I haven't blogged in a while so I figured I should pen an entry here, only I was somewhat stumped for a topic, but then I decided I'd talk a bit about my favorite show on TV and the best show I've ever seen: The Wire. It's not on the air right now as it is in between seasons, so maybe it's odd to be writing about it now, but the reason I am is because, quite frankly, it doesn't get discussed enough. While I do see occasional references here and there online, I only know of two other people who watch it, and none of my friends have ever watched it. It is very unlike any other show I've ever seen for a couple of reasons, and these reasons I think all are part of why it stands apart from everything else in terms of quality.
First, none of the episodes are standalone episodes at all. While this in and of itself isn't too unique nowadays, with many shows having taken on a "serial" approach with a continuing storyline, typically other shows can still be caught up on with a quick synopsis and they do typically try to adhere somewhat to a beginning, middle and end for each episode (unless it's a "to be continued..." episode). The Wire does not really have that "serial" aspect to it, and the continuing storyline generally only holds for that current season. Sure there is some inevitable carryover from one season to the next, but not nearly in the same way as with other shows (as I'll explain below). Most interesting, however, the show does not tend to have a clear beginning or end with each episode. They do craft the episodes somewhat in this manner, but in reality none of the episodes have a solid thread within themselves in the way that other shows do. At the same time there are not cliffhanger endings as you might think with a show that doesn't seem to have a clear resolution at the clear of each episode, but rather it just stops where it's at and resumes the following week. This is because each season itself is the cohesive plot that begins with the beginning of the first episode and finishes with the end of the last episode. Even though it is technically so far four 13 episode seasons, in reality it has just been four stories with one for each season.
The second interesting thing about the show is the enormous cast of main characters. Through four seasons the people who are regulars on the show must be near or over a hundred people. The show has gotten more complex as it has gone on with each season's new storyline and the new additions to the cast that have joined as a result. This combined with the non-episodic way the stories unfold makes the show particularly difficult to try to pick up in the middle, and while the cast of characters is relatively smaller in the earlier seasons, even in Season 1 the cast is still quite large. The show is about Baltimore, and while it initially starts as a sort-of duel between the one task force in the Baltimore Police Department and the biggest drug-dealing crime family in the city, it begins to expand to cover many other areas of the city (all levels and districts of the PD, the schools, the city government, political elections and campaigning, the docks, various neighborhoods, the district attorneys, the judicial system, the prisons, etc). In the first season it takes a few episodes before the team of police officers is even assembled, and they don't even lay eyes on the guy who is their main target until about three quarters of the way through the season. On the police's side, it covers not just this task force that's trying to bring down the drug-dealers, but also various other departments of the PD, and on the drug-dealers' side it shows all different levels of their organization in great detail, from the young kids on the street to the people who are the muscle to the people who are in charge.
The final thing that makes the show so original, and the thing that to me is the most surprising, is the fact that there is no real core main characters, but rather everyone is just a part of this monstrous cast. There are main characters from season to season, but they are always changing. The people who are the main characters in the first season are almost entirely nonexistent or very minor by the fourth season; while conversely people who were not there for the first or second season, or who were minor characters end up becoming the main stars of the fourth season. While other shows have had the occasional star leave to pursue a movie career or a spinoff show or something, that has not been the case here, and that has not been why the cast has changed so drastically. It's a buzzword to say it, but it has just organically developed in that direction as the years have gone on. Maybe most surprisingly, even with the cast changing so drastically the show has not suffered at all, with it being just as good last season as it was in its first season.
Other than these things the thing that tends to make the show stand out so much is because while it is so incredibly good, it still flies completely under the radar for virtually everyone. Most people have never even heard of it, and that's really too bad. It may be due to the fact that there are no big stars on the show, and that the creators are not really well known outside of The Wire itself. In other words, it requires a leap of faith on the part of most viewers to even give it a chance, and due to the nature of the show one can't really pick it up in the middle and must go rent the first season's DVDs if they want to get drawn into it (and I don't think a lot of people are willing to do that). The show has one more season on the air starting this winter, and after that the creators have decided they won't do it anymore because they only had five seasons' worth of stories in mind when they created it and think it won't be feasible to continue it beyond that without the show dropping severely in quality. If you've never seen the show, or even worse, if you've never heard of it, do yourself a favor and check it out now. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.