuminates how kids fall through the cracks in schools, largely as a result of their hostile environment. The tagline, beautiful in its simplicity, for this season points to the political nature this story by sarcastically claiming that this country pursues a policy where "No corner [is] left behind".

Bringing this whole story full circle, Season 5 ties all of these problems together and argues that the media skews our perspective away from these important mattters to sensationalistic stories. This storyline revolves around a perceptive, noble editor (Gus/Clark Johnson)
and one of his deceitful writers (Templeton/Thomas McCarthy) who is more concerned about Pullitzers than real news. This season ends by showing how these issues create a circle of explotation and victimhood, a point made by showing how these drug dealers, cops, addicts, and even modern day gunslingers get killed, retired, and reform only to have their places taken by the next victim and predator.

Throughout the entire series The Wire pursues and achieves a level of quality, insight, and empathy never before reached in any television series or episode. It truly is the equivalent of a televised novel. It is the first Great American TV Show.

The acting is suberb across the board, from bit players to protagonists and antagonists (although these very terms are called into question throughtout the series). Particualarly engrossing to observe are the can't watch, can't look away descent of Dominic West as Det. McNulty in addition to the admiration and disappointment of Michael K. Williams as he mesmerizingly displays Omar's singular moral code and actions. Even the child actors that play the middle schoolers in Season 4 manage to deliver performances finer than most adult actors.

As already seen, the story achieves both high entertainment and high art. Although each season starts off slowly in terms of pacing, even the slowest episode has several major events that affect the entire season and series. Sometimes these events don't seem important when they happen but, just as in every great novel, these events eventually are revealed as the earthquke they originally were with aftershocks that cannot be ignored.

As if incredible character development, acting, and plotting were not enough, The Wire also excells in terms of production. Similar to any HBO show, the series receives a budget clsoer to a movie than a network TV show. This is reflected in the superb direction, fanciful cinematography and essential soundtrack.

The series is even bookended by director Clark Johnson (Gus from Season 5), a symmetry that can be seen in the parallel shots seen in the first and last episodes. An example of this is the simple use of an elevator camera in both episodes to highlight the theme of constant surveillance pursued throughout the series. These shots also show the incredible and varied cinematography at work throughout the entire series.

Finally, the soundtrack to The Wire creates the perfect atmosphere by highlighting these themes with a cross section of genres, subjects, and musical tastes. Most of the time throughout the series there is no score other than the many different sounds and songs of the real world, heard only when you would really hear it, such as a song playing for the brief moment a car passes by with its radio blaring. At the end of evey season, however, a song plays that captures the tone of the season, its rare appearance making the song and moment more emotionally effective and intellectually insightful. Even the theme song perfectly complements and adds to the series. Each season has a different band cover the theme song "Down in a Hole" in a different style that reflects the seaoson and it's thematic concerns. Although it's not the best version, the 4th season features a song by a trio of adolescents, a choice that aligns perfectly with the No Corner Left Behind theme.

Quite simply, The Wire is an entertaining, thought provoking, artfully acted, perfectly produced show that rewards (some might say even requires) multiple viewings. It's a shame that this show did not receive the praise or attention that The Sopranos, for instance, enjoyed. Of course, this is only fitting since the show is so far ahead of its time and its cable competitors.

The Simplest Title for The Most Complex TV Series Ever --- "Perfection",
By R.A. McKenzie (New York) -

Imagine a show that every critic on the planet loves. Imagine a show so deeply layered that it makes every other drama seem simple. Imagine a show where each character is equally important. Imagine a show that reinvented itself every season, yet still felt like it was part of the world it created from the outset. Imagine a show so complex that you will always discover something new the next time around.

Doesn't this sound like perfection to you? Trust me, it is, in more ways than you can fathom.

THE WIRE is a show so meticulously crafted and executed that it would take me a dozen reviews to scratch the surface of what makes it great. After catching the very first episode on HBO, I immediately bought the 1st season. The rest, as they say, is history.

