Comments on: Some words before the book closes on ‘The Wire’

By: Leif

Leif — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:57:43 +0000

Interesting Jammer.. you’ve certainly made me wanna watch The Wire.. but I wonder would you say most of what you say about the Wire is also true about BSG?.. a lot of what you said about the stories and focus on the characters reminded me of BSG…

By: Jamahl Epsicokhan

Jamahl Epsicokhan — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:16:00 +0000

BSG is a very good show. But “The Wire” is easily greater. It may be a matter of personal taste, but in my book it’s not even a close call.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:26:10 +0000

I agree 100% with everything you’ve said. Not just is it the drama that is astoundingly powerful, but in what it reveals about society too. Never has it felt hamfisted and it has always been presented logically and intelligently.

BSG is an excellent show (the sci-fi fan in me often prefers BSG over The Wire) but you’re right in that it doesn’t stand up to the just about fully-realized perfection of The Wire. In my opinion it’s probably one of the greatest things ever put to film.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:36:53 +0000

Also (not to flood your comment page here) I’d like to say that as a student getting a degree in Literature, this show is just about the biggest breath of fresh air I’ve ever had in terms of TV or movies. I really am one that appreciates story structure, well-written and perfectly placed dialogue, small thematic details that otherwise go unnoticed on single views, and everything else The Wire is able to pull off like a visual version of my favourite novels.

Any student (or lover) of literature would love this show. Which is not to say that others can’t, because they certainly can. But I really enjoy being able to dissect a story piece by piece and figure out what it all means and The Wire allows me to do just that.

By: Tay

Tay — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:52:22 +0000

I really love BSG, but The Wire is the better show, easily. I’ve only seen the first season but it is so well written that I envisage seeing more.

By: bmoredlj

bmoredlj — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:10:17 +0000

Watch out for Martin O’Malley. He once had gubernatorial aspirations like that certain white character on the Wire, but soon those aspirations will become presidential.

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:23:52 +0000

Well said, Jammer. You have a unique way with words… and you are dead-on true about Wire. Like Homicide: Life… and, in a way, DS9 and BSG, one cannot watch Wire like standard tv. Not with your girl, not with family. Not on a friday night, not as a whim. Wire demands attention and commitment to enjoy; it’s like a thick, serious, gripping novel that you absolutely have to endure the whole of to appreciate. In the end, you actually want to plan out your rewatching in advance, and pity those that don’t have the oportunity to enjoy. Kudo’s to all involved, across the board, in creating this production!

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:59:50 +0000

Like Greg, I don’t want to flood yer page here, but Wire can be summed up in a scene I just watched for the first time: Season 1, episode 4, where McNulty and Bunk rehash an old crime scene and all they say to each other is “F**k.”…clocked in 28 times with that expletive, yet they say so much more to each other with every utterance of the word. That’s not only bold writing, but directing and acting to boot.

By: Jamahl Epsicokhan

Jamahl Epsicokhan — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:54:17 +0000

^ Yes, the nothing but “f***” scene was brilliant. I briefly mentioned that in my last Wire shout-out several years ago.

By: Dude

Dude — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:33:21 +0000

I have to disagree. You are right that the show doesn’t rely on “dumb” viewers for flashbacks and reminders, but that is one reason why the critics are mainly fond of it. That, and that it is different to all the network shows out there that we all know are mediocre for the most part. That does not mean The Wire is for everyone, most people I know have mainly tried to watch it because the critics laud it so massively, but nearly 90% of them have not bothered to continue. So the critics fall into the 10%? Looks like it.

By: Jamahl Epsicokhan

Jamahl Epsicokhan — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:09:30 +0000

You disagree with what? That the show is great? Or that they shouldn’t eschew “mass appeal”? I never argued that “The Wire” should have mainstream audiences. I admit it’s not for everyone. Few things that are truly great are for everyone.

By: Dimitris Kiminas

Dimitris Kiminas — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:16:47 +0000

I thought that I should mention that there is also a SciFi series that “transcends the typical show’s tendency to assume less of viewers.” Babylon 5 “also assumes you are paying attention, that you remember characters and minor events from years-ago episodes without having them re-explained to you, and that you are patient to wait weeks or even seasons for some events to pay off.”

I hope you find the time to watch it someday!

By: Leif

Leif — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 04:17:34 +0000

Well I would hope (and I do think) that is generally true of Star Trek (especially DS9 and some parts of TNG)

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:34:11 +0000

The point is, to me, while there are several good to almost excellent shows on tv both past and present, The Wire is the greatest drama every broadcast on American television. We can only hope the there will be other shows in the future of equal or greater quality. By the way I love BSG, Lost, Babylon 5, Frank’s Place, The Original Outer Limits, Homicide: Life on the Street, Max Headroom all wonderful but not as superb as “The Wire.”

By: Jamahl Epsicokhan

Jamahl Epsicokhan — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:12:16 +0000

I agree with Michael. I won’t go so far as to say greatest drama ever broadcast on television, but only because I haven’t seen every drama ever made. But it’s certainly the best that I myself have seen.

By: John

John — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:54:33 +0000

I have seen an ep or so and that is all but I think there is a difference between appealing and good.

The wire is the latter not the former, I’d rather watch things that are both! (sick of crime shows)

Also another show that is increasingly complex is LOST.

But yeah, B5 for sure too. as well as the others already mentioned.

By: Ian Whitcombe

Ian Whitcombe — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:50:34 +0000

Lost is a good show, but it can be slow-paced as hell…almost spitefully so. I prefer shows like BSG and B5 that, although they don’t succeed each time, attempt to aim for greatness in each episode they produce.

By: Remco

Remco — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:26:20 +0000

I almost thought I read a description of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That’s also always described as a show that “transcends television” and “doesn’t treat their audience as stupid people” and with “actual character development”. I haven’t seen the Wire yet, but as a fan of Buffy, it seems like a match.

By: misterd

misterd — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:03:55 +0000

Remco,

I adored Buffy and Angel, as much as I did DS9, which I loved more than almost any show I can remember (and I can add to those lists the original Trek, Twilight Zone, Homicide: Life on the Streets, BSG and the Muppet Show).

While the Wire is not and never will be as dear to my heart as those, there is no question in my mind that it is superior in almost every other way. I have never seen anything quite like it on American television, and I know I am very hard to please when it comes to television shows. When Buffy, Angel and DS9 were on the air, I could be absolutely brutal in my criticisms when they’d faltered. And while I have some gripes with The Wire, the list is far, far shorter than any show in my memory.

By: reslez

reslez — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:30:34 +0000

As much as I like both shows, it’s painful to compare The Wire to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They can’t be graded on the same scale. It would be like comparing Paradise Lost to Star Wars.

Star Wars, like Buffy, is head and shoulders above most entertainment. But, at least for me, The Wire reaches a level beyond entertainment, however complex and layered that might be, and helps us understand the world in which we live. This doesn’t mean you ought to enjoy one more than the other — The Wire can be difficult, at times uneven — but understand that they aspire to different things.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:48:36 +0000

I love the Wire. It’s a great show, and definitely one of the best on television. I do think, however, that BSG is superior (personal taste). Course, they’re also very different shows (even if they share plenty of similarities), so really I guess I can’t actually say which one is *better*. Both great shows though.