This article reminded me to mention "The Corner", David Simon's miniseries he did before "The Wire". Any fan of The Wire that hasn't seen The Corner, should definitely check it out.

For me, personally, it had a slow start as well. I would highly recommend that you watch at least 4-5 episodes before dropping it. I also wouldn't just skip to another season.

I watched all four seasons in about two months and it is without a doubt one of my top 5 (probably #2 behind the shield) tv series ever.

David Simon has stated a few times that it won't be in HD, but in the 4x3 ratio that the rest of the series has been filmed in. As a way of retaining a cohesive visual narrative for the show.

I have to give him props for that. While I might want the show in Widescreen, keeping a show with a "cohesive visual narrative" really works for me. Along the same token I'm a supporter of Joss Whedon wanting Buffy to stay in full-frame, although his reasons kinda go out the window when they switched from 16mm to 32mm (personally I think the low-budget feel of the 16mm fit the show better anyway)...

I got nothing. You said it all. The best show ever in my mind.

I agree that the first episode of the series was slow. I stayed with it for whatever reason and discovered that it is the best series I have ever seen. Aside from being great television, it has forced me to reexamine my life, my work, and my own prejudices. It is just one of those shows that when someone asks about it, you can't really put into words the impact it has had. It is a complicated, thought provoking, challenging masterpiece that demands attention. And it is kinda impressive to say that you watched a show that had 90+ important, vital speaking roles. Whoa.

There are long story arcs in this show and there are so many characters to get to know. This results in the show taking a while to develop. Once it does it never lets down. It's tough to pick any particular episode in the first season where this happens. I'd say you should give the whole season first season a try to see whether you like it or not. I know that is a lot to invest, but I think this show is worth it.

One time, I was flipping channels and CSI came on, my friend said she liked it. I don't mean to sound mean, but I scoffed and asked if she'd seen the Wire, because watching CSI made me think of comparing a child's scribbles to Da Vinci. Maybe a stretch, but still. I was sorry to slam her favorite show, but that's how I felt, and I've only seen the first 2 seasons fully. Even though this show is awesome, there's still so many people who haven't heard of it.

As for the first episode, yeah it is slow, but as people said, it pays off. The only problems I had with it was the flashback at the end, which is inconsistent with the show in general (but then again David Simon said that HBO made him do that), and that Detective Barlow is randomly a semi-main character, is pretty interesting, but then is never seen again.

Yeah, not only for the show to not have been nominated, but to not have won every year it has been on air for best drama just shows that the academy is a gigantic joke.

I'll be sad to see the show go, but I'm grateful for the five seasons.

Sad.

The good thing is, several members of the cast have been getting work in other shows in primetime.

I only recently discovered this show and am blitzing through the seasons on DVD. It truly is phenomenal and I'm glad I still have Seasons 3 & 4 on DVD to go and a Season 5 to look forward to this winter. Bummer it's leaving though...

If you like the show now then season 3 is going to blow you out of the water.

I just got through season one myself. It wasn't an easy show to watch and it required more thinking than every other show I watch but it was worth it. Season one had such a real and gritty feel to it. However, as much as I loved season one I really don't feel like watching the rest of the seasons. Its an odd feeling. Maybe because season one was so perfect. I've read about the themes covered in the rest of the seasons and the only intriguing one to me is season four which focuses on education. So I may check that one out at some point.

If you liked Season 1, Season 3 is worth checking out. I agree though, Season 1 was just about perfect (I'm in the minority, but I still think S1 was the best season), although, like others, it took me until episode three or four before I really started loving it. It really was the best show on TV.

Season 4 is coming December 4th

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/the-wire7.html

One of the greatest written shows of all time. Despite "low" ratings and being ignored at the Emmy's, HBO was cool enough to let the show run it's 5 seasons. Let's hope The Wire ends with a bang...

BTW,
The article says that Season 5 starts on January 6th...

God, this is gonna hurt. We need a 'Wire' movie. A 12-hour 'Wire' movie. Followed by a dozen or so sequels.

+9999999999 oh wait I still have the Shield....CRAP that is ending too...The end of gritty cop dramas is at hand .......

I think your analogy is spot on. Not to drudge up the whole Shield vs. Wire debate again but I just finished S5 of The Shield on DVD and it just does not compare to the quality of The Wire.

For the record I saw the first 4 seasons of The Shield before I got into The Wire at all. But in my opinion there is no comparison. The Wire is clearly the superior show in every aspect.

I'm fine with them ending after 5 seasons because that's what Simon envisioned from the beginning. He's getting to tell the whole story and at least HBO isn't fucking it over like they've done some many of their other great series (namely Carnivale, Deadwood, & Rome).

"The final episode was an hour and a half, as opposed to the normal hour-long length, but the production schedule dictated that shooting be confined to 11 days. Simon, juggling another HBO miniseries, admitted that he's been consistently late with turning in scripts."

What other HBO miniseries is he working on?

I think i saw something on HBO the other day about an Iraq documentary series. Here it is.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995832/

Generation Kill

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Kill

I just got into 'The Shield' recently, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. But it's a little like watching a prizefight, whereas 'The Wire' is like watching a chessmatch. I think they're aiming for very different things, even if they're covering similar territory; 'Shield' offering the viewer the experience of living through one man on the street and 'Wire' offering an omniscient God's-eye-view of a whole city. I think they complement each other nicely (and having them both on my DVD shelf balances out the estrogen-heavy 'Gilmore Girls' and 'My So-Called Life' sets, so I don't have that to worry about.).

I like both shows but enjoy the characters on The Shield more. While The Shield gets away with a lot on the FX Network I could only image what it would be like if it was an HBO show ....

I love both shows, but I have a little more affection for the Wire as the cops on there ring true a lot more than the strike team.