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118 comments in total

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199 out of 206 people found the following comment useful :-
A tapestry. An All-Time Great., 19 April 2007

Author: SamanthaLaneKelly from United Kingdom

I didn't know my TV could do this . . .

It's the greatest TV drama series I've ever seen. Better by some distance than even its notable HBO peers. (I call it a TV drama but the fact is that it's suited purely for DVD, it has complete disregard for the casual viewer and is perhaps best viewed in two or three sittings, a minor detail in episode three will find its significance ten episodes later, etc).

Focusing on the drugs business of Baltimore (and so much more) from the police to the dealers to City Hall to the longshoremen on the coast, I simply cannot rave about this show enough and have become a bore on the subject.

The profane writing snaps and pops beautifully, the plots are deeply intricate and profoundly gripping, and the acting is nothing short of perfection. What a cast! I don't say this lightly. The characters run deep and authentic with performances to match, and there are no minor characters in this show, some simply have more screen time than others.

After the terrific first season I couldn't believe that the shattering second series (perhaps the high-water mark) not only kept up the standard, but perhaps even exceeded it. The third, fourth and fifth seasons stand shoulder to shoulder too, joining finally and standing as a single tapestry.

This is heavy-duty and literary storytelling of the first order.

The show requires attention and commitment and will reward both to a degree that means when each "case" ends you'll be edified in a way that the CSI franchise et al can never even fractionally compete with.

They are pizza, The Wire is a banquet. We don't get enough banquets, so accept this ones invitation, you wont regret it.

Heartbreaking, somehow funnier than many comedies, beautifully played and written with enviable brilliance, if you're unaware of this show then I urge you: invest, it's likely you'll thank me later. Get season one and sit back, prepare to find yourself in the thrall of genuine yet disarmingly humble greatness.

Be warned though, don't expect episodic entertainment, these are 12 and 13 hour procedural movies that add up to a five-year whole, divided by necessity by HBO, a network with the balls to have greenlit this series five times, even despite its low ratings, simply on the basis of the fact it's going to enter the pantheon of all time greatest.

A little hyperbole there, but it's really above and beyond.

So many classic moments, each growing more rich with time, to say more about them or name the moments would spoil the experience of seeing them fresh, as I did and as I would heartily recommend -- avoid spoilers (not that the text on screen will do justice to this cast, this writing and production), you'll be rewarded by the story. It has moments that truly compete with the best in cinema whilst simultaneously cutting its own fierce path.

It's rare for me to enthuse about something to this degree (and in years of using the IMDb this is the only comment I've taken the time to make), but somewhere in its fusion of casually classic writing and disarmingly humble production -- they made my favourite thing.

The Wire is simply an astonishing achievement. I owned the first season on DVD for about a year before I realised it was astonishing -- it crept up on me, my brain had to catch up with it -- when I rewatched it and got the other seasons, I became (and remain) utterly hooked.

Do youself a favour, if you haven't already -- check out The Wire.

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190 out of 225 people found the following comment useful :-
Best show on TV, 18 October 2004

Author: inthepalemoonlight from Washington, DC

Hate to be rude but don't pay attention to the moronic post below. That was some of the most lame criticism I have ever come across on this site. I doubt the guy even watched the entire first season. This show is the best thing going on TV. Writing. Direction. Acting. Its all perfection. The people behind the show are former journalists and police officers who were covering crime in Baltimore or working the beat as cops for over 20 years. They know what they speak of and don't rely on cookie cutter characterization. This is the closest thing to a novel that you will find on TV. It is so impeccably plotted and so honest and realistic that I will never be able to watch another cop show (or any TV drama) without comparing it to this example of television greatness. Did I mention its also the smartest TV show on the air too? The Sopranos gets the media attention but it can't match the sophistication and grittiness of The Wire. The Sopranos is a romanticized TV crime drama by comparison. And as for Six Feet Under? Please! It reached its peak in its final six episodes of the first season and haven't lived up to that magic since. It doesn't get any better than The Wire. Universal critical acclaim. The winner of the 2002 TV Critics awards. The winner of the 2004 Peabody award. Nuff said.

