The Wire Series 1

[Mumpo]

The Wire Series 1

Well, here we are, then; just over five months after being advised by Spearmint Rhino to watch at least six episodes of season one, that's exactly what I've done (it's now seven episodes, actually - I slipped in a quick and dirty S1E7 last night). And I'm pleased to report, it's all thoroughly engrossing stuff. Absorbingly plotted, excellently scripted and most impressively, played to perfection by pretty much all the cast. I think what I enjoy most are the unhurried pace - perfect for late-night viewing - and the cadence of the accents, which lend the whole thing an air of poetry, as if it was all written in blank verse. I can't say, however, that I've been completely bitten by it in the way many others seem to have been - I've not been seized by a desperate urge to watch as many episodes as I can fit in however or whenever possible. After a slow start (much of which was to do with working out how to play the avi files on my TV), I reckon I'm doing a couple of episodes per week. I've certainly been "clean for 24 hours" on more than one occasion!

Ah, man... get me, dropping Wire quotes into conversations. Oh yes! I have "Most def" got the hang of that.

Anyway, I should start to up my episode count and try to at least finish season one, because in eight days, on my birthday, I will be in receipt of a season one DVD box set of Blakes 7, and that's when Avon Barkdale makes way for Kerr Avon.

[Purves Grundy]

The Wire Series 1

"See this short haired bitch in the ballgown? She Servalan. She the one go get shit done. These scabby-headed motherfuckers? They the mutoids. They be outta the game early, but first chance they get, they be drinking your plasma, yo."

[Mumpo]

The Wire Series 1

Had to wait until Christmas for the box set and I've only just got round to starting on it, but I tell you what, I'm addicted to it in exactly the same way I thought I would be to The Wire, but wasn't. Can't wait to get the next episode on... which I'm about to do right now.

[Gambrinus]

The Wire Series 1

I probably would never have got into The Wire had it not been for everyone raving about it on WSC. So, thanks guys.

Finished the first four series now, I've heard that the fifth is the weakest? Is that fair?

The end of the fourth series is absolutely heartbreaking.

[Seven Saxon Kings]

The Wire Series 1

This is absolutely fucking with me now. It's amazing, totally fucking amazing. I hardly watch much telly that isn't sport but this is the best programme I've ever seen.

Trouble is, I got into watching it at work. Every Friday lunchtime, we have a 'DVD Club' - basically, a group of us sit down to watch The Wire together.

We've watched nine episodes of it, and basically I'm just so fucking engrossed in it I want to buy all five seasons in a boxset and closet myself away for an entire week to watch them back-to-back without seeing the light of day.

This seems anti-social though, and rather against the social spirit of everyone watching it together. So I keep rewatching the episodes I've already seen while resisting temptation to just watch the whole fucking thing, and watching my one new episode a week with people from work.

But if I can only watch one episode a week at work, and some weeks we can't even watch it because the meeting rooms are being used, it's going to take me MORE THAN A FUCKING YEAR to get to the end of this. For fuck's sake.

[WOM]

The Wire Series 1

Pointlessly reviving this oldie to say that I'm FINALLY onto The Wire. We started just after Christmas, and we're up to Season 4, ep 2.

The whole Sopranos comparison is really pointless. It's as good as, for sure, but totally different. Just excellent all around. If you've not bothered yet, bother now.

[jason voorhees]

The Wire Series 1

The thing was, both came out at the same time on the same channel, and both were galactically mind-blowing. But yes, in time, it will be ultimately and utterly pointless to compare the two.

[WOM]

The Wire Series 1

Here's the next question: after The Wire, what do we watch next?

[Anton Gramscescu]

The Wire Series 1

After you finish the wire, you basically win television.

That said, Breaking Bad is next. Though the women I know seem to absolutely hate it - not a couples show the way the Wire is.

[danielmak]

The Wire Series 1

I would say that you should switch to Season 1 of The Killing (the Danish version). Season 2 of that show sucked. Season 3 was good, but season 1 was the best I have seen since The Wire. Both are similar in terms of police drama, corrupt political figures, and media power, but they are different types of shows.

I don't watch a lot of TV shows since most seem OK, not great and I would rather not waste my time, instead focusing on football or movies. So, others will have a better sense of the spectrum of options, but I do encourage folks to check out The Killing.

[EIM]

The Wire Series 1

I liked The Shield a hell of a lot.

[Tony C]

The Wire Series 1

Erics Inner Monologue wrote: I liked The Shield a hell of a lot.

As much as I liked 'The Wire', I think I was even more taken by 'The Shield'. Loved every season of it.

