The Wire - best TV series ever?

[econ21]

I know it's an old show (2002-6) and I'm coming late to it, but crikey, this is an amazing series. I could not find a thread on it in the Org, so thought I would start one to sing its praises. I had heard it described in the UK as superb TV and when my brother said to believe the hype, I gave it a try. Five series later (four on DVD) and I have got to say - it is the best TV series I have ever watched.

I was struggling to think of the best adjective to describe the Wire and the one that sprung to mind was supplied by the show towards the end of its final series - Dickensian. The wonderful story telling and colourful characters remind me a lot of Dickens at his best. There's been a lot said about the realism of the show - and it was based on first hand experience of a Baltimore journalist and a policeman. But I am not sure I fully buy that, either in itself or as an explanation for the programme's quality. A rather downbeat realism gives the programme depth and makes for satisfyingly complex narratives, but what really stands out is the story-telling and the character work. Each season takes a central story arc and gets you familiar with a cast of characters, then through their actions slowly builds up the tension as they move to an often tragic conclusion. It's far too neat, colourful and plain dramatic to be considered realistic, but it is amazing TV.

The characters are as vivid as those in Dickens, including a junkie whose attitude on life resembles that of a Buddhist monk (Bubbles); a female gang enforcer described by Stephen King as the most terrifying woman on TV (Snoop); a drug lord who takes nightclasses in economics and reads the Wealth of Nations (Stringer Bell); a gay stick up artist who preys on drug dealers (Omar); and an utterly incompetent policeman whose mindless foul ups leave the viewer screaming at the screen for his head (Herc). The acting is outstanding, sometimes delivered by actors with real life experiences not so different from those of the characters they are portraying on screen.

As an example of the show's use of realism and colourful depiction of characters, there is a passage in the series creator's non-fiction book Homicide about autopsies and how small calibre weapons often do terrible injuries as the bullet moves inside the body in surprising directions (while large calibre weapons are more likely to have a straight exit). As a passage of non-fiction, this is mildly interesting. But in The Wire, the author gives that observation to the female enforcer, Snoop, who casually makes it to a mortified salesman in a hardware store. The observation both characterises Snoop's as a chillingly casual killer and also adds a delicious element of black humour with the contrast between the appalled reaction of the salesman and Snoop's obliviousness. A youtube video of the clip is here (video and user comments include bad language):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8zavPW3Bus

As the clip shows, the programme is often very funny, if with a dark humour. (A scene where two leading cops read a crime scene to solve a murder using only the F-word had me laughing uncontrollably.)

In the first series, and over the show as a whole, the underlying focus is police versus drug dealers. In some ways, it is a typical cop show, so the viewer will be rooting for the police as they investigate despicable crimes committed as part of the drug trade. But it does give the drug dealers humanity, individuality and charisma (or sometimes a terrifying absence of charisma, Marlo ). To the police, it gives a smoothering layer of commanding officers and politicians who frequently sabotage real policework for political ends. Later seasons add in to the mix stories about dock workers (S2), politicians (S3), schools (S4) and journalism (S5). Each season, you think you can't possibly get as involved in these new characters and their stories as much as you did the drug dealer stories from Season 1, but amazingly you do. It really is masterful story telling.

Aside from Dickens, the other point of reference I have is Hill Street Blues. In some ways, The Wire is a continuation of that show's style of intercutting stories of an ensemble cast and making the viewer work to keep up with what was going on. Many shows have done it since, but the Wire is very much in the same setting of a grimey cop show. What the Wire does better is the depiction of those on the other side of "the game" and in maintaining much stronger story arcs. It's not a show that could go on forever, with standalone episodes or soap style endless narrative loops. It had some stories to tell, told them superbly and came to an end.

I'd recommend the show to anyone willing to invest the time to watching it (10-12 hours per season). It's not the kind of thing you could really appreciate by watching casually - my wife wandered in and out while it was on TV, but never found it to be engaging. But if you put in the time, it can be a very rewarding experience.

[Husar]

I can hardly understand a word of what the young guy is saying.

