the wire.

Just finished my train commute Wire marathon yesterday (2nd time around seeing the series). Oh my goodness. I can't believe how much I'd missed before! So many cool little connections to seemingly random plot threads and a great bit of foreshadowing with The Journey of Old Face Andre's Ring. I appreciated Carcetti's series arc a lot more and was in awe of how Season 5 was conceived and constructed as a story. That final montage was beautiful - I smiled, laughed, and then got a little teary as everyone's stories were drawn to a close.

Incredible television. Right now I'm letting it sink in, but I look forward to doing another marathon rewatch in a few years' time.

I saw Kudrow in a movie. I can't remember which. She is very good. Her role on Friends was stupid. I found the entire series (Friends) very stupid.

We're in the middle of season 2 of The Wire right now... unfortunately we never watched season 1 so I'm feeling like there are a lot of elements we're missing. DH, who manages our Netflix account, seems to have gotten the erroneous impression that we "didn't need" to watch season 1 because the settings/emphasis/storyline were only vaguely related...

I'm enjoying the Homicide-esque feel of the show. I adored Homicide and will always have it in my TV series top 5. I don't watch a lot of TV, so not sure I could even put together a respectable top 5... but it would definitely include West Wing and Battlestar Galactica (the '00s edition).

I don't think the story line of Season 2 of the Wire is too directly related to Season 1, but what you're missing is the progression of the characters.

bluepool said:

We're in the middle of season 2 of The Wire right now... unfortunately we never watched season 1 so I'm feeling like there are a lot of elements we're missing. DH, who manages our Netflix account, seems to have gotten the erroneous impression that we "didn't need" to watch season 1 because the settings/emphasis/storyline were only vaguely related...

qrysdonnell said:

I don't think the story line of Season 2 of the Wire is too directly related to Season 1, but what you're missing is the progression of the characters.

I can't figure out how to embed this image of my reaction. http://i.imgur.com/ES5G1.gif

As Lester says, "all the pieces matter."

While the main characters remain the same, each season focuses on a different group.  

Theres the cops, the dealers, the users, the kids, the media, the politicians - all of them are developed season to season but the general focus by season tends towards on point of view.

project37 said:

I can't figure out how to embed this image of my reaction. http://i.imgur.com/ES5G1.gif

As Lester says, "all the pieces matter."

 I beleive this is the appropriate reaction GIF...

Yeah.  Looks like they don't embed animated...  Here's the link -  http://replygif.net/i/189.gif

WOW! just finished season 4. just wow! random thoughts (i'll try to be somewhat cryptic for those who have t seen it...but you all should!)...

i want to protect randy so badly. what a good-hearted kid. i want carver to take him in. -and i want to kill herc myself! jackass!

and michael? what he did for his brother is unimaginable.

love that colvin took wee-bay's son in. colvin just rocks

so sad @ mcnulty feels responsible for bodie

pres was born to be a teacher. he loves those kids. seeing dookie on the corner broke his heart (& mine). another amazing kid.

chris and snoop - yikes. they leave me kinda speechless.

just an absolutely brilliant show & could not be a better cast. incredible. thanks all for the great reco!

IMO, The Wire is the best show ever to appear on TV.

jeffmarkel said:
IMO, The Wire is the best show ever to appear on TV.

Many critics said the same. Google "The Wire greatest t.v. ever."

cleg said:
I still get excited when I see the actor who played Wallace show up in other shows because for a brief moment I think he is still alive.

The Wallace actor, Michael B. Jordan, was recently cast in the upcoming film "Fantastic Four." He has received flak about it because he's African American.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/04/fantastic-four-film-makers-respond-to-criticism-of-decision-to-cast-black-actor

"The Wire" had one of the best closing themes ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlMpQfx4cI

jeffmarkel said:
IMO, The Wire is the best show ever to appear on TV.

i couldn't agree more. it's absolutely brilliant - in every aspect. into last season now & can't believe mcnulty and lester! what in the…???!??

Stay with it.

The finale does not disappoint.

wow. finally finished. most incredible series finale i have ever seen. tied it up, kept it real & dukie broke my heart.

INCREDIBLE WRITING. maybe best show i have ever seen...beginning to end.

thanks for the great recommendation!

I recently finished THE WIRE too and almost feel like I lived it myself, it had such a powerful sense of tangible reality for me. As most of the major characters were killed off, it was like losing people I actually knew. INTENSE. Also quite amusing at times -- famously, the f-word scene. I was also tickled by Omar's obsession with Honey Nut Cheerios.

I love Omar in season 5 as he seeks to avenge Butchie. Settled in retirement, he is brought back into the game by external forces. I have never before so completely yearned for a bad man to kill bad people in the name of justice.

Season 2 might be OK even if you haven't seen Season 1 but Seasons 3&4 are going to seem very disjointed.

I enjoyed The Wire but found it very uneven. Some seasons were far better than others. The writing didn't have the consistency that makes for the very best shows. I'd have to put Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and Friday Night Lights higher on the rating scale. And I think the best series on TV now is The Americans.

unicorn33 said:
I enjoyed The Wire but found it very uneven. Some seasons were far better than others. The writing didn't have the consistency that makes for the very best shows. I'd have to put Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and Friday Night Lights higher on the rating scale. And I think the best series on TV now is The Americans.

