The Wire is the best television drama ever made.

Okay, I am a huge fan. We don’t have cable, so I never saw it as a weekly series, but we borrowed all five seasons and watched them recently. It’s brilliant. I can’t think of a better word to describe it.

A couple of my favorite mystery/crime novelists, Dennis Lehane and George Pelacanos, contributed to the writing and they are known for their gritty stories and great dialogue. The direction is excellent, the story lines are neatly interwoven, the tension and drama well drawn. Even the theme song, which is performed by a different artist each season, rocks.

I found myself liking the bad guys. I found myself disliking the good guys. It’s so well written and so very well acted that you feel as if you know the characters first hand. Maybe you should start a spoiler thread, because there are so many plot elements that it’s impossible to discuss the show without giving things away.

I loved the cast, but my favorite character is Bubs. To see his “journey” from the first show to the last is amazing. And Stringer Bell, McNulty, Bunk, well, I just love them all.

So yeah, it’s a pretty good show. ;-)

Yeah I have to agree, I’ve never seen a more original show ever on cable, let alone tv.  My father is from B-more, and I for one know, from ghetto-ass cousins and what not how unique the accent is from there.  And it only goes to show how good of an actor Elba is, they don’t say “through” they say “theuuu”.  if you closed your eyes it’s almost as if it were a Scot with their gutteral vowels.  For a taste of the street version of Baltimorean listen to the character “Snoop”, hell even I couldn’t understand half the shit she said.
In general I think Brits have a better grasp of the American dialect than we do, their whole accent is constricting vocal chords, american english is relaxed
Don’t sleep on his musical abilities either…

My favorite character was Clay “Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit” Davis!

His character was so real and at the same time scary and so damn FUNNY that, if, he was anything like a real shady politician then that’s why we haven’t really caught as many as we should.

donnah, I loved Bubs too.  Saw an interview with him (Andre Royo in real life) and can’t remember where now, but he talked about the character’s journey from total bottom to pulling himself back up. 

The answer to my quiz question up there is Amy Ryan who played Officer Beadie Russell.  She first showed up in the waterfront season as the cop who broke open the shipping container crimes.  Last season on the office she played Holly, the new HR person who temporarily replaced Toby.  I thought the ongoing joke with her thinking Kevin was “special” was hilarious.  It’s always fun to see these great dramatic actors bring their skills to a good comedy role. 

MH, Elba sings a little bit in the interview and I think I heard he has a CD out.

I go on and on about this show, but I can’t help it. There are so many different levels, it’s just amazing.

One gem from the first season was when D’Angelo finds a couple of the younger kids playing checkers with a chess set. He explains how the game of chess is played, but in the context of their own coummunity, the drug-dealer environment. It’s an amazing scene, just a few minutes long, but it speaks volumes.

The show is a candid look at a distinct area, a culture, a microcosm of humanity. It doesn’t flinch. Some of the brutality is stunning, but we know where the violence comes from. It is a part of the landscape and the people who live in it.

If there is a theme, I suppose it’s corruption. It’s the underlying current in all five seasons. How the characters deal with it is what frames the stories.

My favorite character was Clay “Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit” Davis!

Yeah, he was good!  The use of comedy now and then was a great touch.  Like the ongoing drunken revels of McNulty and Bunk.  It helped to carry me through the really scary stuff that I usually don’t do very well with!

Omar was my other favorite. He was a very complex character, and again, I found myself rooting for the “bad” guy. But he was smart, and his classic bit of testimony in the courtroom was hilarious. Not to mention what he wore. ;-)

One thing about this show: don’t get attached to anyone. While most network tv series will only rarely kill off a main character, the cast members of The Wire got picked off regularly. I found that shocking at first, but of course it was all the more realistic because of it.

Well of course British actors are the best, cause they don’t subscribe to this “method” acting shit and do it on pure talent.  But that is JMHO and snark also!

Okay, I’ll fess up.  I’ve never seen one episode of The Wire and plenty of people I admire (read: including all of you in this thread) have advised me to correct that. It’s just that when I see endless DVD collections-worth of viewing to catch up, I just can’t pull the trigger. It’s kinda like someone telling you I just saw the best 37-hour-long movie ever and you’re like, yeah, I’ll be seeing that really soon. I guess I’ll just chalk up not watching The Wire as one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my life.  And I don’t mean that at all sarcastically.

That’s okay, Kevin. Each to his own.

Except it is THE BEST TV SHOW EVER MADE.

That is all.

Oh, and this is one of my favorite scenes from Season One.

Kevin, each season stands on its own so it’s not like you have to do a marathon watch.  Trust me, after watching one episode you will be hooked.  Rich insisted that I try it the first season.  I thought I would hate it but I ended up a huge fan.

Marindenver, remember this one? Classic!