Confessions of a Wire virgin.

I'm about to start the 7th episode, and for me it's still just a better-than-average cop show. When does it start picking up?

I just finished season 3

season one is ... without a doubt one of the best opening seasons to a show i've ever seen. it introduces so much and leaves you wanting more by the end

season 2 seemed....like they weren't sure where to go after season one, but once it got about a quarter of the way in, to half way, i really started to get pulled in

season three reconnects with many of the main plotlines in season one, while really finishing up what it started.

i really really really can't wait to watch season 4 and 5

All of the seasons start out a little slow but end up being fantastic. Here's my rating of the seasons:

#1 - 4/5
#2 - 3½/5
#3 - 4/5
#4 - 3/5 (this season was a little peculiar. It is mostly politics and from a writing perspective an extremely impressive season. Some don't like it some love it. I liked it, just not as much as the others.)
#5 - 5/5 (Simply fantastic. The first 3 episodes are a little too slow but then it really starts rolling and end up being the most engaging TV I have ever seen)

I have a good friend who, as well as being a cop himself, is a "the Shield" junkie. Is it safe to assume he'd like this show as much, if not more?

Just planning ahead for birthday gifting.

For me, consistency is the hallmark of The Wire. I feel like certain shows have had higher highs, but The Wire maintained an excellence unparalleled in, well, just about anything. What's even more special about it is that, since the scope is always expanding, the level of consistency creates something that might even be better than the sum of each individual part. There was basically nothing, not an episode or a subplot, that I checked out from in the entire run. I was drawn deeper and deeper in. And there's a real resonance by the end. A feeling that the showrunners really knew what they were doing, everything had a purpose, and they stopped just at the right time.

ETA- The Shield is the sizzle. The Wire is the steak. (Not that I would normally compare the two)

A couple of responses spring to the tip of my tongue - first, if you're being funny/ironic....fair enough. Haha. 'A better-than-average cop show'. Sheyeah riiiight. Good one.

The second response is a lot more shouty and abusive, so I'll tone it right down - if you're honestly 7 episodes in and you think The Wire is just 'a better-than-average cop show", it's not for you. Eject the DVD and pass it on to someone who will appreciate it for the work of sublime genius that it is.

Actually a third just popped into my head - I see Belgium as your location, which could imply that English is not your first language (it sounds like it is, but you never know). If it isn't, in fairness, a lot of the dialogue in The Wire is thickly colloquial and from time to time I had serious trouble understanding a couple of characters myself (Particularly a character called Snoop in series 4 - I had to subtitle almost everything she said) - I can see someone whose English is not 100% fluent scratching their head with a WTF face on for a goodly portion of it.

All snark aside, I hope you grow to love it. It is, literally, the best TV show ever, in the history of the universe.

English is, in fact, not my first language.

I really do hope I grow to love it as well. I'll freely admit I've been seeing it in less-than-optimal circumstances (it's not really my SO's cup of tea) and popping it in whenever she's gone for an hour or more kinda breaks the flow.

Much love for D'Angelo though.

Two different kind of shows, no guarantee he'd like The Wire. Depending on his personality type he might find it too slow. Still may be worth getting him Season 1 though.

Jesus - kudos. Your English is pretty much perfect.

The Wire is one of those shows that seriously benefits from the wonder of the TV-Boxset-Revolution. The old 'Fuck it, let's go one more' mentality that took me and my wife through Lost Season 1 in about 3 days a couple of years back. We generally watched 2 or 3 episodes of The Wire in a row, and it really does immerse you in the world. The show also juggles a huge amount of characters and plot threads, so big gaps between episodes may leave you floundering. And D'Angelo is fantastic Hope it gets better for you!

Okay, yeah, that was great. Also, "Da king stay da king, man."

I watched all five seasons of The Wire a few months ago and I still can't stop talking with my friends about it.

While there are certain seasons (like season 3) whose themes and side-stories left a bigger impression on me, I like to see it as one big, continuous, multi-layered story. And while the quality of the show stays pretty much constant (with tiny ups and downs), the emotional impact and attachement to the characters and the city itself grows with each season to the point when at the end of the fifth season I realised that I have never seen anything on TV before that impressed me this much. Keep on watching it and don't be afraid, it's not going to become worse.