To each their own, and I like all those shows, but I cannot come up with any legitimate list that does not have The Wire first. Maybe because I used to live in Baltimore or because I grew up without much but I find it extremely realistic. Breaking Bad was absolutely great - but realistic - I don't think so. The Sopranos was really the first of the prestige TV shows but after the first couple seasons it was much weaker. I liked FNL a lot too but it is not near the list - my 10-15 range.

The seasons that people say are the weakest for The Wire or the second (docks) and last (newspaper). But those story lines were accurate to what the situation is for people who live in those worlds. They may be less entertaining that watching drug gangs or the Mafia go about their business but the impacts are huge - the loss of working class jobs and the monopolizing of news and converting it into fiction. Deep, troubling stuff and done very well on a TV show.

This procrastinators top 5 of the recent dramas.

1. The Wire, 2. The Sopranos, 3. Homicide: Life on the Streets, 4. Breaking Bad, 5. The Sheild

Something I love about Friday Night Lights and The West Wing is that they are top-notch, compelling, well-written dramas that don't center around crime. I really enjoyed The Wire and The Sopranos, but I grow weary of the constant onslaught of uber-depressing and violent television.

We finished season 2 of The Wire (without having watched season 1). The last couple of episodes, as the storylines began to converge and ultimately conclude, were excellent. I don't feel at this point that I need to go back and watch season 1, but would definitely continue on to season 3...

cleg said:

1. The Wire, 2. The Sopranos, 3. Homicide: Life on the Streets, 4. Breaking Bad, 5. The Sheild

Very happy to see The Shield on your list. That show has never gotten the attention it deserves. Probably my favorite final episode, too.

I'm a huge David Simon fan (The Wire would be number one on my list too), but Homicide always seemed more a good-for-network-tv-at-the-time than a truly great, top 5 kind of thing. Even Simon wasn't thrilled with it. The book on which it's based, however, is a total-classic must-read if you're a fan of Simon. I'd also highly, highly recommend Richard's Price's Clockers (the book, not the bad Spike Lee movie) to anyone who loves The Wire. Price was very involved with writing The Wire and the tone and subject matter of the book are very similar to the show. Clockers is set in North Jersey (a lightly fictionalized Jersey City) and will definitely resonate for anyone who cares about the issues tackled by The Wire. That book really changed the way I think about a lot of things.

bluepool said:
We finished season 2 of The Wire (without having watched season 1). The last couple of episodes, as the storylines began to converge and ultimately conclude, were excellent. I don't feel at this point that I need to go back and watch season 1, but would definitely continue on to season 3...

Go back and watch season 1 before you watch season 3. The season 3 storyline will still make some sense without season 1, but it will be a LOT more meaningful and powerful if you've watched season 1 first. A good argument could be made that seasons 1 and 3 together are the series at its very best (though my personal favorite is season 4).

imonlysleeping said:

cleg said:

1. The Wire, 2. The Sopranos, 3. Homicide: Life on the Streets, 4. Breaking Bad, 5. The Sheild

Very happy to see The Shield on your list. That show has never gotten the attention it deserves. Probably my favorite final episode, too.
I'm a huge David Simon fan (The Wire would be number one on my list too), but Homicide always seemed more a good-for-network-tv-at-the-time than a truly great, top 5 kind of thing. Even Simon wasn't thrilled with it. The book on which it's based, however, is a total-classic must-read if you're a fan of Simon. I'd also highly, highly recommend Richard's Price's Clockers (the book, not the bad Spike Lee movie) to anyone who loves The Wire. Price was very involved with writing The Wire and the tone and subject matter of the book are very similar to the show. Clockers is set in North Jersey (a lightly fictionalized Jersey City) and will definitely resonate for anyone who cares about the issues tackled by The Wire. That book really changed the way I think about a lot of things.

I lived in Baltimore during the Homicide years. I would see the actors out at bars, my house was in a scene once when the police drove by. It was ahead of its time for network TV which is why it is on my list - special dispensation.

My friends and I would leave the bars early on Friday nights to get home by 10 to watch new episodes.

For anyone who loves great television like The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc., I highly recommend Alan Sepinwall's "The Revolution Was Televised". It's about the 12 most important TV dramas of the last 15 years: The Wire, Breaking Bad, Sopranos, Oz, Deadwood, Friday Night Lights, The Shield, Lost, Buffy, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Mad Men. Personally, I think West Wing also belonged in that list, but otherwise it is spot-on. And I think Breaking Bad surpassed The Wire as the best tv drama of all time, but it's close.

I'm with you, Cleg. Homicide was like nothing else on TV at the time and deserves props for that. But even watching old episodes now, I find most of them powerful and well-written. Season 7 is (arguably) skippable, but all the rest are essential viewing, IMO.

(Still not as good as The Wire, but then, in my world, nothing is.)

I listened to a very interesting episode of "Here's the Thing," Alec Baldwin's WNYC podcast, in which he interviewed David Simon. It's definitely worth a download!