Customer Reviews

The Wire - Seasons 1-4

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Not a single tired cliche, characterization short-cut or unbelievable plot point. Not a single action motivated by anything other than the character's personality. If Dickens were alive today he would have been one of the writers.

The older I get the more critical I become of film/TV. I almost don't like anything anymore. It's easy for me to explain why so many other shows are poorly made. I wish it was easy to explain what makes The Wire so good.

It is violent, and season 4, because it deals with children, is very depressing. Everyone I meet, I ask them , have you seen it? And I ask them, 'what else do you think is as good as The Wire?' Perhaps there are shows I've missed. So far, everyone has said, 'such and such is good...but not as good as The Wire.'

What makes the Wire special is that it is more than entertainment. It is, excuse the hyperbole, a vision of truth. It is us. Laugh at me. I would too. Then watch. Start with Season One, Episode One.

As far as I am concerned, this is the best tv series ever. Not only is it great drama, it has meaningful social commentary. THe writing, acting, directing is top notch. How can it not be with writers like Pelecanos, Price and Lehane? I wish someone would pay attention to this series as it could help heal a multitude of cities with urban blight. Every college student should see this and high school and college courses should be given based on this series. It nails urban ills. Every sociology, education, poli-sci student should see this series before getting their degree. I mean it. I hope Baltimore can rise again. Last time I was there in the late 80s, it was just like the Wire. I had to submit a review because it sure deserves more than one star.

I lived in Baltimore during most of the time depicted in this TV series, and it's dead-on accurate. It has always struck me as both odd and sad that some of America's most architecturally beautiful cities were also some of the most crime-ridden, and Baltimore is a shining example of this problem.
The series has some shining performances (despite a slightly weak lead in Dominic West) and, most of the time, is utterly engrossing.
Series one and three are my personal favorites, as series two is a departure from the main story line into a somewhat less intriguing (though no doubt accurate) depiction of the corruption and trouble along Baltimore's docks.
The series, in the end, is both utterly entertaining and a striking indictment of America's second failed attempt at Prohibition (this time drugs, rather than alcohol), and specifically it's severely adverse effect on the poorest segments of our population.

The Wire is, in my opinion, the best television series ever produced, and probably one of the most important.

As far as pricing is concerned, please be aware that these are hour long episodes and as such you are buying the equivalent of 5 two-hour movies in each season, which makes the street price of $40-60 really quite reasonable.
And no, I do not and have never worked for HBO, this series is really just that good.

with only one episode left of 'the wire', i thought it would be appropriate to say goodbye and to thank everyone who had a hand in creating arguably the best drama in the history of tv.
that would include the genius of david simon(homocide:life on the streets),tom fontana(oz)and guest writers such as george pelecanos and richard price(clockers).also, a group of actors unmatched in the annals
of television. you can not replace a series like 'the wire'; you can only hope that the creative minds of simon and fontana can come up with another series down the road.that 'the wire' was not peppered with emmys,
demonstrates how far mediocrity is ahead of real art in this country, and i'm not just talking about television.
after 'the wire' is no longer, i will have only a few shows left to watch:
'the shield', 'rescue me','brotherhood', 'dexter', big love', 'real time with bill mahar', 'curb your enthusiasm' and 'the office.'
as you may notice, except for 'the office', there is nothing else i watch on major network tv.the reason: that's where most of mediocrity lives!

What can be said that hasn't already been said? The series is a complete knock-out that works on all levels (as compelling drama, as comedy, as character study). Best of all, the series operates as a shocking expose on the fraudulence of the war on drugs, a social study of the vicious cycles of Baltimore's inner city life, and a treatise on the ineffectuality of supposedly progressive governmental institutions. Disturbing and genuinely moving.

when I was a kid (late '60's-early '70's), some students on the local college campus used to call me 'tv', because I could tell what was on every channel, every night of the week, in every time slot...suffice it to say, I watched way too much. This was before cable and the good stuff; 'Naked City', The Twilight Zone', etc., was few and far between, it always depressed me that the medium wasn't better used to enlighten the masses. All that wasted potential.

Fast forward to 2002...'The Wire', I didn't have HBO, I'd heard about The Sopranos, Sex and the City, OZ...good, but not really my cup. Fortunately, my wife's collegue loaned her season one...wow...I haven't been the same since. My faith in the possibilities has been restored. Let there be no doubt, this is the best television series...EVER. Many have said that on this page, it is not hype, while they changed a few names 'to protect the innocent', anyone, like myself, who has lived in the Washington-Baltimore region know who the players are. Truly, this is a sociological study for our times, Baltimore is simply the microcosm...America is in critical condition and the prognosis is not good. 'The Wire' is a biopsy we all need to pay close attention to and pray we have the will to acknowledge our collective state of disrepair and work towards recovery.

I ramble, I digress, yes indeed...doesn't change the fact that this piece is one for the ages...'we gotta keep the devil, way down in the hole'.

Seeing all the first four seasons of 'The Wire' together is both an exhilarating and depressing experience. Superbly plotted and written with characters as good as only American character actors allowed to settle into their roles can be, it nevertheless paints the most hopeless picture of urban decay, the drug culture in ever-younger children, the hopelessness of inadequate city and state funding and the powerlessness, and sometimes venality, of its politicians and city officials. It's mesmerising viewing, each episode augmenting and deepening the others, which is truly admirable given the multiplicity of writers and directors. Quite why the City of Baltimore ever allowed it to be filmed, let alone co-operated in the filming, one cannot imagine. It's as though Coca-Cola ran a national campaign that said "Don't ever, under any circumstances, drink Coke"

My wife and I have watched The Wire since its debut and have always enjoyed each individual season at differing levels, with Season 3 and 4 getting the highest marks. Now, having watched Season One and Two back to back, we can only sit in awe at the genius of these writers. Themes introduced in Season One against the backdrop of what could be narrowly defined as the drug trade are continually re-examined against the backdrops of all other aspects of society. Once we run all the way the through the discs and the heartbreak that is Season Four, I'm sure our current disappointment in Season Five will be changed to the point that we buy it, if only to complete the set.

These DVDs should be on your bookshelf as literature, not on the shelf with your movie collection.

It's hard to get into it but eventually you become addict to it. If you like politics of interconnection between the world of drugs, you'll definitly will like it. Also, very deep connections and social analytical perspective.

after watching the series i was waiting for the collection so i could buy it. i looked around and amazon was the best price out of all of them.. i have a new screen open now to buy the 5th season...lol
good buy