I went through the 4 seasons in the last 2 months. I was unsure of loving this, and it grew on me from the 5th episode, and only gradually so, until I hit the last episode and saw the whole picture. Even the 2nd season, because of the docks setting, got some times for me to like (I wanted more Barksdale action), by the end went so well, once again tying all the threads together. Even the 4th season, with the school setting, was great, just like the others.

It's an amazing show. The best I've seen, and easily relegating BSG to a #2 spot in my case.

I watched the entire season 5 and have seen nothing before that season. I am just waiting for the box sets to go on sale for cheap like they did during this past thanksgiving weekend. I can't pay $60 to $70 a piece for 4 seasons.

And for the record, if season 5 was the letdown that a lot of people says it was, I REALLY need to see the first four seasons because season 5 was the best entire season of television that I have watched in a long time.

The Wire is without a doubt fantastic. It's good that more people are discovering it so you won't get any shit from me Stelios. I'll just say welcome to a world of greatness and pain.

And just to throw in my own 2 cents, nothing will ever top of season 4.

It is arguably one of, if not the, greatest American television show of all time. Whoever said its consistency is going to be its legacy, not to mention it's pretty much the biggest and best ensemble drama ever, is right on.

Also, re: getting into the show. Simon has compared the series to a televised novel, and he makes the analogy to Moby Dick. Ahab doesn't show up in the first chapter, nor does the whale. Those first couple chapters -- i.e., episodes -- are spent setting up the characters and themes, laying the framework for what's to come. So while the first third/half of a Wire season is always great, the second half, and particularly those last two or three episodes, are where the show really sings. (Especially the next to last episode of each season. As Alan Sepinwall of the New Jersey Star Ledger says, "Fuckin' George Pelecanos.")

Season 3 was the highpoint for me. It was just too good to see all those threads come together.

Best show ever. Stays very strong throughout the entire run.

Season three's my favorite, although five may surpass it in time. The best of the best overall is four, though. Dukie!

I got into The Wire around the time Season 2 came out on DVD, so that was a lot earlier than most of you guys. Theres a large time investment involved to get the most of the show, and I think you really have to watch the show (season by season) more than once to get a lot outta it. The first time you watch it your basically trying to get a handle on the plot and characters, since it can be overwhelming and theres no other show really like it (imagine your watching a novel). The second time through, you will see its greatness. Little things, like characters in the background on the street who come and go. Echoes of dialogue that repeat themselves seasons later. The Wire is so deep it literally requires multiple viewings to appreciate it.

Also, its not a cop show. I can see how maybe you can get that vibe from the first season, but its really not. Its a show about institutions, and how they failed us on nearly every level.

With all that said, my favorite season is #4. Love dem kids.

And who here thinks Hamsterdam is a great idea that could work?

Great. A city block full of fucking drug-laden hamsters. Just what we need...

Hahahahaha....their out there anyway, just not where you can see them.

Seeing as someone else has done it first I'd also like to raise my hand and meekly say "I've never seen The Wire"

That feels much better now...

I don't really know why, its not like I've gone out of my way to avoid it and I watch a lot of other US programmes like Lost, BSG and The Shield.

Although its hardly ubiquitous on UK Telly.

Think I'll wait til the end of the current runs of BSG and Lost and get me some box sets as my TV watching time is already quite limited these days.

I know it gets it's own love (and threads) but if you love The Wire and haven't yet watched Deadwood, do yourself that favor. Discerning TV viewers found a short yet intese nirvana on HBO for the first half of this decade. For all the press Sopranos and Sex in the City got, these were the two that didn't just elevate the artform, they smashed it. The Mona Lisa and the David of TV shows.

The thing about Hamsterdam is that it's a radical idea that seems like it could work on the surface. And it seems to. But the show does a great job of showing just how nightmarish that situation would actually be. The point is the drug war requires radical solutions, thinking outside the box type shit, and the system -- and the people -- aren't even willing to consider that, much the way Avon can't see beyond being "just a gangsta" and wanting his corners. It's why the theme of that season is "If the gods are fucking you, find a way to fuck them back."

First two seasons of Deadwood are brilliant, towering pieces of television. Third season...I had a real hard time getting into it. I think I gave up shortly after that shit happened with Hosteadler and Steve. (Which...sad.)

