The Wire has very good acting and displays a picture of detectives trying to ...
591306
The Wire has very good acting and displays a picture of detectives trying to close drug and crime cases.  Upper management in the Police Department prefer cases not to go to far and want only to catch not the leaders of the various crime operations.  There is a single unit of detectives  that feel differently.  The leader of the unit is a LT.  He is consistently getting called to managements office to be asked what the hell they are doing going after politicians when they are involved.
3314211
This is a fun show, with great acting and sometimes some silly antics.  I love the concept of retired detectives working cold cases.  It not only has crime solving, but it attacks the subject of aging and marriage very well.  Lots of unresolved issues are examined in everyone's private lives.  It is a pleasant change from other crime shows, in that you get a few laughs along the way.
2096784
As a lover of good cop shows my viewing as been a little flat since the ending of The Wire and The Shield. Fear not however the second series of the French TV cop show Spiral has filled the void nicely. Whilst not up to the standard of the Wire, but then what is? Spiral 2 is as good if not better that the Shield and way ahead of both Law and Order and CSI (Yawn)and better that Spiral 1.

As an Anglo/Saxon I am not sure I always understood the workings of the French legal system and the relationship between the police and the examining magistrates, who are confusingly called judges but are more like an American DAs. However I cannot say that this stopped my enjoyment of this excelent series. In a nutshell a group of French police investigate the burning alive of a drug dealer in a poor Parisien suburb and this leads them to uncover a large drug ring. Throw a couple of corrupt lawyers and we have an excelent example of the genre.
As an aside, do not expect French elegence. These flics must be the scruffest coppers on British, US or French TV.
Hope season 3 is a good.
365818
The Wire is a fantastic show.  I served in Afghanistan as an instructor/adviser with the national counterinsurgency center from 2011-2012.  I wish I would have seen it and had it available as an instructional reference.  The corollaries between the description of the environment in this show and the reality of Afghanistan are stunning.  The only differences are the scale of the problem in Afghanistan: and that the "drug cartel" in the real operational environment is in open conflict with government to control territory.
1787263
5 stars for a creative means of presenting a murder investigation with excellent acting by main characters. Interplay between main characters very believable which made surprise ending that much more surprising. i also liked the fact that the surprise was actually supported by clues presented during the movie; so the writers played fair with the audience.
4345340
A well produced and well acted show. I found the wire to be engaging, it drew me in from the first episode. I look forward to more seasons and seeing the outcome for our many players in this heart aching look into drugs, cultural woes, and relationships in this look into both sides of crime.
2064237
Masterpiece Theatre's "I, Claudius" and PBS's Mystery production, "Reilly: Ace of Spies" were the best programs I had seen on American television (and please note the two were British television productions), until "The Wire."  The HBO series provided a new standard of excellence in television that has yet to be surpassed.  If you like your crime dramas smart you'll love "The Wire."
4396431
I guess I missed this altogether when it first came out.  I am glad I am watching now.  Powerful performances from scripts cleverly knit together.  More believable police work situations than most crime dramas.  More time is spent developing story lines that are sprinkled with legal constraints and devious organized crime.  You would expect crime investigations to be this difficult!
2800382
The daily struggle of law enforcement, the city government, the schools and the family structure to combat the invasion of the drug culture is laid bare. The characterization of all segment of society is so real it is like the actors are truly off the street. The plot is SUSPENSEFUL and totally engaging.  THE WIRE is a very entertaining sociological study of inner city America.
1976737
The Wire maintains its high standards. Great writing - great character & plot development - great acting - a great watch.
2814285
We are thoroughly enjoying this show.  It's new and different for a cop show.  The lead actors are well matched and believeable.  Show centers around a new division of the police force.  Where four officer's/detectives (one is a psychologist) who all deal with cases involving  mental suspects or victims.  Check it out.  I highly recommend it.
1066280
The Wire reaffirmed my faith in television as a legitimate artistic medium.

The Wire is not only socially-relevant and important, but also brilliantly acted and written. The complexity of each character makes it difficult to make easy distinctions between "good" and "bad," which is a remarkable feat in any medium (be it tv, film or literature), and even more remarkable given the polarized times that we live in, and network television's tendency to "dumb-down" shows with overt-dialog, flashy editing and melodramatic background music. The Wire's enormously-detailed story fills in the nitty-gritty aspects of criminal justice and doesn't overlook the tedium, uncertainty and difficulty of actually bringing someone to court AND pinning charges on them---this is crucial, given the one-dimensional, fits-in-a-perfect-box, glossed-over, formulaic nature of most network cop and court shows.