[Ramses II CP]

Okay, I'm not reading your post because I'm still trying to convince my wife that we should netflix The Wire and I desperately need to avoid spoilers. I missed the start of it and never could recover, but I've been very interested in watching it, just have to get my other half on board.

That being said, watch Oz. I've heard it called a thematic precursor to The Wire. I loved Oz. No good guys, no happy endings, no redemptions, and no one is safe, ever. Let me just say as a paranoid that Oz spoke to my soul. I can still feel the energy generated by some of the revenge sequences, the intensity of the random violence, and the crushing weight of institutionalization.

[Proletariat]

Don't worry Ramses, there's no spoiler at all in econ's post, nor in the quick vid he linked.

I love that you enjoyed it so much, econ. It's absolutely the best tv I've ever seen. It makes shows like the Sopranos seem filled with filler and depthless, if you can imagine. Great post

[a completely inoffensive name]

Yes. Thread over.

[drone]

I have season 1 on DVD, waiting for a block of time to watch it. Everything I've heard about it is good.

[scotchedpommes]

Superb characters, and [unashamedly trivial point that springs to mind] some of the best drunken scenes in any series. Not watched enough television myself to feel I could offer a view as to whether it's the best ever, but without doubt it must be the best from the US in the last decade.

[OverKnight]

Just finished the show on DVD and I concur. Great stuff. I felt like David Simon was a bit heavy handed when it came to his old profession, journalism, compared to the other themes, but overall it was great.

I did want to reach through the screen and slap Herc a few times. Also a drug meeting being run by Robert's Rules of Order was great.

Also give it up for Cool Lester Smooth.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I can hardly understand a word of what the young guy is saying.

I think it's a woman. And no, I don't understand a word of what she's saying either. That mix of ebonics, slang, technical terms and druggy accent is too much for me too.


See, this is why they need to release DVD's with English subtitles for the non-hearing impaired. You can't translate all that stuff she's saying. The authenticity, the local and cultural specificity of the language would get lost. That would be a shame. But it is beyond the comprehension of the non-native speakers without it being written down.

[tibilicus]

I think it's a woman. And no, I don't understand a word of what she's saying either. That mix of ebonics, slang, technical terms and druggy accent is too much for me too.


See, this is why they need to release DVD's with English subtitles for the non-hearing impaired. You can't translate all that stuff she's saying. The authenticity, the local and cultural specificity of the language would get lost. That would be a shame. But it is beyond the comprehension of the non-native speakers without it being written down.

Yes, Snoop is a women, I myself wasn't aware of this till season four, lol.



To answer the original question, yes.

Omar Little is one of the greatest t.v characters of the modern age. The fact the shows so deep, you can barley scratch the surface when first watching it.

It's about so much more than life on the streets of bloody Baltimore, It's about the cycle of life in those deprived areas and how it's not going to change any time soon. Without spoiling to much, in the end everything comes round full circle.

I think I'm going to post my favourite link, if your still watching the series don't view, it might spoil it for you but for me, this is one of the best scenes from the show, Omar basically shows levy for the piece of trash he is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYj7q_by_2E

[Rhyfelwyr]

I've seen quite a bit of this show, though I can't say I've followed it properly.

In fact I'm quite surprised at this thread and the reactions, I haven't heard much about it besides watching it when they showed it in the early hours of the morning.

Monk is still the best TV series ever though.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Monk is still the best TV series ever though.

I was so glad Monk and Harold became friends. And now Sharona is coming back!

[scotchedpommes]

In fact I'm quite surprised at this thread and the reactions, I haven't heard much about it besides watching it when they showed it in the early hours of the morning.

There was a fair bit of publicity here when the BBC announced it had bought it, but they themselves failed when it came to advertising or promoting it. Watched much of the first series [or "season"] on there and after that, being impatient, endeavoured to find the rest elsewhere as quickly as possible. Had watched all of it before the third series had started on the BBC, and ended up feeling as though it could have done with a few more.

[OverKnight]

See, this is why they need to release DVD's with English subtitles for the non-hearing impaired.