I'm so afraid to ruin anything that I don't even want to give away characters' names. To even let you go in expecting certain traits from a character would spoil the fun. So instead, I'm deliberately being vague about what occurs. If you've never heard about this series, you deserve go in cold.

But I'll give you a few details, starting with the very first scene. THE WIRE begins when a detective is questioning a young hoodlum who witnessed a murder. The detective asks why the guy and his friends allowed the victim to continue rolling dice, after he'd been known to snatch the money & run. The scene closes when the kid says, "Got to, man. This America."

Then the show begins its title sequence, in which The Blind Boys of Alabama's cover of "Way Down In The Hole" plays over a montage of seemingly random clips of police activity & urban life. But as you'll learn the more you see this title sequence (and song), this montage is actually filled with clues, both literal and metaphorical. The greatest crime dramas throw clues in your face without telling you how important they are. Believe me, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, one of the greatest films of all time with its labyrinthine plot, has nothing on THE WIRE. And we're only just getting started.

What you'll also notice from the opening scene is the dialogue. It actually took me two viewings to find out what the detective and the dice-roller were saying. As if that wasn't enough, I eventually had to turn on the English subtitles just to find out what each character was saying. The dialogue flows so naturally that THE WIRE never feels like a TV drama. There are no scenes where the characters recap what happened in the previous episode, unless the characters would actually take a moment to remind each other. This sounds like a challenge, and indeed it is. THE WIRE requires (and deserves) your undivided attention. Pause if you have to. Rewind if you have to. Use the subtitles if you have to. Many have called THE WIRE "a visual novel", and they couldn't be more right. You see how much attention I've given to just the first few minutes? Guess what, the entire series clocks in at 63 hours.

So, what's the premise of the series? The first season's main story begins when a team of Baltimore police is assembled to take down one of the city's high-profile drug dealers. The investigators and surveillance teams endure what real cops would endure: long hours, cold trails, bad weather, tedious paperwork, crummy offices, and worse...smart criminals. THE WIRE gives the justice officers an equal amount of screen time as the targets they pursue. The dealers aren't delightfully vicious or glamorous in the least. Sort of like the Corleone Family or the protagonists in GOODFELLAS, THE WIRE portrays its criminals as guys who either can't do anything else for a living, or refuse to do anything else for a living. The series goes even deeper, as we're engaged in the lives of judges & lawyers, homicide detectives & their office-dwelling superiors, drug kingpins & their corner workers, and even the homeless. Calling this "epic" is an understatement. If you're as interested in the urban drama as you are in the police procedural, then you're on the right track. Don't worry, you will get to see the cops bust a few doors and arrest a few thugs, but just be aware each event it treated as ordinarily and naturally as anything else in THE WIRE. To the characters, these events are just another day.

Now bear in mind, I've only given a little info on the first season! I won't give away any details, but Season Two continues in the exact opposite way you'd expect a sequel to. The cops and criminals shared equal halves of TV time on Season One, but for the seasons that follow, they share equal parts with a completely new side of Baltimore. Just wait until THE WIRE continues through its next few seasons, it gets even more deliciously complex. If you think Season One sounds like a beastly Rubik's Cube, wait until you get a load of Season Two, not to mention the seasons afterwards. After all, you can't predict how a single story is going to proceed if you're too blindsided by how it begins. One of the most interesting aspects is that slowly over time, THE WIRE becomes more than a crime drama --- the series evolves into a multi-layered epic, where crime is only part of the picture. Each of the five seasons feels like its own individual story, but naturally connects with the season that comes before and after it.

I don't want you to be discouraged by this onslaught of convoluted storytelling. There is a method to the madness. Audiences (including me) are too used to knowing where we are at every given point of the story. THE WIRE purposefully refrains from the kind of clarity we're used to. This challenge that will stimulate your mind in ways that no other TV show has. In so many ways, it's the kind of entertainment we've always wanted: Surprising yet Natural --- isn't that always the goal?

