Huh, interesting. I've also felt the pull to rewatch The Wire lately.
Someone - either Alan Sepinwall or at the AV Club - once wrote a review I've never forgotten, which was that "Deadwood", "Sopranos" and "The Wire" best represented America because they showed America at its different stages (slightly out of order in terms of when the shows aired): Deadwood its uber capitalistic, corrupt birth while also mired in a sense of community and wrong vs right; Sopranos in the middle of its lifespan, flailing about in the result of what won the aftermath of its birth; and Wire as its inevitable decline and death, showcasing how very much the sins of capitalism, lack of moral care, and thus the immoral choices in its birth led to its bitter end. At the time I thought it a rather over the top characterization - hey, I had come up through the 90s, when everything did seem like it could only get better, even though I was naive about the rot and Reaganism underneath - but now I understand that commentary in a way I didn't then.
Anyway, lately I've been thinking about that a lot. As great as The Sopranos was, I really do think The Wire and Deadwood capture America in a way very few pieces of media have . . . and of the two, perhaps in that desperate way we use media to undestand our world - only in this case I find my attempt clawing and mewling to fully comprehend what's happening - The Wire is to what I've returned.
I first watched The Wire right around the time Season 5 was wrapping up, after hearing a lot of "greatest show ever made" discussion in multiple places. I had heard it was bit of a slow burn, and my impression as I worked my way through season 1 was that the show was just a well-done, very interesting police drama - very good, but not quite living up to the hype.
*possible spoilers* Then a thing happened at the end of E10. That's when I realized just how much I had gotten to know (and care about, and empathize with) the characters. Not just the one the thing happened to, but the others who portrayed panic and fear in a way I don't think I've ever seen on a television show or movie. Never have I been happier to be watching something on demand where I could move to the next episode - that must have been absolutely brutal for anyone who had to wait a week.
@williwaw Really interesting, and jibes with how i feel about the Wire, the many subplots all have that similar theme of displaying the consequences from a history of choices. I haven't seen Deadwood, might have to remedy that after we finish this rewatch
Someone - either Alan Sepinwall or at the AV Club - once wrote a review I've never forgotten, which was that "Deadwood", "Sopranos" and "The Wire" best represented America because they showed America at its different stages (slightly out of order in terms of when the shows aired): Deadwood its uber capitalistic, corrupt birth while also mired in a sense of community and wrong vs right; Sopranos in the middle of its lifespan, flailing about in the result of what won the aftermath of its birth; and Wire as its inevitable decline and death, showcasing how very much the sins of capitalism, lack of moral care, and thus the immoral choices in its birth led to its bitter end. At the time I thought it a rather over the top characterization - hey, I had come up through the 90s, when everything did seem like it could only get better, even though I was naive about the rot and Reaganism underneath - but now I understand that commentary in a way I didn't then.
Anyway, lately I've been thinking about that a lot. As great as The Sopranos was, I really do think The Wire and Deadwood capture America in a way very few pieces of media have . . . and of the two, perhaps in that desperate way we use media to undestand our world - only in this case I find my attempt clawing and mewling to fully comprehend what's happening - The Wire is to what I've returned.
I first watched The Wire right around the time Season 5 was wrapping up, after hearing a lot of "greatest show ever made" discussion in multiple places. I had heard it was bit of a slow burn, and my impression as I worked my way through season 1 was that the show was just a well-done, very interesting police drama - very good, but not quite living up to the hype.
*possible spoilers* Then a thing happened at the end of E10. That's when I realized just how much I had gotten to know (and care about, and empathize with) the characters. Not just the one the thing happened to, but the others who portrayed panic and fear in a way I don't think I've ever seen on a television show or movie. Never have I been happier to be watching something on demand where I could move to the next episode - that must have been absolutely brutal for anyone who had to wait a week.
A life, Jimmy? You know what that is? It's the stuff that happens when you're waiting for moments that never come