The Wire - Better than the Sopranoes, better than CSI, better than Heroes and Lost

[kainedamo]

Let's try to keep this one interesting and upped.

The Wire is amazing. The Wire is amazing. The Wire is amazing.

More people need to watch this

I started watching the box sets. I finished season 3, have yet to start season 4. What a great show. I think it gets better season after season.

Basically The Wire follows a bunch of characters in Baltimore. It follows a bunch of cops and detectives, and it follows the criminals they eventually try to track down. There are an insane amount of fantastic characters that I've never found it so hard to keep track of each character in a show, but it's great!

Jimmy McNulty, Lester Freamon, Stringer Bell, Diangelo, Avon, Omar the coolest mother****er ever, the list of great characters goes on and on.

It's a very high quality crime show. **** CSI and all that crap - this is where its at. It has a continious story, instead of wrapping everything up in one episode like most other crime dramas. The whole entire first season is about one case. As is the second season. And the third season is basically

Spoiler

A return to the first case. It's awesome. I ****ing loved the third season. The whole idea of 'hamsterdam', brilliant. They moved all the drug dealers into little areas.

Omar ****ing rules. His career choice is basically stealing from drug dealers and he's very good at it. Sometimes he works these clever schemes, sometimes he just walks down the street in broad daylight with a shotgun and bullet proof vest while lookouts scream "Omar's comin'!! Omar's comin'!!". He's like a folk hero. Little kids impersonate him.

So I'm a few episodes into season 4. The quality is excellent.

Spoiler

Presbo, poor ****ing Presbo who can't catch a break and accidentally shot a cop last season, seems to fall on his feet as a teacher. In the first couple of episodes the kids run rings around him but he seems to have found his stride. Presbo is a very likeable character. What's great about him is when he first appears in season 1, I thought he was a total waster *****ebag of a cop - and then he turns out to be a great asset to the wire.

The Wire isn't so much a crime show as it is an analysis of inner city life. This city just happens to be falling apart. In the police force - cops, chiefs, and majors more interested in climbing the ladder, meeting targets, and licking politician ass than actually doing the job right. Politicians that care more about money, targets, and public image than doing the job right. The poor bastards stuck in between like McNulty and Freamon that actually want to make a difference. And the point of view of the criminals themselves.

It's all shown from every conceivable angle and point of view. In season 4, it's from the point of view of children - the ones that are likely to be the next generation of gangsters. Such a brilliantly executed show.

http://filmgordon.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/omar.jpg

http://marcsteinerblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/clarkepeters.jpg

http://www.tvguide.com/images/pgimg/wire-pierce37.jpg

 

[Morg]

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=302987

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=249067

 

[kainedamo]

Morg, those threads are failures. The first link has an opening post that is a one liner and doesn't even capitaize 'The Wire' properly. In the second link, the last post was in 2007.

With this thread, I'm hoping to get a discussion about The Wire off to a better start and draw more attention.

 

[Morg]

It's now closed, I removed the links of you hotlinking and you put it back up? Too lazy hosting pics yourself?

Now I got your attention this time host the pics yourself, don't hotlink

 

[kainedamo]

I don't even know what hotlinking is. I just thought I forgot to put in the [ img ] tag.

 

[kainedamo]

Alan Moore likes The Wire.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,202...t-20080717-Q&A:+'Watchmen'+creator+Alan+Moore

Do you ever relax and just watch television?
Selectively, mostly on DVD. The absolute pinnacle of anything I've seen recently has got to be The Wire. It's the most stunning piece of television that has ever come out of America, possibly the most stunning piece of television full-stop.

That's a great example of storytelling that takes its time.
Absolutely, that is grown-up television! It's novelistic. You get to find out about all these tiny different aspects of Baltimore, to build up a huge picture of the city with all of its intricacies — from the wharf side, to the kids in the projects, to the power structure with the boardrooms and police department and governor's office. And it's got some great writers: It's got George Pelecanos and David Simon. And so many wonderful characters, Bubbles, Omar. So yeah, everything else looks pretty lame next to The Wire.

What did you think of the ending?
We've not seen the final season yet. I'm quite excited — don't tell me anything about it!

With something like The Wire, do you ever think, I might not mind writing for TV?
That would be a possibility — but there again, I know how hard I have to fight. Apparently, HBO is being absolute princes with regards to The Wire. It's never had huge audiences, but they've kept funding it. They realized that this is a timeless, prestige program. This is one of the reasons why I've withdrawn from the comics industry: I do not want to deal with the people in these various industries anymore. But if that could somehow magically be arranged, if I could think of a good enough story, and if it had a chance of being the same caliber as The Wire — then yes, I would perhaps think about it. I do also tend to keep up on comedy programs.

 

[ttotheusher]

I'm waiting for Season 5 to get released over here in the UK, then I'll buy them and watch them all at once.

 

[kainedamo]

When does season 5 come out?

 

[ttotheusher]

September, I believe.

 

[kainedamo]

You might as well make a start now with season 1. By the time you work your way through all the seasons, season 5 will be out.

 

[ttotheusher]

Well, I was waiting for a big boxset, it usually works out cheaper that way.

 

[kainedamo]

Well that makes sense.

 

[Darkly Dexter]

Why is Heroes and CSI on that list? Those are average shows at best.

I will give a chance to The Wire.

 

[AlteredEgo]

is there anywhere i can watch this *whisper* online *whisper*?

 

[kainedamo]

is there anywhere i can watch this *whisper* online *whisper*?

These guys deserve your money.

 

[Keyser Soze]

"The Wire" is, quite simply, the best TV show ever.

Seasons 1 and 2 were phenomenal. Season 3 was, at the time I watched it, the single best season of any show I had ever seen. Then Season 4 topped it. I'm watching Season 5 on UK TV now. With 3 episodes to go, I am getting a deep feeling of sadness that this TV masterpiece is coming to an end. I'll try my best to enjoy it, while it lasts.

 

[kainedamo]

I absolutely agree.

By season 3 I was convinced that The Wire is the finest American television show ever developed.

And then I watched season 4, and like Keyser says, season 4 topped season 3. It's the best season out of the lot.

 

[kainedamo]

EDIT: Double post.

 

[The Amazing Lee]

I enjoy this show, very much so.