THE WIRE is so great that everyone is going to take something different from it. This show can be interpreted in a million ways. Nobody is right, and nobody is wrong. How can that be? Well, creator David Simon is to be credited for this neutrality. Simon is as hands-on as any other TV series producer, writer, or creator. Every single aspect of the show is exactly what he wanted it to be. THE WIRE was never the victim of a writer's strike, or cancelled seasons, or poor broadcasting schedules, or any other excuse. If there is a character or story arc you don't care for, it isn't Simon's fault; your personal taste just doesn't mesh with it. Sure, I have one or two nitpicks about what THE WIRE should've been in my eyes, but not once did I believe it was for a lack of focus. For example, one particular season takes a more didactic approach to the series. We witness moral dilemmas with an ambitious mayor, unethical cops, and newspaper staff --- all tackle the immortal question, "Do the ends justify the means?" This more black-and-white angle is exactly what David Simon wanted to use. I preferred a more gray-shaded tale, but Simon decided that this tale needed a more direct statement. Now, even though this isn't my preference, I overlooked my own criticisms because this season was built this way. There are a couple of other little things that might not sit well with some viewers, notably how the "star" of the show's cast disappears for most of one season (don't worry, you'll know it's coming before it happens). The point is that THE WIRE never once strayed from its intended path.

I think that's what I'm going to take away most from this show: It tells every story it wants to tell. It answers every question it poses, unless we're meant to ponder. It forces us to sympathize with those we'd normally condemn, and to relate to those we'd usually ignore. This television drama is a masterful work of art, from the page to the screen.

I'm going to close with this:
Despite my review title, spending a large amount of money on a complete TV series without seeing a few clips is clearly irresponsible. I didn't type this review expecting you to drop a couple hundred by my words alone. So, let's be sensible about this product. If you can, rent the first few episodes from a videostore, or try to find the show in a library, or maybe even go on YouTube to find a few Season One scenes.

There is so much more I want to share with you, but it's time to use a lesson David Simon taught me:
I will say only enough, and make it your responsibility to discover the rest. Enjoy!






Look, I haven't watched The Shield. I have scoured the web for reviews and the gist is that is very entertaining and has more "oh %*$% !" moments. The Wire taught me a lot about why the city 10 miles away from me is the way it is. I don't see how you can compare the two. It's mindless entertainment versus a realistic portrayal of themes that transcend everyday human existence. I have been entertained by many shows. I have not learned about the reasons for our harsh realities in many shows.

It's reprehensible to think The Wire sucks. It just is. No show has ever been as ambitious yet so resistant to television pressure. Only reason the show made it past even Season 1 were critics.
 
As to the popularity of the series, the best explanation I ever heard was by Bill Simmons of ESPN.com: "Now I'm wondering if I avoided 'The Wire' because its central themes -- drugs, corruption, urban decay -- were realities that I simply wanted to ignore. Instead of being haunted by a show like this, it was easier and safer to skip it entirely. Most people feel this way, I'm guessing; it's the only conceivable reason why five times as many people would watch "The Sopranos" instead of a show that's better in every way. See, when most Americans dabble in inner-city TV shows or movies for our 'taste' of street life, we're hoping for the Hollywood version. We don't want despair and decay, we want hope and triumph. We don't want the zero-sum game of drug dealers killing each other, we want The Rock coaching juvie kids and turning their lives around in two hours. We want them to win the big football game, we want the movie to end, and we don't want to think about these people ever again."


Look, I can't put into words why the The Wire is the best show ever. It would probably take me a long time to compose my thoughts. These guys can and did:


It's not TV, it's not even HBO, it's better,
By Christopher Stensrud (Madison, WI)

A tortured, alcoholic detective (Det. McNulty/Dominic West) who care more about putting criminals away than he does about departmental rules or, even himself. A homosexual modern day-Wild West gunslinger (Omar/Michael K. Williams) who robs and kills drug dealers and lives by a strict moral code of his own. A drug dealer (Stringer/Idris Elba) trying to become legitimate, taking economics classes while starting up his own company. A middle school boy (Michael/Tristan Wild), struggling to take care of his little brother and his addict of a mother, all while trying to resist the allure of the game and the corner.

