You should check out the scenes on YouTube, there are great and interesting comments on The Wire clips. Once I finished The Wire, I was re-watching clips for weeks on YouTube reading the comments.
Television The Wire
- Thread starter VanNistelrater
- Start date
Will do. The Wire and Mad Men.. are my favourite shows but its taken me ages to get through them and whenever someone bumps threads on either, I am itching to have a read.
Feel like watching it all for the 3Rd time. Nothing compares.
Just finished watching this fantastic show.
Completely neglected since being born, the kid never really had a chance.
Difficult to express how good this show is.
That scene where Michael and Dukie says goodbye is simply stunning. Dukie going down the alley and you see a man fixing, you just know what's in store for Dukie.
Difficult to express how good this show is.
Poor Dukie indeed. Wonder how many Dukie's are out there in the world.
I feel like there's something wrong with me because I'm onto episode 3 of Season 5 and I'm still waiting for it to get good. I know everyone says it's a slow burner but ...
I think it's probably because I went into it with the wrong expectations. It was pitched as a gritty and realistic show when, in fact, it's a black comedy a la Breaking Bad. The weird mix of genres just doesn't work for me ... one minute it's a brutal cop show, the next it's Starsky and Hutch (the Ben Stiller version) and then it becomes West Wing and then it turns into Dangerous Minds.
Don't get me wrong, I still kind of enjoy it, but not in a "wow" way, more in a 6.9 out of 10 way. I'm just about to watch the Sopranos and considering what everyone says about that I'm a little worried. If I don't like that either then I'm putting myself into a school for special children.
I think it's probably because I went into it with the wrong expectations. It was pitched as a gritty and realistic show when, in fact, it's a black comedy a la Breaking Bad. The weird mix of genres just doesn't work for me ... one minute it's a brutal cop show, the next it's Starsky and Hutch (the Ben Stiller version) and then it becomes West Wing and then it turns into Dangerous Minds.
Don't get me wrong, I still kind of enjoy it, but not in a "wow" way, more in a 6.9 out of 10 way. I'm just about to watch the Sopranos and considering what everyone says about that I'm a little worried. If I don't like that either then I'm putting myself into a school for special children.
What the feck? You're clearly watching a different show. That's probably the most terrible description of The Wire ever.
@Prophet_of_Doom
Are you the type of person who gets immersed in a show, or the type that plays on your phone, or does other stuff?
My family have too short an attention span, to ever get the best out of a show like the Wire.
Not saying you have, by the way.
Are you the type of person who gets immersed in a show, or the type that plays on your phone, or does other stuff?
My family have too short an attention span, to ever get the best out of a show like the Wire.
Not saying you have, by the way.
I agree.
I'm not a fan of ganging up on someone just for having a different opinion, but this really is a terrible description of The Wire, at least from the way I understand it
It's interesting how the youtube comment sections on the clips from The Wire seem to defy the usually dreadful standard of comments on popular clips. Lots of insightful stuff to read there.
What genre am I watching? Because one minute you've got a kid being shot brutally in the head (and I think the shocking moments are handled brilliantly), the next minute you've got Starsky and Hutch investigating a crime scene with the supposedly hilarious "f***" *f***" *f***" in a rip off of Four Weddings and a Funeral. Honestly, I genuinely don't get it. And I promise, this isn't trolling. It pains me that I don't like it! It's taken me this long to realise it's not actually a cop show, which is probably (a) part of my problem (b) part of it being missold to me and (c) confirmation that I am a retard that it's taken me 5 seasons to actually realise that!
Relax, it's actually refreshing with someone not liking it. Usually when I talk about The Wire the conversation just ends after 10 seconds of me and the other party nodding and solemly agreeing that it's the best thing on TV ever.
You're watching a drama trying to depict the lives of several groups of people in a certain area. It doesn't need a specific genre no more than life needs a genre label. People get shot in the head, someone laughs, while someone else is investigating a horrible crime. That's just life. What I find so refreshing about the Wire is precicely the willingness to not mold plot and lives of the characters to fit a particular genre (unlike Breaking Bad which is a bit heavy handed for me).
I think that's why I haven't enjoyed it as much as I should. And don't get me wrong, there are moments it's completely gripped me, but for a programme that was sold so heavily on it being 'realistic' the levels of comedy are too heavy handed for me, the character arcs too tired and predictable (McNulty may be true to life, I don't know, but we've seen exactly the same character in dozens of other police shows and his on the wagon off the wagon was just too obvious to me) and Omar seemed like he was a rejected character from Demolition Man (again, oddly enough, he was still one of the best bits about the show for me ... you see how confused it's left me?!?!)
On a plus, I was never a fan of Idris Elba or Dominic West, but they are/were great in this.
