DaveyJoe

One of the cast members(I wanna say Omar) stumbled upon her in a Baltimore bar.

bootsy

Yep that is correct. Heard him discuss it on an interview a few years ago.

DWilson

Fans of 'The Wire" should check out the book "All The Pieces Matter, -The inside Story of The Wire" by Jonathan Abrams. It's an excellent "Oral History" of the show that talks to nearly everyone involved and pretty much goes point-by-point, season-by-season through the show and it's production. It's an excellent read.

Timber

There was an article about this book in the Baltimore Sun a month or so ago and I meant to pick it up but never did.

Original Desmond

I'm 3/4 the way through season 1. I'm enjoying it, but not really loving it, not like when i first watched the Shield


I can see why the Wire is so highly rated, awesome actors etc

It's a little bit too all focused on one storyline and one baddie for my liking. The multi focus on all of the players is cool at times, but do i really need to see a middle level drug dealer take his girl to the other side of town for a fancy dinner

It would be like us seeing Dutch's awkward dates in detail on the Shield

I will watch this first season out and see how i feel before watching any more

Goat3001

Despite obvious similarities, I always thought The Wire and The Shield were very different shows.

The Shield revolved around the Strike Team (mostly Vic and Shane). It was about them fighting battles on two fronts - the good cops trying to take down a corrupt group and the bad drug dealers committing crimes.

The Wire is about all the characters rather than the story. Everyone is going through something different and the show tries to give all their points of view and a satisfying arc to their story.

For that reason, it's a lot tougher to get into the Wire. I was hooked to the Shield from the very first episode. There is nothing in the Wire that grabs you and my first experience to the show was a lot like yours. The last few episodes of season one really got me into it but it took me awhile to get through season one overall. Season two took even longer. Then once I got through that, I breezed through the last 3 seasons. Then I rewatched the entire series just a few months later.

Why So Blu?

Wait until you start the second season. The first part it feels like a completely different show but you have to stay the course, though.

bunkaroo

I'm rewatching the show with my girlfriend who has never seen it. As expected the first few episodes into S1, she wasn't really sure why I held the show in such high regard. Well, about a month later we're now on S4 and she can't get enough. Another convert.

Timber

Yes you do...

It's a theme they hit a few times in the show. No matter how important these people are in their profession they really are just uneducated (in a traditional sense), unsophisticated peons.

BDB

Wife and I watched it last year, that's my 4th time watching it, and it gets better and better.
If you haven't watched it a 2nd time I would highly recommend it.

She now raves about it.

Original Desmond

Season 1, episode 10, shit just picked up, excited about about the run home

Dr. DVD

Never can make it past the episode where they're investigating the murder scene saying "fuck" as their entire conversation. I would love to keep going, but whenever it occurs to me I need to watch, I've forgotten the episodes I watched and don't feel like starting again. Any place offer spoiler free episode by episode synopses?

Michael T Hudson

Greatest show of all time.

whotony

If you don’t like to hear that word you’re watching the wrong show.

Turn down the volume and put the subtitles on?

Hazel Motes

I feel bad for people who ditch The Wire after the first season. Season 1 is great and all, but season 4 is the greatest season of any TV show I've ever seen.

Also, if being too focused on one storyline bothers you, thats all the more reason you should keep watching because this show goes all over Baltimore and tells a bunch of very different stories season by season.

The Wire ranks top 3 all-time when it comes to tv dramas for me. It was number 1 for awhile. Now it shares number 1 with Friday Night Lights.

Original Desmond

Ok with NO SPOILERS, how would most people rate the seasons of the Wire from best to worst ?

Jeremy517

4,3,1,2,5 for me.

Hazel Motes

4,2,1,3,5

The only season that dipped slightly in quality for me is Season 5. The Detective McNulty storyline didn't work for me. It felt like it belonged on a different show. But the other storylines made up for it, especially how they wrapped Bubbles. Actually besides the conclusion of the McNulty storyline I thought the ending was fantastic.

Goat3001

Same here but to me it's pretty close between seasons 2 and 5. Season 2 seemed to drag at times. Season 5 had a lot of potential but it didn't work out but I thought they did such a good job with the finale that it kind of made up for some of it.

Season 4 is the best by a country mile and that's not meant to put down the other seasons which were great as well.

Noonan

I agree with the others but I'd put season 1 after 4 at the beginning.

I'm also one who had to re-watch the first 2-3 episodes a few times before sticking with it.

mwbmis

I remember reading Sepinwall suggest that new Wire viewers set aside enough time to watch the first four episodes or so as a concentrated burst to get the rhythm of the show before falling into a more reasonable watch schedule.

Original Desmond

I was hoping 1 was the worst and they just got better and better

Is it feasible to jump from season 1 to season 4 skipping 2 and 3 ?

Noonan

Not really. Nor should you, IMO. Both were excellent seasons of TV; just not as good as seasons 1 or 4.

Goonies85

I still feel that Season Three is the best. Love the whole Barksdale saga and everything that goes on with Stringer Bell...Season Two was kind of a diversion but I enjoyed it over time...Season Three is when they brought it back to what was going on in Season One and I really appreciated it...Season Four was still great...Season Five, while disappointing overall, was still well worth watching because if that's the worst season of a series, then you're still pretty lucky to have seen it...It just didn't live up to what came before it...

BDB

Season 2 comes into its own when you rewatch the show again.

I'd rank it 4, 2, 1, 3, 5

Also a very satisfactory ending to the series.