I know the Wire is an old show, but I just got around to watching the entire series this past weekend... and maybe it's because it's fresh in my mind, but really, I can't think of another tv drama that is better (???). As a cop show, it's very real... and soo epic. A lot of dramas have story arcs, but this show always has like 3-4 detailed story arcs running concurrently and spanning seasons. And I also like how characters come in and out of the stories so naturally... like a character would be the focus for several episodes, then go out of the story for maybe a season or two.. and then come back in again. It's like they had this whole thing planned out from the get-go.
I've never seen a single episode of Mad Men. A friend hooked me up with Season 1 though so I need to get to watching it. And agree with the OP, The Wire is one of the best shows I've watched.
I don't know anyone who has seen season one of Mad Men that didn't rave about the show. HBO is kicking themselves for passing on it. One of the best series I've seen in many, many years. I have to admit that it's partly due to growing up during the 1950's. The job they do recreating the "look," the style, the social mores, literally everything surrounding the period the show covers is nothing short of amazing. It is just how I remember it, absent taking place in New York. I grew up in Houston, although we traveled a great deal. And yes, I wish I wasn't this old! You'll enjoy it.
I live in MC, but work all over Maryland, and travel all the time to Baltimore. I didn't start watching the Wire until the last 2 seasons, and was amazed at the realism...the writers must do a lot of research. That show is head and shoulders above anything else on television in terms of quality (not including Mad Men because I haven't given it a shot).
I would say Oz got a little too silly toward the end. And the violence featured in the show seems like it was often for the sake of shock value. I know it's a prison show, but some of it was too outlandish. The violence in The Wire is always done in a hyper-realistic way and is never out of place. That doesn't mean that it's any easier to watch, but it seems plausible. The story of The Wire is, as others have mentioned, so engrossing and well-written that it's impossible to not be completely absorbed. I'm also in love with Mad Men, but the new season has kind of dimmed its light for me. It's gotten better recently, but it seems to be plodding in comparison to the first two. The Wire never did that.
The pre-credit monolog scene from the first episode of the Wire basically sums up the entire series for me (in a good way). The randomness and strange avoidable senseless violence is captured perfectly. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LYgKmOJT_gM&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LYgKmOJT_gM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> I thought that the series in the last season really dropped off in quality, but at the same time, I really like how each season they sort of moved on to a different aspects of the drug trade and the city - the docks and trafficking in the 2nd season, political aspects of the drug trade in the 3rd, the failures of the education system in the 4th, and the media in the 5th. And Omar remains one of my favorite TV characters of all time.
No, it's done. Ended in 2008 - only 5 seasons. I think it could have gone on for a lot more... but I guess HBO always like to end good shows early. I think it's weird that the Wire is like HBO's best show.. but is also the channel's most overlooked show. It is clearly better than Sopranos or Sex and the City, but those shows are still better recognized.
we just started the wire a few months ago, great show. We are just starting season 4, so far season 2 has beeen my favorite
Yeah, I was just now thinking that the Shield comes very close. They are both similar (not just both being cop shows, but also dialogue, realism, and attention to the details)... the Shield does a better job dealing with stories between characters (with the betrayals and backstabbing and all that stuff).. it also has one of the most tragic endings for a series finale I have ever seen. I still think the Wire is more engrossing overall... but the two shows might be ranked 1aa and 1ab.
