The Wire -- How long until I'm hooked?

[stargazr]

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!

 

[Kneedragger]

Some where into the first it will start to get good but the second season is fucking crap. I suggest avoiding the second season. The rest of the show is great.

 

[momeNt]

2nd season might be the worst, but that is because it is competing with 4 really great seasons.

McNulty aggravated me so much too. Such a self centered fuckhead.

"What the fuck did i do?"

 

[Kev]

I got through two episodes before I gave up. It's not that I'm impatient, I liked breaking bad which was slow moving. After two episodes there was not one character or storyline I gave a crap about. Nothing to reel me in.

You're missing out then.

It takes about 3 or 4 episodes before you can really understand what is going on, and then you're in for the long run.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

Also, it is a great series to watch again after a year or so of seeing it the last time. I have seen it all the way through 4 or 5 times and each time I catch new things. A lot of action takes place off camera and is referenced casually in places.

IMHO, the best crime series ever. (currently binge watching breaking bad and that is almost as good as the wire but not quite).

 

[cyclohexane]

2nd season might be the worst, but that is because it is competing with 4 really great seasons.

McNulty aggravated me so much too. Such a self centered fuckhead.

"What the fuck did i do?"

I liked the second season a lot. Had a lot of tits and ass. Also showed that white people can be criminals too.

 

[surfsatwerk]

I liked the second season a lot. Had a lot of tits and ass. Also showed that white people can be criminals too.

Ziggy cracked me up.

 

[purbeast0]

the wire is great. definitely better to binge watch it because it's kind of slow in parts. but it's a great show. i personally don't think it's as great as the hype it gets though. i like the shield better. but most people i know who have seen both the shield and the wire usually like the one that they saw first better, which was the shield for me.

 

[squarecut1]

I hate TV, I don't own one and can't stand 99.9% of the programming on it. But I re-watch The Wire every year and will continue to do so until I die.

I feel the same way about current tv and movies. Had watched a bit of first episode of The Wire a while back. Looks like I should give it another try

 

[momeNt]

I liked the second season a lot. Had a lot of tits and ass. Also showed that white people can be criminals too.

I appreciated the second season more as the show went on. Being introduced to "The Greek" and Spiros, and seeing them progress through the rest of the show was great.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I have owned The Wire on DVD for years but can never make myself watch it. I got through a few episodes and it never really caught fire for me. I know I should try again but it has a . . . flatness to it that really doesn't get me excited.

 

[twinrider1]

I just need something to get me through until Hannibal S3 starts.

 

[Clinkster]

First few episodes are boring, even the actors said they nearly fell asleep.

Takes about 3-4 episodes for things to really get going. And the further you go along, the more you see how special this show is.

 

[zinfamous]

Only one episode, you're already loving it, and you want to know how long it takes to get hooked? Did you mistype something?

That's odd, though, I think for most fans it probably takes 2-4 episodes of that first season to get into it.

 

[zinfamous]

Comparing Dexter to The Wire? That's like comparing an Etch-A-Sketch to a fully loaded i7 computer. Even season 2 of The Wire, which a lot of people seem to agree is the worse season is still better than the best season of Dexter. I hate TV, I don't own one and can't stand 99.9% of the programming on it. But I re-watch The Wire every year and will continue to do so until I die.

Mark this down, gentlemen, as the only comment from QueBert in which we are in complete agreement.

 

[zinfamous]

What's up with all the hating on Dexter?

It starts out slowly, stick with it but it's not everyone's cup of tea. The best TV show, ever.

Dexter is great for 4 seasons--maybe 5? Which one was Lithgow? that was the last good one.

It takes a long nosedive off a very steep cliff after that.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Dexter is great for 4 seasons--maybe 5? Which one was Lithgow? that was the last good one.

It takes a long nosedive off a very steep cliff after that.

The Lithgow season was 4, and yes, it was the end of quality on that show. Unfortunately they made 4 more seasons . . .

 

[squarecut1]

Cranston wanted one more season of Breaking Bad but the creator of the show said no.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Episode 1 was TERRIBLE. By the 3rd-4th you'll be hooked, although seasons 2-4 are the best IMHO. Very very very good show, and I almost didn't go past episode one because it was so bad.

I kept getting confused with all of the characters by the 3-4th episode and lost interest there. I might try again now that Prime has all of HBO on.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Cranston wanted one more season of Breaking Bad but the creator of the show said no.

I have never heard this, but in any case I don't think it would have been up to either of them. AMC actually wanted a single final season of 6-8 episodes (rather than what ended up being 16, spread across two parts). For a while Gilligan was shopping the show to other networks for the final season to get more episodes, but ultimately AMC agreed to a two-part, 16-episode season.

 

[squarecut1]

I have never heard this, but in any case I don't think it would have been up to either of them. AMC actually wanted a single final season of 6-8 episodes (rather than what ended up being 16, spread across two parts). For a while Gilligan was shopping the show to other networks for the final season to get more episodes, but ultimately AMC agreed to a two-part, 16-episode season.

I did not know of the above. But Cranston said in an interview that he said to Gilligan that he thought the show could have another season but Gilligan thought that the story had reached its end and no point in dragging it out.

 

[squarecut1]

Breaking Bad has been such a double edged sword for me. Can't really seem to like any other show even remotely close to that level...Sherlock apart maybe. That's it.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Breaking Bad has been such a double edged sword for me. Can't really seem to like any other show even remotely close to that level...Sherlock apart maybe. That's it.

Yeah, to me Breaking Bad is by far the most complete and rewarding of all of these shows. The acting, the characterization, the weight of the drama, the use of humor, the cinematography and the entire arc that the show is structured around really set it apart for me. It's so compulsively entertaining, and so rewards a detailed knowledge of the show (because the plot points are so tightly interwoven) that I find BB very rewatchable as well. I have many friends and family members who believe The Wire is the apex of this brand of television, but I find it hard to believe that I would ultimately like it as well as BB (which is not to say that it isn't as good - just that my tastes seem to align more with BB).

 

[squarecut1]

Maybe I'll watch it all over again sometime. The thrill element won't be there but would still be more interesting than watching for the first time the typical tv or movie content these days

 

[squarecut1]

Yeah, to me Breaking Bad is by far the most complete and rewarding of all of these shows. The acting, the characterization, the weight of the drama, the use of humor, the cinematography and the entire arc that the show is structured around really set it apart for me. It's so compulsively entertaining, and so rewards a detailed knowledge of the show (because the plot points are so tightly interwoven) that I find BB very rewatchable as well. I have many friends and family members who believe The Wire is the apex of this brand of television, but I find it hard to believe that I would ultimately like it as well as BB (which is not to say that it isn't as good - just that my tastes seem to align more with BB).

You have summed it up very nicely. I'd also add the backgroud music and choice of songs.

I know what will happen if I start watching The Wire. Inevitably comparion with BB will be made and most likely it will fall well short.