TV for a Wire-ista.

rick_chasey

I finished watching the Wire for the second time over the Holidays, and I'm already suffering withdrawel symptoms.

Has anyone come across anything that is likely to fill my fix?

Perhaps the Sopranos is as good as the Wire?

Any ideas?

pb21

The Sopranos is good but not as good as The Wire, but then again nothing is.

However I started watching Mad Men last month and it is the best TV I have seen since, it is very good.

rick_chasey

pb21 wrote:

The Sopranos is good but not as good as The Wire, but then again nothing is.

However I started watching Mad Men last month and it is the best TV I have seen since, it is very good.

Yeah...

I'm quite up to speed on Mad Men, since the GF is very keen.

daviesee

I never watched The Wire so i don't know if it would coincide with your tastes but I enjoeyed The Shield. Should be available cheap on DVD.

MattC59

Have a look at 'Boardwalk Empire'. It's an HBO series and I believe will be on Sky1 in January. I've seen the first 4 episodes (hookey chinese dvd) and it's great !
Set in Atlantic City 1920, just as prohibition starts. Lots of character setting in the first episode, but a great story and lots of action and twists. Plenty of 20's gangster stuff and a young Al Capone features.

Worth a look !!

rick_chasey

MattC59 wrote:

Have a look at 'Boardwalk Empire'. It's an HBO series and I believe will be on Sky1 in January. I've seen the first 4 episodes (hookey chinese dvd) and it's great !
Set in Atlantic City 1920, just as prohibition starts. Lots of character setting in the first episode, but a great story and lots of action and twists. Plenty of 20's gangster stuff and a young Al Capone features.

Worth a look !!

Isn't that Scorsese? Might have a look...

I think that's gonig to launch the new Sky Atlantic Channel.

Writing in TV is everything writing in holywood isn't at the moment.

Omar Little

The Sopranos is really good. Overall not as good as the Wire but still excellent. (If you have sky then the new channel they are launching soon (sky atlantic) will be showing the Sopranos from season 1)

Deadwood is good, particularly the first couple of seasons.

Second the suggestions for the Shield and Mad Men.

Currently making my way through a couple of christmas box sets - Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad and they are both really good too. One is basically Hamlet but with a motorcycle gang and the other about a high school chemistry teacher who gets cancer and starts making crystal meth to make money for his family before he dies.

Lagavulin

I too have been making my way through The Wire - again - over the festive period.

I know nothing of it but the The Corner is in my recommendations list on Amazon.

Generation Kill is fabulous viewing if you've not seen it already.

CHRISNOIR

I'm in exactly the same situation and have opted for 'The Sopranos' box-set. I'm only two episodes in but it seems brilliant.

pb21

Lagavulin wrote:

Generation Kill is fabulous viewing if you've not seen it already.

Agree with this.

Regarding The Shield, I found it pretty lightweight and glossy, at least compared to The Wire which, to be fair, I had only just finished and was looking for something to fill the void. Didn’t make it past the first series.

Pross

Rick Chasey wrote:

MattC59 wrote:

Have a look at 'Boardwalk Empire'. It's an HBO series and I believe will be on Sky1 in January. I've seen the first 4 episodes (hookey chinese dvd) and it's great !
Set in Atlantic City 1920, just as prohibition starts. Lots of character setting in the first episode, but a great story and lots of action and twists. Plenty of 20's gangster stuff and a young Al Capone features.

Worth a look !!

Isn't that Scorsese? Might have a look...

I think that's gonig to launch the new Sky Atlantic Channel.

Writing in TV is everything writing in holywood isn't at the moment.

Agreed and also writng for American TV drama is everything British TV drama isn't - who'd have thunk it! :shock:

balthazar

Has anybody watched Treme? I was hoping to start on it soon. I have obscenely high expectations after The Wire.

EKE_38BPM

Lagavulin wrote:

Generation Kill is fabulous viewing if you've not seen it already.

Agreed.

If you want a mini-series I'd go with Generation Kill. If you want something more substantial, I'd go with Mad Men.

Anonymous

Horrible Histories is entertaining and informative. No swearing though .

rick_chasey

daviesee wrote:

I never watched The Wire.

You should! It's SO good.

rick_chasey

Ever since Band of Brothers and watching letters from Iowa-Jima i'm a little scepticle of US based war stuff. Can you guys confirm that Generation Kill isn't sentimental or generally of that poor propoganda-esq ilk?

cedar404

In Treatment.

Spiral.

cedar404

Double Post.

pb21

Rick Chasey wrote:

Can you guys confirm that Generation Kill isn't sentimental or generally of that poor propoganda-esq ilk?

Confirmed.

Its from HBO and I think was written by one of the guys from The Wire. Much more political and character driven than the others.

gandhi

balthazar wrote:

Has anybody watched Treme? I was hoping to start on it soon. I have obscenely high expectations after The Wire.

I have. I loved it, but I don't think it's as good as the Wire.

I've recently been enjoying Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy.

mr_poll

The Wire was superb - I also really liked Damages, series 1 is excellent and think they are up to series 3 now (a couple of Wire actors turn up in it too) thats worth looking at.

