# Why didn't The Wire get as much attention as Game of Thrones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 3, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029 "2013-06-03T13:22:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/61 "2013-06-06T03:34:13Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > For a second I thought you were replying to me, but the context didn’t make sense. > > I then realized who and what you were referring to, and I experienced a moment of shock and horror. I doubt more than a small handful of people got what you were saying, and those that did are maybe kinda twisted. > > Kudos on having written the most subtle/horrifying reply I may have ever seen. You did get a really good setup though. Dude, put down the pipe and magnifying glass, it wasn’t that subtle. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/62 "2013-06-06T03:37:23Z")
For those that have watched and loved The Wire and haven’t seen The Shield… do it. You will thank me later. If you don’t believe me, just Google The Shield Vs The Wire or similar. Most people tend to skew towards The Wire, but many people I know think the opposite. It’s a bit more modern too. They aren’t baffled by texting IIRC. The bad cops in The Shield put the bad cops in The Wire to shame, but I’ll give the drinkin’ badge to The Wire cops any day. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/63 "2013-06-06T03:41:23Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Dude, put down the pipe and magnifying glass, it wasn’t that subtle. In retrospect no, but it was 5 hours after my post, and did not quote anything. You and I both know that the term prolapse isn’t exactly a common vocabulary word. Now people are Googling the term, getting disgusted, and realizing the reference. Nightmares for everyone! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/64 "2013-06-06T03:46:44Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > Wait, are you posting in support of the writing on Friends or against it? Neither, really…when **dnooman** posted those rankings, he made no direct mention of the fact that it was a ranking of the best-written TV series, not a ranking of the best TV series overall. Writing is obviously an important factor in making a TV series into a good (or great) series, but it’s only one factor, along with acting, cinematography, sound, costuming, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/65 "2013-06-06T03:47:08Z")
Incidentally, the reason I never saw goatse (until I saw a thumbnail from a link on this board), tub girl, two girls one cup or any other psyche-scarring images from the internet is because when the internet was shiny and new to me, I stupidly clicked on a link that showed me a man lifting weights with…organs…oozing from his…sigh. From his rectum. I learned how to not click links willy nilly. I thought all internet vets had also been terrorized by this image. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/66 "2013-06-06T04:52:37Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Incidentally, the reason I never saw goatse (until I saw a thumbnail from a link on this board), tub girl, two girls one cup or any other psyche-scarring images from the internet is because when the internet was shiny and new to me, I stupidly clicked on a link that showed me a man lifting weights with…organs…oozing from his..sigh. From his rectum. I learned how to not click links willy nilly. > > I thought all internet vets had also been terrorized by this image. My first thought about this matter goes back to the “Movie” Pink Flamingos by John Waters. The Trashmen : Surfin’ Bird ( 1963 ) was a funny Family Guy meme, but pairing that song with the aforementioned movie makes everything much more disgusting. Goatse is quite nauseating. I’ll refrain from posting what I feel is the most disturbing image I’ve ever seen online because A) it’s a major hijack, and B) it will cause nightmares even though it’s a fake. Sorry for the hijack again, back to The Wire. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/67 "2013-06-06T15:14:50Z")
It’s worm boobies, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/68 "2013-06-06T15:24:34Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > The bad cops in The Shield put the bad cops in The Wire to shame, but I’ll give the drinkin’ badge to The Wire cops any day. The cops on The Wire aren’t all that bad, really - besides that one black patrolman from season 4, I think the worst that can be said about the rank and file is that they can be pretty dim and overly violent, and the higher ups are incompetent and/or neglectful of their duties because of politics. I don’t really recall out-and-out, take-the-money-and-run, pin-the-murder-on-the-gangsters, deal-out-the-seized-drugs crooked cops on The Wire. There was one episode where Herc suggested that he and Carver nick some of the drug money after a successful raid, an idea immediately dismissed as “would have been smart if the exact amount hadn’t already been recorded on the wire, genius” ; but that’s all I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/69 "2013-06-06T15:42:55Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > The cops on The Wire aren’t all that bad, really - besides that one black patrolman from season 4, I think the worst that can be said about the rank and file is that they can be pretty dim and overly violent, and the higher ups are incompetent and/or neglectful of their duties because of politics. Well, there’s Herc, who doesn’t exactly do himself proud, and it’s strongly implied that Daniels was crooked. We never get any details but it’s noted that he somehow enriched himself by several hundred thousand dollars when he worked in the Eastern district, and it’s that implied corruption that forces him to step down at the end of the series. And while Bunny Colvin may have had the right idea in Hamsterdam, that’s really not something you want a cop to do on his own. