Seems like everywhere I look online people say that The Wire is the best show ever made. I've watched a lot of TV shows start to finish in the past few years and almost always I get hooked pretty quickly. The only exception has been Dexter and Mad Men, which took a few episodes, but now they are some of my favorite... I tried watching The Wire over the summer, didnt really get hooked. Now I tried rewatching fromt the begining, and again it feels forced, never really get fully into it. However, since there is such an overwhelming amount of praise for the show I almost feel like I have to watch it to really see what people are talking about. Did some of you possibly go thought he same thing? --- A smililar thing happened with The Sopranos as well Also, I find it odd than when I talked to people in person about The Wire, no one seemed to have heard of it p.s. sorry for the new thread, couldnt find a thread that involved the show and or a general tv show thread
i was the same way. I actually grew to hate the Wire before ever seeing it because I was tired of all the 'you gotta see the baby' (seinfeld reference, just in case). I tried. I thought the first season was OK. obviously, well done but I couldn't get hooked. I gave up 2 or 3 eps into the second season.
I think the first few episodes move slowly and it's not until about half way through the season that you realize how much you care about what's going on. It's a lot of characters thrown out early on, and they aren't easily categorized as good or bad (and your feelings about them will likely change by the end), so it isn't easy to orient yourself right away. I think if you push through that initial slowness, you'll know by the end of the first season whether you'll like it or not. If you're like Ringo and still don't care for it, I'm not sure pushing through the second season is going to help. The second season may start off a little slowly. But if you're hooked by then, it's all good, because the rest of the series is awesome. The fourth season is probably the best and is what many of the online fans cite when they call it the greatest show ever. Why hasn't anyone heard of it? Well, it was on HBO and wasn't nearly as popular as Sopranos. People who talk about these things on the internet aren't your average person on the street, either. We're a rare and awesome breed.
Here's a good article about visiting the first season late on. http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-wire-season-one,37471/ Q
I love the show and almost every single character, but I also understand why it was in danger of cancellation pretty much every season. It's a show that rewards patient, intense viewership and it's hard to enjoy just casually. It's certainly not Seinfeld where you can be just okay with it, and still tune in every week. To each his own, obviously, but I do feel compelled to point out that the first few episodes of a Wire season tend to be slow simmers that set the tone and the players for the rest of the season. It sometimes feels like there's nothing happening, but it's all building up to the big finish. Not saying you were wrong to drop the show then, but I can totally see someone losing patience in the first act. Also, the show got better with each season, so you missed something there. Or not.
that's what people say. but I gave it 15 or so episodes and if a series doesn't hook you after 15 hours, I'm not sticking around for a 16th.
That's fair. I mean, it's a show that was watched by a small percentage of HBO subscribers, who themselves are a small percentage of the TV viewing population. That puts you in with (roughly) 99% of America. But I like that the show appeals to a small number of fervent fans, instead of being Lost, delivering monster ratings with viewers who were ready to be done with it.
About 4 years ago, my brother lent me the first season of The Wire and the first season of Six Feet Under. I watched the first episode of each, then chose to watch the rest of Six Feet Under first. So I understand starting off on the The Wire and not really getting into it. Now The Wire is probably my favorite show ever. It rewards reviewing and there are things that happen in seasons 4 and 5 that were set up in season 1. I love Treme from David Simon too and no one watches that either. I have friends who I won't even bother recommending they watch The Wire. I know they just won't get into it.
My wife and I started watching it this Fall on DVD. I was hooked right away--I loved the mostly Grade-A acting and the slow, novelistic structure, but she mostly watched it to humor me. It took us awhile to get through Season 1 because she just couldn't get into it. Then I took a break before starting Season 2--same problem, and then I got busy with grad school so we only watched like one episode every week or so. Somewhere in the middle of Season 2, something clicked with my wife and she got hooked. It's true that the each season builds slowly and that the first few episodes do little more than set up the later action, but this time my wife "got it" and by the last couple of discs it was her pushing me to stay up for one more episode. Now we've started Season 3 and once again, she's more interested in watching multiple episodes a night. We'll probably polish off Season 3 in a couple of days and start Season 4 after Christmas. It's not for everybody, but it's great.
