Tommy Ceez

I think people grew so fond of the gangsta's from S1 that S2 annoyed them

Daryl

to be honest, I feel bad saying one is better than the other because I feel like I'm shitting on the other one. I'll give the slightest nod to The Wire simply because while I've run through The Shield on DVD 2-3 times, I can't tell you how many times I've been bored and watched 1 or 2 episodes of the Wire, only to end up rewatching that entire season all over again over the next week or so. In fact, I'm back in Season 2 again right now. Season 1 is my favorite, though.

Nefarious

The reason I found S2 the least enjoyable was because of Ziggy. I didn't think the guy acted well and I found the whole story-line annoying and distracting from the main plot and other sub-plots in the season. It seemed a little over-the-top which is something I think the series as a whole has avoided so well. You remove his story-line and/or character and I'd rate S2 an A- easy.

The main theme of Season 2 is excellent especially within the context of when it is occurring.

BDB

The Wire, not a question, someone above posted that they can't sit and watch 2 or 3 eps in a row of the wire?

I watched all of Season 2 in a weekend, and the same for Season 3.
A friend of mine watched Season 1 and 2 non-stop.

It's that good, in fact I don't think there is a better show on television, I love it so so much.. absolute perfection.

I would dare anyone to watch it and dislike it.

I bailed on the shield after season 2, as the plots are like 24, far too unrealistic, The Wire is real, its life, David Simon and his crew of writers all live in Baltimore, and have worked with the police force and/or in the community. And whatever you say about the actors in The Shield, the actors in the Wire, especially the kids are sensational.

I could live without mcnutty though.

Nefarious

Actually what he said is that he can't watch 2 or 3 because he ends up getting pulled back in and watching the entire season again. He was endorsing it.

BDB

Okay I've come back and re-read this, and it makes even less sense now..

anyone?

'

Nefarious

Anyone looking to dive into The Wire, Best Buy is advertising S1 for $24.99 (regularly $54.99).

Jeremy517

Costco here is $21.99 I think.

But yeah, get it somewhere.

Ravyn

Ive been watching The Shield for the past two season and I am still catching up. I would have to agree with everyone siding with The Shield.. Im hooked for the long run.

harrydoyle

The Wire is lobster thermador while The Shield is prime rib

DeanoBKN

The Shield is more fun to watch and easier to digest...but The Wire is hands down the better written and produced show.

DeputyDave

OK, I just finished watching all 4 seasons of the Wire over the last two weeks. I will change my opinion of the Wire; its a great show. I really enjoyed it and thought all seasons were good (I actually liked them in order: 1 was the best and 4 was the weakest IMHO).

Though I agree with the post above me concerning the two show's quality... I still ahve to say I enjoy the Shield more.

sirleonard

Well hello from the UK.

In my view The Shield is by far the best of the 2. You can hear and see me talk about it on Clipser.com 1308514

Basically -though there are some slightly over the top gory bits in The Shield, The Wire fails for me because every other word begins with F and they are spoken by all characters including the women.
The Shield does not have a single F word ! This must be a welcome record!

All the best from Leonard. In September i start a full time Honours Degree in Film Studies at Bradford University in the UK. At 68 that should be a lot of fun and hard work.

dino88

This has to do with FCC guidelines, not the writer's choice. If it aired on HBO, like The Wire, I guarantee you would of heard Mackie dropping the F bomb until your ears bled. So you can thank censorship, not the creators.

The Wire is by far the superior show. The acting is not even comparable.

fiver

I tried watching the first few episodes of The Shield a year or two ago and had absolutely no desire to continue. The characters were completely distasteful and just uninteresting to me whereas The Wire was filled with humor and dialogue that felt a lot more real to me.

I admit The Wire takes more concentration to appreciate - I had to watch the first season a couple times to understand all the nuances of what was going on. I especially like how each season focuses on a different element of the drug trade that comes together to form a near perfect whole.

I say near perfect because I thought season 5 faltered a bit, but I still need to rewatch that one again.