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/70 "2013-06-06T17:31:32Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > it’s strongly implied that Daniels was crooked. We never get any details but it’s noted that he somehow enriched himself by several hundred thousand dollars when he worked in the Eastern district, and it’s that implied corruption that forces him to step down at the end of the series. . “Couple weeks from now, you’re gonna be in some district somewhere with 11 or 12 uniforms looking to you for everything. And some of them are gonna be good police. Some of them are gonna be young and stupid. A few are gonna be pieces of sh_t. But all of them will take their cue from you. You show loyalty, they learn loyalty. You show them it’s about the work, it’ll be about the work. You show them some other kinda game, then that’s the game they’ll play. I came on in the Eastern, and there was a piece-of-sh_t lieutenant hoping to be a captain, piece-of-sh_t sergeants hoping to be lieutenants. Pretty soon we had piece-of-sh_t patrolmen trying to figure the job for themselves. **And some of what happens then is hard as hell to live down.** Comes a day you’re gonna have to decide whether it’s about you or about the work.” - Daniels ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/71 "2013-06-06T17:45:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Well, there’s Herc, who doesn’t exactly do himself proud, and it’s strongly implied that Daniels was crooked. We never get any details but it’s noted that he somehow enriched himself by several hundred thousand dollars when he worked in the Eastern district, and it’s that implied corruption that forces him to step down at the end of the series. And while Bunny Colvin may have had the right idea in Hamsterdam, that’s really not something you want a cop to do on his own. Well, if you wanna go that way the whole of McNulty’s plot arc in season 5 is more than a little fucked up. But the point is, all of them do it out of good intentions and/or doing what’s best with the hand that’s been dealt to them. Hell, the same could be said of most of the bad guys. The squad of The Shield, well, they did have one flashback episode of “we’ll do it wrong just this once to make the stats, then we’ll go back to being good cops” as a kind of oedipal, Hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions excuse ; but they’re really mostly shit all around. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard fillings (except for Lem, and then again…). Same about the gangsters, in fact outside of maybe Oz it’s kind of hard to find a “smart” show that went that far in demonizing its bad guys beyond any and all redemption or hope. I mean, shit, as I said in the GoT thread even Cersei’s got some mitigation in her corner. How was Antoine Mitchell not cartoonishly evil ? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/72 "2013-06-06T18:17:35Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > The cops on The Wire aren’t all that bad, really - besides that one black patrolman from season 4, I think the worst that can be said about the rank and file is that they can be pretty dim and overly violent, and the higher ups are incompetent and/or neglectful of their duties because of politics. > > I don’t really recall out-and-out, take-the-money-and-run, pin-the-murder-on-the-gangsters, deal-out-the-seized-drugs crooked cops on The Wire. There was one episode where Herc suggested that he and Carver nick some of the drug money after a successful raid, an idea immediately dismissed as “would have been smart if the exact amount hadn’t already been recorded on the wire, genius” ; but that’s all I can remember. They also steal money they find under a mattress in a drug house, they put the money under their vests. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/73 "2013-06-06T18:47:38Z")
