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Just in terms of sheer number of characters that you care about, The Wire takes it to a whole new level.

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Exactly. How many shows could you make a 32 character bracket and still have people complain about characters who didn't make the cut?

i dont know that i'd classify the wire as a "cop" show.

i think it's more detailed than that.

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i'm in the middle of my third time through the series thanks to audience network replaying them on sunday nights (about halfway through season 4 now). best tv show ever.

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if you get a chance, check out some of the other shows the audience network's been putting on. I've really been enjoying The Shadow Line (british crime show) and the Slap (Australian drama). Also, if they reshow them, check out Underbelly. each season takes on a different real-life crime story. It's definitely a step below the really good American shows, but it's probably on par with something like Sons of Anarchy.

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I'm not saying it sucked because they cussed non stop. I'm saying I thought it sucked because it was boring and just another cop show. Nothing special to me. They also happened to cuss non stop, just an observation.

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this is where only seeing the first season (and a few eps of it, at that) doesn't give you a full glimpse of what made the show so great. without giving too much away, the subsequent seasons take on a different institution to show how the city ended up the way it did. but to build that all up, you have to be patient with the story. I think this happens in a lot of shows where they have episodes that set up the pieces so that they can eventually start to knock them down. The Wire takes this to another level, where good portions of each season are spent setting up the pieces, but the payoffs are spectacular. and as you get used to the pace of the show, learn the characters, etc., even the setup episodes become really interesting and nuanced.

as others have said, it also has incredible rewatch-ability. once you know what happens, you can then rewatch to see how they set up the pieces (because they all matter, after all).

if it's not your cup of tea, that's fine. But I'd encourage you to at least finish the first season and maybe even give the second season a shot. There's a reason it took awhile for The Wire to really be recognized as being as great as it was. You can't see it in the beginning, but as they pull the lens back, and you start to see the bigger picture of what they're doing, it's really remarkable.

**** is seriously Shakespearean.

I'd say it's more Dickensian

doug

First time I've ever heard anyone say The Wire was "just another cop show".

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I'd say it's more Dickensian

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Germans and no doubt what Doug was alluding to, but still fun...







[This message has been edited by Sex Panther (edited 3/27/2012 1:01p).]

Carver was in tonight's Person of Interest...and he has a little gray in the beard.

The London Telegraph article says a lot about the value of The Wire.

"Storylines take whole series to unravel and seemingly minor events have major repercussions dozens of episodes later. The writers consciously eschew the easily digestible plots that appeal to awards voters and mainstream TV audiences.

It’s so true-to-life US criminals watch it to pick up tips.
When a major New York drugs ring was busted in 2005 it emerged in court that its members had been watching The Wire in order to bone up on the latest police surveillance techniques. The Wire’s authenticity derives from its creators’ in-depth knowledge of their subject matter. David Simon is a former crime reporter for The Baltimore Sun and the series’ co-creator Ed Burns worked as a Baltimore policeman for 20 years.

Even the politicians are talking about it Sheila Dixon, the Mayor of Baltimore, has complained about The Wire’s “overly negative” portrayal of the city. Clearly, the drama hit a nerve, and not just for highlighting the city’s massive drugs problem. Each series focuses on a different facet of Baltimore life, such as its down-at-heel docks, corruption within the Mayor’s office, Baltimore’s failing public schools and its underfunded media. Ed Burns says that The Wire aims “to tell the story of post-industrial Baltimore and, therefore, post-industrial America – that it was a cop show was a calculated illusion.” Sheila Dixon was indicted in January 2009 for charges that included theft and misconduct in office.

It’s deliberately complicated – like War and Peace.
The Wire’s plots and characters are complex. It requires viewers to pay careful attention. However, this difficulty is intentional – the scriptwriters (several of whom are novelists themselves) want it to be as dense, subtle and rewarding as a good novel. “Our models are the big Russian novels,” says Simon, “and also writers like Balzac. We’re trying to do with modern-day Baltimore what Balzac did with Paris, or Dickens with London.”

Just about to wrap up my 7th or so swim through the series and it's still, from start to finish, my favorite series ever.

The Sopranos is close, but the Wire hits on so many different things with such detail and greatness.

Omar coming, yo!

