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Is The Wire the best show of all time? Or is there some competition?

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After hearing about how great The Wire is, I started watching it, and was not blown away. I watched 4 episodes from season one. In addition, I saw an episode or two from season 2. Then a year later, I watched it again. I started at S01E01 and watched it non-stop. I think somewhere in Season3 I decided it was really really good, if not the best show ever made.
 
Don't get me started on either The Sopranos or Oz. Both decent shows.. nowhere near as good as The Wire. The Wire was a complete package... It finished strong and in all was a great show.

The soprano's was hit or miss. It was a good show but you could tell when they'd brought in another director and then toward the end of the series it simply went way downhill. Oz suffered from the same fate... it started off good and then ended horribly.

The wire is far superior to oz or sopranos.
 
I watched some of The Wire a few years ago because my roommate was really into it; I liked the first season but as soon as the second season started I felt like I was watching a different show. It seemed like nothing was happening and it felt like it was just about McNulty; though this was a while ago and I didn't make it very far into Season 2.

Personally I think Twin Peaks is a hell of a show. Also I think the first two seasons of House are really outstanding, it's gripping without being as outrageous as the following years.
 
darkewaffle said:
I watched some of The Wire a few years ago because my roommate was really into it; I liked the first season but as soon as the second season started I felt like I was watching a different show. It seemed like nothing was happening and it felt like it was just about McNulty; though this was a while ago and I didn't make it very far into Season 2.

Personally I think Twin Peaks is a hell of a show. Also I think the first two seasons of House are really outstanding, it's gripping without being as outrageous as the following years.
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Season 2 is actually pretty good. Alot of people like you get hung up on the fact it does feel different.

Big picture though, season 2 sets up stuff for the rest of the series. It's also hilarious that McNulty who's been re-assigned to some bs detail finds a way to get himself into the murder investigations and piss off Rawls.
 
I don't understand the love for Breaking Bad. I watched the pilot and it was so bad that I didn't watch a second episode.
 
JujuFish said:
I don't understand the love for Breaking Bad. I watched the pilot and it was so bad that I didn't watch a second episode.
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Sounds like you haven't seen one of the best shows currently running. Being unimpressed w\ a pilot ep doesn't mean too much
 
oldsmoboat said:
Never seen the Wire but keep reading that it's good.
Watched S01E01 last night. I didn't get wet. Actually kind of boring.
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I think this is true of most HBO shows, and I have a theory as to why. With a typical network show, people get it for free, and the show has to do something to hook viewers, so it will try to have a cliffhanger ending for every episode, or relentless action, or some draw that will have people saying "Wow, I need to know what happens next!" This is great for the short-term week-to-week viewing, but if you go back and re-watch it, it seems ridiculous (like 24, for example).

Meanwhile, HBO is a pay service. If you're watching their shows, you've already paid for it, so you might as well get your money's worth. That means they don't have to "hook" you every night. And that means they can spend more time on exposition and developing characters and plot points. The Wire may not be as immediately gripping as 24, but every single character is more realized and fleshed-out, and once you get into the story, you can appreciate the depth and attention to detail the writers have put into crafting the setting. It's like Popeye's vs. home barbecue; you're getting fried chicken either way, but at home, there's more attention to the spices and the quality of the meat, and it all just ends up better.
 
I'm a big Sopranos and Breaking Bad fan. I've completed Sopranos start to finish about 5-6 times. I'll have to check out Deadwood and The Wire.
 
the wire is so damn good. we've been watching it for a few months. were almost done season 4 right now. this is one of the first shows that sticks in my head and gives me dreams about being in the show, in a bad way. lol i really don't have another explanation for it... maybe very sublime?
 
In my opinion it is by far the best show ever on television. The more I read about it and the background to it, the more I love it. I actually learned valuable life lessons from the show and they influence how I think about the world on a regular basis. It is a gripping drama that is really just a thin veil over a hard-hitting analysis of what cities, governments, and institutions are really like, what makes them fail, etc. It operates on multiple layers better than any other show I've seen.

I'm not sure what's next after that but certainly Deadwood, Game of Thrones, and Mad Men are in the mix.
 
BSG had more than two seasons; there are a lot of shows that had GREAT first seasons and the rest of the series was crappy or downhill from there. Do they still qualify? I think not. Also: I thought only the first season of BSG was truly great TV. It already began its decline / issues with retro-ing in season 2.
 
My favorite, although I still feel the last season was a bit of a let down. Season 4 was mind-blowingly awesome. That being said, I also enjoy Breaking Bad, Rome, Deadwood, and the first few seasons of the Sopranos. Also enjoy Dexter and Mad Men. Just started on Game of Thrones and I have been liking it so far.
 
The Wire is my favourite TV series of all time. I did also enjoy the Sopranos and am currently enjoying Treme.
 
I've seen the first season of Breaking Bad. I liked it, but I apparently have missed it going from good show to GREAT show so I will reserve judgment until the upcoming marathon.
 
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