I’m going to say social media and nerds. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/74 "2013-06-06T19:00:07Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > They also steal money they find under a mattress in a drug house, they put the money under their vests. Yup. After they did that after they were accused of stealing other money by Daniels, no less. They hadn’t – a block of seized cash had gotten wedged in the trunk and they hadn’t noticed it – but it sounded so unbelievable that after their frantic search found it, they both agreed that Daniels would never believe the innocent explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/75 "2013-06-06T19:06:02Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > The cops on The Wire aren’t all that bad, really - besides that one black patrolman from season 4, I think the worst that can be said about the rank and file is that they can be pretty dim and overly violent, and the higher ups are incompetent and/or neglectful of their duties because of politics. > > I don’t really recall out-and-out, take-the-money-and-run, pin-the-murder-on-the-gangsters, deal-out-the-seized-drugs crooked cops on The Wire. There was one episode where Herc suggested that he and Carver nick some of the drug money after a successful raid, an idea immediately dismissed as “would have been smart if the exact amount hadn’t already been recorded on the wire, genius” ; but that’s all I can remember. But where do you draw the line? Burrell orders Daniels to return the $20,000 seized from Clay Davis’ driver, when that money came directly from the towers. He also squashes the Major Crimes subpoena effort at Davis’ command. I suppose you can call that “politics,” but when the political figure is as dirty as Davis obviously was, and the Deputy Ops is taking what amounts to direct orders from him, that’s pretty dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/76 "2013-06-06T19:15:50Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Well, if you wanna go that way the whole of McNulty’s plot arc in season 5 is more than a little fucked up. Oh right, _that._ You had to remind me. Anyway all of that is worse than what you said the first time. > [@](#): > > But the point is, all of them do it out of good intentions and/or doing what’s best with the hand that’s been dealt to them. I don’t really think that’s true, and not just because you can’t be extremely corrupt with good intentions. And I would say that one of the themes of the show is that bad systems drag down well-intentioned individuals, and when the well-intentioned person does something crazy with good intentions, it just makes things worse. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/77 "2013-06-06T23:23:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Oh right, _that._ You had to remind me. Anyway all of that is worse than what you said the first time. Heh, yeah. But then again, he didn’t do all that for personal fame or gain or whatever - he only it to be everyone’s turn to give a fuck, maybe allocate some tax dollar to the precinct for a couple years, that sort of thing. \*The Shield’\*s cops do bad things because “I got an autistic kid so fuck everything”. Can’t really put both side by side, right ? > [@](#): > > I don’t really think that’s true, and not just because you can’t be extremely corrupt with good intentions. And I would say that one of the themes of the show is that bad systems drag down well-intentioned individuals, and when the well-intentioned person does something crazy with good intentions, it just makes things worse. Right. And as \*\*Bricker \*\*mentions (I’d forgotten about the Davis-Burrell connection) some of the higher ups are pretty deep in it, even if they are less hands-on about their crookedness than Michael Chiklis’ character was on _The Shield_. But that’s kind of my point : by and large, the legal-side characters on \*The Wire \*have/had good intentions. Some get corrupted by evil, some by mere sloth, a handful are into the proceeds of crime (though a couple steps removed from the crime itself)… whereas the main people on _The Shield_ are just irredeemably _bad_ throughout the entire length of the show. I mean, you can make the argument that ultimately Vic Mackey does what he does to keep the big bad gangsters off the streets, but a) it’s not fucking true and y’all know it and b) even if it was, it would be more about him power-tripping & shoving his gun into some other guy’s testicles than about law, order and protecting civilians. Vic Mackey is a \*terrible \*person. So is Shane Vendrell, so is David Aceveda, so is Jon Kavanaugh. By contrast, McNulty’s just a bit of a drunk cunt, y’know ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/78 "2013-06-13T14:24:16Z")
For anyone interested…amazon.com is having a special on The Wire - The Complete series for $79.99 ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/79 "2013-06-13T18:57:33Z")
I’ve watched the first five episodes of the wire, and so far am not captivated. Does it get better? Like, a LOT better? Of the 1st 5 eps, only episode 3 was excellent. All of the others were just “meh” at best. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029/80 "2013-06-13T19:51:40Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > I’ve watched the first five episodes of the wire, and so far am not captivated. Does it get better? Like, a LOT better? > > Of the 1st 5 eps, only episode 3 was excellent. All of the others were just “meh” at best. It does get a lot better, but it certainly is kind of a “sum is better than the parts” show. There aren’t really any smashing or ultra memorable episodes per se (though there certainly are tons of memorable _scenes_), but in the long run it’s the way all of the aspects, details, pieces and people on the show articulate, play off each other and so forth that is really brilliant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-the-wire-get-as-much-attention-as-game-of-thrones/660029.md?page=5)