This show not only lived up to all hype I'd read about it but it surpassed it in leaps and bounds.
I had heard how good this show was but never got around seeing it because it was so hard to find at the time what with it being an HBO show and all. Well I finally found season one and two and library and got to see them, now I only have to see the last three seasons of easily one of the best shows I've seen. HBO continues to make some of the best quality shows on TV and how this show was passed up for awards at the Emmy's is beyond me. The acting, production, story line, direction, characters, and plot is just crazy good and unlike most things on TV or in movies.
I read about the creator of this show, David Simon, comparing these shows it to how a book is set up by chapter and it's no coincidence he labels each episode as Chapter. This show is very slow going as it takes its time to set up all the players, story lines, and events that will come to fruition by the seasons end. The cool thing is, the show is slow moving but the pacing never lacks or once seems like it's moving slow because there is so much character development and story line being set up that the pacing is always moving forward never stalling. Easily one of the best scripted shows I've ever seen and the comparison to a book is fully justified - the depth of the show also justifies the book comparison. I would liken this show to a visual tour of a Dickens novel as it covers the same type of themes as Dickens did: corruption, class division, politics, and the gritty this world has to offer. Though the answers in this show aren't as up lifting and fairy tale ending as Dickens' world, The Wire is more brutal in that sense. Truthfully I like more than The Sapranos it follows through on more story lines threads and the character development is more truthful and in depth.
It is also some of the best acting I've seen as everyone fit into their role with ease. This show cast actors that actually look like people and not the photoshopped up Hollywood actors that normally get casted in these type of roles. Everyone in this show looks like someone you could meet down the street or have a beer with, with conversation that would be normal. There aren't any Hollywood people in this show which only goes to help the feel of this show hit the authenticity it's striving for.
The authenticity of this show is further enhanced by the production and shooting on location that at times makes the show feel like a documentary.
Truly a show for the history books - looking forward to seeing the rest of the seasons.
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