I finally gave 'The Wire' a shot after years of ignoring it

After my coworker in Denver kept pushing it for 6 months, I binged the first season in a weekend and now I get why everyone said it's the gold standard.

2 comments

2 Comments

emmag4011d ago

Actually I gotta correct something real quick - you said "binge the first season in a weekend" but The Wire's first season is 13 hour long episodes. Unless you had literally nothing else going on that weekend, there's no way. I mean I get it though, that show grabs you from episode one and doesn't let go. But yeah it's a pretty heavy time commitment even for a show that good. Also another thing - calling it the "gold standard" is right but its not just a crime show. Its actually a deep dive into how institutions fail people, the whole drug war thing, politics, the schools, the newspaper industry. Season 2 throws everyone off because it switches gears so hard to the docks but stick with it. That season gets way better on a rewatch when you realize how everything connects.

rowanc2910d ago

Heard an interview with David Simon once where he talked about how the show was meant to be more of a visual novel than a typical TV series, which explains why every season feels like its own book with a different focus. The whole docks thing in season 2 actually makes way more sense when you realize he was trying to show how globalization and the war on drugs wrecked the working class in Baltimore. Binging it does take commitment but its one of those shows that rewards you for paying close attention to every little detail.