Michael

Sessa17

I don't even think the two shows can be compared. The Shield isn't even in the same league as The Wire in terms of quality or intelligence. I've tried twice getting into the Shield, never making it past the 2nd season, it is by no means a bad show, in fact it is indeed quite good, but there is nothing captivating apart the cast, even featuring some rather weak performances. There is just no complexity or depth, there is one premise, & that is the theme of the show. The Wire is just layer upon layer upon layer of stories & themes, that both grow & change from season to season. The characters evolve in the same manner, from a main villain to a 3rd-tier supporting player, they are multi-dimensional. The cast of the Shield, is just a paint-by-the-number cop show cast. I haven't read this thread, but my guess is the Shield will get more votes for this very reason, it's easy to digest & feels familiar, obviously more amped up, but it's all straight-foward & eventually redundant. While the Wire constantly breaks every single rule & cliche a cop show has ever done, it's what sets it apart but also turns so many people off.

Cusm

Actually this has to do with the networks fear of advertisers. FX is a cable program and unless something has changed they are not under the same scrutiny as the network shows. This is why Comedy Central will show Southpark the movie unedited at midnight - they get in no trouble from the FCC and it is late enough parents can't whine about the language.

bootsy

I totally disagree with this. I am a huge fan of both shows and I give the edge slightly to the Wire but to say the shield has no depth and complexity is ridiculous. You may want to try watching past the 2nd season that might help. I don't know how you can judge a show after two seasons of a seven season show.

DthRdrX

The Wire had many detective plot lines that were so predictable you could see them coming a mile away. I could give a dozen examples. Shit, everyone was calling where they were going with the ending halfway through the fifth season!

Good luck predicting what was going to happen on The Shield as nothing usually happened the way you expected it to. The Shield is also has many layers to it, and anyone who thinks differently should spend some time on theshieldrap.com exploring the subthemes of the show.

As for performances, The Shield cast was on par with The Wire.

Deftones

There are so many things wrong with this post, I'm not going to even bother refuting them because it's a waste of time. I absolutely love The Shield, but in terms of realism and quality of performances, it can't hold a candle to The Wire.

DthRdrX

You can't refute the post because it's the truth, so please don't waste anyone's time ....

DthRdrX

No more bias than the nonsense you posted.

Sessa17

That's just bias & absolutely crazy. Even beyond crazy when you take into account the British actors doing Baltimore accents. And the predictable plot lines? That isn't even worth replying to, again that is just extreme bias to the point of not making any sense.

DthRdrX

I watched The Wire three times, and the last time was with a close friend of mine who had not seen it before. During seasons four and five I can mention numerous times he blurted out what he thought was going to happen. He noticed the same advances in the plot I noticed the first time I had watched it.

The Wire sets things in motion and then it's just matter of time before everything connects together. Outside of one character's death, and you know who that is, you could pretty much see where things were going to end up with the show.

Sessa17

The Wire isn't about the linear story of where a character ends up. If you are looking at it that way, you are missing the point of the series or just not understanding it. Anyone can say from the very beginngin, "oh it's so obvious that such & such character is going to die". That is not the point. The storytelling & journey is what is completely unpredictable & literally there has never been anything like it ever on television.

The Shield is a show about where characters end up. It is linear, it is straightfoward, & it doesn't demand much from it's audience. These are not criticisms, they are just facts about the nature of the two series & IMO why The Shield is just not even in the same ballpark as The Wire. The Wire is a show that makes no concessions whatsoever to normal narrative expectations. The Shield, is like an action movie in comparison, it's about the end results, it's about shocking things happening to characters. It's hard hitting, but nothing original or innovative. The Wire is a show where two insignificant supporting characters, sitting down, having a 5-6 minute dialogue where nothing actually happens, but is actually brilliant insight into larger meanings of society. The show is about those little moments, but it's these same little moments that turn people off, & bore many. It's a show that takes the main characters of the series, & in just the second season, completely puts him on the backburner, introduces a HUGE cast, & then completely puts them on the backburner. The scope is so ridiculously larger than the Shield, despite the series essentially just being about Baltimore, which is THE main character. Not the detectives, whish is why I say, you miss the point of the series, if you are just watching going "duhhhh, it's so obvious what is going to happen to that guy".

It's a constantly changing series shifting moral and epistemological stances, The Shield is an unwavering corrupt cop melodrama. By no means, a bad show, again, just not even in the same league as The Wire.