HBO's ''The Wire''

[_Dr. Shades]

Dear MormonDiscussions.com participants:

I need to make a recommendation to you all. Everyone likes a good T.V. miniseries, so pretty much all of you should enjoy this.

When it comes to police dramas, the single best one ever created is, by far, HBO's The Wire. Quite simply, nothing else ever made comes even remotely close to it.

Not only is it universally recognized as the best police drama ever, but many people hail it as the greatest single T.V. series in existence, genre notwithstanding.

I wholeheartedly concur with the above. The reason The Wire is truly unique is because equal time is given to "the bad guys" as it is to "the good guys." In fact, a case can be made that in this series, there are no real "good guys" or "bad guys" at all; there are only individual people with widely varying circumstances trying to eke out an existence in their particular segment of society--be it those in the law, on the streets, at the ports, in city hall, in the schools, or at the newspapers--some honorably, some dishonorably.

Another cool thing is that this series doesn't "go easy" on the viewer. Each group--the cops, the drug dearlers, etc.--uses all the same lingo, jargon, etc. that they use in real life. If you aren't a member of that part of society, you'll just have to try your best to keep up. This adds an unmistakable level of authenticity to the viewing experience.

Not only this, but since equal screen time is given to everybody, then nearly every character is simultaneously a main character. As such, even the main characters die from time to time, just like on the streets of any major American city. Just because one person seems like a keystone of the story arc, don't be surprised to see him/her killed off. So, just like in real life, you never know what's going to happen.

Although The Wire is primarily a police drama, it examines the entire cross-section of a major American city--Baltimore, in this case--from the inner workings, backstabbings, and double-dealings of City Hall all the way down to the lowest heroin junkie trying to make a living on the streets, and, quite literally, everyone in between.

Now, I recommend that you don't look up this show on Google or Wikipedia. You'll be taken to sites that will spoil the plot. Even the official website contains spoilers, so avoid it, too. Also, make absolutely certain to start with Episode 1 of Season 1 and progress in season and episode order; it won't work if you start halfway through.

Last but not least, despite all the above, the series is just plain good. It's a very high-quality, extremely engrossing series.

So, I highly recommend that everyone go out and rent The Wire. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.

.

[_The Nehor]

Thanks, still have stuff on DVD I need to watch but will add this to my things to watch in the future.

[_Dr. Shades]

Put all that other stuff on hold. Push "The Wire" to the top of the list. You'll be glad you did.

[_JohnStuartMill]

Recommendation seconded.

[_Kevin Graham]

cool, im downloading all five seasons right now. something to watch on the plane...

[_Dr. Shades]

Thanks, JohnStuartMill!

Kevin, when you get done watching it--or at least when you're done with the first season--will you kindly give us your opinion of it?

[_Yoda]

We just got HBO again. I'll have a look! Thanks! :)

[Guest]

There are "good" and "bad" guys in The Wire. The characters motivations and natures are all over the place, but there still are identifiable forces for good and evil. On one end of the spectrum someone like Maurice Levy is a menacing force. LIke the system he operates in, he is selfish, amoral, and corrupt. He stymies what is good and desireable at every turn. You expect bad things when you see him on screen. One the other end in the series is someone like Bunny Colvin who almost glows nobility. He's consistently on the right side with the right intentions. His ideas are invariably a standin for the postive reforms the writers seek as a counter to the current system. But sure, this isn't all black hats and white hats. McNaulty is driven in large part by personal ego. Frank Sobotka is arguably the most heroic figure in the series and he also is a corrupt figure enabling some very bad things.

[_EAllusion]

Season 4 is widely regarded as the best season. I like season 3 the best. In either case, even if you didn't like the first two seasons, it would be worth it just to get to them.

Season 2 is the most popular pick for the weakest season. Of course that's relativey speaking. The entire series is fantastic. I think season 2 is very strong. It just happens to be the least interconnected of the bunch on a character level. Ironically, it was the highest rated of all the seasons probably because it focused more on white characters than any other season. It also is the slowest of all the seasons to develop.

I think season 5 is the weakest. That's mainly due to ratings causing 10 instead of 13 episode run. That lead to some 2 dimensional writing otherwise uncharacteristic of the series. It does have some more ridiculous plot arcs people take issue with, but I think that plays beautifully into the themes that particular season is about.

As far as what Shades said, he's correct. You cannot watch any episode out of sequence. You have to start with season 1 episode 1 and view them sequentially until you are done. Each episode is like a chapter in a book and each season is a book that builds upon the previous. The Wire is produced very much like a novel. While you could watch an episode of The Sopranos out of sequence and be entertained, if lacking context, doing that with the Wire would be like picking up a random book and reading the 22nd chapter. It's not a good idea.

Like reading a novel, you also have to have patience to let the stories develop over time. Depending on the season, it takes a while for it to come together. It's worth it to stick it out in every season's case.