Is the Wire the best ever tv show? "Spoilers"

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

season 2 was a good season but some of the characters just annoyed the pants off me. ziggy in particular I hate, just can not stand the bastard and the main lads son as well.. dont hate him as much as ziggy but he still annoys me unbelievably.

Cheeky_gal wrote: »

As the previous poster said I found Ziggy the most annoying character ever. Couldn't stand the Greeks or any of the others. I just didnt like the port. Really missed the neighbourhood

You do realise this was the idea of his character - a grating, corrosive guy with serious mental issues who doesn't have any sort of a connection with his father and so falls through the cracks of society- exactly like the kids in season 4. You cannot critique a show by saying you don't like a character personally and insinuate this is detrimental to the season as a whole.

Most people don't like season 2 because generally it is watched immediately following season 1 which is filled with the exotic other (black America in this case) in the poverty stricken streets of baltimore which most viewers get sucked into and orientalise the subject (in Edward Said's sense of the term). Then when season 2 comes along concerning white industrial workers viewers get bored and long for the other which they can only see in deprived streets of baltimore. Simply people prefer watching poor black Americans because we have no real sense of this world and so it interests us more than say the struggle of white industrial workers as we can see this in our own country all the time.

Season 5 was excellent. It probably was the most referential season too; not just previous seasons but literature from throughout humanity. It had a strong Oedipus Rex theme running through with Jimmys quest to save Baltimore on his own without seeing his own mistakes. The idea that this was unrealistic but Hamsterdam was realistic is ridiculous. It was also a wonderful and damning interrogation of print journalism. It was a fine season.

The show was very complex piece for television and will be recognised as a wonderful artistic creation for a long long time.

Not gonna do much posting on this forum for a while because I can't read spoilers (I'm still on series 2, one episode left) but yeah the Wire is the best I've ever seen. So many amazing characters and the dialogue is incredible.

Agreed that season 2 was a bit slow to get going compared to season 1 (a lot of time spent getting the old crew together, not as much in terms of excitement happening on the docks as in Season 1 on the street) but its still fascinating and once it got going midway through it's been great. I didn't like Ziggy as a person either but the scene where he finally cracked was one of the greatest moments so far!

so what do u thing so far of breaking bad

that's so true..but I do like breaking bad.....going to start all over again and watch wire as not seen it for about a year

snausages wrote: »

I enjoy the Wire until people make it a subject of intense academic debate, then I just stop caring.

That's such a Carver thing to say

Just finished watching it now after it being recommended by a good few friends. And yes its an absolutely brilliant show, especially seasons 3 and 4. I really enjoyed the character of Stringer Bell and he probably was my favourite character in the whole series. It definitely goes straight into my top 3 all time tv shows but definitely would not pass out the Sopranos for me, the greatest show ever. I do feel the Wire is a little overhyped and found the start of season one to be a bit slow and complicated which took away from it for me but definitely goes in second best for me just ahead of BB.

Mardy Bum wrote: »

True detective is battering the door down of this thread now.

Its brilliant, but it wont be near the Wire until theres been 5 seasons of absolute top quality. The Wire is still the daddy of all TV shows, or at least any that I've seen.

CL7 wrote: »

I'm just about to start season three. It's definitely one of the best tv shows I've ever seen. It hasn't reached Breaking Bad heights yet for me but it's close.

Breaking bad? I dont know how this can even compare to the likes of the wire or sopranos. BB most overated show or the last few years.

Dob74 wrote: »

Breaking bad? I dont know how this can even compare to the likes of the wire or sopranos. BB most overated show or the last few years.

agree with this removed from watching all 3 a few months now and after all the craze and hype, although its a top top show, its not on the level of the other two, two masterpieces.

Deleted User wrote: »

Sorry for dragging up the old thread. I've 5 episodes left and i must say this show is an absolute masterclass. Every single character is so well written, multi-faceted and defined.

There is everything in the show. Humour, drama, terrific acting. I'm hard picked to find a fault with this show. Breaking Bad was good but it doesn't come near the Wire. There is two 'Greatest shows of all times' competitions in my opinion. There is the Wire and then there is everything else. It is absolutely excellent. And the ironic thing is is sneaks up on you. You watch the first few episodes with the bit of intrigue and then BAM your hooked.

Superb, Wonderful, 10/10. That is all

PS: having a chuckle to myself at the fact that the user from the OP called Jimmy McNulty is 'banned'. Very true to the character himself who crossed all the boundaries

Yep, amen to all that. All other TV drama pales in comparison.

GerB40 wrote: »

I despised the 2nd season the first time I watched The Wire. I had basically decided given up on what I considered a very weak storyline and the most annoying character in fiction, Ziggy, as if I had to say it... But like most fans of the show, I'm happy I persevered. The Wire became my favourite programme ever and after rewatching it, the 2nd season also became a favourite. The re-watchability of The Wire is unreal...

I think season 2 is probably my favourite season. Ziggy is a bit of a headwrecker but the season itself is one of the best showcases of the death of the American dream that I've ever seen. Amazing television. The Wire is the only thing I've ever seen that I'd put above the Sopranos - but at the same time, if it wasn't for the Sopranos, Simon would never have been given the airtime by HBO. Two fantastic series!