Vote for why you think it jumped
Never Jumped
Death (Shane kills Lem)
Aceveda's big gulp
Glenn Close joins the cast
Flashback 14 months
Shark Bytes
I don't know if it's "better" than the Wire. I like them both and to me they both have a certain degree of realism. But at the same time they both have a certain degree of "hell naw" not in real life.
This is the best show on TV. Its real its raw and it just plain rocks! Too bad Sep 08 is the last of it.
Vic takes Aceveda's word on Lem's loyalty. The writers insult the audience to push Shane to kill Lem. From that point on, Vic gets into bed with Aceveda throughout Season 6.
The Shield is fantastic! It's better than The Wire. However, I do have some criticisms: Every single season finale, there's 10 commercials, 1 minute of the show, especially when it's the last 10 minutes; the show gets more and more ridiculous, like the recent season where Shane becomes an ally of the Armos and Vic is trying to gain the upper hand... 10 episodes of worthlessness.
why do people keep comparing the shield to the wire anyway? with the exception of having cops, which is a very superficial, they are drastically different in style and set out to accomplish different things. The Shield is supposed to be a gritty intense entertaining show,that is character-driven,plot not as important. The Wire wasn't created just for entertainment, it was created as social commentary, is very political, very complex plot driven, characters not as important, moral ambiguity, and entertaining in a more intellectual way. The Wire isn't a Crime Show, its a Crime Novel. So if your a fan of one show and looking for what makes your show great in the other show, your going to be dissapointed. Comparing The Shield to the Wire is like comparing NYPD Blue to Homicide:Life on The Street: both are great, but for different reasons
I love The Shield, really, but I also love a great tasting Big Mac. When I eat that Big Mac, I am under no delusion that I am eating steak and lobster.
The Wire is steak and lobster. The Shield is a great tasting Big Mac.
The Wire is steak and lobster. The Shield is a great tasting Big Mac.
The Shield blows the Wire away. Waiting on plot resolution on the Wire is like waiting for your inheiritance, cmon, cmon. I can't wait to see what those kids are up to in school this year. If I want bleeding heart social commentary I'll watch Oprah.
acidicjazzhead,
You are so right! Ratings or the votes on this site are what makes a great show! That's why "The Simple Life" lasted 4 years, because it was great television!
4 people could watch "the Shield and 4,000,000 could watch "the Wire", but "the Shield" would still be superior.
Superior actors, better plots, episodes that are films in and of themselves..."the Shield" has it, whereas "the Wire" is a long plot of a drama dragged out over 12 episodes. And again, I like "the Wire", but their reasoning to get the team back together has ben ridiculously strained since season 1, they have too many characters that they just don't care about, and the show is called "the Wire" but there hasn't been a wire for two seasons!
Meanwhile, "the Shield" has taken a secondary character like Billings, made him intersting, and got rid of him in one season. "the Wire" has managed to make McNulty, the primary character of the show, have no believeable motive(because it changes every season), and have such a changed personality it calls in question the writing of the show.
"the Shield" has always been about Mackey and has been consistent in it's character motives, "the Wire" has jerked their characters around to suit it's sub-par writing.
And above all, CCH Pounder is and always will be the greatest actor in the world...I would never limit my opinion of her to "the Shield" (although I admit I ignore Robocop 3)!
Egan Brezhnev
You are so right! Ratings or the votes on this site are what makes a great show! That's why "The Simple Life" lasted 4 years, because it was great television!
4 people could watch "the Shield and 4,000,000 could watch "the Wire", but "the Shield" would still be superior.
Superior actors, better plots, episodes that are films in and of themselves..."the Shield" has it, whereas "the Wire" is a long plot of a drama dragged out over 12 episodes. And again, I like "the Wire", but their reasoning to get the team back together has ben ridiculously strained since season 1, they have too many characters that they just don't care about, and the show is called "the Wire" but there hasn't been a wire for two seasons!
Meanwhile, "the Shield" has taken a secondary character like Billings, made him intersting, and got rid of him in one season. "the Wire" has managed to make McNulty, the primary character of the show, have no believeable motive(because it changes every season), and have such a changed personality it calls in question the writing of the show.
"the Shield" has always been about Mackey and has been consistent in it's character motives, "the Wire" has jerked their characters around to suit it's sub-par writing.
And above all, CCH Pounder is and always will be the greatest actor in the world...I would never limit my opinion of her to "the Shield" (although I admit I ignore Robocop 3)!
Egan Brezhnev
The Shield jumped when Gabby, Bree, Susan and Lynette came to farmingto.
