I've only watched the first season. It requires such a large amount of audience engagement that it's tough to just casually view. I watched the first season in a week, but that was after having seen just the first episode, having decided it was brilliant, and then having decided for more than a year that I wasn't able to give it proper attention.
In terms of this being a great show, I'd consider this a point in The Wire's favor. I had a similar experience with Battlestar Galactica. But the difference was that I was more or less involuntarily compelled to watch Battlestar. With The Wire, I find myself once again going through the motions of convincing myself to watch season two, and it hasn't happened yet.
Maybe it's the show's bleakness. Maybe it's because I still don't know the name of every character (although I think I have all the important ones down) and know that I'll have to learn more major characters to properly enjoy the second season.
It's a shame, because the plotting of The Wire is so many light years beyond anything else that's ever aired on TV. The arcs are thoroughly planned so stories with maximum impact on the characters can be told. It's the standard to which all writing should be held.
Maybe the show's above me to some degree? I can proclaim with pride that unlike most moviegoers, I was actually able to follow the plot of Inception from start to finish without needing it explained on the internet. But with The Wire's love of off-screen character deaths and making use of even the most minute details, it's a lot to swallow.
This doesn't mean I don't understand the show on some level, just that I can't simply take it in like most TV. I have to actively engage my brain to just follow it. This would seem like a point to the show's favor, but it's not. TV is an effective experience because you can de-intellectualize a bit and take in the emotions of the characters and the story. I have trouble immersing myself in the show because it requires such a high level of intellectualized detachment just to follow.
*SPOILER*
The scene where McNulty and Bunk recover the bullet from D'Angelo's shooting in season 3 is awesome. Communicating only using only the word "fuck" is seemingly base but ends up being brilliant because of the context. But it's really hard to just enjoy because so much of my brain is wrapped up in (a) How D told the story to his boys earlier, and (b) the scene's context in the larger police investigation.
*END SPOILERS*
The Wire almost seems to not want to be watched and just experienced. It feels like David Simon wants the audience to consider the larger implications of each scene and view the series through the same lens he views Baltimore - as a reporter. This viewpoint necessarily requires a level of detachment.
And yet, that level of objectivity is what makes the show what it is. We're not supposed to judge these characters, but consider the implications of their actions. The plot shows the best and worst of each character. From the effective business practices of Barksdale's drug organization to the systemic corruption of the police department. But this also makes everything less personable.
*HUGE MEGA SPOILER*
When Wallace was murdered, I felt disturbed, but not really emotional in spite of the tragedy of it. I was too busy thinking about how Wallace's actions lead him to this point, the degree to which Brodie and his friend were crossing a moral event horizon, and the fate of the family Wallace was caring for.
But there was no degree of empathy with Wallace himself, in spite of how well the actor played the scene. I took in every aspect of Wallace's death except the fact he was dying.
*END MEGA HUGE SPOILER*
So, I'm running out of things to say and must stop rambling. The Wire is still one of the greatest TV shows ever. I'll inevitably watch the whole thing. Every show should try to match the meticulousness of its plotting. But it requires me to be in a very specific mood to enjoy it, and that mood is antithetical to what makes most TV work.
Its greatest aspects sow the seeds of its greatest weaknesses.
Topic: So The Wire is pretty much the best TV show ever (Read 12300 times)
