THIS SATURDAY, THE Independent presents the 50 Best Boxsets.
Boy oh boy, do I love box sets. No adverts, no waiting. Some shows, like The Shield and Oz, I've only ever known on DVD. It's the way to watch proper television.
And it doesn't come much more proper than
The Independent's No.1,
The Wire.
The Wire isn't television, it isn't art, it's beyond that. It's religion. If you want meaning, if you want truth, if you want television and cinema to make you
feel something, this is it.
A black, gay gangster everyone is afraid of - talk about exploding stereotypes. The moment Bodie shoots Wallace - still makes me wanna weep just to think about it. Oh and Stringer Bell. The slow, dying death of the docks. Hamsterdam. Kima Greggs, the best lesbian ever. Boys of Summer. Every scene with Bubbles. JD Williams murdered again. The old lady Bunny Colvin needs to get out of Hamsterdam. Spider. Dukie. The lady and her coupons. The ties. Boys, boys, boys. And men. And the most beautiful cinematography ever. Space and time, and thought.
The Wire feeds the ear, the mind, and the eye.
As it happens, I've just taken delivery of my complete series boxset (I sold my individual season sets on eBay to get this beauty). I didn't buy the sucky UK version (five regular DVD cases in a card case). I imported the sexy US set, and I've just embarked on Season Five. I know Omar gets killed (but I haven't got there yet) but I don't know anything else.
It'll all be over soon, but great novels can be reread again and again.
So - what's
your favourite Wire moment?
Elsewhere - The 50 Best Boxsets
Elsewhere - HBO.com/thewire
Boy oh boy, do I love box sets. No adverts, no waiting. Some shows, like The Shield and Oz, I've only ever known on DVD. It's the way to watch proper television.
And it doesn't come much more proper than The Independent's No.1, The Wire.
The Wire isn't television, it isn't art, it's beyond that. It's religion. If you want meaning, if you want truth, if you want television and cinema to make you feel something, this is it.
A black, gay gangster everyone is afraid of - talk about exploding stereotypes. The moment Bodie shoots Wallace - still makes me wanna weep just to think about it. Oh and Stringer Bell. The slow, dying death of the docks. Hamsterdam. Kima Greggs, the best lesbian ever. Boys of Summer. Every scene with Bubbles. JD Williams murdered again. The old lady Bunny Colvin needs to get out of Hamsterdam. Spider. Dukie. The lady and her coupons. The ties. Boys, boys, boys. And men. And the most beautiful cinematography ever. Space and time, and thought. The Wire feeds the ear, the mind, and the eye.
As it happens, I've just taken delivery of my complete series boxset (I sold my individual season sets on eBay to get this beauty). I didn't buy the sucky UK version (five regular DVD cases in a card case). I imported the sexy US set, and I've just embarked on Season Five. I know Omar gets killed (but I haven't got there yet) but I don't know anything else.
It'll all be over soon, but great novels can be reread again and again.
So - what's your favourite Wire moment?
Elsewhere - The 50 Best Boxsets
Elsewhere - HBO.com/thewire