Wow. It just got really good during spoiler episode from above.

ok i take back what i said earlier about season 2. i'm several episodes in now and i really, really like all the newly introduced cast, especially frank sobotka and nick. this show gets better and better with every moment i watch

Yellow Tops! Got them yellow tops!

[This message has been edited by boogieman (edited 4/1/2012 12:45p).]

has anyone ever made a list of every single name given to the dope that is yelled out on the streets during the entire series? Wonder how many there actually are.

Hard to pick anything over Breaking Bad, but I still would choose the MEffin Wire. I really like The Shield but they are two totally different shows and I don't think it even compares in the end.

I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase

I love the Sobotka's and that includes Ziggy's duck.

Them WMD's is where it's at.

re: Season 2, the first time through it I was really disappointed that it didn't follow suite more closely to Season 1.

By the end of it, and even now having watched the series many times all the way through, it's my favorite overall season.

And, im about halfway through season 5 right now and taking my time because I don't want it to end. There are few characters in the TV shows I love that can go wheels off like Jimmy McNulty...love that guy...lol.

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and that includes Ziggy's duck.

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that guy gets on my nerves, he's so stupid

Oh, and the idea of a 32 character tournament would be greatness. Apart from the obvious high seeds, a few of my dark horses would be Rawls, Royce, Brother Mouzone, and Segei Malatov.

i'd put money on Spiros

My initial brush at it...

1's
McNulty
Avon
Omar
Marlo

2's
Bunk
Greggs
Daniels
Stringer Bell

3's
Lester
Bubbles
Snoop
Bodie

4's
Chris
Bunny Colvin
Landsman
Carver

5's
Michael
Prop Joe
Clay Davis
Frank Sobotka

6's
D'Angelo
Brother Mouzone
Rawls
Tommy Carcetti

7's
Prez
Ziggy Sobotka
Herc
Clarence Royce

8's
Cutty
Burrell
Pearlman
Poot

9's
WeeBey
Slim Charles
Sergei
Beadie

10's
Vondas
Nick Sobotka
Namond
Butchie


[This message has been edited by corleoneAg99 (edited 4/1/2012 2:26p).]

And I already see one who has to be top 50...Butchie.

Would probably drop Wallace, maybe...or Levy.

what does that bracket mean exactly? who would survive in a firefight...?

Not sure, really, but the trophy could be in the shape of the towers?


221!

Corleone, you are aware that Grantland just did a 32 character bracket literally two weeks ago right?

sex panther - what was the basis of the bracket?

The Wire's Greatest Character
32 characters, 4 brackets, seeds 1-8, NCAA style.

I'm on my phone or I'd link it, shouldn't be too hard to find or know who won.

And Kima as a 2 seed?

Nope, wasn't aware...but wanted to do my own anyway.

And like I said, it was my first stab at it...could probably be better.

do you think 2 is too high for her? i could see maybe 3, but anything lower than that doesn't do her character justice

Grantland's The Wire Bracket

Kima is an admirable character for sure, but she's just not that interesting, entertaining or compelling. I'd have her probably at a 6.

[This message has been edited by Sex Panther (edited 4/1/2012 11:52p).]

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I didn't really start to love The Wire until season 2. Season 1 in my opinion is arguably the weakest, although it's obviously really important for setting up characters and stories.

I would give it another shot. There's a reason pretty much everyone agrees it's the greatest show ever

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This.

I also think The Wire is the greatest show of all time......but I have to admit when I started watching I wasnt blown away at all by the 1st season.

I think season 1 is pretty average until the last few episodes.

When i Finished the first season my thoughts were "Good solid show....not as good as the Sopranos.

IMO season 2 is excellent, season 3 is very, very good...and Season 4 is some of the greatest acting and storylines ever seen on TV.

Season 5 kinda sucks comapared to everything elese.....but it still completes a lot of story lines and is good nonetheless.

I'd actually argue that Kima is very compelling, starting with her playing it straight from a hospital bed when Bunk wanted her to point out a guy she really couldn't point out based on her memory.

She also played a pretty pivotal role in wrapping up the show, as that same integrity is one of the main reasons McNulty's bit got exposed.

She's one of the moral compass'(is that the plural of compass? I suck at the spelzing) and the fact that she's a hard ass, yet attractive lesbian cop seems to give it some flavor.

2 probably is high, tho...maybe a 3 or a 4.