The Wire

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I bought this entire series recently because Amazon had it on sale. I don't get why people think it's one of the best shows ever made. I don't hate it, it's interesting, but basically it's a police show. David Simon's previous show, Homicide, I would put on my top 5 list for sure. I don't get this hype about The Wire though.

Does this have something to do with Autism (I'm not diagnosed, btw), but am just not able to understand?

I love The Sopranos, am writing a book about it, thought I would love this too. What's up? Am I the only one?

Forgot to mention, I'm almost at the end of Season 3, so maybe the brilliant part comes in the last 2 seasons.

I know what you mean. I tried watching it and lost interest. I heard David Simon interviewed and he was so interesting. I tried again and lost interest. I also heard one of the actors interviewed and he was really interesting.

It is a puzzle as to why I cannot get into this show. I like a little humor and I don't remember any sarcasm/dry wit as was with "The Sopranos". I liked "The Corner", although I don't remember any humor there but there were some good insights into human nature.

I don't know. If you figure out what is missing, I hope you post it.

You're not alone----I'm from Baltimore, and it bored ME!! "The Corner" was EXCELLENT, and I'd really like to own a copy of THAT one!!

I don't know that everyone should necessarily love it, or even like it. But I will try to explain why I like it...

I think its for a few reasons...

First, some of the characters really do learn and change and evolve during the show - some for the worse, some for the better, though they payoffs for that may not really happen until season 4 and especially season 5. Some, despite everything that happens to them, revert to their core type at the end and haven't grown.

Second, its the way that nothing in the show is happening in isolation - cause and effect is happening all the time. Institutional dysfunction is rampant - the police promoting the incompetent officers while the good officers languish in the pawn shop unit or never get promoted in any case. There are vicious circles happening everywhere - the rank and file police who want to bring the drug dealers to justice are hampered and undermined by their commanders who are beholdent to their own senior commanders, who are in turn beholdant to the politicians, who are in turn taking drug money for their political campaigns from the drug dealers. The politicians are more interested in appearing to solve problems than actually solving them. A good example of all this in season 3 is the entire command structure, from the Mayor to Sergeant Landsman, making Bunk Moreland not work to put murderers in jail, but instead to work on the PR win of recovering Officer Dozerman's weapon, which will have little impact on actual crime. Stat-driven policing, preventing the police from really getting at the core of crime and fighting it effectively. The Dock Workers too - their own Union rules basically kill them off - driving the junior members to crime because they cannot get more work, and Frank resorting to crime to be able to try and improve the work situation for all his members - meanwhile the corruption of the politicians in dealing with the real estate developers is putting the final nail in their coffins. Characters suborn themselves to the institutions of which they are a part, not seeing how bad these institutions really are for them, or recognizing it but feeling (or actually being) helpless to resist - McNulty's rebelious nature against the police command structure, D'Angelo ultimately succumbing to taking the fall for Avon, Stringer trying to 'escape' his role as drug Kingpin and become a legitimate businessman. These themes end up continuing and expanding in seasons 4 and 5, with the school system and the journalists later on.

THe fourth season was a huge improvement, it kind of helped tie more of it together. I'm taking a break though, too many N words and all that (and I'm not really that sensitive to that stuff either, I think in this case they just way overdid it). I agree with everything you said, except the thing about Stringer trying to escape. He was just learning to be a thug businessman instead of thug dealer. But a very interesting character nonetheless. I was shocked about what happened to him (trying to avoid spoilers).

I've been watching it. I've done the first two seasons so far.

I finished it today. Have to say, it was pretty good - at least the last two seasons were great. I think they could have compressed the first 3 season into 1 though.

I think I can say without spoiling anything, the part about what happened to Bubbles at the end made me cry. That guy is a great actor! He almost carried the show.

I just finished it. I thought it wrapped things up nicely. Carcetti is played by the same guy who did 'Littlefinger' in Game of Thrones.