TY for mentioning this month when i still could have rewatched season one.

I honestly consider '24' to be the worst show ever on tv...artistically and morally bankrupt.

Not that that's a big deal, but I definitely consider it the exact opposite type of show as 'The Wire.'

I think it's fine if people don't like the Wire. I don't expect it to be everybody's cup of tea. It is slow. I just wish you'd say "not my cup of tea" and not "this is bad because I don't like it".

I don't even know what people mean when they say The Wire is slow. I guess people aren't getting shot every episode, but there's always a lot of stuff happening.

gump,

I think this just gets into different interpretations of "stuff happening".

I strenuously disagree. It is not OK that people don't like The Wire. The Wire's lack of universal appeal speaks very poorly of the American public in a weird sort of meta way.

People who don't like The Wire should be disenfranchised.
"Oh, nothing has blown up in 30 minutes! I'm bored. Why doesn't McNulty just torture a confession out of someone? Jack Bauer would've won the drug war in Episode 3 and we'd be onto the real problems with America, hackers shutting down our webs and stealing the internet."


I kid(a little), without getting too politics, there is something to be learned from the relative popularity, political stance, and depth/reality of 24 and The Wire.

Spoiler: Most Americans are goddamn morons who should have their children taken away.

Edit: To be clear, I don't hate 24. I enjoyed the 2 and a half seasons I watched, it just requires so much time and so much suspension of disbelief I eventually gave up. It's brain candy.

It's akin to not liking Shakespeare. You can not enjoy it, but you absolutely MUST acknowledge its quality.

Do you honestly feel this way? I'm 2 seasons through the Wire and its [censored] incredible, but season one of 24 is probably the greatest season of tv I've ever seen.

I liked the first 4seasons of 24, it wasn't great TV but it was very entertaining

That you can say things like this in a world that includes Veronica's Closet, Men Behaving Badly, and Full House is funny.

It ain't great teevee, but it's far from the worst, though it seems to get worse by the season...

Anyone that comes in here with a 24>The Wire attitude should be shot on sight.

QFMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMFT

Unlike those other shows you mentioned, which no one would ever take seriously, '24' masquerades as quality, but since it is pure poop, it winds up making people dumber and less connected to the issues it pretends to represent.

I watched the first 2 seasons on demand.

I have to say re-watching season 2 it is 10 times better the second (or maybe the 3rd or 4th...lol I forget which) go around.

Anyone else have problems with this on demand bull-[censored]. Those SOB's skipped episode 23 (where ziggy goes nuts, Brother Muzzones intro to Cheese etc.)so I have to watch the season with skipped episodes, which is quite [censored] annoying. Now they say they are going to air season 3 in November and here it is November 6th and not one [censored] episode of season 3 is on.......... I hate on demand sometimes.

I to question why shows like The Wire and Deadwood continually get the shank during the Emmy's. There are more great characters, acting performances and writing in those two shows than in all the other network shows combined. Omar and Swearengen alone should have controlled the Emmy's for the last 5 years. Oh well if the awards shows do not have good taste f-them.

i made this thread a few monthes ago in the lounge, i am a huge wire dork as well i watch it all the time

MY FAVORITE EPISODES OF THE WIRE (SPOILERS)

wow. please give your eyes to a blind man so he can use them properly.

one of the top 3 shows of the last 25 years.

fly,
i think a decent amount of people that don't *like* the wire have a tough time dealing with how downright depressing and fatalistic it can be. it is not the easiest show to watch after a hard day of work. a lot of americans just want to relax and the wire is not the tv show to let them. all the problems of *real* life, the problems right down the street, scare the crap out of people.

that being said, if i meet someone who actually thinks the wire is bad, i immediately know to completely ignore their taste and opinion on anything. i figure i probably wont like them either.

QFT..........lol I think the same thing, then again horrible taste is their problem.

That is a good analysis thatpfunk. The Wire can be very depressing. You can't stop watching it, but afterwards it makes you feel nauseous. It is a work of art, imho. I'm taking a break now and waiting for Season 4 to come out on DVD. I'm curious to find out what happens to Brodie. In Season 1, they played him ice cold and I expected him to eventually move up and fill a more powerful and ruthless role in the Barksdale organization, which definitely seemed the case after he killed Wallace, but then in Seasons 2 and 3 the writers decided to tone down his character and showed how these guys can have a relationship with the police. Don't spoil it for me, but since he killed Wallace I am going 3:1 that things end badly for him.

So what other series do you guys like? I have only seen bits and pieces of The Sopranos, which seemed uninspiring/cheesy and trying to parody Good Fellas? I guess I need to give it another try since everyone loves it.

I watched most the first season of Big Love. The premise of the show was interesting but the writers really couldn't keep it even mildly entertaining. I guess they wanted to keep it realistic, because it felt like I was watching a bunch of Mormons.

Entourage is great mindless fun. Eagerly awaiting the next season.

Six Feet Under, I see is directed by Alan Ball. I will go and check that out. Nip Tuck, how is that? OZ? How often are guys getting raped? That seems like another potentially depressing series.

To all fans of The Wire, I recommend Showtime's Brotherhood. While it's not as good as The Wire, it's about the closest thing to it at the moment. Very good writing, and alot of action. It's definitely tiding me over til January.

Another really well written and fun show is Showtime's Californication. I didn't think I was going to like it that much, and I'm truly loving it.

I like this show too, is the season now over though?

I am going to have to say Deadwood. It is the only other series IMO with comparable writing and acting. It has a huge ensemble cast. If you can get past the cursing, which many people can not, the writing/dialogue and acting are on par with The Wire.

Season 3> Season 1> Season 2

Al Swearengen is among the top 2-3 Anti-Hero's ever created.

Others have mentioned:

Dexter
Californcation- Best new series I have seen this year
Firefly- Best series cancelled prematurely
The Shield- Action oriented Police drama. Nowhere near the realism of The Wire but never a dull moment.

Yep, sadly they just showed the last episode last week.

I also agree with Miami, so much so that I thought Deadwood was a given. Excellent show, and a sad decision to cancel it. Hopefully the two movies that they promised will sometime be made, but it seems highly unlikely.

kkf,
definitely deadwood. it starts a little strange because it is so different than how we are used to hearing cowboys talk and act, etc. but it hits its stride and is awesome.

"s IMO with comparable writing and acting. It has a huge ensemble cast. If you can get past the cursing, which many people can not, the writing/dialogue and acting are on par with The Wire.

Season 3> Season 1> Season 2

Al Swearengen is among the top 2-3 Anti-Hero's ever created."

qft. he should have 3 emmys.

and i think kkf will dislike californication since it is just a bukowski rip off but done as piss poor as possible.

Swearengen was a great villian, he's a mediocre anti-hero. Season 1 of Deadwood is fantastic, but it's like
1>>>3>2. They don't do nearly as good of a job as The Wire managing their ensemble, it's pretty much 3 interesting characters and then Jane or the [censored] General or E.B. being terrible and unentertaining for 10 minutes at a time.