The Wire :: SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board

I am amazed and surprised that there is not a thread for this show, but if there is I can't find it.

One thing I did this past year was buy the entire boxset of The Wire, I had never seen an episode and the whole thing seemed to have passed me by, which is odd because I usually try to get hold of any new HBO drama to see if it is worth watching. But pass me by it did and it is only since it has finished and I began to see it talked about as being the best TV series ever made did I give it ago. I had no expectations that it would anywhere near as good as that, certainly nothing that could come close to The West Wing or the Sopranos. It seems to be one of those Shawshank sleeper hits that has only become good after it has finished its TV run, it certainly never won any Emmy's or got much attention, its ratings were never good and it was always close to being cancelled.

Anyway, I watched it and was pretty much blown away. For all the talk on here of Movies and screenplays we never really talk about TV too much, especially not great TV. The Wire is better than 99.99% of any of the movies I have seen, and in keeping with the spirit of this message board it is mostly down to the writing. It was created and written by David Simon, himself a former crime reporter in Baltimore and the realism certainly shines through.

Set in Baltimore, each season takes a different view on life and crime in the city, it has been compared to Dickens, which I know sounds preposterous, I certainly scoffed at those suggestions, but then I watched it and had to agree, it is very much dickensian in nature with the way the city is unveiled from a whole host of characters over the course of the five seasons.

Season one sets things up with introductions to the two main sides to the story, an undercover police department experimenting with new surveillance techniques and a family run drug dealing gang. Both of these main characters storylines form the spine of all five seasons and crosses over into other areas of the City. So season two explores the dockyard workers and their relationship to the gangs, season three the politics and police of Baltimore, season four the school system, and season five the city newspaper. While each season takes a fresh view on the main story, the spine of the series is a five season long story and character arcs and this unique for TV concept really works well here.

The characters are all wonderfully written and acted, the storylines are gripping, intelligent and perfectly paced. No made for TV chases and cliffhangers here, just well written, smart drama that only HBO seems to be able to do.

If I had to find a fault I would say that its weaker season comes too early, I think season two is certainly the weakest of them all, which is a shame because it probably lost some viewers and season three and four were absolutely top notch. I am saying this because if you ever end up watching it, it would be a crime to not carry on after season two.

All in all I think it might well be the best television ever made, although I do have an attachment to The West Wing that will never be broken. It is more than just a great TV show though, I doubt there will be any films this year that are better entertainment than The Wire. The writing, the acting, the storylines, they are all fantastic and it would be a crime for anybody not to watch this show just because they "don't do TV".

The boxset is on Amazon for $112, A bargain! http://www.amazon.com/Wire-Com.....291381512&sr=8-1

Buy it today and I promise you will not be disappointed.