Television The Wire

ZIDANE said:
Started watching this on the weekend. Is this thread full of spoilers?
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And finished watching it last week... I never planned on watching it all within a month but got hooked! Good TV.

I thought the first series was the best. The last series only really picked up for me half way through and I think that was mainly because I knew the storyline was all coming together for the end.

The majority of characters were great, making some really good stories, and some showed good chemistry - this scene was so random but made me laugh when I first watched it (NSFW)



The Bodie killing was a bit of a shock, always thought he'd make it through.
 
OK, I've never seen this but constantly see it touted as one of the best TV shows ever, up there with Breaking Bad.

Thinking about watching it but what's it about? Is it still going or has it finished now?
 
Carl said:
OK, I've never seen this but constantly see it touted as one of the best TV shows ever, up there with Breaking Bad.

Thinking about watching it but what's it about? Is it still going or has it finished now?
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It's finished now. It's a crime drama based in Baltimore with each of it's five seasons based on a different facet of the city. Drugs, Seaports, Government, Schools and Print Media.
 
Tarrou said:
It's finished now. It's a crime drama based in Baltimore with each of it's five seasons based on a different facet of the city. Drugs, Seaports, Government, Schools and Print Media.
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Good, I prefer to watch stuff that's been concluded rather than end up getting roped into something that's gunna go on and on.

So, is it really that good then? Up there with BB?
 
Carl said:
Good, I prefer to watch stuff that's been concluded rather than end up getting roped into something that's gunna go on and on.

So, is it really that good then? Up there with BB?
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Yeah, it's incredible television and right up there with BB. I've watched it three times all the way through.
 
Carl said:
Good, I prefer to watch stuff that's been concluded rather than end up getting roped into something that's gunna go on and on.

So, is it really that good then? Up there with BB?
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I haven't watched BB but it's better than The Sopranos in my opinion, which is also a great show.
 
Tarrou said:
Yeah, it's incredible television and right up there with BB. I've watched it three times all the way through.
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3 times? :lol: Safe to say you're a fan then. Cheers.

Amethyst said:
I haven't watched BB but it's better than The Sopranos in my opinion, which is also a great show.
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Never seen The Sopranos. Don't really know why, it sounds like my thing.

Twigg said:
Supposed to be incredible, above Breaking Bad, but I couldn't get into it.
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Hmmm.
 
Carl said:
Never seen The Sopranos. Don't really know why, it sounds like my thing.
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Sopranos is centred round one character for the most part, whereas The Wire is more of an ensemble effort so it's tough to compare but I prefer The Wire. Both are very good.
 
Amethyst said:
Sopranos is centred round one character for the most part, whereas The Wire is more of an ensemble effort so it's tough to compare but I prefer The Wire. Both are very good.
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I'll get to the Sopranos one day. I only really started watching TV shows last year. Since then I've made my way through Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy and now I'm 2 seasons into The Walking Dead. I watched Fargo and Homeland when it was on too.

Gunna finish The Walking Dead, by then the last series of SOA should have finished so I'll watch that, then I'll get cracking on The Wire and then maybe The Sopranos after that :)

EDIT: Oooooh I really fancy Boardwalk too...
 
Carl said:
OK, I've never seen this but constantly see it touted as one of the best TV shows ever, up there with Breaking Bad.

Thinking about watching it but what's it about? Is it still going or has it finished now?
Click to expand...

The Wire is my favourite show of all time, Breaking Bad isn't even in my top 5. It's possible you won't rate The Wire at all, it's all opinion at the end of the day, but it's definitely good enough to give it a go. Keep in mind that for most people, it takes about 3 or 4 episodes to get fully engaged, and from then on it's just perfect television.
 
I'm usually against stupid rankings, but imo the wire is clearly above any other tv show (at least in recent times). The level of depth is incredible.
 
Carl said:
OK, I've never seen this but constantly see it touted as one of the best TV shows ever, up there with Breaking Bad.

Thinking about watching it but what's it about? Is it still going or has it finished now?
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Finished after the fifth season, I haven't seen it in years but few points for you from what I remember

Its like a series version of American gangster but set in the early 2000s

its about Drug dealers, Cops (drug squad) and politics three different stories but all interlinked.

season 1, 3, 4 and 5 are the season story but season 2 goes away almost completely from the story mode, my guess is they tried something else but feedback proved it wasn't as good, IMO season 2 is shit.

Each episode is an hour long and there's 18-20 episodes in a season, you might think that might be a problem fitting that much spare time into a series but believe me it'll have you up until all hours with the ''just one more episode'' bug.

My rating 9/10, up there with:

Game of Thrones
Breaking Bad
Walking Dead
Suits
 
Beware, Carl... If it does anything like the number it did on me, other television shows will find it hard to stack up to it, certainly in the immediate aftermath.

I fecking heart this show.... so much! <3
 
It's the best show full stop. Also, just to rectify what Trizy said, it's 10 (season 5), 12 (seasons 2 & 3) or 13 (seasons 1 & 4) episodes.

