It's blasphemy, but how long does it take The Wire to get good? I thought the pilot was dull.
Watched 3 episodes, I quitted, gave it another shot, watched 4 episodes, quitted.
3rd time; bingo, best ever made, best, best in the game. and it's not even close.
That acting is just great as well.
Wow, this was pretty close to my experience. I wondered why people thought it was so good. Stopped watching. Started again to get through most of season 1. Then like a year later picked up where I left off and now it's my #1 show of all time.
I really can't explain it. I just didn't really understand what I was watching at first, I think. It's not a fast paced show. Very subtle. Dark in an almost mundane way. It's not clear where the story line is going. You're not sure what to expect and I think the problem is that you're not sure that you should expect anything to happen that you care about. Then you just "get it" and you're hooked.
I think you nailed it.
I also think you need to get deeper into the show. Season 1 is solid. Season 2 is probably the weakest. The final 3 seasons are excellent. Just top notch television.
Basically, what I'm saying is, get past the dock season and you're golden.
It's all about the Omar
This conversation inspired me to re-watch the Wire again. I was already in the camp that thought it was the greatest show of all time, but it's always fun to re-watch something you enjoy. Plus I wanted to pay closer attention to the little things I may have missed the first time around as well as try to see why others don't instantly like it.
I think part of people not instantly liking it is because it's such a huge ensemble cast, so it takes a while to really get to know some of the better characters. Through the first 3 episodes, Omar has only like 2 brief scenes, Bubbles is just some junkie, and I don't even think Lester has talked yet. But in episodes 4-6 that's when guys like Omar and Bubbles really start to shine. Lester gets some lines, maybe Prez starts to grow on you a little, etc. By the time the end of the first season rolls around you realize there's several minor characters (like Wee-Bey, Wallace) that you liked that didn't get a lot of air time.
Also part of the problem is it takes the first 3 episodes to really lay the foundation for the rest of the season. It's episodes 4+ where the investigation really gets going, then they just piece a little together every episode after that and you can't wait to see how it all unravels, if it unravels at all.
At least that's how I feel about it having just re-watched all of Season 1 over the last 4 days. Very enjoyable even for the 2nd time around.
Interested to hear if Roy or mef730 were able to get past the first few episodes and if your opinions have changed?