Repped. America loves glamorizing gangsters, but never the consequences of their sociopathic behavior. The Wire explores the broken communities and the way government responds to them. Too dull for us. We love the killing, criminal world, money, and rags to riches followed by the downfall. Deep down, the declining middle class loves the heights Walt or Tony reach, but they want to see them fail in the end because than they'd all be schmucks. I love Goodfellas, the Godfather, Casino, and Scarface. But I recognize them for what they are. Watch the movies Network and Taxi Driver or to see what I'm talking about. Most of the people I know didn't watch most of the shows on my list. They are easily swayed by popular things, and especially social media so they just joined the BB craze in the last 2-3 years after years of watching crappy TV. If you truly watched all the shows I listed, then we'll agree to disagree. I thought you were being biased given your Lost was way ahead of its time and it was marketed to the wrong crowd. People thought it would be entertaining like Jurassic Park meets Cast Away. It was more than that by combining elements of existentialism, time travel, good and evil, and great characters, etc. Most people stopped watching because the show became esoteric with its references.
show that doesn't get enough credit Law and Order. also a forgotten show is "homocide; life on the street". the creator of homocide which is based in baltimore is also the creator of the wire. i know you law and order guys recognize how many actors go from law and order to hbo. carmella charmaine big puss christopha (that's how adrianna pronounced it) omar just to name a few
Wife and I watched The Wire last summer. It's up there with one of my favorite shows of all time, it's almost like an urban set Game of Thrones which hits pretty close to reality.
I started watching the wire a year ago and stopped in season 2 which is by far the worst but you have to watch it because it sets up other stuff. That's where my wife fell off but I went on with it and I am glad I did. As others have said it really gave you a gritty look at the life on the streets, politics, police, and everyday life. The city of Baltimore in itself was a character on the show just as much as the actors in it.
I never had a problem with Season 2 once I got over the big shift. It was very different than the first and other seasons but I found it just as interesting especially once things started coming together.
Wow, that's amazing analogies Bravo!:grin: I've watched every episode of The Wire and I agree that it's bit like being led through a theme park. But I hope you are wrong about Break Bad though. I haven't watched it yet (will have to find time) and I do enjoy taking roller coasters. But I do NOT want to know how it's going to end
That is a pretty terrible analogy, but I definitely would not call Lost ahead of its time. It started out good but then got so silly and loopy that it lost all of its flavor. I had friends who were completely obsessed with the show, but the show really didn't go anywhere.
Season two was good to me but i understand the sentiment. i do agree that is necessary fir fully appreciating the entire series. what i found most interesting about season two washow a small group of people could be a major criminal organization. you had the old man his drug, stolen goods, and prostitution.
A better explanation for the ratings difference between BB and The Wire(apart from one being on basic cable and the other being on premium cable) is that Breaking Bad came about right at the start of social media sites like FB and Twitter taking off(Don't mean when they were created but when the popularity of the sites started to show greater increase than prior years). The Wire was ending by the time FB and Twitter were taking off. Imagine if The Wire began in 2007/8 and was still on the air? The hype would be phenomenal.
We just gonna keep ignoring the main "Wire" thread huh http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=195244&page=4
This. The Larry Sanders show is definitely one of the all time greats. Jeffrey Tambor was amazing on that show. Arrested Development is way more popular now, but I'll always think of Hank when I think of Tambor's defining role. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/t2lINLswOZQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
That's an impressive list, especially since you are one of the few who remembers to put Twin Peaks in your top 10. I would have forgotten, too Question: with a list like that, did you leave out Boardwalk Empire for a reason. Maybe I just love Steve Bescemi a lot. But that's up there. Same with Luther starring Idris Elba (Stringer Bell). Also you didn't really mean to exclude BB from that list. I assume you were listed shows other than BB
Started watching this show over the summer last year and only made it past season 1. First couple episodes of season 2 just couldn't hook me. I was more interested in the drug related game in the hood. lol
Yeah, I believe this was the first line-up that started the TGIF in the 90s and then they dropped Perfect Strangers from that line up because either it was canceled or it didn't connect with the current demographic at the time. I've not seen the Wire yet and on Season 3 of Breaking Bad but if I must say, nothing beats the 90s tv programming, nothing!!! I may be a little bias since I grew up in the 90s but, "Hey, don't dispute me!"
So, just for the record, The Wire My favorite for the acting and dialogue writing. I will say Breaking Bad is the best fictitional story arc ever, but I'm a dialogue writing fan. Nothing beats The Wire on acting and dialogue. Plus, everything else others have said about cultural realism. Breaking Bad is complete fiction (well done) (a roller coaster ride of greatness), but nonetheless, I was blown away by the realism of The Wire. And The Wire simply has more outstanding acting performances than BB. BB had the best story arc, but not the best actors in TV history. Twin Peaks was late 80s. Did you see that?
Now that I have netflix, I hope to catch up on Twin Peaks too. I don't think I've ever seen it during its initial run, I might be too young to notice it at the time.
As great as Breaking Bad was, it's up there all time for me, I gotta go with The Wire for the best ever. It had everything, it was funny, had suspense, drama etc. It was also more realistic and shed light on a lot of truth in society, so it had a lot of depth to it artistically as well. People said it was like watching a visual novel as far as the character development was concerned, the characters weren't entirely good or evil, but just real people with real flaws and I have to agree.
A professor of mine once gave an exam essay with questions based entirely off of the Wire. He is a legend.
A 3rd or so through season 3. So far it comes off as an incredibly overrated, glorified Law & Order type show. I think my expectations must have been too high. Especially if season 3 really is supposed to be the best. It's not bad at all. Just not... not nearly as good as people I trust have been saying. Hopefully things will pick up soon. It all seems outdated now, shows in general are just better these days.
YEah those were kind of my feelings. I mean I watched it all & mostly enjoyed it, but didn't connect with it like a lot of members here seem to have. Wouldn't rewatch it like I have other shows.
