Given the critical adoration and ceaselessly evangelizing fans, what is it about the show that prevents it from getting the viewership it deserves?
Actually I’d like to get started on this one, but I didn’t want to jump in on the 4th season (that’s the current one, right?) I need to find time for, and rent, the previous seasons. I don’t doubt I’ll like it though, sounds kind of like it picked up where Homicide left off. I loved that show.
Probably the requirement that you subscribe to HBO.
I’m netflix’ing the dvds, though.
I watch it and love it except for one thing: Sometimes I can’t understand what the brothas are saying because of 1) mumbling and 2) dialect. Feel me?
the closed captioning doesnt work?
LOL…
Because it’s depressing.
i just finished watching the 2nd season on dvd. please tell me they’re back to the projects in the 3rd? they spent way too much time on the dockyards/greek guys and not enough on the cops. in the first season at least the drug dealers were interesting.
I just started watching this show on dvd a few weeks ago and I’m totally loving it. Great plot, script, acting… just great all around. Of course, I’m also probably biased because of the location.
And you really do need to watch from the beginning, more than any other show I’ve seen. I tried watching a random episode last year and was both baffled and bored because I had no idea what was going and who was doing what–but I just watched that same episode a few nights ago and it all made sense.
Yea they go back to mainly focusing on the streets in the third season. Although honestly while I didn’t care for the second season the first time I watched it, I watched it again recently and now I have to say it’s my second favorite season. I think the swtich of focus was too jarring for many, and that’s why it isn’t as highly regarded as it should.
I thiink another reason people have a problem with the second season is that they didn’t understand the intention of the show. The first season makes it appear more like a crime drama, albeit a very sophisticated one. However as you go deeper into each season you discover that The Wire is an expose into the crumbling of the American cities, and the failure of our institutions. Of course this isn’t exactly something that makes it sound appealing, so it tended to get downplayed when it was initially being sold. It was only when people discovered that The Wire is an insanely entertaining and gripping drama, as well as being one of the best socio-political lessons you can get about Urban America, that Simon began to elaborate more on what the show really is about.
Therefore, the focus of the second season, the disintegration of the working class, is a crucial component of what The Wire is trying to convey. And since the disintegration of the working class is integrally tied into one reason why the drug war is a failure, it also makes you appreciate the themes of season one even more.
Because I have rabbit ears that get Fox and ABC and not much else.
Also, because I watch very little TV at all these days.
Ben, why haven’t you watched the complete cinematic oeuvre of Yasujiro Ozu?
The second season was actually my favorite of all, but I love every single second of every single episode.
Best modern television show of all time.
The main reason is the fact that The Wire is like a book… you can’t start on the 6th chapter or even the 3rd, and if you miss a chapter in between you’ll acutally have to pay close attention to the episode recaps. Even the most complex and involved episodic television series don’t ask for THAT level of attention.
It also happens to be by far the most depressing show on television, even Oz or the Sporanos aren’t as good mood killers.
The Wire is a critically acclaimed program that is currently on the air, Ozu is an obscure Japanese director who has been dead for 40 years. And my answer is that until your post I had never heard of him. I don’t get your defensive tone.
Granted, people who don’t like The Wire should be lined up and shot, but people who’ve never seen it are merely consigned to entertainment purgatory.
I also recently re-watched the second season and it was a good deal better than I remember it being, I think because the first time through I still saw it as a show about cops catching criminals. the blackw0lf nails that above so I won’t elaborate. Frank Sobotka is a wonderfully tragic figure.
It’s 4>>3>1>2>everything else, IMO. The last episode of 4 is the sort of thing that you sit in your chair for a few minutes after watching, you’re just emotionally and intellectually spent.
I imagine it’s akin to what it would be like to watch Grave of the Fireflies with the initial scene in the subway station cut out and moved to the end of the movie.
I was prompted to make this thread by the absolutely incredible ZERO Golden Globe nominations The Wire got. ZERO!
Baltimore is one ugly city. If they set the show in Miami or somewhere else pretty, I bet the ratings would be much higher. But then I doubt the message of the show could be conveyed as well.
One little nice thing about watching this show is seeing all the actors show up in other crime shows or movies. Since a lot of the minor roles are cast by cops and ex-cons, they fill in great for CSI, Inside Man, or the like. They seem to come in groups too, as I remember one episode of CSI: Miami that had three different people from the Wire.
The sad thing is the show paints a pretty realistic picture. The good news is that more people are watching. I’ve got three different friends now watching various seasons.
The season finale garnered 1.9 million viewers for the Sunday airing. This combined with the almost 700,000 viewers who saw it on HBO On Demand means the season finale was viewed by 2.6 million viewers, which is a huge jump from the previous season. (I think the third season finale was seen in total by 1.4 million viewers).
So it’s slowly gaining viewership. Probably more than even David Simon expected. Then again I think he’s still surprised he’s been able to finish his story.
I also don’t really understand why people don’t like the second season as much. To me it was an awesome and interesting departure from the first season. The writers did a great job interesting me in the dock workers, something I never would have thought I would enjoy beforehand. Seeing where everybody landed after season one (especially McNulty) was quite enjoyable. And it’s not like they forgot about the streets, there was some messed up stuff that went down there too.
On a side note, Stink 'Em and Wee-Bey are two of my favorite character names ever. Although it’s also interesting to have a police major nicknamed ‘Bunny.’
Just got the first season on DVD, definitely feels in some ways what homicide wanted to be but couldn’t because it was on NBC.
Zero Golden Globes? I agree with Ben. What the fuck is wrong here?
One of the Wire specials I watched had them talk about how it’s not appreciated because of the racial thing. All the black actors drive white viewers away.
I don’t think it’s even garnered any Emmys either.
— Alan