Gabby and Shane had a threesome with an underaged hooker.
Susan visited the local pen and accidently helped Antwon Mitchell escape. he's now pimping Bree.
Then, Lynette makes citizens arrrests of all the one-niners, and ends up as the new "undercover" agent in the Salvadorian Mob.
Mackey got exposed, but beat the case on a techniclaity, so the wierd kid Zack and his father (the hunky plumber) went to work with a blowtorch and a pair of pliers.
They celebrate the execution by bringing in aceveda and giving Edie and Wyms tupperware parties
Gabby and Shane had a threesome with an underaged hooker.
Susan visited the local pen and accidently helped Antwon Mitchell escape. he's now pimping Bree.
Then, Lynette makes citizens arrrests of all the one-niners, and ends up as the new "undercover" agent in the Salvadorian Mob.
Mackey got exposed, but beat the case on a techniclaity, so the wierd kid Zack and his father (the hunky plumber) went to work with a blowtorch and a pair of pliers.
They celebrate the execution by bringing in aceveda and giving Edie and Wyms tupperware parties
Ian Bresser,
Yes, the Wire will be ending with five seasons instead of the Shield's sixth. While using your frame of mind on how the television audience prefers one show over the other, The Wire has more votes for never jumping (851) than the Shield (524) as of 27 July 2007 11:30 am CST. Of course, leaving a difference of 327 votes. Also keep in mind that the Wire has a more restricted viewership being that it is broadcasted on the premium channel HBO, AND has lesser seasons than the Shield.
Also, there is such a thing as bowing out gracefully. The Wire doesn't need more seasons simply because the story has already been told...very well I might add. Judging by The Shield's last season, it could take a couple of lessons on gently stepping aside.
Yes, the Wire will be ending with five seasons instead of the Shield's sixth. While using your frame of mind on how the television audience prefers one show over the other, The Wire has more votes for never jumping (851) than the Shield (524) as of 27 July 2007 11:30 am CST. Of course, leaving a difference of 327 votes. Also keep in mind that the Wire has a more restricted viewership being that it is broadcasted on the premium channel HBO, AND has lesser seasons than the Shield.
Also, there is such a thing as bowing out gracefully. The Wire doesn't need more seasons simply because the story has already been told...very well I might add. Judging by The Shield's last season, it could take a couple of lessons on gently stepping aside.
DO NOT compare the wire to the shield. They're the two best things on television for the reason that they ARE opposites. The Wire is #1 because it unpacks like a novel with real characters (head writer on the show is a pretty good novelist), and it has a 40-person PRIMARY cast. It's drama, not really a cop-crook show; the characters just HAPPEN to be one or the other (or politicians or casualties).
The Shield is great because it is extremely fast with a small circle of non-expendables, and FOR THE RECORD they ARE extremely well-developed. It's greatest strength, though, is that it does ONE thing that is completely anti-HBO: it never lets go of a plot point. The blowback for any big bad thing continues for the rest of the entire show (the Aceveda rape photo, Terry, the Money Train). AS LONG as the Shield does this, it won't jump the shark before its finale next season.
The Shield is great because it is extremely fast with a small circle of non-expendables, and FOR THE RECORD they ARE extremely well-developed. It's greatest strength, though, is that it does ONE thing that is completely anti-HBO: it never lets go of a plot point. The blowback for any big bad thing continues for the rest of the entire show (the Aceveda rape photo, Terry, the Money Train). AS LONG as the Shield does this, it won't jump the shark before its finale next season.
acidicjazzhead...
"The Wire" is ridiculously drawn out. "The Shield", "Homicide" or "NYPD Blue" could've dealt with the last two "the Wire" full season's storylines in two or three episodes. Dealing with the infinite minutiae of every situation may be interesting to you, but it's freaking boring to the rest of the world, which is why there will be a season 6 of "The Shield" but there won't be any more seasons of "The Wire"... And what episodes of season 4 and 5 did they finally actually plant a "wire" (the whole precept of the show)? Exactly, so shuddup!
"The Wire" is ridiculously drawn out. "The Shield", "Homicide" or "NYPD Blue" could've dealt with the last two "the Wire" full season's storylines in two or three episodes. Dealing with the infinite minutiae of every situation may be interesting to you, but it's freaking boring to the rest of the world, which is why there will be a season 6 of "The Shield" but there won't be any more seasons of "The Wire"... And what episodes of season 4 and 5 did they finally actually plant a "wire" (the whole precept of the show)? Exactly, so shuddup!
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