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147 out of 161 people found the following comment useful :-
The best thing on TV today, 15 January 2005
Author: Chris Neill (chrisneill) from United States

Possibly the best thing written for television ever; certainly the best to come out in the last 25 or so years.

"The Wire" escapes the melodramatic pitfalls of shows like "the West Wing," "Six Feet Under" and even "The Sopranos" (which are all smartly written--or rather have had their moments of greatness).

Here is a show which over the course of 37 hours weaves together scores of very tautly detailed characters. It's not easy to watch--and its certainly challenging. But it is surely worth it.

The story unfolds in Baltimore and is a study on the effect of institutions on its members: police, politicians, criminals, addicts.

Some may find the show didactic. This is understandable because its creators make heavy usage of allegory (for instance, seasons three's not-so-subtle criticism of the situation in Iraq).

Didactic or not, the show forces its viewers to think about and hopefully start a larger discussion of the issues it touches upon: the failure of the drug war, the gradual extinction of the American worker and the dangers of a presumptive, preemptive war.

Hats off to creators David Simon and Ed Burns (a retired BPD detective) for creating one of the most interesting, daring shows in the history of television.

Let's hope HBO renews it for another 26 episodes.

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133 out of 136 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic, 20 September 2006

Author: jaoneal from United States

I don't subscribe to HBO. A couple of weeks ago I heard an interview with a young actor from this series on NPR. It was described as a "gritty crime drama" with many Baltimore locals portraying variations on themselves. The interview made it sound interesting enough that I decided to check out the first season on DVD.

After the first few episodes I became seriously hooked and devoted 36 hours of the next ten days to the show.

Having now watched the first 3 seasons, I believe it to be the best television series I have seen.

I do not understand why this show hasn't generated the buzz or the awards of HBO's other series, such as the Sopranos or Deadwood. It is more gripping, faster paced, and more intelligent. The other shows can be a bit plodding, with plot lines that go nowhere, and a few characters I don't much care about. That wasn't the case here.

The show is a cross between the Sopranos and the old NBC show Homicide: Life on the Street. The crime/sopranos side and the law/Homicide side run in parallel. Individually, the parallel plot lines are compelling. In tandem, they are complimentary and brilliant.

There is no way to avoid having "the best show ever" tag sound like anything but silly hype--regardless, what makes this show substantially better than any other realistic and compelling crime or police drama is the fact it is... searching. It doesn't just delve into the individual psychologies motivating these people (ala the Sopranos) or the complex interactions amongst the members of a community (ala Deadwood) it asks "what the hell can be done for all of these people" and points out the problems with any and all of the answers.

It's truly brilliant. If you like intelligent television, I envy the enjoyment you will have watching this for the first time.

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130 out of 141 people found the following comment useful :-
Ahead of its time, 25 October 2004

Author: George Parker from Orange County, CA USA

HBO's "The Wire", another ground breaking TV crime series from David Simon who grandfathered "Homicide: Life on the Street", raises the bar for crime dramas by dedicating a whole season (13 episodes) to a single story with unparalleled realism. Telling of a motley bunch of detectives who set about to bring down a Baltimore drug ring which supplies a black innercity housing project, the gritty 12 hour first year series slowly develops a broad range of characters from street punks to senators in a world where the blacks and whites of good and evil are reduced to shades of gray and everyone is connected by their humanity for better or for worse. Not the usual cops vs bad guys fare with episodic ups and downs, "The Wire" is one long drama about people which happens in a law enforcement and crime setting. For realists only, this series will require some viewer patience while the complexities of the plot and the characters are developed. One of a kind...so far. (A)

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106 out of 113 people found the following comment useful :-
Like a great novel, 3 May 2005
Author: sinistre1111 from Kasparhauser, NJ, USA

