I didn't see Family Guy last night, but I'm told it included this bit about Breaking Bad and The Wire.
In case YouTube pulls the clip, it's Peter Griffin being hypnotized to say "Breaking Bad is the best show I've ever seen, except maybe The Wire. I will never stop talking about Breaking Bad or The Wire".
I enjoy Breaking Bad, but it's not the show I recommend to everyone I meet. That show would be The Wire, The Greatest Show On Television, Ever™.
I recently finished watching The Wire for a second time. I thought I'd throw down some final thoughts while it's all still fresh.
First and foremost, I was as riveted the second time as I was the first time, and the first time I thought it was the greatest television show I'd ever watched. I really like Breaking Bad and Mad Men, but they both feel watered down and boring next to The Wire. Watching The Wire demands my complete attention, because it's not dumbed down and some of the accents require great focus. No other show forces me to shut out the rest of the world the way The Wire does. When I'm watching, there's no checking email or Twitter or thinking about my 'to do' list. It's just me and Baltimore.
I love how it grabs a hold of me and refuses to release me until episode 60 ends. I love keeping track of the dozens and dozens of characters, rooting for my favourites and against my least favourites, even when I know exactly what's going to happen. There's no other series like The Wire... no other series goes as deep, is written with such texture and performed with such consistent excellence.
Ok, enough raving. You get it, I love The Wire. I plan to watch it a third time with my son in three years, and I can't wait. I already miss Omar, Bubbles, Slim Charles, Bunk, Avon, McNulty, Cutty, Freamon and yes, even Wee-Bey. I miss 'em all.
After round two, here's how I'd rank the seasons:
Season 4
Season 3
Season 1
Season 2
Season 5
My favourite characters? That's crazy tough, but it might just be:
Omar
McNulty
Bubbles
Cutty
Freamon
Bunk
Bodie
Bunny
Sobatka
Slim Charles
How did I leave the kids off of that list? You can't do a top ten list of characters on The Wire, you need to do a top 50. Next time...
I love a good story. The Wire is hundreds of amazing stories interwoven with a common thread. There's no other show like it.
Two questions for you:
Have you seen The Wire?
If yes, name a series you enjoyed more so I can watch it immediately.
I'm ploughing my way through The Wire a second time. I should wrap up season four this weekend. Dare I say The Greatest Show On Television, Ever™ is even better the second time?
The first time around, I listed my ten favourite characters on The Wire, but that list will be different this time around. This time, guys like Dennis "Cutty" Wise are earning my respect.
Cutty is the poster boy for reformation, a legendary soldier back in the day who comes out of The Cut after serving fourteen years to learn the game ain't in him no mo'.
Cutty isn't just reformed, he's respected. I love this scene with Cutty, Avon and Slim Charles.
I have a few things to say about Slim Charles, too... but I've got more watching to do first.
It's been almost two years since I finished my first viewing of The Wire, a.k.a, The Greatest Show On Television, Ever™.
A couple of days later, I was asking where the hell I go from there. Watching The Wire pretty much ruined television for me. Since then, I've found exactly two series that came even close: Mad Men and Breaking Bad. I refer to Breaking Bad as The Greatest Show On Television Next To The Wire™.
Over the Xmas holidays, I dove back into The Wire. I'm almost done season two. It's just as good the second time around, even knowing exactly what's going to happen. It's like going back to life school, as you can easily map the political bullshit oozing from the Baltimore police department and corners to your own cubical jungle. My 2011 was The Wire without the guns and drugs, but you won't read about that in the archives.
Attention fellow Wire fans. This insight is courtesy of NYMAG.com.
Last night was the premiere of season two of Treme, stocked once again with its wealth of alumni from David Simon's last series, The Wire. But seeing all these welcome familiar faces is hardly a freak occurrence on television these days: Ever since The Wire went off the air in 2008, many dramas have been plundering its credits to cast their shows, whether for full-time roles or guest spots. But, we wondered, which series has used the most Wire actors? We decided to find out, with two rules: We only noted roles cast since The Wire finished its run, and only counted shows that have used at least five alums — sorry, CSI:NY (3) and In Plain Sight (4) — in order to focus on those series that exhibit true respect. Which show do you think has the highest tally? Watch on to see.
If you managed to get passed that ridiculous cheese ad, you learnt that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Good Wife tied with 11 Wire actors each. Here's the final standings:
I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.
The Pogues - Body of an American I've been watching The Corner on HBO Canada. The Corner originally aired in 2000 and was a pre-cursor of sorts to The Wire, The Greatest Show On Television, Ever™. Naturally, when watching The Corner, I think a lot about The Wire.
David Mills was 48. He was the award-winning TV writer and producer whose credits included celebrated series such as The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street and ER.
I will be eternally grateful for his collaborations with David Simon, especially The Wire, The Greatest Show On Television, Ever™.
I didn't see Family Guy last night, but I'm told it included this bit about Breaking Bad and The Wire.
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Felicia “Snoop” Pearson from The Wire was 
I share an MP3 from 
The Pogues - Body of an American
David Mills was 48. He was the award-winning TV writer and producer whose credits included celebrated series such as The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street and ER.