Perhaps, it is you who needs to 'put down the crackpipe'. I don't think anyone here is disputing that the shield covered 'complex' moral issues (as opposed to those 'simple' moral issues )... you just made the outlandish statement that the Shield is FAR SUPERIOR to The Wire. That is merely an opinion, and from the volume of posts so far, seems to be a minority one.

From my perspective, what sets The Wire apart is that it not only deals with 'moral' issues, but also provides commentary about various aspect of society as well, without coming off as 'preachy' (with the possible exception of Hamsterdam). I think it would be hard to dispute that The Shield even comes close in this regard.

You seem to be taking people thinking The Wire is a superior show, to them thinking that The Shield was a poor one. For the most part I think that's not the case - The Shield was good for what it was and was a cut above over almost every other show on TV during it's time.

10 years from now The Shield will be remembered as a very good and entertaining TV show that blurred the lines between good guys and bad guys. The Wire will STILL be remembered as one of the greatest pieces of television.

Having seen every episode of both series I can say that both shows are excellent. I'd give the nod to The Wire for being the best written show, well nuanced, and acted.

But The Shield is also way up there. In terms of acting, pacing, and plotting. Both of these put most other cop shows to absolute shame, although I haven't seen Homicide yet. EVERY single action that takes place in The Shield has repercussions, sometimes multiple seasons later, as significant plot points. This is something that goes unappreciated amongst people who have only seen a few episodes, or jumped ship after a season or two. Yes, The Wire is very much like this as well, but I was very impressed by The Shield's plotting.

For what it's worth, here are my favorite shows "ever": The Wire, The Shield, Deadwood, Oz.

This.

The Wire and The Shield are the two most consistent shows I've ever seen in terms of character development and story progression. Both shows had significant character role changes over the years, and all of it made sense. Nothing felt forced or out of place.

For me, The Wire always felt smarter and The Shield felt dirtier, but both were brilliantly played out.

I prefer Cop Rock

Why don't you sing about it?

Just noticed that crackle has season 1 online.

http://www.crackle.com/c/the-shield

Two great ones from 2002-2008 that were some of most captivating
drama ever. Which of these two crime series gets the edge over the other?

You SO knew what you were starting

The WIRE will win on here (I think we've done this before), I go with The Shield.

The two greatest shows of all time. The Wire wins though. No other show can compare.

The Wire may have been the "better" show, but I enjoyed the Shield more.

The Wire was more realistic, but The Shield was more entertaining, so my vote went to The Shield.

I recently went through the wire. haven't watched the shield since it first aired
I voted shield

I've seen all of both series, and caught the final seasons for both as they aired. I go with The Shield. Fucking love that show. It gets better and better as it goes on. Years later I'm still watching it, falling asleep listening to commentary tracks.

The Wire is great, but I have yet to really revisit it (though there are eps I've seen numerous times, but not in years), which I should do maybe this year or next.

The shield has the best final season of the two. I mean, it was on Breaking Bad levels of intense.

Both these shows are in my top 3 along with Breaking Bad. So I love both and have watched them multiple times.

I voted for the Wire but admit they are different shows. Yes, they're both about cops and drugs but The Wire is character driven and The Shield is story driven. So it's hard to compare the two. IMO, The Shield is more closely related to Breaking Bad than The Wire.

Either way, I picked the Wire because, in the end, the show created some of the deepest and most memorable characters ever.

The Shield was amazing itself. From start to finish it told a perfectly tight story and things that happened in the first episode weren't resolved until the last. It was perfect storytelling.

I picked the Shield. Love both shows but I prefer the suspense and fast pace of the Shield.

Love them both amazing Clark Johnson directed the first and last of both shows.

This poll begs the question ... when/if we going to get another police show on the same level of quality as these two.

The Shield is in my Top 5 shows of all-time, but The Wire is far and away #1.

Still, I wish for another cop show to be in the same league as either of those.

They are almost the same. I gave it to the wire because they knew how to balance a large cast. The Shield is great but they focused on mainly one character for most of the show before branching out towards the end.

The last season of The Shield is one of the most epic seasons in television history. Everything that had been building for Vic's crew over seven seasons came home to roost. I consider those final episodes a staggering accomplishment, you just don't see television at that level.

The Wire is the greatest show ever made. The Shield is my favorite.
And I disagree that they are almost the same. I think they are nothing alike.

But no need to fight. Everyone should watch and enjoy both

I went with The Wire because even though both shows are phenomenal, The Wire had characters I actually sympathized with. Everyone on the Shield was just horrible while there were a few characters on the Wire who you could root for.