Hulk_Smash
Banned
So, I just got through binge watching all 5 seasons of The Wire on HBO Max. I liked it a lot. While the drama wasn't super high like in some shows, the consistency in the writing and acting made every episode matter. I compare it to a show like Breaking Bad like this: Breaking Bad had higher highs. When it was at it's best it was better than anything else that was out there at the time or what came before it. But, The Wire didn't have long ass shots of Walt Jr eating breakfast either. It was consistently good. Here's the breakdown of what I thought about the show (oh and, duh, SPOILERS):
* Writing was top notch. With a few rare exceptions I felt like it was the most natural realistic dialogue ever produced by a television writer. It always went for the realistic over the dramatic or pitch perfect line. Speaking of the writers, at one point actually thought the show was a lot like that old show Homicide. Come to find out, it was the same lead writer on both shows!
* The setting was again- realistic. Almost to a fault, really. I've never lived in a ghetto, but I do a lot of volunteer work in many apartment complexes and lower income residential areas and boy, do they nail the look and feel. I tell you one thing, it makes me never want to live in Baltimore.
* Had almost all the diversity boxes checked without being woke. And the irony of it is that in today's climate, I don't think a show like The Wire wouldn't make it past the first season without being "canceled".
* I think the other key to this show's quality is that it made you care about all the characters even the B stories and one-off characters. I actually felt bad for Wallace's death (first season). In fact there were so many deaths and so many of them happened so nonchalantly that I kept saying, "Just PLEASE don't kill off Bubs or Dookie." And even the non-cop related stories like all the stuff that happened at Presbo's school or the Baltimore Sun were well thought out and intriguing. In fact, I'd watch a show like The Wire except have them follow teachers or journalists around instead of cops.
* Omar is a fucking badass. Maybe the most badass homosexual to ever be written in a TV show. Guy jumps out of a six story window and SURVIVES. He robbed from the most notorious gangstas in Baltimore. He was like a capitalistic Robin Hood. Rob from the rich to give to himself! LOL. ...and then he gets done in by a 9 year old -- because The Wire.
* McNolty is an asshole. But, Stringer was a bigger asshole. Stringer was the only character that I was glad to see him get what was coming to him.
*I like that even though the cops had issues and often times stabbed each other in the back, with the exception of Walker, all of the cops had mostly honest reasons for doing what they did. Again, because it's realistic.
* I read that the Baltimore Sun scenes were extremely realistic with one critic saying it's the only TV show to ever get the working environment of print journalists right. Well, I can't attest to that, but I was a teacher at an inner city school and I CAN say without a doubt, the absolutely nailed that environment.
*Anyone else wonder if the writers thought they wouldn't go beyond season 3? It felt like season 3 wrapped up everything in a nice bow. Barksdale is back in prison, McNolty stops being an asshole and settles down, Presbo ends up as a teacher, and so on. Felt like they saw the ratings, locked the writers and director into a room and forced them to come up with two more seasons.
*Marlo should have died. What a freakin weirdo that guy was. Stringer Bell he was not.
Oh and, here's a fun drinking game: Take a shot every time Daniels stands up and buttons his suit jacket.
* Writing was top notch. With a few rare exceptions I felt like it was the most natural realistic dialogue ever produced by a television writer. It always went for the realistic over the dramatic or pitch perfect line. Speaking of the writers, at one point actually thought the show was a lot like that old show Homicide. Come to find out, it was the same lead writer on both shows!
* The setting was again- realistic. Almost to a fault, really. I've never lived in a ghetto, but I do a lot of volunteer work in many apartment complexes and lower income residential areas and boy, do they nail the look and feel. I tell you one thing, it makes me never want to live in Baltimore.
* Had almost all the diversity boxes checked without being woke. And the irony of it is that in today's climate, I don't think a show like The Wire wouldn't make it past the first season without being "canceled".
* I think the other key to this show's quality is that it made you care about all the characters even the B stories and one-off characters. I actually felt bad for Wallace's death (first season). In fact there were so many deaths and so many of them happened so nonchalantly that I kept saying, "Just PLEASE don't kill off Bubs or Dookie." And even the non-cop related stories like all the stuff that happened at Presbo's school or the Baltimore Sun were well thought out and intriguing. In fact, I'd watch a show like The Wire except have them follow teachers or journalists around instead of cops.
* Omar is a fucking badass. Maybe the most badass homosexual to ever be written in a TV show. Guy jumps out of a six story window and SURVIVES. He robbed from the most notorious gangstas in Baltimore. He was like a capitalistic Robin Hood. Rob from the rich to give to himself! LOL. ...and then he gets done in by a 9 year old -- because The Wire.
* McNolty is an asshole. But, Stringer was a bigger asshole. Stringer was the only character that I was glad to see him get what was coming to him.
*I like that even though the cops had issues and often times stabbed each other in the back, with the exception of Walker, all of the cops had mostly honest reasons for doing what they did. Again, because it's realistic.
* I read that the Baltimore Sun scenes were extremely realistic with one critic saying it's the only TV show to ever get the working environment of print journalists right. Well, I can't attest to that, but I was a teacher at an inner city school and I CAN say without a doubt, the absolutely nailed that environment.
*Anyone else wonder if the writers thought they wouldn't go beyond season 3? It felt like season 3 wrapped up everything in a nice bow. Barksdale is back in prison, McNolty stops being an asshole and settles down, Presbo ends up as a teacher, and so on. Felt like they saw the ratings, locked the writers and director into a room and forced them to come up with two more seasons.
*Marlo should have died. What a freakin weirdo that guy was. Stringer Bell he was not.
Oh and, here's a fun drinking game: Take a shot every time Daniels stands up and buttons his suit jacket.
some people hate it on their first watch, but I think it's the best season