When I was watching the DVDs and ran into dialogue I couldn't quite catch, I turned close captioning on for my TV. Is that an option for you?

[econ21]

And no, I don't understand a word of what she's saying either. That mix of ebonics, slang, technical terms and druggy accent is too much for me too.

I confess I struggled with a lot of what she said initially, too. But I still found it unnerving and funny. I guess it's the context - an enforcer going to a hardware store and getting into the nitty gritty of the specs of powertools. (One unnerving element was fearing what the powertool might be used for, but I won't spoil that.) I could see she said something to the salesman that unwittingly appalled him and revealed her "profession", but it was only when I read David Simon's book "Homicide" that I realised it was about the lethality of small calibre rounds. It's a sort of Taratino-esque conversation like the Big Mac sence in Pulp Fiction - a rather geekish exploration of the banal, in an otherwise highly dramatic setting.

Part of the fun of the series is gradually picking up the vernacular of the police station and the street. I think it is a bit like learning a language - you do get something of an ear for it and it becomes easier to understand. Anyway, most of the dialogue is not as verbose as that I linked to - often it's emphatic short sentences of the kind that you'd get warned for here. But a lot of Brits do use subtitles and for a non-native English speaker, Overknight's advice is certainly sensible.

That being said, watch Oz.

Yes, there are similiarities to Oz - particularly in the strong representations of the criminal leaders, as charismatic and dangerous, if human, people. But I found the Wire a lot less bleak. There is surprisingly little much violence on screen in the Wire. You see the consequences of the violence, and the emphasis is very much on the causes of the violence (it's almost as if each season is leading up to some tragic denouement), but generally the show is not that bloody. It has more of the elements of a traditional police show, whereas I felt Oz was going for a rather grand guignol excess. Both were compelling TV. But overall, I would say I found Oz disturbing, whereas the I found the Wire fascinating - getting me to read more about real life crime in Baltimore and see if the reality bore any resemblance to the show.

[Louis VI the Fat]

When I was watching the DVDs and ran into dialogue I couldn't quite catch, I turned close captioning on for my TV. Is that an option for you?

Alas! It isn't. I run into several problems.

The first problem is, my DVD doesn't play American DVD's. I've been thinking about buying a DVD player that plays discs from all regions, just to solve this sort of problem. My current player plays only DVD's from region 2, that is European ones.
- So no US DVD.

Now, The Wire is known in France as 'Sur écoute'. Amazon France
With the voice of Dominic West (inspecteur James) dubbed by 'Bruno Dubernat'. I tried YouTube, but my googlefu fails me. Or else I could let you all enjoy the misery of American series dubbed in French.
- So no French DVD. Simply out of the question.


Which, as is so often the case, means my hope rests on the British. *checks*
B...but..!!! Lo and behold! Amazon.co.uk sells The Wire with both English and French language options. And most importantly, with English subtitles! Amazon.co.uk

I might check it out then. Learn me that police and Baltimore street vernacular.

(The French reviewer from the first link above describes The Wire as a metacritique of the decline of the American Empire. Got to see it.
But then, every American movie is reviewed as portraying the decline of American civilization. Whether intentional or not. That is, whether arthouse or Hollywood.)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I'll spoiler the French bit. The reviewer concludes with what I presumed earlier - that it is imperative to watch this series in the original language. It would be a terrible waste to lose the local colour, the atmosphere, otherwise.


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Le déclin de l'empire américain, 7 octobre 2009


(TOP 500 REVIEWER) ##
The Wire n'est pas vraiment une série. C'est plutôt une longue histoire d'une soixantaine d'heures qui forme un tout cohérent et réfléchi, comme un gros roman racontant la vie de ses personnages sur plusieurs années. Tout a été écrit à l'avance, il ne s'agit donc pas, comme d'innombrables séries, d'une licence qu'on étire jusqu'à l'épuisement des spectateurs (l'épuisement de l'inspiration ayant lieu vers la 3ème saison en général).

L'histoire de la première saison nous montre le travail, difficile, des policiers face aux gangs de rue. Travail difficile de base, et rendu plus difficile encore par des patrons qui veulent gonfler des statistiques afin d'afficher de bons résultats. Cette course aux statistiques est d'ailleurs présente dans toutes les saisons, dans tous les domaines. C'est la même qui sévit dans les entreprises (les comptables jouent avec les chiffres pour que le patron montre de "bons" résultats aux actionnaires, on joue également avec les chiffres du chômage en créant des emplois qui n'en sont pas vraiment, etc.). Tout est conditionné par le profit.

Au bout de cinq saisons, en étant passé par les syndicats, la politique, l'école et le journalisme, c'est un état des lieux alarmant auquel nous venons d'assister. Pourtant, les solutions, quoique imparfaites, sont là. On les ignore, à cause du politiquement correct, par aveuglement ou fainéantise, à cause de gé-guerre entre services, parce qu'on s'en fiche, ou tout simplement parce qu'il faudrait pactiser avec le (les ?) diable. Ou peut-être est-il déjà trop tard, que ce système touche à sa fin, comme à chaque fois que les pauvres sont devenus encore plus pauvres, et que les riches sont devenus plus gourmands. Pourtant, quelques rebelles, ici et là, ne se découragent pas et s'opposent au système, qui cherche à les broyer.

C'est avec un véritable souci de réalisme et d'authenticité que cette série a été écrite par un journaliste et un ex-policier. Ils savent de quoi ils parlent, et n'en rajoutent jamais, jugent encore moins. Parfois, au scénario, on retrouve Dennis Lehane, ou encore Pelecanos. Les amateurs de romans policiers apprécieront. C'est une série qui sonne vraie, jusqu'à ce canapé orange, dans la première saison, que les réalisateurs devaient rendre en fin de journée à de véritables dealers. Des centaines d'anecdotes jalonnent les 5 saisons. Il faut louer aussi la formidable direction d'acteurs. Pas un ne sonne faux, et pourtant il n'y a que des inconnus.

Certes, il faut un peu s'accrocher au début. C'est lent, très lent. Mais bientôt on souhaite que ce soit encore plus lent. L'enquête n'avance pas vite, mais la description de ce monde, notre monde, est captivante. L'intrigue devient rapidement secondaire. Il y a énormément de personnages, et des nouveaux apparaissent à chaque saison. Si on s'y perd un peu au début, rapidement on trouve ses marques, d'autant que les réalisateurs savent les souligner rapidement.

S'il fallait rajouter quelque chose pour convaincre ; il y a les génériques, du blues rocailleux qui sent la rue et annonce la couleur. Et aussi les derniers épisodes de chaque saison où, sur une chanson, la conclusion défile en images.

S'il fallait ajouter un bémol ; on devient vite accro.

À voir impérativement en version originale. Le doublage est véritablement faiblard.

[econ21]

(The French reviewer from the first link above describes The Wire as a metacritique of the decline of the American Empire.

It certainly does have that kind of sociological ambition, it is true. Again, it's rather Dickensian in that regard - emphasing the struggles of the little man against a rather venal social and political system. It often succeeds through sheer force of personality and also through the authenticity of language. The union leader of the declining port in Series 2 is a good example - on paper, he might be regarded as a little unbelievable and cliched, but by the end, you empathise with him totally.

Amazon.co.uk sells The Wire with both English and French language options. And most importantly, with English subtitles! Amazon.co.uk

I bought my DVDs from a company called BangCD. They were very economically priced, although Season 5 I had to get from HMV.

[Furunculus]

just started watching the wire.

awesome.

[Vladimir]

You know, that's actually a documentary. Baltimore really is that bad.

[Fragony]

Never seen it, but I'm always checking if they have season 1. Currently watching Oz by the way, also old but pretty awesome

[Voigtkampf]

Posting in a resurrected thread.

To all those that loved The Wire (as I did and still do), you might want to check out HBO's The Corner, 6 part mini-series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaB_FN3j6x0

[Fragony]

We can pretend that crazy frenchman still posts here that way, how could he do that to me.

TIP: 'Borgen', awesome viking political drama series, from the same people who did the almost awesome but still great 'The Killing' 1 & 2