These are a few examples of the incredibly diverse cast of characters and actors that make up The Wire. Just like the real world each of these characters (as opposed to caricatures) show signs of both virtue and vice, redemption and damnation. This realism is incredibly important and effective in conveying the reality of the post-industrial city and its devasting effects on people and institutions. Each season of The Wire focuses on different aspects of the city, following a different theme each season.

Season 1 effectively examines the danger of being an individual in an organization, using Detective McNulty and a drug dealer (D. Barksdale/Larry Gilliard Jr.) who both struggle against the reins of their respective employers. This issue develops against the thrilling backdrop of the drug war and an investigation into druglord Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris).

Season 2 shows the death of work in the post-industrial world, particularly the loss of blue collar jobs. This is shown through the port of Baltimore and its workers who start illegally importing items and dealing drugs to keep afloat.

Season 3 artfully reveals why reforming these institutions never works. Again this issue is examined through both a cop (Major Colvin/Robert Wisdom) and the drug dealer Stringer. Specifically, Colvin makes his district a drug-free zone to combat other crime, while Stringer tries to go legitimate in addition to trying to eliminate violence from drug-fueled gang wars.

Season 4 illuminates how kids fall through the cracks in schools, largely as a result of their hostile environment. The tagline, beautiful in its simplicity, for this season points to the political nature this story by sarcastically claiming that this country pursues a policy where "No corner [is] left behind".

Bringing this whole story full circle, Season 5 ties all of these problems together and argues that the media skews our perspective away from these important mattters to sensationalistic stories. This storyline revolves around a perceptive, noble editor (Gus/Clark Johnson)
and one of his deceitful writers (Templeton/Thomas McCarthy) who is more concerned about Pullitzers than real news. This season ends by showing how these issues create a circle of explotation and victimhood, a point made by showing how these drug dealers, cops, addicts, and even modern day gunslingers get killed, retired, and reform only to have their places taken by the next victim and predator.

Throughout the entire series The Wire pursues and achieves a level of quality, insight, and empathy never before reached in any television series or episode. It truly is the equivalent of a televised novel. It is the first Great American TV Show.

The acting is suberb across the board, from bit players to protagonists and antagonists (although these very terms are called into question throughtout the series). Particualarly engrossing to observe are the can't watch, can't look away descent of Dominic West as Det. McNulty in addition to the admiration and disappointment of Michael K. Williams as he mesmerizingly displays Omar's singular moral code and actions. Even the child actors that play the middle schoolers in Season 4 manage to deliver performances finer than most adult actors.

As already seen, the story achieves both high entertainment and high art. Although each season starts off slowly in terms of pacing, even the slowest episode has several major events that affect the entire season and series. Sometimes these events don't seem important when they happen but, just as in every great novel, these events eventually are revealed as the earthquke they originally were with aftershocks that cannot be ignored.

As if incredible character development, acting, and plotting were not enough, The Wire also excells in terms of production. Similar to any HBO show, the series receives a budget clsoer to a movie than a network TV show. This is reflected in the superb direction, fanciful cinematography and essential soundtrack.

The series is even bookended by director Clark Johnson (Gus from Season 5), a symmetry that can be seen in the parallel shots seen in the first and last episodes. An example of this is the simple use of an elevator camera in both episodes to highlight the theme of constant surveillance pursued throughout the series. These shots also show the incredible and varied cinematography at work throughout the entire series.

Finally, the soundtrack to The Wire creates the perfect atmosphere by highlighting these themes with a cross section of genres, subjects, and musical tastes. Most of the time throughout the series there is no score other than the many different sounds and songs of the real world, heard only when you would really hear it, such as a song playing for the brief moment a car passes by with its radio blaring. At the end of evey season, however, a song plays that captures the tone of the season, its rare appearance making the song and moment more emotionally effective and intellectually insightful. Even the theme song perfectly complements and adds to the series. Each season has a different band cover the theme song "Down in a Hole" in a different style that reflects the seaoson and it's thematic concerns. Although it's not the best version, the 4th season features a song by a trio of adolescents, a choice that aligns perfectly with the No Corner Left Behind theme.

