I'm only on season two of The Wire, but unless its current season is drastically different from the first couple, I can't imagine what single episode would convey the breadth and depth of this series that plays like a complex novel. The new provision that Emmy contenders can submit 250 words to explain the series is their stab at redressing the problem with serialized shows, but if a picture's worth a thousand words, 250 on the page don't go very far in creating the same impact as a season's worth of pictures onscreen.
I'm not at all saying I'd trade the House nomination for a nomination for The Wire — for pure enjoyment, I'll still take my messed-up doctor over the messed-up cops and drug dealers — but I'd trade a Boston Legal, or a Heroes, or a Grey's Anatomy for it and fight those shows' fans for the privilege.
But I didn't say that last year, or the year before, or the year before that, because I'd never seen The Wire, barely heard anything about it, and even if I had watched an episode out of context, I can't imagine I'd have understood how perfectly it fit into one season-long story.
I have no solution for the Emmys, unless they want to start instituting a rule that all voters must spend half their lives watching television, but I have a solution for us fans: lower those expectations. Realize the limitations of the voting process so we can complain in context.
And go watch The Wire.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
spot-on analysis of the problem and limitations with The Wire getting the attention it deserves from The Emmys.
Season Three and Four don't disappoint. I can't wait for Five except it's supposed to be the last season. Did you see Simon's miniseries The Corner? It was on HBO and tells, I think, a year in the life of people living the hard streets of Baltimore.
2 - El Bicho
Another issue is the voters live and work in LA and NY, so Wire cast and crew have little chance to bond with their peers.
3 - Josh Lasser
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States.
4 - Diane Kristine
Good point about the geography, El Bicho. I haven't seen The Corner but I intend to hunt it down soon - maybe after I catch up on season three, before I go stir crazy waiting for season four to come out on DVD.
5 - gonzo marx
solid Article...
/golfclap
and sign me up for the Wire being one of the most overlooked and under recognized shows ever to grace the cable/tv
a true Novel of Literature in visual form and format, nothing forced, plastic, two dimensional in this series...gritty...realistic because the Writer was THERE and has the Talent to deliver the Real in left hook to the jaw doses...
from the trials and tribulations of Bubbles the Junkie to the Robbin' da Hood gay rip off artists Omar, the cops the gangs, the Streets...little Hoppers to heroin kingpins...
the inter-relationships of dockside workers, middle school kids, gangster masterminds, cops on the beat and city hall...all flower, bloom and wither in tight intricate episodes painting a stark mosaic of a decaying American port city overlooked by the DC/LA?NYC crowd
one of the best things ever on TV, grab the DVDs or catch it on HBO (if you have digital, sometimes the on-demand function runs the entire series)
it may not be a surprise that this Masterpiece is overlooked, but it's still a filthy shame and condemnation of the Awards apparatus
this series deserves Watching, so sayteth yer gonzo...
Excelsior?
6 - matt
Agree wholeheartedly with your review. But season 2 deals with another aspect of society, mainly labor unions. I think you'll enjoy season 4 tremendously. Too bad it comes out in about a year.
7 - Morgenstern
Well, I can't say House changed my life. But it has enriched my life. As has The Wire. One of your comments stayed in my head: "It's disingenuous to create a show so defiantly non-mainstream and then complain that it didn't hit the mainstream." Somehow that made me want to watch The Wire. And it was worth every minute. Can't wait for season 5. Thank you, Diane. And thank you for the weekly House blog as well. It was fun while it lasted.