THE WIRE Project: Start Over with GMMR
June 23, 2010 by Erik Wilkinson
Since THE WIRE wrapped up its fifth and final season in 2008, I have been astonished at the overwhelming praise it still receives from long time viewers. Though the show’s audience was much smaller than other HBO hits, such as THE SOPRANOS, I hear far more references to The Wire from TV critics and enthusiasts than its counterpart in New Jersey.
If personal favorites like Bill Simmons from ESPN, Jimmy Pardo from Never Not Funny, Alan Sepinwall from HitFix, and Teresa Strasser from The Adam Carolla Show ALL think it’s brilliant, then I should enjoy it, right? It’s like the transitive property they taught us in math class, applied to the world of entertainment.
Revisiting shows with passionate fan bases is a GIVE ME MY REMOTE tradition. Kath embraced her inner Sci-Fi fan by conquering Supernatural & Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In those instances, our fearless leader put her DVD player to the test by watching every episode in those series’ archives.
Because of my penchant for procrastination, I want to approach The Wire more slowly. The Season One DVD set has five discs, and I am watching one disc per week. Since I am terrible at working independently, I have recruited a partner in crime to examine the mean streets of Baltimore.
My friend Heather, who has known me since Vanilla Ice was still relevant to pop culture, has agreed to chat about the show each week. Armed with a Wi-Fi connection and a mutual interest in solving this puzzle, our chats will hopefully be a springboard to an active discussion for newbies.
Week by week, I hope our efforts come close to the enthusiasm that Kath & Dan bring to Two Idiots Talk Lost on their audio podcast.
The first installment of THE WIRE PROJECT will be posted next Wednesday, June 30th. We’ll be chatting about Disc 1 of the Season 1 DVD set, covering Episodes 1-3 of the show. Click over to your Netflix, Blockbuster Online, or other online accounts to join us.
There is always time to catch up, and we’ll be keeping up with all of the comments that are posted each week. I am SO EXCITED to see what all the fuss is about, and to share the experience with the GMMR community.
See you next Wednesday!
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I’ve also heard a lot of things about The Wire, as well, and I’ve never seen it. So, I am totally up for watching along with you guys!
That’s great, Alison! We’re total novices, and the show has a long list of characters and story arcs, so I think it helps to ease into it with friends. I was always a fan of LOST discussions as much as the show itself, so we’ll see where this goes!
Wait, are you saying Vanilla Ice is no longer relevant to pop-culture? Oh noes!
Just got done speed watching The Wire for the first time, nice meaty, rich, grity story that takes it’s time and isn’t afraid to leave some questions unanswered.
I’m in!
If folks are interested, starting July 18, Direct TV will be showing all 60 episodes of The Wire on The 101 Network – uncut and commercial free.
Word of warning- the wire turns you into a potty mouth.
I watched the first season for the first time about 2 months ago, and I swear to god after every episode i’d I walk around saying f’this f’that like I was cool or whatever. I was really embarrassing.
I’m so excited to get started! This project is a little less daunting with good company.
Jon: I apologize deeply for offending the passionate followers of Robbie Van Winkle’s alter ego 🙂 Thanks for sharing your good vibes about the series. The refreshing thing about this project is that I haven’t been spoiled on any big story arcs or twists, so it won’t be anti-climactic if/when those major events occur.
We will be very vigilant about keeping a “No Spoilers” policy in our comments section. It’s only fair to the nice folks who are joining in on the party!
Marisa: Thanks for jumping onboard with so much enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to sprinkling references about the show into our Team GMMR e-mails.
Pecola: What a great tip! I had no idea DirecTV was planning to re-air the series, and it should provide another way for GMMR readers to participate! Remember, we may be starting next Wednesday, but the conversations about each disc will be kept up all summer. Thanks for the helpful hint.
B: Good to know. I’m a teacher by trade and Heather is a lawyer, so I will take your advice to heart. (Note to self: Create an alternate word to use in chats to replace common curse words)
So looking forward to this! I just started watching The Wire a few weeks ago. Bought the entire 5 season DVD set.
SaraK: Welcome to the party! I am also a few episodes in, and I cannot wait to share this amazing show with the GMMR community.
Excellent–I purchased the box set a while back when it was on sale at Amazon. This is finally the motivation I need to crack (no pun intended) it open. I have now moved the box next to my TV to join in the fun–haven’t seen it before…
Note–hearing your past Supernatural effort caused me to do the same as the show aired on TNT–now I’m all caught up on that.
Kyle: If you subscribe to the TV Talk Podcast, you’re probably familiar with Kath & Dan’s entertaining discussions about True Blood, Supernatural, and The Vampire Diaries. If my memory isn’t completely foggy, I think it was Dan (from duckydoestv.com) who was a huge SN fan in the beginning, and encouraged Kath to catch up so that they could chat about the show.
Even though The Wire has already wrapped up, it seems to be the kind of show that can be watched, rewatched, and dissected in a fun and intellectually stimulating way. That’s the plan, at least 🙂
See you on Wednesday for Disc One. I’ll have a brief summary of the key characters and events, along with a transcript from my chats with Heather about the little details that amused/intrigued us. Then, the floor will be open for a fruitful discussion.
Sounds good–doesn’t look like I’ll have time to watch disc 1 this week–will need to catch up over the long weekend
Erik,
Thank you for doing this! Concerning TV shows, I believe there’s ‘The Wire’ and everything else…There is no question that this show can be watched and re-watched many times without losing any sense of wonder.
I look forward to reading your stuff.
Cheers.