HBO's ''The Wire''
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:47 pm
Dear MormonDiscussions.com participants:
I need to make a recommendation to you all. Everyone likes a good T.V. miniseries, so pretty much all of you should enjoy this.
When it comes to police dramas, the single best one ever created is, by far, HBO's The Wire. Quite simply, nothing else ever made comes even remotely close to it.
Not only is it universally recognized as the best police drama ever, but many people hail it as the greatest single T.V. series in existence, genre notwithstanding.
I wholeheartedly concur with the above. The reason The Wire is truly unique is because equal time is given to "the bad guys" as it is to "the good guys." In fact, a case can be made that in this series, there are no real "good guys" or "bad guys" at all; there are only individual people with widely varying circumstances trying to eke out an existence in their particular segment of society--be it those in the law, on the streets, at the ports, in city hall, in the schools, or at the newspapers--some honorably, some dishonorably.
Another cool thing is that this series doesn't "go easy" on the viewer. Each group--the cops, the drug dearlers, etc.--uses all the same lingo, jargon, etc. that they use in real life. If you aren't a member of that part of society, you'll just have to try your best to keep up. This adds an unmistakable level of authenticity to the viewing experience.
Not only this, but since equal screen time is given to everybody, then nearly every character is simultaneously a main character. As such, even the main characters die from time to time, just like on the streets of any major American city. Just because one person seems like a keystone of the story arc, don't be surprised to see him/her killed off. So, just like in real life, you never know what's going to happen.
Although The Wire is primarily a police drama, it examines the entire cross-section of a major American city--Baltimore, in this case--from the inner workings, backstabbings, and double-dealings of City Hall all the way down to the lowest heroin junkie trying to make a living on the streets, and, quite literally, everyone in between.
Now, I recommend that you don't look up this show on Google or Wikipedia. You'll be taken to sites that will spoil the plot. Even the official website contains spoilers, so avoid it, too. Also, make absolutely certain to start with Episode 1 of Season 1 and progress in season and episode order; it won't work if you start halfway through.
Last but not least, despite all the above, the series is just plain good. It's a very high-quality, extremely engrossing series.
So, I highly recommend that everyone go out and rent The Wire. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.
.
I need to make a recommendation to you all. Everyone likes a good T.V. miniseries, so pretty much all of you should enjoy this.
When it comes to police dramas, the single best one ever created is, by far, HBO's The Wire. Quite simply, nothing else ever made comes even remotely close to it.
Not only is it universally recognized as the best police drama ever, but many people hail it as the greatest single T.V. series in existence, genre notwithstanding.
I wholeheartedly concur with the above. The reason The Wire is truly unique is because equal time is given to "the bad guys" as it is to "the good guys." In fact, a case can be made that in this series, there are no real "good guys" or "bad guys" at all; there are only individual people with widely varying circumstances trying to eke out an existence in their particular segment of society--be it those in the law, on the streets, at the ports, in city hall, in the schools, or at the newspapers--some honorably, some dishonorably.
Another cool thing is that this series doesn't "go easy" on the viewer. Each group--the cops, the drug dearlers, etc.--uses all the same lingo, jargon, etc. that they use in real life. If you aren't a member of that part of society, you'll just have to try your best to keep up. This adds an unmistakable level of authenticity to the viewing experience.
Not only this, but since equal screen time is given to everybody, then nearly every character is simultaneously a main character. As such, even the main characters die from time to time, just like on the streets of any major American city. Just because one person seems like a keystone of the story arc, don't be surprised to see him/her killed off. So, just like in real life, you never know what's going to happen.
Although The Wire is primarily a police drama, it examines the entire cross-section of a major American city--Baltimore, in this case--from the inner workings, backstabbings, and double-dealings of City Hall all the way down to the lowest heroin junkie trying to make a living on the streets, and, quite literally, everyone in between.
Now, I recommend that you don't look up this show on Google or Wikipedia. You'll be taken to sites that will spoil the plot. Even the official website contains spoilers, so avoid it, too. Also, make absolutely certain to start with Episode 1 of Season 1 and progress in season and episode order; it won't work if you start halfway through.
Last but not least, despite all the above, the series is just plain good. It's a very high-quality, extremely engrossing series.
So, I highly recommend that everyone go out and rent The Wire. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.
.