As some have said, give it a few episodes cos you might not be hooked right from the start, but if you eventually are, it's incredibly rewarding.
 
Carl said:
Good, I prefer to watch stuff that's been concluded rather than end up getting roped into something that's gunna go on and on.

So, is it really that good then? Up there with BB?
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I preferred Breakig Bad slightly more but I think that The Wire is a better show. The depth of it is unmatchable. Also, while it doesn't have a main character (like Walter White or Tony Soprano) there are still a lot of great characters. Needless to say, it is by far the most realistic show I have ever seen.
 
Carl said:
OK, I've never seen this but constantly see it touted as one of the best TV shows ever, up there with Breaking Bad.

Thinking about watching it but what's it about? Is it still going or has it finished now?
Click to expand...
Better than BB imho, but is older and feels less polished. Gritty cop drama based in Baltimore, Idris Elba is excellent in it.
 
The Sopranos and The Wire are the two greatest TV shows of all time. If you haven't seen these two then you're missing out big time.
 
Agree with those saying The Wire is a level above everything else. Hands down the best show ever made, watched it four or five times but it's been a while now...

...sheeeeeiiiiiiiiit
 
I've had a few friends who couldn't get into the wire. Despite telling them to stick with it, one even gave up into the second series. God knows how he got that far without getting hooked.

I'm with the majority here though - It's well up there with the best thing I've seen on TV. I've been very tempted to watch it for a second time recently.
 
Carl said:
So, is it really that good then? Up there with BB?
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Yes absolutely. It's a toss up between those two for my favourite show of all time though it's hard to compare them. Coincidently I just finished watching the whole 5 series last night for the second time.
 
Best TV show ive ever seen.

Great characters and stories throughout the seasons. Ive changed my mind several times on ranking the seasons with regards to my favourite.
 
Carl said:
So, is it really that good then? Up there with BB?
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Better than BB.

Twigg said:
Supposed to be incredible, above Breaking Bad, but I couldn't get into it.
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You don't deserve eyes and ears.

Leg-End said:
The Wire

The Sopranos
Breaking Bad

The Rest
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Yes.

Also:

Eriku said:
Beware, Carl... If it does anything like the number it did on me, other television shows will find it hard to stack up to it, certainly in the immediate aftermath.

I fecking heart this show.... so much! <3
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Cina said:
It will make everything else seem inadequate.
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Both annoyingly true.
 
It's way better than BB. it actually annoys me a little that people put the two 'side by side', there's no fecking comparison!
 
Twigg said:
I bet there is.
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The majority of people who have watched both shows fully always seem to rate The Wire as being better, like moi. Most people who rate Breaking Bad better are people who haven't ... well ... watched The Wire. Or 'gave up' a few episodes in, like you :)
 
Rado_N said:
Better than BB.



You don't deserve eyes and ears.



Yes.

Also:





Both annoyingly true.
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Cina said:
It's way better than BB. it actually annoys me a little that people put the two 'side by side', there's no fecking comparison!
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When I watched BB I was blown away and didn't think I'd see anything as good as that again so I'm dubious that this will top it but I'm quite excited to find out.
 
I felt it lost a lot when Stringer Bell left it

some brilliant characters though - Omar, Bubbles, McNulty, Crazy girl gangster who's name I cant remember etc....

my ranking is

Breaking Bad (not one bad season and excellent from start to finish)
The Wire
Game of Thrones (even though it's spoiled by reading the books)
Sopranos

Walking Dead/Homeland

need to watch SOA and Love/Hate
 
Carl said:
When I watched BB I was blown away and didn't think I'd see anything as good as that again so I'm dubious that this will top it but I'm quite excited to find out.
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BB was great but The Wire is on a whole different level in terms of depth and diversity. It basically encompasses an entire city, giving you a detailed look into a vast number of characters as opposed to the narrower scope of BB which really only had a handful of key characters.

The writing in this (The Wire) is unmatched for me.
 
I can't see how any other show can stack up. So many great acting performances, good character development, portrays age old themes while simultaneously being an expose on modern day issues, and one of the things that really gets me is the fact that it manages to have such emotional impact without resorting to ANY music outside of what's physically in the scene.

It's art imitating life in the best possible way.

I bloody need to watch it a 4th time.
 
Eriku said:
I can't see how any other show can stack up. So many great acting performances, good character development, portrays age old themes while simultaneously being an expose on modern day issues, and one of the things that really gets me is the fact that it manages to have such emotional impact without resorting to ANY music outside of what's physically in the scene.

It's art imitating life in the best possible way.

I bloody need to watch it a 4th time.
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i suppose its a question of taste - i found the stories from around the projects and docks much more engaging than the educational/media based stuff so i felt these seasons weren't on a par with the others

you are right about character development - i can't think of a show with more developed characters from different spheres of life - ghetto bunnies, drink fuelled cops, union men dockers, idealistic teachers to slippery politicians
 
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