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10. It requires concentration
Unlike most series, "The Wire" is conceived as one continuous narrative broken up into 13 weekly bites. Characters may disappear for hours or weeks at a time, and the viewer is asked to remember them when they reappear. Clues lay unnoticed for huge swaths of time. Plot points and new characters are subtly introduced. And patience is demanded. In one narrative thread, a young man's odd behavior toward a kindly elder is left dangling and puzzling until many episodes later, when it is revealed that he was the victim of abuse.
9. There are no easy answers
"The Wire," at root, is a social problem show, not unlike movies such as "The Defiant Ones" from the 1950s, or earnest early '60s TV shows such as "East Side/West Side." Like life, it offers few definitive resolutions; in fact, the ends of some seasons are more likely to bum you out. But what is anathema to prime-time TV is lifeblood to "The Wire," in that it evokes greater emotion and viewer identification thanks to its honesty and realism.
8. Subtitles are helpful
Much of "The Wire," especially the first season, was conducted with thick ghetto accents and lingo. To some this was a rich and varied American language. To others, it was impenetrable. But some confused early viewers realized that simply by turning on the closed captioning on their TVs, the show blossomed into its full realization. It takes about a season, but pretty soon you can turn off the captions entirely. "The Wire" may have single-handedly mass-popularized the phrase "true dat."
7. Races are equal
It's hard to think of another show on television that employs as many black actors as "The Wire" does. This creates a world in which the races intermingle on multiple levels and where multiethnic romances are commonplace. Multiple scenes can go by where the only faces on the screen are black. But though this may make the liberal heart go pitter-patter, it should be acknowledged that this same facet is a deterrent to different types of viewers.
6. Fully explored characters
Bubbles. Omar. Lester. Herc. Prez. Merely to utter these names is to send a "Wire" fanatic into a swoon. How many shows offer up a scar-faced gay man who makes his living as a rogue stealing from other drug dealers? And makes you like him? That's Omar. Throughout the course of the season, Omar has become an unexpected moral force and dispenser of justice. And the copious amount of screen time that "The Wire" allots its cast, coupled with the mandate for realism, means that characters evolve and change in fascinating ways.
5. It is well-acted
One of the recent pleasures of watching prime-time television is to see "Wire" cast members pop up in "Law & Order" or "CSI" episodes in their offseason. Michael K. Williams appeared in "The Kill Point" and "Boston Legal," in two roles that were wholly different from his fierce and frightening Omar.
4. The show is written by great writers
Dedicated readers soon realized that some of their favorite novelists were penning individual episodes of "The Wire." Names such as Richard Price, Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos pop up frequently -- some of the finest names in tough, urban crime fiction.
3. The show is sexy
On a network already known for getting its stars naked, "The Wire" presents sex as a regular part of life while also occasionally putting forward some of TV's hottest bodies in erotic situations.
2. Authenticity
The guys who make the show, Simon and Ed Burns (a former cop) lived this stuff. They saw it happen and know whereof they speak. A lot of the dialogue and many of the incidents are based on their personal experiences. In fact, some of the kingpins Burns ran aground now grace the show in minor roles. And many of the bit parts are given to real kids who help to keep it real.
1. Great music
The theme song for "The Wire" is Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole." But each season it's performed by a different artist, including the Neville Brothers (Season 3) and the Blind Boys of Alabama (Season 1). Though Waits' version is the perfect tone-setter for what is to follow, let's not forget Blake Leyh's great incidental music and closing credits theme. I always get emotional chills when an episode comes to its end and the tapping cymbals kicks off Leyh's theme music.
Perhaps the overriding virtue of "The Wire" is its moral compass. No one is just good or evil, black-hatted or white. The show's villains are as complex and Shakespearean as its ostensible heroes. In its heart, it is a downright decent show, one that talks about things often left unsaid in other programs, such as the state of our schools and the local corruption of our politics. The best way to explain the beauty of the series is to invite newcomers to follow the career arcs of two of its characters, D'Angelo (Larry Gilliard Jr.) and Bodie (J.D. Williams). In these two, we find the moral battlefields that shows like "The Wire" create, plus the fragility of one's status in that world. True dat.
