Why Do I Watch 'The Wire'?
Having had enough of the constant articles telling me how great it was, and finally being persuaded by the recommendation of a work mate of good taste, I finally watched series 1 of The Wire.

I watched an episode about once every 3/4 weeks and every time I watched it, or thought about doing so I had an odd feeling about it. Now I've finished watching it I have come to realise why this is. For a TV drama, The Wire seems 'real' on a level that few are. There's little in the way of humour or stylistic touches, it's not shot in that documentary/cinema verite style but is real in the sense that there is virtually no bull involved - It tells it like it is in a way few programmes do.

So I came to this conclusion - In some sense, watching The Wire is like watching the news or reading a newspaper. You know there is seldom anything positive reported, that most of what you will see and read will hold a mirror up to world and show you the most unpleasant and base aspects of what men do to each other in pursuit of power and cold, hard cash. Yet, you still watch and read because you know you should. This is what watching The Wire is like - it's not pretty, it's seldom uplifting but you know you should watch it because it's telling you about the real world and you should know how that is, lest you bask in blissful ignorance and believe the way things are is acceptable and that you can do nothing about it.