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THE WIRE Marathon!!
Sunday at 10 p.m. is one brutal timeslot this summer – at least if you have cable. That hour has USA running new episodes of Michael Piller’s excellent “Dead Zone” series, Showtime has fresh episodes of its hugely compelling parole drama “Street Time,” Comedy Central has been busily unfurling fresh installments of “Crank Yankers,” and HBO has “The Wire.”
Here at Mt. Olympus, it’s “The Wire” that has gone largely unwatched. “Dead Zone” can’t be missed. “Street Time” has sucked us in. And we know in the backs of our brains that “The Wire” will be repeated Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (and Monday if you get HBO2). But we never get around to catching those encores.
So if you’re willing to give up the SNL repeat, late Saturday is the night to catch up on “The Wire”: HBO is repeating the first five episodes between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.
But is “The Wire” worth catching up on? Here’s what the critics had to say in the early going:
Variety says:
So if you’re willing to give up the SNL repeat, late Saturday is the night to catch up on “The Wire”: HBO is repeating the first five episodes between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.
But is “The Wire” worth catching up on? Here’s what the critics had to say in the early going:
Variety says:
Variety says:
HBO's "The Wire" might not be quite as startling as the cabler's other original series, but that's because this police show rather boldly seeks drama in dullness. That's not to suggest that the show is boring but this is a series that's all about the fine print, finding its most emotional moments not in violent confrontations between good guys and bad guys in the drug war, but in depicting the battles of bureaucrats.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
Like "The Corner," this series paints a detailed and often depressing picture of life on the mean streets. But where "The Corner" searched the souls of its troubled characters to find an underlying humanity, "The Wire" presents characters largely devoid of conscience or compassion who are guided mainly by ambition or expedience. Despite solid acting and several interesting twists and turns, viewers may be understandably reluctant to return each week to the scenes of these ugly crimes.
USA Today says:
David Simon insists on taking TV, and TV viewers, to places they've long been resistant to go … Never has the drug trade's human toll been more painfully captured. … While there are moments of overly arty chatter, the show's ability to create a believable sense of place is nothing short of astounding (as is its profanity).
The Los Angeles Times says:
HBO is an Energizer Bunny whose assembly line of first-rate series keeps going and going. Joining "Six Feet Under," "Sex and the City," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Sopranos" on this pedestal is "The Wire," a scorching look at the drug trade in a Baltimore housing project through the eyes of mid-level dealers and police. … "The Wire" is more evidence that TV's best crime shows are in their own golden age.
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I'll give it another try tonight, I suppose, but I don't expect much.
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I don't mean to blaspheme, but the The Wire is at least as good, if not better than, its big, bad (bad meaning good) older brother Homicide. Take everything that was good about Homicide, most notably the writing, and transfer it to HBO where you can gritty in a way that NBC wouldn't allow. The people behind The Wire are the same that were responsible for making Homicide one of the best shows ever. The Wire has incredible, real characters. The plot and story move along perfectly. Simply put, everything works. If you haven't started watching this already, you should seriously consider starting.
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Give this show a chance and you won't be disapointed, especially all you fans of Homicide. I watched the first three episodes back-to-back and now I am hooked.
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Jul 07, 2002 7:55:42 AM CDT
PLEASE...Everyone who PAYS FOR HBO pays for SIX FEET UNDER and S
by mentallymariah
THIS SHIT IS TIRED, DULL, BORING AND well BASICALLY NOT THE KIND OF SHIT I WANNA LEAVE MY CRACK PARTY EVERY SUNDAY TO TUNE INTO
but if you bring back BRENDA and her SLUTTY ANTICS..HELL YAH, I'll watch...Okay, THE WIRE aint' that bad, it has it's moments, but really I never have seen it...Have you? -
I recorded that shit and after smoking my Crack, I um, think THE WIRE is the best show HBO has to offer right now! No really, I mean that, I cannot wait for the next episode! The story is so involving, and the charecters, sooo real, I really feel like I am there...I am soo into the whole aspect of the drug dealing and the double crossings! On the ninth episode I watched tonight during the marathon, there was a scene where i literally almost had a heart attack...It was outstanding! If you haven't watched this show, I highely recommend you to tune in every week! THE WIRE IS THE BOMB! Fuck SIX FEET UNDER, This is the real deal, the lady who plays the Lesbian is soo cool! GOD BLESS HBO for bringing this groundbreaking series to the air...From Now ON, I am going to watch the WIRE every week and tell all my friends! It is soo good! Oh my heck! THe WIRE brings the G back into Gritty! WOW! I AM SERIOUS, I AM SO WIRED FROM WATCHING THE WIRE! WOW
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...does Herc ever sleep? Apparently, Mike TeeVee from WILLY WONKA grew up to be Herc.
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Not as flashy as The Sopranos, and a different kind of show than Six Fet Under. But the low key, underplayed mood really puts you in middle of that low rise apartment complex. The dialogue is also refreshingly "non-tv". Nobody yells out "We've got company!" (by the way, does anyone else want that phrase to be retired?). Not all the good guys are nice, and even the ones we root for have problems. Again, not the weepy "I never learned to read!boo hoo hoo!" dramatic bullshit. Just real characters in a show that is not afraid to trust what is gripping in real life to be entertaining without being reality television. I hope people with HBO find it. It deserves to stick around.
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Watch the scene where the main detective and his partner-i think its in the 3rd episode- figure out how this girl got killed in her apartment with only saying the word "Fuck" every 10 seconds as they piece it together for one long 5-10 minute scene. Truly classic.
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