Geir Arne Brevik, January 11 2008:
How to start watching The Wire
- Above all – watch it on DVD, and start with season 1, episode 1. Anything else is utterly pointless.
- The first few episodes may seem slow, and almost boring. This is how it is. This is a good thing. This is the tempo of The Wire. The lack of cliffhangers (well, there’s one in season 1), is how it’s supposed to be. After a few episodes, you’ll be accustomed. It’s worth the struggle.
- Don’t feel bad if you get overwhelmed by all the characters. It’s a lot of people. You can use the overview at HBO.com as a cheat sheet, but – AND THIS IS IMPORTANT – don’t click and read the character bios, as that’ll reveal major plot points in future seasons and episodes.
- Heck, don’t search for information about the show on the Internet at all. Currently, the show is in it’s fifth and last season, and things are not the way they started out. You’ll miss the surprise (if not shock) of some major plot turns if you’re too eager on Google. In other words: A great thing about the Wire is that you’ll never know who will die next.
- Don’t feel bad if you don’t understand how the cornerboys speak. Subtitling is your friend. I’ve even seen interviews with some actors on the show talking about how they didn’t understand some of their lines. And this doesn’t get better over time (season 4, I’m looking at you).
- Know that every scene and every character counts. Minor characters in one season may become major characters in the next. Or the other way around. Minor events may have big consequences. Your reward will be great if you pay attention. I’m not saying you’ll have to sit at your desk and take notes while watching, but this is not Everybody loves Raymond either.
- If you’re a heterosexual woman: Please don’t talk constantly about how hot McNulty is. We’ve heard it, all right? I haven’t found this same kind of strange obsession about other characters, so if you get a crush on, say, Bubs, please do go on about it!
- Enjoy the best show on TV!
