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The question that torments me is why The Wire, so far and away the best show ever that this debate is a bit foolish, has had a hard time finding an audience.
I think there are a couple of reasons.
Viewers like and need psychic relief. And whether the producers of other shows are even aware of it, even the best of them usually have small narrative escape valves that allow the viewer some breathing space. For example, 99% of the time, viewers of a typical series can bank on the fact that certain characters simply will not die, given their widely publicized long-term contracts, and certain things simply will not happen.
The Wire is relentless and without relief.
It isn't written in stone, for example, but when has any major network series ever suddenly reduced a major chracter's "screen time" simply because doing so would advance a compelling narrative? And how many would be gutsy enough to deny the audience some long anticipated payoff solely because in life the payoff might not come? Kiefer Sutherland will be alive for roughly as long as that damn show is.
The Wire is psychically painful, deliciously excruciating precisely because of the absence of escape valves, moments in which you can sit back and say: Well, for at least the time being, the world is set. The world of The Wire is never set. Any character can die at any time. Tony Soprano, I submit, would not have died in the first few seasons. Period.
On The Wire, casting decisions, script decisions, and everything seem at the service of a compelling narrative . Compelling, likable characters are developed, only to die before they even settle in. From the very first season, when the character Wallace was killed after being so carefully and delicately developed, it was clear something different was going on. And how many other producers would have dared kill off D'Angelo Barksdale or Stringer Bell with such a cruel suddenness after they had been so well established and popular with viewers? And I think many viewers have a hard time handling this.
You also don't get as much of the standard HBO "everything but penetration" hot sex. Because The Wire seems to have an unwritten rule that virtually nothing should ever be gratuitous. Tricks known to have audience appeal only get in if they advance the narrative or develop the character. On one of the DVD commentary tracks, one of The Wire writers sees an explicit sex scene come on and comments: "Wow, that's neat, we ought to do that more often, " or something to that effect. But then they immediately follow up with a comment that, as much as they like the sex, it is either there for a dramatic purpose or it's not there at all.
The other point has to do with plausibility. I'm sure that many viewers have no trouble believing that all sorts of horrible violence is possible. They read about it. But when The Wire ventures into the workings of other institutions, some of the corruption and official behavior must look absolutely cartoon-like. I think particularly about the "Politics" season . And I think about Glynn Turman's wonderful performance as a sleazy Mayor or Isiah Whitlock, Jr's great Senator Clay Davis. And that iconic moment when Herc walks in on the Mayor being fellated.
My guess is that even sophisticated suburban viewers might look at these characters and see them as buffoons or caricatures, not having lived urban politics (I have) or not having seen the documentary " Street Fight, " in which Mayor Sharpe James of Newark pulls non-stop nonsense that even Burns and Simon might on first glance see as ridiculously implausible.
I think that The Wire is a true masterpiece. But this is because of the very commitment to narrative that guarantees it will never be a mega-hit.
With the Sopranos, we waited patiently for too many years for the final episode to see if he would live or die. And when he didnt die, an audience trained to be conventional was pissed.
When the first episode of season #5 of The Wire airs, there is not one character who is immune from suffering any of the possible fates that he or she could conceivably experience in life. And when we turn on the TV, we know that there will be no relief to soften the blow.
McNulty might not only be shot, but he could be shot in the eye and be gone for the rest of the season. Brother Mouzone, a delicious and sinister killer from NYC, may never return.
I submit that The Sopranos came close to this, but only The Wire surpasses it. It tortures you in with narrative skill and character develoment, gets you a little complacent, and then shoots you in the side of the head.