One stand-out character is Omar (Michael K. Williams), the Robin Hood-esque vigilante who robs drug dealers. Omar's understated, sophisticated dialogs and clear-eyed morality (despite his chosen "profession") make him a classic character, in addition to a complex one. One can't call him a "good" guy as he operates outside the law and has no loyalties. His character is representative of the complexity and brilliance to which The Wire aspires---other shows would forgo such a character, in favor of simpler dichotomies between good and bad, cop and druglord. Omar represents a bizarre middle-ground, and one that no doubt actually DOES exist in the real world of the urban drug trade.

D'Angelo (Larry Gillard Jr.), a "lieutenant"-grade drug dealer, also shines as a portrait of a conflicted, tortured individual. He recognizes the violence and immorality of his job, and questions it continually; he makes mistakes, but accepts his punishments as a form of penance, which is in-line with his sense of right and wrong. He is a drug dealer, but one who abhors violence and has a melancholic, near-nihilistic philosophy about his own life, even while he encourages other youths around him to shun the drug trade.

Season One of The Wire is a masterpiece. It frustrates the viewer without providing easy answers; at the same time, it is realistic and honest because of its attention to the harsh truths of the world. In real life, not everything works out perfectly. The Wire recognizes this grim fact and turns it into a riveting, artistic, heartbreaking examination of urban poverty, criminal justice, politics, drugs and race.

The Wire is simply unprecedented and stunning.
819508
My wife and I were held captivated by the story line and acting. The acting was exceptionally good with a huge twist towards the end.
As the story developed the mystery was who could it be and why were all the unrelated events happening, this is a very good movie
and one for any amateur detective .
1127790
Season 1 of the wire was absolutely riveting. The urban towers setting is one we see in all of our own cities on some level.
The drug and gang culture is unerringly depicted, but I think what makes the magic alchemy is the dialogue, which is as close
to rap as you can get in daily commication, on the poetic side.  The verbal exchanges by the drug gang and the narcotics/homocide
detectives is cutting edge, and actually requires close concentration at times to absorb the meanings.  Many major themes are explored in this show, including the absurdity at times of both selling drugs and apprehending drug sellers in the criminal justice system.  The system itself is flawed and contradictory at times, as is the reflection of Dee that the gang killings for the sake of money makes no sense.  As in all great and legendary programs, which I believe this show, and particularly season 1 ranks, the characterizations of characters, plot, casting, dialogue and exploration of the absurd is exquisite.
107646
"The Wire" is quite possibly the best television series ever made. Plot is excellent, acting is spot on, and it's portrayal of how serious and devastating it really is for our inner cities that we have lost the war on drugs is stunning. The premise of this season seems unlikely, that a major unit commander in the Baltimore Police Department would be able to establish a "safe haven" for drug dealing to free up his resources and create a climate in which he could rescue some areas of his district from the ravages of the drug trade. In fact, something like this actually did happen, and the third season is based on a real effort. Because its cast is mostly non-white, it gives the viewer a chance to see some terrific acting from many performers not normally featured in prominent television roles. Some of the cast though have made an impact on TV; Idris Elba went on to star in the BBC's "Luther", Lance Reddick did Lost and Fringe, but my favorite is Wendell Pierce, who plays Det. Bunk Moreland. At any rate, great cast and riveting storyline.
2077981
Very good gritty, hard-edged crime drama.

Fair story, good score, and very good acting make this one a better than average revenge movie featuring the denizens of the underworld.  Harvey Keitel in particular gives his usual outstanding performance.  Lucy Liu makes an all too short appearance as a "dancer".

Note: this has considerable profanity, a lot of violence, and some attractive women displaying their assets so it's not for everyone.  If you don't mind these things ( or if you enjoy them) it's a good show especially for fans of film noir genre.
2287318
My recent retirement has left me with lots of "surplus" TV watching time.  Since I'm pretty much up to date on all the newly available TV shows. I'm doing some backtracking and watching past TV series that I originally missed out on.  I remember hearing excellent reviews when The Wire was first broadcast on HBO and decided to start viewing from the beginning.

I will admit that I was somewhat unimpressed while viewing the first couple of episodes of season 1.  A lot of characters are thrown at you and the plot is not yet developed.  I'm glad I decided to hang in there because I was definitely hooked by the middle of the season 1 episodes. I actually ordered season 2 before I finished season 1.

I highly recommend season 1 of The Wire.  If you missed it when it was originally aired, there's no time like the present to correct that oversight.....