I just finished getting through it a couple weeks ago. I started with Season 5 when it was On Demand and immediately started watching the other seasons. I have never seen something that can be so heartbreaking one moment and so funny the next. It really is real life.

Any individual season is great to watch, but it's once you've seen the whole thing that you appreciate the true scope of it. They just laid down the groundwork in season one. They introduced us to all of "Bodymore" by the end.

Who do you guys think has the best character arc of the entire run? The more I think about it the more I lean towards Carver. Watching him grow as a person is so rewarding by the end.

And Omar is such a badass.

And I too think Hamsterdam would work.

Season three of Deadwood is tough, but its also a lot like There Will Be Blood. It suffers from a go-nowhere actors subplot, but the rest is gold.

OK, this is may have some spoilers, so don't read it if you haven't seen it at least up to S3.

My personal favorite character is Bunk, and while he probably is the least-changed character through the series, he just cracks me up, and has some of the best lines in the show ("Look at that bow-legged mother fucker, I made him walk like that.")

As for my favorite character arc, it has to go to Bodie. At the beginning, he's young and naive, but by the end, when he's lost nearly everything and everyone he's grown up with, he realizes the game is rigged, and he ain't nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard. By far my favorite character arc over the course of the seasons. Not to mention I just love the part at the beginning of S3 where they go to Philly, and Bodie is shocked to learn theres different radio stations outside of Baltimore. Its just a nice piece and shows you these people NEVER LEAVE where they grew up, their trapped, like Hamsters in a cage.

And as for Hamsterdam, while its far too radical, I do think it could work. Like in the show, it would make it easier to reach a large population of drug users who are normally spread out over a large area and are pretty elusive. Also, I'm not against sacrificing a small part of our cities so the people living in the rest of it don't have to deal with the dealers and the users. We do that anyway, our politicians just don't acknowledge it.

God good call with Bodie man. Definitely in my top 5.

The point, though, isn't that Hamsterdam could work, although it probably could, but (like Colvin's efforts in the school system) the system is so broken from so many angles and on so many levels that original thought is smacked down and that an idea like that could never gain traction. You can't talk about whether it could work or not, because the the point is that it could, but it won't.

Guys, sorry to derail, but we have umpteen WIRE threads where we can talk about the show in detail (ie, with spoilers, favorite characters, storylines, etc). This is a WIRE newbie thread. Let's keep it clean.

I like the idea of Hamsterdam but let's start with something smaller. Legalize weed and tax it. Good times for all.

I will echo the love for Carvers arc. For the longest time I thought he wasn't shit. Way to grow up.

Ok guys, it's spelled Amsterdam.

I agree on the Carver story arc (so far for me, after 4 seasons), but Bodie, Stringer and Omar takes the cake as far as great characters goes, along Bunk and Freeman. And I hated Prez at first. By season 4, loved the character.

No, it's Hamsterdam.

Yeah, Banks is right. Hamsterdam is a hopper bastardization of Amsterdam. Wow, that was so fucking nerdy.

If you could link, that would be great. I just tried to search for The Wire and it only brought up three, none of which were discussions about The Wire.

Yeah, and it all stemmed from some kid making a crack after what Carv said if my memory serves me right.

I've just started reviewing the show and West clearly didn't have the accent down in the first few eps of season 1.

Yea, there are a few slip-ups for West at various points throughout the series (when he's in the car with Kima and he calls his wife a cunt sticks out for me), but only a few of the main characters have true Baltimore accents. You can tell the actors who play Bubbles and Prop. Joe Marlo are from Baltimore. Doesn't really matter though.

Did Herc's Brooklyn accent ever get explained? I need to re-watch s5 when it comes out on DVD.

No, but you figure he may have come from New York. The accents aren't really an issue to me anyway except for West because his british accent comes through from time to time on season 1. And Andre Royo (Bubbles) I thought was from New York? Anyways, like I said not important.

However, if you want to talk best Baltimore accent. Lt. Dennis Mello (aka The Real Jay Landsman) now that's Balmer accent!

I think it's explained in passing in Season 5, but I totally missed it. And this isn't a spoiler, but it can't be said enough: FUCK HERC.

Also, yeah, Royo is from NY. (<shameless namedrop> He's in -- I think -- Phillip Seymour Hoffman's theatre company where a friend of mine works, and she says the dude is ripped. </shameless namedrop, but not really>)

Especially after the heartbreaking shit pulled in season 4.

