After constantly boring everyone (i.e. people who haven’t got the obscure Sky channel that the Wire is on in England) about how great the Wire is, I was gratified to see the Guardian’s TV guide item “Call the Cops” by Jim Shelley (4 Feb 2006).<\/p>\n

Shelley describes the Wire as “the greatest show in the history of television.” This might seem a bit excessive but I cannot think of any tv series, let alone a tv cop series, that has ever come close to it. As far as I am concerned, the point cannot be disputed.<\/p>\n

Shelley talks about the way that the series swings wildly from one focus to another, killing off major characters, demolishing the central location, and so on. He says “It’s a sign of the Wire’s genius that all of this has only made it better. For a start you have no idea what’s going to happen next. The characters are always adapting, developing. Mostly though, the Wire’s greatest attributes are the characterisation, the acting and the dialogue.”<\/p>\n

In his Wire eulogies, Jim Shelley always prints snatches of the dialogue. This sometimes looks a bit lame out of context and sometimes I’d quarrel with his choices, but, the Wire has so much in it, at so many levels, that anyone can find something that seems totally brilliant to them.<\/p>\n

Advice for watching The Wire:<\/p>\n

\n
1. don’t start in the middle of a series. You have to watch from the beginning of Series One to watch the situations and characters develop so that you are aware when characters and plot suddenly overturn your expectations.<\/li>\n
2. try to get a whole series at once – dvd – so you can follow a few episodes at a time rather than watching in bits<\/li>\n
3. resist the temptation to repeat dialogue and storylines to everybody you know. They aren’t interested. Form a support group and share with your fellow devotees instead.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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       After constantly boring everyone (i.e. people who haven’t got the obscure Sky channel that the Wire is on in England) about how great the Wire is, I was gratified to see the Guardian’s TV guide item “Call the Cops” by … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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