Quite simply, The Wire is an entertaining, thought provoking, artfully acted, perfectly produced show that rewards (some might say even requires) multiple viewings. It's a shame that this show did not receive the praise or attention that The Sopranos, for instance, enjoyed. Of course, this is only fitting since the show is so far ahead of its time and its cable competitors.

The Simplest Title for The Most Complex TV Series Ever --- "Perfection",
By R.A. McKenzie (New York) -

Imagine a show that every critic on the planet loves. Imagine a show so deeply layered that it makes every other drama seem simple. Imagine a show where each character is equally important. Imagine a show that reinvented itself every season, yet still felt like it was part of the world it created from the outset. Imagine a show so complex that you will always discover something new the next time around.

Doesn't this sound like perfection to you? Trust me, it is, in more ways than you can fathom.

THE WIRE is a show so meticulously crafted and executed that it would take me a dozen reviews to scratch the surface of what makes it great. After catching the very first episode on HBO, I immediately bought the 1st season. The rest, as they say, is history.

I'm so afraid to ruin anything that I don't even want to give away characters' names. To even let you go in expecting certain traits from a character would spoil the fun. So instead, I'm deliberately being vague about what occurs. If you've never heard about this series, you deserve go in cold.

But I'll give you a few details, starting with the very first scene. THE WIRE begins when a detective is questioning a young hoodlum who witnessed a murder. The detective asks why the guy and his friends allowed the victim to continue rolling dice, after he'd been known to snatch the money & run. The scene closes when the kid says, "Got to, man. This America."

Then the show begins its title sequence, in which The Blind Boys of Alabama's cover of "Way Down In The Hole" plays over a montage of seemingly random clips of police activity & urban life. But as you'll learn the more you see this title sequence (and song), this montage is actually filled with clues, both literal and metaphorical. The greatest crime dramas throw clues in your face without telling you how important they are. Believe me, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, one of the greatest films of all time with its labyrinthine plot, has nothing on THE WIRE. And we're only just getting started.

What you'll also notice from the opening scene is the dialogue. It actually took me two viewings to find out what the detective and the dice-roller were saying. As if that wasn't enough, I eventually had to turn on the English subtitles just to find out what each character was saying. The dialogue flows so naturally that THE WIRE never feels like a TV drama. There are no scenes where the characters recap what happened in the previous episode, unless the characters would actually take a moment to remind each other. This sounds like a challenge, and indeed it is. THE WIRE requires (and deserves) your undivided attention. Pause if you have to. Rewind if you have to. Use the subtitles if you have to. Many have called THE WIRE "a visual novel", and they couldn't be more right. You see how much attention I've given to just the first few minutes? Guess what, the entire series clocks in at 63 hours.

So, what's the premise of the series? The first season's main story begins when a team of Baltimore police is assembled to take down one of the city's high-profile drug dealers. The investigators and surveillance teams endure what real cops would endure: long hours, cold trails, bad weather, tedious paperwork, crummy offices, and worse...smart criminals. THE WIRE gives the justice officers an equal amount of screen time as the targets they pursue. The dealers aren't delightfully vicious or glamorous in the least. Sort of like the Corleone Family or the protagonists in GOODFELLAS, THE WIRE portrays its criminals as guys who either can't do anything else for a living, or refuse to do anything else for a living. The series goes even deeper, as we're engaged in the lives of judges & lawyers, homicide detectives & their office-dwelling superiors, drug kingpins & their corner workers, and even the homeless. Calling this "epic" is an understatement. If you're as interested in the urban drama as you are in the police procedural, then you're on the right track. Don't worry, you will get to see the cops bust a few doors and arrest a few thugs, but just be aware each event it treated as ordinarily and naturally as anything else in THE WIRE. To the characters, these events are just another day.

