Note to self

Just in case I forget in ten years, don't get drawn into comparing the big four of HBO dramas ever. The four should be quite unaminous according to ratings or critics - but ten years is a long time, so - the shortlist: Six Feet Under, Sopranos, The Wire and Deadwood. I'd agree with people who think Six Feet Under is pretentious but I think it was inevitable with that premise, at least Ruth stayed above all that; she probably should have lashed out at her children somemore when they were young, at least then she'd have gotten something from them - I liked the Fisher children, but even I thought they were a bit ungrateful and coming from an ungrateful child like moi that's saying something. The main point is whichever one is on rewatch automatically becomes my favourite for that span so I feel like I should waste time on other impertinent questions such as "Will Roger Federer tally 22 slams by the time he's done? (To match the total of Agassi and Sampras combined)". I think at this moment that it is not a crazy proposition assuming he stays healthy for the most part.

From the ratings perspective, The Wire would be the weak sister and Sopranos the leader by a mile. But from the critics and the rabid fan support angle, The Wire is probably the champion. Having spent an absurd amount of time to think about the greatness of The Wire, I feel it comes down a few factors:

1. The Black culture - It's not something most of the appreciating audience comes into contact with in real life. Moreover, you almost never see a heavy drama on American television where the cast is predominantly black and speaking street. So it's a combination of a coolness factor mixed with an authenticity and uniqueness bonus. There's no other show with that kind of cache. The Wire, however it frames the interaction of its characters, runs no danger of coming off as patronising or pretentious - something that none of the other shows can count on.

2. The Freedom to go Slow - On a network show, it seems every other show is some form of mystery of the week and a resolution to a situation is always within a few episodes save for the one thread stringing the main plot. Cable shows, on the other hand, can move at a molasses pace without having executives pulling the fire alarm and evacuating the building. Actually, this is something that was mentioned by a producer of Lost when he or she was defending the honour of Heroes in its sophomore season. My contention is that The Wire might be even slower than any other cable show but that does not equate to tardiness. To me, each of the four seasons of The Wire have hit their stride on about the eighth or ninth episode. Before that point, the dialogue and personal dramas hold down the fort. The Wire will never have our favourite division solving petty thefts and finding lost dogs.Actually, it's great and I wouldn't have it any other way.

3. The gritty police perspective - Legalizing soft drugs seems to be the common stance among policemen but not among the rest of society where there's a significant divide. When I was watching the show, it seemed natural to support softening the stance on junkies and the softer drugs in general. The Wire will make their case very strongly. Junkies will chase their high until they die; it's sad but probably one of those near certainties neighbouring on death and taxes. From the police perspective, cleaning them up off the streets is neither worth the effort nor possible. I probably should have just went straight for the impossible part. The show should also be given credit for showing the results of such a decision as not being quite ugly in the form of Hamsterdam. To state the obvious, the drug war is very complicated with many gray areas. The most essential of these: "Is there any possibility of winning a clean victory? Just winning?"

4. Social commentary - The Wire, unlike The Sopranos, works best as social commentary. So it really plays better to the liberal audience as opposed to the conservatives. Ultra-conservative viewers will reject most of the moral dilemmas and the subsequent compromises presented as reprehensible. They'll also hardly have a character to identify with or support. So political alignment is very important to the enjoyment of the show. This is something that the other three HBO gems also suffer from, but less so in my opinion. Then again, the predominantly black cast probably chased away all the octogenarians watching CSI as well as all the Reaganites watching Fox News. Oh, The Wire also portrayed a labour union (dock workers) sympathetically and the depressing state of blue-collar labourers of American industry. So that says something about which side of the battle it's on. Uh, if there's a battle at all; I don't want to suggest there's some kind of class war because there doesn't seem to be. The blue-collar have clearly been roofied, penetrated while being videoed by the people with the green. I'm not saying it's unfair; I'm just saying it is. Saying a spade has for clovers doesn't make it so - would anybody believe that this was a quote from Abraham Lincoln on poker night while on his nineteenth white russian? No? Oh well, keep telling everyone the Civil War was on account of slavery, Honest (?) Abe (in heaven or hell or wherever you are)! And keep in touch with Honest Richard and Honest Ronald.