re: I haven't seen The Wire

I started it 2 nights ago. On episode 2 now. Hate to say it, but BB hooked me quicker. Not much has happened. Seems like a long arse Law & Order episode thus far. Still early though, I'll give it time.

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At what episode should I be hooked.

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that's up to you. I remember watching a few episodes of season 1 and it seemed to start off slow. But I had been told over and over again how great it was so I guess I was just a little too impatient at first. But it really is a great show, its one of my all-time favorites.

I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.

See, that's how I felt about the Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire so to each his own. I watched the first season of the Wire and haven't watched since. Lost interest.

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Just to know at what point should it be ok to pass judgement on whether or not I'll like the show or not...

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Let me say this...IMO The Wire is a show that you just watch and don't realize just how good it is at first. I watched it for the first time within the last 6 months or so, and I started watching the first season and just enjoyed it for what it was. I wasn't looking for something to "hook" me necessarily, I just gradually realized that I wanted to watch it more and more. And the more I watched it, the more I was craving the next episode. Finally, when I was going through the last couple seasons, I found myself trying to squeeze in another episode every time I watched it. I remember the last night I watched it, I think I watched the third- and second-to-last episodes, and then couldn't wait till the next day for the finale. I was up till like 2:30 on a weeknight because I couldn't get enough of the show and was willing to sacrifice sleep to finish the series.

In my thread on here after I was done, this was my main thought on the show (don't worry, no spoilers):

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Funny thing is, it's hard to explain why it's so good; it just kinda is. I mean, the tons of different plot lines are almost all interesting, the characters are fantastic, the acting is great, etc. But those are pretty general things...it's hard to say specifically why the show is so good. I had read an overall synopsis of the series and saw that each season focused on a different aspect of the city (drug trade, seaport, government bureaucracy, school system, and print media) and was worried that some seasons would struggle compared to others...but that really didn't happen. Aside from maybe a few of the plots, I pretty much liked it all.

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That's kinda how it is I think...it's hard to say exactly why it's so good. It just is.

That being said, I'd definitely recommend that you stick with it. It won't be long before things happen that surprise the hell out of you and you start getting attached to people (which is one thing that the show is good at...nobody is "good" or "bad"; everyone has their own arc). At the very least, watch the entire first season...if you still don't like it by then, I'd say you gave it a fair shot since season one is ranked pretty highly by most people. I think if you stick with it, you'll be happy you did.

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yeah a bit obvious, but didn't make the connection til tonight

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Do you follow the TWD (non spoiler) threads on here? Lots of people calling him Cutty throughout those discussions.

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Anyone who who mentions Breaking Bad while discussing The Wire needs their head reexamined.

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Correct. Breaking Bad has won 4 Primetime Emmy awards and has been nominated for numerous Emmy and Golden Globe awards. The Wire did not win any Emmy or Golden Glob awards yet both shows are obviously popular each with an IMDB rating of 9.4.

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The Wire won no major awards

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Other than the f'n Peabody, which is the most prestigious award in television.

I like BB, and don't want to fall into the compare the shows thing as its possible to like both shows, but they are very different kind of shows in intent. The Wire is a densely plotted and has an intricate universe. BB is a character study, but also primarily a high-adreneline action show. BB is all about tension, The Wire is about pathos.

I think it was the end of around episode 3. Where there's a riot at the towers and Prez busts that kid in the eye. Was hooked from then on.

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And I lurk this board pretty hard. It seems like this is EXTREMELY liked by the movie/tv community... I'm watching episode 1 right now. At what episode should I be hooked.

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As a Breaking Bad and The Shield fan, I've been getting recommendations for The Wire for several years. I started a few weeks back and I have to say, it got me fairly quickly by episode 3 or 4, despite having read it starts fairly slowly.

It wasn't a Pilot grab like The Shield or BB, but it got me in fairly short order.

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The Wire is a densely plotted and has an intricate universe.

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I agree with this - although completely cross-genre, Babylon 5 and Deep Space 9 are better analogues (full disclosure, I'm in the middle of Season 3 of The Wire, roughly halfway through the entire series), than Breaking Bad is. I find myself using the same language/terminology and thinking of universe of The Wire as a real, tangible place.

Perhaps more similar to The Shield, except in The Wire - every group gets similar focus as the strike team, detectives and patrol cops did in The Shield.