Now bear in mind, I've only given a little info on the first season! I won't give away any details, but Season Two continues in the exact opposite way you'd expect a sequel to. The cops and criminals shared equal halves of TV time on Season One, but for the seasons that follow, they share equal parts with a completely new side of Baltimore. Just wait until THE WIRE continues through its next few seasons, it gets even more deliciously complex. If you think Season One sounds like a beastly Rubik's Cube, wait until you get a load of Season Two, not to mention the seasons afterwards. After all, you can't predict how a single story is going to proceed if you're too blindsided by how it begins. One of the most interesting aspects is that slowly over time, THE WIRE becomes more than a crime drama --- the series evolves into a multi-layered epic, where crime is only part of the picture. Each of the five seasons feels like its own individual story, but naturally connects with the season that comes before and after it.

I don't want you to be discouraged by this onslaught of convoluted storytelling. There is a method to the madness. Audiences (including me) are too used to knowing where we are at every given point of the story. THE WIRE purposefully refrains from the kind of clarity we're used to. This challenge that will stimulate your mind in ways that no other TV show has. In so many ways, it's the kind of entertainment we've always wanted: Surprising yet Natural --- isn't that always the goal?

THE WIRE is so great that everyone is going to take something different from it. This show can be interpreted in a million ways. Nobody is right, and nobody is wrong. How can that be? Well, creator David Simon is to be credited for this neutrality. Simon is as hands-on as any other TV series producer, writer, or creator. Every single aspect of the show is exactly what he wanted it to be. THE WIRE was never the victim of a writer's strike, or cancelled seasons, or poor broadcasting schedules, or any other excuse. If there is a character or story arc you don't care for, it isn't Simon's fault; your personal taste just doesn't mesh with it. Sure, I have one or two nitpicks about what THE WIRE should've been in my eyes, but not once did I believe it was for a lack of focus. For example, one particular season takes a more didactic approach to the series. We witness moral dilemmas with an ambitious mayor, unethical cops, and newspaper staff --- all tackle the immortal question, "Do the ends justify the means?" This more black-and-white angle is exactly what David Simon wanted to use. I preferred a more gray-shaded tale, but Simon decided that this tale needed a more direct statement. Now, even though this isn't my preference, I overlooked my own criticisms because this season was built this way. There are a couple of other little things that might not sit well with some viewers, notably how the "star" of the show's cast disappears for most of one season (don't worry, you'll know it's coming before it happens). The point is that THE WIRE never once strayed from its intended path.

I think that's what I'm going to take away most from this show: It tells every story it wants to tell. It answers every question it poses, unless we're meant to ponder. It forces us to sympathize with those we'd normally condemn, and to relate to those we'd usually ignore. This television drama is a masterful work of art, from the page to the screen.

I'm going to close with this:
Despite my review title, spending a large amount of money on a complete TV series without seeing a few clips is clearly irresponsible. I didn't type this review expecting you to drop a couple hundred by my words alone. So, let's be sensible about this product. If you can, rent the first few episodes from a videostore, or try to find the show in a library, or maybe even go on YouTube to find a few Season One scenes.

There is so much more I want to share with you, but it's time to use a lesson David Simon taught me:
I will say only enough, and make it your responsibility to discover the rest. Enjoy!






Look, I haven't watched The Shield. I have scoured the web for reviews and the gist is that is very entertaining and has more "oh %*$% !" moments. The Wire taught me a lot about why the city 10 miles away from me is the way it is. I don't see how you can compare the two. It's mindless entertainment versus a realistic portrayal of themes that transcend everyday human existence. I have been entertained by many shows. I have not learned about the reasons for our harsh realities in many shows.

It's reprehensible to think The Wire sucks. It just is. No show has ever been as ambitious yet so resistant to television pressure. Only reason the show made it past even Season 1 were critics.
 
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