Vic Mackie is probably, well along with NYPD Blue's Andy Sipowicz, my favourite ever screen character.

[rick derris]

The Wire Series 1

After you finish the wire, you basically win television.

That said, Breaking Bad is next. Though the women I know seem to absolutely hate it - not a couples show the way the Wire is.

breaking bad. no question.

however, its all a bit obvious as this often shared family guy skit demonstrates

[Calvert]

The Wire Series 1

I tried, I swear I tried, in the way that everyone tells you how that this is the greatest piece if television ever, I tried.

It bored me rigid.
I got through three or four episodes of the first series and lost the will to live.

Just me?
Surely someone else must've died of boredom trying to watch this?

[jason voorhees]

The Wire Series 1

Both Sopranos and Wire started a lot more slowly than they ended. Both heated up around episode 6. The thing is, they took a very long time in establishing the characters, then heating it up as it went along. I know Purves turned the Sopranos off after 4 episodes.

I can imagine the accents could be quite tedious.

Breaking Bad is ghoulishly great. I liked it a bit more than The Shield, which is very good.

Boardwalk Empire is very good, and does a great deal towards making the 1920s as gangsta and badass as any time period ever made.

[Tony C]

The Wire Series 1

I see Michael Chiklis is back in 'Vegas'. I'll be sure to watch that for him alone.

[E10 Rifle]

The Wire Series 1

Season Four of The Wire will blow your mind, break your heart and just leave you stupefied in your armchair, pondering everything. It's as intense and brilliant as television has ever got. Every bit of hype is justified.

Though you may not be surprised to learn, WOM, that I'm a big fan of series Two, which is almost as - perhaps even just as - good as Four

[Slightly Brown]

The Wire Series 1

I like how The Wire - and each series there in - has become a barometer. “You?” “ Series three for me...amped it’s central premise...but..but....”...”You? you like four the best?” “I can see that..I can see why.” It’s also one of the great phenomenon where there is no wrong answer.

[Slightly Brown]

The Wire Series 1

(One is the best.)

[Borracho]

The Wire Series 1

A lot of people say Season 2 was the weakest. But Frank Sobotka was, in my opinion anyway, an even stronger and more fascinating character than any other in the entire series.

[E10 Rifle]

The Wire Series 1

Indeed. It's rare that trade union figures - when they're portrayed at all - are depicted with any sort of subtlety or nuance: they're either underdog-heroes or aggressively obstinate blocks-on-change, but Frank's character avoids those totally. He'd be someone who, if he led your union, would infuriate as much as he would fire you up, though you'd sense that deep down, when it came down to it, he'd be on the right side of things. Which he was.

And his valedictory rant - "We used to build shit in this country, make shit. Now we just put our hands in the next guy's pocket" - is a real goose-pimpler.

Season Two was utterly essential to the overall piece.

[Come along, Min]

The Wire Series 1

Slightly Brown wrote: (One is the best.)

Yup. for D'Angelo.

[Daze]

The Wire Series 1

The first time I saw season 2 I couldn't understand how they could go from the master piece that was Season 1 to the irritatingly decent Season 2.

The thing about season 2 was that I hated Ziggy so much the first time around I couldn't really care about any of the Port plot lines at all. But the second time I watched it I found him a lot more tolerable( I have no idea why) and I found that season a lot more enjoyable. I would say it's probably as good as Season 5.

[Commodore]

The Wire Series 1

Season Five's world-keeps-turning final sequence at the end was the cherry on top, but its the least enjoyable from a personal point of view as my favourite character got whacked.

Season One was a scene-setter for seasons to come, quite illuminating in a TV culture where new series were supposed to grab you by the throat - thankfully HBO allows all of its series to breathe. D'Angelo's Chess speech was positively Shakespearean (in a good way).

For sheer comedic value, I think Three is the best. Especially loved Rawls playing 'Ride of the Valkyries' as Hamsterdam comes crashing down. And they should have run a competition to guess the number of beer-cans on the cop-shop's roof.

[garcia]

The Wire Series 1

He'd be someone who, if he led your union, would infuriate as much as he would fire you up, though you'd sense that deep down, when it came down to it, he'd be on the right side of things. Which he was.

And his valedictory rant - "We used to build shit in this country, make shit. Now we just put our hands in the next guy's pocket" - is a real goose-pimpler.

is it a goose-pimpler because it's so ironic? sobotka has his hand in the next guy's pocket too. i think he's a more ambiguous character than you're making out with this idea that he would be on the "right side". he would be on his own side.