I saw an ad on Sky the other day - for Sky Atlantic which will basically be HBO for us Brits, and it will be free (well part of standard subscription) - out beginning of Feb I think, which is good news.

afx237vi

Generation Kill left me pretty cold, to be honest. I thought it was too dialogue-driven and there were entire episodes where absolutely sod all actually happened. It was probably an honest portrayal of what happened in the early days of the war... that is, a load of blokes sitting around waiting and talking crap. Didn't like it.

bbish007

OK first of all, bear in mind that nothing is as good as The Wire.... here are my recommendations.

The Sopranos - is great, my favourite thing on TV till I got around to watching the above :-)

Boardwalk Empire - I have seen the whole first season and I love it. Well worth a watch and easier to follow than the Wire while still not holding your hand. Will be interesting to watch the second season and see if they can continue the high standard. Steve Buscemi(?) is suprisingly great as the corrupt politician (with a heart) come reluctant mob boss. Definitely could be considered up there with the Wire if the following seasons continue to impress.

The Walking Dead - Pretty good series though only 6 episodes. Eg from this life (Andrew Lincoln) is pretty good in his break through American role. Gory however the plot plods along in places. First episode is the best of the 6th though. Been commissioned for a second season. Based on the graphic novels if you are Zombie mad which are great.

The first season of Brotherhood is worth looking up if you can get it - Jason Issacs at his best, very convincing as a Irish American gangster and his relationship with his councillor / MP brother.

Hope this helps.

AndyOgy

I think that the best series to come out of America recently has been Leverage.

It's a bit cheesy/corny at times but the plots are well thought out and the action sequences are really well choreographed.

Thinking about it, it's absolutely nothing like The Wire. However, I really enjoyed The Wire (it got me through my unemployment, following being made redundant), and thus Leverage may appeal to someone with similar tastes.

I also enjoyed Terriers, in a quirky kind of way. But I just heard that it got cancelled after finishing season 1 on a cliffhanger.

warpcow

Generation Kill is worth it, and not particularly proganda-ey. More like it has respect for the what the guys do, but sees the situation they are in as completely absurd, as they do too.

Treme is a bit difficult. It is very good in my opinion, but very slow. If anything it's simply about capturing the atmosphere of post-Katrina New Orleans, rather than telling any particular story.

I'd definitely second Breaking Bad. It's probably my favourite ongoing series right no. But again it's different to The Wire. The first season of Boardwalk Empire was very promising too.

Sopranos is a must.

Perhaps a slightly 'out there' suggestion: Battlestar Galactica? It's pretty impressive, and in many respects manages to achieve as broad a narrative as The Wire.

Edit: Terriers was good, and proabably worth it despite them not making more.

cedar404

Arrested Development - there are so many jokes, in jokes and alike going on in this show that its worth watching episodes twice just to keep up with them.

R.I.P.

Finbar Saunders

I've had the fifth and final season of The Wire on DVD for over a year now and couldn't start watching it because I knew there would be no more after I finished it!! I hadn't thought about starting over on season 1. I eventually started the fifth season over the holidays but have been trying to ration it.

I liked The Shield and Breaking Bad as well. I have Band of Brothers on Blu-ray but haven't really got into it. I watch Dexter and Damages but both seem a bit too sanitised so I'll record them but wouldn't buy them if I had missed a series.

I too am looking forward to Sky Atlantic. Just Googled it and it looks pretty good.

As far as British programming goes I'm currently enjoying Above Suspicion and looking forward to the return of Shameless......

"Tickets this way for the Chatsworth Express
Come and watch pikeys making a mess
Of the lives they were given by him upstairs
And kids they're convinced aren't actually theirs

What sound on earth could ever replace
Kids needing money and wives in your face
Cos this, people reckon, and me included,
Is why pubs and drugs were kindly invented

To calm us all down, stop us going mental
These are Chatsworth Estate's basic essentials
We are worth every penny, we're grinding your axes
You sit on our head, but you pay the taxes

Imagine a Britain without Chatsworth buccaneers
We'll come on your face for the price of a beer
Make poverty history, cheaper drugs now
Make poverty history, cheaper drugs now!"

rick_chasey

Cheers guys, sounds good. Will have a look and let you know what I decide to go for.

Do keep them coming.

I just want something that I get quite excited about, especially now the cycling season is nowhere to be seen.

As for Finbar. Season 5. It's still the Wire, but not quite the same.

Also, you see the Wire world in a different and interesting way, 2nd time around. Stringer Bell in particular feels very different.

CHRISNOIR

gandhi wrote:

I've recently been enjoying Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy.

Breaking Bad is absolutely excellent and much recommended! I struggled a bit with Sons of Anarchy (I found it can be a bit cheesy) but have vowed to give it another crack.

daviesee

Rick Chasey wrote:

daviesee wrote:

I never watched The Wire.

You should! It's SO good.

I hadn't even heard of it :oops:

Thanks for the heads up. Looks like I have yet another multi-season box set to get :P

I am currently stuck in season 2 of 24 Hours and getting bored.
Still to go - Blackadder, Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister and The Pacific.

The long nights may not be so bad after all

pneumatic

Oh bu88er, not you lot as well. :evil:

I lost Mrs P to the Wire just before Christmas. She bought the box set for me to give her for Christmas but then she wouldn't let me wrap it up and just dived right in. Now, she sits up in bed half the night watching it on her laptop.

She did suggest we watch it together (a sort of wire threesome, I suppose), but then said I would have to catch up series one on my own first.

I am sure it is good in the same was as George Clooney is handsome, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be any less miffed to find him in bed with my wife!! :twisted: