I didn’t like it quite as well as the Sopranos, but almost. I enjoyed it most when it focused on the street level cops and thugs, less so as it focused on the top police and politicians. I haven’t seen season 5 yet but will as soon as it comes out on DVD.
Once in a while, turn on subtitles. In general, they aren’t needed.
Once in a while, go read an episode synopsis on Wiki or a fan site after you watch it. In general, you don’t have to.
Once you get into the swing of things, you’ll be ok. It’s like Shakespeare…you don’t have to understand every word.
My friends said some people think season 2 is not as good. I agree…I found it boring. But all others are simply wonderful.
I got to go Baltimore last spring. I love going to cities where movies/shows are filmed, and it was pretty cool coming back and watching the show after being to all those locations.
The people I was with couldn’t figure out why I took so many pictures of the Domino Sugar sign…
I liked the focus on ordinary working people – we don’t get nearly enough of that in movies or on TV – and I loved the Sobotka family, all of them, and the scenes at the dockworkers’ bar, and Beadie Russell, learning how to be a real cop.
Season 2 was my favorite. I’d rate them 2, 1, 3, 4, 5.
I think watching all five seasons back to back really helped me understand what was going on. I had watched them before, but I wanted my husband to experience it, so we started from the beginning and then watched Season 5 in real time. The attention to detail is so great, and characters from seasons before come back, so if you’ve forgotten them, it doesn’t make as much sense. It’s the diametric opposite of all those sitcoms where reality resets at the end of the show and nothing carries forward-- everything carries forward and not much is forgotten. The show rewards the attentive and scrupulous viewer who is invested in following a long, convoluted story that lacks moral landmarks but is full of rich, multidimensional characters, all of whom you love and hate by turns.
That said, I found it to be a transformative experience as TV shows go. It will be held as a high water mark to which other shows will be compared for a long time, for me.
Should you watch The Wire? As Omar would say, oh, indeed.
Script for the final scene of The Wire, season 5.
Warning: This was a prank pulled on the crew and never actually shot. It has mild spoilers in that it reveals two characters who will survive and nothing is really certain in this 'verse, so if you want to be totally unspoiled, avoid clicking.
Thanks everyone - I’ve added S1 to my Lovefilm queue and will get back to you all when I’ve watched it. I can appreciate a slow-burning show (hey, I’ve watched Carnivale) so I’m not phased by the prospect of watching a few episodes before I’ve gotten into it, but if I get to S3 and I’m still not clicking I think that’s time to call it quits - hopefully it won’t get to that stage.
Is it very realistic, or as realistic as a TV show can be?
'Cause I was sorely disappointed with The Sopranos.
I liked the first season a lot, but I was catching it using Video On Demand on our cable, so I had to squeeze in an episode a day, I could have done with a bit of a break between episodes.
I think so. I don’t have the link, but a reviewer or blogger or somebody watched the series with real Baltimore thugs to get their reactions and the thugs said it was spot on. Only they didn’t say “spot on”, it was more like “Fuckin’ A!”
There’s also a Dope thread (too lazy to look it up – it’s the one about the cockamamie legal defense strategy) with a link to an article about some real Baltimore gangsters whose actions could easily have been taken from the series, or an inspiration for it.
At least one of the regulars in the cast was a real-life Baltimore drug lord, and other cast members have been real-life Baltimore politicians, cops, and if I remember right, teachers.
Best show in the history of television. Something I have never personally said about any other show. And it has some of the most memorable characters of any TV show or movie ever made.
How’s that for a recommendation? 
I think I can honestly say, not knowing you at all, that there’s no way in hell you won’t be into it by season 3. You’ll more likely be checking your mailbox every day to see if the next disc has arrived.
I was making reference to someone upthread who said they were at S3 and had just about got into it.
MOTHERFUCKER!!
I think that’s the line, it’s been a while!
I was hooked after the first scene of Season 1, when McNulty’s talking to the kid on the stoop about Snot Boogie. That scene – you knew you were watching something original.
I think they kept that rivulet of blood on the asphalt in the opening credits through all five seasons. It’s the iconic image for me.
To the OP; yes , you need to watch it.
To Auntie Pam; are there any other Auntie’s like you at home?
MiM
My wife and I are watching the series on DVD and we have tried to set up rigid rules on when we can watch an episode but like Bubbles trying to get clean, it is too hard for us. We’ll burn through three episodes in a night when we’re on a bender. The creators have called it a 66 hour movie and that’s what it feels like, or like an epic novel and each episode is a chapter.
In my opinion it blows any other show out of the water. I really like the Sopranos, but the Wire is so much better
.
The story is top-notch, but the best thing about the show is the characters. Here are just a few memorable ones you will get to know and love (or hate):
- Bunk
- Kima
- Cool Lester Smooth (my favorite)
- Omar (and his favorite breakfast cereal)
- Stringer Bell
- Proposition Joe
- Herc
- Marlo Stansfield
- Bunny Colvin (my second favorite character)
and on and on and on…
We think alike, do we?
I’m WAY too old for you.
If we can do it without spoiling the OP, I’d be interested to know what everyone’s iconic moment might be. It’s hard to pick just one, feel me?
Snoop in the Home Depot
McNuggets