Season 3 of The Wire ended like a great novel, in a series of great novels, about crime, politics, "po-lice" and personalities in the City of Baltimore. The Wire truly has no equivalent on American TV, more akin to something like the British miniseries Traffik, or Robert Altman's Short Cuts, but really in a class by itself. The show also doesn't fetch the ratings of HBO's other blockbuster series, like The Sopranos or Deadwood, but so far the network has stood behind what is indisputably a creative / artistic success. Viewers accustomed to having a Tony Soprano or an Al Swearingen to latch onto may be daunted by The Wire's 2-dozen or so "main" characters, all given equal importance within multiple story lines. The concurrent tales all buoy one another, and as the season draws to a close, they begin to merge and compliment each other in unexpected ways. No detail is too small to not be done with great care, and no significant threads are left to hang, which also speaks to the brilliance of the writers.

The Wire is no less than a dramatic triumph, and I can't wait for a new season.

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90 out of 110 people found the following comment useful :-
best show ever, owns nypd blues, the shield and so on..., 6 June 2005

Author: critikal

the wire is definitely the best show ever made. most realistic stuff ever. i takes a couple of episodes to get into it because it's pretty slow compared to the average show but once you get into it, you just become addicted. unlike other police shows this one deals with ONE investigation during its 4 entire seasons while in other shows cases are closed in one episode. another good thing about THE WIRE is that we follow both cops and thugs without any superficial caricature we find on CSI and such,THE WIRE keeps it real all the way. incredibly well written, amazing photography and oustanding actors, this is the kind of show that should be covered with emmies...

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64 out of 76 people found the following comment useful :-
One Of HBO's Best, 19 August 2002
Author: Signet from Baltimore

If you have missed THE WIRE, you have missed one of 2002's best television productions. The acting is superb, the writing is fantastic, and the direction is elegant. This is the armored underbelly of Baltimore at its most grim, accurately depicted and wonderfully detailed. This isn't merely great television, this is great drama, with heroes and villains who are never all good and certainly not all bad. The performances are, without exception, marvelous and everybody involved with this magnificent series deserves to be honored when they start passing out the awards.

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58 out of 65 people found the following comment useful :-
Great story, superb acting, perfect casting, and top notch directing., 24 September 2002
Author: Al Hall from Hanford, CA

For someone that isn't into the inter city 'drug' scene that wants to understand how 'the system' works The Wire is a great series. Drug Dealer/city politics 101. The so called 'good guys' and the 'bad guys' all have an 'agenda' and everyone is part of the 'food chain' that starts with the kids selling drugs in the projects and ends at the highest level of city government. As the series progresses we move up the food chain, learn how each level works and how each depends on the level below. Drugs is the glue that keeps the system together and money is the fuel that powers the entire system.

The acting is top notch and blows away all competition in the genre. Here is hoping for season two as The Wire is right up there with The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, in interesting story line, exquisite acting, interesting characters, and creativeness.

Lastly, the actor who plays Omar, Michael K. Williams, is absolutely great! Why haven't we seen this actor before? Michael dominates every scene he is in.

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48 out of 58 people found the following comment useful :-
Great acting, great story, great directing, great SHOW! - Must see...., 7 September 2004
Author: Al Hall from Hanford, CA

You want to learn something about city politics, police corruption, drug dealing or how this tapestry of city corruption is woven together then watch The Wire. This is truly an excellent series, with superb acting, writing, directing, and truly outstanding characters.

With season three starting Sept 18th I can wait. First season was drugs in The Projects, second season was down on the Baltimore docks, with longshoreman, drugs, prostitution, unions, and every changing need for dock workers and space for condominiums and all the politics that go in-between.

This is a must see and makes HBO my #1 channel to watch. BTW, my favorite character is Omar (Michael K. Williams). Omar is kind of a modern day Robinhood. Steels from the drug dealers and gives to himself and his crew. This guy redefines cool. 10/10

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