You could say "it's not for everyone" about just about anything, but is it ever true for 'The Wire'. And if it is for you, you absolutely love it. And it really does grow on you from season to season, especially the characters. Bodie, for example, was just another low level dealer. In season 4, he's still a low level dealer on the corner, but I felt like I knew him even though we still didn't knowing about him beyond the corner.
I have been told by tons of people that the Wire is the best show ever. So, I gave it a try and quit after the first disc of Season 1. But, people have told me that I need to watch the entire first season. So, I am starting over tonight actually with he first episode.
Its getting better. It was helpful rewatching the first few episodes when I already understood to some extend some of the characters as they were being introduced. Will continue watching, I'm sure I'll be hooked
I started watching it on DirecTV's 101, since they're showing the entire series in HD every Sunday at 9 pm. It took me about 6 episodes to get into it, but since then I'm hooked. I watch it every Sunday night. It's definitely something that takes a little while to get into.
I'm s huge fam of The Wire, it's the only TV series I went out and bought on DVD. I think the acting, stories, and attention to the central themes and arcs is just all top notch. However I also don't think The Wire is for everybody. It's a show that doesn't really move at a fast pace, and it's a show that introduces characters, situations, and events that at times seems random or unimportant and then asks of you the viewer to remember it a couple of episodes laters when they go back and start to build on that. I think a lot of people struggle with that. If you aren't in love by the time season one is closing out then I doubt you will be. If you liked the first season then you need to see it through. Their attention to detail really comes into light when you get into the 4th season.
I started watching when the third season was on, still my favorite, and I liked it but you really have to see it as a whole. I then watched the first two to catch up and I love it. Everyone says the 4th season is the best so imagine getting that deep into it if you're really not hooked from the start. Even though they are all different.
While we're on the subject, my friend alerted me that Amazon is selling the complete, I repeat: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Wire-Complete-Lance-Reddick/dp/B004BZ5AFU/ref=dp_ob_title_dvd"]COMPLETE series of The Wire on DVD for $75[/ame] I just placed my order.
FYI, check out those user-reviews, especially the 1 star ones. Seems like a bunch of the sets come defective, with lots of disks not playing. Might want to go through and check a bunch of the disks while still in your 30 day return period from Amazon.
Yeah, it'd be hard to get into the show if you're always thinking "who the heck is this again and why should I care?". I also remember it taking a while before I realized that the show had completely caught me.
Yeah, someone just warned me of that and read the reviews. I guess now I know why it's so damn cheap. Thanks for the heads up too.
Best. Show. EVER. And being from NOLA I love Treme. David Simon is awesome. But the Wire I still have all the way through. Got a few people hooked by watching the special features before episode 1.
I've bought the set and did have some disk marks from the packaging being extra vacuum sealed or something. Friend had the same problem. Another didn't. Go figure.
You know what's the opposite of The Wire's awesomeness? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRreznKCef8"]YouTube - The Real Avon Barksdale (Character From The Wire Was Based On) [DVD Trailer]. - HIPHOPNEWS24-7.COM[/ame] Well, it's kinda awesome in its awfulness, and Wood Harris just standing there looking uneasy. BTW, there are worse ways to kill a couple of hours than going through old Wire-related posts at Kotte.org. IMO, the second 100 best quotes from the show are better than the first 100: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFh2f7rNAEI"]YouTube - THE WIRE - Other 100 Greatest Quotes (spoilers)[/ame]
BTW, there are worse ways to kill a couple of hours than going through old Wire-related posts at Kotte.org. IMO, the second 100 best quotes from the show are better than the first 100: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sgj78QG9Bg"]YouTube - THE WIRE - 100 Greatest Quotes (spoilers)[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFh2f7rNAEI"]YouTube - THE WIRE - Other 100 Greatest Quotes (spoilers)[/ame]
Yeah, I definitely did that. Most of the slang was hard to pick up so that definitely helps keep track of what's going on. Even when I re-watched, I kept it on.