BTW the David Simon commentary on the first episode was facinating. The Clark Johnson commentary on episode two? Not so much.

Highlights:

The most recent is http://chud.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104049. Early focus on S5, then as the season progressed and ended, became a macro discussion/fellating on the show as a whole. Probably the best WIRE thread we have. Tons of discussions, and tons of great links to articles about the show.

Season Four thread: http://chud.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77647

With the search engine the way it is now, these are tops of what I could find, but they definitely represent the best discussion from S4 onward.

To the guy who's on episode 7: I'm surpised it hasn't picked up for you yet (I'd say 5 is about where things start to click), but since you're this far, don't stop until you've seen "The Hunt", which is 10 I think. If it still doesn't grab you, well, then you're fucked in the head but I can't say you didn't give it an honest shot.

I don't get the dislike for Season 2, it's probably a weaker overall season but some of the episodes in that Season are just phenomenal particularly the penultimate episode (with Frank driving to see the Greeks).

I got into the Wire about a year and a half ago. My mom was a massive Crime fan so I got her the first season on DVD, because I'd heard a lot of good buzz, and watched the first episode at her house. We both loved it so much that we ended up pretty much watching the first season over three nights and immediately buying the other boxsets.

Still pissed that Season 5 hasn't premiered over here yet.

I think part of the disconnect with season 2 (And mind you it's been a few years since I've seen it) is that there's the transition from just the crime story and it begins to expand it's scope about the american city and its inter-connected nature in relation to the drug war. Now mind you even though season 2 may be considered the weakest. I cannot think of an episode that was essentially a non-starter or dead spot in the show even though I may not have cared for certain plot points.

I think S2 is maybe the best-structured season of all of them because of the way it has to continue certain stories while developing entirely new ones. The fact that it does this so brilliantly while managing to tell a fairly contained story makes me surprised every time I hear anyone call it a disappointment (which I've heard many times as well). It's a remarkable high-wire act of plotting.

Touching on what Hocken is saying, I think he's right that maybe it's the jump from one milieu of sorts to another that discombobulates viewers. But in the grand design of the series, I have trouble accepting it as anything less than the other seasons. It's probably my favorite single season.

At first I was a bit dismissive of S2, but as it goes into the 5th episode or so it really comes into it's own. And I like that they were trying to go in a completely different direction with the docks. My only complaint, outside of the guy who plays Ziggy, is that they didn't tie the remainder of the series closer to what was going on with the docks.

The beauty of the show is how the writers brought you characters that felt like real, honest to God, people. I feel like I've KNOWN those characters myself as opposed to watching them on TV. That is an achievement that no other show can claim for me.

If we are having an arbitrary rating/listing of the season's I'd have to go this way:

1. S4: Introducing characters that you automatically fall in love with and care about. And certain members of the previous seasons in new roles for the school was a crackerjack move. The best season for the dramatic beats.

2. S3: This is, without a doubt, the most action packed season of the series, and has the ultimate team up ever seen on television. It also wraps up the previous threads, but not without the possibility of more.

3. S5: A show has never been more appropriately ended without feeling forced or false. I warmed up to the Baltimore Sun crew quickly, and would have liked it if the show writers were given more time to flesh out their characters. Heck, I could have watched a whole sseries just about them.

4. S1: Introducing us to the characters that we will grow to love. Showing the shades of gray that is the war on drugs and the American legal system. What other show can have you care about drug dealers more than you do the officers? What other show can constantly change your perception of a character?

5. S2: Last simply for the fact that the dock storyline didn't feel as organic as the others. The characters didn't feel like authentic blue collar workers in the way that characters from the other facets of Baltimore felt.

But, yeah: best show ever.

And did anybody else notice this:

Season's 1-3 had a LOT of gratuitous nudity, culminating in an awkward feeling lesbian scene with Kima Greggs that felt very voyeuristic considering that you're so invested in these characters.

Then after season three, nothing!

So you're saying you wanted to see the kids naked?

.....NO!

But they did get rid of the nudity and never returned to it. Even with the minor reduced fifth season.


It seemed unnecessary in the first place, but it dissapeared completely for the last two seasons.

I still haven't seen a single episode, but I plan on trying to sit down and watch soon.