I wouldn't say The Wire is 100% realistic, no show is IMO. Even though Omar is based on a real-life character, I doubt that guy could walk around like Omar did. But I do think the show is more realistic than others. The writing is incredible, the intertwined relations between organized crime and politics were believable and the flaws of society were visible. And there were more than enough characters to keep you engaged. It's still the very best show I have ever watched.
The only thing I didnt like about Wire was when Omar fell / jumped out the building like some superhero stuff.
But GOAT show tbh.
Prophets initial description was hilariously great though
But GOAT show tbh.
Prophets initial description was hilariously great though
Apparently the guy that was the inspiration for Omar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Andrews ) jumped from an even higher floor but they reduced it to 6 (?) because they didn't think people would believe it. Not sure if that's true though.
Thats nuts, I didnt believe it with a lesser distance haha. It just seemed out of place for a show like this, even if it was real (which is the craziest part)To be real, crazier things than jumping from the 6th floor have happened. Wouldn't find it unrealistic. Unlikely yes, not unrealistic. The whole life of Pablo Escobar for example is like one big epic novel yet it was all real.
I think it's different strokes for different folks. I watched it with my wife and the scene with the kid being given a lie detector test using a photocopier had her wetting herself. But it's all those incidents for me that just completely take me out of the show and make me think I was watching a sketch on Saturday Night Live. If it makes everyone feel better, not liking The Wire makes me feel less of a man. Please, someone else tell me they hate Bubs. He's my Skyler.
Nope. You're just an awful person.
Most of those scenes were actually based on real life experiences of David Simon's though when he was researching and alongside the police force. He didn't just put them in for comic relief. All the great shows have humorous elements to them like that, The Sopranos, Mad Men etc.
Also I hate you for not liking Bubz and I feel like you're just on a WUM now. One of the best TV characters ever.
What nonsense is this? How bad must your judgement be to hate Bubs?
Honestly he is my Skyler. I just find him such a cartoon character. And that plot with the arsenic laced drugs was so incredibly predictable that it had no shock value (for me at least). Clearly I have no soul!
Brother Mouzone was a crap character, McNulty was a cliche, and Omar's superhero act got a bit tiring by the end. Plus the newsroom was boring, even if it was a point that had to be made.
Apart from that, anybody who doesn't think it's fecking brilliant probably needs to reassess their lives.
Apart from that, anybody who doesn't think it's fecking brilliant probably needs to reassess their lives.
I just cant get into it at all, three episodes in and Im bored.
You dont like Bubz? 
Yeah wasnt the biggest fan of Mouzone, but did like his first meeting with Cheese.
Yeah wasnt the biggest fan of Mouzone, but did like his first meeting with Cheese.
Mouzone was the only silly character, but even then he was supposedly based on a real person.
Mouzone was stupid, but considering the amount of great characters they produced and developed superbly, I think we can all allow it.
I had the exact same. The first few episodes of the first season are boring as hell, then it gets really really good.
Maybe you're watching it in the wrong aspect ratio.
Yeah, one of the few weak characters.
The problem with Mouzone I think is exacerbated by some of the awful lines they gave him. For all the incredible one liners and monologues the show possesses, to come up with;
'You know what the most dangerous thing in America is, right? A n****r with a library card.'
Makes me a bit angry.
'You know what the most dangerous thing in America is, right? A n****r with a library card.'
Makes me a bit angry.
Haha, I had forgotten about that line.
This one is also a bit lame, but pretty funny as well.
One might be inclined to argue that is the point.
I will concede that Snoop is one of the best and most evil characters to ever grace a TV screen. But that's more down to the fact that she was essentially playing herself.
Genuine question to those who love the show (so, the population of the world minus me it seems!) did you watch the show when it originally aired or recently? Because I think a large part of my problem is that none of it seems fresh, new or original to me because I've seen it all elsewhere. It's rather like watching The Exorcist now ... it's been parodied and done to death in so many copycat movies, it's hard to watch it through fresh eyes.
It doesn't help that Lance Reddick has played the identical character in every show he's been in since (in terms of his performance rather than the character itself), so his performance and role just feels very bland to me when it should be a highlight.
Genuine question to those who love the show (so, the population of the world minus me it seems!) did you watch the show when it originally aired or recently? Because I think a large part of my problem is that none of it seems fresh, new or original to me because I've seen it all elsewhere. It's rather like watching The Exorcist now ... it's been parodied and done to death in so many copycat movies, it's hard to watch it through fresh eyes.
It doesn't help that Lance Reddick has played the identical character in every show he's been in since (in terms of his performance rather than the character itself), so his performance and role just feels very bland to me when it should be a highlight.
I watched / started it when s5 was coming to an end.
Bubbs redemption is easy one of the best parts of the show.
I got the Season 1 & 2 DVD boxsets when they was released in 2005 in the UK. Downloaded Season 3 as it had already aired by then and then watched Seasons 4 and 5 as they were aired in the US.
Watched it three years ago I think.