'The Wire' v. 'The Shield'
white_tea
3,262 Posts
The TV critic for the Chicago Tribune called "The Shield" the most innovative show next to "The Sopranos." I have only watched about 5 minutes of "The Shield" in my life, but, really, is it worth a damn? How does it compare to "The Wire"? Maybe I'll check it on DVD. I can't put up with commercials.
Comments
my buddy manages one of the dudes on the wire. this season, which i think starts in november, is the last one and its supposed to be insane.
not to thread jack, but if any of you guys get AMC, you need to check out this show called "Mad Men". the first 6 episodes are on demand. hbo passed on it...and they f*cking missed the boat. it kills any series on hbo right now.
I really really really enjoy "The Shield" but it's in no way, shape or form fuckin with the Wire.
"The Shield" is just for kicks. "The Wire" is serious.
Omar > Julian Lowe
Mc Nulty > Shane
Stinger > Vic
Howard (Bunny)> Acevada
Oh, and, Fuck the Bears.
It's not The Wire, but what is? The Shield is one of the best shows on baisc cable, in my opinion. Great characters, visual style, storylines. Very entertaining. Well worth watching, especially on DVD sans commercials.
dude you need to watch the Wire again.
I'd say the focus on the "street thugs" characters is only about 20-30% of the airtime.
And of that 20-30% of the airtime devoted to those characters, I'd say only 20-30% is devoted to their "thuggishness" (vs. their interpersonal relationships, the institutional structure of the drug gangs, and their interaction with the cops). or, put another way, I'd say their being "street thugs" is only 20-30% (or less) of their substance as characters on the show.
in other words "street thugs" is far, far from the essence of the Wire.
but the wire is a masterpeice
&
look for my record dealer friend
microdotman playing a homeless man in the upcoming season
Oh, you had to take there huh.
What's so fun about "The Shield"?
And drug dealers are only a small fraction of what the Wire is about.
^^^^ me watching the Shield ^^^^
Yeah: "The Shield" is a cool TV show; "The Wire" is among the 21st century's greatest works of art.
People keep telling me I should watch The Shield. I dunno, though - I think The Wire has pretty much ruined me for any kind of TV drama that has designs on some sort of social commentary. I mean, I hear people saying all the time that Battlestar Galactica is an allegory for the Iraq war and it operates on a completely different level to most similar sci-fi shows but, interesting as that sounds, I struggle to get excited about it. I can see myself watching a lot less TV when The Wire finally winds up.
"The Shield" is excellent. Absolutely one of my favorite shows on basic cable. The first two seasons of "The Shield" are breathtaking and then it slowly falls into decline (even though it's still watchable).
But frankly, it's not better than "The Sopranos" and it's not fucking with "The Wire." Nowhere close.
September 10!!
just looked it up, didn't realise it was so close on
negative. its gonna be sometime in November.
Taken it to Mondays???
The new season is too RAW for God's day.
I'm pulling for Bubs and Randy most of all. We're looking at a crisis state for both of them.
P.S. I watched Chris Rock's I Think I Love My Wife (crap movie) and Omar and Bunk had cameos.
Phew. HBO wouldn't be so bold as to take on Monday Night Football.
It is not comparable to The Wire.
But, the Wire doesn't really compare to other television shows. It is more apt to compare it to a film or a novel. Its story and scope has a lot more in common with other media than television, which traditionally has a much smaller story range.
That's why some people see it as slow; they are expecting television. It is ON television, but it certainly doesn't present that way. Its character development, story lines, sprawling cast, etc. are usually the provence of an epic novel or film.
looked it up where?
lets et a consensus on this
fuck the shield (never seen it)
You tripping. Saying.
LOL
I know!!! I don't know how I won it either!!!
Just kidding!
Which is precisely why critics love it but audiences have largely
Their loss.
BTW, if you're doing your "Wire alum czech" -->>> "The Kill Point"
Shit had FOUR alum, including Omar, Bodie(!!!), lady Barksdale and that white kid who used to hang with Bubbles.
If you say the acting on the Shield isn't any good I kinda have to think you don't know what the fuck you're talking about or just haven't watched it and you're talking out yr ass.
And no it's not the Wire. The Wire is the greatest fucking drama ever committed to the screen. I hate to agree with Rillz, but it really is a great work of art comparable to the USA trilogy by John dos Passos. I mean the show is poignant commentary on everything from the state of legal surveillance, the drug war, urban democracy, public education and I hear for the last season the press. And it's better at that than anyone in my business, so it's extraordinary. It's also subversively neither left or right. I mean do you come out of watching the Wire in favor or against say drug legalization? Certainly the Democratic machine of baltimore doesn't come out looking good, but neither does George W. Bush's FBI or no child left behind. I suppose it's a liberal show in that it forces us to look at our declining once great cities for what they are. But if that's liberalism, then I'm a liberal. If anything the Wire's politics are anti-bullshit, with which I would hope all thinking Americans would agree.
And to threadjack to an earlier Wire discussion--definitely watch season 2. I just rewatched it, it's as brilliant as the rest of em.