10. It requires concentration
Unlike most series, "The Wire" is conceived as one continuous narrative broken up into 13 weekly bites. Characters may disappear for hours or weeks at a time, and the viewer is asked to remember them when they reappear. Clues lay unnoticed for huge swaths of time. Plot points and new characters are subtly introduced. And patience is demanded. In one narrative thread, a young man's odd behavior toward a kindly elder is left dangling and puzzling until many episodes later, when it is revealed that he was the victim of abuse.
9. There are no easy answers
"The Wire," at root, is a social problem show, not unlike movies such as "The Defiant Ones" from the 1950s, or earnest early '60s TV shows such as "East Side/West Side." Like life, it offers few definitive resolutions; in fact, the ends of some seasons are more likely to bum you out. But what is anathema to prime-time TV is lifeblood to "The Wire," in that it evokes greater emotion and viewer identification thanks to its honesty and realism.
8. Subtitles are helpful
Much of "The Wire," especially the first season, was conducted with thick ghetto accents and lingo. To some this was a rich and varied American language. To others, it was impenetrable. But some confused early viewers realized that simply by turning on the closed captioning on their TVs, the show blossomed into its full realization. It takes about a season, but pretty soon you can turn off the captions entirely. "The Wire" may have single-handedly mass-popularized the phrase "true dat."
7. Races are equal
It's hard to think of another show on television that employs as many black actors as "The Wire" does. This creates a world in which the races intermingle on multiple levels and where multiethnic romances are commonplace. Multiple scenes can go by where the only faces on the screen are black. But though this may make the liberal heart go pitter-patter, it should be acknowledged that this same facet is a deterrent to different types of viewers.
6. Fully explored characters
Bubbles. Omar. Lester. Herc. Prez. Merely to utter these names is to send a "Wire" fanatic into a swoon. How many shows offer up a scar-faced gay man who makes his living as a rogue stealing from other drug dealers? And makes you like him? That's Omar. Throughout the course of the season, Omar has become an unexpected moral force and dispenser of justice. And the copious amount of screen time that "The Wire" allots its cast, coupled with the mandate for realism, means that characters evolve and change in fascinating ways.
5. It is well-acted
One of the recent pleasures of watching prime-time television is to see "Wire" cast members pop up in "Law & Order" or "CSI" episodes in their offseason. Michael K. Williams appeared in "The Kill Point" and "Boston Legal," in two roles that were wholly different from his fierce and frightening Omar.
4. The show is written by great writers
Dedicated readers soon realized that some of their favorite novelists were penning individual episodes of "The Wire." Names such as Richard Price, Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos pop up frequently -- some of the finest names in tough, urban crime fiction.
3. The show is sexy
On a network already known for getting its stars naked, "The Wire" presents sex as a regular part of life while also occasionally putting forward some of TV's hottest bodies in erotic situations.
2. Authenticity
The guys who make the show, Simon and Ed Burns (a former cop) lived this stuff. They saw it happen and know whereof they speak. A lot of the dialogue and many of the incidents are based on their personal experiences. In fact, some of the kingpins Burns ran aground now grace the show in minor roles. And many of the bit parts are given to real kids who help to keep it real.
1. Great music
The theme song for "The Wire" is Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole." But each season it's performed by a different artist, including the Neville Brothers (Season 3) and the Blind Boys of Alabama (Season 1). Though Waits' version is the perfect tone-setter for what is to follow, let's not forget Blake Leyh's great incidental music and closing credits theme. I always get emotional chills when an episode comes to its end and the tapping cymbals kicks off Leyh's theme music.
Perhaps the overriding virtue of "The Wire" is its moral compass. No one is just good or evil, black-hatted or white. The show's villains are as complex and Shakespearean as its ostensible heroes. In its heart, it is a downright decent show, one that talks about things often left unsaid in other programs, such as the state of our schools and the local corruption of our politics. The best way to explain the beauty of the series is to invite newcomers to follow the career arcs of two of its characters, D'Angelo (Larry Gilliard Jr.) and Bodie (J.D. Williams). In these two, we find the moral battlefields that shows like "The Wire" create, plus the fragility of one's status in that world. True dat.
