HBO - Six Feet Under / the Wire - I don't see the appeal?

THE WIRE: I watched 3 episodes on HBO a few weeks ago. I was not
impressed. This is the "best show" on tv? Okay. I didn't care for

jayembee...

Yup. Absolutely. No contest.

it. (Perhaps because I avoid living in cities.) I thought the NBC
show Homicide was better, and that's not saying much.

Nobody...

You can't judge 'The Wire' by season 4. Rent the first 3 seasons and see
the background. Season 4 is a 'transitional period' for all the
characters.

SIX FEET UNDER: And now I watched the first 6 episodes on a Bravo
marathon. First hour was good, but the rest of the show left me cold &
disinterested. (I've noticed that happens alot; the pilot is good, but
the actual series is blah.) I decided not to watch any further.

bklyntv...

I've never watched the wire, but I'm convinced Six Feet Under is one of
the finest dramas ever filmed for TV.

If you don't get it you don't get it. Certainly 6 is an ample sample.
Guess the show's just not for you.

The appeal for me is: The characters are likable but flawed, and
fascinatingly unique, never cliched. The plots provide interesting
twists, the cinematograhy is feature film level. The comedy is dark and
truly funny at times. The themes run from vast (what is the meaning of
life?) to mundane (Why do I have to go to high school?).

I think one of the things I really like is the Fishers feel so
authentically like a family. They never spend any time hugging each
other or telling each other how much they admire each other (like on
"Brothers & Sisters--gag!). Most of the time they can't stand being in
the same room, but something draws them together to have their wacky
family dinner parties and they are there for each other when it really
counts.

TheNewsGuy(Mike)...

Anyone who does not know the meaning of "disinterested" instead of
"uninterested" and writes "alot" instead of "a lot" explains it all.
The show was not written for you. Sorry.

Martin Phipps...

I don't know if I would want to watch all sixty plus episodes but I've
been transfixed to every episode I've seen and have only ever looked
away when I saw men kissing. :)

Basically I felt like I was watching real people. And they were
interesting people. It's as though they followed a bunch of people
around and saved the best footage. The drawback is that after a season
I concluded that nothing had really happened. So, no, it's not for
everybody.

Ken from Chicago...

But some seasons were unremittingly depressing, every member of the frelling
Fischer family and eventually even infected the Diaz family. At least the
first season put the fun in funereal. Succeeding seasons became increasing
pedantic, mundane and soap operish.

Nobody...

I watched a few eps of this. Not bad, but nothing to bring me back.

Ken from Chicago...

It's the first season they really don't use the wiretap in a big way.

I thought HBO shows are supposed to be above-average? I don't see the

jayembee...

Maybe that's because you're below-average.

appeal. These shows were nowhere near as good as the best shows
Network tv (nbc, fox, cw,...) has to offer. Or as good as Basic Cable

jayembee...

SIX FEET UNDER, maybe not (even though it's quite good). THE WIRE
absolutely is *far* better than anything on network TV.

shows like Battlestar Galactica or the Shield.

jayembee...

Those are both outstanding shows, and are better than most of
what airs on HBO. But neither is better than THE WIRE. Both of
those series have had outstanding episodes, and both have had
sub-par episodes. THE WIRE has had only outstanding episodes. I've
watched every episode of THE WIRE several times, and I've found
every single one of them riveting every single time.

BSG comes close to being as compelling some of the time, but a
lot of the time, it just isn't. The writing isn't as tight, the
acting, across the board, isn't nearly as good.

And THE SHIELD is an outstanding example of TV melodrama, but it
is nonetheless just melodrama.

I don't see the appeal of these HBO programs?

kenm47...

I could never get into SFU, but my wife loved it. I never watched TW
but have friends who tell me how great it is (and The Shield).

The best show on TV at the moment, always subject to change should it
suddenly fall apart, is "Dexter."

Steve...

Except for the role of the sister, who tends to come across as a
complete dunce...

Ken from Chicago...

At first until you realize her self-confidence has been beatened, battered
and bruised for so long. However with encouragement she proves she has
skills, almost as good as Dex.

kenm47...

She almost caught Dexter in the "coyote" episode.

She's just normal compared to his superior abilities. Even Dex hasn't
figured out the doctor yet.

Ken (Brooklyn)

Beowulfie...

I didn't get to see it first run since I don't have premium channels on
my cable but I've been watching since they started airing them on Bravo.
I've seen the first4 or 5 and really like it. Hopefully Bravo runs all
of them.

Ken (Brooklyn)

jayembee...

Apparently not. Is that supposed to be a question?

palver...

I think it's a matter of personal taste, but I personally feel the same
way that HBO shows tend to be a bit over-rated as well, and there are
equally good, if not better, shows on network and basic cable channels
(e.g. SciFi's Battlestar Galactica, and NBC's The Office).

jayembee...

Very few people will actually dispute that. The problem here is
that you're using highly specific examples to counter very broad
generalities. No one is claiming that everything that airs on
HBO is better than everything that airs on broadcast network or
basic cable.

What most people say is that, HBO series *in general* tend to be
of a higher caliber than broadcast or basic cable series *in
general*. While there may be specific series on broadcast or
basic cable that are better than many HBO series, there's one
thing that I can say without reservation: in the past 15 or
so years, *there* *isn't* *one* *single* *drama* *series* on HBO
that I haven't thought was worth watching. That's far more than
can be said for broadcast or basic cable.

Being picky about whether or not Broadcast/Basic Series A is better
than HBO Series B is beside the point.

palver...

I'm sorry. You're right. What I meant to say in my original post is
that, of course, the examples I cited are what I feel to be among the
best shows on network tv. I've seen my fair share of poor shows on
network TV over the years too. However, HBO shows do appear to have a
greater latitude in terms of the content that they can put on screen
and seemingly having less time pressure (e.g. the long breaks in
between The Sopranos) as compared to network shows. As such, shouldn't
HBO shows reasonably be held to higher standards as well?

Dan J.S....

Most shows on major networks play to the common denominator. Shows on HBO do
require more patience and intelligence to get them. The Wire is pure genius.
Give it some more time.

PorchMonkey4Life...

Word 2 Big Bird !