The Wire - More real than reality television

I finished watching HBO's The Wire over the weekend, and I think it's safe for me to say it's my favorite television series of all time. I bought myself the entire series (the box set) last Christmas, and did something I rarely do- sat down and watched every second of every episode in order from beginning to end. That's some 3600 minutes. I was glued to the television the entire time. If I was interuppted, I would promptly pause the DVD player so that I wouldn't miss a moment. I had never seen anything quite like it.

What makes The Wire different from practically every other TV show is the fact that it is realistic. I mean, truly realistic. If I ever ran into one of the actors who played these complex characters I would call them by their character's name, not their real name, because that's how genuine each and every one of them was when they played their role. Even minor characters who only had a few scenes were impressive. In fact, I know now that many of the minor characters were just regular people from Balitmore who wanted to be part of history. The show isn't just about good guys vs. bad guys. It's about the good and bad in everyone. No character is purely good, although there are at least a couple who I would say are purely evil. It's about how everything- from the police department, to the local government, to the schools, to the media, to the ports, to the people actually living and dying on the streets, are connected. These are all real people just trying to survive.

My friend and I were talking about how the show never won an Emmy, or never received high ratings when it was on the air. While I've never read a bad review of the show, many of my friends and relatives have never even heard of the show. I remember reading a review of it in Entertainment Weekly in 2006, where they called it "the greatest show on television." At the time, I thought "what's this show?" but I know I wanted to eventually check it out because I'd never seen a review so positive before. I eventually began watching clips of the show on Youtube, and soon realized that this was something different. This show is bigger now than it ever was when it was on the air, and I think that's mostly based on word of mouth. In 100 years, I feel that people will still be talking about it(if people are still around then) and even lumping it in the same category as classic works by Shakespeare and the Beatles.

I think the main reason why this show was never that popular is because it is too realistic. Ignorance is bliss. People rather turn on their TV sets or go to the movie theatre to escape reality, not encounter it. Reality TV? Everyone knows it's about as fake as fictional TV or even much of our so-called "news." People don't want to know the truth, because that means they might actually have to do something about it. But they have themselves to worry about already.

This show has changed my life and opened up my eyes. I now have a mission to let as many people as possible know about this wonderful series.